MALTA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte this week continued his 56 County Tour along the Hi-Line, meeting with farmers and ranchers in Liberty, Blaine, and Phillips counties.
“Montana farmers and ranchers work hard to feed the world,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We’ll continue to support their operations by cutting red tape and cutting taxes as they add value to their products and showcase our world-class Montana products.”
During his visit to Liberty County, the governor met with ranchers and owners of the Basin Coulee Cattle Company and Treasure State Meats to highlight their ranch and business operation.
Treasure State Meats was founded by 4th generation Casey Buffington and his dad, Gary Buffington, began processing their cattle from the Basin Coulee Cattle Company in 2021 to add value to their beef.
Treasure State Meats is a member of the Montana Premium Processing Cooperative (MPPC) which opened in Havre in 2023. As a member-owned cooperative, MPPC is a service-based slaughter and processing facility for Montana ag producers.
Meeting with Buffington and other local farmers and ranchers over lunch outside of Chester, Gov. Gianforte heard more about their operations.
“We started processing as a way to try to add value to our unmarketable cuts. Through the ranch, we supply two restaurants in town – but a majority of our success has come from making specialty beef products. There is a big demand,” Gary Buffington said.
To support farmers and ranchers, the governor increased the business equipment tax exemption from $100,000 in 2021 to $1 million, eliminating the tax burden for 5,000 Montana businesses, farms, and ranches. Promoting value-added agriculture to strengthen the ag industry is a top priority for Gov. Gianforte. As the governor travels the state, he highlights Montana producers showcasing the Made in Montana brand.
Traveling to Blaine County, the governor visited Kamas Ag Chemical in Chinook to spotlight the family-owned business supporting farmers and ranchers. During the visit, Gov. Gianforte toured the business and met with the Skoyen family who became new owners earlier this year.
In February, Chris Skoyen, his brother Travis, and his father, John, acquired the local business in order to continue service to local producers. In addition to the Kamas Ag storefront and products, the Skoyens provide custom spraying to their customers through Skoyen Ag, beef to market through the Skoyen Ranch and now noxious weed control, ag chemicals, dry fertilizer, and herbicides for pasture and crop fields through Kamas Ag.
Walking through the Kamas warehouse, the governor heard about their full-service delivery options for farmers and ranchers and their hopes for business expansion through a butcher shop next door.
Traveling to Phillips County, the governor met with members of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) in Malta to learn more about the organization’s support for rural communities and Montana’s farmers and ranchers.
The RSA is a rancher-led, grassroots organization, established to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build relationships and community-based solutions to the common challenges producers face.
Through implementing conservation programs, connecting ranchers, and leading educational outreach efforts, RSA assists with fence repairs, grassland restoration, water system upgrades, and livestock care for members.
“What the wildlife and conservation industries started to see is that conservation is most effective when you work with private landowners and other conservation groups, so we’ve really focused on collaborative conservation. To be a rancher is hard – there’s not a big profit there. So, what we really like to do is utilize that collaboration to make ranchers more successful,” said RSA Executive Director Angel DeVries.
Recently, RSA and Winnett ACES, a grassroots-led nonprofit in central Montana, announced their partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to create a grassbank campus to support the local ranching community and promote grassland conservation.
One rancher at the table shared of the significant impact the grassbank innovation has provided to her family operation, “It’s been key for us – there have been two specific times where it saved our ranch. We would have had to liquidate our heard because of grasshoppers. Because there was grassland at a participating ranch, we were able to move our herd. It was a lifesaver.”
Earlier this year, the legislature passed and the governor signed into law House Bill 932, sponsored by Representative Ken Walsh (R – Twin Bridges), to support conservation efforts and rural communities across Montana. House Bill 932 established a Habitat Legacy Account at Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to provide resources for irrigation upgrades, wildfire and weed management, and land stewardship projects.
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Office of the Governor
