2017 Conference Summary Report 2017 Conference Summary Report

Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 1Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 1

THE CASCADIA GRAINS CONFERENCE brings together farmers, processors and end-users, as well as investors, brokers and local government officials to support rebuilding a grain economy west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia through three value-added enterprises – brewing and distilling, baking and other food uses, as well as animal feed.

TOP TO BOTTOM: Rose Lawrence of Red Bread and Kelli Collins from Joseph’s Grainery during the Friday Hands-on Whole Grain Crackers Class with Dawn Woodward. Jason Parker of Westland Distilling and Mel Darbyshire of Grand Central Baking leading “Tasting the Grain”. Members of the Old Stove Brewing team at the Best of the Cascades Tasting Tour.

OVERVIEW: The 5th annual Cascadia Grains Conference was held on January 6th & 7th, 2017 in Olympia, WA. This year’s event brought together over 260 participants with the goal of strengthening the regional grain economy west of the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest region through three value-added enterprises: animal feed, artisan baking and other food uses, as well as craft brewing and distill-ing. The conference is a project of Washington State University in partnership with Oregon State University and the generous support of contributing sponsors and agencies. The conference is structured as a two day event with the Friday program offering optional add-on experiences: Hands On Heirloom Varietal Crackers with Dawn Woodward of Evelyn’s Crackers, a South Sound Brewing and Distilling Tour featuring Sandstone Distilling and the historic Old Brewery Building in Tumwater as well as Toprung Brewery, an Equipment Field Trip at Scatter Creek Farm and Conservancy, and a new Historical Tasting Event at the Schmidt House with Richard Scheuerman and the South Puget Sound Community College Catering Team. All Friday options sold out and were in high rated by participants. The main conference on Saturday featured 15 unique workshops and panels as well as 2 hands-on baking classes taught by 41 specialists from around the region. Workshop topics included grain production methods, supply chain development, processing and end-use quality factors, marketing and branding, as well as developing the region’s infrastructure through milling. On average, the sessions were evaluated by attendees as being somewhat to very informative, or an average score of 3.7 on a scale from 0 (not informative) to 5 (very informative).

PARTICIPATION

Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 2

PARTICIPATION

Conference participants came from all corners of the Pacific Northwest including Washington (70% of participants), Oregon (26% of participants), California (3%) and British Columbia (1% of participants). Interestingly, 47% of participants were from the west of the Cascades Mountains, with 25% from the South Puget Sound (Thur-ston and Pierce counties), 13% from the greater Seattle area (King county), 10% were from the greater Portland area, and 6% from the Corvallis area, 3% from the Olympic Peninsula (primarily Jefferson county), 2% from the Northwest Sound (primarily Skagit counties). In addition to the Pacific Northwest, residents of the following states participated in the conference: Arizona, D.C., Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Wyoming. The Planning Team worked hard to attract participants from across the region and the higher numbers from Oregon over previous years reflect these efforts. Interestingly farmers and researchers/educators made up the largest percentage of participants (Both at 20%). This is a jump in farmer particpation over 2016. Consultants/investors (10%) made up the next largest attendee groups, followed by Processors (9.5%). Of the processers present were millers (21%), bakers (19%), distillers (16%), maltsters (11%), brewers (10%). Consultants consisted of participants from business and investment groups, advocates and NGO groups, government agencies and members of the media. Over the last five years the conference attendance has doubled. One clear success of the conference is the high demand for the event and the continued interest among new participants (76% of attendees were new to the conference). In addition to sharing the latest science, techniques, and developments, the conference aims to create a space in which new business, policy and research relationships can form and existing ones can be strengthened. In fact 52% of participants responded that opportunities for networking is their primary reason for attending the conference. Anticipating this, the Planning Team intentionally created a schedule and program that integrated as many networking opportunities as possible, including un-programmed time during three locally-sourced meals, the Best of the Cascades Tasting Tour featuring local craft beers and spirits, and an all-day Resource Expo featuring regional organizations and agencies that support the local grain-shed. 99% of survey respondents stated that they plan on attending the conference again, while less than 1% stated maybe or no.

