Montana Farm Bureau Federation

KALISPELL, Montana —More than 170 members and guests of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) gathered for the organization’s annual Summer Conference, held June 15–17 in Kalispell. Serving as a critical component of MFBF’s grassroots policy development process, the summer committee meetings provided a vital forum to discuss pressing issues facing agriculture, including the 2026 Farm Bill, trade and labor challenges, and the broader economic outlook.

WASHINGTON — In celebration of the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF), the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Women’s Leadership program, together with a coalition of U.S. agrifood system stakeholders, recently hosted a landmark national gathering honoring the vital role women play in agriculture and the supply chain.

Bozeman, Montana—The news that the New World Screwworm (NWS) has been found in the United States, namely Texas, is concerning, but with work from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and awareness among area ranchers, surveillance and prompt treatment can make a positive difference. “We’ve been watching this fly make its way north from southern Mexico for the past year and a half. First, we want people to know that this in no way affects the safety of our food supply.

Bozeman, Montana—The Montana Farm Bureau Federation and the Montana Farm Bureau Foundation presented secondary education scholarships to six deserving students across the state. This year, funding increased for the Future of Agriculture Honor Scholarship and the Collegiate YF&R Scholarship, and the Foundation added the new Janet Krob Memorial Scholarship. This year, the Women’s Leadership Committee added trade schools and other forms of secondary education to their scholarship.

Bozeman, Montana—The Montana Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Committee is thrilled to announce that selected Montana Polaris dealers will sponsor the YF&R Discussion Meet for the 12th year, awarding a Ranger® 570 Side by Side to the winner of the competition. The Discussion Meet will be held during the Montana Farm Bureau Annual Convention November 15-18, 2026, in Billings.

Farmers, ranchers, and other senior water rights holders have been expressing strong concern regarding the exempt well statute. For the last 30 years, the law allowed for wells to be dug without a permit, review of the effect, or neighbors’ knowledge, thus depleting groundwater and stream flows, leaving agriculture and other senior water right holders to make up the difference. The concerns are tangible in western Montana where development has boomed in recent years.

Bozeman, MONTANA--Commercial and residential subdivisions have been spreading across the Gallatin and Helena Valleys like a patchwork quilt replacing open land. Concerns range from increased traffic to the loss of open space, but the gravest issue centers on water, both its quantity and quality. Increasingly, longtime residents and senior water-rights holders are finding themselves in conflict with rapid development fueled by Montana’s “exempt well” loophole.

Bozeman—It has been an exciting few days for announcements from the Department of the Interior. Late last week, the Department issued its final rule to rescind grazing permits for seven grazing allotments in Phillips County, Montana, held by American Prairie and their conservation herd of bison.

The Montana Farm Bureau applauds the House passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, also known as the 2026 Farm Bill. There has not been a farm bill since it expired in 2023.

J.M. Peck, a cattle rancher from Melrose and District 2 Director for the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, recently returned from Reno, Nevada, where he joined a select group of producers, including Joe Goggins, Greg Putnam, and Darrell Stevenson from Montana, for the Northwest regional meeting of the Common Ground Coalition. The summit, held April 19-21, 2026, brought together 34 cattlemen and women from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and California.