Growing Grain Markets: Buyer Panel & Grain Social
Thursday, July 23
When: July 23, 2026
Where: The Skowhegan Spinning Mill & Biergarten, 7 Island Ave, Skowhegan, ME 04976
Price –> Free
Join us on July 23 in Skowhegan, Maine for a producer-led conversation and evening gathering focused on strengthening markets for regionally grown grain through collaboration, connection, and shared opportunity.
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About the Event
Buyer Panel: Expanding Grain Markets Through Collaboration
Panel Time: 3PM
As part of the Kneading Conference hosted by the Maine Grain Alliance, this Buyer Panel brings growers, buyers, and grain partners into one room to focus on what matters most: building strong markets through strong relationships.
Join us on July 23 for a panel discussion on building strong markets for locally grown organic grains, moderated by Kim Butz of the Rodale Institute.
Panelists Amber Lambke, Joel Alex, Kerry Hanney, and Kyle DePietro will share insights on where demand is growing, what makes grain market-ready, and how growers can enter and expand into new markets.
Developed in collaboration with the Rodale Institute with support from Naturally New England, this conversation highlights the collective work underway to strengthen regional grain economies and expand opportunity across the value chain.
Across the region, momentum continues to grow. Bakers, millers, brewers, distillers, food businesses, and institutions are actively seeking regionally-grown grain. Farmers are diversifying production, exploring new markets, and building pathways into sustainable, organic, and regenerative systems. This panel brings those conversations together.
You’ll hear about:
- Where demand is growing across grain markets
- What makes grain market-ready
- How pricing, quality, and logistics align
- Opportunities in local, organic, and identity-preserved grain
- How growers can enter and expand into new markets
- What builds lasting, trust-based supply chain relationships
The session will also highlight how strong markets and strong relationships support farmers who are exploring, transitioning to, or implementing organic practices alongside other production systems, while ensuring buyers have access to reliable regional supply.
This is more than a panel. It is a working conversation about how we build grain systems that are viable, transparent, and rooted in shared success.
When growers and buyers understand each other, markets grow. When markets grow, regional grain thrives. And when we work together, opportunity expands for everyone.
Come ready to listen, share, and build what comes next.
This Organic buyer panel and grain social are supported through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP). This event is made possible with support from the Rodale Institute, USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program, and Naturally New England.
Featured Panelists
Kim Butz - Rodale Institute -Moderator
Rooted in organic agriculture from an early age, a love for the land came naturally. Having spent twenty-six years as a chef and food service professional, I bring a unique perspective to agricultural support. Over the past ten years, I have provided technical assistance to small farms, conducted workshops, and pursued continuing education to equip farmers with the knowledge and tools needed for resilient, safer, and more productive systems. Passionate about education, soil health, and capacity building, I am dedicated to fostering open, inclusive conversations that advance sustainable farming practices, balancing economic success with ecological stewardship.
Amber Lambke - Maine Grains
Kerry Hanney - Night Moves Bread
Kerry Hanney is founder and baker behind Night Moves, a bakery in South Portland, Maine, dedicated to baking high quality naturally leavened bread and investigating the possibilities of sustainably grown regional grain. Night Moves’ aim is to make sustainable regional grain more accessible to Southern Maine, in order to improve community health and to help build consumer markets for Maine grain growers. Founded in 2016 with two loaves of bread in a studio apartment, Night Moves now supplies wholesale accounts in communities from Kennebunk to Brewer with thousands of whole grain loaves each month, and serves fresh bread, pastries, coffee, and pizza at the mouth of the Fore River in South Portland. Kerry’s work has been highlighted in Maine Magazine, Portland Press Herald, Martha Stewart Living, Food Network’s Best Bread Bakeries in America, London Financial Times, Food & Wine’s 100 Best Bakeries in America, and Food & Wine‘s 10 Most Essential Bakeries, who called Night Moves’ sourdough ‘Maine in bread form.’
Joel Alex - Blue Ox Malthouse
Joel Alex is the founder of Blue Ox Malthouse, a malthouse based in Lisbon Falls, Maine, dedicated to connecting the state’s craft brewing community with its agricultural economy through locally produced malt. Alex founded Blue Ox in 2013 with the goal of fostering relationships between Maine farmers and brewers, processing his first pilot batch using grain from Aroostook County in 2014. Today, Blue Ox supplies Maine-grown malt to craft breweries across the region, with a mission to push the possibilities of craft beer and spirits while supporting sustainable agricultural practices.
Kyle DePietrio - Sasanoa Brewing
Kyle DePietro is the brewer and owner of Sasanoa Brewing, a MOFGA-certified organic brewery on Maine’s Westport Island. A veteran of Brooklyn Brewery, DePietro focuses on saison-style ales brewed with Maine-grown organic ingredients, many sourced directly from Tarbox Farm (including the yeast). Sasanoa is Maine’s only MOFGA-certified organic brewery, and DePietro is an outspoken advocate for expanding the local organic grain supply.
After the Panel
The Grain Social: Where Markets Meet Community
Begins at 6PM
After the panel, we gather.
Join us for an evening grower-buyer mixer designed to bring the grain community together over good food, drinks, and conversation.
Held in conjunction with the Kneading Conference hosted by the Maine Grain Alliance, this free gathering is about strengthening the relationships that power regional grain economies.
Enjoy locally crafted food and beverages featuring regionally grown grain while connecting with farmers, millers, bakers, brewers, distillers, institutional buyers, and food businesses who are shaping the future of grain.
This is where:
- New market relationships begin
- Existing partnerships deepen
- Ideas turn into opportunities
- Conversations spark collaboration
- Regional grain networks grow stronger
Whether you are growing, sourcing, milling, baking, brewing, or building markets, this is a space to connect with intention and possibility.
We are building something bigger than any one farm, business, or organization. We are building a regional grain movement rooted in collaboration and shared success, with expanding opportunities for farmers across conventional, transitioning, and certified organic systems.
Come meet the people behind the grain.
Come build what comes next.
This Organic buyer panel and grain social are supported through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP). This event is made possible with support from the Rodale Institute, Naturally New England, and the USDA Transition to Organic Partnership Program.
With Special Thanks To
