Grain by Grain, A quest to revive ancient wheat, rural jobs and healthy food

You are what you eat. If you care about your health, small town survival in farm and ranch country, opportunities and how ingenuity and hard work by one individual can make a real difference, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Author Bob Quinn will be presenting his book on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. at the West Wing of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation as part of Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club. Free. Everyone welcome.

Quinn went off to college from his family's conventional wheat and cattle farm in Big Sandy, Montana. He earned a Ph.D. in Plant Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. He learned about Big Ag, herbicides, pesticides, the modern supply chain, profit and loss, the costs of shipping and how to do a proper agricultural study. This book is the story of how he moved back to his family's farm which could not support both his family and his parents, struggled to survive and turned it into a highly productive organic farm supporting two families directly and more through employment in offshoot enterprises.

Along the way he brought back the commercial production of ancient khorasan wheat, established the first commercial wind farm in Montana, made organic safflower oil a commercial reality and helped revitalize a small agricultural community. Ever the scientist- farmer he always seemed to have some 'experimental plots' going to try out new ideas, crops and techniques. Ever the teacher he happily shared his discoveries with other farmers and anyone else interested in the future of farming in this country.

A great many small towns in the United States are slowly dying. It is very difficult for them to retain young people. Opportunities to genuinely make a living are scarce. The notion of a commercial family farm is close to an oxymoron. This book is an amazing story of the journey of one man as he sought to make a living on a family farm in small town rural America -- and succeeded. The farm he has now is not the same as it was when he arrived home fresh out of graduate school. If it was, he would probably have had to leave because it wouldn't make economic sense to stay.

But this book is much more than the story of Quinn's success. It is a brilliant guiding light for revitalizing our rural communities and our food system. It explores the notion of value in the food system, emphasizing making lives worth living with thriving communities, meaningful work and healthy land. "Value added" is almost a mantra of his approach to farming and his community.

Quinn had to learn what organic food and organic farming was. He had opportunities to squeeze money from a number of people and projects along the way, but instead chose to focus on helping his neighbors (and farmers around the world as well) get a fair price for their labor. He chose to put wholesome, nutritious food on the table instead of cheap stuffing that makes you sick.

If you are interested in small town revitalization, healthy food and what it takes to turn ideas and frustration into success, this book is a wonderfully inspiring, optimistic read.