I have been troubled by this question for a while. We always see people in rice fields in Asia, but when was the last time you saw another culture growing, picking, or harvesting rice?
I mean rice is a staple in multiple cultures diets, but Asia cannot be the only country to produce rice.
Through my crack research efforts, I have discovered that rice was grown in the US in South Carina during the 1800’s, but I have yet to figure out what happened? (Other than the Emancipation Proclamation since most rice harvesters were slaves)
I know that there are different kinds of rice, but I am most curious about white rice.
Rice in the USA was a staple in the early days. Areas that were warm enough and had river back-flow from the ocean (to re-flood the paddies, back-flow came back as fresh not salt water, i.e., further up-stream)were perfect for rice. South Carolia was a good example and I believe they even exported it.
Slaves may have been used at this time but the cotton gin (Eli Whitney?) in the 1700s made cotton so easy / economical /lucrative it blew rice out of the water.
The gin made slavery - as we came to know it - in the South possible.
We must still grow rice somewhere in the Southern US but I don’t now where.
Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&* codes 'til I get 'em right.
Rice is a very important crop in California.
If tou’re really interested you can go to this site and learn all about the rice industry. http://www.cria.org/
Peace,
mangeorge
My trusty agricultural information handbook is a 1996 edition, but I think it’s still reasonably accurate.
Rice ranks as the 25th largest farm commodity in the United States, valued at more than $800 million. Top producing states are Arkansas, Louisiana, California, Texas and Mississippi.
Worldwide, about 90 countries have significant rice production, led by India and China. Most of the countries are in tropical areas (warm and wet is good for rice, which needs to be under water for a portion of the growth cycle. If it’s not naturally rainy, the fields can be irrigated.
Botanically, all rices are members of the grass family. White rice is white because it’s milled that way. Nutritionally, the difference is between milled and unmilled rice, not between different types. Most milled rice is fortified to to the B-vitamins back in.
First things first. Asia is not a country but rather a continent upon which there are many countries.
As you would imagine, a large majority of rice is grown in Asia, but there are other producing areas, too. From The International Rice Research Institute , here are 1994 production figures in ,000 tonnes.
Asia 485,077
Latin America 20, 036
Africa 15, 855
USA 8,972
Europe 2, 113
Australia 1, 017
Rest of the World 1,631
Total 534,701
Rice is produced domestically in Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. You can learn more at the USA Rice Federation . South Carolina was a good place to grow rice earlier in the century because the rivers there back up naturally, allowing for flooding of the fields. With modern agricultural methods, it is no longer necessary to rely on a river’s benevolence to grow the stuff.
I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!
Riceland Rice is based in Arkansas, isn’t it? Anyway, while on the drive from St. Louis to north central Arkansas when I was a kid, we used to drive through the rice fields.
I remember reading years back that the Chinese government had offered a substantial reward, something on the hundreds of thousands of dollars, to anyone who could construct a rice planting and/or harvesting machine. At the time, the offer had been in place for several years and nobody had come anywhere near close to success. The two main problems were that no tractor could maneuver in the mud without getting stuck, and there was no mechanism for planting the rice shoots that didn’t tear most of them up, killing them.
We have few rice paddies 'round my area; is rice cultivation still non-mechanized? - MC
About rice in Texas – I know that we used to grow it around here (Houston area, I mean. It explains all of the areas around here named “Rice.”) But I’ve never actually seen rice paddies in Texas. Are they still around?
Yes, Jefferson, Chambers, Galveston & Brazoria Counties have lots of rice farming. You can see some rice farms when you drive down I45 or 146 to Galveston.
Rice planting and harvest is entirely mechanized (at least in the USA).
According to the USA Rice council:
Today, land planes scrape and shift the soil to level the land. Heavy equipment makes light work of building even fields that gently slope, enabling uniform flooding and controlled draining. Laser guidance systems determine where water control leeves will be placed. In early spring, acres of seeds are quickly planted to an exact depth by grain drills, or cast over dry or flooded fields by airplane. Gravity guides fresh water, pumped from deep wells, nearby rivers, canals or reservoirs to provide a constant water depth on the field of 2 to 3 inches during the growing season. And, to ensure a consistent and healthy crop, fertilizers are evenly applied from the air.
When the rice is mature, the water is drained from the fields. Sophisticated combines cut the rice, separating the grain from the stalk, and funnel it into trucks for transporting to dryers. At large commercial installations or small drying facilities on the farm, forced warm, dry air gradually removes moisture from the grain to a level suitable for storage. When sold, the rice will be transported to a rice mill.
Elmer J. Fudd,
Millionaire.
I own a mansion and a yacht.
