On Monday, USA Rice Producers’ Group Chairman Linda Raun and USA Rice Federation Chairman Jackie Loewer wrote to House Agriculture Committee leaders expressing their support for the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM or farm bill).  The House Agriculture Committee will be marking up its version of the farm bill on Wednesday, July 11.

“Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all policy, the House farm bill acknowledges a diverse agriculture sector by offering a meaningful choice of risk management tools for all producers, crops, and regions of the country while working to ensure that the choices offered to producers focus on addressing serious and sustained periods of losses,” the groups said. “The House farm bill’s price-based option allows producers to focus risk management on prolonged periods of low prices, while the revenue-based option allows producers to cover revenue, but without the risk that that protection will erode due to the stress of a series of bad yields or low prices.”

Additionally, USA Rice Federation joined more than 50 other agriculture organizations signing onto a letter of support for the House Agriculture Committee’s version of the farm bill and urging the committee to move the Farm Bill forward. “The farm bill is tremendously important for every single American, not just farmers and ranchers. In addition to helping farmers plan ahead and mitigate risk to survive the tough times, the bill provides critical investment in rural communities, conserves precious natural resources like soil and water, provides food for those less fortunate, and creates new sources of energy made here at home,” the letter said.

The USA Rice Federation looks forward to working with the House Agriculture Committee to advance the farm bill so that producers and lenders have the certainty they need to produce a rice crop.