Harvest in the Palouse!

 
     It's harvest time all over the United States.  Harvest is an exciting time in every farming community.  It is the culmination of the farmer's entire year's work.  It is when he learns how well his or her plans and methods worked. It is when the farmer receives his paycheck, and hopefully he will have enough to pay his production expenses and be able to care for his family for the coming year.

A deer leaps across a ripened field of wheat.
Photo taken by Wade Lindquist at Bald Butte Ranch.

     Harvest is an intense time for farmers and their families.  There are long days of work.  There is not a minute for anything else - nothing else happens during harvest-time.  It's also a dangerous time for farmers; they're tired and stressed to the max.  They're frequently sleep deprived.  The weather may not cooperate; everything may be ruined by wind or rain coming at just the wrong time.  And, even though they may have maintained and repaired their machinery properly, they may still have equipment breakdowns, right in the middle of long harvest days.

Grain trucks ready to go.
Photo from Todd Strader, T & H Farms.

    

     For our farmers in the Palouse region of eastern Washington, harvest is one long event, beginning in late July and lasting through the middle of September.  They are just finishing harvesting their winter wheat which was planted last fall.  This includes soft white and hard red winter wheat.  They are harvesting their spring crops this week.  These includes the spring wheats - soft white, hard white and dark northern spring wheat.  Next to be harvested will be dry peas and dry lentils, finally followed by garbanzos.

Mark Richter combining wheat on St. John Farm.
The stalk and wheat head are pulled into the wide "header-bar" in the front of the combine.
Then the chaff (stalk and leaves) and wheat kernels are separated.
The chaff is spit out the back (that's the dust you see in the rear),
and the kernels are dumped into the big rectangular bin on top of the combine.

     Many farmers have just one combine, and harvest their own fields.  In other cases, they may share the work with other family members; their fathers, brothers, inlaws or their neighbors.  There may sometimes be more than one combine harvesting one field at a time.

Pumping the wheat kernels from the combine into the grain truck.
Note the two trucks behind, waiting to be filled.
 The wheat will be hauled to the grainery where it will
be sold for breads, pastries and noodles, all over the world!

     The schedule in most every case depends on the planting date and this season's weather.  In nearly every part of our country,  the rainfall is slightly different as one travels north to south.  Typically, the further north you go, the more precipitation you have. This is the case in the Palouse, so that means that the crop was planted earlier in the southern portion of the community, and so is harvested first.  Families and friends who are sharing the work of harvest work together to harvest the fields which "come off," or are ripened, first.

Three combines at work to bring in the harvest.
That's Todd Strader walking in his wheat field

Combines and tractors, all lined up for a
"Harvest is finally over" photo.
Taken on the Todd Strader Farm.
I think this is an especially beautiful picture, what with the sky and all.

    After a long, intense couple of months, the farmer has all his crops into the grainery.   Then he begins planning for next year!

EAT MORE WHEAT AND THANK A FARMER.

New Book Review

What I've Learned From No-Till, Cropping Secrets From 58 Highly Successful No-Tillers,  

            by Ron Ross, 2007           
               Published by Lessiter Publications, Inc, 
                P.O. Box 624
                Brookfield, WI  53008

     This is a comprehensive compliation of interviews with farmers from all over the U.S. who practice No-Till (also known as Direct Seed) Farming.  It is well written, well laid out, and has good photos to accompany the interviews. 

     Each of the farmers address situations and issues which are specific to their region, their farm and their land.  While one farmer's methods may not pertain to another's, it is interesting to learn how farmers do things in different parts of the country.  The entire book of all the interviews builds a broad resource for anyone who has already begun No-Tilling or who is interested in converting their operation to No-Till.

     After reading this book, a person will have real knowledge of this method of soil conservation farming, and will have practical information for different situations and issues on their own farm.  The ideas shared by all these farmers about retaining soil moisture, erosion reduction, plant residue, planter adjustments, sprayer nozzles, light bars, fertilizer application and weed control are so practical, most every farmer will enjoy this book, whether he is a No-Tiller or Minimum-Tiller.

