[Capri] Fields of golden grain ready for harvest.

The seeds threshed, winnowed, cleaned and milled into fresh flour.

Then baked into that most cornerstone of foods, bread.

[woman] This is really the best way to eat it.

Mmm hmm.

[Capri] To understand why we landed in Kansas, we'll need to look back 150 years... -There you go.

-It's a good workout.

Yeah, there you go.

[Capri] ...to the story of the Russian Ukrainian Mennonites and how they changed agriculture in America.

And that's what turned Kansas into the bread basket of the world.

[Capri] A bread basket that continues to innovate with the perennial wheat grass that's poised to revolutionize agriculture in America once more.

I'm Capri Cafaro and I'm on a mission to uncover the incredible stories of the foods we grow... ...harvest, create... ...and celebrate.

Beautiful, amazing meal.

So, I'm traveling America's backroads to learn our cherished food traditions from those who make them possible... Look at that.

...and are helping keep them alive.

There is so much more to learn.

Whoa!

[Capri] On "America the Bountiful."

[announcer] America's farmers have nourished us for generations, but today they face unprecedented challenges.

American Farmland Trust works with farmers to help save the land that sustains us.

Together we can work to keep America bountiful.

[Capri] One of the most ancient food sources on earth, wheat has been cultivated for its nutrient dense seeds for more than 10,000 years.

Here in America, Kansas is the nation's leading wheat producer with records of wheat production predating statehood.

Both the wheat itself and many of the farmers who grow here in central Kansas can trace their origins back to Mennonite immigrants from modern day Ukraine who brought with them not only seeds, but techniques for harvest including a seven-sided tool called the threshing stone.

Historian Glen Eddiger shares this history with visitors of the Mennonite Cultural Heritage Center in Goessel.

I understand that Mennonites actually brought, particularly, turkey red wheat here to Kansas.

Who are the Mennonites, for people that aren't familiar?

Well, the reason we're here is because it's 150 years since those Mennonites came to Kansas.

And their history started with the reformation.

Early 1500's, Martin Luther started that.

Because of that, they were persecuted and killed and they looked for a place to immigrate.

So, many Mennonites moved to different parts of the Ukraine and farmed there for 70, 80 years.

They were very successful again.

They became known as the bread basket of Europe.

Yeah.

And then they started losing their privileges and they needed another place to immigrate to.

That same time, the railroad was coming across Kansas so they set-- Santa Fe took people to Russia to encourage Mennonites to come to Kansas to farm the ground which had similar soil, similar climate.

And they believed that the turkey red wheat would flourish here.

What an incredible recruitment tool that is.

[Glen] Oh, it's an incredible story.

In 1874, several thousand came to Kansas, but the next ten years, about 18,000 Mennonites came to Canada and the U.S., so it's a very large four-county area that we're in the middle of right now, that Mennonites have farmed for 150 years.

And that turkey red wheat is something that dates back to their arrival here in Kansas.

That's right.

Mennonites hand-picked seeds.

These are some hand-picked seeds, put them in the bags, put them in their trunks, when they shipped them here.

And this started the crops in 1874 for harvest in 1875.

It's advantages were, it was prolific in the soil, and good at that, but mostly, it was high protein and a lot of gluten which made good bread.

Yeah Well, this is the turkey red wheat palace, and it is filled with artifacts of the way in which the Mennonites would cultivate and harvest the wheat 150 years ago and a little bit beyond.

I mean, there's so much here that I can't wait to better understand.

[Capri] In the neighboring town of Moundridge, the local Historical Society has planted an entire field of heirloom turkey red winter wheat to celebrate 150 years of Mennonites living in Kansas.

Agricultural Educator Nathan Grayber offers historical demonstrations as a part of the celebration.

[Nathan] This is the original way of doing it.

This is the true manpower of harvesting wheat.

On the side with a short blade.

It's actually ergonomically built so that as you-- Oh, they thought of that.

Right, they through everything.

So, it's kind of a step sideways motion as we work through.

We're just going to kind of cut it down.

[Capri] You make it look so easy.

[Nathan chuckles] [Nathan] You want to try this out and give it a whirl?

