California grows mostly medium-grain Calrose with a small amount of long grain.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Organic Center, which supports science-based organic research, wants to spur U.S. organic rice production and has partnered on a recent study on the subject. But the Washington, D.C., group’s goal may be easier said than done.

While demand for organic products continues to grow, cheap imports have filled much of the void, depressing the market. As a result, several organic rice growers said they are hurting and don’t expect domestic production to expand, at least in the near future.

“Organic is definitely crashing and burning in California,” said Christopher Lopes, who farms regenerative organic rice with his father, Bruce, near Princeton. They pointed to imports, first from Argentina and now from Southeast Asia, for flooding the market with inexpensive organic rice.

The father-son team had been growing for a Sacramento Valley rice mill, which told them just before planting there would be no contracts for organic rice this year. Fortunately, Christopher Lopes said they were able to pivot and sell their organic brown rice directly through a farm-to-schools program.

“That gave us another lifeline,” he said.

Anders Lundberg, director of farming operations for Lundberg Family Farms in Richvale, said being vertically integrated has allowed his family and the growers who contract with the company to be more resilient. In addition to growing rice, the family-run operation has its own mill and packaging line, conducts its own research and breeding, and has its own branded products on grocery shelves.

Lundberg Family Farms markets certified regenerative organic rice and rice grown under a strict set of sustainability rules.

“I think it’s a tremendous advantage to have an established consumer and market base,” Lundberg said. “We work with a lot of growers who have been with us for decades. They’re largely the types who stick with the organic movement.”

Even so, increasing domestic organic rice production is challenging because it involves several intertwined factors, said University of California Cooperative Extension rice systems adviser Luis Espino. Organic rice, for example, tends to have similar per-acre costs but lower yield potential along with increased risks compared to conventional rice. This makes it unattractive to many growers, according to study results.

Converting to organic also requires a three-year transition period during which growers typically incur additional expenses, such as for organic fertilizer, but don’t receive the organic premiums.

“It’s a complex situation,” said Espino, who was part of the study.

Several challenges, such as addressing tariffs and imports, modifying crop insurance to account for additional organic risks and addressing production costs during the three-year transition, will likely require policy changes, he said. If or when they will occur is unknown.

Many of Espino’s comments were echoed in the 14-page case study issued by The Organic Center. The results were based on responses by 164 conventional and 17 organic farmers, who completed surveys sent to more than 6,200 U.S. rice producers. From there, survey organizers hosted four focus groups in El Campo and Beaumont, Texas, and Yuba City.

Led by the University of Arkansas, the project partnered with The Organic Center and UCCE to gather insights into why U.S. producers, who they said were well equipped to grow organic rice, weren’t increasing production. The study examined the crop’s economic viability, production hurdles and market potential.

Of the six main U.S. rice-producing states, California and Texas produce 69% of the nation’s organic rice, according to 2020 U.S. Department of Agriculture figures. Nationally, organic rice accounts for about 1.8% of total acres, based on 2022 USDA figures. In California, organic rice represents about 3.5%, or 21,000 acres, of the state’s total rice acreage of more than 500,000 this season.

Complicating the organic market is the impact of inflation on producers and consumers, Espino said. The cost of crop inputs continues to rise, but it isn’t accompanied by corresponding increases in farm-gate prices.

Rising prices also have prompted many consumers to reduce discretionary spending and seek ways to cut food expenses. Instead of organic rice products, they may opt for conventionally grown ones, which are often less expensive.

As rice production costs have continued to go up, domestically grown rice has become less competitive, losing market share to foreign producers. This is evident as the amount of imported organic and conventional rice continues to increase annually.

Between 2022 and 2024, the U.S. imported organic rice—mostly long-grain aromatic varieties from India and Thailand —valued at an average of $38.6 million per year, according to USDA.

In California, Lundberg cited the 2022 drought, which idled about half the state’s rice acres and sent organic and conventional rice prices soaring, as one reason for increased imports. Many buyers turned to less expensive sources to fill the void, and they have continued to use them even after the drought ended, he added.

At the same time, the state’s 2023 and 2024 rice crops were large, creating ample supplies and a large carryover that kept prices low. Based on early yield reports, the 2025 rice crop also appears substantial.

“I think that cost pressure is still lingering,” Lundberg said, adding he expected it to continue for some time.

Across the board, farmers in the study cited rice imports as a direct threat to their market viability.

Historically, prices for organically grown products, such as produce, corn and cotton, have earned a premium of 1.5 to 1.75 times that of their conventionally grown counterparts, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Organic Program specialist Bob Whitney. But organic rice prices have been more difficult to predict mostly because of Budweiser’s influence, he said.

The beer-brewing giant uses organic rice as a brewing ingredient and previously purchased it domestically for its Michelob Ultra Pure Gold beer until last year, when it began importing organic rice.

“What makes it hard to calculate has been a general reluctance to set prices because organic rice imports just keep dropping their prices,” said Whitney, who was involved in the study.

He based his analysis on long-grain rice, which is grown primarily in the South and is the most widely grown type in the U.S. California grows mostly medium-grain Calrose with a small amount of long grain.

— Vicky Boyd, California Farm Bureau

Published Date: October 9, 2025