Policy Blocks Midwest Rice Adaptation

Rice paddies can thrive in increasingly flood‑prone Midwest bottomlands, but federal farm programs geared to corn and soy make the switch costly and rare. The Illinois case shows it’s technically and economically feasible with levees, pumps, and management, yet institutional incentives discourage diversification. — It reframes climate adaptation in U.S. agriculture as a governance problem, not just a technology one, implying subsidy and insurance rules must change to enable region‑appropriate crops.