For most entrepreneurs, reverse goal-setting is second nature: start with a bold, long-term vision and map the path backwards, one milestone at a time. For Roy Pfaltzgraff and Emily Kamala, their vision is nothing short of epic: “We’re just trying to change the food industry as a whole.”
Their efforts to transform the lives of farmers through regenerative agriculture—and in effect, the health of rural communities—is ambitious to say the least. Their “Venn diagram” of businesses—Pfaltzgraff (PFZ) Farms, Haxtun Heritage Mills, and Seeding Circles—is essentially a pilot program for a new model of agricultural business.
Taking a New Approach: Regenerative Agriculture
In 2017, Roy was asked to take over operations of the family farm in Haxtun, a community in Northeast Colorado. His parents and grandparents before him had run the business for more than 50 years. Roy agreed to return on one condition: they try things a different way.
“My father had been farming at that point for about 40 years,” Roy said. “And he was really not any better off than when he started.”
Roy, who had been working as a bookkeeper and also held a degree in culinary arts, wanted a profitable career track and healthy lifestyle.
“My father was burnt out,” he said. “That is not what I want to have as a career.”
Shortly after returning home, he attended a no-till farming conference in Burlington, CO. His father had dabbled in regenerative practices for years, but never with a deliberate plan. The conference exposed Roy to the right ideas at the right time. He was able to imagine a different future as a farmer.
Regenerative agriculture combines a number of sustainable agricultural practices, the specifics of which can vary location to location depending on the conditions. It frequently focuses on topsoil health, water quality, and biodiversity. Roy and Emily take the definition a step further and consider how it can impact the health of the farmer, his family, and the local community.
They initially began by rotating crops, notably with field peas and sunflowers. Soil health testing revealed that crop rotation was not only pulling nutrients into the soil, but also reducing the need for fertilizer and pesticide usage. No-till was also improving the health of root systems and water infiltration—meaning their fields were less susceptible to flooding. And on top of all that, PFZ Farms is now working with researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) to measure their farm’s carbon sequestration capacity.
Keeping It Local: Haxtun Heritage Mills
As PFZ Farms began converting to more regenerative practices, Roy started experimenting with gluten-free recipes. His partner at the time was gluten-sensitive and he found himself cooking two meals at once—one for him and another for her.
“I would try it, and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to eat that,’” he said of his then-partner’s gluten-free options.
Using a small flour mill and grains from PFZ Farms, he began developing his own gluten-free recipes. In addition to wheat—which they no longer cultivate—Roy had seven other crops growing at the time, some of which were gluten-free. There was naturally some trial and error.
“I had some experiments that were truly vile,” he joked.
He made tarts, biscuits, pancakes, and eventually: brownies.
“Our brownie mix is excellent.”
From there, he began developing other mixes: scones, cookies, and cornbread. All Haxtun Heritage Mills grains are gluten-free and sourced from PFZ Farms—which now cultivates all gluten-free grains. This ensures a level of supply chain transparency well above USDA standards. Each bag contains a QR code that redirects consumers to a resource page, revealing the grains’ field name, harvest date, and milling date.
In 2024, Roy and Emily—his business partner and fiancée—competed in the Northeast Colorado Entrepreneur Pitch Competition, hosted by the Logan County EDC in Sterling. (The NECO Pitch Competition is now co-organized with Startup Colorado. Read about that here.) They went on to secure second place.
“The pitch competition really lit a fire under us to get things moving,” Emily said. “We still feel pretty behind the curve on things and figuring out what’s required to get into local markets, but the competition connected us with additional organizations and people who have been a tremendous support and guidance along the way.”
While Roy and Emily are currently working to establish wholesale distribution, their mixes are readily available online.
Leading by Example through Seeding Circles
By now, Roy and Emily’s work has attracted the attention of numerous researchers at CSU, as well as Downforce Technologies, a land management software company in the U.K.
“There’s actually a researcher at CSU that says we do more research on our farm than CSU research farms,” Roy said.
That realization has led to the planned adoption of a new business model: converting PFZ Farms into a research farm, enabling them to tap into alternate funding sources. Their goal is to essentially take the “crazy” first steps that are too risky for most farmers—and then share those learnings.
“The research we do here is not an end point; it’s a launching point for others to innovate beyond,” Emily said.
This corresponds with Roy and Emily’s third business, Seeding Circles, which provides educational resources based upon their learnings in regenerative agriculture.
Through Seeding Circles, Roy and Emily offer an 8-week educational program, community membership, and a producer marketplace to help farmers connect and share experiences. Their goal is to bring their methodology and context-based thought process to farmers across the nation in hope that they can apply it to their unique region and business needs.
“This is another way to keep the family on the farm—to keep rural communities alive.”
“This is another way to keep the family on the farm—to keep rural communities alive,” Emily added.
To do so, Roy and Emily will need to navigate a major systemic challenge. If they succeed, it could help other farmers follow in their footsteps.
Their unique business model has made it difficult to access insurance coverage. Roy said that because most insurers prefer to cover crops that are grown at scale—such as wheat and corn—it’s been difficult to find coverage for more niche grains like buckwheat.
“Half of the crops that we’re raising are not insurable,” he said.
This disconnect between their work to improve agricultural practices—and in effect farmers’ livelihoods—and the dominant market has created yet another incentive to relaunch PFZ Farms as a destination for agricultural research. If more farmers can move beyond business models that fail to serve them, there will eventually be a demand for adequate coverage by banks and insurers.
Until then, Roy and Emily will continue scaling their impact regionally from Northeast Colorado.
“Yes, we want to talk about regenerative agriculture and how powerful that is for our nutrition and for our general well-being,” Emily said. “The other part of it is to help farmers and ranchers understand that they can be healthy too; and it’s not just healthy physically, but mentally, emotionally, and have deeper connections with their family.”
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