• Widespread Support for USDA Presence in Cuba

    Apr 08, 2016

    Earlier today, more than 60 state and national agriculture organizations and agribusinesses sent a letter to Capitol Hill requesting funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) positions that would be based in Cuba for FY 2017. Full story
  • On the Ground in Cuba

    Apr 07, 2016

    Two rice state representatives, Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR) and Congressman Ralph Abraham (R-LA), traveling with producers and millers from both states were welcomed here yesterday by Cuban Director of Foreign Trade and Investment Maria de la Luz B'Hamel Ramirez and the Director General of Alimport Alejandro Mustelier. Full story
  • Taiwan Emerging as New Market for Southern Medium and Long Grain Rice

    Apr 07, 2016

    Southern U.S. rice has taken a greater share of the Taiwan import market over the past two years. Taiwan began looking at southern U.S. long grain and medium grain rice to comply with their Country Specific Quota (CSQ)-USA commitment in 2014. They purchased 11,000 tons of long grain and 18,000 ton of medium grain from the South which arrived in Taiwan in the spring of 2015. Full story
  • USA Rice Applies for International Promotion Program Dollars

    Apr 06, 2016

    Earlier this week the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) announced the program application dates for 2017 for a series of FAS funded cost-share programs utilized to develop export markets for U.S. agricultural products. These programs include the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD), the Market Access Program (MAP), and the Emerging Markets Program (EMP), all of which USA Rice has utilized for a number of years to promote U.S. rice internationally. Full story
  • Arkansas Rice Depot and Arkansas Foodbank Merge

    Apr 05, 2016

    Last week, board members, volunteers, donors, and guests gathered here at an event held to recognize the momentous partnership between the Arkansas Rice Depot and Arkansas Foodbank. Full story
  • Shifting Sands in Iraq

    Apr 04, 2016

    Against a backdrop of an erratic tendering process in Iraq that has seen price competitive bids and even country specific tenders failing in recent months, the news now coming out of Baghdad is that a planned tender has been canceled. Full story
  • Illustration of proposed Trump-border wall made of rice Trump Wall, Like Its Chinese Counterpart, Could Be Made with Rice

    Apr 01, 2016

    Citing new project cost estimates that show the proposed Trump Wall between the U.S. and Mexico costing more than six times initial estimates, prospective designers have taken a play out of an ancient Chinese book and turned to rice as a possible lower cost building material. Full story
  • USTR Ag Chief Visits Arkansas to Talk TPP and Hear Rice Concerns

    Apr 01, 2016

    The chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Ambassador Darci Vetter, spent much of this week in Arkansas, visiting with rice farmers and millers participating in the Arkansas Farm Bureau meeting, and other agriculture groups as she continues to make the case for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, signed earlier this year. Full story
  • Growers: Don’t Use Our Data Against Us

    Mar 31, 2016

    Mississippi rice grower Noble Guedon represented the rice industry today at a meeting hosted by American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) focused on the use of electronic farm data. Specifically under discussion is the proprietary nature and use of data collected by global positioning systems and other harvest and input monitoring systems used in modern day farming equipment. Full story
  • Carbon Credit Program Targets Rice Growers

    Mar 31, 2016

    A new program is getting underway here that provides an opportunity for rice growers to participate in a voluntary carbon credit market if they practice Alternate Wetting and Drying (also referred to as Intermittent Flooding), or anticipate implementing Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) in 2016. Full story
  • Overall 2016 Rice Acreage Anticipated To Rise

    Mar 31, 2016

    Area planted for rice in 2016 is expected to total 3.06 million acres, 450,000 more than 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Prospective Plantings report released today. Planted acreage is forecast higher for all six major rice-producing states. Mississippi is expected to have the largest percentage increase of 47 percent from 150,000 to 220,000 acres followed by Texas at 42 percent from 133,000 to 189,000 acres. Full story
  • Amidst GMO Labeling Confusion, Rice Giant Gets Certified

    Mar 30, 2016

    A Vermont law, passed two years ago, requires all genetically engineered food sold in the state to be labeled by July 1, 2016. Last week, Congress failed to pass a measure that would have created a voluntary national standard for labeling — and also would have preempted Vermont's law. Full story
  • Fareway Dietitians Think Rice for “CentsAble” Health

    Mar 29, 2016

    From February through April, USA Rice is partnering with retail dietitians at Fareway, a Midwest grocery chain with more than 100 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska, to inform shoppers of the many benefits of U.S.-grown rice. The three month promotion kicked-off in February with a U.S. rice feature in the store magazine and also includes website and social media placements. Full story
  • Rice Leadership Class Session One: The Gulf Coast

    Mar 28, 2016

    Traditionally the Rice Leadership Development program’s first session occurs in the spring and begins with a tour through rice-producing areas of the Gulf Coast. Stops in Texas and Louisiana include examination of rice production, milling, marketing, research, and other aspects of the U.S. rice industry. Full story
  • DP- Bloggers Think Rice for National Nutrition Month 160325 Bloggers Think Rice 1.5 Million Times for National Nutrition Month

    Mar 25, 2016

    In honor of March National Nutrition Month, USA Rice hosted a two-week campaign with the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network to spread the U.S. rice message and share delicious rice recipes with people across the country. Full story
  • USA Rice Promotions Tailor-Made in Mexico

    Mar 24, 2016

    This month, USA Rice conducted two promotions here, one large and one small, with the shared goal of increasing awareness and use of U.S.-grown rice. Full story
  • Accurate Rough Rice Price Reporting Critical to the Industry

    Mar 23, 2016

    Many in the rice industry are in the process of completing the National Agriculture Statistic Service's (NASS) monthly Rough Rice price questionnaire for March 2016. Full story
  • Agriculture Tops the Trends at Culinary Conference

    Mar 23, 2016

    WASHINGTON, DC -- This weekend, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) held its annual conference to facilitate an exchange of information, knowledge, and inspiration within the professional food community. In attendance were hundreds of culinary professionals including, chefs, food media, culinary school instructors, food writers, marketers, nutritionists, and academics. Full story
  • GA-Rice-Grading-at-RiceTec-160322 Federal Rice Grading Standards Up for Review

    Mar 22, 2016

    This week USA Rice submitted comments for the five-year review of United States Standards for Rough Rice, Brown Rice for Processing, and Milled Rice. The standards are maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) and facilitate the marketing of rice in foreign and domestic trade, and provide a uniform measure of quality by providing a common language to describe commodity attributes for U.S. producers, exporters, and their customers. Full story
  • ITP-Vilsack-in-Cuba-Rice-Aisle-in-2015-160321 New Agreements for U.S.-Cuba Agriculture Sectors Announced During Historic Visit

    Mar 21, 2016

    Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who is traveling with President Obama on his historic visit to Cuba this week, announced today that agricultural commodity groups receiving funding from federal check-offs or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Marketing Orders for research and promotion activities are now able to use their resources in preparing for normalized trade with the country. USA Rice promotion activities were not impacted by today’s announcement because, when conducting promotion activities in Cuba, USA Rice uses state-generated resources that are not subject to federal check-off restrictions. Full story

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