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M O N TA N A
GRASS ROOTS F E E D I N G T H E F U T U R E T H R O U G H F A R M E R S U N I O N E D U C AT I O N A P U B L I C AT I O N B Y M O N TA N A F A R M E R S U N I O N
MFU RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF COOL LEGISLATION Two bills addressing Country of Origin labeling(COOL) were introduced this legislative session. Both bills, SB 206 and HB 594 would require Country of Origin placarding for beef and pork products sold at Montana retailers. In February, members traveled to Helena to testify on SB 206. MFU supported the bill with amendments stressing the consumer’s knowledge of the origin of the meat as the key to transparency. Members Erik Somerfeld, Jeff Bangs and Will Downs testified on the bill. In addition representatives from Northern Plains Resource Council and the Montana Cattlemen’s Association testified. Member Jeff Bangs provided a history for the committee on COOL and the reason behind MFU’s backing of the bill. “We support this bill with the amendment because consumers have shown us that they will choose U.S. beef and pork and will pay for it if given the opportunity to do so,” said Bangs.
MFU delegation at the state capitol for committee hearing on SB 206
PAID
GREAT FALLS, MT PERMIT NO. 93
NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE
SB 206 also addressed labeling in regards to cell cultured meat. Member Will Downs said the inclusion of cell cultured meat coming into the market is yet another reason to have country of origin labeling.“Cell cultured meat will be a viable option to produce meat and something we should consider and take serious when labeling meat.” C O N T I N U E D PA G E 5
IN THE MARCH EDITION... PAGE 6 MFU Members Talk National Women’s Conference
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MARCH 2019
MONTANA FARMERS UNION
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!! IN THIS ISSUE Member I RO Q U O I S VA L L E Y FA R M S
Recruited by
L L C , E VA N S TO N I L
SHANE ANDERSON
GEORGE KNUDSON, SACO
SHANE ANDERSON
J A C O B
DEL HANSEN
HUGHES, GLASGOW
KENT KLEEMAN, PEERLESS
PHONE: (406) 452-6406 1-800-234-4071 FAX: (406) 727-8216
C I N DY S C H U B E R T
E D & T E R R I B I B E A U , M A L TA
Members Attend NFU Women’s Conference, Laura Garber Page 3
DEL HANSEN
D U S T I N S H I P P, G L A S G O W
DEL HANSEN
C A R O LY N W E S E N - M U G G L I , G L A S G O W
DEL HANSEN
C A M I L L A B U C K , RO S E B U D
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
W AY N E & E L A I N E B U C K , R O S E B U D
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
E H R E T L A N D C O M P A N Y, B A K E R
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
GLEN GREER, MILES CITY
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
K E I L E E KO U N T Z , F R O M B E R G
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
L & M L I V E S TO C K L L C , M I L E S C I T Y
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
RO B E RT N E W M A N , M E L S TO N E
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
S T E P H A N I E & C U R T I S S O L B E R G ,
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
College Conference on Cooperatives Event, Violet Green; Latest on Water Rights Filing, Chris Christiaens Page 4
MILES CITY M I C K I E S T U A R T, M I L E S C I T Y
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
M A R C U S T O N N R A N C H E S TAT E ,
R O N & B L AY N E W AT T S
MILES CITY M K B F R E V O C A B L E T R U S T, R E E D P O I N T
J A M E S M AT H E W S
S A M O H A N E S I A N R E V O C A B L E T R U S T,
K J FAU T H
Meet SYAC Member Robert Van Spyk Page 5
RO U N D U P P AT R I C I A W A L K E R , H U N T L E Y
K J FAU T H
M A R K & R E B E C C A WA L K E R , W O R D E N
K J FAU T H
C A S E Y & M I C H E L L E KO M B O L , R O U N D U P
K J FAU T H
R AY J O H N S O N , F R O I D
AUSTIN O’DEA
GAIL RICHARDSON, LAUREL
D A L L A S H A G F E L D T, J R .
