White Wheat producer has found his market

By Kylene Orebaugh

On Easter Sunday, Norm Oeding wasn't sure if he would even have a Wheat crop. It was ankle high, trying to head out, and in desperate need of a rain--not too promising he thought.

But, the rains finally came by the end of April and through May, and Oeding's crop is looking much better. Standing in his muddy field, Oeding was thankful for the more than an inch of rain that fell the night before. His hard white Wheat grows on close to 250 acres in Kingman County near the small town of Willowdale.

"The farm has been in the family at least since 1938. My grandfather, Herman Oeding, came to America in 1907," Oeding says. "My uncle still lives there on the homestead two miles away, and keeps it neat as a pin."

A rotation of crops

Spring Creek Ranch, raises white Wheat along with some hard red winter wheat. The Wheat is Certified Organic by a third-party certifier through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Oeding uses no chemicals on the crops.

"I felt like there were entirely too many chemicals in the environment," Oeding says. "I wanted a cleaner way of crop production and food production."

The organic certification is part of the USDA National Organic Program or NOP, Oeding said. The process involves a third-party certifier of which there are several of them in the country. Primarily, to be considered certified organic the crop has to have no chemicals for three years and have an established crop rotation program.

"It's a natural, sustainable type of agriculture," Oeding says. "I've been certified organic for six years."

Oeding plants a hard red Wheat variety, Karl 92, as well as the white Wheat variety, Heyne. The variety was named after a Kansas State University crop scientist, Oeding said, and the variety is known for its protein, milling and baking qualities. Besides the wheat, Oeding also has food grade grain sorghum and winter peas in his crop rotation plan.

"The peas leave behind a green manure (after plowing) that helps in conjunction with the nitrogen fixing," Oeding says. "That is, as long as we get rain."

The rotation of crops also helps with pest control, as there are beneficial insects, Oeding says, but farming organic is still a lot like conventional production methods.

"Organic farmers have the same concerns as conventional farmers: If it is going to rain, what the markets are doing, or if the markets will be ready when the crop is," Oeding says.

Drought is always a concern, and Oeding has dealt with drought and limited rainfall before as his family also farmed near Kanorado, Kan., (near the Kansas-Colorado border) when he was younger.

Keeping them apart

Oeding grows both red and white varieties of hard winter wheat, and this does require more work at harvest and planting. The equipment has to be thoroughly cleaned as the two types of Wheat need to segregated.

"You have to thoroughly clean the combine, and maybe even purge it by dumping one or two bushels on the ground," Oeding says. "You have to keep it segregated."

If the Wheat happens to get mixed, the red and white, it's less valuable.

"If it has gotten contaminated, it's basically feed wheat," Oeding says. "More valuable premiums are paid for good quality certified organic white wheat. Usually it's a dollar or more per bushel for 12 percent protein."

Twelve percent and higher is what Oeding shoots for with his white wheat's protein. One crop reached as high as 14 percent, he said. As far as moisture levels go, they are a high priority as well.

"As in conventional farming, you have to keep the protein up," Oeding says. "At 10 to 11 percent moisture it also stores much better," Oeding says.

After the Wheat has been harvested, the white Wheat goes straight to the bins on the ranch.

"We aerate the Wheat (in the bins) and this helps keep the bugs in check," Oeding says.

When Oeding goes to sell his Wheat he will contact buyers and when one offers a proper bid he will ship the Wheat to them. He has a dozen Internet contacts that purchase small quantities--20 to 50 pounds--of whole Wheat and/or flour. And then there are several natural food stores, primarily in the Wichita area that market his whole grain and flour products.

"The big thing about flour is its freshness and it's whole grain," Oeding says. "The good fiber cancels out the carbs in the intestine. It's the original low carb diet."

Oeding started to sell his flour to the natural food stores after he had seen what was being offered.

"I believed I could do that too and provide a value-added product," Oeding says.

Milling and baking

The white Wheat Oeding grows is then milled on the ranch and is primarily turned into flour to bake various bread products. Hard white Wheat has a rich, golden amber color which leads to lighter colored baked goods. It's naturally milder tasting because the bran in the white Wheat has less tannin, giving it a sweeter taste. The flour is milled from the entire Wheat berry, so it's nutritionally the same as traditional whole grain Wheat flour, with the same high levels of fiber, nutrients and minerals.

Oeding has an 8-inch stone mill with which he uses to mill the flour. It's a pretty simple process, he says.

"You put Wheat in the hopper and turn the switch," he says. "It's close to the way its been done for years."

Oeding prefers the stone mill, as a number of the newer mills use steel. The stones, he said, keep the Wheat cooler during the process, and allows the nutritional integrity of the flour to stay intact.

Much of the flour is sacked in 50 pound bags, but Oeding does package some in smaller, three pound packages. Currently he has around 200 to 300 pounds of product he sells each week. This number includes whole wheat, cracked Wheat and the flour.

His products do cost a little more than traditionally grown crops.

"It does cost more," Oeding says. "It's better quality, I think, and that quality comes from being fresh and chemical-free."

Oeding believes consumer awareness will help his products succeed, and he said many also want to know where their food comes from.

"Consumers and producers benefit alike as the dollars spent on locally produced food circulates to help build and sustain communities," Oeding says.

Some patrons find Oeding's flour by his website, www.normsflour.com or from the listing on the Kansas Wheat Commission website, www.kswheat.com. Others have found his products from word of mouth. His retail contacts came from a lot of cold calls to retailers and telling them about his quality product and negotiating a price.

Through the KWC, Oeding has received a number positive Internet inquiries.

"They've provided lots of moral support," Oeding says. "And the fact that they allowed me to post info on the web has helped. One-third to half (of sales) are Internet sales."

Kelly Dumford with the Bakery Project, Wichita, Kan., takes the flour that Oeding has milled to create breads that include the following varieties: honey whole wheat, old-fashioned cracked wheat, whole Wheat raisin, Artisan bread, burger buns, hoagie buns and dinner rolls. Oeding found Dumford's bakery through a cold call and has been marketing his own line of bread since September 2005 under the Little Red Hen Bakery label.

Oeding and Dumford also won the top bread using hard white Wheat flour in the Festival of Breads baking contest April 4. Dumford baked the winning Old-Fashion Cracked Wheat Bread using Oeding's home milled Wheat flour. Little Red Hen Bakery bread is available in several natural food stores and groceries in the Wichita and Kingman, Kan., areas.

Oeding also participates in the "From the Land of Kansas" trademark program that is administered by the Kansas Department of Commerce; in addition, the flour milling is licensed by the Kansas Department of Heath and environment and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Norm Oeding has found his market with his hard white wheat. The flour he mills and the bread that comes from it is sought after by bakers, and of course, those health conscious consumers who want wholesome products and food. He just hopes he can produce enough Wheat to keep his dream alive.

Kylene Orebaugh can be reached by phone at 620-227-1804 or by e-mail at korebaugh@hpj.com.

Date: 6/15/06

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