Alice Campbell Havre Daily News acampbell@havredailynews.com
A local agricultural research center is one step closer to reaching its fundraising goal through a donation by Stockman Bank Havre. "I'm excited Stockman Bank can be a part of this research center, as I know it will bring many great benefits to the Havre community. We have two Montana State University-Northern graduates working in our office, Brent Peterson and Doug Kallenberger, both of whom previously worked for Montana State University's Northern Agricultural Research Center in Havre. They are very eager to be a part of this project as well, since it touches close to home for them," said Vice President Bank Manager for Stockman Bank Havre Chuck Wimmer. NARC received a $10,000 donation from Stockman Bank Havre toward its current fundraising drive Monday. NARC has been raising money as part of Montana's "5 Million Plus Campaign" that the state legislature put in place in 2007. The campaign alloCated $5 million dollars to agricultural experiment stations statewide at a four-to-one matching ratio. According to a press release, Stockman Bank, specializing in agricultural lending, has given other similar donations: one to the Huntley machine storage shed and irrigation system in 2006 for the amount of $10,000 and another to the Sidney office/lab/classroom building with an attached greenhouse in 2008, also for $10,000. Stockman Bank Havre's donation helped NARC reach the $360,000 needed to receive the full $1.44 million allocated by the Legislature to its facilities. The total $1.8 million will not be enough under current economic conditions to build the four new structures as intended, however. Currently there is enough funding to build the planned office and meeting facility, research laboratory and seed facility, and calving and livestock operations facility buildings, but a proposed chemical facility will have to be put on hold unless a total of $175,000 more can be raised by March. The additional funding must be raised by NARC, since the state cannot adjust its allocation as dictated by law. NARC Superintendent Gregg Carlson said he would like to see all four new facilities built at one time to save construction costs and time delays and hopes that enough money will be raised before the bids solicitation process begins to include it in the plan. Carlson said Montana's Architectural and Engineering Division will finalize a base plan before the bid solicitation process begins in mid-March. NARC's current expansion plans come on the heels of the completion of a state-of-the-art, low-stress cattle- handling facility in 2001. The center's facilities, located in buildings at Fort Assinniboine south of Havre since 1915, had not had any major construction before 2001 except in 1991 when a multipurpose shop and storage building was erected on site through private and business contributions. To make donations to NARC's current project, them make checks payable to LRBP-COA-NARC and mail or deliver personally to: Superintendent Gregg R. Carlson, Northern Agricultural Research Center, 3848 Fort Circle, Havre, MT 59501-8409. To make a donation to Montana's overall program send a contribution payable to LRBP-COA to: Assistant to the Dean Lisa Duffey, College of Agriculture, P.O. Box 172860, Bozeman, MT 59717-2860. For more information, contact NARC at 265-6115.
