Glendive’s Farm-to-Table project Goes High Tech
| November 21, 2007 |  View for printing |
Information about Glendive’s Farm-to-Table project is now available to anyone with a computer and Internet access.
Americorps VISTA volunteer Rachel Williams has been working on a Web site for the project through a Web site design class at Dawson Community College and now has the site on line at www.farmtotablecoop.com. The project was Williams’ first attempt to design a Web site and has been a fun and exciting experience, she said.
By Cindy Mullet Ranger-Review Staff Writer
http://www.rangerreview.com/digest/
Her goals in setting up the site were to educate consumers about the benefits of buying locally grown and produced foods as well as to provide resources to growers interested in marketing locally and to small-scale value-added food enterprises.
The site will provide consumers in the region with information on the availability of locally grown and produced food, reach out to potential members of an agriculture marketing co-op, and, hopefully, bolster the stature of the Farm-to-Table project for seeking funding.
The site is fairly basic, Williams said. It contains information about Farm-to-Table, explains the concept of local food systems and provides links to resources and partners.
One of the features still under development is a local buyers’ guide for eastern Montana and western North Dakota. On it, Williams will list stores which sell local items, restaurants that buy from local producers, farmers’ markets and farms that sell produce directly to consumers.
Farm-to-Table targets the area within a 150-mile radius of Glendive. For practical purposes that would include the eastern Montana counties of Valley, Daniels, Sheridan, Roosevelt, McCone, Richland, Garfield, Dawson, Prairie, Wibaux, Rosebud, Custer, Fallon, Treasure, Powder River and Carter and the western North Dakota counties of Divide, Williams, McKenzie, Dunn, Golden Valley, Billings, Stark, Slope, Hettinger, Bowman, and Adams.
Consumers will be able to click on any county or town in the area and access a list of local resources. The site will also include a form that growers or groups who want to be included on the site can download, fill out and return to Williams who will then add their information to the site, she said.
There are other directories with similar objectives for both Montana and North Dakota but most of their listings are from western Montana or eastern North Dakota. The Farm-to-Table directory hopes to identify resources which these directories have missed, she said.
Growers who use the site will be able to obtain information about the agriculture marketing co-op that is being formed to market products on behalf of member growers and producers. The co-op will act as a broker for producers, charging a 25 percent brokerage fee to members and a 35 percent fee to non-members. The extra 10 percent charged to non-members will accrue into a membership. Membership is $500, the Web site explains.
All agricultural producers in the designated area are welcome to join the co-op. The co-op will be able to offer the greatest benefits to those focusing on niche markets and diversification from commodity crops. Types of products marketed through the co-op may include specialty grains, beans and lentils, branded/natural/grass-fed meats, storable vegetables, and value added food products.
The first phase of the co-op will be to hire a marketing manager who will conduct market research and establish relationships with stores, restaurants, and institutional food services in the region. The manager will also work towards developing a cost effective distribution system within the region by partnering with existing distribution and transportation systems.
The co-op will offer some processing and packaging services, which will be expanded depending on need and available resources. Current services include custom label printing and co-packing for dry goods only. Equipment is being acquired for small batch grain and bean cleaning.
Long-range goals include a food dehydration system as part of a fully equipped commercial kitchen facility and a farm-to-table restaurant showcasing food grown and produced in the region.
Farm-to-Table is a project of Community Giving Assistance Towards Employment, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Glendive. Its mission is to develop a sustainable local food system in eastern Montana and western North Dakota. This will increase the vitality of rural communities.
Farm-to-Table works collaboratively with all sectors of the local food economy, including growers, value-added producers, restaurants, stores, institutional food services, and individual consumers to achieve the goal of a local food system. 
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