Current Press Releases
Profit seen in growing vegetables (Jan 20, 2001)
By JIM SCHAEFER
For The Gazette
Maybe some vegetables could put a little color back in Eastern Montana’s anemic economy.
That’s one suggestion from Bruce Smith, the Dawson County Extension agent, who spoke Wednesday during an Eastern Plains Resource Conservation Development area meeting.
The non-profit RC&D is looking for ways to jump-start new businesses and preserve existing businesses. The meeting was attended by representatives from Baker, Ekalaka, Sidney, Glasgow, Jordan, Glendive, Wibaux, and several other communities.
Smith presented information on the feasibility of creating commercial vegetable operations along the Missouri and Yellowstone valleys. The area is ideally suited to the production of potatoes, carrots, onions and different types of edible beans, he said.
Potato production would require large investments in sprinkler irrigation systems, but the other commodities could be grown on acres currently used for growing sugar beets. Warehouses and distribution systems also would need to be developed. That’s been done before, he noted, describing Community GATE. That Glendive group, organized by the Office of Public Assistance, was able to acquire a feed mill and grain elevator from Cenex Harvest States, and is currently using the facility as a recycling and job training center.
“The facility could serve as a starting point for a vegetable distribution warehouse, ” Smith said. “Eventually, we would have to do something different, but we could utilize the plant, especially for edible beans.”
Smith displayed a map that indicated as many as 280,000 acres in the area could be devoted to vegetable production.
Other concerns included rising natural gas and fuel costs, which hinder the creation of new businesses, and can cripple existing businesses that already are struggling.
Tom Scott, CEO of First Interstate Bank of Billings, was the meeting’s keynote speaker. He was appointed chair of the Economic Development Action Group, organized last June by Sen. Max Baucus. Scott explained the role of the group is to present ideas to Gov. Judy Martz about how to improve business in Montana.
“Education is the top priority. Education is not a cost, it’s an investment," Scott said. “We’ve got to quit telling ourselves there is no money for education and try to figure out how to generate the resources to fund it.”
One of the biggest problems in state government is knowing who to call if your have a specific problem or suggestion for business improvement, Scott said. One of his group’s suggestions to Martz was to appoint someone to act as a clearinghouse for such problems and suggestions.
“Gov. Martz, as a business person, is someone who will hold people accountable,” he said. He believes she will appoint someone to fill the role.
After Scott’s presentation, the owners of several companies that have received grants from the RC&D gave reports on the progress of their endeavors. Jerald Bergman, director of the MSU Eastern Ag Research Center in Sidney said he has successfully completed three projects.
The first was research to determine if potatoes could be grown to meet specifications set by large corporations. He was able to produce potatoes that were well within those specs and believes potato production in the area is going to increase.
Bergman’s other projects included work on identity-preserved wheat, and a safflower variety which is lower in saturated fat than any other variety. He deemed both of the projects successful, and believes they will open other opportunities for farmers in the area.
Annette Thiel, of Sweet Valley Produce near Sidney, reported on the success she has attained with her vegetable production. She specializes in growing a variety of pumpkins and squash, along with sweet corn, all of which she markets to grocery stores within a 350-mile radius of her farm. She was awarded an RC&D grant she used to develop a marketing program for her business. As a result, she said she has achieved phenomenal growth, and expects the business to continue to grow.
Another intriguing story was told by Deborah Haines, of Hardin, who is developing a manure management system that can convert the manure from dairies and feedlots into methane. That methane could be used for generating electricity and powering vehicles. The process would create a byproduct that could be used as fertilizer. Her first prototype will be set up on a 300-cow dairy between Glendive and Terry.
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY MANAGEMENT PURCHASES GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS OFFSETS FROM THE CONFEDERATED SALISH AND KOOTENAI TRIBES IN MONTANA, USA
(March 29, 2001)
The Montana Carbon Offset Coalition supports carbon sequestration through market-based conservation programs. The coalition currently offers a range of program services to allow Montana farmers and foresters the opportunity to participate in the emerging carbon markets. Eastern Plains RC&D is a member of this coalition, representing the 16 eastern Montana counties.
Chicago-based Environmental Financial Products, LLC is a boutique investment bank and consultancy that specializes in the design and implementation of market-based environmental protection programs.
London - [March 29, 2001]: The London office of Sustainable Forestry Management (SFM) has concluded a transaction involving the purchase of emissions reduction offsets through reforestation of tribal lands of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana. The proceeds from this transaction will be used to reforest land that was decimated by forest fires in 1994. The trade was facilitated by the Montana Carbon Offset Coalition, which is helping farmers and foresters to participate in the emerging carbon markets.
