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It's hard times in America's heartland right now, where many farmers are on the brink of bankruptcy due, in part, to President Trump's trade war shutting off global sales of many of their crops. 

Trump's tariffs have also made imported fertilizer and other equipment farmers rely on even more expensive amid already high inflation. But in one corner of Pacific Northwest wheat country, there are glimmers of economic hope due to the burgeoning business of "craft flour."

On the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Ore., Washington-state based Cairnspring Mills is building a new craft flour mill that will expand the company's production twelvefold and give some wheat farmers a local market for their grains. Upwards of 90% of all the wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest is exported.

"We're trying to do our little part in changing that because the commodity market is unpredictable," says Kevin Morse, co-founder of Cairnspring. "It's usually a race to the bottom and not profitable." 

Once at full production, the new mill will need about 2 million bushels of wheat a year, which is still a blip in the overall Northwest wheat market. Even though it's growing, analysts say craft flour coveted by artisan breadmakers is still a niche business.

The mill is expected to open within a year with help from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation on farmland near the casino. An estimated 20 jobs will be created, and the mill is promising to give Native people priority in training and hiring. 

Tribal officials say it's a signal that Indian Country is open for business.

"For small communities in rural areas, there's hope," says Steven Hart, a trustee at large.  

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Kirk Siegler

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As U.S. wheat farmers face painful losses in the global market due to President Trump's policies, one domestic flour mill on a reservation in Oregon is expanding its production twelvefold.

How the craft flour movement could be a boon to farmers and Indian Country

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