The Granular View

Beth James commutes between her home in Prairieville, the farm, farmers’ markets in New Orleans, and rice distribution points across the state and Texas. Recently someone asked where she lived. “The interstate,” she quipped. “And I’m hoping I’ll get a helicopter for my birthday.” 

Her ties with farmer/business partner Rolando Sanchez go back more than thirty years, rooted in the very same 1,100 acres of soil on which they work together today. James Farms—purchased by Beth James’ father Laddie in 1980 to raise prawns, catfish, frogs, and standard row crops—is now the site of Prairie Ronde Rice, a farm-to-table venture that came out of James’ and Sanchez’s partnership. 

The two met when James was young and her family traveled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a small village a good two to three hours from Mexico City, where they met the Sanchez family. Soon after, Laddie James hired Rolando Sanchez, an industrious teenager, to work on the farm.  He’s managed it ever since—for over thirty-five years. 

Now an American citizen who lives at James Rice Farms (and manages its daily operations), Sanchez was recognized in 2017 as the USDA Farmer of the Year, NRCS, for water and soil conservation for the United States and its territories. He’s been applauded by the Department for conservation efforts like laser-leveling the fields, a process that reduces the amount of water needed to grow rice while also reducing erosion and producing a more generous crop. He’s also been recognized for his work in sharing such techniques with other farmers and hosting demonstrations and leadership initiatives, particularly in Hispanic communities. 

“When you are tied to the land, you look at the world very differently,” said James of her farm’s continued dedication to the environment, describing a connection to everything around the farm, including wildlife such as egrets, ducks, and roseate spoonbills. “It’s the toughest job in the world.”

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James herself, coming from a business background, was once a menswear designer for Nautica clothing and a supervisor for the manufacturing operations. But farming is in her blood, a legacy drawn from eleven generations on both sides of the family. “My father accomplished so much in a relatively short amount of time,” said James. “I want to make it better for the next generation; we work very hard at that and are very conscientious about protecting what we do have.” 

James Rice Farms works the fields year-round, planting the rice in March and harvesting in August. The cooler months are reserved for crawfish, with harvesting in December through the winter months and into May. Desiring growth in the business, the pair at first considered moving from just farming crawfish to processing it, a shift that would be far too labor intensive, they determined. 

The idea to start milling their own rice hit her one day, driving the combine across the wide-open field. James said she heard a voice telling her, “You big dummy, you’re right on top of it, literally!” Cutting out the middle-man would be the best way to increase profits; they would mill the rice themselves!

“When you are tied to the land, you look at the world very differently,” said James. “It’s the toughest job in the world.”

Thanks to testing from the LSU AgCenter, Sanchez and James already knew that their raw product was good—great even. This affirmation meant it was time to make the next move; they’d need to learn how to mill. 

“We didn’t go to milling school or anything,” said James, adding that they gained advice from the LSU AgCenter and consultants employed by Ducks Unlimited and various groups. “We just started milling and figured it out.”

After doing a lot of research on milling equipment, the two narrowed it down to a Brazilian brand, Zaccaria. The 120-year-old company boasted excellent service, and the equipment featured a modular design that allowed for easy expansion and fit perfectly in a building retrofitted for milling. James and Sanchez lined the walls with metal so they could hose everything off. 

Because every year, factors like weather, rain, and temperature can affect the rice in different ways, James installed a mini-mill in the office. With it, she can test the rice, which helps set the gauges on the big mill. 

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The pair officially started Prairie Ronde Rice on January 1, 2017, and named it for the small farming community outside of Opelousas in which it is grown. When it came to the product’s branding and packaging, James says she wanted an innovative design that reflected the Prairie Ronde region, with a reusable, stand-up bag.

She reached out to Monique Coco McCall, a New Orleans designer, originally from Marksville, whom she had worked with in the past, and together they developed the vintage, yet stylish, design: black bags with white print. James couldn’t make up her mind between two sketches: one a rooster and one a pig. So she went with both—reserving the rooster rice for Rouses Supermarkets, and the Pig for everywhere else. 

When it comes to distribution, James says that she and Sanchez both get their hands dirty, driving around the state delivering rice to stores, distribution centers, farmers’ markets, and restaurants. 

For now, according to James, most of their business is in restaurants because she believes chefs know more about food than anyone—their rice cooks more evenly and performs the same every time, a relief for a purveyor. But Prairie Ronde Rice is making an innovative impact across other industries at the same time. “There are companies who are making moonshine and vodka from our rice as well as working on rice sake,” added James. 

“I feel free here, I walk outside my house and the farm is right there,” said Sanchez. “You never know what the next day will bring; every day is different.”  

Prairie Ronde Rice is single variety, chemical free, non-GMO, and freshly milled the week it is shipped. James noted that the other brands of rice often sit in a silo for long periods of time before being milled or they are milled in house and mixed with different varieties. Although rice has a long shelf life, it loses its flavor over time. 

James Rice Farms looks forward to expanding their market in 2019 and hopefully distributing in Mexico, to which sixty percent of Louisiana rice is currently exported. 

Sanchez talks of fulfilling the American dream—to show others what can happen when you work hard and make sacrifices; to send a product that he helped to grow, harvest, and mill home to his family. “It would make me feel really good to show the people from my hometown,” he said. “It took me a while, but they can see that I made it and how hard I worked.”

Both James and Sanchez agree that farming is absolute freedom. “It’s really important at this point in my life to have that kind of freedom,” said James, “but it requires a lot of work, everything you do every day contributes to what’s going to happen at the end of the season or even at the end of your lifetime.” 

“I feel free here, I walk outside my house and the farm is right there,” added Sanchez. “You never know what the next day will bring; every day is different.”  

prairieronderice.com

This article originally appeared in the February 2019 issue. Subscribe to our print edition here.