By Michelle Sharp, founder of Meet the Minnesota Makers

“I would say business ownership is one of the hardest things I’ve done outside of having kids,” says Christine “Montana” Rasmussen, owner of River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co in Saint Peter. “It’s both super hard and super rewarding. I see where I get to have an impact in the community with my bakery business by buying directly from local producers as well as the impact of those who purchase from me.” 

Fostering these local connections introduced Montana to Kernza® perennial grain. Ben Penner of Belle Plaine’s Ben Penner Farms provided Montana with some samples of the Kernza he had planted at his farm. “I got really excited about Kernza. It’s local. My friend is growing it. It’s sustainable. Why don’t more people know about this?” The Kernza plant provides numerous benefits in terms of soil and water quality protection. Once established, the perennial plant saves farmers time in the busy spring season. 

A challenge that Montana faced in incorporating Kernza into the bakery’s menu is the cost.  The grain itself is quite small, and the yield per acre is lower than annual grains so growers need a higher price per pound to make the economics work. Kernza is still a very small percentage of the grain grown in Minnesota. 

“There’s a lot of choices that I could make with this business that would make more money. I always share this with new hires at the bakery,” said Montana. “I could choose to get all my flour from Sysco, just very basic, cheapest I can get, but it’s not how I live personally. I see this business as an extension of me and my values. I would never make those choices in my personal life so I will never do that in my business either.” Montana’s personal values, the opportunity to support her local community–economically and environmentally–, and outside financial support in the form of a grant made it clear to Montana that incorporating Kernza was the best next choice for her bakery.  

Montana applied for the Developing Markets for Continuous Living Cover Crops grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to underwrite the research and development needed to incorporate Kernza across the bakery’s menu. Instead of a signature Kernza cake or muffin that uses as much flour as the recipe will allow, River Rock applied for the grant in order to incorporate two percent Kernza flour into three quarters of their recipes that use flour. “I felt like this lightbulb went off. Incorporating Kernza in the majority of our menu items will have the biggest impact. It will educate our customers about this perennial grain, bring in its subtle nutty taste, and allow our bakery to use as much of the flour from our local growers as possible.”