About Shagbark Seed & Mill
Shagbark Seed & Mill was launched by the Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative (ASFC) as its first business toward building a sustainable staple food system model in our region. Shagbark Seed & Mill's key function is in having the necessary processing equipment to turn out dry beans and grain, seed, and flour for consumers. Shagbark’s line of flour, dry beans, and whole grain will lay the foundation for adding cereals, mixes, and breads in the next year. Among our most recent new products are 100% whole spelt artisan bread and corn tortilla chips and crackers.
Why?
Because ASFC’s mission is to replace the global commodity elevator system with enterprises that pay farmers to grow high nutrition open pollinated crops for their region to build regional food security. Key to this model is our work with small-to-mid-sized farms to produce, process, market, and distribute fresh, whole, sustainably-grown staple food products for our region.
How?
Since our 2010 launch, Shagbark Seed & Mill has increased farm partnerships from three to six and acerage to from 25 acres to 80. That first season, we continued to grow spelt & amaranth at Green Edge Organic Gardens, but this season we let go of the field work to get the facility here in Athens County upgraded for our region. We still provide seed and know-how to those farmers who are new to our high-nutrition crops--Amaranth, Heirloom Corn, Spelt, and Black Turtle Beans, because they are high nutrtion delicious crops that are well adapted to grow in the Midwest.
We are closing in on the finsh of our business plan and structure, which is going to take the best of what we've learned this year to create a cooperative business system for Shagbark Seed & Mill Co. ASFC is currently working with Kurt Belser’s & Marie DeMange’s start-up nut processing enterprise, The Wing Nuttery. And we are going to be testing oil presses in the next few months to evaluate the feasibility of enterprises to produce pressed oils from sunflower and pumpkin seed and nuts. Shagbark also received a Healthy Food Enterprise Development grant from the Wallace Foundation to work on Healthy Food Access of our products in low income communities.
Our Crops & Farm Partners
Our crop priority is two-fold: Certified organic and heirloom and to meet both values work with both certified and non certified farms, although those without certification are must use organic practices to meet our no-chemical input bottom line. . In 2010, we grew spelt and amaranth at Green Edge Organic Gardens in Athens County. We still work with the Hershberger Family Farms in Morgan County, where horse-drawn equipment is used to grow heirloom corn, spelt, and black turtle beans; Clinehens Organics in Logan County, where most of our black turtle beans were just harvested in early October. New to our endeavor are Mary Ann Burr, who grows spelt, and David Saunders, who grew our amaranth and adzuki beans in Shelby County.
This season, Clinehens added pinto beans to their organic fields. Together these farms grew more than 80 acres of crop and quadrupled our acreage dedicated to high nutrition staple bean and grain crops--all grown without chemicals!
Our goal is to build the market so we can partner with more farmers and spread the word about how growing sustainably is better for the soil, the economy, and our health.
Our Products
We offer freshly stone ground corn and spelt flours, dry beans, whole spelt, 100% spelt artisan bread and pasta, and All Ohio Corn Tortilla Chips and Corn Crackers. Our corn tortilla chips are now the house chip at Casa Nueva in Athens, and at Ohio University Dining Halls. Soon, we will be offering popped amaranth to add to your cereal every morning or to use in baking to boost flavor and nutrition.
It Takes a Community
In 2011, Casa Nueva, North Star Cafe, Luna Burger, and Avalanche Pizza and a few dozen households once again participated in a prepay discount program that guaranteed payment to farmers at harvest. Together these customers ordered and prepaid for over 12,000 lb of our products. Guaranteeing payment at harvest is key to creating a food secure region that grows food for our community instead of feed for commodity elevators. As more farmers try these crops and agree to grow them without chemicals, we move closer to feeding each other while caring for the soil, the foundation of good, healthy food.
You can contact the mill directly by emailing us at info@shagbarkmill.com or calling 740-590-1501/8240
photos this page Sarah Warda and Courtney Denning
Why?
Because ASFC’s mission is to replace the global commodity elevator system with enterprises that pay farmers to grow high nutrition open pollinated crops for their region to build regional food security. Key to this model is our work with small-to-mid-sized farms to produce, process, market, and distribute fresh, whole, sustainably-grown staple food products for our region.
How?
Since our 2010 launch, Shagbark Seed & Mill has increased farm partnerships from three to six and acerage to from 25 acres to 80. That first season, we continued to grow spelt & amaranth at Green Edge Organic Gardens, but this season we let go of the field work to get the facility here in Athens County upgraded for our region. We still provide seed and know-how to those farmers who are new to our high-nutrition crops--Amaranth, Heirloom Corn, Spelt, and Black Turtle Beans, because they are high nutrtion delicious crops that are well adapted to grow in the Midwest.
We are closing in on the finsh of our business plan and structure, which is going to take the best of what we've learned this year to create a cooperative business system for Shagbark Seed & Mill Co. ASFC is currently working with Kurt Belser’s & Marie DeMange’s start-up nut processing enterprise, The Wing Nuttery. And we are going to be testing oil presses in the next few months to evaluate the feasibility of enterprises to produce pressed oils from sunflower and pumpkin seed and nuts. Shagbark also received a Healthy Food Enterprise Development grant from the Wallace Foundation to work on Healthy Food Access of our products in low income communities.
Our Crops & Farm Partners
Our crop priority is two-fold: Certified organic and heirloom and to meet both values work with both certified and non certified farms, although those without certification are must use organic practices to meet our no-chemical input bottom line. . In 2010, we grew spelt and amaranth at Green Edge Organic Gardens in Athens County. We still work with the Hershberger Family Farms in Morgan County, where horse-drawn equipment is used to grow heirloom corn, spelt, and black turtle beans; Clinehens Organics in Logan County, where most of our black turtle beans were just harvested in early October. New to our endeavor are Mary Ann Burr, who grows spelt, and David Saunders, who grew our amaranth and adzuki beans in Shelby County.
This season, Clinehens added pinto beans to their organic fields. Together these farms grew more than 80 acres of crop and quadrupled our acreage dedicated to high nutrition staple bean and grain crops--all grown without chemicals!
Our goal is to build the market so we can partner with more farmers and spread the word about how growing sustainably is better for the soil, the economy, and our health.
Our Products
We offer freshly stone ground corn and spelt flours, dry beans, whole spelt, 100% spelt artisan bread and pasta, and All Ohio Corn Tortilla Chips and Corn Crackers. Our corn tortilla chips are now the house chip at Casa Nueva in Athens, and at Ohio University Dining Halls. Soon, we will be offering popped amaranth to add to your cereal every morning or to use in baking to boost flavor and nutrition.
It Takes a Community
In 2011, Casa Nueva, North Star Cafe, Luna Burger, and Avalanche Pizza and a few dozen households once again participated in a prepay discount program that guaranteed payment to farmers at harvest. Together these customers ordered and prepaid for over 12,000 lb of our products. Guaranteeing payment at harvest is key to creating a food secure region that grows food for our community instead of feed for commodity elevators. As more farmers try these crops and agree to grow them without chemicals, we move closer to feeding each other while caring for the soil, the foundation of good, healthy food.
You can contact the mill directly by emailing us at info@shagbarkmill.com or calling 740-590-1501/8240
photos this page Sarah Warda and Courtney Denning
