A farm in Chester County is part of a pilot initiative organized by the PA Flax Project with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture aimed at jump-starting flax production, writes Susan Phillips for WHYY.
The local farm has devoted four acres to flax this summer, with the project’s ultimate goal being to secure 12,000 acres for the plant statewide.
Flax has multiple uses. In addition to being rich in omega-3. It is used to make linseed oil and along with natural fiber linen.
“Flax has a really deep history in the state of Pennsylvania,” said Heidi Barr, founder and CEO of the PA Flax Project. “The flax seed first came to this continent with the Dutch and German settlers of Germantown, Philadelphia.”
The production of flax plummeted in the 1850s as a result of the invention of the cotton gin and the fact that cotton producers used unpaid slave labor in the South.
PA Flax Project wants to bring flax – which Barr calls the “climate-positive” plant – to Pennsylvania as a climate solution and a practical alternative to the contemporary synthetic fabrics made from fossil fuels.
Read more about the farm helping out to pilot this project from the PA Flax Project in WHYY.
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