National Rice Month Scholarship Deadline Oct. 17

Arlington, VA, October 3, 2008 — High school juniors and seniors whose families are directly involved in the rice industry and who conducted a promotion campaign during September National Rice Month (NRM) with U.S.-grown rice as the central theme, have until Oct. 17 to enter the NRM Scholarship contest. Students from the rice-growing states of Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas are eligible.

The grand prize is a $3,500 scholarship, with nine additional scholarship prizes available, all totaling $10,000. Additional prizes are: second place, $2,000; third place, $1,500; fourth place, $1,000; fifth place, $750; and sixth place, $500. Three honorable mention prizes of $250 each are also available.

The winner and a chaperone will also receive an expense-paid trip to the 2008 USA Rice Outlook Conference, Dec. 7-9, in Little Rock, AR, for the scholarship presentation.

NRM Scholarship Contest entry forms can be downloaded from the USA Rice Federation Web site at www.usarice.com. Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, impact, promotion of U.S.-grown rice and NRM, and demonstration of the importance of the rice industry to your local area.

Completed entry forms and related materials should be sent to: USA Rice Federation, ATTN: Tony Somers, 4301 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 425, Arlington, VA 22203-1616.

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY OCT. 17, 2008. Winners will be notified by November 7, 2008.

CONTACT: Randy Jemison, (337) 738-7009, rjemison@usarice.com