A Fresh Valley Proud Initiative

Marketing a Wet Mountain Valley Agricultural Collective

Press Release
Custer County Tourism

The Custer County Tourism Board, under the direction of Bianca Trenker and Debbie Adams, is very excited to be building momentum with a fresh Valley Proud initiative to market the Wet Mountain Valley
Agricultural Collective. We are thrilled so many of the valley’s ranchers, farmers, and producers will be participating in an ambitious enterprise to give them the opportunity to showcase the amazing products raised and grown here.
We want to thank Twila Geroux who has helped us learn a great deal and to brainstorm ideas to grow this endeavor. We also appreciate Montana Canterbury, manager of Westcliffe Meats, and Freeman Miller of Valley Feed Ranch Supply for their assistance in collecting contacts and sharing their experience. We appreciate their enthusiasm for this project.
A ranch questionnaire was sent out via email to gather details needed to create an agricultural directory with an individual listing and web post for each operation on a website to be developed. These are questions to explain what you do, what sets you and your products apart, and the best way for consumers to contact you. Every operation is unique, so please tell us your story. If you have not received this questionnaire and would like to, please send an email to info@visitwetmountainvalley.com to request it.
Custer County Tourism can assist with developing content and taking photos, if needed. Montana Canterbury at Westcliffe Meats has offered to help anyone wanting assistance in filling out this questionnaire. We would like all ranch questionnaires to be returned by March 20th, the first day of Spring, always a good time to begin something anew!
Once we have the webpages created, the WMV Agricultural Collective
Directory will showcase the impressive bounty of high quality
products raised and grown here in the valley. Tourism will be promoting the agricultural collective through social media, email newsletters, printed literature and ads, radio and other marketing means. Local residents, out-of-state visitors, and the Front Range will be target sectors for promotions.
We intend for this undertaking to be successful in many areas: connecting consumers with the producers of our area, to help those wanting to expand by increasing exposure, to promote the local market with advertising campaigns, to grow the bottom line of our producers by making connections which cut out the middlemen, to pull together an informational database showing the variety of goods available in the area which can provide cleaner, healthier, high quality foods and products to everyone.
We are also looking into the opportunity of assisting in the formation of an in-town location for a market of
agricultural products to be available for locals and visitors to purchase—more on this possibility as it unfolds.
As we approach the 150th anniversary of Custer County in 2027, we believe it is important to honor the land, the sky and the ranching legacy of the Wet Mountain Valley. Even though the sesquicentennial is two years away, there’s no time like the present to start thinking about it! This Valley Proud initiative is the first step. Thank you for sharing your story.