The lysine percentage of the protein exceeds that of cereal grains. A bushel of buckwheat weighs 48 lbs and will mill 30 lbs of flour and 18 lbs of hulls. Although grown primarily for human food, only the best quality grain is milled for food. The lesser quality grain is fed to livestock or poultry. Buckwheat shorts or middlings are used in mixed feeds for livestock.
Hulls have little feeding value but can be useful as a mulch or as a packing material.
As a green manure crop, buckwheat can produce three crops within a growing season. Since it is not a legume crop, buckwheat does not fix nitrogen. However, the crop can increase soil organic matter levels and can help mobilize soil phosphorus. The crop is an excellent temporary honey crop since buckwheat may bloom for 30 days or more. An acre of buckwheat blossoms can provide bees with enough nectar for 100 to 150 lbs of honey.