August 17, 2012 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Montana ranching photography book available

big sky boots montana ranchersIn October 2012, the Montana Stockgrowers Association released Big Sky Boots: Working Seasons of a Montana Cowboy, a coffee table photography book featuring the work of MSGA’s multimedia outreach specialist, Lauren Chase. Chase spent a year and a half gathering photographs for the book, traveling in sunshine and snow to ranches across Montana. The book takes the reader on a journey through a year in the life of Montana’s cowboys—through calving, branding, and shipping, and everything in between.

“Our goal with this project has been to create a unique, fun, engaging and interactive way to tell the story of Montana’s ranching families that raise the beef that consumers all across the world enjoy,” said Chase. “There seems to be a growing disconnect as people, even here in Montana, are losing touch with what goes on at ranches and farms, and where our food comes from.”

Big Sky Boots is part of a larger project to bring beef eaters closer to the people who raise and care for cattle. The project uses social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to tell the stories of Montana’s ranching families through photo albums, audio slide shows, and videos.

The book connects the social media platforms to the printed page. “Something really unique to our book is that we have included QR codes that people can scan with their smartphones,” Chase said. “They can go to MSGA’s YouTube channel to watch a video of the rancher featured in the book and hear directly from him about his life. In that way we’ve really tried to marry the traditional print media with the social media that seems to be central in so many people’s lives today.”

One hallmark of Big Sky Boots is that the photos are largely untouched or enhanced by photo editing software. “A lot of books that are out there right now depict a romanticized view of the West and of the cowboy lifestyle,” Chase said. “We wanted to make sure to show life as it really is on Montana’s ranches. I think there is a tremendous amount of natural beauty in the pictures and it gives the reader a glimpse into the life of a real cowboy in Montana.”

Big Sky Boots is the first book in a series of five books that MSGA will develop over the next five years. The next book, already in production, will feature the women that are an essential part of today’s ranching families.

To learn more about this project click here, or to order a copy of the book, click here. The books are $75, which includes shipping and handling. The profits from the book will help support the continuation of MSGA’s “Telling the Story of Montana’s Family Ranchers” project into the future. To see Chase’s photography and other multimedia work, be sure to visit MSGA’s Facebook page or YouTube channel.

April 13, 2012 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Assistance available for compliance with EPA’s Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Rule

The mySPCC Suite of Guidance Materials is an exciting new suite of web-based tools–the second generation of guidance developed exclusively to assist agricultural retailers with implementing their Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan. mySPCC was named for its unique ability to personalize the SPCC Plan to a specific facility and provide a great starting point in the facility’s SPCC compliance effort.

April 13, 2012 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Own a piece of Montana history!

MSGA still has copies of “The Weak Ones Turned Back, The Cowards Never Started: A Century of Ranching in Montana” available. The book features 142 Montana ranches that were 100 years or older in 2009. Copies are $50 each, including shipping and handling. Click below to download the order form which you can call, fax, or mail in.
Book Order Form

July 15, 2011 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSGA encourages Land Board to hold the line on grazing fees

Helena – On Monday, July 18, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) will present a proposal to the state Land Board that would double the grazing fee for ranchers with state land leases. The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) is encouraging the Land Board to hold the line on the fees.

“This proposal increases the cost of doing business in Montana,” said Jay Bodner, MSGA’s Natural Resource Director. “During the legislative session earlier in the year, both the governor and the legislative leadership made it clear they didn’t want to raise taxes or fees on anyone in these uncertain economic times. This proposal doesn’t fit with that position.” (more…)

May 24, 2011 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Continue the Montana Legacy of “The Family Ranch”

The Petroleum County Conservation District and the Montana Grazinglands Conservation Initiative invite you to “Continue the Montana Legacy of ‘The Family Ranch.’” Join them for an afternoon session and supper at the Wrangler in Grass Range on Wednesday, June 1st at 11:00 a.m. Speakers will include Chip Hines and Ron Hanson. Both will discuss ranches in transition from livestock and grazing management to the business and realities of family succession. For more information please call the Petroleum County Conservation District at (406) 429-6646. Start the conversation with your family!

May 21, 2011 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSGA works to expand trade opportunities for Montana beef at APEC meeting

Big Sky, Mont. – Representatives of the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) have been in Big Sky, Mont. this week, at the invitation of U.S. Senator Max Baucus, working to expand trade opportunities for Montana and U.S. beef with the 21 Asia-Pacific member economies attending the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministers meeting.

“I’ve fought hard to ensure better market access for Montana beef across Asia and the Montana Stockgrowers Association have been a real partner in the process,” Senator Baucus said. “There’s no doubt, Montana beef is the best in the world and the APEC meetings in Big Sky are the perfect opportunity to spread the word. If we can boost our beef exports to APEC countries, we can strengthen our ranching communities and create good-paying jobs here at home.” (more…)

May 20, 2011 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Ranch Tour to highlight MSGA Mid-Year Meeting, June 9-10 in Bozeman

The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) will hold its Mid-Year Meeting, June 9-10 in Bozeman, Mont. at the Animal BioScience Building on the Montana State University (MSU) campus. The highlight of this year’s meeting will be the Ranch Tour on Thursday afternoon, June 9.

