Turkey Red Wheat

(Triticum aestivum); Heritage - Centennial; a Slow Food Ark of Taste cultivar; Landrace; Hard Red Winter; Awned;  Fall-planted; Minimum 50 seeds Of exceptional flavor and baking qualities, Turkey Red is a landrace hard red winter wheat that was introduced to US growers around 1873. One of the best adapted hard red varieties, Russian Mennonites brought their cherished seed with them as they fled the Crimea to Kansas. Farmers impressed with Turkey Red increased their planted acreage and as steel roller mills were perfected, the variety gradually dominated hard reds. In 1924, Turkey Red was the top grown wheat covering over 14 million acres across 30 states.  In the mid-1940s, as with many heritage varieties, changes in cultivation favored modern cultivars and Turkey Red all but vanished. Thankfully dedicated efforts and the 2009 boarding of Turkey Red upon Slow Food's Ark of Taste mean a resurgence of this fantastic bread wheat. As a member of the Crimean Group of Hard Red Wheats, Turkey