Visits Port of Northern Montana on 56 County Tour

SHELBY, MT -- Governor Greg Gianforte on June 5th, continued his fourth annual 56 county tour as governor in Toole County, visiting Adent Mills at the Port of Northern Montana in Shelby to celebrate increasing trade opportunities for Montana producers.

“One of our greatest sources of pride in Montana is our world-class products that we grow here – whether it’s Montana beef or barely, our farmers and ranchers produce the best,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We’ll continue to support increasing our producers’ access to global markets as they work tirelessly to feed the world.”

The Ardent Mills rail truck transfer station in Shelby is one of over 40 locations across North America that specialize in the milling, storing, or loading of flour, oats, and pulses.

Visiting the Ardent Mills facility, the governor heard more about the company and its relationship with local farmers.

“We are the largest flour miller in North America, using the wheat that is grown right here in Montana and across America,” said Ardent Mills Senior Director Kyle Robson. “We produce a thousand truckloads of flour every single day and this facility right here in Shelby gives a local grower easy access to the market.”

In Shelby, the facility purchases upwards of 9 million pounds a year of oats, wheat, and pulses from Montana producers and transloads the product mills across the country and to Canada.

During the visit, the group also recognized the dedication of the Port of Northern Montana Operating and Storage Track Project. The $3.6 million investment will expand the port’s gateway to the BNSF Railway mainline and increase the facilities ability to purchase and transload more products.

Joining the governor for the ceremony was Montana Department of Agriculture Director Christy Clark, who spoke to the importance of community partnership for the project and ag industry.

“Rural communities are the backbone of Montana,” Dir. Clark said. “And the hardworking men and women who make up these communities and believe in projects like these are the reason why agriculture remains the number one economic driver in our state.”

Robson added, “This project is enabling us to have our own dedicated track line which will allow us ultimately to bring more wheat in that we can then send out to our mills across North America.”