January 8, 2015 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Emphasizing Involvement for Young Stockgrowers

Lacey Sutherlin Stevensville Young StockgrowersBy Lacey Sutherlin, Stevensville, Outgoing Young Stockgrowers Chair

Wow! What a convention we had last month! Great attendance, outstanding Cattleman’s Colleges, powerful discussion in the committee meetings, and do not forget the incredible giveaways! We are very lucky to have the support and sponsorships that we do from Montana businesses. Without these sponsorships, the convention would not be the one of kind event that it is today.

I would like to thank all of the membership for making my time as Young Stockgrower Board member an excellent experience. I am very honored to have been given the opportunity to serve all of you for the last couple of years. I will have the unforgettable memories and the relationships I made along the way for a life time. This is an organization with a foundation of great members, led by a board of directors who have devoted their time to improving the organization and representing all of us on a local and national level, supported by an irreplaceable staff.

While traveling to meetings and events these last two years there is a powerful group of young people that are involved in Montana agriculture in all aspects of the industry. I met young men and women that are involved in production agriculture, agribusinesses, cattle genetics and an enthusiastic group of college students paving their way into the future.

In closing, I would encourage all of you one last time to get involved in this organization and take the time to be advocates of Montana Agriculture, because if we do not do it ourselves, no one is going to do it for us. As Young Stockgrowers, the best leaders, role models and mentors we have in Agriculture are the members of the Montana Stockgrowers.

Throughout the year, there are multiple Stockgrower events you can attend to stay informed and involved. Just around the corner is Young Ag Couples Conference, Calling on the Capital and the Affiliate Mentorship Program (AMP) all happening in January and February in Helena. Do not forget about Young Cattlemen’s Conference Applications that are due in February.

Be sure to contact me if there is anything I can do to help you along the way. [email protected]. Travis Brown was elected as your Chairmen of Young Stockgrowers and Lacey Ehlke was elected as your Vice Chairman and you are in good hands!

Thank you all again & Happy New Year! –Lacey Sutherlin

December 30, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Legislative Conference Offered for Young Stockgrowers

With the 2015 Montana legislative session quickly approaching, the Montana Stockgrowers Association is looking forward to another busy season representing the interests of Montana’s livestock communities. During this time, young farmers and ranchers will have the opportunity to experience the legislative process through the Calling on the Capitol Legislative Conference, taking place January 29 & 30 at the Best Western Great Northern Hotel and Capitol building in Helena.

This is an important opportunity for Young Stockgrowers members to participate in the legislative process and learn more about MSGA’s work with state agencies and legislators. Participants in the event will have the opportunity to attend legislative committee meetings and receive training on legislative advocacy, strategy and communication.

2015 agenda items include:

Policy Issues Informational Session

Legislative & Strategy Training

State Agency Informational Sessions

Young Cattlemen’s College – D.C. Experience

Guided Capital Building Tour

State Legislature Committee Hearings

Advocacy & Networking Dinner

Breakfast with your Legislators

Advocacy for the Ranching and Beef Industry Luncheon

Calling on the Capitol begins at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 29 and continues through Friday, January 30, 2015. Event registration is $50, which includes meals and meeting expenses. 2015 Calling on the Capitol Registration Form and payment must be postmarked to MSGA (420 N. California, Helena, MT 59601) by Tuesday, January 20. Meeting capacity is 40 participants, so do not wait until the last minute to register. Online registration is available at mtbeef.org.

A room block has been reserved at the Best Western Great Northern in Helena, starting at $125/night plus taxes. Please book rooms by calling (800) 829-4047 prior to January 5, 2015 and refer to ‘Young Stockgrowers’. Group rates may not be available after release date.

Calling on the Capitol is sponsored by Bank of the Rockies and Montana Livestock Ag Credit, Inc. For more information, contact Ryan Goodman at the Montana Stockgrowers Association, by calling (406) 442-3420 or via email at [email protected].

December 8, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Young Stockgrowers Encouraged to Attend Annual Meeting

Lacey Sutherlin from Stevensville, YSG Chair

Lacey Sutherlin from Stevensville, YSG Chair

I would like to personally invite all of you to attend our Young Stockgrower Meeting during annual convention on Thursday, December 11 in Billings. The meeting and social will start at 4:30 PM in the Big Horn Room, at the Holiday Inn Grand Montana.

During the meeting we will have a couple of guest speakers. Ryan Hughes will be doing a presentation on his trip to the Young Cattleman’s Conference. Our highlight speaker for the meeting will be Terrell Hibbard with GLCI to give a presentation on Web Applications for Range/Grazing Management. We also plan to get an update from the Collegiate Stockgrower groups from around the state.

