CALIFORNIA RICE COUNTRY – Last week, the California Rice Commission (CRC) hosted its Annual Grower Meetings in Williams and Yuba City. Over the course of the two meetings, California rice farmers heard about the latest developments on key issues facing the rice industry, including federal farm bill policy, state and federal politics, the latest on the Sites project, and key CRC program activities.
The program included updates on state issues, including expectations for the outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom, and the outlook for the 2026 elections. Additionally, there was a federal update that included a retrospective on the first year of President Trump’s second term, and what the industry can expect as we enter 2026.
To kick off the program, rice farmer and CRC Chair Josh Sheppard welcomed attendees, and introduced Jake Westlin, vice president of government affairs for USA Rice, and USA Rice Chair Keith Glover, who made brief remarks.
“We greatly appreciate the hospitality of California’s rice industry and for including USA Rice in their excellent program,” said Glover. “Our CRC members bring valuable perspective to our national organization and always come prepared to our meetings and fly-ins as we work to advocate for our collective industry needs.”
Following reports by CRC’s state and federal lobbyists, Westlin provided an update on the rice industry’s national lobbying strategy.
During his update on A New Farm Bill, he provided a review of the USA Rice policy priorities that were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, an overview of the recently announced Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, and efforts to secure additional economic assistance, and an outlook on Farm Bill 2.0.
“This was my first CRC annual meeting and I found it to be informative and well-run, and the attendees to be welcoming and generous with their time,” Westlin said. “I appreciate getting to share some thoughts and to get feedback from the California industry.”