The Arkansas Legislature recently passed a measure that sets strict definitions for a host of agricultural products, including rice, and requires food companies to accurately label their products. Gov. Asa Hutchison subsequently signed it into law, creating Act 501. The state legislation is an offshoot of efforts by USA Rice federally to have the Food and Drug Administration establish a ... Read More »
For the past several years, we have been taking on rice pretenders — that’s food marketed as some new-fangled rice that contains no rice at all. And last month, pretenders were dealt a heavy blow, thanks to a common-sense bill passed by the Arkansas Legislature that promotes truth in labeling of agricultural products. The bill establishes a standard of identity ... Read More »
Don’t look for any type of U.S. Department of Agriculture market reports, ag statistics or supply and demand estimates as long as the government remains shut down. That was the status update the USDA issued Dec. 28, 2018, one of the last days its public relations department was still working. Some functions, such as inspection of agricultural goods — including ... Read More »
It appears the Food and Drug Administration may begin enforcing a standard of identity that defines milk as a “lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows.” This would mean the plant-based beverages made from ingredients, such as almonds, soybeans, hemp and even rice, would have to change the term “milk” ... Read More »
I recently sat in on one day of the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau’s four-day Ag in the Classroom program. Now in its 32nd year, it is designed to educate the educators about the importance of ag in the county and of the job opportunities the industry can offer students down the line. Many of the participants, who grew up ... Read More »
Rice farmers at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station field day on June 27 will hear about research being conducted to help them grow a better crop. “This is an opportunity for our faculty members to tell rice producers about their work,” says Don Groth, resident coordinator at the station. “Since the station’s beginning in 1909, the ... Read More »
Faced with what they call potentially devastating cuts to research and educational programs, Louisiana State University AgCenter leaders have called on constituents to contact their local lawmakers and educate them on the importance of these programs. In a call-to-action letter to supporters, AgCenter leaders outlined the dire financial situation they face as a result of the state’s $650 million shortfall. ... Read More »
The rice pretender war is heating up this spring as USA Rice is registering formal complaints and offering recommended fixes to purveyors of what the trade group terms “rice pretenders.” “Rice pretenders are food products that are marketed as rice, but contain no rice at all,”says Paul Galvani, chairman of the USA Rice Domestic Promotion Committee that is spearheading this ... Read More »
House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) has introduced the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, House Resolution 2 — known informally as the 2018 Farm Bill. Read More »
Randy Jemison, retired Louisiana field representative for USA Rice, was honored recently by the Louisiana Rice Council and the Louisiana Rice Growers Association with a distinguished service award. Read More »
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