New CRC Blog- It's about the box

By Roberta Firoved

People visiting rice fields often ask to see a rice box as if it were some mysterious, illusive structure. Rice farmers manage about five acre-feet of water, which translates to three acre-feet after recirculation and reuse, with water levels approximately five inches deep in the field. Our growers must comply with mandated water holding requirements after specific pesticide applications. Fields are flushed to add fresh water while only releasing about an inch to make room. Farmers use water depth to control the temperature on pollinating rice plants to insulate the plant and increase yields - when Mother Nature does not cooperate with warm July days and cool nights.

It takes days to drain the field for harvest and up to a week to put water on. Regulatory requirements, water shortages and weather challenges have made the rice farmer a master irrigator. All this water is controlled with the simple rice box. The design has changed somewhat, but not dramatically, in approximately 100 years. Rice boxes are made of wood, plastic, or metal and situated in the levees known as checks separating rice paddies. The box is packed with soil, or either plastic, melamine or straw and soil to keep everything in place.

Visitors to rice country ask about water management, often eager to see a rice box. We walk them up to the field levee where a rice box is situated and they seem perplexed, often not registering that the simple structure they stand above is the most integral part of rice production. They expect the rice box to be some type of elaborate structure with an old, traditional name. Really folks, it is just a box!

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Roberta Firoved is Manager of Industry Affairs for the California Rice Commission.

New Guest Blog on Water- Water use efficiency in the Sacramento Valley

By Thad Bettner, General Manager, Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District


As General Manager of the largest irrigation district in the Sacramento Valley, my job involves coordinating with area growers and other water agencies in our region to make sure our most valuable resource is efficiently used. Living in the nation’s most populous and top agricultural state requires additional responsibilities of informing those outside of our area about the widespread benefits that come from a stable water supply in the North State.

Farmers by nature and necessity have to adopt the latest technology to stay in business. Their water use is no different. Rice farmers, for example, are using 20 percent less water than they did 30 years ago and are producing 30 percent more rice.

Facts like these sometimes get lost as people not fully versed on irrigation practices in our area question our water use.

One misunderstanding is how water flows through our Sacramento Valley, which is a complicated and intricate system of surface water, groundwater, agricultural lands that grow food and support terrestrial ecosystems, and our ecosystems within creeks, rivers and streams. In fact, our system is like no other in any other part of the state and to try and implement conservation and efficiency practices here, while important, must always be viewed of how those actions could in fact cause opposite and negative impacts.

Recently, there has been discussion by some that if we simply install new water meters and move to volumetric pricing in our region water will be immediately saved and available for other uses in the state. This conclusion must be coupled with the assumption that water is being wasted and not available for other uses. However, this is false. A recent report entitled, “Efficient Water Management for Regional Sustainability in the Sacramento Valley” provides regional and technical facts of how water is actually used in the valley.

Some blindly believe that if surface water diversions are reduced,water would be saved.In fact what would need to happen would be that other diversions would need to be increased to offset the loss of supplies previously received from upslope return flows. In short, water would follow different flow paths through the rice growing region but there would be no water saved.

Once rice farmers exhaust cost-effective means of reducing surface water applications, and as prices increase still further, they would be forced to consider switching to lower water use and lower value crops or potentially land would begin to be permanently fallowed, thus changing the landscape of this valley. This is the point where some want to reach, where pricing begins to truly save water. Along with the lost production of affordable, responsibly grown rice now sold into local and global markets would be the loss of the winter habitat provided by rice fields, which is critically important to sustaining migrating waterfowl. Alternatively, rice farmers could drill wells and pump groundwater in lieu of using their renewable but too expensive surface water supplies. However, this could impact our groundwater system which is in a state of balance.

I prefer a Sacramento Valley that looks more like it does now, with agricultural and ecologic functions intimately intertwined and sustained. Sure, much remains to be done (by many, not just farmers) to improve water quality and increase anadromous fish populations, but I believe the system can be madeto work over the long haul.

