Since news broke that the famed rice-growing family of Koda Farms was planning to retire from day-to-day farming, co-owner Robin Koda has received dozens of phone calls and social media messages from panicked consumers wondering about the fate of their beloved traditional rice, particularly the Kokuho Rose traditional rice developed by her grandfather Keisaburo Koda, who started the farm 97 years ago.
Your answer?
“Stop freaking out. Stay calm. This is chapter two of the Koda family legacy.”
Rice products will continue to be widely available at Japanese and specialty grocery stores on the West Coast and other markets across the country. However, Koda Farms rice products will no longer be sold at farmers markets in Santa Monica and Hollywood.
Robin Koda holds raw organic Kokuho Rose heirloom rice from her family's nearly 100-year-old farm.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
The quality of rice will remain the same and will probably improve, Koda added.
Koda Farms' trademarks for its various types of rice and rice flour will now be licensed to grain manufacturer Western Foods LLC, a family-owned company that sources and processes gluten-free grains in Northern California and Arkansas. Koda said the family will ensure that all products associated with the Koda name have its approval.
The Koda family produces two varieties of rice: their own medium-grain Kokuho Rose rice and the short-grain Sho-Chiku-Bai glutinous rice. They also mill Blue Star brand mochiko rice flour and Diamond K rice flour. Their rice and flours have been praised by chefs and food experts, and Kokuho Rose (which has a loyal following to this day) is credited with playing a key role in the 1960s spread of sushi to Los Angeles.
Founder Keisaburo Koda returned to farming after his family was forced into a Colorado internment camp during World War II and sold much of their land and equipment. He hired rice breeder Arthur Hughes Williams and the two developed the first premium medium-grain rice to be introduced to the market under the name Kokuho Rose. The variety was created specifically for the farm’s saline, adobe soil and climate in 1962. This flavorful traditional rice is the result of crossing a medium-grain rice from California with a long-grain rice from the Middle East.
Robin Koda said she and her brother, co-owner Ross Koda, will remain as brand ambassadors and that their rice will continue to be available and will likely expand its reach to other markets.
“We're not going anywhere,” Robin Koda stressed.
Robin Koda, in his rice field, said there are no plans to sell the farm in South Dos Palos, which has been in the family since 1927.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
Koda said it became too arduous to continue farming in California. He cited several expenses, such as water and insurance, as too high. Also, his most loyal workers were of retirement age and the labor pool for new workers in South Dos Palos is limited, he said.
Koda's brother and co-owner, Ross Koda, said he had a lifelong connection to Koda Farms as the only son in the family, but had no choice but to move on.
“When I finally had to face the reality that the economics of California farming, water availability and climate change have forced paradigm shifts over which we have no control, I then had no choice but to make a business decision with no personal and emotional ties to the farm’s history,” he said in a written statement to The Times.
Koda said there are no plans to sell the farm in South Dos Palos, which has been in the family since 1927. He said they will no longer sell rice in the fall, when the crop is harvested, on the family farm. However, rice is currently being grown on their land, which Koda Farms is now leasing to another farmer who has a contract with Western Foods.
Kokuho Rose Traditional Organic Rice Dried Panicles from Koda Farms.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
Over the next few years, much of the Kokuho Rose heirloom rice will likely be grown primarily at the Koda farm, which sits on several hundred acres, but will eventually also be grown in Northern California near Western Foods, said Miguel Reyna, the company's president and co-owner.
“I think it’s very important to have some acres there. It’s where it all started,” said Reyna, 52. “Now I feel like I’m part of the family and I want to make sure I preserve the legacy of the Koda family.”
Robin Koda said she and her brother had previously hired Reyna to supplement their supply of conventional sweet rice.
“We trust him,” said Robin Koda, adding that she likes that Reyna's business is also family-owned and operated.
Rice processing will no longer be done at Koda Farms but will be moved to a state-of-the-art processing facility owned by Western Foods in Woodland, California. Pictured is the original Koda Farms headquarters in South Dos Palos that was lost during the Koda family's incarceration during World War II.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
“He’s the next generation. In a sense, that’s how we see Miguel and Western Foods,” Koda said. “This is just a transition. It’s going to become a family business.”
Rice processing (drying and milling) will no longer be done at Koda Farms in South Dos Palos, but will be moved to a state-of-the-art processing plant owned by Western Foods in Woodland, Northern California, that can process more rice. Reyna said it's possible that some of the rice will eventually be processed at a plant in Arkansas.
The Koda family will slowly dismantle the processing plant on their farm. The buildings used to process the rice are decades old, Robin Koda said. Part of the mill dates back to the 1950s and the machinery is slow and old, she said.
“It is impossible to find spare parts for some of the machinery,” he explained.
Pallets of packaged sweet rice flour at Koda Farms.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
That's the main reason some of their products are still packaged in paper. They never made the transition to modern plastic packaging for the 5- and 10-pound bags, Robin Koda said.
She understands that some people may find paper packaging “charming,” but plastic packaging, she said, helps better protect rice from pantry pests and doesn't retain moisture like paper does.
Reyna said Western Foods hopes to grow the brand by using Koda rice to produce gluten-free mixes, panko and other organic products under the Koda Farms brand.
Koda is excited about Reyna’s ability to expand rice production and get the grain to more consumers.
Considered a modern variety in her grandfather's time, the Kokuho rose grows too slowly and has too low a yield by today's standards, Koda said. She hopes Reyna will find a way to produce better yields.
Reyna said Western Foods expects to grow production and processing in Northern California by double digits each year and expand customer demand.
Reyna said Kokuho rose will eventually be grown in the Sacramento area, the state's largest rice-growing region. “It could be a better growing region for Kokuho rose,” said Reyna, who is working with a team of UC Davis researchers to evaluate whether rice will grow well there.
Robin Koda walks through the rice fields at Koda Farms.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
Koda says Reyna reminds him of his grandfather. The son of Mexican immigrants who worked on farms, Reyna started out as a laborer at a rice mill and worked his way up to leadership positions before becoming the owner of his own business.
“Miguel has enormous vision and boundless energy,” Koda said. “He has drive and ambition, and he also has the resources to do so.”
