A NOTE FROM MARLENE
Dear CSA Members,
Last Friday, we had a “first” at Frog Hollow Farm. As you may remember, last winter we planted nine acres of malting barley in a partnership with Thirsty Bear Brewery and other barley growers in California. Beyond this official partnership, the experience has also created new relationships between Frog Hollow and other local farmers.
The Cecchini family and the newly formed non-profit farm First Generation Farmers helped us with the beginning stages since we don’t have the implements required to plant grain. Christian, who heads the farming at First Generation, got lots of practice on the tractor, seeding the barley.
Over the winter, we watched the barley, monitoring its water needs. While some grains can be dry-farmed, malting barley is a little more picky. Taking up enough water during head (grain) formation is important in getting the best protein levels, and brewers need a specific percentage of protein in the barley depending on what they plan to brew with it. Ron Silberstein, owner of Thirsty Bear, has been a very supportive partner to the farmers in this deal by allowing for a wider range of protein content in the grain. Luckily, our barley tested in the required protein range, which meant we could now harvest!
We got hooked up with the Barns family, who grow thousands of acres of grain in Central California. Their combine was the largest piece of farming equipment I have ever seen! Of course, I insisted on riding inside the combine for the full experience. From the cab, Daniel showed me the basics of harvesting. It is a state of the art machine that even has a computer that can instantly create a map of your yield across the field, yet it still requires a vigilant person at the helm, listening to the subtleties of the engine and keeping an eye on all the extremities.
Frog Hollow’s magical soil was at it again: we ended up with 1.5 – 2 tons of barley per acre, which is an incredible yield!