Gleaner Combines

I continue to get a lot of comments and e-mails about my 1967 Gleaner C2 combine. I love this combine. It has a lot of features that were not typical of combines of its era. For starters, it has twin blowers. One is a separator fan and one is a cleaning fan. This made for very good cleaning capabilities and clean samples. Another outstanding feature of the Gleaner combine was the ability to adjust the speed of the cylinder right from the cab! It is a simple affair of turning a large crank that operates a variable speed pulley. It works well with crops that have varying conditions or even at different times of the day. I often adjust the cylinder speed a little higher in the mornings and evenings and then drop it down in the heat of mid-day when things are very dry. This eliminates cracking any grain, but let's you harvest when things are a touch damp too.

Middle Earth Gardens sent me this link to a Wikipedia page about the Gleaner E combine. Gleaner Combine on Wiki . Here also is a page about Gleaners that I have accessed many times...Gleaner Combines . You can scroll over the combine models and a picture and description pop up. The site covers Gleaners from 1922 to present day. It is pretty cool. Another great site for Gleaners is Schmidt and Sons they supply a great deal of parts for the old Gleaner Combines. I have ordered from them before and they appear to be a reputable company to deal with.

I have some video of our C2 Gleaner combine from this past fall. I will post it soon for all the Gleaner fans! In the meantime, here is a re-post of video of the 1967 Gleaner C2 from last year.

Verified Beef? WTH?

I just noticed one of those google ads that pop up under my posts from time to time. It reads "Alberta Beef Producers...Is your cattle operation verified? Protect our reputation of quality."

You are freaking kidding me right? "our reputation of quality"? Is that the same reputation that, in the past or even currently, excludes Alberta Beef from being displayed in the markets of Europe and the Far East? That reputation of quality? As a certain bald headed cartoon character would say...good grief.

Furthermore, what the hell does verification have to do with operating a healthy beef herd? Isn't it the same system of beef production that wants me to "verify" my operation that got us into this whole mess in the first place? Let me tell whomever it is that operates the Alberta Beef Producers Association...I figured out long ago that if you confine cattle in unnaturally populated feed lots for months on end all the while feeding them um, well...what were you feeding them? Oh yes, that's right. Other cows! As I was saying, I figured out a long time ago that you will end up with problems in these types of verified operations.

No thanks to the verification process, I think I'll stay put with my grass-based operation. The same one that enjoys the benefits of healthy, genetically diverse breeds of heritage cattle happily grazing untreated pastures or quietly munching away on their certified organic hay that I grew myself. Or am I doing this wrong?

Winter "Pasturing"

Here is a little explanation of what we do with our critters in the winter. In the past we have fed our animals close to the house where it was convenient to the bales and where we could enjoy watching them throughout the winter months. This is all fine and good but it creates some problems. Firstly, the area where they are kept gets trashed. In the late fall and early spring, before the grass emerges, the cows are trodding about the corral and the ground is completely chewed up and needs to be re-seeded into pasture. Secondly, there is a whole lot of manure and trampled hay to contend with. Even feeding them from a round bale feeder, you would be surprised at how much hay is wasted on the ground. The term "wasted" is a misnomer because we always cleaned the corral in the spring or summer and spread the manure on the various pastures that needed it. This process is problematic because it is terribly time consuming to use the loader to fill the manure spreader and then take the spreader out to the field and actually get it flung! Lots of time....an entire day. Lots of fuel. Lots of repairs to the loader and spreader. Not good.

The solution? Let the cows spread their own manure!

I have to start the tractor each time I need to feed a bale anyways so what's the big deal about driving the bale out to the field instead of the corral in the yard? I simply spear the bale and drive it out to the pasture where the cows are located. I sit the bale on the ground and then move the feeder a little ways down into some clean ground. Then I pick up the bale again and drop it in the feeder. Takes about 10 minutes longer than feeding in the yard.

Now, the cows can poop and trample till their hearts content and I don't have any extra work to do in the spring. No corral to clean. No poop to fling.

This year, the cows are out in the back field where we have grown everything from potatoes to Heritage varieties of wheat like Red Fife. In the spring I will work the ground as I always do and incorporate the manure and wasted hay into the ground for the sake of extra fertility and organic matter. It was a beautiful night last night to go out and visit the cows and take a few pictures for your enjoyment.

