 While the rice harvesting and is in full swing at Matherd Lake in Aiken County, Sarah Winkelman spoke with harvesters to hear why each August they hit the lake in their canoes and go ricing. Many of the ricers out on Matherd Lake have been enjoying the activity for decades, while others recently got the rice fever. Last year was my first year and then I pretty much, you know, got a hang of it. It's pretty easy, you know, nothing hard about it. It might get a little bit wet and scared of spiders and but other than that it's, I like doing it. Ricers head out in canoes of two people where one person sits in the back with the push stick. When you push on it, it opens up so you have something to push against to push to propel the boat. And the other is in the front using sticks to knock the rice into the boat. Right, left, right. Continuing that teamwork all around the lake for hours. It's a lot of work. After six hours of ricing, harvesters head back in their boat full of rice that they then bag up and take to get processed. You give it away as Christmas presents and stuff like that. Give it to family members, friends, trade it for honey or trade it for maple syrup. After hundreds of pounds of rice are collected each day, the ricer will keep what they need and then sell the rest. It's good rice. The best rice there is. But the rice comes with a price, even for those that harvest it themselves. It's brutal. I think we even left a half an hour early. We've been getting 200 pounds a day. For those that sell the rice, a decent paycheck is on its way after receiving about two dollars a pound. But for others, it's just a nice way to spend a few hours outdoors. People who are still doing it, who take a strong interest in it, that it's really important to them, that they're excited about it. The few ricers I've talked to have all been really excited about it, really happy to be out. The ricers are extra enthusiastic this season after some say it's the best crop in at least 10 years. Reporting in Aiken, Sarah Winckelman, Lakeland The wild rice harvest at Mallard Lake will wrap up early next week. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.