To understand why atmospheric methane is increasing worldwide, accurate estimates are needed of the global input from rice fields. We report greenhouse and laboratory studies over three growing seasons to isolate and control factors that might affect methane emission from rice paddies, including soil texture, added exogenous organic matter (OM), nitrogen and sulfate ion, and water management. Without added OM, methane production was relatively low, increasing during the growing season, and continuing after harvest, provided the soil remained water‐logged. If ground rice straw was added to the soil prior to planting, methane production began shortly after flooding, with an initial burst of the gas after 3 to 5 weeks, and then a gradual increase to a second peak later in the season (and after harvest), with rates considerably higher than in treatments without added O