In The News

The White House has released a budget blueprint that calls for deep cuts to USDA, sparking criticism from the MonDak’s Congressional delegates and its major farm groups. The budget released by President Donald Trump proposes a 21 percent spending cut to USDA discretionary spending.  The likely effect of such cuts include reductions in staff at USDA field offices, as well as to USDA-ARS research units, of which there are two in the MonDak, one in Sidney and the other in Minot.  Chris Christiaens, with Montana Farmer’s Union, said they haven’t yet reviewed the proposal in depth, but in general he

GREAT FALLS – Montana’s agriculture leaders recently met with Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) in Great Falls to talk about the future of the industry under the Trump Administration. Sen. Daines discussed a number of issues with ranchers, farmers and livestock owners at a roundtable discussion. A concern felt across the board was the future of trade for Montana’s agriculture industry and export opportunities under the new administration. “There’s so much uncertainty on the direction that we’re headed, we’re looking at renegotiating NAFTA — President Trump has pulled the U.S. out of TPP — both of those agreements,” said Montana Grain Growers

WASHINGTON — Sonny Perdue, President Donald Trump’s nominee for agriculture secretary, pledged to be a “tenacious advocate and fighter” for farmers within the administration and said he would try to address requests for help from dairy and cotton producers ahead of the next farm bill. Testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday, Perdue promised to work with Robert Lighthizer, the nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to protect agriculture’s interests in upcoming trade negotiations. Perdue also distanced himself somewhat from Trump’s budget proposals and expressed support for easing financial restrictions on trade with

The state’s U.S. Senate delegation had a laundry list of concerns for former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, who was in the nation’s Capitol Thursday for confirmation hearings before the Senate Agriculture Committee. Three of Montana and North Dakota’s senators are members on the committee, Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D, Steve Daines, R-Mont. and John Hoeven, R-N.D., who is also chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. is not on the committee, but has been a vocal ag advocate, and did not let that stop him from pressing Perdue as well on topics of importance to the area.

The Trump administration proposed Thursday that as part of its new budget it would eliminate federal subsidies for flights from Billings to five rural communities in Eastern Montana. The cuts would target the 39-year-old Essential Air Service, which subsidizes Cape Air flights from Billings to Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Wolf Point and Sidney. Without the program, Cape Air would unlikely be able to afford to continue operating the service, which peaked during the Bakken boom earlier this decade. The program has bipartisan support from Montana’s two senators. In 2016, at least 37,106 passengers boarded subsidized Cape Air flights in Montana, down 15 percent

Western American Indian tribes got the hard sell from the White House on Wednesday to back Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Representatives from Montana’s Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes met as delegates of the National Congress of American Indians with Trump staff and Western lawmakers to discuss Gorsuch. The Supreme Court nominee’s Senate hearing is set to begin Monday. Ryan Rusche and Rhonda Swaney were there for CSKT. Rusche didn’t return calls afterward, but CSKT spokesman Rob McDonald said the western Montana tribes decided in February to endorse Gorsuch. “Judge Gorsuch’s record demonstrates respect for Tribal sovereignty and understanding of the

Republican lawmakers from western states said Thursday that Judge Neil Gorsuch’s record of supporting the sovereignty of tribal nations could play a big role in winning Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court. Emerging from a meeting at the White House with tribal leaders, Sens. Steve Daines of Montana and Cory Gardner of Colorado, and Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, praised Judge Gorsuch as a nominee who understands the importance of Indian-country issues. Mr. Gardner said the judge’s record in Native American cases while serving on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will have an impact with “not only within Indian

Fifteen years ago, the Veterans Affairs Department decided to exclude certain Navy veterans from receiving healthcare treatment related to Agent Orange, a ruling that Sen. Steve Daines is trying to change. In 1991, Congress passed a law requiring the VA to provide coverage to Vietnam veterans with illnesses that the Institute of Medicine has directly linked to Agent Orange exposure. But about a decade later, in 2002, the VA decided it would cover only veterans who could provide they had orders for “boots on the ground” assignments during the Vietnam War. The exclusion prevented thousands of sailors, many of them

Montana senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines have rounded up a lengthy list of supporters for a bill to overturn a federal court decision on lynx protection. Republican Daines and Democrat Tester join Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minnesota, on the bill to reverse the Cottonwood decision, which found that the U.S. Forest Service must do a top-level review of new critical habitat for lynx under the Endangered Species Act. The decision name refers to the Bozeman-based Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, which won the case before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last year. The ruling was essentially