Wheat farmers cultivate local, specialty markets
Soured by years of unprofitable wheat prices in commodity markets, California farmers are increasingly looking to sell their wheat locally and to specialty markets that cater to artisan bakers, chefs and home cooks who want something different than standard flour — and are willing to pay a premium.
Farmers’ desire to move their crop outside of traditional commercial markets comes as California wheat acreage has dwindled in recent years, due to lower prices and competing crops. Despite growing demand for local wheat, whole grains and heirloom varieties, farmers say they’ve been hindered by a lack of infrastructure in the state to help them market their wheat efficiently and economically to buyers and specialty millers who may want only small quantities or hard- tofind varieties.
Conversations are taking place to develop these markets, said Claudia Carter, executive director of the California Wheat Commission, which is based in Woodland.
“We do have, thankfully, some people in the supply chain that want to work with farmers and want to help them,” she said, but added that existing challenges “make it very complicated.”
Even though California represents the largest wheat- milling state by capacity — milling more than 12.4 million pounds a day — about 90% to 95% of that wheat comes from out of state, Carter noted.
Not only has California wheat acreage declined by nearly 60% in the last 10 years, but more of it is being fed to livestock, with just 20% to 30% harvested to make flour, she added. Because of its limited availability, she said, local commercial mills have “lost their interest in California wheat” as they’ve gotten used to buying more Kansas and North Dakota wheat, which is less expensive.
With local grain movements becoming “very successful and growing very well,” Carter said she was surprised to learn California’s local wheat market remained undeveloped.
Yolo County farmer Fritz Durst, who grows wheat as one of his primary crops, said he has to haul a large portion of his grain to Oregon for milling and then bring it back to California, because “there’s very limited milling facilities for small lots of grain” in the state. By doing it this way, he said he’s able to preserve the identity of his grain, which earns him a premium compared to selling it as a commodity to commercial millers. Though it takes more work to market small quantities and he would much rather sell truckloads at a time, Durst said he realizes some of his crop needs “to go out in small bags so people use it, like it, talk about it.”
“There’s an evolution happening,” Durst said. “If you’re going to still be in the grain business, you have to evolve and be able to handle some of these smaller quantities, some of the more local needs for these grains.”
To help grow new markets for California wheat, Carter said the commission agreed to fund a $ 10,000 online database that connects farmers, smaller millers, handlers, bakers and other end users of California grains.