August 7, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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REEF Welcomes Gary Adams as new Trustee

Gary Adams of Billings

Gary Adams of Billings

At the recent meeting for the Trustees of the Research and Education Endowment Foundation, Gary Adams of Billings joined as the newest Trustee. We welcome Gary and are excited about the enthusiasm and experience he brings to REEF! Below is a brief introduction and statement he provided for us. Learn more about our work at mtbeef.org/reef.

I would like to thank the Research and Education Endowment Foundation of Montana Stockgrowers Association for asking me to serve on their Board of Trustees.

For the past 25 years I have worked for the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch and Foundation, engaged with ranchers all across Montana.  Many of those ranchers are members and directors for MSGA. I don’t know a better way to give back to MSGA and its membership for all they have done for the kids at YBGR, than to offer my skills to the Foundation’s Board.

Many of MSGA’s members are calf donors to YBGR to our programs.  Several of our kids from YBGR attend MSGA’s Annual Convention with a shoe-shining booth.  That is their way of saying “thank you” to the members of the MSGA for their support.

One of the goals I hope to bring to MSGA’s Foundation Board is a greater awareness of the creative options available to MSGA members in passing on their ranch to the next generation and ways to eliminate the amount of taxes paid through the sale of the land, cattle and machinery. At the heart of both organizations is the desire to help youth and to educate through agriculture.  Again, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve.

August 4, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Stockgrowers Foundation Announces Change in Leadership


Foundation Logo - ColorAt their recent Mid Year meeting in Miles City, the Research and Education Endowment Foundation of the Montana Stockgrowers Association (REEF) announced a change in leadership as Townsend rancher Dusty Hahn finished his five-year term as Foundation Chairman. John Grande of Martinsdale will serve as the newly elected Chairman and Gary Adams of Billings will join the REEF Board as a new Trustee.

“It’s been an honor to have served as the Foundation Chairman for the last five years,” according to Dusty Hahn. “In my nine years as a Trustee, I really feel that the Foundation has helped Montana Stockgrowers become a more proactive organization, and that has been a great benefit to our membership.”

Under Hahn’s leadership, the Foundation has evolved from managing a handful of small projects into one that tackles larger, more complex projects. REEF is a strong supporter of youth and outreach programs in the Montana ranching community, funding projects that raise awareness of Montana ranching families and documenting their work through a detailed book and video series.

The Foundation also sponsors a young rancher from Montana each year to attend the Young Cattlemen’s Conference; which helps participants gain exposure to national industry programs while visiting Denver, Chicago and Washington D.C.

Martinsdale rancher, John Grande, is excited about the opportunities ahead as he takes the reins of the Foundation. “It is a privilege to be asked to take this on and I look forward to the challenge,” says Grande.

“After serving the Foundation for the past five years I have become more familiar with how we have done things to date. Taking over as Chair is an opportunity to guide the Foundation in some new directions as well as sharpening the focus on current activities.”

Grande looks forward to developing new projects for REEF that will help grow the Foundation’s endowment, which in turn to provides scholarship opportunities for students and research programs that benefit members of the Montana ranching community.

“Change is inevitable and I look forward to the exciting change coming for the future of Montana ranching, while feeling confident that some things will not change,” says Grande.

“Great advances will be made in genetics, animal health, nutrition, cattle management, and many other areas, and the Stockgrowers’ Foundation can, and should, play a role in these advances. What will not change is that we will still have dedicated people living on the land, taking care of our environmental and animal resources, while providing a healthy, nutritious product for consumers worldwide.”

Gary Adams of Billings has been active with Montana’s non-profits, serving with the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch and Foundation, engaging with ranchers across Montana for the past 25 years. “I don’t know a better way to give back to MSGA and its membership for all they have done for the kids at YBGR, than to offer my skills to REEF,” says Adams. “At the heart of both organizations is the desire to help youth and to educate through agriculture.”

In his role as Trustee for MSGA’s Foundation, Adams hopes to bring a greater awareness of the creative options available to MSGA members in passing on their ranch to the next generation and ways to eliminate the amount of taxes paid through the sale of the land, cattle and machinery.

The Research and Education Endowment Foundation of the Montana Stockgrowers Association is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization established to ensure the future of Montana’s cattle industry through producer and public education, and promotion of MSGA programs. To learn more about REEF programs or to donate to the Foundation, visit mtbeef.org/REEF or contact the Montana Stockgrowers Association, (406) 442-3420.

July 22, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Martinsdale Rancher Becomes Foundation Chairman

The Montana Stockgrowers Association’s Foundation is happy to announce that John Grande of Martinsdale, Montana is our newly elected Chairman. He will serve in this position for five years and guide the Trustee board in innovations, awarding scholarships and funding educational and research programs that better the Montana ranching community. In the following Q&A, Mr. Grande shares his thoughts on the future of the Foundation and his new role…

John Grande, MSGA Foundation Chairman

John Grande, MSGA Foundation Chairman

What are the projects you are most excited about being a part of for the Foundation?

