Rice is the economic engine that drives many rural economies in Northern California. In Colusa, Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties, rice is the predominant crop in these communities that carry on our agrarian heritage. In many other counties including Glenn, Tehama, Placer, Sacramento, Yolo and in the San Joaquin Valley, rice is an important part of the business and agricultural foundation that bring jobs and economic prosperity in rural California.
Beyond the direct dollars that rice brings to places like the town of Gridley, it generates thousands of jobs. As rice is grown, harvested and milled, scores of allied businesses step in to make it all work. Equipment dealers, fertilizer distributors, crop dusters, trucking and highly skilled labor all pitch in to get the crop in the ground and ultimately to the table. Economists estimate that for every dollar that the rice industry directly contributes to a local economy three dollars are generated through these allied businesses.
