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October 11, 2016 By Ricci 18 Comments

Riceland

This post contains affiliate links.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook then I’m sure you already know that last week I was in Stuttgart touring Riceland!!

riceland

For those who don’t know, Riceland is a farmer owned cooperative and is the world’s largest miller and marketer of rice! You can literally find Riceland products all over the world. Riceland was founded in 1921 and is still headquartered in Stuttgart Arkansas. Who knew?

The first day I was in Stuttgart was a very busy one. I got tot tour the Sample House which is where the rice comes straight from the fields in big trucks and is sampled. What that means is that  the big trucks carrying rice (and soybeans, Riceland does both) pull up, samples are taken in random spots from each truck, and those samples are tested/graded to see how good they look.

Here is a look at a truck full of rice being sampled from…

After the trucks get sampled they get in a looooong line to wait to go dump their rice so it can be sorted and packaged and then sold to consumers like you and I!!

After our Sample House tour we went to Riceland’s Appraisal Office. This is where all of those samples of rice that were pulled from the trucks go in order to be properly dried out, appraised, and kept so that the samples can always be found in case there is ever a question about that particular rice. I call this place the “Land of the Golden Cans” because all of the rice is kept in these fun golden cans…duh.

goldcans

Once we all golden canned out we went on a farm visit to see what rice fields look like and how it is harvested. Here is a rice filed that has been half harvested already…

ricefield

I know when most people think of rice fields they are thinking of the rice paddies that are covered in water and these once were but now that it’s harvest season all of that water has been drained off and is ready for the combines!! Speaking of combines…

…I got to ride on this one! It was so huge and it felt like we were going so fast but unreality we going less than 2mph. HAHAHA!! It was so much fun riding and getting to see the rice go from being on the plant to seeing just the rice grains fill up the huge hopper behind me. When that hopper gets full a grain truck pulls up beside it and the rice grains get transferred into it!

I found this to be extremely awesome because this way the farmer never has to stop! He or she just keeps driving and dumping grain all at the same time.

When my time riding the combine was over we drove around looking at a few other rice fields and checking out levees. The rice farmers build levees because of the massive amount of water needed to sustain their rice crops. Everyone knows that water is pumped it all into the fields and then drained off but not everyone knows where that water comes from! So here you go…

levee

…this is a newer levee and I think it’s just gorgeous. Makes me want to go swimming but it’s for the fields! LOL!

After our farm tour/levee visit we called it a day and headed to CrossHeirs Retreat Center. CrossHeirs was kind enough to put up our bunch of bloggers and Riceland folks and honestly it is just stunning. CrossHeirs is a 14,ooo sq ft lodge that is located right outside of Stuttgart in Humphrey Arkansas. Trust me when I say that the couple of pictures I did get so it absolutely zero justice.

Inside the main living area..

crossheirs

…and outside on one of the side porches.

crossheirsporch

CrossHeirs also had Moe and Fee Fee. Moe (and her husband) runs the center and is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. She had any and everything you could possibly need or want and made us feel right at home!!

Fee Fee cooked for us the whole time we were there!! Miss Fee Fee knows is one of the best cooks ever and will literally do anything for you. I loved that even though she cooked for us she also sat down and ate with us.

Here we are with Fee Fee and that is some of the food she prepared for us!! YUM!!

feefeefood

AMAZING!!!! And now I’m hungry again!! HA!!

So that is all for day one at Riceland!! I can’t wait to tell you about day two and the Taste of Home Cooking School!!! So much FUN!!!

Have you ever eaten Riceland products??
What’s your favorite rice dish??

Filed Under: Arkansas Tagged With: Arkansas, CrossHeirs, food, rice, Riceland, Stuttgart AR, travel

Hi! I'm Ricci and let me be the first to welcome you to Ricci Alexis, my lifestyle and beauty blog! I am a 36 year old single lady and am currently living in central Arkansas. My current obsessions include my dog Sophie, McDonald's frappes, the smell of DryBar hair products, the Royal Family, anything leopard print and celebrity gossip. Read More…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. lisa says

    October 11, 2016 at 11:05 am

    This looks like such an awesome adventure! I never knew all that went into harvesting rice!

