A History of Producers Rice Mill
A History of Producers Rice Mill | Producers Rice Mill was born in 1943 as an idea in the minds of a group of distinguished farmers dedicated to the cause of improving the marketing returns of the members it served.
Utilizing a mill built by the Standard Rice Company in 1916, Producers milled just 143,500 barrels the first year, and had assets of only $125,000. Today Producers' annual milling rate has increased to over 50 million bushels, and sales have topped the $305 million mark in recent years.
Service was expanded in 1946 when Producers Dryer, Inc. was organized to handle members rice drying in a co-op manner. The first year, the dryer only handled 126,488 bushels of rice for the entire season. Receipts during the 2004 peak harvest period exceeded over 550,000 bushels per day at the Stuttgart facility alone. In 2004, the Stuttgart facility handled just under 14,000,000 bushels of green rice in single season, a new record. |
To the left is Producers' truck parking lot with the milling complex in the background during the record 2004 harvest. |
With the purchase of Gibbs Harris Rice Dryer at Wynne, Arkansas, and the Pioneer Food facilities, Producers added locations in DeWitt, Eudora, Fair Oaks(shown at right), Marianna, Pine Bluff, Wilmot, Wilson and Yellow Bend, Arkansas--increasing our size many times over. |
In October 2001, Producers further expanded its milling and storage capacity by purchasing the A. C. Humko plant at Greenville, Mississippi. This plant had a white rice mill, a parboil mill, a rice flour mill and a barge loading facility on the Mississippi River. As well as adding the ability to better serve our Mississippi members, the extra milling capacity and the ability to load barges directly on the Mississippi River greatly enhanced Producers' export capabilities. |
In October 2003, Producers purchased the Monsanto plant (more commonly known as Hartz Seed Company) in Stuttgart. This facility, located on a main industrial
Utilizing a mill built by the Standard Rice Company in 1916, Producers milled just 143,500 barrels the first year, and had assets of only $125,000. Today Producers' annual milling rate has increased to over 50 million bushels, and sales have topped the $305 million mark in recent years.
Service was expanded in 1946 when Producers Dryer, Inc. was organized to handle members rice drying in a co-op manner. The first year, the dryer only handled 126,488 bushels of rice for the entire season. Receipts during the 2004 peak harvest period exceeded over 550,000 bushels per day at the Stuttgart facility alone. In 2004, the Stuttgart facility handled just under 14,000,000 bushels of green rice in single season, a new record. |
To the left is Producers' truck parking lot with the milling complex in the background during the record 2004 harvest. |
With the purchase of Gibbs Harris Rice Dryer at Wynne, Arkansas, and the Pioneer Food facilities, Producers added locations in DeWitt, Eudora, Fair Oaks(shown at right), Marianna, Pine Bluff, Wilmot, Wilson and Yellow Bend, Arkansas--increasing our size many times over. |
In October 2001, Producers further expanded its milling and storage capacity by purchasing the A. C. Humko plant at Greenville, Mississippi. This plant had a white rice mill, a parboil mill, a rice flour mill and a barge loading facility on the Mississippi River. As well as adding the ability to better serve our Mississippi members, the extra milling capacity and the ability to load barges directly on the Mississippi River greatly enhanced Producers' export capabilities. |
In October 2003, Producers purchased the Monsanto plant (more commonly known as Hartz Seed Company) in Stuttgart. This facility, located on a main industrial