Ag Policy

The American Farm Bureau Federation presented its highest honor—the Distinguished Service Award—to Bob Stallman, a Texas rice and cattle producer. Before spending 16 years as president of AFBF, he was president of the Texas Farm Bureau from 1993 to...

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will be the featured speaker at the Louisiana Rice Council and the Louisiana Rice Growers Association annual joint membership meeting, Feb. 7, in Jennings. The meeting of the state’s two largest grower organizations will be...

The Arkansas Agriculture Department would like to remind potential applicants that it is accepting applications for the 2015 Arkansas Century Farm program. The program recognizes Arkansas’s rich agricultural heritage and honors families who have owned and farmed the same...

California rice farmers reduced water usage long before the drought By Tim Johnson California Rice Commission In the upcoming weeks, the Sacramento Valley will look far from a drought. Farmers will start planting crops, joining the already fully leafed orchards. It will...

Rice Market & Technology Convention goes to Cancun, Mexico! Building on the success of last year’s big event in San Jose, Costa Rica, the 2015 Rice Market & Technology Convention (RMTC 2015) is heading to Mexico, the largest rice-importing country...

Farmers prepare for the possibility of new curtailments By Ching Lee Calif. Farm Bureau Federation When it came, the notice was disappointing but not surprising: The State Water Resources Control Board warned farmers, ranchers and other people with water rights...

Charles Eames, an American designer who was born a few years into the 20th century and worked in the industrial and graphic design fields, once said, “Eventually, everything connects – people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is...

Risk management tool sparks questions from farmers Editor’s Note: When the new Farm Bill was signed into law, the spotlight beamed brightly on crop insurance. Ethan Branscum, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation Assistant Director of Commodity Activities & Economics offers answers...

In 1961, representing more than half a century gone by, the United States severed all ties with Cuba, and U.S. rice began disappearing from Cuban dinner tables, grocery store shelves and restaurants. Prior to the embargo, Cuba was one...

USDA allows statement that transgenic rice is out of the supply. The USA Rice Federation is pleased to report that the U.S. rice industry scored a significant, and perhaps ultimate, victory earlier this year when, after eight years of intense...

By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice Federation With a population of 25.2 million, per capita income of $3,400 and real GDP growth estimated at 7 percent in 2012, the coastal African nation of Ghana is actually one of the wealthiest...

Americans should continue to supply the commodities. By Johnny Broussard Director Industry Affairs & Communications USA Rice Federation USA Rice Federation strongly opposes President Barack Obama's proposed budget changes for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 operation of the United States' humanitarian overseas food...

The first shipments arrived in Columbia in November 2012. BY SARAH WINNAN MANAGER, INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION USA RICE FEDERATION Colombia has become a potential growth market for U.S. rice exports, following the implementation of the U.S-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) this year. As required by...

USRPA, FEDEARROZ and INDUARROZ maintain ongoing dialogue. BY DWIGHT ROBERTS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER USRPA The finalizing of the new U.S.- Colombia Free Trade Agreement during 2012 has to be one of the bright spots for the U.S. rice industry. Now with duty...

Draft protocol is being updated and adjusted for Chinese review. By Dwight Roberts President and Chief Executive Officer USRPA Let’s talk about a subject that would have been a dream just a few years ago. Yes, this is not your grandfather’s market. China: Are you...