Category: News & Announcements

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This is a holiday that we savor here at Bluebird. Our field work is (mostly) finished but the granary and packaging room are humming, so this day of reflection, rest, and giving thanks comes at the perfect time. Of course, we also all love to cook and this is a perfect holiday to experiment with new recipes. If any of you discovered a new way to prepare Bluebird products this Thanksgiving, we’d love to hear about it! You can email us directly or feel free to share recipes on our Facebook page.

We are excited to announce the launch of our online customer referral program! Bluebird has grown over the years primarily due to all of you helping to spread the word about our products with your friends. A trusted referral is the biggest compliment you can give to a business, and now we have a way to say “thank you” for letting your friends know about us.  After you make a purchase in our online store, you’ll receive an email from Bluebird that provides you with a link to share with friends. When they buy products using the link, they will receive a discount on their order and you’ll get a coupon for a discount on your next order. All you need to do is share the link with friends via email or social media. Coming soon, we’ll have a link on the front page of our website where you can refer friends directly.  We’re very proud of the family farming business we’ve built and hope you will help us continue to grow!

In our continuing effort to improve efficiency and reduce packaging waste, we will be discontinuing a few of our product sizes in 2017. Methow Hard Red Wheat Berries, Pasayten Hard White Wheat Berries, and Heritage Dark Northern Rye Berries will no longer be available in one pound bags. But don’t worry! You whole grain aficionados will still be able to purchase in five and twenty-five pound quantities.   In addition, we will no longer be offering cracked rye- we apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

Don’t forget about our wonderful gift options for the holidays! Check out  our gift basket page for holiday ideas.

We are still hiring for our Granary Operator position. You can check out the job description here. Feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested in working with us!

That’s all for now! We thank you for your support and will be in touch soon.  Best, The Bluebird Grain Farms Team

The harvest is on! Autumn is a crazy yet satisfying time for farmers- there’s much work to do, but we finally get to see the fruits (seeds, actually) of our labors during the spring and summer.  The crops look great this year- we are yielding above average in almost every field, and the grain is dense and of excellent quality. Our new problem is having enough silo space to store everything! Not a bad problem to have, all things considered.

In more bittersweet news, our longtime CSA coordinator Halley Hart has decided to move on! If you’ve purchased flour or grain from Bluebird in the past 9 years, it’s very likely Halley who packed your bag for you. Thank you for all your service Halley! Bluebird would not be what it is now without you. We wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors. Here’s a note from Halley: “9 years at Bluebird Grain farms has afforded me the opportunity to take a close, hard look into the life of small family farmers everywhere. When I came on board at BB they had yet to receive their first large pallet order from a distributor. At first they trickled in and now distributor orders go out on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. The online retail business and wholesale customer base has grown as well. Running a small farm is not for the faint of heart. Weather is a factor that can not be controlled and Bluebird has come thru fires, winds and too much rain and has become a successful and very respected business. I have enjoyed working with great people, customers and being a part of a company that wants to leave the world a better place.” Sheah, CJ, and Tiffany will be filling in for Halley until we bring a new staff member on.  If you are interested in working at Bluebird or know someone who is, let us know!

In the news: Bluebird Grain Farms is featured in the October 2016 issue of Acres USA! Yep, that is Sam on the cover!  This national publication provides sustainably-minded farmers with great information on soil health, farming techniques, and business development. Unfortunately, the article is not currently online, but we will let you know if it becomes available. If you’re a farming nerd like we all are, you should get your own subscription!

New equipment: When farming, reducing wear and tear on your body is always a top priority. That’s why we’re excited to have a new conveyor belt sewing machine for our bulk packing line. This machine will help reduce our bending and lifting, and makes sewing bags shut more ergonomically comfortable. Sheah reports that it’s working well so far! We also purchased a new no-till grain drill that we’re very excited about- you can read more about it in Sam’s Farmer Notes.

New Placement in FRED MEYER! We’re excited to announce that Fred Meyer retail stores in Washington state will be carrying Bluebird Grain Farms products starting the first week of October! Fred Meyer connected with us as part of their initiative to source more locally produced organic products, and we’re glad to support them in doing so. If you’re shopping there, look for our flours in the baking section and our Emmer products in the packaged dinner section.

That’s all for this month.  We’re looking forward to the slower pace and cooler temperatures of fall, and can’t wait to spend more time in the kitchen cooking and baking.  See you next time!

