Developing cover crops into grain crops in the US PNW
Wanted to pass on info about a project in the state of Washington (US) called "Diversifying Northwestern fields and palates" Launched in 2021 with a 3-year timeline, its purpose is to identify varieties of, and develop markets for, two crops already grown there as cover crops, so as to permit growers to also grow them as cash crops. Thanks to our colleague Joni Kindwall-Moore for the links and info. (Any errors in the summary here are mine.) The two are proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and the pseudo-cereal, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). From my reading of the project information (links below), these are often grown in crop rotations but cut before the grain/seed stage. The project page (on the Sustainable Food Systems Lab site) explains: "Diversified, sustainable, grain-based producers rely on rotational crops to optimize production. Buckwheat and proso millet are often used as cover crops, providing agronomic gains but no direct financial gains. With variety testing and regional market development, these crops have the potential to become cash crops, rather than just cover crops, in the Pacific Northwest." This concept seems very interesting in North American contexts generally, since a variety of millet species are grown in various subregions as cover crops. Add to that the fact that several of these are also grown for animal fodder, and one can assume that many farmers are familiar to varying degrees with planting millets, just not (yet) as grain crops. Obviously, one doesn't grow a crop without there being some kind of outlet or use for them, which is another reason why this project is an interesting model: It includes an explicit attention to food products and markets for them. The project is funded thru USDA SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), the grant recipient is Washington State University, and the PI is Dr. Kevin Murphy (bcc'd). * SARE, Project overview: Diversifying Northwestern fields and palates https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/sw21-926/ * Sustainable Food Systems Lab, New Grains Northwest: Building regional markets from the grain up https://www.sustainableseedsystems.org/new-grains-nw.html Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US - +1 202-621-3911) North American Millets Alliance
Thanks, Don! We are still without a regional dehulling facility and the big guys don't dehull for emerging brands like Snacktivist, unfortunately, so this is proving to be the biggest barrier for the project and for me personally, as a brand that is building tech and ESG connected "Grain-chains". It is frustrating as we have lots of millet in bins, trucks, and silos, we have buyers for the dehulled millet but nowhere to get it done. On Thu, Jul 13, 2023 at 5:35 AM Don Osborn <don@milletsalliance.org> wrote:
Wanted to pass on info about a project in the state of Washington (US) called "Diversifying Northwestern fields and palates" Launched in 2021 with a 3-year timeline, its purpose is to identify varieties of, and develop markets for, two crops already grown there as cover crops, so as to permit growers to also grow them as cash crops. Thanks to our colleague Joni Kindwall-Moore for the links and info. (Any errors in the summary here are mine.)
The two are proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and the pseudo-cereal, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). From my reading of the project information (links below), these are often grown in crop rotations but cut before the grain/seed stage. The project page (on the Sustainable Food Systems Lab site) explains: "Diversified, sustainable, grain-based producers rely on rotational crops to optimize production. Buckwheat and proso millet are often used as cover crops, providing agronomic gains but no direct financial gains. With variety testing and regional market development, these crops have the potential to become cash crops, rather than just cover crops, in the Pacific Northwest."
This concept seems very interesting in North American contexts generally, since a variety of millet species are grown in various subregions as cover crops. Add to that the fact that several of these are also grown for animal fodder, and one can assume that many farmers are familiar to varying degrees with planting millets, just not (yet) as grain crops.
Obviously, one doesn't grow a crop without there being some kind of outlet or use for them, which is another reason why this project is an interesting model: It includes an explicit attention to food products and markets for them.
The project is funded thru USDA SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), the grant recipient is Washington State University, and the PI is Dr. Kevin Murphy (bcc'd).
* SARE, Project overview: Diversifying Northwestern fields and palates https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/sw21-926/ * Sustainable Food Systems Lab, New Grains Northwest: Building regional markets from the grain up https://www.sustainableseedsystems.org/new-grains-nw.html
Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US - +1 202-621-3911) North American Millets Alliance
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participants (2)
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Don Osborn -
Joni Kindwall-Moore