Winter wheat vital to sustainable farming
Crop needs vernalization, period of cold dormancy to flower in the spring
Drive through the Ontario countryside on a winter day and all around are dead-looking fields that in the warmer months are green with corn, soy and grains. But a closer look tells a different story. In fall — between the third week of September through the second week of October — many Ontario grain farmers are out in those barren-looking fields planting winter wheat.
The seeds go into the cool autumn ground where they germinate, grow into tough little three-inch tufts of wheat grass, waiting for that first hit of spring sunshine and warmth in the very early spring to break dormancy. Winter wheat is a crop that requires vernalization, a period of cold dormancy, in order to flower in the spring.
Typically, winter wheat, harvested in midsummer, is a “hard” wheat, with higher levels of the gluten protein, which makes it excellent for breads, but the location of the farm determines which wheat variety grows best. Many farms in eastern Ontario raise hard winter wheat and some, such as Jeff Harrison’s in Quinte West, a warmer part of the province, raise a soft red winter wheat, which is good for pastries. Allpurpose flour is a blend of hard and soft wheats.
Harrison’s family has been farming in Hastings County, Ont., since the 1800s and, with approximately 1,000 acres, he’s able to diversify, growing corn, soy and soft red winter wheat. Diversification allows a farmer to mitigate losses, manage risk and steward the soil with a welldesigned system of crop rotation. Still, according to Harrison, winter wheat is a highmaintenance crop that demands intensive management and inputs — fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals — for the farmer to remain profitable.
Harrison, 48, who is also a regional director for the Grain Farmers of Ontario, explains that he, like many other forward-thinking farmers, is moving toward a more natural, sustainable model of farming — regenerative farming — but it can’t happen overnight. First, the progressive grain grower must stay in business and profitable in order to take risks with less certain and, at the outset, more vulnerable practices. “I have to find a balance between improving the soil for my friends and neighbours, and making a profit,” says Harrison, “so I can keep doing what I’m doing to make things better. We need to find a way to feed everyone in a sustainable way for me, my business and the planet.
“I’m practising minimal tilling now,” Harrison says. “And using cover crops — red clover and oats — on my fields of soy and corn. Winter wheat acts as a cover crop too, but one that can be harvested and sold.” Harrison has 250 acres under wheat, producing 75 bushels per acre.
Raising winter wheat plays a vital role in sustainable farming. In fall, regenerative farmers think about putting the land to bed for the winter with a cover crop, such as red clover, radishes, alfalfa or winter rye. Cover crops perform a few vital functions: they combat soil erosion, maintain water retention and limit runoff; suppress weed growth and pest infestations; and input nutrients, lessening the need for chemical fertilizers. Some cover crops are harvested or grazed upon by livestock, and some are simply left to decompose in the field then lightly tilled into the soil. Winter wheat is both a cover and commercial crop.
For Jennifer Doelman’s family, wheat cultivation has been a way of life for three generations.
Doelman’s farm, which she runs with her husband, Michael, is 1,100 acres of grains and oil seeds in Renfrew County, in the Upper Ottawa Valley. Doelman, 40, is passionate about the intersection of wheat and sustainable farming.
“Soil health is a critical part of our overall farm health,” Doelman says. “The Ottawa Valley was once at the bottom of the inland Champlain Sea, so our soil is mostly heavy silty-clay, which is very susceptible to soil compaction and water erosion. For that reason, we practise reduced tillage and avoid it whenever possible. This helps to maintain our organic matter and supports our soil fauna and flora such as earthworms and mycorrhizae. Winter wheat is one of my favourite crops to grow as it has the best impact on soil health, prevents erosion, which keeps nutrients in the root zone, exactly where we need them to be.
“Biodiversity is also incredibly important to us,” Doelman says. “We have a very diverse crop rotation including many traditional Ontario crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans, but we also grow canola, sunflowers, barley, oats, peas, triticale (rye-wheat hybrid) and flax. I’m also a beekeeper, so we continue to improve our buffer strips and non-cropland by planting pollinator seeds and plants with fibrous root systems to help with bank stabilization along watercourses, and to create habitat for beneficial species such as ground beetles and native pollinators.
“Cover crops are something that we have been excited to incorporate into our farm management system,” she says. “As soon as the wheat is harvested in August, we immediately plant clover and oats into our harvested wheat fields. These cover crops create a bridge of living roots that provides nutrients such as carbon to the soil microorganisms until next spring when we will plant the following crop for harvest. These roots and shoots help prevent my soil from eroding, and retain nutrients in the root zone so that they are available for next year’s crop and, even more importantly, keeping them from entering local watersheds.”
Doelman is also diversifying. “We are looking to adding livestock into our management system,” she says. “This would also allow us to add manure and perennial forages to our fields. Livestock is a great complement to grains because products that may not meet food grade or seed grade standards can still make excellent feed for cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry, and this helps reduce food waste.”