Agriculture Development Council selects GTA projects

The Montana Agriculture Development Council has awarded $284,718 of funding to nine Growth Through Agriculture projects for agricultural development, according to council Chair John Franklin.

"We had a diverse group of applicants, ranging from start-up businesses to existing businesses, each focusing on keeping more of the value of agriculture production within Montana," said Nancy K. Peterson, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture.

The Agriculture Development Council oversees the Growth Through
Agriculture program, which provides financial assistance to develop new products or innovative ideas that enhance and add value to our state’s agricultural industry.

In the latest round, the council awarded investment funds to:

— Intertribal Agriculture Council of Billings, a $26,128 grant for expanding Indian marketing opportunities by optimizing trademark
identity.

— Grains of Montana of Billings, a $39,250 grant for building brand and product awareness of a family owned restaurant and bakery.

— Montana Specialty Mills, LLC of Great Falls, a $46,500 grant for engineering and feasibility study for rebuilding and expansion of a seed crushing facility.

— AquilaVision, Inc. of Missoula, a $50,000 grant for technical
advancement of National Agricultural Imaging Program photo imagery to integrate with hyperspectral and thermal imaging for rural land
management.

— TWEnterprises, Inc. of Billings, a $16,000 grant for advertising livestock water pump generator systems for business expansion.

— Baker Livestock Commission Company of Baker, a $18,000 grant for engineering and feasibility study for lagoon, stockyard watering system, and stock pen upgrades for a stockyard facility.

— Safflower Technologies International, LLC of Sidney, a $23,840 grant for research to determine the economic and feed value of NutraSaff as a dairy feed supplement.

— Headwaters RC&D Area Inc. of Butte, a $15,000 grant for engineering and plant construction design for a beef processing facility.

— City of Shelby, a $50,000 grant for business plan development for a pork processing facility.

Montana agricultural producers and industry representatives serve on the Agriculture Development Council. On August 28, the council elected John Franklin of Sidney as chair and David Tyler of Belgrade as vice-chair. Other members are Ervin Schlemmer of Joliet, Patricia Quisno of Harlem, Bill Koenig of Kalispell, Director Nancy K. Peterson of the Montana Department of Agriculture and Director Tony Preite of the Montana
Department of Commerce.

The next deadline for project applications to the Growth Through
Agriculture program is October 31, 2006. The council plans to review the next round of project applications in early December.

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