Riceland Foods in Arkansas: History, What It Processes, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Riceland Foods is a farmer-owned cooperative headquartered in Stuttgart, Arkansas, that describes itself as the world's largest miller and marketer of rice. It was formed in 1921 and today serves about 5,500 farmer members in Arkansas and Missouri, storing, transporting, processing and marketing more than 2.5 million metric tons of grain each year.
| Location | Stuttgart, Arkansas County, Arkansas, with a mill in Jonesboro |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 as the Arkansas Rice Growers Cooperative Association; named Riceland Foods in 1970 |
| Sectors | Rice milling and marketing; soybean processing; grain storage; rice bran oil |
| Scale | 5,500 farmer members and more than 2.5 million metric tons of grain handled each year, per the company |
| Why it is elite | Describes itself as the world's largest rice miller and marketer; one of the Mid-South's major soybean processors |
| Ownership | Farmer-owned cooperative |
| Official website | Riceland Foods official site |
History of Riceland Foods
The Arkansas Rice Growers Cooperative Association was created on September 23, 1921, when Arkansas rice producers formed a farmers' cooperative in response to volatile crop prices. Local grain-drying cooperatives began forming in 1944, and more were added almost every year afterward.
The cooperative bought a Stuttgart mill in 1928 and a Jonesboro mill in 1939, opened a soybean processing plant in Stuttgart in 1960, and opened a new headquarters in Stuttgart around 1970, when the name Riceland Foods was adopted. The Riceland label launched in 1946 and became one of Arkansas's best-known brand names. The company marked its 100th anniversary in 2021.
Membership has extended beyond Arkansas over time, and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes that Riceland has drawn members from several Mid-South states.
What Riceland Foods Grows and Raises
Riceland receives members' crops, dries and stores them, mills rice and processes soybeans. Its products include white, brown and parboiled rice, rice bran oil, soybean meal and oil, and feed ingredients. The company says it sells across the United States and in about 25 countries.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas reports that one of the world's largest rice mills is in Jonesboro, that the company has a research and technical center in Stuttgart and that it operates rice husk gasification-to-energy systems at Stuttgart and Jonesboro. Industrial customers have included major food manufacturers, and the cooperative also sells to food service companies.
Because Riceland is a cooperative, its members are both suppliers and owners. A 21-member board of farmer directors governs the cooperative, according to the encyclopedia's description.
How Riceland Foods Makes Money
Milling and rice marketing
Rice milling and marketing is the heart of the business: members deliver paddy rice, and Riceland mills, packs and sells it to retail, foodservice, industrial and export customers.
Soybean processing
Soybean crushing produces meal and oil sold to feed and food customers, which gave members a second outlet when rice acreage controls pushed Arkansas growers toward soybeans in the 1950s.
Co-products and energy
Rice bran oil, feed ingredients and husk-fueled energy systems turn by-products into saleable products, increasing the value captured from each bushel.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Riceland Foods
Collective marketing gives small and mid-sized growers access to markets they could not reach alone. Joining or forming a cooperative can add storage, processing and export capacity that spreads risk.
Use by-products. Riceland's bran oil, feed and energy lines show that waste streams can become revenue. Growers should compare cooperative patronage returns, storage options and forward contracts, and discuss them with their lender or the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
A company that mills the grain in Stuttgart and ships it around the world has earned its place as the rice capital's biggest name, and its Riceland label is easier to find than a rice paddy in August. Fans of farm.FM who love farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes will say the cooperative's best trick is feeding the whole table with a hundred years of practice, and we mean that affectionately.
farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, also runs Tractor Tunes, a country music lineup for farmers. For a sample of the writing, try the archive of one of its staff humorists.
How to Contact Riceland Foods
Website: https://riceland.com/about
No street address, phone or email was printed on the About page reviewed; use the Contact Us page on riceland.com, November 2026.
Riceland Foods Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Riceland Foods - The cooperative's official About page
- Riceland turns 100 - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette coverage of the centennial
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas - History, mills and markets
- USDA Census of Agriculture - Official national and state farm statistics
- University of Arkansas rice resources - Division of Agriculture rice production information
Riceland Foods FAQ
Who owns Riceland Foods?
It is a farmer-owned cooperative with about 5,500 members in Arkansas and Missouri, per the company.
When was Riceland founded?
The cooperative was created on September 23, 1921.
Where is Riceland based?
Stuttgart, Arkansas, with another mill in Jonesboro.
What does Riceland sell?
Rice, rice bran oil, soybean meal and oil, and feed ingredients.
Riceland Foods shows how a cooperative can give Arkansas growers market power. Visit the Arkansas farms guide for more of the state's leading producers.