                                                                   Posted by Robin W.L. on August 17, 2013

Notes From the Palouse

Rolling hills and patchwork farm fields

   
     This past week I visited the farmers who live and farm in the Palouse Region of Eastern Washington state.  This area comprises roughly in the south-east portion of the state, and goes into the panhandle of Idaho.  It is very rich agriculturally, with silty soils and abundant rains, which come during the spring and early summer.

Winter wheat beginning to turn from green to gold.  

     Geologically, the region is made of unusual and beautiful silt-dunes, which were formed during the Ice Age.  They were the result of a glacial outwash, which made huge, random humps and hollows.  I often describe them as endless giant gopher mounds.  The big, open portions of the dunes are cropped fields.  In the gullies and hollows, are timber, brush, creeks, deciduous trees and shrubs.  The combined fields and trees are gorgeous.

See how the cab is level, and the header follows the contour of the land?
This is a self leveling combine.  Pretty helpful.

     You might imagine that it could be dicey attempting to drive a tractor or combine on these steep hillsides.  It is!  The self leveling combine was developed by Washington State University, which is in this region.

      The farmland here is like none other.  Precipitation ranges from 15" to 22" annually, so farmers have no need to irrigate.  The top soil is very deep, ranging from 3' and deeper throughout the Palouse.  Crops are predominantly wheat, barley, dry peas, lentils and garbanzos, with some oats, flax and canola.  Whitman County, in the heart of the Palouse, is the largest grower of Soft White Wheat in the United States.

     The region was settled in the late 1800's by German, Irish and Russian immigrants - you'll hear their surnames all over the Palouse.  Most farms are still being worked by original families - with 4th and 5th generation now tilling the land that their ancestors homesteaded.

Fields with dry peas growing in the foreground

      Harvest is just beginning in the Palouse.  The first crop to ripen is winter wheat (hard red and soft white winter wheats), then dry peas and dry lentils, then the spring wheats (dark northern, hard white and soft white spring wheats), and finally, garbanzos.  Harvest runs from the end of July through September.

     After harvest, farmers plant their fall crop of winter wheat and in some cases, dry winter peas. Also, they prepare fields which will be planted in the spring.  They spray weed killer and incorporate fertilizer in the soil, so that it can work over the winter.  Usually they are done with all their fall work by mid to late October.

Dry peas growing.

     Then, they rest.  They  make repairs and upgrades to all of their equipment.  They go to seminars and conventions which pertain to the crops they grow, or type of farming they practice.   They plan and budget for next season, and talk with their banker, accountant and crop advisors.  They sleep in a little bit, maybe till 7 am or so.  They enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And, if they're lucky, they go on a winter vacation with their families and friends. The farmers of the Palouse know they live in God's country, and they don't take it for granted!

Barley There!

      Barley. That's what you use to make beer and whiskey, right?   Well, yes, but there's a lot more to barley than that!  It's the fourth largest grain crop in the world, and, along with wheat, was one of the first domesticated grains grown.  Since ancient times, barley has been used as an important source of food, in religious rituals, as a standard of measurement and even as currency.

A field of barley. The heads are more droopy than wheat,
and the "beards," the long spiky portions of the head, are very pronounced .

     Germany is the world's largest producer of barley (imagine that!), followed by France and Ukraine. The USA is the 10th largest producer, growing 3.4 million tons in 2011.  Half of the barley grown in the USA is used as livestock feed.  Barley is an adaptable crop, and can grow in temperate areas in the summer and tropical areas in the winter.  It is also relatively drought tolerant and can grow in more salty soils. 

Barley corns

     Barley was also used as a standard of measurement in England through the 1700's, with three barleycorns making an inch, and four or five poppy seeds to the barleycorn.  This barleycorn-inch is still used in shoe sizing in the UK and USA, even though the new standard inch replaced the barleycorn-inch in the 19th century.  A barleycorn-inch is about 1/3 the length of a new or modern-day inch.  Pretty interesting, right?  The shoes on your feet are measured in barleycorns!

Two-row and six-row barley

     Domesticated barley has been around since pretty much forever.  It was bred so that the spikelets which hold the kernels don't shatter and fall to the ground before being harvested.      Barley varieties today are classified as either two-row or six-row, meaning that there are either two rows of kernels or six rows of kernels.  Confusing, I know.

