Teton County

Teton County territory springs from the foothills of the Rocky Mountain Front and extends eastward onto the plains of North Central Montana. With just over 6,000 residents in 2,272 square miles (2.7 persons/square mile), an authentic, rural way of life is alive and well here. As further proof, Teton’s 6,100 people are outnumbered by 6,300 sheep and 40,000 cattle. Ranching and farming remain the lifeblood of our community, with winter and spring wheat, barley, peas, chickpeas, and lentils as the major crop commodities. Additionally, we are the gateway community to the Bob Marshall Wilderness and a hospitable stop on the road to Glacier National Park and other jewels in the region known as the Crown of the Continent. Teton County MSU Extension has four staff members offering a wide array of programs to support residents. Agricultural services in high demand include noxious weed-seed free hay certification, forage nitrate testing, water quality testing, plant identification, and assessment of plant pests and pathogens. Additionally, the agricultural and natural resources agent emphasizes local collaborations to improve the urban forest (with the Choteau Tree and Sidewalk Board) and manage invasive plants and pests (with the county weed district and the Teton Conservation District.) Extension’s educational offerings on livestock health, tree care, and horticulture are well-attended. Collaboration occurs within the Extension office, as well as with our community partners. Community Vitality and Youth Development involve both the agricultural extension agent and the family & consumer sciences (FCS) agent. Popular community vitality programs in 2024 included the ongoing StrongPeople™ classes for older adults, the next phase of Reimagining Rural development, and our area’s first-ever concert-in-the-park series. Youth development through 4-H is a tradition that continues to thrive in Teton County, with seven 4-H clubs and over 160 members. FCS offerings in high demand include food safety, food preservation and canning, and youth mental health awareness. Numerous statewide needs assessments and food preservation reports have indicated that providing the citizens of Teton County with access to safe food and mental health resources are critical to ensure a good quality of life. Programming over the past year has focused on safely feeding the body and caring for the mind to enrich the lives of Teton County residents.

Calving Workshop Gives Birth to New Ideas

Ranching is a major component of the local economy, and during calving time, our large animal veterinarians are stretched thin. A local rancher contacted the Extension office inquiring about education on calving, particularly building the skills and assembling the supplies needed to handle common birthing difficulties. We contacted several other producers in the area to assess the knowledge gaps that needed to be addressed and found that producers wanted to know more about winter feeding strategies and casting broken legs (in calves, that is.) More than 100 adults plus 15 youth (4-H and FFA members) attended our winter Calving & Cow-Calf Nutrition Workshop, enjoying a fancy meal and camaraderie during three substantive presentations. After the formal sessions, presenter Katie Rein, DVM, demonstrated various calf-pulling techniques on Stella, the life-sized plastic mother cow and allowed volunteers to practice. Among survey respondents, 100% agreed that the workshop taught them something they didn’t know. An annual Rancher’s Roundtable seminar is now in the works by popular demand.

Caption: The youth contingent led the way at the post-event calf-pulling demonstration.

Credit: 4-H Volunteer, Carli Neal

Teton County Got Its Kicks!

Local opportunities to listen to live music had diminished in the recent decade, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, there were few opportunities where local families could enjoy music and dance together. But the stars aligned when the Choteau Lions completed construction of a beautiful bandshell in Choteau City Park and engaged the Extension team with the question, “How do we put it to good use?” Get Your Kicks at 6! was the brainchild of the Extension Office, the Choteau Lions, and the Chamber of Commerce. Together we raised grant funds and donations to sponsor a 9-week concert-in-the-park series that included Montana bands, local food trucks, and a fledgling evening farmer’s market. Attendance at the Thursday-night events ranged from 138 people (during a windstorm) to a high of 463 people, for a total of more than 2,000 concert attendees over the course of the summer (in a city with a population of just 1,721.) The best part – 96% of survey respondents reported that these events improved their quality of life. Local sponsors and bands from around the state have already contacted us wanting to participate in 2025.

Caption: Locals grab their spots in the park as “Wiley and the Wild West” warms up.

Credit: MSU Extension, Jenn Swanson

Healthy foods and healthy minds in Teton County

Access to safe and nutritious food is fundamental for health and has been recognized as an issue important to Montanans for over a decade as reported in past statewide needs assessments. More recently, a statewide report on food preservation revealed that 68% of respondents reported that canning food at home provides greater access to nutritious, locally produced foods throughout the year. In Teton County, eighty-five youth have participated in programming in their Family and Consumer Science (FCS) classes to learn the basic principles of safe home canning and making jelly from locally harvested apples. By working closely with local schools, it was possible to provide workplace readiness training in safe food handling and provide real-world certifications that youth can use for employment in the food industry. This training provides marketable employment skills and improves safe food handling practices at work, school, and home. Over the past year, forty-seven youth enrolled in Culinary Arts classes in local FCS classes received national certification in food handling. Many of the class participants reported that they would pay better attention to personal hygiene and safe cooking temperatures when handling foods. The need for mental health services in Montana was identified as one of the top areas of importance among Montana residents in the 2022 statewide needs assessment. While building capacity for more mental health services continues to be important, one first step is providing youth with information on basic mental health and how to access help when needed. Since 2016, Montana State University has made it possible for trained local extension agents to work with local schools to provide Youth Aware of Mental Health training. This is an evidence-based program which has demonstrated its ability to improve help seeking behaviors in youth experiencing mental health challenges. By keeping this program local, it is possible to get county-specific information on mental health resources into the hands of youth, families, and school leaders. Over the past year, seventy-five high school freshmen in Teton County have participated in this program and reported that they felt more confident to identify when they or a loved one had a mental health challenge and what steps to take to access help at the county level.

Caption: Highlights from canning classes with youth and adults using locally harvested apples.

Credit: local volunteer, Steve Wolff

Teton County 4-H continues making the best better!

The 2022 Montana State University statewide needs assessment identified “developing life skills” as one of the top ten most prominent issues facing the residents of Montana. Participation in 4-H makes it possible for youth to develop life skills through evidence-based approaches backed up by decades of research. Data from the national 4-H center has shown that youth who participate in 4-H are two times more likely to make healthy choices, four times more likely to participate in their community, and five times more likely to graduate from college. The active 4-H program in Teton County is a significant asset to the community to prepare youth by working closely with caring adults to build skills for a brighter future. Teton County has a deep tradition of providing several events for youth to demonstrate how much they have learned through doing. Communications Day is a decades old traditional county wide event where 4-Hers practice their public speaking skills as they compete in demonstrations. New this year in the county, there was a Stir-Ups competition where participants learned new cooking techniques, new recipes, demonstrated food safety, and gave an oral presentation on the nutrition and costs of preparing their meal. This year, one of our county competitors attended state Congress and was a top competitor who is eligible to attend the National 4-H Congress in Atlanta. The 4-H Fair at the Choteau Pavilion and the Teton Weatherbeater is an annual crowd-pleaser that depends on and enjoys the talents of many local volunteers. In 2024, we proudly displayed 391 project exhibits in the community Pavilion and had 188 total entries in animal shows. Our livestock auction garnered the highest sale total in our county’s history, a testament to the hard work of our members and the generosity of our local supporters.

Caption: 4-H members enjoy camp and fair!

Credit: MSU Extension, Shelby Jones-Dozier

Contact

PO Box 130
Choteau, MT 59422
406-466-2491
https://www.montana.edu/extension/teton/