The official announcement of the transaction was made today in Washington, D.C. by
Dr. Richard L. Sandor, Chairman of SFM, while testifying at a Hearing on Environmental Trading at the U.S. Senate's Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
A total of 47,972 tons of CO2 equivalent (net-of-buffer) will be sequestered over an 80-year period through reforestation of 100 hectares (250 acres) of high-altitude pinelands on the reservation of the Salish and Kootenai tribes of northwest Montana. An investment of US$ 50,000 by SFM will fund the reforestation of the land that was originally forest but was destroyed by fire in Sanders County, Montana. Carbon storage on the site will be maintained for 100 years. At the end of the eighty years all offsets shall be owned by the Tribes.
The transaction is the first trade in greenhouse gas emission reduction offsets involving carbon sequestration efforts on Native American lands. Chicago-based
Environmental Financial Products, LLC arranged the transaction and advised both parties. This groundbreaking trade will be monitored by tribal foresters, applying
Winrock International methodologies.
This transaction also helps produce other environmental and social benefits such as improving soil quality, protecting the region's ecosystem and providing a source of revenue streams to local communities.
Dr. Richard L. Sandor, Chairman of SFM, stated: "Society cannot get on the path to environmental sustainability if we don't improve our management of forests and soils worldwide. This path breaking international transaction is a statement of how reforestation can advance the global carbon market and help address climate change while improving the socio-economic conditions of local communities."
Mr. Tom Corse, Supervisory Forester for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes stated: "The Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes have been working with the Montana Carbon Offset Coalition for several years to bring a market-based carbon sequestration program to life. This first project will set the stage for a process that will help fund chronically under-funded tribal reforestation projects throughout the west and start the ball rolling on market-based solutions to global warming. The Tribes are pleased to be part of this win-win effort."
Mr. Larry Van Rinsum, Executive Director of the Montana Watershed Inc. noted: "The Montana Carbon Offset Coalition (MCOC) is pleased to be involved in a transaction which will set the stage for a new commodity market to be born. The MCOC feels this transaction will open the door to domestic as well as international carbon emitting companies to mitigate their CO2 emissions in the most cost-effective manner. By establishing a private market for carbon emission reduction credits, carbon emitting companies now have the opportunity to aggregate credits in anticipation of stricter regulations and make the first important step in reducing greenhouse gas concentrations and improving the overall health of the eco-system. Carbon sequestration represents one of the most effective tools now available to combat global warming."
About the Confederated Salish & Kootenai
The Flathead Indian Reservation (1,244,000 acres) is home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The tribes consist of a confederation of Salish and Pend d'Orielles Tribes and the Kootenai, as an individual tribe. Of the approximately 6,800 enrolled tribal members, approximately 3,700 live on or near the reservation. The reservation is located in the western part of Montana on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The tribal headquarters are in Pablo, MT.
Sustainable Forestry Management is an international company dedicated to making selective investments in sustainable forestry projects in the areas of carbon sequestration, biodiversity and ecotourism that yield environmental as well as social benefits.
EASTERN PLAINS RC&D AWARDS ADDITIONAL GRANTS (December 1, 2000)
Seven applicants were considered in the fourth round of funding for the Eastern Plains RC&D’s "Community Project Startup Grant Program." Applicants requested a total of $30,500 for the $11,000 available for funding. Projects funded were:
Charlie Chickenhawks of Glendive--$3,000 for market research and a feasibility study for the production and sale of eggs, chicks, pullets and laying hens, utilizing land and natural resources currently unappreciated. The grant will also provide essential start-up supplies for this family operation utilizing the abilities and talents of household members.
DDS of Glendive--$3,000 for a feasibility study on the potential patentable process of manure digestion/dehydration on dairy farms to provide useable soil compost. The goal of the project is to develop a viable manure-removal process for large animal farm operators, with future potential for innovative small community sewage waste disposal.
Sagehen Lodge Inc. of Terry--$3,000 to research and develop a wireless website for a lodging and guest ranch business. Their "Way Out West" program utilizes the A.C.R.E.S. concept—Agriculture, Conservation, Recreation, Education, and Solitude—for individuals, families, groups, business or corporate entities, and local residents.
Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority of Culbertson--$2,000 to support activities of a proposed regional rural water system project. This project will provide a high-quality domestic water supply in an area with poor ground water quality and where water is often difficult to obtain. Objectives of the project are improved health and quality of life and potential economic development in northeastern Montana.
