Meet One of Our Mills: La Milanaise
We recently featured our self-described “micro-mill” partner, Farmer Ground Flour, today we introduce La Milanaise, our largest organic milling partner. La Milanaise plays a special role in our supply chain, not only because they produce the greatest volume of organic grains we use in our bakeries, but also because our stories of growth and organic commitments mirror each other so well. Based in Quebec (a four hour drive from our Kingston bakery) La Milanaise has spent the past 35 years building a sustainable milling business supporting North American farmers who serve as stewards of the land.
La Milanaise didn’t start as a mill – they began instead as a 400 acre organic farm, and just like us, were committed to organic principles before there was an official certification. Founders Robert and Lily began farming organic grains in 1977, selling their wheat into natural co-ops. Five years later, they built a small mill on their farm to process their organic grains, helping build a movement that soon outpaced what their family farm could produce.
Partnering with like-minded farmers and the Canadian government, La Milanaise helped set the standard for the organic certification, and have become a leading miller of organic grains in North America.
We began working with them over 20 years ago. Our partnership runs deep: we work over a year in advance to project our organic grain needs, which La Milanaise uses to give organic growers certainty about both the volumes and pricing they can expect for their crop. This provides reliability in a market known for its extreme volatility for grower, miller, baker, and ultimately the end customer.
La Milanaise has stayed true to their organic farming roots, going above and beyond to provide agronomic support to their farming partners. They proudly focus on helping growers through the multi-year transition from conventional to organic farming, which is a particularly challenging period for farms as they navigate changes in inputs, crop yields and growing practices all before reaping the economic benefits of the organic certification.
We share a passion for finding the very best equipment from around the world to produce the highest quality product at scale. With their equipment, La Milanaise has perfected milling across different technologies, including stone mills, cylinders, and pulverizers producing consistent, high-quality, nutrient dense flours that feature in our breads and pastries.
Our partnership with La Milanaise keeps the trifecta of farmer-miller-baker deeply aligned, strengthening our regional organic grain economy. We’re proud of our partners, big and small, working to build the movement for organic grain production for the benefit of people and planet.
