Montana Grazing Expo set for Sept. 4-7 in Billings

The Montana Grazing Lands Coalition (MGLC) will be hosting the 2025 Grazing Expo in Billings on Sept. 4-7. Much of the event will be held at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center, but the four-day event will also include a field tour and an off-site kickoff party at By All Means Brewing.

The object of the event is to get more information and resources into the hands of people who are utilizing grazing lands in Montana, as well as welcoming newcomers to the practice.

“We want this conference to be open and inviting,” said Megan Terry, executive director of MGLC. “This is not a stuffy event, and you don’t have to know somebody to come in. We want this event to help put practical, tangible tools in the hands of those who are managing grazing lands.”

MGLC is not involved in taking direct positions on government grazing policy, Terry noted, but focuses on equipping livestock owners and managers with information.

“We are not in policy work, but we take the avenue of helping voices that need to be heard on grazing and elevating them,” she said.

MGLC was started in 1991 and says preserving Montana’s grazing lands is a priority.

“At the core of our mission is sound grazing management planning, technical assistance delivery, and community-based collaboration resulting in the protection and preservation of the Treasure State’s most valuable resource – grazing lands,” MGLC says on their website. “Beyond technical assistance, we’re building strategic partnerships, collaborating on new, innovative grazing solutions, and working toward a bigger, more connected network interested in conserving Montana’s working lands and preserving the state’s ranching heritage.”

Terry said grazing lands are facing numerous challenges today, including development, a rise in the cost of ranching, and pressure from people who “don’t understand how ranching works.”

“We are trying to do our best to show people all the ways that ag tied back to their day-to-day life and produces things like clothes, food, dog food and other products,” she said. “Our organization has a space in supporting grazing lands in a way that is sustainable and for the long term.”

The upcoming event will feature speakers like Society for Range Management President and Director Jeff Goodwin, Tucker Brown of the RA Brown Ranch, Tip Hudson from the Art of Range Podcast and Bob Lee of the Robert E. Lee Ranch Company.

Musicians Wylie and the Wild West, Kalyn Beasley, Brennan Scott Greene and Tris Munsick and the Innocents will also be playing at the conference.

The event has three days of speaker presentations and breakout sessions and offers scholarships for ranchers and other interested attendees to cover the registration costs.