Hi there!

First, I want to warn you of Detriot's city ordinance against growing rye, wheat, and oats as a way to prevent rats (see page 7: https://detroitmi.gov/Portals/0/docs/cpc/pdf/Urban%20Ag%20Ordinance%20Abridged_Apr2013.pdf?ver=2013-04-19-164058-087). These plants can be grown as a cover but not grown to maturity and harvested. I would consult with other growers in your area and the city to consider the rules and restrictions around these crops.

There are a few folks doing hand-harvested and hand produced grains and Michigan so I'll point you in their direction. Michigan Organic food and farm alliance (https://moffa.net/), Ohio Ecological Food and Farm association (https://grow.oeffa.org/), and the Maine Organic farmers and gardners (https://www.mofga.org/resources/grain/low-tech-grain-production/) would be great groups to connect with since they have members who homestead or may be familiar with small scale grain production and processing.

Eleanor and Scott Hucker with Great Lakes Staple Seeds (they're just north of Detriot!) would be a good connection to start (https://greatlakesstapleseeds.com/).

They recently completed a farmer research project (Description of project and their farm: https://projects.sare.org/sare_project/fnc23-1378/ OR https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2600/9462/files/2024-02-20_Marbleseed_Hucker_SARE_Presentation_Feb2024.pdf?v=<personal data hidden>) and presentation about their operation that I would encourage you to check out: 

I hope this helps!