News and What’s On across the state (and beyond!)
News and Updates
Find everything newsworthy and noteworthy here. From announcements and events to our Member Spotlight feature, find it all below.
Member of the Month: 4 Daughters Farm
“4 Daughters Farm is a family run operation on an original dairy farm where we have resided for the last 16 years just on the outskirts of Bozeman, Montana. Originally a part of a much bigger farm, today it is 20 acres with the original homestead, barn and outbuildings. We have about 5 acres in agriculture production, growing cut flowers, berries, asparagus, and specialty pumpkins. We raise a few cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens that play a vital role in our sustainable farming practices, creating natural fertilization for our soils. Our family beginnings started in Eastern Oregon, where we had a remote farm raising cattle, and vegetables for our small community. We have always prioritized a degree of self-sufficiency, and now get to share our values, and farming experience here in Montana.
Our goal is to create a space where our community can come, slow down and connect to the land and share the abundance of beauty that our flower fields have to offer. Our motivation behind our business is simply to supply people with local, sustainable grown cut flowers and berries. We take pride in keeping our small farm in agriculture production, and find great joy by sharing it with our customers as it is open to the public six days a week via a farm stand, u-pick opportunities as well as on-farm classes.”
Seasonal Offerings Include:
Farm stand: Tuesday-Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm
U-Pick: Tuesday and Thursdays 5:00-8:00pm and Saturdays 8:30-12:00
Workshops and community events
Bulk buckets and A là Carte menu for weddings and events
See them featured on our social media:
Fall Women's Wellness Retreat Day at Sleeping Child Hot Springs
*** Group Health and Wellness classes such as:
Dancing with the Divine Feminine- Qi Gong- Sound Bath- Breathwork- Restorative, Shape Shifting, Gentle, and Vigorous YOGA- Women's Health Lectures- Intuitive Art- and more!
**Individual health and wellness Mini Treatments such as:
Reiki- Thai Bodywork- Sound Healing- Massage- Craniosacral- Herbal Foot Soak- Lymphatic Facial Massage- Hypnotherapy - Intuitive Wellness- and more!
We'll feed your body with delicious Organic and Montana-grown foods. The Morning SMOOTHIE BAR, the Lunchtime SALAD BAR, and the Light Evening BUFFET DINNER will nourish your body and liven your palette.
What to Bring: Yoga mat and a blanket, swimsuit and towels, comfortable clothing, slippers or warm socks, a notebook or journal and a pen, the book you're reading, your silent auction donation... heck you can even bring your bathrobe!
Feast in the Field 2026 Fundraiser - featuring Tim Fain Live!
Join us on the farm for a beautiful summer evening of music, good food, community, and giving back.
This one-of-a-kind fundraiser supports Cultivating Connections Montana and our youth programming, helping us continue our mission of Building Community Through Food. Gather with us for an unforgettable evening featuring live music, an all-Montana dinner, time to explore the farm, and meaningful ways to support our mission.
Experience the artistry and creative brilliance of world-renowned violinist and composer Tim Fain, joined by special guests pianist Jeffrey Shumway, and Joel & Rachel Schnackel. Their music will set the tone for an evening that is both inspiring and joyful.
You’ll also enjoy a delicious all-Montana buffet dinner, scrumptious dessert, local beer and regional wines by donation, a 50/50 raffle, a Giving Tree, and our fun and creative RE-Cycle, RE-Use, RE-Gift Silent Auction. Take a farm tour, hear from our Youth Farm & Food Interns, and experience the beauty of the farm in the height of summer.
Come ready to celebrate, connect, and help us grow the next generation of food leaders.
What to Expect
Amazing live music with Tim Fain and special guests Jeffrey Shumway, Joel & Rachel Schnackel
A delicious all-Montana buffet dinner and dessert
Farm tours and time to enjoy the beauty of the farm
Stories and inspiration from our Youth Farm & Food Interns
Local beer and regional wines by donation
A 50/50 raffle and other fun-raising activities
Our one-of-a-kind RE-Cycle, RE-Use, RE-Gift Silent Auction
RE-Cycle, RE-Use, RE-Gift Silent Auction
Part of the fun of this event is our unique silent auction featuring gently used treasures looking for a new home. Bring something beautiful, useful, or intriguing to donate and bid on items contributed by others, all while supporting our good work!
Ideas include jewelry, artwork, kitchen tools, pottery, quilts, birdfeeders, games, toys, or other well-kept treasures you no longer use.
You’re welcome to bring your auction item with you to the event or arrange to drop it off in advance by emailing Jenn at Support@CultivatingConnectionsMT.org. Even if you can’t attend, you can still contribute by donating an item for the auction.
