Grains and Seeds for Human Consumption

*Each resource within the Four Corners region will be marked with an asterisk

See also:

Four Corners Marketing Programs & Services listings of regional resources applicable to a variety of topics.
Direct Marketing to Consumers for more marketing resources for selling directly to customers.

Arizona Resources

*Maricopa Agricultural Center"
Strives to be at the forefront of disciplinary field investigations, develop, deliver and service the best appropriate integrated agricultural technologies for all problems faced by Arizona consumers and producers, and to provide assistance to all scientists conducting their research and educational outreach programs." The center's main focus is on cotton, small grains, alfalfa, and new specialty crops that could be used to provide fibers, oils, pharmaceuticals, etc.

http://ag.arizona.edu/aes/mac/

Colorado Resources

*Rocky Mountain Milling
Rocky Mountain Milling is located north of Denver in Platteville. They are dedicated to milling organic wheat into flour.

http://www.bsm.com/rockymountainmilling/

New Mexico Resources

*Slow Food: Ark of Taste: Chicos, Dried Corn of NM
The Ark of Taste aims to rediscover, catalog, describe and publicize forgotten flavors.Chicos, a food member of the Slow Food “Ark of Taste” project is the name given to dried corn. The word “Chicos” seems to be used mostly in New Mexico, but corn is dried all over the southwest and undoubtedly wherever traditional corn-eating cultures exist.

http://www.slowfoodfoundation.org/eng/arca/dettaglio.lasso?cod=578&prs=0

Regional Resources

Fresh, Organic and Native Foods of the Four Corners: A Directory of Eco-Regional Food Sustainability
Over 150 local food growers, ranchers, and organizations from the Four Corners region are listed in Fresh, Organic and Native Foods of the Four Corners: A Directory of Eco-Regional Food Sustainability.
http://www.environment.nau.edu/food/FoodDirectory/Select.asp

Organizations Working to Market Grains and Seeds

Arrowhead Mills
Arrowhead Mills is a seller of various grains including; beans, seeds, hot and cold cereals, pancake & waffle and cake & brownie mixes and nut butters. The company has grown to a 20-acre site with office, manufacturing, lab, warehouse, and grain storage facilities.
http://www.arrowheadmills.com/

Save Wild Rice
This is a project of the White Earth Land Recovery Project to save wild rice varieties of northern Minnesota from genetic engineering.

http://www.savewildrice.org/

Grain and Seed Marketing Resources

Evaluate Your Grain Marketing Opportunities
This article from the New Farm reports on grain marketing strategies including; planning, pricing, promoting, distributing, and executing a grain marketing plan.
http://www.newfarm.org/depts/talking_shop/0403/marketing_ops.shtml

Field Crops: ATTRA Publications
If you grow field crops such as grain, corn and legumes, you may want to learn how you can successfully adopt sustainable farming methods or organic production strategies for these crops. This series of publications discusses some of the soil and weed management options and tilling and planting methods that can make traditional field crop production more sustainable and economically viable.
http://www.attra.org/field.html

National Agricultural Library: Alternative Grains and Field Crops
This website has links to various articles and other web resources regarding alternative grain production and marketing.
http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=2&tax_level=2&tax_subject=298&level3_id=0&level4_id=0&level5_id=0&topic_id=1425&&placement_default=0

Organic Agriculture Resources: Grain Buyers
This is a very comprehensive list of grain buyers throughout the United States. The list has been put together by the Iowa State University.
http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/organicag/grainbuyers.html

Organic Grain and Seed Marketing

Evaluate Your Grain Marketing Opportunities
This article from the New Farm reports on grain marketing strategies including; planning, pricing, promoting, distributing, and executing a grain marketing plan.
http://www.newfarm.org/depts/talking_shop/0403/marketing_ops.shtml

Growing Organic Soybeans on Conservation Reserve Program Land
This is a publication from the Iowa State University describing the benefits of growing organic soybeans while land is managed under the Conservation Reserve Program.
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1881.pdf

Marketing Organic Grains:Marketing, Business and Risk management
This publication focuses on food grains, oilseeds, and pulses. A brief overview of feed grain markets and marketing is included.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/marketingorganicgrains.html

Organic Agriculture Resources: Grain BuyersThis is a very comprehensive list of grain buyers throughout the United States. The list has been put together by the Iowa State University.
http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/organicag/grainbuyers.html

Organic Grain Marketing
This is a resource website from the North Carolina State University. Links include information about alternative marketing techniques, grain buyers, and web resources for organic grain marketing.
http://www.cropsci.ncsu.edu/organicgrains/marketing/marketing.htm

Small Scale Grain Processing

Grain Processing: Adding Value to Farm Products
Value-added processing is a strategy used by some grain growers to keep their farming operations viable. This publication introduces ideas that have worked for some farmers, provides sources for equipment, and lists sources of further information.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/grainpro.html

*Rocky Mountain Milling
Rocky Mountain Milling is located north of Denver in Platteville. They are dedicated to milling organic wheat into flour.
http://www.bsm.com/rockymountainmilling/

Case Studies and Success Stories

Bluebird Grains Farm
Bluebird Grains Farm, located in Winthrop, WA, specializes in growing, processing, and direct selling organic grains and fours. This is an inspirational example of what is possible when direct marketing grains.
http://www.bluebirdgrainfarms.com/

Jennifer Greene: CSA Pioneer, ATTRA Newsletter

Jennifer Greene, owner of Windborne Farm, runs a 90-member grain CSA in California which includes grains, beans, and edible seeds. Jennifer uses draft horses instead of tractors for planting and cultivating the grains.

http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/attranews_0306.html#story6

Funding Resources

Please see:

Financing for general resources to help fund agricultural marketing ventures.