replay of espisode 77. Organic Kamut® Wheat and Oilseeds| Bob Quinn | Quinn Organic Farm | Big Sandy, MT

Published: Feb. 15, 2018, 2:05 p.m.

Originally published September 3, 2015 Mark Highland and I were talking about Bob and I was saying he’s all over Facebook etc these days and since this was definitely one of my all time favorites I thought I’d replay it this week for Valentine’s Day because I love so much but a lot about what he talks about having all sorts of local fruits. Last week I interviewed Jennifer Hill-Hart from http://www.aeromt.org (AERO) (Alternative Energy Resource Organization)  and when I mentioned my husband and my’s interest in biodiesel she recommended I get in touch with Bob Quinn. So I reached out to Bob and today he is here to share his story about his organic farm in Big Sandy! Thehttp://www.quinnorganic.com/kamut.htm ( Research Center )strives to explore cutting-edge ideas on the high plains of Montana. It is located on the http://bobquinnorganicfarmer.com (Quinn Organic Farm) in Big Sandy, Montana, within the famed Golden Triangle. The experiments are conducted on small acreage in an effort to determine how a farm family can make a comfortable living on fewer acres. Current experiments include oilseeds for fuel and lubricants, storage and fresh vegetables, crop rotations, green manures, and weed management. Tell us a little about yourself. I was raised here in Big Sandy on the 2400 acre wheat and cattle ranch that my grandfather started in 1920 and my father continued to farm between 1948 – 1978. He was here 30 years. I’ve been here since 1978 with my family, so we’re pushing 40 years here pretty quick. Starting about 1983, I started a flour mill in Fort Benton, with the purpose of marketing our hard red winter wheat and spring wheat crops directly to whole grain bakers in California. We were just selling grain at the beginning. In 1984 we added organic grain that we bought from some organic farmers we found in North East corner of Montana. In 1985 we aded a flour mill. In ’88 we built our own cleaning plant, I had about 10 employees but it was about 50 miles away, so it was always a little bit of a management challenge because I still had my farm, I was farming full time. So finally sold it to an employee Andree Childs in 1999, he has expanded and done much better then I ever did, so I’m happy about that. I started converted to organic about 30 years ago starting experiments in 1985. Planted my first crop in 1986. I had my first 20 acre of certified grain in 1987. I was so excited about our experiments in 3 years transitioned the entire farm in 3 years, and by 1991 we were 100% certified organic and have been that way ever since! That’s gone very well for us. Very excited about it and excited to promote transition organic agriculture around Montana, the US, and around the world!!! That give a little introduction. About the same time in 1985-6 started the ancient grain product we market under the trade mark of KAMUT®. That has grown to the point we now contract with about 150 gardeners in MT, Alberta, Saskatchewan for about 80,000 acres. We sell the grain all over the world. The trademark means it’s always grown organically. Most people who have trouble eating modern wheat, have no trouble eating Kamut brand grain products. This is my son-in-law. How long have you been here? 4 years. Tell the folks if you love it or not. Yeah it’s great! Well I’m Jackie Beyer from the Organic Gardener Podcast Holey Moley Hello Everyone! Well Andrew came to me with an MBA not knowing anything about producing oil, and I said why don’t you try us out for a year, if you don’t like it you can go away with a business creation line on your resume and after 6 months he said he’s having more fun then any of his friends. We supply University of Montana, MSU, Botany Soap, conversation with some other big companies, we also do business with http://www.organicvalley.coop (Organic Valley), and a lot of other health food stores as well. Another thing... Support this podcast