News

Montana Beverage Show

Showcasing a variety of tasty beverages made right here in Montana!

Monday, June 29, 2020

12:00 noon - 6:00 p.m.

Delta Hotels Helena Colonial, Helena, MT

This show will be open to professional buyers only.

Click to learn more and for exhibitor registration.

Are you a specialty crop producer, grocery store vendor, or interested community member? Join our convening to network and and discuss all things farm to grocery. How are purchasing agreements made? How is communication maintained? Will grocery stores require specific certifications, food safety practices, levels of insurance coverage, specific packaging etc.? What strategies can producers adopt to successfully market their crops to grocery stores? Learn the answers to these questions and more from our panelists, presenters, and fellow attendees.

Attendance is limited to the first 20 registrants. Registration is given on a first come, first served basis.

Click to learn more and register.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will mail letters with survey codes, this December, to more than 1,100 producers involved in certified or transitioning to certified organic farming in the Mountain Regional states of Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming for the 2019 Organic Survey. Each producer who self-reported organic farming in the 2017 Census of Agriculture will receive a unique survey code to respond conveniently online and to be represented in this very important, once-every-five-year data collection effort.

Click to learn more about the USDA's 2019 Organic Survey.

Helena, Mont. – The Montana Department of Agriculture has updated its noxious weed list to include ventenata (Ventenata dubia). The Noxious Weed Listing Workgroup recommended adding ventenata to the Priority 2A list at its meeting on March 21, 2019. The amendment was adopted on June 21^st, 2019. Priority 2A weeds are common in isolated areas in the State and require eradication or containment where less abundant. Management can be prioritized by the local weed districts.

Click to view the Montana Administrative Register, Issue No. 8, published on April 26, 2019.  The Department of Agriculture's Notice of Public Hearing on Proposed Amendment of the State Noxious Weed List is published on pages 413 and 414.

A public hearing will be held on May 22, 2019 at the Department of Agriculture (302 N. Roberts, Helena, MT) at 9:00 a.m.  Concerned persons may submit their data, views, or agruments either orally or in writing at the hearing, by email (agr@mt.gov), phone (406-444-3144), or mail (PO Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201).

Are you looking for a thriving market to grow your food and agricultural exports?

Join the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on a trade mission to Bogota, June 4-7, 2019, and learn how the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) is opening doors, creating new opportunities and helping U.S. ag exports flourish to record levels.

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2019 -- In a continuing effort to help Americans make healthy food choices, and in honor of National Nutrition Month®, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue today announced a new campaign to help simplify the nutrition information that surrounds us each day.

Join the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on a trade mission to Bogota, June 4-7, 2019, and learn how the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) is opening doors, creating new opportunities and helping U.S. ag exports flourish to record levels.

It’s World Pulses Day Week!  Celebrate by cooking up something like Apple-Lentil Cake or Green Lentil Stew. Timeless Seeds, Inc., based in Ulm, MT, has a lot of recipe ideas: https://www.timelessfood.com/recipes/.  

Find more info on pulses, and more recipes, at the Half-Cup Habit website: https://pulses.org/nap/.

Learn more about pulse crops in Montana at our Pulse Crops page.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state authorities, continues to investigate a multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections associated with consumption of romaine lettuce in the U.S. As of Nov. 26, 2018, this outbreak has resulted in 43 people becoming ill in 12 states, with the last reported illness onset date being Oct. 31, 2018. An additional 22 people in Canada have become ill, and the FDA and our partners are also coordinating the investigation with Canadian health and food safety authorities.

Click here to read the full announcement from the FDA.