Colin Curwen-McAdams presenting his research during the session“Research Update: The Latest & Greatest from the Grainshed”

2017 AttendeesWhich best describes your business or organization?

If you are a processor, which of the following best describes your business/organization?

Farmer

Processor

Retailer

Consultant

Broker/Distributor

Farm Supplier

Seed Company

Researcher Other

21.62%Miller

18.92%Baker

10.81%Brewer

16.22%Distiller

10.81%Maltster

13.51%Animal Feed

8.11% Other

PROGRAM

At the core of the conference were 15 sessions taught by 41 speakers representing a broad range of sectors, from universities to non-profits, economic development organizations to grain processors, as well as farm and food businesses. Sessions were one hour and 20 minutes and divided into four concurring tracks that took place over five time blocks starting at 9am, breaking for a long lunch and going till 5:45pm. Session formats ranged from single speaker presentations to panel discussions, each moderated by a member of the conference Planning and Steering Committees.

One of the tracks included two hands-on baking classes taught by two well-know bakers. These classes were limited in size and pre-sign up was encouraged. Additionally, the conference included a Resource Expo including 20 different agencies, organizations and companies engaging participants throughout the day with passive displays, hands-on activities, resources, program sign ups, and take-home materials. The day concluded with the Best of the Cascades Tasting Tour of regional craft beers and spirits highlighting three breweries and five distilleries. Participants were asked to rank the sessions they attended on a scale from 1 (Not Informative) to 5 (Very Informative). The average over all 17 sessions was 3.7. The highest ranked sessions were Brewing and Distilling Local with Tyler Pederson and Brad Loucks of Great Western Malting, Matt Lincecum of Fremont Brewing, Jason Parker from Copperworks Distilling. Next in popularity was the Research Update session with graduate students from WSU and OSU including: Colin Curwen-McAdams, Dustin Herb, and Juilanne Kellogg.

Based on participation, the most popular sessions were on growing grains, specialty grains, marketing and branding, small-scale milling, brewing and malting. Participants were asked which grain crops interest them the most, and their response was: Barley (17.5%), Wheat (16%), Oats (14.2%), Rye (12.5%), Triticale (6.7%), Buckwheat (10%), Amaranth 7.5%, Quinoa 10%, Other (teff, millet, sorghum, spelt) 5.8%. 66.7% of survey respondents were primarily interested in traditional small grain crops, while 33.3% are interested in specialty grain crops. Moving forward the conference hopes to capitalize on the growing interest in specialty grains by adding more sessions and topics in this area. When asked what topics they want to learn more about in the future respondents stated the knowledge about variety selection is of particular interest. Respondents also said that direct meet and greet networking opportunities would be good to have at the event moving forward.

Which types of grain interest you the most?

15.83%Wheat

17.50%Barley

14.17%Oats

12.50%Rye

6.67%Triticale

10%Buckwheat

7.50%Amaranth

10% Quinoa

5.83%Other

Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 3

Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 4

AGENDA

FRIDAY FIELD TRIPS: In 2017 the conference expanded yet again with four hands-on field trips: The South Puget Sound Brewing and Distilling Tour, Hands-On Whole Grain Crackers with Dawn Woodward of Evelyn’s Crackers, and new this year; a Historical Tasting Event with Richard Scheurman and the South Puget Sound Community College Catering Team, as well as an Equipment Field Trip at Scatter Creek Farm & Conservancy.

Saturday Agenda The Saturday conference agenda is outlined below and the full conference program with links to presentations can be accessed under 2017 Program on the Cascadia Grains Conference website: www.cascadiagrains.com

Accessing Capital for Food, Beverage & Farm BusinessesPANEL: Tim Crosby, Slow Money Northwest, Walter Acuna, CRAFT3, Celia Nightingale, Center for Business and Innovation, Carlotta Donisi, USDA Rural Development, Aslan Meade, THINK. Facilitated by: Lisa Smith, Enterprise for Equity

Agronomics and Marketing of Milling Oats in the Coastal PNWWith David Moore, Tonta Ray Ranch and Louisa Winkler, WSU Mount Vernon. Facilitated by: Jeremy Bunch, Shepherd's Grain

Alternative Grain ProductionKevin Murphy, WSU Assistant Professor of Barley and Alternative Crop Breeding

