# Wheat Berries



## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

Where would be a good place to start looking for bulk wheat berries (100+ lbs)? I have seen wheat berries in various packagings in the area ranging from $1-3 per lbs. This seems wildly overpriced to me considering wheat is currently $6.35 per bushel on COMEX.


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## Batt (Sep 8, 2006)

Or about 10Â¢ /#. That is a volume purchase straight from the elevator at an unknown moisture content. Supposed to be 12% or lower, but without testing, who knows. I purchase good quality wheat, bagged for $27.50 for 50#, from the Amish stores. About $.55 / #...I think it is a good deal.


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## wottahuzzee (Jul 7, 2006)

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sp...est-deal-wholesale-wheat-sprouting-wheat.html

There was some discussion on wheat prices on this thread, though I don't think you will find anything for the price you want to pay.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

Drive out in the country, find a farmer who grows wheat "(berries), lol", and ask him if he can spare a bushel for 7 bucks, or whatever the going price is. He will oblige. You can ask him all kinds of things about his wheat, rather than relying on second and thirdhand middlemen who probably lie about it and truly have no clue.


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## bruce2288 (Jul 10, 2009)

Farmerdale I think you and I could share a beer or cup of coffee and have a lot to talk about.


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## wally (Oct 9, 2007)

Come to Kansas and get all you want for market price. If you want certified organic we have that also..


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## Maggie (May 12, 2002)

wally, Too bad I'm not close to Kansas, or planning to come to Kansas


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

bruce2288 said:


> Farmerdale I think you and I could share a beer or cup of coffee and have a lot to talk about.


I would love to have a coffee with anyone on these boards. We all have vast reserves of knowledge to share! I wish people would come to my farm, ask for some grain of their choice, and a tour of the farm, how it is raised, why we do things as we do. I wish they would learn it from the farmers themselves, not youtube, or mother earth news or such. I would love to share, but alas we are in a very rural region, in a grains/livestock surplus area. So no one comes knocking. But I do wish they would.


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## bruce2288 (Jul 10, 2009)

Dale, you ought to post some photos. I have driving north through Manitoba, there was a whole lot of flat in the southern part, size of the fields was impessive. Blue flax fields or the yellow canola? was quite a site.


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## Sharon (May 11, 2002)

We have Mennonite Bulk Stores near where I live where the price varies from week to week, but it was recently $36.95 for 50 lbs. of Prairie Gold Wheat Berries.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

bruce2288 said:


> Dale, you ought to post some photos. I have driving north through Manitoba, there was a whole lot of flat in the southern part, size of the fields was impessive. Blue flax fields or the yellow canola? was quite a site.


Yes southern Manitoba is a whole lot of wide open and very flat land! My area is more of a mixture of forest/hills/lakes/flatlands/fields. A relative from South eastern Germany stated our area reminded him of home. I really do need to post some pics. Yes the blue flax is very pretty, and yellow is generally canola, sometimes mustard, and at times industrial rapeseed.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Ciffer, I get local soft white at local feed stores. . . 50# . . $11 . . ??
But they don't carry the hard red (Montana) . . . . .best for bread.
That is ordered thru a health food store.....and of course more $$$


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## praieri winds (Apr 16, 2010)

you could get it from a wheat farmer when he harvests


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

I truly am seeing that there is a demand for hard red wheat. I should look into selling mine into the small buyers markets. There seem to be so many people looking for 50 lbs or so of wheat, but they either can't find it, or pay WAY too much. Anyone game for a joint venture in one of these urbanized areas needing Hard Red Spring Wheat? Because I would seriously look into building a cleaning/bagging plant near Chicago or something, hiring someone to run it, and ship my wheat there by truck or train.

Or I suppose I could bag it here and ship it. You all could get cheaper wheat, and I could double my price I receive.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Wheat Montana ~ Dealer Locator

25 lb bags of wheat berries at my local Walmart are 13.00.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> Wheat Montana ~ Dealer Locator
> 
> 25 lb bags of wheat berries at my local Walmart are 13.00.


31 dollars a bushel, for 7 dollar wheat! See what I mean!


