How the craft flour movement could be a boon to farmers and Indian Country

"But in one corner of Pacific Northwest wheat country, there are glimmers of economic hope due to the burgeoning business of "craft flour." On the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Ore., Washington-state based Cairnspring Mills is building a new craft flour mill that will expand the company's production twelvefold and give some wheat farmers a local market for their grains."

"Upwards of 90% of all the wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest is exported. "We're trying to do our little part in changing that because the commodity market is unpredictable," says Kevin Morse, co-founder of Cairnspring. "It's usually a race to the bottom and not profitable." Once at full production, the new mill will need about 2 million bushels of wheat a year, which is still a blip in the overall Northwest wheat market."

Many farmers in the U.S. heartland face potential bankruptcy as tariffs and trade disruptions have cut global sales and raised costs for imported fertilizer and equipment amid high inflation. Cairnspring Mills is building a craft flour mill on the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon, to expand production twelvefold and provide a local market for wheat farmers. The mill will need about 2 million bushels of wheat annually at full production, though that remains a small share of regional output. The project is expected to create about 20 jobs and prioritize Native people in training. Tribal officials call it a positive economic signal for rural communities.

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