Montana ranks 2nd in the nation for farm and ranch acreage, with 57.6 million acres across 23,800 operations. Cattle are the state's top commodity, generating $350 million more in cash receipts than wheat, the next-highest. Water rights, land use, and estate-tax policy shape whether that land stays in agriculture. the406.news covers the markets, the policy fights, and the families behind both.
A multidisciplinary team from Montana State University will spend three years working alongside 10 to 15 Montana ranches to examine how modern grazing tools and practices affect livestock, vegetation, and soil carbon.
A new piece from the Property and Environment Research Center argues that conservation tools need to support working farms — not push families off them — if the goal is actually to keep land intact.