In communities across the United States, groups like the Colorado Grain Chain and the Noble Grain Alliance are lobbying to promote heirloom grains, a class of pre-industrial plants that promise greater nutritional benefits—and bolder flavor—than modern monocropped wheat or corn. Yet to understand the value of these heirloom grains, you have to look back at the past century of American agriculture.

“It’s a chicken or the egg dilemma,” Esposito explains. “Growers want proof that there is market demand, but you can’t go to the market until you have a product. That’s why we started the Colorado Grain Chain—to facilitate relationships. If we can connect someone with a bagel company with someone growing heirloom grains, those individual contracts can help build the market.”

Common Grain Alliance (CGA) has been awarded a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program grant. CGA will leverage this multi-year, $749,217 grant to further its mission of building a robust, sustainable, and equitable grain economy in the Mid-Atlantic. CGA’s objectives for this grant include: Expanding consumer awareness of regional grains as part of the greater regional food system in the Mid-Atlantic

A robust and sustainable local grain economy is based on collaboration, and the connections @grapewoodfarm has forged to support their grain growing and milling business provides a great example of how that happens!

Our SQFT calculators assess the ingredients of craft grain beverages and bread, generating figures that represent the square footage of farmland involved in making each product.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Palouse Heritage partnered with Ethos Stone Mill and Barnard Griffin Winery for a festive evening of dining and fellowship to a capacity crowd this past week at the Richland winery. Moderated by our Ethos friends Angela and Hana, entries included flavorful pasta, stew, and other dishes made with our Purple Egyptian barley and Sonoran Gold wheat. Winery hosts Bob Griffin and Deborah Barnard added to the affair with fascinating commentary on Barnard Griffin Riesling, Merlot, port-style “Rapport,” and other wines from Red Mountain and other area vineyards that were deliciously paired with the servings.

...A revived interest in local food and drink products, however, has helped validate his latest decision to grow corn. Wrisley grows a red-cobbed hybrid variety called 14A91 from Blue River Organics, which grows well in northern climates that have shorter growing seasons. What initially started as a small customer base of farmers wanting the crop for feed has shifted and expanded to include five distilleries and one tortilla company that have popped up across New York and New England over the past few years.