Cairnspring Mills, CTUIR open stone mill to expand craft flour production
By Dan Thesman on Thursday, October 15th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON — Cairnspring Mills celebrated the opening of Blue Mountain Mill on Thursday, marking a major expansion aimed at supplying regional grain and craft flour to bakers nationwide.
The new 27,000-square-foot facility, located at Coyote Business Park, was developed in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). CTUIR leased the land under a 50-year agreement and invested $5 million, representing its first equity stake in a private business.
Set to begin commercial operations in November, the mill will expand Cairnspring’s annual capacity from 8 million pounds to more than 115 million pounds.
“On a daily basis, it’s 3,100 hundredweights, or 300,000 pounds a day,” said Kevin Morse, co-founder and CEO of Cairnspring Mills. “That 115 million pounds a year will take us 24/7 – that’s still what one big mill can make in about two and a half weeks. So, we’re still a craft mill”.
At full operational capacity, the mill will source wheat from roughly 60,000 acres, generating over $22 million annually for regional farmers and creating more than 22 local living-wage jobs.
Interior shot of the new Blue Mountain Mill (MyCB photo by Dan Thesman)
The facility will focus on high-volume hard red wheat, allowing Cairnspring’s original mill in Burlington, Washington, to specialize in niche flour varieties and innovation. Morse noted the company is already working with 12 farmers in Umatilla County and 45 across the region, while also working alongside CTUIR’s farm, which manages approximately 5,000 acres of wheat annually.
Top photo: Blue Mountain Mill (Photo by Andrew M. Snyder, Cairnspring Mills)
