Air Quality Water & California Rice Pesticides Rice Straw Wildlife

Environmental & Conservation Balance Sheet for The California Rice Industry

Executive Summary

The California Rice Commission has supported the preparation of an environmental and conservation audit of the California rice industry. The resulting balance sheet, summarized in this section, is intended to communicate the industry's level of environmental stewardship to neighbors, business partners, and society at large. The performance of rice farming relative to each of several environmental values is scored in Table ES-1, and summarized in the following paragraphs.

In some areas where the industry's performance is already high, there is still good potential for further improvement. This is where the industry is investing heavily in research and development. Stewardship of wildlife, as well as land use and productivity are examples of this situation:

• Rice fields offer a number of environmental advantages that no alternative land use would, a variety of upland and shallow aquatic habitat. In their quest to reduce rice straw burning and to improve wildlife habitat, rice farmers have begun to flood their fields during the winter (when no rice is present). Floodwaters allow organisms in the rice field to degrade the straw. Residual rice, native invertebrates, and the flooded field provide good habitat for waterfowl that otherwise depend on wildlife refuges and dwindling native wetlands. With the advent of winter flooding on up to 40 percent of the region's rice acreage, rice fields have begun to restore the role of the Sacramento Valley as a region rich in critical habitat for migratory waterfowl.

• Much of the land currently dedicated to rice production in the Sacramento Valley is unsuitable for other crops because of poor drainage and the tendency for the soils to become saline when not flooded. In contrast, this land is practically ideal for rice production, producing the world's highest rice crop yields. Rice farming is therefore a relatively productive land use. Further, the compatibility of rice fields with other environmental roles that this land must play, including the provision of high-quality wildlife habitat, makes rice production an attractive land use relative to other options.

The performance of rice farming relative to water supply and water quality is rated slightly better than neutral relative to alternatives. The potential for improvement currently appears to be limited. This reflects the challenge of executing any economic activity in the Sacramento Valley without using and affecting the water supply. Careful stewardship of water resources and the economic and social benefits of rice farming must therefore be balanced:

• Conservation of water supply also benefits water quality by providing more time for herbicides to degrade in rice fields. More efficient irrigation practices, including innovative recirculation systems, have been implemented to improve water quality. As a result of these and other water conservation efforts, the amount of water used to grow an acre of rice has gradually declined, and the water required to produce a serving of rice is now much less than that required for many other foods.

  What impact does conservation of rice irrigation water have on the total water supply? Water flowing off of or through rice fields returns to rivers and to groundwater, where it is available for other water users. Also, the minimum needs for irrigation include not only the crop's requirement, but also water for flushing of salinity that might otherwise build up from rice fields. The potential for and the benefit of extensive, additional water conservation are therefore minimal.

• Water quality is one of the areas in which rice farmers have made the greatest progress. Relative to alternative land uses, the performance of the rice industry relative to water quality has been and is expected to remain good. The retention of irrigation water in rice fields after herbicide application allows the water to be cleansed as the herbicide breaks down in the field. Target concentrations of herbicides in agricultural drains and rivers (performance goals) have become much more stringent. However, fairly steady reductions in herbicide concentrations since the early 1980s have allowed performance goals in the Sacramento River to be met for the last 10 years, including a 99 percent reduction in herbicide load in the Sacramento River.

  At least two water quality challenges remain for the rice industry. First, performance goals in agricultural drains have not been achieved during drought years when the amount of water flow is low. Second, levels of temperature and dissolved oxygen in return flows are somewhat unfavorable to fish.

Where current environmental performance is low, levels of investment can run high, but performance is improving as a result. Air quality and fisheries are examples:

• Air quality ratings relate primarily to burning of rice straw, which remains a valued farming practice for its ability to destroy organisms that cause plant diseases. Alternative means of disease prevention and rice straw disposal are being actively researched and developed, and the acreage that can be burned is being gradually reduced according to industry- supported legislation.

• Fisheries are influenced indirectly by rice farming. First, when water is diverted from rivers and streams for irrigation, the hydraulic conditions created by the diversion can harm fish. Second, when irrigation return flow (water running off of rice fields) enters rivers and streams, streamwater quality can be influenced. To date, some of the conditions at irrigation diversions have been improved, and levels of rice herbicides in return flows have been greatly reduced by innovative water management programs instituted by rice farmers. Water conservation reduces the amount of warm, low-oxygen water returning to rivers from rice fields. Critical improvements to fish screens at many diversions are expected to occur within the next few years. Alternative agricultural and urban land uses would pose similar or more severe challenges to fisheries.

Industry performance relative to recreation and energy were not scored separately, but are discussed here.

• Recreational activities relating to the region's natural environment are tightly linked to the fisheries and to wildlife, consisting of sportfishing, birdwatching, and hunting. Industry performance relative to fisheries and wildlife (discussed earlier) therefore provides an indication of how rice farming affects recreation.

• The amount of energy consumed by rice farming is broadly similar to alternative farming activities, and is substantially less than would be demanded by any urban land use. Rice farming may one day produce substantial energy if straw can economically fuel energy generation.

Overall, this environmental audit indicates favorable environmental performance by the California rice industry. The industry has made great progress in the areas of land use, water quality, wildlife, fisheries, and recreation. More modest progress has been made relative to water supply, air quality, fisheries, and energy. Rapid future progress is expected in all areas except water supply and water quality, where much of the potential for improvement has already been realized. Major improvements in environmental stewardship have been and will continue to be supported by heavy investment by the California rice industry.

Table ES-1

Overall Environmental and Conservation Rating of Rice Production ^a

Environmental Value	Basis of Ratingb	Overall Performancec
Land Use and Productivity	Current	2.5
	Trend	3.5
	Investment	4.3
Water Supply	Current	0.8
	Trend	1.0
	Investment	1.8
Water Quality	Current	2.0
	Trend	2.2
	Investment	2.0
Air Quality	Current	-1.0
	Trend	0.0
	Investment	5.0
Fisheries	Current	0.7
	Trend	1.6
	Investment	2.7
Wildlife	Current	2.8
	Trend	3.6
	Investment	3.6

^a The rating system and basis are explained in Chapter 8.

^b Current is performance to date.
The trend is expected performance 5 years into the future.
Investment represents the level of investment to date in improved performance.

^c Scoring is on a scale ranging from - 5 to 5. Zero is neutral relative to urbanization or farming of alternative crops. Positive and negative scores reflect the direction and strength of performance relative to the same standard.