Andrea Stanley, co-founder of Massachusetts-based Valley Malt and Ground Up, became involved in the grain business in 2009 out of a desire to shop and source locally. For many years, the mother of three had purchased local meat, dairy, and vegetables. But she hadn’t considered grains a part of the local equation until she read a newspaper article about nearby bakeries working to revive grain crops in the Northeast. 

“I remember being so surprised in not having thought about grains as a local ingredient,” she says. “It made me think about starting a brewery to be truly local, and in that process, I found out that grains need to be malted in order to be used for brewing, and the closest malthouse was in Wisconsin.”

So Stanley and her husband co-founded Valley Malt to process grains from neighboring farmers for nearby brewers. In 2018, they expanded by starting Ground Up, a stone-mill that could provide flour for New England bakers.

Over the years, Stanley has learned that “you need a critical mass of people involved to really catalyze a supply chain,” she explains. Simply having a few businesses selling each other products doesn’t change the system. And for that reason, she has hopes for the potential of regional networks, and she likes to learn about different efforts across the country.

“We all have our own fingerprint on how our supply chain has developed over the past couple of decades,” she reflects. “That fingerprint is different everywhere, and it’s really cool to see why.” 

It can be sculpted by landscape, water availability, a market for craft breweries, and more. In the Northeast, for example, the climate lends itself to winter grains, and Stanley is curious to learn more about Colorado varieties, flours, and malts during the 2nd Annual Colorado Grain Summit. “That’s the taste of place,” she adds.

Stanley believes it is a particularly important time to strengthen regional grain chains. Specifically, she is driven to support farmers and maintain agricultural land as many farms are going out of business. Her home state of Massachusetts lost 27,000 acres of farmland between 2017 and 2022. In the last decade, Vermont lost 25% of its farms. Many of the organic operations Stanley used to frequent have also gone out of business in the last fifteen years. 

This trend is echoed nationwide. Colorado lost 5% (1.6 million acres) of its farmland between 2017 and 2022.

“That land, if it’s not growing food, is probably going to be developed,” she relates. “It’s not going to be put to use feeding people, and then we’re just going to become more and more disconnected from the land, the food, and the community.”

But at the same time, there’s hope as the market for grain continues to grow. Stanley has seen more and more businesses, home bakers, and home brewers create with local varieties to bring nuance to their favorite or signature recipes. There are also more researchers studying grain. This year, Valley Malt is malting “Avalon,” a new variety of two-row winter malt barley bred by Virginia Tech. Stanley believes it’s an elite malting barley that’ll be a “huge win for the supply chain.” 

She’s also excited by agricultural trends that support working with nature, instead of controlling it. Over the years — through “blood sweat, and tears,” she says — Stanley has worked on cultivating a single malt whiskey made from the Hannah Landrace barley. Grain landraces are old, locally-adapted varieties that evolved from humans cultivating wild cereals by hand. Reintroducing these ancient varieties helps their genetics evolve and adapt to the modern climate.

Stanley also cites Danko Rye as a favorite grain to work with for its taste, its soil support, and ability to fight off weeds. Though it's hard to pick favorites, she says. “It’s like picking a favorite child.”

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Andrea Stanley will be the keynote speaker for the Colorado Grain Chain’s 2nd Annual Colorado Grain Summit on March 7, 2026 at the SteamPlant in Salida, Colorado.

The Colorado Grain Summit aims to inspire businesses using local grains to envision pathways for sustainable growth and increased market impact. This single-day conference will feature curated networking sessions, expert panels, and keynotes highlighting innovative success stories across the grain supply chain. Our goal is to create an environment that fosters partnerships, provides pathways to market expansion, and connects grain producers with businesses across Colorado. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for updates!