ODA awards grant for Blue Mountain Flour Mill
By Terry Murry on Friday, October 3rd, 2025 in Columbia Basin Top Stories More Top Stories
SALEM – The Oregon Department of Agriculture is awarding $755,077 to Northwest
Mills and Specialty Grains, doing business as Cairnspring Mills, for a grain milling
infrastructure project at Coyote Business Park South, a development owned and
operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).
ODA states that the award is made possible in part through the Resilient Food Systems
Infrastructure Program (RFSI) Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The program aims to build resilience across
the middle of the supply chain and strengthen local and regional food systems. The
middle of the supply chain refers to processing, aggregation, storage, wholesaling, or
distribution of food products.
Coyote Business Park is a 170-acre project that provides shovel-ready commercial and
industrial sites. Its economic and community development team is committed to helping
businesses thrive in partnership with CTUIR, according to a news release from ODA. Its
business development team assists with the planning and permitting process, partners
with developers or contractors, takes a role in workforce recruitment and development,
local marketing, and other activities to aid in business growth.
The funding will help develop a regenerative flour mill that produces fresh-milled
products from regionally grown grains. The grain storage and milling facility will have
two grain silos and a truck scale.
“The CTUIR celebrates the ODA funding that will benefit the Tribe’s Farm Enterprise
and local farmers,” CTUIR Economic and Community Development Director Bill Tovey
said. “The grant to Northwest Mills and Specialty Grains will provide value-added
returns for the region.”
ODA Director Lisa Charpilloz said it’s money well spent.
“This is a win-win situation for both agriculture and the Umatilla Tribes,” she said. “the
grant will enable Northwest Mills and Specialty Grains to support local farmers, create
markets for our unique grains, and reduce the distance between farmers and
customers. At the same time, the Umatilla Tribe will benefit by seeing their Coyote
Business Park flourish with successful businesses.”
CTUIR Photo: Economic and Community Development Director Bill Tovey