I do.

I do.

Well, all right.

All right.

So, remember, we're going to face sideways.

We're actually going to kind of be-- There you go.

And take a step with your left and you're just going to kind of drag and just kind of shift your hips.

There you go.

Just kind of nice and quick.

Just keep coming.

-There you go.

-It's a good workout.

Yeah, there you go.

[Capri] So, step 2, we've gotten it out of the field and now it's over here.

Right.

So, we gathered it by hand.

We brought it over here.

We want to make our bundle.

So, we find some natural string that we're going to take and make that bundle together.

Tie it.

So, we've got a nice bundle.

So, if you look out in the field, we've got our shocks.

What we do is we make these bundles and then we set three or four or five up together and then that's how the wheat will dry.

Okay.

Okay.

Once we get that finished out, we're going to come in here and set our shock down and lay it on our tarp.

Then we're going to get our flail out and we're going to get that grain out of that head.

I can't believe I'm actually seeing a flail in the flesh.

You are.

So, it's kind of like an old Medieval ball and chain, right, except we're using leather.

-Okay.

-We've got it on a swivel.

So, we're just going to kind of make a nice rotation, get that thing to flip.

We want it to hit flat on that head so we drive that grain out.

So, we're just going to kind of beat that down.

Okay, I've got to try this.

You definitely do.

It's worth trying.

[man] You'll get a workout.

Well, we'll see.

No sudden moves.

Okay, where am I going?

Kind of keep your hand here and it's that dip.

Watch out, Clay.

So now it's the opposite.

The other way, we went with the left leg first.

So now it's the right?

Then we're going to go with the right.

We're going to flip and dip.

Flip and dip.

Okay.

Flip and dip.

There you go.

Good.

All right.

All right.

This is kind of fun.

I think you're hired.

Could you do that for 10 hours a day?

Well, see that's the thing.

This is all fun and games for 15 seconds.

Fifth-teen hours is a whole different thing.

Now, we've got some grain.

If you want to look down here, we've got some grain with a little bit of chaff and we're going to want to collect that.

So, we'll get some of this-- This right here?

Yep, we're going to want to get this straw out of the way here a little bit.

We'll move this bundle.

[Capri] Ahh here you go.

So, as we get our grain up, it's mixed with a lot of chaff and a lot of dirt.

So, in the old days, we just kind of let the wind take that chaff out.

[Capri] Come on, wind.

[Nathan] Like that.

You know, yesterday it was blowing 40 miles an hour.

I was going to say.

[Nathan] This would've worked really well.

So you just kind of keep working it back and forth.

I see.

As we get that out.

So, then this is ready to go to the mill.

Okay.

And we can grind it up, mill it down, make bread, bake with it, all kinds of other things.

Thank you for continuing to preserve not only these historic practices, but the way that this original heirloom grain is ground.

Right.

It's in our blood.

Yes, it is.

I can tell.

[Capri] As farming practices evolved with animal power and mechanization, the style of hand harvesting and processing, demonstrated by Nathan, slowly became obsolete.

Mechanization became more and more advanced, and today a modern combine harvester can harvest up to 30 acres of wheat per hour.

Merlin Entz is an 8th generation wheat grower that's currently growing several different varieties of wheat including the historic turkey red, as well as an organic winter wheat, a crossbred descendant of turkey red that's easier to grow and harvest on a large scale.

Merlin's sister, Sharon, occasionally helps with the harvest, a portion of which she transforms into all manner of breads and pastries at her bakery, Crust & Crumb.

All of our current wheat stems from turkey red.

It's the parentage of all of our current modern grain wheats-- Thank you, turkey red.

Look at you.

--comes from turkey red.

Look at this turkey red.

It's responsible for all the wheat.

And people brought this in their suitcases.

You know, they kept the best kernels and brought in suitcases from Russia and Ukraine.

And this is your passion?

Mmm hmm.

Why turkey red?

Well, first of all, I mean, because it's an heirloom grain and it has better flavor than conventional wheat for baking with.

But the other reason is because it has such historical significance.

And your family is actually part of that story in some way, right?

