USA Rice Producers' Group Chairman   John Owen

JENNINGS, LA -- Last night at the annual Louisiana growers meeting, USA Rice Producers' Group Chairman John Owen announced that USA Rice, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA), has secured an accelerated payment calendar for rice farmers.  Producers of medium and long grain rice in the mid-South will receive their Farm Bill program payment in early November and it will be based on final price numbers in the five southern rice states.

Under the original National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reporting calendar, Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) program payments to rice farmers were scheduled to come out as late as February 2016.  Recognizing this put a financial strain on rice farmers,  Owen and USA Rice Federation Chairman Dow Brantley sent a detailed letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in January suggesting a different methodology be adopted to determine timing of the ARC and PLC payments.

At a House Ag Committee hearing this morning, Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR) personally thanked Secretary Vilsack and the FSA team for "going out of your way to help America's rice farmers.  Timely payment is of the essence for producers seeking to repay loans and to demonstrate to lenders that they can sustain cash flow for another year."

"It was great to be able to announce this positive development at a growers' meeting," said Owen.  "We appreciate the Secretary's willingness to work with USA Rice on behalf of America's rice farmers." 

Contact:  Ben Mosely (703) 236-1471

From left:  Dr. Mike Strain, USA Rice CEO Betsy Ward, International Rice Queen Ali Hoffpauir, LARC President Eric Unkel, and LARGA President Jeffrey Sylvester

JENNINGS, LA -- The Grand Marais Center was packed here last night for the annual joint meeting of the Louisiana Rice Council (LARC) and Louisiana Rice Growers Association (LARGA).  More than 225 attendees visited with exhibitors, heard remarks from the Commissioner of Louisiana's Department of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain, USA Rice Federation representatives, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist, Kevin Norton.

After concluding the official business of the organizations, USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward shared market updates on Cuba, Iraq, and China.  Included in her remarks was a "thank you" to Dr. Strain for his leadership on the Iraq rice tender issue, including his meetings with the U.S. State Department last month.

"As you can see, we're always trying to find ways to improve your viability," Ward told the crowd, "and improving and expanding trade opportunities is a clear way to do that."

USA Rice Vice President of Marketing, Communications, and Domestic Promotion Michael Klein updated attendees on domestic promotion initiatives and how USA Rice is integrating what they learned during consumer focus groups.

"We know the public has great respect for farmers, loves conservation and sustainability, and likes to eat local whenever they can," he said.  "Our promotion programs are designed to capitalize on this to help grow domestic markets for U.S.-grown rice."

Ben Mosely, USA Rice's vice president of government affairs, also addressed the crowd, highlighting the legislative challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for the industry.

"Since 2010 there has been a fifty percent turnover in the House of Representatives," he explained.  "That's more than 200 Members of Congress who have never worked on a Farm Bill or really know what it takes to get one done.  We've already started educating these folks to prepare for legislative battles we may not have for several years."

Capacity crowd

Commissioner Strain also spoke, emphasizing the economic impact agriculture has had on the state economy, and how vital trade is for the sector.  He also spoke out harshly and passionately against the proposed Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule.

"I'll make it real simple to remember," Strain said.  "Waters of the U.S.?  WOTUS?  Woe to us is more like it!"

The featured speaker of the evening was NRCS State Conservationist Kevin Norton who talked about the many conservation programs available to Louisiana's rice farmers.

"These programs are getting competitive, but rice is very competitive from a conservation standpoint," he said.

Norton said the state's rice farmers do a good job of taking advantage of programs such as EQIP and CSP which recognize their contributions to conservation, but more can always be done, specifically pointing to the Regional Conservation Partnership Programs (RCPP) developed by USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited.

"You can sit back and watch change happen around you, or you can get involved in the RCPP like the rice industry has done, and shape change and build the program," Norton said.

Contact:  Randy Jemison (337) 515-7250

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