Important Information
Parking
Parking is available at Canyon View Church, just south of the farm. Thank you to Canyon View Church for sharing their parking lot. From there, it’s a short northerly walk (about 100 yards) to the farm entrance. Mobility-impaired parking is available at the farm, or guests may be dropped off before parking.
Attire
This is a casual outdoor farm event. Please wear closed-toe shoes. Lightweight long pants are also recommended. High heels are strongly discouraged.
Seating
Seating is picnic-style for both dinner and the performance in and around the party tent. Feel free to bring a blanket, lawn chair, sun hat, or anything else that will help you stay comfortable. Folding chairs will also be available.
No Dogs, Please
For the comfort and safety of all guests, please leave dogs at home.
Timing
Door opens at 5:30 PM
Buffet dinner begins at 6:30 PM
Live performance begins at 7:30 PM
The silent auction will close 15 minutes after the end of the performance, and the 50/50 Raffle will close shortly after that.Farm Awareness
This is a working farm, with uneven ground, weeds and thistles, sun and wind exposure, open water, insects, and all the unpredictability that comes with a wild and beautiful place. Please dress accordingly and take care while enjoying the event. By attending, guests accept responsibility for themselves and agree to hold CCMT and Homestead Organics Farm harmless from liability.
Why Your Support Matters
Cultivating Connections Montana exists to Build Community Through Food. Through farming, cooking, education, and celebration, we bring people together while creating meaningful opportunities for youth and expanding access to local food. Your support helps us empower young people through paid, hands-on internships in organic farming, cooking, and community food service. It helps us grow and share food, offer mentorship and job training, and create spaces where people of all ages and abilities can learn, connect, and thrive.
Our programs include youth internships, community food access efforts, school farm visits, Heritage Skills workshops, inclusive programming for children and teens with special needs, and hands-on opportunities for people to grow food and knowledge together. We believe food is a powerful place to begin: something that brings people together across differences and helps create stronger, healthier communities.
When you attend this event, you are directly helping us continue that work!
Please help us reach our summer fun-raising goal of $50,000.
Bodhi Farms: Montana Farm-To-Table Food Festival
Join us at the 2026 Montana Farm to Table Food Festival for a delicious celebration of local flavors straight from the farm to your plate!
Welcome to the 2026 Montana Farm to Table Food Festival! Join us at Bodhi Farms for an evening filled with delicious local food, drinks and music. Immerse yourself in the flavors of Montana as you sample fresh produce, artisanal cheeses, and handcrafted beverages. Meet local farmers, chefs, and food enthusiasts as you explore the vibrant food scene of our region. Don't miss out on this opportunity to indulge in farm-fresh goodness and support sustainable agriculture. Come hungry, leave happy!
Bison Family Festival : Harlow Ranch Bison Co
391 Harlow Rd, Thompson Falls, MT 59873
Free Bison Tours
2 Food Trucks with Barbecued Bison & more!
Arts & Crafts
Farm Dinner with Private Chef Em: Ranchers of Shields Valley
Join us in returning to the Ranch with Shields Valley Ranchers—an evening of exceptional local beef, warm hospitality, and stories rooted in the land and community. A 5-course menu will be served created by Chef Em Hahn.
Buy Tickets:
Shields Valley Ranchers Farm Dinner | Mountain Provisions [mountainprovisionsmt.com]
Ranchers of Shields Valley, 1234 Hendrickson Rd, Wilsall, MT 59086, USA
Cattail Basketry workshop
As part of our Heritage Skills Workshop series, we invite you to join us for this fascinating workshop on how to use this abundant resource that is found everywhere! Participants will learn cattail cordage and platting and will make a mat and a small basket. You will also learn about the many uses of this versatile plant.
Karen Coombs has been a crafter all her life. She was hooked when her mother’s friend showed her how to make pine needle baskets when she was 11. Over many years, she has explored various fiber arts. She enjoys, crocheting, knitting, weaving, spinning, basketry and horticulture. For 25 years, Karen organized a bush kitchen for the Tracking Project, a non-profit organization that teaches hard ground tracking and other survival skills, along with indigenous cultural teachings. She also taught basketry for the Glacier Institute. Seasonally, Karen runs Garden City Nursery growing perennial herbs and bedding plants.
Agritourism Day: Mahlstedt Ranch
You can expect information on what Agritourism looks like, the challenges & rewards of offering agritourism, what insurance & waivers are recommended, how legislative decisions have affected those offering agritourism, and get to experience agritourism as we offer it.
Members of the Montana Agritourism Association will be available to talk about how agritourism looks on their operations and how it varies with each operation.
The day will have lots of Q&A time so you will be sure to have your questions answered.
Montana Moments, LLC on Mahlstedt Ranch, Inc.
1270 Rd 422
Circle, MT 59215
Webinar: MAA presents Chef Emily of Mountain provisions
If you want to learn more about the elements of a farm-to-table dinner and what makes the experience unique, this webinar is for you.