A barley whiskey

     However, it's important for brewing beer, since two-row barley has lower protein and won't cloud up the beer.  Two-row barley is usually used in making German beer.  The higher-protein, six-row barleys are used in food products and in animal feed, although some lager beers use higher-protein barleys.  Oh, and whiskey made in Scotland and Ireland is often from barley, although whiskey is also often made with wheat or rye.  And the Brits make barley wine, the Japanese make barley tea, and the Italians make barley coffee.  Yay for barley!

     While barley as a food grain is not quite as versatile as wheat, it is highly nutritious, with 1 cup of cooked barley delivering over 50% of a person's daily fiber needs, and over 10% of the daily protein needs.  We all should probably eat more of it.  As a food product, it's almost as versatile as wheat, and is typically eaten cooked in its whole-grain form.  It is wonderful in soups and stews, and is excellent as a side dish or in salads.  Barley can also be ground into a meal and made into porridge or baked into cakes and breads.  Barley has an excellent, nutty flavor, and a good, chewy consistency.  It's a hearty comfort food, and an excellent replacement for rice and pasta.  It does take a while to cook, but the result is worth it!

A barley and pea risotto. YUM!

     So, there you go.  Now you know a little more about barley.  Now, go get some and make the curried barley salad that we posted!  Yum!

More barley - note the long, spiky beards

Information for this article was taken from these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_size
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley

Summer at Sweet Hills Farm

     The weather has really heated up over the past few weeks.  We had several nice, helpful rains the week before last, and now the warm weather has turned on.  Our farmer is irrigating non-stop, and the crops are growing, filling out and maturing.  I've snapped pics of wheat, sugar beets, corn and onion seed, on our farm and our neighbor's farm. (Our farmer farms both places).

The wheat on our place is getting tall,
the heads are filling out, and it is beginning to turn color

The field corn grows a couple of inches each day!

Seed onions - this crop is grown for the seed, which will be  sold to other farmers who will plant it
to produce onions for us to eat.  This photo was actually taken in early May, I forgot to post it.

The seed onions right now - the baby seeds are developing in those heads, or blossoms.
The blossom is the part of the plant which will be harvested.

Bees are brought in to pollinate the seed onion.  There are bees all over the place.

Gar-BAN-zo!

Our farmers, as you will soon see, produce a lot of garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas. These tasty, fat, little round beans are super versatile, and chock-full of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They may seem a little more exotic than your everyday pinto bean, but believe-you-me, they will become one of your favorites if you give them a try!

Garbonzos in the pod. Cute!

Domesticated garbanzo beans are an ancient crop, being found in caves with other refuse dating back to 6790 BC. They probably originated somewhere in the Middle East (like pretty much everything else...), and were, and continue to be a staple food in that area and Eastern Asia.

The name "garbanzo" possibly stems from the Basques, a sub-autonomous culture in northeastern Spain. Their word for this bean is garbantzu. "Chickpea," on the other hand, stems from the French word for the bean, chiche, and slurred into "chickpea" in English. Neat-o. 

Garbanzo plants

Garbanzo beans are grown all over the world, with India being the largest producer of the crop. They thrive in sub-tropical climates, where they get a little more rain, but certain varieties do well in more temperate areas, such as the United States, Pakistan, and Australia. Garbanzo beans grown the US come mostly from California, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Idaho is the largest producer of small Desi beans, and Washington leads in the production of the larger Kabuli beans.

Interesting fact -The US actually imports garbanzos because we don't grow enough to meet our demand and the demand of countries who also buy from our farmers! Most of our beans come from Mexico and Canada (Canada??). US garbanzos are eaten by us, and also sent to Spain, Turkey, and India.

Why eat anything else??

There are two main types of garbanzo beans cultivated today. Desi-type beans are smaller, with rougher coats, and vary in color, from light tan to black. Kabuli-type beans are larger, rounder, and have light, smooth coats. You will most likely find Kabuli-type beans in cans at the grocery store.  Both types of beans carry the same nutritional power punch, and add great texture and taste to pretty much any dish.