We're a little too late.

We weren't the ones to bring it, but we did come here and started farming turkey red.

Now, I've seen some of the historic farm implements that have enabled your predecessors to be able to harvest wheat.

I'm assuming that you're not using those things today.

I know you have a lot of big farm equipment here.

What do you usually use to be able to come out and harvest the wheat?

Well, often you have one or two combines and you have one or two or three trucks, and you have neighbors driving or friends driving the equipment.

And it's a time of the year when you need more help.

And so, everybody gets pulled into service.

Well, you know, my shirt says Support a Local Farmer.

So, I'm here to help if you're willing to put me to work.

I'm ready to get into a combine and you can tell me all about it, and I'll pitch in.

[Merlin] Okay.

[Capri] Well, this thing is absolutely enormous.

What exactly does this do in relationship to the wheat?

Which I can see you've already harvested here but there's a lot happening.

So, you've got to explain this to me.

Right.

So the sickle cuts it and this reel, depending on how high and how fast it's turning and how far forward it is, it grabs the wheat even if it's leaning away and pulls it into the sickle and then throws it into the auger which brings it to the center.

And from there it begins-- Which part is the auger?

This auger behind.

[Capri] I see.

[Merlin] It brings it from two directions into the center.

Mmm hmm.

[Merlin] And those fingers throw it into a chain drive which takes it into the threshing mechanism which is a big rotor that's spinning like this.

Then that all gets separated and sorted and chaff comes out the back.

Separating once again, separating the wheat from the chaff, literally.

How much do you think the mechanization of the harvest with the combine has changed the dynamic from the way that maybe your grandparents were harvesting wheat to today.

Well, we can harvest-- With two of these machines we can harvest 150 or 250 acres a day.

And they couldn't have imagined that.

That was the size of a farm two generations ago.

Well, I know you've already harvested a little bit of this, but there's still more to be done.

I can see that there's some out there that still needs to be harvested.

So, let's go harvest some wheat.

[Capri] After the wheat is harvested, threshed and winnowed inside the combine, the seeds or grains are deposited in a truck ready to ship for sale.

About half of Merlin's crop goes directly into the domestic grain market, while the other half is shipped overseas in the form of raw wheat or refined products like flour.

In addition to being a beloved piece of Kansas history, turkey red winter wheat is also cherished as the primary ingredient in baking fresh bread.

Sharon Entz spent 10 years working in the milling industry before founding her own bakery, Crust & Crumb.

One of her most requested items is a 48-hour sourdough loaf made from the family plot of turkey red.

Sharon cleans their turkey red by running it through a wheat cleaner handed down from her grandfather before bringing it to the milling machine.

There are not a lot of bakeries with a milling machine in house.

This is a serious contraption.

How does it work?

Well, there's two stones in there that you can't see and one is stationary, the other one is spinning.

And the kernels of wheat are inserted into the center of the stones, and as they turn, they slowly grind the wheat into tiny little particles.

And then as they get to the parameter of the stone, they're flung out onto the housing and then fall down into the bucket below.

I see.

So, what are we looking for in the qualities of flour out of this milling machine?

Well, you're wanting a machine that can grind really fine flour, so that your water hydrates the flour really easily.

So, a fine particle of flour.

And if you can make a fistful of flour that clumps, that's good quality flour.

Wow, that's never a property I was looking for in flour, but now I'm going to have to keep an eye out.

Now I know, and that is the reason why you have a milling machine in a bakery.

Ah ha.

[Capri] Sharon combines her fresh, milled flour with water, add salt and sourdough starter, and lets it autolyse.

Autolyse is an essential step in making sourdough, forming gluten bonds which strengthen the dough and allow it to stretch without tearing.

She then lets the mixture sit for 30 minutes after which she folds it together and sprays with olive oil before letting it rest for another 45 minutes.

So, first of all, I'm going to wet my hands so the dough doesn't stick to my hands.

So, really we're stretching the dough and folding it.

It's kind of like stretch and fold and it builds strength in the dough-- Okay.

--as you're doing that.

You're getting that structural integrity from the gluten.

