Advisory Board

Since then, he has built an integrated farming operation rooted in land stewardship, innovation, and community, which also serves as a training campus for young farmers, chefs, changemakers and the public. https://www.stonebarnscenter.org/

The farm has evolved over a 75 year history starting as a part-time operation and slowly growing to 2000 acres. The family members have served in higher education and corporate leadership. Farming is their life time passion.

Morningstar Farm grows about 225 acres of organic hay, peas, oats, dry beans, corn, and spring wheat, for both human consumption and animal feed, and also have a small herd of 30 Angus beef cows.

I farm with my wife Sandra and four kids Shannon, Jackson, Chloe, and Lacey. We have cattle, sheep, horses, chickens, and donkeys. We practice regenerative farming and are certified organic. We believe as farmers it’s our job to promote life and that healthy soil = healthy plants = healthy nutrient-dense food = healthy animals and humans. At Rusted Rooster Farm, We hold that as our ultimate goal and everything we do Works toward that.

Through summer trips to his uncle’s dairy farm in Pennsylvania, he became completely fascinated with agriculture. Eventually, he plowed his parents’ lawn and planted corn. Since he wasn’t born into farming, Thor built his farm bit by bit, scouting for abandoned fields to rent and restore to cropping. In 1991, Thor purchased his 15-acre home farm.

In 1998, he started Oechsner Farms on 44 acres of rented ground. As Thor gained experience and equipment, he steadily added acreage until he could support himself exclusively by farming. In the meantime, he ran a Volkswagen shop and taught diesel mechanics at BOCES. By 2005, he had 400 acres in production, primarily for the organic dairy feed industry.

Today, Oechsner Farms manages 1,200 acres, primarily for organic food-grade and craft beverage markets. The grandson of a German-born pastry chef, he is also one of Farmer Ground Flour’s three business partners.

www.oechsnerfarms.com/

The initial focus explored the feasibility of developing a local food economy. Through further discussions, research and gatherings, my current colleagues, Mike Hozer, Larry Mahmarian, and I, determined grains for human consumption were the missing piece in the locavore movement and inspired by the grains renaissance developing throughout the Northeast, we helped found River Valley Community Grains in 2016.

Our mission is to restore the soils by encouraging landowners and farmers to transition their fields to growing and harvesting varieties of grain with regenerative agricultural methods. In addition, we hope to rekindle the conversations between farmer, miller, and baker to better meet the demand for nutrient-dense flour and bread.

www.rivervalleycommunitygrains.com

@rivervalleycommunitygrains (Instagram & Facebook)

https://ediblejersey.ediblecommunities.com/food-thought/amber-waves

https://www.newjerseyhills.com/observer-tribune/news/organic-grain-hub-the-focus-of-middle-valley-meeting/article_bf8ef888-ff97-535b-866d-348f9a31e9bf.html

One Mighty Mill sources heirloom wheat varietals from small family farms like Aurora in Linneus, ME and stone-grinds it fresh for each batch of homemade bagels, pretzels, and tortillas.

Prior to starting up One Mighty Mill, Tony co-founded the restaurant group B.GOOD in 2004 with his OMM partner Jon Olinto. There, he oversaw the restaurant’s pioneering application of local sourcing and scratch-cooking to fast casual fare.

Tony has cooked and baked in numerous kitchens at home and abroad. He spent his formative culinary years working at L’Espalier in Boston before conducting a year of apprenticeships in Italy at Bastianelli al Molo in Rome and with Giuliano Bugialli in Tuscany.

Tony is also an accomplished food writer, serving as a contributing editor at Fine Cooking. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bon Appetit. Tony serves on the Board of Advisors for the Food Voice. In his free time, Tony likes to run and swim to work off all of the whole grains.

onemightymill.com

As processors of grain, they make a concerted effort to work closely with farmers and tradesmen to promote resident grain supply. A synergistic malting approach has allowed them to tease a nuance out of the malted grain and provide high-quality malt grown close to consumers’ operations.

https://murmurationmalts.com

@murmurationmalts

Andrea is passionate about the tradition and science of malting and shares her passion with anyone who will listen. In 2013, she helped form the Craft Maltster’s Guild and was the Chair of the Board for 5 years as the craft malt industry got off the ground and established it’s roots in North America. The work at Valley Malt is driven by passion to play a part in making local beers and spirits that we can all celebrate together. With the recent forming of the Northeast Grainshed, Valley Malt is focused on becoming even more collaborative and committed to a sustainable, transparent, and regionalized food system that celebrates our land and people.

www.valleymalt.com

www.groundupgrain.com

Sharon, and Bread Alone, has been at the forefront of the artisan baking community including the push to bake with organic grains, using stone mills and helping grow our small grain infrastructure so that more acres go under organic grain production annually. To that end she has visited mills, bakeries and farms across the world and has seen first hand the spreading systems of grain-based coalitions emerging to help build solutions.

