News

The Montana Department of Agriculture Produce Safety Program encourages all produce growers to submit the status of their farm in relation to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. Produce growers can determine the status of their operation by completing the Farm Status Determination form. 

Click here to complete the Farm Status Determination Form.

Click here to visit the Produce Safety Program and learn more about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and Produce Safety Rule (PSR).

Rodale Institute & Organic Farmers Association have partnered to launch a new BIPOC Organic Farmer Micro-Grant Program which is accepting applications now until March 31, 2021.

This program is specifically targeted to support small-scale BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) farmers, whether organic, transitioning to organic, or an aspiring organic farmer. The goal of this program is to grow BIPOC farmers in the organic movement and help them succeed.  

Click here to learn more and apply.

As farmers prepare for spring planting, the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee is reminding producers to ensure that wheat shipments destined for export are buckwheat-free. In light of the ongoing global pandemic, food safety has become one of the most important factors for purchasers of ingredients. Montana exports 60-80% of its wheat to countries located in the Pacific Rim. Since Asian countries are large importers of Montana wheat, it is important that producers and handlers understand the serious health risk and potential economic impact posed by buckwheat.

• Use of buckwheat must be excluded from cover crops plantings in rotation or adjacent to fields with wheat production or abstain from growing wheat as a commodity for 2 calendar years after planting buckwheat.
• Use of buckwheat must be excluded from pollinator plantings in rotation with or adjacent to fields currently planted or that will be planted to commodity wheat within the next 2 calendar years.

To protect and foster the health and prosperity of the Montana’s agricultural industry, the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee is committed to educating producers about the dangers of buckwheat in a small grains rotation and surveying cover crop mixes across the state, including volunteer situations. Click here to learn more about the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee. Contact Sam Anderson, Industry Analyst & Outreach Coordinator, (406) 76-7732 or Samuel.Anderson@mt.gov.

The USDA Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program helps agricultural producers enter into value-added activities related to the processing and marketing of new products. The goals of this program are to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities and increase producer income.

Grants are awarded through a national competition. Each fiscal year, applications are requested through a notice published in the Federal Register and through an announcement posted on Grants.gov.

Click Here to learn more and apply. Applications are due no later than March 22, 2021. Please refer to the Federal Register Notices for more information on the deadline and various ways the Agency will accept applications.

On March 26, Governor Bullock issued a directive requiring Montanans to stay home and temporarily close all nonessential businesses and operations to curtail the spread of COVID-19. The order, which takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on March 28 and will be in effect through April 10, identifies essential businesses and operations related to food and agriculture, as included in the sections shown below:

• Stores that sell groceries and medicine
• Food and beverage production and agriculture
• Critical trades
• Supplies for Essential Businesses and Operations
• Transportation
• Manufacture, distribution, and supply chain for critical products and industries
• Restaurants for consumption off-premises

Click to view the  the Governor’s Directive Implementing Executive Orders 2-2020 and 3-2020.

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.

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.

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.