[Sharon] We're like making that gluten network.

It's looking real nice.

All right, and you can feel the elasticity-- Less dampness and more structural integrity.

You can already tell.

So, this has got to hang out for a little bit longer though.

Another 45 minutes longer and then we'll cut and shape it.

[Capri] Oh, look at that.

All right.

So, cut these-- [Capri] It looks like you've done this once or twice.

We're going to shape our loaves, so if you want to do one with me.

I'll try.

So, bring it over here.

We're going to keep it as a nice square.

Square.

And we're going to pull out these wings on the side.

Wings.

And we're going to fold them in.

Flop, flop, okay.

And then the top, we're going to fold it over.

Top, fold.

And we're going to fold these over.

And then we're going to bring this over.

Yeah.

And stick it in the flour.

And then we'll just put them seam side up in the basket.

[Capri] Oh, seam side up.

Because then when we put it out on the setter they're seam side down.

[Capri] I see.

Sharon gives her sourdough loaves a flour stamp and then loads them into the oven for baking.

This bread really makes you work for it.

I mean, 48 hours all of this, the cleaning, the milling, everything that went into this, and the moment has finally come.

So, explain to me how these two loaves differ.

All right.

Well, this is the turkey red winter wheat sourdough loaf that I make.

And that's what we were mixing up.

That's what we were mixing.

And this one is conventional wheat.

So we get to taste the difference between turkey red winter wheat and conventional wheat.

Okay, so this it is still warm.

This is like a dream come true for me.

And what is bread without a little bit of butter.

So this is the conventional wheat.

Yeah.

It's pretty basic.

I mean, it is a sourdough so you can kind of smell and taste the twang a little bit.

I will tell you the crust is so good.

A little bit crunchy.

Exactly.

And it's tender.

That would make me want to eat the end of this bread.

There you go.

Because that crust is that good.

Let's go for the sides.

Let's go for the turkey red.

There you go.

You know what?

I'm going to try this one without butter so you can really get a sense, because I've never had turkey red.

I know its so special to Kansas so I want to be able to taste it without any kind of adulteration.

That's a much hardier-- Mmm hmm, very hardy.

Earthy.

I feel like it's a bit earthy.

It has some floral notes, I feel like.

And the crust is fantastic as well.

You can taste-- It is a subtle difference, but there's definitely a difference there.

This bread and this grain in particular, the turkey red, it tells a regional story for Kansas, but it tells a family story for you as well.

Bringing this grain over, your family as immigrants to North America that has to be really special when you're making this bread.

Yeah, totally.

It's just very special.

Like, they would've been growing turkey red winter when they first immigrated, my great grandparents, and so now we're growing it again on our family farm.

And baking the bread.

Amazing, wow.

You know what they say, when you break bread together you make new friends.

So, I've made a new friend, and learned a lot in the process, so thank you.

Thank you.

[Capri] In addition to its incredible grain harvest, Kansas also has a legacy of innovation in agricultural science and research.

Lee DeHaan of the Land Institute has been working on breeding a perennial wheat grass called kernza for farmers like Scott Helmky to grow as an alternative to traditional wheat.

I feel like I'm standing in front of a field of innovation.

Lee, tell me a little bit about what kernza is and how it differs from a traditional wheat.

Yes.

So, kernza is a perennial plant that grows for many years.

Wheat, we're used to planting.

You let it grow for a few months and then you've got to harvest it, right?

And then the plant dies, you've got to till the soil and plant again.

Kernza is different because it keeps on living year to year to year till it comes back without having to replant it.

And as a great benefit of those roots being in the soil, they're adding carbon to the soil.

They're taking up water and nutrients that could be leeching away if they were dying.

It helps the soil to improve in its quality and keeps our water clean.

Scott, you actually farm kernza.

-This is your kernza.

-Yes.

How has this been comparatively to growing other types of wheat for you?

Well, we're about level.

But it's just doing good things for this.

And like, probably 80% reduction in fuel usage on the ground.

And it's a win/win situation.

For you, what do you hope to see in the future?

I want to see the market develop and get more users, more publicity for it.

