GRAINS
Growing grain is a key part of our mixed farming system and our drive towards diversity, both in the enterprises we have on the farm and in the ecology of the land. We’ve long been interested in heritage grains, grains that have evolved over millennia to grow in a traditional zero-input farming system and which, as a result, are incredibly resilient and strong.
We started small, collecting handfuls of seed from rare varieties which aren’t grown commercially and growing them on to bulk up our seed stocks. 2019 was the first year in which we grew them on a larger scale, and we now have acres of barley; one of rye and a heritage wheat called Orange Straw Devon Blue Rough Chaff. We also grow many acres of different blends such as oats, peas and barleys which we plant and harvest together to use as organic feed for the pigs and chickens, saving on transport and therefore fuel emissions.
As soon as we can find somewhere to malt our barley, we intend to step up production and to use more of it in our BEER but for now, we’re focusing on the wheat which produces good yields and pretty much looks after itself once we’ve planted it.
After harvest, we allow the stalks and other weeds to dry out to make straw which we use for bedding for the animals and we’re working with a miller to convert the grain to flour, with which we hope to make our own bread. The milling process produces high-fibre bran and semolina (essentially a rougher grade of flour) as by-products so the plan is to make our own biscuits and pasta too, thereby utilising the whole of the plant and minimising wastage.
We started small, collecting handfuls of seed from rare varieties which aren’t grown commercially and growing them on to bulk up our seed stocks. 2019 was the first year in which we grew them on a larger scale, and we now have acres of barley; one of rye and a heritage wheat called Orange Straw Devon Blue Rough Chaff. We also grow many acres of different blends such as oats, peas and barleys which we plant and harvest together to use as organic feed for the pigs and chickens, saving on transport and therefore fuel emissions.
As soon as we can find somewhere to malt our barley, we intend to step up production and to use more of it in our BEER but for now, we’re focusing on the wheat which produces good yields and pretty much looks after itself once we’ve planted it.
After harvest, we allow the stalks and other weeds to dry out to make straw which we use for bedding for the animals and we’re working with a miller to convert the grain to flour, with which we hope to make our own bread. The milling process produces high-fibre bran and semolina (essentially a rougher grade of flour) as by-products so the plan is to make our own biscuits and pasta too, thereby utilising the whole of the plant and minimising wastage.