Feb 13, 2015
ALEXANDRIA and DELHI, LOUISIANA -- USA Rice staff continued their travel through the Pelican State this week to brief growers at the Central Louisiana Rice Growers Association membership meeting and the Northeast Louisiana Rice Growers Association rice forum.
USA Rice Vice President of Government Affairs Ben Mosely stressed to growers that time is running out for them to make base acre reallocations and yield updates under the new farm bill.
"You have until February 27th to make changes and I don't see any indication that USDA is going to be offering extensions," Mosely said. "If you miss this opportunity, not only are you stuck for five years, but you're leaving money on the table right now."
USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward shared information on key markets and what new and expanding market access could mean for Louisiana's growers.
"I'm confident we can recapture most of the Cuban market once the legal and legislative hurdles have been cleared," she offered. "And frankly, given your proximity to Cuba, you are poised to benefit perhaps the most."
Michael Klein, USA Rice's Vice President of Marketing, Communications & Domestic Promotion, updated attendees on exciting domestic promotion activities that are paid for by the state's check-off contributions.
"Our popular classroom outreach programs are a very effective grassroots education initiative," he told audiences. "We work with educators to teach kids about rice, and they in turn teach their parents, friends, neighbors, and families. We reach thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of kids in all six rice states magnifying our message. The true value of the impact is difficult to measure, but that's what we do - we stretch those promotion dollars as far as we can."
"We appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to the growers to share with them just a few of the things we are working on their behalf," Ward said. "I also value the feedback we receive from them that we take back to Washington."
Contact: Randy Jemison (337) 738-7009