L E O E L H A R D F A M I LY T R U S T,
M E L I S S A WA C K E R
2019 MFU Women’s Conference
Page 6-7
C ROW AG E N C Y LORAN & JENNIE HANSEN, HUNTLEY
JUDD LONG
L O N E T R E E R A N C H , G R E AT F A L L S RANDLE & DEIRDRE WHITE, MISSOULA
A E R I C R E I L LY
M C C O N N E L L R A N C H E S L L C ,
MFU Hosts Imformational Meeting on Hemp at the Capitol, Justin Loch Page 8
BRAD BOWMAN S T E FA N I E T H O M P S O N
REDDING CA KAREN STEVENS, WHITEFISH
B R E W E R L A N D & C O M P A N Y L L C ,
RIAL GUNLIKSON A RT H O F F A RT
RINGLING J O H N C R A I G W H I T E , G A L L AT I N G AT E W AY
mfu@montanafarmersunion.com www.montanafarmersunion.com Board of Directors: Alan Merrill, President Rollie Schlepp, Vice President, Conrad Erik Somerfeld, District 2, Power Jeff Bangs, At-Large Director District 1& 2, Inverness Brett Dailey, District 4, Jordan William Downs, District 5, Molt Ben Peterson, At-Large director, Judith Gap Paul Kanning, District 3, Flaxville Eric Bergman, District 1, Fort Shaw Sig Rudie, Fairview, At-Large director Jan Tusick, District 6, Ronan State Office Staff: Jan Johnson, Office Mgr., Assistant Secretary/ Treasurer Lyndsay Bruno, Communications Director Chris Christiaens, Legislative & Project Specialist Justin Loch, Membership Director Dave Snuggs, Facility Director Violet Green, Education Coordinator Copyright © Montana Farmers Union, 2019 Montana Grassroots is the official publication of the Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America, Montana Division. MFU reserves the right to reject any advertisements. Third Class bulk postage paid at Great Falls MT 59401. Membership: $50.00 per year Montana Grassroots is published 10 times each calendar year with two combined issues. Article submissions are requested by the 15th of the month. Advertising space is available. Copy Editor: Jan Johnson Editor/Designer: Lyndsay Bruno
A RT H O F F A RT
G O R D O N & A U D R E Y G R A N L E Y, R O N A N
ANDREW LUEDTKE
R O B E R T H U N T, S T. I G N AT I U S
ANDREW LUEDTKE
J A M E S & C H E R I L AW S O N , H OT S P R I N G S
ANDREW LUEDTKE
S U N N Y S L O P E R A N C H I N C . , L A M B E RT
C AT H Y H I N T Z
W I L L I A M & P E G G Y C O LW E L L , M I S S O U L A
ANDRE MARCURE
TAY L O R W I L M O T, W H I T E F I S H
MFU OFFICE
JESSIE HAFER, EMIGRANT
NICOLE WINES
G R A C E M A R C H E S S E A U L T, D I L L O N
MFU OFFICE
B R A N D & D O N I N E L S O N , L AV I N A
MFU OFFICE
M A RYA N N W E D E R , H A V E R
MFU OFFICE
C O L T E R D A R L I N G T O N , B I G S A N DY
MFU OFFICE
L E S L E Y & J I M RO B I N S O N , D O D S O N
MFU OFFICE
M AT T H E W & C O U R T N E Y G E O R G E ,
PO BOX 2447 300 RIVER DRIVE NORTH GREAT FALLS MT 59403
MFU OFFICE
G R E AT F A L L S
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2019 Producer Conference in Havre Page 9
In Memoriam
Message from the President: Alan Merrill Page 10
Jack Huotari, Geyser Russell Salisbury, Floweree
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MFU WOMEN ATTEND NATIONAL and to CONFERENCE women BY LAURA GARBER
There is no doubt about it, women farmers are taking American agriculture into the future! At the National Farmers Union Women’s Conference held in San Diego, CA this past January, over 80 women in agriculture from as far as Hawaii, Wisconsin, and New York gathered for four days of learning, sharing, and connecting. The Montana delegation included two long-time small farmers, Pam Gerwe and Laura Garber. In addition, Montana was represented by two college students, Hadley Gideon and Helen Madeen. Both Hadley and Helen have participated in the Cultivating Connections Youth Farm Internship program, a non-profit, on-farm educational program that Montana Farmers Union has supported for the past three years. Thanks to Montana Farmers Union for sending our unique delegation to this special conference! The conference immersed participants in all aspects of being a woman farmer. We were coached in the logistics of running a farm business- from taxes and loans to cash flow and food safety. The myriad of ideas for diversification in farming operations were presented and discussed- from bed and breakfasts and farm dinners, to value added products. Opportunities for leadership as women in agriculture were highlighted. We were encouraged to explore our own leadership potential
