The USA Rice Federation encourages high school seniors throughout rice country to invest some vacation time in planning an innovative promotion activity for September National Rice Month.

The scholarship contest, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, offers prizes totaling $8,500. The grand prize is a $4,000 scholarship and a trip to the 2011 USA Rice Outlook Conference in Austin, Texas, for the scholarship presentation. The second-place winner will receive $3,000 and third-place, $1,500.

High school seniors in the 2011-12 school year from Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas can qualify to enter by conducting a promotion activity in their local communities during September with U.S.-grown rice as the central theme.

For more information and a scholarship contest entry form, visit www.usarice.com.