THE GROWING YEAR
Food like the bread and cereals we eat for breakfast starts life down on the
farm. Farmers grow wheat, and the grains from the wheat plants are used to make
flour. Flour can be used to make lots of different foods, like bread, breakfast
cereals, biscuits and cakes.
A single wheat grain contains about 20,000 particles of flour!
The farmer's year
A wheat farmer has a busy year, and different things happen at different
times – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The farmer must make sure that the
wheat plants have everything they need to grow well: soil, water, warmth and
sunshine.
Watch the How we grow wheat video and then follow the farmer's year below.
Late Autumn / Winter
The farmer ploughs the field and sows the wheat seeds. The seeds may be
sprayed to control weeds and pests. The plants grow slowly during the winter and
look like a field of grass.
Spring
The wheat seeds start to grow. The plants may be treated with fertilisers to
help them grow well. They may be sprayed again to control weeds and pests. The
plants grow a lot in Spring and each wheat plant produces many shoots.
Summer
The 'ear' of the wheat appears from the top of the stem of the plant in early
June. Each ear of wheat has about 40 grains. The grain is harvested between
mid-July and September. Machines called combine harvesters cut down the crop and
separate the grain from the stalks.
The grain is stored, dried and sent to the mill to be made into flour. Some
grain may be kept by the farmer for livestock feed. The stalks – called straw –
can be made into bales and used for animal bedding, or ploughed back into the
soil.
Autumn
After harvesting, the fields are prepared again so that new seeds can be
planted. The farmer's cycle begins again.
Harvest festivals in the UK often happen in September or October to celebrate
the harvesting of the crop.
Cereal crops
Wheat is the most widely grown cereal crop in the UK. Cereals are grasses
that produce grains that we, and animals, eat. There are several different types
of cereal, e.g. wheat, oats, barley, rice, maize and rye. Some of the UK cereal
crop is also used to feed animals, including pigs, chickens and cows, which
provide us with meat, eggs and milk.
