Maritime GrownCrop type 2007

Kg AcresSpelt     28,370 57Soybeans   193,570 0Winter Wheat   23,600 0Wheat     161,300 0Peas     5,000 0Rye     149,500 8Corn     0 0Hulless Oats   143,350 63Barley     202,600 115Oats     39,850 0Mixed Grain   106,795 0Sunflowers   2,980 6Flax     4,300 5Canola     5,000 0Other 0 0Total (reported in Tonne) 1,066*Note* 115 acres of Barley, 5 acres of flax and 6 acres of Sunflowers stated was planted but unharvested.57 acres of Spelt is reported acres planted in fall of 2007. 63 acres of Hulles Oats were reported as Harvested but didn't have a

gross weight calculated

Thank you to all farmers thatreturned their crop information to us.

If you grow grain and we’ve missedyour information, we would still liketo know about your operation and tomake our list as accurate as possible.

As a result we had 35 farmers reporttheir harvest in this survey, whichtotals over a thousand tonnes oforganic grain grown in theMaritimes. These numbers areencouraging for the amount of grainproduced locally.

From this information the MaritimeOrganic Grains Network plans tobuild to promote and encouragefurther increases in the amount ofgrain produced. We will be workingto provide additional education tofarmers through information sessions,variety field trials, and linkingfarmers with processors and grainbuyers. We hope this will also helpfarmers determine what to plant thisupcoming season.

Please send all questions orsuggestions to Mark Bernard(902)439-1182 (cell), (902)887-3188(home), or email mbernard@nsac.ca.

Maritime Organic Grains Network NewsletterIssue two, January 2008

Inside this Issue:

2007 Crop Survey Results

Anatomy of a Cereal Seed

Profile: Speerville Flour Mill

Equipment: Solar Grain Dryer

Organic Grain and OilseedHandling Facility

Buyer & Seller Guide

Maritime Organic Grainand Oilseed Forum:

March 5 & 6

Program & Registration

ACORN Organic Conference

2007 Organic Grains Survey Results

Note: To up-date your contact information or be removed from the mailing list, please contact ACORN at 1-866-322-2676 or email admin@acornorganic.org.

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By Andy Hammermeister

Knowing about grain quality startswith knowing the anatomy of asingle grain. Whether the grain is tobe used for feed or for humanconsumption, the key characteristicsof a grain still apply. Have you everwondered how the anatomy of agrain affects its qualitycharacteristics? The figure belowshows the anatomy of a typicalgrain. Here we will discuss theparts of seed from the inside outstarting with the embryo.

The embryo, also known as thegerm, is the beginnings of a newplant, including the genetics, andearly plant structures (leaves androots) that will get the plantstarted. The embryo containsvarious protein, oils, enzymesand vitamins. It makes upapproximately 3% of the seed.The enzymes it contains helps totrigger the release of nutrients fromthe remainder of the seed when theembryonic plant starts to grow. Thegerm is typically removed duringmilling of refined flour because itcan influence bread making quality,and the oils in the germ can gorancid if the flour is stored for a longtime. Some millers/bakers such asSpeerville Mill and the Dover mill,will mix the germ back into the flour(along with the bran discussedbelow) when making whole wheatbread.

The endosperm makes up 75-83% ofthe seed. It contains the starch whichis held in a matrix of protein. This isthe energy source of the seed forgermination, and the proportion ofprotein and starch in the endosperm

will dictate its characteristics for feedand food processing.

Surrounding the endosperm is thealeurone layer which makes up arelatively small part of the seed. Thealeurone contains enzymes that canstart the reaction that changes starchinto sugar, a key step in using grainsfor specialized uses such as brewingbeer.

The next layer is the seed coat whichis often referred to as the bran. Inwheat, the bran accounts forapproximately 14% of the seed. Thebran is the skin of the seed and helpsto protect it from disease and pests.The bran is mainly made up of fiberand contains some vitamins. The brancan affect protein content and millingquality, so it is typically removedwhen making refined flour but maybe added back in to make variouspercentages of whole wheat. Smallseeds will have a larger amount ofbran compared with the inside of theseed, whereas larger or plumperseeds will have a smaller ratio ofsurface area (bran) to inside. Thismeans that larger seeds are oftenmore desirable, especially from amilling perspective.

Cereals are typically enclosed(while still in the head of theplant) by two fibrous sheaths, thehull, that protect the seed (notshown in the figure). The largerone is called the lemma and thesmaller one is the palea. Forwheat, rye, and hulless forms ofoats and barley, the lemma andpalea fall off the seed duringharvest and become part of thechaff. But the lemma and paleaare closed tightly on hulled formsof oats and barley.

The lemma and palea are mostlyfiber, and do not add much valuein terms of feed. They account forup to 30% of the yield of hulledgrains. This means that a hulledvariety of oats (or barley) mayyield 20-30% higher than ahulless oat, however, the energyand protein of the oats will be 20-30% lower, resulting in lower feedvalue. Food processors typicallyprefer hulless varieties of cropsbecause it eliminates the step ofremoving the hull before (eg.rolling the oats for oatmeal). Asmentioned above, the hull doeshelp protect the seed from diseaseand damage. Hulless varieties ofoats and barley are moresusceptible to disease during cropestablishment and damage duringharvesting. Damaging the seedcan reduce quality and increaselosses.

Do you have any other commentsabout seed quality that you wouldlike to share? Feel free to send in‘letter to the editor’ withcomments or questions.