I would also like to introduce you to Missy. She is a Galloway and she is by far, the friendliest cow I've ever known. She happily stands munching her hay while I brush her and she was born into a herd of about 200 cows out in a huge leased pasture! It's not like she was bottle fed. Just a friendly cow. Her calf Miley is the same way.

Prairie Mill Bread

The second week of November Prairie Mill Bread Co. recently held a promotion at Planet Organic in Edmonton. Buy one loaf and get one free! It was a huge success with over 300 loaves sold! Great exposure for a great bakery that uses local and certified organic grains. In the photo you can see our little bit of exposure. We supplied Prairie Mill with a framed page of what we are about. They display these frames in their two locations as a sign that they support local farms and locally produced grain.

Ebey Farm Blog...a new favorite

Bruce King writes almost daily on his findings in running a small farm in the northwest U.S. on his blog ebeyfarm. Bruce has a technical background and definitely does his research on various farming topics. A great read.

Pasture Based Pigs

The following is the unedited version of an article I wrote in Small Farm Canada magazine back in 2006. There is some debate ongoing about pastured pigs in several sites including Homesteading Today . Now, you will note that in my article I don't propose raising pigs solely on pasture, but I do believe that it is possible to attain a level of pasture based diet greater than the 60% that I outlined in the article. With some intensive pasture management, I believe it would be possible to hit the 90% mark with a pastured operation. Here, below is the article for your entertainment.

Ground Up
by John Schneider

Pasture based hog producers in Canada do not have the luxury of having their animals actually grazing a pasture for a good part of the year. It is beneficial to duplicate, as much as possible, the conditions of the pasture in your winter feed program. Alfalfa as a major hog feed supplement in winter is probably nothing new, but as with a lot of small farm knowledge…much of what was once common practice has been lost in a few short generations of intensive, modern farming.
Alfalfa contains approximately 17 percent protein. There is a need to increase the crude protein of feed above what any single type of grain can provide. Monogastrics and Ruminants both require protein for growth, reproduction and maintenance. Proteins contain ten amino acids that are essential to an animals’ well being. Ruminants only require a source of nitrogen, or poor quality protein; microorganisms in their rumen can then construct the essential amino acids. Hogs need these amino acids to be readily available in the form of high protein feed. Along with protein, alfalfa also contains high levels of calcium and carotene and can provide pretty much all of the vitamins needed for maintenance. A challenge for most small farmers is to keep costs down while maintaining sufficient protein and nutrient levels for their swine herd. The standard method of feeding barley with supplemental protein and vitamins and minerals does not come cheaply in a certified organic form. The cost, along with a lack of availability has created the need to examine other forms of swine feed.
Two things that are available in abundance in Canada are grains and alfalfa. Alfalfa mixed with barley or wheat is a feed that is quite complete. Another legume feed such as peas can be added where a protein level in excess of 14% is required for gestating, lactating and young hogs. It is advised to use a heritage breed of hog for a pasture based operation as they more easily convert nutrients from a legumous diet. Hogs will take time to adjust to this type of diet; up to two months will be needed for the hogs’ system to begin the uptake of nutrients from a diet rich in alfalfa. Go slow with your introduction of alfalfa to the feed.
The Feed Resource Centre at the University of Saskatchewan refers to a study from 1981 by Pollman et al. This study shows a sow diet containing 50% alfalfa meal resulted in less lactation weight loss, a higher number of live births, better weaning average and a healthier weight gain during gestation. No other known studies have recommended alfalfa at a rate greater than 40% and personal experience has found this to be the limit of palatability for swine anyway.
A Good Recipe for a Young Gilt Ration
Alfalfa Meal or Grindings  40%
Barley 40%
Peas 20%

This recipe will yield a crude protein level of 16.2% and an energy level of about 11,200 MJ per tonne of feed, perfect for the feeding of your replacement gilts. Each pig will require 4-6 lbs per day up until 2 weeks before breeding when the feed will be increased to 6-8 lbs per day. This ration will contain superior levels of all vitamins with the exception of D and B12. With some supplementation of household food scraps containing eggs and/or dairy, enough B12 will be provided. With a larger herd, feeding of a dairy based supplement may be necessary. Vitamin D is manufactured within the body with exposure to the sun.
There are numerous ways to achieve ground alfalfa. Hammer Mills and Burr Mills are easily used to reduce a bale of high quality alfalfa hay to smaller “chunks”. A quick change to a finer screen and running the alfalfa through again will achieve the necessary consistency of a “rough flour”. It is not advised to feed raw alfalfa through the finest screen of your mill in one pass. The resulting green powder can then be mixed with finely milled grain in varying amounts to suit your protein needs and can be fed wet as slop, or dry in the self feeders. The same results could be obtained by soaking alfalfa cubes. Hogs will appreciate a warm porridge on a cold morning and this is one way to make the transition to pastured feed a little easier.
Good luck with your pastured operations and don’t be afraid to ‘go green’ with your hog feed this winter!

