Milling & Baking News - May 7, 2019 - 12

Business

Cascadian Farm to offer Kernza
cereal as part of small-batch launch
MINNEAPOLIS - General Mills, Inc.'s
Cascadian Farm subsidiary has set up
www.DeeplyRootedForGood.com, a
web site for individuals interested in
trying its Honey Toasted Kernza cereal.
The company said it has 6,000 boxes
of the cereal available, with proceeds
from the fundraiser going toward The
Land Institute to further research on
Kernza, a perennial grain that is a wild
relative of annual wheat.
The decision to limit the cereal's
production run and launch the web
site comes after Cascadian Farm in
2017 committed to developing a cereal
or snack product made with Kernza
due to its flavor profile and potential
to positively impact the climate. Kernza is described as a sweet, nutty grain.
But the company soon encountered
challenges.
Maria Carolina Comings, marketing
director for Cascadian Farm, pointed
out in an April podcast that Kernza
takes two years to grow. Over the past
two years, the company encountered
many factors that impacted the yield,
and there were some issues after harvest that affected the available supply
of organic Kernza, Ms. Comings said.
According to Cascadian Farm there
are 1,200 acres of Kernza perennial
grain in production, and the yields are
relatively small - about one-quarter
that of annual wheat.
"We believe so much in the potential of Kernza, we made the tough call
to launch a cereal made with transitional organic Kernza," he said. "We
are using this small-batch launch as an
opportunity to educate more people
about Kernza and its benefits."
Instead of rolling out Honey Toasted
Kernza nationally as it originally had
hoped, Cascadian Farm said it is selling
the cereal as a fundraiser to advance

climate-beneficial foods. Individuals
who donate $25 will be sent a limitededition box of Honey Toasted Kernza
cereal, while supplies last. Individuals
who donate at a higher level will have
their names listed on a plaque at the
Cascadian Farm home farm in Washington, next to the brand's Kernza test
field, the company said.
General Mills since 2014 has worked
alongside The Land Institute and the
University of Minnesota's College of

CASCADIAN FARM

Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences to research Kernza. The
grain (intermediate wheatgrass) has
roots that grow twice as deep, or close
to 10 feet, and are greater in density
than annual wheat roots. Farmers who
produce Kernza do not need to till and
replant the perennial crop every year,
which minimizes disruption to the soil.
"Today's food system is faced with
challenges from resource scarcity to
soil health and water quality," said
Lee DeHaan, Ph.D., lead scientist for
the Kernza domestication program
at The Land Institute, based in Salina, Kas. "It is estimated that agriculture contributes to about 30% of
global greenhouse emissions. It has
never been more important - or more

Brioche dough products maker
receives funds to expand
BAIE-D'URFE, QUE. - Lanthier Bakery, a maker of brioche dough products,
has been awarded $2 million in financial
assistance from the Canada Economic
Development for Quebec Regions. The
funds will be used to expand and renovate Lanthier's plant in Baie-D'Urfe.
Lanthier said it plans to use the funds
to modernize a new digital production
line and purchase new equipment,

12 / May 7, 2019

Milling & Baking News

including wrapping and packaging
systems, an unmoulding island, a slicer, mixers, automatic mixing systems,
and oven and cooling towers.
"The government of Canada has implemented an ambitious approach to
support businesses that invest in new
product development," said Francis
Scarpaleggia, member of parliament
for Lac-Saint-Louis. "The financial

urgent - to implement farming practices that are climate-beneficial. Kernza has significant potential to redirect
the course of climate change and significantly improve planet health."
In 2017, General Mills approved a
$500,000 charitable contribution to
support research on Kernza.
"The benefits of Kernza have incredible promise to redirect the course of climate change and significantly improve
planet health," Ms. Comings said. "Cascadian Farm has always known agriculture could contribute to a healthier planet and has been deeply committed to
creating a positive relationship between
food and the land where it's grown.
And nearly 50 years later, we're helping
define the future of farming through our
commitment to commercialize Kernza."
Cascadian Farm has committed to
making Kernza crops a commercial reality by 2040 by working with its partners, as well as scientists and farms to
improve yields. The company said it
expects to see "an explosion of Kernza foods on menus and grocery store
shelves in the year ahead."
And while the production run of Honey Toasted Kernza cereal will be limited
in 2019, Cascadian Farm said it expects to
have more Kernza grain next year, making it available to more consumers and
"continuing to build awareness for the
potential of climate-beneficial foods."
Cascadian Farm is growing a halfacre test plot of Kernza on its home farm
in the Skagit River Valley of the Cascade
mountains in Washington. Ashley Minnerath, farm manager, said no one has
tried to grow Kernza in the weather conditions that occur on the farm.
"Kernza has never been planted in
an environment with this much rainfall," Ms. Minnerath said. "We get approximately 80 inches of rain a year.
We will be looking at how our yield
compares to other areas and its ability
to sequester carbon and enhance soil
health at the home farm as well." MBN
assistance awarded to Lanthier Bakery
is intended to provide concrete support for a company that has demonstrated its know-how and is also ready
to expand into new markets."
Founded in 1932, Lanthier is a family-owned business located in Alexandria, Ont. In 1985, the company set
up a second production plant in BaieD'Urfé to make bread using traditional recipes. In 2006, Lanthier partnered
with its principal shareholder, Francebased La Fournee Doree, to develop a
new range of brioche bread. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.DeeplyRootedForGood.com http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - May 7, 2019

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