WHEAT MONTANA FARMS BAKERY & DELI • FAMOUS HOMEMADE TASTE • HEALTHY INGREDIENTS • SINCE 1985

Extreme Harvesting Video

Check out this video of some extreme harvesting being done for Wheat Montana.

June Wholesale Promotions

For our loyal Wholesale customers, we're now offering monthly promotions. Please check out the June Promo's. A list of the promotional items are also available on the Mill Information page.

2010 WHEAT MONTANA JUNIOR TOUR

WELCOME!! On behalf of the Advisory Board at Wheat Montana Junior Golf, we would like to invite you to join us for another year of fun, competitive golf. Please Click the link below for a full list of events and contact information.

2010 Wheat Montana Junior Golf Site

Wheat Montana Farm is excited to announce that we have recently hired Dan Scott as the National Sales Manager for Flour & Specialty Grains. Dan will be focused on expanding our wholesale grain business. Dan joined our company in January and is now activity pursuing new business.

Dan has extensive experience in the baking industry as both a manufacture sales rep for Puratos and as a general manager of a Bakemark branch in Phoenix. We’re thrilled to have Dan’s leadership on our team.

Dan Scott
National Sales Manager
Specialty Grains & Flour
Wheat Montana Farms
480-209-4462
dans@wheatmontana.com

Feel free to contact Dan with any questions or future opportunities.

We appreciate your support.

Due to incredible demand, we're bringing back our signature series of Wheat Montana ceramics!! Look for us to have your favorite Bronze Chief, Prairie Gold or Natural White coffee mugs or canisters and our great Wheat Montana chili bowls in late spring. To pick them up in person, visit us in Three Forks or at one of our popular locations around Montana, Washington or Idaho. To place an order, call 800-535-2798 or visit us at www.wheatmontana.com.

Huge franchise opportunity in the suburb of Eagle, Located in Boise ID. Join us with this franchise opportunity where two other Wheat Montana stores are already present in the market.

Call Jason Rummer 406-582-4545 or by email at jasonr@wheatmontana.com

What is the perfect complement to a fresh out-of-the-oven pastry or a yummy muffin? It has to be a cup of fresh brewed Big Sky Coffee - Wheat Montana's own private label coffee introduced in December of 2007. Available at all of our bakery's by the cup and, of course, pick up a bag to take home while you're there! Wheat Montana pastries and Big Sky coffee - there's nothing better!

Wheat Montana isn't going anywhere, But - With some outside help - the Three Forks staple is making plans for expansion.

Read the rest of the article now

By Nicole Rosenleaf Ritter of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Wheat Montana Bread now available in the Spokane, WA and Coeur d’ Alene, ID area.

The famous Sow It, Grow It, Dough It bread of Montana is now available in the Spokane/Coeur d’ Alene area. Wheat Montana offers many different fresh breads, bagels, rolls and buns. We carry the best Whole Wheat Bread and offer alternatives such as Spelt Bread and 6 Carb Bread. Please check your favorite super market for our delicious Wheat Montana breads, rolls, and buns. If you have any questions about delivery or availability in this area please call our friendly staff at 509-484-7094.

Click to view our line of Baked Goods

Baking a Better Business

By Dale McDonald
PG 20 THE FURROW MARCH ISSUE

From wheat to retail, there's nothing but growth for this family

Vertical integration has long been championed as a way to break through the doldrums of commodity markets. The idea, of course, is to capture more profit from your staple crop by creating value-added products.
Dean Folkvord and his father Dale, owners of Wheat Montana Farms near Three Forks, Mont., have taken that concept about as far as it can go.
“Of all the things we do.” Dean says, “the most profitable is to grow wheat, mill it, bake it, and sell a sandwich out of our store and restaurant. It’s by far our highest margin business.
The also sell dozens of specialty grains, operate a flour mill for wholesale and retail customers, sell a variety of baked goods nationally, recently began franchising the Wheat Montana restaurant concept. Currently there are seven stores in Montana, and Dean says a move out of state is next.
Long Road. The Folkvord’s road to integration began in 1978, when Dale decided to expand his 600-acre wheat farm to 3,000. “Dean was finishing high school that year “Dean was finishing high school that year,” he says, “and we talked about partnering on the new farm. I wanted him with me, but I told him he needed to go to college and bring something back.
Dean went to Montana State University and in 1982 he brought two things back: a degree in ag business, and a host of new ideas.
“My graduation present was an IBM computer,” Dean says.” and I set up an office and began focusing on the business side of farming. We started no-tilling, using an air seeder to seed directly into stubble, and experimented with a million different things. We were early adopters who got to see a lot of ideas fail. But we figured things out.”
Five years later, they decided to concentrate on baking quality rather than yields, and hooked up with a partner who grew hard white wheat. They grew it, milled it, baked buns, and had a successful test market at a McDonalds restaurant. That’s when they decided to pursue specialty grains.
Shaky Start. “In 1989 we had a partner in the bakery and in the specialty grains,” Dean says,” and we thought we would just keep on being farmers. In 1990 that all imploded. The specialty grains guy disappeared, and the manager of the bakery couldn’t handle it. So we had to decide whether to forge ahead on our own or go back to just farming. We bought the partners out, and focused on the bakery while my dad focused on farming. Our wives pitched in, too, and we just worked around the clock. Looking back, I really don’t know how we did it all.” In 1992 they made “the big move,” and decided to fully integrate the operation. That winter they broke ground on a new, fully integrated complex, one that would receive their grain in the back door and sell food products out the front door. The bakery had $400,000 in sales that year, and the Folkvords only looked ahead.
By 1997 the farm had grown to 11,000 acres, and in the year 2000 the company’s sales figures topped $10 million. “In 2000, we sold everything we could make,” he recalls. “We paid down a lot of dept and went to the next level. The bakery really got strong after 2000, and we began thinking about franchising. We sold the first franchise in 2003, where the franchisee pays $35,000 and we get 6% of sales. We produce fresh bread for those stores.” More Growth. “Size brings opportunity,” Dean says. “We invest all the money back into the business, and it has paid off. For example, last spring Burger King wanted us to provide buns for 22 stores inn Montana and Wyoming, and we could say “yes” because we have a facility to do the work. It’s a volume business, and the overhead costs fall with every loaf that goes out the door. We’ve also learned that when you open a deli, you sell more bread in the local grocery stores. The integration effect of brand development works in multiples.”
So what’s next? “We’ve taken the company about as far as a family can,” Dean says. “Now we are looking for partners so we can continue to grow and maybe take some of our own chips off the table. We are very serious about that. With more resources we’ll be able to move into markets beyond Montana, and with confidence.