Gueydan, with its expansive fields of rice, is our first extended experience of being in a heavily agricultural area, other than our month in Abbeville, where sugar cane is king. Unlike sugar cane, which grows tall and prevents a view over the field, rice fields, even at the height of their growth cycle, still allow an unimpeded view of the horizon. The land around here stretches away into the distance over the rice fields, creating sweeping vistas broken up only by farms houses, rice dryers, and the intermittent small housing community.
After so many years living in beach areas in Florida and the hills of California and the Czech Republic, it’s very different getting used to such flat lands. We’ve seen much of Vermilion Parish now by air, and then Hansford took us by truck into several of the fields here, showing us the rice, letting us walk through the fields, picking stalks of rice for us, and introducing us to Joe LeBlanc and other family members who are actively farming rice.
Growing the rice
Depending on specific weather conditions, rice is planted around here in late March or early April, grows throughout the hot and humid summer, and is harvested in late August or early September. If rice is planted too early the weather is too cold, and there are too many birds to eat the seeds and young rice. If planted later, in warmer weather, the rice grows and matures in the hotter sun, giving less yield, and creating more disease. The humidity and heat of a southern Louisiana summer are repressive to rice crops (and traveling cyclists!).
When up in the ultralight, we saw a number of perfect fields, and then we’d see some with what looked like big waves, as though something has swept through the field, or like a huge animal had been happily tromping away, creating a massive bed of rice stalks (check out our photo gallery). When told those were rice stalks falling, we had to ask, “what makes rice fall?” We found out that some varieties are naturally more stiff-stalked than others, making them less susceptible to ‘lodging’ (falling); and a good yield means heavier stalks; but normally heaviness of grain is too much nitrogen in the fertilizer, or plain bad luck of wind and summer thunderstorms hitting just before harvest. And of course there are hurricanes that hit during the season, like Ike and Gustav did this year.
We had two vivid memories relating to the fertilizer and the storms. One was Shane Stelly at the alligator farm. As we toured the sheds where the gators were growing, Shane told us how they clean the sheds and put the droppings in the fields. They got several hundred pounds of fertilizer the first year alone by doing this. The problem was, the fertilizer was so effective that all the rice fell! Now we finally understand that the gator droppings were extremely high in nitrogen, causing the falling rice.
The other memory was that fierce storm at the airfield, when Fred and I made it back to the airstrip in the ultralight just before the storm hit us. The rain pounded and the winds were so strong that the windsock was stretched out in a straight line. As we waited for the storm to abate, Fred told us about microbursts, where the rain comes straight down like a furious waterfall, flattening everything on each side of it, in different directions. He told us he’s seen crops flat on the ground on each side of where the microburst hit, some going this way and some the exact opposite direction, only a few feet apart.
Getting a good crop
Three major factors affect what makes a good or bad crop. First the field must have even ‘stands’ without gaps. The rice has to be planted in even rows that are accessible, but that don’t give access to birds. Ducks and blackbirds are the worst offenders – they are a very expensive nuisance. Often in our early morning rides around the fields here, Chelsea and I hear the noise machines for the birds – they sound like small cannons are being shot off. Another factor is nitrogen – there’s got to be just the right balance. Too much nitrogen and the stalks fall; too little and the stalks don’t thrive. Once the stand is established, weed control becomes paramount. As Hansford pointed out, a plant not in its place is a weed, and any plant other than a rice stalk is competing for the resources.
Black rice is an older rice variety (red rice is its common name), which if left untreated slowly interbreeds with current rice varieties. It’s the bane of local farmers. It grows wild – lank and tall with quick vegetative growth. Red rice has a low yield; it’s hard to get the rice out; it shatters on the ground (falls even before the farmer gets to it); it doesn’t get into the combine; and it doesn’t mill properly. As a rice variety, it’s not good quality. It competes with the ‘real’ rice, sitting on the ground making new weeds (it has hairs which work their way into the ground). The only answer to treating it is to work it into the clay soil thoroughly and then water the fields, effectively burying it in the mud to deprive it of oxygen. The clay soil around here cracks, and unless the field is really wet, red rice will grow through the cracks. The only time to get rid of the red rice is before planting each year. After Hansford pointed it out, it’s easy for us to see the fields where the red rice problem hasn’t been addressed.
Riding the combine
Chelsea and I had seen a number of combines from the air and on our daily rides, and we were fascinated about how they actually work. Recognizing our interest, Lynn and Hansford teamed up to make sure we got a ride on one. On a very hot and humid day just before Gustav was due to hit (in fact, we were headed off to Wal-Mart right afterwards for hurricane supplies), Lynn got us over to their house, where Joe LeBlanc was cutting some of his fields. Parking on the field, Chelsea, Lynn and I got on our boots and hiked over toward the trucks and machines.
The combines are out in the field cutting, while the cart (a tractor pulling a wagon) runs back and forth from the field, emptying the combine’s hopper and transferring it to the semi-trucks, which take the cut rice to the rice dryers. We climbed into the tractor and headed out to the combine. Benny was driving the tractor and explained quite a bit on the way out to the combine. The cart drives slowly next to the combine, matching its speed, and keeping the same distance away, as a big chute streams the rice from the combine to the cart. The combine continues rolling and cutting the whole time. When the cart is full, it heads back to the trucks to unload its cargo, while the combine continues cutting.
