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Those were the findings of a 12-month study funded by the Office of Economic Adjustment and the Montana Department of Commerce with the goal of helping the Sweet Grass area, which includes Cascade, Glacier, Pondera, Teton and Toole counties, weather the loss of the 50 missiles and 550 personnel.
The Sweet Grass region has potential in the energy sector to offer wind energy and wind firming energy as well as renewable diesel.
On the agribusiness side, consultants found the region is well-suited for large agri-processing facilities as well as niche agricultural businesses.
Great Falls has a long history of renewable energy with its dams, said Doug McDonald, vice president of Praxis Strategy Group, which ran the study.
Montana has high potential for wind energy, but wind energy still faces challenges, such as firming, or being able to provide energy when the wind isn't blowing.
The Sweet Grass region could use other sources of renewable energy, such as hydroelectricity, to firm its wind power.
"You have the opportunity here to have wind in conjunction with other renewable electricity generation," McDonald said.
More so than electricity, there is a growing market for diesel fuels. The Sweet Grass area could take advantage of that market by producing renewable diesel.
Renewable diesel is made from the same materials, such as oil seed crops and animal fat, as bio-diesel, but renewable diesel is a higher grade and is made at an oil refinery.
Great Falls already has an oil refinery, but producing renewable diesel would require a rendering plant to harvest animal fat and people to grow oil seed, which would create jobs, he said, adding it's an industry that could benefit the entire region.
For agriculture, the region should take a two-pronged approach, focusing on large-scale conventional agri-processing as well as small niche agribusiness, said Neil Doty, president of N.C. Doty & Associates, who presented the agricultural portion of the study. "Do the big stuff and dare to dream small on the niche companies," he said.
The Sweet Grass area is well-suited for large agri-companies because it has concentrated, consistent production of conventional commodities like wheat and barley.
"You can crank out commodities like crazy," Doty said.
The region also has tremendous potential for small, niche production such as organic crops, livestock and poultry, pulse crops, oil seeds and gluten-free grains.
The largest hurdle for niche producers is typically marketing, so it's important to have a system to help producers in that area, he said.
The Sweet Grass area does show potential for entrepreneurs. There has been almost a 10 percent increase in entrepreneurial business in the past five years, McDonald said.
"I think there's a strong undercurrent of entrepreneurs within the Sweet Grass region," he said.
The region does face some competitive disadvantages, such as work-force shortages, a remote location, limited access to early-stage venture and equity capital, and a shortage of shovel-ready industrial sites.
However, those disadvantages don't disqualify the region, said Bob Valeu, director of government affairs and business development for Kadrmas Lee & Jackson, who also was involved in the study.
The steering committee for the study is now in the process of requesting more funding to focus more on transportation in the region, said Cascade County Commissioner Joe Briggs.
At this point, the findings of the study are left up to leaders in the region to be put in place, he said.
"We're not done by any way, shape or form," he said. "This study was not crafted to sit on shelves."
