Bluebird Grain Farms

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Spring is here! Bluebirds are returning and the snow is melting away, so we’re thinking about farming. Before we enter the whirlwind of field preparation and spring planting, we like to take time to reflect and give thanks for our family, friends, and customers. Thank you to everyone who makes Bluebird the amazing business it is! We look forward to another season of stewarding the soil, growing community, and growing delicious food.

We were honored to participate in the annual Bite of the Methow fundraiser for the Winthrop Kiwanis chapter. This excellent event raises money for community projects in the Methow Valley. Thank you to everyone who supported the event this year. We look forward to seeing you there next year!

Brad, our Outreach Coordinator, traveled to Seattle this month for a supplier meeting with the regional team at Whole Foods Market.  Whole Foods has long been a supporter of Bluebird and continues to do a great job offering products from organic farmers and food producers at their stores. If you live outside the Methow Valley and are looking for Bluebird products locally, we urge you to support this forward-thinking retail chain.

We have been receiving many questions from customers about our Split Emmer Farro (Farro Spezzato in Italian), so we wanted to include a note about it here.  Split farro is basically whole farro grains broken in half for a quicker cooking time. This is a very different product than pearled farro. Pearling is the process of shaving the bran off of a whole grain (which removes a significant amount of fiber and nutrients as well) for a quicker cooking time. Split farro’s bran is intact so has the full complement of fiber and nutrients that whole grain farro does. It has a lighter texture than whole farro so is perfectly suited for soups and pilafs. Our split emmer is currently on sale for 15%-25% off; check out our online store for details.

Open pit mining in the Methow Valley? Many of you have heard that a Canadian mining company has sought a permit for exploratory drilling for copper on Flagg Mountain, just a few miles up valley of Bluebird’s organic emmer and einkorn fields. Open pit mining  would have disasterous consequences for our water quality here in the valley, which would in turn have disasterous consequences for our business and many other businesses that rely on clean, cold water from the Methow River.  We are very thankful for the work of the Methow Headwaters Campaign on ensuring that such a mine never comes to pass!  The approach they are taking is called a “mineral withdrawal”, in which the Methow headwaters  would legally be removed from consideration for large scale mining via an administrative action by the Forest Service or by legislation from Congress. Sam has put in a lot of time working with these folks over the past year, and you can see him and some of Bluebird’s fields featured in their educational video here. We are also thankful to our Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray for drafting and introducing the necessary legislation to begin the mineral withdrawal.  If you’d like to get involved, visit the Methow Headwaters Campaign’s website for more ways to help, or check out their Instagram or Facebook pages for updates on the campaign.   Thank you!