When Does the Farming Season Begin?

Certified Organic Heirloom Grains – Farmer Direct
Notes from the Dirt Farmer:

Greetings! I’m often asked: “When does the farming season begin for you?” Despite the four feet of snow stacked up outside the office window here, the Methow Valley is considered a semi-desert climate with anywhere from 15″-18″ of annual precipitation. Seems like a fair bit for any sort of dry climate, yet most of that comes in the form of snow. And so the beginning of the new year really is the beginning of the farm year. By Valentines Day, the tone has been set for the coming growing season insofar as Valley ground moisture. Despite the sometimes daily ritual of plowing out the driveway and around the granary, and all around the out-buildings, not to mention shoveling, shoveling, shoveling in order to keep our operation running smoothly during winter’s bite, I look out at all the sparkling snow and am reassured by this abundance of “poor man’s fertilizer.”The good news is this will be our third consecutive and solid year of snow-pack. The very good water-table from last year should continue on making planting season all the more pleasant and giving the grain crops plenty of moisture to germinate by. This always gives a much stronger and more even crop stand than if started under supplemental irrigation. And when it comes time to irrigate the little that we do, there will be plenty of pure Cascade water flowing down to irrigate with. The more challenging news is, spring will come later again in the fields and our already limited time-frame to cultivate and get planted up here in the Methow will be further condensed. Given a choice, I’m willing to live with it to be sure of the perfect growing conditions.The February sun is noticeably more intense and the temperatures much milder than the past couple of months and I find myself already picking up from last fall and planning on with field work even though it is two months off. Every year, no matter what the weather, red-winged blackbirds return to a local spring-hole down the road here by February 16th. Hearing their lovely song can’t help but start the itch for spring even though there is plenty of skiing left and the thought of all the work ahead sometimes is over-whelming. On the one hand, I wish winter could begin again now that we’re somewhat rested. On the other, the coming smells of the uncovering earth bring an excitement like no other. Stay tuned!!

The Appeal Of Cooking With Emmer Farro

Notes from Bluebird CSA Coordinator & Blogger, Lisa.

This is an invitation for amateur, beginner, professional, and everyone in between who cook with emmer farro. Tell us your stories and experiences with this ancient grain. This is the beginning of a community conversation on whole grains.

We Have Now Entered A New Packaging Dimension

Notes from Bluebird CSA Coordinator & Blogger, Lisa.

We have moved into our new packaging room and it is fabulously spacious, full of light, with fantastic views. The old space was the size of a small sailboat, maybe a 25 footer. But we have upgraded to a yacht, a 600 square foot space. No really, we are not growing and packaging organic heirloom grains at sea. We are in a high desert mountain environment on the eastern slopes of the Cascade mountains. The valley in which we live and grow is called the Methow Valley. Right now we have a lot of snow ranging from 3-4 feet or more depending on where one is cooking, baking, or eating in the valley. This valley is great country to grow grains because of our nutrient rich soil, little or no pest issues, fairly short winters, and a community who supports farmers that support healthy ecosytems.
Therefore the business of emmer farro is growing… right into a new packaging room to better serve our customers.
Cheers.

The Fresh Flour Advantage

Notes from Bluebird CSA Coordinator & Blogger, Lisa.

I recently commented on how I can’t go back to store bought flour. I am talking about the flour that has a long shelf life. My body and my family’s body can tell the difference between “shelved flour” and fresh milled flour. Let your body experience sound nutrition and your taste buds will be satisfied with flavor. Flavor? Now that is a concept. The lack of flavor alone will not take me back to “shelved flour.”
And it is not just about flavor, and I am sure I’ll get some argument on that, but your body will be a happy digester. Your colon will be ecstatic instead of possibly spastic. I am talking about the fiber! The Mayo Clinic will tell you that “whole grains that haven’t had their bran and germ removed are better sources of fiber – the part of plant-based foods that your body doesn’t digest.” High fiber can make a meal more filling. Aha! Another health attribute. This is not the first time you all have heard this. You already know this. But some of us were brought up on I “wonder” about this bread or I “wonder” where this bread came from. Remember “wondering” bread? In the community that we live it appears that the current generation is being raised on wholesome whole grain bread. They won’t be wondering where their bread came from. If the flour in their baked goods or other culinary achievements came from Bluebird Grain Farmsthen it came from flour milled straight from the grain, nothing taken away and nothing added. It is as simple as it sounds. We take the grain, put it in our mill, and out comes the flour. I encourage you to try it for yourselves. Get your own home mill, obtain the organic grain, and mill it for your home baked goods. I believe that everyone should have their own home mill as well as their own home garden. Whole grains store longer than flour, but if purchasing your own mill isn’t possible, then fresh milled flour is the next best thing. If you want to know more about fresh milled flour and its nutrition, look at the excerpt below. The following information was sourced from Ecological Agricultural Projects, McGill University, QC, Canada:

