Even when the wind chill is pushing temperatures below zero, the cattle have to eat. Few know that better than Gillian Thornton Andrews, who forked out a grass bale on a frigid February morning.
“I like this white-faced cow,” she said as she worked. “All our cows before were either brown or black.”
The six cows pushed for room to start chowing down as she walked over to a small plastic trough to break up ice that had formed overnight. Snow-covered peaks loomed behind her property on the Flathead Indian Reservation near Arlee.
Many days start like this for the 31-year-old, who works with her husband, Bryce, to finish raising cattle purchased from other ranchers on grass they grow. It’s a passion for the couple, who started Thunder Road Farm together about three years ago. They practice regenerative grazing on their property, and chose not to add more livestock to the landscape by finishing cows raised by others.
“That idea of stewardship guides almost all of our decisions we make here on the farm,” Thornton Andrews said, warming up in their small guesthouse. “Sometimes it’s not always economically the best decision for us, but it’s what matters.”
Thornton Andrews says it can be tough finding reliable markets for their beef. While larger cattle operations have the benefit of selling at scale, often to big, out-of-state buyers like restaurant chains and grocers. She says Thunder Road Farm must take a more local, piecemeal approach to sales. So far, they’ve sold mostly to consumers directly.
“You know, what we are always looking for is a more reliable market — something we can count on year-to-year,” Thornton Andrews said.
Thornton Andrews may get her wish if House Bill 276 in the Montana Legislature makes it to the governor’s desk. Montana lawmakers are showing their appetite for the bill, which would launch a first-of-its-kind program in Montana to award grants for food banks to purchase more local produce. That could provide a windfall for small producers like Thornton Andrews in search of new markets.
Thornton Andrews already gives what she can to food hubs in Arlee, Missoula and Ronan; it is part of her mission in sustainable agriculture. But it’s a challenge when what she gives is also how she makes a living.
“There’s always a need for it, and we really believe our product should be accessible to everyone in the community,” Thornton Andrews said.
Unlike many other issues moving through the statehouse, HB-276 has proven largely uncontroversial — it passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan 81-18 vote and is now awaiting further debate in the Senate.
The bill’s supporters have said the $1 million in grants over the next two years would be a win-win for food pantries in need of more shelf-stable, nutritious foods, and local farmers and ranchers looking to venture into new markets.
During a recent hearing in the House Appropriations Committee, lawmakers debated cutting the proposal’s funding in half, questioning how useful the grants would be. Dave Prather with the Western Montana Growers Co-op helped provide some answers.
“The real benefit of that program is it creates some defined market for the growers — it’s a market we can plan around,” Prather said in an interview.
The co-op has worked for several decades to connect western Montana growers with local markets. Prather estimates that a $50,000 grant could get a food pantry more than 1,400 boxes of produce items, including cheese and milk. Or 5,800 pounds of carrots, or 8,500 pounds of potatoes — or 3,000 pounds of ground beef; the bill could provide 20 grants of that size as written.
The committee ultimately voted against cutting the bill’s funding, though several lawmakers opposed to the measure said they worried it wasn’t specific enough to make sure the grants would reach pantries with the greatest need.
Beyond a financial windfall to farmers and the benefit to pantries, a Butte agricultural scientist says the bill could also reduce food waste. John Wallace manages an urban demonstration farm in Butte, where he leads a team to educate residents on how to grow their own food.
“Very often, these large grocers in the area — as soon as food becomes just on the edge of what would be considered safe to eat, it’s typically donated to the food bank,” Wallace said.
The farm is part of the National Center for Appropriate Technology and donates its produce to community food organizations. Wallace says fresher produce in pantries could mean less waste as shelf life is extended.
“Less food miles, higher nutrition — the benefits are out the roof,” Wallace said.
And the Montana Food Bank Network says those benefits are needed now more than ever, as demand at food pantries has continued to rise with inflation. The network says it served 3,000 more households on average per month last year than in 2021.
Back at Thunder Road Farm, Gillian Thornton Andrews says she and her husband plan to finish about 20 cows this year — and, if HB-276 becomes law, she hopes more of them will end up on shelves where they’re needed most.
“The people who are utilizing those resources have as much right — they deserve to have local, healthy food just as much as anyone else, regardless of their economic status,” Thornton Andrews said.
The Montana Senate will next consider the bill.
