March 2024 Newsletter
March 8th, 2024
New Soil Health Resources added to the Growing Grain Handbook
Chapter 1 of Section 3 of the Growing Grain Handbook is now available on our website! Learn more about the role grains can play in promoting soil health and think through a crop plan that will work for you and your goals.
Heather Coiner, CGA founding member and farmer/baker at Little Hat Creek Farm, is developing this handbook to address the educational barriers to growing grain for the local market. New and experienced farmers growing on the small- to mid-scale can refer to these documents for key considerations for successfully and profitably incorporating grains into their businesses.
Sign up for March & April Events in the DMV Area
Love Your Local Grains!
with Les Dames d’Escoffier Washington D.C. Regional Chapter - Saturday, March 23rd
What is Local Beer?
with Slow Food DC & Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery - Sunday, April 14th
CGA is excited to announce our next two events! First on Saturday, March 23rd join us and Les Dames d’Escoffier Washington D.C. Regional Chapter for Love Your Local Grains! We'll enhance your understanding of the regional grain supply chain, introduce you to local millers and producers, and show you how to incorporate more local flours in your home cooking and baking. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the Mid-Atlantic grain movement that is reinvigorating local grain production for food and beverages.
Visit our website for more details about Love Your Local Grains, and register through Eventbrite!
Next, on Sunday, April 14th, explore the meaning of local beer and learn about the Mid-Atlantic regional grain movement with Slow Food DC and CGA! Hosted at Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery in Waterford, VA, this event invites you to delve into the unique concept of Land Beer, with ingredients regeneratively grown on the land next to the brewery. Participants will be given a guided tour of the barley field, brewery, and learn about the unique approach Wheatland Spring takes that marries agriculture and brewing. Guests will be offered three Wheatland Spring Estate beer samples during the tour and a full pour of beer during a panel discussion. A variety of non-alcoholic and gluten-free beverage options will be available for those who want to participate.
Visit our website for more details about What is Local Beer?
Register to attend on the Wheatland Spring website.
Attention DC-area grain fans! Sign ups are now open for the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Grain Share, with pick-ups starting the first week of May!
Since 2022, we have partnered with FRESHFARM to bring the Grain Share to DC alongside their CSA-style Market Share. Each week of the program, subscribers take home a curated selection of grains, pasta, grits, rice, and more. The Grain Share is a great way to learn more about the grains growing in our region and to try something new!
The Grain Share is available for home delivery to DC addresses or pick-up at FRESHFARM’s CityCenter, Columbia Heights, Foggy Bottom, Minnesota Ave, and Ballston market locations. Head to FRESHFARM’s website to register!
February Recap: Watch the Grain to Glass Panel Discussion
In February, CGA hosted our first two events of 2024: a Baker Meet Up and a Grain Cleaning Workshop & Grain to Glass Industry Networking Event.
We hosted our second Baker Meet Up at the University of the District of Columbia, where CGA members John Derry (professional baker at Meadow Bread) and Mark Woodward (serious home baker) discussed the joys and challenges of working with local grains and troubleshooting tips when things go wrong. Afterwards, there was time for a Q&A and mingling, including tasting samples of the delicious breads and treats everyone prepared for the event.
Some of the treats made with Mid-Atlantic grown grains we sampled at the Baker Meet Up.
Mark Woodward & John Derry introduced the topic and shared context from experience baking with local grains themselves.
On February 20, we hosted a Grain Cleaning Workshop & Grain to Glass Industry Networking Event. We met up bright and early at Greater Richmond Grains in Powhatan, VA for a tour of the grain growing and cleaning operation owned by CGA member and Board Treasurer Pete Sisti. Pete demonstrated the steps of bringing in a grain harvest and preparing it for sale. Watch a recap of the workshop on the “Grain Cleaning” highlight on CGA’s Instagram.
After lunch, we gathered at Reservoir Distillery in nearby Richmond for a panel discussion about the relationship between grain farming, malting, and distilling. The panel was moderated by Shelley Sackier (Reservoir’s Director of Distillery Education) and featured Jeff Bloem (Founder, Murphy & Rude Malting Co.), Dave Cuttino (Founder, Reservoir Distillery), Becky Harris (Head Distiller, Catoctin Creek), Matthew Harris (Bays Best Feed), and Timmy Scott (Grain Farmer). Panelists discussed the types of collaboration that happen amongst this diverse group to end up with a successful product that features the flavors and identity of food and agriculture in the region. Watch a recording of the full discussion on our YouTube page.
Our February 20th event began the day with the Grain Cleaning Workshop at Greater Richmond Grains.
Our panel of grain growing, malting, and distilling experts reflected on the opportunities and challenges for regional distilled spirits.
2024 ALDI Cohort Dives into Learning
Last month, the newest cohort of participants in the Agricultural Leadership Development Initiative got started with professional development opportunities to advance in their careers as farmers and small business owners. Three Zoom workshops were held focusing on Updating Your Business Plan, Marketing & Branding (by CGA’s Vanessa Bolin and Jillian O’Donohoe), and the Farm Bill & Agricultural Policy.
Next month when the calendar says it will be spring, we can’t wait to visit Fields 4 Valor in Brandywine, MD for our first Field Day of the year.
CGA is proud to work with Future Harvest, Million Acre Challenge, & Fields 4 Valor to support this program and the opportunities it creates for help socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and foresters who have historically experienced limited access to USDA programs and services.
Grain Fact: It’s a Barley World, we’re just living in it
In the United States, barley is probably most known as an ingredient in beer or animal feed. However, barley is also an important staple crop in other countries with historical and cultural significance. In the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Eastern and Central Europe, barley is a key ingredient in many traditional meals such as Keşkek, Al-murri, Cholent.
Additionally, in Africa it also has several traditional uses in cultural and religious rituals and is considered an exceptional crop for boosting nutrition, food security, and sustainable development because it’s relatively drought resistant.
The Barley Bag is available at all Mid-Atlantic Grain Stand locations!
Barley adds a delicious and nutty flavor when used in place of wheat berries or flour. Eating it adds nutritional diversity to your diet and makes it possible for farmers to include it in diverse crop plans.
If you are based in the DMV area, check out the new Barley Bundle at the Mid-Atlantic Grain Stand.
The Barley Bag costs $40 and includes:
🌾 One 2 lb bag of Barley Flour from Savage Acres
🌾 One 1 lb bag of Barley Berries from Next Step Produce
🌾 4 pack of Barley Tea from Barley Tea/Deer Creek Malthouse
🌾 1 printed copy of the Barley World Zine from the Barley Breeding program at Oregon State University, highlighting the science and history of barley and 15+ recipes
🌾 CGA Tote Bag
A digital copy of the Barley World Zine is on our website too! Find it on the Grains 101 page under “Learn.”