Farm-to-Table Co-op

Getting local food to local markets in Eastern Montana and Western North Dakota

The purpose of the co-op will be to market products on behalf of member growers and producers. The co-op will act as a broker for producers, charging a 25% brokerage fee to members and a 35% fee to nonmembers. The extra 10% charged to nonmembers will accrue into a membership. Membership is $500.

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 will likely include, but are by no means limited to, specialty grains, beans & 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:

1. Conduct market research & establish relationships on behalf of producer members with stores, restaurants, and institutional food services in the region.
2. Maintain the Farm-to-Table web site and update the Local Buyer's Guide to promote members' products and the businesses/institutions that purchase from the co-op.
3. 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, plus food quality grain and bean cleaning. Farm-to-Table was chosen as one of four Food & Ag Development Centers in Montana from a grant by the Montana Legislature. Glendive will be a fully equipped Commercial Kitchen Facility. Garth Clingingsmith, chef for Farm-to-Table, is working on getting the kitchen ready. He is also teaching culinary classes though Dawson Community College. Next is the training center for interns through the Farm-to-Table Restaurant showcasing food grown & produced in the region.

We invite you to participate in the first edition of Farm-to-Table's Local Buyer's Guide, a regional directory of farms and food producers designed to help connect producers and consumers so we can keep more of our food and our food dollars in the area. The guide will be published on this web site. To have you farm or business listed, download the form below, fill it out, and return it to us.

Download Application

FAQs

Custom Labels: Full color, on demand printing. Sizes: 3x4, 3x5, 4x6, and 2x8 (perfect for water bottles). We do custom water bottles for weddings, Miss Montana Scholarship Program, wine labels and canned product labels for customers.

$0.25/label, plus $10 design/set up fee.

Co-packing for grains, beans, lentils, etc.

Grain cleaning and bean cleaning - small batches! Can do 200 pounds in an hour with two people.

Call 377-4284 for details.