If you wish to look deep into the heart of the rice industry, look south. Arkansas ranks first among rice-producing states, accounting for more than 40 percent of U.S. rice production—primarily long and medium grain varieties. Rice production is concentrated in the eastern half of the state, stretching from the Louisiana to the Missouri borders.
California ranks as the second-largest rice-growing state in the United States. The majority of California’s rice is grown in the Sacramento Valley, where hot days and cool nights, along with clay soil that holds on to virtually every drop of moisture, create the perfect conditions for growing California’s distinctive japonica rice.
Florida annually produces 20,000 to 25,000 acres of rice. Most of this production is in the Everglades Agricultural Area, which is south of Lake Okeechobee and west of West Palm Beach.
Louisiana’s cuisine is world famous due in no small part to its rice! Louisiana is one of the nation’s top three rice-producing states, growing mostly long-grain rice. While southwestern Louisiana is the primary center for rice production and milling, rice is also grown in the northeastern part of the state.
Rice production is concentrated in the northeast area of the state with Bolivar and Tunica Counties accounting for the most rice acreage. The 221 Mississippi rice farms grow mostly long-grain rice, which is versatile and widely used.
Southeast Missouri’s Bootheel region is home to the state’s rice industry and produces mainly long-grain rice varieties including Jasmine.
The upper Texas coast is home to most of the state’s rice production and milling industry. The Texas Rice Belt plays an important environmental, as well as agricultural, role in the coastal prairie.
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