Julie is Finance & Administration Manager for the California Rice Commission, and a big proponent of trying new recipes- especially if they feature California rice.
The memorable evening started with, “Hi, I’m Julie.” warmly responded with, “Hi, I’m Octavio.” followed by my exclaiming “Your name is Octavio? I have a llama named Octavio!” (pictured below) and the evening was off to a fun-filled entertaining experience at Benihana, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Our personal chef performed the ancient art of Teppanyaki, preparing a scrumptious meal while engaging a striking percussion show with razor-sharp blades and shakers filled with assorted seasonings. We were fortunate to join a local family celebrating their Grandma Sylvia’s birthday. Four-year-old Amanda donned in her personal Benihana Chef’s hat, enjoyed the yummy fried rice, made with California Calrose rice, a type of medium-grain rice that is grown predominately in California.
We also enjoyed watching Amanda’s brother Tony make slam-dunk basketball shots of shrimp tails right into the pocket of our chef! This was truly an enjoyable evening, one that I will long remember.
It’s extremely encouraging that the popularity of California Calrose rice is really burgeoning among consumers in South Korea. In 2004 this was a market that was importing low quality brown rice for processing from California only because it had to under its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. Nine short years later, the market has transformed into a package quality milled rice market where retail, wholesale, and foodservice consumers are clamoring for California rice. The premium quality rice they are vying for is grown, milled, processed, and packaged all right here in the Sacramento Valley. It is shipped to South Korea in retail style 10 and 20 kg bags in 20-foot containers. The brands have been developed by California companies. Almost every week, a vessel sails from the Port of Oakland loaded with containers of California rice destined for the South Korean market.
The USA Rice Federation and the California Rice Commission (CRC) are actively promoting Calrose rice in South Korea. Through tie-in promotion with wholesalers and E-tailers to in-store promotions with retail outlets -- California rice has become the most popular imported rice in the market. And, it's readily identifiable by the name "California Calrose.” This is especially important as we enter into the next round of negotiations on the rice trade with the South Korean government in 2014. It is key that consumers in South Korea continue to demand California grown Calrose rice. One of the methods the CRC has employed to make sure this happens, is by offering a "California Calrose" logo to exporters to place on their bags in the South Korean market so that consumers are sure about the product they are buying. All of these promotion efforts are paying off.
Recently, aT (the government buying/selling agency in South Korea) was forced to suspend the weekly auctions of California rice. The reason -- consumers refused to bid on Chinese and Australian rice and were buying aT out of its California rice stocks! Don't worry; the weekly sales are set to resume soon. As our industry faces stiff competition all over the world from other cheaper producing origins, South Korea is certainly a bright spot in our marketing future.
By Tim Johnson, California Rice Commission President & CEO
The recent Wall Street Journal Article A Rice Gets a Price Premium portrays the proposed House farm program for rice completely inaccurately. In fact, the regional differences in the rice reference price are neither unusual nor excessive.
Not unusual
The first claim that is offered is that somehow differences within an individual crop or region are unusual. Not true. Past farm programs have consistently provided different programs for long staple cotton compared to upland cotton. Different classes of wheat have also historically been treated separately as have sunflower seeds used for confectionary uses compared to those grown for oil. Barley is also considered differently. The basis for these differences is straightforward – the value received is higher. Japonica rice is the same. It is premium rice that commands a price higher than long grain indica rice grown in other regions of the U.S.
Not excessive
The second theme is that the fifteen percent premium in the House bill for japonica rice is excessive. This claim is also not based on easily verifiable data. Over the past 30 years japonica rice has held an average of a fifteen percent premium to long grain indica rice. More recently however that premium has been far greater – closer to forty percent above other U.S. rice. The story also implies that the target price is higher that production costs – also not factual. UC Cooperative Extension calculated the cost of production for rice in California in 2012. Their estimates were $19.36 per hundred pounds. This cost is far higher than in other regions and far above the regional $16.00 target price.