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Thad Bettner has 20 years of experience with irrigation and water agencies in the planning, design, operation and management of water delivery systems on the local, state, and federal level. He has served as GCID's General Manager since 2006. Bettner is an active member of the Northern California Water Association, Association of California Water Agencies, the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, and the Glenn County Water Advisory Committee. He currently serves as a Board member of the Power and Water Resources Pooling Authority. He is a registered Civil Engineer with the state of California and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The Sacramento Valley is a unique place to live, work and recreate. It’s where farmers coexist with millions of birds that migrate along the Pacific Flyway. I wish those that would like to forever alter this landscape would take the time to visit and learn more about why it’s worth preserving.

New Brendan O'Donnell Blog- Going with the Grain

It’s not hard to find news articles about whole grains. It seems that everyone is talking about them and we’re seeing whole grains pasted across headlines almost every day. However, something that I find very interesting from the standpoint of a rice miller; is that sales of brown rice are a mere fraction of sales of white rice. This tells me that while there is a lot of hype and talk about eating brown rice, most people choose the convenience and taste of white rice. While white rice is still a very healthy option, I believe that there are a few innovative whole grain brown rice products available now that could potentially bridge this gap between having to choose between health and taste.

For those people that simply can’t find the time to cook brown rice, many companies are offering pre-cooked rice available in microwave bowls, trays, or even as a frozen product. Some of them even include vegetables and seasoning to provide a ready-to-eat meal. They’re easy to find, as most of them are a shelf stable product sold alongside the bags of uncooked rice. Personally, I think these are great option for healthy and quick lunch at work.

For people that struggle with both taste and convenience, it is becoming easier to find “lightly milled” products. For California varieties, these are sometimes called by the Japanese name “Haiga”. I find this product very interesting, because while the product is lightly milled to remove the very outer oily bran layer, the germ and most of the nutrition of the bran remains intact. This offers a good compromise for people that really struggle with the taste of brown rice, but want to receive more nutrition than white rice. I commonly hear people raving about successfully feeding this lightly milled product to their kids.

There is one more product that has started creating a lot of buzz, but has only recently started hitting store shelves.This product is called Sprouted Brown Rice, sometimes called by its Japanese name “Hatsuga Genmai.” While most of us are unfamiliar with sprouted brown rice or what it even means, sprouting rice is actually a very simple idea. It is simply brown rice that is placed in a warm, humid environment and “tricked” into thinking that it's time to grow into a plant. When the sprouting begins, the rice kernel actually increases its nutrition level to prepare for growth. This process results in a brown rice product that addresses nearly every concern people have about brown rice, from faster cooking time, a softer, nuttier flavor and texture, and even easier digestibility. The bonus is in the “extra” nutrition the sprouting brings. While this product is still relatively unknown, I believe that it will start seeing rapid growth in the near future, especially once the big names like Oprah and Dr. Oz discover it.

With so many different options for eating healthy, whole grain brown rice, my hope is that everyone; no matter who you are, or what foods you like, will find a healthy whole grain brown rice that will quickly become your favorite. Of course, there’s only one way to find out which one is your favorite: Try them all!!

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Brendan O’Donnell is Vice President, Sales at The Sun Valley Rice Company, LLC, which mills, packages and markets premium California rice both domestically and around the world. He is the Fifth generation of his family to be involved in California agriculture and has been marketing and promoting California rice since 2007. He is a graduate of UC Davis with a B.S. in Agricultural Systems and Environment and Communications. Brendan is also an active member of the Rice Leadership Development Program. When he’s not selling rice, Brendan enjoys golfing, skiing and spending time with his family. He and his wife, Erin have Two children, Bridget and Liam.

New CRC Blog- Historic site finally getting its due

By Jim Morris

Coloma is the textbook Northern California field trip. After all, it's where James Marshall discovered gold in 1848, forever changing our western landscape. It was where I spent a warm afternoon as a grade schooler, running along dusty trails and daydreaming of life as a gold miner in search of a fortune.

I find it puzzling that, a scant mile or two away from the gold discovery monument you'll find a historic site that until recently was hidden history for most people. Gold Hill is where the courageous Wakamatsu Colony Settled 21 years after Sutter’s discovery, representing the first Japanese settlement in North America. This location is also the only settlement outside of Japan that was established by Samurai, the legendary military nobility.

