FOUNTAIN CITY, WI – Yesterday, USA Rice participated in an event with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack here at
Great River Organic Milling, part of Columbia Grain International, and its subsidiary Enrich Foods, to commemorate the launch of the first commercially produced ‘Climate Smart’ rice.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), began accepting and awarding grants under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program. USA Rice Enterprise Partner member, AgriCapture, was a recipient of $7.5 million to develop a market for climate-friendly rice, which included pioneering a measurement and verification process that certifies reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in what they’re calling Climate-Friendly Certified by AgriCapture.
AgriCapture contracted with approximately 30 rice growers across Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi to grow rice under their Climate-Friendly Rice Standard on an estimated 20,000 acres in 2023. The rice is identity preserved and then marketed to buyers, like Columbia Grain International, where it is repacked at Great River Organic Milling into retail and wholesale packaging with a seal indicating that it’s Climate-Friendly Certified by AgriCapture.
One of several speakers during the celebratory event was Jim Whitaker—a fifth-generation farmer from McGehee, Arkansas, a leader within USA Rice, and a strategic advisor for AgriCapture. Before introducing Secretary Vilsack, Whitaker shared his family and his farm’s sustainability story, and outlined his drive for getting involved in growing rice for AgriCapture’s project, including trying new practices and proving that you can meet ambitious sustainability targets while also maintaining yields, even though it takes a lot of work. Whitaker emphasized the need to preserve his family’s operation so that the sixth generation, who was at home taking care of the farm, could continue that legacy.
Whitaker told the crowd of more than 100 that, “the Climate Smart grants are probably going to be the single greatest tool to move the U.S. rice industry into the next era of sustainability and conservation.”
Secretary Vilsack held up the first bag of rice that was packaged by Great River Organic Milling through the grant, and excitedly shared that it marked an important milestone for him and for U.S. farmers as the first commercially produced product to come out of the $3 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Program.
USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann also attended the event and said, “We are excited about AgriCapture’s project making it to the market so quickly, and we’re both proud and unsurprised that U.S.-grown rice was the first to the finish line out of all of the commodities involved in the Climate Smart grants across the country. Our industry is full of early adopters, and we have so many farmers willing to further advance our sustainability goals using innovative irrigation methods and other energy and water-reducing techniques. We thank Secretary Vilsack for recognizing AgriCapture and the rice industry’s work this week, and look forward to seeing a number of other innovative marketing initiatives come from the other USDA-funded Climate Smart grants that include rice.”