Market for small grains?

[farmerDale]

So I have noticed in several threads, the apparent difficulty many of you have finding wheat, rye, mustard, barley, oats, etc.. I come from an area of plenty in the grains department. I generally produce a few thousand tons a year of various crops, which get sold for a much lower price than what you fine folks are forking out.

Is there much of a market to tap into down there? Set up a bin/bagger near one of your large cities and the people would come with cash in hand, begging for more? Maybe mill some? The prices many are talking down there would easilly pay for a lot of freight costs, and leave me a strong bottom line.

So is there a large enough market?

Thank you,
Dale

I've occasionally wondered if there could be a market for fresh milled grain as in setting up a small commercial mill in a farmer's market and milling flour and meal to customer order. I've never seen it done, but a lot of folks are big into the freshest possible products who also don't want to keep a mill themselves.

Other than buying the mill the greatest obstacle would probably be propitiating the local ag and/or health authorities.

[NickieL]

In my town, possibly, farm fresh is a big thing here as we have several farm stands. There IS a mill down the road from me where i can get corn meal, but that's it, no other grains are milled there and it's more of a turist thing.

They are slowly starting to get some more viarity into the market here, walmart carries winter wheat berries now and I even saw soy flour for sale and diffrent types of whole wheat I did not see a couple years ago so I think people are starting to try more things.

Loaves of rye bread here in the stores cost an arm and a leg, more then even a 7 grain loaf costs and are tiny.

[titiana]

Originally Posted by NickieL

walmart carries winter wheat berries now .

I keep looking have yet to see it.



The nearest LDS cannery is about 200 miles away (debating if it's worth it)

I would love to buy wheat online but the shipping is unbelievable. So if I could buy fresh grains locally, I'd be willing to drive 50 miles or so (the distance to the nearest "big" city) BTW: I live in Upstate NY

[NickieL]

Originally Posted by titiana

I keep looking have yet to see it.



The nearest LDS cannery is about 200 miles away (debating if it's worth it)

I would love to buy wheat online but the shipping is unbelievable. So if I could buy fresh grains locally, I'd be willing to drive 50 miles or so (the distance to the nearest "big" city) BTW: I live in Upstate NY

I would too!

[jwal10]

We see it here at tractor shows that have a permanent setting. They bring in farm fresh grains and mill on site and it sells out. But....farm fresh is the answer, not stored grains that people don't know where they came from and how and where they were stored. Thus farm fresh from a known supplier, just like meat. I buy my grains from a neighbor and friend right from his combine, I know the how, where and what about them, even the grains I feed my animals. But....then my life depends on that, one more time being poisoned by chemicals and I might be dead....James

[fordson major]

a lot of the marketing now is "hundred mile diet" so you are local to your market! IP would also matter as would heritage wheat's, grains, oil seed or Pulse crops. very big here in Ottawa!

[Tracy Rimmer]

Originally Posted by farmerDale

So I have noticed in several threads, the apparent difficulty many of you have finding wheat, rye, mustard, barley, oats, etc.. I come from an area of plenty in the grains department. I generally produce a few thousand tons a year of various crops, which get sold for a much lower price than what you fine folks are forking out.

Is there much of a market to tap into down there? Set up a bin/bagger near one of your large cities and the people would come with cash in hand, begging for more? Maybe mill some? The prices many are talking down there would easilly pay for a lot of freight costs, and leave me a strong bottom line.

So is there a large enough market?

Thank you,
Dale

Sask Wheat Pool might have something to say about your doing that, Dale... just sayin'

[oregon woodsmok]

You know that it isn't the farmer making all the money. That $4 loaf of bread doesn't have anywhere near $4 worth of ingredients in it.

Something to look into: I bought a 50 pound (plastic fabric) bag of grass seed that got mailed to me and the post office only charged $10 for the shipping. So maybe there is a special shipping rate for agricultural seed.

For special rates you must know about the rate and make the postal clerk look it up. Otherwise, they will try to tell you it doesn't exist. I sent a "book in bag" overseas and the clerk tried to refuse. I made her look it up. Then she had to call her supervisor and he had to look it up. There it was, in the regulations, and I got the book sent for the cheap rate. Neither the clerk or the supervisor knew about the rate.

[farmerDale]

Originally Posted by Tracy Rimmer

Sask Wheat Pool might have something to say about your doing that, Dale... just sayin'

I think you mean the Canadian Wheat Board. Illegal at this point to sell our own grain, but I believe it will be gone at some point.

[fordson major]

Originally Posted by farmerDale

I think you mean the Canadian Wheat Board. Illegal at this point to sell our own grain, but I believe it will be gone at some point.

don't worry Dale, they will find another way to tax grain!