| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Angelyn DeYoung |
| March 11, 2007 | (406) 444-2402 |
All-Montana Breakfast for People Who Work Hard, Play Hard
HELENA, Mont. — Farm and ranch families in Montana are famous for big breakfasts, often consumed after a couple of hours of work that starts before daybreak.
Whether your tastes run to steak and eggs with bacon, whole wheat toast, jam and coffee, or a more basic hot cereal with honey and tea -- or all of the above -- choices for a Montana Agriculture Breakfast are diverse and can be easily found, says Ron de Yong, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture.
Bacon and sausage might come from Daily's Meats or Redneck Brand Smoked Meats. Both companies' products are available in local markets and some larger grocery stores. Hot cereal is offered by Harlowton-based Cream of the West and by Western Trails Food of Glendive, both with convenient websites.
Montana-grown steaks are a little harder to find in some communities. Ranchers who market their own beef, and small companies that feature Montana-branded beef, sometimes find it difficult to compete for refrigerator space in grocery stores. As a result, they market their products on-line, through word of mouth, and at local and natural foods markets, de Yong says.
Montana-branded beef suppliers include Montana Ranch Brand of Billings, Big Sage Beef of Winifred, Hofeldt Premium Meats of Chinook, Indreland Ranch Angus of Big Timber and La Cense Beef of Dillon. Internet addresses can be found on the department's website, www.agr.mt.gov.
The department website also contains links to information about Montana producers of eggs, seasoning, honey, toast, jam and a host of other products. Cards featuring Montana Agriculture Breakfast sources are available from the department, and will be handed out at the Agriculture in Montana Schools' Bumper Sticker Awards Ceremony at noon March 20 at Jorgenson's restaurant in Helena.
Products of 171 Montana suppliers of food, household items and pet foods can be found on the department website, www.agr.mt.gov, by clicking on "publications" under the Business and Marketing heading. A list of certified organic food products can be found at the organic program page.
An increasing number of consumers are asking about the source of their food out of concerns about freshness, quality and the risk of contaminants, de Yong says. One way to obtain high quality food items and help Montana's agriculture industry is to look for Montana-grown products in grocery stores and on restaurant menus.
The department is working with other state agencies, Montana universities,
the Montana Food Bank Network, and groups such as the National Center for
Appropriate Technology and the Alternative Energy Resources Organization,
better known as AERO, to expand local food options and add value to commodities
grown in Montana.
Locally grown food also is available, seasonally, at more than 30 local
farmers markets in Montana communities both large and small, says Angelyn
DeYoung, marketing officer at the Montana Department of Agriculture.
Sales of agriculture commodities add more than $2.4 billion in cash receipts
to the Montana economy each year. "Adding value through processing,
niche marketing and other techniques will strengthen our rural economy,
add jobs and keep more of the dollars in Montana," de Yong notes.
Support your local farmer and help us celebrate National Ag Week, March
16-22, and enjoy a Montana breakfast.
