Riceland
Riceland is the world's largest rice-miller cooperative, founded in 1921 in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and owned by roughly 5,500 farm families. The one water company (don't) Waste Water tracks in its book is Glanris, which turns rice hulls into water-filtration media. (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment One-Off as of 2026.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Riceland has been a farmer-owned cooperative since 1921, when a group of Arkansas rice growers banded together to market their crop, and it now mills and markets more rice than any company on earth on behalf of roughly 5,500 farm families. A cooperative means the farmers who supply the rice also own the business and share its profits, so Riceland is not a venture fund at all; it is a billion-dollar grain marketer that, very occasionally, puts money into a company close to its own crop.
That is exactly how water reached it. The single water company (don't) Waste Water tracks in Riceland's book is Glanris, a Memphis startup that turns rice hulls, the hard husks left over after milling, into a green water-filtration media that strips organic contaminants and dissolved metals from water. For a cooperative sitting on mountains of rice hulls, backing a company that turns that waste into a water filter is less a financial bet than a circular one.
Riceland's center of gravity is sustainability on the farm, not deals. Under President and CEO Kevin McGilton it pays members through a Carbon Ready program that rewards lower-emission rice growing, work that won a 2024 USA Rice sustainability award. The Glanris stake sits at the edge of that story, a way to wring both value and a water benefit out of the one thing every rice mill produces in excess.
For a water founder reading this, Riceland is a strategic backer, not a check-writing machine: one water company deep and most useful to a company whose technology plugs into rice, irrigation, or the byproducts of milling. (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment One-Off, and the open question is whether a cooperative this large ever treats water as more than an extension of its own crop.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 1 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Riceland invest in?
- Riceland is a farmer-owned rice cooperative, not a dedicated investor, so its investing is rare and strategic. The one water company (don't) Waste Water tracks in its portfolio is Glanris, which turns rice hulls into water-filtration media. The bet sits close to Riceland's own crop rather than reflecting a broad water thesis.
- Is Riceland a water investor?
- Riceland is not a water fund. It is the world's largest rice-miller cooperative, and its single tracked water investment is Glanris, the Memphis maker of rice-hull filtration media. (don't) Waste Water rates Riceland's water commitment One-Off as of 2026, reflecting that one strategic holding rather than an active water portfolio.
- Who runs Riceland?
- Riceland is led by President and CEO Kevin McGilton, who took the role in December 2023 after two decades at the cooperative. Ben Noble serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Craig Parr as Chief Financial Officer. As a cooperative, Riceland is ultimately owned and governed by its roughly 5,500 farmer-members.
- Why did Riceland invest in Glanris?
- Riceland invested in Glanris because the startup turns rice hulls, the husks left after milling, into water-filtration media. For a cooperative that produces rice hulls in huge volume, backing Glanris is a circular bet that adds value to its own byproduct while offering a cleaner alternative to traditional filters like activated carbon.
- Is Riceland the same as Riceland Foods?
- Yes. Riceland is the brand of Riceland Foods, Inc., the Arkansas rice and soybean cooperative founded in 1921. It should not be confused with unrelated namesakes such as RICELAND LTD, a Bulgarian grain exporter, or Riceland Healthcare, a Louisiana medical provider, which share only the Riceland name.