Rice Milling Recovery Calculator & Rice & By-Products from Paddy
Mills paddy
See your rice out-turn from paddy — total rice, whole (head) rice and brokens, plus husk and bran, with the value of the milled rice.
Enter your paddy
Next: adjust mill settings (rubber-roll clearance, polishing) and dry the paddy to ~14% moisture before milling — properly conditioned grain breaks less, raising the head-rice share that sells at a premium.
Recovery & head rice depend on variety, moisture, drying and mill condition.
Rice milling — key facts
- Milling recovery
- ≈ 65–68%
- Head rice
- ≈ 50–60% of rice
- Husk
- ≈ 20% of paddy
- Bran
- ≈ 8% of paddy
- Total rice
- paddy × recovery%
- Best head rice
- dry to ~14%, mill clean
- Parboiling
- raises recovery & head rice
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
Know your out-turn before you mill
Paddy is only part rice — the rest is husk, bran and unavoidable loss — and within the rice, whole head rice is worth far more than brokens. Knowing your milling recovery and head-rice percentage turns a sack of paddy into a clear picture of saleable rice and by-products, so you can value a milling job, judge a mill's performance, or decide whether to sell paddy or milled rice.
This tool splits your paddy into total rice, head rice, brokens, husk and bran, and values the rice at your prices. Higher head-rice recovery is where the money is — dry paddy gently to about 14%, mill clean uniform grain, and keep the machinery well-adjusted. Pair it with the Crop Drying Time, Grain Moisture and Storage Loss tools to protect quality from harvest to mill.
Value a milling job
Turn paddy into the rice and by-product tonnage you'll get.
Benchmark the mill
Compare your recovery and head-rice % to the norms.
Sell paddy or rice?
Compare milled-rice value against the paddy price.
Capture by-products
Account for husk and bran income, not just the rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is rice milling recovery?+
Milling recovery (out-turn ratio) is the total rice obtained as a percentage of the paddy milled — typically 65–68% for raw milling. So 1,000 kg of paddy yields about 650–680 kg of rice, with the rest as husk, bran and losses. This tool computes the rice and by-products from your recovery.
What is head rice?+
Head rice is the whole, unbroken milled grains (and large pieces), the most valuable fraction. Head rice as a percentage of total rice is usually 50–60% in raw milling, higher in parboiled. The rest are brokens, worth less. The tool splits total rice into head rice and brokens.
How do I calculate rice from paddy?+
Total rice = paddy × milling recovery %, then head rice = total rice × head-rice %. For 1,000 kg paddy at 67% recovery and 55% head: total rice = 670 kg, head rice = 368.5 kg, brokens = 301.5 kg. Enter your figures and the tool does it instantly, with husk and bran too.
What are the by-products of rice milling?+
Husk (about 20% of paddy) — used as fuel, in board/brick making and as bedding; bran (about 8%) — valuable for rice-bran oil and animal feed; and brokens — sold cheaper or used for flour, brewing and snacks. The tool estimates each so you can value the whole out-turn.
How can I improve head-rice recovery?+
Dry paddy gently to about 14% moisture (avoid cracking from fast/over-drying), temper it, mill at the right moisture, keep the huller/polisher well-adjusted and not over-polished, and mill clean, mature, uniform paddy. Small head-rice gains add up because whole rice sells for much more than brokens.
Why does milling recovery vary?+
It depends on the variety (grain size, chalkiness), maturity and cleanliness of the paddy, its moisture, how well it was dried, and the mill's type and condition. Parboiling raises both recovery and head rice. The tool lets you enter your own recovery so it matches your mill and paddy.
What is the difference between raw and parboiled milling?+
Parboiling (soaking, steaming and drying paddy before milling) hardens the grain, raising total recovery and especially head-rice yield, and moving some nutrients into the grain. Raw milling is simpler but gives more brokens. Use the recovery and head-rice figures appropriate to your process.
How much is the milled rice worth?+
Multiply head rice by its price and brokens by theirs (brokens fetch much less), and add by-product value if you sell husk and bran. The tool computes the rice value when you enter rice and brokens prices, helping you decide between selling paddy or milling and selling rice.
Should I sell paddy or mill it first?+
Compare the paddy price against the value of the rice plus by-products minus milling cost. Milling captures the head-rice premium and by-product income but adds cost and effort. Use the tool's rice and value outputs against your local paddy and rice prices to decide.
Does this work for any grain mill?+
It's tuned for paddy/rice with husk and bran fractions, but the recovery and head/brokens logic applies to other dehulled grains too. For wheat flour milling the by-products differ (bran, germ, middlings), so treat those cases approximately. Use crop-appropriate recovery percentages.