Nicole supports the development and growth of farm and ranch businesses in Western Montana, providing resources across the state. She’s working on events and workshops, resource development, technical assistance, financial assistance, and website management.
Nicole has been a part of the Montana farming community since 1999. Starting as a PEAS Farm student at the University of Montana, she then joined the Peace Corps in Guatemala where she teamed up with farmers to organize a small cooperative that provided education and resources for organic farmers in a rural community. After the Peace Corps, she was a farm intern for two years at Clark Fork Organics, here in Missoula. In 2007, with her partner, she started and operated Ploughshare Farm, in Moiese for many years. She’s worked at farmer’s markets, served on several different board of directors, and helped establish the current CSA program at the Western Montana Grower’s Cooperative, all the while dabbling in other jobs such as being a house parent at a group home for 10 years and working for three different airlines at the Missoula County airport.
She’s excited to be able to share with new farmers and ranchers the knowledge she has gained from farming over the last two decades in Montana. Nicole has a personal interest in teaching the next generation how to farm in Montana and would welcome any questions regarding resources to help make this happen. In her spare time you will find her wandering in the mountains, taking adventures with her son or daughter, or cozied up with a book in her hands.