Community News
Curated news and information from across the colorado grain chain
Our News Feed is a place for us to share news and information about our members as well as any educational grain chain related content sourced from across the country.
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Nourish Colorado Reverse Pitch Competition Interest Form/Formulario de Interés – Competencia Reverse Pitch de Nourish Colorado
via
Posted November 15, 2025 6:06 pm
WHAT: We are shaking things up with a one-of-a-kind reverse pitch competition. Instead of businesses pitching to buyers, we’re flipping the script—calling on innovators to create real solutions that meet Colorado’s food needs. The goal? Fast-track Colorado-made tamales* from idea to full-scale production, starting with schools and institutional markets, and expanding into retail and beyond.
WHO: We’re seeking a reliable, mission-aligned partner with production capacity that’s interested in taking a Colorado-based, value-added product from idea to reality. Ideal competitors would be co-manufacturers, co-packers, or existing brands interested in expanding.
WHO: We’re seeking a reliable, mission-aligned partner with production capacity that’s interested in taking a Colorado-based, value-added product from idea to reality. Ideal competitors would be co-manufacturers, co-packers, or existing brands interested in expanding.
WHEN: In-person pitch day will be on March 13, 2026. Specific location is still to be determined, but will be in/around Denver, CO.
If you are interested in receiving the application to apply for this competition, please complete the interest form below by November 21, 2025. We will then send you the application form and competitor packet.
INTEREST FORM: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOm4PEOtt8D-pn-bSvLZMZzYrZ-Kr_9gEPjtfp-OFy8IupWw/viewform
INTEREST FORM: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOm4PEOtt8D-pn-bSvLZMZzYrZ-Kr_9gEPjtfp-OFy8IupWw/viewform
Women in CPG - The Power of Resiliency
via
Posted November 13, 2025 12:30 pm
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Resiliency isn’t just about bouncing back - it’s about rising stronger, together.
On Monday, Nov. 17, join Naturally Colorado at New Hope Network’s Boulder headquarters at 29th Street Mall in Boulder for an inspiring evening of connection, community, and conversation.
We’re thrilled to welcome Karen Hertz, founder of Holidaily Brewing Company, as our keynote speaker. Karen turned her journey as a two-time cancer survivor into Colorado’s leading gluten-free brewery, proving that grit and purpose can fuel lasting success in CPG.
Expect an empowering keynote, meaningful networking with women from across the industry, and space to share both challenges and solutions.
Guests will enjoy craft beer from Holidaily Brewing, nourishing bites from Just BE Kitchen, and a vibrant evening designed to uplift and inspire. This is your chance to connect with Colorado’s women leaders and changemakers as we strengthen our community heading into 2026.
Learn more and register at https://naturallycolorado.glueup.com/event/women-in-cpg-the-power-of-resiliency-157528/.
This event is open to both members of Naturally Colorado and the larger community.
Organizations
Cultivating Connects Social Hour by Naturally Colorado
via naturallycolorado.glueup.com
Posted October 30, 2025 4:02 pm
🌾 Consumer demand for transparency is reshaping the CPG industry—and Colorado’s farmers, ranchers, and producers are leading the way. Join us on Thursday, November 13 at 5:30 PM MT at Pour Tap House in Commerce City for Cultivating Connections: From Colorado Fields to Colorado Brands, an exclusive Naturally Colorado member event. Together with local producers, chefs, and food innovators, we’ll explore how collaboration can spark new products, strengthen our food system, and fuel a more sustainable future for Colorado.
Applications for the Good Farmer Award U.S. Are Now Open | Investing in beginning farmers.
via Rodale Institute
Posted October 30, 2025 4:05 pm
Investing in beginning farmers: Building on the success of the inaugural award in both Italy and the U.S., this program celebrates farmers with 10 years or less of farming experience, who are advancing or aspiring toward regenerative organic farming practices that strengthen community well-being and environmental health.
The top award recipient will receive $10,000 from Davines North America to invest in equipment and initiatives that elevate their agroecological efforts, along with an all-expenses-paid trip (valued at $5,000) to the European Regenerative Organic Center (EROC) in Parma, Italy—a premier research and training hub connected to the Davines Group Village.
