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.

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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.

The combine...

My uncle gave me his old 1968 IH 503 combine. It was a good price needless to say. It worked very well for me in it's first fall helping my friend Vince to harvest 200 acres of oats. Last year, I did 70 acres of my own wheat and barley and, as you can see, it worked well again.

First cut of hay 2008

We had a tremendous first cutting of hay this year. I should have raked it into bigger swaths, but it was just always too dry and I didn't want to shatter the leaves off of the alfalfa. So, I just went ahead and baled from the haybine swath.

New equipment...

Here are a couple new additions to my line of equipment. It is a 1981 3788 2+2 and an 18 foot versatile pull-type swather. This combination worked very well last year although the swaths were a little too much for my old IH 503 to handle with any amount of speed.

It's been a long time

I can't believe how long its been since I posted. Much has changed around the farm for us. We now have close to 200 acres of organic grains. This year we seeded both wheat and buckwheat. We have some new equipment too. Too much to write about here, but perhaps I'll get back into the habit of posting about our farm.

New Lamb

We weren't expecting this little girl. We are way past due on the lambing and I simply thought that we weren't going to have any. Yesterday, I went out to feed pigs and chickens and looked up and saw an extra "sheep"! I was happy to see her suckle happily and she is now running and playing and she seems quite healthy. A very nice surprise.

766 Cultivating

766 Seeding Wheat

The New Lambing Barn

I had a busy few days this past weekend...I needed to fence a new paddock with the wire mesh "farm fencing" so that the sheep could move in to their new lambing pasture. It was previously fenced with simple wood railing fence that keeps the cattle in, but the sheep would easily squeeze out almost anywhere they wished. I spent a few hours on Saturday to install the mesh and then a few more hours to set up the "barn". This is one of those portable garages...we purchased it from Costco a few months ago for around $400. It went up easily without any tools. I know several people who have these shelters and a couple of them collapsed this winter with the weight of the snow. Another fellow I know of had his up all winter without incident because he would go out and knock the snow off from time to time.

We wanted a portable, temporary shelter that we could use from year to year to facilitate lambing in different fields as we saw fit. It isn't good to have birthing areas occupy the same area on a yearly basis...this goes for any livestock species.

The good thing about this new pasture is that we can keep a close eye on the ewes out our living room window. It is approximately one acre in size and is adjacent to all of our other pastures that total about 10 acres. We are due to begin lambing around May 25th.

Spring Field Work

Here is the 766 hard at work with the breaking disc. The breaking disc is a very heavy implement with large diameter discs. This implement does a very good job of breaking through sod and compacted soil. Plowing in this field did not work out so well because of some large rocks about 6" below the surface.

Another Generation of Large Blacks!

Last year, about this time, I sold a couple of Large Black gilts to a fellow in Manitoba. Yesterday he e-mailed me this picture of his first litter from one of the girls! 6 healthy little ones, 4 gilts. I was happy to see another generation of these rare pigs hit the ground in a good home. Neal was very happy with how good a mother she was too. Most farmers will tell you that you need a barn and a farrowing crate etc. etc. Neal even went to the trouble of building a couple of a-frame farrowing huts for the girls out in the pasture, but this sow didn't like his construction because she just built a nest of straw out in the open and did her thing. Neal mentioned how careful she was in moving about the nest so that she wouldn't lay on anyone. This is entirely normal for the breed and probably normal for any breed that is given the ability to farrow outdoors in a natural setting.

Spring Field Work

Spring work has been frustrating so far this year. The 766 is working well, but we have encountered some unexpected field conditions while plowing the new land. There are some pretty good sized rocks about 6 inches below the surface and we have broken the plow twice. On top of that, we sprung the back arm on the plow and that made it almost impossible to set the plow to work properly. We tried for a couple days and only managed to plow 20 acres. Finally, yesterday, we gave up trying to plow and made arrangements to rent a very large and heavy breaking disc. We'll see how that works at breaking up the hay field.

The Brooder

We brood our day-olds in an old horse water trough. It works well and is so deep that it allows us to continually add bedding all the while that the birds are brooding. We have a wire/lumber top for the brooder that allows us to hang two heat lamps over the chicks. We can adjust the lamps to whatever height we need to keep them comfortable. This year, as every year it seems, we are experiencing extremely low temps. that are well under normal. I had to cover the brooder with a silver tarp and a blanket and then set up an electric baseboard heater nearby to keep the temperature up inside the brooder. If it is too cold, the birds will crowd each other and make a big pile. The birds at the bottom of the pile suffocate and die. We know that the temperature is correct when we see the chicks off in all corners of the brooder pecking away at feed, water and whatever bugs and grass is in their bedding straw. They will stay in the brooder for a week or two and then we will set up another one and split them up to allow them to grow until they are feathered out. Typically, near the end of brooding, we transfer the chicks to the pig barn where they have lots of room to grow until they are big enough to be transferred to the field pens. Once they are fully "feathered out", they are able to care for themselves outside without the need for extra heat from lamps or an inside room. All they need at that point is a roof and some wind blockage that comes from the movable pen in the pasture.

Chicken Season 2007!

Chicken season is underway once more. Yesterday, Cindy travelled to Rochester Hatchery in Westlock to pick up 314 day-old chicks. This year we went back to the Cornish Giant breed. Last years chickens did not grow the way we had hoped. Slower growing genetics combined with organic feed minus the growth hormones and supplements made for a season that was just too long for us to handle effectively. We have had good luck with the Cornish Giants on our own feed in previous years but we didn't like the fact that they were bred to grow so fast and do have so many health problems when placed on accelerated/medicated feed in big commercial operations. We wanted to support the smaller, less popular breeds. Fortunately for us, the Cornish Giant breed works very well on organic food. The breeding genetics make the bird grow quickly, but the organic non-medicated feed keeps growth in check and produces a very nicely finished bird. Combined with all the fresh pasture that they can eat, the end result is simply scrumptous.

The 766 with a new coat

Here is the new 766 ready for the field. I gave her a quick new coat of paint, changed the fluids and cleaned out the cab along with a few other minor adjustments here and there. It still needs the decals, but those can wait until spring work is complete. Now I am ready on Wednesday to drive to the farm where the plow is waiting to be picked up and then off to the field that I am renting south of our farm. I will spend the next few days plowing 50 acres or so of alfalfa in preparation of seeding with wheat. First though, I need to take off the dual wheel on the right hand side to be able to travel down the furrow cleanly without driving on newly plowed ground and keeping the plow level.