It started several years ago with a simple desire for a few fresh eggs for the family. But one thing led to another, and by six months from now Kathy and David Christensen of Elliston expect to be the owners of 800 or more chickens and a thriving natural egg business.

"We started out just for ourselves, and the more we progressed, the more important it was for us to have a good, clean, natural egg for ourselves," Kathy Christensen said.

While the eggs aren't certified organic, Christensen said the chickens eat nothing but organic food, and the birds are never treated with antibiotics or hormones.

The Christensens recently secured a $13,691 grant from the Department of Agriculture through the state's Growth Through Agriculture program, which provides matching funds for development of new products or innovative ideas that enhance the industry across the state.

The money will cover about a third of the total cost of a new chicken coop that can house as many as 900 birds, up from a current total of around 500 living in an older makeshift coop. Work has begun on the new building, and hundreds of new chicks have been ordered in anticipation of having the new space ready within about two months.

The business started around five years ago, when the Christensens had just 24 chickens but couldn't keep up with the eggs themselves. They began giving a few to neighbors, then got a few more birds and sold a few more eggs, meanwhile securing state certification as egg growers.

David Christensen, who has earned a living in construction, will contribute much of the match in the form of labor on the new coop. He admitted the transition to egg farmers over the past several years has been something of a surprise.

"It's been a change for us. We were doing construction before, and we do arts and crafts also," he said. "When it started, it was a hobby, and now it's pretty much a business."

But given the slowdown in construction, the transition came at a fortuitous time.

The business got a serious boost about a year ago, when Kathy Christensen began selling her eggs as "The Egg Lady" through the Real Food Store. These days she provides the store with 30 or more dozen a week, and it's not enough.

"From what I've noticed, I really can't keep her eggs in stock," said Melissa Mencini, a frozen and chill food buyer for the natural grocery. "She brings in a large quantity, and they fly off the shelves quickly."

The Christensens hope that expanding their operation might someday lead to additional outlets for their eggs, but they first want to be able to keep up with orders from the Real Food Store.

"They would like more," David Christensen said. "Demand has gone up but we haven't been able to keep up with it because of our facilities."

The Growth Through Agriculture program awards a series of grants, typcally around a dozen, once a quarter to operations of all types and sizes around the state.

Department of Agriculture spokesman Collin Watters said smaller operations like the Christensens' are gaining traction.

"For the small local food operations, we've seen an uptick in the whole local food movement nationwide," he said. "Globalization is here to stay, but if we can get our food locally, that's probably a good thing."

The most recent round of grants went to a broad range of businesses, including $25,000 to the Montana Hog Marketing Association to study the feasibility of a multi-species packing plant in the Great Falls area; a $25,000 grant and a $25,000 loan to the Laurin School House Creamery in Sheridan for construction of a mobile milking parlor and sheep milk cheese production facility; and $49,830 to CTW Energy of Bozeman for development of a cold-weather algae production system and algal biodiesel production facility.