Grain is not only an important part of peoples’ diet, but can also be vital to a vegetable farm’s long-term soil fertility. The OFS and many other organic farms plant large amounts of grain and legumes for cover crop - crops planted when a field isn’t growing a cash crop that keep the soil protected, keep soil microbes happy, and replenish organic matter when incorporated back into the soil.

In 2019, the OFS started experimenting with grain and legume production for cover crop seed, livestock feed, and flour wheat for human consumption.

OFS-grown rye, vetch, and peas provided all of our cover crop seed needs for the winter of 2019-2020, and wheat grown since then has provided many pizza crusts baked in our pizza oven.

Though getting into grain production has been a somewhat steep learning curve for us, we feel it’s worth while to explore the potential of local grain and legume production, both for our regional farming system, and to better inform our graduates.