invite other farmers to take up new leadership roles. Leadership opportunities within Farmers Union, USDA, FSA, as well as in local and state-level politics were all framed as possible and important for women to get involved with. A highlight of the conference was the field trip to an urban farm and an urban community garden. With conference participants Pam Gerwe at the tour of the community garden in San Diego coming from Montana and other rural states, new insights, the conference also provided it is hard to imagine the concept of farming an invaluable opportunity for participants to within a large metropolitan area without actu- connect with each other, share stories, offer ally seeing it in action. Together we toured ideas or support, and to be inspired to continDickinson Farm, a ¼ acre farm in the heart ue innovating and growing as women in agriof San Diego that offers a weekly vegetable culture. Over meals, during breaks, and in the and meal subscription program. We enjoyed evening, the conversations were deep, meana light lunch prepared by Dickinson Farm’s ingful, and relevant to the needs of women on-site chef and then headed to New Roots farmers. Community Farm. New Roots has nearly 100 community garden plots that it rents to low- The National Farmers Union Women’s Conincome and immigrant gardeners for year- ference presents a unique opportunity for round growing. At this special farm, we saw Montana women farmers to expand their powide diversity in gardening techniques and tential. It is a chance for us to share the garden plants, repre- Montana-made success stories that are changsentative of the diets ing food and agriculture. Successes and inand habits of each novations such as the FoodCorps program, of the different im- which was started in Montana and is now an migrant groups using AmeriCorps national service program in sevthe farm. Something en states, are important for us to share. The new for our Mon- conference also enables us to bring ideas and tana delegation was enthusiasm back to the women farmers of bananas-many of the Montana. On behalf of this year’s Montana gardeners had banan- delegation, I would like to challenge Montana as growing in their Farmers Union to gather a delegation of ten plots! Visiting urban women farmers and send them and their ideas farms offered us per- and enthusiasm to the 2020 National Farmspective on our own ers Union Women’s Conference. I challenge operations as well as Montana’s women farmers to get involved, a chance to see how get creative, and to use the Montana Farmers our urban counter- Union Women’s Conference to share and expand the capacity of all our women farmers. parts farm. In addition to practical knowledge and
Group at NFU Women’s Conference 3
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COLLEGE CONFERENCE PROVIDES IN DEPTH EDUCATION ON COOPERATIVES BY VIOLET GREEN E D U C AT I O N C O O R D I N AT O R
Cooperative education has always been one of Montana Farmers Union areas of focus, especially with it being part of our triangle. Growing up in the Montana Farmers Union Camp I always knew about cooperatives, but never really understood how extremely great co-ops are until attending the 2019 College Conference on Cooperatives (CCOC) in Bloomington, Minnesota. During February 14th-17th I got the opportunity to travel to Minnesota, where cooperatives are certainly not a secret. Friday morning we began with presentations at CHS where we sat through sessions by Lynn Pitman from the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives. Co-ops 101 gave detailed information about Lynn’s background in cooperatives and interacting with students on what types of cooperatives can be formed. We then heard from a panel where Char Vrieze, Justin Fuller, Shari Wormwood, Sai Thao, and Theresa Washburn spoke about their experience with the co-ops they are involved in and how they began to really enjoy working or building their cooperatives. Later that day we heard from Kristine Thompson from CHS and another panel who had a different perspective on cooperatives. Friday was full of great information and explaining how cooperatives can really work anywhere as long as people have a common goal. Saturday we got to enjoy tours of cooperatives all around Minneapolis. The tours included Mississippi Market Food Co-op, Seward Co-op,Valley View Senior Housing Co-op, Riverton Community Housing and REI Bloomington Cooperatives, as you can see, can really be anything people are willing to invest their time and while still getting providing a need for themselves and the community. The tours we were able to attend included food co-ops, different type of housing co-ops, and recreational co-ops. The weekend was filled with great learning experiences and networking for college students all around the country. If anyone is interested in learning more about cooperatives please contact me at the MFU Office. I would love to tell you more about the great opportunities cooperatives provide!
