We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
It was a bit hard to tell who was studying who from this photo taken at Top Notch Angus south of Chinook. The stop was part of the 2018 Angus Tour that showcased various ranches and the Angus cattle from hosting breeders in Hill, Blaine and Phillips Counties.
This group of Idaho breeders enjoyed a prime rib dinner during the 2018 Montana Angus Tour. The first stop on the 2018 tour included the annual meeting of the state association's officers and the annual awards banquet at Peterson's Grain and Cattle north of Havre.
This panorama shows the evening stop at Shipwheel Cattle Company owned by Klint and Lori Swanson. Cooks said 400+ diners were served a pitchfork fondue with trimmings.
he 2018 Montana Angus Tour made a stop at the Milk River Pavilion, pictured here, to view cattle displayed from Math Farms, Score Angus and C Bar Angus all on the eastern edge of the area that makes up the North Central Montana Angus Association.
The 44th Montana Angus Tour is history. This year's tour, sponsored by the North Central Montana Angus Association (Hill, Blaine and Phillips County Angus breeders), drew 200+ registrants from 17 states and two Canadian provinces. Tour participants stopped at nine host sites and heard 21 beef breeders describe their operations. Guests viewed 1,500 cattle and calves along the way at sites north of Havre, south of Chinook, north of Turner and east of Malta.
At some stops the guest list swelled to nearly 400 as producers invited their customers to join the traveling event. The Montana Angus Tour has the distinction of being the longest running Angus tour in the country. One event sponsor said, "This annual tour is an opportunity for breeders to see some of the best genetics in the world." The tour group was joined by CEO Allen Moczygemba of the American Angus Association and other officials with the breed.
Readers not connected to the beef industry may be surprised to learn that beef sales in Montana have hovered around one billion dollars a year for the last decade. More specifically, according to Tim Skinner with Skinner Ranch Seedstock in Hall, MT, "Montana is #1 for the number of Angus bulls produced in the U.S., recording 20% of all registered Angus bulls sold."
Our state is also #1 for registrations of cattle with the American Angus Association and in 2017 68% of bulls sold in Montana were Angus. Many of the out-of-state guests on the tour said they join the Montana tour each year to see where their major seedstock (breeding cattle) come from and how the animals are raised. Several out of state visitors noted they do the Montana tours to see the calves they might be interested in buying at some future time.
While the tour is mainly about cattle, it's also about relationships among people in the business. Amy Van Dyke-Crowder, Executive Administrator for the Montana Angus Association, said, "The tour is a great way for people to network, learn about new programs and products, see great cattle and meet other producers." Montana's annual tour works through all seven regions of the state. Van Dyke-Crowder added, "The various tours give visitors an opportunity to see what's working in each of our seven regions of Montana."
At each meal stop during the tour beef is featured. Guests enjoyed prime rib, grilled hamburgers, a pitchfork fondue and brisket. A veteran tour bus driver was heard commenting to a new colleague, "You'll love this driving gig. It's basically hauling people from one place to eat to another place to eat."
Collaboration to create a new
Angus herd for teaching and research
During the opening event of this year's tour, representatives with the Montana Angus Association and Montana State University announced the results of an 18 month effort to create a new research and teaching Angus herd. This herd will provide hands on experiences for students planning careers in the beef industry and will be used by faculty for research.
A memorandum of understanding assures the herd is used to further the aims of the Angus industry in the state. Dr. Tim DelCurto, a professor of range cattle at MSU, was instrumental in helping form the goals for the herd. He said, "We'll run the herd as range cattle. They will function as 'cows in their working clothes.'" Having an Angus herd available to faculty and students will help serve and enhance the Angus industry in Montana." Dr. Darrin Boss, Superintendent of MSU's Northern Ag Research Center in Havre, added, "This will be the only registered Angus herd available to MSU researchers and students."
State association members have already donated 17 of the 50 bred heifers that will be required to start the herd. During the first evening meeting of this year's tour, nearly all the forecasted $20,000 needed to start the herd was pledged by the tour participants. Montana breeders will provide learning experiences for MSU students by offering internships and other learning opportunities on Montana ranches.
Next year's Montana Angus Tour
will be hosted by the "West" region
Plans are underway for next year's tour in the West Region of the Montana association. The date is set for September 17-19. There'll be more networking, cattle to view, stories to share and innovations in the Angus industry to learn about. Find tour details as they are available at: mtangus.org. See page A8 for more coverage of the 44th Annual Montana Angus Tour.
