Montana Seeds long standing history, and next chapter.

For nearly 70 years, Montana Seeds has been a key driver of sainfoin adoption across the northern Rockies and beyond. Today, Pereneon carries that legacy forward, with ambitions to scale sainfoin and other perennial crops as a cornerstone of regenerative agriculture that benefits soils, farmers, animals, and people.

Rocky Mountain Remont (RMR) is a natural selection from Remont, a regrowth variety developed by Montana State University.

The story of Montana Seeds began shortly after Don and Kay Keil graduated from Montana State University, when they planted a small package of Remont sainfoin that had recently been developed at MSU. What started as a small plot in a shelterbelt near Conrad, Montana grew over time into larger plots, small fields, and eventually much larger sainfoin stands.

Through more than 40 years of natural selection and hand-harvesting seed from the best plants, Don Keil developed and marketed this line as Rocky Mountain Remont. The result was a hardy, regionally adapted sainfoin line shaped by Montana conditions, including successful production near East Glacier at around 6,000 feet elevation in average to low moisture environments.

Montana Seeds later continued under the stewardship of Don’s daughter and her husbond, Jennifer and Rollie Schlepp, preserving the company’s long-standing focus on sainfoin and the Rocky Mountain Remont legacy.

Today, that legacy is being carried forward by Pereneon LLC. Montana Seeds remains the dedicated sainfoin seed brand, while Pereneon builds on its history, seed expertise, and regional foundation to expand the focus on sainfoin in Montana and other states.

Pereneon’s goal is to honor what was built over generations while increasing the availability of RMR sainfoin for farmers and ranchers seeking resilient, perennial forage systems.