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Specialty
products get a start at MSU, then take on a life of
their own
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| It
may be good when folks forget MSU—at least
when it comes to value-added ag products. If people
forget MSU but know a product with MSU or Ag Research
Center roots, that means the product has taken on
a life of its own. It's a bit like a 20-something
who progresses to an apartment from home; it doesn't
mean the ties that bind are broken, just that the
situation is maturing. |
| Montina
(TM) is a special flour that does not have gluten,
the constituent in wheat that lets dough rise into
bread. Montina is gluten-free and milled from a
native grass. As a product, it was developed in
partnership with Montana State University. Its production
has gone from 20,000 pounds a few years ago to about
300,000 pounds in 2004, says Bob Warren, manager
of Amazing Grains, a grower cooperative in Ronan
that is marketing Montina. |
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| Firms in
Chicago, Seattle and Edmonton, Canada, are either incorporating
Montina in their products or using Montina in product development,
Warren said. Also, gluten-free bakeries are beginning to emerge
around the United States and provide a new outlet for Montina,
Warren added. There are two Montina products on the market:
a pure Montina flour and an all-purpose gluten-free baking mix
of flours. |
| "The
demand still exceeds the supply at this point," Warren
said. "We anticipate sales going well over a million pounds
a year." Three distinguishing characteristics of Montina,
in addition to it being gluten-free, are that it is a high-fiber,
high-protein product that has a nutty flavor. |
| Amazing
Grains Grower Cooperative is composed mainly of Montana growers,
though there are some in other states. It has 55 growers and
5,000 planted acres. Amazing Grains markets from its Web site
(www.amazinggrains.com)
as well as in retail outlets. Montina is milled and packaged
at Mission Mountain Market, a partially grant-supported business
incubator in Ronan. |
| The uses
for alternative agricultural products are limited only by our
imaginations, says Dave Sands, an MSU researcher who spurred
the development of Montina. Sands expects demand to explode
for nontraditional crops when a "proteomic chip" that
reads human DNA becomes widely commercialized. It will tell
an individual so much about his or her current physical condition
that it will create markets for agricultural products that support
the specific needs of individuals. |
| The Indian
rice grass on which Montina is based is suitable for growing
almost anywhere in Montana. It is a perennial crop that does
not have to be planted every year as growers do with most cereal
grains. Yields are minimal the first year and then are "normal"
at perhaps 400 pounds per acre for the life of the stand. A
dry land Indian rice grass stand is productive for five-to-eight
years before it should be rejuvenated by replanting. Irrigated
production has higher annual yields, with the stand typically
lasting four years, Warren said. |
| Sands cautioned
growers that the Montina market will be similar to a pharmaceutical
market, in that harvested Montina must be uncontaminated by
even a single kernel of wheat or barley. Any contamination of
a gluten-free product could kill demand for it. |
| Anyone
with questions should contact Amazing Grains General Manager
Bob Warren at bob@amazinggrains.com
or at 406-676-3536. |
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