Montana Agritourism Association presents Chef Em!
Chef Emily Hahn, a former Top Chef contestant and Chopped competitor, is the Chef and Owner of Mountain Provisions, where she specializes in immersive outdoor culinary experiences. Showcasing Montana's rich agricultural bounty-from vibrant, farm-fresh vegetables and heritage grains to regeneratively raised beef and local bison- Chef Em crafts meats that highlight the dedication of local farmers and ranchers, creating dishes deeply connected to the land and the people who sustain it. This summer she is hosting a Summer Farm Dinner Series on 4 different farms around the valley. She says "When you call something farm-to-table, ranch-to-table, or seed-to-table, it's more than a tagline-it's a commitment."
Memorial Day Weekend at the Greycliff Village
Memorial Day Festival at the Greycliff Village. Food venders, crafts, and fun for all.
11 Greycliff Creek Lane, Greycliff, MT, United States, Montana 59033
Mayday! Gardens 2026
"Mayday! Gardens" is a call to share, an answer to Nature's need for our attention, care, and cooperation. It's community, it's food, it's a seed for our futures. Garden plants are grown and cared for with the generous help of volunteers, visiting school classes and groups, and our youth interns. Food plants are a gift from our heart to yours- because we believe in Us, Together!
Mother’s Day Celebration: Honoring Corn Mother (Make • Taste • Plant)
Mother’s Day is a celebration of love, nourishment, and the many ways care is given through families, community, and the earth itself. In many traditions, Corn Mother is honored as a life-giver: a symbol of abundance, nourishment, and the sacred relationship between people, seeds, and soil.
At Cultivating Connections Montana, we’re gathering on Mother’s Day to celebrate corn as a teacher and a gift and to honor all forms of mothering: mothers, grandmothers, aunties, mentors, caregivers, and anyone who helps life and love grow.
This is a family-friendly, farm-fest style event with hands-on activities, storytelling, food-making, and planting you can take home (or help distribute to others).
Cold Process Soap Making Workshop
Join Olivia from Lilly of the Valley Homestead to learn the chemistry and art that goes into soap making as you make your very own custom cold-process soap. In this hands-on class you will learn about the safety requirements, the equipment needed and the different ingredients (oils, fats and herbs to use). This will be a vegan oil soap recipe (coconut/shea butter base) with infusions and scents to choose from for customization. Each participant will make one soap loaf which includes 10 cut bars of soap that you will get to take home once they have cured. This workshop makes a great Mother's Day gift and activity to share with the special mother in your life!! This is a wealth of knowledge to gain and also a wonderful way to load up on soap or give as gifts in your future!
Spring Community Dance
Come join us for an uplifting afternoon of dancing and live music in the Bitterroot Valley! We’ll be guided by the Montana Dances of Universal Peace team (Diana Mariam, Tom Schmeling, Connie Zareen, Wayne Talmadge, and more) as we move together through the music of the world in the ancient practice of community circle dance.
MEDA Conference
The MEDA 2026 Spring Conference, held April 7–9 in Helena, is Montana’s premier biannual gathering of economic development professionals and community leaders, bringing together practitioners from across the state to share ideas, build connections, and explore strategies that support strong local economies, with this year’s conference presented in partnership with the International Economic Development Council as part of its Centennial Event Series celebrating 100 years of leadership in economic development and expanding the conference’s national and international reach.
Montana Agritourism Association 2nd annual conference
Back for our second year, the 2025 Agritourism Conference promises to be another special event - check back for more details and announcements later in the year! This year we’ll be hosted in Bozeman at MSU.
Women in Ag Community Well-Being Retreat
This retreat was created to bring together women in agricultural communities from across Montana for a chance to take a break from the busy-ness of typical life. We know that life can be challenging: running a business, a family or both… working the ranch, tending the garden, living in rural communities, and navigating the complexity of community relationships comes with its own benefits and costs. We believe that we are all stronger together as we attempt to navigate the overwhelm.
Montana Outdoor Recreation Summit
Located in historic Butte, the traditional homelands of the Shoshone-Bannock and Séliš & Ktunaxa (Salish & Kootenai) people, and a city rich in heritage and outdoor recreation adventures, the Summit will serve as a gathering place to convene, learn, and create partnerships that will guide solutions to the challenges we face in creating, building, and sustaining Montana’s outdoor recreation experiences. You can expect live panels, dynamic guest speakers, workshops, field tours, a film festival, and so much more.
