The Millers' Tale

V.2, N.61

Dec 05, 2024

If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift, consider giving a bag of flour. I’m serious. Check out, for example, Shagbark Seed & Mill’s assortment of Red Fife and Spelt flours, made from exquisite grains indigenous to Appalachian Ohio, where the mill is located. The founder, Michelle Ajamian, has been developing Shagbark for more than a decade and has embraced a strategy uniquely suited to local businesses.

Our first story describes how millers around the country, like Ajamian, have become competitive through collaboration. Milling is a tough business. Today, three companies control 57% of wheat processing. It wasn’t always this way. Back in 1840, there were 28,000 gristmills in operation, all closely connected to their local farmers. Cheaper transportation, advanced milling technologies, and sleepy antitrust regulators resulted in the elimination of nearly all these mills. But thanks to people like Ajamian, local grain mills—like other vital assets of the local food system—are making a comeback. During COVID, Ajamian helped set up the Craft Millers Guild as a learning community of practice. It has grown to 50 members, who help one another with finance, processing, and marketing.

There’s a larger lesson here about economies of scale. Local businesses can compete against corporate giants if they work together with other locals, here and abroad, and share what works. The millers’ model should be applied to every other concentrated industry, whether chicken processing, steel smelting, or auto manufacturing. Small businesses in small communities have a shot at success if they are willing to connect, share, and learn from their peers elsewhere.

Here are some of the other articles you will find in this issue that will bring you some holiday cheer:

Nearly one in ten business transfers in the United Kingdom now involve conversions to employee ownership.
Co-ops in the United Kingdom have a new ambition—to run a railroad called the Go-op—and are currently raising startup capital for the venture.
Solar panels are twice as likely to be found on houses of worship in the United States than on other non-commercial buildings. (Thank you, God!)
Latinos comprise 19% of the U.S. population and yet own only 6.9% of employer-owned firms. But the growth rate of these firms is accelerating, especially in construction, food and accommodation, and professional services.
Cutting-edge financial models are now supporting regenerative agriculture.

If flour-giving is not your style, how about just hitting the button below and giving a subscription to the Main Street Journal? We promise to continue giving you, your family, and your friends something inspiring every week.

- Michael Shuman, Publisher

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NEWS

Restoring the Local Grain Economy, Civil Eats (November 20)
A Real Ownership Revolution is Unfolding in the UK, EFES (November)
UK’s First Train Service Co-op, Co-op News (November 18)
Houses of Worship Invest in Solar Panels, Marketplace (November 15)
Investing in Latino or Hispanic-Owned Businesses is a Winning Strategy, Brookings (November 25)
Financing Climate Resilience in the Food System, Food Solutions New England (November 13)

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