Food-Grade Grains
Midwest GRIT:
Growing Grains, Growing Relationships
Midwest GRIT (Grains Resource & Immersive Training) was created to support farmers new to growing food-grade grains.
A program of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, in partnership with the Artisan Grain Collaborative, and the Organic Grain Resource and Information Network (OGRAIN), Midwest GRIT empowered farmers through three core pillars: education, peer-to-peer learning, and meaningful relationship-building.
From 2022–2023, 60 farmers participated in 40+ sessions through a partnership between Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Artisan Grain Collaborative, and UW–Madison.
Although the program has concluded, its impact lives on as the Midwest Grainshed continues to grow and strengthen. Learn more about GRIT and Small-Grain Growing in the videos below.
Midwest GRIT
Midwest GRIT
Midwest GRIT: Farm Finances 101
Midwest GRIT: Crop Rotations
Midwest GRIT: Agronomy 101 For Grains
Midwest GRIT: Healthy Soils For Growing Grains
For farmers interested in producing food-grade grains, those intended for human consumption, there are a unique set of opportunities, challenges, and considerations.
This guide, developed in partnership with UW-Madison and The Artisan Collaborative, is intended for farmers interested in adding food-grade grain crops to their farms. Sections include crop timing and rotation recommendations, variety selection, seed sourcing, production management, and post-harvest handling.
The movement to perennialize agriculture seeks to better protect our surface and groundwaters, keep soil in place, store atmospheric carbon, restore ecosystems, and transform your local landscape – and we’re glad you’re here
This guide provide growers with the information they need to grow and store Kernza perennial grain, from rotational planning and planting considerations, to management, combine settings, harvesting, and post-harvest handling. We also provide tips and references for where and how to explore market channels.
Post-Harvest Handling for Food Grade Grains
Thughtful post-harvest handling is an essential component of bringing food-grade small grains to market. Many food-grade grain growers say that only half the work and investment is growing the crop, whereas the other half is proper post-harvest handling and storage.
This five-part video series features farmers growing food-grade wheat and rye on small and mid-size farms, from five to hundreds of acres. This series was developed to help farmers get started or improve on their small grain post-harvest handling, focusing on wheat and rye.
Check out the full series on YouTube.
Brought to you by Artisan Grain Collaborative and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, with funding from NCR SARE.
Growing the Use of Small Grains in the Upper Midwest
Small grains bring many benefits to agricultural systems, yet most farmers in the Midwest no longer plant them in rotations. CIAS worked in partnership with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, the Artisan Grain Collaborative, the University of California, Davis, and Purdue University to study why farmers don’t grow more small grains, and how to support their production.
This report, published in September of 2023, details the drivers and deterrents of the adoption of small grains and provides policy-relevant solutions for how small grains can be encouraged in the region.
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