SEPTEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


33 Washington lab holds opportunities for BC grain growers by RONDA PAYNE


SAANICH – Vancouver Island was once the breadbasket of BC with significant amounts of grain production. While minor players next to the Prairies, a number of Pacific Northwest growers are taking matters into their own hands and finding success with new, niche- market grains. The story begins a few miles south of BC in Washington, where Steve Jones asked grain producer Steve Lyon to help him launch a small grains breeding program at Washington State University in Mount Vernon. Jones wanted to develop small grains suitable for western Washington’s maritime climate. The pair planted the first variety trials in the fall of 2010, launching what’s now known as The Bread Lab. Southwestern BC has a similar


are now growing varieties that can make them a profit.” Doehnel reports that Victoria is


“back up to about 300 acres of grain annually as a rotation crop with other more profitable things.” Lyon focuses on grains that don’t fit the commodity market. They’re often blue or black instead of white or red, and may not meet the quality standards of commodity grains but they have something better – they’re “loved by bakers, maltsters and consumers.” “Flavour and nutrition never enter into the specs for commodity grains but are extremely important for the varieties we release,” he says. Lyon says there’s strong demand


climate to Western Washington, so it’s no wonder Jim Grieshaber-Otto of Cedar Isle Farm in Agassiz and Mike Doehnel (aka, “the Island Maltster”) of Saanich picked up on what was happening down south. “Vancouver Island used to be a massive grower of


grain and even had grain terminals in downtown Victoria,” Doehnel says. “We have a very long history of this.”


He adds that farmers on the Fraser River delta and potato farmers in the Skagit River delta grow at least 20,000 acres of grain every year in rotation, yielding about two to three tonnes per acre. “That will fill about 6,000 dump trucks or so,” he


notes.


Jim Grieshaber-Otto and Diane Exley inspect a crop of Skagit 1109, a rust-resistant hard red winter wheat, produced in Agassiz for Cedar Isle Farm Organic Grains CSA. SUBMITTED PHOTO


Rotation is the key. It’s been a long time since


Pacific Northwest farmers saw grain as a money- maker like Prairie farmers. The varieties weren’t right, Lyon says, because farmers had a different end in mind. “Small grains west of the Cascade [Mountains] are primarily grown to break up disease cycles and add organic matter back to the soil for the more high- value crops such as potatoes, bulbs and seed crops,” Lyon says. “The variety trials I ran the first couple of years proved that farmers were growing the wrong varieties for this location. It’s taken several years worth of data to prove this point to some, but most


from craft bakers and maltsters for Skagit Valley grains. The story is similar for Grieshaber-Otto, who sells grains to A Bread Affair in Langley and on Granville Island. Grieshaber-Otto’s farm grows


hard red spring wheat, heritage hard red spring wheat, hard red winter wheat, soft white spring wheat, oats, hull-less oats and some hull-less


barley and rye on a little over 20 acres. “We’ve been experimenting with different grains


for our organic grains CSA program and for other users,” Grieshaber-Otto says. His quest for a good-baking winter variety to handle leaf rust led him to Lyon. “Working together we managed to formally


import enough seed for a couple of acres,” he notes. “Called Skagit 1109, it’s done really well for us and we’ve been trying to share the goodness around


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Roll-over protective structures (ROPS) and seat belts save lives


We’re working with you to make sure all farmers go home safe. For resources and videos on safe equipment operation, visit worksafebc.com/agriculture.


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