Ancient grain promotion this week via our online store!  When it’s hot out, there’s no better way to enjoy whole grain farro than by combining it with seasonal vegetables and serving at room temperature with a delightful dressing. A perfect dinner or side-dish, and it doesn’t heat up the kitchen!  To celebrate, we’re running a 15% off special on our whole emmer and Einka berries, and our split emmer farro (split emmer cooks a little faster than whole emmer so is a great option for speeding up prep time in the kitchen), along with many other Bluebird products.

We’re excited to introduce our new fruit syrups from Lopez Island Farms! Our former syrup supplier, Jerry Pipitone of Pipitone Farms has decided to retire and close down his operation. Best of luck with the next steps in your life, Jerry! Thank you for providing us with your amazing fruit syrup and spreads over the years. Lopez Island Farms is another great local producer located on beautiful Lopez Island, Washington. You should check them out if you’re in the San Juan Islands for a summer visit. We offer their Apple Cider Syrup, Marionberry Syrup, and Raspberry Syrup, all of which are hand-made from local fruit. They are all delicious on pancakes made with our signature emmer pancake and waffle mix, or check out their recipe page for more ideas on how to use these unique products.

As our business grows, so does our star team! We’re excited to introduce Sheah Mucci, our new Granary Lead Operator. Sheah comes from a wildland firefighting background, but has transitioned to Bluebird to build her farming and small business skills in the hopes of one day running her own farming operation. She takes care of everything from cleaning and hulling emmer and Einka to milling our whole grains into flour to hand-blending our tasty mixes.  It’s awesome to have a female in this position!

Brad Halm, who previously was our Granary Lead Operator has moved up the “augur” to help Brooke Lucy in marketing, PR, and overall customer management. Brad offers a wonderful balance of critical thinking, follow through, and vision. Brad has a keen interest in food production and processing. He’s written two books on vegetable gardening (High-Yield Vegetable Gardening and Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard) and also co-owns an edible landscaping business called The Seattle Urban Farm Company. 

Looking for stores that carry Bluebird Grain Farms products in the Seattle Metro area?  Click here for a list! Thank you to all the retailers out there that support organic agriculture and family farms.  Not all stores carry all of our products, so be sure to call ahead if you’re looking for something in particular.

As demand grows for our nutrient dense, organic grains, our need for grain has increased; now more so than we can produce on our own land. We’ve worked hard to find more land or partner farms here in the Methow Valley, but unfortunately with little success. To stay true to our biological farming principles and to maintain a consistent supply of top quality organic grains, we’ve decided to look outside the valley and partner up with some like-minded organic eastern Washington growers. We’re excited to introduce our new Bluebird Grain Farms partner farmers: Jay and Chuck Goldmark, Alyssa Barrett, Kayla McIntyre and Mira Goldmark , and Tom Stahl! Tom, a lawyer, farmer, and ardent advocate for a GMO-free food supply, hails from Waterville, WA and is growing out Pasayten Hard White spring wheat for us. The Goldmarks are the third generation of a wheat farming family growing our Methow Hard Red wheat for us on their family land on the Okanogan Plateau.  You can read more about this exciting development in Sam’s Farmer Notes. Expanding the market for organic grains has always been a goal of ours; we look forward to new relationships and a strengthened community of organic growers!

Double J Ranch- from left: Mira, Jay, Alyssa, Kayla, and Chuck.  Photo credit: Double J Ranch

Farmer Fisher Chef Connection is this Monday, March 21st. We will have three representatives from Bluebird there to promote our farm products.  Brad Halm-Bluebird mill-right, Sam Lucy- owner, and Dr. Chet Woodside-#1 Bluebird fan, will all be attending this event to network with chefs and buyers. We are proud to report that we have been to this event every year since its inception, 10  long years ago. DERU Market and Catering of Kirkland will be preparing a dish with our whole grain Einka berries.

Sam returned from Paicines Ranch last week where he networked with several small scale organic grain growers and millers across the country. He was inspired when he returned home, appreciating the fact that it is not every day that he gets to talk about combines and cover crop methods with like minded people. It is important to get off the farm for a bit, lift your head up, and learn about what others are engaged in around the country. He also returned with the most gorgeous loaf of Einkorn bread made with 100% Bluebird Einka flour with a sourdough starter made by Mike the bjeker from Sanoma County.

Many thanks to our long  time sales representative Rob Salvino of Terra Preta Sales of Seattle. I met Rob at the Ballard Farmers Market years ago, he has been a huge supporter of our farm business and has extensively networked and sold products for us in the Pacific Northwest. Thank you Rob for your commitment to our farm to table business and helping us grow our business over the years. We wish you the best of luck in your new adventures.

