[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 160 (Thursday, September 27, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER AS NATIONAL RICE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GREGG HARPER

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2018

  Mr. HARPER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of the numerous rice 
farming-families and industry stake-holders across Mississippi and the 
five other major rice growing states. The month of September does not 
only mark the beginning of harvest season across the hundreds of rice 
farms in my home state, but it also marks National Rice Month. We 
recognize the American families and over 125,000 individuals that grow, 
harvest, mill, and process this important crop.
   In my home state of Mississippi, 2,194 jobs are supported by these 
farmers, generating $110.9 million in total labor income. The rice 
production system, from start to finish, contributes more than $302 
million to the state's economic output.
   Rice production in America has grown tremendously over its 300-year 
history; almost 85 percent of the rice consumed by Americans is 
produced across these six states, and I am proud Mississippi is among 
them. In Mississippi, rice farmers on average harvest over 150,000 
acres, producing more than 1.25 billion pounds of rice each year.
   Along with feeding American families and exporting their crop to 120 
countries, rice farmers are conservationists and stewards of the land. 
While increasing their yields by over 50 percent, American rice farmers 
have significantly reduced their energy, land, and water use over the 
last 20 years. By using 35 percent less land and 53 percent less water, 
rice farmers have cut costs, increased productivity, and created a more 
sustainable future for our American farmlands.
   We take the time during the month of September to thank those 
farmers, millers, and merchants, and the lives that they impact; both 
as job creators, and as a group that feeds our families across the 
country and around the world.

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