The Livingston Current presents a series on sustainable community building in two wild locales: Park county, Montana and the island of Kaua‘i in Hawai‘i.
Over the next six months upcoming articles will continue to feature perspectives from individuals and comparisons of networks and systems in place for food security, potable water resources, energy generation and distribution, encouraging sustainable economies and developing lasting cultural legacies.
The first article in the series (published October 16, 2010 in the Livingston Current and online here) provided an overview of the communities and the grass-roots local food systems at work from farmer’s markets and food pantries to fruitful backyards.
This second article in the series examines the individuals and organizations working to build sustainable food commerce networks in the Park county area through resource sharing within and between organizations and through educational outreach and opportunity. A following installment of the series will examine similar food networks in Kaua’i.
From Montana to Hawai’i
What do the communities of a land-locked high-mountain river valley and a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific ocean have in common?
Park county in south-central Montana and the county and island of Kaua’i in Hawai’i may not share similar climates but the communities in these two idyllic and rural locales will both depend on primarily local networks to survive in a future with uncertain food resources, economics, energy or climate stability.
Both Hawai’i and Montana are renowned for remote beauty, natural splendor and inherent wild character. Both areas are meccas for world travelers seeking the unique experience off a beaten track.
Park county encompasses the area just outside the biosphere reserve of Yellowstone National Park, a primarily native and intact ecosystem. On Kaua’i, nearly half of the diverse ecosystems of cloud forests and plains on the island are protected from development as forest and wilderness preserves.
Park county is five times the size of Kaua’i, but both areas of the world have an agricultural history of being fertile, habitable and self-sustaining islands of food production before the onset of western civilization or the trappings of corporate commerce, even up until the relatively modern days of the 1950s.
Modern distribution of goods from foreign states and lands is similar in both Kaua’i and Park counties. A major interstate passes through rural Park county just as oil tankers head out routes of the Pacific to deliver goods to one of the remotest places on Earth.
Dependence on the resources needed to fuel the transportation of goods is paramount to the food security of each area, and any considerable disruption in the constant stream of modern goods, especially food products, could effectively create a quick insufficiency of supplies for either community.
As the global population increases and agricultural productivity growth stays at zero to one or two percent a year, food prices will continue to rise.
Food transportation costs already became prohibitive years ago with the onset of higher oil prices. Oil prices will climb high again, as happens in the dispersion of a finite resource, and once again higher transportation costs will be added to higher food costs.
Over 90 percent of the food in Hawai’i is imported. On Kaua’i, Naval Hurricane preparedness memos have estimated local populations might have just over a week of available food supplies in the event of a breakdown in the import and delivery system.
In the case of Park county, more than 90 percent of food is also imported from outside the agricultural growing area of the community. Local farmers have estimated food supplies in storage across the state and region might buy the community perhaps a year of continued food sources in the event of disruption of distribution.
In south-central Montana, many residents have yet to consider what effect any slowdown in distribution or dramatic increase in cost of food might have on their own population, even in eventuality.
The sense of urgency is apparent and palpable in Kaua’i. Neighborhood farmers practicing sustainable food-growing techniques on the island are learning effective garden management quicker than they can harvest in the rapid cycle of a tropical ecosystem where one-crop farms have long dominated the agricultural landscape.
Historical networks of food security in both locales have broken down over the past decade as the business of exporting commodities eliminated jobs in local food systems, created unreliable local food sources and lead to import of once-basic and locally-produced goods.
Many organizations in Park county and Kaua’i are working to rebuild the traditional food systems while integrating modern techniques of sustainable farming and commerce
The monoculture system of farming over the past 50 years is proving ineffective across the globe as non-sustaining “green revolutions” of engineered seed and forced fertilizer are leaving depleted soils, poisoned waters and human health costs where profit has ruled.
Modernized traditional farming methods such as natural compost fertilizer and selective planting are proving in some cases just as effective in increasing yields and volume and sustaining communities—but have far less negative impact on the soil, air, water or population.
Sustainable Networking
As consumer trends demanding healthier locally and sustainably-produced foods continue, the markets for creating sustainable agricultural commerce in communities increase and diversify. With the increase in the markets come opportunities to create even further habits of sustainable practice within the processes of growing and distributing food.
