The heat is impacting crops as much as it is us humans!

The heat has been intense this summer, and it's not just us humans who are struggling with it. I'm also noticing how much pressure all this heat is putting on the rice fields that are such a familiar part of life in Niigata.

With a forecast of 35°C or higher expected out here tomorrow, the prefecture has issued an emergency warning about the unusually high temps and is asking farmers to take extra care with their rice fields.

Koshihikari (one of Niigata's best-known rice varieties) is particularly sensitive to prolonged heat, and high temperatures can cause the grains to become cloudy or develop cracks which ends up impacting the quality of the harvest. Another variety, Shinnosuke, is more heat-resistant but it's now entering a stage of growth when it needs a lot of water.

I'm really hoping the extreme heat doesn't end up having too many flow-on effects for the rice we buy, especially when prices have already been elevated so much recently. I think plenty of us will be keeping our fingers crossed for a good harvest and hoping the weather conditions don't mean another jump at the supermarket checkout.