Explore the past, present, and future of flax.
Uses and Benefits of Flax Today
Flax benefits:
Grows well in our region
Low-impact
Requires little-to-no chemical inputs or irrigation
Soil remediator
Provides pollinator habitat
Beneficial addition to crop rotations
Commercial uses:
Linen
Building material
Animal bedding
Industrial twine and rope
Canvas and webbing
Paper
And more
The Future of Flax in Pennsylvania
The most prolific growing region for flax, northern Europe and the Baltic states, is struggling to meet demand. Much of the region is now a warzone, and no flax was planted in 2022. Nearby northern France and Belgium lack the necessary land mass. A pending crop shortage combined with climate instability has made it increasingly difficult to guarantee crop quality.
With over 7 million acres of farmland in Pennsylvania, we can fill a major gap in the supply chain.
A single client might use 18,000 tons of retted flax straw annually, requiring 9,000 acres in production. Another producer we're building a relationship with represents 10% of global production of linen. They use 6-8,000 tons of scutched fiber annually. This equates to 18,000+ acres in production each year on the low end.
With that many acres in production, Pennsylvania could support 4 to 5 scutch mills, opening even greater opportunity for economic growth in the region.
We are working to put 12,000 acres of organic fiber flax into production in Pennsylvania.
And this is only the beginning.
The History of Flax in PA: A Timeline
Works Cited: MacMaster, R.K. (2010). Scotch-Irish Merchants in Coloinial America. Ulster Historical Foundation Reid, G.M. (2020). Material Imagination of the Oregon flax Industry. Oregon Dept of Parks and Recreation 2020 Oregon Heritage Fellowship. Arndt, Karl J. R.; Graves, Donald; Colby, Michael; McGill, Paul; Gaugler, Nancy K.; Chrisman, Harry E.; and Parsons, William T., "Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 35, No. 3" (1986). Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine. 112. digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/paf… Wyatt, S. M. (1994). Flax and Linen: An Uncertain Oregon Industry. Oregon Historical Quarterly, 95(2), 150–175. www.jstor.org/stable/20614577
PA Flax Project is opening the doors to a high-value market for Pennsylvania farmers. We're organizing growers, creating infrastructure for processing, and making American linen possible again. It all starts with flax.