Not only is this excellent chance to listen to a couple great speakers but it will give you the opportunity to network and meet new people that share same interests as you do in agriculture. During this meeting, we will take the time to highlight some of the many events happening during the convention as well as elect a new Vice Chairman. If anyone is interested in leading the group as our next Vice-Chair please contact myself, Travis Brown or Ryan Goodman.

We will also take the opportunity to discuss some of the policy information that will arise during convention. At this time you will be giving the opportunity to present and discuss any issues that you may have at your own operation that you think could use some added attention in Helena and furthermore Washington, DC. As officers, we realize the committee/policy meetings at convention can be intimidating, this is why we encourage the members to ask us questions and initiate discussion at this meeting for Young Stockgrowers. If anyone of you have any questions about the meeting or convention in general please contact myself or Travis.

Also the Montana Stockgrowers staff and board of directors have an excellent set of workshops for the Cattlemen’s College this year. A couple of the topics that will be covered are: Farm & Ranch Estate Planning, Adding Value to Calves, Vaccinations: Lifetime Calf Health, Making the Most of a Strong Cattle Market and Successful Strategies for Your Breeding Program. I am sure all of you can see how these would be very informative workshops to attend. This will all happen during the convention and the workshops are included with your convention registration.

We are looking forward to kicking off the convention with this informative meeting and social. I encourage all of you to attend the meeting and bring a friend. You do not have to be a member to attend the meeting please feel free to join us and use this as opportunity to decide you would like to be a member! Remember, if you decide to become a member, you do get a chance at winning at 2014 Ford F-250 pickup truck! We look forward to seeing all of you at MSGA Convention this week!

YSG Chair, Lacey Sutherlin, 406-544-0043, [email protected]
YSG Vice Chair, Travis Brown, 406-671-8088, [email protected]

December 5, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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National Cattlemen’s Foundation Accepting Applications for Beef Industry Scholarship

National-Cattlemens-Foundation-logoDENVER – Applications for 2015-16 beef industry scholarships sponsored by the CME Group are now being accepted. Ten scholarships of $1,500 each will be awarded to outstanding students pursuing careers in the beef industry.

Students studying education, communication, production, research or other areas related to the beef industry should consider applying for the scholarship. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior or full-time undergraduate student enrolled at a two or four year college.

The National Cattlemen’s Foundation administers the program. Applicants for the 2015-16 scholarship will be required to write a one page letter expressing future career goals related to the beef industry. They also must write a 750 word essay describing an issue in the beef industry and offering solutions to this problem.

Applications should be submitted by Dec. 19, 2014 and sent to National Cattlemen’s Foundation, 9110 E. Nichols Ave., Suite 300, Centennial, CO 80112. The winning recipients will be announced on Jan. 15, 2015.

For more information visit www.nationalcattlemensfoundation.org. Click here for the online application form.

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The National Cattlemen’s Foundation is advancing the future of the beef industry with passion and urgency.

November 13, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Seeking Applications and Nominations for Young Ag Couples Conference

young montana ranchersWe are looking for Young Stockgrowers interested in attending the 35th Annual Young Ag Couples Conference in Helena, January 21-24, 2015 at the Red Lion Colonial Hotel. Hosted by the Montana Department of Agriculture, the conference will explore contemporary issues facing family operated agri-business as well as development of leadership skills needed to survive in the cyclical economic climate of agriculture.

Montana Stockgrowers is able to nominate young ag couples to attend the conference each year. Couples selected to participate in the conference will have lodging and meal costs paid while in attendance. There will be a conference registration fee of $25 per couple.

To be eligible, couples should demonstrate leadership abilities and earn their primary living from farming, ranching, agribusiness, or other agricultural enterprises. Our age preference is 25-45 years of age. Due to funding restrictions, couples may only attend the conference once. If you have attended in the past, please let us know about your experience and nominate another young ag couple to attend.

To apply for the MSGA nomination, please submit a brief explanation of the following for you or a young ag couple you wish to nominate:

  • Description of the couple’s ag business/operation
  • Experience and educational background, community involvement, interest, hobbies, etc.
  • The couple’s vision for being leaders in the Montana agriculture community

Nominations and/or applications are due to the Montana Stockgrowers Association office no later than November 21, 2014, via mail to 420 N. California, Helena, MT  59601. Submissions may also be emailed to [email protected]. For more information, contact the MSGA office at (406) 442-3420.

