Introduction

Rice is the most widely consumed grain in the world.  In addition to feeding a third of the world’s population, rice provides a circle of life in every grain.  The rice industry drives the economy, provides wildlife habitat and is the basis for many fine cuisines from around the world.

How Rice Grows
Nowhere in the world is rice farming more advanced than in California.  Careful attention to every step ensures that rice produced in our Mediterranean climate exceeds customers’ expectations for great rice.  California’s hot days, cool nights and clay soil create nearly perfect conditions for growing medium and short grain rice varieties.

In March, farmers begin to prepare for planting by leveling their fields for even growth and to save water.  By April, the fields are ready to be planted.  In California, rice needs only five inches of water to grow; and keeping the water at a shallow depth has been shown to improve the rice plants’ ability to compete against weeds for food and sunlight. 

Rice fields are seeded by air.  Specially equipped planes drop rice seed that has been soaked in water, and acre by acre, the heavy seeds sink and the annual crop begins to grow.

Rice plants grow quickly, and typical varieties grown in California will reach a height of three feet. By late summer, the mature grain begins to appear in long clusters on the top of the plant.  Usually the grain is fully-grown and ready to be harvested in early September.  On average, each acre will yield over 8,000 pounds of rice annually. 

After it is harvested the rice is carefully dried and stored.  At the mill, the hull is first removed, leaving brown rice.  White rice is the result of gently removing the bran layers of the brown rice to leave just the inner grain.  Rice mills in California are among the most advanced in the world, with specialized equipment to mill, sort and package rice to meet the highest quality standards.

Rice Fields Benefit Wildlife
Rice fields provide a habitat for 235 species of wildlife, including birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles.  While rice fields produce food for human consumption, they also provide more than 500,000 acres of wetland habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and 60,000 tons of waste grain, a valuable food source for wintering birds.  Winter flooding of rice fields helps decompose rice straw left after the harvest and provides migratory habitat for over 60 percent of the total waterfowl along the Pacific Flyway.  As a result, duck populations have grown, shorebird populations have risen, and other species of special concern in California have been provided food and a home.

Source:  The California Rice Commission www.calrice.org