Environmental Stewardship

IMG_8428-09

Water is the most precious resource in the world, and California rice growers work diligently to respect and protect it. Many programs have been established to improve water quality by monitoring, sampling, and analyzing discharge water. The California rice industry has a long history of being on the forefront of safeguarding the water used in growing rice in the Sacramento Valley.

Over 230 species of wildlife are known to use California rice fields, most notable is the widely diverse population of birds. The 500,000 acres of precious wetland habitat that rice fields provide is ideal for waterfowl and other wetland dependent species wintering along the Pacific Flyway. During the winter, 60% of the rice fields in California are flooded to decompose the remaining rice straw from harvest to return nutrients to the soil; additionally it is a much more environmentally healthy option than burning. Since switching to the flooding process in the 1990s from the historical burn practice, the California duck population has increased significantly during the same period.

geese with rice mill in background