A Message from CGA Executive Director Madelyn Smith
Dear Common Grain Alliance community,
It is important now more than ever to share about our community’s work to build a strong, vibrant regional grain economy in the Mid-Atlantic. In collaboration with other regional grain initiatives across the country, we are launching a short survey to capture the economic benefits that regional grain systems bring to farmers, processors, and food businesses across the country.
Please consider filling out this short survey if you are a farmer, grain processor, and /or end user of grain (bakers, brewers, distillers, chefs, and other food businesses) participating in regional grain economies across the United States. Your responses will inform a collaborative white paper positioning the development of regional grain economies as a key strategy for creating domestic markets for American-grown crops and supporting rural economic development.
If you have been affected by cancellation of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program, please also filling out this survey distributed by National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: LFPA Survey
As we look toward June, we have several exciting events on the horizon that will continue building crucial connections and knowledge within our regional grain community. Keep an eye out for details on upcoming field days and networking opportunities that will bring together farmers, processors, and end users to share knowledge and strengthen our collective work.
I hope to see many of you at our upcoming gatherings and look forward to your participation in our economic impact survey.
With gratitude for all you do,
Madelyn Smith
We are excited to introduce our newly elected CGA board members! Each member was nominated and selected due to their experience and commitment to growing our local regional grain economy, and will work to ensure our programming and activities serve the needs of our membership.
Ben Shorofsky, Wendy Stuart, and Nicholas Santantonio will be stepping down when their terms adjourn at the end of June. We thank them for their service as each has contributed significantly to CGA’s development over the last several years.
Mark Brault (Returning Board Member)
Returning for another term is Mark Brault, co-founder and President of Deer Creek Malthouse which produces malt ingredients for the craft food and beverage industries. Mark is a scientist, craftsman, and a supply chain professional who has lived and worked in the greater Philadelphia area for the last two decades. Throughout his time with CGA, he has been integral to growing our presence across Pennsylvania and beyond. Read more about Mark here.
Francesca Costantino
Francesca is a policy advocate and consultant for sustainable agriculture and local farms and food systems, with extensive experience in project development, fundraising, building partnerships, and Board and organizational development. Not only has she secured millions in grant funding for local food system investments, she has worked with state legislators in Virginia to launch a grant program for local food and farm infrastructure. Read more about Francesca here.
Ian Hertzmark
Ian is a husband, father, son, brother, friend and traditional kosher butcher. He and his family operate Migrash Farm on 32 acres in Baltimore County, Maryland, growing grains and legumes, market vegetables, and rare fruits. Under the new banner of Patapsco Grist and Seed, Ian cleans, processes, and mills thousands of bushels of small grains annually from his farm and a network of Chesapeake growers, producing stone ground flours, cold rolled flakes, food-grade kernels and farm seed. Read more about Ian here.
Janey Giosioa
Janey is bringing culinary school training and years of hands-on baking experience to the CGA board. Her journey began at Charlottesville's European-inspired MarieBette bakery, where she honed her skills in the bread basement. From there, her path led her through the wood-fired ovens of Little Hat bakery in Nelson County and to farmers markets, where she developed her own successful venture, Janey's Bread. Look out for the upcoming launch of her next venture, Janet’s Cafe & Bakery in Richmond’s Forest Hill neighborhood. Read more about Janey here.
Matt Nielsen
Matt Nielsen is the owner of Tidewater Organics, LLC, a Certified Organic grain farm in Centreville, MD on the Eastern Shore that currently grows corn, soybeans, and small grains for the feed market as well as local and broader regional milling customers. With years of extensive farming and CSA market experience, Matt also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and recently ended his term as organic industry representative on the Maryland Agriculture Commission. Read more about Matt here.
Edible Winter Pea Opportunities Field Day: This is a free, SARE-funded field event on Wednesday, June 11 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. hosted by Jason Myers-Benner at Tangly Woods Homestead in Keezletown, Virginia all about edible winter peas. Participants will look at examples of several types of edible winter peas bred at Tangly Woods, with a presentation and a garden walk to see the plants in action as they near harvest time. Light snacks will be provided. For more information, including how to RSVP, click here.
