Today the global commodity system ensures that almost all Northwest-grown wheat is sold and milled abroad. The typical wheat farmer in the Northwest plows the fields every fall, sows a soft white wheat seed in the spring, hopes for a good commodity price when it’s time to harvest in the fall, and then buys imported flour at their local supermarket. Shepherd’s Grain is finding local markets for locally-grown wheat, and has turned the conventional paradigm on its head.

First step: eliminate the plow. Shepherd’s Grain producers are proponents of no-till or direct seed agriculture; they believe in preserving the integrity of the topsoil. Shepherd’s Grain fields are never left bare, so dust storms and run-off are greatly reduced. When it is time to plant, a machine called a “drill” punches new seeds into the stubble of last year’s crop. A growing field of direct-seeded wheat has fuzzy strips of tan stubble interspersed with new green sprouts.

Fred Fleming’s family has been conventionally farming for four generations. He admits that it was hard to make the transition to no-till farming, but he could see benefits from the start. Fred recalls, “The very first year that I was direct seeding, I was standing out in the field when we had a tremendous rain come through. It must have dumped a good inch in 15 to 20 minutes. My neighbor – who was a conservation farmer of the year – had just planted, and his soil was washing into the aquifer, boiling into the culverts, pushing up against the road bank. My farm was just starting to show a little trickle, it was sponging it up, holding all the water.”

Fred and his business partner, Karl Kupers, live and farm in eastern Washington, just below where the Columbia River veers north into Canada. Karl remembers when he and Fred, in December of 1999, decided to leverage their enthusiasm for no-till farming into a business venture. He recalls, “Fred and I got together to talk about how we could utilize the Food Alliance and their concept of third party verification for a direct-seed system.” The Portland-based Food Alliance certifies sustainable farmers using an array of human and natural resource criteria. Getting Food Alliance certification was the first step, followed closely by product development and a search for viable markets.

Fred and Karl learned quickly that accessing markets is not an easy process. Says Karl, “The first two years it was just Fred and me with a vision. We went to five specialty markets in Portland and we saw those cylinders of bulk product – wheat, flax, flour, sunflower, mustard – all sorts of products that we could raise.” Karl tried to talk his way in, with a handful of no-till sunflower seeds in his pocket but the staff politely explained that he could come back on the forth Tuesday of the month and wait in line with the rest of the farmers.

So Fred and Karl drove 300 miles back home, regrouped and tried another approach. They did what they do best and, for two years, grew wheat. They raised it, milled it, and then brought it to artisan bakers to try. They focused on Portland, since Food Alliance is based there and had many connections to share. They tested different wheat varieties, and two rose to the top. Karl recalls, “A baker tried blending them and together they make a really good, flavorful and functional flour.”

Identifying that flour blend has been no small part of Shepherd’s Grain’s success. Laughs Karl, “Fred and I aren’t smart enough to know exactly why we ended up with this great product, but we did. As Fred says, ‘Perseverance and ignorance will prevail!’ We were told you can’t grow a good dark red spring wheat in the Pacific Northwest; we were told it won’t make good bread flour; we were told it will never compete with hard red winter wheat for a flour. We have debunked all three.”

Karl and Fred are also breaking new ground in how they price Shepherd’s Grain products. Wheat is typically a commodity product, meaning the price is set by the Chicago Board of Trade. Karl explains, “Commodity pricing is necessary in the global arena, but from a domestic standpoint, we don’t need it.” He remembers the meeting where they decided to use a different approach. The studies were out there that showed that sustainable, local, safe, and traceable food – all the things that they stand for – are things desired by consumers. He says, “We had a baker, we had a miller and we had us, and we talked about this whole project. We all agreed that it had merit and that we should go for it.”  Karl continues, “But of course to be truly sustainable, it has to be economically sustainable.”

 “The first thing we were asked,” Karl remembers, “was how are you going to price the raw product?” Fred, a long-standing commodity broker whose office is all based upon the Chicago Board of Trade, immediately said, “We’re going to take the Kansas City hard red winter futures in November and we’re going to add a 50 cent premium.” Karl knew he would be the one out there marketing the wheat and he wasn’t sure how he was going to substantiate such a premium. So he asked the baker, “How do you price your bread?” The answer: “Cost of production plus a reasonable rate of return.” Then he asked the miller the same question and he said: “Cost of production plus a reasonable rate of return.” Karl knew that answer applied to their product too.

The upside for Karl, as Shepherd’s Grain’s primary marketer, is the transparency. He explains, “I can look a customer in the face anytime, anywhere and tell them that we have an honest price. It’s not asking for Cadillacs and trips to Hawaii. If buyers argue the price, they don’t want the farmer or the miller or any of us out here to be to be in business next year to do this again, bringing that same quality product not only next year, but the next generation.”

Fred and Karl are very proud of what the Shepherd’s Grain label represents. The product may be small, but one purchase can say a lot. Fred explains, “If a consumer wants to be an activist, they are doing more for the environment and society, in the long run, with this one purchase. With the no-till or direct-seed method, the soil stays here on the farm, it doesn’t get into the streams where it can cause harm.” He adds, “This label represents locally grown, family farmers. When you become this kind of food activist, you also become a disciple to save family farms.”

Fred describes himself as a conservative hippy and is quick to point out that this venture has not been for the faint of heart. It is driven by passion, and it has to be. “You have to have the willingness to come to the new land and burn your ship so there’s no way of going back home. That’s really what you have to have to make something like this work,” he laughs.

There is also a push on the demand side. Karl explains, “Part of this whole vision was that we could see that other countries that used to import our products – specifically from the Pacific Northwest – are now net exporters.” Fred adds, “All the farmers out here hope this works and have been very supportive. They have seen this cloud of change that is on the horizon, just steaming down the valley at us. So far we haven’t been affected, but it’s coming. Maybe we will only carry the ball so far down the line, and there will be that next group that will take the ball and score the touchdown on this, but we’re hoping we’ll score the touchdown. We’re trying to create a new paradigm.”