Where can we find kernza, you know, out there?

Is it in cereals?

Is it in beer?

How is it being used?

Is it being used now?

Yeah, so there's a lot of small, local markets.

There's places where it's being used in a bakery here and there.

There is national products and craft beers, something that's fun to do.

You can make a special can, sell it locally.

Tell the story about why it's important and what this grain is.

It's been a great introduction for a lot of people.

[Capri] Here at Free State Brewing in Lawrence, owner, Chuck Magerl, and head of Brewing, Jeff Deman, have dedicated their skills to incorporating kernza into their craft beers.

I understand that you actually brew with kernza, is that right?

That's correct.

Yeah.

That is exciting.

What made you decide that that's something that you wanted to work with?

You know, I've been involved with the Land Institute for decades now.

And when they started developing this perennial crop it was something that I thought, we have an opportunity to present it to the public.

Why do you think it's important at this point to be able to use a perennial grain like that?

You know, the aspect of the perennial crop really helps to mimic a lot of the prairie that was here initially.

[Capri] Yeah, and the regeneration of that is important.

And you've got to have an end user, right?

You want to create that market and that's you guys.

You're the guy that makes the magic happen, and I know that it is easier said than done.

We just get to drink it.

You get to make it.

What is kernza like to work with comparatively to maybe some of the other more traditional grains?

Sure, so we've had a pretty extensive history with kernza.

Initially it was very difficult to use.

It's a very small grain and we didn't have a good way to mill it and it wasn't malted.

So it was pretty difficult to use.

Now, they've made great strides and it's easier to work with.

And we buy our kernza through a broker that actually mills it for us.

[Capri] Oh, awesome.

[Jeff] So, when I was first using it, didn't even know what the Gelatinization temperature of it would be so that I could access the sugars within the grain.

Now, it incorporates really easily into a typical mash that we would have.

And so we get good extract from the kernza.

[Capri] Jeff combines kernza with a barley malt which provides the enzymes necessary for fermentation.

Once the starches have been converted into sugar in a process called saccharification the spent grain is removed.

[Jeff] We've leaned on that with our newest beer that features kernza and some turkey red wheat.

Ah, turkey red, the other star of the show.

Yeah, yeah.

[Jeff] It's a real fruit forward.

The amount of hops that come into play with it is incredible.

So, it's a great flavor.

I'm excited.

It is really hazy.

It is very hazy.

We really wanted to lean in on the high protein level that kernza and turkey red have in them naturally.

So, that protein is contributing to this haze.

Okay.

So now I understand the science behind the glass.

Let's give it a shot.

I can actually, I can smell the citrus and the floral.

You're right about that.

So, yeah this features some hops.

Oh, that's good.

It features hops from the southern hemisphere.

So, some from Australia, some from Yakama Valley and some from Idaho.

Okay.

And I get a lot of orange and pineapple from the contribution of those hops.

And you can tell, the orange, it's very orange forward.

I do taste a little bit of that pineapple sweetness.

Does the kernza bring out some of those other sweet notes?

So, the kernza just provides-- Actually, the kernza is kind of provides some dryness.

And the turkey red contributes some softness to the palettes.

It's fantastic.

It really is.

I can't believe that I've had a chance to experience Kansas wheat, both the turkey red and the kernza, a heritage grain, and the future of wheat, and now they're here in this one glass.

It's unbelievable, and it tastes incredible.

So, here's to progress.

Here's to beer and here's to the Free State of Kansas.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

[Capri] Here in Kansas, the annual Wheat Harvest remains an iconic tradition keeping today's growers connected to their ancestors while sustaining millions of people around the world.

The heirloom grain first brought by Mennonite settlers is celebrated as an edible heritage.

While at the same time, forward looking Kansans continue to develop a grain crop of the future.

But why take my word for it, when you can come experience it for yourself.

America The Bountiful... ...is waiting for you and me.

For more information visit Americathebountifulshow.com.

[announcer] America's farmers have nourished us for generations, but today they face unprecedented challenges.

American Farmland Trust works with farmers to help save the land that sustains us.

Together we can work to keep America bountiful.