Farm Bill Speaker Larry Combest Set for Annual Arkansas Rice Meeting on Jan. 29

Brinkley, AR, January 10, 2008 — Larry Combest, former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and a legislative consultant for the USA Rice Federation, will speak at the Arkansas Rice Council and Rice Producers’ Group joint annual meeting on Tuesday, January 29 at the Brinkley Convention Center.

The program also will include presentations from the USA Rice Federation, including a report on activities to promote U.S.-grown rice domestically and updates on international markets. USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward will present the annual financial report.

“We hold this joint meeting each year to report to the Arkansas rice industry how promotion funds are put to work and to provide timely information on other important issues,” said Arkansas Rice Council President Robert Petter, a rice farmer from Tollville. “I encourage all rice farmers and others in our state’s rice industry to attend this meeting.”

The meeting will get underway at 9:30 a.m. and conclude with lunch.

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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.