Producer Profiles—Produce

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Gallatin Valley Botanical Matt and Jacy Rothschiller Bozeman, MT	Matt and Jacy Rothschiller grow a wide variety of produce for the Co-op, including onions and Jerusalem artichokes. They have been growing produce for five years on leased land just west of Belgrade. They recently purchased their own plot of land east of Bozeman. While Gallatin Valley Botanical is not certified organic, they don’t use chemicals anywhere in their operation. Instead, they use crop rotation, insect-attracting plants, compost and cover crops to manage soil fertility and balance insect pests. “Every year we strive to increase our knowledge of soil fertility through observation and study,” says Matt. Look for Gallatin Valley Botanicals’ produce at the Co-op, Bozeman farmers’ market and at many area restaurants.
Lifeline Produce Luci Brieger and Steve Elliott Victor, MT	Lifeline Produce is located in Victor, Montana, about 37 miles south of Missoula. They began their farm in the late 1970s. They were certified organic in 1990, when the certification process began. However, in 2006 they dropped national certification in favor of membership in the Montana Sustainable Growers’ Union, Western Montana’s local farm extension, education and verification group. Lifeline Produce encompasses 40 acres, about 29 acres are in permanent pasture (some irrigated), eight acres are in hay and nine are in mixed vegetables, flowers and herbs. They grow a variety of crops for the Co-op, including lettuce and kale. To maintain soil health and fertility they employ many strategies including biodynamic field sprays and compost preparations. They rotate crops, cover crop, mulch and rotate fields. They believe the best approach to pest management is preventing pest outbreaks by maintaining soil health, and therefore plant health. Hands, hand tools, machinery, proper timing, mulching and grazing livestock are their top weed management tools.
Home Acres Orchard Pam Clevenger and Kurt Welborne Stevensville, MT	Home Acres Orchard is located about 40 miles south of Missoula in the Bitterroot Valley. They started their orchard in 1989, grafting the trees themselves. They have 2500 plus trees planted on five acres, with another 40 acres in pasture. They were certified organic in 1994, and maintained that status until 2006, when they dropped certification in favor of membership in the Western Montana Sustainable Growers Union. They have 18 varieties of apples, six varieties of pears and three varieties of Asian pears. They also have several varieties of apricots, two varieties of pie cherries and four varieties of plums. The well maintained understory between and beneath the trees encourages a strong population of beneficial insects, which in turn helps to maintain a natural ecological balance. The wildlife plantings offer safe haven and food for many birds, which also help to control insect levels. In addition, it supports a diverse population of wild pollinators, which eliminates the need to bring in honeybees every year. Home Acres supplies the Co-op with apples and pears.
Wayward Raven Farms Kate Huston Bozeman, MT	Wayward Raven Farms, owned by Co-op employee Kate Huston, is located in Bozeman, MT. Wayward Raven produces gourmet lettuce mixes and braising mixes for the Co-op, restaurants and caterers. Local grower Averil Heath of Springhill Farms became Kate’s mentor back in 2005. Looking to pass on her knowledge of growing salad mix, Averil took Kate under her wing and educated her about the fine art of growing greens. While Wayward Raven is not certified organic, Kate steers free of pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and genetically modified seeds. Some of the farms natural crop control methods include beneficial insects, weed-pulling, crop-rotation and biodynamic use of farm materials. Wayward Raven’s salad mixes are made from over a dozen varieties of heirloom lettuces. “My purpose for growing salad mix is to help raise awareness about what we put in our bodies,” says Kate. She is committed to what she calls “beyond organic farming.”
Springhill Farms Averil Heath Belgrade, MT	Averil Heath, owner of Springhill Farms, grows herbs and spinach on a half acre of land in Belgrade, MT. Averil has been farming this land since 1982. She began supplying the Co-op with her produce in 1990, the same year she became certified organic. She ended her certification in 2006, due to a decision to reduce her production, but continues to employ the same growing practices. Her philosophy is that if you use herbicides and pesticides on your garden, then you negate the reason for healthy eating in the first place. Averil uses crop rotation and nitrogen fixers to help maintain healthy soil. She uses biological pesticides to control pests and she plants natural grasses to out compete invasive weeds. These methods have been working on farm since the beginning, and continue to produce nutritious, tasty vegetables and herbs to this day.
