Affiliate Highlight: Crazy Mountain Stockgrowers – Big Timber
The Crazy Mountain Stockgrowers Association is made up of a group of local ranchers, farmers and producers from the Sweet Grass County area. We have a board of 9 directors, with the county extension agent serving as ex oficio. Our membership consists of over 100 members in 70 families. As individuals and as an association, we continue to watch issues that affect our county, our surrounding counties, our state, as well as at the national level.
In the winter and spring of each year, we, in conjunction with the extension office, host Rancher Roundtable Discussions. These are open to all CMSGA members as well as to the public. We bring in experts to share information on different topics and give those attending the opportunity to increase their knowledge and learn from neighboring producers.
In 2015, we hosted discussions on Vaccinations and Vaccine Protocols, Mineral Nutrition, What Cattle Buyers Look For, and Cattle Markets with Gary Brester. We also worked with the extension office to host an adult education class called ‘The Beef Puzzle’. The focus of this class was to demonstrate how a beef goes from the field to the freezer, concluding with carcass grading at a local locker plant. We plan to continue this class with a follow up on how to cook different cuts of meat. We also held a beef appreciation and promotional BBQ at our local homecoming football game.
We support local businesses and associations with their educational endeavors. In January, we were a sponsor for the Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Program that hosted family business speaker, Jolene Brown, in Big Timber. She presented her Ag family workshop on Family Communication and Estate Planning with Multiple Generations.
Our 2014 Appreciation Award was given to county extension agent, Marc King. He has proven himself a very dedicated asset to this county during his 21 years as the extension agent, and was very deserving of this award. He is a strong advocate to our local Ag industry. Congratulations to Marc.
We are also extremely proud of our South Central District Director that has been making state association news lately. Jed and Annie Evjene are members of the CMSGA and were recently awarded with the Montana and Regional Environmental Stewardship Award.
They are an integral part of the agricultural community in Sweet Grass County and we are honored to call them our friends and neighbors. Congratulations to the American Fork Ranch, Jed, and Annie Evjene.
Our primary fundraiser in 2014 was a raffle for a guided youth elk hunt. Anchor Outfitting donated this, and the hunt was held in November 2014. The winner of this hunt was a local man who chose to donate it to a 13-year-old boy in the community. We are proud to say that this young man went home with his very first elk.
Our 2015 fundraiser is a rifle raffle made by Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing Co. It is a 45-70 with brass escutcheons, semi fancy wood, pewtertip, steel shotgun buttplate, 30” heavy octagon barrel, full buckhorn and a blade front sight. We set up a booth at the local Sweet Grass Fest, informing the public of the issues that we follow and selling some of our raffle tickets. The winner of the rifle will be drawn at our Annual Banquet in November 2015.
For the 2015-2016 academic year, we awarded scholarships to three different, deserving individuals. These future agriculturists will be going into Agriculture Education, Construction Engineering and Diesel & Ag Mechanics. We expect great things in their futures and are confident that they will contribute and give back to the agricultural community.
We send out periodic newsletters to our members, helping to keep them informed on the local and state issues that are affecting our livelihoods. We strive to keep ourselves informed on current issues that may have a potentially negative affect on our operations. We continue to keep current on these issues, such as the IBMP Bison Management Plan, the Yellowstone Basin Advisory, the CKST Water Compact, and DNRC landowner rights topic.
The CMSGA is dedicated to providing our members with the services and resources necessary for their success. We intend to maintain our presence as a positive influencer in the community, and will continue to monitor all livestock, land, and health issues as they pertain to our future as producers. With the hard work and dedication of both our members and board, we are ever optimistic about the future of agriculture in Sweet Grass County.
By Jed Evjene, Two Dot, MSGA South Central District Director