As one year comes to an end and the New Year is upon us, it’s easy to look back in amazement and wonder how the previous year flew by so quickly. It’s no secret that 2021 was yet another year full of challenges. Montana experienced one of the worst droughts since the 1980s and Covid-19 continued to impact all our lives. However, despite the hardships there’s always something refreshing about entering a New Year.
It’s hard to say what the New Year might bring, but as Kevin Costner said in the immensely popular TV show Yellowstone, “Lord God give us rain and a little luck, and we’ll do the rest”
Below you’ll find a detailed recap of the month of December. Our hope is that this will give you more insight as to what the MWBC is up to and how we’re putting your checkoff dollars to work.
December recap…
- The MWBC Board of Directors held their annual budget meeting.
- The MWBC Staff alongside Board President Charlie Bumgarner, Board Chairman Mike O’Hara, and Board Members Terry Angvick and Denise Conover attended the Montana Grain Growers Association Convention in Great Falls.
- The Montana Organic Association Convention went virtual this year, but none the less Cassidy was able to join in.
- The mini documentary film “Bone Dry” premiered virtually on December 7th. The film offers an incredible insight into the risks producers take on each year. This project was initially started so that we could share crop updates with our overseas buyers that were unable to visit in person due to Covid. We ended up with such amazing content that the decision was made to create a feature film. Including the initial crop reports, the total investment was $5000. This film was able to accurately tell the story of one of the most trying years on record.
- Cassidy made an appearance on the Yellowstone Public Radio and provided an industry update.
- Sam attended the Plains Grains Inc. board meeting and Cassidy joined virtually.
- Cassidy attended the US Grains Council Executive Meeting virtually.
- School Project—Jason has been working with Great Falls public schools and Montana 4-H to figure out some options for Ag Education in the Classroom. This has been an ongoing project, but we do have some elementary classrooms that will be participating in a “Grains of History” project next semester as they study ancient Egypt. They will be growing wheat in the classroom and learning about all its uses. We are excited to have something going and hope we can create a template for future classes to participate.