Spring finally feels like it has made its appearance in Montana. I hope wherever you are reading this from that you have received some moisture and green grass is growing. 

There is a battle going on between ranchers in Montana over a recent public lands decision made by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

It was a busy week on the wildlife front for environmental groups as well as ranchers. It seems like we are constantly faced with a battle where grazing meets wildlife, especially on public lands. 

The show "Yellowstone" seems to be resonating with the public and is causing an influx of people wishing to move to the Big Sky state. The “Yellowstone effect” is real in Montana, and we have seen population growth and skyrocketing demand for real estate.

I have the opportunity to travel many miles throughout my territory, covering sales for the Western Livestock Journal. I hear a lot of opinions and theories about our industry as we all collectively scratch our heads trying to come up with ideas to drive more profits down the supply chain.

This year has resulted in an extraordinary year for fires, grasshoppers, limited hay, and poor crop and range conditions. Tough decisions are being made by livestock producers and all options are being explored to weather this storm.

The environmental community has praised the president on taking such bold action and recommendations to his administration. On the other hand, those of us in agriculture, energy production and rural America have found concern, and I believe rightly so, in what this executive order seems to want to achieve.

Just five days after NCBA’s voluntary framework to increase market transparency was sent out, a group of 17 state cattlemen’s associations sent off a letter to Congress supporting their legislative ideas for a fix.

Cattle markets are a subject that are cussed and discussed all over the country by farmers and ranchers. There have been numerous efforts this year alone to try and address this issue and drive some share of the profits from beef sales back down the line. 

On the cover, what is there not to like? It’s been described as a bill that encourages economic growth, supports public lands and waters, and has bipartisan support.