Western Montana Growers Go Beyond Organics & Get Local. 12 Missoula, Montana-area organic farms have formed a group that will offer an alternative to the USDA organic certification

When Lifeline Farms http://www.lifelinefarm.com/ began growing and selling its natural produce from the Bitterroot Valley 25 years ago, "organic" had a slightly different connotation.

“We took our crate of food to Safeway, we had all our letters saying it was organic, and we said, ‘This is organic, do you want it? The managers looked at it and said, ‘Oh, it’s organic? Well, we’ll take it anyway,’” says Luci Brieger, who with her husband Steve Elliott runs the produce portion of Lifeline Farms, one of the oldest organic farms in Montana.

By Tad Sooter

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