Nutrien, a leading crop inputs and services provider, recently committed $1 million over four years to support sustainable agriculture practices for rice growers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and California. Through the USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited decade-long Rice Stewardship Program, we have built a field team of partners who have worked on more than 1,000 rice farms spanning nearly one million acres, improving agricultural and environmental performances.
“Our collaboration with Nutrien is a vital step towards achieving widespread adoption of sustainable agriculture practices among rice farmers,” said Ducks Unlimited Director of Agriculture Support Scott Manley. “This partnership will focus on working with local agricultural communities to promote the benefits of sustainable farming and conservation efforts. The support of industry-leading corporations, like Nutrien, demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability and is critical to our ability to make this level of change happen.”
The U.S. rice industry produces 20 billion pounds of rice annually with 80 percent of all rice consumed in the U.S. being grown on U.S. soil. The Rice Stewardship works to bring about meaningful and long-term improvements to three of the nation’s critical natural and economic resources: working rice lands, water and waterfowl.
“Something that is very important to our team at Nutrien is not only to serve and take care of our customers, but to also serve and take care of the communities we live and work in,” says Jeff Tarsi, president of Global Retail for Nutrien. “I’m proud to say that we are supporters of Ducks Unlimited and look forward to collaborating with their team through the Rice Stewardship Partnership to protect and care for the rice lands, water, and wetlands in the South.”
Nutrien’s interest in the Rice Stewardship stems from a desire to promote nutrient stewardship at the producer level. On-farm improvements and management practices through sustainable initiatives and integrations can increase food production for future generations. Rice Stewardship supports farmers in adopting sustainable practices on their farms by conducting ongoing research and monitoring to measure the impact of crop health, soil quality and water resources. Working together with Nutrien and other corporations invested in sustainable initiatives for growers, we are paving the way for a more prosperous future for agriculture.
“We are excited to have Nutrien as a program partner with Rice Stewardship,” said Josh Hankins, USA Rice director, Grower Relations and Rice Stewardship Partnership. “Their support will help us to foster the implementation of sustainable initiatives across the rice community.”
USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited, along with project partner the National Black Growers Council, recently secured an $80 million Climate-Smart Commodities grant. This grant will continue to positively impact landscapes vital to rice production and waterfowl habitat.
Rice Stewardship funders include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Walmart Foundation, the Mosaic Company Foundation, Nestle Purina PetCare, Chevron U.S.A., RiceTec, Entergy, Nutrien, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation, BASF, American Rice, Inc. Riviana Foods, Inc., Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation, Delta Plastics, Riceland Foods, Corteva Agriscience, Valley Irrigation, Cargill, Wells Fargo, Farmers Rice Milling Company, Horizon Ag, Turners Creek & Bombay Hook Farms, MacDon Industries, Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas, Ben Link Farms, and Ducks Unlimited major sponsors.