Funding for these grants is provided by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. If you would like more information on this grant program or the funded projects, call Mike Carlson at 433-5024.
THE BIG PICTURE (November 2001)
New Program Announcement
The Eastern Plains RC&D, along with our partners South East Economic
Development, Great Northern Economic Development, the University of Montana,
and the Montana State RC&D Association, would like to make you aware of a new
service.
READ stands for the Regional Economies Assessment Database. READ is a
computerized database and evaluation system designed to allow the complex
structure and functioning of the economy to be systematically examined and
assessed at many different levels. This includes the level of more meaningfully
determined sub-state regional economies. It is at this sub-state level that
decisionmakers are being increasingly asked to address emerging problems and
needs tied to the workings of the economy; an economy that itself is
increasingly global in character. And it is for these decisionmakers that READ
is designed, hopefully providing them with a new tool for better understanding
conditions and trends in the larger economy, in their region and in other
similar sub-state regions. It's in these regions where much of community and
family life is played out and economic change is directly experienced. It's
also hoped that READ will provide local decisionmakers with a new tool for
devising strategies to better position their communities and area businesses
for future change.
Dr.Larry Swanson at the Uof M hired a programmer to adapt the database so that
multi county groups could easily access data about the demographics of their
region. The whole concept of the modification was derived to simplify our EDA
and RC&D data collection for the myriad of plans and reports that we are
required to complete, but it has uses well beyond that in this time of
shrinking tax revenues and growing demand on our collective resources.
Traditionally, most economic data are compiled for units of political
geography, including counties, states, and the nation. However, most of the
economy does not operate according to political jurisdictions and examining its
change using such units alone won't accurately reveal many important regional
variations in the economy's structure and change. Under READ, a vast array of
economic and social data have been organized to permit economic trends to be
characterized, assessed, and contrasted at many different levels; levels that
better reflect important regional differences in how the economy is organized
and changing. Economic conditions and trends in the nation as a whole are
compared and contrasted with those for the western U.S., important subregions
of the West, and for small sub-state regions whose boundaries better reflect
how the economy is organized at lower, more regional levels; the level of
sub-state regional economies and markets organized around major population
centers.
Using READ, local economic development practitioners in our cities and towns
can examine the range and scope of their common regional economy and evaluate
the role or "place" it occupies within the larger economy. With this
understanding, local decisionmakers can better appreciate needs and
opportunities for regional collaboration in areas of economic development, can
better devise strategies for positioning their regional community for future
economic change, and can jointly pursue such strategies with greater regional
capacity and scale.
If you are interested in this service, call Mike Carlson at 433-5024 or check
with one of our executive committee members. They are, for this year, Bruce
Smith from Glendive, Tony Barone from Sidney, Evelyn Kondelik from Circle, and
Ray Trumpower from Fairview. To find out who represents your area on our
council, check our website at http://www.midrivers.com/~eprcd/
Big Picture (Sept 2001)
IT OPEN
Our Information Technology open is Sept 11-14 this year in Williston. The purpose of the "IT Open" is to
lure representatives of high tech companies to our area with golf and entertainment, and while they were
here, introduce them to our area as a potential relocation or expansion possibility. One of the things we
do is send them on guided tours of what our area has to offer. Here is this years tentative tour schedule.
Rural Technology Solutions & Community Collaboration
Medical Arts Press, Ray; Amerada Hess; CERA Projects, Midland Atlas, - Watford City; Scenic Drive-
Northrop-Grumman, Ft. Berthold Comm. College-New Town
On Thursday, Fishing Excursions depart from the El Rancho Hotel early AM. Breakfast On The Grill is
available for golfers at Red Mike Golf Course. 10:00 a.m. is the Shot-gun start For IT Golf Tourney.
As you can see, we put our best foot forward, and we have been rewarded with many good contacts of
companies thinking of our area for relocation or expansion. If there are any questions please let Mike
Carlson with the EPRC&D, Erin Lutts with Midrivers, Linda Twitchell with Great Northern, or one of
our other cosponsors know.
There is also an "Ag Open" we participate in that targets agriculture related business. Contact your
EPRC&D council member and support this effort. Every city, town, county, soil conservation district and
tribal government in our 16 county area has a seat on our council.
