About Us—Western Trails Food & Farm-to-Table
Only 10% of food consumed in Montana is produced locally compared to the 1950s and before, when 70% of our food was local. Now virtually all farm products are shipped out of state to be processed, and nearly all on-farm inputs are shipped into the region. The average food consumed in Montana travels 1400 miles to arrive on our plate. This downward spiral has led to significant population loss in eastern Montana over the last 50 years.
The Glendive Horizons Farm-to-Table project is working to change that. A local food system will aid in the development of new commercial crops that producers would be willing to grow locally, if they knew they had a reliable marketing outlet. We bought Western Trails Cowboy Food in October, 2006 from Bud & Jean Clem of Bozeman, because their retirement business showcased value-added agriculture. We are proud to continue their mission of promoting the benefits of hulless barley grown in Montana.
Currently in eastern Montana there are no processing facilities and no system to get the product to the customer in a marketable form. The integrated approach of this project will provide processing capabilities through a commercial kitchen and a combination of marketing devices for cooperative members within 150 miles of Glendive to market their products locally and beyond.
The Ag Marketing Cooperative will help get their products into restaurants, grocery stores, and institutions. Community GATE, the non-profit umbrella of Farm-to-Table formed a producer-owned, integrated farm-to-table marketing cooperative that includes a shared-use commercial kitchen, farm-to-table restaurant, retail outlet and microbrewery located overlooking the Yellowstone River. $500 shares are now available.
These farm-to-table volunteers, with the help of a VISTA volunteer, currently operate Western Trails Food. It's a value-added food business that processes hulless barley and dry beans into soup mixes, barley flour, flakes, and pancake and bread mixes, and is introducing a new line called Prairie Home Cuisine. Western Trails Food products are located in health food, gift shops and grocery stores from Libby to Baker.
By integrating a shared-use commercial kitchen into the project, Grandma's chokecherry syrup or Dad's favorite salsas can be processed locally and sold in stores. The Farm-to-Table restaurant along the banks of the Yellowstone River will feature locally grown foods that will be prepared by culinary students school under the direction of a master chef. Farm-to-Table has worked with Dawson Community College on a culinary curriculum that emphasizes business management and working with local producers.
Not only will we reap the benefits of fresher and more flavorful foods by choosing locally grown products, we are keeping our dollars within the local economy and supporting family farm operations that are so important to our local economies. Contact Bruce Smith, Dawson County Extension Agent at 406-377-4277, Peggy Iba at 406-377-4284, or visit the Community GATE and Farm-to-Table websites for more information.
Thanks to Northwest Area Foundation, Growth through Agriculture, USDA and many others for feasibility studies funds, architectural drawings, equipment and expertise to move forward on this worthy project.
