Working for You

Each month we provide some key areas where MGGA leaders and staff have been working on your behalf. Here is a sampling of important issues and activities for January 2019:

•  The 66th session of the Montana Legislature convened on January 7, 2019. MGGA represents members on specific bills and participates in weekly meetings of the Montana Ag Coalition.
• MGGA President Lyle Benjamin, Treasurer Mitch Konen, Executive Vice President Lola Raska and Helena Lobbyist John Semple participated in the 2019 Treasure State Resources Association Legislative Reception and Showcase in Helena.
• MGGA sponsored and participated in an Ag Committee Luncheon, organized by the Department of Ag for members of the House and Senate Ag Committees.
• MGGA President Lyle Benjamin gave an overview of the small grains industry as a guest presenter at this year’s Crop & Pest Management School, a 3-day workshop geared toward producers, certified crop advisers, county agents and agribusiness professionals. Presentations included agronomy, MSU crop breeding program updates, integrated weed management, entomology and plant pathology.
• EVP Raska testified before the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Education in support of the governor’s proposed budget for Montana Ag Experiment Station (3.235% increase) and Extension (4.998% increase).
• MGGA sponsored the annual Young Ag Couples Conference in Helena and attended their annual Sponsor’s Luncheon.
• MGGA exhibited at the 2019 Montana Agricultural Industrial Expo (MAGIE) in Great Falls where directors and staff manned the association’s trade show booth, visiting with members and others about agriculture and MGGA policy.
• Past President Michelle Erickson-Jones participated in a conference call as Vice Chairman of the NAWG Domestic & Trade Policy Committee to provide input and direction on the USMCA trade agreement.
• President Benjamin testified before the House Ag Committee in support of HB 151, which would increase the maximum assessment on wheat and barley. The Montana Wheat & Barley Committee would retain the ability to set an appropriate assessment under the capped amount to fund research and market development following public input on any proposed increase.