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In today’s episode, we talk with Sara Wood of Wyoming Heritage Grains and Wyoming High Desert Malt, near Ralston Wyoming. Sara is a fifth-generation regenerative farmer and the operator of the state’s only commercial flour mill.

Located in the dry high mountain desert east of Yellowstone, Sara’s and her family’s operation has the distinction of being in one of the first large water projects in the country, started by Buffalo Bill Cody.

Sara’s family began homesteading in the area around 1908. The land had previously been part of Buffalo Bill Cody’s country club. Now, her 250-acre farm produces beef cattle, alfalfa, a variety of heritage grains, and native corns. Acquiring a large stone mill manufactured in Austria, her operation now mills a variety of flours for baking, using heritage and heirloom grains.

Sara sees her farm as part of a larger mission to bring regenerative, holistic, and ecosystem-based farming approaches to produce sustainable, nutrient-dense food while enhancing biodiversity on the land.

“Producing a good high-quality crop will pay you leaps and bounds over pushing the boundaries on yields,’ says Sara. “So important to look at these more native varieties… instead of providing for a commodity market, provide for your community.”

In this talk, Sara discusses how her heritage flours can be eaten by gluten-sensitive people and describes the farming practices that are making a difference in her operation and allowing her to remain profitable. And she also addresses the financial and personal stresses today’s farmers are experiencing.

Photo credit: Vo von Sehlen

View Western SARE’s photo essay of Wyoming Heritage Grains

Resources mentioned in podcast: Ray Archuleta Soil Health Academy, Gabe Brown, Dale Strickler

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