Cereal Grains and Dry Beans

Vermont farmers have been growing grains for animal feed on dairy farms for years.  Our goal is to give them the information they need to be able to grow higher yielding and quality grains.  It is our hope that the information generated will result in the production of more nutritious feed for livestock and/or the ability for farmers to produce grains for human consumption. 

Over the past few years, there has been increasing demand for locally grown grains of all types, including wheat, barley, oats, and more. Because Vermont has not been a hub for grain production since the 1800s, much of the local knowledge and infrastructure has been lost. Therefore, our team has been collaborating with the Northern Grain Growers Collaborative to rebuild a grain industry in Vermont. Our goal is to give both commercial farmers and small scale homesteaders the research-based information they need to grow higher yielding and quality cereal grains as nutritious feed for livestock and/or grains for human consumption. In addition to our research and outreach program, our Cereal Grain Quality Testing Laboratory helps farmers assess and maintain the quality of their grains.

New - Northeast Dry Bean Production Guide (PDF), revised December 2024

Research Result

Malting Barley

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Following are some Malt Barley resources and is work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under sub-award number LNE15-339-29994.

YouTube Videos:

Factsheets, Bulletins, & Guides

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Past Event Information

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2024 Dry Bean Production Webinar Series, Click to View Flyer (PDF)

In collaboration with Cornell University, we offered a three-part webinar series on dry beans! You can view the recordings below.

  • Tuesday, February 20, 2024 - Dry Bean Disease Management with Dr. Sarah Pethybridge, Associate Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section Cornell AgriTech. View the Recorded YouTube Video.
  • Tuesday, February 27, 2024 - New Dry Bean Varieties: Improving the production of heirlooms without losing the culinary characteristics. Travis Parker, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California-Davis. View the Recorded YouTube Video.
  • Tuesday, March 5, 2024 - Dry Bean Farmer Panel: Hear from growers about their experiences growing dry beans, from harvesting & cleaning to storage & markets. Speakers include: Nazirahk Amen, Purple Mountain Organics (Tacoma Park , MD), Kevin Messing, Sheridan Acres (Ubly, MI), and John Wepking, Meadowlark Farm and Mill (Ridgeway, WI). View the Recorded YouTube Video.

Grain Production Webinar Series, Click to View Brochure (PDF)

This was a 3-part webinar series in place of the Grain Growers Conference. View the Grain Production Webinar Series web page for all the details.

All videos from the Grain Production Webinar Series are available in a Playlist on our YouTube channel called Grain and Legume Production Series 2023, linked here.

Direct links to the videos are below.

Grain Grower Series

The Northern Grain Growers Association and the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program joined to bring the 2022 Grain Growers Conference to you! Three virtual programs were offered over the course of three weeks with a series of videos, presentations, and hands-on activities, each highlighting a specific grain crop in the Northeast. View the Grain Grower Series brochure for the details. YouTube video links are included below that includes captioning.

RESILIENCE IN RYE

  • 3/22/22, Ecological Rye Production with Sandy Syburg of White Oak Farm in Wisconsin. View recorded video.
  • 3/24/22, Conditioning, Aeration, and Storage of Grain with Don Hosteler of Brock Grain Systems in Indiana. View recorded video.

DYNAMIC DRY BEANS

  • 3/30/22, Dynamic Dry Beans with Heather Darby (UVM) and Sarah Pethybridge and Matthew Ryan of Cornell University. View recorded video.

THE ANATOMY OF WHEAT FLOUR

  • 4/5/22, PART 1—From the Field to the Lab with Heather Darby of UVM Extension, Carrie Brisson of King Arthur, Randy George of Red Hen Baking Co., and Jeffrey Hamelman of King Arthur. View recorded video.
  • 4/6/22, PART 2—From the Mill to the Bakery with Andrew Heyn of New American Stone Mills. View recorded video.

Brewer and Hop/Grain Grower Events - The UVM Extension Northwest Crops & Soils Program hosted a series of fun and educational events to transfer valuable knowledge about ingredient and beer sensory quality while establishing standard methods and terminology to promote effective communication between suppliers and brewers. Our goal is to help you be successful through education and networking.

The three events built on each other and resulted in a much deeper understanding of sensory analysis and meeting the changing needs of beer drinkers.

Other Projects

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Small Grains

Vermont farmers have been growing grains for animal feed on dairy farms for years. Our goal has been to give them the information they need to be able to grow higher yielding and quality grains. It is our hope that the information generated will result in the production of more nutritious feed for livestock and/or the ability for farmers to produce grains for human consumption.

Malting Barley

We have been asked on many occasions by local brewers and distillers whether barley grown in Vermont could meet malting quality standards. Through the years, we have planted several research trials and varieties of winter and spring malting barley.  You can view reports from our Research Results page.