Ag goal: Ideas become action at Economic Summit

To an outside observer, it might have seemed like a trading card swap.

For David Dodd, it represented the necessary next step in getting Montana’s economy growing.

By JIM GRANSBERY
Of The Gazette Staff

Thursday morning, Dodd was leading a session on Montana’s agriculture food processing businesses during the Montana Economic Development Summit in Billings.

Dodd’s group was a gathering of the producers, entrepreneurs and financiers needed to bring some opportunities for adding value to abundant raw commodities in rural Montana.

When participants began speaking to each other and trading business cards, Dodd was pleased.

That’s what is needed to complete the goals of the two-day summit, sponsored by the state’s congressional delegation and governor. The conference opened Wednesday at Montana State University-Billings’ Alterowitz Gymnasium.

Dodd, of DADCO Consulting Services, is co-producer of an in-depth analysis of Montana’s economic strengths and shortcomings. The study focused on six economic "clusters" that can form the basis of statewide development.

"Clusters" is a concept that takes common competitive advantages for similar businesses and attempts to build a value-added structure, which encourages spin-off enterprises. Each of Montana’s six identified innovation clusters were evaluated according to seven competitive factors.

A survey of those factors and possible actions to stimulate new businesses in food products were the focus of Dodd’s presentation. It was when he turned to the participants for comment that the ideas and communication started flowing.

Among the ideas: a source of venture capital; assistance for organizing cooperatives; the necessity of a business plan that has a marketing component that actually produces a revenue stream to reward venture capitalists; a fully integrated beef industry; a branded beef product; an animal waste digester system with no waste water discharge; assistance for promoting safflower oil.

A representative of the Farmers Union said his group has looked at the strategy of finding a market first, then working backward to build the distribution lines needed to get the product to market.

Dave Wichman, an agricultural researcher, noted that state funding for research was disappearing, which was at odds with the cluster study that gave high marks to Montana’s public research facilities and innovative faculty.

The hour-long exchange churned enough interest to send a dozen or more participants to the halls to further discuss cooperation on mutual interests.

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