Drought relief package to help service providersDrought relief package to help service providers

The California rice industry is trumpeting a support program to help ag businesses suffering from drought.

California Rice Commission CEO Tim Johnson said the $75 million drought grant program approved by the state legislature will help ag support businesses that directly serve farmers. This is not a farm’s program; rather, it is a program open to ag suppliers, rice driers, mills, agricultural aircraft companies, ag trucking firms, and small or socially disadvantaged farmers with 100 or fewer employees in 2019.

“Rice farmers have prevented planting insurance,” Johnson said. “This is about how we help those in our supply chain who were affected by our lack of acreage and the drought.”

California rice growers planted about 250,000 acres of rice this year. This is about half of what the industry typically plants each year, Johnson said. The effects of such a decline ripple far and wide through local economies across northern California, he continued.

Grants will be available based on the loss of gross revenue or gross profits in 2022, when compared to 2019. Qualified businesses will receive grants of between $60,000 and $100,000 to offset their losses. Losses will be verified by tax returns.

The California Governor’s Office of Small Business is expected to provide information on the program this fall, with applications opening in early 2023.

A coalition of ag centric groups, including the Northern California Water Association, California Warehouse Association, California Agricultural Aircraft Association, California Tomato Growers, Ag Council of California, California Rice Commission, and Western Plant Health Association participated in the effort to seek the grant funding.