Heritage Grains Helped Them Stand Out From The Crowd

Heritage Grains Helped Them Stand Out From The Crowd CROPS New Crops Kasey White and Jeff Broadie built their Lonesome Whistle Farm business by specializing in heritage varieties of edible beans grain and corn It has helped them stand out in a marketplace filled with standard vegetables fruit and cut flower producers It also gives them year-round products to market
     We wanted something we could sell throughout the year to spread out our risk says White We can grow enough Dakota Black popcorn in one year for 2 years of marketing
    They sell their niche products at farmers markets in Eugene Portland Corvallis and Bend Ore They also sell their crops direct to 50 families and offer wholesale prices to larger buyers Customers can also order from their website
     We are one of a few in the area doing popcorn grain and beans says White We are unique
    The Dakota Black popcorn pops white with a black hull It also makes attractive corn flour and has built a following among restaurants as well as their popcorn loving customers
    Originally a small amount was obtained from Seed Savers Exchange www seedsavers org White and Broadie grew it out tried it loved it and multiplied the seed until they had enough to start selling it They now sell about 7 000 lbs a year with a retail price of $6 per pound It is a pattern they have followed with other grains and beans
    Lonesome Whistle doesn t just sell the raw products They also sell whole grain flours polenta corn flour and rolled oats
    If the seed business wasn t unique enough as it its White also added Cultivation Jewelry earrings she makes from heirloom beans
    Lonesome Whistle also sells seed for open-pollinated vegetables flowers and heritage beans and grain
    One of their newest products is an English heirloom wheat Sara Kleeger and Andrew Still of Adaptive Seeds www adaptiveseeds com brought Maris Widgeon wheat back from England and grew it out for a few years before giving us enough for a quarter acre says White We grew out enough to plant 5 acres of it It is an all-purpose wheat for bread and pastries with a really superior flavor
    White says the heritage wheat grows tall and stands up well It was the source of straw used to thatch roofs in England Currently they flail the straw back into the soil However given Lonesome Whistle s ability to maximize market opportunity they may find a way to market their straw just as they did with their popcorn
     We bought a small commercial popcorn popper and set it up at our stand says White We can sell several hundred dollars worth of fresh popped corn and people get a chance to taste the product
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lonesome Whistle Farm LLC 92112 River Rd Junction City Ore 97448 ph 541 952-4876; lonesomewhistlejeff@gmail com; https://lonesome-whistle myshopify com

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