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California rice growers face new criteria
10/11/2000-According to a recent Associated
Press report, plans are under way to organize
an advisory board of growers, researchers,
and handlers to establish new criteria, which
will be given final approval by California
agriculture officials. Eventually all farmers
will have to undergo certification to determine
if their crops have a commercial impact,
meaning the way the rice is grown affects
how it is marketed. Rice grown using pesticides
could not be labeled organic, for example.
In the increasingly specialized state rice
industry, introduction of new, untested varieties
is a growing concern, farmers say. The certifications
will also play a significant role in rice
marketing. The grain will be traced from
the seed to the packaging, a pedigree of
sorts. The state cotton industry is the only
farmers' group known to have similar self-regulation.
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