The Livingston-based organization Western Sustainability Exchange (WSE) encourages commerce within a chain of ranchers, growers, processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and restaurants across the state. One facet of WSE’s mission is encouraging the thousands of Montanans employed in the state’s agriculture industry to utilize sustainable growing and ranching practices in production and commerce.
Along with sponsoring the weekly seasonal Farmer’s Markets in Livingston each summer through which area youths can participate in a Young Entrepreneurial Stewardship Program, WSE also works on a regular basis to encourage in-house initiatives bringing farmers, processors, distributors and buyers into a closer circle of sustainability in Montana.
“We connect people to each other,” says Lill Ericson, Executive Director of the non-profit organization.
WSE Program Director Annie Conley adds, “We’re the sustainability matchmakers.” Conley stresses the organization helps connect interested producers and businesses to training opportunities in sustainable growing practices rather than training individuals or businesses directly.
Membership in the organization comes alongside a pledge to conserve resources, whether land, water or energy in the food supply system of Montana.
Members also benefit by exposure to a wide network of similar businesses prepared to move the local and sustainably-produced markets forward as demand for products continues to be high. Members of WSE include 20 restaurants, three distributors and 45 producers striving to maintain a baseline of sustainability criteria.
Finding Local Solutions
Initially founded and continuing as a sustainable development organization working to maximize lands under conservation, the 16-year-old non-profit WSE now supports such diverse programs such as the “Steer to Steak” initiative which not only offers opportunities for land conservation but for prolonged economic vitality through sustainable ranching practices and new markets for beef.
“The Steer to Steak program seeks to keep the entire value chain in the Montana region versus the current system of sending Montana cattle to the Midwest for finishing and processing before we essentially have to buy back our own beef,” says WSE Steer to Steak Program Coordinator Alex Blake.
Blake grew up on his family’s ranch in Big Timber where he continues to work after completing graduate work at Texas A & M and experience with a branded beef company in Red Lodge. He says he was frustrated with the existing production model that returned limited premiums to producers and was eager to work with WSE to create new solutions upon returning to the area.
Steer to Steak program objectives include securing markets for producers to generate at least $50,000 in sales, training 100 producers and buyers to increase proficiency in buying and selling to each other, and creating a “Sustainable Beef Value Chain” by connecting producers to processors, distributors, and wholesale and retail markets. Another specific program objective is to maintain and develop localized processing capabilities for the industry.
“We might be raising the best, sustainably produced cattle in the country but if we have to ship them a thousand miles across the country to finish and process we’re missing a big part of the equation,” says Blake.
Many large volume buyers in Montana may want to buy local food but can find it difficult to also insure consistent supply. Through the Steer to Steak program WSE plans to involve more ranchers to meet the demands of statewide grocery stores and universities.
Blake said a future partnership working with the Montana Department of Agriculture’s Beartooth Resource Conservation and Development District in assisting several area packing plants is possible.
“They’ve been doing this work for a while so this may be a good opportunity to combine efforts,” he adds.
The Steer to Steak program at WSE is less than three years old and already gaining momentum in the industry, but Blake notes, “We will measure our success through the payment of premiums to Montana ranchers for good stewardship of their land and livestock and the long-term protection and preservation of our agricultural lands.”
Sustainablity Pledges
The definition of sustainability as a modern term ranges from scientific analysis of ecological and economic systems to a passion for the sustenance of future generations. WSE has created a defined sustainability criteria for produce and grain growers, livestock producers, general businesses and processors and distributors (to view detailed criteria, visit westernsustainabilityexchange.org).
Sustainable criteria at WSE refers to humane livestock treatment, reduction of chemical, hormone and antibiotic use, protection of open space, and conservation of resources, wildlife habitat and water quality.
Program Director Annie Conley notes sustainability criteria laid out for members works as a benchmark for businesses or organizations to evaluate their commitment to clean air and water, conservation of resources and wild land, and avoidance of chemicals and hormones in agricultural production.
Sustainable agriculture has economic benefits to producers and consumers in the local system, Conley adds, indicating that “Money spent locally circulates in the community...and money spent in the community on agricultural products creates a higher economic multiplier effect.”
