Farm Finds Success Selling Homegrown Grain

Farm Finds Success Selling Homegrown Grain Only five years ago, DeAnna Lozensky didn’t know what wheat berries were. Today, the North Dakota farmer and her husband, Kelly, grow multiple grain varieties and sell them as wheat berries, flour and pasta to consumers, as bulk wheat sales to bakers, and into the wholesale market. Much of it goes to buyers on the East and West Coasts. All of this is because she answered an ad. “I answered an ad for desiccant-free wheat berries and had to look them up to see what they were,” she admits. “When I called him, he told me he milled his own flour. Then he asked, ‘You grow wheat and don’t eat it?’ That was the power of one. He changed my perspective.” After sending two 5-gal. buckets of conventional wheat berries to her new customer, Lozensky got a countertop mill and learned the benefits of freshly milled flour. She also discovered there was a market for farm-fresh wheat berries and, in particular, for ancient grains. That was 2020. She soon had an online store, and by 2021, she and her husband were planting ancient grains like einkorn, in addition to their modern hard red spring wheat. “When we started, we were selling about 1/2 of 1% of the grain we produced directly to consumers,” says Lozensky. “Today, it’s 10% of the grain we grow on our 2,200 acres and growing.” An excess of cracked einkorn that first year led to the idea of milling the grain. This led to applying for a grant for a $22,000 North American Stone Mill. By February 2022, they’d developed a line of whole wheat pasta (Vol. 46, No. 3) and were also selling flour and flaked barley. In June 2024, they moved the business into a rented space in nearby Minot. It contains the stone mill, a commercial flaker for barley and an Italian pasta extruder. Lozensky mills flour, packages it and ships it to customers. “I fill orders the same day I mill, so they get the freshest flour possible if not milling at home,” she says. “It’s a one-woman show.” With the flour in hand, she also makes the pasta. “I can produce about 100 lbs. per day in three shapes,” she says. “I use flour from Rouge de Bordeaux, which sets it apart.” Rouge de Bordeaux is only one of the grains and flours sold under their Guardian Grains brand. Turkey Red, spelt and hard red spring wheat are sold as wheat berries and flour. Egyptian hulless barley is sold as berries, flour and flakes. Repeat customers benefit from a no-cost membership that awards points that can be used for discounts on future orders. A key component of Guardian Grains’ success is its website and online store, which Lozensky created herself using Wix, a point-and-click website builder. Lozensky sells a line of German-made, countertop stone mills and a flaker for home millers. “The strong demand indicates the growing popularity of home milling,” says Lozensky. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kelly and DeAnna Lozensky, 21905 13th St. SE, Max, N.D. 58759 (ph 701-833-5019; ndfarmgirl1@gmail.com; www.guardiangrains.com).

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