Before sunrise, the fields are still quiet, as if the world is holding its breath. A thin mist hangs over the rice paddies, and the tips of the rice plants slowly begin to catch the morning light. Here in Nakanojo Town, Gunma Prefecture, a day at Sato Farms begins like this.
For twenty years, I have stood in these same rice paddies. I have come to understand the ways of the wind, the mood of the soil, and the temperament of the irrigation channels. Even so, every year the rice shows us a different face. Some days, the plants stretch up shyly, as if to say, "This is how we will grow this year." Other days, they stand tall and straight, as if to warn us, "Don't let your guard down yet."
It would be a waste to simply harvest these rice plants and sell them. We want to deliver not just the rice, but also the time we spent growing it, the air of the fields, and the changing of the seasons — all of it, if we possibly can. That is why we treasure this small sales system of ours.
How Sato Farm's Rice Reaches You
When we receive your order, we first listen carefully to what you are feeling. "I'm interested." "It depends on the price." "I really want to buy it." We meet you at whatever stage you are at, while also checking the farm's energy, and we carefully prepare our order slots within a range that is not too much for us.
Once your order is confirmed, the next step is confirming your payment. This is an iron rule that we hold dear. Rice is a living thing, and a farmer's time is also limited. That is why, only after we have confirmed your payment, we quietly switch into gear and say to ourselves, "Alright, let's give this rice our full attention."
Once payment is confirmed, we open our A4 work instruction sheet. This sheet is the command center of our farm. Measuring the brown rice, milling it carefully, dividing it into portions, packing it into bags, and checking the shipping size — we write all of these steps down on this single sheet of paper. Then, without ever glancing at our smartphones, we quietly work with our hands in the workshop.
Finally, we bring the packages to the post office, and when we write down the tracking number on the instruction sheet, all the steps are complete. This tracking number is like a "signpost" that guides our rice safely to your dining table, no matter how far away you are. We file the instruction sheets in a binder and keep them as precious records of the year. The actual weight after milling, the memory of the day the rice left for our customers — each of these becomes data, and that data becomes nourishment for Sato Farms.
What We Want to Protect with This System
At Sato Farm, we value "the rhythm of farm life" more than "efficiency."
- The peace of mind that comes from facing each grain of rice after payment is confirmed
- The flexibility to carefully adjust our order slots according to the farm's energy
- The clarity of using an A4 instruction sheet, so we can focus on our work without distraction
- The long-lasting relationships with faces we can see, built by meeting customers where they are
- And above all, delivering Sato Farm's rice straight from the heart of our farm, in our own words
We want our writing to convey not just mechanical words, but the air of the fields, the voice of the rice, and the feel of our hands at work. We believe that is the true value of the Sato Farm LP.
Looking Forward to the Harvest Season
This year, too, the rice has been working hard for us. When it sways in the wind, it looks as if it is telling us, "We are fully ready for the harvest."
We will deliver that rice to your dining table, carefully and honestly. Please look forward to Sato Farm's rice. We will continue to write the story of our fields, little by little, from now on.
You can also read the Grow-as-We-Go Direct Sales guide on the home page.