Some flour brands add potassium bromate to their flours in order to improve baking qualities, particularly oven spring. There have been health concerns related to potassium bromate in food products. Shepherd’s Grain does not “bromate” the flour by adding potassium bromate. Our flour is made from wheat that is proven to have excellent baking performance. There is no need to add any synthetic or natural additives to improve performance.
FAQ
Some key dietary nutrients are lost when milling a whole grain into white flour. For many years it has been industry standard to add back in those nutrients. We do this for our flours, with the exception of our Semolina and Whole Wheat Flour. We also offer our Pastry Flour in both enriched and unenriched versions.
The priority of our farmers is to stop the degradation of their soils so that they can be sustainably farmed indefinitely into the future. The use of tillage as a means of controlling weeds and establishing a crop sets the stage for soil erosion and is a catalyst for losing soil carbon. Organic production of grain relies largely on extensive tillage and the burning of large amounts of diesel in tractor work.
Rather than pursuing organic certification, our farmers focus on a systems approach to their farming practices within the ecosystem they operate. All of our farmers took great risks to stop soil erosion, nutrient and water leakage, by converting their farms to no-till. The health of the environment and the long-term sustainability of their farms is paramount.
There are no commercially available GMO wheat varieties for farmers in the U.S. to produce. We submit our flours to verification by the Non-GMO Project in order to take that extra step of integrity in showing that our flours are non-GMO.
Pesticides are used to control or eliminate weeds, pests, and diseases. Our farmers use these products judiciously where any other means of control would be unsustainable. Each farmer is certified sustainable by Food Alliance, and this certification verifies the judicious use of pesticides. In addition, Food Alliance has a list of prohibited pesticides that are harmful to the environment. Our growers do not use these pesticides.
In some regions glyphosate is used to desiccate crops. When we contract to buy wheat from our farmers, the contracts stipulate that glyphosate may not be used for desiccation. Glyphosate is never applied to wheat crops grown for Shepherd’s Grain flour.
