Local Business News
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.
Pure Cottage Food Bakery Inspiration!
via Instagram
Posted November 10, 2021 8:31 am
by Paul Bonneville
Pure inspiration! Well, at least for me. 😁 When you think about reviving local Grain Chains across the country, looking at the story that Maggie Harkins Kraft's Instagram feed tells is very inspiring. We all fall victim to romanticizing visions of the types of businesses we would want to be part of or own, but when you actually come across actual people and their enterprises (small or large), it tells you it is possible to start one from your home.
Every business, even the size of bristle cone bakery, contributes to new market potential for the farmers that could grow the grain and the millers that could process it.
Every business, even the size of bristle cone bakery, contributes to new market potential for the farmers that could grow the grain and the millers that could process it.
Starting some einkorn "ancient grain" exploration
via Instagram
Posted November 8, 2021 12:17 am
by Paul Bonneville
As we explore (and drag you along) the various corners of the Grain Chain, one of my favorite things is learning about new grains and the farmers and millers that are working with them. This week it is the ancient grain, einkorn. We ordered some organic Einkorn from Bench View Farms out of Idaho and Ashley baked up a loaf…
Launching Our Map Explorer
via Daily Grains
Posted November 4, 2021 12:42 am
by Paul Bonneville
Finally launched our new Map Explorer this week. You can explore a number of small operations that are selling grains and flour they mill from their local grains. We'll be adding more entries over time (we are manually reviewing all the data before we publish), so go have a look and check back often.
How We Built a Bakery in Our Garage - Proof Bread
via YouTube
Posted November 2, 2021 12:29 am
by Paul Bonneville
To call Proof Bread the mother lode of information for anyone dreaming about starting a bakery as a way to jump into the Grain Chain would be an understatement. This video, of which there are many created and shared by Proof Bread, is by far their most viewed on their YouTube channel, but also the most informative.
Jon Przybyl gives a tour of their old space right after they where forced by the city to move their operation. Not only does he gives the tour, but also provides a very comprehensive oral history on how they evolved their bakery from their garage...literally in this case.
The video is over an hour and a half, so turn up the video speed to 2x and carve out the time if you can. I've watched this video and a few others to get up to date on their story and move into a commercial space. Jon has a lot to offer on the trials and tribulations of starting a micro-bakery as well as some deeper business philosophies I find myself readily agreeing with.
Jon Przybyl gives a tour of their old space right after they where forced by the city to move their operation. Not only does he gives the tour, but also provides a very comprehensive oral history on how they evolved their bakery from their garage...literally in this case.
The video is over an hour and a half, so turn up the video speed to 2x and carve out the time if you can. I've watched this video and a few others to get up to date on their story and move into a commercial space. Jon has a lot to offer on the trials and tribulations of starting a micro-bakery as well as some deeper business philosophies I find myself readily agreeing with.
Daily Grains on Instagram: Kernza
via Instagram
Posted November 2, 2021 12:23 am
by Paul Bonneville
Our order of Kernza grain arrived and was put to use over the weekend.
Artisan Grain Collaborative on Instagram: “We enjoyed participating in the Kernza®CAP project’s first all-hands meeting today...”
via Instagram
Posted November 1, 2021 1:27 am
by Paul Bonneville
More on the Kernza® initiative...
Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative is promoting their ecosystem and earth-benefitting crops
via The Land Institute
Posted November 1, 2021 12:36 am
by Paul Bonneville
"News report from Pioneer PBS in southeastern Minnesota on the newly formed Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative that has an eye towards marketing perennial crops — Kernza®, a perennial grain, to start — that also provide ecosystem services."
There is a lot to unpack here... If you have not heard of perennial grains, perennial crops, or Kernza®, chances are you have not heard of The Land Institute. I'll be following up with more information, but dig into the video and check out the supporting links for this post. According to the Kernza® website:
Kernza® grain is harvested from intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium). This (cousin) of annual wheat has been grown throughout the USA to provide fodder for livestock. Now intermediate wheatgrass is being domesticated as a grain for human food.
It is a grain, not unlike wheat (but smaller), that can be ground into a flour and used for baking, amongst other foodstuffs. We just had some Kernza® pancakes this morning as a matter of fact.
Products
Connections
Don Lewis Is Reviving the Grain Economy in New York's Hudson Valley
via Civil Eats
Posted October 27, 2021 7:33 pm
by Paul Bonneville
The heritage wheat wizard is adapting grain varieties to present-day climate conditions, developing a local market, and working to diversify the food system.
For some reason, the title and the introduction make it sound like Don's work is something new. He has actually been popping up in a number of sources that both Ashley and I have been coming across separately. His work is inspiring. If you do a quick Google on him, he pops up in an article in the the New York Times back in 2010 as well as other articles which cover him working within various parts of the Grain Chain. Another good read about an inspiring thought leader and do-er.
People
Organizations
Regional Access in Upstate New York
via Regional Access
Posted October 26, 2021 11:06 pm
by Paul Bonneville
A community-oriented, grassroots company, Regional Access was built on a vision of providing ecologically responsible, locally grown food in Upstate New York. From humble beginnings in founder Gary Redmond’s garage to their current spacious modern warehouse, the company has flourished over the last few decades, helping to redefine regional food systems and pave the way for a myriad array of new businesses and social efforts focused on improving and developing more sustainable food connections.
This is a great example of a regional food hub over in Ithaca New York. As we seek to understand what local food systems look like to today across the country, having examples to serve as reference points that we can come back to is going to be important. We also love watching the individual stories of these type of businesses as they unfold 😁.
Daily Grains and the research we do is aimed at continuously building our near real-time knowledge of food systems. As we come across inspiring businesses, you'll be seeing us add them here. While not all businesses we follow end up here in the News Feed, they do get added to our knowledge base so that we can keep an eye on their stories over time.
I Tried to Prove That Small Family Farms Are the Future. I Couldn’t Do It.
via The Counter
Posted October 25, 2021 10:34 pm
by Paul Bonneville
What does all this mean for the future of American agriculture? That we should stop trying to build a more resilient and equitable food system on a foundation of an unproven (or disproven) small family farm ideal, especially when a very real set of alternatives is available.
In this article, Sarah Mock tackles the very question that my mind has been gnawing on over that past couple months: Why is it that the family farm is such a romanticized idea in today's culture? If we want to rebuild any grain chains or create new markets, we have to look at what is not working today, start from there, and integrate things that are working. The small family farm, as romanticized, is not a sustainable business model to build on. This article points out the problems, but offers some potential alternatives. It's worth the read.