On a crisp May morning, a small group of chefs, bakers, teachers, millers and food writers gathered in Southern California’s wheat fields. The day was a tour of five farms and an introduction to landrace grains—varieties shaped over generations by farmers and their local conditions.
At Fat Uncle Farms near Lompoc, Nathan Siemens was experimenting with grains between rows of almond trees. His plan followed an older pattern: grow wheat as a rotation crop after the almond harvest, helping protect soil structure while creating a locally grown source of flour.
The field visit made the work tangible. A restored combine stood beside the crop, and visitors examined Red Fife wheat while it was still soft and green. The grain’s flavor, its stalk and its eventual use in the kitchen were all part of the same conversation.
Seed, soil and a regional experiment
A seed grant supplied historic varieties including Sonora, Emmer, Red Fife and Roman rye, along with a newer landrace called Glenn. A vintage harvester also helped participating farmers begin the project without relying solely on modern equipment.
The participating farms were small, generally working several acres to a few dozen acres. Their common goal was not simply higher yields. It was to learn which grains could thrive in the region, how they might fit into crop rotations and whether local milling could give farmers and cooks a stronger connection to place.
That approach treats grain as part of a living farm system. Wheat, barley, vegetables and livestock can be planned together, with each crop contributing to the health and resilience of the ground.
Learning from the California climate
At a Santa Barbara County farm, barley and Sonora wheat were being grown for malt and local brewing. Elsewhere, farmers were testing irrigated, partially irrigated and dry-farmed plots. The choices reflected the uneven water conditions across California and the practical limits of small farms.
In the Tehachapi area, wheat fields moved in the wind while farmers compared notes on precipitation, seed and animal husbandry. One partnership paired a dry-farmed field with irrigated plots used to produce seed for the following season. The work was deliberately modest: observe, share results and expand only when the land and the economics made sense.
Landrace grains will not solve every challenge facing agriculture, but they offer a useful meeting point for biodiversity, soil care and flavor. The farmers’ experiment suggested that a grain’s value can be measured in more than bushels: it can also be found in the strength of a rotation, the character of a loaf and the knowledge kept in a region.