DUNGENESS – While many of us are working our jobs indoors inside the city, farmers a few miles outside town are striving to give us more local food choices.
And on Monday, those growers and a pair of scientists from Washington State University will conduct a survey of some 44 varieties of wheat planted over the past year.
Monday is wheat field-trial day on the Don Wheeler Farm, a swath of land leased by Nash Huber of Nash’s Organic Produce, and it’s a day for determining which kinds of grain can thrive in the Dungeness Valley’s soil and climate conditions.
WSU wheat breeder Steve Jones and researcher Kevin Murphy will roam the fields, looking for the best performers among 20 spring varieties and 24 more that mature in winter.
Growers from across the North Olympic Peninsula and other community members are welcome to join the field walks, said Patty McManus-Huber, co-owner of Nash’s Organic Produce.
The outings, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., offer a chance for immersion in the Dungeness Valley’s agricultural past, present and future; while wheat is widespread across Eastern Washington’s farms, it’s less popular in wetter Western Washington.
Nash’s is among the operations to add certified organic wheat to its mix of crops. So for those hungry for local food, there’s a growing supply of ingredients for bread, breakfast cereals and even salads and stir-fry suppers.
On Monday’s walks, “you’ll be surrounded by grain on all sides, and there’s a 30-acre field of vegetables next to [the Wheeler farm],” said Sam McCulloch, the soil preparation supervisor at Nash’s.
McCulloch, known as “the grain guy,” and the WSU scientists will look at which wheats are most robust and prolific.
“In a perfect field, you get a yield of about 3 tons per acre,” McCulloch said, adding that he’s already observed differences in yield among the various wheats.
Second year
This is the second year of WSU trials for the spring wheats planted in March and April, and the first trial for the winter varieties, planted in September and early October.
“Results from last year’s trials will be available for comparison this year,” McManus-Huber said, “and researchers and farmers alike hope to build on their work for future success.”
Nash’s has been selling its grain — triticale and rye in addition to wheat — to local operations such as the Bell Street Bakery, and to home bakers via its farm store at 1865 E. Anderson Road in Dungeness and farmers’ markets in Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend.
Some of the varieties growing at Nash’s this summer are historical wheats developed more than 80 years ago, McManus-Huber added, while others are brand new.
Organic option
All have been bred for both organic and conventional use.
The final results of Monday’s trials, to include laboratory analysis of nutritional content, will be made available to growers throughout Western Washington.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
