Clif Bar & Company and the King Arthur Flour Company just announced a US$1.5 million endowment to sustain organic grains research at the Bread Lab. According to Clif Bar & Company’s senior director of agricultural policy and programs Matthew Dillon, “The Bread Lab serves as a model for other regions of rural America to replicate.”

"The Bread Lab strives to keep the value derived from agriculture in the region where it’s produced. As plant breeders, we make grain varieties that work for the farmer first, and then find their best use regionally.” The Bread Lab works in Skagit Valley in northwestern Washington to breed and test distinctive varieties of grains like wheat and barley, rotation crops that enhance soil health, for use in the region.

Co-CEO of King Arthur Flour Karen Colberg believes “investing in this research is an investment in the next generation of farmers. If we can help to evolve the agriculture landscape through improved organic farming, we help farmers, and we help meet growing consumer demand for more organic food.”

Read the full article about sustaining organic grain by Miranda Carver Martin at Food Tank.