Ardent Mills Plans to Push for Doubling U.S. Organic Wheat Acreage Within Three Years

Driven by climbing consumer demand, flour milling and ingredient company, Ardent Mills, has announced a new organic initiative designed to help U.S. organic wheat farmers double their acreage within three years.

"Today, there is growing demand from restaurants and food companies for organic wheat flour for use in fresh, packaged and menu recipes. This is a significant opportunity for growers to become a part of an emerging market and to create additional value for their crops on the path to organic certification,” said Ardent Mills Chief Executive Officer, Dan Dye in a company press release.

Based in Denver, Colorado, Ardent Mills has been supplying certified organic flour since 1996. The company controls more than 40 flour mills and bakery-mix facilities in addition to a specialty bakery and a Mobile Innovation Center, all located across the U.S, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Ardent Mills understands the challenges faced by farmers that are working to transition to organic production and working with Oregon Tilth, a non-profit educator, and advocate for organic agriculture since 1974, has established Organic Initiative 2019 to offer access to direct support services, workshops and long-term contracts for transitional and organic wheat output.

"Oregon Tilth is eager to share best practices and share knowledge among farmers working through the challenges of transition to organic agriculture. We believe that collaborative education – peer-to-peer learning, model sharing and capacity building – serves to support successful entry into organic farming, offering buyers and farmers a solid path to connect market opportunities with on-the-ground efforts to implement sustainable conservation practices on the farm," explains Sarah Brown, Oregon Tilth Education Director.

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