For rice (pdf- 64kb) to reach your dinner plate from the rice fields there are a number of steps in the processing and production of this grain:

Growing Phase

Rice seeds are planted in September. Through September until February, the rice plant grows a main stem and a number of tillers. Each rice plant will produce four or five tillers. Every tiller grows a flowering head or panicle. The panicle produces the rice grains.

Harvest March – May

As the grain begins to mature, the farmers 'lock up' the water on the bays. This means no water leaves the paddock. It is fully utilised by the growing rice plant. The soil dries out in time for the rice harvest to commence. This is approximately 150 days after the rice farmers initially planted the rice seeds. Large rice grain harvesters are used to cut the rice before the end of autumn.

The harvested rice is commonly called paddy rice because it is not milled rice and has its protective husk still in place.

Storage

Once harvested, a truck transports the rice to one of the industry's paddy storage facilities, where the rice is sorted according to its variety. Rice storage bins hold the unprocessed rice grain. These bins are fitted with sensors. The sensors carefully monitor the grain storage conditions and keep the rice at a suitable temperature and moisture level.

The process of rice milling

Step One - Removal of the outer hard protective husk
The rice husk is the protective layer surrounding the grain. Once removed, the rice grain can be packaged, sold and eaten as brown rice. Brown rice still contains the rice germ and outer bran layers. If the rice is to be sold as white rice, the grain continues through further milling in Step Two.

Step Two - Removal of the germ and brown layers
The germ and bran layers from the rice grain is then removed to expose a white starch centre. This polished white starch centre is what is known as white rice.

Rice by-products

By–products from the growing and processing of rice create many valuable new products. Rice husks, rice stubble, rice bran, broken rice and rice straw are used as common ingredients in horticultural, livestock, industrial, household, building and food products.

Rice husks

The rice husk is the hard, protective shell on the grain (pdf-767kb). The removal of the rice husk is the first stage of rice milling. Rice husks are the main by-product of rice production. For every one million tonnes of paddy rice harvested, about 200 000 tonnes of rice husk is produced.

Rice husks are used in 3 main ways.

• raw ~ animal bedding, growing seedlings, improving mulch for gardens.
• burnt ~ the resulting ash is valuable for many industries, including steel making, gardening and building.
• ground and processed ~ stock feed, potting mixes and pet litter.

Rice stubble

Rice stubble is the stalks and roots of the rice plant left in the ground after it has been harvested.

Rice stubble is very thick and difficult to deal with. Livestock graze on recently harvested paddocks and eat some of the rice stubble. A portion of the remaining stubble is usually burnt off and a winter cereal crop, such as wheat, is planted. On some rice farms, rice stubble is left to break down naturally and is incorporated into the soil, to improve the soil structure.

Rice bran

Rice bran is the outer layer of the brown rice grain. The rice bran is removed during the milling process if white rice is to be produced.

Stabilised rice bran is sold as a health food in supermarkets and health food shops, or to food manufacturers who use it as an ingredient in foods such as crispbreads and breakfast cereals. Unstabilised rice bran is used in stockfeed and for other animal and industrial products.

Broken rice grains

Unfortunately, during the rice milling process some of the rice grains break. They are removed from the milling process. The larger broken rice grains are used in pet foods and stock feed, or breakfast cereals. The smaller broken rice grains are ground into rice flour which is used in baby foods, snack foods, including muesli bars, or as a baking ingredient. Ground broken rice grains are also used in manufactured foods, such as sausages and milk powder drinks.

Rice straw

Rice straw is the stalks left over after the grains of rice have all been removed in the milling process. Rice straw is used as a building material because it is easy to work with, inexpensive and good for the environment. Some dairy farmers use rice straw as fibre for grain–fed stock. It can also be used to make paper.

Further Internet resources:

Storage and milling rice

Resources:

From paddock to plate - a synopsis of rice production
Products statistical charts