About

Montana Fruit Tree Company’s mission is to increase the food production capacity for localities in Montana and beyond. We achieve this through; 1.) Propagating, growing, and breeding fruit & nut bearing trees, shrubs, and vines for commercial and home growers; and 2.) Using the plants we grow to design and engineer tree crop systems that are drought proof/water abundant, biodiverse, and soil building, that provide an income or more self-sufficiency for growers.

We specialize in cold climate adapted fruit/nut bearing plants. The only non-fruit bearing varieties we grow are either native and increase native biomass while attracting insects and pollinators for your orchard/property, or are shelter belts and help cut down on wind. We grow many of the trees that we offer on our site and are committed to never using any insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, and anything else ending in “cide”. We have never used any of these earth contaminating chemicals as doing so would violate our principles and ethics. Further, it is our belief that the most egregious aspect of chemical approaches to growing food (rather than biological or systems ecological approaches) is not the harm that it causes to human or ecological health but rather what it does to our growth and development as human beings. When we stop asking the big “why” questions (i.e. why has this disease entered the system/how have I contributed to this issue) and instead reach for the chemical bottle, we stunt our ability think critically about the issue. The insights we have gained by asking ourselves how we contributed to a certain infestation have prevented us from dealing with future ones. This helps us learn from our mistakes and reminds us to continually provide care, health, and love into the system. Our hope is that the system will provide us with those same things in return!

Luke Ruffner Robinson

Luke is a Systems Ecologist by training, having designed and engineered flood irrigated tree crop systems throughout the US and Canada and consulted on over 500 orchards. In addition, Luke is a decent horticulturist (killing more trees than he’d like to admit) and recently delved into fruit tree breeding/genetics and the science of frost (with lots to learn on all fronts!). He holds an MSc in Systems Ecology, having been mentored by UM regents professors Jakki Mohr & Cory Cleveland. He speaks 6 languages, all fluently at one point, although some are currently rusty!

Elizabeth Quist

Born and raised in the beautiful Flathead Valley, Elizabeth spent most of her youth hiking Glacier National Park, swimming the Flathead lake, and lots of reading in between. For her undergraduate studies, Elizabeth earned dual degrees in acting and political science from NYU. After attending the Institute of World Politics to earn an MA in National Security and Intelligence, the logical next step was helping a company plant more fruit trees in her home state.

Matt Sharp

Born and raised in Missoula, Matt spent the better part of his youth exploring the beautiful Montana wilderness. Planting hundreds of fruit trees and counting is at the top of his list of accomplishments. Matt is always up for for learning something new and has recently taken it upon himself to broaden his scope within the company. From pruning trees, packing orders, and running excavators, to troubleshooting plumbing, roofing, irrigation and other maintenance related issue, Matt is a jack of all trades. He enjoys spending time with his dog ‘Little Homie’ as well as with friends and family.

Paul Willett

After leaving his home in small-town Wisconsin, Paul has spent over six years in Montana chasing mountains. Paul combined his research in environmental science and film to create compelling short form documentaries. His passion for videography and photography became a catalyst for communicating pressing ecological issues. Between visual projects, he spends his free time exploring the high alpines of Montana and capturing moments along the way.