Meet our Mill Partner: Small Valley Milling
We’re committed to working with milling partners large and small to continue to grow the organic grain ecosystem in North America. Supporting organic millers at every stage–from local micro-mills to millers who can fill our silos with thousands of kilos of high-quality North American organic wheat flour–is key to building a resilient organic grain economy. Each year, we bake millions of loaves supporting thousands of acres of organic, and often regenerative, farms. The millers who transform organic farmers’ harvest into high quality, nutrient-dense flour are a linchpin in the farmer-miller-baker trifecta that help make our sourdough breads so extraordinary.
Meet Small Valley Milling
One of our longtime local milling partners is Small Valley Milling, located in Halifax, PA. Small Valley Milling has been our partner for over a decade, supplying specialty organic flours like rye and spelt to both our carbon-neutral Boiceville bakery and our Certified Organic Kingston production bakery. They mill close to 3 million lbs of flour each year, processed on their Roller Mill and stone Hammermill.
TRANSITIONING TO ORGANIC
Small Valley Milling started as a 200-acre family farm. Owners Joel and Elaine Steigman made the decision to transition to organic practices in 1999. They were motivated by a belief that avoiding toxic inputs would be better for the health of their land, family and customers, as well as the drive to find a more economically sustainable way to keep the family farm as larger conventional farms squeezed their profit margins.
WHY SPELT?
With the move to organic farming, they experimented with specialty crops and landed on growing spelt, which they selected for its inherent nutritional benefits. This ancient whole grain was popular for centuries before the rise of modern commercial wheat. Spelt has recently had a renaissance due to its delicious nuttiness and healthy profile–rich in vitamins and minerals, spelt is easy to digest and contains less gluten than wheat. The Steigmans worked with other farmers to help establish a market for organic spelt flour, and they prefer personally baking with spelt at home (Elaine loves it for her pound cake).
BUILDING THE MILL
In 2008, the Steigman’s son Eric returned to the farm and joined forces with his parents to vertically integrate by building an organic mill to process their specialty grain. The mill has grown since, with the Steigmans harvest supplying only 20% of the total grain processed. Eric is proud to be organic, and partner with local organic farms. “(Our mill) supports multiple families, and it allows me and my parents to stay on the farm and make a living. I’m raising my family here now,” he says.
Right now, the farm and mill are busy–spring plants like oats went into the ground recently and harvest season approaches for barley and other small grains. They’re working at the mill to build a year’s worth of storage for local organic farmers to be able to take more of their grain at harvest for those without storage on-site. This will serve as an important part of the local supply chain, allowing farmers to sell their crops for value-added organic consumption which they might not otherwise have been able to do without access to storage.
We at Bread Alone are proud to partner with local mills like Small Valley Milling that play an important role in the local organic grain economy. Next time you enjoy our NY Rye, French Sourdough, or any of our breads that feature rye or spelt flours, think of the Steigmans and the care that goes into getting a crop from seed to bread.
