Did you know — the Sacramento Valley is responsible for pretty much all the rice found in sushi rolls across America? October is harvest season for rice, and according to the California Rice Commission, the Golden State is the second-largest rice producing state in the country (watch your back, Arkansas), with 500,000+ harvested rice acres in our region alone — which stretches from Davis to Chico.
Those rice fields are also home to 230 different species of wildlife, and an important stop on the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. Almost 60% of the food eaten by ~10 million ducks and geese on their annual travels comes from those same rice fields as well.
All those grains of rice add up to a whopping $5 billion contributed to California’s economy — not to mention the 25,000 jobs it creates for our region. We have to admit — our rice is pretty nice.
