Buckwheat Production

References:

• Buckwheat is a main crop in Manitoba and the government has ample research on the subject.
• Cornell University has a complete website for buckwheat producers.
• The buckwheat producers of the North-East USA have an association and a regular newsletter.
• The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center at Iowa State University has excellent website for buckwheat growers.
• Statistics Canada produced a market report for buckwheat in 2008.

Applications:

• Buckwheat flour goes into pancakes and multi-grain breads.
• Buckwheat groats serve for salads, side dishes, and an alternative to rice.
• Buckwheat pieces go into porridge and multi-grain breakfast cereals.
• It is an important staple for people on special diets with total gluten intolerance.
• Buckwheat hulls are made into pillows instead of using feathers and synthetic foams.
  

Farm Benefits:

• Excellent weed suppression through allelopathic effect, suffocation, shading.
• Grows in low to medium fertility; excellent first crop to start a rotation & recover a field.
• Thick root system will loosen up heavy clay soils for the benefit of soybeans.
• Returns numerous minerals, especially phosphorous, to the benefit of soybeans.
• Short season crop; ideal for late planting, second crop after hay, pasture or green chop.
• Low maintenance crop with no additional input costs.
• Good green manure crop; incorporate into the soil before the flowers appear.
  

Beware:

• Watch out for volunteer buckwheat next year because of seed drop.
• Produces excessive green matter & low seed volume in presence of high nitrogen levels.
• Requires drained soil; does not tolerate water logging nor black muck.
  

Seed selection and seeding:

• Distinct seed is required for the conventional and organic acres; ask for details.
• Sew 40 to 50 pounds per acre, solid seeding, fine seedbed, 2 inches deep or to moisture.
• Sew about 65 pounds per acre for green manure.
• Sew in late May or early June if you can swath around Labour Day. Otherwise, seed in late June and early July to rely on a killing frost in October. Sow by July 15th.
• Pollination requires pollinators, but not necessarily honey bees.
  

Harvesting:

• The plant will not die when the seed is ripe; it will continue to produce flowers.
• You cannot combine directly before dry-down because of the volume of green material.
• Waiting for a killing frost is risky: the heavy seed will fall to the ground.
• Most people will swath to control the harvesting date and preserve the grain on the plant.
• The ripe grain is low on the plant; the grain high on the plant is recent and immature.
• Watch for maturity around the 10^th or 11^th week. Do not wait for more seed.
• Swath when there are 10% flowers left and the first generation of seed is black.
• Swath in the morning or evening to avoid shelling; leave a stubble of 18” for drying.
• Combine about 7 to 10 days after swathing, or 2 to 3 weeks after a killing frost.
• Open the cylinders to avoid crushing the grain.
• Use enough air to blow out the chaff and the immature kernels.

Identity Preservation

Homestead Organics is providing the Koto variety of buckwheat seed with an Identity-Preserved production contract.

Varieties:

• The traditional Manor and Mancan varieties are consistent medium size black seed, with a bushel weight of about 46 to 48 pounds per bushel. Although still common for green manure, they are replaced by newer varieties for food production.
• The recent Manisoba variety is a large grain, often brown or grey, with a very inconsistent seed size, and a bushel weight between 42 and 46 pounds per bushel. We avoid it because of the irregular seed size and the wings on the tips of the seed.
• The new Koto and Koma varieties are a consistent large seed, pitch black, with a bushel weight around 48 pounds per bushel. These varieties have superior yields, consistent maturing dates, and better grain retention on the stem.
• All buckwheat varieties are open pollinated. Pollen will travel with the wind and the movement of pollinating insects.
• Identity preserved crops required the highest purity of seed at planting time and excellent purity of crop at harvest time.

Management:

• Ensure that seed drills, combines, augers, wagons and silos are cleaned and flushed to eliminate contamination by other buckwheat varieties and other grains.
• Deliver all the crop and any left-over seed to Homestead Organics.

Seeding:

• Do not grow an IP variety within one half mile of other production buckwheat.
• Incorporate green manure buckwheat before it flowers.
• Allow enough time in the spring to flush out volunteer buckwheat from previous years.

What do I do with left-overs?

• Do not use left over seed or crop for a new IP production crop.
• Return left-over seed from last year to Homestead Organics for credit or exchange.
• Use left-over seed or left-over crops from previous years as a green manure on your farm or sell them to someone else for a green manure.
• Ship left over crops to Homestead Organics by keeping them separate from the new IP crop. Use a split bulk truck, bags and skids on an LTL carrier or any other reasonable means.