Picture of the day - October 3, 2007

"Rice Harvest"

Photo courtesy of Astin le Clercq. By far, rice is eaten by more people worldwide than any other grain, and it's easy to understand why when you consider the fact that well over half of the world's population eats it with each and every meal. And like the wheat and corn that we eat so much of here in the United States, someone has to grow all of that rice. For many of the world's rice farmers, the planting, cultivation and harvesting of a crop is an extremely labor intensive and time-consuming task. First of all, the ground must be prepared for planting, usually by hand or with the aid of an ox pulling a plow. After the soil has been tilled and covered with a layer of "fertilizer" (most often the "natural" kind), the "rice paddie" is flooded with water. Then one or more people pull seedlings from a "rice bed" and transplant them, by hand, into the mucky soil that lies beneath the foul-smelling water. And yes, they do have to "wade" through that nasty, foul-smelling water! Come harvest time, the paddie is drained and the ground is allowed to dry out. Then the farmer(s) cut the stalks with sharp knives or sickles and stack it up in preparation for threshing - which is also typically done by hand! After the rice kernels have been separated from the stalks, they are gathered up, dried out and milled. All in all, producing a crop of rice is a long, arduous process that is still done almost entirely by hand in many places around the globe, especially in Asia. I had the opportunity to witness this process up close and personal during the year I spent in South Korea, and I can tell you that it sure isn't a pleasant one. I thank the good Lord that He saw fit to allow me to be born, raised and live right here in the good ole USA!   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"