Sharon is committed to feeding people good food and to supporting changes that will bring about positive outcomes for her community and for the environment. Bread Alone is committed to reducing green house gas emissions – in 2018 installed a 197kw solar array – effectively bringing 1/3 of our energy in from the sun.

Sharon and her team helped introduce organic whole wheat sliced bread to generations of young eaters (Bread Alone’s Catskill Wheat Loaf in 1998) as well as bring a line of Nordic Breads to market. These loaves feature New York State grown grains in a fully fermented and grain packed loaf (100% Rye, 100% Einkorn and Rye & Spelt Seeded Loaf).

www.breadalone.com

@sharonburnsleader

@breadalonebakery

We bake with 100% regionally grown and freshly milled grains and use natural sourdough leavening, to make the most nourishing and delicious breads we can for our family and our community.

www.lmnopbakery.com

@lmnopbakery (Instagram)

He is the author of From the Wood-Fired Oven and also an acclaimed instructor for King Arthur Flour, Craftsy, and baking workshops around the US. Richard began baking European hearth breads in 1996 after graduating in the first class taught at the San Francisco Baking Institute. Miscovich serves on the Board of Directors of The Bread Bakers Guild of America.   

https://www.facebook.com/richard.miscovich

Instagram: @rmiscovich1

https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/from-the-wood-fired-oven/

Jess is now investing her time in baking workshops, bread program consultations and anything she can do to support bakers, as well as the local grain economy. In her spare time, she makes grain-centric art for likeminded Grainiacs, the proceeds from which bring her closer and closer to the inevitable opening of a microbakery.

Instagram: @jess.wagoner

Website: www.grainiacsunite.com

After studying philosophy and a career at small financial institutions Barry opened Kent Falls Brewing Company; Connecticut’s first farm brewery. From the outset Kent Falls has been devoted to working with local farms and malt houses to produce beer with uncompromising quality. In August of 2018 Kent Falls proudly made the switch to working with 100% locally grown, malted, flaked and roasted grains for their beer. Continuing to strengthen their supply chain and relationships within it is a core value of their business.

kentfallsbrewing.com

@kentfallsbrewing

Prior to that, Jason enjoyed opportunities to work at The Kettle House in Missoula Montana and Gritty McDuff’s in Freeport Maine. He began his brewing career like so many craft brewers as a homebrewer during college and the early years thereafter.

www.allagash.com

Strengthening the grainshed by promoting, marketing, and advocating as an individual and brewery.

@worcesterbrewer

https://www.worcestermag.com/entertainmentlife/20200219/next-draft-convincing-consumers-why-grains-in-their-bread-beer-and-booze-matter

which opened in August of 2016, he leads a team of 22 people whom all help to create a fun, challenging, and amazing place to work.

Matthew’s commitment to quality, freshness and the use local ingredients has been evident from his first homebrewing experiments in 1994. Honey and juniper berries was all he could find in Flagstaff, AZ at the time, but using those ingredients from his own yard just felt right. With 21 years of professional brewing experience, Matthew has become friends with his heros, consumed many world class beers and has been to 100s of breweries. He also has had the opportunity to use so many high quality ingredients from all over the world.

With a focus of sourcing the best ingredients possible for his beers, he is proud to use Valley Malts as his local supplier of grains for the betterment of his beers and in support of the Northeast Grainshed pledge that his brewery has committed to. Matthew has lofty and exciting plans for his brewery and our collective future in brewing and looks forward to being on the Advisory Board for the Northeast Grainshed to help tell the story of supporting our local supply chain.

www.exhibit-a-brewing.com

FB/Insta/Twitter: @exhibitAbrewing

This initial concept evolved into a lifestyle and dream to share, not only beer, but experiences with one another and their community. As a New England native, JC strives to incorporate local crops, flavors, and partners into Trillium’s beer. JC is passionate about producing beer with unwavering quality that can be shared in all aspects of life.

