Comstock's magazine 0919 - September 2019 | Page 51

SACRAMENTO INTERNATIONAL HORSE S H O W SEPTEMBER 25 - OCTOBER 6, 2 019 and China, LaGrande and his team decided to push — and it paid off. The first shipment of Sun Valley Rice is ex- pected to arrive at the Port of Shekou in Shenzhen, China, in October. LaGrande says the tariff talks be- tween the U.S. and China govern- ments did not affect his deal. Any higher cost due to tariffs will be offset by the pricing of his California rice, he says. “When they can buy rice or other food from the U.S., they are willing to pay a premium for the product,” La- Grande says. However, as this issue of Com- stock’s went to press, it remained un- clear if the ongoing trade war would have a long-term affect on the poten- tial growth of the China market for California rice. “We’ve spent decades chasing this enormous market, and the Sun Valley Rice sale is the first ever of U.S. rice to a private importer,” Betsy Ward, pres- ident and CEO of USA Rice, an indus- try advocacy group, said in a news re- lease. “It is truly historic and sets the stage for continued regular trade with China for U.S.-grown rice.” LaGrande hopes developing the China market will give California farmers a higher return for the invest- ment they’ve been making. “The crop we’re raising is not only high quality from a table point of view, (but from) a production point of view and sustain- ability,” LaGrande says. “My fellow rice millers who take rice to China can bring California rice farmers a higher return for those investments they’ve been making.” n Judy Farah is a veteran journalist and writer who has worked in the New York, Los Angeles and Sacramento markets. Read more of Judy’s work at www.ju- dyfarah.com and find her on Twitter @newsbabe1530. MURIETA EQUESTRIAN CENTER | RANCHO MURIETA, CA Saturday Sept 28 7:30PM $40,000 WELCOME GRAND PRIX 1.45M Thursday Oct 3 6:00PM $36,500 GRAND PRIX QUALIFIER 1.50M Friday, October 4 6:15PM $36,500 MURIETA INN, SPA & RESTAURANT 1.45M Saturday, October 5 7:00PM LONGINES FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP TM SACRAMENTO FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 6:15PM 2 FOR THE PRICE OF 1 ADMISSION Veterans and Kids are FREE | First 100 get a FREE Hot Dog & Drink W W W . J U M P S A C T O . C O M | Tickets on sale early August The next generation of Act! ™ is here! all-in-one CRM sales and marketing platform Contact me for a demo & free trial chris pumphrey | act! software coach [email protected] • 406.493.7047 • www.actcoaching.com September 2019 | comstocksmag.com 51