GROWING RICE IN AUSTRALIA

Who Grows Rice

There are around 2,000 family operated farm businesses growing rice in the Murrumbidgee valleys of NSW and the Murray valleys of NSW and Victoria. In NSW all growers are shareholders of Ricegrowers Limited which is the company responsible for production and marketing of rice and rice based food in Australia and Internationally. These families produce 1 to 1.7 million tonnes of rice as well as other irrigated food and fibre products. The average size of an Australian rice farm is around 400 hectares.

Not Just Any Farmer Can Grow Rice

The industry has strict regulations to ensure the maintenance of high growing standards that have minimal impact to the environment.

• In the Murrumbidgee Valley, rice grows on no more than one third of each farm. In the Murray Valley, there is a total hydraulic load limit of 4 megalitres per hectare. These policies seek to provide an even distribution of water over the landscape and balanced hydraulic pressure on the water table.
• Rice grows only on approved ‘heavy clay’ soils that minimise seepage into water tables. These are established using electro-magnetic technology (EM31) and soil textural analysis of samples bored at intervals across the paddock. More than three metres of heavy, continuous clay is required for unrestricted rice growing.
• Water use on rice cannot exceed the industry target requirement. Allowable water consumption levels for rice growing are set by Irrigation Companies utilising climatic data records by the CSIRO. Should these limits be exceeded, farmers must attend an interview with the Irrigation Company. This may result in restrictions on the use of individual paddocks for rice in subsequent year, or the banning of rice production on those paddocks - Rice is the only agricultural crop to have such rigorous restrictions applied.
• No rice crop grows within 150 metres of a watercourse.
• Water recycling systems are encouraged, as careful monitoring by Irrigation Companies of drainage water entering drainage schemes must meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.

Temperate varieties suit our climate

We often associate tropical climates with rice growing…

Eighty per cent of rice produced in Australia is of medium grain Japonica varieties. These are commonly known as temperate varieties – grown throughout the world in climates similar to Australia. These climates reach high summer temperatures without the humidity of tropical climates and are well suited to Japonica varieties.

The remainder of rice grown in Australia is long grain Indica type varieties, including fragrant rice. Amaroo and Millin are the most popular medium grain varieties and Langi is the largest selling long grain. Australia also produces shorter grain varieties, such as Koshihikari specifically for the Japanese market.

A fledging wheat crop reaping the benefits of residual moisture following rice harvest, increasing overall water use efficiency from the rice farming system.

Most countries grow rice as a monoculture whereas Australian rice grows as part of a unique farming system

Farmers use a rotation cycle across the whole farm over four to five years. This means that our growers have other agricultural enterprises on the farm as well as rice. This system, designed for efficiency, sustainability and safety means our growers maintain water savings, have increased soil nutrients, higher yields and much healthier crops.

More Crop per Drop

Once our Australian rice growers harvest their rice, they use the subsoil moisture remaining in the soil to plant another crop, either a wheat crop or pasture for animals. This form of rotation is the most efficient in natural resource and agricultural terms.

“One year I’ll grow rice in a paddock and after harvest I’ll directly sow in a wheat crop. I am getting two crops from the same water because I utilise the moisture remaining in the soil from the rice”
Les Gordon, rice grower of 22 years.

ABOUT RICE
 History of Rice
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 Industry Structure
 Uses of Rice
 Growing Rice in Australia
 How Rice is Grown
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