ARLINGTON, VA, November 28, 2006 — The USA Rice Federation today released a recommended plan of action to remove genetically engineered rice from the U.S. supply to re-establish a marketable supply of U.S. rice. Following U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Mike Johanns’ August 18, 2006, announcement of the trace presence of genetically engineered (GE) rice in the commercial supply, the USA Rice Federation has worked with industry and government officials to identify the Bayer CropScience Liberty Link traits and to mitigate their market effects. "The action plan released today proposes urgent, concrete steps to be taken to restore market confidence,” declared Al Montna, a California rice producer and chairman of the USA Rice Federation. “We are requesting that state authorities take specific actions to ensure that commercial seed supplies for the 2007 crop have tested negative for the presence of Liberty Link (LL) genetically engineered traits. The plan also makes recommendations to all segments of the rice industry to further ensure that Liberty Link traits do not appear in the rice supply from 2007 forward,” Montna said.