WORCESTER, Mass. — Growing grains in the Northeast ended when cheap, reliable rail transport from the Midwest became available in the 19th century. Today, gardeners and small-farm growers are interested in producing grains in Massachusetts.
Soil health, weed and erosion control, rotational pest control, nutrient capture, flavorful and nutritious products are all reasons to grow grains, according to Noah Courser-Kellerman, owner of Alprilla Farm in Essex.
Courser-Kellerman conducted a workshop on how to grow, process, store and market grains at a Northeast Organic Farming Association Massachusetts winter conference workshop.
Alprilla Farm is a diversified small farm devoted to produce, grains and beef. In addition to using small grains in cover crops, processing and marketing the grains enables them to distribute their labor over the year. Focusing on produce crops with fall and winter harvests enables them to use labor to grow produce over the summer and harvest later in the season, thereby reducing the demand for labor associated with harvesting and marketing summer produce. They sell their products to restaurants, at farmers markets and through CSAs.
There are a number of options when selecting grains to plant. Decisions are based on how the grain will be used and how it fits into rotations with vegetables and hay, Courser-Kellerman said.
Warthog is a hard, red, winter wheat Courser-Kellerman recommended for bread because of its superb flavor which is an amplified Red Fife. He found Frederick, a soft, white, winter wheat, to have a good yield and excellent market appeal.
“The sweet aroma of pastries baked with Frederick will haul in the customers” Courser-Kellerman said.
Gardeners can plant grain by simply scattering seed over the ground and working it lightly with a rake. Making a shallow trench in the ground for seed is another approach. Courser-Kellerman has planted grain with a planter to seed grain in pathways of kale plots. On larger plots he uses a no-till drill.
Heritage wheat varieties require room for tilling.
“A young wheat plant’s worst enemy is another wheat plant” said Courser-Kellerman. They plant heritage wheat at 12 inch spacing.
When should growers plant their grains? According to Courser-Kellerman, “a week of growth in September is equivalent to a month in October at my farm.” He plants wheat at 70 pounds per acre in mid-September and 150 pounds per acre in October. To develop a good cover crop in the fall and plant heritage wheat at the proper rate, Courser-Kellerman mixes 75 pounds of oats with 25 pounds of heritage winter wheat. The oats grow in the fall and function as a cover, then winter kill, leaving the heritage wheat planted at an acceptable rate.
“Play around with your methods” encouraged Courser-Kellerman.
To establish a grazing forage with a wheat crop, he frost-seeds clover in the winter wheat in February. Once the wheat is harvested, he has forage for his cows and oxen.
Wheat flowers the last week in May and progresses from milk to dough to mature berries.
“Wheat is ready to harvest when it cracks between your teeth” Courser-Kellerman said.
Grains can be hand harvested with a sickle, scythe or a sickle bar mower. Thrashing can be done with a flail over a tarp. Courser-Kellerman uses a 1930 vintage Allis Chalmers All Crop combine, “the only one with parts available today.” He noted that there are plenty of mini-combines available.
“Drying grain to 14% maximum is a must to prevent mold. Buggy flour is the fastest way to lose customers,” Courser-Kellerman said. Last year he hooked up a container with an air conditioner and a dehumidifier to dry his grain within 48 hours. A moisture tester is a good investment and can be calibrated at home using an oven for drying.
A seed cleaner helps get rid of the chaff. Courser-Kellerman no longer grows hairy vetch on his farm because it is difficult to get the seeds out of grain. He now uses peas to fix nitrogen.
Grains are stored in plastic barrels which are then purged with carbon dioxide. When a candle at the top of a barrel goes out, Courser-Kellerman knows the barrel is full of carbon dioxide.
Milling is done as close to 14% moisture as possible because the moisture content will influence the gluten content. Courser-Kellerman has found that stone milling flour is better for baking.
His flour sells for $1.25 per pound wholesale which works out to about $5,600 per acre, “which is low compared to vegetable,” he said. Retail he sells flour for $2 per pound in 10 pound bags. In addition, he gets a good stand of clover and bedding straw for his cows.