Why We Gather

The Southeastern Grain Gathering returns in 2026, bringing together farmers, researchers, millers, bakers, brewers, distillers, and partners from across the region to continue de-risking and building a thriving regional grain economy. Our last gathering centered on sustainability, exploring how regionally advantaged grains strengthen soils, farms, and communities. This year, we are building on that foundation and focusing on what makes sustainability last and what it takes to align production, infrastructure, and markets over time.

What Makes Sustainability Last

Across the Ohio Valley, small grains play a pivotal ecological role in three-crop, two-year rotations. They provide winter soil cover, improve soil structure, reduce nutrient losses, and distribute risk across seasons. For these rotations to persist, ecology and economics must work together. At SEGG, we openly discuss the key friction points in this work: scale, risk, market development, and quality. We’ll explore who absorbs early risk, how we build and scale markets, and ensure that the right-sized infrastructure is in place.

Sustainability endures when value is shared with intention. Farmers must be paid for stewardship and quality. Millers and processors need a fair margin to invest in appropriate infrastructure. Bakers, brewers, and distillers need a stable, quality, regionally differentiated supply to build viable products. Parity pricing ensures that the numbers work across the chain. Together,the field, the mill, and the we’re de-risking and building a system where each part of the value chain can cover real costs, reinvest, and sustain the effort over time.

The 2026 gathering represents a coordinated step toward implementation. It is structured as an immersive working session that connects the craft of growing, milling, manufacturing, marketing, and tasting in one place. Craft here reflects applied knowledge: how soil, seed, skill, and place shape performance and how performance translates into durable economic returns. This is the work: aligning rotations, infrastructure, markets, and pricing so that ecological practice becomes economically sustainable over time.

The Gathering in Practice

Over two days, participants will move between the field, the mill, and the table. Discussions are designed to clarify next steps, identifying where alignment is emerging, and coordination is still required. What does it take to build food manufacturing capacity and markets that support rotational diversity? Where does risk sit? What infrastructure is missing? What commitments are required from buyers and producers alike? How can we better coordinate action? Together, we will advance systematic movement across our regional grainshed.

Hosted at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill

The 2026 gathering will be held at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, a working landscape with deep agricultural roots, and historic mills on site. Lodging, meals, and programming are all available on-site, enabling sustained conversation, immersive learning, and shared experiences rooted in place.

Join the Work

The Southeastern Grain Gathering is built through shared commitment. We are currently inviting partners to support the 2026 gathering through sponsorship and program collaboration.

Sponsorships directly strengthen farmer participation, immersive programming, and the working infrastructure that make this coordinated effort possible.

We are also curating session proposals from practitioners advancing implementation across the regional grain system, including farmers, millers, bakers, brewers, distillers, food manufacturers, researchers, and aligned investors. In 2026, we are especially interested in contributions that engage in the following topic areas:

• Diversified rotations that are both profitable and durable. How do we structure markets, pricing, and infrastructure so that three-crop-in-two-year rotations support the full three-legged stool of people, planet, and profit?

• Scale, sequencing, and risk. Where do farmers begin, given their current acreage and markets? How should growth be sequenced? What forms of risk mitigation make expansion possible without destabilizing the farm?

• Filling the gaps in the value chain. Where is the missing middle (e.g., seed systems, aggregation, milling, processing, buyers, pricing transparency)? Which gaps require collective action, patent capital, or new forms of partnership?

If your work helps make diversified rotations economically viable, we welcome your engagement. Join the early coordination list to receive updates and indicate your intended participation, or explore sponsorship opportunities to support implementation. For direct inquiries, please contact Katie Ellis.

Past Gatherings

This work has evolved intentionally. Each gathering has built on the last, deepening relationships, clarifying shared priorities, and expanding public recognition. The 2026 convening continues that trajectory while advancing the structural work required for long-term durability.

2019 | Establishing the Foundation

Held at the University of Kentucky’s South Farm, the inaugural gathering convened farmers, millers, bakers, researchers, and regional partners to begin reconnecting field and finished product. It established the relationships and shared language that continue to anchor this work.

2024 | From Field to Flavor

The 2024 gathering expanded the conversation to sustainability and regionally advantaged grains, drawing broader public attention across agricultural and university media. It clarified the structural questions now shaping implementation — markets, pricing, infrastructure, and long-term viability.