Since the combine didn’t hold all of us, Chelsea got the first ride, while Lynn and I watched the cart fill from the combine. When it was full, we headed back to the trucks, where it emptied. We headed out again to the combine so I could get a turn, and then Chelsea and Lynn headed back.
Chelsea and I were so excited about riding in the cart (tractor) and combine that we felt like little kids. The cart was pretty straightforward, but we needed explanations on how the combine works. A combine is literally a combination of a harvester and a thresher. The big reel in front turns and pulls the stalks into the cutter bar, where sharp knifes move back and forth, cutting the stalks and throwing it onto a conveyor belt. The conveyor brings it to the middle, where it’s brought into the machine to be threshed. Threshing knocks the head off, and the remaining straw goes through machine and out the back. The fine materials drop through sieves, with a fan to blow light materials out, and the grain is collected and put into the hopper.
The egrets and ibis love the activity in the fields because it turns up so many bugs, and you’ll see the fields covered with birds during mowing or harvesting. The birds are fearless – you’ll see them breathtakingly close to the cutters, then hopping/flying away at the last minute. Benny told us that every now and then they misjudge, and one gets caught in the cutters, creating a mess.
When Chelsea and I swapped places between the cart and the combine, we had to walk through the leavings of the cuttings. It was hip high, and was I ever glad we had the boots. It was like walking through deep snow when I was a kid – sinking to the tops of my legs with each step, and trying to get my legs up and over to take the next step. It took a bit of effort. I kept wanting to hop, but that didn’t work either, so it was slow going.
After our rides, we got a chance to stand in the fields and take photos of the guys, the combine, and the tractor, and Benny got a photo of us. It was an awesome feeling standing out there in the middle of the field, surrounded by huge machinery, standing almost waist high in rice cuttings.
Harvesting the rice
The rice is harvested in August and September, and we saw the big trucks hauling rice to the rice dryers for weeks, all day every day. The crews work from sunup to after sundown 7 days a week, getting the harvest in. This year had additional pressure, as Hurricane Gustav was threatening to wipe out all of our area, never mind just the rice harvest, so the crews were more focused than ever. (Joe did manage to get his harvest all in before Gustav – we saw him driving one last load to the rice dryer on that last Sunday, when nearly the entire town had already evacuated.)
Louisiana challenges
I asked Hansford “What makes a good rice farmer?” “Stubbornness” was his immediate response. When I asked what the most difficult thing about farming rice is, “Making money,” was his reply. “So why is Louisiana’s rice industry having so much difficulty now?” I wanted to know. Hansford told us that the southern part of Louisiana has lower yields because of the high summer heat and humidity, and because of the soil – in these parts it’s yellow clay with a thin layer of topsoil. The lower yields make the per unit cost higher. In this semi-tropical climate, birds, weeds, and heat make things harder. And of course, being so close to the Gulf, there are always threats from hurricanes. The only advantage Louisiana rice farmers have is cheap water. In addition, the world productivity has improved over the years, leading to an overabundance of rice worldwide.
Notes on rice
We have loved learning so much about something we have taken for granted all these years, and I’ve included some interesting notes on rice:
- 6,000 lbs per acre of weight in rice is an average Louisiana yield
- About a week is the best time to dry rice– if it dries too fast it’ll crack, and the value goes down
- It’s important to have whole grains; it affects texture and consistency; broken grains (known as brokens) mash together and clump up; they can be eaten with chopsticks – it hardly looks like rice anymore
- The number of ‘brokens’, wheat seed (black seeds), and color affect pricing of finished rice (straw colored rice is commercial grade).
- Rice is classified mostly by the size of the grain.
- Long-grain rice is long and slender. The grains stay separate and fluffy after cooking.
- Medium-grain rice is shorter and plumper.
- Short-grain rice is almost round, with moist grains that stick together when cooked.
- Specialty varieties include Spanish rice (for paella), glutinous rice (for sushi and rice balls), and risotto rice (for risotto).
- Most varieties are sold as either brown or white rice, depending upon how they are milled.
- Brown rice retains the bran that surrounds the kernel, making it chewier, nuttier, and richer in nutrients.
- White rice lacks the bran and germ, but is more tender and delicate. It’s less nutritious than brown rice, but enriching the white rice partially compensates for that.
- Brown rice takes about twice as long to cook as white rice.
- Converted rice is beige. Tasting a lot like white rice, it has more nutrients.
- Instant rice is white rice that’s been precooked and dehydrated. It may be convenient, but it’s expensive compared to regular rice and it has a bland taste.
Farming and its characters
Farming greatly affects the local area, setting the tone for local commerce, support services, and for the type of people that live here. One thing we love is what strong individuals farmers are. Like them or not, they are truly individuals. It tends to breed a lot of “characters’ as a result. Farmers are very independent and straightforward, have practical personalities, are often very opinionated, and tend to be very attached to their land. Kids grow up totally involved in the lifestyle, and are usually driving tractors by 10 years old. It leads to a sense of being “down-to-earth’ in the community as well.
We have come to love this community for those reasons. We love the characters, we love the no “bs” attitude, and we love the qualities engendered from being very in touch with the earth. We love the seasons and how it affects life. We will miss it terribly.