Because grains contain only about 12% water (or about 0.6 water activity), they are not predisposed to spoilage. However, grinding removes the protective layers and endangers the grain’s biological stability. Deterioration of sensory and nutritional qualities depends on storage conditions, such as temperature, humidity, oxygen concentration, and light exposure. The lower the water activity, the lower is the loss of vitamins (Munzing, 1987). For example, a vitamin E loss of only about 23% occurred after a 13 months of storage at a 0.6 water activity (Rothe 1963, Plasch 1984, Pelschenke 1961). In order to reduce oxidation of Essential compounds and the development of rancidity, many authors recommend storing ground flour for no more than two weeks (Solder 1984, Bruker 1984, Schnitzer 1986, Schnitzer (no year), Thomas 1982, Thomas 1986, Koerber 1986). Antioxidants present naturally in grains (vitamin E and lecithin) help prevent oxidation of the fatty acids and the associated rancidity only for a limited time, and under ‘favourable’ conditions.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase, the most sensitive enzyme in the grain, is used to indicate the health of the grain. When heated or exposed to increased humidity, even under ‘favourable’ conditions, it losses activity very quickly in wheat. It was found to be even more sensitive in rye (Muzing, 1987).

The B vitamins are liable to be destroyed by light and air, and it also seems that other substances, still unknown, are quickly destroyed (Aubert, 1989). Other deteriorations include denaturation of lipoproteins, phospholipid hydrolysis, auto-oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids, polymerization within lipoproteins, browning, Maillard reaction of amino groups from phospholipids and aldehyde groups from sugars, and carotene and aroma losses (Lea, 1957; Thomas, 1976).

Lipids in milled wheat are much more susceptible to enzymatic degradation, because enzymes are incorporated into the flour with fragments of bran and germ and with microorganisms from the surface of the grain. Associated with lipid deterioration are losses of carotenoids and vitamin E (Galliard, 1983).

Different ecological standards for flour storage set limits of 15 to 60 days (Picker & Pedersen, 1990), although rancidity has been detected as early as 2 to 14 days after milling (Larsen, 1988). Nutrient analysis studies are required to determine the exact nutrient losses accompanying the development of rancidity and thereafter.

Musings of 2007

Notes from CSA Coordinator & Blogger, Lisa: 

I begin this post on the last day of 2007 so as to reflect on the time that has passed, and to ponder the seasons that have come and gone. Musing about such things, I believe, makes for good closure to a years end. I remember last year when the packaging was done in a small area of the granary, then autumn came, and it started to get really cold. Once winter arrived, we already converted another small room, which lies adjacent to the office, into the packaging room. It is a lovely space with nice views of the valley below, but it is fairly small equating it to living on a sailboat, which I did prior to having a family. We have since outgrown this space. New construction on the new packaging room began around the beginning of September. This building is being added onto the granary and it is a grand and beautiful space that will meet our growing needs.

Our Christmas and holiday season has been very busy and we are appreciative of the new packaging room that we have yet to move into. Construction of a building always takes longer than one thinks, and the Lucy’s foresight arrived in good timing. About this time last year they realized that we would need a bigger packaging room. That realization is soon to be finished. The building is done and basically what remains to be accomplished is the interior, some electrical, and the plumbing.

During the holiday season, we worked in our small sailboat space dreaming of new horizons that lie within the new packaging space. Now, the busy season is slowing down a bit, and we are anticipating our upcoming transition. We should be moving into the new packaging area in about a month. However, product orders and packaging will be picking up before then.

What happens prior to packaging, on a daily basis more or less, is that we clean the grains, mill the grains into flour, crack the grains into cereals, and mix the pancake and sage biscuit mixes. Freshly milled flour and freshly cracked cereals is being noticed as a secret ingredient in baking and cooking. Once you experience the fresh flour taste, you can’t go back. “Go back to what?” some ask. “To the flour that sits on the shelf and turns stale,” our customers say.The freshness transfers into all our products just like the sweet nutty flavor of the emmer grain transfers into all our emmer products. I know I am probably starting to sound like a commercial, but I can’t go back and that’s my testimony. It is comparable to tasting a good Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Once you have a taste of that, you won’t want to “go back” to “cheap wine.” And don’t get me wrong… there is inexpensive wine that can be just as good or better than expensive wine. People know the difference between high quality and low quality.

Some people have their own home kitchen mill. I was pleasantly surprised to meet many people at our farmer’s market booth who wanted to mill their own grains. If you ever had a desire for “on the spot” immediate freshness, I encourage you to purchase your own home mill. It is worth it. Otherwise, you can always order fresh flour from us. Take a look at our milling schedule on our website: bluebirdgrainfarms.com
‘Tis the season for baking.

As it is the last day of the year, I celebrate the true pleasure of being part of a growing business that not only cares about the health and culinary pleasures of its customers and community, but also to the wheat crop and its ecosystem.

Cheers to all of you heirloom grain connoisseurs and whole grain gourmets.

Harvest, a distant memory

The emmer harvest began quickly, stirring up the excitement and exhaustion.  After 4 weeks of threshing, hauling grain, and filling our granaries we are complete. Granaries are sealed up and now milling, packaging and selling begins for another year. We are grateful that we can reap such nutritious grains from the earth and share them with you.  As winter closes in, we are tilling the wheat stubble into our fields, spraying the soil with organic enzymes, and preparing for snowfall.