Young Montana Ranchers Participate in National Leadership Conference
Two young Montana ranchers recently joined over 50 cattle producers from across the country and across the industry to participate in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s 2015 Young Cattlemen’s Conference. Representing Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) were Dusty Hahn of Townsend and Lacey Sutherlin of Stevensville.
The aim of the NCBA’s YCC program is to give these young leaders an understanding of all aspects of the beef industry from grass to plate, and showcase issues management, research, education and marketing. Beginning in Colorado, the group got an inside look at many of the issues affecting the beef industry and the work being done on both the state and national level to address these issues on behalf of our membership.
While in Denver, CattleFax provided a comprehensive overview of the current cattle market and emerging trends. At Safeway, the participants received a first-hand account of the retail perspective of the beef business and then toured the JBS Five Rivers’ Kuner feedyard, one of the largest in the nation, and the JBS Greeley packing and processing plant.
From Denver, the group traveled to Chicago where they were able to visit the Chicago Board of Trade, learning about risk-management and mitigation tools available to the cattle industry. In Chicago, they also visited McDonald’s Campus and OSI, one of the nation’s premiere beef patty producers.
After the brief stop in Chicago, the group concluded their trip in Washington D.C. for an issue briefing on current policy priorities; including trade and Country-of-Origin Labeling and ample opportunity to visit with Montana’s congressional representatives.
Dusty Hahn of Townsend, Montana.
Dusty Hahn is a fifth generation cattle rancher from Townsend, MT, which is located near the headwaters of the Missouri River in beautiful southwestern Montana. After attending college at Montana State University in Bozeman and earning a degree in Agricultural Operations Technology, he returned to the family ranch, where he works with his father, brother, cousin, uncle, and grandmother to ensure the ranch’s continuing success.
Hahn Ranch is a diversified agricultural operation that strives for high volume, high quality production. A predominantly Angus based 500 head cow/calf herd ranges on a mix of private land and private, state, and federal grazing leases. The farm grows a mix of alfalfa hay, small grains, silage corn, and forage crops on 1,000 acres, most of which is irrigated by center pivots. A trucking company that hauls general flatbed freight, grain, and livestock, and a small cattle feeding enterprise round out Hahn Ranch’s business entities.
Dusty has been actively involved with the Montana Stockgrowers Association for 15 years. He has served as a committee vice-chair and chairperson. He recently complete a 9 year term on the MSGA Foundation’s Trustee board, where he served as vice-chair and chairperson. Dusty is an advocate for agriculture, and has hosted an international trade delegation, a Congressman, and school children so that they have a better understanding of agriculture. He has testified on ag related policy at the state legislature. He strives develop leadership skills that will guide the beef industry through pitfalls such as managing infectious diseases that threaten our livelihood, negotiating international trade, and creating favorable policy on the local, state, and federal level.
Lacey Sutherlin of Stevensville, MT
Lacey Sutherlin from Stevensville, MT has served as the Marketing & Sales Director for ORIgen Inc., a beef cattle genetics company based Billings, MT. The company was founded to provide an avenue for seedstock producers to market their own genetics.
In addition to working at ORIgen, Lacey and her husband Chad Sutherlin own and operate 3C Cattle LLC together in Stevensville, located in the Bitterroot Valley in western Montana. They raise both Angus and Red Angus registered cows. They also grow some small grains and hay.
Lacey graduated from Northwest College in Powell, WY and from Montana State University with a degree in both Animal Science & Agriculture communications. Lacey was member of Livestock Judging Team at both NWC and MSU.
The cattle business is Lacey’s true passion and she enjoys helping today’s youth strive to reach their goals in agriculture, as well as working with her husband Chad to build and improve 3C Cattle. Lacey has served MSGA as a Young Stockgrowers Chair and as part of the Association’s Seedstock Committee.
With the beef industry changing rapidly, identifying and educating leaders has never been so important. Over 1,000 cattlemen and women have graduated from the YCC program since its inception in 1980. Many of these alumni have gone to serve in state and national committees, councils and boards. YCC is the cornerstone of leadership training in the cattle industry.
The Montana YCC delegates were supported on their trip by scholarships from the Montana Stockgrowers’ Research and Education Endowment Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established to ensure the future of Montana’s cattle industry through producer and public education, and promotion of Montana Stockgrowers Association programs. For more information, contact MSGA at (406) 442-3420 or go to our REEF page.
Why are you proud to be a part of the Montana ranching community? Big Sky Country has so many amazing things to offer! Our ranching and cattle communities are a huge part of the state’s heritage and tradition and we want to see why you are proud to be a part of that community! With 
As recipient of this year’s Montana ESAP recognition, the American Fork will submit an application this month for the regional ESAP awards, to be announced in July 2015. Throughout 2015, Montana Stockgrowers will continue to share more about the American Fork Ranch, the Stevens and Evjene families, and their work as examples of Environmental Stewardship within the Montana ranching community.
Kristin Larson, a Sidney cattle producer and businesswoman who has a lifetime of experience in the cattle industry, has been elected to the national Beef Promotion Operating Committee, representing the Federation of State Beef Councils. The Beef Promotion Operating Committee was created by the Beef Promotion Research Act to help coordinate state and national beef checkoff programs. The 20-person committee includes 10 members elected from the Federation and 10 members elected from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.
Each year, Montana Stockgrowers recognizes someone who has made great contributions to the ranching community and goes above and beyond to help family and friends. This Ranching Woman of the Year award is a great opportunity to honor the women who are often the backbone of Montana’s ranching communities. These women often go well beyond what is asked of them to support their immediate family members and pitch in whenever the need arises in their communities. This year’s honor recipient is no exception.
Bev grew up on a family farm in Fishtail, Montana with her parents, Jake and Agnes Schaff, and six siblings. There was plenty of work to go around, milking dairy cows, feeding pigs, along with taking care of cattle, horses, sheep and the families hay ground and custom farming operation. This work surely instilled a strong work ethic for Bev, her brothers and sisters at an early age.
As their two boys came along, Bev brought them along for the ride, rather than letting them slow her down. Last year’s Ranching Woman of the Year recipient, Glenna Stucky, is a longtime friend of the Fryers, having known Bev and Ed since they worked at the Flying D in the early seventies. One story Glenna loves about Bev shares her dedication to ranch work.
In 1998, Ed and Bev moved to White Sulphur Springs to the Castle Mountain Ranch, where Bev continued her heavy involvement in operations of the ranch. Over the past 17 years, Bev has been the main calver for the ranch, watching over 300 heifers each year, assisting any new mothers or calves who need help to get a good start, and riding through the mature cows several times a day until turned out to a larger pasture.
According to her husband Ed, one of the things Bev always does well is cook for large groups of guests and ranch crews with few supplies and hardly an extra trip to town. She may be short an ingredient, but it never seems to matter much as everyone will be fed. Ed describes one such event:
Family is incredibly important to Bev, as she has raised her two sons, and now enjoys taking care of five grandchildren. Both her sons were raised as a big part of the ranches where the family worked, and each now works on cattle operations in Montana. Bev makes sure to nurture her extended family with equal energy.
