KGPA LTD/ALAMY
Pulling dusty and questionable memories from deep in my old brain: Older varieties of wheat were very tall because of the need for straw. Then in the early 1900s the Japanese started producing shorter wheat that didn’t get blown down by the wind nearly as much (lodging). And then those short varieties became popular everywhere.
Kansas flatlander here. We grow a little wheat. And when I say little I mean little. In the 1970s if you went running across a mature wheat field it was waist high on any adult. Toddlers would not be tall enough to find their way thru it it was so tall.
A few decades later...
Here we are with custom GMO wheat that has been genetically modified to only grow to be about 16-18” tall. No more waste just growing the stalk saves more energy for stockpiling and putting the nutrients into the grain of the wheat. Handily it also fits perfectly with the new $2mil design of John Deere custom combine wheat cutters that cut fast and clean with the wheat growing right into the middle of the wheat combines new cutting blades! And Monsanto says “No problem!” with that fancy GMO’s wheat. As long as we got RoundUp and ‘rust” preventative when it rains too much, and center pivot irrigation systems to makeup for water loss, internally combusting fossil fuel machines we should have no problems helping the world feed its own.
So we’ll be able to get real Wheaties again?
Currently Oldest Daughter is raising Ivan Tomatoes for her produce stand. She has orders from two local ridiculously expensive restaurants for not only the Ivan but other heirloom produce she can raise.
The Big Ag guys will not raise the stuff she does because it is more trouble, goes bad faster and does not travel well. It is also absurdly delicious.
She and millions of people like her are saving seeds for the future and producing new varieties.
Garden ping
Not just wheat, but other food grains and fruit crops have an inadequately appreciated profusion of varieties that are endangered or already lost due to modern agricultural practices. Apples, in particular, have many hundreds of types with unique traits and tastes.
