Growing small grains market in Albert Lea attracting attention from farmers
(ABC 6 News) – Farmers from across Minnesota gathered in Albert Lea Tuesday to talk shop and oats as a new small grains market begins to take shape.
Small grains, like oats, used to have a major market in Minnesota, but newer crops have changed the landscape.
“As agriculture has shifted and changed into what is now, the traditional commodity market of corn and bean rotation, that eliminated a very important market for the small grains,” said Shea-Lynn Ramthun.
Ramthun is a soil health organizer for the Land Stewarship Project, a Minnesota-based nonprofit dedicated to sustainable agriculture.
She says a lot of farmers they speak to have been wanting a small grains market to make a return to the state, as many are already growing them.
“Right now, our small grains we raise mostly for our own animals,” said Alan Jostock, a farmer from Hammond, just north of Rochester.
Mark Klinski of Caledonia has been at it for decades, specifically growing organically since 2015.
“My oats are in a bin from last season,” he said. “Haven’t found a good food grade market for my organic oats yet.”
The state of the market in Minnesota is unfortunate as growing crops like oats can do a lot for farmers.
“It’s not just an option for economics,” said Commissioner for the state’s Department of Agriculture Thom Petersen. “It’s actually really good too for the soil, for the water quality.”
Things are starting to shift, however.
A new oat processing mill set to break ground later this year is creating some excitement in farmers for what could come.
“A three crop rotation is really good for soil health,” said Jeff Gillespie, a farmer from Fountain. “You can plant a cover crop earlier in the season and get that going and then we have cattle also so we can graze that cover crop through the winter.”
That’s why more than 125 of them gathered at a workshop hosted by the Land Stewardship Project to learn more, and see how they can take advantage of this new momentum.
Jostock was particularly pleased with the turnout.
“To see other farmers that have never grown them or haven’t grown them in years coming back to them and just trying to hold their soil and do better with the land versus just a typical corn/bean rotation is good to see,” he said.