Farming and Selling Grain flours as a Small Business

For the longest time I’ve thought about selling dried grains and flour for human consumption. Either at farmer’s markets or a at home store. However, I realize it’s not as simple as selling produce, because there are cottage laws and regulations for farming, storing, and processing grains. I’m wondering if anyone has tried it. Is it possible to do at small scale from home? And how do I research regulations and equipment that can be used legally?

I think the laws would vary from place to place, and also from market to market. I used to sell bread at markets, some markets wouldn’t let me have a stall unless I had a government-inspected kitchen, other markets didn’t care.

Flour is such a low-risk thing to sell, it may not be something that regulators have considered. You could always sell the grain itself (at the same price you’d sell flour for), and then ask the customer “do you want me to grind this up for you for free?”, that way you are just selling the grain and then doing the customer a favour rather than selling flour directly.

Legal stuff confuses me though so maybe don’t listen to anything I say about it!

Hi Ryan,
You might reach out to the Maine Grains Alliance. I don't know where you are located, but they do a lot of small batch grain/flour sales. they work with a bunch of small farm owners. They have grown, but still would be considered small scale by normal grain farmers. They might have some ideas.

https://mainegrains.com/

Ryan Burkitt wrote:And how do I research regulations and equipment that can be used legally?

Most city/states require a business license. And a tax number that is furnished by the state comptrollers office.

As Kate mentioned some food items have more requirements.

I ask Google for `business license and permits` and his reply was for Texas where I live.

Google said, Texas does not have a general statewide business license, but you may need an industry-specific occupational license, a seller's permit for selling goods or services, and local permits from your city or county. To determine specific requirements, you must contact the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for tax permits, the relevant state licensing board for occupational licenses, and your local city clerk or county office for local business permits.

I hope this will help you figure everything out.

It's going to depend on where you live, if you are milling yourself, if you are importing or growing your own grain, and other factors.

https://saanichtonfarm.com/ is a local-ish to me farm that sells wheat, barley, lentils,  and flour.  Both direct from the farm and in shops.  So it can be done.

Why so tightly regulated compared to other produce like zucchini?  Historical, there are three big issues the authorities worry about.  Keeping these in mind helps make it easier to get the documentation needed to sell.

1. Ergot, hunter (or one of the rodent based ones, I can't remember which), or other deadly stuff that can happen when grain is stored incorrectly
2. Cross contamination if more than one thing is milled in the same facility
3. Adulteration.  In times of strife, it's common for suppliers to add inedible powder to flour which reduces trust in the food supply.

Basically we are being punished for the stupidity of those who came before.

But, take care of those issues and the red tape is pretty easy to deal with.

....

When I was looking into it, I looked around to see if anyone was within a days journey and already selling. I bought them a coffee and asked questions about what the local requirements are.  If you can, start there as it give you an idea of your local conditions.

My conclusion was that their wheat was better than the stuff I grew, so I didn't take it any further.  But I learned a lot.  It's a very interesting aspect of food production.

Choose one of the states with food freedom laws.

In Utah, we can sell food direct-to-consumer, without any licenses, inspections, or regulations. (Milk and some types of meat don't qualify.)

My Texas Co-Op Magazine recently had an article about a man that they called:

A renaissance man who pulled strings and gave new life to old grains

https://texascooppower.com/living-the-good-loaf/

I hope you and others will enjoy this as much as I did.

Hi Ryan,
Wondering if you have checked into the logistics of growing and processing grains.
For commercial purposes you would likely need several acres for wheat, oats or corn.
Then there's planting methods, most grains on a commercial type scale even small would need machinery such as planters, cultivators, some type of combine for harvesting and then a threshing machine for separating the grain from the stalks.
Much of this could be done by hand but not on a very large scale.
There's also the issue of the small grains competing with weeds and insects, most commercial growers use pesticides and herbicides. Growing organically you could end up with a field of weeds instead of wheat.
These are just some of the things that should be considered for a small scale grain raising on a commercial level.
I have grown wheat, oats and field corn on a very small scale for household use, and have had varied outcomes, sometimes a reasonable crop and sometimes very little.
If you were purchasing the grain then you would only need some type of equipment for grinding it into flour, a much easier endeavor..
Just food for thought, as I have had some experience with several small grains.

Anne Miller wrote:My Texas Co-Op Magazine recently had an article about a man that they called:

A renaissance man who pulled strings and gave new life to old grains

That is an excellent article Anne, and good proof that "if you grow it and bake with it, they will come!"

I was particularly pleased that so many farmers were interested, that the processor couldn't take them all. That suggests that there's much more room out there for people interested in building small wheat processing capacity at a regional level.