Founded in 2011 by plant breeder and geneticist Stephen Jones, the facility is the only one of its kind in the country. The Breadlab works with farmers, millers, bakers and distillers to develop, test and integrate new grains into their regional food systems.

...This involves planting several thousands of varieties in a field, which allows for free interbreeding and evolutionary changes to organically unfold. Researchers study and select how each one responds to different events throughout the growing season.  

Building a Local Grain Movement from the Ground Up with Soil, Seed, and Diversity | $75,000 — This project will advance Colorado's ancient and heritage grain movement by bringing a wider diversity of grains into production, using regenerative practices, and working with a community of regional partners to share best practices through a series of fun educational events.

And with Spring, a new cycle has begun. @aspenmoonfarm has just sowed our ancient Durum and we can't wait to follow Mother Nature's beautiful process during the upcoming months.

They envision a staple food system in which these vital products are grown, processed, value-added, distributed, and marketed at a great enough volume to catalyze the entire food system, creating meaningful work and jobs, and making the very best food accessible to everyone.

Thomas Toth & Mad Agriculture have released a report examining Local Grain Sourcing for the Colorado Brewing and Distilling Industries.

This in-depth research pulls together many of the threads of the local supply chain to holistically investigate the case for regionally sourced grain.

To move beyond that, he sees a need for greater scale and greater organization. He doesn’t necessarily envision a trade organization, but possibly a marketplace or a forum for growers or buyers to band together and create enough demand or enough supply to move the needle. “We need an opportunity to have the conversation,” he said.

According to the National Association of Wheat Growers, every time you buy a loaf of bread only 17 cents goes back to the farmer. Chandler Goule, CEO of the lobbying group, said the uncertainty for the farmers is just now sprouting.

The farm planted fifty acres that first year. "We weren't going to have a company unless the grain grew," Whitaker remembers. "I didn't even incorporate [Dry Storage] until after Sarah called me and said, 'We're going to have a harvest.'"

“It’s like we’re finally seeing all the hard work and time pay off,” he says, noting that, this past year, he set a new record for corn at 298 bushels per acre while using the lowest fertilizer inputs to date. “When you make these decisions, you have a hard time seeing the changes all of the time, but these past months, when we were able to do more with less, it feels like a homerun,” he says. 

In this week’s newsletter, we bring you a profile of Seven Sundays, an AGC member who uses their popular breakfast cereal and muesli to push the needle for regional grains. We’re also re-sharing insights on Ukraine’s influence on the world’s bread wheat and links to AGC members who have joined the work of fundraising for humanitarian efforts.

Of the hundreds of thousands of wheat varieties that farmers once cultivated, for example, only a handful are now farmed on a large scale, he told Vox.