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NCI hosts first ever Ancient Grains conference

grain
Northern Crop Institute
Amaranth, an ancient grain

The Northern Crops Institute recently hosted its first ever Ancient Grains conference to explore and educate people on the benefits of consuming Ancient Grain foods. Neil Doty is Business Development Manager for the NCI. He says ancient grains such as einkorn, emmer, and Khorasan wheat lend themselves to many of our modern foods.

"If you go into any of our supermarkets, you can find ample evidence of having ancient grains in our food supply specifically in the bakery area and even in the pasta area. So, these crops have been accepted by consumers and are of interest to consumers."

Doty says ancient grains could be a great choice for growers looking to gain some extra income or who want to start a new business.

"Some of these crops can be raised on marginal land or on land that does not produce well for our traditional agriculture and some of these crops would be an interesting alternative to utilize that land more productively. Some of our growers are interested in developing on farm businesses and having some diversity of income. They may be looking at growing some of these interesting crops, actually cleaning and conditioning on their farm, and selling their crop online or to specially value chain markets."

With the success of this year’s conference, NCI is already planning to host a second Ancient Grains conference in July of 2023.