Grains: The Next Frontier of Local Food?
Once upon a time, not all that long ago, my area of Western Massachusetts grew wheat, barley, and other grains. Until recently, though, in my lifetime, farms around here basically grew no grains other than corn. Maybe a bit of amaranth as a decorative flower.
In the past five years or so, that’s begun to change, thanks in large measure to two local artisan bakers and a few craft beer brewers who have created demand for local grain.
Today, I stumbled on an announcement in my local paper about a two-day conference (today and tomorrow) on growing, processing, and marketing a variety of local grains. I’m not a farmer and won’t be attending. But as someone who thinks local community food self-sufficiency is going to be a very important issue in the coming years, I think that’s pretty darned cool.
