Links to Grain Articles of Note | Maine Grain Alliance

Articles Featuring Maine’s Grain Economy:

Edible Maine, Maine Grains Rise to the Occasion, (December 2019)

“It turned out they were just starting out as grain farmers. Neither of us knew what ‘falling numbers’ were or how they indicated grain quality, but we vowed to work together. I’ve been buying rye and whole wheat from them ever since.” That was in 2011, and that couple was Adam Nordell and Johanna Davis, who own Songbird Farm in Unity.

Maine Biz, Maine Grain Alliance to pilot post-harvest innovations with $97K grant, (November 2019)

“The ability to handle and finish grain to meet top quality standards is critical on farms. This project will purchase equipment and demonstrate its best uses,” said Tristan Noyes, executive director of the Maine Grain Alliance. “We hope to alleviate a critical bottleneck in Maine’s grain economy.“

National Public Radio(WBUR): Back To The Grind (Stone): A Grain Revival Rises In New England, (September 2019)

Halloran points to a new crop of “micro-mills,” kind of like microbreweries, in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont. The Maine Grain Alliance turned an old prison into a state-of-the-art mill to, in part, supply Boston and New York bakers who’ve fallen for Northeast flour (Maine Grains products are also available in Whole Foods).

Portland Press Herald, The Farmer: Maine Grain Alliance has ‘changed the face of bread and baking’ (March 2018)

“The nonprofit has helped bring back grain farming for baking and brewing, earning the Source Award for Farmer. Whether it’s sending a young entrepreneur for training on how to become a maltster, or growing a field of rare Estonian wheat on a Maine farm, for the past decade the Maine Grain Alliance has been at the forefront of rebuilding Maine’s grain economy.”

Bread Magazine, Growing grain to make bread. Issue 22, (November 2018)

“We have to look at the whole complex chain of processes, down from the soil to the work of the farmer, to the work of the miller and that of the baker.” — Richard Roberts

Civil Eats, Maine Is Scaling Up its Local Grain Economy (November 2018)

“’Our challenge is to incorporate these grains in a way that creates value for farmers and the specialty markets,” says Noyes, a sixth-generation potato farmer who also grows landrace flint corn on his organic vegetable farm in Caribou, Maine. Noyes tells farmers, “Don’t look at it as lost revenue; look at it as a way to make profit.’”

World Bread Awards USA, Sarah Owens wins Tiptree World Bread Awards with Food is GREAT (November 2018)

“I attribute the quality of the bread to using stone ground flour grown in the northeast and milled by Maine Grains. They are dedicated to mindfully grown, organic grains milled with integrity and I think it really makes a difference in the flavor and nutritional profile of what I bake. When all of the germ oils are preserved in the harvesting and milling process, the resulting fermentation is robust, the crumb fragrant, and the crust deeply caramelized.”

Maine Biz, Maine Food Insider: It’s January in Maine, and everyone’s talking pie (January 2018)

“Maine Grain Alliance also supported local pie-making (and other baking and grain-related businesses) with its recent round of grants. Night Moves Bread & Pie was awarded $800 toward owner Kerry Hanney’s effort to purchase a larger, more efficient oven, a mixer and a stone mill for milling small lots of grain bought directly from farmers. Hanney’s “one-woman bakery” is a community-oriented effort committed to baking exclusively with stone-ground, sustainably grown regional grain and natural leaving, she said. Hanney, based in Portland, but who teaches workshops throughout the state, hopes to expand production, hire employees and hold more workshops, which she does in partnership with the grain alliance.”

Morning Sentinel, Maine Grains CEO Amber Lambke, of Skowhegan, to appear on Martha Stewart TV (October 2018)

“Lambke said the network of people who have experienced the Kneading Conference led to the referral of her work with Maine Grains in Skowhegan to Stewart’s team of producers.”

Kennebec Journal, Get busy at the Common Ground Country Fair (September 2018)

Some of this year’s featured speakers include organic farming legend Eliot Coleman; Tristan Noyes, the executive director of the Maine Grain Alliance and co-founder of Gromaine Organic Farm; and Hanne Tierney, who is the chair of the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets and also oversees the Portland and Waterville farmers’ markets (when she’s not busy running her own farm, Cornerstone in Palmyra).”

New Food Economy, Why is farmers’ market bread so ridiculously expensive? (March 2018) One of the clearest indicators that regional grain-sheds are starting to thrive is the rise of local bakeries. From Skowhegan, Maine to Spokane, Washington, cities large and small have seen a renaissance of whole-grain bakers using freshly milled flour.