Brewing & Distilling Local: Impacts to Taste and BottomlinePANEL: Jason Parker, Copperworks Distilling, Tyler Pederson, Westland Distillery, Matt Lincecum, Fremont Brewing, Brad Loucks, Great Western Malting. Facilitated by: Sara Nelson of Fremont Brewing

Cascadia Grains Farm to Plate: Developing Relationships and Building DistributionPANEL: Nan Kohler, Grist and Toll, Bill Myers, Joseph's Grainery, Mike Moran, Shepherd’s Grain. Facilitated by: Heidi Behrends Cerniwey, City of Tumwater

The Chicken, the Egg and the Hulless OatWith Louisa Winkler, PhD Student in Plant Breeding at WSU Mount Vernon. Facilitated by: Laura Lewis, WSU Jefferson County Director

The Craft of Milling-- Farm to Mill, Mill to MarketNan Kohler, Owner/Miller Grist & Toll. Facilitated by: Brook Brouwer, WSU San Juan County Director

Economics of What to GrowPANEL: Larry Lev, OSU College of Ag Sciences, James Henderson, Hummingbird Wholesale, Jeremy Bunch, Shepherd’s Grain, Evan Mulvaney, Hidden River Farm. Facilitated by: Stephen Bramwell, WSU Thurston County Director

Grain Speak: Cultivating Consumer AwarenessPANEL: Mai Nguyen, CA Center for Cooperative Development, Tissa Stein, Tabor Bread, Lane Selman, Culinary Breeding Network. Facilitated by: Amy Halloran, Author, The New Bread Basket

Hands On Whole-Grain Pastry: Biscuits and BabkaWith Annie Moss, Seastar Bakery & Handsome Pizza and Tissa Stein, Tabor Bread

Hands On: Whole Grain PastaJoMarie Pitino, Ava Gene's

Research Update: The Latest & Greatest from the Grain-shedPANEL: Colin Curwen-McAdams, WSU Bread Lab, Dustin Herb, OSU Crop & Soil Science, Julianne Kellogg, WSU Graduate Student. Facilitated by: Brigid Meints, WSU Mount Vernon Research Center

Small Business Branding: Tell Your Story, Sell Your StoryWith Emily Crawford, Director of Communications and Market-ing at Pike Place Market PDA & Amy Halloran, Author of The New Bread Basket. Facilitated by: Jeff Bowe, Olympia Lacey Tumwater Visitor and Convention Bureau

Seed SourcingWith Brook Brouwer, WSU San Juan County and Mai Nguyen, CA Center for Cooperative Development. Facilitated by: Laura Lewis, WSU Jefferson County Director

Tasting the Grain: Show & Tell of Local GrainsPANEL: Mel Darbyshire, Grand Central Baking, Tyler Pederson, Westland Distillery, Jason Parker, Copperworks Distilling, Matt Lincecum, Fremont Brewing. Facilitated by: Scott Fisk, Barley Breeding Faculty Research Assistant

Tasting the Grain: Show & Tell of Local GrainsPANEL: Mel Darbyshire, Grand Central Baking, Tyler Pederson, Westland Distillery, Jason Parker, Copperworks Distilling, Matt Lincecum, Fremont Brewing. Facilitated by: Scott Fisk, Barley Breeding Faculty Research Assistant

Varieties, Varieties, Varieties: Blessing or Curse? Navigating the Variety Selection MazeSteve Lyon, Plant Breeder and Agronomist for the WSU Bread Lab. Facilitated by: David Bauermeister of Northwest Agriculture Business Center

Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 5

PLANNING & STEERING

The conference is a project of Washington State University (WSU) and planned in collaboration with Oregon State University (OSU). Laura Lewis, WSU Jefferson County Director chairs the Planning Team. Laura worked closely with Aba Kiser, the paid coordinator, to select the day and location of the conference, select and manage the Planning Team and Steering Committee, manage the finances of the conference including financial sponsorships and in-kind contributions, set the program and recruit speakers, as well as evaluate the conference outcomes. The 2017 Planning Team included the following educators and researchers: Dr. Brian Bodah (WSU), Stephen Bramwell (WSU), Brook Brouwer (WSU), Scott Fisk (OSU), Brigid Meints (WSU), and Dr. Kevin Murphy (WSU). The Steering Committee was composed of individuals

