Going against the grain

Organic farmer and miller works with dad to get the best in nutrition from the soil

In 1963, a farmer named Alvin Scheresky defied the trend.

Instead of adding chemical inputs to his Oxbow-area farm, he bought cleaning equipment and a mill — and became one of the first organic farmers in North America to do so.

He helped found the first provincial chapter of the Organic

Crop Improvement Association and operated Saskatchewan’s first organic flour mill.

“He was really inspirational,” Nicole Davis Huriet says of her mentor, who owned the mill until the early 2000s before selling it.

In 2012, Davis Huriet bought the company, which included 540 acres of organic land. Today, she runs Daybreak Mill in North Portal.

She share farms with her dad — a few thousand acres of land that’s been in their family since 1892.

They grow almost everything for Daybreak; what they don’t grow is sourced from other

organic Saskatchewan farmers. She values the knowledge shared by her dad, who’s farmed all his life.

“He really understands how the soil works. He seems to just naturally know what to do. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be at that point, but I’m really trying to learn how he does it. He seems to really know how to grow good crops,” she says.

Daybreak sells whole grains and legumes, stone-ground flours and cereals.

The biggest sellers are the ancient and heritage grains, which are especially popular with customers who have gluten allergies.

“I think (ancient grains) are healthier for people and they’re better for the soil,” says Davis Huriet.

She uses a series of three stone mills — the same ones Alvin built in 1963.

“It is a slower process, which makes our flours a little bit more expensive. There’s no heat or

steam used. The whole nutrition of the grain is kept throughout the process.”

After the flour is milled, it’s put through a sifter to emulsify the oil and germ back into the product, which gives it an eightmonth shelf life, or up to two years if kept frozen.

“It’s really important to me to provide a nutritious product that I feel good about eating myself.

“If we switched to a hammer mill, we could mill a lot more flour, but it doesn’t fit with the direction I want to go with the business. I don’t want to sacrifice quality for growth,” she says.

To be competitive with larger companies, Davis Huriet knew that, along with retail locations, they would need online ordering with shipping options. Daybreak’s website, daybreakmill. com, is a seamless shopping experience, complete with secure payment options and a help number for questions.

There are several other organic

flour mills in Saskatchewan, using grains sourced from local farmers.

At the Night Oven Bakery in Saskatoon, Bryn Rawlyk mills whole-grain flours on site. His stone ground Two Stones Mills flour can be purchased at the bakery.

One Organic Farm is the new kid on the block in Saskatchewan, milling flour using grains from the family’s Waldron area farm. In Regina, find One Organic products at the Local Market. And while you’re there, pop into Everyday Kitchen for a sourdough doughnut made with One Organic’s flour. Check the website, oneorganicfarm. com, for updates on more retail locations.

Jenn Sharp is a freelance writer in Saskatoon. Her first book, Flat Out Delicious: Your Guide to Saskatchewan’s Food Artisans, will be published by Touchwood Editions in 2020. Follow her on Twitter @ Jennksharp, Instagram @flatoutfoodsk, and Facebook.