USA Rice Federation President and CEO Betsy Ward and Communications Manager Rob Yunich participated in the annual rice field day at the Rice Experiment Station.

The field day, hosted by the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF), the University of California, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides an opportunity to learn more about the facility's ongoing research. Attendees learned about rice variety development, insecticides and weed control.

The field day program began with the CCRRF annual membership meeting, at which industry veteran James R. Erdman received the 2010 California Rice Industry Award. The meeting also included the presentation of the 2010 D. Marlin Brandon Rice Research Fellowship to Mark Lundy. The fellowship provides financial assistance to students pursuing careers in rice production science and technology.

The Rice Experiment Station was founded in 1912 and provides invaluable research information to the California rice industry.

In addition to the field day, Ward attended meetings of the Farmers Rice Cooperative board of directors and California Rice Commission executive committee and visited Far West Rice in Durham and Lundberg Family Farms in Richvale. During his visit to the state's rice growing region, Yunich toured Montna Farms in Yuba City and American Commodity Co. in Williams.