Production process:

Cycle of a rice crop

The cycle of a rice crop is a fascinating and intricate process that spans several months, beginning with careful land preparation and ending with the rice packaged and ready for consumption. Each stage – from sowing and water management to harvesting, milling, and storage – requires precision and planning to ensure high-quality grain and sustainable farming practices. Below is an overview of the key steps that take rice from the paddock to your plate.

Ground Preparation

A farmer begins by preparing their land, designing the layout of their farm for the coming season. Rice is grown in laser levelled bays separated by check banks. Stops are installed to control the flow of water from their water source to each bay. Groundwork comes first for drill-sown crops, preparing the land months in advance to allow time for the land to settle before sowing seeds. For aerial and dry-broadcast crops, ground preparation can be delayed until closer to sowing.

Water Allocation

Rice farming is dependent on access to irrigation water. The price and availability of water determine how much rice a farmer can grow. Each year, government agencies assess the water resources available in the dams and allocate them to different users according to a hierarchy. Most or the water used in rice production is allocated to general security water entitlements. The volume of water these entitlements receive is determined last in this allocation hierarchy. They are also the lowest allocations in times of water shortages.

Seed order

A seed order is the stage when farmers purchase seeds for the upcoming season. Seed availability depends on several factors, including the quantity of each variety, which is determined by processor demand.

Sow

Once a farmer’s seed has been delivered, it is time to sow the crop. There are three popular sowing methods used in Australia.

Drill Sown: The most common method, where seeds are drilled directly into the soil in rows. This approach provides good seed-to-soil contact and efficient water use. After sown, the bays are flushed with water to germinate the rice and support the initial growth stages of the crop.

Aerial Sown: Seeds are spread from the air, in an aeroplane, over flooded bays. This method is often used when time is critical, or soil conditions make drilling difficult.

Dry Broadcast: Seeds are broadcast, via a spreader, onto dry soil before flooding. This technique can be quicker but requires careful timing to ensure successful germination.

Fertiliser

Starter fertiliser is applied to the crop at the time of sowing to ensure it has the essential nutrients needed for healthy growth and high yields. Typically, the fertiliser is a mixture of nitrogen and phosphorus, with micronutrients like zinc and sulphur. Balanced fertilisation prevents overuse or underuse of nutrients, reducing environmental impact and ensuring long-term soil health.

Crop growth is monitored from sowing through to the early tillering growth stage, with additional fertiliser applications made as required based on the target yield. For dry broadcast and aerial sown crops, the most efficient time to apply fertiliser is before sowing, whereas for drill sown crops it is applied to dry soil immediately prior to permanent water. This ensures nitrogen losses are kept to a minimum to maintain efficiency in every stage.

Permanent water

Permanent water is defined as the point at which water is ponded across the bays and maintained at a controlled height. The duration of permanent water varies with sowing method, variety, and growing region. Aeriel sown crops enter permanent water before sowing, dry broadcast crops within one week of sowing, and drill sown crops from around five weeks after sowing. However, when the rice plants are advanced enough, permanent water can be delayed until later in the season to reduce water use, provided adequate moisture is available to the crop through additional flush irrigations.

During the permanent water stage, growers maintain the minimum water depth needed to keep the soil covered or saturated, preventing further weed germination and ensuring the crop does not experience moisture stress. Permanent water is maintained until approximately 2-3 weeks prior to harvest.

Deep water

After anywhere from 14 to 60 days of permanent water, the rice crop moves into the reproductive phase of growth. This is known as the Panicle Initiation growth stage; defined as when the rice plant transitions from vegetative to reproductive development. At this time, growers will increase the depth of ponded water on the paddock to protect the developing panicle from both heat and cold stress.

Farmers manipulate the crop through the early stages of growth to ensure this critical growth stage is reached in the first two weeks of January, typically 60-70 days after sowing depending on variety and sowing method. The depth of ponded water required to protect the developing panicle is anywhere between 25-30cm, with the water depth gradually increased to its maximum over 10 days following panicle initiation.

Cold temperatures during this stage can sterilise the pollen, preventing fertilisation of the floret and result in significantly lower grain yield. Deep water is maintained for a period of 2-3 weeks or until the crop commences flowering.

Drainage

Drainage involves releasing all remaining water from the bays and allowing the crop and ground to dry for harvest. This typically occurs 10-14 days before harvesting. The crop continues to mature after drainage, with the grain moisture content declining to 22% at harvest. At harvest, it has been over 120 days since the rice crop was sown. During that time, each rice plant produced a large amount of biomass and several thousand rice grains, which equate to between 10,000 and 17,000kg of paddy rice per hectare.

Harvest

The rice crop is now golden yellow, and most grains are firm – the optimal time for harvesting. Harvest is completed by machinery: a large header that strips the grain and a chaser bin that collects it. From the chaser bin, the grains are emptied into a truck and transported to a storage facility.

Stubble management

Once a farmer has harvested their rice crop, they need to remove the remaining plant matter from their paddock and begin preparing for a new crop season. A rice crop leaves a large amount of healthy root systems and moisture in the ground for another crop to be planted shortly after harvest.

Quality assessment and Storage

During harvesting, rice grains are transported by truck to the grower's chosen processor's storage facility, where they are sampled and assigned a quality score that directly relates to the percentage of whole grains that can be milled from the load. The score is the basis for how much the grower will be paid for their crop. Higher quality crops are worth more money than lower quality crops.

After the loads are weighed and sampled, they are stored in their allotted bins determined by their variety type and quality score. Storage facilities are aerated to preserve the grain quality and prevent spoilage, pests and mould.

Mill

When rice is needed for processing, it is removed from the storage facility and sent to a mill. Milling is the process that turns paddy rice into brown rice and white rice.

• Brown rice is created by simply removing the husk from paddy rice.

• White rice is created by further removing the bran from the brown rice.

Packaged

Once rice has been milled, it is graded and cleaned before being conveyed down the line to be packaged for retail or bulk distribution.