My food story— —August —’24 16 COOPERATORS important agronomic advantages. Crustaceans and fish also benefit from rice fields. Over 90 percent of America’s supply of crawfish comes from Louisiana rice fields. Rice farmers flood their rice fields after harvest, and crawfish flourish in the fields. California rice farmers are looking into utilizing winter flooded rice fields to rear young wild salmon with encouraging results. These are just the beginning of new ways that rice fields can be utilized outside of simply growing delicious rice. When it comes to promotions and partnerships, USA Rice has conducted various activities in over two dozens countries around the world, spreading the word about U.S. rice’s high quality, safety, nutritional values, and sustainability. Our promotional activities run the gamut, from social media influencers, billboards, and A global advocate for sustainable farming, USA Rice is a trade association representing all segments of the U.S. rice industry. With over 5,000 farmers growing various types of rice over a stretch of nearly three million acres in six different U.S. states, our members strive to provide healthy and sustainable food to millions. While rice is consumed worldwide, the story of U.S. rice production is quite different. This tiny but mighty grain grown by our farmers packs a nutritional punch, supplying the consumer with energy, protein, fiber, antioxidants, complex carbohydrates, and more. What’s more, our rice is gluten-free, cholesterol-free, GMO-free, and easy to digest, making it the perfect food source for people with food intolerances. U.S. rice farmers respect the land they work, 96 percent of U.S. rice farms are family owned, passing down knowledge and expertise through several generations. Over the past four decades, improved sustainability practices have led to increased crop yields and land use efficiency, all with reduced water and energy use, as well as reduced greenhouse gas emissions. We are proud to share that our rice fields provide many acres of life-sustaining resources for wildlife. Over half of North America’s ducks and waterfowl winter in a U.S. rice field; this wintering habitat has an estimated value of $3.4 billion. Foraging waterbirds, in turn, give back to the land in a myriad of ways as they search for grains left after harvest, helping to increase soil nutrients, and straw decomposition, reducing weed and insect pressure, and providing other USA RICE FEDERATION Pioneering sustainable agriculture and premium rice production Discover how USA Rice, one of the nation’s largest rice production organizations, champions sustainable farming practices and provides top-quality, GMO-free rice for millions
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