Are you interested in learning more about the various conservation programs currently available to rice producers? The California Rice Commission is hosting a workshop to provide clarity on all its programs, including Bid4Birds, Bird Returns, California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program, Fish Food Program, Nesting Bird Habitat Incentive Program, and more. Workshop speakers will provide an overview of each program. There will be many opportunities for questions from the audience. Light refreshments will be provided, and no RSVP is required.
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.
In Congress’s budget reconciliation, signed on July 4 by President Trump, significant improvements were made to Title 1 of the Farm Bill, including:
Loan Rate – $7.70
Temperate Japonica Medium Grain Reference Price – $24.33
$155,000 Payment Limitation, increased from $125,000
These changes will be for the 2025 crop year through 2031
Starting in 2031, the reference price will rise automatically by 0.5% but cannot exceed 113% of the original reference price
Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) guarantees 90 percent of the benchmark revenue and the payment band of 12 percent for crop years 2025 through 2031.
Notes to remember:
Growers can annually select ARC or PLC for their operation. All payments continue to be subject to a 5.7% sequestration.
USA Rice
The US rice industry was only able to achieve these results through collaborative work among all states. Great credit is due to USA Rice for their years-long work on improving the rice safety net and support of both Chairman GT Thompson and Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman.
The conservation title and other titles of the farm bill will be taken up by the House and Senate Ag committees in a skinny farm bill this fall. Bi-partisan work is expected.
The 2025 surface water monitoring under the RPP and WDR programs is ongoing.
For the Rice Pesticide Program (RPP), there have been a handful of detections in late May, none of which were above the agricultural drain performance goal. The latest results from early June were non-detectable.
The Rice Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) surface water program is in an assessment year, which means additional sampling for pesticides and toxicity.
Pyrethroids used in rice have been reported in association with water toxicity at the upper Colusa Basin Drain this year for multiple events. The California Rice Commission (CRC) sent out letters earlier this year requesting the use reporting information (to be submitted in the fall) for pyrethroid users in the area. Algal water toxicity was reported in the Sacramento Slough near Karnak as well.
The CRC continues to work on behalf of the industry to conduct required monitoring and interface in reporting with the Water Board. Additional efforts are underway to assess and analyze water quality trends across the valley and gather information from industry on uses and operational patterns.
We appreciate the industry’s support of the regulatory programs and their good stewardship of the commercial products used and protection of the environment.
For more information, contact the CRC’s Industry Affairs Manager Craig Riddle at criddle@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
The California Ricelands Waterbird Foundation, in collaboration with BirdReturns and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, is currently soliciting applications for the Bid4Birds habitat program this late summer and fall. Applications are submitted through the Bid4Birds website and the application period closes on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at noon.
The California Ricelands Waterbird Foundation, in collaboration with BirdReturns and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, is currently soliciting applications for the Bid4Birds habitat program this late summer and fall. Applications are submitted through the Bid4Birds website and the application period closes on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at noon.
In the last several months, the Rice Footprint report from UC Davis has been rolled out to our conservation and water partners. The response has been very positive, with great comments on the importance of rice habitat and the groundbreaking multi-species look at working agricultural lands.
Mid-May is the typical 50% plant date for rice in the Sacramento Valley. As such, it is also the month for pre-emergence pesticide application and thus a critical time for water quality results.
