Mission West Secures $3 Million HFFI Grant
The Project: This summer, USDA awarded Mission West Community Development Partners a three-year, $3 million grant under the Reinvestment Fund’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) to provide technical assistance and credit enhancement services to improve food access for underserved rural communities in Montana. Under this initiative, Mission West will collaborate with Hopa Mountain and the Montana Department of Agriculture to launch the Montana Local Food Financing Fund Partnership. This partnership will address funding gaps and financing barriers by providing grants, collateral support, and interest rate reduction services to food hubs and other retail supply chain businesses. Mission West will leverage its extensive background in food hub development and coordinate through the Montana Food and Agriculture Development Center Network to identify high-impact projects and tailor financial packages to meet the needs of local businesses. Some of the funding will be eligible to use as match for the MDA Growth Through Agriculture program. The program rollout is now underway.
North of Nowhere Beef BEP Program
The Project: When North of Nowhere Beef wanted to make USDA-inspected, shelf-stable ground beef jerky for the Montana School Backpack Program, they knew they needed expert help. With the assistance of the Mission West Community Development Partners FADC, North of Nowhere entered the Food & Ag Business Enhancement Program (BEP) for recipe development with the Oregon State University Food Innovation Lab.
Their Opheim, MT raised beef and a list of parameters were sent to the OSU food scientists. Parameters included things like no non-natural preservatives, no additives or fillers, no soy, no gluten, no sugar, the lowest salt possible while still achieving excellent flavor, etc. After three rounds of four test batches each, and many discussions and adjustments, we landed on the recipe we all agreed met the criterion, including the important criteria of tasting great.
Hoot Owl Farms Utilizes BEP
The Project: By accessing the Food & Ag Business Enhancement Program (BEP) through the Montana West Economic Development (MWED) FADC, Hoot Owl Farm owners, Bonnie and Rudy, were able to participate in the Market Gardener Masterclass from the Market Gardener Institute. Their farm has benefited a lot already from this training, but the class is ongoing so they will continue to reap the rewards of this awesome program. Hoot Owl Farm is somewhat isolated as a small specialty crop farm in the Libby community - there are not many other commercial growers, and even less using the systems and techniques that they do. The Masterclass has somewhat filled that void. The class is mostly visual with lots of videos and Q&A sessions. Bonnie and Rudy watched farmers in the videos pruning with slightly different techniques than their own and were able to significantly reduce their time spent on this regular task as well as perform it more effectively (i.e. faster AND with less risk of damage to plants).
Speedy and Flo’s Sweet Corn Expansion
The Project: Flo Ramirez and his wife started growing fresh produce and sweet corn for local sales over ten years ago on a one-and-a-half-acre garden plot. Their business has grown, and they now raise 25 acres of sweet corn and have a 4-acre garden. They sell all their fresh produce at locations in Hardin, Billings, Joliet, Miles City and Absarokee as well as in northern Wyoming. The Beartooth FADC assisted Flo in developing his application for the MDA Business Acceleration and Marketing (BAM) Grant for delivery new bags for the corn that have their logo and Facebook information on them. With that success, Flo determined if was necessary to keep up with expansion by applying for a Growth Through Agriculture Grant for the development of a new greenhouse and retail location. With the help again from the Beartooth FADC, they were successful and received $50,000.00 for this project.
Ravalli County Beginner Landowner Course, “Living in Ravalli County"
The Project: Ravalli County has seen a large influx of new landowners in the past five years. Many of these landowners come from more urban areas or are not familiar with roles and responsibilities of living in an agricultural area. Newcomers to the Bitterroot often want to be respectful to their neighbors working in agriculture but may not have the knowledge on how to do so. After consulting with Ravalli County extension agents, county commissioners, the local weeds district, the local Right to Farm and Ranch Board, the Bitterroot Conservation District, and the county Natural Resource Conservation District, RCEDA's FADC determined that there should be a course that educates beginning landowners in the county.
