By Dr. Tim Walker, CEO, Horizon Ag, LLC

ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, & URUGUAY – I was honored to be selected to travel to South America as part of the 2025 International Rice Leadership Development Program last month.  This trip represented the culmination of a journey that began for me in 2011, when it became clear that traditional southern U.S. rice export markets were at risk due to increasing competitiveness from MERCOSUR, a South American trade bloc established to promote free trade and economic cooperation among its member states: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.  It was particularly ironic that our final stop was the SAMAN Rice Mill near Treinta y Tres, Uruguay—the same brand shown to us in 2011 by a re-packer in Mexico City, who warned of its potential to displace U.S.-sourced rice.

The goal of this report is to highlight the production, processing, and industry-level practices in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, that have given them a competitive advantage in markets historically dominated by U.S. rice.  My clear bias is to protect and grow southern USA rice acres to ensure continued investment opportunities and vitality in the rural communities where rice is grown.

Argentina
After arriving in Buenos Aires, we headed north into the Entre Ríos Province, stopping at Estancia Jubileo, a third-generation rice and cattle farm.  Unlike most operations we later visited, this farm relied on groundwater for irrigation.  A newly constructed drying facility stood out as a major investment.  Throughout the entire trip, one theme proved consistent across all three countries: rice is harvested at relatively high moisture levels to minimize kernel breakage and protect milling yields.

On Day 2, we traveled to the Corrientes Province, visiting Adecoagro’s mill and farm (Ita Caabo) near Mercedes.  Adecoagro is a vertically integrated corporate farming company producing several crops with rice as a major component.  Their roughly 165,000 acres of rice represent nearly 40 percent of Argentina’s total production.  They process close to half a million tons of paddy rice annually and export 60–70 percent of their milled production.  Adecoagro operates its own variety development program while also collaborating with FLAR for germplasm exchange.

Brazil
We crossed into Brazil at Uruguaiana and began Day 3 visiting a multi-generation rice and cattle operation owned by Werner Arns and his sons.  Sementes Arns operates a modern and impressive seed production and conditioning facility.  We learned about the varieties commonly grown in Rio Grande do Sul—information that was reinforced throughout the rest of the trip, as only a small number of varieties dominate the acreage across all three countries.

After a lunch overlooking the Uruguay River with the Arns family, we traveled to Rosario do Sul to meet Geraldo Trojahn and his family.  Mr. Trojahn, a first-generation farmer, stood out as an example of discipline, long-term planning, and attention to detail.  He grows a single variety—IRGA 431 CL—not the highest yielding, but the most stable and desirable in grain quality.  He stores 100 percent of his production and sells to a mill roughly 12 hours away, consistently earning a premium for the superior and reliable quality of his rice.  The Trojahn family hosted us for a Brazilian-style barbecue and welcomed us back to a different farm the following morning.

We then traveled to Santa Maria to visit RiceTec.  Dr. Edgar Torres, lead breeder for the Americas, hosted us for lunch and an informative visit.  Unlike in the southern USA, RiceTec does not hold a dominant market share in South America, largely because of grain-quality expectations of the mills.  They are making progress, with serious effort directed at improving quality.  A tasting panel they prepared was revealing: unfortunately—and unsurprisingly—the only U.S.-sourced rice in the panel ranked last among the nine samples.  Main criticisms included stickiness and inconsistent cooked texture, including undercooked kernels.

On the following day, we visited the large Bretanhas Farm south of Pelotas, near the Uruguayan border.  This roughly 100,000-acre operation grows rice, soybeans, and cattle.  Agronomically, this farm most closely resembled southern USA operations, with deep soils and widespread precision leveling.  Irrigation water was pumped from Lake Merín—a roughly one-million-acre lake—and distributed via canals.  A highlight was the equipment shed, where 29 John Deere combines were neatly stored indoors.  This stop concluded our time in Brazil as we crossed into Uruguay.

Uruguay
The first stop was INIA, Uruguay’s primary rice research and extension center where we met Gonzalo Zorrilla, widely considered the South American counterpart to Dr. Steve Linscombe in the U.S.  We also spent time with Dr. Federico Molina, an LSU Ph.D. graduate who returned to Uruguay and now leads rice breeding at INIA.  He provided valuable insights into grain-quality standards and the industry-wide commitment to maintaining them.  Uruguay exports approximately 95 percent of its production, nearly all as milled rice.

Both Brazil and Uruguay emphasize a system of grower collaboration through “CREA” groups.  Each group of 10–12 farmers hires a dedicated agronomist who works closely with each member.  The group meets monthly on a rotating farm, where sound practices are highlighted and poor practices openly addressed.  We were able to attend a CREA meeting and spent several hours discussing production practices in the field.

The following day, we visited the SAMAN rice mill and seed facility.  SAMAN, though privately owned, exerts considerable influence over production through financing and input programs.  Multiple mills operate within the company, and by our estimates, their model amounts to roughly one mill for every 20,000–30,000 acres of rice.

After the SAMAN visit, we traveled to Montevideo and took the ferry back to Buenos Aires.  On Saturday, we toured the city before our flight home.  Buenos Aires proved both expansive and architecturally impressive, with remarkable culture and history.

Reflections and Industry Implications
The MERCOSUR region has surpassed the United States in rice exports in recent years.  Except for Brazil, domestic consumption is relatively low, so their production is geared toward exports.  They have significantly improved production practices and variety development, achieving extremely high yields and exceptional milling outturns.  Their grain quality is excellent: uniform, translucent, and reliably loose-cooking.  Traditional U.S. export markets in Mexico and Central America have steadily increased purchases from MERCOSUR suppliers. 

Every miller and grower we met stressed the importance of beginning harvest at 24–25 percent moisture to protect milling yields; the longer rice dries in the field, the lower the outturn.  Unlike in the U.S., they are not penalized for high moisture at delivery, and they do not use desiccants.  Most growers plant a small set of varieties with staggered maturities to optimize harvest timing.  Across the region, no more than five varieties likely account for more than 70 percent of total acreage.  IRGA 424 is arguably the most widely grown variety across all three countries.

Mills ultimately decide whether a new variety is accepted commercially, and hybrid cultivars remain uncommon due to quality limitations.  In each country, the final marketability of the product—quality, consistency, and identity preservation—drives decisions from breeding to production to harvest.

Farmers in MERCOSUR face many of the same pressures as U.S. growers: low prices, high input costs, and labor shortages.  Their strong work ethic, unified industry structure, and unwavering focus on quality position them as formidable competitors to the southern U.S. rice industry.

My hope is that segments of the U.S. industry can elevate product quality to capitalize on our existing logistical advantages and exceptional farm-gate support systems—advantages that remain superior to those of our South American counterparts.

In closing, I would like to thank Dr. Linscombe for his role in facilitating this trip; his relationships across Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay allowed us behind-the-scenes access and hospitality at every stop. I would also like to thank the sponsors of this program, American Commodity Company, John Deere, RiceTec, and Supreme Rice, for their generous commitment to the education and advancement of U.S. rice industry professionals.

Published Date: December 5, 2025