The Rice Steppes

The Rice Steppes are relatively new to the world of Autauga. Situated in the northwest, the steppesy have only existed for 90 years. The steppes are terraced with a natural water supply that appeared some century ago. Since then, the good people living around the area have undertaken its care.   The Farmers in the northwest will proudly tell you how they tried to demolish the terraced area that grew such a strange plant. The steppes wouldn't support the growth of wheat, their main crop. They spent several seasons trying to flatten the land. They take pride in their own "inventiveness."   Though farmers tried to reshape the steppes into flat hospitable land for growing wheat, the steppes reformed every year owing to the overflow of water from the large natural spring that first created the steppes.    It took eleven years before someone accepted that the strange plant was here to stay and made the suggestion that they should investigate the plant and its grain in hopes it could be used for something. Farmers and cooks alike tested the strange looking grain. It looked nothing like the wheat they had learned to grind into meal centuries ago. It was wet and fragile and the timing for its harvest was wholly different from what wheat required. One couldn't simply scythe the new grain. After discovering that the grain could be harvested and cooked it became clear that while the harvest was more labor intensive to undertake, the grain didn't need to be ground, cutting out a large part of the production they were used to when dealing with wheat.   The first few years they experimented with harvesting the crop, they called it wet wheat. But a small girl, riding on her mother's back as her mother worked the fields was overheard calling the strange grain ice because it looked like the snow she had seen in a book that depicted the Diamond Mountains.   The adults who heard the child thought she said 'rice.' The word had a nice sound and it wasn't long before everyone called the new grain rice. Farmers introduced rice to the world by calling the fine grain a 'delicacy for those with refined palates.' The delicacy grew in popularity. Though wheat had been the staple diet for many, a segment of the population across the world seemed unable to abide wheat and those people soon learned that rice was a fine substitute for what most considered a staple in their diet.   Today, rice is the second greatest grain grown, sold, and eaten in Autauga.