Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Nowlin, L.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
PETROLEUM COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT
813 N BROADWAY STE B
WINNETT, MONTANA 59087

DEVELOPING BEEFMT: STRENGTHENING BEGINNING RANCHER OPERATIONS IN EASTERN MONTANA

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Petroleum County Conservation District, along with our partners, the Winnett ACES (Agricultural Community Enhancement and Sustainability), Montana State University (MSU) Extension, and the MSU Dan Scott Ranch Management Program, will utilize a one-year simplified standard grant to develop a multi-year education program - BeefMT. The outcome for this project will be a fully developed beginning rancher education program which will be ready for implementation at the end of the grant period. This project will 1.) create an advisory committee that will: 2.) guide curriculum development and 3.) develop an action plan for implementation of BeefMT. The Advisory Committee will consist of agriculture industry, education, non-governmental organization, and individual ranch representatives. Beginning ranchers will be part of the Advisory Committee. BeefMT will follow a cohort model, designed for a consistent group of participants to complete the program over multiple years. The developed BeefMT curriculum will address areas of need including transition planning, range management, livestock nutrition, financial planning, ag policy, marketing, and other topics identified during the planning process. The BeefMT program will be designed to utilize multiple delivery methods (online, in-class, on-the-ground), which will provide beginning ranchers with knowledge, resources, and a support network to help them make decisions that further their operations' ecological, economical, and social sustainability. BeefMT will be a long-lasting educational program, where many cohorts of beginning ranchers can build knowledge and skills that will benefit their individual operations, their home community, and the Montana and U.S. cattle industry as a whole.

OBJECTIVES: Our long-term goal is to develop a multi-year education program for beginning ranchers (BeefMT), which will utilize multiple delivery methods (online, in-class, on-the-ground), providing beginning ranchers with knowledge, resources, and a support network to help them make decisions that further their operations' ecological, economical, and social sustainability.Objectives:1. Establish an advisory committee representing a broad range of partnerships: agencies, non-governmental organizations, University educators, community-based collaboratives, and beginning and experienced beef producers to guide the future direction of BeefMT.2. Develop a comprehensive, multi-year curriculum for beginning ranchers, which provides knowledge and resources in the areas of transition planning, range management, land acquisition, livestock nutrition, financial planning, ag policy, and marketing.3. Determine the most appropriate approach for implementing BeefMTto accommodate our large region and create an accessible program for all participants.4. During the one-year simplified grant period, submit a proposal for funding to fully implement the developed BeefMT program.

APPROACH: Establish an Advisory Committee: To ensure the BeefMT curriculum accurately addresses the needs of beginning ranchers in eastern Montana, we will create a collaborative committee to advise the direction, framework, and content of the program. The Advisory Committee will direct the work of the Project Manager. Committee members may include (but are not limited to) representatives from Extension, Montana State University, Winnett ACES, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA), South Dakota State University (SDSU), the Plank Stewardship Initiative (PSI), the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Petroleum County and additional Conservation Districts, the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA), Montana Stockgrowers, Montana Cattlewomen and members of the ranching community (both beginning and established). Beginning ranchers will serve on the advisory committee and contribute local knowledge and subject matter expertise for creating this curriculum. The committee will be coordinated by the BeefMT project manager (to be hired upon attainment of funding), who will manage both in-person and tele-communication among the group. The advisory committee will provide input to the project manager about the educational needs of beginning ranchers, possible case studies to utilize in BeefMT curriculum, ways to incorporate existing education materials, and opportunities for collaboration among ag-focused organizations. The project manager will recruit additional partners as appropriate.Develop the BeefMT Curriculum:The BeefMT curriculum will be based on the framework of the beefSD program, which has been successfully implemented for many years in South Dakota. The beefSD Project Director will be contracted to compile beefSD materials into a transferable model for eastern Montana. These materials will provide a strong base for further development of a program that will meet the needs of eastern Montana ranchers. BeefMT will be designed as a cohort program, where a particular group of individuals will complete various training sessions over the course of two years. Anticipated topics within the curriculum include transition planning, range management, land acquisition, livestock nutrition, financial planning, ag policy, and marketing, but may be adjusted if research from the project manager and advisory committee discover other pressing educational needs. The curriculum will be based on research, and utilize multiple resources (Extension, the University system as whole, PSI, experienced ranchers, etc.) to deliver the material. BeefMT will be designed as a comprehensive program which addresses the economical, ecological, and social needs of beginning ranchers.Determine Appropriate Delivery Methods:Montana's sparse population and vast distances often presents challenges for implementing large-scale educational programs. With today's technology however, we have a variety of opportunities for making BeefMT accessible to participants across our 26-county target area. During the simplified standard grant period, the project manager will evaluate various options to create a program framework; this framework will utilize multiple delivery methods, including field days, classroom seminars, webinars, and any other method deemed appropriate. We believe including components such as field days and in-person meetings are crucial to BeefMT, to maintain a community atmosphere and demonstrate applied concepts. However, we also recognize that extensive travel can be a hindrance for our target demographic of beginning ranchers, and that weather and distance pose additional difficulties. For these reasons, a main responsibility of the project manager will be to investigate possible solutions to address these obstacles. Additionally, because 12% of our target region is comprised of tribal lands, the project manager will work with Reservation Extension agents and other partners to develop strategies for reaching American Indian prodcuers and others ranching on tribal lands.We will also look to SDSU for additional guidance in this area, because they have navigated some of these logistical challenges while implementing beefSD.Upon determining appropriate delivery methods, the project manager will develop an implementation plan, which will include funding options, for BeefMT. The curriculum and implementation plan will be shared with partners and the advisory committee as well as the PCCD and Winnett ACES Board in a final project presentation. These final components will be compiled into a report for project partners and others interested in a beginning rancher education program.Submit a Proposal for Funding the Developed BeefMT Program:Additional funding will be needed to implement BeefMT. Therefore, to support the sustainability of this project, one responsibility of the part-time project manager will be to submit a full BFRDP proposal in March of 2021, and apply for additional grants if necessary. Because we recognize that full funding through a BFRDP grant is not guaranteed, the project manager and advisory committee will also work to secure project funding through partnerships.?Recruiting Beginning Ranchers To develop a curriculum that will benefit beginning ranchers, we will recruit beginning ranchers to serve on the advisory committee. Winnett ACES has an education committee with beginning ranchers who have already volunteered to be part of the advisory committee. We will use our existing partnerships to recruit beginning ranchers from other parts of eastern Montana as well. We will utilize a variety of tele-communication strategies, and our program manager will travel as necessary, to ensure that serving on the advisory committee is not a burden on these beginning ranchers.