Executive Summary sharing data on AGC's network of grain chain stakeholders
The Artisan Grain Collaborative (AGC) is a regional network of farmers, processors, end-users, and advocates working to strengthen a diverse regional grainshed in the Midwest.
AGC’s 2025-27 Strategic Plan defines AGC’s three overarching goals:
Facilitate and enrich cross-sector relationships amongst Midwest grain chain actors as participants in a robust and diverse regional network;
Create, elevate, and pilot activities, tools, and resources that support a thriving and equitable Midwest grainshed;
Deepen consumer connections and engagement with grain chain actors.
The Executive Summary presents findings from AGC’s 2025 Annual Member Survey (survey) which is designed to help inform, support, and track the growth of a diverse regional grainshed in support of AGC’s mission, vision, and goals. As the sole collector of this data, this survey provides valuable insight into the grainshed and AGC’s impact—insights that will deepen and expand with each additional year of data.
AGC members span the grain value chain, with farmers (28%) and bakers (19%) accounting for 47% of members.
While the number of AGC members has increased by almost 40% since our inaugural 2023 survey, the proportion of members from each role in the grain value chain has remained relatively stable. Visit the Member Snapshot (Summary p.4) for more information on AGC members, including an overview of capital needs at individual and collective scales.
In 2024, AGC farmer-identifying members sold 6,693 tons of food-grade wheat berries, through all market channels.
In contrast, AGC end-user members purchased only 3,855 tons of wheat berries and milled/ground wheat from any source. Visit the Supply & Demand of Wheat (Summary p.5) for more information comparing the supply and demand of this primary food-grade grain.
AGC’s 73 farmers collectively planted a total of 24,184 acres in food-grade grains in 2024, with 46% of farmer members growing 40 or fewer acres of food-grade grains.
Fifty-eight percent of the total acreage planted in food-grade grains was planted in the following top five crops: wheat, hybrid corn, oilseeds, OP corn, and rye. Visit the Supply Summary (p.7) for more information on how AGC farmers are growing and selling their grains, including for which grains they struggle to find a buyer.
The 110 members of AGC who identified as bakers, brewers, distillers, food businesses, millers, cleaners and/or maltsters purchased a total of 10,390 tons of food-grain grains.
The six most purchased grains by volume were wheat, hybrid corn, oats, barley, OP corn, rye. Visit the Demand Summary (p.9) for more information on AGC member purchasing and demand habits, including which grains they would like to buy but either can’t find a consistent source or can’t afford.
AGC had 52 respondents identify as a support organization/institution, researcher, and/or advocate and 88% indicated that they share some AGC resources: most frequently member contact information (57%) and/or specific resources (48%).
Visit the Support Summary (p.10) for information on how members are supporting the regional grainshed.
Seventy-six percent of AGC members have increased the number of relationships they have across the grain value chain due to their membership with AGC, with an average of 6 relationships per member.
These relationships resulted in peer-learning and knowledge-sharing (91%), solidarity (48%), and business transactions (45%).
