farming & ranching

By Paul ButtnerI recently had the pleasure of being the tour guide for a wonderful group of food media professionals from Turkey.  I had a great time watching them both learn a lot about California rice and take in that special essence of our surr...

When I wrote the description of our farm for last year's KVMR Celtic Festival, I started with the phrase "combining Old World traditions and modern technology" to summarize our approach to raising sheep.  As we prepare for this year's festival, I'...

By Phil RobertsonThe electronics in my new Canon EOS 7D camera had been fried and I just got it back from the repair shop.  Time to test it out!Grabbing the camera with my 100-400mm zoom lens I headed out to West Wise Road just a few miles from do...

By Julie CaderJulie is Finance & Administration Manager for the California Rice Commission, and a big proponent of trying new recipes- especially if they feature California rice. At a recent lunch with the Rice Leadership Class, we enjoyed a d...

View footage of harvesting short grain rice at a family farm in Sutter County.

By Leslie Morris Some photographers have the skill and patience to bring out just the right smile from a reluctant child or capture the perfect photo of newlyweds.  I have to admit that I am drawn to subjects with feathers, fur or fins. Swainson'...

Family farmer Sandy Denn in Glenn County recalls early memories of the rice harvest. Sandy Denn and her husband Wally own and operate Snow Goose Farms near Willows in Glenn County. She holds a law degree and has served on numerous boards and committe...

Port of West Sacramento Manager Mike Luken addresses the value of rice to their operations.

Family rice farmer Tom Butler describes how the Sutter Basin has changed over the generations.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 ...

By Kent McKenzie and Carl JohnsonCommercial rice production in California was established 1912 along with the founding of the Rice Experiment Station (RES) near Biggs. In the previous few years, scientists with the USDA’s Bureau of Plant Industries t...