Agriculture Development Council Selects Growth Through Agriculture Projects

~ Next Application Deadline is January 31, 2006 ~

The Montana Agriculture Development Council has awarded more than $299,000 of Growth Through Agriculture program funds to 12 projects for agricultural development, according to council Chair Ervin Schlemmer.

Projects approved at a recent council meeting in Billings included agricultural marketing and business development proposals. The Agriculture Development Council oversees the Growth Through Agriculture program, which is the source of funding that the council uses to make investments in appropriate projects.

"This year we received nearly twice as many applications as in 2004, and the council has approved a diverse mix of exciting new projects for adding value to Montana’s agricultural commodities," says Nancy K. Peterson, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture and a council member. "The Growth Through Agriculture program is designed to assist Montana’s farmers, ranchers and agricultural entrepreneurs in implementing their plans to help grow our state’s agricultural industry."

At the meeting investment funds were awarded to:

— Ethanol Producers And Consumers – Ethanol and biodiesel education and handout material, Nashua – $10,700 investment without repayment;

— Fort Belknap Indian Community – Marketing Plan for Little Rockies Meat Packing, Inc. and Pride of the Little Rockies Smoke House, Fort Belknap – $50,000 investment without repayment;

— Ernest Bergsagel – Feasibility study for aquaculture in Northcentral Montana, Malta – $21,000 investment without repayment;

— Prairie Hills Seed Company – Facility updating and value-added seed processing in Northeast Montana, Plentywood – $25,000 investment without repayment;

— Bio Products, Inc. – Product testing for exploded straw product for use as kitty litter, Pendroy – $11,300 investment without repayment;

— Mission Mountain Cooperative Development Center – Marketing assistance and expansion for Montana Natural Beef, Ronan – $16,380 investment without repayment;

— Wade & Shelli Riedesel – Implementation of a blueberry orchard to diversify risk in the Flathead valley, Bigfork – $25,340 investment without repayment;

— Yellowstone Community Co-operative, Inc., d.b.a. Good Earth Market – Marketing and advertising promotion for business expansion, Billings – $42,500 investment without repayment;

— Field of Dreams Tree Farm – Assistance for feasibility study for brokering nursery stock to Louisiana and Mississippi, Billings – $5,800 investment without repayment;

— Montana Buffalo Outfit – Advertising and marketing assistance for Montana meats, Butte – $20,670 investment without repayment;

— Montana Committee for the Humanities – Promotion of Montana’s agriculture, food, and food products with assistance of the Smithsonian’s exhibition Key Ingredients: America By Food, in coordination with six Montana museums, Missoula – $21,000 investment without repayment;

— Gulick Farms – Startup assistance of a pellet mill for the production of grass pellets for biofuel and feed, Fairfield – $25,000 return-on-investment loan, $25,000 investment without repayment.

Montana agricultural producers and industry representatives serve on the Agriculture Development Council. Council members are: Ervin Schlemmer of Joliet, chair; John Franklin of Sidney, vice-chair; Patricia Quisno of Harlem; Verges Aageson of Gildford; David Tyler of Belgrade; Nancy K. Peterson, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture; and Tony Preite, director of the Montana Department of Commerce.

The next deadline for project applications to the Growth Through Agriculture program is January 31, 2006. The council plans to review the next round of project applications in late February or early March.

For more information and application materials, contact Justin Hager, Growth Through Agriculture program manager, at the Montana Department of Agriculture, at (406) 444-2402 or by e-mail at [email protected].