October 7, 2014 1 Comment Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Montana Rancher Q and A Feature: Casey Coulter, Brusett

At the Montana Stockgrowers Association, we are very fortunate to have such a passionate group of young leaders. Casey Coulter of Brusett, Montana served as the Young Stockgrowers (YSG) president, helping to organize leadership events and educational opportunities for our YSG membership. Today, we learn more about life on the ranch for Casey and his family…

How long has your family been involved in ranching?

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A sign welcoming visitors to the Coulter Ranches.

My grandfather’s step-father homesteaded on the place we live now in 1914. He and two other bachelors came from Maiden, north of Lewistown and all took homesteads in the area. My granddad came here when he was about two years old and he and my grandmother started purchasing the place around 1950. They continued putting land together until about 1990 and were able to support three families on the operation. Currently my grandmother, Ruth, and my wife Lacey and I live on the southern end of the place, and my folks, Rod and Lorri live and operate the north part of the ranch. Each place is operated independently now.

What was your favorite part about growing up on the ranch?

The best part about growing up on the ranch was having a back yard that extended from our house to Ft. Peck Lake. There are countless miles to explore as a kid growing up. It was also a great experience to work and play next to friends and neighbors, a unique experience for sure. You have to live somewhere else for a while to appreciate growing up in a community like this.

Casey and Lacey Coulter

Casey and Lacey Coulter

Tell us about your ranch today.

Lacey and I have a commercial set of cows and we market steer calves and spayed yearlings from those cows. We also raise wheat and hay. I returned to the ranch several years ago and needed to get it fully stocked. We have purchased some sim/angus females, many straight angus, and a few red angus cattle. We are putting sim/angus bulls back on the cows and are having some decent results. On our cropland we are trying to continuous crop using a cover crop/wheat rotation and having mixed results with that program. Lacey and I operate this place by ourselves contracting some of the work out, such as combining wheat. At times we will hire some day labor, too. Lacey works 2 days a week in town as a Speech Language Pathologist, but the other 5 days she spends helping me outside or on home improvement projects (of which there are many). We are very blessed to be our own bosses! What have been some of the trials you’ve had to overcome? I would say the highest hurdle we have had to clear was a transition plan for the ranch Lacey and I live on. It took time, resources, and an emotional toll. I know of many families who have been through these transitions, but I didn’t appreciate how hard it was until going through one personally.

What is one thing you wish more people knew about life on the ranch?

There are so many things I wish urban people knew about our food chain, but a starting place would be that farm and ranch families are stewards to land and livestock. I am confused by the latest buzz word “sustainable.” I am not sure of any business who doesn’t want to be sustainable. Ranchers have to use stewardship practices on the land or the land will not sustain the livestock. They then have to be good stewards or livestock or they will not be able to market a healthy well managed animals. This translates into profits that allows the rancher to “sustain” in his/her business. I wish people from urban areas had easier access to see how well we treat our land and cattle.

Screen Shot 2014-08-25 at 9.12.32 AMWhat does it mean to you to be able to work with your family every day?

What does it mean to be able to bring Lacey into the business? I feel very blessed to have my family so close, my sister and brother in law live 12 miles south of our place, my parents are 12 miles north of us and my grandmother is across the barnyard. We work together a lot and are able to depend on one another for help on short notice, business decisions, or someone to go fishing with. It is a nice dynamic. Lacey is a very smart and capable woman and though she did not grow up in agriculture, she has had no trouble adjusting to ranch life. We talk about all business decisions and goals and she is able to see things from different angles which is very helpful.

What has being a part of Young Stockgrowers meant to you?

Why is a group like YSG important for the Montana ranching community? YSG is a great group within a great group. YSG provides young ranchers with all of the benefits of MSGA, plus information and a network of people dealing with issues that pertain to young ranchers. Also, people can be as involved as they want to in the organization. It is a great low pressure group made up young people with similar backgrounds.

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Presenting during MSGA Mid-Year Meeting 2013 as president of the Young Stockgrowers.

Do you have any advice for fellow young Montana ranchers about the beef cattle business?

I am usually the one listening to advice about the cattle business, I don’t feel I am one to be giving anyone advice. One thing I would say is to get the business transition things figured out now! No matter how awkward it may be, get the conversation at least started, it will be easier in the long run.

What’s your favorite beef dish?

Rib steak. No dish.

Is there anything else you can share with us?

I would encourage all MSGA members to visit with your non-member neighbors and friends about the organization and how much MSGA does on our natural resource issues. I feel like the west is on the ropes right now with sage grouse, bison, and water. Ranchers are in short supply, so even if folks do not want to be involved in MSGA, a membership would help fight their battles for them while keeping them informed on many of these issues.

