SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It's rice planting season in California, resulting in an annual air show of sorts... But it's not all just for tricks, it's a useful tactic to start the crops life.
Planes flying at 100 mph drop rice seeds into fields flooded with about five inches of water, planting the years crop.
"They're pretty amazing at what they do," said Jon Munger, Vice President of Operations at Montna Farms in Yuba City, remarking on the highly skilled pilots at the controls.
Munger says this method is the most efficient way to seed the rice fields.
"We could seed 150 acres in an hour, hour-and-a-half, compared to probably all day with a ground rig or a tractor," he said.
Once released in the air, the heavy seeds sink to the bottom of the water and begin their four-to-five month journey to maturity.
The plants grow rapidly, reaching a height of three feet before it's time to drain the fields and bring in the harvest in the late summer.
The California Rice Commission says the state's rice industry contributes more than $5 billion to the state and supports more than 25,000 jobs.
The fields are also useful in the winter, when they're flooded again and become home to hundreds of bird species.
"All that surrogate wetland habitat for all the different species is a very important part of our operation," said Munger.
But for now, planting season is all the buzz as flights continue to seed the next crop of California's rice.
