Rice was first grown in Australia in the early 1920's - near Leeton and Griffith in the New South Wales Riverina. Today, the rice industry is mostly located in the temperate south of NSW and Northern Victoria. There are approximately 2500 rice farms in Australia producing around 1.3 million tonnes of rice per year (Ricegrowers' association of Australia, 2009). However, this is only a fraction of annual global rice production of around 420 million tonnes.