https://www.trilliumbrewing.com/

After graduating from Brown University with a degree in Classics, she earned a Certificate of Baking and Pastry Arts from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, California. A stint in a Relais & Chateau restaurant kitchen led to a position at a family winery in the Napa Valley. After moving to Vermont in 2010 she made the switch from the wine world to craft spirits, first in vodka and now in whiskey and rum. A competitive equestrian, Mimi lives in Waitsfield, Vermont with her husband Karl, three dogs and two horses.

www.madriverdistillers.com

My first passion in spirits was Scotch Whiskey, and it was my deep desire to create a New England malt whiskey. To truly accomplish this I felt that not only should the whiskey be made in New England but the ingredients should be from the Northeast as well. Terroir cannot be faked. With that in mind Short Path Distillery uses 100% locally grown grain in all of our spirits, our malt whiskey, Maine peat smoked whiskey, and our rye whiskey. I am really excited for the opportunity to work alongside passionate community members to continue to build support for the Northeast food chain.

https://shortpathdistillery.com

@spdistillery www.facebook.com/shortpathdistillery

Moving to Western Massachusetts fostered a unique opportunity for him to explore an agriculturally connected cooking career both in restaurants and with pop-up dinners. While managing the kitchen at The Dirty Truth, Kyle spent countless days off visiting cites and wandering back roads seeking out food, beer, and culture. He is now the General Manager of The Dirty Truth where he loves connecting people to the beer and food through stories.

www.dirtytruthbeerhall.com/

While volunteering at the aquarium I simultaneously took a restaurant job. I somehow fell into bartending at Bukowski Tavern with little knowledge of craft beer. That’s where I fell in love. Fast-forward to now, a few allergies and a lot of hard work later, I am the Beer Director for Row 34. My passion lies in old world styles and the romanticism of farmhouse breweries.

Instagram: @_suzanimal

Printed in the book: Where to Drink Beer by Phaidon Press

Featured in Boston Magazine, The Boston Globe, ReadOctober, boston.com

2017 Eater Young Gun Semi-Finalist

He is a former Salzburg Global Fellow, and co-founder of the I- Collective, an indigenous collective that promotes a healthy food system that values people, traditional knowledge, and the planet over profit. His writing and culinary projects have been featured at the Smithsonian Native American museum, the Smithsonian Museum of American history, The Native American Culinary Association, LongHouse Food Revival, Food52, and the Cooking Channel, and he has been a featured speaker on The Moth mainstage, Harvard, Smith College and more.

Neftali’s work is grounded in the belief that access to food is a human right. Neftali’s work is informed by his own experience as an indigenous and formerly undocumented migrant worker and 20 years of experience in the restaurant and food industry as chef, baker, and small business owner.

He owned and operated a wood-fired brick oven bakery from 2003-2015, called El Jardin bakery, the sister bakery to hungry ghost bread. He also works in community around indigenous culinary traditions, the effects of migration on people and food, and the environment. He is interested in documenting the culinary traditions of the different regions of Oaxaca, Mexico, reclaiming the roots and culture of the original peoples of the Americas, having conversations about the impact of colonialism in our communities in regards to traditional food-ways as well as engaging on conversations about the how climate change will impact frontline communities.

Instagram: @neftaliduran_

He received his MS and PhD in Rural Sociology from Cornell University and later taught food systems planning and other courses in the Food Studies Program at New York University before moving to Norway, where he continues to collaborate with partners at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy and the Center for Rural and Regional Research.

Matthew’s research spans food systems, natural resource management, and regional planning, focusing on the challenges of landscape- and systems-level decision-making in places with highly fragmented property rights and governance structures. When not teaching or in Norway, Matthew is at home in Vermont, probably visiting with beavers along the Harrisville Brook.

https://usm.maine.edu/food-studies/matthew-hoffman-0

Since then she has been visiting and baking alongside many master bakers in Germany, Denmark, France and the United States. In 2015 she founded Brot Bakehouse School and Kitchen in Vermont, with the mission to teach people the craft of baking with sourdough while respecting the natural environment around us. In her free time she takes like to travel “the world of food”, discovering traditions, researching new recipes and learning new techniques; honoring the rich traditions of artisan bakers and food makers around the globe.

www.brotbakery.com

Instagram: @brotbakery

I have extensive knowledge of grain production (as well as many other crops) and have close relationships with farmers throughout the region.