Cost of Organic Food

I feel like ranting a little.

As often happens I have talked to people recently who dont know that I am an organic farmer. I almost always get the comment once we are on the topic of organic food that it is simply too expensive. At one point in time I would get all riled up and make my points about the amount of work and lost revenue that goes into proper rotations, legume plow downs etc. This would totally blow my cover. Now however, I just politely nod and ask a few more questions as it fits in the conversation.

1)Where do you buy your kids clothes? The answer is inevitably some retail store like Lulu Lemons or Gap or Triple Flip (all great stores by the way).

2) What kind of TV do you own and how many?

3) What kind of car and how new is it?

It always makes me smirk inside when I hear the answers to these questions because it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. People are unquestioning when it comes to purchasing a new car every 3 years instead of buying a used one. Instead of doing a little research on reliability and economy they buy Lexus or Mercedes or Audi or as is the case with the latest person I had the discussion with...Hummer. All of these are good cars I am sure, but they are not as reliable as a Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla according to third party researchers and they certainly are not as efficient and they are certainly more expensive.

They are equally unquestioning when it comes to household electronics, clothes for thier kids, gaming devices, etc. etc. They won't think twice about spending $400 on the latest version of x-box or whatever is the latest and greatest gaming system.

What is wrong with people when it is normal to drop almost a grand on a couple outfits for the 9 year old girl in the family yet complain about paying $2 more for a quality loaf of organic bread without all of the processing, additives or preservatives. A loaf of bread whose ingredients were grown in a responsible, sustainable manner. What is wrong with our society when families have children whose bedrooms have multiple gaming systems, computers and tv's but we chose to purchase cheap, processed and plastic enshrouded snacks. I just don't quite get it.

Here's another way to look at it. Is the cheap Walmart food really all that cheap? What about the government subsidies that go into large corporations and large conventional farming and fuel systems? You and I pay for all those billions of dollars through our taxes. That has to be included in the cost of conventional food. The average family spends around $700 per year in government, food related subsidies...did you know that? All of a sudden, locally grown, organic foods are fairly resonably priced and nobody can argue about their value after considering all of the details.

I can see how easy it is for people with common sense to get caught up in the mixed up values that our society thrusts upon us. We are bombarded with the television commercials that make it a common occurance to buy your spouse a lexus for Christmas morning. I spend a good deal of my life feeling just a little bit guilty that I am so cheap and practical. Jeesh.

Finished Combining...Finally

Good grief...what a year. Yesterday I went to the field where I still have swaths laying. It is a difficult property that I just picked up this year. Parts of it here and there were tilled, other areas were wild grass and the remaining acreage was alfalfa hay. I did my best to break it this spring, but in hindsight I should have just summerfallowed it for the year or grown a cover crop. As it turned out the areas that were tilled by the owner for his market garden did quite well (aside from the monstrous crop of thistle). The wild areas and the alfalfa areas simply grew up in wild grass and alfalfa despite the spring tillage and seeding of wheat. With the drought, the already established grasses and alfalfa did well and the seeded wheat could not compete for moisture.

I was left with a few decisions to make. Firstly with the shortage of hay in the area it made sense to simply bale up the alfalfa/wheat for feed bales and secondly, the areas that had a half decent crop of wheat could be combined. Then came the October rains, or shall I say drizzle, heavy dews...whatever. Weeks on end of wet soggy, moisture laden clouds hovering over the field. When the sun finally came out a week ago it was too cold to effectively dry anything.

I thought I was pressing my luck with the good weather lately and just decided to combine anyways, dry or otherwise. As long as the swaths would go through the combine I was ok. It wouldn't be enough grain to worry about heating in the bins as I would just bag it in large totes and grind it for feed. So, away I went with the old C2 combine for one last working day of the season (for it at least anyways). Things went well and a couple hours later I had about 80 bushels of damp wheat in the hopper. Everything worked well with the combine.

