How Rice is Produced, Featuring Lundberg Family Farms

Do you know how rice is grown? Whether its brown rice or white rice, long-grain rice, or medium-grain, every rice variety is grown the same way. Unlike in Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines where rice paddies are sometimes built against hills, here in the United States rice farmers utilize large spans on land and natural eater to flood their rice fields.Show more

Like all crops, rice production starts with rice seeds. At the beginning of the growing season, farmers plant rice seeds in the ground. Once the rice plants begin to grow, farmers flood the fields to prevent weeds from growing. After 190 days the rice crop is ready for harvest. Without machines, this labor-intensive task would take ages.

Once harvested the rice grains are separated from panicles in a process called threshing. From there the grain of rice must be dried to decrease the moisture content. Depending on the types of rice the moisture content should be anywhere between 18-22%. After, the rice is transported to the hulling process where the husk is removed from the rice. This is the last step brown rice goes through.

For white rice, the rice is brought to the milling process where the outer bran layers are removed, leaving a white rice.

From there, the rice is either packaged or processed into products like rice cakes.

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