Conference Illuminates Darker Trend in Bread Grain
Rye growing has decreased fourfold in Estonia during a period when it halved in the rest of the world, perhaps one of the most dramatic facts noted at a conference devoted to the grain.
Speaking at the More Attention to Rye conference in Tartu County, Agriculture Ministry undersecretary Andres Oopkaup said rye has fallen undeservedly by the wayside, especially in the last 20 years. "It is important to pay more attention to rye as a grain with long historical and cultural traditions," he said on October 7.
The conference is aimed to discussing the outlook for rye and grain in general, and to provide a message to rye growers on how to increase rye acreage and publicize it as part of a healthful diet.
The conference is also promoting a variety of rye called Sangaste developed by a Baltic German nobleman, Friedrich Georg von Berg.
Rye continues to be the most important grain for bread in Estonia, but in some recent years, the country has had to import some of its supply. And tastes for wheat bread - both toaster-ready loafs and ciabattas and baguettes - are increasing in upwardly mobile segments.
The conference held at Ülenurme just outside Tartu drew close to 30 foreign visitors and representatives from Estonia. It was organized by the Agriculture Ministry, the Estonian Rye Association, and the host venue, the Museum of Agriculture. Support also came from the Swiss Agriculture Ministry.
Kristopher Rikken