Now all I have left to accomplish is to bale up the remaining 15 acres of feed. I raked it yesterday,  November 15th and now I can bale it up tonight or tomorrow....or both depending how long it takes with my crappy old baler. Wish me luck.

Harvest is over?

Well, what a year. I know that everyone laughs when farmers complain about the weather, but come on! This spring was so incredibly dry that we were seeding into dust. In some fields we had weeks and weeks of zero germination. What weeds were already in the ground took advantage of any spring moisture and started to grow. The crops never had a chance to germinate and outgrow the weeds so we had some pretty dirty crops. The summer again was terribly dry and we ended up plowing under several fields. What fields we left to mature did not produce well at all. The quality of the grain was very good...good levels of protein that help the bakers, but the yields were less than half of normal. Not good. Then we had some terrible storms this summer...winds at close to 100 km/h and hail. Then another wind storm this fall that blew the swaths all over the place. Now we are in the middle of october and it won't dry up enough to finish with the harvest. I have very little left to combine, but I do have hay laying in windrows that I need to get baled. I am not sure if we will be able to or not? I can see around our area that there are many farmers who are a lot worse off than I am. There are still thousands of acres of crops out in the field west of Edmonton.

I will be glad when 2009 is over from a farming perspective. Whatever 2010 has in store for us farmers, I can't see it being any worse.

Hand Powered Flour Mills

I received an e-mail today from a nice fellow asking where he could obtain a hand-powered grain mill. I knew that they were still being produced, but I was at a loss as to where you could buy one. I did a little snooping and here you go Wayne! This looks like a good article on what to look for in a mill. Now keep in mind that I have never used a hand-powered mill, but the one that kept popping up in my searches was the Country Living Mill . It sounds as though it is quite an effort to use these mills...perhaps a couple pulleys and a stationary bicycle are just the ticket to work off some of the calories from all those tasty buns you make with your home ground flour!

Alberta BioDiesel!

I recently came across this site www.greenwayfuels.ca and was delighted to learn that biodiesel is now available in Alberta! I was attracted to Greenway Fuels website and subsequently contacted their CEO Jaimey Farnese about obtaining b100 diesel to mix with regular diesel at Gold Forest Grains. Greenway Fuels' first biodiesel station is located in Turner Valley, AB. According to Ms. Farnese, Greenway is looking to expand their stations northward throughout Alberta. It is understandable what an undertaking this is and I would like to try to support their efforts in any way possible. With enough interest from organic producers, perhaps we can entice Greenway north sooner rather than later!

Another interesting site that was linked to Greenway Fuels is the Green Fuels map http://www.biofleet.net/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=33 This is a great way to see different green options for refueling while travelling across Canada.

Alberta Organic Producers Association

I attended the AOPA AGM this past weekend. http://www.albertaorganicproducers.org/
AOPA is a wonderful organization that is tight-knit and full of personality. I am proud to be a member. The association was formed in 1990 and has been going full speed ever since. It is a tremendous place to network with some of the Organic "old timers" as well as the new breed of organic producer with bold and interesting ideas. I have enjoyed any function that I have ever attended and this meeting was no different.

As a function of my attendance, I am now a member of the Marketing Committee for AOPA. We will be working to further the marketing effectiveness of member producers through co-operation and additional communication. There needs to be a better connectivity between local organic producers and consumers and organizing the producers is probably the place to start. I plan to explore the possibility of starting a producer Co-op Retail Food Chain that could be supplied by producer co-op processing facilities.

We'll see how far I get.

Obtaining Local Organic Foods

I receive e-mails and phone calls all the time from people looking for local organic grains and grain products. I have attended recent meetings hosted by local food groups and organic groups. The number one question that I hear murmered in the phews is "where can I get this food that they are hyping?" That's a good question. Strolling through most organic food stores here in Edmonton I see an overwhelming selection of organic foods, but a quick review of the label tells me that this food is not very local at all. I mean isn't the point of "Organics"...to reduce the carbon footprint, to produce food in a sustainable way? Trucking flour over the mountains from BC to sell here in Edmonton strikes me as fairly ridiculous. Here's the rub though...is there actually anyone local who produces organic flour for a local market? I am going to have to say no. At least not that I am aware of. As a producer, I can vent all I want about people who refuse to purchase local foods, but in doing so I also need to take responsibility for making every effort to actually make local food and make it available!

