ARLINGTON, VA – While insiders know U.S.-grown rice is one of the most sustainable and responsibly grown crops in the world, telling that story to those who are unaware is increasingly important. To help recognize the crop’s unique environmental qualities and the men and women who improve rice’s sustainability every day, USA Rice launched a Sustainability Award last year to identify and promote prime examples.
The USA Rice Sustainability Award is open to individuals or entities with significant involvement in the U.S. rice industry and with a history of promoting and advancing sustainability through innovative practices and demonstrated leadership in the sustainability community.
“We are looking for men and women and companies who embody sustainability by their actions and who are willing to share their vision of the future and commitment to the environment and help others follow in their footsteps,” said Jennifer James, an Arkansas rice farmer who chairs the USA Rice Sustainability Committee. “While sustainability is becoming a buzzword in nearly every industry, the rice industry has been incorporating it for years, and with the establishment of the USA Rice Sustainability Award we have taken our rightful place at the forefront of the sustainability movement.”
The first annual USA Rice Sustainability award was given to Jim Whitaker, an Arkansas rice farmer whose family-run operation employs sustainable farming practices through use of precision land forming, flood control structures, on-farm water storage, and deployment of irrigation technology and new irrigation techniques. The Whitaker Family operation also was an integral part of the group that sold the first-ever voluntary carbon credits generated from U.S. rice farmers.
The award committee is now accepting nominations through September 28, 2018, and the award will be presented at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in San Diego, California on December 10.
The application form can be found
here.