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Quinn grew up on the family farm southeast of Big Sandy. He
aended local schools and aained a B.S. in botany in 1970 and an M.S.
in plant pathology in 1971 from Montana State University. en in
1976 he earned a Ph.D. from the University of California Davis in plant
biochemistry. He sold his interest in a biological research and testing
laboratory in a California firm that he and a friend had started and took
his ideas from his educational and business experiences home to Big
Sandy. Since then not one day on the Big Sandy farm has been routine.
Quinn came home to change farming.
Montana Flour and Grains, Inc.
To increase profits, Quinn's first project in 1983 was to start Montana
Flour and Grains, Inc. (MFG), a wheat buying and brokering company.
e initial purpose was to market his grain directly to whole-grain
buyers, such as large bakeries. MFG, located in Fort Benton, soon
expanded, and other farmers took advantage of being able to sell their
grain to the company. By 1992, ninety-nine percent of the products
were organic. He sold the company in 1999 so he would have time to
develop other ideas.
Bob Quinn shakes out grain by
hand to show visitors to his farm.
"I don't have ideas all at once,"
said Quinn. "It seems like one
project leads to another."
