Flax is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region of Europe; the Swiss Lake Dweller People of the Stone Age apparently produced flax utilizing the fiber as well as the seed. Linen cloth made from flax was used to wrap the mummies in the early Egyptian tombs. In the United States, the early colonists grew small fields of flax for home use, and commercial production of fiber flax began in 1753. However, with the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, flax production began to decline. During the 1940s fiber flax production in the U.S. dropped to nearly zero. Today a few individuals still grow fiber flax for their own use to make linen. Presently the major fiber flax producing countries are the Soviet Union, Poland, and France. Wisconsin had 2,000 acres for seed in the state in 1966 with an average yield of 18 bushels per acre, however there has been no acreage reported in recent years. Minnesota had 378,000 acres in 1920 and over 1,600,000 acres in 1943. Since 1943 acreage has steadily declined with only 15,000 acres grown in 1988. The state average yield was 9.5 bushels per acre in 1920, while in 1987 it was 16 bushels. The yield dropped to 10 bushels per acre in 1988 due to dry conditions. States having the largest seed flax acreages are North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Flax is an alternative cash crop, especially in areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota where allocated acreages for other cash crops are limited or where other crops are not adapted. At one time the flax acreage was concentrated on the clay soils in eastern Wisconsin. However, flax is adapted and has been successfully grown in other areas of the state. In Minnesota, flax acreage is concentrated in the northwestern part, however flax has been grown successfully in nearly all counties.

Address: 625 Agriculture Mall Dr. West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2010
Telephone: (765) 494-1300
Website: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/flax.html