This page contains alternative crop and livestock marketing resources for Montana farmers and ranchers. Whether it is marketing your peas and lentils, finding an alternative source of income for your farm or ranch, or joining a local natural beef cooperative, this page is a resource that can be helpful to you.
Click on one of the following links to go that section:
Livestock Resources Natural beef cooperatives, unique cattle contracting options, and links to other useful information
Crop Resources Marketing peas and lentils, contracting your wheat and barley, or marketing alternative crops for Montana
Farm/Ranch Resources Creating an Agritourisim business or a hunting guide service, more ideas on adding value to your operation
Livestock Resources
How to Direct Market Your Beef Learn how one couple used their family's ranch to launch a profitable, grass-based beef operation focused on direct market sales. Excellent list of resources on pages 88-90. Published by the Sustainable Agriculture Network, copyright 2005. To order a hard copy, call the Sustainable Agriculture Network at (301) 374-9696.
Marketing Alternative Crops Compiled By Chet Hill, - NDSU/MSU Extension Area Ag Diversification Specialist
Crops bought by these companies include: peas, lentils, chickpeas, flax, mustard, canola, safflower, organic crops, dry beans, and small grains. One will have to visit with the companies to find out which crops they are purchasing. This list should be used as a starting point to forward marketing your commodities.
Paulson Seed - Les Paulson P.O. Box 723, 1m East of town Bowman, ND 58623 701-523-5392 http://www.paulsonseed.com/
Minn-Dak Growers LTD P.O. Box 13276 Grand Forks, ND 58208 Dan Lovas, Grand Forks: 701-746-7453 Paul Belzer, Dickinson: 701-483-4528 http://www.minndak.com/
Grow Kamut! Kamut grain is only grown under contract and only grown organically. It grows best in areas where durum grows well. That being said, we are always looking for new Kamut growers, especially with the growth in Kamut products and manufacturers.
Contact: André Giles Montana Flour & Grains PO Box 517 Fort Benton, MT 59442 406-622-5436
For Information on Kamut go to http://www.kamut.com/ or contact the Debby Quinn Blyth at the Kamut Association, at 1-406-378-3105 or debby@kamut.com
Farm/Ranch Resources
The Golden Rules of Value-Added Agriculture This article by Dr. David Kohl, Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech University, discusses many simple rules to make your value-added operation successful. Reprinted with permission from Northwest Farm Credit Services' Winter 2007 Yields publication.
Agricultural Marketing Resource Center - The Ag Marketing Resource Center is an electronic, national resource for producers interested in value-added agriculture. AgMRC offers producers the ability to: investigate value-added commodities or niches, gather information on creating a business, research general market and industry trends, locate resources in a directory, and use AgMRC developed tools.
Montana Agriculture Innovation Center
The Montana Agriculture Innovation Center is a collaborative effort between Montana State University and five regional economic development centers to assist agricultural producers in developing value-added business enterprises. The program is funded by a federal grant through USDA Rural Development. Program coordinators provide technical assistance to producers with start up or existing value added businesses in the form of business and marketing assistance. Interested producers should contact the nearest regional coordinator to request assistance.
Montana Agriculture Innovation Center Contact Information
Regional Centers
Snowy Mountain Development Corporation Nicole Descheemaeker, Regional Coordinator 613 NE Main Lewistown, MT 59457 (406) 538-2591 or (406) 366-3133 nld_17@yahoo.com
Lake County Community Development Corporation Jan Tusick, Agriculture Enterprise and Cooperative Development Specialist P.O. Box 128 Ronan, MT 59864 (406) 676-0676 jt@ronan.net
Great Northern Development Corporation Shauna Ferguson-Farver, Regional Coordinator 233 Cascade St. Wolf Point, MT 59201 (406) 653-2590 or (406) 783-8064 valueag@nemontel.net
