A new program is pairing Montana ranchers and restaurants. The initiative aims to bolster the state ag economy.
The Montana Stockgrowers Foundation created the program to match ranchers with local businesses interested in cooking and selling Montana beef.
“It just keeps the whole chain, from pasture to plate within Montana," says Heidi Kool, who runs the foundation. "That’s just one way we’re helping to keep the economy going for agriculture here in Montana and then the funds raised in this program are also going back into Montana,” Kool said.
Local ranchers can donate steers to the Stockgrowers Foundation. The animals are finished on a feedlot in Yellowstone County, then slaughtered and packaged in Montana facilities.
Ranchers can also donate the market value of a steer to fund Stockgrowers Foundation agriculture education and conservation programs.
Kool said they received 74 steers last year and are on track to increase that number this year. The association is taking donations until December 15.