The Anatomy of Cereal Seed:Optimizing grain quality involves getting the right proportions within the seed

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Equipment Corner: Peacock Solar Grain Dryer

grain dryer is recommended to be used from April to October and can takeair at 19oC and heat it to as much as31oC. Humidity levels can be reducedby 15% or more. A 12X24 foot model sells at $479, while the larger 12X48foot model is $699. More information can be found atwww.grasshoppercontrol.com

Speerville Flour Mill has becomethe cornerstone to the developmentof the organic grain industry in theMaritimes.

26 years after the first flour milledby Stu Fleischhaker and GeorgeBerthault, Todd Grant and his crewremain true to Maritime farmers.

Stu worked hard at developingmarkets and creating relationshipswith farmers to grow grain. Hebelieved in heritage varieties andworked to increase these, so thatflour could be produced here in theMaritimes. Buying local grains andselling flour to be consumed locallyhas been the underlying messagefrom the mill.

When Stu retired in 2003, ToddGrant took over the operation. Saleshave continued to increase and therehas been struggle to acquire enoughlocal grain. This has requiredSpeerville to bring small amounts ofgrain in from Quebec, Ontario andwestern provinces. This has existedonly as a temporary solution, untilthe mill could find new growers orcommunicate to their growers whattype of grain they require.

Todd believes in building greatrelationships with all of his farmers.Communication in the Spring isimportant to let the farmers knowwhat the mill requires in the fall.Ensuring growers know the qualitythat’s required to make a goodproduct gives the farmer a goal tostrive for.

Todd says, “I think I have alwaysbeen fair with the price we pay,

which is usually the highest goingprice and always a stable price.”

This year the mill started chargingdockage for cleaning purposes. Toddfelt it wasn’t fair to the farmers doinga really outstanding job at growinggrain to be paid the same price assomeone with lower quality grain ora higher amount of weeds seeds. It’sthe hope that providing thisinformation will encourage farmersto work towards growing betterquality grain crops.

As for the current state of the mill,“we are experiencing excellentgrowth,” reports Todd.

The mill now handles over 140products and over 60 are milled withgrain, which for the most part, aregrown in the Maritimes.

“We are also exploring new andexciting areas of expansion”,says. Todd.

“Pulling the whole operationtogether is a daunting task andwe are always looking for newfarmers to grow a wide varietyof grains”.

Speerville Flour Mill is proud ofthe reputation it has earned inthe rapidly growing organic,healthy and nutritious, wholefood industry. Speerville is alsoa proud sponsor of the OrganicGrains and Oilseed Forum andlooks forward to meeting withfarmers at the ACORN TradeShow.

Speerville Flour Mill: A cornerstone for Maritime organic grain growers

Solve those continual wet harvest conditionswith an easy way to dry grain without a largeinvestment. A Saskatchewan based companyhas come up with the idea of using solar energyto dry grain right in the storage tank. Thissystem uses the existing aeration from the graintank attaching to the fan is the large solarcollector which takes in cool air, warms anddries it then returning into the tank. The solar

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The Maritime Organic Grains Network acknowledges the generosity of its funders:

New Brunswick Agricultural Council

New Organic Grain and Oilseed Handling Facility

West Nova Agro Commodities Ltd (WNACL) is pleased to announce that an organic grain and oilseed handling facilitywill be operational for the 2008 crop year. West Nova Agro Commodities Ltd. is a small community owned grainhandling facility located in Lawrencetown, Annapolis County, NS. It was established in 2000 by a committed group oflocal farmers and community members.

In order to better service the organic sector, this parallel organic grain handling facility will also dry and store organicoilseeds such as canola and flax. This will enhance the availability of high protein, organic feedstock for the organicindustry.

In the past, WNACL has provided local conventional farmers with the opportunity to buy or sell bulk grains in largequantities or in small tonne lots. Producers who want to use their grain on-farm have the options to bring grain in fordrying and cleaning, and then take it back to their own farm for storage, or else leave the grain in storage at WNACL’sfacility and draw it out on an as-needed basis.

West Nova Agro Commodities Ltd. is planning on issuing a second share offering in the spring of 2008, which will permitorganic farmers and stakeholders to also take an ownership stake in this community-owned business. WNACL iscommitted to working with the organic sector to ensure that the industry needs are being met and that the benefits andopportunities associated with organic agriculture are more broadly realized.

For more information contact Jonathan McClelland at (902) 584-3736 or jonathan@westernvalleyagri.ca

Buyers & Sellers Guide

Lackawanna Products Corp, Clarence, NY, USA. Interested in buying certified organic soybeans (food and feedgrade),min one truckload). Call Felician Masumbuko (716) 633-1940 ext 373.

Fox Brand Inc, MCOG certified spelt, hulless oats, flax, wheat and spelt straw in stock for sale. Located at 3825 Rt. 540 inWoodstock NB.  (506) 325-2701 info@foxbrand.ca web site www.foxbrand.ca.

Barnyard Organics Ltd. (PEI) MCOG organic common soybean seed was certified blue tag prudence soybean andcertified blue tag Cchampion in 2007. $20/25kg seed cleaning and soybean roasting services available. Phone 902-887-2865, 902-439-1182 or email info@barnyardorganics.ca

To post a FREE classified ad contact: Mark Bernard (902) 439-1182 or (902) 887-3188 or email mbernard@nsac.ca. Youcan also call ACORN toll-free at 1-866-322-2676