Where to buy whole grains for grinding flour

[ThunderCats]

Recently I've been looking into the idea of buying a grain mill to mill fresh, organic flour.  I'm looking into this for health/environmental/deliciousness reasons, not with a primary interest in saving money over store bought flour.  However, it would be just fantastic if it could also be an area to save money (or at least break even).

So I was wondering if anyone grinds their own flour, and could recommend where to buy grains from, and what a good price for different varieties of wheat would be.

Thanks!

[Thinkum]

You can buy whole grains at Sprouts. Prices seem pretty fair. I thought about doing the same myself, but eh, not yet. I already make so many other things from scratch.

[ThunderCats]

You can buy whole grains at Sprouts. Prices seem pretty fair. I thought about doing the same myself, but eh, not yet. I already make so many other things from scratch.

Unfortunately, there are no Spouts in my area.  I'm in the Northern Illinois region in case anyone knows anything local :-)

[mousebandit]

I would go to the Azure STandard website and see if they have route drop locations in your area.  I know they cover pretty much everywhere west of the Rockies, but not sure about the midwest. 

They are an awesome, cost-effective, bulk-food and organic / healthy food coop.  THey do a monthly delivery to drop locations, and you just go pick up at your local drop spot.  We love them. 

Mouse Bandit

[Goldielocks]

I grew my own oats, once,   just to see what it was like, only grew about 2 lbs worth.

A lot of work...   But boy, do I now understand the passage in the bible about "Reaping" and  "Winnowing" and the "Threshing Floor"  (about Rachel, I think)

If you want wheat, look for a ukranian store as there is a traditional dish using whole wheat kernels that is served at New Years...   so someone is buying.

Found it,  called "Wheatberries".  Bob's mills have a couple of different types...

http://www.bobsredmill.com/shop/grains-beans-seeds/organic-hard-white-wheat-berries.html

You can look online for cracked wheat, too.  It is a baking ingredient..

http://www.bobsredmill.com/organic-cracked-wheat.html

[pbkmaine]

Theprudenthomemaker.com lists resources for bulk grains.

[bobechs]

Co-op grain elevator.

They are all over; your people probably call them 'silos' which are a whole other breed ofvertical structure.

Posted prices are in the office/scale window -looks like in the ballpark of $4/bushel for hard red winterabout now-  but you would pay a slight premium for cleaned seed (but don't get it treated!) and less than truckload

Or you could pay $4/lb. and stick with your people.

[mousebandit]

If you have a Winco or other grocery store with bulk bins (often health food stores will have these), they usually have wheatberries, as well as other grains you might want to try. 

MouseBandit