WATER RIGHTS REMAIN TOP ISSUE FOR MONTANANS BY CHRIS CHRISTIAENS S P E C I A L P RO J E C T S
Water rights remain a top issue in Montana and some folks have called with confusion about filing for water rights on their property. This stems from a letter sent to all Montana farmer/ranchers as a formal notice of the Opportunity to File for Exempt Water Rights. The letter that came from the DNRC was meant to inform folks that they should file a claim for either groundwater or surface water that was put into use prior to July 1, 1973 for either domestic or livestock use. What this means of course is that if a producer has drilled a new well or has not filed a claim for Exempt Water Rights, someone else may do so. Should that occur the producers water right would become subordinate to other rights filed prior to that July 1, 1973 date, or filed by someone else during this currently reopened window to file. MFU has recommended several times over the past 15 years that farmers and ranchers need to be sure they have filed for their water rights, but at times a new well or a change of ownership may have occurred and if the farmer rancher has not proved their claims the water right could be in jeopardy. If you are unsure, a phone call to the DNRC at (406) 444-0560 would be a smart thing to do. The date allowed under a bill passed in the Montana Legislature is to file claims prior to June 30, 2019. Take the time to assure your water rights are in order.
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COOL CONTINUED
Ultimately SB 206 was tabled in committee and resulted in a joint resolution that will be reviewed by the Montana congressional delegation and submitted to the USDA. Member Erik Somerfeld also testified on HB 594, also a country of origin labeling bill, which was heard in committee the last week of February. “This ultimately comes down to a consumer’s right to know what they are feeding themselves and their families,” said Somerfeld. HB 594 was also tabled in committee. MFU President Alan Merrill said the organization will continue with efforts to push for COOL legislation.“Country of Origin Labeling has been and will continue to be a major policy item for MFU. We will continue to support efforts that lead to transparency in meat labeling for consumers which that in turn creates a fair market value for Montana producers.”
For up-to-date information on the Montana Legislative Session be sure to check your inbox for MFU’s e-legislative report emailed every friday throughout the session. If you prefer a hard copy of the report please contact the state office.
Members Will Downs and Jeff Bangs before testifying at the SB 206 hearing.
camp dates JUNIOR 1 (AGES 8 TO 12)
JUNE 16-20 JUNIOR 2 (AGES 8–12)
JUNE 23–27 SENIOR/ TEEN 1 (AGES 13-19)
JULY 14–19 TEEN 2 (AGES 12–15)
JULY 21–26 THEME NIGHTS CRAZY HAIR NIGHT • SUPERHERO NIGHT COWBOY/WESTERN NIGHT
SENIOR/TEEN CAMPS: We will have a banquet night Thursday night. Campers will need dress clothes! ALL CAMPS: Bring old clothes for a color obstacle course!
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WOMEN’S CONFERENCE EXPLORES BALANCING FARM AND FAMILY B Y LY N D S AY B R U N O E D I TO R
The annual MFU Women’s Conference is an opportunity for self-exploration, personal and professional development, networking and of course examining trends and best practices of farming. Powerhouse speaker Jolene Brown headlined the conference, joined by Laura Peterson of Syngenta, Courtney McKee of Headframe Spirits and Patty Edelburg of National Farmers Union. Attendees also toured Montana Craft Malt and Headframe Spirits. Courtney McKee kicked off Saturday morning with a very personal and intimate story of her life including the journey of adopting her niece and starting Headframe Spirits with her husband Jon. When it came to beginning the business McKee said there were many failed attempts at getting financing. After the ninth attempt they turned the business model around with a focus on being a value-added agriculture manufacturer and this helped secure a business loan and kickstarted the company. Headframes employs thirty people with plans to be the largest manufacturing facility west of the Mississippi. “There are only so many things we can give attention to and we recognize that there is only so much we can do, we get more strategic to do that,” said McKee. “My priority is my employees. If I take really good care of my team then when you guys show up they are going to take really good care of you.” Later in the day the women toured Headframe Spirits and learned about the distillery process.
Attendees tour Headframe Spirits in Butte; photo courtesy of Alisha Hadfield, She She Photography
ers Union at the state and national level. Vice President of National Farmers Union Patty Edelburg, provided an overview of the organization. Edelburg is a dairy farmer in Wisconsin and talked about the state of dairy industry and NFU initiatives including renewable energy, mental health, cell cultured meat and Country of Origin Labeling.
