Page 23 - The Valley Table - Summer 2021

late 1700s, Columbia County alone was producing 190,000 bushels of wheat per year. However, industrialization brought changes to production and transportation that made growing grain in other parts of the country more affordable, and a scourge of agricultural troubles quashed the Hudson Valley’s grain economy. By the 1850s, Columbia County produced a mere 9,000 bushels.
Quint, of Kingston Bread + Bar, points to the work of Hudson Valley Farm Hub as foundational to helping rejuvenate the local grain economy.
“The region has lost so much of the knowledge and experience of working with grains that we need reliable research to gain an understanding of what grows well here, especially using organic methods,” says Sarah Brannen, programming director at Hudson Valley Farm Hub.
While the process is far from simple or easy, initial results suggest that wheat, barley, rye, and oats can thrive in this climate, including ancient varieties like spelt and einkorn.
Of course, the ability to bake bread with ancient grains does not always equate to consumer demand for them. Much like the crops themselves, interest is cultivated over time.
“We love and make whole wheat and ancient grain breads,” says Quint, “[but] we also are not opposed to using more classic white flour in places where we think it actually produces a better product, like baguettes and croissants.”
Anne Mayhew of LMNOP in Katonah
We need reliable research to gain an understanding of what grows well here, especially using organic methods.
—Sarah Brannen, Hudson Valley Farm Hub
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