Riceland Foods Leadership Class Visits USA Rice During DC Visit

ARLINGTON, VA – “Sustainability” is a buzzword in agriculture circles and especially in Washington, DC.  The first image that comes to mind, more often than not, is of healthy fields, clean waterways, and thriving wildlife.  But there’s another important element of sustainability: ensuring the long-term viability of the industry.  And to do that, leaders are needed, and future leaders of the cooperative and the industry must be developed and encouraged.  So it was that USA Rice welcomed the newest class of Riceland Foods’ In-Depth Leadership Class to headquarters here this week.

Every two years, a varied group of farmer members and Riceland team members are selected to participate in the leadership class.  The program has four sessions geared towards different attributes of the cooperative – the Riceland organization and business structure, rice milling, ag policy, and national issues.  This week, the class traveled to Washington, DC, to meet with various government agencies, agriculture industry leaders, and policy makers.

This year’s farmer members are Matthew Ahrent of Corning, AR; Tyler Boeckmann of Wynne, AR; Drew Flowers of Palestine, AR; Board Member John Hamilton of Griffithville, AR; Matt Howton of Palestine, AR; John McEntire of Humphrey, AR; and Ben Nobles of Poplar Bluff, MO.

Riceland team members are Rob Wilson, north central regional manager; Daniel Bryant, north Arkansas and Missouri regional manager; Austin Brown, assistant director of sustainability; Adam Shea, senior director of sustainability; Bill Free, director of member relations; and Kevin McGilton, vice president of government affairs and chief of staff.

USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward hosted the group for a wide-ranging and open discussion of topics from the 2023 Farm Bill, non-barriers to trade, and the check-off program to the hundreds of rice promotion events the group sponsors around the globe each year and the effect of podcasts and social media on effective messaging.

USA Rice staff joining the discussion were Cameron Jacobs, senior director of domestic promotion; Jamison Cruce, senior director of government affairs; Peter Bachmann, vice president of policy & government affairs; Rebecca Greenway, chief financial officer; Michael Klein, vice president of communications & domestic promotion; and Sarah Moran, vice president of international.

Other stops on the Riceland DC tour included the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Canadian Embassy, the Ducks Unlimited office, and, of course, Capitol Hill, where they met with staff from the House Agriculture Committee, and visited the offices of Arkansas legislators Senator John Boozman and Representative Rick Crawford.

"Our program is vital to cultivating the next generation of leaders for our industry,” said Riceland’s McGilton.  “Growing our food is very complicated, but there’s so much more to agriculture after the rice or beans leave the farm.  Exposing our member-owners to the complex and sometimes confusing world of government and ag policy serves them and all of us well.  I don’t know anyone who has gone through the program and not felt better equipped on the other side.  The USA Rice team did a great job of cutting through the issues and getting to the core of how things get done in Washington.”