Save the Cowboy, Ride a Buffalo: The Intersection of Cattle Production and Montana’s Natural Resources

Guest post by Clemson Student Elizabeth Murray

Here I am, looking in the cow ultrasound chamber. It’s hot and smelly. My stomach is in my throat. You could say feces hit the fan, and many other destinations. The whole room actually. This is unlike any place I’ve ever had the privilege of experiencing before.

I’m not a cowgirl. I’ve never been this close to a cow, ever. Despite coming from a long line of butchers, I don’t know anything about these creatures before they hit the grill. Well, let me say I didn’t. Previous to the cattle section of this course, I was vaguely familiar with the societal role of rangers, and the basic operations of a few of the cow-calf operations we spoke with earlier in the week. Despite that, I’ve heavily relied on my Animal and Veterinary Science classmates to fill in the many gaps, and they’ve been a wealth of knowledge. My biggest change in perspective while focusing on cattle production has been beginning to realize the complexities of the industry.

Coming from a sparse background, it’s been overwhelming at times to understand how many factors come into play in the cattle industry, especially in Montana. I’ve come out of these experiences with deep respect for the people who run these places because I cannot fathom personally handling all of the moving parts and considerations mentioned. For example, we spoke with Steve from Judith Basin Stockgrowers, who spoke about how his main cattle clients were located in Canada. He explained how they finish the cattle for 61 days, so that the beef could be a product of Canada, despite being majority produced in the United States. Further, we spoke about hormone injections, and he told us how, for a while, there was consumer concern over the safety of consuming beef from hormone-injected cattle. Our visit to their operation was very enlightening, especially in how the producers are almost responsible for responding to consumer behavior. I’d previously believed that the food supply chain was separated from consumer relations that it wouldn’t directly affect the production practices. This demonstrated how the individual producer is much more of a direct player in the overall beef industry than I thought.

What’s more, I learned about how crucial it is for the producer to keep everything in mind that could possibly affect their business. Steve mentioned how they had shipped out a lot of their cattle prematurely in anticipation of international tariffs. This challenged my idea of food and food production as something separate from politics. Furthermore, this ties into the water usage issues and politics of the western United States. Personally, I’m aware of the high-water usage and investment in feeding and growing cattle for consumption, which is especially relevant as the human population grows. Operations like the Yellowstone Feed lots demonstrated issues with manure management, visually if not verbally, including over-loading their southern farmland, mention of a $300,000 pile of old manure, and it sits thick in the pens. While this is understandable on a large-scale operation, it raised concerns in my mind about runoff and wastewater, specifically contaminants polluting not only local waterways but also habitat. This is just another consideration to keep in mind, which may slip through the regulations surrounding their permits.

With so many factors to consider in raising cattle, and especially the grand scale of the cost of these operations, it feels like a risky business. The stakes are high financially and ecologically. By understanding a little bit more about how difficult of a business it is, I definitely understand some of the resistance to conservation organizations, despite highly valuing conservation. For a lot of these people, it might feel like another thing on the plate to worry about imposed by an outside group who doesn’t understand their struggle. I believe my more nuanced perspective has helped me understand and appreciate this industry in a new light.