Businesses may join WSE at different membership levels and benefit from connections to training, networking with others in the exchange, use of a “sustainability rating” star logo indicating level of sustainable practice for livestock and produce, as well as listings in a variety of programs and materials distributed and made available by the organization.
The criteria for membership is specific, and only companies and organizations with a proven commitment to WSE’s guidelines of sustainability may participate in many of WSE’s programs. Conley says this exclusive membership criteria enables networking partners to come to the agricultural market prepared to both do business and uphold a pledge to conserve land and resources.
The dynamic relationships the staff at WSE has forged with producers, buyers, distributors and retailers is evident at the recent WSE Local Foods Commerce Day held at the Best Western Yellowstone Inn in Livingston Monday, January 24. Many of the members of WSE forge new connections with one another at the event each year, one of three Commerce Days now held by WSE throughout the state annually. At the Livingston event, the majority of the 30 or so attendants are producers, followed by buyers, processors and distributors.
Executive Director Lill Ericson says each Commerce Day is unique and has a varied mix of participants. One year representatives from local restaurants were the primary attendants at the Livingston event.
The event features speakers, seminars, a luncheon featuring edible contributions from WSE member producers and a “speed dating” session between producers and buyers which often nets profitable annual contacts for both sides of the table.
“A producer once told me he made a whole year of contacts in one day,” says Conley of the success of the networking event.
Tracy Lenhardt of Sysco Foods distribution service admitted her attendance at the Local Food Commerce Day was motivated primarily by the need to meet the demands of Sysco customers for more locally-produced products.
“We want to hear what the consumer says,” commented Lenhardt during a discussion period at the conference, “It’s the number-one trend in the business.”
With higher costs of maintaining sustainability within the food supply system often come higher costs for consumers.
“It’s a choice,” says WSE Executive Director Ericson, “The price is always paid. The question is: how are you going to pay it?”
She notes data showing the enhanced nutritional benefits of meats produced in a humane and chemical-free manner. Ericson also cites the benefits of clean air and water in the choice of sustainably-produced livestock and produce.
Conley expounds upon the benefits of paying a percentage more per pound for locally and sustainably farmed or produced livestock and foods: “enhanced food safety, creation of economic stability, preservation of wildlife habitat, superior quality in food and a commitment to the community.”
WSE outreach programs in the community include the Farmer’s Market, a Farm-to-Restaurant listing, an extensive website with numerous links to participating members, and the sponsorship of community events such as film screenings and seminars.
For more information about WSE programs or upcoming Local Foods Commerce Days in Billings and Missoula, call 222-0730 or visit westernsustainabilityexchange.org.
Farms For Families
“Farms for Families is trying to build a healthy community by growing a local food system,” says Mark Rehder, owner of Geyser Farms and director of the Livingston-based agriculture organization Farms for Families.
“Health benefits, economic benefits and security benefits are all core ingredients for healthy food systems... Park county has the resources to produce enough for the rounded food needs we have here,” says Rehder.
In Park county, access to fresh water is excellent for most small-scale farmers, he explains, and a hearty crop from one season can be extended through preservation. In agricultural history in Park county, game meat has also traditionally constituted much of the local diet during low or no-growth seasons and its use as a staple is still prevalent in modern households.
“Game meat has a place in our local diet, but you don’t have to depend on game,” says Rehder. At Geyser Farms, Rehder grows squash, potatoes and cabbage to be “put up” for the winter season, some with a shelf life of up to nine months.
Farms for Families maintains extensive food-producing acreage in Livingston and Paradise Valley with local produce company Geyser Farms. The program donates some of this acreage to a number of entities including the local food pantry and an incubator farm program.
Rehder shares extensive knowledge gained by over 30 years practicing sustainable farming techniques by working with local organizations, schools and individuals though the current Farms for Families program.
Time, energy and materials were recently donated to the Livingston Community Garden last season to help kick-start the project on the lawn of the former Lincoln School in Livingston. Rehder says they will continue to participate with Livingston Food Pantry in the Community Garden project in future plans for a food processing center and acreage expansion as well as donation of extra farming lands for the organization.
Farms For Families also sponsors a farm incubation program allowing qualified participants free use of farmland and facilities to develop farm-based businesses. Incubator farm participant Solana Farms now sells popular brands of basil pesto and vinaigrettes in local supermarkets and fresh produce during growing seasons.
