Not having a background in rice milling, the entire agricultural industry fascinates me at times. I’ve seen machines do things I never thought possible, learned about the passion that farmers have about their products, and collaborated on some of the most creative projects I’ve ever been a part of. From pre-cleaning to packaging, the options are limitless when it comes to the possibilities and are only hindered by your own barriers. Every project has it’s own unique set of parameters and benchmarks and desirable outcomes, with attention being focused on every little milling detail. It’s those little details that have forced me, like a child, to ask the most important question – “Why?” And, of course, the answer to that “why” usually leads to another “why?” and possibly another, but has never been answered with “Because I said so!”….yet. Here are a few of the questions that I think are important to someone who is looking to get into the rice milling industry:
1. Why is it important to clean the paddy prior to coming into the mill?
Rice Paddy, by nature, is a very dirty product. When harvested, combines also pull in several other impurities along with the paddy including straw, grass, stones, metal, dirt, etc. You don’t want to run this material through your rice mill because it will disrupt the husking function and could potentially damage your husking rolls or whitening stones. You’ve planned appropriately and spent a good amount of money on your rice mill. Don’t add the unnecessary extra expense of replacing damaged parts because you skipped a pre-cleaner on the front end.
2. Why is it important to have a paddy separator? The husking function is never perfect. As good as the best husking machine is, it isn’t going to be one hundred percent accurate. A paddy separator will capture your unhusked kernels and send them back through the husking rolls. This eliminates waste and maximizes your milling efforts, therefore, maximizing your profits. You could also have unaspirated husks showing up in your final product. If you don’t address this issue within the milling process, you are going to have to address it during your packaging efforts. While “why” questions are sometimes difficult to ask, “how” questions are the ones that keep you up at night. “How are you going to get those husks out of finished rice at the end of the milling line?”
3. Why do I need to think about packaging options? Thinking about your packaging options in the early stages of mill development can help set up the flow of your other milling machines. Determining how much room you are going to need for packaging, whether using form, fill, and seal equipment with conveyors or a simple heat sealer, is an important step for your overall design plan. You don’t want to install your color sorter and your bagging bins and then realize that you don’t have enough building left for your packaging operations.
4. Why should I think about sifting bran? At visual inspection, you can look at a sack of bran (the byproduct layer removed from brown rice to make white rice) and deem it exactly what you see – a sack of bran. If you took that bran, however, and ran it through a screening system, you would find that you have a lot more than just bran. There are pieces of rice in there which are larger than the bran particle size that could be sold as additional product. In the money game, the last thing you want to do is to sell yourself short. Knowing exactly what is coming out of your mill, how to separate it, and how to sell it will greatly increase the profitability of your rice mill.
5. Why should I pay attention to my spare parts? Nascar pit crews have it right. They focus and practice on changing operational parts of their machine with precision and efficiency. You might not be changing tires and refueling a multi-sponsored racing machine, but you will be changing parts that wear out on a regular basis (husking rolls and rubber brakes) and should focus on the most efficient practices to do so. Make sure your crew knows how and when to change the parts that wear out regularly. Also make sure you forecast ahead of time and have all of the spare parts that you need. After all, a good pit crew never runs out of tires with three laps to go.
These are just a few “why” questions that I have encountered, but that hardly scratches the surface of all of the questions out there you should ask. You can find the answers to some of your questions at www.ZaccariaUSA.com, but make sure to take time to ask the questions, even the tough ones. You will run a better rice milling operation because of it and save yourself packages of tums in the process.
Chad Joyce- Marketing Manager, www.ZaccariaUSA.com
Zaccaria Brazil