Arlington, Virginia
June 12, 2009
Group will lead industry effort
to advance and communicate new program
Responding to growing interest in
the issue of agricultural sustainability, the USA Rice
Federation board of directors has established the
USA Rice Federation
Sustainability Task Force. The mission of the task force is to
guide the development of a sustainability statement and program
that can serve the rice industry’s interests in farm policy and
domestic and international rice marketing by:
- capitalizing on existing
initiatives and programs that encourage sustainable
agricultural production.
- developing programs and
incentives in future farm policy to reward sustainable
production methods and the benefits they may provide to the
environment, the public and the economy.
- developing a comprehensive
statement to show customers and others that rice is grown
sustainably.
- creating a
pro-sustainability profile to differentiate U.S.-grown rice
from rice produced in other countries.
“The U.S. rice industry has a long
history of protecting its natural resources and ecosystems,” USA
Rice Federation Chairman Jamie Warshaw said. “With the creation
of the Sustainability Task Force, the industry now has the means
to advance these principles and practices, and to communicate
the industry’s commitment to sustainably produced rice to
policy-makers, consumers and customers,” Warshaw said.
Jennifer James, a rice producer from Newport, AR, will serve as
chair of the Sustainability Task Force, whose members include
rice producers Daniel Berglund, TX; Don Bransford and Leo
LaGrande, CA; John Owen and Jeff Durand, LA; Ray Vester, AR; and
Marvin Cochran, MS; as well as Bill Reed, Riceland Foods; Mark
Denman, RiceTec, Inc.; John Hasbrook, SunWest Milling Company,
Inc.; Philip de Bruyn, Mars Food USA; Keith Glover, Producers
Rice Mill; and Glenn Nevins, Anheuser-Busch.
The task force includes an advisory group of academic and
industry members who will provide technical assistance and
guidance. Members of the advisory group are rice researchers Mo
Way, Texas A & M University; Terry Siebenmorgan, University of
Arkansas; Steve Linscombe, Louisiana State University; Kent
Mckenzie, University of California at Davis; and Tim Walker,
Mississippi State University. California Rice Commission staff
members Tim Johnson, president and CEO, and Paul Buttner,
environmental affairs manager, complete the advisory group.
The USA Rice Federation is the global advocate for all
segments of the U.S. rice industry with a mission to promote and
protect the interests of producers, millers, merchants and
allied businesses. |
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