Last year was a tough year for organic wheat marketing in NC.  Lindley Mills and Bay State Milling, the only organic food-grade wheat buyers in the state, were buying little, if any, NC wheat sold at harvest.  The main reason for this was a large supply of organic wheat in the Midwest left over from 2008 and it was selling cheaply.  Lindley and Bay State did start buying NC organic wheat in the fall and winter, but for many farms this was too late.  With little to no storage, some had to sell their wheat in the feed-grade or conventional market.

To be able to be consistently successful in marketing organic wheat, adequate storage for the crop will probably be needed throughout the year.  Buyers will often not be able to buy wheat at harvest, or at least not a whole crop.  Storage will not only allow wheat to be sold in the organic market, but may also allow farmers to access higher prices for wheat later in the year when supply is lower.  You can read an article on organic storage in one of our past newsletters at: http://www.organicgrains.ncsu.edu/Newsletters/June2008.htm.  For more information on organic grain storage from our website go to: http://www.organicgrains.ncsu.edu/marketing/harvestandstorage.htm.

Because of the recent history of high prices for organic wheat, more organic wheat was grown in 2008/2009--so supply was up and prices were lowered.  This past fall, many NC organic farmers were prevented from planting wheat due to wet conditions. This may not affect price at the market since the supply of NC wheat is only 5-10% of the NC mills' usage.

In addition to the larger food-grade buyers, Lindley Mills and Bay State Milling, a group of bakers in western NC has bought a grist mill and is planning to buy and store wheat for processing to make a NC-grown bread.  To get in touch with this group, you can contact Jennifer Lapidus at:  jennifer@carolinafarmstewards.org.