Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Tester hears concerns of Gallatin small farmers

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester sat down in Bozeman with five producers to learn about ways to help small farms engaged in sustainable agriculture. The Democrat got an earful but was able to pinpoint a few areas where he could help the group, namely dealing with processing and licensing.

Rich Harjes, who owns Willow Springs Ranch near Belgrade, said he has almost reached the upper limit of the local market for organic lamb and would like to market his product outside Montana.

Harjes recently traveled to California, sold $4,000 worth of lamb in one day and was excited about the prices people were paying in San Francisco.

But he can’t do the trip himself every time, and he’s not getting much help from those who claim to promote Montana products.