Making Your Voice Heard.....

A HUGE part of what we do in Farm Bureau, is to be a voice for the agriculture industry.  Without our voices, the ones who live it, who understand it, sharing it, the vast majority of our society will just go on hoping that their food will just magically appear at the store and they will go on living happy, albeit, oblivious lives.  AND, there is so much more than just talking about agriculture--there is the policy that keeps it safe, protects it from crazy and damaging legislation, that promotes it and puts it in  the correct place of importance in the minds of legislators and the public. 

SO, if you are interested in sharing your voice, when it comes to water rights, irrigation prices, wildlife habitat, wild horses , public and federal lands, brand inspection, commodities, education, and so much more, then check out Nevada Farm Bureau's Policy.  With the annual meeting coming up, it is the perfect time to read up on policy and see if you agree or disagree or if you have an opinion on something that should be added.  The link below will take you to the list of the policies that we already have, and that are up for review.  Take the time to raise your voice, speak up for agriculture and ensure the way of life that feeds the world.
http://policy.nvfb.org/index.html
General Ag Policy
Ag Research Policy
Commodities Policy
Education Policy
Extension Policy
Government Policy
Land Use Policy
Miscellaneous Policy
Natural Resources Policy
Pest and Weed Policy
PUC & Energy Policy
Taxes Policy
Transportation Policy
Water Policy

PETA Promotes with PORN.....

So, just when I thought that PETA couldn't possibly be any lower in my estimation, it goes and breaks through the bedrock, digging an even deeper hole.  I recently learned that PETA is working on a XXX porn site in order to promote the ethical treatment of animals.  Are you kidding me???  How in the world are the two to be combined?  Well, whatever it is, I don't want to know.  Let me quote Robert Peters, general counsel for the New York-based anti-pornography group Morality in Media. "Metaphorically speaking, they're getting in bed with hard core pornographers to prevent cruelty to animals. That borders on insanity."

Well, most of us from Agriculture backgrounds feel that PETA and HSUS border on insanity, anyway, so to me, this is just flat out insane.  Apparently, a lot of the feedback I read in the news is that this could alienate people from supporting and helping PETA, so let the alienation begin!!  I am all for spreading word of anything that helps alienate people from PETA.  Now, of course, someone reading this might suppose that by this I mean that I don't support the ethical treatment of animals, which is a far cry from reality.  I have horses, chickens, cows, dogs, cats, and very often lizards and birds and frogs around our fuuny farm that we call home.  I obvisously love animals, or would not have so many around.  I also want people throughout the world to care for their animals in the way that they see as fitting, but I don't approve of people who have been raised in the city coming around and telling my family how to take care of animals that we have been raising for generations in my family.  I oppose PETA because of their over-the-top ways, demonstrated by their new pornography site, things that go against the basic morals and values of good, hardworking farm and ranch families, or just every day hardworking families of all walks of life.

Some of the other intent for PETA's promotion is to raise veganism awareness--really?  If people want to be vegans, I believe that is their choice, but should not be pushed on anyone else, especially in exploitive manners.   Not that PETA is 'pushing' anything, they are just using whatever shocking things they can to get attention.  But, a lot of vegans seem to think that because they don't want to eat animal or animal by-product, that the rest of us shouldn't, and that they need to fight and oppose anyone who has anything to do with animals as food-production.  Well, don't let me get any more wound up on this subject, I am sure you can all form your own opinions, once you check out a little bit more about who PETA actually is.

So, check out the info, spread the word, and let's look to those with decent values and morals to teach us how to care for animals, like the farmers and ranchers of our great nation!!!

Article links:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/peta-plans-porn-website-promote-message-14570593

http://news.discovery.com/animals/peta-porn-site-coming-soon-110921.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/18/us-pornography-peta-idUSTRE78H1IR20110918

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/09/19/peta-porn-site-will-raise-veganism-awareness-peta-says/

AND PLENTY MORE ON THE WEB.

YF&R & FB Members: An event you should not miss!

