`Experts, growers to have field day with small grains`

By Tom Zundel
Mercer County Cooperative Extension

Producers will be able to view 12 different varieties of winter wheat and 10 different varieties of spring oats Wednesday.

The Small Grains Field Day will be held on McDowell Farms, Jackson Township. The day’s program will start at 1 p.m. at plots located at the end of South Cottage Road.

Dr. Elwood Hatley, small grain specialist, and Dr. Marvin Risus, small grains plant breeder, both from Pennsylvania State University, will discuss better grain management and production from an environmental — as well and breeding — standpoint.

We have been cooperating with different seed distributors in selecting the best adapted varieties of winter wheat for the growing conditions found here. Four different seed companies have entered winter wheat into this year’s demonstration plot.

The demonstration plots have been evolving along with the seed industry over the years. When we started most of the winter wheat varieties were public varieties. Now, all but two of the varieties of wheat in the plot are marketed by local and national seed companies.

People tend to think of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio as not being important in the production of any of the grains. However, Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania are part of the major production center for soft red winter wheat. But this is not the only type of wheat that is grown in the United States. There are four other market classes of wheat grown, these include: Hard red winter, Hard red spring, Durum, and White.

Each different type of wheat has a different use in food production. Soft red winter wheat is used primarily in the baking of cookies, donuts, cakes and crackers. Hard red winter wheat is the largest market class in terms of acres grown and total production. Used primarily for bread making, it is grown in the Great Plains. Hard red spring wheat that is grown in the northern plain states is used for making breads and blending in poor-quality flours. Durum wheat is grown in the Dakotas and in Arizona and is used to make spaghetti, macaroni, and noodles. White wheat is grown in the northwestern states and also in Michigan and New York. This type of wheat is used to make cakes, quick breads, breakfast cereals, and pastries.

Worldwide there are many other different market classes of wheat each with a different use depending on the local needs of food production. Many countries of the world grow wheat and use it as a staple in peoples’ diets. It has been said that: “A crop of wheat is harvested in the world during every month of the year.”

Two varieties of spring oats producers may be interested in looking at are the addition of two varieties that are hull-less. The hull on the oat seed adds bulk to the seeds. Removal of this hull increases the bushel weight of the oats and increases the protein percentage of the oats. If the hull-less characteristic is expressed in the grain that the oat seed produces, then this will be a new marketing benefit for producers who grow oats for feeding horses and hogs. About eight years ago we did look at one hull-less oat variety named Pennuda. However, the grain produced from pennuda seed did not exhibit enough of the hull-less characteristics for local producers to grow the variety successfully. Pennuda did have a higher bushel weight but the increased bushel weight did not outweigh the reduced yield that this variety produced. The new varieties of hull-less oats are advertised as having better hull-less features.

It can be said that this is the heart of a spring oats growing region. Eight of the largest oat producing counties in Ohio and the nine in Pennsylvania are all within a hundred miles of Mercer County.

The importance of spring oats to the area can not be looked over because of the large horse population located here. Oats are most often a valuable component in feeding all of these animals. Of course oats have other uses other than the feeding of livestock. Oats are use in human food production too, especially in the familiar breakfast food of rolled oats. Another use of oats less known about is oats are used as an antioxident and stabilizer in dairy foods.

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Updated June 11, 1999
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