September 12, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Young Stockgrower Visits King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management

Todd Inglee Ralston Valley Beef King ranch headquartersBy Travis Brown, Sand Springs, Young Stockgrowers Vice-Chair

What an exciting time to be involved in this industry! Record high calf prices, strong demand, an expanding cow herd, and good moisture across much of the United States has made this an electrifying time in our business. I am also very encouraged by the young leaders who are looking at beef production as a great way to make a good living.

I had the opportunity last week to travel to Kingsville, TX and attend the John B. Armstrong Systems Thinking Lectureship put on by the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. It was a great chance to think through some of the micro- and macro-economic issues facing the beef industry ranging from questions about defining sustainability, endangered species protection, water usage, beef promotion, and production challenges. Throughout the intensive 4-day lectureship we discussed, and admired these issues hoping to begin to understand them better.

It was a humbling feeling to be surrounded by young, innovative, progressive thinkers who all have a vested interest in all of our future. The teacher of the lectureship, Michael Goodman, helped us to understand how the structure of our business or industry creates the results that it does. How we can make a long-term improvement on our ranch, or in our state Capitol that will make a lasting difference on the real problems we are facing. In out instant gratification society, it is often easy to look for the “quick fix” which may have unintended consequences to the long-term solution.

King ranch lectureshipOne of the highlights of the trip was having the chance to go on a private tour with Vice President & General Manager of the King Ranch, Dave DeLaney to get a look at where they brand the famous Running W. For over 150 years, they have run cattle in South Texas, between Corpus Christi and Brownsville. There is an incredible amount of history on this storied ranch, and an exciting future.

I could not help but be excited for what is in store for our own Young Stockgrowers. We have the upcoming Cattle Crawl, giving us a chance to interact with our consumers and show them what a great tasting, healthy, and environmentally friendly product we are proud to produce. We also have our biannual Calling on the Capitol coming up where we will have a real opportunity to interact with our legislators to make a difference on the issues facing our industry here in Montana. Our annual convention coming up in December will help us to set the policy of Montana Stockgrowers, to ensure that we have a united voice within our industry to institute positive change on the state and national level.

September 1, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Advocacy and Involvement Important For Young Stockgrowers

Lacey SutherlinBy Lacey Sutherlin, Stevensville, Young Stockgrowers Chair

Greetings from the Beautiful Bitterroot Valley! I just finished our annual board meetings at ORIgen last week. And it has been an exciting year in cattle genetics thus far. Semen sales are up substantially in 2014. We are tending to see in an increase in sales to commercial customers verse registered due to many people keeping replacement heifers.

While in Billings, I also attended part of the Northern June Video sale. It was exciting to see all the smiles on the producers faces that evening at dinner as many of them had sold their calves for record setting prices earlier that day. It was also mentioned that it was the first Northern Video Sale that every single lot that day sold; they did not have any no-sales recorded that day.

Back at the ranch in Stevensville, we are haying like crazy and the yields are impressive! We are done with first cutting alfalfa and are working on grain and grass now. After the finish initial rinse cycle on some of the first hay we cut, we have been able to put up some of the most beautiful green hay that I have seen in a while.

Baler wisdom: As I travel around in circles in my tractor and baler I was thinking of what advice I could give the YSG members. The most important thing I can think of is be involved and become an advocate of agriculture! We are the future of the industry and we need to everything we can to protect it. I encourage you to become involved at least on a local level and eventually a state level. I realize we are all busy but at least join an organization and pay your dues to give that organization some support to have a voice in Helena and in Washington.

I think the biggest issue we have is that people that are negative towards agriculture because they are uneducated about what we really do. And who would better to inform them than the young people living in the industry every day. I am not asking you to take on the world but I do challenge you to take moment at your local grocery to start up a conversation with a consumer or if you travel have that “elevator speech” ready to tell people who you are and what you do for them!

We had an AWESOME Young Stockgrower Meeting at Mid-Year in Miles City. In summary, we had a presentation on Social Media, a Beef Industry Update, a Land Appraisal Update, a presentation on Cover Crops and speaker about Land Prices and Ag Real Estate. We also had an excellent question and answer session to wrap-up the meeting. We are already planning a great meeting a state convention in December so make sure you plan to attend! Between now and then we have the T-Bone Classic Golf Tournament and it would be great if we could get some YSG attendance. Also October 3-5 will be the Young Ag Leadership Conference (YALC) in Bozeman. The committee has a great agenda slated for the conference and I encourage you to attend this as well.

