California Rice Producers put out the welcome mat

John Deere Magazine – The Furrow – February 2016 Special ‘Why We Care’ Edition

By Nicole Montna Van Vleck as told to Steve Werblow

Regardless of whether I’m in the office seeing them from my window or sitting in a duck blind watching them fly in, the huge flocks of birds that are migrating through the Sacramento Valley of California are an amazing sight.  Read the full article here: The Furrow

Just Add Water

California Rice Commission – RiceNews, YouTube

The drought has severely limited wildlife habitat in rice fields. This montage of clips were taken today at Montna Farms in Sutter County. A few inches of water were added to fields in the BirdReturns Program, providing critical habitat to a wide array of birds. BirdReturns is a collaborative effort of The Nature Conservancy and California Rice Commission.

See the video here:

2015 Women Who Mean Business


Sacramento Business Journal. – June 19, 2015, Cheryl Sarfaty, Correspondent  –  Photo by Dennis McCoy      

Third-generation rice farmer Nicole Montna Van Vleck didn’t have to look far to discover where she could make the biggest difference in her life’s work.  It just took some time to get there.

See her full profile here:Women Who Mean Business – Nicole Montna Van Vleck