When we meet with legislators and regulators we talk about the Pacific Flyway, salmon and the hundreds of species of wildlife that use rice. We also focus on the rural communities in the Sacramento Valley that are so closely tied to our industry. Everyone gets it. They understand that our rice fields are so much more than the sushi rice they produce. What is harder, is when we are asked how much rice we need in California to support all these benefits. That is where the Rice Footprint comes in.  The Rice Footprint, an idea born in our strategic planning, is a comprehensive effort to answer that question – how many acres of rice and where, to continue to provide all the needed habitat for the Pacific Flyway, rearing and food resources for juvenile salmon and support our rural communities.