Rice Research
Australia
Pty Ltd
Adam Brand Swaps Rhythm for Rice at 2012 Rice
Field Day
The 2012 Rice Field Day will be held on Thursday 1 March at Rice
Research Australia Pty Ltd (RRAPL), “Old Coree” via Jerilderie, from
9.30am until 3pm. The theme of this year’s field day is ‘Rice for the
Future – Australian Varieties and Cooking Qualities’, and a major highlight
of the day will be cooking demonstrations from guest chef and
country music star Adam Brand, as well as meal samples provided by
Japanese food company Matsuya.
Adam Brand is no stranger to the kitchen, having learned many of the
basics of simple, satisfying cooking from his Sicilian grandmother. At the
Rice Field Day, Adam will be swapping his guitar for cooking utensils,
when he conducts cooking demonstrations at 1.30pm.
Adam Brand released a cookbook last year, ‘Life, Love & Cooking’,
showcasing a collection of nourishing soups, fresh and zesty salads and of
course a range of tasty rice dishes.
Fans of Adam will also be treated to free acoustic performances
throughout the day.
“I am so excited to be coming to the Rice Field Day as a celebrity chef. I
love cooking with rice and this will not only be a great way to show off my
cooking skills, but also learn a bit more about the ingredients I cook with”
says Adam.
Matsuya, one of Japan’s largest food companies, will also be offering tasty
samples of their use of Australian rice variety Opus.
The day will start with morning tea at 9.30am, followed by field trial site
visits at 10am and continuing until a lunch break at 12.30pm, where
farmers can look forward to tasting food cooked by Matsuya during the
morning. Farmers visiting the trial sites will be able to stay for Adam
Brand’s cooking demonstrations after lunch until 3pm, which are also
open to the general public.
NSW Department of Primary Industries Technical Specialist Southern
Irrigated Cropping Systems, Kieran O’Keeffe, said that the opportunity for
farmers to visit the field trial sites is always an integral part of the Rice
Field Day.
“The trial sites will again allow farmers to see and hear about the latest in
rice research. This season the rice area is around 100,000ha, the biggest
in a number of years, so we are expecting a large number of growers to
attend the field day.”
“Farmers will view the latest varieties trials with NSW DPI rice breeder
Peter Snell, focussing on cold tolerance and variety development.”
“There will be a weed control update by Agropraisals researcher Malcolm
Taylor and NSW District Agronomist John Fowler.”
“NSW DPI Research Agronomist Brian Dunn will cover crop establishment
issues, precision agriculture, best management practice for drill sown rice
and his delayed permanent water research, aided by NSW DPI District
Agronomist Rachael Whitworth.”
“With the latest rice research, cooking and even music, there will be
plenty to see at the field day.”
The field day is a joint initiative of NSW Department of Primary Industries,
Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, SunRice,
Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia (RGA) and Rice Research Australia
Pty Ltd.
For more information on the field day farmers should contact NSW District
Agronomist Kieran O’Keeffe on 02 6960 1319 or Andrew Bomm from the
Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia on 02 6953 0433.
Buses will be run this year from Barham, Wakool, Deniliquin, Finley,
Griffith and Coleambally, so please call the Ricegrowers Association of
Australia office on 02 6953 0433 to book your place on the bus and
arrange pick up locations.
- ENDS Media Contacts:
Kieran O’Keeffe (NSW DPI)
Andrew Bomm (RGA)
Russell Ford (RRAPL)
Jacalyn Cremasco (Sauce Comms)
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