Flour Mill Sales Spur Specialty Grain Sales

Flour Mill Sales Spur Specialty Grain Sales 33-6-10 Darrold Granville is looking for a few good grain farmers. He's in the market for high quality grain, but not your run of the mill varieties. "I work with farmers to find unique grains with unique qualities. For example, we use Briggs hard red spring wheat for bread flour. I'd love to talk to anyone with experience working with heritage grains," says Granville. An interest in bread baking led Granville to invest in his own flour mill. When friends and neighbors started asking for freshly ground flour for their own use, he bought a larger flour mill and began taking small packages of whole wheat, rye and other flours and grains to a farmer's market in Minneapolis, Minn. He also began to sell the small counter top flour mill that he first started with. "It's made in Germany and will last forever," he says. "It sits inside a beautiful wood cabinet and comes either by itself or with a side-by-side oat flaker for making rolled oats. Each has its own electric motor so you can run both at once." Granville also sells the dual system for $780 or the flour mill alone for $375. The flour mill has an output of about 10 lbs. of flour an hour and can grind fine or coarse flour for breads, pasta and muesli. Granville even sells a hand cranked oat flaker for making small amounts of rolled oats at a time. The stainless steel and beech wood unit clamps to a countertop to make fresh rolled oats for morning cereal or baking. It sells for $175. Granville knows that once most people try fresh flour, they'll want their own mill. And once they've invested in a mill, they'll need raw grain to use in it. That's why he's looking for growers to provide quality grains. "I think the appreciation for different varieties of grain is now where coffee was 20 years ago," says Granville. "My goal is to become a source of quality grain so people can grind their own." Currently he charges $7 for 2 1/2-lb. packages of organic whole grains. In addition to the Briggs hard red spring wheat, he also offers customers a soft white winter wheat for muffins and durum for pasta making, in addition to varieties of corn and oats. "I'm interested in the whole spectrum of grains, including buckwheat and rye," says Granville. "If someone wants to try 10 to 15 acres, I'll sample it and make some flour with it and work with them on marketing it as flour and grain." He knows he will pay a premium for small quantity purchases, but says, "I hope it will amount to something over time." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Sunrise Flour Mill, 35624 Grand Ave., North Branch, Minn. 55056 (ph 651 674-8050; www.sunriseflourmill.com).

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