Ancient grains have found a place as part of the modern diet, with options like quinoa becoming common on supermarket shelves and cafe menus.
But a southern New South Wales farmer is hoping Australian consumers will develop a taste for another ancient grain: teff.
Wakool farmer Fraser McNaul is growing the crop and working on a system to package and market the product from paddock to plate.
He said he believed consumers would be excited by the grain, if they could be informed about what it was.
“Teff is an ancient grain from Ethiopia, it’s gluten free and its main use over there is in injera bread,” he said.
“We want to develop some products out of it that are more in line with the western palate, so that’s what we are working on at the moment with our paddock to plate process under our own brand.
“We think it’s got great qualities to it, it’s very nutritious.
“The issue that we have to deal with the most is educating the public on what teff is to try and broaden the market for it and also compete with the really cheap imported teff.”
Mr McNaul said farmers are often price takers but he is aiming to gain control of his product and be the middle man.
He said teff had been difficult to grow, but he was hopeful the venture would be a success.
“I want to make farming more economically viable and be a price setter, not a price taker,” he said.
“It takes up a lot of time, every minute that I don’t have to be on the farm I spend in the office or in Melbourne trying to learn things and make contacts.
“We did a lot of trials and a lot of trial work over the last couple of years with different agronomy and sowing techniques.
