Costs of Drying and Storing Rough Rice in Louisiana and Texas

Excerpts from the report Summary: The importance to rice growers and others of efficient, low cost drying and storage of rough rice is reflected in the amount spent for these services. Of the $150 million received annually by rough rice growers in Louisiana and Texas, an estimated $15 to $16 million is spent for drying and storing. To accumulate data for determining why some facilities are successful and presumably low cost, while others are not, 51 driers in Louisiana and 44 in Texas were studied during three marketing seasons, 1959/60, 1960/61, 1961/62. The 95 driers were of four types: (1) on-farm round stationary bulk bins, (2) on-farm buildings with bulk bins, (3) on-farm multipass, continuous flow driers, and (4) off-farm or commercial multipass, continuous flow driers. Items compared in evaluating these driers included in-plant operating costs, marketing costs, and effect of drying and storing on rice quality. To facilitate comparisons, all data were expressed on the basis of hundredweights of dry rice, rather than on the basis of barrels of green rice, as is common to the trade.