Fortunately more people are beginning to learn of the Wakamatsu Tea & Silk Colony. In fact, last weekend’s Wakamatsu Festival attracted some 700 people. It was great to see people of all ages and backgrounds grow in their understanding of the value of this historic site.


Kay Ryugo, a retired U.C. Davis professor who has been to the site many times, welcomed the big turnout. He has been to the Wakamatsu site many times, first visiting as a boy. His father Jutaro was a farm laborer at the ranch and told Kay about seeing smoke billowing from San Francisco across the sky after the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906.Kay remembers his father’s stories of the Wakamatsu site and meeting the Veerkamp family, longtime property owners.

The Wakamatsu Colony site is in the Sierra Foothills about a one-hour drive from Sacramento. Thanks to the Japanese American community, American River Conservancy and many other dedicated groups and individuals the site is being preserved and restored. It's a history lesson not only for Kay Ryugo's family, but for all of us.

Learn more - Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony Farm

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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 marathons.

New Dennis Lindberg video: Rice planting gaining ground

Family farmer Dennis Lindberg of Butte County updates rice planting in his area.

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Dennis Lindberg has grown rice in Butte County for nearly 70 consecutive years.He’s a well-known author and metal artist, taking scrap metal and creating beautiful animal sculptures. His civic work and love of community is evidenced by his being honored as “Outstanding Citizen of the 20th Century” by Lundberg Family Farms. He and his wife Charlotte have two children – Gary and Sherry. Gary farms with his father in the historic community of Richvale, which recently celebrated its centennial.

New CRC Blog: A Regional Vision that supports Agriculture

By Tim Johnson, California Rice Commission President & CEO

Looking for the drivers for a new economy in the highly impacted Sacramento Valley, a highly praised regional think tank came up with four key areas of focus. Among the technology, green energy and healthcare initiatives, one economic cluster stood out like a sunflower in a cornfield – agriculture!

It is no accident that agriculture is being recognized as key to the Sacramento region’s economic success today and far into the future. An analysis of jobs created, importance to rural communities and support of the environment and open space all clearly point to something we in agriculture have known for a long time but have largely kept to ourselves- agriculture is a big deal and it’s good business.

The game changer is that regional economic groups like Valley Vision are actively embracing agriculture as vital to the region. In fact, they have been the ones reaching out to agriculture. Frankly we were caught off guard.

To say it’s odd to be in a meeting with urban business leaders, local elected officials and economic development staff and have all of them talking about the need to support and grow agriculture in the region is an understatement. Honestly I have to keep telling myself it’s real.

Not only is it real, it is vital. This may be the best opportunity since the 1950s,when people actually knew farmers, allowing growers and urban folks to reconnect around shared interests. If there’s a bright side in this tough economic time, it’s that forward thinking organizations like Valley Vision and their NEXT Economy project have a view of the future that goes beyond the traditional and embraces a new paradigm- one that rightly recognizes agriculture as a key component of a healthy economy and our rural communities.

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Tim Johnson, CRC President & CEO

New Blog from Charley Mathews: Planting Season Update

Family rice farmer Charley Mathews Jr. provides an update on this year's planting season.

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Fifth-generation farmer Charley Mathews is continuing a family a legacy that began in the 1850s. Their first rice fields were planted in the 1940s and are still going strong in Yuba County. Charley is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He and his wife Hilliary have two sons, Parker and Adam.

New Chris Crutchfield Blog: Eventful end to Japan Tour

I wrapped up my trip to Japan by doing something I always enjoy, but rarely get to indulge in -- getting outside of Tokyo. The country of Japan has so much more to offer than the hustle and bustle of one of the world's largest cities. The problem is to really see any of it you have to invest some time. This time I took an overnight trip to Kobe by way of the Shikansen Super Express (aka the bullet train) that travels at speeds exceeding 200 mph! Here is the Shinkansen arriving at the station in Kobe.


