From Commodity Crops to Value Added Food Company
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Seventh generation farmer Claire Smith wanted a way to diversify away from just relying on commodity crops. She ended up finding Teff and creating her own granola-like product, Teffola, using the ancient grain.
Smith… “An acre of teff can yield around 1300 pounds of grain. And that's clean grain. And we are, you know, maybe going through a couple of pallets, which is 2000 pounds a year of this grain. And so, what's great about grain and less great compared to vegetables or that kind of thing is an acre can yield a lot of product.”
Smith’s wants to grow sales to the point that she can also support other farmers that want to diversify in the same way.
Smith… “Our dream for the farm and the facility is to be able to purchase from other farmers after teaching them how to grow these specialty crops. And so if Teffola takes off or when Teffola takes off and we have multiple product lines and we're going through truckloads of grain, then we're able to reach out to, you know, our neighbors up the street who have been growing corn, wheat and soybeans and alfalfa. And say, this is what we can pay. And you know, you have a guaranteed buyer before you put seeds in the ground, and then we can give them that assurance that we'll take whatever you grow.”
Learn more at www.eatteffola.com.