Like I've said already, garbanzo beans are super versatile. They can be roasted, ground, mashed, blended, baked; thrown into salads, soups, pastas, rice, and eggs, or used to pump up meat dishes, since they have a good, hearty texture and taste.  They are even used in desserts! Their flavor is mild, and doesn't overpower the rest of the dish, while their high protein and fiber content fills you right up! What are you making for dinner tonight? Grab a can of garbanzo beans and throw them right in! Seriously! Do it!

Canned garbanzo beans make life easy, and I usually have a can or two on my shelf for those (very, very, very, very rare) days when I don't plan ahead. Dry garbanzo beans can be bought in the dry bean or bulk aisles, and are easy to prepare. Like other dry beans, soaking garbanzos in cold water overnight will make cooking faster, although they will still need to be cooked for at least an hour or two in order to be edible.  

Kabuli-type garbanzos

 If you've never used garbanzo beans in your cooking before, take a chance on these tasty little beans. You'll be supporting our hardworking farmers and be adding an interesting, nutritional new food to your menu! We love garbanzo beans, including TheWeeLaddie, who will eat them in soups, sides, and even curried!

What are your favorite ways to prepare garbanzo beans? 

Information for this article was taken from the following websites:
http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/vegetables/chickpea-profile/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickpea

#10 - Pinto the BlogDog - Doin's on Sweet Hills Farm

That's me, waitin' for some action.

   

   
      HOWDY FOLKS!  Pinto the BlogDog here.  How're ya all doin'?  It couldn't be prettier here today.  The sun is shinin', it's about 88* outside, and there is not a cloud in the sky.  This is crop growin' weather!  It was rainy for a coupla weeks, which was good - the land was desperate for rain.  The farmers were very happy for the rain to come.  But now, the growin' plants need warmth and sunshine!

     Now, ya know, on a farm, spring and summer are busy times.  In the spring, the farmer has to prepare the soil for planting, then he plants the little seeds, and then he fertilizes 'em.  But, now that the crops are planted and fertilized, the farmers are cultivating and irrigating the little plants.  They irrigate, irrigate, irrigate, the crops grow, grow grow, and then comes harvest.  In the farm-shops they're fixing the tractors, harvesters and cultivators - greasin' and getting' 'em all tuned up.  But here in my yard?  It's Q-U-I-E-T.

The wheat has grown a lot in the last coupla weeks,
what with the rain and  sunshine.
That white bar at the bottom is the irrigation pipe.

     I mean, have you ever watched crops grow?  Ya can't hardly see nothin' happ'nin'!  But the farmer,  he checks his crops every single day.  He watches over 'em.  He coddles 'em.  He touches their leaves and stems, he peeks at 'em, digs in the soil and rolls it around in his hand to check for moisture.  He looks up at the sky, he stares at the wind.  All day.  Every day.  All summer long.

Wheat being irrigated.  See the heads that have formed on the top of
each plant?  That's where the little wheat kernels are growing,
getting heavy and plump, and full of nutrition.

     I mean, really?  But, M'Lady reminds me that the farmers' crops are important to him, they are his lifeblood, they are his everything!  He plans all year for them, he loves his crops, he grows 'em and harvests 'em, and then sells 'em to feed you and me.  He does all this 'cause he loves to farm, he loves the land he cares for, and he feeds and cares for his family, too.

Sugarbeets are comin' right along.

     So this is what's goin' on:

     The wheat is growin'.

     The sugar beets are growin'.

     The pasture grass is gettin' gosh-durned tall.

     The hired man comes every day to irrigate the crops.

     The farmer comes every day and s-t-a-r-e-s at the crops.

     The sugar beets are being cultivated.

     The horses are grazing.  That's all they do.  Heads down, eat, eat, eat.

     That's it.

     Huh.

Merrygold in her grazing muzzle and flymask.

     One thing interesting is that Merrygold has to wear a grazing muzzle, 'cause she gets like a porky-piggy-tanker if she doesn't have one on.  The muzzle has a little hole in the bottom, see, 'bout the size of a half-dollar.  She can reach about 20% the amount of grass she would eat without the muzzle.  This way she gets to be out in the pasture with Roxie, otherwise she would have to stay in the corral.  She's happy, eats all day long, and she stays svelt like YoursTruly!  M'Lady tells Merrygold that she wishes someone loved her enough to put a grazing muzzle on her!  Hahaha!

