Upcoming Events
Montana Mobile Poultry Unit Processing Training, June 9th

Better Process Control School (BPCS), July 12-13

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), July 15-16
Recent Events

Raising Heritage Bred Poultry, April 24th
Staff
Roland Godan
Yvette Rodriguez

 

"They have been very helpful. Without the center it would have been hard to get going." -Bipin Patel, Tipu's Tiger Chai

 

Sponsors

Lake County Community Development Corporation

Montana Department of Agriculture

Food and Agriculture Development Center Program

 

 

 

History of the Center

The Mission Mountain Food Processing Center has undergone several phases of development since the idea was conceived during the Montana Food System Initiative working groups in 1998. In 1999 a marketing plan for the formerly titled Mission Valley Market project revealed that western Montana farmers, ranchers and food producers needed marketing, food processing, and distribution infrastructure developed to enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of rural Montana communities, families and individuals. By April 2000 the Mission Mountain Food Processing Center was built and began providing a venue for the incubation of specialty food entrepreneurs and value added agricultural producers. Mission Mountain's ground breaking work has led to the incubation of food businesses such as U.S. Omega 3, Superior Meats, Amazing Grains, Flathead Lake Winery, Natural Creations, Sustainable Systems, Gluten Free Mama, Papa Don's Barbeque, Western Trails Food, Tipu's Tiger Chai, Thunderhead, LLC, The Orchard of Flathead Lake, and Silent Creations Buffalo Products, LLC. In addition, we are proud that our groundwork has influenced local and regional food system development to the extent that new food processing facilities such as American Food Products and Farm to Table are emerging as financially viable business enterprises here in western Montana and around the state.

Purpose of the Center

Located directly in the heart of Ronan, Montana and covering over a 1/4 of a city block, the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center is a full function food processing, research and development facility consisting of 11 major modules along with office space, conference and lunch rooms. The food processing facility is United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Montana Department of Agriculture Organic program inspected.

The goal of the Mission Mountain Food Processing Center is to retain agricultural food dollars in Montana communities. We strive to meet our goal through the incubation of food businesses and the through the development of source verified, value added agricultural products that are grown, processed and packaged in Montana and marketed to our farm to cafeteria and restaurant partners. In addition to food processing, we provide warehouse storage for dry and perishable agricultural goods.

 

Rich, Sophie, Cath, James and Paul

The Commercial Kitchen rents for $22.00 an hour.

Gas RangesStove and Burners
Gas Ranges Dish WasherDishwasher and clean up area
 oven and mixerConvection Oven and Dual Mixer
 KettleTwin 40 gal Kettles

Commercial
Kitchen

The Production Room rents for $50.00 to $150.00 an hour.

Production RoomProduction Room
West Side Production RoomProduction Room
East Side Steam KettlesTwin 100 gal. Steam Jacket Kettles
 Bottling LineAutomated Bottling Line
Bottling Line in action PasterizerPasteurizer
 Automatic LabelerAutomatic Bottler

Production
Room

The Dry Fill Room rents for $22.00 an hour.

Dry Fill RoomDry Fill Room
 Dry FillerDry Filler
 Ribbon MixerRibbon Mixer
 Tea BaggerTea Bagger

Dry Fill
Room

Packaging Equipment rents for $10.00 an hour.

SealerInduction Sealer
 VacumeVacuum Sealer
 Ribbon SealerRibbon Sealer

Packaging
Room

The Harvest Wash Area rents for $10.00 an hour.

washHarvest Wash Area

Harvest
Wash Room

USDA Meat Room rents for $35.00 an hour.

EquipmentHigh Volume Equipment
 Meat GrinderMeat Grinder
 RacksDrying Racks
 TumblerVacuum Tumbler
 DehydratorDehydrator
 SmokersTwo walk in dehydrator smokers

USDA
Meat Room

Freezer and Cooler rents for $40.00 per pallet per month.

cooler space1300 ft. of freezer / cooler space

Freezer
and Cooler

Lab and Test Equipment

Lab AreaLab Area
 EquipmentLab and Test Equipment
 EquipmentLab and Test Equipment

Lab &
Test Equipment

Milling Room rents for $10.00 an hour.

MillerMulti-Screen Miller
 FillerWeigh Filler

Milling
Room

Warehouse rents for $25.00 per pallet per month.

WarehouseWarehouse
 EastLoading Doors East
 WestLoading Doors West
 Pallet JackElectric Pallet Jack

Warehouse

Administrative Support

conferenceMulti-Media Conference Room
 LibraryResource Library
 MeetingMeeting Room
 SupportTechnical Support and Reception

Administrative Support

Value Added agriculture refers to the process of increasing the economic value and consumer appeal of an agricultural product through processing, packaging and marketing.

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:

sponsors

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

Roland, a 20 year Montanan, brings an engineering and small business ownership skill set to MMFEC. Five years in Earth Sciences, four years freight distribution/warehousing, five years Water Conservation & Municipal Infrastructure Consulting IT and over a decade in Contract Bidding in medium scale mining and logging provides a diverse background. Certifications in ServeSafe Food Handling, Washington State Certified Acidified Processing , MT HAACP Planning and Implementation, Lake & Flathead County Sanitarian licensee, former member Illinois Realtors Association and USAF Air Weather Service Certified brings a broad scope of problem solving skills. He can help assess your needs, design procedures and plans, then implement to completion. Stop in any time to chat with Roland, or he can be reached via phone at 406-676-0676, email at rg@ronan.net.

A Montana resident for 7 years and a MMFEC employee for 6 years. Yvette brings 20 years of production experience, most of which has been in meat processing.

Her extensive knowledge and experience here in the facility coupled with her certifications in ServeSafe Food Handling, Acidified Processing and HAACP Planning make her an excellent resource for our clients.

You can contact her at 406-676-0676, yvetterodriguez@ronan.net or just stop in, she'll be glad to assist you