Not growing wheat in Vt.

Not growing wheat in Vermont

Less than a tenth of small crop affected

by Charlie Calley
May 1983

CORN is still king in Vermont, but now there is enough wheat being produced in the state that the federal government is paying farmers not to grow it.

According to officials of the Agricultural Soil Conservation Service, 101 acres in Vermont that were planted to wheat in the 1981 base year will be taken out of production this year as part of the Payment-In-Kind program. Three farmers in the Champlain Valley–Richard Schmitt of Bridport, Dale Briggs of Addison and Andre Cousineau of Addison–are participating in the wheat side of the PIK program.

“The 101 acres represent probably less than 1/10th of all the acreage in wheat in Vermont,” said Craig Miner, ASCS agent in Addison County. “I would estimate there were more than 1,000 acres of wheat in the state last year. Most of it was grown in this county and in Grand Isle.

“It’s mostly Spring wheat that’s grown around here,” said Miner, “Sometimes it’s grown as a single crop, sometimes with a cover crop.”

Andre Cousineau has grown wheat successfully for four years, but won’t be growing any this year. “I had over 70 acres in Spring wheat last year, but I was only able to establish a 30 acre base for PIK,” said Cousineau. “I was growing it for human consumption. I would take it to the co-op mill in Westport, N.Y., where they ground it into flour. Bakeries and restaurants bought a lot of it, and private individuals.

“It was OK when I was able to get $7 a bushel,” said Cousineau, “but at $3 a bushel, I can’t make any money at it.” He blames increased competition for the falling price.

“When I first started with wheat I was the only one around growing it,” he said. “Then I got a lot of publicity about it and others started to grow it.”

Cousineau said one problem with wheat is that it makes a poor feed for cattle. “They have to eat so much of it to meet their protein requirements. Then it turns to a paste inside them and swells when they drink water. The protein content isn’t high enough.”

An advantage, however, is that the wheat straw can be sold as bedding for animals or mulch for strawberries. “But if you end up with a low-standing wheat,” said Cousineau, “that cuts down on the amount of straw.”

Cousineau, who milks 45 cows and raises over 100 heifers, works 550 tillable acres and enjoys experimenting with various grains and grasses. This year he’ll be growing another grain becoming more and more popular in the North East — barley.

“I plan to grind it and feed it to the cattle,” he said. “Barley has got a higher protein level than wheat.”

He also plans to continue with soybeans. “I’ve had success with soybeans,” Cousineau said. “Last year I grew 25 acres of them. They should be planted after corn, and one problem is that they are affected by atrozene — an herbicide used on corn.” Soybean meal is a major ingredient in feed grain. Cousineau said he likes to grow a variety of grains and grasses “because l can’t depend on just one market. I’ve got to have a little bit of everything, then if there’s a bad year for one crop, it doesn’t wipe me out.”

Although Cousineau has gotten out of wheat this year, he may grow it again in the future. Meanwhile, Craig Miner says he sees more interest in growing wheat as time goes by. “My attention has been brought to more wheat being grown all the time,” he said. “There are at least half a dozen farmers in this county who grow wheat every year.”