Helena, Mont. – The Montana Alfalfa Seed Committee is seeking proposals for demonstration projects, applied research, and market development projects designed to address needs and opportunities for Montana’s alfalfa seed industry. Proposals are due February 1, 2019.

The committee will review proposals at the first regular meeting of the year. It will review all applications and make recommendations to the department for funding.  Generally, to qualify for consideration, proposals must have practical, near-term application involving practices or organizational arrangements that will stimulate an expanded alfalfa seed industry.

Visit this link for a complete list of guidelines and eligibility requirements. Questions on applications should be directed to the Montana Alfalfa Seed Committee, PO Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201 or by contacting Dani Jones at (406) 444-2402 or via email at Danielle.Jones@mt.gov.

The Montana Department of Agriculture’s mission is to protect producers and consumers, and to enhance and develop agriculture and allied industries.  

Helena, Mont. – The Montana Pulse Crop Committee (MPCC) is seeking proposals for the Montana Pulse Research & Market Development Program. The MPCC invites proposals to fund research projects, market development projects and educational projects designed to address Montana’s pulse industry.

Research proposals are to be submitted through the US Dry Pea and Lentil Council (USADPLC) and are due December 8^th. The Research review process will be held February 12-14, 2019 in Fargo, ND. USADPLC will finalize its budget by June 30, 2019 and award notices will be sent out in July 2019. For more information on research proposals, see the USADPLC Request for Proposals at: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/2002/2018/10/20181004_RequestForProposals.pdf

Proposals submitted for market development or education projects must be received by the MPCC on or before March 1, 2019 at 5:00 pm. Proposals must be submitted through the Webgrants system at fundingmt.org. Instructions on using Webgrants can be found at: https://agr.mt.gov/Commodities/Checkoff/Pulse

Visit https://agr.mt.gov/Portals/168/Documents/Pulse/2019PulseRFP.pdf for a complete list of guidelines and eligibility requirements. Questions on applications should be directed to the Montana Pulse Crop Committee, PO Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201 or by contacting Zach Coccoli at (406) 444-0132 or via email at Z.Coccoli@mt.gov.

The Montana Department of Agriculture’s mission is to protect producers and consumers, and to enhance and develop agriculture and allied industries.  

HELENA — Hemp is poised to grow into a major industry in Montana.

After President Donald Trump's signature decriminalized hemp cultivation recently, Montana is looking at what could be a big market — from pharmaceuticals to animal feed — said Ben Thomas of the Montana Department of Agriculture.

Click here to read the full article from the Helena Independent Record.

The Montana Noxious Weed Biennial Report for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 is now available online. Click here to view/download the Summary Report in PDF format, or click here to view the full interactive report.

The Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage (NWSFF) Advisory Council is currently accepting applications. Click here to download the application form. Send questions or completed application forms to agr@mt.gov.

Helena, Mont. – Governor Steve Bullock recently sat down with executives from the Mexican Craft Brewers Association (ACERMEX) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote continued collaboration between the group and Montana’s barley growers.

Click "Read More" for the full video.

Come discover business opportunities in the heart of Asia!

Join the U.S. Department of Agriculture on its first-ever trade mission to Taipei, March 11-14, 2019, and learn how to expand your business to the United States’ eighth-largest agricultural export market.

Application deadline is December 28, 2018.

For more information, please contact trademissions@fas.usda.gov.

Click to learn more about the Noxious Weed Management Advisory Council.  An Agenda will be posted soon. 

USDA has launched the second and final round of trade mitigation payments aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. Producers of certain commodities will now be eligible to receive Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments for the second half of their 2018 production.

Click here to view the full press release from USDA.

For more further information or to locate and contact local FSA offices, interested producers can visit www.farmers.gov.

Public Meeting: Feb. 20, 2019. Click to learn more about the Noxious Weed Seed Free Forage Advisory Council.  

Washington, D.C., December 18, 2018 – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced that representatives from the North Pole were among the visitors checking out the Agency’s new traveler information web page. The site, launched in September 2018, provides everyone with important information about which agricultural items are safe to enter the United States – and which ones are best left behind. This helps protect the health of our country’s plants, animals and natural resources, ensuring many happy holidays to come.

Click here to view the interactive Montana Noxious Weed Biennial Report for 2016-2017.

From the Whitefish Pilot:

An early setback for the new Center for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship has become the type of real-world learning the facility promised.

After planting began at the Whitefish Schools CSE in early June, it became apparent that the soil used in the greenhouse and outdoor raised garden beds was contaminated with an herbicide, CSE Facilities Coordinator Taylor Wilmot said.

Click here to read the full article.

The Montana Department of Agriclture Analytical Lab assisted on the project.

The following Global Agricultural Information Network reports were released on Monday, December 10, 2018:

Egypt: Exporter Guide

Egypt’s hotel, restaurant, and retail food sectors are growing in 2018 thanks to a budding recovery in tourism and consumer spending. Sources forecast demand increasing, with growth reaching 15 to 20 percent by 2021 as tourism and consumer purchasing power recover. U.S.-origin consumer-ready products face competition from other origins benefitting from more favorable trade relationships (i.e., free trade agreements). In 2017, U.S. consumer-oriented products exports to Egypt were largely beef livers and other beef offal, milk products and food preparations.  

Morocco: Citrus Annual

With the majority of the harvest now complete, Post expects Morocco’s citrus production for MY 2018/19 to reach an estimated 2.6 million metric tons, increasing 18 percent over the previous marketing year. Tangerine/mandarin production should increase by 14 percent over the previous year to 1.35 MMT, while orange production should increase by 18 percent to 1.2 MMT and lemon/lime production to reach 45,000 MT. Much of the increase in production is due to favorable weather conditions and increases in the area harvested as younger trees begin to bear fruit. Tangerine/mandarin exports should total about 585,000 MT while orange exports should reach around 190,000 MT.    

South Korea: Exporter Guide

South Korea’s imports of American food and agricultural products in 2018 through October totaled $7.9 billion, up 16.8 percent from the same period of the previous year. The United States remained the leading exporter of food and agricultural products to Korea with 25.5 percent market share. Despite escalated competition from export-oriented competitors, consumer-oriented American products continued to lead the expansion of the export market in Korea, which reflected Korean consumers’ increased demand for better value, quality and diversity. The Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, implemented in 2012, coupled with on-going evolvement of the Korean food market, should generate greater export opportunities for American products in Korea in the coming years.

For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov.