Tribal ownership, mission-aligned lenders, community investors, and public capital come together to address the “missing middle” of regenerative food infrastructure
BURLINGTON, Wash. (January 29, 2025) – Cairnspring Mills today announced the completion of a unique capital and ownership structure behind its Blue Mountain Mill, a regenerative flour facility under construction on the lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton, Oregon. With construction funded, start-up capital in place and construction underway, the project has cleared the hardest hurdle facing mid-scale food infrastructure in the United States: moving from intention to execution.
Regenerative agriculture has demonstrated its viability at the farm level, delivering gains in soil health, resilience, and farm economics. What has not kept pace is the infrastructure required to support it at scale. Mills, processors, storage, and logistics facilities are essential for giving farmers access to higher-value domestic markets and an alternative to commodity systems. Yet these assets fall into a persistent ‘missing middle’ that is too capital-intensive for grants, too steady and asset-heavy for venture capital, and too risky for traditional bank lending.
The problem is not a lack of vision, interest, or capital. It is that the missing middle infrastructure requires meaningful scale to create impact and achieve viable unit economics, yet that scale demands a sizable amount of capital and capital structures that traditional markets do not support. To be cost-competitive, even at a mass-premium level, projects must reach sizes far beyond what small or niche businesses can typically “leapfrog” to from their humble beginnings. As a result, projects stay small and, therefore, never unlock the ultimate impact they could achieve.
The Blue Mountain Mill advanced by addressing those constraints directly and finding creative solutions. Cairnspring, along with partners, redesigned how ownership, risk, and capital function together, aligning patient debt, mission-aligned equity, tribal ownership, community participation, and public investment within a single operating framework. That alignment unlocked the financing commitments required to fuel the exponential growth of the business and build the 27,000-square-foot facility, which is scheduled for completion in late Q3 2026.
“What we’re building here is what I call the ‘remarkable middle’, infrastructure that serves real markets, keeps value in the community, supports farmers, and can actually get built when partners align around long-term outcomes,” said Kevin Morse, Co-Founder and CEO of Cairnspring Mills. “Investor and lender interest in regenerative and values-aligned infrastructure is real and growing, but siloed institutions and rigid financing norms still block progress. We’re deeply grateful to our capital partners for their commitment and flexibility in building a structure that truly serves farmers and the communities they support.
Once operational, the Blue Mountain Mill will expand Cairnspring’s milling capacity twelvefold, create more than 20 local living-wage jobs, and generate over $22 million in annual income for regenerative farmers across roughly 50,000 acres. The mill will anchor a regional supply chain connecting Pacific Northwest growers to bakers and food companies nationwide. Cairnspring is now taking orders and onboarding new customers who are drawn to its identity-preserved, terroir-driven fresh flour, fully traceable from field to mill. By sourcing grain directly from Pacific Northwest farmers using regenerative practices and stone-milling in small batches to retain the bran and germ, Cairnspring produces flour with inherent nutritional value and distinct flavor. Bakers agree. “The flour from Cairnspring Mills is the best flour we have ever used. We use it almost exclusively,” said Chad Robertson, co-founder of Tartine.
Total project funding exceeds $50 million and reflects the coordinated participation of multiple partners, each playing a defined role. Steward, a mission-driven, private commercial lender focused on financing regenerative agriculture, is providing both construction and inventory lending. Steward has also been a lead partner in connecting Cairnspring with many of the participants in the capital stack.
“This partnership represents what Steward was designed for: mobilizing mission-aligned capital to accelerate the growth of regenerative agriculture,” said Dan Miller, Founder and CEO of Steward. “Many regional projects fail because the fundamentals aren’t in place. Cairnspring is a clear industry leader with the operating discipline, demand, and partners to succeed. Blue Mountain demonstrates how aligned capital and underwriting discipline can make regional-scale infrastructure viable.”
Steward also helped facilitate a $25 million USDA-guaranteed loan through Native American Bank as the senior debt on the project.
“This project would not be happening without the early conviction and commitment of the Steward team. They rolled up their sleeves and helped us rally the partners needed to make this real. Every project like this needs an anchor funder with outsized impact, and there is no question Steward has been that for Cairnspring,” said Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Tyler Gage.