The top award recipient will receive $10,000 from Davines North America to invest in equipment and initiatives that elevate their agroecological efforts, along with an all-expenses-paid trip (valued at $5,000) to the European Regenerative Organic Center (EROC) in Parma, Italy—a premier research and training hub connected to the Davines Group Village.
Apply Now
Connections
How whiskey saved this Colorado family’s 118-year-old farm
via The Denver Post
Posted October 24, 2025 9:35 am
“We had locked down all of our small grains for flavor, but we couldn’t find corn. No one would sell us local corn,” said Laws. After meeting Stephanie and distilling a few test batches, Laws Whiskey House became the Whiskey Sisters’ first client, even before they inked their brand name.
Ten years and innumerable pounds of corn later, Laws Whiskey House still uses the plump and sweet grain from Burlington. “We like to do business with people that we like and have great, ethical backgrounds,” Laws said. “We consider them like family.”
Read Full Story Here
Read Full Story Here
Our Community Eats receives $5,000 grant to support bread-baking program
via www.pagosasun.com
Posted October 24, 2025 9:38 am
This generous grant will allow OCE to purchase organic grains grown right here in Colorado for our food pantry program, The Giving Grain.
With this support, our team of bakers will begin baking fresh, nutritious bread using some of Colorado’s finest organic grains — grains that are not only rich in nutrients, but also deeply rooted in local agriculture and heritage.
Read Full Story Here
Read Full Story Here
Organizations
Colorado Grain Chain Announces Colorado Organic Grains Microgrant Program Recipients
via www.morningagclips.com
Posted October 24, 2025 9:39 am
The Colorado Grain Chain (CGC), a nonprofit organization that grows and connects a vibrant community-centered grain economy in the state, has announced recipients for the 2025 Colorado Organic Grains Microgrant Program. CGC awarded six grants, at $5,000 each, to Colorado-based businesses and nonprofit organizations working to get certified organic grain products to market. The awardees shared innovative concepts that help organic grain usage reach a larger audience and underscore the importance of organic grains in the food ecosystem.
The recipients and their project titles are as follows:
- Community Agriculture Alliance, Growing Northwest Colorado’s Organic Grain Market: Supporting Makers and Building Local Food Connections
- High Desert Bagel, Expanding Production for a Bagel Business Exclusively Sourcing Organic Colorado Grown Flour
- Our Community Eats, NOURISH Pagosa
- Pastificio Boulder, Organic Colorado Grains Make Delicious Pastas!
- Pueblo Seed & Food, Cookie Packaging Enhancement
- Rye Resurgence Project, Resurgence Rye Gin Creation Project
“We are pleased to award grants to these grain-focused organizations,” said Lisa Boldt, Executive Director of the Colorado Grain Chain. “This round of Microgrants highlights the end stage of the supply chain, supporting the makers who transform organic grains into finished products. They are the bridge connecting Coloradans to agriculture through foods and beverages made with locally grown grains, which helps the entire grain value chain grow stronger.”
Connections
Cultivating resilience: How trust-based partnerships are shaping the U.S. Northeast's regional grain economy
via www.foodsystemsjournal.org
Posted October 20, 2025 9:46 am
Behind thriving regional grain chains are strong relationships and shared values—the “soft infrastructure” that makes collaboration possible and resilience achievable. |
JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by Elise Neidecker (U of New Hampshire), Thomas Safford (U of New Hampshire), Matthew Hoffman (Landmark College), Michelle Miller (U of Wisconsin–Madison), Heather Darby (U of Vermont Extension), and Analena Bruce (U of New Hampshire)
The industrialization and commodification of grain production have led to significant environmental, health, and economic consequences. In response, regional grain value chains are emerging through collaborations among farmers, millers, bakers, maltsters, and brewers. These partnerships are part of a broader movement toward the development of values-based supply chains in the food system, where long-term, strategic business relationships are built on shared principles such as fairness, community commitment, and environmental sustainability.
