MFU IN YOUR COMMUNITY... Membership updates & new benefits

RACHEL PREVOST MEMBERSHIP/GOVT. AFFAIRS DIRECTOR

Montana Farmers Union had a busy fall and winter and has a busy spring ahead with our MFU member team active in your communities through: planning and hosting membership gathering opportunities, agriculture and community tradeshows, offering 4-H grants, working with schools on agriculture education opportunities, scholarships, State FFA Convention, and more.

Highlights from the last couple of months include:

- The first MFU Legislative Drivein was a huge success! We had many members in attendance and a great Montana foods lunch for legislators to enjoy. We heard from agency leaders at the Department of Livestock and the Department of Agriculture, as well as provided an advocacy training. The attendees had the chance to attend the first House Agriculture and Senate Agriculture, Livestock, and

Irrigation Committee meetings of the 68th Legislative session. MFU had the opportunity to introduce our legislative priorities, and members had the chance to meet legislators and let them know what issues are important to them.

- In early February, many MFU members and other Montana organizations testified in support of HB 350, the Montana Country of Origin Placarding Act. While the bill was killed in the committee, I want to say thank you to all who sent a message to the committee and urged their support.

- We had a booth at the MAGIE in Great Falls in January. The fourwheeler (ATV) safety simulator was available to kids and adults, providing the opportunity to learn more about safe riding and tipping points of an ATV. We connected with FFA members and advisors who were in town for livestock judging and other FFA contests. We handed out our $100 Sentence grants to 4-H Members and Leaders and had the chance to chat with event attendees about all the work MFU is doing all around the state.

- The Farmers Union Flathead Local hosted a meeting in the end of January where special guest Chris Roper of the FlowerHill Institute discussed Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance. There were also updates from 4-H members of the Flathead about what their clubs and members are up to.

- MFU members have launched a new local (Hi-Line Local for Liberty and Toole Counties) and hosted a joint meeting in Havre with the Cottonwood Local at the Montana Premium Processing Coop. Before the meeting began, more than 70 folks attended a tour of the MPPC facility. Following the tour, joint local meeting took place, and members discussed business about the upcoming NFU National Convention, the Montana Legislature, and MFU organizational updates. This event was an awesome opportunity for members to network and discuss the issues most important to them.

- MFU Ambassadors networked and provided a vendor table at the Soil Health Symposium in Billings, where we were able to connect with farmers, ranchers, and members from all over the state.

- The MFU Women’s Conference was a fantastic event with networking and informative and inspiring speakers amongst members and friends. We are looking forward to our first Eastern Montana Women’s Conference in Sidney March 31-April 1.

Everyone has compelling stories, and those stories are valuable tools for advocating for yourself and conveying key values to others, said Sarah Elkins, owner of Elkins Consulting.

Define what qualities you want others to know about you and your purpose and then follow through with your actions.

“You have to take those actions and you have to do it consistently,” Elkins said.

Then collect and tell stories that convey those characteristics, values and vision.

Stories connect people and unlock memories for others, she said.

“That’s the magic,” she added.

Many times stories can be told through more than words or can inspire change.

“I just think our stories can be so powerful in ways we’re not even expecting,” photographer and writer Becca Skinner said, sharing about how people have witnessed something, like beekeeping, and then been inspired to start themselves.

Sharing personal stories, though, can be intimidating, although it doesn’t have to be.

-MONTANA FARMERS UNION-

“I think it can be as simple as talking to your neighbor and it can go up from there,” Skinner said.

Being intentional about how we tell stories and what we want to convey through them is important, especially when we’re talking with the next generation, said Courtney Brown Kibblewhite, vice president and co-owner of Northern Ag Network.

“A kid’s not going to remember a list, they’re going to remember stories,” Kibblewhite told the women.

Not telling stories often means people’s interpretation of events and key moments can be detrimental to their and others’ mental and emotional health.

For example, not talking intentionally about a divorce might leave a child to blame themselves, Kibblewhite said.

“So we have to talk about the hard stuff,” she added.

Stories we tell ourselves impact our physical and mental health, Kibblewhite said, encouraging attendees to use tools such as employing a growth mindset and practicing gratitude to help strengthen instead of tear themselves down.