Senator Blunt

PORTAGEVILLE, MO -- The USA Rice Federation was a sponsor of the University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center's 53^rd annual field day held here this week.  More than 500 people, including producers, agribusiness representatives, and local, state, and national elected officials, attended an appreciation breakfast before the field tours.

Speakers at the breakfast included Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Representative Jason Smith (R-MO).  Senator Blunt spoke about the current challenges and opportunities for U.S. agriculture to meet the growing demand for food over the next few decades and the need to reign in government overreach of regulations for agriculture by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Representative Smith gave an overview of his two week listening tour throughout Missouri and also expressed concern about government overreach.

Representative Smith

The field tours highlighted research on rice, cotton, soybeans, crop protection, and crop monitoring.  One of the most popular tours was on UAV's, so-called "drones," the next high tech tool for agriculture.

USA Rice's Chuck Wilson participated in the field day and met with Missouri rice producers from around the region who reported that the crop looks good, and though coming in late, should be high quality.

Contact:  Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541

High tech ag

ARLINGTON, VA -- The USA Rice Federation is hosting an hour-long Twitter party on Wednesday, September 10 at 1 p.m. EST, to promote September as National Rice Month.  The Twitter party theme is "Reach for Rice" and the hashtag is #Foodiechats. USA Rice members with a Twitter account are encouraged to join the conversation by using and monitoring #Foodiechats.

"Our Twitter party in February was a resounding success, with the hashtag "Foodiechats" trending number one in 10 major cities and 20 smaller market cities," said Katie Maher, USA Rice's manager of domestic promotion.  "We're proud of the fact people were more interested in talking food and rice than assorted celebrity, sports, or even news topics in those markets.  We're hoping to duplicate that success next week with our Reach for Rice party."

Maher said hosting the Twitter party is a cost effective way to reach consumers open to learning about new food trends, and that she hopes rice companies and health professionals will join in next week, helping to spread the word about U.S.-grown rice during what will be a fast-paced exchange.  She added that interested individuals could contact her for a list of the discussion topics in advance.

Contact:  Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444

Around the Country

California's Drought Wipes Out Nearly One Quarter of State's $5 Billion Rice Crop  

CBS Sacramento

The impacts are great not only for the farmers but for the rural communities and also for the wildlife that depend on rice fields.

In the Parching West, It's Beginning to Feel Like 1159 New York Times

There are promising signs that politicians, farmers and other water users in the West are getting the message that a long verdant spell was the exception, not the rule. Hopefully, more focus on the science that reveals this will help prevent backsliding if rains briefly return.

Monsanto Under Attack for GMOs has a New Defender Wall Street Journal

After selling his tech startup, Climate Corp., to Monsanto, David Friedberg takes up the cause of modified crops in Silicon Valley.

Trade and Tariffs

Abe's Little Reshuffle Wall Street Journal

Koya Nishikawa as Agriculture Minister should be good news for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks. Mr. Nishikawa has headed a ruling party committee on the TPP, so with the farm portfolio in hand he could shepherd the final stages of negotiation.

Rice Tops List in New National Export Strategy The Nation

The Myanmar government has its eye on the European market for rice, because Myanmar rice hsd the advantage of being cheaper than rice from Vietnam and Thailand

On the Lighter Side

All the Times Rice Beat Us in the Game of Life Huffington Post

Rice wins at life. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.