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## StephanieH (Mar 4, 2009)

Our walmart had it on clearance last week 10.00 for 25 pounds hard red spring. I have always bought winter wheat because my dad told me to, lol, but since I saw this and it was on sale I bought 75lbs.


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## LonelyNorthwind (Mar 6, 2010)

Azure Standard - Quality Bulk & Natural Foods

If you live west of Ohio, Azure Standard sells organic hard red at $19.50 for 50 pounds. They have free shipping from Oregon to drop points all over western US with a $500 minimum total grocery order.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

But Laura did not say if that #25 for $13 is hard or soft...........????

Like your idea Dale . . . .
Shipping is a killer........


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## justincase (Jul 16, 2011)

I have been trying to get some info on wheat berries ans I get MANY dofferent opinions. I have a feed store near me that sells wheat in 50 pound bads. I heard that I can eat them and some say no do to how it is treated thus in my preps I still have no wheat as I can not afford to buy the buckets of food grade for 50 dollars or more plus shipping. I do not have a LDS or Amish etc where I live nor anywhere close so I am at a loss and NOBODY has goven me any reliable info. I bought a bag of wheat (seeds/berries) and went bad because somebody told me coming from a feed store it had toxic pesticides. Wwe NEED wheat to survive and I am at a loss.....


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

Jim-mi said:


> But Laura did not say if that #25 for $13 is hard or soft...........????
> 
> Like your idea Dale . . . .
> Shipping is a killer........


Shipping is a killer to a point, but when these guys are hosing their customers to the tune of 24 dollars over the market price, :hair there is A LOT of room to cover shipping. I pay truckers about 1.50 a bushel to haul grain 500 miles from my home. For 6 bucks a bushel, I should be able to ship it almost anywhere in North America! Leaving me with 25 bucks a bushel, still 4 times the market price. I have cleaning machinery, and my cost to clean grain is about 10 cents a bushel. 

I realize consumers only buy by the 50 lb bag generally, but they are getting severely hosed by middle men, or by people smarter than me :bow: at Wheat Montana! What a racket they have on the go! :bow:

All I need to do is repackage my wheat as "wheat berries", and I should do alright... lol If I sold my grain for these exhorbitant prices, I could retire in 1 year, because the profit would be massive, compared to market price profits.

:heh::heh::heh::heh:


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

justincase said:


> I have been trying to get some info on wheat berries ans I get MANY dofferent opinions. I have a feed store near me that sells wheat in 50 pound bads. I heard that I can eat them and some say no do to how it is treated thus in my preps I still have no wheat as I can not afford to buy the buckets of food grade for 50 dollars or more plus shipping. I do not have a LDS or Amish etc where I live nor anywhere close so I am at a loss and NOBODY has goven me any reliable info. I bought a bag of wheat (seeds/berries) and went bad because somebody told me coming from a feed store it had toxic pesticides. Wwe NEED wheat to survive and I am at a loss.....



Firstly wheat is seed, not berries. Lets just clear this up! lol sorry, I always chuckle about that, no harm done. :happy2:

Now, feed wheat is sometimes grown specifically to be feed quality, or to suit the feed market but often it is downgraded from human consumption due to any number of several factors. Factors that are not really always dangerous to human life. This could be weight/unit volume issues, frost, fusarium, ergot, green, immature seeds, falling number, etc.

Wheat from a feed store should not necessarily have toxic pesticides. This is a misconception. Wheat, yes, even non-organic wheat, is still sprayed very little, unlike fruit crops for example. Wheat is sprayed at the early vegetative stages to control weeds. A typical application may include a couple hundred millilitres per acre. Wheat yields are measured in tons per acre, so as you can see, even if the wheat were sprayed directly on the seed, let alone two months BEFORE seed is even forming, the amount of herbicide present should be negligible. There are regulated restrictions in how close to harvest it can be sprayed, for example. 

Now upon storage, the wheat may be treated with certain chemicals, or diatomaceous earth, (which is harmless), for example, to control insects. But generally, wheat is a very clean crop chemically. Many studies have been shown to prove that conventionally grown wheat has not only non-detectable herbicides in the seed, but it is often found to be healthier than organic wheat, as the crop was grown with proper nutrition and fertility programs. I am unsure of what specific pesticides you have been told are on feed store wheat, and so can comment no further, unless I have some names.