An effective safety net
Completely lost in the story is any discussion of a safety net for California rice that is adequate and equivalent. The reality is that California japonica rice costs far more to grow and has commanded a long–term market premium. When market prices are above the target price, our family farmers (brothers farming together, husbands and wives farming together, son and fathers farming together) earn enough to keep the farm going. Only when prices drop significantly below the cost of production will support for the farmer be triggered and only up to the target price. So if rice in California were to drop to say $15, farmers would be eligible for a $1 payment to bring them up to the target price. If instead all rice in the U.S. had one target price at the proposed $14, a California farmer would not eligible for support until they had loss of over $300,000 for an average farm.
Also missing is the acknowledgement of the huge change in farm programs that eliminate the current program of paying growers every year regardless of any loss.
The ultimate reality is that in both the House and Senate Farm Bills, rice farmers are moving to a safety net designed to keep growers on the farm based not on payments every year but based on significant losses below production costs. This change seems fair, as long as all regions receive a proportional level of protection against loss.
Why having rice farms matters
There are several reasons why rice farming matters. Certainly jobs are important. There are 25,000 generated by rice farms in California. In small communities in the Sacramento Valley like Gridley, Colusa and Biggs, the impact is even more significant, with over half of the region’s economic activity generated by rice farming and milling. But probably the most important reason to keep farmers on the land when prices go south is the tremendous benefit to wildlife and keeping our open spaces open. Each fall over 300,000 shorebirds migrate through the valley and stop to feed on the insects that are plentiful in rice paddies. Later in the winter millions of ducks, geese and swans pour into the rice fields to eat the leftover grain. Right now thousands of wading birds are nesting right in the fields, their chicks running along the edge of the growing rice chasing their next meal.
None of this is possible without farmers staying in business. In the final analysis, this is what the farm bill endeavors to do – keep farmers farming when things get tough.
All of the rice is planted and we are now doing what we can to help ensure a good harvest in the fall.
While we were able to plant earlier than in recent years the spring has still posed some challenges. For one thing, we’ve had many days of strong winds. Secondly the temperatures have really varied from day to day. Rice is a lot like people – the plants prefer a more gradual change in the weather than big differences from day to day.
Right now myself and other growers are monitoring our fields and working to keep weeds at a minimum.
We are now starting the tillering process, where the primary shoot of the rice plant emerges and new ones form around the base. The healthier the plant, the better our chance will be at a more abundant harvest in the fall.
Hopefully the rest of the growing season will include more normal weather. High temperatures around 90 would be ideal. Punch Haskell grows rice in Colusa County and is part of a family farming operation that began approximately 60 years ago.
In these days of fast food on virtually every corner, one-of-a-kind restaurants are getting harder to find. Fortunately in the Sacramento Valley, there are several wonderful places to eat that are filled with charm and originality. Williams wouldn’t be the same without Granzella’s and Louis Cairo’s. My favorite stop in Colusa is Tommy’s. Yuba City has the Refuge and Cilantro’s.
Where to dine in Richvale? The definitive, in fact the only answer is the Richvale Café. The food is very good but the story behind it is priceless!
This Butte County community with a population of 244 is in the heart and birthplace of California rice country. Originally named Selby Switch, developers changed the name to Richvale to connote rich soils to attract farmers that migrated west from states such as Kansas and Nebraska. The heavy clay soils weren’t suitable for many crops but ended up being ideal for rice. Once rice was planted, Richvale’s future was secured.
The café has also had its ups and downs. Once the site of a grocery store and lunch counter, the facility burned down twice. The unoccupied building became an eyesore to the community with little chance of a new tenant. Community members provided sufficient money to open the café in 1969, with a celebration complete with a ribbon cutting and brass band. Rice grower and local historian Dennis Lindberg played his trumpet in the brass band for the opening ceremonies and remembers it well.