The three-hour ride out and back was almost as enjoyable as the time I spent there. I was able to see all types of Japanese agriculture, including of course, rice. In stark contrast to agriculture in the U.S., the scale in Japan is miniscule. This is one reason their food costs are so high for domestically produced products -- they have no economies of scale. Here's a picture of a "large sized" rice farming operation owned by several families. It's no more than 40 acres in total. Rather than each family individually doing everything by hand, within the past 20 years there has been some consolidation, mechanization, and pooling of resources to obtain new technology and efficient equipment. But it's not enough. The farming population continues to age, and the younger generations are moving to the city.


Upon arriving in Kobe, I was met by some friends, and had the treat of seeing one of the area's newest rice mills. Rice milling in Japan is very different than in the U.S. The equipment is all essentially the same Satake rice milling pieces we use. However, in Japan, the rice is milled from momi (paddy) to genmai (brown rice) at mills near the growing areas. These mills do not have the capability to take the brown rice to the finished product, rather most of the time the paddy is milled to brown shortly after harvest and then stored in refrigerated warehouse until it is transported to the finishing mills. The plant I visited in Kobe was a finishing mill that receives brown rice everyday (mostly in 30kg bags), mills it to white, packages it, and distributes directly to customers in the area. Milling freshness is very important in Japan, and most customers want the milling date on the bag to be less than two weeks old! I really enjoyed learning more about the intricacies of the rice business in Japan directly from the people milling the product.


As much as I enjoyed the tour at the rice mill, the best thing about a trip to Kobe always comes after business is over -- dinnertime. Of course Kobe beef is famous worldwide and served at five star restaurants around the globe. Some American ranchers have even tried to copy the beef by bringing cattle to the U.S. and starting herds -- much like the California rice industry did with Japanese rice varieties like Koshihikari and Akitakomachi. However, nothing is like the real thing served right here fresh in the place it was raised. My favorite way to eat beef in Japan is teppanyaki style where the chef prepares all of the vegetables, seafood, and beef right there in front of you on a hot grill from scratch. The meal was great, as was the time shared with friends. Here's the chef displaying the steak right before he served it.

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Chris Crutchfield
President and CEO -- American Commodity Company

Chris Crutchfield is very proud to represent the third generation of his family to be involved in the rice industry. Currently Chris is involved in all aspects of California rice from production all the way to the grocery store shelf.

Shortly after graduating from the University of Missouri in 1996, Chris moved back to California and joined with his father Paul Crutchfield in the formation of a rough rice pool for direct marketing to Turkey. Chris was responsible for the day-to-day management of the pool. That partnership developed into the formation of American Commodity Company (ACC) in 2000, and Chris assumed all direct management responsibilities for ACC.

Prior to establishing himself in the California rice industry, Chris worked in the press offices of Governor Pete Wilson as his Assistant Press Secretary. He also briefly taught secondary education in the California public school system.

New Chris Crutchfield Blog: Putting Calrose to the culinary test in Tokyo

Today we had the two major promotion activities, which are the primary reason for the delegation's trip to Japan. Yesterday we heard from many different sources in meetings (MAFF included) that interest in imported rice has been growing sharply in Japan over the past year. However, today we would see the proof from the actual players in the game -- the importers, wholesalers, and foodservice end users.

The morning's event was a briefing with the importers. Currently, there are 25 licensed rice-importing companies in Japan. At the morning session we had 26 attendees representing 19 of those companies. This is a tribute to the relationships that our contractor Yumi Kojima has with the trade here in this market. It is also proof of the fact that interest in imported rice is keen, as it is very unusual in Japan for this group of fierce competitors to all be seen together at a public event, much less one sponsored by an organization like the USA Rice Federation.

At the event, Michael Rue gave an update of the 2012 crop intended plantings in California for both medium and short grain rice, as well as how acreages compare to the 2011 crop and the 10-year average. He also spoke about the cool, wet spring season in March and April, and what effects that weather pattern might have on the crop. Hearing details directly from a long time California rice farmer really seemed to make the information ring more true with the group of importers. I spoke about the overall situation of the California rice industry in the global marketplace, and Bill Farmer gave a brief history of the USA Rice Federation and its Asian Promotion Programs. The final speaker was Yumi, and she discussed in great detail this year's promotion program for U.S. rice in Japan. She discussed all of the planned activities and noted that while our core focus would continue to be on Calrose rice as an ingredient in deli and food service dishes, with the increased interest in California short grain we may choose to add some programs and/or activities specifically designed for that market as well.


