Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Marvin ``Butch'' Baden. Butch began his career in the U.S. rice industry in 1958 as an ``office errand boy'' at Riceland Foods. He has served in many capacities since that time, including his current role as senior vice president of rice sales at Producers Rice Mill. During Butch's 37 years at Producers Rice Mill alone, he has marketed the equivalent of 1.3 billion bushels of rough rice, which translates to about 20 million metric tons of both milled and brown rice. In 1981, when U.S. rice acreage exploded from 2 million acres per year to just under 4 million acres, new market access for U.S. rice was crucial in supporting prices for U.S. rice farmers. Butch was one of the critical pioneers at the time who dramatically expanded the export demand for U.S. rice. Butch was directly involved in the opening of new export markets for U.S. rice in the Caribbean, Iran, Iraq, and Nigeria. Butch also expanded U.S. rice exports in Europe, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. With nearly 50 percent of the U.S. rice production required to be exported, the fruits of Butch's efforts not only enhanced the returns of the farmers he worked for, but the new export demand for U.S. rice also benefited the market prices of all U.S. rice farmers. In all, Butch has logged nearly 9 million air miles on behalf of the U.S. rice industry.…”