Inspiring Conversations with Jay Brandt of Brandt Family Farm, Walnut Creek Seeds

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Brandt.

Hi Jay, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My father, David Brandt, had built a reputation as a promoter and resource for soil conservation. He had begun selling cover crops to support other farmer’s interest in the Soil Health movement, and that provided an opportunity for me and my family to relocate back to the farm and take over the seed business and assist in the operation of the farm. As part of the seed business we began to grow and condition our own seed, as well as clean seed for other local farmers. Through this association we became interested in production of human food, not just animal feed or ethanol feed stock. From that interest we have partnered with several local farmers and a local flour milling company, Local Millers, to supply both home bakers and small to mid scale bakeries in the Ohio Valley region.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The growth and development of both the seed and flour business have been quite a learning experience. There is a degree of product care and machine learning that have taken some time and much financial resources to get to where we are today. From how to properly store grain for food quality to selection of proper equipment for cleaning grain or milling and sifting flour, there has been and is still much to learn. We are thankful to the help we have received from many in our community that have provided guidance and support along the way.

As you know, we’re big fans of Brandt Family Farm, Walnut Creek Seeds. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Brandt Family Farm is located in Fairfield County, Ohio. We are in the outskirts of Columbus and are first and foremost a grain farm. Our crops include Corn, Soybeans and Wheat, and include many other cereal grains sold through the on farm cover crop seed business, Walnut Creek Seeds, LLC.

The Brandt Farm has used soil conservation practices for over 50 years. These practices include No-Till, Crop Rotation, and cover crops between cash crops. We continue to challenge ourselves to improve land stewardship practices. One of these challenges is to grow Heritage Grains and provide locally milled flour to our community. We are pleased to partner with other farms in this venture to build soil health, farm resiliency and food security in our neighborhood and through out the region.

At Walnuut Creek Seeds, our mission is to promote soil health and improved land management practices through the use of cover crops.

While a large body of work exists focusing on cover crops in conjunction with commodity grain crops; these practices and principles can be used by everyone concerned with healthy soils, whether a rancher, crop farmer, or backyard gardener. We have 35+ years of work in no-till and cover crop conservation farming and our desire to see these practices flourish. We serve ranchers, farmers, larger-scale vegetable growers and backyard gardeners with both single species seed and diverse mixes. Most of our products are organic-grower friendly.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We have been fortunate to have support from local, state and national NRCS staff along with other peer networks in the regenerative agriculture space to share and build our knowledge and practice.
Additionally, there is local support in the form of our “Grain Hub” partner farms who share a similar mindset for resource management and participate in the local food space to build and support the local economy.
We are pleased to collaborate with local High Schools, Vocational Education Centers and The Ohio State University among others to educate and inspire the next generation of Agriculture professionals.

Contact Info:

• Website: regengrain.com, walnutcreekseeds.com
• Instagram: wlntcrkj
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/18ZERMke2c/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Twitter: @WlntCrkJ
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@brandtfarm1229?si=HjJ3bBLb7mSnj3r4