Calif. Farmer creates identity for his rice

Great sushi depends on rice that is just right — grains that are glossy and yielding after cooking, sticky with a touch of sweetness, but able to retain their color, aroma and shape.

Nearly all sushi rice used in the United States is grown in the Sacramento River valley, where the snowmelt and the region's warm days and cool nights create ideal conditions for the medium- and short-grain varieties preferred by sushi chefs.

But even in California, where many chefs have developed relationships with farmers and put their names on the menus, rice is an anonymous, bulk product — a faceless commodity...