北陸地域における稲作経営の規模拡大と米販売の新展開

     Recently, there has been an increase in the number of large-scale rice farms that have expanded their farm size to more than 15 hectares and directly sell their products in order to survive the prevailing fall in rice prices. However, the effectiveness and technical content of their farm management have not yet been clarified. Therefore, this paper focuses on large-scale rice farmers' use of machinery and rice marketing in Joetsu city, Niigata Prefecture, where many large-scale rice farms have been established. The paper' s goal is to analyze the effectiveness and profitability of large-scale rice farming.<br/>      The results show that on large-scale rice farms, a few male workers, such as farm managers and their fathers or brothers, operate farms with the help of some hired workers. They use between 2 to 4 tractors, because it is difficult to finish the land preparation at a rate of more than 15 hectares in a season with just one tractor. On the other hand, a rice transplanter and harvester are effective at completing 20 to 30 hectares in a season. Thus, large-scale farmers can save on rice production costs through an effective combination of multiple agricultural machines. This is one reason why large-scale farmers are continuing to expand their farm size. Additionally, two innovations have been found to lead to further cost-savings. First, laser leveling and direct seeding rice cultivation helps eliminate the obstacles involved in land preparation. Second, post-harvest operation and the lack of a warehouse hinder the expansion of farm size and direct sales. Thus, the introduction of long-term variety is required in order to expand the harvesting season. Further, reconnection with an agricultural cooperative can be a solution to improve post-harvest operation by using the agricultural cooperative' s facilities.<br/>      There is an increase in the direct sale of rice to save marketing costs. However, Joetsu city is located far away from urban areas. This makes direct communication with consumers difficult. Additionally, large-scale farms produce major quantities of rice. Hence, these farms prefer trading with commercial users such as retail stores and co-ops in urban areas, sake breweries, the rice cake industry, and wholesale rice traders, instead of with individual consumers. In such a marketing channel, farmers cannot demand high profitability. On the other hand, they can maintain a high sales volume. Under this relationship, retail store and co-op buyers have shown keen interest in rice cultivation and rice quality. They have discovered the advantage of using rice cultivated by large-scale farmers and use this advantage in their sales promotion. These business partners encourage large-scale farmers to differentiate their products. Large-scale farmers cultivate rice using advanced agricultural skills, such as organic cultivation and quality control post harvesting. They also provide high-quality rice with no fear of unsold stock. Finally, this business model will prove highly advantageous for large-scale rice farmers and their business partners in a competitive market.