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For Terry Gray, jasmine rice isn’t a new experiment; it’s a proven crop. He’s using his expertise to promote the variety in the U.S., both for farmers and consumers.

Terry Gray, owner of Delaplaine Seed Company, knows jasmine rice. He’s been a rice farmer his entire life.

With both production and market knowledge, Gray further elevated his operation by planting U.S. jasmine-style rice, using foundation seed from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. He started by growing the ARoma 17 variety, and now grows and markets ARoma 22 for retail and rice seed.

Gray has persisted despite hurdles along the way because he understands the value in growing U.S. jasmine rice. Today, Delaplaine Specialty Rice is found in grocery stores, shops and restaurants across Arkansas. Consumers enjoy the taste, and farmers in all rice-producing states can grow it. This year, Delaplaine Seed Company ramped up seed production as the rice industry looks forward to expanding the domestic jasmine market.

“We have been in this long enough now that I have no doubt about it,” he said of market demand; all you have to do to get someone hooked on eating ARoma 22 is to give them a sample.

How Delaplaine got its start

Gray’s father started the family farm in Delaplaine, Ark., in the 1950s, about a decade before Gray was born. From childhood until graduating high school, Gray farmed alongside his dad. When he went to college at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, he didn’t initially plan to come back to the farm. It was the 1980s, and farming looked bleak at the time.

“I don’t know which was tougher — now or then. At the time, land values had plummeted 50% to 60%,” he recalled.

But his plans changed. Within a few months of starting college, Gray decided to pursue an ag degree and interned at a hybrid wheat breeding facility for three and a half years. He later interned at Anheuser-Busch, working in the rice breeding program until he completed college.

“I’ve always been a farmer,” he said. “That’s what I love to do.”

In 1988, Gray returned to the farm and hit the ground running. With the mentorship of close family friend Sherman Cullum, he started Delaplaine Seed Company, growing rice, corn and soybean seed. Other family friends encouraged him to take it a step further in rice marketing.

He found himself on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, with a seat at the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange to trade rice. He began trading rice in 1993 while still farming at his Arkansas family farm. Gray traded in person at the CBOT until the MidAm system went digital in 2015.

This journey built valuable relationships. During his trading days, Gray met his current business partner, Steve Malcom, another Arkansan. Malcom was fluent in futures and options, while Gray knew marketing and seed production, allowing them to cover a lot of ground together. Soon, the two began discussing the U.S. jasmine rice business, and the Delaplaine Specialty Rice company was born.

Venturing into jasmine rice

The business started small. Gray had connections through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s foundation seed program, particularly with ARoma seed breeder Debra Ahrent Wisdom.

The first time Gray grew ARoma 17 on his farm, it was on no more than 7 acres, partitioned off in a 19-acre field. The next year, he did the same, slowly increasing acreage. Then, he transitioned to ARoma 22 when it was released.

“We would buy foundation seed, and we would plant small amounts. I’d grow enough to have 3,000 to 6,000 rough bushels,” he explained.

At the same time, Gray and Malcom were figuring out how to market this specialty product. Even with their expertise, Gray said they had much to learn about milling in this market.

“The only way you learn to do it is to do it,” he emphasized.

After harvest, they had the rice “toll milled,” and then packed it in 25-pound bags. To market the product, they visited local restaurants and retailers.

“When we started out, we grew just enough to put it in a bin and dry it down and get it milled,” Gray said. “I would literally go around Jonesboro and the surrounding area, knock on a door and ask if they would try our rice.”

Through these efforts, plus successful taste-testing events, consumers raved about the taste. Gray described these opportunities as “eye-opening.”

“All of that was proof of concept,” he said. “People love the rice. They keep requesting it. Even people who were originally not rice eaters who have tried it have switched their carbohydrate intake to ARoma 22.”

Delaplaine Specialty Rice has since added new packaging, first with 5-pound tubs and now with resealable bags. No matter the container size, ARoma 22’s distinct buttery smell is unmistakable. Gray said the aroma is even noticeable in the field during the growing season.

“I can pull up to a field to check a well, and the minute I get out of my truck, I can smell the rice,” he said. “At certain times of the day, you can smell the whole field. That aroma is in the plant.”

Today, Delaplaine Specialty Rice is available for purchase across Arkansas, including at American Made General Stores and other specialty shops. It is also served in restaurants like the 501 Steakhouse in Jonesboro.

Moving the needle in the domestic market

In recent years, the demand for U.S.-grown aromatic and jasmine-style rice has taken off. The USA Rice Federation has seen the trend, reporting that “82% of consumers who have tried jasmine say they love or like it.”

At the same time, imports of jasmine rice have increased as major food companies and restaurants try to meet consumer demand. To help reduce imports, USA Rice initiated campaigns to promote domestic production and consumption.

Gray has also studied U.S. Census Bureau reports extensively to track the types of rice coming into the U.S. and where they come from.

“We want to stop imports,” he said. “The way to do that is to have a replacement product for imported jasmine rice, and U.S. farmers come in at a much better price point. We want to grow it for the benefit of the whole industry.”

Now, companies like Delaplaine Specialty Rice are switching to specific packaging with purple labeling to denote that it is a U.S.-grown product.

Demand has also driven jasmine acreage higher. Despite overall rice acres being lower in 2026, U.S. rice farmers grew more jasmine acres than ever before. During planting season, Gray received calls from farmers wanting more jasmine seed.

“One of the limiting factors last year was seed,” he said. “Being in the seed business and having access to foundation seed, this year, we have a couple hundred acres of seed growing. We will have adequate seed, with several thousand acres worth of seed production.”

Gray firmly believes product demand and market forces will increase U.S. jasmine consumption.

“You don’t have to artificially engineer what will happen. You just have to have all the components in place,” he said. “Rice will be here. It’s not going away. The growth of this domestic market has been explosive.”

Source : farmprogress