The Nordic Heritage Cereal Conference was initiated in 2009 by Hans Larsson, a Swedish organic cereal breeder who had established a collection of promising heritage cereals, together with Allkorn, the association of farmers and users that was created around that collection and participatory breeding. At the time, the Conference was held as a closed seminar for stakeholders from Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden).

Since then, the Conference took place on an annual basis, jointly with other events, and has involved other countries. Landraces and varieties from the collection were disseminated throughout the Nordic countries, and in parallel actors in each country also began searching for heritage cereals on farms and in gene banks.

The Conference is a central place for the exchange of knowledge and experience among actors of the heritage cereals in the Nordic countries, from growing the cereals to milling and baking them, including technical aspects as well as economics. This is achieved through plenary conference sessions, workshops in subgroups, farm visits and visits to demonstration fields.

The organisation of the annual Conference rotates among associations and initiatives involved in the breeding, growing, milling, baking or other processings (e.g. production of porride, crackers, pasta) of Nordic heritage cereals. It is thus an annual get-together. In addition to the Conference, bilateral interactions for seed exchange, commercial relations or information sharing or projects that may involve several participants also takes places during the year.

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