Okay, so if there was one workshop from the National YF&R Conference in Orlando, Florida this past February that really seemed to strike a note with all the Nevadans who attended, it was the series put on by Dick Wittman.  Let me tell you why the workshops struck a chord with me--My family on my dad's side, has been farming the same land, since the late 1800's.  Because of family issues, some of my great-grandpa's step-sisters were able to sale a large majority of the land out from underneath him, but what remains has been ran by the family ever since.  My dad grew up on it, me and my siblings grew up on it.  My dad's twin has helped him run it, with my grandpa still technically in charge of it, though my dad and our family were the only ones who lived there and worked it full-time.  5 years ago my grandpa suffered an anuerism, followed a few months later by open-heart surgery.  Though he has recovered, this gave my grandma power-of-attorney, and with 8 children to vie for who gets what and when, there has been a lot of pressure on her to divide assets evenly between the eight, though only the oldest two have really ever been involved with the farm.  They now want my dad and uncle to either buy them out, or it will be sold out from under them, even though they have been working it for 30-40 years in their spare time and vacations and holidays, without paychecks, but because they love it.  What is earned from hay or cattle usually goes back into as farmers know, to keep it afloat.  And that is part one of why the Dick Wittman workshops hit me so powerfully.  Dick has dealt with these family situations in so many shapes and forms.  He knows how to help families, generations, relatives, friends so that they can merge, work together, have a productive business, where everyone knows their part, their specific role, and it all works together to last.  The family farm CAN be carried on--siblings, fathers and sons, cousins, etc., CAN work together and together they CAN make it work and be productive.  I could tell you part two, my mom's side, where my grandpa iss till ranching at 83, and my uncle works full-time and farms full-time to keep it going, even though he doesn't shre the same deep love for it that my granpda does.  With each year of age coems the worry ofwhat will happen, will it be sold off, kept in the family, some of each?  I think that at some time this strongly affects all who farm and ranch because it is such a family-oriented business.  So, if you want a more productive farm or ranch or family business, you should NOT miss the state meeting in November.  My husband has taken over managing the property/lease that his parents left to all four kids.  Dick's workshops were invaluable to him in giving him ideas of how to communicate with his siblings and better manage the property with four heads instead of one. So, that is all the rambling I am going to give you for now, I hope you get the point......the Nevada Farm Bureau State Meeting in Fallon, Nevada on November 17-19, with special guest, Dick Wittman, is an event you should not miss!!

HERE'S MORE INFO ABOUT DICK WITTMAN::


R.L. "Dick" Wittman
Dick Wittman manages a large-scale dryland crop, range cattle and timber operation in northern Idaho in partnership with three other family partners. He also provides seminars, workshops, and private consulting services on a part‑time basis to agricultural lenders, agri-businesses and farmer/ranchers.

After receiving a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Idaho (U of I) and an MBA from the University of Utah, Wittman worked for the Farm Credit System from 1972-1980. His banking career concluded with the Farm Credit Administration in Washington, D. C., where he supervised Farm Credit operations in several Eastern, mid‑West, and Southern U.S. districts.

In 1980 he joined the family farm in Idaho and established a part-time private consulting practice. Wittman has worked with numerous farm clients and professional practitioners, conducted seminars, facilitated strategic planning, taught college classes and developed videotape training modules on a variety of topics throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia. He specializes in financial management and developing management systems and solutions for business relationship/transition problems. In January of 2004, he released a guidebook entitled Building Effective Farm Management Systems. This guidebook provides a toolkit for commercial-size family farm businesses to define their ultimate vision and put in place a professional management and transition process that will lead them to that goal.

Wittman has served on several industry, community and financial institution boards including the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council (5-yrs as president), U of I Ag Consulting Council (chairman 1997-98), Inland Empire Pea Growers Cooperative, Twin River National Bank (1982-89), and Advisory Council (chairman) for the U of I Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Department. He is a founding director and past president of the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association, a regional organization working to further the adoption of no-till practices in the Northwest, and is currently active on several advisory boards developing national policies on Carbon Trading.

He recently completed a term as president of the Farm Financial Standards Council, a core group of farm management and financial experts who have been working for over 25 years to professionalize farm accounting and financial analysis processes. The Council recently released national guidelines to help producers implement Managerial Accounting systems.

Wittman is a contributing editor for Farm Futures magazine, serves on the faculty for the TEPAP Ag Executive Program in Austin, Texas, and appears regularly on the Canadian AgVision television program as part of the Top Manager Team.

Stewardship has been a Wittman Family Farm tradition. The farm was selected as the national Millennium Farm Family in 2000 by the Ag Earth Partnership. Wittman also received the 2002 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Agriculture in Environmental Stewardship. The Wittman Family sponsors an Outdoor Education Camp located on their farm in cooperation with the local Boys and Girls Club. Begun in 1988, this camp gives hundreds of students, teachers and natural resource professionals annually an exposure to key natural resource concepts, and it enables the farm to share its vision on how a farm can be managed, shared, and kept sustainable for future generations.