“We need to modify our approach to food consumption...to help us understand what it means to be ‘food secure,’” says Rehder. He notes the industrial system of food production is to simplify, reduce aspects to basic parts, and make money.
“This benefits capitalists who are not reliant on the local economy,” he explains, “It’s poisonous to the community.”
Rehder says the Farms for Families program supports attempts to demonstrate a sustainable food system utilizing sustainable practices and keeping sales and revenues local. He also notes that if the community made a concerted effort to buy even five percent of their foods from local producers it would create a demand for even further agricultural projects and businesses in the area.
Working to fill a need for small-scale poultry processing, Farms for Families partnered with the Montana Poultry Growers Cooperative, USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant Programs, the Montana Department of Agriculture and other non-profit organizations to develop a mobile poultry processing unit to allow farmers across the state the ability to process chickens according to state health regulations.
Farms for Families also conducts outreach in the Farm-to-School program which attempts to engage local children in a close relationship to the land and food supply of the community through school gardens, farm field trips and school access to local food production.
The organization is currently leading the process of a Community Food Assessment (CFA) for Park County to create a “comprehensive picture of the way a community grows, processes, distributes and consumes its food.”
For more information about Farms for Families or the CFA, contact 222-7585 or visit farmsforfamilies.org.
Historic Networks
In Park county and throughout Montana, organizations promoting the inter-state and local commerce of produce and livestock have been in existence for over a century, stretching back to the days when Park county farmers and ranchers supplied much if not all of the food supply for its population.
The Park County 4-H Program through the Montana State University extension office heads a number of courses aimed at education and preservation of agricultural commerce and security in the area.
Founded in the early 1900s, 4-H programs were designed to teach adults new techniques in agriculture—from ranching to gardening—though education of the youth of America.
The program continues today with the same topics but with a wider variety of issues, says Maryann Keyes of the Park County Extension Office.
Starting as early as 6 years old “Clover Buds” may participate in the well-known program to market livestock products at the annual Park County Fair or study garden curriculum through 4-H.
Children raise animals on family farms, or work out agreements with producers or neighboring families to house growing agricultural products.
The program stresses ethics and humane treatment of animals, says Keyes, adding, “As is the case with kids raising animals, sustainability also effects the bottom line.”
By keeping animals healthy, animals need less medicine, explains Keyes, and techniques such as using healthy feed help grow animals needing no additional or artificial fattening. In most locations, the number of animals being raised is one or two, creating fertilizer instead of manure as waste.
Participants of the program carry experience through a lifetime, either as educated consumers or ethical producers, says Keyes.
The extension office also supports a curriculum of nutritional education to all elementary students in the area.
For more information about the Park County Extension office, 4-H or nutritional education, visit the website at msuextension.org/park or call 222-4156.
Statewide Resources
The state of Montana also offers resources to facilitate growth of local and sustainable industry in Montana’s food economy.
The Montana Department of Agriculture provides a detailed website of resources for growers and ranchers in the state.
Among the resources listed are four agricultural development centers serving “food entrepreneurs” such as producers or processors. Many of the centers operated previously as economic development centers for the communities served.
“Individuals and groups seeking to process or market Montana-grown products often lack the business background and tools to make their dreams a reality,” says Perri Walborn, the department’s Agricultural Marketing & Business Development Bureau Chief, “Partnering with existing small business development centers enables the centers to focus on agriculture while offering a broad range of services.”
Each of the centers provide educational workshops and many also provide in-house product testing and processing facilities. Some also provide services such as access to food scientists and information about grant and loan opportunities. The state agricultural development centers are located in Joliet, Havre, Ronan and Lewistown facilities
“Montana over the years has lost its food security,” says Nancy Matheson, Montana Department of Agriculture Special Projects Coordinator in Agricultural Marketing and Business Development. “We’re looking to retain more of the value of what is made and spent in Montana, and create a more secure food supply with more food and healthier food.”
“The demand is far exceeding the supply because we lack the processing structure,” Matheson adds, indicating that many people are unaware Montana at one time was a leading exporter of canned fruits and vegetables and there were 3,000 jobs in the livestock and produce processing industry.