    Reply
  2. Jeanette says

    October 11, 2016 at 11:16 am

    Oh WOW! It looks like a great place to visit! You all had a great time it looks like. I would love to check this place out. I love to travel to places like this.

    Reply
  3. Jenn @ EngineerMommy says

    October 11, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    This looks like such a fun trip! I would love to visit Riceland. It’s amazing what a large scale they use to process all that rice. I can’t wait to see what happens on the next day!

    Reply
  4. Dee says

    October 11, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    It looks like you had a great time on your trip. I am a big fan of learning about how things are processed so thank you for sharing. CrossHeirs Retreat Center looks like a really cool place, I have never heard of it but would like to check it out.

    Reply
  5. Pam says

    October 11, 2016 at 4:28 pm

    My son in law loves rice, and we eat it all the time when he makes dinner. We have eaten lots of Riceland products since he joined the family.

    Reply
  6. Kelly Hutchinson says

    October 11, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    I bet this was a very interesting trip to take. I would love to learn about where and how rice is made!

    Reply
  7. Lori Vachon says

    October 11, 2016 at 5:23 pm

    I think there’s some Riceland rice in my pantry right now! I’m always fascinated by how everyday items are produced and packaged, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  8. Liz Mays says

    October 11, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    What a neat experience. It’s pretty cool that you got to ride on the combine! That process is really interesting.

    Reply
  9. Madi says

    October 11, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    This sounds like quite an amazing experience! I did not know anything about the process of harvesting rice!

    Reply
  10. Stephen says

    October 11, 2016 at 8:48 pm

    That’s so cool! Never knew you could do a tour of Riceland. If I am in the area – totally going because of your recommendation!

    Reply
  11. Sarah says

    October 11, 2016 at 8:49 pm

    What an experience to see all that rice and where it comes from. Totally cool!

    Reply
  12. Jacqui @FlightsFancyMom says

    October 11, 2016 at 8:59 pm

    I am discovering the joys of country living and loved this post so much! It sounds like you all had a fantastic time. Thank you for sharing your day with us!

    Reply
  13. Rachel says

    October 11, 2016 at 9:11 pm

    What a cool tour! I just roadtripped with my boyfriend from Houston to Memphis to visit my family, and we went through so many rice fields in Arkansas! He was impressed.

    Reply
  14. Jeanine says

    October 12, 2016 at 8:12 am

    How cool! I had never heard of Riceland before! Sounds very fun. I am the rice girl in our family, while everyone else is eating potatoes at dinner I’ve got the rice! so good.

    Reply
  15. Garf says

    October 12, 2016 at 4:25 pm

    I would like to have that kind of harvesting machine for my father. It looks like it does a better job that the ones my folks are currently using.

    Reply
  16. Terri Beavers says

    October 13, 2016 at 5:54 pm

    Oh wow, I am a huge lover of rice but I didn’t know what all went into growing it. I grew up on a farm so I’m no stranger to riding on combines but it would be fun to tour Riceland and ride another one for memory’s sake.

    Reply
  17. CourtneyLynne says

    October 16, 2016 at 2:56 pm

    Oooooo how neat!!!!! I never really knew how rice is made. Just never thought about it. You must of had fun on this tour!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Riceland | Ricci Ellis – Arkansas Women Bloggers says:
    July 14, 2018 at 10:01 am

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ricci

Ricci is a 39 year old digital content creator from central Arkansas. She is passionate about skincare, travel, reading, and being an advocate for women's health issues. She is dog mom to Sophie, cat mom to Rooster and Poppy and an aunt to 10 amazing kiddos. riccialexis83@gmail.com

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