An argument for capital grains

It’s a shame that New Zealand imports so many grains when our homegrown product is so good, writes Nadia Lim.

When enjoying your morning toast, do you ever wonder where the flour for the bread comes from? Many Kiwis are patriotic about our great produce, such as our fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, but few think about the grains grown in Aotearoa.

The bread will be NewZealand-made, but most of it will be made from Australian-grownwheat.

New Zealand grows great grains – our conditions and soil are just right for them – but we don’t grow enough. While our yields are higher per hectare than our neighbour across the Tasman, much of our arable land has been diverted to dairy and other farming practices.

The sheer volume of grain grown in Australia and elsewhere means our grain farmers can’t compete on price, because of economies of scale. Even with the associated costs of freight, it is cheaper to import grains than it is to use homegrown grains.

However, interestingly, in Covid times and with shipping costs increasing, there could be an opportunity for New Zealand grains to be more price-comparable. And in a country where, until quite recently, it was possible to buy a loaf of low-quality bread for a little more than $1, price is unfortunately king.

Even more surprising is that a lot of the grains grown in New Zealand are used for animal feed. In general, farmers make better money selling grain for animal feed than for human consumption, whether that’s for milled flour or malted barley for beer.

For there to be a shift in where our grains are sold, there needs to be more demand, or rather demand that will pay a premium over imported goods.

Grains are an integral and entrenched part of our food system (think of howmuch muesli, bread and pasta we eat), so it is intriguing thatmost of us don’t give more thought to where they come from.

However, for those who would like to buy New Zealand-grown grains and grain products, they can be difficult to find.

Luckily, a growing band of people are working towards creating a local grain economy.

Eat New Zealand and the Foundation for Arable Research (Far) are exploring howwe celebrate our grains and what the health implications are.

Eat New Zealand chief executive Angela Clifford, who is spearheading the movement, says: ‘‘Thinking about where our bread or even noodles come from, gives us the opportunity to consider the farmers [who] growthem.

‘‘We lack food security in grains, and now is the time to shore up our supply by being more informed eaters.

‘‘Supporting New Zealand-grown grains by asking or looking for them on our shelves is such a simple thing to do, but can change so much.’’

A lot of it is about raising awareness. Chefs have played a big part in promoting our produce, to be proud of our beef, lamb, kai moana, and dairy products. Now it’s time for bakers, and eaters, to do their part.

Oats are a great example of howconsumer demand can help spark change. Oat milk has taken off in the past year or so, which has sparked interest in some farmers to try growing oats.

My husband recently attended an oat-growing conference in Southland and said many farmers, including himself, are interested in diversifying.

However, the current payout for oats is a lot less than other cereals because oats are a lower-yielding crop than wheat and barley, for example.

While the cost of planting and harvesting is similar, oats typically yield half the tonnage of that for wheat. It’s a bit of a chicken before the egg scenario – you can’t expect a farmer to convert to growing oats for oat milk until the value per hectare reaches parity, or at least close to it. But an increase in consumer demand for homegrown will certainly help it get closer.

Even if many people developed love-hate relationships with their sourdough starters, the growth in home baking during lockdowns has seen a lot more awareness in what it takes to make great bread.

A growing number of bakeries are joining forces with grain growers and mills, showing that it’s entirely possible to produce high-quality, delicious breads and pastries from grains grown less than 200km away.

InWairarapa, for example, Far is running a pilot project looking at growing durumwheat to be used in pasta.

We talk a lot about New Zealand being a small country where everyone knows everyone, which should make it easier for bakers to talk directly to farmers about what they need. Certainly, in Arrowtown, we have had great interest from brewers and bakers about us growing grains specifically for them.

More interest will also help increase the variety of grains grown. We are working with the Koanga Institute, trialling growing heritage varieties of grains such as rye, spelt, barley and millet. We are doing this to multiply the number of seeds available and expand the diversity of available grains, but also to comparewhat the yields are like with conventional hybrids.

There might be a limited variety and amount of homegrown grains available now, but consumers can help change that. Grains are like all produce – once you have had the real thing, such as bread baked with high-quality, freshly milled grain, it’s easy to taste the difference.