Wittman and his wife, Dawn, have raised five children and have four grandchildren.

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Background and Management Philosophy

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I am a firm believer in the preservation of the family farm as the preferred entity to manage and steward our food production industry. This belief has been a primary driver in motivating me to help family farmers adopt more professional management practices. Many struggling farmers are quick to blame government interference, low prices, uncooperative lenders, foreign subsidies or greedy and indiscreet neighbors for all their problems. In fact, much of the blame in their failure to achieve full potential rests with their management system and practices. Improved performance, teamwork, and quality of life is easily attainable if one develops a clear vision of how to incorporate improved management practices and invest in the effort to change. “God helps those who help themselves.”

Some perceive that greater focus on professional business principles will erase the spirit of the family farm or turn it into a Ford Motor Company, Cargill, or Archer Daniels Midland. I firmly believe that promoting professional management systems and maintaining a strong family and community focus are complementary strategies, not conflicting targets. Preferring to work together as family should not be an excuse to ignore business principles, but an added reason to follow them. The hurt and long term damage to relationships is often much harder to swallow when family business relationships disintegrate than when ventures between unrelated parties fall to pieces.

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Wittman Consulting Services R.L. "Dick" Wittman 37737 McCormack Ridge Road, Culdesac, ID 83524 PH: (208) 843-5595 C: (208) 305-1344 C: (208) 299-3521 FAX: (208) 843-5095 dwittman@lewiston.com
 
 
Copyright 1993 Wittman Consulting, R. L. “Dick” Wittman, 37737 McCormack Ridge Rd, Culdesac, ID 83524


Work-(208) 843-5595 Fax (208) 843-5095, email: dwittman@lewiston.com, www.wittmanconsulting.com

Managing Business Relationships & Transitions in Multi-Family Farm Operations

Seminar Synopsis

Business practices and relationship problems, not economic issues, are often the reason family operations dissolve business relationships. This tragic conclusion generally stems from operators failing to run the farm like a business, rather than a family venture. Farms with good production and financial footings still fail because they either don’t know the basic rules of conducting a business, or they know the rules, but don’t document them and apply them consistently to daily farm operations.

This seminar presented in combinations of formal lecture plus case study work sessions tackles a number of sensitive issues that relate to managing family businesses. It is presented from the viewpoint of a working family farm manager who has also provided family farm business transition consulting for twenty five years. The seminar combines serious and humorous discussions of basic principles, actual farm problems and practical, successful solutions. The goal of this seminar is to change behavior by convincing participants that: (1) their problems are not unique…nor are the solutions, and (2) implementation of a professional management system is doable and must be given equal priority to energy devoted to production, marketing and financial management. It re-vitalizes teamwork, communication, and creates a positive work environment, and it helps assure family farm survival and effective transition from generation to generation.

Seminar Outline


 Introduction “These family deals never last! …is this opinion destiny or a choice?”


 Defining the puzzle pieces of a ―Management System‖—―What’s more important…process, results or BOTH?”


 Benefits of working together and consequences to family business success from failing to manage toward excellence


 Mission, Vision and Core Values – defining these core guidance statements and using them in a family business


 Planning


 Operational vs. Strategic Planning—what issues should be addressed and why are they important to document?


 Operating issues—production, marketing, financing, personnel, and capital items…systems that work!


 Long Range/Strategic Issues—transfers of management and ownership; expansion; major improvements; enterprise shifts; manpower planning; business structuring… ―Reasons farmers avoid strategic planning”


 ”I know it’s important…just didn’t know where to start!” Strategies for making progress on strategic issues.


 Organization and Division of Responsibility


 “What is my piece of the pie?” Who will make the decisions and implement them?


 Techniques for defining specific roles and dividing responsibility – staff, management, board/owners


 Considerations in bringing new principals into the operation, or retiring others—ownership vs. responsibility


 Using job descriptions as a tool in transition situations


 Company Policies & SOPs - “The Hidden Land Mines”


 Establishing clear policies in areas such as: housing, insurance, compensation, division of earnings, buyout agreements, capital injections and withdrawals, inter-entity transactions, work days/hours/leave policies


 Common sins that violate good business practices—“…on the neighbor’s farm, of course!”


