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Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) has supplied fiber for textiles for thousands of years. Recently, flax has been considered as a cost-effective alternative to glass in composites. New technology and separation techniques have lowered the costs to produce fibers that are more uniform in color, strength, length, and fineness and thus better suited for composites. Using redesigned techniques over those traditionally used in flax production, fiber separation begins at the farm using readily available agricultural equipment that has been tailored for flax harvesting. Rather than the expensive European harvest method of pulling stalks, rapid methods developed in the U.S. harvest flax stalks with a drum mower. Costly, specialized imported harvesters are no longer required to produce uniform fibers. Equipment is low cost, readily available and well understood by U.S. farmers. To further improve fiber quality, flax is not dew-retted, which depends on indigenous fungi to separate fibers.