I know that there is a local flour mill, but they are fairly dedicated to marketing their flour at the bigger supermarkets where people who are interested in local foods will almost never visit. It's a difficult problem because I understand why they do this...there aren't enough local food consumers to make it worthwhile for this relatively large mill to cater to them. It's a vicious cycle. In this post and others to follow, I am going to focus on as many different stores and locations to obtain local foods as I can think of. By all means, e-mail me if you know of others that I miss.

First of all, let's look at the obvious...Farmers Markets. There are a number of outstanding markets here in edmonton. Not the least of which is the "City Market Downtown on a 104th" http://www.city-market.ca/ This is a growing market that is large enough for you to find most, if not all of your staples. Then there is the venerable "Old Strathcona Farmers Market" http://www.osfm.ca/. For a complete listing of markets across Alberta check out http://www.albertamarkets.com/. Now be aware that not all markets are created equal. For the hardcore local foodie, there are some markets that will be a complete waste of time...full of grandparents sitting at tables full of knitted tissue box covers and numerous other tables of network marketing items like plastic dinnerware and cleaning supplies. Check out each market in your area by calling the manager and asking what vendors are there each week...also, make sure to make a point of telling them what YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. A good market manager will keep track of this stuff and make changes to the market where possible.

Heritage Wheats

I have recently obtained samples of several varieties of heritage wheat. What is Heritage Wheat you may ask? Well, that is a good question and to be frank, I don't know. What I do know is that there are different answers to this question depending on who you ask. To me, a heritage wheat variety is one that is "antique". A variety that was developed say sometime prior to 1940. You see, it was about this time that the war effort was in full swing in laboratories across the world. New weapons were being developed that included chemicals that had the potential to defoliate and poison entire cultures of people. Luckily for us (tongue in cheek) these chemicals became the basis for modern agriculture. They magically and without consequence, enabled farmers to grow crops with fewer weeds, more productivity and in the case of dessication, shorter seasons. Oh yes, and on a lesser side note, some companies were able to make a few little profits.

So, after WWII these same agricultural companies who were busy developing different ways of poisoning the earth were also funding the development of their own breeds of grains. These varieties could survive the chemical baths that other, lesser species couldn't and therefore farmers could spray till their hearts content to get rid of weeds and bugs and other maladies. Soon, these new varieties were the predominant ones and the older varieties selected for natural resistance to lodging and growing seasons and competitiveness were forgotten. With such specific breeding and even genetic manipulation, the new varieties of grains are genetically uniform and very shallow in genetic material. The old breeds are known as landraces and are genetically very diverse. They are able to adapt within a few years to different climates and growing conditions and most importantly are not registered or owned by anyone in particular. Of course some of the antique varieties from the 20's and 30's were registered by hard working breeders in government ag. offices and farms across the continent. These breeds were naturally selected and crossed with other heritage varieties to produce plants with significant genetic diversity and traits that enabled wheat to be grown in places in Canada where shorter seasons or natural obstacles prevailed.

What all of this means is that the companies in question were able to enslave farmers and decieve them into believing that registered, copyrighted seeds in conjunction with associated chemicals were the only modern way to farm. As is the case with all other known forms of modern farming hierarchy, the people making the vast proportion of profits were in fact these companies...peddling their wares like modern day versions of the tonic hoaxsters of years past.

Luckily for us today there are enlightened farmers and most importantly, enlightened consumers who are demanding a return to intelligent and sustainable farming practices using landrace, community owned seeds and organic agronomy.

Technorati Profile

Buckwheat in the Organic Rotation

I was thoroughly impressed with how well the Buckwheat performed with regards to weed supression in the field. One field that I have been farming since 2007 was so infested with Cammomile, that the County was bothering the landowner to take care of it with chemicals. She contacted me at that point and asked me if I would farm the piece. I took it on and spent the first year simply tilling the weeds under from time to time, otherwise known as "summer fallowing". This is definitely not a sustainable way to farm and so I decided to invest the time and money into planting a crop of Buckwheat. I had heard of Buckwheat's ability to suppress plant growth from other species be it weed or otherwise. The lush canopy shades out any lower plants and the alleopathic properties of the Buckwheat root system takes care of any stragglers. In this video you can clearly see the difference between where the Buckwheat was seeded and where the drills missed seeding along the edges.