NET Conference in Meredith, NH
Connecting through Tourism Conference - Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
Visitor demographics, tourism trends, and industry forecasting
Creating inclusive visitor spaces and experiences
Climate resilience and destination recovery
Outdoor recreation development and management
Agritourism and rural tourism development
Destination town vitality and heritage/historic preservation
Expanding Markets Conference
The Rising Tide of Consumer Demand is Propelling Regenerative Agriculture Markets
An increasing number of people are actively seeking out food options that are not only good for the planet but also benefit the well-being of farmers and ranchers, and local communities.
This year’s Expanding Markets Conference will be held September 22nd-24th at the Delta Hotel in Helena, Montana with a ranch tour and two full days of speakers, exhibitors, and networking.
Women in Ag Community Well-Being Retreat
This retreat was created to bring together women in agricultural communities from across Montana for a chance to take a break from the busy-ness of typical life. We know that life can be challenging: running a business, a family or both… working the ranch, tending the garden, living in rural communities, and navigating the complexity of community relationships comes with its own benefits and costs. We believe that we are all stronger together as we attempt to navigate the overwhelm.
2025 Montana Governor's Conference on Tourism
Registration closes April 1, 2025. Spots are limited, so plan your registration accordingly.
Regenerative Farming Cohort Kick-off
The Regenerative Farming Cohort kicks off from 1-4 p.m., Tuesday, April 15, at the Montana Electric Co-op Association Building in Great Falls. Marni Thompson with NRCS is the featured speaker, and attendees will participate in round tables, learn more about regenerative farming practices, and hear an overview of the program. A zoom link will be available for people who want to attend the kickoff virtually.
WEBINAR: Creating a Successful Agritourism Destination
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently published a guide on Creating a Successful Agritourism Experience. In this webinar, FAO-EBRD will share the guide and broader efforts in agritourism, offering insights into key projects, methodologies, and real-world applications. Through expert discussions and case studies from Jordan and Georgia, the session will explore the essential elements of a successful agritourism destination. A panel discussion and interactive Q&A will provide an opportunity to engage with global practitioners and experts shaping the future of agritourism.
Agritourism Pre-Conference in Nashville, TN
Agritourism in Action: Exploring Agritourism Opportunities. This is on-site in Nashville, TN. More information here
Creating a Beverage Tourism Destination - WEBINAR
This webinar will be presented by Kathy Kelley, Penn State Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, who will present on trends describing what tasting rooms and related alcoholic beverage venues can implement to attract visitors. Strategies include developing events based on national trend data, partnering with complementary businesses, and customizing experiences based on surveying visitors and loyalty program members. Registration is required, click here to register.
Helena's Longest Table Community Event
Indulge in a locavore guided conversation of Helena’s vibrant food scene at the 2nd Longest Table Event. This community meal (light supper) will feature delicious dishes crafted by local restaurants using fresh, locally sourced ingredients straight from Montana’s farms and ranches.
Hosted by Resilient Helena and Ten Mile Creek Brewery in conjunction with F* Your Phone February, this event isn’t just about food – it’s a gathering to strengthen community bonds and discuss challenges with the local food system.
Participating restaurants: Ten Mile Creek Brewery, The Union, Sunflower Bakery, and The Hopper. Ticket sales go directly to the restaurants and agriculture producers to pay for their time, energy, and food. Menu will include charcuterie, soups, fresh
baked breads and desserts, and a beer or beverage of your choice.
No tickets sold at the door, please purchase ahead of time. Tickets are $35 pp, nonrefundable but can be transferred.
Abundant Montana speaker series
Join Abundant Montana for the first installment of Winter Speaker Series 2025 with The Carbon Capture and Storage Talk hosted by the Northern Plains Resource Council.
CSA Week
CSA Week is taking place from February 16th through February 22nd, 2025! During this special week, we are encouraging farmers and farmer support organizations across the country to come together in promoting CSA, and we want YOU to participate!
In previous years, CSA Day was led by Small Farm Central and it become “the day” when CSA farms collectively promote CSA across the country with unified messaging and urgency for members to sign up. It’s a way for all of us to encourage CSA sign-ups while promoting the CSA movement across the nation. In 2021, the CSA Innovation Network extended the event from one day to an entire week, continued it in 2022, 2023, 2024, and is doing so again in 2025! This will give us more time to build engagement with new and returning CSA members.
Valentine's Day Farm Market
Stop by the Farm for locally made treats and gifts for your Valentine (or yourself…we won’t tell!)!
We will also have lots of great yummies for your Super Bowl parties!
Our new baby lambs will be out for everyone to see during the market too!
Local Vendors + Food & Gifts + Baby Lambs = Pure Love!
Montana Agritourism Conference
at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. Hosted by the Montana Agritourism Fellows and MSU.
Sponsored by Western SARE, Montana Farmer’s Union, MSU Extension, Montana Department of Commerce, Prospera, Montana Department of Agriculture, Montana Farm Bureau, Food and Ag Development Centers, and Land Trust.