Agriculture solutions reporting attracts new audiences and funding

A three-part solutions-focused series on regenerative agriculture helped Montana Free Press (MTFP) significantly increase readership and raise more than $8,000 directly from readers. The first part of the “Common Ground” series brought in 29,000 visitors, 78% of whom were new to the site. MTFP then decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to support reporting for the series, which brought in more than three times the initial goal of $2,500. The news team also embedded a short survey with its first two stories and received 850 responses, with 61% expressing interest in a limited-newsletter series on the subject of regenerative agriculture.