One other benefit of Buckwheat in the Organic Rotation is how well it conditions the soil. In the fall, after harvest, I typically spend some time doing tillage. This takes care of any left over weeds and prepares the soil for spring tillage and seeding. Fall tillage also allows for a better penetration of moisture when the snow melts in spring. When I was performing this fall tillage with the chisel plow, I couldn't help but notice the improved condition of the soil. It was less lumpy and with a pass of the disc in the spring will be a wonderful seedbed for next years crop of whatever is next in the rotation.

Organic Buckwheat

I thought I would take the time to produce a few posts to do with Buckwheat. This is a relatively new crop for us. I have been researching it for a few years now and only decided to grow it commercially for the first time in 2008.

In this, the first of a series of Buckwheat posts, I thought I would share with you some of the benefits of Buckwheat from a dietary standpoint. Buckwheat is a nutraceutical "super food". The nutritional benefits are many. But don't take my word on the subject. Attached below is more information than you ever wanted to know about the beneficial aspects of adding Organic Buckwheat to your diet. It is a wonderful piece from Steven Edwardson when he was at Purdue University.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/v3-195.html

Here also, is a great Youtube video on the subject. Nutrition by Natalie.

Swather

Here is Gold Forest's swather. At least this is one of the swathers we own. The other is a larger Versatile 18' pull-type swather that I pull with either the 766 or the 3788. This one is the 14' MF swather. Actually it is a piece of crap. It was constantly breaking down on me this fall and I finally had to lift it onto the swather mover to get it off the field. I haven't decided whether to spend more time and money fixing it up or to just cut my losses and move on. Still thinking.

Buckwheat Harvest

I thought I would post another video. This one from the cab of the Allis Chalmers CII combine. Sorry it is a little dark. It lightens up later when I get into the sun more. This gives an idea of what it is like to run the combine up and down the swaths of buckwheat during the harvest procedure. It is a rather slow process. This video was taken on October 7.

When I swathed the buckwheat in late August, it was 5' tall in places and fully green with tons of vegetation. I used a small 14' MF swather and even then the swaths behind the swather were huge. It took over a month for the buckwheat to dry down enough to be able to send it through the combine. The seeds themselves were dry enough, but the stalks of the plant were green and wet which made plugging the combine a real concern. As it was, I still ended up plugging the combine several times per day. Next year, I will wait a while longer before I swath and I will cut the plants a little higher leaving taller stubble.

A ride in the 503

This will give you an idea of what it's like inside the cab of the 503. I had put in a new governor spring that morning and the rpms were back up to where they should be. I was flying in this relatively light 18' foot swath of wheat. I had to slow down though because it was so rough from the previous years sod.

Harvest Action

Here we are hard at work in the middle of harvest, towards the end of September. We had tremendous weather all fall long. However, that doesn't mean that we can take it easy. You never know when the forecast will change and ruin all that beautiful wheat laying in the swaths. In this video I am on the 503 and Dad is off in the distance running the old CII Gleaner combine. This particular field of wheat did not yield very well. I did not get enough of a kill on last year's grass and it competed with the wheat for moisture and nutrients.

New Customers!

We are very proud to be suppliers of organic grains for Prairie Mill Bread Co. This family run bakery is located in the northwest part of Calgary and is set to open their new location in southwest Edmonton in December 08. Their bread is beyond delicious. Check out the link to their website in the "links" section. It is a special feeling of pride knowing that our grain is being used in Prairie Mill breads.

Gold Forest Farms also supplies Treestone Bakery with our certified organic grains. Treestone is located in the Old Strathcona neighborhood of Edmonton. They are true craftspeople who prodce outstanding quality sourdough breads and other treats. We will be working with Treestone to produce heritage varieties of grains for different tastes and textures in the near future.

I really enjoy our deliveries to these two fine companies because I almost always leave with an armfull of fresh organic bread!

Buckwheat Harvest

As this was our first year of producing buckwheat, we had certain questions throughout the growing season. With a little research and some help from other producers and industry experts we were able to harvest a nice crop of buckwheat. We ended up with a little over 25 bushels per acre and we used the old Allis Chalmers CII combine to get the buckwheat off the field and into the bin. Even with a relatively small 14 foot swath, I had to travel slowly to be able to get it through the combine without plugging it up. All's well that ends well.

Field of Buckwheat

This is our small field of buckwheat...an experiment for us. I have never grown buckwheat before and there are very few in our region who do. This field is dry this year. The yield won't be as good as if it were in better soil.