March 10, 2017
CapitalPress.com
13
California rice exported around the world
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
Charley Mathews Jr. grew
up in his family’s rice fields.
“Like many farm kids, I
started to drive a tractor when
I was 12, irrigated rice in the
summertime, and always par-
ticipated when I could for
planting and harvest,” he said.
He grew up near Marys-
ville, Calif., where he still
farms.
Mathews grows medium,
premium medium and sweet
rice. The medium and short
grain varieties grown in Cal-
ifornia have all the character-
istics of Japanese rice — soft
and sticky — which is prefect
for sushi. California is the
world’s low-cost producer of
sushi rice, and it is marketed
around the world.
Like most crops, rice faces
insect and weed pests, he said.
“Since rice is grown in
an aquatic environment un-
der a continuous flood, many
aquatic weeds thrive and
compete with rice for sunlight
and nutrients,” he said. “The
rest of the weeds are drowned
by deep water.”
Insects are a minor chal-
lenge but require constant
monitoring, he said.
Rice, Mathews said, has
historically been viewed as a
water-intensive crop. It actu-
ally uses about as much water
as any other row crop.
Courtesy of Brian Baer
Charley Mathews Jr., a rice grower near Marysville, Calif., says
California is the world’s low-cost producer of sushi rice. Rice is not
as labor intensive as other crops and uses only as much water as
any other row crop.
Rice is grown in heavy
clay and hardpan soils that
have an impermeable layer
below the root zone that does
not allow water to percolate
downward.
This soil type would drown
trees and other row crops, but
is perfect for rice. It does not
suffer from salt buildup or any
other long-lasting issues.
“I have a rice field that has
been in continuous production
for almost 80 years,” he said.
“The yields seem to go up ev-
ery year.”
Rice is not as labor-in-
tensive as many other crops
and growing it is highly
mechanized. With expensive
machinery to operate, it is
important that growers find
talented labor who can get the
most out of the equipment.
“Rice growers have sever-
al challenges,” he said. “The
ones we face locally have to
do with air and water quality,
and that fact that we are com-
peting with an encroaching
urban population that does not
like noise or dust.”
Through the efforts of the
California Rice Commission,
he said, new urban neighbors
are beginning to understand
the environmental and social
value of a rice field.
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