8. Cereals

How are cereals farmed?

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Cereals or grains, such as wheat and barley, are farmed in fields. The soil type of these fields is easy to work with and high in nutrients. It is sometimes necessary to prepare and plough the soil before it can be used for cultivating cereals.

The stages of cereal farming:

planting (the seeds and fertilizers are placed in the soil). Fertilizers contain nutrients important for plant growth, such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.
taking care of plant growth (e.g., preventing the spread of weeds and harmful insects)
harvest (the seeds of the plants are collected with a combine harvester).

After the harvest, the seeds are dried. When the seeds are dry, they are ready to be milled. When this happens, the seeds are ground into flour and animal feed.

Gallery: Farming cereals

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: Cereal grains are seeds. They are planted in the soil during the spring, after the field has become warm enough.
: Cereal seeds being planted.
: Seeds and fertilizers are often planted with specialized machinery.
: The field can be plowed after the seeds are planted. This mixes up the soil and improves its quality.
: When the cereal seedlings grow visible, the field is said to comprise of new crop. The cereals need rain and warm weather in order to grow tall.
: During the summer, the cereal plants develop seeds. When this happens, they are ready to be harvested. Oats.
: Wheat being harvested. The seeds are collected in the storage of the combine harvester, whereas the stems of the plant remain in the field.

Gallery: Cereals

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: Barley = ohra, wheat = vehnä, oats = kaura, rye = ruis.
: A wheat cob does not have long awns like those of rye and barley.
: Barley can be identified by its long, prickly awns. It is mainly used as a food for farm animals.
: Oats are used to make muesli, porridge, and different dairy alternatives.
: Rye is an important cereal used to make brown bread.

Oat

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Oat is a common cultivated plant, especially in areas where wheat does not grow well. Oat can survive in cold and rainy conditions.

Oat is used to create flour and flakes. The best-known oat-based food is probably porridge. Oat flour can also be used to bake bread, whereas oat flakes are found in muesli and many biscuits. Nowadays, oat is also used making non-milk dairy products.

Oat is considered a healthy cereal. It contains a lot of important nutrients.

Celiacs, who cannot eat gluten, can eat pure oat products. Oat does not contain gluten.

Gallery: Oat

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: A field of oats.
: Oat
: Oat can be used to bake bread.
: Oat flakes
: Oat grains and oat flakes.
: Oat porridge.

Barley

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Barley is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Even in Northern Europe, it has already been farmed for over 3 000 years.

Barley plants can be identified by their long, prickly awns.

Barley is mostly used to make feed for livestock and farm animals. It is also used to make beer, bread and porridge.

Barley is not a very useful baking cereal.

However, it contains a lot of important fibres, which is why it is good for the stomach.

Rye

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Rye is a cereal that can grow even in low-quality soil. It is capable of surviving harsh climate conditions, which is why it is one of the most important cereals in Finland.

Rye can be farmed twice a year, both in the spring and in the autumn.

Spring rye is planted during the spring, whereas autumn rye is planted during the late summer, as soon as the spring rye has been harvested.

Although a lot of rye is produced in Finland, it is not enough to satisfy the nation's rye consumption. This is why it is also imported from countries like Germany and Poland.

Rye can be made into flour, which is used when making dark rye bread. Rye can also be used to make porridge.

Wheat

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Wheat is one of the world's most widely cultivated plants, together with maize and rice. Wheat is a very old cereal species, although it arrived in Finland only during the 20th century.

Wheat requires a long and warm growing season. Like rye, it can be planted both during the spring and during the autumn.

The health effects of wheat depend on which parts of the cereal's grain are used. If the outer parts of the grain are removed (to create white flour), many important nutrients are also lost. Whole-grain wheat is healthier than purified, white wheat flour.

Wheat is used to produce many kinds of products, such as flours, bran, flakes and couscous. Wheat is the most common cereal in white bread, as it produces a fluffy texture to the bread. Many types of pasta (such as macaroni and spaghetti) are also made from wheat.

Celiacs cannot eat wheat because it contains gluten.

Millet and buckwheat

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Millet and buckwheat are a bit more rare than the four main cereals. They can survive in all kinds of conditions, from mountaineous regions to the harsh climates of Northern Europe. They can even grow in soil with a low nutrient concentration.

Millet and buckwheat are used to replace other cereals when making glutein-free products. These products are mainly targeted for celiacs, who cannot eat glutein. In addition, buckwheat contains a significant amount of important proteins.

On the left: Millet is a cereal with small grains, used especially in Africa and Asia. On the right: Buckwheat is an important cultivated plant, especially in Asia.

Terminology

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CEREALS
Term	Explanation
cereal	A plant that grows its seeds in a structure called a cob.
planting	A process where cereal seeds are planted in the soil, usually with the help of machinery.
harvest	A process where a combine harvester is used to collect cereal seeds.
flour	Finely ground cereal grains that are used to make bread and other foods.
flake	Flat pieces of cereal grains that are used to make porridge and other foods.
celiac	A person who cannot eat gluten.