I feel bad for you and the confusion you have, and I realize that you are being taken for a ride on your grain costs, which makes the decision and the whole situation even more confusing. Again, I wish I were closer to people like you, who care about where their food comes from, and would like a better deal on it. :happy2:


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

As far as I have found, my area of northern Mich. only grows soft white.
A couple times when I have asked about "hard red" guys have looked at me funny..... 
I guess it is they who don't know the difference between soft/hard/red/white.........

FarmerDale, do you use "toxic pesticides" on your wheat . . .???

I am wondering if some one is blowing smoke at 'justincase'


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

I was typing while you posted......

That was a good explain farmerDale . . .thanks.....


Just for chuckles-- you might quietly check out shipping containers and shipping prices from your location.......
I would gladly put the profit buck in your pocket rather than all the middle men for some hard red . . ?!?!


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

There is a farmer stand near here that sells wheat 50lbs for $10. It's not very "clean" and the guy that runs it doesn't know what he grows. I asked him if it was hard or soft wheat and he squeezed a berry and said it's hard see........ How can I tell the difference?


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## wagvan (Jan 29, 2011)

farmer Dale, what you need to get into is Einkorn wheat. It is an old (ancient) wheat is supposed to be edible to those sensitive to gluten and all around healthier for you. Problem is, its about impossible to find, especially in 25 & 50 lb quantities and it is crazy expensive. 67.5 lbs is $250! I'd love to have this, but it is out of my price range. Also here in SE Michigan all the winter wheat is soft wheat. I will probably get some bulk from our farmer friends for pancakes and such. I just wish I could get hard wheat like that.

Einkorn.com - Buy Whole Einkorn Wheat Berries, Recipes, Nutritional Facts, and History
Einkorn


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## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

Good information, I may have to try to drag myself to walmart and take a look.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Terri, My confidence in that guy would go sliding gown the hill real fast...........

There is a noticeable color difference....

It is not a fun job but you can 'clean' wheat your self.
You pour it between bowls (outside) and let the wind blow away the chafe.....
Thats what I have to do with my feed store soft white.

Ciffer It would go against my 'grain' to buy wheat or anything from wallyfarts........
just sayin.............


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Jim-mi said:


> Terri, My confidence in that guy would go sliding gown the hill real fast...........
> 
> There is a noticeable color difference....
> 
> ...



I don't buy much from them. I bought a few bales of alfalfa from them a few years ago and it was full of dead rabbits. They had someone shoot the rabbits and left them lay and baked them up. I just figured that if there was a way to find out what type of wheat it was it might be worth buying. It's white, but hard or soft?


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## Ciffer (Sep 13, 2010)

Jim-mi said:


> Terri, My confidence in that guy would go sliding gown the hill real fast...........
> 
> There is a noticeable color difference....
> 
> ...



I agree, I think the regional grocery chain I go to has had that Montana brand of wheat berries in a grinding bin. I might check to see if they sell just the berries.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

wagvan said:


> farmer Dale, what you need to get into is Einkorn wheat. It is an old (ancient) wheat is supposed to be edible to those sensitive to gluten and all around healthier for you. Problem is, its about impossible to find, especially in 25 & 50 lb quantities and it is crazy expensive. 67.5 lbs is $250! I'd love to have this, but it is out of my price range. Also here in SE Michigan all the winter wheat is soft wheat. I will probably get some bulk from our farmer friends for pancakes and such. I just wish I could get hard wheat like that.
> 
> Einkorn.com - Buy Whole Einkorn Wheat Berries, Recipes, Nutritional Facts, and History
> Einkorn


I do have interest in some of those old grains. Spelt, and kamut are also apparently healthier, I have wondered about trying them out to see how thy may do with modern farming practices. IE how they would respond compared to modern varieties to certain fertility packages, etc...

I wonder what they yield compared to the varieties I currently grow kind of thing.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I drive over to the other side of the state and pick up from the farmer. Any chance you could get a buying club together that would make it worth a trip to get a truck load?


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