In California, it’s all about rice
If you’re ever inclined to doubt California’s vastness, allow me
to recommend the stretch of I-5 between Sacramento and Redding.
The flat plain is punctuated by the occasional river or dry
wash. If it’s clear enough, the Sutter Buttes, the smallest
mountain range in North America, offer a few minutes’
diversion.
But mostly, motorists just trundle along, through mile upon mile
of stunningly boring monoculture.
In California, it’s all about rice
If you’re ever inclined to doubt California’s vastness, allow me to recommend the stretch of I-5 between Sacramento and Redding.
The flat plain is punctuated by the occasional river or dry wash. If it’s clear enough, the Sutter Buttes, the smallest mountain range in North America, offer a few minutes’ diversion.
But mostly, motorists just trundle along, through mile upon mile of stunningly boring monoculture.
The Midwest may have corn, wheat and soybeans. California has rice, lots and lots of rice.
The fields of it lining the highway seemed to go on forever.
Many of the fields were smoldering when we recently passed through. Many rice growers continue the practice of burning stubble left after harvest before planting the new year’s crop.
The Sacramento Valley was cloaked in a choking pall of smoke when we passed through Oct. 30. When we passed through the area again, the air had cleared, scrubbed clean by rain showers.
Still other growers are disking stubble back into their plots with good effect, both on crop yields and air quality. The unburned paddies also are more attractive for waterfowl, yielding a second benefit to growers who can lease access for hunting, should they wish.
Without the smoke, the landscape of Sacramento Valley’s rice bowl has a kind of bare, broad-shouldered beauty. A milestone on the drive north is always the fleeting view of the port of Stockton. Rows of silos proclaim their contents: rice.
Further north, byways and track sidings are peppered with more silos, waiting to drop their loads into railcars and trucks.
California produces 2 million tons of rice per year, second only to production in Arkansas. Most of it is consumed domestically, with smaller amounts being exported throughout the Far East.
Those trips north always remind me of the great diversity of agriculture where we live. Local fields yield a supermarket’s worth of variety and offer the fringe benefit of a lush, beautiful landscape.