     Oh, and the horses both wear flymasks.  That's what's on Merrygold's eyes.  It keeps the flies out of her face, the sun, dust and wind, too.  Pretty helpful.

     Well, gotta go.  It's dinner time!  Y-A-Y!!!  Dinner time!  Dinner time!  Dinner time!  The best time of the day!  (other than breakfast-time).  Catchya later!

     Keep your tail waggin'!

What About Wheat

Ancient Egyptian mural - wheat harvest

Wheat is an ancient, ancient grain.  Wheat is mentioned in the Bible, Quran, Torah, Greek and Roman mythology, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Wheat kernels have been found in ancient ruins around the world, and found its way into the bricks of the pyramids in Egypt.

To the best of our knowledge, it was the first grain ever cultivated for food. This member of the grass family originated somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean or Middle East as early as 9000 BC, and possibly long before that. It spread throughout the region, and reached Europe around 5000 BC. The first identifiable wheat with gluten enough for yeasted breads emerged around 1350 BC in Greece.

Wheat was first planted here in the United States in 1777, and is now the main grain used in grain products, such as bread, crackers, and pastas. Wheat is grown in 42 states, with farmers producing about 2.4 billion bushels of wheat on 63 million acres of farmland. One acre of farmland will produce an average of 40 bushels, which is generally 60 pounds of wheat. More fun facts: one bushel contains approximately 1 million kernels of wheat, and will yield 42 pounds of white flour or 60 pounds of whole wheat flour. That's a lot of wheat!!

As you can probably guess, the Mid-West holds some of the nation's largest producers of wheat, with Kansas in the #1 spot, with North Dakota comes in second. Kansas also produces the most milled wheat in the US.  Kansas produces enough wheat each year to bake 36 billion loaves of bread and enough to feed everyone in the world, over six billion people, for about 2 weeks. An acre of Kansas wheat produces enough bread to feed nearly 9,000 people for one day. Way to go, Kansas!


Geographical location of wheat growers and varieties in the USA

There are thousands of varieties of wheat grown in the USA and around the world, ranging from old heirloom varieties to modern wheats specially grown to fight off pests and thrive in arid climates. Each variety of wheat will fall under one of six classes: hard red winter (HRW), hard red spring (HRS), soft red winter (SRW), hard white (HW), soft white (SW) and durum.

Winter wheat is sown in the fall and emerges before the frost, where it winters under the snow, and grows in the spring and summer. It is harvested before spring wheats, which are planted in the spring. Winter wheats typically have higher yields than spring wheats.

Hard Red Winter wheats have harder kernels, and are brownish in color. They have high-protein content, and are used for bread, hard baked goods and in other flours to increase protein in pastry flour. HRW accounts for almost 40% of the US wheat crop. Hard Red Spring wheats have hard, brownish, high-protein kernels used for bread and hard baked goods. Bread Flour and high-gluten flours are commonly made from HRS. Soft Red Winter wheats have softer kernels, and are lower in protein. SRW wheat is used for cakes, pie crusts, biscuits, and muffins. Cake flour, pastry flour, and some self-rising flours are made from soft red winter wheat.

Taken from the U of I College of Agriculture's website

Hard White wheats have hard, light-colored, opaque, chalky kernels, and  medium-protein content. HW wheat is planted in dry, temperate areas, and used for noodles, yeast breads, and sometimes brewing.

Soft white wheat is a soft, light-color kernel with very low protein content. SW wheat is grown in temperate moist areas,  like the Northwest.   Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho are the largest producers of SWW in the US.  SWW is used for pie crusts and pastry flour, and much of what is grown in our region is shipped to the Pacific Rim for their specialty noodles.

Finally, Durum wheat  kernels are very hard, translucent, light-colored, and used to make semolina flour for pasta and bulghur. Durum is high in protein, specifically gluten protein.

