What Happens After Rice Harvest: A Look Inside Our Post-Harvest Process

Harvest time is one of the busiest and most exciting times of the year here on the farm, but the work doesn’t stop when the last truckload of rice leaves the field. After months of planting, growing, and harvesting, there’s still a lot that needs to be done to ensure the rice is properly stored, and the fields are prepared for the next season. I wanted to take some time to walk you through what happens right after rice harvest – the steps that often go unseen but are just as important as growing the crop itself.

Drying and Storing the Grain

As soon as the rice is harvested, the first thing on our minds is drying it down to the right moisture level. We keep a close eye on moisture levels to ensure the grain doesn’t get too dry. If it dries too much, it can lead to cracks and a lower milling yield, which affects our bottom line. Check out this blog for more info on grain drying.

The 2024 rice crop has had its share of poor milling. I am currently reviewing our planting dates, harvest dates, harvest moisture, varieties, and milling yield to see if I can find any correlation to anything as to why some of the crop is milling less than others. As usual there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. I will probably write a post about my findings and the questions I have about rice milling yields. More on that later.

Once the rice is at the right moisture level, approximately 13%, we usually ship it out to the buyer to make room at our facility for our Delta Soy natto soybeans.  (More on that in a later post!) If we do store rice after harvest, there is daily monitoring of our automated system to make sure temperature and moisture are in good condition.  I am a big believer in walking around and checking fans and vents as well as looking inside the bins periodically. Especially after a significant rain event. Sometimes you may find a small leak that over time could cause big problems.

Marketing the Grain

I spend a good portion of my time reading about the commodity markets, watching and charting our local basis and reviewing historical and current world markets to see what I can learn. I also work hard to know our costs and estimate good average yields to be able to know what price will help us to be profitable. In years like 2024, the prices offered are not high enough to provide a profit so I must be disciplined to sell when I think we will lose the least. Thankfully, I had marketed a good portion of our crops well before harvesting. I usually begin marketing the next crop a year or year and a half in advance if the prices look good. Of course, we may book inputs to match those costs so if they rise, we are locked in at a good margin.

Getting Ready for the Next Season

Once the rice is out of the field, we turn our attention to what’s left behind – the residue. After harvest, the fields are covered in straw and stubble, and we must manage that before we start preparing for the next crop. Some farmers choose to burn the residue, which can be an efficient way to clear the fields, but as I’ve mentioned before, it’s important to be responsible with burning and to check the FireSMART app for safe conditions. (check out this blog for more info on the FireSMART app)

A large portion of the rice acres we manage are flooded to control the residue. This also provides habitat for overwintering ducks and geese along the Mississippi flyway. When looked at from the habitat that the entire rice industry provided by flooding rice fields in the winter the value to build that habitat is estimated at $3.4 billion. Not only does flooding provide the fuel for the birds to migrate but it decomposes the rice straw. Once the field is drained in the spring it is so clean that one might think it had been tilled.

Planning and Financial Management

Now, here’s the part a lot of folks don’t think about – post-harvest is a time for financial planning and decision-making. This is when we review the season. What should we have done differently? We also review planting dates, yields, milling yields, field applications etc to make decisions about practices we might improve. I am lucky to have an assistant that builds some impressive spreadsheets for us to review this data. We can manipulate it in diverse ways and see what might “show up” as we review.   

We soil sample one half of our farm every year and plug in the results to our crop plan for the next season. This helps us to determine what fertilizer is needed for the crop we will plant on each field. We use this to project budgets and financial needs for the crop. As well as choosing varieties to plant and an herbicide plans for the known weeds we will need to control in the various crops we raise. Plus, we must think of our land partners. We still use the crop share model with much of our rented land. We have long and deep relationships with our land partners. Making sure they are receiving a stable rent is part of our planning process.

One tool that has really helped me over the years is agricultural accounting software that tracks costs and profits by each variety of the crop we plant or piece of equipment we utilize. It has been a game-changer in understanding where we stand financially and how we can improve year over year. We have up to date cost accounting which we review on a monthly basis. Are we on track to stay within our budget or not? Without this software we might be 6-8 weeks away from knowing where we stand. In a business that has large seasonal cash outlays we must know where we are with our actual expenses on a monthly or even better, a weekly basis.

Equipment Maintenance

After a long harvest, the machinery takes a beating, and it’s time to give it some much-needed TLC. We spend a good bit of time after harvest cleaning, repairing, and maintaining our combines, tractors, and other equipment. This is essential to making sure everything is in good working order when the next planting season comes around. Proper maintenance helps prevent breakdowns and costly repairs later.

Meeting Season

I am a huge believer in personal development and continuing education. The winter months are when most farmer meetings are held. Sometimes I find it difficult to attend all the meetings I want to AND get my work done! This winter, I am excited that the USA Rice Outlook Conference will be held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Only an hour or two from the largest rice growing areas in our country, I hope farmers will take advantage of this great educational and peer networking event. Registration is live now and you should check out the conference. I encourage anyone in agriculture to attend but especially Arkansas rice farmers. This is a great chance to show the US rice industry just how important rice is to our state and our family farms. You will find me there so be sure to introduce yourself and tell me you have read my blog!! I would love to meet you!