Featured Montanan: Whitney Klasna

If you’re looking for an example of how to build a network, look to the agriculture industry and Whitney Klasna. She has defined a role for herself as a spokesperson for Montana agriculture. If you haven’t yet heard of her, chances are that you will.

She was a 10-year member of the Montana Livestock

Loss Board, appointed to the board by Governor Schweitzer in 2007 at age 19. Now, as the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association national secretary for three years, the president of Montana Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE), a co-chair of the ‘Women Stepping Forward for Agriculture’ conference, and a Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership (REAL) Montana board member, her network and efforts in ag organizations reach to and beyond the borders of Montana.

Klasna said “The internet has opened the doors to influence and be influenced by others around the world without having to leave the middle-of-nowhere, Montana. My involvement in ag organizations has introduced me to so many wonderful people. My love for Montana, agriculture, rural life, and passion for leaving this land better for the next generation naturally has me seeking out ways to improve.”

Many organizations exist to help farmers and ranchers access the latest scientific information, as well as to stay current on laws and regulations. Building a personal network within these organizations can lead

to enhanced profitability and sustainability, as well as greater contentment.

In Klasna’s social media, you’ll find vivid photography and also learn something from her dialogue about farm and ranch life, from processing hay to easing the weaning process by having calves wear nose flaps.

As a fourth generation Montana farmer and rancher, following a path in agriculture wasn’t a stretch for her. “I have been involved in production agriculture my whole life, I was raised on a farm and ranch in the sagebrush of southeast Garfield County. Our family also had a house in Miles City for school because our ranch was about 60 miles from any town. My ancestors homesteaded in the far northeastern corner of Montana near Westby and Raymond,” said Klasna.

She grew up with her mother and father’s (Kathy and Tom Wankel) influential love of land and animals, and she trained for ranch life at a young age.

“My dad tells the story of when I was about 2 or 3,” said Klasna, “and he would put the old feed pickup in compound and have me steer around the feed grounds in winter while he crawled in the back to shovel cake pellets out to the cows. He says I never dumped him out of the back of the pickup, so I call that a win!”

Agriculture instruction and FFA in high school led to college at Montana State University in Bozeman, where she majored in Ag Education and Extension relations.

She met her husband, Dylan Klasna, in college at MSU. After graduating and a brief stint as a radio farm broadcaster at KMON in Great Falls, she and Dylan moved back to his family’s farm and ranch in western Richland county, north of Lambert. They married in the summer of 2011. They live on the ranch with his parents, Kim and Tim Klasna (both MSU graduates), and three very photogenic corgis and assorted ranch cats. “We have a commercial Hereford and Black Baldy cow-calf herd. We farm winter wheat, spring wheat, canola, feed barley, feed oats, triticale, and cover crops,” said Klasna.

While Klasna’s network includes a theme of ‘Women in Ag,’ she doesn’t adhere to a strictly-defined role for women in agriculture. “I don’t know if it’s changed much from my great-grandmother’s or grandmother’s generations. Just as I do now, they worked in the fields and in the corrals alongside their husbands. Seasons of life and other circumstances can change the roles and that’s totally okay. My parents both had to seek jobs in town because of changing seasons and circumstances. It is my hope that no woman should ever feel that they are not a part of “ag” because they aren’t in the fields. We all have our roles in making agriculture successful.”

Klasna’s upbringing seems to have prepared her well for the challenges of farm and ranch life. While every career can have ups and downs, growing living things and being nimble during mother nature’s challenges create some extremes in ranching. Her least favorite part of the job is selling cows that are out of production. “I cry every year. In a perfect world, the cows would live out their life in knee-deep

grass here on the ranch until their last breath. But we can’t do that and be good stewards,” said Klasna.

She has learned resilience. “As a child of the 80s drought, I guess I was born resilient. Living in Eastern Montana where the weather goes from -50 windchills and blizzards, to 110 degree heat and droughts, you toughen up pretty quick. The “good years” are our reward for making it through those challenging times. The 2017 drought was one of the worst on record, but because we had implemented improved farming practices like no-till and cover crops on our farm and ranch, we were able to make it through without too much worry.”

For Klasna, a positive outlook helps her favor all parts of the work. “I know this is cheesy, but my favorite part is everything! Even during the bad times, there’s still no place I would rather be. Sure, when the windchill is -40 and we are trying to thaw a frozen water hydrant so the cows have water, I have moments of doubt and thoughts of tropical vacations. But when the water finally starts flowing and my body thaws out, all is forgotten. I will say that I love hand feeding my cows cake pellets. I have a special old cow I call Fluffy that even lets me brush her.”

Klasna’s deep love for what she does propels her can-do advice for those interested in or new to ranching, and her desire to help others be successful in Montana agriculture. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Don’t be afraid to try new things, but be realistic about those changes you are implementing. Have a contingency plan. If you’re wanting to enter into production agriculture, hire on with a farm and ranch or find a mentor in your area that you can learn from.” �

An interesting sidenote about Whitney (Wankel) Klasna:

“My family has had some unique opportunities because of the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton my mom and dad, Kathy and Tom Wankel, discovered in 1988 at Fort Peck. My mom discovered the first ever complete arm of T. rex in the world. The Wankel T. rex had been on display at the Museum of the Rockies until 2014, when it was loaned to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. In June 2019, it will be unveiled as the Nation’s T. rex and will be on display for millions of visitors from around the world.”