Big Picture (June 2001)
To help fund community groups who have an idea to improve their community, we were
again successful in adding $50,000 to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and
Conservation budget for the Eastern Plains RC&D's Community Project Start-up Small
Grant Program. The applying group can be individuals, economic development
organizations, chambers, cities/counties, business start-ups or co-ops. Preference will be
given to value-added ag related projects. These grants are for project startup costs such
as organizational development expenses, travel and communications, part-time staff and
consultants. The Eastern Plains RC&D can provide technical assistance to the project and
the group through our coordinator. The goal is to have enough information and support
so that a proposal for a feasibility and marketing study for the project can be developed,
and further funding sought. Projects will need to fit the RC&D goals and objectives. This
funding will not only get projects off the ground at the local level, it will also build local
capacity for future projects. Grants are limited to a maximum of $5,000 per project and a
one-to-one match is required. The seventeen projects funded included:
* Startup activities for a dairy
* A wool packaging business
* A hormone-free boxed beef coop
* Research of identity preserved, non-GMO wheat production under sprinkler irrigation
* Research of low-saturate, oleic safflower for commercial production
* Marketing and promoting edible oils produced in southeastern Montana
* Chicken and egg production
* Livestock manure utilization
* Rural water system project
* Business recruitment of a Minneapolis-based information technology firm considering
expansion in northeastern Montana
* A gun safety invention
* Potato research
* Truck garden
* Nursing home clothing manufacturing
* Feasibility for a vertically integrated feedlot, ethanol plan and packing plant
The application deadline for the next round is July 18
and $8,000 will be available for grants. Previous unsuccessful grant applicants are invited
to resubmit an application for the next round. For more information, contact Mike
Carlson at 433-5024 or check with one of our executive committee members. They are,
for this year, Bruce Smith from Glendive, Tony Barone from Sidney, Evelyn Kondelik
from Circle, and Ray Trumpower from Fairview.
Friday, June 8, 2001
Groups, agencies join NHS in efforts to help people buy affordable housing
By JO DEE BLACK
Tribune Staff Writer
Rural Montanans now have a new avenue to obtain home loans -- a network of public and private banks, tribal, state and federal development agencies, city governments and real estate companies that will help smooth out the bumps in the road.
The Montana Homeownership Network will help people buy affordable housing, which in turn helps them build personal wealth and therefore is vital to an area's economy, Federal Reserve Board Governor Edward Gramlich said Thursday.
Gramlich, the Fed's oversight governor for consumer and community affairs, was in Great Falls Thursday for the formal signing of the partnership agreement.
The Homeownership Network is made up of more than 20 partners, including the cities of Great Falls, Missoula and Billings. It will be organized as a subsidiary of Neighborhood Housing Services, with its own board of directors.
NHS helps middle- and low-income families by, among other things, providing low-interest loans and down-payment assistance. The nonprofit organization also works to refurbish neighborhoods.
The statewide network will extend the availability of affordable loans and Homeownership education programs to rural areas of the state.
"This effort really does need a community, and that is what this network is acting as, a statewide community to bring these resources together," said Dick Brink, state coordinator for Housing and Urban Development's Helena office. "You wouldn't be as impressed if this was a city of 900,000, because you'd expect a network like this."
The network will be successful because the partners will do what they do best, NHS Director Nancy O'Brien said.
"Some partners are experienced in housing programs and education.," O'Brien said. "The real estate agents sell our houses. And we assemble financing."
NHS started gathering providing financing to help moderate- and low-income Great Falls families in 1996. In 1997, 91 local homebuyers were helped; in 2000, 406 homebuyers, most outside Great Falls, received financing.
As the demand for services outside Great Falls grew, the NHS board decided a formal statewide partnership should be organized.
"Our success is driven by the marketplace, because so many people want to buy their own homes," O'Brien said.
Similar networks exist, but mostly in urban areas, making Montana's program unique, Gramlich said. "This network will provide Montana with the services it deserves, by blanketing the state and coordinating services," he said.
"A cornerstone of people's lives is home ownership," said Marilyn Rose, president of U.S. Bank, one of eight financing institutions that are part of the network. "People have been very disciplined in attending these partnership meetings, and the diversity of the organizations involved has been impressive."
She cited the involvement of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribal Enterprise Community as an example of the partnership's diversity.
"Their involvement brings to light some of the barriers to home ownership on reservations," Rose said. "You just learn so much."
Because the network taps into a pool of people looking for mortgages, it's also a valuable resource for her bank, Rose said .
"It all fits into the products we offer. If you don't have a product to offer people, you loose a piece of the service we provide. This is an added piece."
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