Grass Seed: conversion to food production

80% of Lane County’s agricultural production (by acreage) grows grass seed for export. This is probably the most ludicrous use of farmland possible, with severe health impacts (allergies, smoke), the waste of soil, and the waste of water as desertification becomes more obvious. A few cities have started banning the watering of golf courses due to drought (Denver did this for a short while), which puts the grass seed farmers in long term jeopardy.

The most popular substitute crop I have heard suggested is hemp. While legalizing hemp production would be a good thing, it would not be a substitute for grass seed, since grass seed is a winter and spring crop that does not need artificial irrigation and hemp is a summer crop that does need watering in our climate. Grass farmers who water their grass in the summer in the Willamette valley grow cows and sheep, not grass seed. But there are numerous crops that would make good substitutes.

With careful planning, it should be possible to have this region much more able to feed itself by the time the cheap oil becomes expensive oil and long distance shipment of food becomes less practical. Grass seed conversion is an issue that transcends political ideologies, since allergens and smoke effect everyone regardless of political affiliation. If we are going to cope with the transition from cheap, abundant oil to expensive, scarce oil, the region will need to become much more food self-sufficient.

It is good that the State finally forced a reduction in the amount of grass seed field burning that can be done. But the grass pollen is probably as big of a health problem as the smoke, and future trends in energy, money and long distance transport suggest the region will need conversion of these vanity crops into food production. The farmers are unlikely to be able to accomplish this shift without substantial assistance from the rest of the community (ie. those who eat).

For more information about grass seed to food conversion, please visit the Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project at www.mudcitypress.com

A local business that has converted some grass seed production to growing grains and beans is Camas Country Mill, located just north of EUG airport. They sell bulk grains, beans and lentils, baked bread, sandwiches and more.

 

https://www.camascountrymill.com/mill

THE FIRST MILL OF ITS KIND IN OVER EIGHTY YEARS
When Camas Country first opened its doors in 2011, we were the first mill of our kind to operate in the Willamette Valley in nearly eighty years. Grist mills once peppered the landscape of the valley, particularly along waterways, with mills in even the smallest communities. Over time, as the success of the seed industry pushed locally consumed grains to the margins, local mills also faded from the valley, and factory flour came to dominate pantry and grocery shelves across the Pacific Northwest.

REVIVING GRAIN MILLING: A COMMUNITY EFFORT

The first rumblings of a local mill enterprise started in Tom Hunton's mind as commodity crop prices were buffeted by the stormy economy during the recession. Having raised grass seed, vegetable and cover crop seed, and wheat for export for decades, Tom decided it was time to diversify the family farm even further, and try something virtually unheard of for a mid-size valley farm--grow grain for the local and regional market. There is tremendous infrastructure set up in Oregon to get wheat and grain out of the state (in 2011, 85% of Oregon wheat was shipped overseas), but very little to keep it within the state.

Meetings with the Southern Willamette Valley Bean & Grain Project and consulting with university plant breeders led to wheat test plots on Hunton's farm. Defying conventional wisdom, that first harvest proved that valley-grown hard red and white spring wheat had sufficient protein to meet the needs of commercial bakers. Not content to grow the grain and navigate financially and environmentally damaging shipping to a processor elsewhere, the Hunton's decided to build their own mill. With the help of local distributor Hummingbird Wholesale and the city of Eugene, funding and strategy for the pieces of Camas Country Mill came together, and our doors opened in the spring of 2011.

Since then, more local and regional farmers have joined us in growing grains and legumes that are processed or packed at Camas Country, and over 2 million pounds of flour have run through our mill. We now supply 10 Oregon school districts with whole grain flour, as well as packaging a complete protein lentil-barley soup mix for our local food bank and supplying home and commercial kitchens throughout the West.