who work in the private sector or for economic development organizations. Through monthly planning meetings, the Steering Committee provides input on the program topics and speakers, brings in resources to support the conference through financial and in-kind sponsorships, promotes the conference through different outlets, and participates in the conference as a support staff, speaker or facilitator. The 2017 Steering Committee included the following individuals: David Bauermeister (Northwest Agriculture Business Center), Heidi Behrends Cerniwey (City of Tumwater), Jeff Bowe (Olympia Lacey Tumwater Visitor and Convention Bureau), Jeremy Bunch (Shepherd's Grain), Rose Burke (Former Cascadia Grains Conference Coordinator), Jaclyn Coleman (Community Grains Conference), George DePasquale (Essential Baking Company), John Doan (City of Tumwater), Matt Hofmann (Westland Distillery), Aba Kiser (Cascadia Grains Conference Coordinator. WSU Extension), Wendy Knopp (Northwest Farm Credit Services), Matt Lincecum (Fremont Brewing Company), Sara Nelson (Fremont Brewing Company), Dr. Lucas Patzek (Ag Innovations Network), Lisa Smith (Enterprise for Equity)TOP RIGHT: Lisa Smith, Enterprise for Equity. MIDDLE LEFT: Tastebud Pizza oven preparing dinner 2017BOTTOM LFET: Evan Mulvaney of Hidden River Farm leading the Hands-On Equipment class, Scatter Creek Farm and ConservancyBOTTOM RIGHT: Dawn Woodward of Evelyn’s Crackers teaching Hands-On Baking class, held at South Puget Sound Commuity College

Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 6

FINANCIALS

The 2017 Cascadia Grains Conference was proudly supported by Pierce County, Fremont Brewing Company, Old Stove Brewing, Bob’s Red Mill, and many other companies and organization listed below. Sponsors contributed at one of six sponsorship levels each with different associated benefits. The total budget for the conference was nearly $60,000, with 31% from registration fees, 30% of the dollars coming from sponsorships, 8% from WSU Extension support, 6% from grants, and 2% from Resource Expo, Tasting Tour fees, plus approximately 14% carryover profit from the 2016 conference. New to the 2017 conference were two new classes during Friday, which had limited registration and sold out. The registration for these adders was $25 and$60, which helped pay for the bus transportation for the Brewing and Distilling Tour, baking instructors, and equipment for the hands on baking class.

Registration fees for the Saturday conference were tiered into three categories based on the timing of payment: early-bird ($75), regular ($95), and day-of ($115). Two tiers of scholarships of $45 and $25 were awarded to 17 individuals who submitted an online application. The conference awarded free registration to 24 individuals who volunteered their time during the event. The conference was delighted to have such a strong team of volunteers to take pictures, set up and break down, staff registration, help with baking class clean up and more.

Thank you Sponsors:

Based on participation, the most popular sessions were on growing grains, specialty grains, marketing and branding, small-scale milling, brewing and malting. Participants were asked which grain crops interest them the most, and their response was: Barley (17.5%), Wheat (16%), Oats (14.2%), Rye (12.5%), Triticale (6.7%), Buckwheat (10%), Amaranth 7.5%, Quinoa 10%, Other (teff, millet, sorghum, spelt) 5.8%. 66.7% of survey respondents were primarily interested in traditional small grain crops, while 33.3% are interested in specialty grain crops. Moving forward the conference hopes to capitalize on the growing interest in specialty grains by adding more sessions and topics in this area. When asked what topics they want to learn more about in the future respondents stated the knowledge about variety selection is of particular interest. Respondents also said that direct meet and greet networking opportunities would be good to have at the event moving forward.

The conference cost nearly $32,000 to put together. Staff salaries, speaker travel reimbursement, catering, and venue rental were the top expenses. Excellent in-kind sponsor partnerships such as gifted coffee service by Batdorf and Bronson, DRY Sparking, and the Essential Baking Company helped to keep expenses down. The profit from the 2017 conference will go toward venue rental and staff salaries to start the planning for the 2018 event.

