WASHINGTON, DC - To Kansans, the sight of golden fields of wheat waving against the backdrop of a clear blue sky is not unusual. To urbanites in our Nation’s Capital, however, such a sight can only mean that something special is taking place.

The second Urban Wheat Field, held Sept. 23-24 near the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, brought together segments of the wheat industry for a unique "farm-to-fork" educational opportunity. The football field-sized exhibit featured a quarter-acre of wheat, representing the stages of wheat growth from emergence to maturity; miniature mills that allowed consumers to see how wheat is broken down into flour; baking demonstrations and a grocery store display promoting a diverse array of wheat foods and products. Consumers attending the Urban Wheat Field could walk away with samples of food and whole-grain flour, plus an assortment of nutrition information.

Meeting consumers who had little knowledge of farming or wheat foods and being able to clarify wheat production and milling questions was a tremendous opportunity, according to Brian Linin, Kansas Wheat Commissioner from Goodland. Linin was one of a dozen volunteers from the Kansas wheat industry to help the Urban Wheat Field, which was sponsored by the Wheat Foods Council, of which Kansas Wheat Commission is a member.

Linin said the Urban Wheat Field provided an opportunity to engage consumers in meaningful conversations, using visual displays that painted a clear picture of the opportunity and challenge of wheat production. That the exhibit taught dozens of D.C. -area school kids that flour comes from a wheat farm, and not the grocery store, was critical, he added.

"Children’s minds are like sponges. What I’m able to show them is how we take that kernel of wheat, run it through a mill and how it’s made into flour," Linin said. "They can touch the flour and see how a mill works, and that attracts them and then opens the door to teach them something about how flour is made."

Adults, often lured to the exhibit by a brand-new, bright red Case IH combine facing the Capitol Building and the aroma of fresh-baked cookie and bread samples wafting from the Nebraska Wheat baking trailer, couldn’t help but be impressed with the farm-to-fork journey. Shireen Husain, a Washington, DC citizen originally from Los Angeles, said that to be able to walk through a live wheat field and touch the plants, kernels of wheat and flour, is a tremendous opportunity.

"Maybe in middle school we talked about milling flour, but not in a sense that mattered to me. I wasn’t cooking at that age," said Husain, who was so taken with the Urban Wheat Field that she called her mother, describing each of the seven stations in the exhibit over the phone. "Now that I have my own kitchen and I’m doing my own thing and try to find wholesome ingredients, the Urban Wheat Field gave me a better picture of that. I am interested in how real food is grown in America and how it ends up on our table."

But that’s not all, said Husain, whose only prior experience with wheat was that she enjoys wheat bread and pasta. "I also thought the combine was ridiculously cool."