A five-year collaboration between Loveland Products, Inc. and Dyna-Gro Seed — both proprietary product businesses of Nutrien Ag Solutions — and the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter is advancing rice research through focused investment in breeding, germplasm development, and early-stage innovation.
At the heart of the effort is the Loveland Products Research Station Support Fund, which was created to strengthen public-sector research infrastructure and accelerate the development of resilient, high-yielding rice germplasm. The partnership supports collaborative field trials, germplasm evaluation, and data sharing to better address regional disease pressure, grain quality, and adaptation challenges facing U.S. rice producers.
“Our collaboration with the LSU AgCenter is about unlocking the full potential of rice breeding science,” said Randy Ouzts, US Rice Manager at Nutrien Ag Solutions. “By teaming up with top-tier researchers and sharing breeding resources, we’re delivering real-time insights into product performance and regional adaptability. These discoveries are shaping the next generation of innovations that matter to rice producers.”
The initiative has contributed to the release of several commercial rice varieties and established a pipeline of breeding material jointly developed by LSU and Nutrien researchers. According to LSU AgCenter rice breeder Adam Famoso, the collaboration enables reciprocal access to germplasm and co-development projects that would be difficult to pursue without aligned private-sector support.
“The partnership has opened doors to new breeding strategies and streamlined how we evaluate performance under real-world conditions,” Famoso said in a recent news release. “It’s allowed us to advance varieties more efficiently and make better use of our research capacity.”
That capacity extends beyond breeding. The collaboration also backs the LSU AgCenter’s Hanover Grant Writing Program. With funding from Loveland Products, 36 faculty members have completed the training. As a result, the AgCenter has secured a $3.9 million research grant and launched 13 pilot projects in a range of disciplines.
In May, Loveland Products received the Industry Leader Award at the 2025 LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture AgExcellence ceremony, recognizing its role in fostering innovation through academic collaboration.
“Our focus is on creating tools that help producers, and research is how we get there,” Ouzts said. “This partnership ensures that the science stays strong, and the solutions stay relevant.”