After a quick and small lunch, we reconvened at the Ark Hills Cafe and Restaurant for the afternoon session called "The Charm of Calrose.” For the past few years we have focused on introducing Calrose rice to the Japanese market as an ingredient product for dishes like rice salad, rice soup, curry with rice, rice bowls, fried rice, jambalaya, etc. This has been very successful, and on the most recent SBS tender (the only way to get rice directly into the Japanese market), a record amount of Calrose was purchased by Japanese importers. So now it's time to focus our promotional efforts on a "demand-pull" strategy to continue to increase the usage and purchases of Calrose rice. The Charm of Calrose event brought together more than 100 foodservice and deli professionals representing literally thousands of outlets throughout this market. We were very excited with the huge turnout and the interest it represents in California rice. The intent here is to turn their interest in Calrose into actual demand, so that they will contact the importers and ask for more.

Following a welcome speech in fluent Japanese from Steve Shnitzler of the ATO's office, and brief introductions of the members of the delegation by me, the best part of the event got started. A Japanese chef who is famous here in Tokyo for preparing delicious dishes using unusual ingredients made a speech about his experiences with Calrose. He spoke very complimentary about its attributes, and even went as far as to say that Calrose is superior to Japanese domestic rice for many applications. He then introduced five dishes, which he had designed for all of the participants to taste test. They were cold green curry, spicy Mexican rice, red wine Calrose reduction, pork fried rice, and a chicken jambalaya. My favorites were the jambalaya and the fried rice.


After the presentations were over, there was an extensive question and answer session where participants asked about everything from the history of the Calrose variety to several questions about the different dishes presented. Most of the importers also attended the afternoon event, and after its conclusion we noticed many importers and end users engaged in discussion. From here, it is the job of Yumi's team to build on the momentum created from this event, and help foster the usage of Calrose in Japan by the interested parties. We all felt the event was excellent -- as were the rice dishes prepared!


Next I'm off to Kobe. Stay tuned, and you'll find out how the beef is there!

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Chris Crutchfield
President and CEO -- American Commodity Company

Chris Crutchfield is very proud to represent the third generation of his family to be involved in the rice industry. Currently Chris is involved in all aspects of California rice from production all the way to the grocery store shelf.

Shortly after graduating from the University of Missouri in 1996, Chris moved back to California and joined with his father Paul Crutchfield in the formation of a rough rice pool for direct marketing to Turkey. Chris was responsible for the day-to-day management of the pool. That partnership developed into the formation of American Commodity Company (ACC) in 2000, and Chris assumed all direct management responsibilities for ACC.

Prior to establishing himself in the California rice industry, Chris worked in the press offices of Governor Pete Wilson as his Assistant Press Secretary. He also briefly taught secondary education in the California public school system.

New Chris Crutchfield Blog: Japan Tour- Business meetings underway

After sleeping off some jet lag, our entire delegation woke up this morning rested and ready for a full day's worth of meetings.

First up was getting together with the USA Rice Federation's promotion contractor here in Japan -- Ms. Yumi Kojima. Yumi's work promoting U.S. rice in Japan dates back into the 1990's when she worked for our long time promotion firm Uniflex, Inc. Yumi left Uniflex several years ago and embarked on her own private PR firm handling the marketing of imported agricultural products here in Japan from the U.S. and the European Union. Two years ago, the USA Rice Federation ended its long time relationship with Uniflex and moved our account back with Yumi. She continues to have incredible trade contacts in this market with the importers and wholesalers/distributors, as well as direct relationships with the growing foodservice sector.

The meeting with Yumi was intended to brief us on the ongoing promotions campaign in Japan, the current market and political situations, and to prepare us for the next day's two major promotion events. During this meeting, a reoccurring theme was the acceptance in the marketplace of imported rice by end users and consumers. It seems that over the past year as the Japanese rice market has increased in price dramatically, it has opened the door for importers to bring in rice from other origins, and that has been met with great interest from the public.

