— Montana cattle producers haven’t had an easy go of it in 2017.
The Montana Stockgrowers Foundation, Southeast Montana Livestock Association and the Montana State University Extension Service hope to offer some advice and services for getting through fire and drought during a Nov. 15 seminar at the Range Riders Museum in Miles City.
The free event is open to the public and will begin at 1 p.m. Anderson says there is no count on how many producers or how many cattle were affected this year by fire and drought.
Though fires burned throughout the state, the largest was the Lodgepole Complex Fire, which scorched more than a quarter million acres in eastern Montana.
The eastern part of the state also has had the longest-lasting drought conditions, including the 12.27 percent of the state still in extreme drought.
"We will start to see the impacts of fire and drought as we move into next year," Anderson says.
Amy Iverson, a certified public accountant from Billings, will present information on options for managing tax issues related to decisions made during financial stress caused by drought conditions.
Brandon Willis, owner of Rancher’s Insurance LLC of Utah, will provide information on deciding whether to use forage, pasture and rangeland insurance products.
Andy Roberts, animal research scientist at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, will explain how to reduce the input cost of a cow herd while maintaining productivity through changes in heifer development programs.
Lance Vermeire, rangeland ecologist at Fort Keogh, has done extensive study on the effects of grazing on rangeland production following fire and drought, and he will present strategies that allow for recovery of range condition with grazing animals.