Saturday afternoon Jen O’Brien, President of Montana Craft Malt, led a tour of the new facility located west of Butte. The plant is expected to open in May and will employee up to 15 employees. “For us the cornerstone of our brand is all things Montana so only Montana growers will malt it here,” said O’Brien. “We did a bunch of homework surveying and C O N T I N U E D N E X T PA G E
Jolene Brown presented the “Balancing Act:10 Ideas to Relieve Stress and Bring Renewal to Our Farm and Family Life.” Jolene shared three benchmarks of balance. “The value of what we do is not in the eye of the creator but in the consumer,” said Brown. “Let me tell you what your customers are buying. They are buying time. They want transparency, they want to know their farmers and ranchers. At the end of the day ask yourselves did I live, did I love and did I make a difference?” Brown concluded the conference with a second workshop on finding humor in farm and family. Woven throughout the conference was information on the mission and policies of FarmPhoto courtesy of Alisha Hadfield, She She Photography 6
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WOMEN’S CONFERENCE CONTINUED
Jen O’Brien leads a tour of Montana Craft Malt, photo courtesy of She She Photography
Presenter Jolene Brown with attendees Mary Moore Smail and Mary Jo Smail, Photo courtesy She She Photography
what we found is that there is a very valid opportunity here and they care very much about traceability for ingredients and the unique varieties and consistency is very important to brewers.” O’Brien also talked about the process of malting and the value of the malt plant’s location. The county has agreed to pull in a rail spur for the company to load their malt product for transportation. “That is a huge differentiator from what other malt companies have out of the gate. “It will allow us to get Montana’s product to places like Mexico.” Saturday evening member Sarah Rachor shared her experience in the Beginning Farmers Institute, Jan Tusick, talked about the newly formed MFU Foundation and members of Food Corp shared more about the work they are doing in Ronan to connect farms to Montana schools through hands-on learning in the garden, classroom and the cafeteria. “I learn a lot about my business and make great connections at all MFU events, but the women’s conference is where I learn who I am in the world of agriculture, and that I’m not alone in this adventure we call farming,” said member Sarah Rachor. “It’s my weekend to get away, rejuvenate, and come back reenergized and ready to take on the year.” Attendee Jan Tusick shares her thoughts on Brown’s workshop. “MFU, again, kicked it out of the park on holding a stellar women’s conference last week,” said Tusick. “Presenter Jolene Brown was so enlightening with her humor, compassion and love of agriculture. She grabs her audience and holds them close in sharing her experiences in life and her family farm.” A special thank you to the MFU Women’s Committee for helping plan the conference, to Alisha Hadfield with She She Photography and to conference sponsors Northwest Farm Credit Services, Headframe Spirits and Montana Craft Malt.
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MFU WORKING TO CONNECT MAJOR PLAYERS IN HEMP INDUSTRY BY JUSTIN LOCH M E M B E R S H I P D I R E C TO R
January/February has been a busy time in the membership area of MFU. We hosted both the Producer Conference in Havre and the Women’s Conference in Fairmont. Both events went well and helped grow membership at MFU with attendees learning new things to bring back to their operations and were able to network and meet new producers and supporters of agriculture. Hemp Informational Meeting As all of know this is a legislative year for Montana. That being said there are numerous bills regarding agriculture but with the passing of the Farm Bill no topic is getting more attention than industrial hemp. Senator Tom Jacobson from Great Falls reached out to MFU and asked us to put on an informative lunch on industrial hemp that would bring both legislators and producers together and help bring more clarity to this new legal crop. February 7th was a big day at the legislature for industrial hemp. A newly formed Hemp Advisory committee met in the morning, MFU held its producer/legislative lunch, and some bills regarding industrial hemp had their first reading. During the lunch hosted by MFU there were many things discussed about industrial hemp. There were two main things that stood out and that was lack of current markets and ade-
quate processing. Currently there are several marketing areas for hemp and that includes CBD isolate and oil, food grade oil, and fiber. Montana currently doesn’t have any reliable processors that can handle large volumes leaving large scale producers with nowhere to really market crop from last growing season. There has been a lot of buzz about potential processors and markets making their way into Montana. The best advice to producers is to do your homework and think about a few key things before getting in too deep to industrial hemp. Make sure you can grow the variety that fits your program adequately, have a market and reliable processor in place, and know that currently there is no crop insurance in place to cover you in the event of a disaster. The hemp market will evolve in Montana no doubt with over 22,000 acres planted last year, but be patient and let the industry develop with markets, processing , and crop insurance. Contact Membership Director Justin Loch speaks at a hemp informathe MFU office if you have questions or tional meeting in Helena need guidance regarding industrial hemp. ut across the state and help reduce accidents and save lives. Recently we hauled it to the MFU takes ATV Safety on the Road MATE farm show in Billings and made conLast month MFU rolled out its new ATV safe- nections to bring it to other events. Please ty simulator at the MAGIE in Great Falls. We contact Justin Loch at the MFU office if you have gotten lots of positive attention from are interested in bringing the ATV safety simthis new program and hope to gain more mo- ulator to your event or community. mentum as we move forward. The main goal with the new program is to get ATV safety o-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