www.uvm.edu/extension/nwcrops

The Center provides quality testing for beer and brewing raw materials including barley, malt and hops. Aaron was previously a chemist in the Canadian Grain Commission’s Grain Research Laboratory where he provided quality assurance for malting barley grown in western Canada and conducted research on factors affecting malting barley quality and quality measurement methods. Aaron is also a member of the Technical Committee of the American Society of Brewing Chemists and presents frequently on topics related to malting and brewing science and quality testing methods.

www.hartwick.edu/craftfoodandbeverage

Since 2009, she’s been working to help Maine farmers successfully grow and sell grains for higher-value food and beverage markets, including organic. She provides one-on-one assistance, informational resources, educational events, and networking opportunities for farmers, as well as conducts research on production practices that will help them succeed.

https://extension.umaine.edu/grains-oilseeds/

Since 2007 June has spearheaded GrowNYC Grains, a project that began with a policy initiative implemented in 2009 that required bakers in the Greenmarket program to use a minimum of 15% grain or flour from the Northeast region. In 2019, Greenmarket increased the requirement to 25%. GrowNYC Grains has worked with stakeholders across the value chain, helping to coordinate a whole suite of activities necessary for bringing regional grains back to New York State and the larger northeast region. Working across various sectors from food grade to craft beverage end users, the work includes participation in multiple grant projects that have resulted in bringing more than a dozen new wheat and small grain varieties to market in New York City. Since 2014, GrowNYC Grains has operated a retail stand at Greenmarket locations, providing a crucial service in the form of market access to both producers and end users, making new ingredients accessible to a broad swath of consumers. All of us at GrowNYC Grains are looking forward to the next ten years as we return the staple crops to our regional food system and provide healthful foods to consumers.

https://www.grownyc.org/grains

Instagram: @grownycgrains

Instagram: @grownyc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrowNYCGrains

Her work aims to increase investment and jobs in agricultural and food systems to enhance the viability of farms through expansion, value-added production, diversification, and distribution of locally produced farm goods. Through a coordinated effort, Cheryl partners with economic development organizations, government entities, Cornell faculty, and agricultural producers to develop programs designed to strengthen the regional food system, both in direct-to-consumer and wholesale markets. Cheryl earned her Bachelors degree from Penn State, and her Masters of Public Administration from Cornell University, where she concentrated her studies in food and agriculture policy.

website: https://harvestny.cce.cornell.edu/

twitter: @Harvest_NY

facebook: @HarvestNY

Her food activism is not limited to specialty grains; for six years she ran a food pantry and soup kitchen. She believes that changing emergency feeding programs and changing the way we grow and use grains share a common thread: of restoring human values to the work of farming and the acts of feeding ourselves, and each other.

amyhalloran.net

@flourambassador on Instagram

@farmbrain on Twitter

She has taught in New York’s public schools and colleges since 2000, working in the Bronx, the Capital Region, and the Catskill Mountains teaching literacy, math and vocational skill to adolescent and adult students. Also a professional welder and metal fabricator since 2010, she currently is on the welding faculty at State University of NY, Delhi College of Technology.

Within the broader goal of public education, Amanda has worked as a journalist for
small newspapers and public radio, focusing coverage on agriculture and food, land
conservation, education, workers’ issues, and economic development. She was a staff journalist at The Anniston Star (Anniston, AL) and The Register Star (Hudson, NY), has produced for Alabama Public Radio, and WBAI New York and is a Knight Fellow in Community Journalism. Reverence for food and land have been defining values in Amanda’s life since childhood, raised in the kitchen around three generations of a family rich in food heritage. Inspired by her family, she has studied and supported local food systems since the late 1990’s.

Bread baking has been her primary avocation for eight years, and has led her into the world of traditional fermentation and regional grains. She is mostly self-taught as a baker, and also has done several short apprenticeships with bakers in Troy, Kauneonga Lake, Albany and Andes, New York. She has been a member of the Maine Grain Alliance’s Kneading Conference since 2015, and has completed baking education courses at Sullivan County Community College (Loch Sheldrake, NY), King Arthur Flour (Norwich, VT) and Wide Awake Bakery (Trumansburg, NY). She is a member of the Bread Bakers Guild of America and the Northeast Grainshed.

An avid home baker who enjoys baking with local grains, she is looking forward to merging these two interests and getting involved with the Northeast Grainshed.