“By aligning a socially conscious private enterprise and tribal partnership with mission-driven and community capital, this project demonstrates a replicable model for building meaningful economic impact in Indian Country,” said Kylie Peterson, Community Development Officer for Native American Bank.
Indigenous ownership and governance are embedded structurally as well. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) made a $5 million equity investment in the project, securing ownership in Cairnspring’s growth and long-term economic benefits for the tribe. This marks the first time CTUIR has made an equity investment in a private company and represents a milestone in the tribe’s economic development strategy. The partnership also includes a 50-year land lease supporting long-term income generation and food sovereignty.
“Wheat is king within Umatilla County and the Columbia River Basin,” said Bill Tovey, Director of the CTUIR Department of Economic and Community Development. “We (CTUIR) operate a Farm Enterprise and farm almost 10,000 acres. Cairnspring Mills meets Tribal objectives to expand land ownership, increase farm operations and focus development on value added agriculture for our Coyote Business Park.”
The project also includes a Native-led financing coalition. Mission Driven Finance collaborated with eight Native Community Development Financial Institutions to structure a $9 million subordinated debt package.
“This structure reflects what’s possible when Native lenders and communities are involved early and meaningfully,” said Ted Piccolo, Director of Indigenous Futures at Mission Driven Finance. “Aligning capital around operations, governance, and long-term outcomes is what allows projects like this to move from planning to execution.”
Community participation is also part of the model. In 2025 Cairnspring raised nearly $2 million from over 850 investors through Wefunder, far exceeding its original target and enabling individual investors to participate alongside tribal, institutional, and public partners. When the campaign kicked off in July Cairnspring was the #1 campaign, raising a groundbreaking $1M from over 500 investors in less than a month. It also ranked #5 across all 430 active Reg CF campaigns in the country, outperforming hundreds of tech and AI startups and reinforcing the surging demand for regenerative food and resilient supply chains.
The project also drew a powerful mix of creative capital. That includes grants from the State of Oregon and the USDA, New Markets Tax Credit financing, a loan from the Schmidt Family Foundation, and equity from mission-aligned investors such as the NoVo Foundation, Terra Regenerative, and Wild Equities.
“The leadership and the very ethos that drives Cairnspring lives so completely through not only its own organization, but through the supply chains and the demand chains—both the farmers and the folks that buy the product—that is unparalleled, and is a necessity for the future resiliency of not only its local community but communities across the country,” said Peter Buffett, Co-President, NoVo Foundation.
The financing framework builds on the quality and uniqueness of Cairnspring’s product alongside industry influencers boosting awareness and sales. Cairnspring’s existing mill in Washington’s Skagit Valley demonstrated contracted demand, disciplined margins, and operational control prior to expansion, providing the operating foundation required to align underwriting standards and repayment expectations. It also has climate accountability embedded directly into ongoing operations and is the first flour mill to be Climate Label Certified.
While the completed framework supports the construction of the Blue Mountain Mill, the broader implication is systemic. The model is replicable only where disciplined operations with proven economics, contracted demand for regenerative products, and public and private capital partners aligned around long-term, place-based outcomes exist. When those conditions are met, the “remarkable middle” becomes a reality.
“This is what it looks like when you stop asking whether something should exist and start building it,” said Morse. “Our responsibility now is to make sure it works, and to prove that others can do the same.”
About Cairnspring Mills: Cairnspring Mills is helping to pioneer the craft flour movement with a mission to rebuild food systems, support farmers, and nourish communities with clean, healthy, flavorful grains and flour. Founded in Washington’s Skagit Valley in 2016, the company partners directly with Pacific Northwest growers who use regenerative practices that restore soil health and long-term farm viability. Every lot of grain is identity-preserved, stone-milled in small batches, and crafted to retain the bran and germ, resulting in flour that is fresher, naturally nutritious, and alive with flavor. By proving flour can be full of flavor and economically resilient, Cairnspring offers a new model for 21st-century food production—one that regionalizes supply chains, restores ecosystems, contributes to community resilience and shares value more equitably across farmers, bakers, and communities. For more information, visit cairnspring.com or follow along on Instagram.
Media Contact: Lani Free, Greenheart Communications Collective ([email protected])
