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Following the Footsteps of Livestock and Pioneers in Montana’s Central Foothills

By Phil Durst

Travelling through the rolling hills of central Montana, with majestic mountains framing the wide-open fields of wheat ready to cut, we visited livestock enterprises and the people who run them. Montana hosted the National Association of County Agricultural Agents annual meeting and professional improvement conference, during which time we took the opportunity to attend their  Animal Science pre-tour June 27-28.

Sheep used to be the major livestock in south-central Montana where they would go with a shepherd up into the mountain pastures to graze. They still do, with the shepherd living in a shepherd’s wagon, until about October when they come down out of the mountain for the winter.

We visited a museum of the life and accumulations of the Charles Bair family who at one time owned more than 300,000 sheep. He clothed the troops with wool during WWI, and the family foundation continues to produce fine wool, although prices are low.

Source : msu.edu

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