Montana Food and Agriculture Development

CentersEthanol Producers and Consumers SummitOctober 19-20, 2010

Montana Department of AgricultureBox 200201Helena, MT 59620Ph: (406) 444-2402Email: agr@mt.govWebsite: www.agr.mt.gov

The Program:

A cooperative network of four regional centers helping businesses develop and market:

• Montana-produced food • Farm-derived renewable energy • Other value-added agricultural products

Origin:

The 2009 Montana Legislature funded four established food and agricultural development centers, previously known as “ag innovation centers” and more recently “bio-product innovation centers.”

Purpose:

1. To support infrastructure development

needed for Montanans to process and distribute our agricultural products for markets in Montana and beyond.

2. To retain more of the value of those products in Montana’s communities.

Purpose:

Montana is 2nd in the U.S. in acres in agricultural production.

Due to the lack of food-processing infrastructure in the state, most of the $3 billion worth of food Montanans buy each year is produced out of state and even out of country.

Purpose

• Montana’s public institutional food services spend approximately $33 million annually on food.

• Their demand for Montana-produced food is not being fully met because we lack capacity for food processing in the state.

Program Services:

Training, coaching & technical assistance:– Product development, testing, analysis

– Regulatory compliance training

– Food processing

– Business planning & development

– Market research

– Business networking

– Access to financing

The 4 Centers:

• Bear Paw Development – Havre– Pam Lemer

• Beartooth RC&D – Joliet– Joel Bertolino

• Community GATE – Glendive– Bruce Smith

• Lake County Community Development’sMission Mountain Food Enterprise Center – Ronan– Jan Tusick

Bear Paw Development

Focus: • Alternative Energy development in

partnership with MSU-Northern

• Applied Technology Center to provide business development & testing services to companies in alternative energy fields

Bear Paw Development

Successful project types include:• food processing• biofuels & bio-lubricants manufacturing• timber processing• wind energy• high-value crop production• greenhouse construction• other value-added industries

Bear Paw Development

Bear Paw Development

Earl Fisher Bio-Fuels

Beartooth RC&D

Focus: beef genetics

• Partnering with Midland Bull Test Center to provide expertise to the cattle industry.

• Expanding client base to include alternative energy and food processing

Beartooth RC&D

Assists Value-Added Businesses:

• Western horseman safety equipment manufacturing• Cattle genetics: cutting edge data collection & analysis • Farmers markets & small food processing entrepreneurs • Regional commercial kitchen development for small &

start-up food businesses• Offer training and education for small value-added

businesses.

Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods

Community GATE

GATE – Giving Assistance Towards Employment

• Local Agricultural Marketing Cooperative – designed to market locally produced foods and value-added agricultural products to local stores, restaurants, food services, institutions, and online.

Community GATE

Developing Shared-Use Commercial Kitchen

Will provide timeshare access to food production facilities and the development or expansion of specialty food and catering businesses to increase Montana food processing infrastructure and encourage local value-added food enterprises.

Community GATE

Culinary School and Farm-to Table Restaurant and microbrewery –

Partnering with Dawson Community College to develop a culinary program. This program will work jointly with the restaurant to provide hands-on experience with the locally-produced seasonal menu, as well as a retail outlet and microbrewery.

Lake County Community Development

Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center

Lake County Community Development

Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center:

USDA-inspected, state-certified processing facility that meets FDA standards for conventional packaging and processing. Facility can be used by the business owner or co-packing services can be contracted through Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center.

Lake County Community Development

Specialized Services Include:• HACCP Plan Development

• Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points

• Market Analysis

• Marketing presence at industry trade shows

• New Food Product Development

• Labeling and Packaging development and sourcing

• Brochure and sales material creation

• Pricing Structure

QUESTIONS?