USA Rice Federation

Background

The USA Rice Federation was formed in 1994 through the merger of three national rice industry associations: the Rice Millers’ Association, USA Rice Council, and U.S. Rice Producers’ Group. The USA Rice Merchants’ Association joined the structure in 2005. In 2015, the organization shortened its public-facing name to “USA Rice” while retaining “USA Rice Federation” as the organization’s legal name. The Rice Foundation, a related tax-exempt charitable entity, was formed in 1986 and operates industry research and training programs for the industry. ^{1 1}

Activities

USA Rice Federation engages in lobbying to shape legislative and regulatory policies on trade, farm programs, and environmental rules. The association reported spending $470,000 on federal lobbying activity in 2024 and lobbied on bills concerning public health, agriculture appropriations, public health information, and pesticide regulations. ⁴

The group also supports U.S. trade policy that opposes foreign governments that subsidize their domestic rice crops. In 2023, it supported legislation to establish a joint task force on agricultural trade enforcement between the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with one goal of the legislation being to force India into trade compliance. ⁵

The organization also administers the Rice Stewardship Partnership, a conservation program funded by sources including the Walmart Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. ⁶

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Over its history, USA Rice Federation Political Action Committee (PAC) has typically raised and spent over $400,000 in each two-year election cycle on behalf of congressional campaigns. Since 2012, the PAC has supported Republicans at a significantly higher rate than Democrats. ⁷

Funding

USA Rice Federation derives most of its annual revenue from dues and program services, with revenue totaling $13.1 million in 2024. ⁸

In 2023, the Biden administration’s Agriculture Department awarded a $85 million grant to the USA Rice Federation to create the Rice Stewardship Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, which paid farmers for “eco-friendly rice.” The program was jointly operated by USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited with support from the National Black Growers Council and was made available to growers in California, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. As of 2025, only $2.8 million of the $85.6 million grant had been disbursed by the government. ^{9 10}

Leadership

As of 2025, Peter Bachmann was the president and chief executive officer of USA Rice, earning $265,003 in 2024 compensation. Bachmann previously worked as a senior advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture in the first Trump administration. ^{11 12}