Reports from national farm outlets indicate a nonprofit group, Farm Rescue, has mobilized hay deliveries to ranchers hit by wildfire, using a coordinated effort sometimes described as an “Operation Hay Lift.” While that work is happening outside Montana in some cases, the message lands close to home: when flames take fences, pasture, and winter feed, […]
As wildfire seasons stretch longer across the West, one of the first pinch points for ranchers is rarely the flames themselves—it’s feed. Reports indicate Farm Rescue has activated its “Operation Hay Lift” effort in response to wildfire impacts, coordinating donated hay and trucking to get roughage to ranch families dealing with burned pasture, evacuations, and […]
Montana producers have learned to budget for weather risk, but 2026 could bring another variable that’s harder to predict: energy price volatility. Reports indicate economists are watching diesel and broader energy markets because fuel touches nearly every line item on a farm or ranch budget—hauling hay, running tractors, moving cattle, pumping irrigation water, and getting […]
New USDA numbers suggest more cattle moved into U.S. feedlots in February while fewer cattle moved out the front end. Reports indicate the latest USDA Cattle on Feed report landed close to what analysts were expecting, but the year-over-year comparisons come with a big asterisk: last year’s winter weather disruptions and calendar quirks can make […]
Friday’s futures trade ended with a split screen: cattle prices on the board pushed higher, while most major row crops and wheat drifted lower. Reports indicate May corn settled around $4.65 1/2, May soybeans near $11.61 1/4, and Chicago wheat close to $5.95 1/4, all lower on the day. On the livestock side, April live […]
Reports from other grain states suggest a familiar lesson is resurfacing this year: the producers who bought fertilizer early are sleeping better than the ones still shopping. It’s not that fertilizer is “cheap” — it’s that price moves can be fast, and the spread between input costs and crop prices can tighten in a hurry. […]
Fresh numbers out of USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report are giving the cattle trade something to chew on as spring work ramps up across Montana. Reports indicate U.S. feedlot placements during February were higher than a year ago, while marketings were lower. That combination doesn’t automatically mean “good” or “bad” for Montana ranch country—but […]
Profitability talk is starting to shift from “survive this year” to “position for next year,” and that matters in Montana where feed, freight, and weather can swing the balance sheet fast. A recent Midwest livestock report suggests some producers are looking toward 2026 as a year when margins could improve, helped by feed costs that […]
Montana cattle country has never lacked for opinions on markets. What’s changed is how fast a sales pitch can reach you. Ranchers from the Bitterroot Valley to the Hi-Line report getting more unsolicited texts, social media messages, and webinar invites promising “guaranteed” price gains, secret formulas, or inside access to buyers. Some of these services […]
New USDA Cattle on Feed numbers suggest U.S. feedlots brought in more cattle than a year ago while shipping fewer out. That combination can matter for price direction, timing of marketings, and even what happens to feed demand—topics that hit close to home from the Hi-Line to the Bitterroot Valley. According to reports summarizing the […]