Why We're Betting on Grain: Our Investment in Cairnspring Mills

Wild Equities has invested in Cairnspring Mills, the Pacific Northwest company making fresh, stone-milled, European-style flour from grain it can trace to the farm that grew it. We're thrilled to partner with founder and CEO Kevin Morse and the Cairnspring team as they open their second mill, Blue Mountain, in Pendleton, Oregon.

We invest in essential American food infrastructure. Few foods are more essential than flour, and few parts of the food system need rebuilding more. Here's why we're betting on grain, and why we're betting on Cairnspring.

Why grain

Flour is the foundation of the American table, from bread and pasta to tortillas and pizza. The commodity system behind it delivers an abundance of affordable, consistent flour, and that's no small thing. But it was built for volume and uniformity, so farmers who grow better grain or build healthier soil rarely get paid for it.

Milling was once a local business, with thousands of mills across the country. Today the three largest companies hold more than half of U.S. flour milling capacity, and the 21 largest hold 96% (World Grain).

In the Pacific Northwest, upwards of 90% of the wheat is exported (NPR). Bill Tovey, who leads economic development for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, puts it plainly: "Wheat is king in Umatilla County, but for generations most of its value has left with the grain."

We think that's starting to change. The country's best bakers now seek out fresh, stone-milled flour for its flavor and performance, and what started in a few kitchens has become a craft flour movement. Like coffee before it, flour is becoming something people choose for where it comes from.

That demand is an opening for farmers, but only if someone can mill their grain separately, keep it traceable and deliver it at scale. That missing middle, the regional mill, largely disappeared generations ago. Rebuilding it is exactly what Wild Equities was built to do.

Why Cairnspring

Cairnspring was founded in 2016 in Burlington, Washington. Skagit Valley farmers, bakers and community leaders wanted a mill that would keep local farmers viable and closer to their customers. Under co-founder and CEO Kevin Morse, Cairnspring has spent a decade proving that idea works.

Cairnspring flours are all natural. Unlike industrial mills that strip grain of its nutritional layers, Cairnspring stone-mills in small batches to intentionally incorporate the bran and germ, producing flour that is naturally nutritious, aromatic, and distinctive in flavor—never bleached, bromated, or artificially enriched. Its primary flours are milled to a Type 85 specification, the European way of grading flour, delivering that flavor and nutrition with the baking performance professionals demand. That has earned Cairnspring a following among some of the country’s best bakers and pizzaiolos, including Tartine, Pizzeria Bianco and Breadfarm.

"The flour from Cairnspring Mills is the best flour we have ever used," Tartine co-founder Chad Robertson has said.

Every lot is identity-preserved and traceable to the Pacific Northwest farm that grew it. In the Skagit Valley, the longest haul from farm to mill is less than 15 miles. All of Cairnspring's flours are grown using regenerative practices, and it aims to have its supply chain Certified Regenerative by A Greener World (AGW) by the end of 2028.

Cairnspring has also built the standards larger customers require. It has been SQF certified for food safety since 2018, and in March 2025 it became the first flour company to earn The Climate Label.

How the model works

What convinced us most is that Cairnspring's impact and its business run on the same engine:

1. Bakers want flour with more flavor, better performance and a supply chain they can trace to the farm.
2. That demand lets Cairnspring buy identity-preserved grain directly from farmers, rather than on the commodity market, and reward them for quality. Kevin has said the company pays premiums that help farmers rebuild their soil.
3. A dependable buyer for better grain gives farmers a reason to adopt regenerative practices. Because wheat is often grown in rotation with other crops, the benefits can reach the whole farm.
4. Healthier, traceable grain makes better flour, and better flour wins more bakers.

Each turn of that cycle makes the next one easier. A market for differentiated flour creates a market for differentiated grain, and that gives farmers a real economic reason to farm the way Cairnspring wants to support. As Kevin put it when Cairnspring earned The Climate Label, "what's better for farmers and their land is also better for the climate."

That commitment is built into the company's structure, too. Cairnspring is a Washington social purpose corporation, a legal form that writes social goals into its charter alongside profit.

What's next: Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain is exciting precisely because the hard part is already done. Cairnspring has spent a decade building grower relationships, refining its milling and earning the trust of demanding customers. Blue Mountain is the infrastructure to take that proven model much further.

Blue Mountain celebrated its grand opening on October 15 on the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon, and commercial production begins in November (The Shelby Report). The mill was built in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and it will take Cairnspring’s capacity from about 8 million pounds of flour a year to more than 115 million.

Blue Mountain pairs stone milling with modern blending and quality controls, so Cairnspring can serve bakers and food brands across the country. The original Skagit mill will focus on unique grain varieties for specialty bakers and become Cairnspring's center for innovation.

Scale is how a better way of farming and milling stops being a niche and starts to shape the market. At full capacity, Cairnspring expects to source wheat from about 60,000 acres and generate more than $22 million a year for farmers. Blue Mountain will also bring more than 20 living-wage jobs to Eastern Oregon (The Shelby Report).

Why we're excited

Wild Equities provides patient capital built to last generations. We look for essential food businesses where doing right by farmers, communities and the land is the business model itself, not a side project. Cairnspring is exactly that kind of company, at exactly the moment its model is ready to scale.

Kevin describes Blue Mountain as "a human-scale mill and model that serves real markets, supports farmers and keeps value in the community" (The Shelby Report). That is the kind of infrastructure we want to help build, and we plan to be here for the long haul.

We're grateful to Kevin and the whole Cairnspring team for welcoming us into what they're building. We also recognize the farmers and bakers who built Cairnspring, and its Blue Mountain partner, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

If you bake, try the flour at cairnspring.com. If you run an essential American food business and want a partner who'll still be around in thirty years, we'd love to hear from you.

This fall, the first flour comes off the stones at Blue Mountain. We can't wait to bake with it.

About Cairnspring Mills

Cairnspring Mills is helping to pioneer the craft flour movement with a mission to rebuild food systems, support farmers and nourish communities with clean, healthy, flavorful grains and flour. Founded in Washington’s Skagit Valley in 2016, the company partners directly with Pacific Northwest growers who use regenerative practices that restore soil health and long-term farm viability. Every lot of grain is identity-preserved and stone-milled to intentionally incorporate the bran and germ, resulting in flour that is naturally nutritious and alive with flavor. By proving flour can be full of flavor and economically resilient, Cairnspring offers a new model for 21st-century food production—one that regionalizes supply chains, restores ecosystems, contributes to community resilience, and shares value more equitably across farmers, bakers, and communities. With the opening of Blue Mountain Mill, the company now operates two mills in the Pacific Northwest. For more information, visit cairnspring.com.

About Wild Equities

Wild Equities invests patient, long-term capital in essential American food businesses, from dirt and sea to table. Learn more at wildequities.com.