Behind Every Sack of Rice: The Untold Story of Hauling, Expenses, and Selling Our Harvest

Hello everyone! 💛
In my previous post here in @hiveph, I shared the excitement of finally reaching harvest season after 90 days of waiting. Many people think that once the harvester arrives, the farmer's work is already done. But based on our experience, that's only the beginning of another busy task as a farmer.

As soon as the harvester started cutting the rice, our labors were busy. They also prepared a carabao with its wooden cart or we called it karoza because the harvester cannot simply leave the sacks in the middle of the rice field. The sacks need to be hauled immediately while the machine continues harvesting.

One by one, the freshly harvested sacks were loaded onto the cart. The carabao slowly pulled the heavy load through the muddy field while the workers unloaded each sack at a nearby area beside the road. The process repeated over and over until the entire field was finished. It was tiring work, especially under the hot sun, but everyone knew what they had to do. We’re blessed that day the weather is good.

For every sack that was hauled, we paid ₱25 to the workers. It may not sound like much, but when you have hundreds of sacks, the hauling cost becomes another expense that farmers need to prepare for. This is one of the many costs that people don't usually see behind every harvest.

This season, we harvested 216 sacks of palay from our 2.5-hectare rice field. Last harvest, we produced 254 sacks, so this time our total harvest was lower. Of course, we were hoping to match or even exceed our previous production, but farming doesn't always go as planned. Weather, seeds variety, soil conditions, pests, and many other factors can affect the harvest result.

The good thing is that the buying price is much better this season. Last harvest, palay was sold for only ₱18.50 per kilogram. This time, the price increased to ₱22.50 per kilogram. Even though we harvested fewer sacks, the higher price helped make up for the lower production. We were thankful because it meant the months of hard work would still have a better return.

After all the sacks were gathered beside the road, our work still wasn't finished. We had to wait for the truck that would transport everything to the rice buyer in the city. Only after the palay is delivered, weighed, and accepted by the buyer can we finally know our actual income.

But before we receive anything, several expenses are deducted first land preparation, fertilizer, pesticides, labor, electricity for irrigation, harvesting, hauling, and transportation. When people ask why farmers don't become rich after harvest, this is one of the reasons. A large part of the income goes back to paying the costs of producing the crop.

Even with all those expenses, we are still grateful. We completed another farming season, paid everyone who helped us, and harvested enough to keep moving forward. Farming has taught our family to be patient, practical, and thankful in every season.

Every sack of rice has a story behind it. Before it reaches the dining table, it has already passed through months of hard work, long days in the field, and many hands working together.

Thank you for reading, this is my owned picture and the lead photo was edited in Canva. and I will share more of our farming journey in my next blog. 💛