Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 J U LY 1 2 , 2 0 2 1 F O C U S A U G U S TA / WAT E R V I L L E / C E N T R A L M A I N E Like the wine world, these differences are increasingly used as selling points. "at's the fun part of the grain mar- ket right now," says Lambke. "We do as much education as we can about the different properties, and also encourage people to try the heritage varieties." Building out the infrastructure Inadequate infrastructure is a top chal- lenge for farmers and processors. "One central bottleneck in getting high quality grain to market has tra- ditionally been on-farm post harvest grain handling ability," says Noyes. If you don't have a good way to sort, store, dry and clean your grain, then you have to be able to sell your grain more quickly because it will go bad more quickly." e alliance tackled that challenge in 2019 when it undertook an ambi- tious $200,000 project, with support from Maine Technology Institute and Slow Money Maine, to support seven Maine farms with the purchase of specialized equipment such as air- flow grain cleaners and solar-powered grain driers. Similar programs over the years have awarded mini-grants for technical assistance and equipment needs. "Each farm has different circum- stances to address," says Noyes. A million-pound commitment Many credit a commitment made in 2017 by Allagash Brewing in Portland, to buy 1 million pounds of Maine- grown grain by 2021, as a pivotal push for the grain economy. In 2016, Allagash used 60,000 pounds of Maine-grown grain — about 2% of the 4 million pounds it otherwise sourced from the Midwest. It hit 750,000 pounds in 2020 despite a sales drop due to the pandemic, and is on track to 1 million pounds this year, accounting for 15% to 20% of its overall grain usage. "e reason for the hard number was to give our Maine growing and malting partners something to bank on," says Jason Perkins, Allagash's brew master and vice president of brewing operations. "at way, they could build out longer-term projects, knowing the demand would still be there." Perkins credits Maine Grain Alliance for helping Allagash make the connec- tions to fulfill that promise. "Networking events like the Kneading Conference are wonderful for us," he says. "A lot of those conversations go back six or seven years at this point." Now Allagash is looking at possibly ramping up beyond 1 million pounds per year. Other brewers use Maine grain, too. e commitment is important, says Perkins. "We are not alone in this pas- sion for local grain," he says. Says Noyes, "All of these intercon- nections are a recipe for success. It's not just one aspect. It's having the network of markets and people and conversations that allow it to grow." Laurie Schreiber, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at lschreiber @ mainebiz.biz Is your cooling system struggling to keep up? Worried your heating system won't make it through another winter? Do some rooms never feel comfortable? EFFICIENCYMAINE.COM 866-376-2463 Now is the time to upgrade to a high-performance system that can meet both your cooling and heating needs. Reduce energy costs. Improve comfort. Incentives are available for heat pump and variable refrigerant flow systems. Speak with your contractor to see which solution is right for your building. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y A L L A G A S H B R E W I N G C O. Jason Perkins, brew master and vice president of brewing operations at Allagash Brewing Co., is making good on a promise he and founder Rob Tod made to source 1 million pounds of grain from Maine farmers by 2021.

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