Working with County Commissioner Dan Huls, the Bitterroot Conservation District, the Ravalli County Weeds District, and the NRCS, RCEDA hosted a course to educate these new property owners.
Pasture Tour and Noxious Weed Identification
The Project: One issue that affects many farmers is noxious weeds. These weeds not only can be toxic to livestock and decrease land productivity, they’re also illegal to let propagate without a management plan. Ravalli County Economic Development Authority Food and Ag Development Center (RCEDA FADC) and Montana Farmers Union (MFU) set out to educate producers about noxious weed identification and management.
In June 2024, RCEDA and MFU put on a noxious weed identification and pasture tour at 7B Farmstead in Victor. 7B Farmstead, owned by Katie Austin, is an artisan raw milk Jersey creamery. Katie practices high density rotational grazing with her livestock, and wanted to share the soil health benefits of this system with others.
Moore High School Beef to School Program
The Project: This past fall, Lexie Wichman of Moore High School introduced “Beef – It’s what’s for Lunch” to the Moore School District. This was accomplished by taking the idea of utilizing her family ranch’s culled cows to feed her fellow peers and working with her local FADC to make it a reality. The FADC at Snowy Mountain Development Corporation was a key player in this success. Director, Abby Byerly, assisted Lexie in establishing the scalability of the project and reviewing her overall project for FCCLA State and National competition.
When Wichman presented the project proposal to the school board, they were pleased to learn that the estimated cost on a school to offer donated local beef on their menu was around $1.50 per pound.
Bruce Seed Farm
The Project: Bruce Seed Farm is a fully integrated pasture, turf, and reclamation Seed Company in Broadwater County. Bruce Seed Farm plants and harvests 2,200 acres annually. They also work with producers and suppliers around the country to maintain a robust inventory.
In 2024, Bruce Seed Farm was awarded a Growth Through Agriculture (GTA) grant from the Montana Department of Ag. The grant funds will assist with the creation of a new seed plant that is capable of processing a wide variety of crops. This project will improve efficiencies and manufacturing production capacity as well as expand the scope of native seed able to be cleaned at their facility. The Helena area FADC Director, Eric Seidensticker, assisted Bruce Seed Farm with the grant application process and development and reviewed the businesses financial projections.
Ravalli County Farm to School Summer Camp
The Project: The Hamilton School District Farm to School Team (HSD F2S Team) is taking creative approaches to agriculture education. The HSD F2S Team spent two years revitalizing the school garden and putting in an outdoor classroom located at Daly Elementary. The Team was excited about the outdoor classroom, encouraging classes and student groups to use the space. One group that was enthusiastic about the garden and outdoor classroom was HSD’s summer program, Keystone.
In 2024, Ravalli County Economic Development Authority Food and Ag Development Center (RCEDA FADC), a member of the HSD F2S Team, introduced the Bitterroot Conservation District (BCD) and Montana Farmers Union (MFU) to Keystone. Both BCD and MFU were interested in teaching students about conservation and agriculture.
Eden Feeds
The Project: Eden Feeds is a locally owned feed manufacturer in Great Falls that uses locally grown MT wheat and pulse crops to make a popular non-GMO animal feed. Five years ago, Tom and Laura Kropf began looking for a healthy brand of feed for their farm animals, but only found feed brands that were affordable, but conventional or organic, but expensive. They realized they had found an underserved niche in the feed market: affordable, non-GMO animal feed. Eden Feeds was born!
Since that time, Eden Feed has grown to being sold in sixty stores in 7 states. To ensure the excellence of their feed, they source their grains and pulse crops from local farmers in Montana and have recently moved to a larger facility to meet the demand for their popular chicken feed. In February 2024, Eden Feeds was awarded a $50,000 Growth Through Agriculture grant to purchase additional equipment for their most recent expansion needs to keep up with their increased demand. You can find Eden Feeds at North 40, Murdoch’s or your local feed store.
Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP)
With support from the Montana Department of Agriculture's Business Enhancement Program, Montana West Economic Development's Food and Ag Development Center partnered with Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC) to offer a Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) Training May 8th and 9th, 2024 in person in Kalispell. Claude Smith from MMEC led the at-capacity training which explained the requirements of the Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, and how businesses would benefit from creating or updating a HACCP Plan. The second day of the training participants worked in small groups to practice HACCP concepts such as creating Hazard Analysis, and Critical Limit definition, and Process Flow charts needed to develop their HACCP Plans.
Montana Survival Seed
Montana Survival Seed is a small, regionally adapted seed business out of the heart of the Bitterroot Valley. They source flower, vegetable, herbal, and native seeds from growers across Montana and Oregon. The seeds the company sells are sourced from plants grown with organic practices, without synthetic fertilizers and herbicides. Each seed packet has a colorful and unique hand-illustrated picture, making them the perfect gift for any home gardener.
To learn more about Montana Survival Seed, visit their website: MONTANA SURVIVAL SEED helps those who need surivival foods. – Montana Survival Seed
Glacier Processing
Vandevanter Meats has been fulfilling the meat processing needs of ranchers in northwest Montana since 1945. The state-inspected plant operates at its maximum capacity of 1,100 head per year, with processing dates scheduled 18 to 24 months in advance. With the impending retirement of the plant's second-generation owner and no apparent buyers to take over, the business faced closure. However, thanks to support from the Montana Farmers Union, Mission West Community Development Partners stepped in to assist local ranchers in forming the Glacier Processing Cooperative (GPC) to purchase, operate, and expand the existing facility.
Beef to School
This project was developed to continue the efforts of getting Montana beef into local area schools. The Eastern Montana Food & Ag Development Center (FADC)created a liaison position in conjunction with Abundant Montana and AERO that would aid in communication between producers and schools. Thanks to funding made available through the Save the Children Fund received by Great Northern Development Corporation, schools received $440 to purchase local beef for their students from regional producers who chose to participate in the project.
Oswald Farms
Oswald Farms of Joliet, MT operates a generational ag operation that raises cattle and feeds them out to be processed at a local USDA plant. Owners, Melissa and Justin Oswald, sell their own branded beef products, Oswald Farms Beef, to local restaurants and direct to consumers through Facebook. They offer multiple beef products including specialty cut packaged meats, sausages, and snacks. Oswald Farms developed a retail location to sell their meat products and other local foods located near the intersection of Highway 310 and 312. Be sure to check them out!
Ravalli County Beginner Farmer Tractor Course
Missoula and Ravalli County have dozens of ambitious beginning farmers, many of them becoming the first generation in their family to work in agriculture. Because many of these beginning farmers may not have been raised farming and ranching, they need to learn technical field skills on their own. After hearing several women farmers tell RCEDA’s FADC that there were very few places to learn these skills, RCEDA decided to help offer courses clients could benefit from.
Unwaffle
Unwaffle makes the best toaster waffles on earth and now you can find them in a growing number of retail stores and restaurants! The Bozeman-based company is focused on community health and environmental sustainability. To help bolster their mission, the team at Unwaffle have developed partnerships with many like-minded organic growers who also focus on clean supply chains and reducing their carbon footprint. Unwaffle sources as many Montana-grown ingredients as possible with an average of 65% of all ingredients sourced from within the state. Montana-grown, organic, gluten-free oats and organic lentils are the key ingredients to all of their waffle products.
Skattum Dairy
Currently raising a fifth generation in the Paradise Valley, Skattum Dairy is a testament to a multigenerational commitment to providing wholesome food to our local communities. Skattum Dairy is a pasture-based dairy founded in the 1950’s. Lily Andersen, an owner-operator, graduated from MSU with degrees in Animal Science and Livestock Management. Lily is committed to producing high-quality milk for the local community. “Last fall, our buyer told us ‘I need more Montana milk.’ I sat my family down and asked ‘what do we need to grow?’