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.
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
Milling & Malting
Sales
Farming

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
Advocacy & Education
Baking
Farming
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
Marketing & Promotion
Advocacy & Education
Business networking

Introducing Grapewood Farm
via Instagram
Posted November 24, 2021 9:45 pm by Paul Bonneville
Just decided on a new pattern as I come across new Grain Chain organizations: I'll be posting them to the news feed as I add them to the database. In this case, I came across Grapewood Farm in Montross, VA via the Common Grain Alliance's Instagram feed. Grapewood is a farm (as the name suggests 😁), a small grains grower and mill, all wrapped up into one. The Common Grain Alliance puts it pretty eloquently:

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!
Locations
Montross, VA,
United States
Sales
Farming
Milling & Malting

Behind the Scenes at Bread Craft
via Instagram
Posted November 24, 2021 10:21 pm by Paul Bonneville
Another recent entry to our database, Bread Craft. While bakeries are not displayed on the site yet, they are filling up our database as they play an important link in the Grain Chain: getting the grains into bellies.
Locations
24 Church Ave SW,
Roanoke, VA,
United States
Organizations
Baking

Northeast Grainshed's SQFT Project
via Northeast Grainshed Alliance
Posted November 23, 2021 12:30 am by Paul Bonneville
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.

I think this project is genius.  I've had the link to it sitting in our database for some time now but completely forgot to publish it once we went live with the site. It is essentially  a locally focused marketing effort where the idea is to make a connection for the consumer with the amount of local or regional land it took to grow the grains in whatever food or beverage they are consuming. 

The concept of "buying local" invokes its own image for consumers already, but when we actually start talking about rebuilding local Grain Chains, understanding what it takes to do it really does start with the land. While it is interesting to curious consumer, the realities of growing a new potentially profitable grain crop has to start with an understanding between the food maker and the farmer with regards to how much grain to grow.

Locations
Stannard, VT,
United States
Advocacy & Education
Marketing & Promotion
Farming

Ethos Stone Mill and Barnard Griffin Winery Partner with Palouse Heritage for Tasting
via Palouse Heritage
Posted November 20, 2021 11:38 pm by Paul Bonneville
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.

Love to see these types of events! This is market-building going on right in front of our eyes :) This is also a great example of Grain Chain partners coming together with such a high level of collaboration, and not just the event. Ethos and Palouse Heritage work very closely together in the Grain Chain. Palouse Heritage grows the grains, Ethos Stone Mill mills them and bakes them into their products in their bakery, not to mention also selling the milled flour. Bring that all together and roll it into a unique tasting event and now you are exposing a new consumer base into a renewed local food system around ancient and heritage grains!
Locations
Richland, WA,
United States
Marketing & Promotion
Business networking
Baking
Advocacy & Education
Milling & Malting
Farming

This is Funky
via Instagram
Posted November 18, 2021 12:34 am by Paul Bonneville
Love coming across other local Grain Chain-ers here in the Metro Denver area! 😎 When I came across Allison Declercq's operation, The Funky Flame, I also stumbled upon an article that tells a little bit of her story. I'll let you explore the links, but the article also talks about where Allison's mobile wood-fired pizza oven came from. The company is called Fire Within, and they too are in the Metro Denver area.
Locations
2139 W 44th Ave,
Denver, CO, 80211
United States
Equipment
Sales
Baking

Flaking Grains
via Instagram
Posted November 17, 2021 12:19 am by Paul Bonneville
We picked up a flaker mill attachment for our mixer from Pleasant Hill Grain this past week. Tried it out on some oat groats and will be testing the results in tomorrow’s oatmeal 😁.
Locations
Lafayette, CO,
United States
Equipment
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