Building Buckwheat Community at the 2nd Annual Buckwheat Festival

Farmers, researchers, culinarians and eaters convened at the OSA WA research farm on August 26^th to uplift the virtues of buckwheat from field to fork. Buckwheat interest is rising as an ideal crop to address climate change challenges, enhance agroecosystems, and diversify our diets. Several recent projects have initiated research, engaged culinarians, and expanded on-farm trials and buckwheat seed production including the New Grains Northwest and Soil to Society initiatives led by WSU. OSA has partnered with WSU in field trials since 2009, with expanded collaboration in recent years. We’re thrilled to keep the buckwheat momentum in the coming years as partners on the newly funded project “More Bang for your Buckwheat”, led by Dr. Kevin Murphy of WSU, with support from the Organic Research and Extension Initiative of USDA. 

Farmers often grow buckwheat as a soil enhancing cover crop, but many have less experience in harvesting as a seed and food crop. At the field day farmers and researchers gathered in the field to discuss, harvest techniques, ideal crop traits and future breeding targets. Priority traits for crop improvement included improved uniformity in timing of seed maturity (determinacy), resistance to lodging, tolerance of wet soils, and adaptation to dry-farm conditions. Culinarians shared the need for greater consistency in seed quality and access to dehulled buckwheat for use as whole grain groats. Research updates from WSU’s, soil scientists Dr. Deirdra Griffin-LaHue and Annah Young reported on potential benefits of integrating buckwheat into vegetable rotations to enhance soil quality, suppress weeds, and improve yields of following crops. WA schools are piloting buckwheat pancakes to improve school nutrition and integrating studies on eating preferences of school children, as shared by WSU’s Dr. Stephen Bramwell and WSDA’s Farm to School Specialist Rachael Breslauer. 

Culinarians and bakers are reviving traditional buckwheat cuisines while also exploring new applications for cooking, baking and brewing with buckwheat. Participants savored flavors of traditional and unique buckwheat cuisines while enjoying time to network and envision the future potential of buckwheat as a staple NW-grown food product. Chef Sonoko Sakai demonstrated traditional buckwheat soba noodle making and described how in Japan a master soba chef will display the harvest location and date of the buckwheat flour used in the daily menu. A unique buckwheat crisp with a traditional eggplant and pepper spread called Ajavar, was served by chef Bonnie Morales of Kachka in Portland, a restaurant of foods from the former Soviet Union. No one went home hungry after savoring house made buckwheat noodles with muscles and salmon served by Chef Gabriel Schuenemann of Alderwood Bistro with buckwheat focaccia bread. Samples of buckwheat sourdoughs from White Lotus Bakery and Raven Bakery demonstrated the hearty texture and earthy, nutty flavor that buckwheat brings to breads. Chimacum Grainery provided the buckwheat flour for White Lotus and Alderwood dishes and shared their model of harvesting, milling and distributing buckwheat flour. The sampling meal was finished off with a delicate and flavorful buckwheat shortbread provided by the Bread Lab of WSU and a washed down with a Tartary buckwheat tea prepared by OSA’s farm team. 

We are grateful for the event sponsorship this year provided by the Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center under the initiative Creating Diverse Markets for Climate Resilient Ag. At the event Tayler Reinman of the center shared information about the new Business Builder Grants Program that will support small and mid-scale farms, processors, and food businesses with funding over the next few years. Visit https://nwrockymountainregionalfoodbusiness.com/business-builder/ to learn more.