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.
Introduction to Golden State Grains
via LinkedIn
Posted December 13, 2021 12:11 am by Paul Bonneville
I started to research for web tools or apps already in the market with similar functionality. I wasted no time and started to talk to my grain community including students, researchers, farmers, millers, and bakers. After months of defining our goals, we moved ahead with a company that helped us to develop Golden State Grains.

Came across this article written by Claudia Carter, Executive Director of the California Wheat Commission, regarding their Grain Chain networking website, Golden State Grains. While Ashley and I continue to do research on our local and regional chain, as well as national movements, it was very encouraging to come across Golden State Grains. 

If you want to understand some of what we are trying to do with Daily Grains, you'll be able to see part of our vision in their website. We want to help connect the bakers and chefs making local food with the millers and farmers (amongst all the other contributors) that are trying to grow and find new markets. Golden State Grains, a resource that does just that in California, was actually commissioned by the California Wheat Commission. Good stuff!
Locations
Woodland, CA,
United States
Farming
Advocacy & Education
Business networking
Digital infrastructure

Boulder County Couple Supports Local Restaurants With Community-Forward Farming. Why Is Their Success Story So Rare?
via The Boulder Reporting Lab
Posted December 13, 2021 12:45 am by Paul Bonneville
“To find a property like the one we’re sitting on right now is pretty challenging. Not just in Colorado, but all over the country,” Jurbala said. “The price of land is incredibly high for young people trying to get into farming.”

I learned about Speedwell Farm & Gardens about a week ago, but I just came across this article that hits on one of the major issues in the Grain Chain. Land. It is not cheap, and if you are trying to get into any new business venture, it can be a major hurdle. This article gives you more of Cody and Mel's story and the path they took to solve their land issue.

This is also the second article in the last couple weeks that I have come across by Sophia Piña-McMahon, so she is now part of our little Grain Chain database as well. 

Mad About Front Range Grains
via Medium
Posted December 10, 2021 12:50 am by Paul Bonneville
Luckily, there is a growing movement of farmers, millers, bakers, chefs, scientists, and activists in Colorado who are working to revive ancient and heritage grains for our health, the environment, and the local economy.

I've known about Mad Ag for some time now and had recently posted them to our site a couple weeks back, but I just checked out their site again and came across this article they posted back in June. The article is packed to the rafters with information about grains, the local Grain Chain movement here in the Front Range...and much more than I can summarize here. Definitely worth the read.
Locations
Boulder, CO,
United States
Seeds
Advocacy & Education
Baking
Farming

Speedwell Farm Grows India Jammu Wheat in Colorado's Front Range
via Instagram
Posted December 9, 2021 12:05 am by Paul Bonneville
Pictured here is the India Jammu wheat that Speedwell grew for Moxie this past season. Love to discover local farmers getting into the grain business.
Locations
Longmont, CO,
United States
Farming

Local Grain Chains in Action
via Instagram
Posted December 8, 2021 12:00 am by Paul Bonneville
Love to see these types of posts! This is in Auburn, California. Be sure to read the description. This is what we want to see in regions across the country!
Locations
Auburn, CA,
United States
Advocacy & Education
Baking

The Whole Grain Connection
via Whole Grain Connection
Posted December 7, 2021 10:31 pm by Paul Bonneville
We are a non-profit organization based in California, aiming to enhance the desirability and availability of whole grain breads and other whole grain products from organically and sustainably grown grains and thereby connecting farmers and bakers.

Absolutely have to highlight this great Grain Chain resource on the West Coast. Monica Spiller heads up the non-profit organization, The Whole Grain Connection. There is a lot of work and information that the website aggregates and shares, focusing mainly on California, but it also has resources and links to organizations across the country. Definitely have a look, as it represents some of the work we aspire to.
Locations
Mountain View, CA,
United States
Business networking
Advocacy & Education

Simply Bread Oven
via Simply Bread Oven
Posted December 6, 2021 11:46 pm by Paul Bonneville
This is the bread oven you’ve been waiting for

Turn your bread business into a productive micro bakery

If you are at the Cottage Food Bakery end of the Grain Chain and have had to look at scaling up your baking by getting a larger oven, you know the pain of 1) trying to find one and 2) waiting to get one once you order it. There is a US-based company working on making their own small oven here in the states. They are not up to full production yet, but it looks like they are making good progress. Think Rofco B40. Definitely check them out and sign-up for their waiting list if you have any interest.
Organizations
Equipment

Leadville, Northglenn Brewer Files for Bankruptcy After Business Goes Flat
via The Denver Post
Posted December 5, 2021 1:34 pm by Paul Bonneville
A little more than a year after Periodic Brewing shuttered its doors in Leadville and Northglenn, the brewery has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

...Throughout its five years of operation, Periodic served more than 300,000 pints of beer and produced more than 100,000 cans and bottles, according to Labbe. In its filing, the brewery said it had revenue of $784,998 in 2019 and $364,213 in 2020 prior to its closure.

What this article made me think about is the challenges farmers end up facing in turbulent new markets. How many of these breweries were sourcing local grain? How many farmers exploring these new markets have lost business? I still see market creation and support as the biggest challenge for developing the grain portion of building up regional food systems.
Locations
Leadville, CO,
United States
Sales
Farming
Milling & Malting

Going With The Grain
via Life & Thyme
Posted December 3, 2021 12:42 am
This is an older article, but I definitely wanted to add it here for 1) historical purposes, and 2) there are a lot of knowledge nuggets packed into it:

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.

And most especially, in relation to one of Daily Grains goals, this other gem:

“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.”
Locations
Boulder, CO,
United States
Farming
Baking
Advocacy & Education
Milling & Malting

Common Grain Alliance Awarded USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program Grant
via Common Grain Alliance
Posted November 29, 2021 4:04 pm
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

This is awesome news. The Common Grain Alliance is one of a handful of organizations across the country working to build out regional grain chains. The Common Grain Alliance serves the Mid-Atlantic region and already has a number of grain-advocacy projects underway, so this grant will surely let them expand and act upon even more of  their mission. 

Back in 2017, the Artisan Grain Collaborative has also received a USDA grant to build out their efforts as well any they have made a lot of progress over the years as well. This type of funding is essential, but I do always keep an eye on potentially self-sustaining business opportunities that spin off of these grant-funded organizations in the long run. 
Locations
Forest, VA,
United States
Advocacy & Education
Marketing & Promotion
Business networking
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