Chris Isbell accepts this year's Distinguished Conservation Award
Dec 14, 2022
AUSTIN, TX – The U.S. rice industry bolsters our longstanding commitment to conservation and sustainability each year by recognizing industry leaders to showcase their stewardship efforts in preserving wildlife habitat and efficient use of natural resources.
At the Awards Luncheon for the 2022 USA Rice Outlook Conference last Thursday, California rice grower and Chair of the USA Rice Conservation Committee Leo LaGrande presented the 2022 Distinguished Conservation Achievement Award to Isbell Farms of Lonoke, Arkansas.
“The Isbells are leaders for USA Rice as well as their community with adoption of cutting-edge conservation technologies on land they’ve farmed for nearly 100 years,” said LaGrande.
Isbell Farms has a gold ranking on the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform – a global certification tool for farmers to assess their sustainability performance. They were the proud recipients of the 2016 Commitment to Quality Award from the American Carbon Registry for their efforts in sustainable rice production, and they were an integral part of the group that sold the first-ever voluntary carbon credits generated from U.S. rice farmers.
“We see our work as a collaborative effort,” said Chris Isbell, who accepted the award on behalf of his family’s operation. “Working across generations on the farm but also with researchers from the University of Arkansas and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to figure out how to reduce methane production, increase energy efficiency, and create wildlife habitat.”
The USA Rice Sustainability Award was created in 2016 to recognize the efforts of all segments of the industry to not only conserve natural resources, but to find innovative ways to address all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social sustainability. A subcommittee of the USA Rice Sustainability Committee chooses the winner based on several criteria, including leadership in the industry and broader sustainability community, and a history of promoting and advancing sustainability through innovative practices.
Kennedy Rice received the 2022 USA Rice Sustainability Award in recognition of the company’s goal to take a little grain and make a big difference in the world.
“We see it as our responsibility to better the lives of our community, customers, employees, and future markets,” said Kennedy Rice CEO Meryl Kennedy Farr. “A commitment to humanity and nature is at the core of our beliefs, and we accomplish that by working with local suppliers and family farmers who share our vision of growing select rice varieties, with full traceability from farm to table, while also improving the environment.”
Rice has been part of the Kennedy family legacy since 1964 with the founding of the farm and rice mill by Meryl’s father, Elton Kennedy. Today, Elton’s four daughters market their own retail rice brand, 4Sisters Rice, that uses methods and practices that support sustainability through people, land, water, energy, and the climate.
“Conservation and sustainability have subtle differences, but for USA Rice members, they share a common goal – to preserve productive ricelands for future generations,” said Mark Isbell, son of Chris Isbell and vice chair of the USA Rice Sustainability Committee who presented the Kennedy Rice award. “And we’re proud to honor those leaders in our industry who work hard to achieve that goal.”