Geyser Farm Mark Rehder Livingston, MT	Mark Rehder, owner of Geyser Farm, holds a degree in agriculture and has been farming for nearly 20 years. He has been on his 10-acre plot of land in Livingston, MT for three. He supplies the Co-op with a large assortment of produce, including garlic, onions, beets, kale, winter squash and cucumbers. While Geyser Farm is not certified organic, Mark follows organic growing procedures in all parts of his operation. Geyser Farm strives to be a sustainable business in every way: they grow diversified crops, practice crop rotation, sell all of their produce within 30 miles of the farm, donate food to charitable organizations and deliver produce on the day in was harvested. Mark has also started a non-profit called Farms for Families, which is dedicated to improving the self-reliance of local food systems. They promote market garden production, food processing and pastured animal systems. Geyser Farm acts as the central farm and assists satellite farms in establishing market gardens. The organization strives to give people the tools to control their nutrition by eating locally as well as the education to establish home gardens.
Wil-Due Farms Ed and Joanne Drake Three Forks	Ed and Joanne Drake broke soil at Wil-Due Farms 23-years-ago and named it for the ‘will-do’ attitude of the people who work on it. Wil-Due has been USDA Certified for nine years, and still continues to farm lightly with a non-chemical attitude. “We try to give back to the earth everything that we take from it,” said Ed, “and consider our relationship with the garden to be a mutually beneficial one.” The Drake’s hold a strong belief that quality is more important than quantity. This translates to their operations, in which significant time is dedicated to planning, growing and harvesting each and every vegetable so their consumers are getting the product they pay for.
River Road Produce and Flowers Vince and Darlene Guhin Bozeman	River Road Produce and Flowers is operated by Vince and Darlene Guhin and family. The Guhin’s have been working on this farm, west of Bozeman, for over 30 years producing organically-grown vegetables and flowers. The Guhin’s have worked with the Community Food Co-op for most of these years, delivering very small bunches of veggies and flowers once a week to the original College Street store. As the Co-op expanded, so to did their farm. The Guhin’s also provided the Co-op with their farm eggs. “We appreciate the Co-op’s role in encouraging and working with local farming and ranching,” notes Darlene. “Supplying a market for the products is one of its most valuable roles to us, the producers.”
Swanson's Mountain View Orchards Charles Swanson Corvallis	Swanson’s Mountain View Orchards is a family-owned and operated business that provides the Co-op with 21 different apple varieties, primarily McIntosh and fresh apple cider. The orchard, 500 acres in Corvallis, has been in the Swanson family since 1907. “We are one of the last surviving of the original apple orchards of the Bitterroot Valley, which in its hay day was considered the Napa Valley of Montana,” said Charles. The Swanson’s take pride in operating their orchard “as organic as possible” and utilize active pest management, minimizing the use of sprays.
The Western Montana Growers Cooperative Mark Wehri, General Manager Arlee	The Western Montana Growers Cooperative is a coalition of growers in the Flathead, Jocko, Mission and Bitterroot Valleys, as well as Belt, MT, whose goal is to provide the wholesale market in the Western region of Montana with fresh, quality products from their farms. To reach that goal, the cooperative provides a wholesale marketing and delivery service for its members. WMGC strives to improve the “local food system” of our area by enhancing the sustainability of local farms and contributing to local economic growth, while also reducing the demand of produce being shipped here from long distances. The co-operative began in early 2003 and started to sell member produce between Polson and Missoula that summer. Today, WMCG provides the Co-op with fruit, herbs, vegetables, eggs, cheese and grains. Most WMCG member farms are either Certified Organic or members of the Montana Sustainable Growers Union (Homegrown).