Important Things to Do Before Rice Planting

Hello, everyone.
My name is Minegishi, and I’ve been working as a farm staff member at the Matsudai Rice Fields Bank since this past April. To introduce myself briefly, I was born and raised right here in Tokamachi, and I still live here today. However, this is my first year working in agriculture. Since my previous job had absolutely nothing to do with farming, I was literally starting from scratch.

That said, I was assigned a specific task to handle before rice planting began. It was “seedling growth management.” In agriculture, this is called “seedling care.” The work involved tasks such as watering the seedlings to keep them from wilting and covering them with special sheets at night to maintain the optimal temperature.Since this work had to be done every day, I didn’t manage everything on my own; instead, we worked on a rotation system with the players from FC Echigo-Tsumari. I was put in charge of organizing the rotation schedule and overseeing the management tasks. Raising the seedlings was very difficult—it was a constant struggle, with some seedlings withering from lack of water and others being eaten by birds like crows and sparrows.

Those efforts paid off, and the seedlings grew vigorously, maturing into sturdy plants just in time for transplanting. To transport the seedlings to the rice paddies, we loaded them onto a light truck. When I looked at the truck packed with 60 boxes of seedlings, I felt a slight thrill, thinking, “It’s finally about to begin.”

And then, the transplanting finally began.

During rice planting, we use a specialized machine called a “rice transplanter” to plant the seedlings. Of course, it was my first time riding a rice transplanter. When I first tried operating it, I was filled with anxiety, wondering, “Will I be able to plant the seedlings in a straight line?”Operating the rice transplanter was quite difficult, and I faced one challenge after another—such as accidentally driving over the seedlings I had just planted and crushing them. There’s also a task called “hand-planting,” where you plant by hand in areas the transplanter couldn’t reach, and for someone like me who suffers from lower back pain, this was incredibly strenuous work. However, thanks to the generous advice from my seniors on the farming team and local veteran farmers, I managed to plant the seedlings neatly.

There’s a moment during rice planting that brings me great joy. It’s the feeling I get when I look out over the rice paddy after I’ve finished planting. I believe the appeal of rice farming lies not just in planting, but in the sense of accomplishment you feel with each task—from leveling the field to weeding—but planting gave me a sense of accomplishment unlike any other task.When I look at the rice paddy—which was completely bare before planting—and see it now filled with seedlings I planted with my own hands, I feel, “I planted this very paddy myself.” I think the first paddy I ever planted on my own will likely remain a memory I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. That’s just how profound a sense of accomplishment I felt through the act of rice planting.

Now that we’ve finished the fun yet challenging rice planting, the rice will begin to grow in earnest. Since this is my first year working in agriculture, I’m sure there will be many things I don’t understand and many challenges I’ll face. However, for the sake of the future of the Rice Fields, so that all of you who have become sponsors can enjoy delicious rice, and to ensure the continued preservation of the “Matsudai Rice Fields,” I will continue to work hard alongside the agricultural team staff and the players of FC Echigo-Tsumari to cultivate rice.

Matsudai Rice Fields Bank Staff: Kaori Minegishi