We had a gift delivered last month, customer Jason McWhirter stopped by with a bottle of his own hand crafted  Emmer whisky. Sam gave Jason a bag of emmer to try last fall when Jason toured our facility. Jason transformed it into a beautiful bottle of emmer whisky, with a hand made label, that revealed a sweet smokey flavor. We have been waiting for someone to try this for years… Thank you Jason for sharing your art with us!

Last weekend my dear friend Stewart Dietz and I served over 400 people at The Bite of the Methow; a  Winthrop Kiwanis sponsored event to raise funds for community projects for kids. This was a fun event that I could not have pulled off without Stewart and all of her catering accouterments. Stewart even developed a recipe for the event that is featured this month: Warm Einka Salad with fresh asparagus and peas. If you are in the valley and looking for a caterer look up Stewart Dietz Catering. She’s a gem!

Congratulations to our employee, Brad Halm, who just published his second book. A wonderful book that shows how you can make your food garden much more productive. Packed with the charts, tables, schedules, and worksheets you need — as well as record-keeping pages so you can repeat your successes next year — this book is an essential tool for the serious gardener.

That is the news from the Bluebird office. I wish you all a glorious spring.

Best- Brooke Lucy

Good tidings to you this holiday season. Thank you for your continued support of our our family farm business. As you have heard many times before,  we could not do this without you! We wish you a warm holiday season filled with great local foods, family and friendship.  We will leave you with this sweet solstice blessing:

Blessings of sunshine. Blessings of snow. Blessings of birds’ flight. Blessings of river’s flow. Blessings of long nights. Blessings of slow. Blessings of starlight. Blessings of fire’s glow.

Holiday Open Houses & Granary Tours 

We always enjoy our tours, it gives us opportunity to connect with the people that support our business.  We have a couple of open house and granary tours scheduled in the next month:

• Saturday November 28th 10-12 pm *Tour starts at 10 and lasts 1/2 hour
• Saturday December 5th 10-12 pm  *Tour starts at 10 and lasts 1/2 hour

If you have already been to our tour you are welcome to mill around (no pun intended) and purchase items for the holidays. We will have of gift and individual items available. All are welcome!

Demos Scheduled for November

My daughter Larkin and I will be at Town and Country Market- Bainbridge Island and  Central Market Poulsbo on November 14th from 1 to 3 pm.  We will be at Central Market Shoreline on the 15th from 10 am to 1 pm.  Please stop in and see us.

Meet Maria Speck, food journalist and author.

Maria has been a customer of ours over the years.  Her award-winning cookbook SIMPLY ANCIENT GRAINS—Fresh and flavorful whole grain recipes for living well, offers lots of versatile recipes that can be used with every product that we offer.

In Simply Ancient Grains, Maria makes cooking with these fascinating and nourishing staples easy and accessible with sumptuous recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Her family-friendly dishes are Mediterranean-inspired and delicious, such as Spicy Honey and Habanero Shrimp with Cherry Couscous; Farro Salad with Roasted Eggplant, Caramelized Onion, and Pine Nuts; and Red Rice Shakshuka with Feta Cheese. Maria’s tips and simplified approach take whole grain cooking to the next level by amplifying the flavor and enduring beauty of these nutritious grains.

Two New CSA Offerings

Check out our new CSA share options.  We have larger shares available for families and serious bakers!

Einkorn Lovers

Our beautiful Einka berries are now available in  25 lb. units via our online store. Einka is a trademark name for the Einkorn Wheat, and ancient grain,  that we grow and process.  This trademark guarantees you certain attributes and quality that you can not find in the industrial marketplace. If you have not tried our Einka flour I highly recommend it.  It is my absolute favorite flour and wonderful for people with gluten sensitivities. Our Einka berries are not pearled, they are 100% whole sprout-able grain 🙂

15% Off Bluebird Products via our Online Store

We have a promotion going this week through our online store now through the 21st.  Receive 15% off Bluebird Grain Farm Products. Use code: pumpkinpie at check out and make sure to click apply coupon. The offer applies to all Bluebird Grain Farms products except: Bluebird CSA subscriptions, honey, fruit syrups, and spreads.  This is a great time to order your holiday goods! Offer ends on 11/21/15 at 11:59 pm PST. Coupon is good for 1 use per person.  If you like promotions consider signing up for our online specials, you will receive direct coupon codes through this subscription.  I promise this list will not be sold!

