A Montana Stockgrowers Association Research, Education and Endowment Foundation Program

For years, Montana cattle ranchers have recognized that more and more consumers and everyday Americans have lost touch with where their food comes from. MSGA has taken the next step to reach out and reacquaint the American public with ranching. In February 2011, MSGA hired Lauren Chase as our Multimedia Outreach Specialist. Lauren is here to help Montana’s ranchers tell their story, be a proactive voice for their industry, and deliver a positive message about their way of life.

In December 2010, Lauren graduated from the University of Iowa with  degrees in both journalism and anthropology. After spending the summer of 2010 with MSGA as the Multimedia Communications Intern, she had become passionate about advocating for and promoting the work and lifestyles of Montana’s family ranchers.

With generous support from the Bank of Baker, the Bair Ranch Foundation, First Interstate Bank, Montana Livestock Ag Credit, Northwest Farm Credit Services, Stockman Bank, and U.S. Bank, Lauren was hired full-time to build on her work telling the story of Montana’s ranching families. She travels to ranches all over Montana to document daily life via photographs, videos, and audio. Then, she edits the content and posts it to MSGA’s Facebook page.

“Our hope is that people who are exposed to our content will learn about where their food comes from, that there are hard-working individuals producing these products, and that ranchers care deeply about their animals, family, and safety and quality of the beef,” Lauren said.

Expanding from social media, MSGA plans to release a series of coffee table photo books. These books will be filled with photos from Lauren’s visits, as well as mini-biographies and interesting quotes.

“So far, we have seen a great response to the content on our social media sites and it seems to me that people are really enjoying seeing and hearing about Montana ranchers’ way of life,” Lauren said.

To see Lauren's impressive collection of photo albums on Facebook, click here. Lauren has also created a number of videos from her visits to ranches across Montana. To view these videos click here. All of Lauren's episodes of "Bill on Beef" can be viewed here. These videos feature past MSGA President and current National Cattlemen's Beef Association President, Bill Donald, from Melville, Mont.

If you would like Lauren to visit your ranch or have an idea for some place she should go, please contact Lauren at Lauren@mtbeef.org  or call the office at (406) 442-3420. And as always, be sure to check our Facebook page daily for updates as we work to tell the story of Montana’s cattle ranching families!