Producers Rice Mill in Arkansas: History, What It Mills, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Producers Rice Mill was founded in Stuttgart, Arkansas, in 1943 by farmers seeking better marketing returns for their members, and it has grown into a major rice miller with a current annual milling rate of more than 60 million bushels and recent sales above $550 million, according to the company.
| Location | Stuttgart, Arkansas County, Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1943 |
| Sectors | Rice milling; parboiling; rice ingredients; foodservice; export |
| Scale | More than 60 million bushels milled annually; sales above $550 million in recent years, per the company |
| Why it is elite | One of the largest rice processors in the Mid-South, with mills in Arkansas and Mississippi |
| Ownership | Farmer-owned cooperative |
| Official website | Producers Rice Mill official site |
History of Producers Rice Mill
Producers Rice Mill began in 1943 with the original Stuttgart mill, built in 1916 by the Standard Rice Company. In its first year it milled 517,000 bushels. Producers Dryer, Inc. was organized in 1946 to dry members' rice and handled 126,488 bushels in its first season.
Growth came through purchases and construction: the Gibbs-Harris elevator in Wynne in 1973, its first parboil plant in 1979, a series of Arkansas and Mississippi facilities in the 1980s and 1990s, the A.C. Humko plant in Greenville, Mississippi in 2001 and a Stuttgart plant in 2003. A new dryer was completed in Stuttgart in 2012.
What Producers Rice Mill Grows and Raises
The cooperative mills long grain, medium grain, parboiled, brown and specialty rices such as basmati, jasmine and arborio, along with rice flour. Its divisions include exports, foodservice, industrials, retail and private label, co-products, rice ingredients and instant rice.
The Greenville, Mississippi mill includes a white rice mill, a parboil mill, a rice flour mill and a barge loading facility on the Mississippi River. The Greenville mill milled a record 23.8 million bushels in 2017-2018, and Stuttgart received over 16.6 million bushels in the 2012 harvest.
Co-products include broken rice, stabilized rice bran, rice bran, rice hulls and rice mill feed.
How Producers Rice Mill Makes Money
Milled rice
Selling white, brown and parboiled rice to exporters, foodservice, retail and private-label customers is the core source of revenue.
Ingredients and instant rice
The company runs separate rice ingredient and instant rice businesses, selling value-added products to food manufacturers.
Co-products
Bran, hulls and mill feed are sold as separate products, adding value beyond the milled grain.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Producers Rice Mill
Producers shows how specialization in a single crop can build strength: a mill that targets many rice types and customers spreads risk.
Barge access and storage matter. Growers and processors alike should evaluate logistics and drying capacity, and talk with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and FSA about marketing loans and storage facility financing.
The folks in Stuttgart, the self-proclaimed rice and duck capital, have turned a 1916 building into a modern milling operation that moves bushels by barge. Readers of farm.FM who relish farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes might note that the only thing more patient than a rice farmer waiting on a flood is the cooperative waiting on the weigh scale. We salute it with affection.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact Producers Rice Mill
Website: https://producersrice.com/about/history
Address: 518 E. Harrison Street, Stuttgart, AR 72160
Phone: 870-673-4444
Email: info@producersrice.com
Contact details as published on the cooperative's own website, November 2026. Confirm hours and visit arrangements before traveling.
Producers Rice Mill Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Producers Rice Mill history - The cooperative's own history page
- Keith Glover interview - Independent profile of leading a farmer-owned cooperative
- USDA Census of Agriculture - Official national and state farm statistics
- Arkansas Department of Agriculture - State agency partners and programs
- University of Arkansas rice resources - Division of Agriculture rice production information
Producers Rice Mill FAQ
When was Producers Rice Mill founded?
In 1943, in Stuttgart, Arkansas, by farmers seeking better marketing returns.
How much rice does it mill?
The company reports an annual milling rate of more than 60 million bushels.
Where are its mills?
Stuttgart, Arkansas and Greenville, Mississippi, plus other facilities listed on its history page.
How can I contact it?
The company lists 518 E. Harrison Street, Stuttgart, AR 72160, and the phone 870-673-4444.
Producers Rice Mill shows how a farmer-owned mill can compete in a global rice market. See the Arkansas farms guide for more elite operations.