 Strategies and guidelines for developing policy statements


 ―What am I worth per hour to this business?” Understanding the value of ―Hidden (non-cash) Benefits‖ and techniques for structuring ―Compensation Packages‖ for employees, partners or business principals


 Standard Operating Procedures – what are SOPs and where can they be applied in a farm operation?


 Communication, Coordination and Control


 Business tools often ignored or abused—meetings, farm records, and documentation of key business understandings… “Don’t let them know there is money in the bank!”… “We’ll remember what we agreed on!”…


 The ―I can’t be fired!” family business syndrome. Impact of unprofessional communication habits.


 Developing corporate climate of openness and professionalism…”How do mission and core value statements work?”


 “You want to evaluate me?…you must be kidding!” Should family business partners/employees be evaluated? How?


 What performance gauges do you watch? … tractor gauges or your financial gauges? Which one will put you out of business, if you are operating in the red zone?


 Are you ready for Managerial Accounting? What is this and how can I compete with neighbors who know cost of production when I don’t?


 Summary—The Basic Business Management Model Applies to Agriculture, Too!


 The family farm business… a constant transition of inheriting and passing on values…then letting go of the wheel!


 The FARM—Your Children’s ―First Business School‖…Teaching good business principles or bad habits?

2011 VIDEO CONTEST!!!

2011 STATE FARM BUREAU VIDEO CONTEST CD/electronic entries due to your County Farm Bureau by October 5, 2011. JUNIOR DIVISION: 6th - 8th Grade JUNIOR TOPICS: "HOW WATER BECOMES AMERICA’S FOOD", or "FARM SAFETY ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS" SENIOR DIVISION: 9th - 12th Grade SENIOR TOPICS: "HOW WATER BECOMES AMERICA’S FOOD" or "HOW AGRICUTURE BENEFITS WILDLIFE",
 YOUNG FARMERS & RANCHERS: Division for FB Members age 18-35.  Any of the three topics.

STATE AWARDS FOR EACH DIVISION: st Place - $100; 2nd Place - $ 75; 3rd Place - $50

Entry forms and Video CDs for the State Contest are due by 5:00 p.m., October 8, 2011

Please submit videos to the State Farm Bureau Women’s Chair- Cindy Hardy

SIGNED

Any questions, please call 702-398-3137 or 702-375-8124

Hard Copy Entry Forms and Video CD’s Submitted by Mail: P.O. Box 112 Logandale NV 89021 See below for RULES and Additional Information
2011 FARM BUREAU VIDEO CONTEST ENTRY FORM: TITLE OF VIDEO: _____________________________________________________________________
CONTESTANT(S) NAME(S): ADDRESS: CITY: ZIP: GRADE:
List Main Contact on First set of Lines:
*______________________, ________________________, _____________, __________ _______________________, ________________________, _____________, __________ _______________________, ________________________, _____________, __________ SCHOOL: _______________________________________________
 COUNTY: ____________________
*MAIN CONTACT: HOME PHONE: ____________________
CELL PHONE: ___________________ Permission to Post Video on the internet
SIGNATURE OF PARENT(S): YES________ NO_______ _____________________________________________________________ SIGNATURE OF PARENT(S): _____________________________________________________________ SIGNATURE OF PARENT(S): _____________________________________________________________ This SIGNED permission form is required to accompany the video entry. Thank you. (Previous Videos can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/user/NVFBVideoContest#p/u ) 2011 STATE FARM BUREAU VIDEO CONTEST SAFETY
WATER
WILDLIFE
GENERAL INFORMATION: (Please retain a copy of this information for your records.) Please have CD/electronic entries to Cindy Hardy by
County rules and prizes are at the discretion of the respective County Farm Bureaus October 8, 2011. GENERAL RULES: 1. Each video is to be produced by an individual or a group of up to three contestants. The oldest contestant in a group determines Jr./Sr. Division placement. Group prize money is a lump sum. 2. Limit is one video production per individual or group and must have an entry form with it. 3. Videos will be 3 to 5 minutes in length and penalties are assessed for under/over the time limit. 4. Each video will cover a single topic and be judged on the following merits: 25 pts: Appropriateness to topic, Accuracy and Organization; 15pts: Delivery, Special Effects and Music; 10 pts: Interesting and Understandable. Use permanent marker to list contestant name(s), school, Division, title/topic on a CD. 6. The Videos will become and remain the property of the Nevada Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee which reserves the right to determine which videos will be forwarded for judging. 7. State video entries will be judged at the Nevada Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, Nov. 17 – 19, 2011. (Churchill Convention Center, Fallon, NV) 8. All decisions of the judges are final. Videos submitted without a SIGNED entry form are disqualified. 9. Failure to adhere to any one or any part of any of these General Rules may disqualify an entry. Entry forms and Video CDs for the State Contest are due by 5:00 p.m., October 8, 2011 Please submit videos to the State Farm Bureau Women’s Chair- Cindy Hardy
SIGNED
Any questions, please call 702-398-3137 or 702-375-8124 Hard Copy Entry Forms and Video CD’s Submitted by Mail: P.O. Box 112 Logandale NV 89021 5.



