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HONORING SEPTEMBER 2022 AS NATIONAL RICE MONTH
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HON. ERIC A. ``RICK'' CRAWFORD
of arkansas
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Mr. CRAWFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Rice Month, established by an act of Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 1989. Each September during the rice harvest season, we celebrate this important industry which is near and dear to me.
I have the distinct privilege to represent the number one rice-
producing district in the number one producing rice state in the United States. Rice farmers in Arkansas contribute $2.3 billion to my home state's economic output, supporting nearly 15,000 jobs up and down the supply chain.
As a whole, the rice industry in the United States supports more than 125,000 jobs and generates $34 billion in economic impact. In fact, each rice farmer in the U.S. contributes $1 million to his or her local economy.
To expand on rice's impact beyond the economy, rice is the most popular grain globally and the primary dietary staple for more than half the world's population. U.S. rice farmers and millers not only supply over 80 percent of the rice we consume here at home, but they also ship it globally to more than 120 countries.
Rice farmers are also conservation minded, creating surrogate wetlands by flooding their fields during the winter that provide habitat to waterfowl and other wildlife.
While I'm here to celebrate this important crop, I would be remiss to not mention that U.S. rice farmers are facing very difficult situations this year. In the southern rice-producing states, stagnant prices coupled with input costs are financially squeezing those farmers, while in California, drought has cut acreage in half. With rampant inflation, rice-dependent rural communities across the country are being adversely impacted by the ongoing recession within the industry. This situation could result in devastating impacts on rice mills, elevators, trucking companies, and other businesses dependent on rice production, which once lost, will not return, further worsening the economic stability in these communities.
I believe that protecting our domestic rice industry is a priority and worthy endeavor, and that rice farmers need assistance to help them weather this storm, and I hope we can accomplish that.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 160(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 160(2)
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