Northeast Organic Wheat Organic farmers and traditional bakers working together to develop delicious artisan wheats Funded by NESARE Contact: growseed@yahoo.com

Twelve thousand years ago, ancient farmers began to save wild wheat seed, selecting the landrace wheats that nourished earlier civilizations. Wheat has been the staple foodcrop of humans for millenia. Discerning artisan bakers in Europe prefer the heritage wheats of their villages. However modern wheats are bred for uniformity and high yield. Nutrition and flavor are forgotten. Today the most delicious, higher nutrition wheats that are best adapted to organic systems are on the verge of extinction.

'Northeast Organic Wheat' is a consortium of local teams in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts and Maine. We are restoring rare, heritage wheats and hosting field days at demonstration farms in each state. We invite farmers, gardeners, artisan bakers schools and food coops to grow and evaluate heritage and modern wheats, conduct baking tests for flavor, nutrition and baking quality, and host beautiful displays of wheat sheaves - to restore our heritage of wheat and community bread traditions.

Kansas Wheat Commission Modern wheat bred for uniformity and yield, dwarfed to not lodge with synthetic N

Breugel, Harveters 15c Heritage wheat with large roots to absorb organic nutrients, tall for photosynthesis

Each state state in the Northeast has a unique heritage of wheat. After researching 1700 and 1800 wheats, we found Cyrus Pringle's Vermont-bred wheats, the Baltic and Siberian wheats grown in Maine, 'Red Lammas' the first wheat grown in colonial Massachusetts and Elbert Carmen's 'Rural New Yorker' ­ all of which are well-adapted to each state's climate.

Elbert Carmen's 'Rural New Yorker'

'Red Lammas' 1st wheat in colonial MA

Maine's Siberian Spring

Cyrus Pringle's 'Champlain'

DOWNLOAD:

How to Hand-Pollinate Wheat

Program Overview

Years 1 and 2:

We are growing-out and evaluating landrace wheats gifted to us by traditional farmers and genebanks, and pre-bred genepools contributed by European and Fertile Crescent organic breeders. We are observing how mixing varieties in the field may enhance adaptability and yield.

Years 2 and 3:

Diverse wheat genepools will be returned to the hands of Nature, farmers and bakers to evolve anew in our local conditions. We will evaluate and select for traits that confer improved productivity in organic fields, selecting plants with rich flavor, baking quality, and nutrition, that produce stable yields in our organic fields over years of unpredictable weather.

Years 3 and 4:

Foster farmer-baker-community cooperatives to share knowledge, exchange seed and develop delicious, robust, locally-adapted varieties with a local identity .

REGIONAL ACTIVITIES NY-NOFA - Elizabeth Dyck: organicseed@nofany.org with Wild Hive Bakery <wildhivefarm.com> Lead Farmers: Alton Earnhart, Klaas Martens For more information on NY-NOW, contact Elizabeth Dyck (organicseed@nofany.org, 607-895-6913)

Vermont http://www.uvm.edu/~plantbio/pringle/pringlebio.html Extension: Heather Darby: heather.darby@uvm.edu These are the varieties we planted at Butterwork's Farm with Jack Lazor:and by Doug and Julie of Naga Bakehouse. Hope, AC Barrie, Spinkota, Defiance, Reliance, Komar, Ceres 2005, Thatcher, Ladoga, Supreme, Surprise, Marquis, Scarlet, Mida 2005, Mida 2006, Red Bobs, Champlain, Emmer. Jack's plots are 2.5 x 25 feet. We will use these plots for evaluation and selection. Last year we had single row plots and it was difficult to evaluate and collect yield and quality information. These size plots will give us a better idea of variety performance. We have also planted out the following crosses. These crosses were carried out be Steve Jones' Lab in Washington. However, we identified the varieties that we wanted to cross. 1) AC Barrie x Red Fife 2) Red Bobs x Champlain 3) Red Bobs x Surprise 4) AC Barrie x Surprise 5) AC Barrie x Champlain 6) Hope x Red Fife 7) Hope x Champlain 8) AC Barrie x Defiance We evaluate the crosses that are planted in single rows. In addition we have single rows of Chinook, Read, and Redman. This seed was provided to us by Eli Rogosa. Heather Darby ************************ Julie Sperling and Doug Freilich NAGA BAKEHOUSE PO Box 1041 Middletown Springs, Vermont 05757 (802) 235-1282 Bakehouse (802) 325-3596 Home Nagabake@vermontel.net

Ruth Hazzard, UMass Organic Research Farm is trialing 96 landrace and modern winter wheat varieties, planted in Fall, 2008 On-Farm wheat Trials with Tevis Robertson-Goldberg Crabapple Farm 100 Bryant Street, Chesterfield, MA 01012 413-296-0310

MOFGA.ORG - Maine 112 spring wheat trials and 96 winter modern and landrace winter wheats in 2008 1800s Maine Heritage Banner Wheat from the Baltic

International Partners:

USDA Research Center, Morris, MN - Dr. Abdullah Jaradat

Cereal Genebank of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences - Dr. G. Kovacs

All photos and text copywrite: E. Rogosa 2008. Do not reproduce without written persmission.