I never heard of a big rice field, at least not as far as Japanese rice farming goes. You see, they fill the things with water in spring and plant the rice in the flooded field, and they maintain that water level through summer. To try and have a large field so level with a water level just right would be a nightmare.
Thus fields are rather small, with their own embankments and flood and drainage gates. This is also works well with Japan's hilly and mountainous terrain. It would be ridiculous to try and level large swaths of sloping land to have one big rice field. Easier just to terrace it.
I know somthin about rice farming, water is used to compensate heat chances for day and night.
I newer though thatway, than bigger fields may be imbossible to control water level.
And field need to bee a just everywhere on same level.
When you say so, that even sounds practical.
Young people don't want the job.
I skip a lot of your text, Zorro, sorry, that was very good on on, but i want to grab those words.
Its same thing in here, Northern Europe, many yong people don`t want to be farmer, they go to work and live in city, leaving to their family land to someone other.
Its just sad, when farm just disappears, only leaving a empty buildings...
Our farm field area has grown for 44 hectare to 150 hectare, in three years, just because there was no family members who want to be farmer.
You might want to see some stats on agriculture in Japan.
農林水産省/THE?87TH?STATISTICAL?YEARBOOK?OF?MINISTRY?OF?AGRICULTURE,?FORESTRY?AND?FISHERIES?(2011～2012)
the 87th Statistical Yearbook of Minstry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan
(2011-2012)
[data from 2011]
Land: 37,791,400ha
Agricultural fields: 4,561,000ha (12.1%)
(Paddy field: 2,474,000ha) (6.5%)
Considering that very roughly 70% of the land of Japan is mountains, 12% is not "small".
Method of agricultural land layout is different between Hokkaodo (rather new compared with other areas in terms of cultivation) and other areas, Hokkaido is the only area where huge agricultural tractors over 100HP can sell - John Deere, an American brand has a distribution centre only in Hokkaido, near Obihiro, I believe.
I see...
Well, in here 100Hp is just small mid size tractor. John Deer has sold tractors in every place in the world.
(I hate John Deere-tractors, they are heavy, clumsy, slow and flue consumption just something really terrible...)
There are top three agricultural machinery manufacturer, Iseki, Kubota, and Yanmar.
They are excelled in the small-mid range of tractors, especially for rice fields, and the size range is from small to mid. (around 20HP to 80HP). If you go to an international exhibition of agricultural machines, you'll find a lot of machines made in Japan.
I haven`t never seen Iseki, but in here, Finland, Kubota and Yanmar are sold to garden tractors, and they are very popular in gardens and property maintenance companies use a lot Kubota tractors.
If you take an international flight to Narita (Tokyo International Airport which is actually not in Tokyo but in Chiba prefecture), you can see a vast strech of rice field, especially at this time of year they are filled with water and glitter against the sun.
You can see them on the way to central Tokyo if you take Narita Express from the airport.
Rice production in Japan is 8,500,000 tons/year ( as of 2009).
Unlike other agricultural produce (especially grains), rice supply is nearly 100% domestic.
Sound like something i want to see.
I had never see ricefield in real life, only in pictures and movies.