U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) led a bipartisan group of rice-state representatives in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that expresses concerns and seeks specific responses about Brazil's use of a government sponsored domestic marketing and pricing initiative for rice exports. The Program for Product Flow (PEP) gives an unfair advantage to Brazil's rice exports, the letter says....More

Those who turn their noses up at “genetically modified” food seldom seem to consider that all crops are genetically modified. The difference between a wild plant and one that serves some human end is a lot of selective breeding—the picking and combining over the years of mutations that result in bigger seeds, tastier fruit or whatever else is required....More

U.S. rice mills shipped nearly 12 billion pounds of rice to domestic and international markets from August 2010 to July 2011 -- an 8 percent increase over the 2009-2010 figure....More

For the first time, a study provides data to support that rice is a positive addition to U.S. children's diets, which is important given the focus on preventing childhood obesity....More

The 2012 Rice Leadership Development Program class participated in its first session April 2-6, with a weeklong look at rice production and marketing programs in the Gulf Coast states of Texas and Louisiana....More