Kate and Sam Stevens have fallen deeply in love with heritage grain—its flavor, nutritional value, multipurpose use, and its community of farmers and makers. Since 2023, the married business duo has created three grain-centered sustainability brands under Garden of Oz. Garden of Oz upcycles grain byproducts into a composting amendment. Brew Bites transforms brewers barley into high-fiber canine treats. And now, Nomad Mill provides stone-ground grain for home and cottage bakers.

Heritage grain is “beneficial for dogs and people and cows and chickens and gardens,” explains Kate Stevens in an interview. “We want to do right by the planet, farmers, and consumers.” Grounded in sustainability, the Stevens’ love of grain started with a simple goal: to reduce their waste through composting. And then the world of grain piqued their interest, and the Stevenses sought to not only learn more themselves, but educate their community along the way.

“For my wife and I, it’s always been important to—even if we can’t have a positive impact—at least not have a negative impact,” Kate explains. This ethos propelled them to increase their own sustainability as home gardeners and to compost all their food scraps. During that process, Kate and Sam learned about bokashi composting, a Japanese technique that uses beneficial microorganisms to accelerate the decomposition of waste to soil from a period of months to weeks.

Traditionally, bokashi uses wheat bran or rice hulls, but the Stevenses wanted to source locally and upcycle material. “Fort Collins is the Napa Valley of beer,” Kate explains, so it wasn’t hard to find a brewery-related “waste” product to work with. Brewers barley, which is sometimes called spent grain, is the leftover malted barley that remains after the beer-marking process. It’s high in fiber and protein, and as it turns out, a great medium for bokashi compost. 

“As we were experimenting and making cold calls for brewers barley, we were really lucky and bumped into the right people and network,” Kate continues. They met Natalie Yoder and Tyler Olpin of Stodgy Brewing and Chris Schooley and Steve Clark of Troubadour Maltings, who were happy to share their barley byproducts for the Stevens’ growing project. 

Through Stodgy and Troubadour, the Stevenses were introduced to the Colorado Grain Chain and the statewide grain community. “It was really exciting to learn about the grain revival that was happening,” Kate reflects. “It opened up this whole world of lesser known grains like spelt and khorasan, and it was really humbling to be a part of that fabulous thriving ecosystem of maltsters, brewers, and bakers.”

Kate Stevens also has a background in education. She’s been a teacher for more than 15 years. Her passion for learning is on par with her passion for educating others about what she’s learning. This drive meant that as the Stevenses had success with their home bokashi composting, they started Garden of Oz to teach others about it.

At their first kick-off event in April 2023, Kate remembers customers saying “you’ve got to be kidding,” and their excitement that upcycled bokashi grain could shorten the decomposition process. “Being open and accessible, sharing information, and creating a space for people to be together is a huge value across our brands,” she adds.

As Garden of Oz expanded, the Stevenses concocted Brew Bites which offers a selection of nutritious dog treats. Again they were propelled by the mutual benefit of reducing Fort Collins’ brewery waste and creating unique treats that increased the health of their own pets first and then the health of other people’s pets.

Brewers barley, or spent grain, accounts for approximately 85% of the brewery industry’s solid waste. “To prevent waste, the best thing is to feed: If you can’t feed people, feed animals. If you can’t feed animals, feed compost,” Kate explains. Almost 17 percent of U.S. climate-warming methane emissions come from landfills, which means such efforts have potential to play a role in climate change mitigation.

“Working with kids and youth, I see a lot of climate anxiety, and I’m not trying to spin it that it’s going to be ok,” Kate continues. “But the hope and urgency has to go to a place of action.”

The Stevens’ latest venture, Nomad Mill, prioritizes plastic-free packaging and CO grown grains as part of its climate-friendly goals. The pair started developing the mill in 2025 with a USDA Northwest Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center grant focused on climate-resilient grains that require less water and are more drought resistant. They’re also typically grown outside the commodity system, which allows for diverse small-scale grain production.

“When I started baking at home, I really noticed the diversity of grains that are out there, and the whole story of grain: it’s nutritious grain berries, the taste,” Kate explains. “I caught the bug, and even though it can be a little challenging to bake with whole grains at the beginning—until you get your sea legs— everything is such high quality.”

The stone milling process also lends to high quality by enhancing grain flavor and maintaining its nutritional content. Stone milling is a slower, gentler process than industrial milling, which allows grain to keep its entire kernel and its oils and all the taste and nutrition they provide. The Stevenses specifically sought out a New American Stone Mills design for Nomad for its international reputation as a stone mill manufacturer.

“As we grow, I hope we can be a source of some of the freshest, high quality flour for the community,” Kate says. So far, the mill has three flour varieties on the shelf: roasted barley malt, which is known for its rich, sweet malted flavor; spelt, which is nutty and sweet; and white wheat, which is mild and versatile. They soon plan to expand their menu to include emmer flour, which is also nutty, rich, and suitable for bread, pasta, and pastries.

All Nomad Mill flours are available online through the website, as well as at Fort Collins retailers Familiar Foods, Fort Collins Food Co-op, and The Pig & The Plow. The Stevenses will also be vending at the Larimer County Farmers Market, where they hope to continue to connect with bakers and producers.

“We’re excited to be a part of this community, and to help home bakers know where to start with heritage grain,” Kate concludes; she recommends spelt cookies.