Agriculture

LAKE COUNTY — In the wake of the national egg shortage, which has seen national providers across the board lose flocks of chickens to avian influenza, local egg providers have been rising to the challenge to meet increasing egg demand.  According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States suffered its deadliest outbreak of avian influenza between 2021 and 2022 with 50.54 million birds killed across 47 states. The prior record saw the death of 50.5 million birds in 2015. Data published by the USDA in January of this year showed that in December of 2022, the average number of “layers” was down 5% from 2021, and the overall production of eggs fell by 6.6...

News from the MT Department of Livestock HELENA — Following multiple confirmed cases of equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in Flathead County, the Montana Department of Livestock recommended that horse owners and event coordinators in the Flathead Valley limit travel and cancel events th...

News from USDA WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the details of additional assistance for dairy producers, including a second round of payments through the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP) and a new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Pro...

News from USDA BOZEMAN — The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for the Community Agriculture Initiative. This initiative supports the conservation efforts of Montana’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners from small acreage to large. NRCS accept...

News from USDA BOZEMAN — The Montana Association of Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will host the 2023 Montana Soil Health Symposium on Feb. 8-9 at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. The event will feature Jerry Doan of Black Leg Ranch in McKenzie, N...

News from USDA  BOZEMAN — The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Montana is accepting applications for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) enrollment option and the Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE). While NRCS accepts easement appl...

News from the office of Governor Gianforte HELENA — Governor Greg Gianforte and Montana Department of Agriculture Director Christy Clark announced on Nov. 1 a letter of intent for Heineken International Cerveceria Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (Heineken International) to increase its purchase volume...

News from USDA WASHINGTON — Dairy producers can now enroll for 2023 coverage through the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program, an important safety net program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that helps producers manage changes in milk and feed prices. 

News from the office of Senator Jon Tester BIG SANDY — As a part of his continued effort to strengthen Montana food systems, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today secured six United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grants totaling $1,968,000 for local organizatio...

News from Josh Sencal, REAL Montana member BOZEMAN — Ronan resident Josh Senecal just returned from Bozeman as part of REAL Montana (Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership). For Josh Senecal and other members of REAL Montana Class V, this was the first of ten seminars in their two-year educ...