Rice farmers across the Riverina are ready to enjoy a massive harvest this year, after the last two years yielded record lows.
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This year's rice harvest is forecasted to yield around 450,000 tonnes of paddy, showing a remarkable turnaround from last year, which yielded only 45,000 tonnes.
The low harvests in 2019 and 2020 are attributed to a lack of water allocation forcing reduced operations, but with increased water allocation this year, rice is set to make a comeback.
SunRice, which processes and markets Riverina-grown rice, highlighted the difference between an increasing demand and a low supply in a presentation to investors last year.
A worrying graph shows an ongoing downturn in rice supply, and it's hoped that this year's crop puts an end to the pattern.
In celebration of this year's harvest, SunRice has released a series of videos showcasing four of the families operating the farms.
SunRice chairman Laurie Arthur said that they were proud to showcase the families behind the brand.
"These videos capture what all of our growers bring to SunRice and the Australian rice industry every day - teamwork, resilience, versatility, passion and good humour."
Mr Arthur said that rice was the ideal crop for the Riverina and that this year's expected yield proves that.
"The fact growers have returned to rice production shows that it is a perfect fit for the farming systems in the Riverina... when our growers have improved water availability they can and will increase production."
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Patrick Sergi, whose family features in one of the videos, said that the return of rice would bring improvement to the entire area, particularly after the recent years.
"It's going to benefit the whole community, right through the system - whether it be the farmers who are obviously going to be busier, employing more people, and spending more money in town... The whole town is vibrant because there's water and there's rice - it's really a fantastic feeling."
The full videos are available on SunRice's vimeo page here.
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