The next time you’re about to bite into a tasty slice of bread, stop for a second to consider a remarkable journey.
A little green sprout of wheat encounters a significant adventure before it turns into something we consume every day. It’s a story worthy of any superhero.
A stalk of wheat must first fend off voracious insects, crippling diseases, and uncertain climate pressures just to make it to the mill.
Standing behind the many local farmers who grow this ancient grain is a well-prepared army of agricultural experts at Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environment Sciences in Wooster.
Around 50 area wheat growers recently convened there for the annual Small Grains Field Day to hear the latest planting guidance.
They sought advice from people like Pierce Paul, a world-renowned fungicide researcher.
He coordinates a large trial at 20 locations across the nation for answers to a common fungus crop threat called wheat head blight. He’s studying best practices for a relatively effective fungicide that will soon go off-patent and become cheaper.
“Would a double application give you best control of head blight, and is it worth it from economic standpoint?” Paul said. “We’re going to run the numbers and tell you.”
Entomologist Kelley Tilmon plucked a well-known wheat pest, the serial leaf beetle, off a stalk in the field beside her.
“I’m perfectly aware if you are growing wheat or small grains, insects are pretty low on your list of concerns. You’ve got your agronomic concerns, and when you look at the list of diseases that might affect your small grains, it’s about four times the list of insects,” Tilmon said.
“But aphids remain a threat.
“They’re seldom an economic problem in and of themselves, however they can transmit virus. It only takes one aphid to transmit virus, very quickly, with no window in which to kill them. That’s why fly-safe dates are useful to reduce the chance that aphids will settle into crops.”
In another research plot, professor of plant breeding Curt Sneller gestured to several new wheat varieties his team is breeding to withstand various environmental challenges and bring new revenue streams to both large and small farm operations.
“You’ve got to know what customers want, and what any wheat grower most wants is yield,” he said. “We’re gaining 1.06 bushels per acre, per year from running a simple breeding program with OSU wheat lines.”
His work shows a gain in crop yields that’s highly desirable for small scale wheat breeders around the world.
Wheat is one of the top value crops grown in Ohio after soybeans, corn and hay. About half the wheat grown in the United States is exported to other countries.
But in Ohio, most of it stays here, processed at seven grain mills around the state that turn wheat into flour.
The wheat grown on campus for research studies is analyzed at the Soft Winter Wheat Quality Lab, one of only four in the United States, and managed by molecular biologist Byung-Kee Baik and research geneticist Bryan Penning.
If you like cookies, cake, crackers, noodles or tortillas, you’ll be glad to know that the Ohio soft red winter wheat variety milled into the flour for these items is constantly scrutinized here to improve flavor, quality and marketability.
A different small grain that used to be a big crop in Ohio is barley, until Prohibition dried up demand for it in the 1920s.
Barley breeding specialist Eric Stockinger encourages farmers to consider adding it again to their crop rotations, since big breweries are constantly seeking new types of barley for future beer formulations.
“We’ve developed a line of barley here, and if they deem it meritorious for brewing, we’ll probably release it as a variety for growers so everyone can use it.”
Weather affects many different areas of farm management, including when to apply fertilizer, something that ultimately affects crop yields and marketability.
“If apply fertilizer and it rains, have I lost all that nitrogen? If I apply too early, did I lose a lot of nitrogen?” said soil fertility specialist Manbir Rakkar.
She advocates frequent soil sampling.
“In Ohio we do have certain soil chemical issues we need to track that affect nutrient availability to the wheat, and the pH amount is number one,” she said. “No matter how good is a fertilizer application, if the pH is not good, those nutrients won’t be available to the plant.”
As an ominous dark cloud grew behind him on the distant horizon, climatologist Aaron Wilson talked about the changing weather patterns local growers face.
“Planning windows are shrinking, suitable field workdays are decreasing, and the number of harvestable days in October are decreasing, along with more intense rainfall conditions.”
He’s keen to developing a network of hyperlocal weather stations in Ohio called Mesonet, and link it with others across the country to help farmers in remote areas make better decisions about when to plant and harvest their crops.
Currently six stations are up and running around the state. Wilson says these stations can give the national weather service more surface information on rural areas, which can help with severe weather forecasting.
Owen Niese grows wheat along with corn and soybeans at his family’s farm near Shelby. He’s also the chairman of the Small Grains Checkoff Board at Ohio Corn & Wheat, one of the organizers of the event and a funder for some of the agricultural research at OSU.
“We try to focus on where we should be researching. What are Ohio’s small grains problems? Today they’re giving us a recap that we can learn from, and take tools back to our families and friends. I’m really impressed with it.”