Without winter flooded ricelands, we will be unable to meet the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. For Ducks Unlimited, it’s that simple and that important.
Ricelands provide habitat for millions of migratory birds across the country. From California to the Gulf Coast and the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, ricelands overlap perfectly with critical migration and wintering areas. Recognizing what declining rice acreage across the United States would mean to migratory birds, in 2013 Ducks Unlimited engaged in a groundbreaking partnership with USA Rice to find ways to improve both rice producers’ bottom lines and wildlife habitat.
By focusing on water, working ricelands, and waterfowl, the Rice Stewardship Partnership has accomplished much in the few years since its formation.
Thanks to support from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and other critical partners, Rice Stewardship has grown by leaps and bounds in the last three years. Our partnership secured $10 million from NRCS in the first round, one of the largest sums awarded for a project.
Equally impressive, we brought together more than 40 partners from all segments of the agriculture and conservation sectors to provide match and support for the program.
Created by the 2014 Farm Bill, RCPP connects partners with producers and private landowners to design and implement voluntary conservation solutions that benefit natural resources, agriculture, and the economy. Rice Stewardship leaders have collaborated on six RCPP projects to date, including three secured in 2015: a national project and one each in California and southwest Louisiana. These projects are past the halfway point of implementation, with completion planned for the end of 2018.
Another RCPP project for southwest Louisiana was awarded in 2016, focusing on nutrient management. Through this project, we are executing conservation contracts with rice producers who will adopt precision-level practices for soil testing and fertilizer application.
Two RCPP projects secured in 2017 are one covering the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and the Lower Colorado River Authority’s (LCRA) Prairie Conservation Reservoir in Texas. These projects are underway and promise big returns for Rice Stewardship’s water priority.
These six projects are led by diverse partners, including Ducks Unlimited, California Rice Commission, USA Rice and LCRA. Once fully implemented by 2021, more than 500,000 acres of rice and rice-rotation lands will be positively impacted, and financial assistance to rice producers for conservation practices will exceed $50 million.
Private lands conservation is built on relationships among producers, landowners, NRCS, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, partners like USA Rice and DU, supply-chain corporations and others. We recognize the importance of establishing and maintaining working relationships with all the individuals and groups engaged in Rice Stewardship.
Relationships equal trust, and Ducks Unlimited and our partners will maintain and grow that trust as we pursue shared goals, including in the policy arena. We have worked together to educate policy makers on the importance of rice agriculture to the environment, including its critical role in supporting millions of migratory birds. When conservation and commodity groups walk into an office on Capitol Hill together and speak with a unified voice, people take notice.
With the upcoming Farm Bill legislation and demands for significant federal spending cuts, it is vital that we stand united and vocal for a mutually beneficial conservation title. We will continue to emphasize that voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs are the best way to protect our natural resources and achieve a sustainable agricultural industry.
The diversity of our supporters lends weight to our policy efforts, too. In addition to NRCS, Rice Stewardship funders include the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Walmart Foundation, the Mosaic Company Foundation, Nestlé Purina PetCare, Chevron U.S.A., Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation, RiceTec, BASF, American Rice, Inc. – Riviana Foods, Inc., Delta Plastics, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Wells Fargo, Farmers Rice Milling Company, Horizon Ag, Turner’s Creek & Bombay Hook Farms, MacDon Industries, Dow AgroSciences, Riceland Foods, and Ducks Unlimited major sponsors.
New opportunities for collaboration continue to emerge. What’s good for rice is good for ducks, and working wetlands are equally good for people. Rest assured, we will maintain focus on working together to conserve three critical natural resources in North America: water, working ricelands, and wetland wildlife.