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your homegrown newspaper November 20, 2024
Vol. 21, No. 10
Toy drive pg. 5
FLIC pg. 8
BEAU BIGGS PHOTO
Multi-faceted cattle business part of state’s biggest industry By Beau Biggs for the Valley Journal
NRCS success pg. 13
LAKE COUNTY — Beef cattle is the state’s leading moneymaker, a fact that holds true at the local level with the county home to many cattle operations – both large and small. According to an MSU Census of Agri-
culture, more than 67% of land in Lake County is classified as farm land. Montana producers shipped out 1.2 million head of cattle in 2023, according to the Montana Agricultural Report, which is a study done by the USDA. Another study done by Montana
State University in 2017 showed that 56% of the agricultural exports from Lake County were cattle. After local ranchers raise cattle, they often rely on a shipping process to move their product to the next step. “Preconditioning and keeping the health of the
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animals up is important so they are ready to go to the next part of the process,” rancher Cody Sherman explained. Long-time trucker Nick Becker prioritizes keeping animals in a low stress mode when see page 2