In a new JAFSCD article, “Not a siloed effort”: Partnership strategies supporting regional grain value chains in the Upper Northeast, USA, authors Elise Neidecker, Thomas Safford, Matthew Hoffman, Michelle Miller, Heather Darby, and Analena Bruce, examine the key partnership strategies that sustain these values-based regional grain systems.
Corresponding author Elise Neidecker can be contacted at e.neidecker@gmail.com.
KEY FINDINGS
JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by Elise Neidecker (U of New Hampshire), Thomas Safford (U of New Hampshire), Matthew Hoffman (Landmark College), Michelle Miller (U of Wisconsin–Madison), Heather Darby (U of Vermont Extension), and Analena Bruce (U of New Hampshire)
The industrialization and commodification of grain production have led to significant environmental, health, and economic consequences. In response, regional grain value chains are emerging through collaborations among farmers, millers, bakers, maltsters, and brewers. These partnerships are part of a broader movement toward the development of values-based supply chains in the food system, where long-term, strategic business relationships are built on shared principles such as fairness, community commitment, and environmental sustainability.
In a new JAFSCD article, “Not a siloed effort”: Partnership strategies supporting regional grain value chains in the Upper Northeast, USA, authors Elise Neidecker, Thomas Safford, Matthew Hoffman, Michelle Miller, Heather Darby, and Analena Bruce, examine the key partnership strategies that sustain these values-based regional grain systems.
Corresponding author Elise Neidecker can be contacted at e.neidecker@gmail.com.
KEY FINDINGS
- Trust is foundational: Verbal agreements are often honored as reliably as written contracts, underscoring the importance of long-standing, trust-based relationships in values-based supply chains.
- Early and frequent planning: Grain processors work closely with farmers and end-users to plan crop varieties, acreage, and delivery timelines—often before planting begins. This integrated planning fosters stability in these business partnerships.
- Flexible pricing built on transparency: Prices are negotiated collaboratively, grounded in actual costs and mutual respect, in contrast to the opaque and transactional nature of commodity markets.
- Personal relationships build resilience: Many partners describe each other as friends as well as business collaborators, helping them navigate market shifts and difficult years together.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: Invest in both physical and relational infrastructure: While equipment and infrastructure investments are essential, so are convenings, educational efforts, and matchmaking initiatives. Public funding and grant programs should support both.Support Extension and nonprofit organizations: University Extension services and nonprofits play a vital role in facilitating knowledge exchange and relationship-building across values-based supply chains. These entities require sustained investment.
SHARE ON YOUR SOCIALS Behind thriving regional grain chains are strong relationships and shared values—the “soft infrastructure” that makes collaboration possible and resilience achievable. In a new JAFSCD article, authors examine the key partnership strategies that sustain these values-based regional grain systems.
Read the entire article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.144.024
Re-posted from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development - News Flash, October 16th 2025
Connections
Packaging the Future: ERP & Beyond
via naturallycolorado.glueup.com
Posted October 16, 2025 1:31 pm
Join Naturally Colorado on Wednesday, November 5th at Sleeping Giant Brewing Company in Denver!
This educational session brings together industry leaders to share the latest updates on Colorado's new packaging laws, Producer Responsibility Program, and how these changes will impact CPG brands and the future of packaging.
November 5th
5:30 PM
Sleeping Giant Brewery (Denver)
Climate Smart Market Expansion - Funding Available
via Colorado Department of Agriculture
Posted October 6, 2025 5:58 pm
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is now accepting proposals for the second round of the Climate Smart Market Expansion Project. Up to a total of $120,000 is available for initiatives that increase demand at any stage of the supply chain for agricultural commodities and products raised using climate smart practices, and help develop market premiums for producers.
Food, beverage, clothing, or other manufacturers and brands that source from Colorado are encouraged to apply, as are supply chain businesses such as processors, commodity handlers, farm products dealers, buyers, and distributors.
The deadline for proposal submissions is Oct. 29, 2025.
Learn more about this opportunity: https://ag.colorado.gov/markets/markets-funding/climate-smart-markets-program
Connections