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Press release

Bear Paw Development Corp. recently announced that Josh Gomez has been selected as the director of the organization's Food and Agriculture Development Center.

Gomez previously served as the organization's Community Development Specialist, worked in various capacities at Montana State University-Northern and served in the U.S. Army and Montana Army National Guard for 20 years, including two deployments to the Middle East. Gomez earned associate and bachelor's degrees from MSU-Northern and a Master of Arts degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary.

"I am excited about this opportunity to serve the entrepreneurial needs of folks in northern Montana who are interested in adding value to the high-quality commodities we grow and raise," Gomez said. "Whether you are directly involved in agriculture or simply have a good idea and need to know where to start, Bear Paw's Food and Agriculture Development Center is the right place to begin the process of building a business that takes the food and fiber that we grow and process it into a consumer product that is more valuable than as a raw commodity."

Bear Paw Development's FADC is one of nine centers located throughout Montana focused on helping agricultural entrepreneurs with their business assistance needs, including technical assistance in the areas of product development, market research, business planning, regulatory compliance and access to capital. The statewide network of Food and Agriculture Development Centers are funded through the Montana Department of Agriculture and also help producers and business owners with grant opportunities from state and federal agencies.

"We are very fortunate to have Josh on board with us in this new capacity and know he will make a positive difference in helping our agricultural producers and other entrepreneurs add value to their products, which means more profitability and success for our region," Bear Paw Executive Director Paul Tuss said. "Josh has already proven to be a valuable member of our team and I know he will excel as our FADC director."

To access the services of Bear Paw Development's Food and Agriculture Development Center, people can contact Gomez at 406-265-9226 or by email at [email protected].

To learn more about Bear Paw's FADC, people can visit https://bearpaw.org/services/value-added-agriculture .

Bear Paw Development Corp. serves the economic and community development needs of Liberty, Hill, Blaine, Phillips and Chouteau counties as well as the Rocky Boy's and Fort Belknap Indian reservations and is a federally recognized Economic Development District and a state-recognized Certified Regional Development Corporation.