LEGISLATIVE FUND
K J Fauth FU Insurance, Billings Tom McKenna FU Insurance, Lewistown Charles Monroe FU Insurance, Kalispell Colleen Wood FU Insurance, Libby
Colleen Wood FU Insurance, Libby
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PRODUCER CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON LIVESTOCK & FARM DATA MANAGEMENT B Y LY N D S AY B R U N O E D I TO R
with the MSU Northern Collegiate Stockgrowers. This year it was held at the Northern Ag Research Center with Friday night’s Beef N’ Brews event, which is a fundraiser for the stockgrowers. The conference examined a variety of livestock related issues including farm data management, cattle market & futures and Hours-ofService and ‘fake meat.’ The group also heard from National Farmers Union’s Matt Perdue, AgRisk Advisors’ Aeric Reilly, DV Auction’s Corbitt Wall and Jon Walker with the Farmers Business Network. The conference concluded with a cattle handling workshop led by Curt Pate. Matt Perdue talked about the ins and outs of lobbying in D.C. as it relates to agriculture and his role in NFU. Next Jess Peterson talked about several key priorities of USCA and work the USCA has done in coordination with National Farmers Union on the labeling of meat. Peterson showed a video piece by the Wall Street Journal that covered the process of growing beef in a lab in a test kitchen in Tel Aviv. Jon Walker presented on FBN’s data sharing service and ways producers can increase profits through crop marketing solutions. FBN is the largest farmer to farmer network. “We are all about helping farmers receive a return on their investment. FBN has strength in numbers so let’s say you and these other hundred farmers, we can aggregate that information,” said Walker.
Producers and agriculture students came together for the annual MFU Producer Conference in Havre January 25-26. For the third year in a row the Producer Conference has been held in Havre in partnership
Kody Cator of Big Sandy attended the conference and said the experience was a worthwhile one. “I really enjoyed the Producers Conference,” said Cator. “It touched on wide array of informative topics. All of the presenters were amazing to listen to and I encourage people to attend.”
Corbitt Wall presents on the cattle market
Presenters Matt Perdue and Aeric Reilly
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SYAC SPOT LIGHT Each edition we will feature members of the 2019 Senior Youth Advisory Council(SYAC). SYAC members help plan, organize, brainstorm and assist in the implementation of the upcoming summer camping program which includes theme nights, camp projects, crafts, camp souvenirs and other activities. In addition SYAC members host the senior leadership camp. This month we feature SYAC member Robert Van Spyk. I’m Robert Van Spyk. I was born and raised in Great Falls, MT. I discovered Montana Farmers Union when it was introduced to me in junior high. That was also the time I discovered the summer camp. Joining the summer leadership camp has been one of the most beneficial choices I have made. The camp has shaped me to the person I am today, and to contribute back I joined SYAC. Through SYAC I hope to improve myself and contribute to the betterment of the leadership camp. With SYAC I can improve on the same skills that I have obtained through the leadership camps and help future generations with those skills.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT.... NFU All-States Camp will be held in the Highwood Mountains at Montana Farmers Union Camp Arrow Peak for the first time in 2021. What an honor! Let me back up a year or so. About 10 years ago with the help of the MFU Board of Directors at that time and Farmers Union Enterprise and with a visionary Chairman of the Facilities Committee, Leonard Stone, we started rebuilding the whole facility known as Arrowpeak Camp. We built ten cabins, a new bathroom facility along with refurbishing all the existing buildings. We updated the sewer and electrical systems. Most of all, all but Arrowpeak Summer Camp/High Wood Mountains . one building has central air which was donated by Dave and Karen Snuggs. We have an updated beautiful camp that all should. However, circumstances have changed and I am sure along with the Montana Farmers Union Board that All-States Camp will be Montana Farmers Unions members can be proud of. a unique experience in Montana and new memories will build again in The main reason for moving All-States Camp from Bailey Colorado to the campers that will attend. We are looking forward to rebuilding the Arrowpeak Camp is the camp facility at Bailey needs to have a lot of influence of an All-States Camp. costly repairs. Over the last few years attendance to the camp has declined, cutting the attendance in half. This makes the cost of repairing the facility unjustified which was determined by the National Farmers Union Board of Governors. I know the sentiments and the memories of Bailey will remain in the hearts and minds of those who attended, and I hope they do. They 10
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WE’RE A FAMILY OF COMPANIES. AND FAMILY IS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU.
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