Unfortunately the small town was unable to maintain enough business to keep the café open. Once again the community of Richvale refused to accept the closure. The business operated for a while as a non-profit, which lost out to an IRS challenge. Today the café is managed by the community and receives generous support through fundraisers and contributions to keep in operation.
A real scare happened a few years ago when the café’s well water became contaminated. Once again the community pulled together and funded the very expensive drilling of a new well.
What makes the café so special? The answer is more of a feeling than what words can describe. Perhaps it’s the local rice, honey, barbeque sauce and produce that community members provide for the menu. Maybe it’s the dishes found nowhere else, like the Aviator Special for breakfast (two small breakfast burritos for growers on the go) or the Joe Special, a mouthwatering sandwich named in honor of Joe Josiassen, a rice grower and former Air Force Chef who designed the kitchen. Mr. Josiassen has passed away but this dish is one way the community honors his legacy. It could be the fact that some customers prepay for their meals while others pay their tab at the end of the month. The answer is all of the above and more. A loving community refuses to let this little café go.
Perhaps nowhere else will you find such dedication to a similar cause.
Perseverance saved Richvale farmers a century ago and it’s still paying dividends at the café. Pull your car in from the Midway, have a seat and enjoy small town life. The cuisine may not be French Laundry, but those in Richvale wouldn’t trade it for anything!
A sign that hangs over the grill sums it up pretty well with these words:
“Good food…
Good friends…
Good times!” Jim Morris is Communications Manager for the California Rice Commission. Jim has worked in communications for more than 20 years. When he’s not on the job, he enjoys his family, faith, football, outrageous monster stories and running marathon
Our family just returned from vacation in Maui, where we enjoyed snorkeling alongside of Honu (sea turtles), a variety of field trips and a familiar item from home- California rice.
Walk into a Long’s Drugs and you immediately see stacks of Diamond G and Hinode Rice. Big bags too, not the two-pounders I often see in my local Safeway.
One of our favorite dining places is Kimo’s in Lahaina. I took two runs at the Broke da Mouth lunch plate, which featured a generous portion of Hinode rice.
A short walk along the beach from our condo led us to the Gazebo Restaurant for a half order of fried rice. Featuring Portuguese sausage, egg, veggies and Fukesake brand rice, this behemoth of a dish kept me fed for three glorious meals.
We had a terrific day trip to the island of Lanai. After the ferry ride and some time on the beach I had a powerful hunger. We fixed that problem in grand style with this Teriyaki chicken plate complete with Homai rice at the Blue Ginger Café.
It turns out that rice figures prominently in California-Hawaii trade. Ryan Malm, Manager of Consumer Products for Farmers’ Rice Cooperative was kind enough to provide background. As Ryan explains it, with the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 we agreed to remove import duties on sugarcane from Hawaii and in turn they gave us Pearl Harbor, as well as duty-free access to their rice market. Until that time Hawaii, along with many of their Japanese immigrants, grew quite a lot of their own rice in abandoned taro fields. The Japanese influence can also be credited with why the local Hawaiians favor Calrose/sticky rice versus other varieties that may have been available at the time.
Ryan describes Hawaii as a unique California rice market. In general, most of the mills in California sell a high percentage of their business to ethnic distributors in private label bags. However, grocery stores in Hawaii have always had such high demand that they’ve been able to purchase full containers of rice directly from the mill for years. Because of this, it’s one of the few markets where California Rice mills can sell and focus on promoting their own in-house brands. It doesn’t compare to the large volume of rice shipped to places like Japan and South Korea, but it’s a high rice consuming market per capita.
It was great to see this little bit of home on so many menus during our vacation. If we’re lucky, perhaps our family will head to more exotic locations where California rice enjoys widespread popularity! Jim Morris is Communications Manager for the California Rice Commission. Jim has worked in communications for more than 20 years. When he’s not on the job, he enjoys his family, faith, football, outrageous monster stories and running marathon