Field Day at Living Energy Farm - Explore Small-Scale Organic Grain Farming Equipment & Renewable Energy Solutions: Common Grain Alliance is co-hosting a field day with the Virginia Association of Biological Farming and Living Energy Farm (LEF) focused on small-scale organic grain harvesting and sustainable energy solutions on June 21 from 1-5 p.m.!
LEF, a certified organic farm and off-grid community committed to renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, is developing a simplified combine prototype designed for harvesting small acreages. Attendees will have the opportunity to watch a live demonstration of this prototype, see LEF’s grain cleaning and milling setup, and discuss small- scale grain equipment solutions with fellow farmers and millers. The event will also feature a tour of LEF’s energy facilities, highlighting their innovative approach to making renewable energy accessible and affordable. This free field day is hosted with sponsorship from the Transition to Organic Partnership Program in partnership with the Virginia Association of Biological Farming. Find out more and RSVP here.
We're also pleased to announce the release of our new brief, "Framing a Policy Agenda for Building the Regional Grain Economy." This document synthesizes findings from our 2025 Mid-Atlantic Grain Conference session "Advocating for Regional Grain: Policy, Impact, and Community Perspectives."
The brief aims to inform policymakers and stakeholders about structural barriers encountered by regional grain producers, processors, and craft food and beverage manufacturers in their efforts to expand local and sustainable grain production, processing capacity, and market penetration.
By sharing these perspectives, we aim to catalyze meaningful dialogue among policymakers, industry stakeholders, and consumers about strengthening our regional grain economy. Please read and share any feedback to hello@commongrainalliance.org!
We’re taking it back to basics this month with a feature recipe spotlight on King Arthur Baking Company’s recipe for the “best everyday sourdough using unfed starter.” In this video, baking expert Martin Phillip (who joined us in March for a book talk alongside CGA member Tara Jensen) breaks down the minimal kneading, long fermentation recipe step-by-step. The bread features unrefreshed, or unfed/discard, sourdough starter, making it perfect for anyone who hasn’t had time to feed their starter or would discard it otherwise. Check out our guide on where to shop Mid-Atlantic Grain for CGA members to source wheat flour for bread making near you!
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking Company
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 40-45 minutes
Total time: 21 hours, 5 minutes
Makes two large loaves
Ingredients*
7 1/2 cups (900g) bread flour
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (100g) whole wheat flour
3 1/2 cups (800g) tepid water (75°F to 80°F )
1 tablespoon (20g) table salt
3 tablespoons (40g) sourdough starter, unfed/discard
*For best results, measure ingredients by weight.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl or extra large (6-quart) dough rising bucket. Mix by hand until the dough forms a shaggy mess. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Fold the dough by grabbing a section from one side with a wet hand, lifting it up, then pressing it down to the middle to seal. Repeat this with the remaining three sides of the dough. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Fold the dough two more times, giving it a 15-minute rest between the two, for a total of three sets of folds in 45 minutes.
Cover the dough tightly after the final fold and leave it at room temperature for about 12 hours.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured or greased surface and divide it into two roughly equal pieces. Gently form the pieces into rounds, cover them, and let them rest seam-side down for 10 minutes.
Generously dust two lined brotforms or towel-lined large bowls with whole wheat flour.
Shape the loaves into tight rounds (boules), place them seam-side up into the prepared brotforms or bowls, and cover them with a plastic bag or shower cap.
If your dough doubled (or came close to doubling) during the 12-hour rise period, immediately place the boules into the refrigerator. But if your dough was a bit more sluggish, let the boules rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes to give them a head start on the second rise. Let rest for 8 to 12 hours.
When you're ready to bake, place two Dutch ovens or other lidded bread bakers onto a rack set in the lowest third of the oven. Preheat the oven (and Dutch ovens) to 500°F for 45 minutes.
Turn each loaf out onto a piece of parchment paper and slash them with a lame or sharp knife.
Remove the preheated Dutch ovens from the oven. With the help of the parchment, carefully transfer the loaves to the Dutch ovens. Cover with a lid and place in the oven.
Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 450°F and bake the covered loaves for 20 minutes. Remove the lids from the Dutch ovens and bake the loaves for 20 to 25 minutes uncovered, until they're a deep golden brown.
Special Thank You to Our Sponsors!
Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors, who help us make CGA’s events broadly accessible.
Interested in becoming a sponsor of Common Grain Alliance? Reach out to madelyn@commongrainalliance.org.