What’s the difference between steel-cut, rolled, quick oats, groats, and oat flour—and how do you choose the right one?

In Episode 10 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Oat, Dale Tenhulzen brings the entire seed-to-shelf journey to its conclusion by focusing on the final product itself. The episode explains how every oat begins as a whole groat and how simple mechanical processes—cutting, rolling, steaming, or grinding—create the different oat forms found in kitchens and food manufacturing.

Listeners learn how each type of oat is made, what textures and cooking times to expect, and which applications each one is best suited for—from hearty steel-cut porridge to rolled oats for baking, quick oats for convenience, and oat flour for gluten-free recipes.

The episode also explores nutrition, including fiber and beta-glucan, and explains how processing affects glycemic response without changing the fundamental value of the whole grain. By connecting product form to function, Trust the Oat shows why a diverse oat lineup serves both home kitchens and commercial food production.

This final episode completes the journey from seed to shelf—ending with the food people bring to the table every day.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at: 👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/

What does it really mean to pledge that food is glyphosate-free—and how is that promise enforced in practice?

In Episode 9 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Pledge, Dale Tenhulzen explains the operational meaning behind a glyphosate-free commitment. The episode explores why glyphosate is commonly found in conventional oats, how pre-harvest desiccation contributes to residue, and why eliminating this practice requires a fundamentally different farming approach.

Listeners learn what a glyphosate-free pledge demands in real terms: no use of glyphosate as a drying agent, closed-loop sourcing with trusted growers, and strict rejection standards at receiving. The episode also walks through pesticide testing using highly sensitive laboratory methods, explaining why every inbound truckload is tested before it enters the mill.

A key focus is understanding laboratory language—especially what “non-detect” actually means. Rather than implying zero risk, the episode clarifies detection limits, testing sensitivity, and how results should be interpreted responsibly.

Trust the Pledge shows how a meaningful commitment is built into operations, verified through testing, and reinforced through systems designed to prevent contamination before it ever occurs.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at: 👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/

What do food certifications really mean—and how do you know which ones go beyond marketing?

In Episode 8 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Badge, Dale Tenhulzen demystifies the certifications commonly found on food packaging, explaining what they actually represent and how they connect to real-world practices.

The episode begins with USDA Organic, breaking down what the standard requires, what it prevents, and why it serves as an important—but incomplete—baseline. From there, the focus shifts to Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC), a higher standard designed to build on organic by actively improving soil health, supporting animal welfare, and ensuring fairness for farmers and workers.

Listeners learn how ROC’s three-pillar structure works, how its Bronze, Silver, and Gold tiers encourage continuous improvement, and why certification must extend beyond the farm to include processing, manufacturing, and supply chain verification.

Trust the Badge explains how certifications function as systems of accountability—not just symbols—and how they reinforce a broader commitment to sustainability, transparency, and trust from seed to shelf.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at: 👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/

How is “verified gluten-free” actually proven—and why can a single test result be misleading?

In Episode 7 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Batch, Dale Tenhulzen breaks down what batch-level verification really means in gluten-free oats. The episode explains how modern gluten testing works, why the industry relies on ELISA methods, and how standards such as 20 parts per million became the legal definition for gluten-free labeling—while leading certification programs often require stricter limits.

A key focus is the challenge of kernel-based contamination in oats, where gluten is not evenly distributed. Because contamination can occur in “hot spots,” averages can look safe while individual servings may not. The episode explores why sampling strategy matters as much as the test itself, and why multiple subsamples and serving-level thinking provide a clearer picture of real-world risk.

Listeners also learn why verification must be layered: internal testing at multiple checkpoints, external confirmation through accredited third-party labs, and ongoing certification oversight that includes audits and independent surveillance testing.

Trust the Batch explains how confidence is built batch by batch—not through assumptions, but through evidence.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at: 👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/

What happens when gluten-free oats leave the farm and enter the most controlled environment in the entire Purity Protocol?