I am excited about a mixture of the traditional and the new. For years the foundation has funded projects like the Young Cattlemen’s Conference, the Young Stockgrowers’ Conference, and Montana Range Days, and these remain projects which are vitally important in training our future leaders.  New projects such as what we are doing with social networking are tremendously exciting.  This allows us to look outside of our own group and take our message to a broader audience of people who have little knowledge of the Montana cattle industry and let them know what we do on a daily basis to care for our animals and our environmental and human resources.  Even newer, we have some potential projects on the drawing board which are not ready for announcement, but could prove very beneficial to the industry.

What does it mean to you to be chairman of the Foundation?

It is a privilege to be asked to take this on and I look forward to the challenge.  After serving on the foundation for five years I’ve become more familiar with how we’ve done things to date.  Taking over as chair is an opportunity to guide the foundation in some new directions as well as sharpening the focus on current activities.

What are a few things you are hoping to accomplish during your chairmanship?

First, I would like to take some time to work on focusing our board on what we’re currently doing and where we want to go.  I’d like the trustees to take some time to evaluate our goals and think about what our roles and responsibilities as trustees should be.  Then we need to move forward on new projects.  I would like to significantly grow the size of our endowment, and the opportunity is here.  However, there is no point in growing the endowment just for the sake of growth. The point is to identify specific projects that will move our industry forward, and then grow the endowment for the purpose of being able to fund these projects.

Why is a Foundation important for the Montana Stockgrowers Association?

The foundation is an important avenue for funding education and research projects that benefit the members of the Montana Stockgrowers.  There are valuable projects that the Association should move forward with which cannot be funded by members’ dues dollars alone.  The Foundation provides a 501(c)(3) vehicle to which tax-deductible contributions can be made, allowing donors the benefit of the deduction, as well as of funding important projects.

What do you hope the future of Montana ranching looks like? 

Change is inevitable and I look forward to the exciting change coming, while feeling confident that some things will not change.  Great advances will be made in genetics, animal health, nutrition, cattle management, and many other areas, and the Stockgrowers’ Foundation can, and should, play a role in these advances.  What won’t change is that we will still have dedicated people living on the land, taking care of the environmental and animal resources, and providing a healthy, nutritious product for consumers worldwide.

Anything else to add?

Just that I owe a great debt of gratitude to those who have come before serving the Stockgrowers’ Foundation – to those who had the foresight to create it, to those who have managed it for decades, and to all the donors who have funded it.  Specifically I’d thank Dusty Hahn who has served as chairman of the foundation for the past four years and guided us ably into a new era of creative projects to work on.

To learn more about the MSGA Foundation, please visit us at www.mtbeef.org/reef and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

June 30, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Townsend Rancher Completes Foundation Chair Term

By Dusty Hahn, Outgoing Montana Stockgrowers Association’s Foundation Chairman

Dusty Hahn of Townsend, Montana.

Dusty Hahn of Townsend, Montana.

It’s been an honor to have served as the Foundation chairman for the last 5 years. In my 9 years as a Trustee, I’ve gotten to help evolve the Foundation from one that had a handful of small projects into one that tackles larger, more complex projects. I really feel that the Foundation has helped Montana Stockgrowers become a more proactive organization, and that has been a great benefit to our membership.

The two programs that I feel are a great benefit to MSGA, and I’ve been proud to be a part of, are the Young Cattleman’s Conference (YCC), and the multimedia outreach campaign. The YCC has been part of the Foundation since before I came on board. The multimedia campaign is a relatively new program. Both programs serve to educate MSGA members and enhance the image of our business. The YCC is an integral part of producing new leaders in the livestock industry. The multimedia campaign is putting consumers back in touch with producers in the country, allowing them to put a human face with the products in the store. The Foundation is the vehicle that allows great projects like these to come to fruition.

MSGA and agriculture in general continuously needs talented new leaders to guide us through the challenges the future presents. It is imperative that we not only provide tools for our younger members to excel , but challenge them to make themselves the best leaders they can be. One of the Foundation’s goals is to equip our younger members to meet the future’s challenges head on.

I’m looking forward to continued prosperity in the ranching business, and I’m excited about the many opportunities for the next generation to return to the country and the ranch. I think that even though we are a small percentage of the population, our voice is well respected. And I am excited to have consumers worldwide wanting to learn, see, and interact with Montana ranchers. It will benefit everyone to have the actual producers relaying information about what we do to the end consumers of our products.

August 10, 2010 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSGA’s Research, Education, and Endowment Foundation

Dusty Hahn, chairman of the Montana Stockgrowers Association’s Research, Education, and Endowment Foundation (REEF), explains what the foundation is and why it’s an important entity to help educate young people about the beef industry. For more information about REEF and to find out ways to support the foundation, please contact MSGA at (406) 442-3420 or visit us online: www.mtbeef.org. This video is brought to you by MSGA’s REEF.