I hope the haying season is going well for all of you and I look forward to seeing all of you along the road somewhere! If you have any questions or need info on any of the events mentioned above feel free to contact me. [email protected]

July 14, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Specialists, Generalists, and Working with People

Rachel Endecott Montana Young Stockgrowers Mid Year Miles CityDr. Rachel Endecott, Belgrade, MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist

Sometimes, it seems that the world wants people who specialize. For example, my job title is Extension beef cattle specialist; however, “beef cattle” is a fairly general topic. In fact, I’m trained as a ruminant nutritionist, but I help folks with cattle reproductive physiology, genetics, marketing, health, and general management questions on a regular basis in addition to their nutrition questions. I’ve found that my clientele don’t care how I was trained; they just expect answers to their beef cattle questions. My ranch background and animal science training has made me pretty comfortable with the generalist role. And if you think my work makes me a Jill-of-all-trades, think about your county Extension agent. Many of you live in single-agent counties, where that one person handles all the questions that come into the office.

What kind of tree is this? What kind of bug is this? Is this bug killing my tree? Can you help out with the community forum on the new swimming pool? Can you test my pressure cooker before canning season starts? Can you come take a look at the damage the hailstorm did to my wheat? Should I test my grain hay for nitrates? And I’ll leave all the 4-H related questions up to your imagination! I’d encourage you to sit down with your county agent(s) sometime and ask about the variety in their job; you might be surprised.

At Mid Year, I was invited to speak at the Young Stockgrower meeting about issues and trends in the beef cattle industry. I’d say that was a pretty generalist topic, so I started with changes in the use of feed-grade antibiotics and we had a good discussion about that and a few other topics. At the end, all the speakers took questions as a panel, one of which was “What advice would you give to a young person who wants to talk to their folks or grandparents about making a change on the operation?”

My answer was this: Get some soft skill leadership training before you have that conversation. Now this might raise an eyebrow or two out there in MSGA readership land, and probably did that day in Miles City, too. But here’s where I’m coming from: in school, we choose our area of interest to study with the goal specializing in that area of interest, be it animal science, ag business or whatever. I think most would agree that as you enter the workforce (and for the rest of your career), you might have to generalize some depending on the job.

Did you learn about how to effectively work with people from other generations or different personality types? I know I didn’t. And (as I was reminded at the ranch rodeo by one of my clientele), I’ve gone to a lot of school! But you know what a major part of my job is? Working with people. I bet it’s a pretty big part of your job, too. What would it be like to have some training to help you work more effectively with people?

July 9, 2014 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSU students win regional animal science competition for second year in a row

Members of the MSU quadrathlon team are (from left) Ben Stokes, Jessica Roloff, adviser Rachel Endecott, Anna Downen and Preston Kiehl. (Photo from the American Society of Animal Science).

Members of the MSU quadrathlon team are (from left) Ben Stokes, Jessica Roloff, adviser Rachel Endecott, Anna Downen and Preston Kiehl. (Photo from the American Society of Animal Science).

BOZEMAN — Four students from the Department of Animal and Range Sciences at Montana State University won the Western Region Academic Quadrathlon, held June 23-25 in San Angelo, Texas. They will now advance to the national competition to be held July 20-21 in Kansas City, Mo.

Anna Downen of Columbia Falls, Preston Kiehl of Winnett, Jessica Roloff of Bozeman and Ben Stokes of Pflugerville, Texas, competed in a four-part contest that consisted of a comprehensive written exam, impromptu oral presentation, hands-on lab practicum and double-elimination quiz bowl tournament. This is the second year in a row that MSU has won the regional contest.

The MSU team competed with five other western region universities, including California State University-Chico, Brigham Young University-Idaho, New Mexico State University, Oregon State University and University of Wyoming.

“Anna, Preston, Jessie and Ben did a spectacular job representing MSU at the contest. I’m very proud of their hard work. It’s exciting that MSU now has back-to-back wins in the regional contest,” said team adviser Rachel Endecott.

Three of the four students graduated in May. Kiehl has one semester remaining and plans to return to his family ranch. Downen now lives in Fairview and works at a Sidney veterinary clinic. Roloff is working on a ranch near Lewistown, and Stokes is starting a master’s degree at Iowa State University.

The regional contest was held in conjunction with the 2014 Western Section American Society of Animal Science meetings, hosted by Angelo State University. The national contest will be held in conjunction with the joint American Dairy Science Association, American Society of Animal Science and Canadian Society of Animal Science meetings.