AgribusinessMontana lifts dyed-fuel enforcement for farm and timber trucks for 45 days
An executive order lets commercial vehicles hauling farm goods, livestock feed and timber in Montana run without dyed-fuel penalties until 23 November 2026.
Source
Northern Ag Network
Reporting from this source, summarised, rewritten or translated and published under its name · 11 stories
Agribusiness
AgribusinessUSDA and FTC ask farmers about repair limits and dealer territories in equipment probe
The USDA and the Federal Trade Commission have opened a request for information on possible anticompetitive conduct by farm equipment makers and dealers, with comments open until 7 December 2026.
AgribusinessFarm Bureau asks Trump to suspend diesel tax as harvest fuel bills soar
With on-highway diesel at a national average of $6.38 a gallon and farm diesel near $6 in the Corn Belt, the American Farm Bureau Federation wants the federal highway diesel tax suspended during harvest.
LivestockA Montana ranch family looks beyond its children for a young partner with a stake
With his three children settled in other careers, Roundup rancher Bill Milton is looking for a young outsider to help run the family ranch and earn equity in it, an approach he says agriculture needs more widely.
LivestockMontana Angus Tour draws breeders from 18 states and a dozen countries as cattle prices stay high
The 52nd tour on the Hi-Line showed contrasting breeding philosophies, a $2,700 average for a 600-pound steer and ranchers still culling heifers because of drought.
AgribusinessUS farm bill lapses for a fourth year as Senate agriculture chair sets out the path ahead
Senator John Boozman says higher ARC and PLC payments are coming this autumn, House and Senate differences are small and USDA can keep programmes running, but SNAP cost-sharing still blocks the 60 votes needed.
LivestockUS fall calf run starts as prices ease; CattleFax sees slow herd rebuilding
CattleFax analyst Holden Ramey says the highs are in after fall-delivered calves lost more than $400 a head, with drought, feed costs and packing capacity keeping herd expansion gradual.
CropsMontana State wheat varieties top the state's 2026 variety survey
The NASS wheat and barley variety survey shows MSU's solid-stem Dagmar and Bobcat leading Montana spring and winter wheat, while barley area rose by 100,000 acres.
Livestock
Montana confirms avian influenza in a Ravalli County flock, its second detection of 2026
The Montana Department of Livestock confirmed HPAI on 17 September in a small commercial chicken flock, the state's first since January; with autumn migration raising the risk from wild waterfowl, the department urges owners to house birds, tighten biosecurity, check flocks twice a day and report su
Livestock
Montana Stockgrowers move to join the court fight over American Prairie's bison
MSGA and the South Phillips Grazing Districts have asked to intervene in American Prairie Foundation v. Department of the Interior, which challenges the BLM's May finding that the group's 900-plus bison are conservation animals rather than production livestock under the Taylor Grazing Act; a 4 Septe
Livestock
Farm Rescue launches Operation Hay Lift for drought-hit ranchers in Dakotas and Montana
Heat and scant rain have cut forage and feed across the northern Plains, some areas now in a multi-year drought with soil moisture badly depleted; the non-profit is hauling donated hay to livestock producers in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana and asking neighbours to refer families who need i