Saving family farms through craft distilling

[Bushman]

Found this article on the ADI newsletter. They talk about estate distilleries vs statement distilleries and how the craft distillery business is saving the small farms in America. It made me think that we as hobby distillers also support small farmers through our purchase of grains. If hobby distilling was legalized we would probably have more people distilling which would also benefit the farmer. Either way I had known the term estate winery but statement distilleries is a new term to me.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/can-craft ... amily-farm

[Stonecutter]

Thank you Sir. Very nice read. “Farmers Market in a bottle”. That’s good shit right there. The members here that have and/or work in direct connection with local farms are supporting the spirit and culture of their communities.

[NormandieStill]

I was talking to my uncle about this the other day. In the UK there are a lot of small farms who are diversifying into distilling (primarily gin) and selling at farmer's markets as a way to suppliment their income. Pretty much every small town now seems to have their "local gin".

[Yummyrum]

All Eggs in one basket comes to mind .

I love the concept . I have know idea about the whole scale of this sort of interconnectedness , but I would hope that one farm does not rely on one distillery and like wise , one distillery does not rely on one farm to supply grain .

Big potential for one fuckup to cause a second .

Spread the love , share the Joy .

[LWTCS]

Not at all a political statement.
Here in the US, retaliatory tariffs have left many small family farms watch their crops "die on the vine" as larger corporate farms "dump" surplus into the domestic market space.

Pivoting to a farm distillery model makes perfect sense and I have no idea why any farmer wouldn't want to do so given the profit margins on crops vs the potential margin on spirits production.
I am often confused why we don't see at least a hand full of rum / rhum distilleries at the edge of the cane field down here in Florida?

[still_stirrin]

Here in “the breadbasket of America” where a lot of cereal grains are raised, there are corporate (fuel) ethanol plants. They provide ethanol for fuel supplement to the oil industry. It has worked to hold gas prices down and help stabilize fuel availability (sans governmental regulatory oversight and control). Plus, it helps with grain market prices for the farmers who also benefit from the lower fuel prices. It (almost) makes farming profitable.

But, the distilleries are not consumable alcohol plants, as those tend to be regulated by a different government agency: the BATF and the FDA. Plus, it is taxed differently, constraining the profit margins. Fuel alcohol production has less government control “fingers” dipped into the economics…the very thing that independent farmers disdain.

But, the production of cereal grains locally does facilitate us hobbiests.
ss

[Bushman]

This is why the Skagit Malting Company built in Skagit County some of the best farmland in the United States. They malt and blend different grains from local farmers taking orders from distilleries.
https://www.skagitvalleymalting.com/

[squigglefunk]

isn't this why moonshine ever existed in the first place?

[Bushman]

isn't this why moonshine ever existed in the first place?

A strong argument for it!