Blog post by Sean Doherty: Season Opener

Well, we are going, albeit slowly. Mother Nature finally relented enough to allow some of my lighter soiled rice fields enough time to dry out. I was able to start the first chisel last Tuesday and a few more later in the week. It’s another late start to the planting season, but not nearly as late as last year.


I really enjoy getting everything going. Farmers get a kind of cabin fever too, only substitute "farm shop" for cabin.

It seems that everything is happy to be, hopefully, free of the winter rains. The ducks and pheasants are pairing up all over the place. I have seen coyotes, jackrabbits, garter snakes, and in the photo I took, Black-tailed deer, with about a hundred other creatures in my fields so far.


A few seasons ago we already had some rice in the water by this time. It's later now but we'll manage to get it planted. We always seem to somehow.

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Sean Doherty is a 3rd generation rice farmer living out his dream, being a rice farmer in Dunnigan.

He farms in Yolo, Colusa, and Sutter Counties with his wife Melissa, and three kids, Hannah, Gus, and Mary. He enjoys being in the fields, watching the seasons, and sharing it with his family.

Read more about Sean in Rice Farming magazine