Key to financing a regenerative food system is getting more capital into the “missing middle”: the processing and distribution infrastructure needed to take regeneratively grown goods from field to consumer.
This is a major challenge right now, as mills and storage facilities don’t fit neatly into any one funding category. They’re too asset-heavy for venture, too capital intense for grants, and too risky for traditional bank loans.
Knowing all of this, regenerative flour producer Cairnspring Mills bypassed these traditional options when it came to financing its forthcoming Blue Mountain Mill, instead weaving patient debt, mission-aligned equity, tribal ownership, community participation, and public investment into a single framework.
“I don’t think it’s a question anymore whether the regenerative systems or regionally scaled businesses like ours are desirable.,” Kevin Morse, CEO of Cairnspring Mills, tells AgFunderNews. “What’s been missing is this middle infrastructure to access higher-value markets and work at a smaller scale.”
He says this financing framework is brand new for everyone involved in the Blue Mountain Mill deal, though he’s hopeful the model can be replicated elsewhere.
Oftentimes, regenerative-focused projects that start on a small level struggle to reach the next level of capitalization in order to scale, he adds.
“The mission and impact driven investors are willing to take a higher risk and don’t have the same constraints or underwriting requirements that the banks do. This group came together specifically thinking, ‘If we all get together on this and we show it can work and create a new roadmap, think about what that might open up for all the other people.’”
The financing commitments will help build the 27,000-square-foot Blue Mountain Mill, which is slated for completion later in 2026. Once operational, the facility will continue Cairnspring’s existing methods of sourcing grain directly from Pacific-Northwest regenerative farmers and stone milling it in small batches. The facility is expected to increase the company’s milling capacity twelvefold.
The capital structure at a glance
Morse likens the capital structure for Blue Mountain Mill to an old-fashioned barn raise.
“The foundation of that barn has been the community of people working with us as we started to develop the plans for the new mill and identify financing for it. I don’t know of any other deal—whether it’s for a regenerative business like ours or a traditional business—that’s woven together this type of capital before.”
🌾 Steward, a commercial lender focused specifically on regenerative agriculture, provided a $10 million subordinate financing commitment for construction and inventory. This is being raised in stages and disbursed over the full construction period of 9-12 months.
🌾 The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) made a $5 million equity investment in the project. This marks the first time it has ever made an equity investment into a private company.
🌾 Native-led financing coalition Mission Driven Finance collaborated with eight Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to structure a $9 million subordinated debt package.
🌾 The structure also includes community participation, specifically via Wefunder, where Cainspring Mills raised almost $2 million from more than 850 investors.
🌾Additional grants came from the USDA, the State of Oregon, New Markets Tax Credit financing, and the Schmidt Family Foundation. Equity came from the NoVo Foundation, Terra Regenerative, and Wild Equities.
Aligned capital meets underwriting discipline
Dan Miller, founder and CEO of Steward, says the Cairnspring deal is important because it highlights the creative financing options available for regenerative businesses. Even more vital is that it enables the milling operation to scale, improving unite economics to the point where the end product (the flour) can be accessed broadly.
Steward sources projects, underwrites the loans, and sells those loan participations through its own platform. It is designed to provide alternative forms of financing specifically to regenerative producers and projects.
“The second you’re a producer going outside the [conventional agriculture] system, you’re literally cut off. We’ve had farmers who, when they stop buying chemicals, the bank stops financing them,” Miller tells AgFunderNews. “There’s no risk in the financial system generally.”
Steward’s model is built on allowing funding for projects that provide opportunity but are based on growth, like expanding a market or creating a new market.
“Many regional projects fail because the fundamentals aren’t in place,” notes Miller. “Blue Mountain demonstrates how aligned capital and underwriting discipline can make regional-scale infrastructure viable.”
Native-led financing for long-term outcomes
An important piece of the framework is indigenous ownership and governance, given the Blue Mountain Mill is located on CTUIR lands.
As Morse told AgFunderNews last year, locating the Blue Mountain Mill on CTUIR lands, at the Coyote Business Park, made sense because of the shared values between the two parties.
“[CTUIR] own and farm 15,000 acres that they want to convert to regenerative practices. They have bold policy priorities for food sovereignty and food resilience,” he said.
The partnership includes a 50-year land lease from CTUIR, which will in turn bring long-term economic benefits back to the tribe, its lands and its farmers.
“Native CDFIs, by their nature, are located in their community, and we all understand our communities have some tie to the dirt,” explains Ted Piccolo, senior director of Indigenous Futures at Mission Driven Finance.
On Umatilla land, wheat is king, he adds. “That’s a major source of revenue for the Umatilla tribe and the Umatilla people. If they can find a way to grow and harvest and utilize wheat on their reservation in a much better way, it fits with kind of the sovereignty thinking of the tribe.
“This structure reflects what’s possible when Native lenders and communities are involved early and meaningfully. Aligning capital around operations, governance, and long-term outcomes is what allows projects like this to move from planning to execution.”