Our Fish in the Fields™ program was recently highlighted by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program for its success in integrating fish into rice fields—showing the potential to reduce methane emissions by up to two-thirds.

On March 14, we gathered at Isbell Farms, the home of our 140-acre research site, where the generous Isbell family has hosted our project for over three years. We were excited to demonstrate our enhanced on-field operations, including our fish vacuum pump and new methane measuring devices that supplement our e-flux towers. We also introduced everyone to Lucky Catch, a prototype commercial pet treat product, and presented the first edition of the FIF Implementation Guide.

I’m writing to update you on Fish in the Fields (FIF) and the important progress we’ve been making in 2022. Our work to drive greater sustainability into two essential crops, rice and fish, continues to gain momentum and participation among key stakeholders in California and across the country.

In early December, Resource Renewal Institute (RRI) president Deborah Moskowitz and Director of Programs Chance Cutrano spent a busy and productive three days at the USA Rice Federation (USARice) 2021 Outlook Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Resource Renewal Institute (RRI) is thrilled to announce that our President, Deborah Moskowitz, and Director of Programs, Chance Cutrano, are recipients of a prestigious environmental award from Acterra, the respected Peninsula environmental organization that “brings people together to create local solutions for a healthy planet.”

For six decades Huey D. Johnson was a steadfast force for nature, protecting wild rivers and securing millions of acres of land as Western Regional Director of the Nature Conservancy, and later as its president; as founder of the Trust for Public Land and as California’s Secretary of Resources, where he spearheaded “Investment for Prosperity,” a 100-year plan that became a blueprint for sustainability programs worldwide.

With this week’s introduction of thousands of fish into the fallow flooded rice fields owned by fourth-generation rice farmer, Charles Mathews, Fish in the Fields continues to expand its project of establishing a profitable – and methane-reducing – rotation crop for California’s half-million acres of rice cultivation.