buckwheat photo © Thomas Bjorkman, Cornell University

buckwheat

Buckwheat is believed to be one of the first crops to have been cultivated and has been grown in the United States since colonial times. Champaign and Fulton are Ohio ’s top producing counties for buckwheat, although the grain is rarely grown in most of the state today. Data from the 2002 Census of Agriculture showed that Ohio harvested 1,615 acres of buckwheat during that year with a total production of 30,028 bushels (about 19 bushels per acre). Only 22 farms reported growing the crop.

Because of its short growing season of just over two months, Ohio buckwheat is typically planted in the summer, after winter wheat, and harvested in the fall. With favorable weather and good soil, buckwheat yields 20 to 30 bushels per acre.

Most buckwheat is consumed in the form of flour or in the form of groats, the inner part of the buckwheat seed that has been dehulled. The groat can be used raw in porridges and breakfast cereals or roasted (called kasha). Kasha is used in many traditional Jewish and Polish dishes. Buckwheat flour is most commonly seen in pancake mixes but can be used alone or mixed with other flours in a variety of foods, including noodles and breads.

Although most buckwheat acreage is for food, it does have a variety of other uses. In the past, buckwheat was often fed to livestock, especially hogs, and it is occasionally still used for livestock.

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