Presented by Washington State University in partnership with Oregon State University

Proudly presented by the following organizations:

Contact: Aba Kiser, WSU Extension, aba.kiser@wsu.edu. 360-379-5610 7

MOVING FORWARD

Accessing Capital for Food, Beverage & Farm BusinessesPANEL: Tim Crosby, Slow Money Northwest, Walter Acuna, CRAFT3, Celia Nightingale, Center for Business and Innovation, Carlotta Donisi, USDA Rural Development, Aslan Meade, THINK. Facilitated by: Lisa Smith, Enterprise for Equity

Agronomics and Marketing of Milling Oats in the Coastal PNWWith David Moore, Tonta Ray Ranch and Louisa Winkler, WSU Mount Vernon. Facilitated by: Jeremy Bunch, Shepherd's Grain

Alternative Grain ProductionKevin Murphy, WSU Assistant Professor of Barley and Alternative Crop Breeding

Brewing & Distilling Local: Impacts to Taste and BottomlinePANEL: Jason Parker, Copperworks Distilling, Tyler Pederson, Westland Distillery, Matt Lincecum, Fremont Brewing, Brad Loucks, Great Western Malting. Facilitated by: Sara Nelson of Fremont Brewing

Cascadia Grains Farm to Plate: Developing Relationships and Building DistributionPANEL: Nan Kohler, Grist and Toll, Bill Myers, Joseph's Grainery, Mike Moran, Shepherd’s Grain. Facilitated by: Heidi Behrends Cerniwey, City of Tumwater

The Chicken, the Egg and the Hulless OatWith Louisa Winkler, PhD Student in Plant Breeding at WSU Mount Vernon. Facilitated by: Laura Lewis, WSU Jefferson County Director

The Craft of Milling-- Farm to Mill, Mill to MarketNan Kohler, Owner/Miller Grist & Toll. Facilitated by: Brook Brouwer, WSU San Juan County Director

Economics of What to GrowPANEL: Larry Lev, OSU College of Ag Sciences, James Henderson, Hummingbird Wholesale, Jeremy Bunch, Shepherd’s Grain, Evan Mulvaney, Hidden River Farm. Facilitated by: Stephen Bramwell, WSU Thurston County Director

In addition to sharing the latest science, techniques, and developments, the conference aims to create a space in which new business, policy and research relationships can form and existing ones can be strengthened. In fact 52% of participants responded that opportunities for networking is their primary reason for attending the conference. Anticipating this, the Planning Team intentionally created a schedule and program that integrated as many networking opportunities as possible, including un-programmed time during three localy-sourced meals, the Best of the Cascades Tasting Tour featuring local craft beers and spirits, and an all-day Resource Expo featuring regional organizations and agencies that support the local grain-shed. The success of the conference may be judged by the enthusiasm of the participants during the conference as well as their willingness to attend the conference again with 99% of survey respondents stating that they would, while less than 1% stated maybe or no.

Popular TopicsBased on participation, the most popular sessions were on topics related to growing grains, specialty grains, marketing and branding, small-scale milling, brewing and malting of Cascadia grains. Moving forward the conference hopes to capitalize on the growing interest in specialty grains by adding more sessions and topics in this area. When asked what topics they want to learn more about in the future respondents stated the knowledge about variety selection is of particular interest. Additionally malt and malting grains continues to be relevant. Respondents also said that direct meet and greet networking opportunities would enhance the day.

Grain and Specialty Grain TypesParticipants were asked which grain crops interest them the most, and there response was: Barley (17.5%), Wheat (16%), Oats (14.2%), Rye (12.5%), Triticale (6.7%), Buckwheat (10%), Amaranth 7.5%, Quinoa 10%, Other (teff, millet, sorghum, spelt) 5.8%. 66.7% of survey respondents are primarily interested in traditional small grain crops while 33.3% are interested in specialty grain crops including millet, spelt, sorghum, and emmer.

TOP TO BOTTOM: Fish Brewing at the Best of the Cascades Tasting Tour, Hands-On Equipment Field Trip at Scatter Creek Farm & Conservancy/South of the Sound Community Farm Land Trust, Richard Sheuerman speaking at the Hands-On Historical Tasting Event at the Schmidt House