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BY JOYCE LOBECK, SUN STAFF WRITER2008-07-05 12:08:38
Under the watchful eyes of several black-garbed rabbis, the
combinemade its passes east of Yuma on Thursday around a wheat
fieldgrown by Tim Dunn.
While the field isn't large, the crop it produces is a very
special one:kosher wheat to make matzah for the tables of
ultra-orthodox Jews inNew York during Passover.
Matzah is a crisp, flat, unleavened bread made of flour and
water,
which must be baked before the dough has had time to rise. It
issymbolic for the bread baked in haste by Israelites as they fled
Egyptduring the Exodus.
The wheat to make the matzah flour must be grown and harvested
according to a strict protocol to ensureit is kosher, Dunn said.
Most importantly, the wheat can't be touched by moisture from the
time it maturesto ensure the grain hasn't started to sprout.
That makes Dunn's fields in Yuma ideal as rain is unlikely here
in June, when the wheat is harvested.That's why the rabbis from New
York go to the expense of having the wheat grown here instead of on
theEast Coast.
The no-moisture rule precludes even water trucks to keep down
the dust on the dirt roads along the field,Dunn said. And no water
bottles are allowed, either, despite the triple-digit temperatures
and intensemidday sun on the watchful rabbis.
Each day, the combines can't run until the rabbis are sure the
night dew is off the ground, he said. Sincethat tends to be noon
back in New York, they wait until noon here, too, even though any
dew is long gonebefore that time.
And since the combines must be out of the field by sundown, that
makes for a short window to harvest,Dunn noted.
Another challenge to meeting the kosher requirements is that the
wheat can't have touched the ground,Dunn said. That leaves out any
lodged wheat - wheat that has fallen over.
While most of the wheat grown in the Yuma area is durum used for
producing pasta, a special variety ofhard white wheat is grown for
the matzah, Dunn said.
Weeds have to be removed by hand near harvest time, and the
wheat along the roads is left as it may becontaminated.
All this takes place under the supervision of the rabbis, who
may come out during the growing season tocheck on the crop.
Last week about 20 rabbis, representing several Jewish
communities Back East as well as a couple ofbakeries, were in Yuma
to walk the fields and supervise the harvest. Some even stay in a
rented traveltrailer or motor home parked by the field to ensure
the crop remains uncontaminated.
Yuma wheat goes kosher
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That goes as well for the combines and trucks to transport the
grain. They must be meticulously cleanedand steps taken to make
sure they stay that way, even to sealing them at night.
"It's a niche deal," Dunn said. "It takes a long time. You have
to enjoy this sort of thing. We try to use thecultural practices to
produce what they want."
Contrary to the production of most crops, the main goal with
kosher wheat is not a high yield, said Marcos
Moore of Agrilegistics LLC, who negotiated the contract between
the rabbis and Dunn for the crop.
"Our objectives are different," he said.
That understanding and willingness to follow their protocol is
vital, said the rabbis. "That service is veryimportant to us."
Now in the third year, the production of kosher wheat may become
an even bigger market. Dunn notedthat several of the visitors were
here for the first time to see the area and crop harvest for
themselves.
---
Joyce Lobeck can be reached at [email protected] or
539-6853.
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