米作りの1年

Early spring is the season of plowing and sowing. Snow over the rice field melts and the spring sun dries the land.
After the land is dried, the plowing process starts. The plowing in spring has two stages: firstly mixing soil roughly with air, and then re-mixing to make finer clods. After the plowing, we fill the fields with well-nutritioned melted snow preparing for a process called puddling. On April 14 it starts to snow, and coincidently it aligns the Sannou Festival. About 2,500 boxes of seeds are sowed within 4-5 days by family members and also local village members.

Two to three days before the planting, puddling must be done. A machine called harrow makes the soil finer and the land even.
In the middle of May, the plating process starts. We plant rice seedlings in the fields with all the family members in a cheerful mood, and have lunch in the open air right next to the field. We use liquefied paste fertilizer to grow our rice effectively during early growing period. Since the weather is unstable in Spring, it is important that the seedlingstake roots firmly in the field.

A fter the seedlings take roots, we controll water supply thoroughly. In this period, we patrol around therice fields and check the water three times a day; morning, midday, and evening. The most important processes are irrigation and drying: during the irrigation process, we dig thin ditches so that water can be evenly spread thoughout the fields: and in the drying process, all the water inside the fields are drained and well-dried so that oxygen can enter into the soil though the cracks. Drying also prevents the roots from rotting and makes roots stronger. Additionally, it makes the soil solid and later prevents rice reaping machine from sinking into the mud during the harvesting process. Then we supply water again through Oyster Shell Water Improvement Apparatus which are metal drums filled with oyster shells of Sado.

In Summer, the rice plants grow rapidly as if hungry children in growth period. All the nutrition supplied in Spring is consumed, therefore further fertilizer is required. It should be about twenty days before the plants grow panicles, however, the timing depends on the condition of each field. Therefore, it is judged according to the height and color of the rice plants, the length of young panicles, daily growth, and weather and accumulated temparature of seven days before and after the addition of supplementary fertilizer. The fertilizer mainly composed of organic materials such as fish extract, supplemented with three essential nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium). The fertilizer is frequently added as the plants grow. In this growth season of panicles, our trucks moves to between the fields.

Before harvesting, watering is needed one more time. The irrigation and drying done in June make water spreading smoother and draining quicker. The best timing of harvesting is decided according to the color of husks. Again we conduct harvestong with the whole family.
Water content of rice in husk is about 25-26% soon after harvesting. We reduce the percentage to 15% or under with far-infrared ray grain dryer which can give same effect as sun-drying. Afterwards, grains and hulls are seperated using the following instruments; 1. rougher, 2. rice-huller, 3. rice grader with 1.80mm cylinder, 4. color sorting machine, and 5. rice grader with 1.85mm cylinder. To maintain the quality of brawn rice, we use a sorter with the most advanced full-colored CCD.

Soon after harvesting finishes, next year’s cultivation starts. Almost at the same time as the harvesting process, we start preparing soil. Rice straws and roots are important organic fertilizers. Plowing-in before the cold season prompts decomposition and as straws and roots become compost quickly with the help of microbes underground.
Along with plowing-in, we add silicic acid and potassium which are consumed by rice plants and original blend organic fertilizer composed of oyster shell powder, rice bran, poultry manure, and cattle manure. In this period, the whole rice fields look like huge composters.

Aida’s Sado Super Koshihikari is 100% 1st grade rice certified as both a Niigata Prefecture Specially Cultivated Agricultural Product and a Rural lnitiative to Promote the Conservation of Toki. For sorting, we use a Pikasen, SATAKE's latest and most advanced selector. The machine enables us to keep certain quality of our brown rice which is as fresh as edible even raw. We polish rice only after we receive orders, and use an exclusive polisher with a function to prepare wash-free rice. Polished rice is cooled down, then packed by hand. Brown rice is kept inside a refridgerated storage 15 degrees soon after undergoing an examination after harvesting.

During winter, we conduct business activities and plan next year’s cultivation scheme. After harvesting, we participate in food exhibitions and business meetings in Kanto region. We also exhibit our products in Singapore and Hongkong each year since 2013. From the middle of December onward, we arrange meetings every month to create a scheme of next year’s cultivation with the instructions of universities, specialists, JA Sado, Niigata Agricultural Promotion and Instruction Center, etc. Winter is imortant period for us to improve the condition for next year.