Since being the first in the industry to announce efforts to help U.S. wheat growers double organic wheat acres last December, Ardent Mills, the premier flour-milling and ingredient company has expanded its producer program to a total of seven U.S. states and a Canadian province while adding more organic-certified milling and packaging locations along with storage.
"Since our initial announcement, we have continued to see growing demand from restaurants and food companies for organic wheat flour for use in fresh, packaged and menu recipes,” states Ardent Mills CEO, Dan Dye. “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. We have been providing organic flour since 1996 and are well positioned to meet this bold challenge."
“By planning and launching regional and national products, we can deliver supply assurance and scalability,” says Ardent Mills Director of Specialty, Risk Management, Shrene White. “Since 2015, we’ve added organic durum, organic cracked wheat and organic spelt to our product mix, which also includes organic whole wheat flour, organic bread wheat flour, organic all-purpose wheat flour and organic pastry flour, various ancient grains and breads made at our Innovative Bakery Resources (IBR) facility.”
Ardent Mills maintains strong producer relationships, contracting organic wheat acres in seven states (Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming) and a Canadian province (Saskatchewan) to its program in 2016. Soon the company will have a total of eight organic-certified milling and packaging locations along with a storage facility, all focused on quality, consistency, and performance.