The planting of rice has begun in the Kamikawa region of northern Hokkaido, and work is in full swing in the town of Higashikawa, where brand-name rice is grown. At Itaya Farm, one of the largest-scale farms in the town with 88 hectares of rice paddies, three rice-planting machines were deployed to plant verdant ‘Yumepirika’ seedlings.
　
On May 13, approximately 20 people shared the work at Itaya Farm, where rice-planting machines were used to plant several orderly rows of seedlings at a time. According to the farm CEO, Itaya Tomohito, “The seedlings are growing well thanks to the fine weather that has continued since the snow melted. We are concerned about the falling price of rice, but we hope it will be delicious and that people will eat a lot of it.”