Associations

Through Shepherds Grain and The Food Alliance Cornerstone Farms is establishing a marketplace for our grain with a very strong relationship between farmers and consumers. We are proud to be a partner in this relationship.

Since the early years of Shepherds Grain, Cornerstone Farms has provided tens of thousands of bushels of high protein Dark Northern Spring wheat to Shepherds Grain. This wheat is milled in Spokane, WA and sold under Food Alliance certification throughout the West. At www.findthefarmer.com you can even look to see if the Stone-Buhr flour you purchased locally was grown on our farm! Or ask bakeries around the Pacific Northwest if they use Shepherds Grain, those who do will proudly say yes.

Cornerstone Farms shares similar values as Shepherds Grain: honesty, transparency and a focus on quality. Producing a high quality, sustainable product is something to be proud of. Sharing like values with other producers and consumers is encouraging.

Food Alliance is a third-party certification program that does an intensive analysis of a farm to ensure they protect, conserve and enhance soil, water, wildlife and biodiversity. They also certify conservation of energy, reductions in pesticides, a transparent and traceable supply chain, guaranteed food product integrity, and support of safe and fair working conditions. Even before the inception of Cornerstone Farms, both Tim and Kurt worked to get their respective farm’s wheat production certified by Food Alliance.

Tim Melville played a vital role in the creation and early organization of the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association. As a past president and continuing members, Tim and Kurt have always seen the dramatic benefits of Direct Seeding and have worked to encourage the adoption and implementation of this technology on Cornerstone Farms and other farms throughout the Pacific Northwest and around the world. Visit their website to learn more on this exciting technology that improves and saves soil and water quality for you and the environment.

Cornerstone Farms is dedicated to continuing research and the improvement of agriculture in our corner of Oregon. That is why both Tim and then Kurt have served on the liaison board for CBARC for over a decade and have even participated in many of the centers off-site research projects. See their website to see just a few of the exciting research projects the scientists do here to improve agriculture and the environment of the PNW. Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center website

Cornerstone Farms and previously Tim, Kevin and Kurt separately have been members of OWGL since they all started farming. OWGL is a vital commodity organization that strives to promote wheat interests and a means for wheat growers to work together. Kevin was a past Wallowa County President for many years, and Kurt has served as the Wallowa County President for almost a decade. They are proud to have been a part of the furthering of Oregon’s wheat industry.