**For Clarification--all entries need to go to your county farm bureau first for judging before they go on to state--PLEASE contact me if you do not know who to send it to, or contact Cindy Hardy for more help and info**

 

1

A Whole List of Honey-Do's for You!

September is still not over, so that means it is still time to to celebrate National Honey Month with a few fun facts and tidbits that you probably didn't know, but just might sweeten your day!!  All of my facts an info come from the National Honey Board's website at Honey.com

Honey is honey, it’s just that simple. A bottle of pure honey contains the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants or secretions of living parts of plants. Nothing else.

When scientists begin to look for all of the elements found in this wonderful product of nature, they find a complex of naturally flavored sugars as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. Honey is made by bees in one of the world’s most efficient facilities, the beehive. The 60,000 or so bees in a beehive may collectively travel as much as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey!

The color and flavor of honey differ depending on the bees’ nectar source (the blossoms). In fact, there are more than 300 unique kinds of honey in the United States, originating from such diverse floral sources as Clover, Eucalyptus and Orange Blossoms. In general, lighter colored honeys are mild in flavor, while darker honeys are usually more robust in flavor.

How do bees make honey?

Honey is the sweet fluid produced by honey bees from the nectar of flowers. Worker honey bees transform the floral nectar that they gather into honey by adding enzymes to the nectar and reducing the moisture.

Here's what  I learned about the different forms that honey comes in:

Comb Honey - Comb honey is honey in its original form; that is, honey inside of the honeycomb. The beeswax comb is edible!

Cut Comb - Cut comb honey is liquid honey that has added chunks of the honey comb in the jar. This is also known as a liquid-cut comb combination.

Liquid Honey - Free of visible crystals, liquid honey is extracted from the honey comb by centrifugal force, gravity or straining. Because liquid honey mixes easily into a variety of foods, it’s especially convenient for cooking and baking. Most of the honey produced in the United States is sold in the liquid form.

Naturally Crystallized Honey - Naturally crystallized honey is honey in which part of the glucose content has spontaneously crystallized. It is safe to eat.

Whipped (or Cremed) Honey - While all honey will crystallize in time, whipped honey (also known as cremed honey) is brought to market in a crystallized state. The crystallization is controlled so that, at room temperature, the honey can be spread like butter or jelly. In many countries around the world, whipped honey is preferred to the liquid form especially at breakfast time.

Thank Heavens for Farmers.....

Julie Wolf from Churchill County Farm Bureau shared this video with me and so I wanted to pass it on to all of you this week.

"Farmers Tribute: So God Made a Farmer"

Thought You'd Rice to Know....

Hi!  Have you had your rice today?? 

You may not realized it, but in China, that is about the same as asking "How are you Today?"  Want to know more interesting facts and legends about rice from cultures around the world--read here:  http://www.menurice.com/All_About_Rice/Rice_Variety/Legends.asp

In celebration of National Rice Month, I wanted to share what I have learned.  Rice is a staple of life for my family, along with potatoes, it is on the menu at least once a week.  I was really surprised to hear what I did about rice, I always assumed most of it was grown out of the nation and didn't realize how much is produced by Americans.  And, my family is just a itty-bitty speck out of the 2/3's of our world's population that's diet is sustained by rice.

Rice in the United States:

"Over the past 25 years, the demand by U.S. consumers for milled rice has tripled. That astonishing rate of growth is unsurpassed by any other grain. So who’s growing all that rice?

In large part, U.S. farmers are. U.S.-grown rice accounts for nearly 90 percent of the rice consumed in this country. And it is also in demand abroad because of its exceptional quality.

