ARLEE — If you head several hours south out of Montana, you can make it into the heart of chile pepper country. But there is no need to go that far, Montanans are roasting peppers right here at home.

Chile peppers are a staple of food and life across the southwest. During a farm stay in Arizona, that is where Kaly Hess learned to love them. Hess and her partner, Brian Wirak, own Harlequin Organic Produce in Arlee.

“Peppers tend to be a crop that we just keep growing over and over, even though I find them very challenging,” Hess said. “They kind of introduced us to pepper culture.”

Watch to see what's cooking at Harlequin Organic Produce: Arlee farm brings peppers and the heat

Like the spice in the chiles, that culture can be intense. In New Mexico, chiles are an official state veget

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