These themes were also conveyed to us at the U.S. Embassy where we met with Ag Minister Counselor Geoff Wiggin and Steve Shnitzler from the ATO's office here in Japan. Geoff has been for the past two years, and has been a wonderful friend to U.S. rice during his tenure. We will be sorry to see him leave next month when he returns to Washington, DC, but we also look forward to meeting and working with his replacement. Another fascinating piece of information that we learned at the Embassy is that the first GMO agricultural product from the U.S. has been approved for sale and distribution in Japan -- a papaya from Hawaii. We were all literally shell shocked when Geoff told us that due to overall negative view of anything GMO in Japan.

For our final meeting of the day, Michael Rue and I split off from the rest of the delegation and headed over to sit down with the Japanese Government at the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). The primary purpose of this meeting was to formally be introduced to Mr. Naritoshi Takayama, the new Director for International Affairs on Staple Food. He assumed this position on April 1, after the latest round of restructuring which has left the food portion of MAFF officially a "Division" now rather than an agency or a department. Our long time friend and acquaintance MAFF "Eddis" Sato is back in the rice division after the restructuring as well. After formal introductions, Michael explained the state of the 2012 California rice crop and planting season. There was discussion about the increase in short grain production in California aimed the SBS program for Japan, and we requested that MAFF begin its tendering announcement schedule as soon as possible in order to allow the market and the industry to prepare. The rice team from MAFF will visit Sacramento this summer for yearly meetings between the U.S. and Japan covering technical issues.

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Chris Crutchfield
President and CEO -- American Commodity Company

Chris Crutchfield is very proud to represent the third generation of his family to be involved in the rice industry. Currently Chris is involved in all aspects of California rice from production all the way to the grocery store shelf.

Shortly after graduating from the University of Missouri in 1996, Chris moved back to California and joined with his father Paul Crutchfield in the formation of a rough rice pool for direct marketing to Turkey. Chris was responsible for the day-to-day management of the pool. That partnership developed into the formation of American Commodity Company (ACC) in 2000, and Chris assumed all direct management responsibilities for ACC.

Prior to establishing himself in the California rice industry, Chris worked in the press offices of Governor Pete Wilson as his Assistant Press Secretary. He also briefly taught secondary education in the California public school system.

New video- Armstrong & Getty visit a California Rice Field

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty comment after visiting a family rice farm in Sutter County during planting season.

Click here for photos

New Tom Butler Video- Rice Planting Underway

Family farmer Tom Butler of Robbins describes planting season in Sacramento Valley rice country.

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More about Tom: Tom Butler farms rice with his father, Steve, in Sutter and Yolo Counties. Tom is the fourth generation of his family to farm.

When he’s not on the job, the University of Nebraska graduate enjoys swimming, water polo, hunting and spending time with his family.

New Sean Doherty Blog- Impressive Nature

It's now May and I'm just now opening up the last few fields for the first time. I should have my first fields planted in three or four days and we’re on our way to the finish line, albeit late as usual- the lateness being courtesy of April showers. Now we just need a good warm and dry spell so we can get this year’s crop off to a good start, and if someone wants to throw in May flowers that would be fine too.

I always enjoy working the fields for the first time. Most of the wildlife around our fields aren't expecting us when we show up, and we always catch them off guard. I'm very fortunate that I get to enjoy all of this first hand. It's certainly one of the highlights of my work.

Here is a short and very incomplete list of what I've seen around my fields this spring:Black tail deer, skunks, raccoons, possums, coyotes, squirrels, cotton tail and jack rabbits, otters, muskrats, and a beaver. Pheasants, various breeds of ducks and geese, turkeys, mud hens, cranes, herons, great horned owls, other kinds of owls, falcons, buzzards, hawks, just a lot of birds of prey! I’ve also seen pelicans, dunlins and many other shorebirds, killdeer, red and yellow winged blackbirds, swallows, and so many more that will remain nameless. (Mostly, because I do not know their actual names.)

What I'm getting at is, it's just a lot of fun being in rice country in the springtime. By the way, this list above is by no means complete. I didn't even get started on all the different kinds of snakes and reptiles I've seen.

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Sean Doherty is a 3rd generation rice farmer living out his dream, being a rice farmer in Dunnigan.