Rice is picky about where it grows. Only a few states have the climate and soil suitable for commercial rice production. In alphabetical order, they are Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. Can you guess which state is the largest producer? (See answer below.) All of these states primarily grow long-grain rice, except California which produces primarily medium-grain rice. The latter is prized by consumers in Northeast Asia for its exceptional cooking and eating quality.

The top rice-producing states? Arkansas ranks first, followed by California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Missouri." (All information and facts, above and below come from : http://www.menurice.com/ )

Rice has been around since 5,000 years ago in China, but how did it come to the U.S.???
"Early American colonists began cultivating rice quite by accident. In 1685, a storm-battered ship from Madagascar reached Charles Towne harbor in South Carolina. As a gift for repairing the ship, the ship’s captain gave local planters a small quantity of “Golden Seede Rice.”

Fresh-water marshes of the Carolinas and Georgia proved ideal growing environments for rice production. In truth, the rich, wet flood plains could grow little else. By 1700, rice had become a major crop for colonists. Bills of sale from that year record that 300 tons of “Carolina Golde Rice” was shipped to England.

The substantial hand-labor requirements of growing rice led to the plantation era of the southern states. Farming equipment of the time was ill suited to the demands of soggy soil preparation, planting, harvesting and threshing of the grain. Even small tracts of rice production required hundreds of manual laborers.

By 1726, the Port of Charleston was exporting nearly 4,500 metric tons of “Carolina Golde,” which had become the world standard of rice quality. By the time of the American Revolution, rice had become one of the nation’s major business enterprises.

Upheavals of the Civil War, combined with the ravages of hurricanes and competition from other crops, pushed rice agriculture westward. It was during this time that rice became a major crop in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Not until mechanized farming methods became practical in the 1880s would southern rice crops become viable again.

The California gold rush of 1849 spawned a rice boom in the far west. A steady influx of Chinese immigrants created demand that prompted growers in the Sacramento Valley to plant and harvest the grain. By 1920, California had become a major rice-growing state.

From its humble beginnings in South Carolina, rice continues to be an important U.S. agricultural product and export. The high quality of U.S.-grown rice is respected the world over. So are our innovative growing and production methods. New techniques have reduced the time spent in fields to just seven man-hours per acre while some Asian growers still require 300!"

What kinds of Rice are out There?

Long Grain: Kernels are slender and four to five times as long as they are wide. When cooked the grains are separate, light and fluffy.

•Rice varieties: U.S. long grain brown, white and parboiled, U.S. jasmine, U.S. basmati, U.S. aromatic red

•Great for: Entrées, rice bowls, pilafs, stuffings, rice salads, jambalaya and more

Medium Grain: Kernels are two to three times as long as they are wide. The cooked grains are moist and tender, with a greater tendency to cling, a desirable characteristic in many dishes.
•Rice varieties: U.S. medium grain brown and white, U.S. arborio, U.S. black japonica
•Great for: Sushi, rice bowls, risotto, paella, rice puddings, desserts

Short Grain: Kernels are plump and almost round in shape. After cooking, the grains are soft and clingy.
•Rice varieties: U.S. short grain, U.S. sweet
•Great for: Sushi, paella, Asian dishes, rice puddings, desserts


So why is Brown or Whole Grain Rice Better for you??
"When it comes from the growing field, each grain of rice is enclosed in a tough hull, or husk, which must be removed. Underneath is the nutritious whole grain, which may be brown, reddish or even black, depending on the color of the bran layers. All rice may be eaten at this stage, but most are processed further.


Under the hull are the bran and germ which are high in vitamins, minerals, oil and various phytonutrients proposed to have health-benefits. Rice at this stage is 100% whole grain.

Remove the bran and germ and what remains is the endosperm, the white rice enjoyed throughout the world. To replace some of the nutrients lost in milling, most North American processors apply a thin coat of thiamine, niacin, iron and folic acid to milled rice to produce what is known as enriched rice.
To recap:
Whole-grain rice (sometimes called brown rice): longer cooking time; more fiber; high in vitamins, minerals, oil and various phytonutrients; shorter shelf life which can be extended using cool storage temperatures.
Milled rice: shorter cooking time; enriched to restore nutrient value; longer shelf life."

Well, I hope you learned a little more about Rice today than you knew yesterday, but most of all, I hope you know a little bit more about American Agriculture today than you did yesterday and all of the great things that our nations Ag Producers are providing for you!!