Step 1: Buy rice seeds

There are many hundreds of rice varieties with a range of disease resistances and grain yield potential. Seed is sold by authorized seed retailers, such as Cache River Valley Seed, Jimmy Sanders, and Dulaney Seed. The U.S. mostly plants pure-line varieties, but hybrid rice seeds, first developed in China in the 1970s, have been gaining in popularity, as they produce greater yields and have stronger disease resistance. The largest hybrid seed supplier in the U.S. is RiceTec in Alvin, Tex. A 45-lb. bag of white, long-grain rice can cost around $40, according to seed retailer Jimmy Sanders.