Small grain growing

Brent harvests Red Fife wheat 2009

Five years ago we started raising small grains on our farm.  Wheat and spelt are raised for flour for human consumption and millet and oats are raised for feed for the cows and for seed.  Small grain growing in Vermont in the 21st century is still fairly uncommon.  During the 1800′s over 40,000 acres of wheat were grown in the state.  Today there are about 500 acres.  We’re approaching this year’s harvest.  Our big red combine, nicknamed Jake by a young friend of ours, is used to separate the grain from the stem of the plants.  The stems are dried and made into straw which makes excellent bedding for the cows in the barn in the winter.