Our Story
The Ohio Valley Grain Exchange (OVGE) is an emerging alliance of farmers, maltsters, millers, bakers, distillers, brewers, research and extension specialists, and other members of the grain value chain. The Ohio Valley Grain Exchange began with an experiment in 2014 to answer the question “can bakers source bread flour from Kentucky-grown wheat?”. That experiment continues to this day, but we have expanded to include distillers, brewers, anyone who uses regional grains.
Regional Grains
In the Ohio Valley Region, we produce high quality soft red winter wheat, 2-row and 6-row malting barley, and rye suitable for distilling and baking.
News & Events
Here’s What’s Happening Around the Ohio Valley Region & Beyond.
A Stroll Through The Barley
The Ohio Valley Grain Exchange, the James B. Beam Institute and the Food Connection@UK invite you to an afternoon and evening devoted to barley on May 14, 2025. We will look at barley variety plots at UK’s Spindletop Farm (GPS: 38.120133, -84.497031), tour South Fork Malthouse (https://www.southforkmalthouse.com/; GPS: 38.361655, -84.333030) and then convene over a malted beverage. Let’s plan to gather at Spindletop Farm about 4 pm. Additional details to follow.
How long does a grain revolution take?
Tucked away in the fertile Skagit Valley of Washington state, something special has been growing for over a decade. There, Dr. Stephen Jones has led the Breadlab at Washington State University, pioneering grain innovation and bringing better bread to all. www.kingarthurbaking.com
Steve Jones and
The Ohio Valley Grain Exchange
It is fair to say that were it not for the influence of Dr. Steve Jones, there might not be an Ohio Valley Grain Exchange. Steve came to UK in November 2018 to present a seminar on his work and then we had a reception in his honor that evening at UK’s South Farm. Steve managed to convince us that we were onto something and that we could build a local grains movement in Kentucky and the region. That shot in the arm gave us the confidence to host the 2019 Southeastern Grain Gathering, where Steve was a speaker. These events got the ball rolling for our Kentucky group and there was enough momentum to get us through Covid and beyond, to the 2024 SEGG.
As a wheat breeder, Steve has been a fearless visionary. While most of us are constrained by certain norms, e.g. releasing varieties that are uniform in appearance, Steve purposefully released heterogeneous landraces. He recently released climate blends that contain enough variation to be resilient to our warming, unpredictable environment. Steve encouraged us to look for flavor and baking quality in our adapted soft red winter wheat germplasm and it has paid off. The OVGE wants to say a big THANK YOU to Steve, best wishes for a happy, productive retirement, and don’t be a stranger!