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Alternative, local supply chains cover a wide range of business models.
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For some growers, it represents a small but important niche that runs alongside a more conventional farming model of commodity trading. For others, their entire focus is upon responding to the opportunities provided by artisan millers and bakers.
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Importantly, it represents the opportunity to reconnect directly with the people and values help by every stage of the supply chain from seed to the bakery. ​
South West Grain Network
One of the leading alternative grain networks in the UK, with much of important market support provided through Stoates Stoneground Flour based at Canns Mill ​​​
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Field trials
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On-farm bakeries
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On-farm mills
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Lab test facilities
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Farm-scale supply chains
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Regular network meetings and visits
East Anglian Grain Alliance
Centered around Wakelyns, the home of YQ Population wheat, working in close partnership with Hodmedod, The East Anglian Grain Alliance covers Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex to the east of the region and Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire to the west.
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Field trials
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On-farm bakeries
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On-farm mills
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Farm-scale supply chains
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Regular network meetings and visits
East Midlands Grain Network
Currently centered around the Tuxford Mill and the bakeries within the Midlands and South Yorkshire.
Grains, seed and flour support bakeries and growers from Birmingham in the west through to Leeds and Sheffield in the north and then down to Cambridge and Buckinghamshire in the east and south of the region respectively.
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Farm-scale supply chains
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Policy development
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Seed production and distribution
Yorkshire Grain Alliance
Working in close collaboration with Fix our Food and the Organic Reaearch Centre, the Yorkshire Grain Alliance plays an important role in coordinating much of the field trials work currently being undertaken on behalf of the UK Grain Lab's Diverse Cereals Seeds Project (DCSP) within the UK.​
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Field trials
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On-farm bakeries
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On-farm mills
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Farm-scale supply chains
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Regular network meetings and visits
South East Grain Network
Covering the south of England from Kent in the East through to the Wiltshire boarders, the South East Grain Alliance provides and important source of grain and seed for mills and bakeries in London and the home counties.
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​Field trials
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On-farm bakeries
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On-farm mills
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Farm-scale supply chains
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Regular network meetings and visits