Curated news and information worth Sharing
In this section of the site you'll find news and information we come across related to local businesses in Lafayette Colorado as well as local food initiatives along the Front Range and beyond.
Common Grain Alliance's Mid-Atlantic Grain Share
via Instagram
Posted June 1, 2022 6:54 pm by Paul Bonneville
The Common Grain Alliance (CGA) has partnered with FARMFRESH to create a weekly "grain share" subscription for consumers to receive a predetermined amount of various regional grains. This is an awesome idea, especially since the CGA's mission is to build a vibrant, integrated, equitable, and regenerative grain economy in the Mid-Atlantic:

An easy way to sample a variety of grains grown, milled, and transformed by artisans in our regional #grainshed is the Mid-Atlantic Grain Share, a Common Grain Alliance and @freshfarmdc project. Sign up for the summer session running from June through October at four D.C.-area farmers market locations.
Advocacy & Education
Sales
Marketing & Promotion

The US is soon to become a net food importer, says USDA
via Food Politics
Posted May 31, 2022 9:32 pm by Paul Bonneville
If this ain't a head scratcher, I'm not sure what is. Have a look at the graph on Marion Nestle's site:

What this says is that agricultural imports are soon expected to be greater than agricultural exports. Within the next year or so, the United States will be a net importer of agricultural products.

Anyone for beefing up local and regional food economies? Anyone? ;) 
Policy & Legal
Advocacy & Education

To Meet the Demand for Organic Crops, We Need to Produce More Organic Seed
via Modern Farmer
Posted May 30, 2022 9:10 pm by Paul Bonneville
Today I learned that not all organic produce is grown from organic seed. A good portion of it is grown from conventional seed due to cost and scarcity with regards to getting the right types of seeds that are suited to specific regions:

Of 1,059 organic farmers OSA surveyed for its report, 83 percent said organic seed mattered for the integrity of organic food production. Yet, only 27 percent of them use all organic seed. Organic vegetable farmers use less organic seed the bigger they get
Seeds
Farming

Tom Giancola Helps Change Cottage Food Law in Maryland
via Instagram
Posted May 23, 2022 12:34 am by Paul Bonneville
As Ashley and I start to pivot to starting our own cottage food bakery, you are going to start seeing a bit of a shift in the news and stories we share here in our news feed. We'll still be working on contributing to the grain chain out here in Colorado, but we are going to be focusing more on the "bakery" component of the chain.

To that end, I am also going to be highlighting other businesses in the grain chain that we find inspiring. For our first highlight, we bring you Tom Giancola of Makeathe Bread out of Maryland. Tom's bakery is not the only thing that inspires us. He also recently helped move forward some changes to Maryland's Cottage Food laws. 

A couple months ago, I posted about a common sense reform that we were trying to advance that would help Cottage Food Businesses (like us) from all across Maryland grow their operation. .Yesterday, I'm thrilled to report that I had the privilege of watching @govlarryhogan sign HB178 into law...

Wander through Tom's Instagram feed and you'll see why we've posted about him. He's also helped me out when I had some questions about bakery equipment.

Tom's also recently joined the Board of Directors of the Common Grain Alliance, a Mid-Atlantic Grain Chain Connector.

I like this guy 😁
Locations
Annapolis, MD,
United States

Mad Agriculture's Grain Revival Guide
via Mad Agriculture
Posted May 20, 2022 9:47 pm by Paul Bonneville
Another great resource find for here in Colorado's Front Range:

The Grain Revival Guide is an evolving, holistic, and comprehensive collection of resources on the Front Range grain revival movement. This guide will provide anyone from farmers, to buyers, to consumers, with the stories and science behind ancient and heritage grains, as well as offer resources on how to support the movement and participate in our growing, vibrant local grain economy.
Locations
Boulder, CO,
United States
Organizations
Farming
Business networking
Advocacy & Education

How Supply Chain Issues Could Actually Improve Restaurants
via The Takeout
Posted May 19, 2022 9:33 pm by Paul Bonneville
But maybe there’s a silver lining. We’re seeing changes on the menus of our favorite restaurants as chefs adapt to available ingredients and set prices that can still ensure a profit. But these changes aren’t necessarily bad. In fact, it could mean more restaurants will turn to local, more sustainable ingredients.

I agree whole heartedly with the sentiment, but finding all the ingredients you need and managing the relationships has it own set of logistical challenges. 

Of course my mind is thinking more specifically about grains and bakeries. 

A farmer needs to know what grains to grow and the chef's, bakers and millers needs to commit to purchasing certain amounts before the growing season. There needs to be a marketplace so that buyers and growers can connect, and I would expect that it needs to be run in some sort of a non-profit capacity.

