Cairnspring Mills Founder Says Best Site Was the Last He Looked

Kevin Morse, CEO and co-founder of Cairnspring Mills, is working to prove that a food business can be profitable while adding value instead of extracting it. The company builds modern mills in farming communities, buying identity-preserved grain directly from growers and stone-milling it into flour that Morse compares to wine for its variety and flavor.

After more than a decade operating in Washington’s Skagit Valley, Cairnspring is opening Blue Mountain Mill in Pendleton, Oregon, in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Morse says the second mill will test whether the company’s model can work at a larger scale and in a new region.

A Site He Almost Skipped

Morse initially wanted land he could buy outright and reviewed roughly 20 sites without finding the right fit. The Umatilla reservation’s Coyote Business Park was the last place he visited. Its infrastructure and access suited the project, but shared values around stewardship, agriculture and community development sealed the deal. His takeaway for entrepreneurs: being too fixed on what the answer should look like can hide a better one.

A Different Kind of Corporation

Cairnspring is a social-purpose corporation, which lets it weigh outcomes beyond profit. That means donating flour to food banks, offering price breaks to new bakeries and paying farmers more for soil-friendly practices. Morse stresses the company must still earn returns for investors, and notes that balancing several goals can make decisions harder, not easier.

For founders drawn to slow, capital-heavy ventures, his advice is blunt: expect higher costs and longer timelines, and bring grit. Morse says real success would mean other entrepreneurs and communities building on what Cairnspring has learned.