Semolina is used in making pasta, cereals, puddings, and couscous. It is the coarsely-ground, purified wheat middlings, which are the starches separated from the wheat bran and germ. Semolina can be made from other grains as well. For example, corn semolina is more commonly called grits! Bulghur is a cereal made from the groats of wheat. Groats are the hulled grains of wheat which have been cut into fine, medium, or coarse textures. Basically, groats are the kernels just cut up to make using them a little easier. Bulghur is used in many dishes, such as pilafs, mainly in the Middle East and India.

Wheat is a very versatile crop, and different varieties can be grown in wetter environments, as well as in arid climates. The biggest producer of wheat worldwide is the European Union, followed by Russia, the US, China and India. Rising demand for wheat in Asia has led to increased production and export by these countries, and the opening of new regions for wheat production, specifically the countries located around the Black Sea.




Wheat Harvest in the Palouse

Better seed storage and germination ability is a 20th century technological innovation. In Medieval England, farmers saved one-quarter of their wheat harvest as seed for the next crop, leaving only three-quarters for food and feed consumption. By 1999, the global average seed use of wheat was about 6% of output. Wheat kernels travel well, and in the right environment can remain intact for years, millenia, even! Wheat can be prepared a myriad of ways for human consumption, and is also often used as animal feed. Whole wheat's high protein and fiber contents, along with good amounts of other important vitamins and minerals, make this grain a very, very important part of the diet of people across the world.

Information for this article was taken from these sites:
http://www.wheatworld.org/
http://wheatfoods.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semolina

Mint to Be

One of my favorite times of year here in the Treasure Valley is when all the mint farmers in the area harvest their crops. Talk about a breath of fresh air!

Mint Field

Idaho is one of the top three producers of mint in the United States, with about 13,000 acres of mint still grown by 100 farmers across the state. Mint has been grown here in Idaho since the early 1960's, and continues to be a valuable agricultural product for the state. Like alfalfa, mint is a perennial plant, and can be harvested multiple times before needing to be plown into the soil and reseeded.


Peppermint is the main mint plant grown in Idaho, and is harvested in late July and early August. After being cut, it dries in the field for a few days before being chopped up and shipped off to a distillery to extract the mint oils from the plant. Steam is pumped into the distilling barrels to vaporize the oil, and the resulting water and oil mixture is then sent into a separator where the pure mint oil is separated out. The water is then recycled back to create steam for the next batch of mint.

Farmer Profile - Drew Eggers

     We are please to introduce you to our friend, Drew Eggers of Meridian, Idaho.  Drew is a third generation farmer.  He and his wife, Debra have been farming for many years.

Drew "out standing" in his field

Your name:  
        Drew and Debra Eggers

Where do you live?  
        Meridian, Idaho, located in Southwestern Idaho

How long have you been farming?  
        Since 1978

Why did you become a farmer?  
        I was raised on a row-crop farm.  My grandfather had dairy cows and raised prunes.  I got a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Idaho, and worked for an irrigation district for two years as an engineer, but working the land kept calling to me.

How Sweet It (Corn) Is!

I don't know about you all, but sweet corn reminds me of summer barbeques at my parent's house, with friends, in the mountains, and on the lake.  A fresh ear of sweet corn is the perfect companion to a homemade burger and potato salad. YUM!

 

We're lucky to even have sweet corn around to enjoy! The high sugar content that makes these varieties of corn so delicious is the result of a recessive mutation in the corn's genes. Sweet corn was grown by Native American tribes before white settlers came to this continent. The Iroquois people first shared their sweet corn with settlers in 1779, after which it became a widely popular crop.

Field of Beans

Beans are kind of awesome when you think about it! Want to know why? Of course you do! Read on for more information about one of the world's most versatile, nutritious foods!

Pretty beans!

Beans, despite their bad rap for causing certain, ahem, digestive issues, are really, really good for you. Beans provide an excellent source of vegetable protein and minerals such as iron, magnesium and zinc. They are rich in folic acid, associated with the reduction of such birth defects as Spina Bifida and also protect against heart disease. Beans are also a good source of calcium, and are rich in fiber which helps to bring down cholesterol levels and regulates the digestive system. Beans, particularly black ones, are also a good source of antioxidants and may provide health benefits similar to some common fruits, including grapes, apples and cranberries (http://www.usdrybeans.com).

