Farmers Mill And Market Their Grains

Farmers Mill And Market Their Grains Derek and Tannis Axten are farmers, millers and marketers. They grow a dozen or more crops, process them on farm and find markets for them. It’s a unique operation in Saskatchewan, with an equally unique Unifine mill and marketing message. “We aren’t organic, as we use herbicides, but we never use glyphosate on our crops,” says Derek. “We test all our grains to be sure they’re chemical residue-free. We also test them for nutrient density and antioxidants. We’re confident our emphasis on soil health helps produce residue-free grains and higher levels of nutrients and antioxidants.” Tannis notes that working with so many different crops each year is a lot of work but has huge benefits for soil health. The many different crops also produce many different niches for marketing. The Axtens sell whole grains in one-ton totes and flour mostly in 25 and 50-lb. bags. They also do smaller packaging for the regional market and sell 1-kg bags online. Building a market for their grains and flour has been challenging. Derek admits that being certified organic would help; however, consumer interest in their certified regenerative status is growing. Their approach includes cover crops, intercropping (growing multiple crops in the same field), controlled traffic (to reduce soil compaction), low-disturbance seeding, minimal use of synthetic inputs, livestock integration, and pollinator strips with perennials. “Our challenge is helping people understand what the difference is and why we do what we do,” says Derek. These practices all build soil health and healthier grains. However, educating consumers about these facts is only part of their challenge. They also need to inform consumers about the benefits of Unifine (Vol. 43, No. 6) milled flour. “Whole grain has the most nutritional benefits, but it has to be functional as well,” notes Tannis. “We were always going to be a whole grain mill,” says Derek. “Originally, we thought it would be a stone mill, but as we looked around, we heard about the Unifine mill.” Only a handful of the mills are in use, some 70+ years after the process was invented. Instead of grinding the grain as conventional mills do, the Unifine mill uses high-pressure air to blast the grain into particles. Dean Folkvord, co-founder and former owner of Wheat Montana, recommended the process. Claudia Carter, executive director of the California Wheat Commission, also recommended it. “Dean said he would have put one in had he known about it earlier, and Claudia spoke highly of the mill,” says Derek. “Then Mathieu Choux, a Unifine mill owner and baker in Idaho, let us run some of our grain through his for samples.” The Axtens were sold, and soon, they sold their customers on it. “Whole wheat flour has the most nutrients and antioxidants, but it has to be functional in baking,” says Tannis. “The Unifine mill makes functional whole wheat flour. We only take out about 10 percent of the larger bran, and our customers love it. They can replace white flour with nutrient-rich whole grain.” Tannis reports that the flour is more nutrient-dense, and the milling process seems to keep it fresh longer. It doesn’t go rancid like other whole wheat flour tends to do. She credits the lower temperature process versus what happens in standard milling. “We have an 18-month use label on our packaging, but recently, we opened some chickpea flour that was two years old,” she says. “It still smelled fresh and tasted fine.” Derek gives some credit to the tremendous amount of air involved in the Unifine process and the very dry grain they produce. “We have a flour that’s nearly whole grain with phenomenal functionality that delivers great nutrition to our customers,” says Derek. When the Axtens invested in their on-farm processing, they did so with the idea of being able to clean and separate grains to food-grade standards. When they added milling, they did so with the future in mind. “We’re set up so we can add more mills as demand rises,” says Derek. “If we had three mills, we could process a truckload of grain a day.” Demand must expand first to reach that point. The Axtens recognize that this means getting out, telling their story, and sharing the benefits of the Unifine milling process. “I think the day is coming when Unifine milled flour will be recognized like stoneground is today,” says Derek. The Axtens are eager to share their story with other farmers and hope they will follow suit. They welcome on-farm visits and contact. “We’re just a drop in the bucket compared to the big multinational millers,” notes Derek. “Having more operations like ours would be better for all of us. It takes a big investment, but 1, 5 or 10 farmers could go together, sharing the cost and the responsibilities of processing and marketing.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Axten Farms, Box 181, Minton, Sask., Canada S0C 1T0 (ph 306-969-2110; tannis@axtenfarms.ca; www.axtenfarms.ca).

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