As Sam mentioned in his August notes, this past week took a nose dive due to wildfires breaking out, again, in Okanogan County last Wednesday, August 19th. After evacuating we have now collected ourselves and returned home to a smoky haze. Bluebird will be back in business this week. To get a comprehensive update on our local fires from KHQ click here.  Thank you all for your amazing messages this past week; I cannot tell you how awesome it is to get a phone message from customers just telling us how much they appreciate what we do! It IS what keeps us going sometimes.

Our deep condolences go out to the three fallen firefighters and their families. We will miss Tom Zbyszewski, a local boy, who our daughters got to know at our community theater. Tom was one of those kids that you knew was on the path to amazing success and good fortune. He was kind to all, had charisma, charm and was an all-star human being! We will miss his his brilliant smile and boundless kindness that he gave to all that knew him.

Aside from the fire chaos I do have some fun things that I would like to report on behalf of Bluebird:

• Ryan Bell, a National Geographic writer, did a wonderful post on our farm in The Plate. Ryan has an incredible story to tell, I encourage you to read more about what Ryan is up to on his Comrade Cowboys page.
• Sam published a story in Farm and Ranch Living, Aug/Sept 2015 issue called Fresh Spin on Ancient Grains.  Check it out!
• With all the emotion and tragedy flying around here we thought for a minute that our 10 year anniversary party may have to go on hold…however now that fires seem to be waning, we realize that our community needs a major “pick me up.”  Will you help us? Barring no more disasters and  Twisp still standing, we hope you all will  join us for our 10 year celebration on September 6th, 5 pm at Twisp Works. There will be a no host bar of local beer, wine and cider, a spread of farm fresh local foods, three types of Paella (seafood, meat, and vegetarian), fiddle tunes and the list goes on.  Please bring your friends and help us celebrate our amazing community.  Proceeds will go to Twisp Works and their Methow Made program. There are about 60 tickets left.  For tickets and details click here.

We had a visit from customer John Platt, chef and owner of Seattle based St. Clouds Restaurant. John graciously prepared a meal for us.  He grilled fresh salmon and topped it with sweet cherries.  The fish was served with Einka salad tossed with fresh peas and figs and dressed in a creme fraiche honey dressing. Beautiful meal, thank you John and family!

I spent an afternoon with writer Ryan Bell who is doing some very interesting work on a Fulbright fellowship through National Geographic. He soon will be travelling back to Russia to report on Comrade Cowboys, a project that is documenting the ranching cultures of Russia and Kazakhstan.  In the meantime he is covering food for the National Geographic Blog and was interested at learning more about our farm.

We are gearing up for our Farm to Table Paella Feast to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in partnership with Twisp works. Farro paella will be served over wood fire pits. Guest chef and James Beard Award Winner John Sundstrom of Lark Restaurant,  will be Seattle firing up his own farro paella dish for you to try. The rest of the celebratory farm to table meal will be designed by Cameron Green Catering, featuring many Methow Made food and beverage products. Tickets are sold via brown paper tickets: $40 for 13 and older / $20 for kids 12 and under / ages 2 and under are free.   Proceeds for the event will go to the Methow Made program. To purchase a ticket click here.  Prices will increase August 16th. Please consider joining us, bring the whole family.

Saturday September 5th we will host a granary tour from 10-noon.  The tour is free, it starts at 10 sharp and lasts about 1/2 hour. Please RSVP if you would like to tour our granary and see our milling and cleaning operation.

Rye harvest has officially come and gone. It took Sam longer to move his combine than to harvest our Rye. Thankfully the weather has cooperated and now our heritage rye berries safely sit in our silo ready to be sold to you! The photos below indicate the amazing transformation that grains go through when curing in just one months time.

Standing in the rye, June, 15 2015

Harvesting Rye, July 20, 2015

Tickets are now on sale through Brown Paper Tickets for our farm to table event Sunday, Sept 6th, at Twisp Works. Farro paella will be served over wood fire pits. Guest chef and James Beard Award Winner John Sundstrom of Lark Restaurant, Seattle will be firing up his own Paella dish for you to try.  Local musicians and “Methow Made” food and beverage producers and their products will be featured and a portion from each ticket sale will be donated to the “Methow Made” program. “Methow Made” beverages will be available at a no host cash bar. Come be a part of our celebratory farm to table meal designed by Cameron Green Catering.  Make sure to get your tickets early.  Early bird discount ends August 16th. Adults $40 / Kids 12-3 $20  / Ages 2 and under free.

