[gail]

store crushing -- bad idea?

Not necessarily.  It might be just that you have to adjust your grain bill to compensate for a different grind at the shop.  Or perhaps you return to your old methods; whatever works best and/or is easiest for you.
Gail

[Hokerer]

I am fairly certain that pesticides
have a negative effect on my head retention.

store crushed at Seven Bridges Organic Co-op.  Part of my simpler approach...could be something there.

You are onto something here.

+1  99% of the time crush is the driver of efficiency issues.  No telling how their crush is different now than it was when you were brewing way back when (or whoever crushed for you at the time).

[yugamrap]

store crushing -- bad idea?

Not necessarily.  It might be just that you have to adjust your grain bill to compensate for a different grind at the shop.  Or perhaps you return to your old methods; whatever works best and/or is easiest for you.
Gail

If you'd rather not adjust your recipes or buy more grain, you could try to address the crush issue directly.  I saw about a 10% increase in my brewhouse efficiency when I bought my own mill and started crushing my own grain instead of using pre-crushed grain.  My mill (Barley Crusher) gap is set to at 0.030.  So, the next time you're at the store, ask if their mill is adjustable, and if they'd let you adjust it.  It may be that their mill setting is not as tight as it could be.  See what their setting is and maybe tighten it up by 0.005" or so (or at least down to 0.035").  An inexpensive feeler gauge from the auto parts store and the appropriate screwdriver are all the tools you should need.  When you're done, you can return the mill to its original gap setting so others are not affected by the change.  If the store's mill isn't adjustable, or if they won't let you adjust it, another option is to try running your grain through the mill twice to get a somewhat finer crush.

[a10t2]

If you'd rather not adjust your recipes or buy more grain, you could try to address the crush issue directly.  I saw about a 10% increase in my brewhouse efficiency when I bought my own mill and started crushing my own grain instead of using pre-crushed grain.  My mill (Barley Crusher) gap is set to at 0.030.

This is my experience exactly. Brewed the same recipe with the Barley Crusher at 39 mil, then 30 mil, and went from 79% to 87%.