One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
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Montana—Agriculture continues to rank as one of the most dangerous sectors in this country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but many farm tragedies can be avoided through prevention and education. Since 1944, the third week of September has been recognized as National Farm Safety and Health Week. This year’s dates are September 15-21, with the theme “Don’t Learn Safety by Accident.” Reporting ag injuries is one of the feature topics for this important week of safety reminders. Workplace injuries and illness tend to occur at...
Families celebrating the 4th of July holiday will continue to find stubbornly high prices at the grocery store. An Independence Day cookout will cost $71.22 for 10 guests this year, based on the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation annual marketbasket survey. The grocery bill is up 5% from 2023, and almost 30% from just five years ago. A $7.12 per-person cost represents a record high since AFBF began the survey in 2013. The cookout favorites include cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream,...
The American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee’s A.C.E. (Advocate. Cultivate. Empower) Summit June 3-5 in Washington, D.C. taught women skills to share their stories about agriculture with lawmakers. The keynote speaker, Xochtil Torres Small, deputy secretary, U.S Department of Agriculture, shared her leadership journey and the role of women in community and government. Workshops included advocacy through confident storytelling, issues in the forefront of politics and economics, training for meeting with elected leaders, and more. Fiv...
Montana Farm Bureau has expressed strong concern at the proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove agriculture from Refuge lands. In a letter to the federal agency, the state’s largest general agricultural organization pointed out that hard-working, family businesses raise food and fiber on a combination of private, federal and state land and some of those families have cooperative agreements on wildlife Refuge lands. MFBF President Cyndi Johnson explained that with 22 wildlife refuges in Montana, such as the C.M. Russell W...
Montana Farm Bureau Federation's (MFBF) members headed to the nation's capital last week for American Farm Bureau Issues Advisory Committee Meetings (IAC) and to meet with their Congressmen. MFBF Senior Director of Governmental Affairs Nicole Rolf was joined by Tom DePuydt, Federal Lands Committee; Jillien Streit, Farm Policy and Wes Jensen, Market Structures. The group visited Capitol Hill, where they met with Senator Jon Tester, Senator Steve Daines, and the staff of Congressmen Matt...
Spending time with family and friends at Thanksgiving remains important for many Americans and this year the cost of the meal is also top of mind. Farm Bureau’s 37th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic Thanksgiving feast for 10, which is $64.05 or less than $6.50 per person. This is a $10.74 or 20% increase from last year’s average of $53.31. The centerpiece on most Thanksgiving tables – the turkey – costs more than last year, at $28.96 for a 16-pound bird. That’s $1.81 per pound, up 21% from last y...
The Montana Farm Bureau Foundation and the Montana Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee are offering several scholarships for students pursuing higher education. “Our Montana Farm Bureau Foundation and Women’s Leadership Committee are pleased to once again provide students with some financial assistance as they work toward furthering their education,” said MFB Foundation Coordinator Scott Kulbeck. Scholarships Available: The Montana Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee Scholarships: Two $1,500 scholarships are available through t...
The deadline is looming for the Montana Farm Bureau Ag in Color Drawing Contest for students in kindergarten through 6th grade. Teachers who participate in this contest will submit the drawings from their classroom directly to county Farm Bureau leaders. Drawings are due to the county Farm Bureau by December 1 with judging completed by Dec. 20. The winning entries will be submitted to the MFBF office. The Women's Leadership State Committee will select the state winners and announce the results...
The American Farm Bureau Federation, along with 46 state Farm Bureaus including the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, and 280 organizations representing family-owned agribusinesses, sent a letter today to congressional leaders urging them to leave important tax policies in place as they draft legislation implementing President Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda. The letter addresses four key tax provisions that make it possible for farmers and ranchers to survive and pass their businesses on to the next generation: estate taxes, stepped-up basis...
The Montana Farm Bureau is a strong supporter of agricultural education and was instrumental in rejuvenating Montana’s Ag in the Classroom Foundation. Because of COVID-19 social distancing mandates issued by the State of Utah, the original summit was cancelled but an online conference has been developed as a way to make up for the cancelled event. MFBF is encouraging Montana teachers to register for the AITC National Virtual Summit slated for June 24-25. Workshop sessions presented by Agriculture in the Classroom state contacts, p...
When Joy DePuydt was elected to the Montana Farm Bureau Board of Directors in November, she decided she needed to learn more about ag advocacy. "I realized if I was going to be a good board member, I needed some education," said DePuydt. Although she and her husband own a ranch in Saco, DePuydt's primary career was nursing until she recently retired. "I saw applying for ACE as a way I could learn to talk about Farm Bureau, farming and ranching. Since I was a nurse for 30 years, my ability to be...
Hans McPherson, a diversified farmer from Stevensville, was re-elected as president of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation during the organization’s annual convention Nov. 11-14 in Billings. Cyndi Johnson, a Conrad small grains farmer, was re-elected as vice president. Newly elected to the board were: Kris Descheemaeker, District 3, a cattle rancher from Lewistown; Joy DePuydt, District 7, a cattle rancher from Saco; and Ed Bandel, District 8, a wheat farmer from Floweree. Re-elected to the MFBF Board of Directors were Craig Blevins, District I...
Montana Farm Bureau Foundation is holding its annual Youth Speech Contest in conjunction with the Montana FFA State Convention, April 3-6, 2019 in Bozeman. One of the MFB Foundation's most important goals is to aid in the agricultural education and the leadership development of Montana's youth. This speech contest fits that goal well and MFBF is offering great prizes to make this an exciting opportunity. The Youth Speech Contest is open to students in the 7th, 8th and 9th grades who are not able to participate in the State FFA Prepared Speech...
Heard about the American Prairie Reserve? It's a non-profit organization that has privately undertaken a project in northeastern Montana to create a wildlife conservation area of over three million contiguous acres through a combination of both private and public lands. Their goal is to acquire and manage approximately 500,000 private acres of prairie ecosystem, which can then be joined with three million acres of existing public land to create a wildlife complex for tourism and conservation. They are proudly promoting this as the "The...
How do ranchers teach students about ecology and the co-existence of wildlife and livestock? Get invited to speak at a school. Recently a group of Phillips County Farm Bureau members traveled to Great Falls to visit with freshman classes about grazing management. Phillips County Farm Bureau President Tom DePuydt explained how this educational opportunity arose. “A year ago a story in the Great Falls Tribune and KRTV talked about how teachers of freshman at the high school applied for a grant to help students learn about conservation. A big e...
