California Waterfowl Association (CWA) will soon be soliciting applications for the Rice Levee, Road Edge, and Ag Corridor Program. This program is funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, through the Nesting Bird Habitat Incentive Program, which pays private landowners 80 cents per linear foot for the management of their internal rice levees or road edges for upland nesting bird species (Mallard, Gadwall, and Pheasant). To participate in this program, vegetation on rice levees and roads must be left from the previous growing season. Enrolled areas must be left undisturbed until July 15th. To find out more about the program or to apply, visit the California Waterfowl Association’s website.
The 2025 USA Rice Outlook Conference will bring the industry together to learn, network, and celebrate excellence. Keynote speakers Nik Badminton and Steve Lerch will talk about innovation and a futurist mindset. Education sessions will cover every aspect of rice farming, marketing, and agriculture policy, while conference-wide events will foster new partnerships and reenergize old ones.
Two major environmental permitting milestones were achieved in July for the Sites Reservoir project:
July 16: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a Biological Opinion assessing impacts on endangered and threatened species.
July 7: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife approved a Master Streambed Alteration Agreement allowing changes to local waterways at the construction site.
California Rice Field Day is set for Wednesday, August 27, at the Rice Experiment Station (RES) in Biggs. The annual event provides growers and others with an opportunity to see and discuss research in progress at the RES.
Elections for the CRC Board are underway. Ballots have been sent to all known eligible growers to vote in the 2025/26 elections. A reminder that the ballot must be postmarked and returned to CDFA by Friday, August 15, to be counted.
Tour participants spoke with industry members and toured mills, warehouses, driers, rice fields, and research facilities.
On July 15, 16 and 17, the California Rice Commission (CRC) hosted an industry tour with representatives from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The 5 members of the USEPA were from the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) and the 2 members of the USDA were from the Office of Pest Management Policy (OPMP)/Office of Chief Economist.
Growers will soon have an opportunity to vote in the 2025/26 CRC Board elections. Ballots will be sent to every grower on our elections list by July 25. Ballots must be returned to CDFA by August 15.
This year, the following seats are open:
District 1 (Butte County) – No open seats
District 2 (Colusa County – 0 member and 1 alternate seat
District 3 (Glenn and Tehama counties) – 1 member and 1 alternate seat
District 4 (Yuba and Sutter counties) – 3 member and 3 alternate seats
District 5 (Sacramento, San Joaquin, Placer, Yolo, and south counties) 2 member and 2 alternate seats
If you do not receive a ballot for every entity, please contact CDFA at 916-900-5018, and they will send you a ballot.
For more information, contact the CRC’s President & CEO, Tim Johnson, at tjohnson@calrice.org.
Producer nominations for the 2025-26 Board elections are now open. All eligible producers should receive a letter outlining the available seats and a nomination form. The form must be returned by July 15, 2025.
The following are the available seats:
Total Seats
Available Seats
District
Member
Alternate
Member
Alternate
3
3
-1
-1
District 1: Butte County
5
5
0
1
District 2: Colusa County
3
3
1
1
District 3: Glenn and Tehama counties, and counties north thereof
5
5
3
3
District 4: Yuba and Sutter counties
3
3
2
2
District 5: Sacramento, San Joaquin, Placer and Yolo counties, and counties south thereof