He farms in Yolo, Colusa, and Sutter Counties with his wife Melissa, and three kids, Hannah, Gus, and Mary. He enjoys being in the fields, watching the seasons, and sharing it with his family.

Read more about Sean in Rice Farming magazine

New Chris Crutchfield Blog: Visiting our key export market – Japan

I’m spending this week in Japan along with California rice grower Michael Rue, and Sun Valley Rice Milling Sr. VP Akira "Jim" Higa, both of which serve on important trade committees with the USA Rice Federation. Traveling with us are USA Rice trade officials Jim Guinn and Bill Farmer. We will be attending two very important activities as part of our ongoing promotion of US Rice in Japan. Additionally, we will be meeting with officials from the US Embassy and Japan's Ministry on Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) to discuss trade policy issues.

We arrived in Tokyo mid afternoon on Sunday. After recovering from the plane ride, unpacking, etc., we decided to go out to a very traditional Japanese dinner at Inakaya. When we walked in and saw this spread of food we were quite overwhelmed! Fortunately, Jim speaks great Japanese, so we were able to try a little of everything with the advantage of knowing exactly what it was.


We started out with sashimi of Maguro, Toro, Hamachi, and Ebi. That was followed by myriad roasted vegetables and edible flowers. Then the meat came out. We had yakatori (skewered) chicken and kobe beef. Just when we thought it was over, the house speciality was served -- this deep sea red snapper that had been steaming since we walked in the door nearly two hours earlier. After figuring out how to eat it with nothing but chopsticks, it was fantastic.


As we were finishing up the snapper, we witnessed (and joined in on) a great treat -- the traditional making of a true mochi ball. The two mochi "chefs" started out with a large wooden bowl kneading, working, and literally throwing cooked, wet mochi (sweet) rice around until it started to turn into a paste. At that point the fun started. The paste was transferred to another, larger, wooden bowl on a raised block. The chefs stood next to the bowl and alternately beat the paste with clubs resembling baseball bats as the whole restaurant cheered. That's when Michael was asked to join in. Being a good sport, Michael took the place of one of the mochi chefs and walloped away at the paste!

After all was said and done, we enjoyed a great mochi ball desert which finished off a very nice dinner. Now we can all rest on a full stomach and wake up ready for business tomorrow.

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Chris Crutchfield
President and CEO -- American Commodity Company

Chris Crutchfield is very proud to represent the third generation of his family to be involved in the rice industry. Currently Chris is involved in all aspects of California rice from production all the way to the grocery store shelf.

Shortly after graduating from the University of Missouri in 1996, Chris moved back to California and joined with his father Paul Crutchfield in the formation of a rough rice pool for direct marketing to Turkey. Chris was responsible for the day-to-day management of the pool. That partnership developed into the formation of American Commodity Company (ACC) in 2000, and Chris assumed all direct management responsibilities for ACC.

Prior to establishing himself in the California rice industry, Chris worked in the press offices of Governor Pete Wilson as his Assistant Press Secretary. He also briefly taught secondary education in the California public school system.

New Punch Haskell Blog- Making up for lost time

Just like last year, our rice farm and others throughout the Sacramento Valley are getting a later than ideal start to the planting season.

Ideally we’d like seeds in the ground in late April, but the calendar has shifted to May and we are still working towards that goal. Ground preparations have been made and it looks like I’ll get five inches of water on my fields by the end of this week. We would then be ready for airplanes to apply the germinated rice seeds by the middle of next week.

The weather of late has been helpful. North winds have helped the fields dry up to allow us to get the ground ready for our next rice crop.

What would help moving forward would be a growing season similar to last year’s, where we pretty much stayed away from extreme temperatures. It was warm enough to let the rice grow but we didn’t have a significant hot spell to upset the plants.

We are again facing a later start to the season, but hopefully everything will go smoothly between now and fall harvest.

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Punch Haskell grows rice in Colusa County and is part of a family farming operation that began approximately 60 years ago.

My Rice Story: Photographer Geoff Fricker

Professional photographer Geoff Fricker comments on some of his favorite subjects to capture: the Sacramento Valley and rice country.