Rice Producers' Guide to Marketing Rice Straw

Abstract

It is estimated that 3 to 5 percent of the rice acreage has straw baled for use later for various purposes (California Rice Commission 2009). The keys to marketing rice straw are identification of profitable uses for it and curing and packaging the straw in a manner that makes it most valuable to the client. Some growers have worked with end users to determine what type of processing makes the straw most valuable. Here are some of the uses for rice straw: Consistent straw quality is very important to successful rice straw marketing. Producers who simply bale the harvester windrows need to work with their bankout drivers to make sure they do not run over the windrows. Areas that are smashed down by the bankout tires will not dry as quickly as the rest of the straw. This creates high-moisture " slugs " in the straw bales, and that can cause mold. If severe enough, the moisture can cause bales to spontaneously combust, destroying the straw and potentially setting fire to the straw storage area. If the movement of the bankouts is hard to control during harvest, consider raking the straw windrows so as to allow them to dry uniformly before baling. Although this added operation increases costs, it will improve the quality and consistency of the product. Most straw users prefer that baling occur when the moisture is as low as possible, except for beef cattle operations, which prefer some green color and a moisture content of 13 percent or less.