A new U.S. rice deal with Iraq will boost Louisiana farmers as the milling season begins here for this year’s ongoing harvest, The News-Star reports.
Fifth District Congressman Ralph Abraham, R-Alto, was among those who announced Iraq has agreed to buy 15,000 metric tons of American rice in its latest contract with America.
As Louisiana’s only member of the House Agriculture Committee, Abraham lobbied for the deal in a letter to Ambassador Douglas Silliman.
“Louisiana is one of the top rice-producing states in the nation (along with Arkansas and California), and our growers will almost certainly benefit from this deal,” Abraham says.
Farmers in Louisiana produced almost 3 billion pounds of rice across 390,000 acres last year.
Acadiana producer Richard Fontenot, who was named the 2016 Rice Farmer of the Year by the USA Rice Federation and Rice Farming, says expanding markets is critical to American agriculture’s future success. Fontenot is also a vice president in the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
“This is great news for the industry,” he says. “We export a majority of Louisiana’s rice, and these sales are crucial to our producers across the state.”
