Meet Danny Cowan and George Allen of Red Tail Grains located near Mebane, NC.

Located on 40 acres, with another 50 acres of leased land as part of their crop rotation. Using sustainable practices, they have been growing heritage and modern varieties of grains since 2012. While are not certified organic, they never spray herbicides, pesticides, or use synthetic fertilizers. They save seed whenever possible and cultivate organic matter in our soils with the establishment of cover crops and by applying certified organic fertilizers. Their intention is to farm in a holistic manner and fill a needed gap in the local food economy, by providing folks with high quality, locally grown staple crops. Their number one priority is to produce a high-quality grain through the cultivation of healthy soils. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are never used on the soils.

They won a Rural Advancement Fund International grant to purchase a New American 26” Stone Mill, which was fabricated in Raleigh, NC with Salisbury granite. Milling flour in this way is elegant and simple: two granite stones sheer and crush the grain into an exceptional flour that contains all of the natural, vitamin-rich oils from the germ. Most store bought flours are produced using roller mills, which typically remove the germ from the grain to increase shelf-life for mass markets, resulting in the removal of vital nutrients and delicious flavors and aromas. Because our stone-milled flour acts more like a “fresh” product, we encourage cooks and bakers to enjoy it as fresh as possible. It generally stays good for approximately four weeks at room temperature, but is best stored in sealed containers in cold storage (freezer is best) for longer term storage.

1) Appalachian White Wheat is a modern hard winter wheat created in order to make North Carolina a producer of high protein bread wheats. It is a semi-dwarf variety with long awns that look stunning in the field. White wheats taste slightly less bitter than red wheats, making them an appealing option for some bakers who want to use more whole wheat without the extra strong flavor and darker color. White wheats tend to have a sweeter taste than red wheats and are less common. This flour is ideal for most baking applications. Protein: 9.6%

2) Three Grain Hot Breakfast Cereal is a hearty, antioxidant-rich breakfast porridge that takes about 20-25 minutes to cook. Use 2 (or 2 1/2) parts liquid to 1 part grain and enjoy as you would any bowl of hot porridge. It currently contains Bloody Butcher Heirloom Dent Corn, Cateto Orange Heirloom Flint Corn, and NuEast Red Wheat.

3) Catawba Red Wheat Pasta Flour is their version of a Grano Tenero '00' flour, stone-milled at cool temperatures and then sifted using our finest setting. Ideal for egg noodle pastas. Recipe on label for pasta!