Land & Grazing
Larkspur Season Is Here: Keeping Cattle Alive on Montana’s High Country
Tall larkspur kills more cattle on Montana mountain range than most ranchers want to admit. Here's how to time your grazing and…
Hay & Feed
First-Cutting Hay: Cut at the Right Stage, Then Beat the Weather
Putting up good first-cutting hay in Montana comes down to two fights — cutting at the right maturity and getting it dry…
Cattle
Bull Turnout Done Right: Getting the Breeding Season to Pay Off in Montana
Mid-June is breeding season on most Montana ranches. A little attention to bull soundness, cow-to-bull ratios, and pasture observation now decides what…
Water & Irrigation
Summer Stock Water: Keep the Tanks Full and the Algae Out Before It Bites You
As Montana heats up, water becomes the limiting factor on most summer pasture. Here's how to keep cattle drinking clean, stay ahead…
Cattle
Pinkeye and Flies: Getting Ahead of the Summer Eye Problem
Pinkeye costs Montana cattle producers weight gain, dollars, and time every summer. Here's how to cut the fly pressure, irritants, and infection…
Ranching
Cattle Futures Firm While Cash Trade Waits: What Montana Ranchers Should Read Into It
Live and feeder cattle futures moved higher this week, with market watchers largely waiting on broader negotiated cash cattle trade to show…
Farming
USDA Sees Bigger Wheat Supplies; Montana Growers and Cattlemen Should Brace for Price Headwinds
USDA’s latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) update is getting plenty of attention in grain country, and for Montana it’s…
Ranching
Cattle Futures Firm While Corn Slips: What the Board Signals for Montana Feed and Calf Prices
Grain and livestock futures ended mixed Thursday, April 9, with cattle contracts pushing higher while corn and wheat drifted lower. Reports indicate…
Farming
Soybeans inch higher as crude oil firms; what it could mean for Montana feed and fuel costs
Soybean futures posted a modest gain recently, with market watchers pointing to short covering, technical buying, and renewed strength in crude oil.…
Farming
Montana Grain Marketing: When the War Premium Fades, 2026 Pricing Gets Real
Montana producers don’t need a reminder that grain markets can move on headlines as fast as they move on rain. But the…
Farming
Drought Weed Pressure Is Building in Montana: Timing Residuals, Grazing, and Hay Ground Decisions
Dry springs and tight soil moisture have a way of reshuffling the weed deck in Montana. In some years, drought can slow…
News
Montana Spring Fieldwork Outlook: Warmer Signal, Precipitation Still a Question
Reports from ag meteorologists in the central U.S. are pointing to a spring pattern that leans warmer into late spring and early…
News
Montana Drought Tracking: How Ranchers Can Put Local Conditions on the Map
Dry years in Montana rarely show up evenly. One operation in the Bitterroot Valley can be watching grass stall out while a…
News
Montana drought reports: how ranchers can put on-the-ground conditions on the map
Dry spells don’t hit Montana evenly. One week the Hi-Line is watching wheat and range grass stall out, while parts of the…
Farming
War Jitters, Mixed Grain Trade: What Montana Producers Should Watch as Spring Decisions Near
Reports from national market analysts indicate overnight grain trading has been choppy, with corn and soybeans moving in different directions as global…
Ranching
Cattle Futures Slip as Feeders Wait on Cash Trade — What Montana Ranchers Should Read Into It
Live and feeder cattle futures moved lower this week as traders waited for negotiated cash cattle business to develop, according to reports…
Farming
Grain Markets Ease as South America Wraps Up Harvest; Montana Feed Costs and Acres in Focus
Corn and soybean futures have been leaning lower in recent trade, with market attention shifting away from outside energy headlines and back…
Ranching
Cash Cattle Trade Stalls Midweek, Leaving Montana Sellers Waiting on a Late-Week Signal
Midweek cash cattle business has been slow to develop, with market watchers reporting limited or no visible bids and asking prices in…
Farming
Grain and Cattle Futures End Mixed: What Montana Producers Should Take From Monday’s Close
Grain and livestock futures finished Monday with a split personality: corn and soybeans nudged higher, wheat drifted lower, live cattle posted a…
Farming
Winter Wheat Ratings Slide Nationally as Dryness Lingers — What Montana Growers Should Track
USDA’s latest national look at winter wheat suggests the crop is coming out of dormancy with more stress than growers saw this…
News
Spring Moisture Offers a Lift for Montana Fields — But Planting Decisions Still Hinge on the Next Storm Track
Reports from around Montana suggest spring precipitation has started to do what ranchers and farmers have been waiting on since last fall:…
Farming
Montana Land Values Stay Firm Even When Commodity Prices Sag
Across Montana, reports from lenders, appraisers and real estate brokers indicate farmland and ranchland values have been more resilient than many producers…
Farming
Early Alfalfa Weevil Reports Elsewhere Are a Reminder for Montana Hay Country to Start Scouting
Reports from hay country outside Montana are pointing to earlier-than-usual alfalfa weevil activity this spring. Montana isn’t Missouri, and timing can vary…
Ranching
USDA Weighs Reopening Mexican Cattle Imports: What Montana Producers Should Know
Reports indicate USDA is weighing whether to resume live cattle imports from Mexico, a policy question that always lands at the intersection…
Farming
Montana grain and cattle country adjusts as global demand shifts away from U.S. exports
Montana producers are used to living with volatility—weather, freight, interest rates, and basis swings that can turn a “good” futures market into…