Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff is on pace to collect a record number of chronic wasting disease samples from deer, elk and moose this year. Between July 1 and Nov. 12, FWP staff collected 3,147 CWD samples, of which 1,613 were from the 2021 priority sampling areas located in northwestern, northcentral, southwestern and southcentral Montana. This is above last year’s 2,966 collected

Chronic wasting disease was recently detected in a mule deer buck that was euthanized within Baker city limits in Hunting District 705 by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials on Oct. 27. FWP officials collected the deer after residents reported the buck was acting lethargic and was visibly emaciated and had droopy ears, which are classic symptoms of the disease. Earlier this week

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has announced the number of employed Montanans hit an all-time high in October as Montana’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1 percent, a low achieved only six times over the last 45 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total employment grew by nearly 2,400 jobs while the labor force expanded by nearly 1,200 workers. “By opening Montana for business,

Montana gas prices have fallen 1.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.39/g on Monday, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 615 stations in Montana. Gas prices in Montana are 1 cent per gallon lower than a month ago and stand $1.17/g higher than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Montana was priced at $3.08/g Monday while the most expensive

Cyndi Johnson, a wheat farmer from Conrad, has been elected as president of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation during the organization’s 102nd annual convention Nov. 8-11 in Billings. Johnson will serve as the organization’s first female president since its inception in 1919. Gary Heibertshausen, an Alzada sheep rancher, was elected vice president. Darcia Patten, a cattle rancher from

Dr. Jeff Mosley, MSU Extension, talked to a packed room in the Grazing Management; Decisions After Sever Drought workshop at the Montana Farm Bureau Federation Convention in Billings last week. In his presentation, Mosely explained that drought is an inevitable part of normal climate fluctuations in the semi-arid rangeland that exists in Montana. “The severe drought in 2021 makes it necessary

Following repeated issues with delayed reporting of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or Mad Cow Disease, in Brazilian beef, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has introduced legislation to suspend Brazilian beef imports to the United States until experts can conduct a systematic review of the commodity’s safety. “Montanans demand the highest level of safety and certainty in their beef, and