History of Minnesota Cultivated

MINNESOTA... WORLD'S FIRST PRODUCER

Minnesota is proud to be the world's first producer of cultivated wild rice, providing one of the world's largest supplies of both hand harvested wild rice and cultivated wild rice. The map below shows the major growing areas of Minnesota cultivated wild rice.

Ag Awareness Wild Rice Growing Map Combine on Paddy From Imle

Cultivated wild rice is a relatively "young" industry. The first paddies were developed in the early 1950's by James and Gerald Godward near Crosslake, Minnesota. The early years met with many trials and tribulations experimenting with growing techniques and modifying harvesting machinery. Combines are now used to harvest wild rice from drained paddies. Minnesota harvests between 7 and 12.5 million pounds of cultivated wild rice each year.