Methods of rice growing range from the most primitive to the most advanced types of agriculture. In much of Asia rice is still grown as it has been for thousands of years. In the United States, Japan, and some parts of Europe rice cultivation is highly mechanized.

In southern Asia rice is generally raised in small paddies (fields flooded for the growing season). Paddies may be on flat ground or may be terraces cut into the side of a hill or mountain. After the paddies have been flooded, they are plowed with water buffalo or the soil is worked with hoes. In some regions the rice is sown broadcast. In others, young plants are raised in nursery plots and then transplanted in the paddies by hand. More and more water is admitted to the paddies as the plants grow. When the plants begin to ripen, the paddies are drained. The ripened grain is harvested with sickles or knives, and the rice is tied in bundles and stacked to dry.

In the United States rice is drilled into fields and covered with up to two inches (5 cm) of water, or it is sown by airplanes after the fields have been flooded. More water is admitted to the fields as the plants grow, and the fields are drained when the plants begin to ripen. When ripe, the grain is harvested with combines.

Rice grains are separated from the panicles by threshing. The inedible hulls are then removed by grinding, cracking, or pounding. The grain thus obtained is brown rice and is the kind eaten in Asia. Since brown rice soon becomes rancid, in the Far East the hull is not removed until shortly before the rice is to be eaten. Rice with the hull still on is sometimes called rough, or paddy, rice. Rice intended for consumption in western countries is most often processed further to make it white. First, the bran layers are removed by rubbing. Then the grains are polished, using talc, chalk, or glucose as an abrasive. Polished rice can be stored for long periods, but lacks vitamins since they are contained in the bran.

Parboiled rice is prepared by treating the grain with steam and pressure before milling The steam and pressure drive into the grains some of the nutrients that would otherwise be lost in milling. Pre-cooked rice is milled rice that has been cooked and dehydrated.