The rice crop in my area in Butte County has progressed nicely since its cold, wet and late start in May.

June did not generate any excessively hot periods of weather like it normally does but the daytime highs of the 80’s and 90’s were enough to make consistent progress. July has delivered many 100-degree days, allowing the crop to make up for some of the
lost time and growth potential experienced in the first part of the growing season.

As a producer who has to navigate through such an interesting crop year on the fronts of both production and marketing, I came across a quote posted above the Co-Op order desk in Richvale by longtime rice farmer Dennis Lindberg that really sums it up. It
states, “The best treatment a crop can have is the shadow of the man who owns it.”

This year in particular, I have spent considerably more time monitoring crop growth progress to time herbicide and final nutrient applications to the point that some portions of my fields could very well be deprived of their photosynthetic potential. All kidding
aside, the crop is nearly at the halfway point to maturity and the goal of a bountiful harvest and from this point on much of the final result of this crop is out of my control.

In a couple weeks the crop will be setting pollen and I hope our warm weather pattern remains to minimize the effects of kernel blanking. Efforts in my shop are now in full swing to prepare the harvest equipment for its upcoming needs and I even have a
couple of short vacations planned with the wife and kids before schools starts up again in the fall and my work schedule also becomes more demanding.

The outlook for the 2010 rice crop has improved dramatically since its frustrating beginnings this spring and I am heading into the fall with cautious optimism.

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Josh Sheppard is proud to be part of the fourth generation of his family that have been farming rice in Butte County for many generations. After receiving degrees in Agribusiness and Water Science from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in 1997 he returned to the 3,000 acre family rice operation with his parents, a brother, and a sister. Josh and his wife, Kathryn, have two children.

When he’s not on the farm, he enjoys time as a volunteer for the California Waterfowl Association and his children's youth basketball programs.