I am inspired by stories like that of Barton Springs Mill though. They formed their milling business around direct relationships with farmers down in Texas. It is proof that local and regional grain markets are possible.
Organizations
Farming
Sales
Processing, Logistics & Distribution
Baking

NFU Supports Administration’s New Efforts to Address Ag Supply Chain Problems
via National Farmers Union
Posted May 18, 2022 8:25 pm by Paul Bonneville
Speaking in support of today’s announcement, NFU President Rob Larew said, “America’s family farmers, along with the economy in general, have faced sky-high prices for inputs due to global unrest and a lack of competition in agricultural markets. Lack of competition in the fertilizer market, for example, has resulted in a fragile supply chain prone to interruptions and price gouging. The Biden Administration’s promise to double down on USDA efforts to diversify domestic fertilizer markets is promising and we look forward to providing input on how to do this most effectively.”

A lot of the postings I put in this news feed end up getting into the politics and policies around agriculture, which I am finding are unavoidable during my research into Grain Chain and local food systems. I just posted a separate article from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition that is skeptical of the Biden Administration's plans for boosting commodity crops, while this article from the National Farmers Union supports some of the work.

There are points and counterpoints on a never-ending parade of issues and topics and I find it impossible to stay on top of them all. In terms of a direction of where I can focus my own research, it feels that there is more value in staying focused on grassroots efforts around food systems.

I am starting to think that a more concentrated focus on the news, information and activities of all the direct players in the grain chains across the country have a lot more immediate value that align with the goals of this site and my own research. 

As I mentioned, policy and politics are unavoidable, but there is more value for me in focusing on what is and can be done in the market today that trying to wade into understanding and untangling the commodity system.
Policy & Legal

Plans to Boost Commodity Production a House Of Cards
via National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Posted May 17, 2022 8:37 pm
As usual, read the full article, but it is the summary of the argument of the post that sparked some comments for me:

Farmers and consumers deserve a fair shake. NSAC believes that taxpayer dollars, if they are to be spent, should be used to uplift resilient production systems and nutritious landscapes. This must include investments in conservation programs and additional incentives for farmers to adopt practices consistent with sustainable, regenerative, agroecological farming. 

Heightened soil health will lead to lower input costs and greater natural yields, which will in turn restore farmer agency. These initiatives would also provide clear returns on investment to the average consumer, as opposed to our current system which produces heavily processed foods that contribute to worsening diet-related illness and rising health care costs. 

I'm in agreement with the sentiment expressed with this blog post from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, but the issue as usual is getting to the ideal they lay out from where we are today with a commodity system.

By no stretch am I fully educated in these new or legacy agricultural systems, but when you have a massive system that needs to be overhauled, you have to tackle it from the bottom with tiny changes. Well, that is how I would as a programmer tackling a large application that has been around for years. You can't just shut it down and start from scratch. You have to replace it, bit by bit, from within the existing system you've got.

My oversimplified thinking starts from building up local and regional food chains by creating a sustainable, market driven marketplace for consumers, businesses and farmers to connect directly. You have to build it from the bottom up in a self-sustaining manner if possible, otherwise you just create a new system with the same dependencies as the old one.

The government can definitely help by shifting funding programs to local and regional food systems development, but this sort of sea change cannot come from the top.

Fresh Flour Facts
via Amy Halloran's Substack site
Posted May 16, 2022 8:47 pm by Paul Bonneville
Great primer and overview of grains, flours and milling. Even if you are already indoctrinated into the world of whole grains and freshly milled flour you are sure to pick up something you didn't know!

Dear Bread readers,

I had a long conversation with fellow writers Andrew Janjigian & Alicia Kennedy about flour options and limits, and I know that brought a lot of you here. Welcome! For my bread pen pals who haven’t seen the talk we had, the transcript is here.

Our talk made me think to share a primer for Fresh Flour.

Artisan Grain Collaborative's "The Crumb" Newsletter - May 15, 2022
via Mailchimp archived newsletter
Posted May 15, 2022 11:13 pm by Paul Bonneville
It’s the middle of May and it's impossible to start off without mention of this wacky weather. As I'm writing, it’s hot and humid and we’re wishing the wild blackcaps were ripe. Instead, the canes are barely leafing out. For small grains farmers like us, this has been an incredibly difficult wet and cold spring. In these challenging moments I am always reminded of the importance of a strong community. This is why I believe AGC is a critical organization for supporting the success of all of us along our regional grain value chain—it fosters a community, built on mutual understanding, knowledge sharing, and authentic relationships.

While this posting it our usual repost of the Artisan Grain Collaborative (AGC) newsletter, the opening piece in this month's issue highlights the importance of organizations bringing together all the players in regional grain chains.

While the AGC is anchored in the Midwest, we have our very own grain chain organization here in Colorado, aptly named the "Colorado Grain Chain". It has been around for a few years and is still relatively small, but there is a small group of passionate folks driving it forward.

I can say with confidence that without these Grain Chain organizations, trying simply to source local and regional grains for a startup bakery is no easy task. Having also talked to farmers growing small grains at the other end of the chain, we know it is just as equally as challenging for them find and manage buyers for their grains.

These grain chain organizations are critical indeed.
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