The Ranch Tour will begin at 12:45 p.m. departing from the Animal BioScience Building. The tour will feature stops at the MSU’s Bozeman Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm, where participants can view MSU’s current research projects; the 2001 Montana and Regional Environmental Stewardship Award winners, MZ Bar Cattle Co. in Belgrade, to learn about how the Milesnick family has protected riparian areas; Schutter Farms in Manhattan, where local implement dealers will be on hand to demonstrate the features of various tractors and equipment; and the KG Ranch in Three Forks where the group will enjoy dinner, view cattle from priority page buyers of MSGA’s Montana Seedstock and Commercial Cattle Directory, and be entertained by a stick horse race fundraiser for MSGA’s Research Education and Endowment Foundation (REEF).

This year, one lucky Ranch Tour participant will win a D110 Lawn Tractor generously donated by Moodie Implement Company with locations in Belgrade, Chester, Great Falls, Havre, Lewistown, and Livingston. The D110 Lawn Tractor features a 19.5 Horsepower Briggs & Stratton® Anti-Vibration System, The Edge™ Cutting System, CargO Mount™ System for attachments, hydro/automatic drive transmission, electronic ignition and a full-length welded steel frame.

Other events from this year’s Mid-Year meeting will include addresses from Bill Donald, Melville, Mont. rancher, past president of MSGA and current president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and MSU President, Waded Cruzado during the Opening General Session Thursday morning, June 9. MSGA’s Beef Production & Marketing Committee and the Membership Development & Services Committee will meet Thursday while the Land Use & Environment Committee and Tax, Finance & Ag Policy Committee will meet, followed by the Business Session, Friday, June 10. The Young Stockgrowers will host an informal social media workshop on Friday morning. Friday afternoon the MSGA Board of Directors, Montana Grass Conservation Commission, MSGA’s REEF and the joint Board of Directors of the Montana Public Lands Council and the Montana Association of State Grazing Districts will hold meetings.

For more information regarding the Mid-Year Meeting, contact the MSGA office at (406) 442-3420 or visit www.mtbeef.org.

May 4, 2011 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSGA proud of Montana’s role in expanding U.S. beef trade opportunities in Korea

Today the Montana Stockgrowers Association commended Montana Senator and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus for his tireless effort to achieve fair, science-based trade rules for U.S. beef trade with Korea. Senator Baucus has received commitment from the Obama administration, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack, and U.S. Trade Representative Kirk for additional resources to promote the safety and quality of U.S. beef to Korean consumers and to ensure the full application of the U.S.-Korea beef protocol which calls for full access for U.S. beef in Korea. (more…)

April 25, 2011 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSGA Mid-Year Meeting to be held at MSU Animal BioScience Building, June 9-10


The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) will hold its Mid-Year Meeting, June 9-10 in Bozeman, Mont. at the Animal BioScience Building on the Montana State University (MSU) campus. Mid-Year is one of the two major meetings MSGA holds each year. MSGA members will gather to discuss the issues facing Montana ranching families and set interim policy to guide the association through the rest of the year. The highlight of this year’s meeting will be the Ranch Tour on Thursday afternoon, June 9. (more…)

April 15, 2011 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSGA works to ensure ranchers’ voices are heard on bison management

Helena – On April 14, the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) attended an open house in Gardiner, Mont. hosted by the Interagency Bison Management Plan partners to discuss their “adaptive management adjustments” that would allow bison to roam freely outside of Yellowstone National Park in the Gardiner basin. A formal agreement on the adjustments was finalized by the partners with no input from the local citizens or area ranchers who would be affected. MSGA’s Executive Vice President, Errol Rice, and chairman of MSGA’s Cattle Health Committee, Dr. Dick Raths, attended the open house to ensure Montana ranchers’ voices were heard on the issue. Several area ranchers joined with many local concerned citizens to voice their disapproval of the plan.
Rice toured the Gardiner area earlier in the day to see first-hand the effect of the bison.
“What we really saw was chaos on the ground with a tremendous amount of bison out in the greater Gardiner basin area and what appeared to be a real lack of leadership by the Interagency Bison Management Plan partners,” Rice said.
Rice said further that although MSGA understands the IBMP partners’ desire to adapt their management, their lack of transparency leaves ranchers very concerned. While the partners hosted an open house, they did not release the plan prior to the meeting or give a forum for public comment on the plan.
“They are really on shaky ground because they have no support from Montana ranchers or the ranching community at this point, due to their lack of transparency and accountability to our concerns with the issue,” Rice said. “Montana ranchers do have a lot at stake with the brucellosis issue and we’ve sacrificed a lot already.”
Rice said that based on viewing the situation first-hand and attending the open house, MSGA is opposed to the adjustments for the Gardiner basin.
“We are not only asking the IBMP partners to revoke this Gardiner basin adaptive management plan, but to also demonstrate leadership and ensure ranchers voices are being heard on this,” Rice said.