Montana Ranching and the Returning Soldiers
How many of these multi-generational family ranches here in Montana got their start by a soldier returning from war? Grandpa came back from WWI or WWII, and that's when the family ranch got started. Hopefully that family ranch is still in production agriculture to this day.
The campaign of Democrat Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) must really be getting desperate. He and his dark money allies funded by Chuck Schumer spent nearly a million bucks a week attacking Navy SEAL veteran and GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, and it only strengthened Sheehy.
What's their latest desperate attack? Sheehy and his Navy SEAL teammate aren't real ranchers. Apparently two veterans aren't allowed to serve their country in war, and then come back and start a ranch together. (Sheehy is featured with his kids on their ranch in the photo above. That's also him in the military photo. Yes, he is not only a NAVY SEAL, but he also completed Army Ranger school.)
About a month ago, I had former Montana Stock Growers President Bryan Mussard on the radio with me. He was promoting his Reminisce Angus Beef products following his successful bull sale earlier this Spring. It was just after Schumer's "Last Best Place PAC" attacked Sheehy for using trucker hats, pink hooded sweatshirts, and coffee mugs to promote their beef.
I told Mussard that I didn't want to draw him into the political debate, since that wasn't why he was on the radio. But I did want to get his take on how absurd it is that they would attack a ranch for marketing their beef. It all comes down to "producer profitability."
Mussard: "Yeah, you have to market your own product. You know, that's the sad thing about the industry. The tough part. We're trying to help change that. 95% of all ranchers just feed into this big system. The small packing houses are gone. The small feeders are gone. The small ranches are gone, and everybody feeds into this system. And so, if you do have the opportunity to market your own beef all the way to the end you know- more power to you."
I joked about how my cousins ranch out in Eastern Montana even have their own hats they they've given out at their bull sale. "I guess they're not real ranchers," I joked with Mussard.
I also mentioned how there are some incredible multi-generational ranches in Montana that started after someone came home from the war.
Mussard: "My wife's family homesteaded in 1907 in Lindsay, and they've been there a long, long time. My family came in 1968. And so, everybody comes and starts. You know there's a little pride thing that goes on- well, we're fourth generation or fifth generations, and you get to be a green horn for a while and wear that hat, and that's fine. But if you're out here doing it and you love it, it really doesn't matter what anybody else's take on what you're doing.
In case you missed it, here's the audio from back on April 10th:
For some reason, as I think about returning soldiers getting into ranching- I'm reminded of this song about the soldiers who didn't make it home.