Rice farmers celebrate harvest

FANNETT- by Ashley Gaston Rice farmers in Southeast Texas are celebrating their harvest during the 43rd Annual Texas Rice Festival.� Long days followed by sleepless nights may turn days like today into smiles for farmers.� Six news anchor Ashley Gaston went to Fannett to find out why a young man chose farming instead of an office job. The seeds are sewn, fertilized and golden. "It's not easy, it's a lot of hard work," said Reneau. Will Reneau planted rice across 500 acres four months ago.� "A lot of sleepless nights all year till you get to harvest," said Will Reneau. Now the day is here to step inside the combine and start cutting. "If you can get through the whole year and have a good crop and make it to this crop it's a good feeling, it sure is," said Reneau.� Reneau grew up in Fannett watching his family harvest.� He says it's in his blood. "I really enjoyed my college experience and but I love being on the farm and I wanted to come back and have a farming way of life," said Reneau. Reneau says he works hard from sun up to sun down averaging about 60 acres a day. Reneau fills up ten 18 wheelers full of rice a day...which equals to about 510,000 pounds of rice. The new technology allows Renuea to harvest twice as much rice as Bobby Thornton did in his prime. "That's what we need.� Who's gonna feed these people? You gotta have some young farmers to keep the business going," said Bobby Thornton. Thornton spent 60 years pouring sweat into these rice fields. "Its a good life, i've enjoyed every bit of it, we've had a lot of fun," said Thornton.A way of life for these men. "I don't see myself doing anything different with my life," said Reneau. Harvesting a crop that puts food on the table for Reneau and for millions of people across the nation. You can celebrate the harvest with the farmers at the 43rd Annual Texas Rice festival.The gates are open today through Sunday at Winnie Stowell Park.