HELENA In his low-key race for governor, Libertarian Ron Vandevender says he wants to create more jobs, encourage the formation of more agricultural cooperatives and urge the federal government to legalize hemp.

Vandevender, 53, lives off the power grid in Craig and runs a self-sufficient ranch, raising his own meat and vegetables. He said he barters whatever is left over with other people for other products he needs. He previously managed several fast food restaurants, ran a chain of pawn shops in Mississippi for the owner and ran an Internet retail business.

The candidate, who has a mailing address in Cascade, has lost previous races for the U.S. House and the state House.

Vandevender said in an interview he has a jobs plan.

I want to push more private sector jobs in Montana, built by Montanans and employing Montanans and away from the super-store mentality, he said.

Vandevender said his goal is to create 25,000 to 40,000 jobs in a short while.

One thing wed push for is hemp, he said. Its a legal crop in Montana, but nobody plants it because theyre worried about the feds.

The Montana Legislature voted in 2001 to authorize the production of industrial hemp, but federal law prohibits such activity.

If hemp were grown on 1 percent of Montanas farmlands, Vandevender said the state could reap than $300 million in new income. Hemp has thousands of uses, he said, including rope, material and paper products.

Second, Vandevender wants to push for the formation of more agricultural cooperatives to give smaller landowners a chance to raise cattle and grow vegetables and sell or trade them to other co-op members.

More:

Libertarian candidate focuses jobs plan, and hemp production