Harvesting Resilience: Cultivating crops in the face of climate challenges

BY ERIN HUT

Light, air, water, nutrients, and space are the five things crops need to grow. But what happens to crops when smoke taints the air, drought leads to lack of water, or pollution degrades the soil?

As the challenges of climate change become ever more apparent and growers grapple with the uncertainty of its effects on their crops, these are the questions being asked by researchers at Washington State University’s Sustainable Seed Systems Lab.

The lab is made up of not only researchers, but graduate students and plant breeders who are working alongside local farmers to develop new, functional traits in staple grains.

Kevin Murphy, Associate Professor of International Seed Systems, has been looking at ways to create a grain that will thrive and produce high yields amid climate disruption. For nearly two decades, his team has been developing and breeding a grain mixture they think could do just that.

Murphy’s team has developed what is called a spelt polycrop. Spelt is an ancient grain that is often used in products like bread, pasta, and beer. Poly-cropping is the practice of growing multiple species of crops together in the same field.

Murphy’s polycrop, which his team unofficially calls the “climate blend,” is made up of eight different spelt varieties. Over many years, he has been observing the different spelts to see how they respond to disease, pests, heat, and cold. He has kept those characteristics at the forefront of his seed breeding and crossed them with a unique grain called Elwha River spelt. Most spelt grain has an attached hull, but Elwha River does not. Having a huskless grain eliminates a step in the milling process. In other words, it saves a step that somebody has to pay for along the way.

If that is not reason enough to spark interest in growing the climate blend, perhaps the diversity of its varieties and their yield could be.

Don Scheuerman, grain grower and co-founder of Palouse Heritage, explains it best:

“If you have several varieties in one field, depending on the weather events, some will flourish and some maybe won’t flourish, as opposed to, if you had one crop of one thing, it’s a real gamble as to what kind of yield you’ll produce.”

Scheuerman has been a longtime partner of the Sustainable Seed Systems Lab. He routinely grows Elwha River spelt on his farm in between Endicott and St. John, but he is always willing to try something new.

Last year, he planted 40 pounds of the climate blend on a third of an acre. It produced 1,200 gallons of spelt.

What Scheuerman and Murphy are now exploring is how the spelt mixture can be used. That work is being done at Scheuerman’s other venture, the Grain Shed.

“One of the most exciting things is Don taking [the spelt] and having it test-baked at the Grain Shed,” Murphy said.

Co-owner and baker Shaun Thompson Duffy has been experimenting using the climate blend in his bread. I had the opportunity to try the very first loaf when I sat down to interview Scheuerman. Though I am no expert, I thought it tasted great.

He also liked it. While it is promising, Murphy explained there is still much to learn before we see spelt become a widely used grain.

“Bakers want a consistent product. Brewers, maltsters want a consistent product. You want to know what you’re getting and with these [spelt] populations, it can change,” he said.

What Murphy and his team are now looking into is how to move from just a single variety being acceptable in the market to having these more diverse populations be acceptable in the market.

“Moving forward, we really need to focus on working with bakers like Shaun and others, brewers, food companies, and anyone interested in it, too,” Murphy said.

Murphy is also hoping to work with more farmers so they can test the spelt mixture in a variety of climates and see how it yields. His team has seen how it grows in eastern Washington. Now they want to know how it might grow on the west side of the state or in other parts of the Pacific Northwest.

“We want people to grow this. If anyone’s interested in these climate-friendly blends, then we’re happy to share,” Murphy said. “They’re not perfect, but they’re good populations and they do have the potential to keep improving… It’s pretty fun to think about and respond to changes in the climate that do impact our farmers.”

To learn more about the WSU Sustainable Seed System Lab, visit sustainableseedsystems.org

Find The Grain Shed online at thegrainshed.coop and Palouse Heritage at palouseheritage.com