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Rice is an important food crop in the world and one of China’s three main food crops. In China, the rice planting area is large, generally stable at about 450 million mu, accounting for about 20% of the world’s total planting area (Collinson, 2014). The yield per unit is significantly higher than that of rice and corn, reaching 6.89 tons per hectare. The yield is basically maintained at 210 million tons, accounting for 36% of the country’s total grain output (ChinaReport.com, 2018). Therefore, rice planting is of great significance to ensure the country’s food security and farmers’ benefits. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, the market competition pressure of the country’s agricultural products has been increasing. In order to ensure food security, the Chinese government has adopted a “minimum purchase price policy” to ensure rice output. However, with the rapid increase in agricultural production costs, the domestic rice price is upside down, and its market competitiveness has been severely impacted (Chenglong, 2018; Xiaobin, 2022; Derong et al., 2022; Chuanning, 2022; Huxian, 2022; Maode, 2022). The traditional rice production method, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and low in production efficiency, is no longer compatible with the reality of the rapid transfer of rural labor and the modernization of agricultural production technology (Meijiayong, 2022; Haoyan et al., 2015; Weiwei, 2022; Xiangfeng et al., 2021). In order to enhance the overall competitive advantage of agricultural products, especially to reduce the production cost of staple food crops, the role of agricultural machinery has gained more attention, and the mechanized production of rice has become the general trend (Jinping et al., 2018). The essence of mechanized rice production is to substitute materialized labor for the living labor process (Wenzhon et al., 2016). Improving the level of mechanization of rice production is an important measure to improve labor productivity, reduce production costs, increase yield, increase revenue, and enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of rice. This article focuses on family farms as the research object, and uses sample observation and quantitative analysis to explore the impact of agricultural services on the cost of rice planting, revealing the strength of the impact of agricultural mechanization services on costs at different stages of rice production. The goal of this research is to be able to contribute to the family farm’s rice production process and provide reference for scientific agricultural mechanization service decisions.