It’s been a great month celebrating a great grain!
Sep 28, 2023
RICE COUNTRY, USA – Harvest reports from across the U.S. are encouraging. Mother Nature has been cooperative, for the most part. Yields are good and spirits – especially those that are rice-based, are high.
“National Rice Month has also been a big success,” said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. “The countless events, promotions, and campaigns put U.S.-grown rice in the spotlight. I hope you’ve had a chance to join in at some point. It’s been a great month celebrating a great grain!”
Mississippi Rice – Field to Fork to Festival
MERIGOLD, MS -- Hundreds of people convened here last week for the Delta Rice Promotion Annual Rice Fest. This year’s festivities included a Rice Hole Tournament and a sampling menu of delicious rice dishes from local restaurants, plus children’s face painting and hands-on activities, vendors, and live music.
USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited were on hand, sharing booth space as well as the message that “what’s good for ducks is good for rice!” when telling the crop’s sustainability story.
The highlight of the evening was the crowning of the 2023 Delta Rice Queen, Keeton Murrell of Washington County, and Delta Rice Ambassador, Holt Fortner of Bolivar County.
Delta Rice Promotions, the organization dedicated to promoting U.S.-grown, and more specifically, Mississippi-grown rice, has celebrated National Rice Month (NRM) on the third Thursday of September for 33 years.
“The Rice Fest serves as a reminder to thank our farmers and all those in the rice industry for putting a wholesome grain on our table – one provided locally to us from field to fork,” said Laura Jane Giaccaglia, the Bolivar County extension coordinator for Mississippi State University who organized the event.
Celebrations and Donations Mark National Rice Month in Louisiana
CROWLEY, LA – The Louisiana rice industry celebrates National Rice Month doing what they do best – cooking and sharing the region’s homegrown rice!
Throughout the month, annual cooking competitions from the Port of Lake Charles to Jennings to Crowley reward rice chefs with prizes, recognition, and bragging rights. Mary Jemison, a former USA Rice staffer who came out of retirement to judge one of the contests, said, “This is never an easy task. These folks can not only cook, but are super creative when it comes to using rice in their dishes.”
Rice donations are another important NRM tradition here. Last weekend, Louisiana rice millers made their annual rice donation to Second Harvest Food Bank with contributions from Falcon Rice Mill, Farmers Rice Mill, Supreme Rice Mill, and the new South Louisiana Rail Facility Rice Mill. The NELA Food Bank in Monroe received generous support from The NELA Rice Growers and Kennedy Rice Mill in Mer Rouge. At the presentation, Kennedy Rice CEO Meryl Kennedy Farr said, “What better to way to celebrate National Rice Month and National Hunger Awareness Month, than giving back to those in need in our community.”
USDA Farmers Market Celebrates NRM
WASHINGTON, DC – The USA Rice promotion team hosted a pop-up at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farmers Market last week to promote NRM, hold a rice variety tasting, and distribute samples of U.S.-grown rice.
The market is held on Fridays from May through October and is organized by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). USA Rice debuted at the market in 2019 during the Ride with Rice tour through the mid-Atlantic, and visited once more in 2021.
“Both the market organizers and marketgoers were thrilled to have USA Rice back to celebrate NRM,” said Aisha Grisby, USA Rice director of international promotion who was on hand to staff the booth again.
Booth visitors were given free samples of domestic rice and got to taste test freshly-cooked rice samples, learning in real time the differences between varieties.
“I believe we left everyone with a newfound appreciation of U.S.-grown rice and the desire to seek out the Grown in the USA logo the next time they shop for rice,” said Grisby.