America's rice country has historically been the swampy South, but some small-scale farmers in Vermont are starting to grow hardy Japanese varieties--and they're seeing great results.
Epicurious has an interview with the folks who planted a test paddy this year, and it's worth a read. One of the more interesting points? The young farmers are trying to out-produce modern industrial agriculture in a more sustainable way, and rice is a perfect way to do that. They told Epi:
"We could help mitigate water runoff, clean the water running through our farm, and produce way more food than with any other grain. We could develop a cycle of nutrients, from our animals to the rice paddies to the rice and complementary plants growing around the rice, and then back to us, our animals, and our community."
[via Epicurious]