Conrad Rice Mill

The Conrad Rice Mill is an independently owned and operated rice mill located in New Iberia, Louisiana, and produces the Konriko brand of rice varieties. Established in 1912, it is the oldest independently owned rice mill in the United States still in operation, and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.OriginsPhilip Amelius Conrad began rice farming in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana around the turn of the 20th century with his uncle Charles Conrad. Wanting to operate independently, he moved to New Iberia on the banks of the Bayou Teche, buying land on the north side of the Bayou near present-day LA Highway 87, just east of North Lewis Street, to grow rice. The harvested rice was shipped approximately 125 miles by steamboat to New Orleans for milling, as no local rice mills existed. After several crops, in 1910, he built a small rice mill on the property to avoid the need to ship to New Orleans.In 1912 he relocated, rebuilding the mill at its current location at 307 Ann Street in New Iberia and establishing the Conrad Rice Milling and Planting Company. He purchased additional land and moved his rice fields to the south bank of the bayou