Harvesting Cover Crops on Vegetables Farms: Growing Buckwheat for Grain and Seed

Commodities

• Agronomic: buckwheat

Practices

• Crop Production: crop rotation, food processing, varieties and cultivars

Buckwheat is commonly used as a cover crop on vegetable farms. Its ease of establishment, rapid germination, and ability to quickly form a dense canopy make it an ideal choice for short-season use. Buckwheat provides a variety of agroecological services, including weed suppression, floral resources for pollinators, and contributions to soil health. While primarily used as a cover crop, buckwheat also presents economic opportunities as a grain crop. Demand from local millers and food artisans is strong, and there is additional potential for selling cover crop seed. Both markets could provide opportunities for vegetable farmers looking to diversify and add value to their operations. However, considerable challenges exist in growing buckwheat for grain, particularly on small- and mid-sized vegetable farms in Southern New England. Agronomic guidance is limited or not well adapted to the region. Moreover, access to appropriate equipment for planting, harvesting, drying, and storage remains a major barrier.

For this project, we will experiment with growing the buckwheat varieties Koto and Devyatka at Saunderstown Organic Farm on a newly leased, ten-acre field in Matunuck, RI. These buckwheat varieties have been selected based on feedback from farmers, millers, and seed companies both in Northeast and the Midwest. The project has three interlinked ojectives. These are: 1.) evaluate yield and grain quality of these two varieties, 2.) work with the Here and There Grain Project, a Massachusetts-based organization that provides custom combining and grain storage services and expertise, and document the process of equipment sharing, transport, and operation, and 3.) solicit feedback from Kenyon's Grist Mill in Southern RI on buckwheat grain processing, milling, and flour quality. A structured field study will allow us to compare both yield and grain quality of the two varieties on a working farm. Collaborations with Here and There Grain Project and Kenyon's grist mill will be documented through a series of semi-structured interviews occurring before and after project participation. The combination of quantitative field trial data and qualitative interview data are complementary. taken together should help provide a clear picture of a first effort at growing buckwheat for grain.

The project should provide a comprehensive and realistic assessment of the potential and challenges involved with growing buckwheat as a grain crop in our region. Results from the project will be shared via twilight meetings in both production years, a case study of the project, and a buckwheat growing guide for small- and mid-sized production.

This fundamental goal of this project is to serve as a proof of concept for harvesting buckwheat for grain as a part of a vegetable crop rotation. To do this, the project team will collaborate to plant, harvest, store and dry, clean, and mill buckwheat in two growing seasons in Southern Rhode Island. The project has three interlinked objectives:

1.) Evaluate yield and grain quality of two buckwheat varieties, Koto and Devyatka. A simple field plot design with two treatments and three reps will be used to add robustness to the analysis of grain yield and grain qualities such as test weight and grain moisture.

2.) Work with the Here and There Grain Project, a Massachusetts-based organization that provides custom combining and grain storage services and expertise, and document the process of equipment sharing, transport, and operation. Pre- and post-harvest interviews will be conducted with the farmer participant and Here and There Grain Project to provide qualitative feedback on the relationship between farmer and custom harvester in order to identifies positives and challenges with this type of arrangement.

3.) Solicit feedback from Kenyon's Grist Mill in Southern RI on buckwheat grain processing, milling, and flour quality. Pre- and post-milling interviews will be conducted with Kenyon's Grist Mill in order to understand both the demand and constraints to milling local buckwheat flour. Kenyon's will also provide feedback on consumer preferences and marketing of local grains.