U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), along with five other cosponsors have reintroduced the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025. The bill was introduced in 2022 and 2023, moving out of committee in 2022 and voted on the Senate floor. The legislation would create the “Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters” within the Packers & Stockyards Division at USDA and addresses anticompetitive markets and vertical consolidation in the meatpacking industry. The Office of the Special Investigator would hold legal powers to address violations of the Packers and Stockyards...

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Each year the Montana Livestock Loss Board receives funding for loss prevention grants and is now accepting applications for the 2025 funding round.  Applications are due by May 31st and grant applications are available on the board’s website www.llb.mt.gov . Interested parties may also contact the board office at [email protected] or 406-444-4994 to request an application. The loss prevention grants are aligned with the Board’s mission to support Montana’s livestock producers and their communities by reducing the economic impacts of livestock depredation from wolves, grizzly bears, and mountain lions. The Board is looking to financially support programs that seek to...

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Pasture management, especially in the face of continued drought, is on the forefront of producers’ minds this spring. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability hosted a webinar titled “2025 Drought Planning: Trigger Dates for Pasture and Forage Management” to help guide producers in their grazing decisions. “The amount and timing of spring and early summer precipitation is an important factor in determining annual plant production. And using critical trigger dates can help producers adjust stocking rates if precipitation and the resulting forage production is expected to be below average,” Ryan Evans, UNL Center for Agricultural Profitability communications specialist,...

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A unique, educational summer camp for kids was created a few years ago in Washington State. Camp Sagebrush is a one-of-a-kind experience for kids to learn more about their local shrub steppe ecosystem and fire mitigation. The camp was developed by the Foster Creek Conservation District and is now a three-day overnight camp to help youth understand their ecosystem and grasp how to take action to reduce wildfire risk. Campers from fifth through seventh grades explore the unique shrub steppe, the arid grassland of the region, while building friendships and memories. This collaborative camp is part of a larger project...

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Each year, senior students at Bear Creek High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, have the opportunity to sign up for the Senior Field Studies class. The program offers students “real-world experience” in three different environments: urban, rural, and wilderness. The Women’s Leadership Committee at Colorado Farm Bureau has been sponsoring the rural experience for almost 50 years now. In that time, they have been bringing seniors onto farming and ranching operations in Colorado, immersing students in the lifestyle and work that goes into producing food products. “We bring the kids out to the farm for a week, and we encourage...

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An important note to start on is that I just saw that the court case for Charles and Heather Maude (see last week’s front page for more information) has been moved to July 22, 2025. We will touch on this more when we can. Last week, my husband and I took a few days away from the ranch and headed down to Arlington, Texas, for the COWGIRL Magazine 30 Under 30 event. I will be eager to share about the people we met, the places we went, and of course, the food we ate, in my next column. Until then,...

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The 2025 spring sale season is rapidly coming to a close for me. The next time I address all of you, I will be done with my production sales. There will still be a pretty good number of sales taking place around Reporter Country from now until June, but I, personally, will be all wrapped up. It has been an unbelievable run, in fact a historic run, over this last full selling season. All of our field staff will compile the numbers like we normally do at the end of the sale season, and we will present those figures soon...

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The Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust (Land Trust) is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its conservation team: Averi Reynolds, joining as the Conservation Director, and Rachel Belouin, joining as the Conservation Manager. Their expertise and passion for agriculture and conservation will further strengthen the organization's commitment to protecting Wyoming’s working lands. As the Conservation Director, Averi will oversee the Conservation and Stewardship team, providing strategic vision in advancing agricultural conservation across the state. With a Master of Science (M.S.) in Animal Science and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management from the...

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The Beartooth Stock Association (BSA) sent a letter to members of the Senate and House Ag Committees, DOGE Caucus, select Senators and Representatives, and the Montana Governor urging them to connect with BSA to address issues facing the livestock industry. The letter outlined several concerns like meat labeling standards, inheritance taxes, the beef checkoU, and animal identification system. “We can no longer aUord to continue business as usual,” the letter stated. “Agency and congressional lawmakers must look for guidance from boots on the ground producers whose main income is derived from producing livestock. Large organizations and lobbyists, who claim to...

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The Collegiate Beef Advocacy Program, developed by the American National Cattle Women, is a unique, national program designed to equip college students with the tools and resources to advocate on behalf of beef while also gaining valuable industry experience. Ava Budde, an agricultural communications major at the University of Wyoming, is one of three college students in the Collegiate Beef Advocacy Program for the 2024-2025 year. The other members of the advocacy team are Miranda Zuvich, a PhD student at Colorado State University studying animal breeding and genetics, and Kyla Beck, an agribusiness student at Texas A&M. Together, these three...

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