Much of the progress at the Bruce Seed Farm cleaning facility in Townsend is thanks to one of the opportunities through the Montana Department of Agriculture’s programs promoting growth of the industry.
“I really enjoy the seed business and the importance of seed,” said Bruce Seed Farm VP of sales Gord Pearse. “Everything starts with a seed.”
Bruce Seed Farm is just one example of an organization that’s benefited from the “Growth Through Agriculture” program, a program that offers loans and grants to Montanans to improve their business through new products and processes.
The program sees plenty of applicants each year, awarding and loaning between $800,000 to $1.2 million. Since 1989, the program has helped Montanans all over the state.
In recent years, Bruce Seed Farm was granted $25,000 to help improve its facility management.
“You know, Montana State cares, and it’s certainly very well received and appreciated,” Pearse said.
Bruce Seed Farm harvests, cleans, and sells around 25 different crop kinds across 2,300 acres of land in Broadwater County. Their main focus is grass seeds, largely helping feed livestock in the area.
When Pearce heard about the program, he applied, saying they could use some upgrades to their facility.
“We’ve outgrown that old plant, and that should be in a museum somewhere,” Pearse said.
Their facility houses complex machinery, so they knew it would be a challenge.
“This provided the core funding for hiring a consultant and figuring out flow and such within a new seed plant operation,” Pearse explained.
Pearse says the funding has not only helped with management, but also with the efficiency of producing and cleaning their seeds.
“So far, we're seeing, I guess, on our first seed crop, we're seeing 3x capacity on pounds per hour,” Pearse said.
On the current crop they’re cleaning, compared to the old plant system, Pearse says they’re closer to four and a half to five times capacity, expecting to better meet industry demand quicker.
Any Montanans interested in the program can find more information about the application process, eligibility, and program guidelines here.