Last month I had a whirlwind tour in Seattle at food shows, food demos and presentations. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Seattle meeting customers. My ancient grains cooking class at The Pantry was a great success and a lot of fun. I have to admit, having The Pantry staff shop and prep food for the class was an extra special treat and made my job so easy!  I also enjoyed meeting many wonderful ladies at the Seattle Garden Club.  Another wonderful organization!

Easter Mediterranean Salad, Farro All Dressed up in Herbs, Farro with forged mushrooms

Cooking Class, The Pantry, Seattle

Brooke at Seattle Garden Club

May 18th Merlino Foods Anniversary Celebration. Brooke will be at Merlino Foods Anniversary Celebration this Monday May 18th in Seattle.  If you are a wholesale buyer through Merlino Foods please come and find me at the event.  I will have product samples available and would love the opportunity to connect with you.

May 19th PCC Food Demo, Fremont District Seattle. If you live in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle Brooke will be handing out emmer samples and salad recipes from 4-7 pm.  Please stop in and say hello!

May 20th, Ancient Grains Cooking Class, The Pantry in Ballard.  

Save the Date for our 10 year anniversary party at Twisp Works on September 6th.  Tickets will go on sale next week through Twisp Works via Brown Paper Tickets.  We are very excited to have long time customer and chef John Sundstrom, owner of Lark Restaurant of Seattle join us for this event.  He will be crafting a farro paella dish, Methow style, over a wood fire pit.  We will be partnering with many local food and beverage producers to highlight the bounty of quality products in our valley. We hope you will  join us!

Save the date! September 6th, Labor Day weekend Bluebird Grain Farms will be celebrating their 10 year anniversary with a farm to table dinner in partnership with  Twisp Works on their campus in Twisp Washington. Local food purveyors, producers and guest chefs will be highlighted in a celebratory meal to mark the bounty of harvest and 10 years of building great relationships. Tickets for this event will go on sale in May through brown paper tickets. Farm and field tours will also be offered free to the public on the same weekend. Stay tuned to our website & blog for more information. We hope you’ll join us.

Cooking class offered at The Pantry, Seattle, Wednesday, May 20th 6:30-9:30.  Brooke Lucy will be at The Pantry to talk about the remarkable cooking & nutritional properties of heirloom varietals of emmer and farro. She will share the history of farro, how it’s grown and processed, and its amazing versatility in the kitchen. You’ll cook and enjoy a dinner of einka farro and foraged mushrooms with asparagus and garlic chives; fresh herbs and emmer farro salad; and spiced farro pudding. If you would like to join me please visit The Pantry.

Virtual Farm Tour & Organic Farming Lecture. Thursday, May 21st, Seattle Garden Club. Brooke Lucy will be giving a virtual farm tour to the Seattle Garden Club, highlighting seasonal farming steps from planting through harvest.  She will lecture about organic farming, building soil tilth, and how their farm practices support the production of nutrient dense grains.  If you are interested in booking a lecture, please contact Brooke:  .

Wenatchee Valley College’s sustainable farming class will be touring our fields May 22nd.  We look forward to sharing our farm with local agricultural students.

Bluebirds have arrived, spring is here!

We now have best by dates on all of our packaging thanks to our shiny new automated “date code stamp heat sealer”.  Oh the joys of modern industry!  This has made Halley Hart, our packaging room manager, jump for joy!  It has taken two steps (labeling and sealing) and turned them into one.   Aaah, what pleasure we get doing these kinds of things.   Our general rule of thumb for setting a best by date is: for milled products such as flour and cracked cereals is about 6 months, for split grains it is 10 months and for whole grains we say a 16 months.  The most important part about using our grains is storing them properly.  The concern is not that they are going to go bad, rather, things can easily get into the bag like moths, etc…. so store all of our grains is a cool environment, in a tight, well sealed bag or container. If you live in a humid environment you may want to consider storing our grains and flour in the refrigerator.

Copy of Einka Review in Bon Appetit Magazine

Bon Appetit Magazine featured our Einka flour in their March 2015 issue.  I have yet to get my hands on a copy, but hear that it is a nice mention so thanks Bon Appetit! We are honored.

Our direct Wholesalers have been sent our 2015 price list.  If you are a direct wholesaler and have not received an updated price list please contact us.  Other news on the wholesale front is that we have launched our online ordering system. If you are an existing wholesaler with qualified terms you can now place your order on our website.