In Episode 6 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Mill, the focus moves inside a dedicated gluten-free milling facility. Led by Dale Tenhulzen, the episode explains why true gluten-free integrity cannot be maintained in shared mills—and how facility design, airflow, equipment, and process controls eliminate risk rather than manage it.

The episode explores what “dedicated” really means, from single-purpose equipment and one-way product flow to air filtration systems designed to prevent airborne cross-contamination. Listeners follow the oats as they are cleaned, dehulled, stabilized through kilning, and transformed into groats, rolled oats, steel-cut oats, and oat flour—all within a closed-loop environment.

The final section examines packaging and warehousing, including lot-level traceability, batch testing, and controlled storage. Together, these systems create multiple verification points that protect purity through the final stages of production.

Trust the Mill shows how trust is built into the facility itself—by design, discipline, and redundancy.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at: 👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/

What happens when gluten-free oats leave the farm—and how is purity protected while they’re in motion?

In Episode 5 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Truckload, the focus shifts to quality assurance beyond the field. Guided by Dale Tenhulzen, the episode explores how inbound testing, documentation, and logistics decisions determine whether a truckload of oats is accepted or rejected before it ever enters a gluten-free mill.

The episode explains how representative sampling is performed using grain probes, why composite samples matter, and how rapid gluten testing verifies compliance before unloading begins. It also outlines why stricter internal standards—well below the regulatory definition of gluten-free—are applied at the receiving point, and why a failed test means an entire load is turned away.

Beyond gluten, listeners learn how moisture, mycotoxins, test weight, and visual inspections contribute to a full quality profile for each truckload. The episode also examines the hidden risks of shared grain elevators, transport scheduling, and equipment reuse—and why a closed-loop logistics system is essential to maintaining purity.

Trust the Truckload reveals how trust is verified mile by mile, long before oats reach the mill.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at: 👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/

Trust the Harvest | Trust Your Oats

Why does harvest represent the greatest risk in producing truly gluten-free oats?

In Episode 4 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Harvest, host Dale Tenhulzen examines the most critical—and most vulnerable—stage of the gluten-free oat journey. After a season of careful planning, clean seed, field isolation, and in-season inspections, harvest is the moment when all that work can either hold or fail.

The episode explores why shared harvesting equipment presents such a significant contamination risk, how modern combines can retain hidden gluten-containing kernels, and why conventional cleaning practices are insufficient for gluten-free standards. It explains the extensive cleaning, documentation, and flush-run procedures required under a true Purity Protocol, as well as why dedicated equipment remains the gold standard.

Listeners also follow the crop beyond the combine, learning how transport, storage, and handling introduce additional risk. The episode breaks down the importance of clean transport affidavits, pre-unloading testing, dedicated bins, and closed-loop logistics systems designed to prevent commingling.

Trust the Harvest shows why gluten-free integrity cannot be protected by intention alone. At harvest, trust is verified through discipline, documentation, and systems built to withstand pressure.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at:

👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/

What happens after a pure seed is planted in a clean field—and how is purity protected throughout the growing season?

In Episode 3 of Trust Your Oats, Trust the Field, host Dale Tenhulzen steps into the growing season to explore what “Purity Protocol growing” looks like in real life. The episode focuses on the active, hands-on work required to protect gluten-free oats once they’re in the ground.

Listeners learn why physical isolation from neighboring wheat, barley, and rye fields is essential, and how buffer zones act as sacrificial barriers to protect the core of a gluten-free crop. The episode explains how wind, dust, water, and nearby activity can introduce risk—and why boundaries matter.

The conversation then moves to in-season inspections and roguing: the manual process of walking fields, identifying volunteer gluten-containing plants, and removing them by hand. These repeated inspections form a critical line of defense, ensuring that purity is maintained long before harvest begins.

Trust the Field shows how trust is built through vigilance, patience, and overlapping protections—out in the open, where quality cannot be tested in later, but must be protected in real time.

Learn more about Trust Your Oats at: 👉 https://daletenhulzen.com/

👉 https://daletenhulzen.site/