Matheson estimates Montana presently produces nine to 11 percent of the agricultural products it consumes. But in the 1940s the amount of food produced and consumed locally was closer to 70 percent.
The amount of imported food has been rising sharply since the 1980s, says Matheson, and even Montana-made and grown products have been largely processed outside the state’s borders, in many cases even re-imported back to the state.
The department partners with entities such as the local Farms for Families program to craft solutions like the Mobile Poultry Processing Unit now available for use across the state to encourage in-state production, processing and commerce.
Matheson says the department also teamed up with Montana State University, and non-profit organizations including AERO (Alternative Energy Resources Organization) and Grow Montana to obtain grants to physically map Montana’s food infrastructure.
The mapping project will help increase network connections between producers and processors for all the networks, organizations and entities to draw from, says Matheson.
The department will be sponsoring a networking event Wednesday, March 23 in Helena titled “Farm to Table Connections.” Matheson says the event is designed to link Montana food suppliers to area chefs. It will be part of National Agriculture Week be celebrated in the Capitol Rotunda paired with a “Montana Ag Showcase” and a Montana foods luncheon.
For more information about the Montana Department of Agriculture, visit the Montana Food and Agricultural Development Network website at agr.mt.gov/foodandag or call (406) 444-2402.
Made in Montana
In late March, the Montana Department of Commerce will present the “Made in Montana Marketplace” in Great Falls. The Montana Department of Agriculture and the Montana Arts Council are also contributing sponsors for the networking event.
Producers of “Made in Montana” goods host booths, hundreds of wholesale buyers are present, and the opportunities for commerce are extensive considering the over 100 producer booths booked for the event.
The general public is also invited to attend the event.
Rules for participation in the event require producers to be members of the Made in Montana program and promote only products made, grown, created, or enhanced in the state. Participants also agree to provide wholesale as well as retail pricing during the event and to be capable of filling large orders within a reasonable amount of time.
Food exhibitors’ products must comply with State and Federal food labeling regulations and all products must be prepared in a State-certified kitchen.
While the commerce may be only indirectly beneficial to regional food supply systems, the event is geared towards a broad public audience as well as to buyers and producers of Montana-made products. For more information about the upcoming Made in Montana Marketplace March 25 and 26, contact Marketplace Co-ordinator Paul Lloyd-Davies at (406) 455-8510 or visit the extensive website at greatfallsmt.net/events/madeinmontana.
Networks in Higher Education
In 2009, Montana State University initiated the Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems interdisciplinary degree program for undergraduates including a sustainable food systems, crop production, agroecology or sustainable livestock production option.
Graduates can hope to find work in the growing fields of food safety, agricultural biosecurity, rural economics, loss of indigenous foods, and bioenergy production and improvement.
“The core foundation of the program is an experiential approach,” says Mary Stein, Program Coordinator. Degree-seeking students must complete curriculum focused on a “systems view” of the food supply and market, and perform extensive work in the MSU student-run Towne’s Harvest Garden, “learning what it takes to run a market garden.”
Students are also expected to complete a 135-hour summer off-campus internship with a local or regional food network, producer or organization. As the program approaches its third year in existence, the first round of interns will be completing their internships during the summer of 2011 in such diverse organizations as the Montana Department of Agriculture, the local Farms for Families program, the Montana Food Bank Network, at small farms state-wide and in state policy and federal legislation.
Stein says the program focuses on the “nurturing and development of future food systems leaders,” by starting students out in the network of Montana’s sustainable food systems.
The program also sponsors a monthly lecture series. The next presentation will be in conjunction with the MSU Local Food Fair February 8, 2011 at the MSU Student Union. Featured presenter will be John Turenne, president and founder of Sustainable Food Systems, speaking about the Farm-to-College and university food systems.
Over 50 food vendors from across the state will be in attendance at the Local Food Fair offering exclusively local and regional products, says Stein.
For more information about the degree program, the upcoming Food Fair or the monthly lecture series, please visit the MSU website at sfbs.montana.edu or call 994-5640.
Statewide Organizations
The following is a general summary of organizations supporting local and sustainably produced agriculture in communities across the state.
The number of organizations continues to grow and multiply, and many organizations support smaller initiatives or are members of larger coalitions too numerous to print.
