Farmers know better than anyone that not every year is going to be easy, but 2019 has certainly tried our collective patience. With heavy rain and even flooding across the country this spring, planting was delayed and almost 750,000 acres never got planted. With more than half of the U.S. rice crop exported annually, ongoing trade disputes, retaliatory tariffs and ... Read More »
• By Lesley Dixon • More and more businesses, consumers and governments are looking for ways to decrease their single-use plastic consumption, and disposable plastic straws have become a lightning rod in the worldwide effort to reduce plastic waste. Recently, scientists and manufacturers have turned to a new material that could make single-use plastics in the foodservice industry obsolete: rice. ... Read More »
High school seniors in the six U.S. rice-producing states have a chance to compete for $8,500 in scholarships in USA Rice’s annual National Rice Month Scholarship Contest. Applicants will create a 3-minute original video on a rice-related topic, including rice production, healthy eating or sustainability. The grand-prize winner will receive a $4,000 scholarship and a trip with a chaperone this ... Read More »
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 »
Horizon Ag Clearfield rice and Provisia rice varieties – CL163 and PVL01 – ranked among the top three varieties for quality in a recent cooking test that compared samples from a previous shipment of U.S. rice to Brazilian and Nicaraguan varieties. The cooking test was part of a recent USA Rice mission to distribute long-grain rice samples to the two ... Read More »
By now, it cannot be doubted that the U.S. rice industry leads the way when it comes to sustainability in agriculture. Whether it’s providing essential wildlife habitat, conserving water and soil, or technical innovations that use less energy and decrease emissions, rice farmers and millers have made enormous strides in the past 30 years and continue to dedicate themselves to ... Read More »
To say you’re sustainable is one thing. But to put numbers to that statement — and numbers that show substantial improvement in using resources more efficiently — is quite another. USA Rice recently released the executive summary of its “2018 U.S. Rice Industry Sustainability Report” that cataloged the industry’s improvements during the past 36 years. We’re not talking small gains, ... Read More »
USA Rice truck tour gives away free rice cookers to help dispel fears of cooking rice. • By Vicky Boyd, Editor • USA Rice took to the road this fall to promote the virtues of U.S.-grown rice and try to demystify cooking of the grain. As part of the #RideWithRice program, USA Rice staff in a bright green decorated pick-up truck ... Read More »
The Louisiana rice industry donated more than 100,000 pounds of rice in late September to feed the state’s hungry as part of National Rice Month. Early in the week, south Louisiana rice mills donated about 50,000 pounds of rice to the Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Kennedy Rice Mill of Mer Rouge donated 48,000 pounds the following day in ... Read More »
If you know a grower or entity that has embraced sustainability through innovative practices and leadership, they might be a perfect candidate for the second annual USA Rice Sustainability Award. Now in its second year, the award is designed to highlight rice’s unique environmental qualities and the men and women who improve its sustainability every day, according to a new ... Read More »
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