U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., signed onto a letter on Tuesday, April 5, penned by Congressman Tom Emmer R-Minn., which was sent to President Biden, with concerns over the record-high fertilizer prices that are impacting Montana’s farmers this spring planting season. Affordable and reliable fertilizer is crucial to our agricultural community, and price increases will have a harmful effect

As dry conditions persist throughout the state, the Montana Department of Agriculture would like to remind farmers and ranchers that they can use the Hay Hotline, an online forum, to list their forage for sale or donation, and/or search listings for a variety of forage or pasture posted by other producers. “Dry conditions seem to be persisting, so the need for hay and pasture will be on everyone’s

Reservoir inflows in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa, were well-below average in March. The March runoff of 1.5 million acre-feet was 48 percent of average for the month. The updated 2022 upper Basin runoff forecast is 17.8 MAF, 69 percent of average, approximately 2.6 MAF less than the March 1 forecast. “Runoff was well below normal due to dry soil conditions and well below

The Montana Department of Agriculture’s Student Loan Assistance Program is now accepting applications. Established during the 2019 legislative session, this program provides student loan assistance to Montana’s college-educated youth pursuing careers in farming or ranching. “Any time we can keep a family ranch in family hands, that’s a win for Montana agriculture,” said MDA director

Starting April 4, the Montana Department of Livestock will implement an updated policy for recording, transferring and rerecording of brands. The policy was developed by a committee of state legislators, representatives of industry organizations, members of the Board of Livestock, and MDOL staff in response to the industry’s requests for increased availability of two-character brands. Major

Registration is now open for the three-day 406 Grazing Academy workshop to be held June 7-9 in central Montana. The workshop is hosted by Montana State University and its partners and is aimed at ranchers seeking to hone their grazing management skills. Classroom activities will take place at the Yogo Inn in Lewistown, and field activities will be held on working ranches near Winnett. Workshop

The Montana Historical Society is hosting their third Saturday Pop-up Exhibit event April 14. Paul Snyder will talk about how childhood interest in his local saloon’s large, ornate backbar led him to delve deeper into their history as well as the bars they graced. Fascinated by their artistic woodwork, Snyder captured both their history and took as many photographs as possible of Montana’s backbars.

The Montana Department of Transportation recently issued new load postings for the Cottonwood Creek Bridge, on MT 200, 8 miles northeast of Circle, in Mc-Cone County; the Bluff Creek Bridge, on MT 200, 14 miles southwest of Richey, in Dawson County; the Skull Creek Bridge, on MT 200, 18 miles west of Brockway, in McCone County; and the Horse Creek Bridge on Horse Creek Road, 1 mile west of Circle,