Grow Montana in Helena, “Promotes community economic development policies that support sustainable Montana-owned food production, processing, and distribution, and increase citizens’ access to Montana foods.”
Specific goals of the program include “enabling Montana’s food producers to meet more of the state’s food needs, retaining more of the value added to agricultural products in Montana communities, improving all citizens’ access to healthy, nutritious food, reconnecting Montana’s rural and urban economies and enhancing stewardship of Montana’s natural resources.”
An extensive website includes detailed listings of current projects and objectives and a 10-minute video “Montana’s Food System in Change” which tells the history of Montana’s food system from a time when the state’s farmers and ranchers produced most of the food for Montanans, and through agriculture’s shift to commodity production for export following WWII. The video was produced for the March 2007 Montana Governor’s Summit on Food and Agriculture. For more information, visit the website at growmontana.ncat.org or call (406) 443-7272.
Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) is a Helena-based grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to “solutions that promote resource conservation and local economic vitality” through programs supporting sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and environmental quality.
According to the organization website, AERO was founded during the energy crisis of the 1970s to promote local alternatives to non-renewable energy sources. In the early 1980s, AERO began addressing the need to protect renewable resources, “especially the natural and human resources on which agriculture and rural communities depend.”
AERO maintains updated lists of statewide farmer’s markets and sponsors farm tours as well as CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares. For more information, visit the website at aeromt.org or call (406) 443-7272.
Since 1976 the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in Butte has been “serving economically disadvantaged people by providing information and access to appropriate technologies that can help improve their lives.”
Current sustainable agriculture projects include the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) to help disseminate information about sustainable agriculture, the Grow Montana coalition and the Growing Small Farmers Small Farm Initiative. For more information, visit the website at ncat.org or call the NCAT headquarters in Butte at (406) 494-4572.
The Bozeman-based branch of Bioregional OutReach Network (BORN) “catalyzes sustainable progress in the northern Rockies bioregion by establishing networks that connect people to people and people to place through open dialogue, arts, activism, education and events.” For more information, visit the website at bornnetwork.org.
Montana Farm to School Program efforts were initiated by the Community Food and Agriculture Coalition in Missoula in collaboration with other local organizations interested in “strengthening Montana’s food system and assuring that all citizens have access to affordable, healthy foods.”
The program has grown and Child Nutrition Directors statewide now take the lead on their own as well as partnering with diverse coalitions including state agencies, community-based organizations, and concerned citizens.
According to the program website, individual community programs vary across the state, and range from schools highlighting seasonal Montana foods to special meal events and school districts contracting with farmers to purchase large volumes of their harvest. In-class Farm to School activities as well as garden-based education comprise many of these programs. For more information, visit the website at farmtoschool.org/MT or call 581-8209.
The Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC ) grew out of the Community Food Assessment of Missoula County. CFAC is a multi-stakeholder coalition that “addresses community needs related to food and agriculture in a comprehensive and creative way aiming to develop and strengthen Missoula County’s food system.” For information, visit the website at missoulacfac.org or call (406) 880-0543.
The Growing Community Project is a “diverse group of individuals and organizations that are working together to develop community gardens within walking distance of every neighborhood in Helena, Montana.” For more information, visit the website at helenagcp.wikidot.com or call (406) 495-0497.
The Western Montana Growers Cooperative (WMGC) is a coalition of growers in the Flathead, Jocko, Mission and Bitterroot Valleys whose goal is “to provide the market in the region with fresh, quality products from local farms.” For information visit the website at wmgcoop.com or call (406) 726-4769.
Networks Across the Globe
In the coming months and years. Farmers, families and organizations across Montana can look for economic hope in supporting the new wave of locally-produced food networks and systems.
Food security and self-sustainability in the communities of Park county and across the globe in Kaua‘i are complex and dynamic issues with hundreds of variables in the equation. In the coming installment of
“Sustainable Community Building” The Livingston Current will look in-depth at sustainable networks and education in the food systems of the island of Kaua‘i as compared to those in the Park county area.
The Current will continue to examine more in-depth the issues of creating viable food networks to support future generations in our communities as well as the lessons each community may learn from the other in creating these networks.
We encourage any individuals or organizations to contact us with expanded information that could be of value to the exploration of these issues.
—Reilly Neill
news@livingstoncurrent.com
