TY - JOUR AU - Espino, Luis AU - Greer, Chris A. AU - Mutters, Randall AU - Thompson, James F. TI - Survey of rice storage facilities identifies research and education needs JF - California Agriculture JO - Calif Agr Y1 - 2014/01/01 VL - 68 IS - 1 SP - 38 EP - 46 PB - University of California Agriculture and Nature Resources SN - 0008-0845 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3733/ca.v068n01p38 L3 - 10.3733/ca.v068n01p38 AB - More than 40 million hundredweights of rice are produced in California's Sacramento Valley every year. After harvest, the rice is stored in facilities on-farm or off-farm until it is transported to mills or to ports for export. We conducted a survey of storage operations to characterize grain storage and pest management practices to guide future UC Cooperative Extension research efforts. The results indicate that grain moisture content, temperature and insect pest management are the most important challenges for both on- and off-farm storage operations. Survey responses show high adoption of integrated pest management programs, with most storage operations relying on monitoring, thresholds, sanitation and aeration to manage pest problems. Fumigant use was reported more frequently in off-farm storage operations than on-farm operations. Cooperative Extension educational efforts should focus on grain and temperature monitoring, insect identification and safe use of fumigants. Research is needed to improve management of grain temperature and moisture content, and insect infestations.