Our Centers' Roles in Local Food System Development Lake County Community Development's Mission Mountain
Food and Agriculture Center,
Cooperative Development Center and
Food Processing Center are a multi-dimensional local, regional and statewide food system development resource that have influenced changes in the value chain from farm and ranch production, to food innovation processing, to distribution of local food and finally to the consumers' plates. We are proud to be at the forefront of local food system development in western Montana and throughout the state. Whether you are a
farmer or
rancher, a
chef, a
specialty food entrepreneur, a
food service worker for a
school, college or hospital, a
person interested in cooperatives or an
eater we invite you to tour our website, give our staff a call or stop by our Centers for a visit.
Business and market development.
Label and package development,
nutritional analysis and creating
register UPC bar codes.
Food processing infrastructure,
Multimedia resource library, Community Kitchen.
Federal, state, local and non-profit
food system network resources.
Ensure access to safe, fresh, nutritious,
and affordable local and regional food.
Stimulate the economic recovery of
rural communities by recapturing the
food dollars leaving Montana and
creating jobs.
Increase farm and ranch economic
viability by providing opportunities for
diversifying farm and ranch production.
Raising Heritage Bred Poultry: For sustainable farming, marketing, exhibition & preservation
Location: University of Montana, Missoula, Mt.
Date: April 24th, 8:30am - 2:30pm
Eighteen people joined Jim Adkins from the International Center for Poultry for a seminar on developing a sustainable poultry system in Montana. The attendees learned what heritage poultry breeds are on the verge of extinction. Attendees also learned how to sustainably reproduce and raise heritage poultry for eggs and meat purposes. The newly licensed Mobile Poultry Processing Unit was on hand for people to tour. The MPU is available to Montana Poultry Grower’s Cooperative members who are interested in selling poultry meat to stores and restaurants. At the conclusion of the seminar the Poultry Cooperative met to share ideas about the next steps in the development of a poultry industry in Montana. Ideas included a heritage breed project that would include cooperatively raising heritage birds for the market place and developing a marketing and educational campaign to inform consumers about the need for a sustainable poultry industry in Montana.
More Information: Contact Karl Sutton, 406-676-5901 ksutton@ronan.net or visit the newly launched Montana Poultry Growers Cooperative website: www.chicken.coop.
Montana Mobile Poultry Unit Processing Training
Location:Lake County Community Development Center 407 Main St SW, Ronan, Montana 59864
Date: June 9, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Are you a small scale farmer wishing to diversify your operation? Are you interested in raising and processing chickens for local markets? Do you have questions about regulations and procedures in regards to processing of poultry? Then this FREE workshop is for you!
This workshop will present information and hands-on learning on the use of the Mobile Processing Unit This unit, now licensed in the state of Montana as a mobile slaughter facility, is designed for small scale farmers to process their poultry on farm and to sell to local markets. Topics covered will include food safety, regulatory requirements of processing poultry and correct processing procedures. Each participant will receive the Mobile Processing Unit Training Manual.
Refreshments will be provided
More Information: Contact Karl Sutton, cooperative development coordinator at Lake County Community Development, 406-676-5901 ksutton@ronan.net
Sponsored by:
Better Process Control School (BPCS)
Location: Lake County Community Development Center Conference Room, 407 Main St SW Ronan, Montana 59864
Date: July 12-13, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Richard Dougherty, WSU Extension Food Science Specialist
Fee: $100
About the instructor: Dr. Richard Dougherty is an Extension Food Science Specialist at Washington State University in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. Dr. Dougherty joined Washington State University in 1990 after spending more than 15 years in the food processing and packaging industries. He conducts workshops and conferences on food safety, regulatory issues, low acid and acidified foods processing, HACCP, SQF, product development, and food business development. His experience has included management of quality assurance, product development, regulatory affairs, research, and technical services for food processing and related operations. He has worked with a wide range of canned, frozen, dehydrated, and freeze-dried products, including fruits and vegetables, juices, soups, snacks, meat & poultry, and seafood.
For More Information: Contact Karl Sutton, 406-676-5901 ksutton@ronan
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP)
Location: Lake County Community Development Center Conference Room, 407 Main St SW, Ronan, Montana 59864
Date: July 15-16, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Richard Dougherty, WSU Extension Food Science Specialist
Fee: $100
HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of finished product. HACCP is not a zero risk system, but is designed to minimize the risk of food safety
HACCP is being successfully applied to all segments of the food industry from growing, harvesting, processing, manufacturing, distributing, and merchandising to preparing food for consumption. Prerequisite programs such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s) are an essential foundation for the development and implementation of successful HACCP plans. There are five preliminary steps and seven principles of HACCP that are universally accepted by government agencies, trade associations, and the food industry around the world. This training offers practical Basic HACCP that satisfies each of the education requirements of mandatory HACCP regulations. Further, this Basic HACCP training is applicable to any food-related system.
About the instructor: Dr. Richard Dougherty is an Extension Food Science Specialist at Washington State University in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. Dr. Dougherty joined Washington State University in 1990 after spending more than 15 years in the food processing and packaging industries. He conducts workshops and conferences on food safety, regulatory issues, low acid and acidified foods processing, HACCP, SQF, product development, and food business development. His experience has included management of quality assurance, product development, regulatory affairs, research, and technical services for food processing and related operations. He has worked with a wide range of canned, frozen, dehydrated, and freeze-dried products, including fruits and vegetables, juices, soups, snacks, meat & poultry, and seafood.
For More Information: Contact Karl Sutton, 406-676-5901 ksutton@ronan
Raising Heritage Bred Poultry: For sustainable farming, marketing, exhibition & preservation
Location: University of Montana, James Todd Building
Room 204
Missoula, Mt.
Date: April 24th, 8:30am - 2:30pm
Have you ever tasted a farm-fresh egg or a freshly harvested chicken? Would you like to learn what heritage breeds are on the verge of extinction and how you can be a part of their preservation? Learn how to sustainably reproduce and raise heritage poultry for eggs and meat purposes? Learn how to access the Montana Poultry Cooperative's mobile poultry processing unit in order to sell poultry products in stores and restaurants? Then this workshop is for you!
Join Jim Adkins from the International Center for Poultry for a seminar on developing a sustainable poultry system in Montana. At the conclusion of the workshop the Montana Poultry Growers Cooperative will hold a growers meeting from 3:00pm - 4:30pm for existing and potential producers.
For More Information: Contact Karl Sutton, 406-676-5901 ksutton@ronan
Concept to Consumer
Location: Ronan, MT
Date: March 20th, 9:00am - 3:00pm
Twelve food entrepreneurs attended the Concept to Consumer training held in Missoula at the Missoula Public Library on March 20, 2010. Jan Tusick of Mission Mountain’s Food and Ag Center and Chance Eaton instructor of Agri-Business Management at Dawson Community College provided beginning and emerging food entrepreneurs information and resources on food safety regulation and food industry information in relation to establishing a successful food business in Montana. In addition to the small business and market development information, Chance Eaton emphasized that business vision and purpose is a cornerstone to successful businesses, and that the unconscious mind weighs heavily on an individual’s decision making process. The course was developed with support from the Montana Bio Product Innovation Center Program and The Food Technology Center- University of Idaho.
For scheduling a farm to school tour of your own: Contact Karl Sutton406-676-0676 ksutton@ronan.net