Alfalfa Can Be Exciting

No, not the boy from that TV show Little Rascals a looooong time ago. Alfalfa hay, the kind that Farmer John Sturtevant and millions of others, produce! I've dug up some really interesting facts about this crop that you can use to impress your guests at your next party!

Pretty flowers - and they smell good, too!

Alfalfa hay is the most cultivated forage crop in the world. It provides high amounts of protein and fiber, and can be harvested multiple times in a season, making it a very efficient crop. Additionally, alfalfa regrows each spring for years in a row, meaning that once a field is planted, it will continue to produce hay for a few years before needing re-seeding (http://www.acxpacific.com). Because if its high nutritional value, its primary use is as feed for dairy cows, followed by use as feed for beef cattle, horses, sheep, and goats.

The alfalfa is swathed and put into windrows to dry
 in the sun before baling

Humans also eat alfalfa, in the form of sprouts, or dehydrated in teas, powders and tablets. Alfalfa sprouts do contain multiple vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber (www.nlm.nih.gov).  In China, it has been used as a medicinal herb for over 1,500 years to treat disorders of the digestive system and kidneys (http://en.wikipedia.org).

It is also an ancient crop, with a chapter dedicated to it in a Roman book on agriculture, published in the 4th century AD (http://en.wikipedia.org). Alfalfa was first brought to this continent by Spanish explorers during the 16th century. It was first produced in the United States in Georgia in 1763, but did not really take off as an important crop until it was begun to be grown in the more favorable climate of California (http://www.agweb.com).

Alfalfa is a big export crop for the United States. Over 21 million acres of alfalfa are in production in the US, producing approximately 84 million tons of alfalfa. Japan is by far the largest importer of alfalfa, buying 75% of all exported US alfalfa hay. Other US alfalfa importing countries include Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates. The majority of hay grown for export is grown right in Idaho, Washington, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah, with the most (25%) coming from the Columbia River Basin of Oregon and Washington (http://www.agweb.com)

Silage tube.  Now you know.

Alfalfa is harvested just before it begins to bud, and is cut, spread out to dry in the sun, then gathered and formed into bales, some weighing up to 1 ton! Alfalfa is also often processed into silage for feeding dairy cattle. To make silage, the fresh (not dried) alfalfa is chopped and fermented in silos or in those long, white plastic tubes you might see laying in fields. The  fermentation of alfalfa allows it to retain high nutrient levels, and is  more palatable to dairy cattle than dry hay (http://en.wikipedia.org).

Young, dumb bee

Alfalfa seed production is also a big part of alfalfa growing. No seed, no alfalfa, right? Alfalfa seed production requires the presence of pollinators when the fields of alfalfa are in bloom. Getting your seed field pollinated is kind of a problem, however, since the pollen-carrying part of the alfalfa flower trips and bops pollinating bees on the head, which helps transfer the pollen to the bee. Apparently Western honey bees, the most common kind of bee, do not like being bopped in the head repeatedly and learn to defeat this action by getting the nectar from the side of the flower.  Smart bees. Because older, smarter bees do not pollinate alfalfa well, most pollination is accomplished by getting the young, dumb bees to get bopped on the head. When Western honey bees are used to pollinate alfalfa, the beekeeper has to put a bunch of hives in the field to maximize the number of young, dumb bees (http://en.wikipedia.org). Ha!

So there you have it, folks. Alfalfa! For more information, and believe me, there is lots more, see the following links:

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfalfa
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/19.html
http://www.acxpacific.com/products/alfalfa.php
http://www.agweb.com/article/alfalfa_exports_surge/

Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to

 While potatoes are a staple food item for millions of people around the world, and have been for centuries, in the past decade they have been alternately vilified as bad for your health, then glorified as an important part of a balanced diet. While potatoes haven’t been causing controversy in the headlines for a while now, there is still quite a bit of confusion regarding whether or not they are good for you.

We’re going to clear that up for you: yes. Yes potatoes are good for you. And we’re not saying that just because we’re from Idaho and also grow potatoes in Washington. Potatoes pack a big nutritional punch in a tasty package.