RENSSELAERVILLE — The Carey Institute for Global Good is hosting its third annual Small Grains Workshop for farmers, brewers, distillers, maltsters, bakers, and any others interested in the future of New York State small-grains production in the greater Capital Region, Schoharie, and Upper Hudson and Mohawk valleys. 

This year’s event, “Beyond Beer: Diversifying the Capital Region’s Small Grains Sector,” will be on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Carey Institute campus in Rensselaerville. 

The workshop is free. Those who plan to attend should notify Rebecca Platel by email at rplatel@careyinstitute.org or by phone at (518) 797-5100.

The day features presentations, a panel discussion and technical sessions. Speakers include: 

— Benjamin Dobson of Mud Creek Farm in Germantown, who is transitioning 2,000 acres of conventional corn and soy to an organic grain and grazing rotation;  

— Aaron MacLeod, director of the Center for Craft Food and Beverage at Hartwick College, New York State’s leading expert on malting grain quality; 

— Matt Jager, head distiller of Yankee Distilling, a farm distillery in Saratoga County;

— Sandro Gerbini, founder and president at Gatherer’s Granola, based in Schenectady with an interest in locally grown oats; and

— Amy Halloran, author of “The New Bread Basket: How the New Crop of Grain Growers, Plant Breeders, Millers, Maltsters, Bakers, Brewers, and Local Food Activists Are Redefining our Daily Loaf,” who will moderate the discussion and answer questions.

Topics to be addressed include: regenerative agriculture and small grains; understanding grain quality: terminology, testing, and malt analysis; local markets for food-grade grain; distillers’ grain: quality characteristics and best practices for marketing to local distillers; and Source NY, a new online marketplace for grain and other raw materials.

The workshop will highlight existing and new opportunities for growing and sourcing locallygrown small grains, quality standards for different markets, and practices for producing high quality grain and finding a market.

The Small Grains Workshop is a yearly event and is part of the Carey Institute’s Helderberg Brewery Incubator. Support for this program is provided by United States Department of Agriculture Farmers Market Promotion Program and New York State Empire State Development Corporation.