User:Araucana/Birkett Mills

Original building for Birkett Mills in Penn Yan, NY

Birkett Mills Birkett Mills is a business established in Penn Yan, NY, in 1797, and is one of the oldest businesses in the United States. As one of the world's largest processors of buckwheat, Birkett Mills has contributed to Penn Yan's recognition as "the buckwheat capital of the United States." Although the mill facility is located at the intersection of Main Street and Water Street in the village, the company has office headquarters at 163 Main St., a few blocks away. Consumer products available there include kasha, whole buckwheat groats, buckwheat flour, and pancake mixes.

The first Buckwheat Festival in Penn Yan was held in 1986, with the creation of a "world-record" buckwheat pancake the following year. The event attracted thousands of people to the area on Labor Day weekend, until the last festival was held in 1999. A piece of the griddle on the front of the mill building commemorates the 1987 record pancake, which contained "2,000 pounds of buckwheat pancake mix and 2,000 gallons of water." The other side of the griddle is displayed at the Yates County Fairgrounds. The 28-foot pancake created here in 1987 set a record that held until 1994, when a community in England made a larger one.

About 60,000 acres are planted across the country to produce buckwheat, most of which is exported. Birkett Mills is the second largest producer in the U.S., and markets its products directly to consumers under the Pocono brand. The company contracts with buckwheat growers, who use seed provided by the company.

https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/grains-oilseeds/buckwheat 60,000-70,000 total acres in US; Minn-Dak is largest, Birkett second in US; much exported. Birkett sells in stores under Pocono brand name.

Birkett Mills is a contributing structure to the Penn Yan Historic District, which was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

External links

• Birkett Mills Company website.