Agriculture

News from Mara Silvers / Montana Free Press HELENA — The legislative committee that oversees the state health department voted Friday to delay implementation of the agency’s proposed rule expanding religious exemptions to required vaccines at childcare and daycare centers. The 9-1 vote took place near the end of the bipartisan Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee’s final meeting before lawmakers are scheduled to return to Helena in January for the 2023 legislative session. The committee opted to “informally object” to the Department of Public Health and Human Services rule, a tactic that delays adoption of a rule for roughly ...

News from USDA BOZEMAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Aug. 12 it is awarding $197 million for 41 locally led conservation projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). RCPP is a partner-driven program that leverages partner resources to advance in...

News from AERO MONTANA — Two free on-farm raw milk production trainings for Montana farmers and value-added producers to learn methods for low-risk production of raw milk for direct-to-consumer sales under new law.   Raw Milk Training best practices for safe production will be held: &nb...

News from the MT Dept. of Livestoc k HELENA — On Monday, July 24, the Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) announced confirmation of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a Flathead County backyard poultry flock. This is the 10th HPAI affected Montana flock linked to a 2022 wave of HPAI inf...

News from USDA  BOZEMAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making $43.1 million available this year for two national-level funding competitions that support community agriculture.  This is the third year that USDA is offering these national funding opportunities through the USDA ...

News from USDA MONTANA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allow Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants who are in the final year of their CRP contract to request voluntary termination of their CRP contract following the end of the primary nesting season for fiscal year 2022....

News and Photos from Lake Farms, Inc. RONAN — Over 350 fourth graders from across the county spent a day at the Senecal Ranch recently for Mission Valley Ag Days. The Northwest Counties Farm Bureau and the Western Montana Stockgrowers both teamed up with the Lake County Conservation District, MSU ...

News from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service BOZEMAN — The Natural Resources Conservation Service, Montana Association of Land Trusts, and the Heart of the Rockies Initiative have partnered to produce a 20-page report analyzing the economic impact of conservation easements in Montana. The...

News from Polson Chamber of Commerce POLSON — The team at Job Service Polson are collecting used, light-weight men’s and women’s long-sleeve shirts and hats to be donated to seasonal farm workers here in Montana for the The National Long Sleeve Shirt Drive. Donated items can be dropped o...

For most of the history of mankind, consuming animals and animal products required a much closer relationship with harvest and production than the methods of the 21st century.  If you wanted beef, you’d have to raise and kill it yourself, or at the very least, be in contact with someone local w...