ROCHELLE — Kennay Farms Distilling in Rochelle has collaborated with The DeLong Company and its Grown Climate Smart program to showcase the use of sustainable grain in its spirits.
The distillery that now resides in the renovated former space of the Hub Theater has been using certified sustainable grains since its inception, and the Kennay family farm has been certified sustainable for the past eight years. The collaboration with the Grown Climate Smart program will see a logo placed on Kennay Farms Distilling bottles to differentiate them on the market and give consumers a chance to champion sustainable products.
The DeLong Co. is a sixth-generation, family-owned agribusiness with headquarters in Clinton, Wisconsin and many grain facilities in Illinois. Grown Climate Smart is a $40 million program funded by the USDA’s $3.1 billion Climate-Smart Commodities grant that was awarded to The DeLong Co.
The Grown Climate Smart program works with farmers on promoting and incentivizing sustainable farming practices such as cover crops, reduced or no-till, nutrient management plans and windbreaks. Throughout 2023 it enrolled over 160 growers throughout 11 states and sent out over $6.5 million worth of incentives directly to farmers doing sustainable practices.
The second part of The DeLong Co.’s grant work will involve building and developing a market that commands a premium for products made with sustainably-grown and produced grain, such as the spirits sold by Kennay Farms Distilling, The DeLong Co. Brand and Marketing Manager Dylan Vaca said.
“Part of that is the consumers need to know what they're buying and purchasing,” Vaca said. “That's how this partnership and collaboration came to be. We realized that we had to work with a distillery like this that has consumer-facing products that utilize sustainable grains and ingredients. We're really excited about working with companies that have products out there for consumers to purchase, to get them to think about their moral compass of what they want to buy. Sustainably-marked products are a huge market right now.”
Vaca said The DeLong Co. has done similar partnerships with other distilleries in the past that have seen “great success and feedback.” He said that 17.3 percent of products on the market are currently marked as sustainable or something similar to it, but those products make up one third of all product growth.
“We think that's really interesting,” Vaca said. “It's becoming more and more common. We realize that we can't be the only one. There need to be a lot of players that come together and find a sustainable market. It's getting there.”
Kennay Farms Distilling Owner Rick Kennay said that he wanted his farm to go through the sustainability certification process eight years ago to keep soil in place and improve it through reduced tillage.
“From a farmer's standpoint, you have to keep the soil in place,” Kennay said. “If you lose your soil, you lose your productivity. That was my number-one goal, keeping the soil in place. The number-two goal is to improve the soil that's there. God put it there. It's my job to be a steward for a short period of time of 50 years or so. I want to improve what's there. I think we can do that and still be a productive farmer. It's kind of a dual role. You want to be a productive farmer and keep that soil in place. I think we can do both. That's what we're attempting to do. Improve what we do and keep what's already there.”
Due to the fact that it was already using sustainable grain, the collaboration and recognition won’t require any changes in the ways Kennay Farms Distilling produces its products.
“That's the nice part about it,” Vaca said. “A lot of times we might talk to another company or business and there's difficulties about changing their supply chains and ingredients and sourcing sustainable grains. The nice thing about this partnership is there's ultimately nothing they need to change. They've already gone through that journey of becoming sustainable. We're really excited about it and creating a differentiator in the market that shows a difference and why this product is better."
