Party Line Vote Ushers Farm Bill to Senate

By Kayla Sargent The House Ag Committee voted to pass the 2018 Farm Bill along to the full House on Wednesday, April 18.  SNAP reform clearly did not have bipartisan support and ignited strict party line voting. “I told the Chairman in our first meeting in December that because of how Republican leadership handled SNAP amendments in 2013, my Democrats […]

Alternative protein companies “meat” strong opposition

by Kayla Sargent There is still time to file official comments on the United States Cattlemen’s Association’s (USCA) petition, number 18-01, requesting USDA FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) to exclude products not derived from animals raised and slaughtered from the definition of “beef” and “meat”. On April 10, the original comment deadline, North American Meat Institute (NAMI) issued a […]

Where the buffalo may roam…  Speak out on APR grazing proposal

by Kayla Sargent Last week we published a letter from the Jacobs Ranch of Malta, Montana seeking help from fellow ranchers. The American Prairie Reserve (APR) submitted a proposal to expand bison grazing on their BLM allotments in Central and Northeast Montana. In response, the BLM is planning to analyze all of the allotments under one Environmental Assessment (EA) and is […]

Comments – April 26, 2018

The April Cattle On Feed report came out last Friday.  As one would expect, the total number of cattle on feed was up again for the 16thmonth straight.  The total number on feed was up 7 percent as compared to the same month last year. Cattle on feed numbers have risen by 5 percent, or more, each month since October 2017. […]

Front Page Photo ~ April 26, 2018

Call for Comments… APR Bison Grazing Concerns

We recently attended a public “scoping meeting” hosted by the BLM in regard to a proposed grazing permit change requested by American Prairie Reserve (APR). We attended the meeting in Winnett, on April 9, and were disappointed by the lack of structured information. We are quite concerned about the changes that APR wishes to make to these 18 allotments, and […]

On our side – thanks!

Dear Editor, A friend of mine at the kitchen table pointed out to me the recent address by John Goggins announcing Linda Grosskopf’s resignation from the “Western Ag Reporter”.  We all know it’ll take some mighty moccasins to dance her dance. My friend then opened the first page and pointed to a lovely picture of an eager journalist, whose name […]

Things we can agree about…

We perhaps agree that we will continue to use some form of energy for industry, home heating and lighting, and transportation.  We need energy to continue to live a lifestyle similar to what we have now. We will continue to eat.  Food production will need to continue on a commercial basis to produce enough food for there to be opportunity […]

Marfrig acquisition of National Beef… Ag Committee Senators call for National Security Review

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to urge the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review the proposed purchase of National Beef Packing Co. by a Brazilian meat company. On April 9, Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods […]

Pete Peterson’s lifelong love of horses – Part One: The early years

By Heather Smith Thomas Born in 1932 in Stanford, Montana, Pete Peterson grew up around horses. “That’s all we had during the Great Depression for transportation and farm work. I’ve spent most of my life in central and northern Montana and a little bit of time in eastern Montana. I’ve lived mainly in the area from Lewistown to Great Falls […]