Sterling College (VT)
IN-26: Innovation C

The 2019 growing season was the second year of Sterling's ongoing trials of heritage small grains (wheat, barley, emmer and einkorn). From the varieties trialed in 2018 in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, the College selected 13 varieties that performed exceptionally well for a second season of trials to determine which of these are best suited to Sterling's region and farm. In addition to selection for regional adaptation, another intended outcome is the adoption of two or three key varieties of wheat and barley for incorporation into the Sterling farm and food system. Of those original 13 varieties, three varieties of wheat and three varieties of barley outperformed others on the basis of several criteria, including lodging tendency, productivity and ease of harvest and processing. The two ancestral wheat cultivars, emmer and einkorn, also performed well, though their adoption will be largely for conservation purposes for the time being. Sterling's capacity for the milling increased this season as well, with the acquisition of a commercial scale grain mill made possible by a grant from the Work Colleges Consortium. Thus, in addition to immeasurable educational value, goals enabled by projects like the grain trial include an overall increase in internal food production levels.