Study shows major impact Hutterites have in Montana

University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research and Montana State University Department of Economics and Agriculture held a press conference Tuesday to discuss a study done in coordination between the two universities, researching the economic impact of Hutterite communities in the state.

“The presence of Hutterite communities does contribute to the size of the economic pie as a whole, I would say,” UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research Director Patrick Barkey said during a press conference Tuesday. “… All this analysis took into account the different circumstances of the way economic production is organized in the Hutterite communities. More specifically, it took into account that community members receive compensation in kind and not in terms of cash, salary wages as they do traditionally outside of the Hutterite communities.”

A press release about the press call said the study was commissioned by Church, Harris, Johnson and Williams, P.C., with data from the participating communities compiled by Anderson ZurMuehlen. It added that the study focused on the Lehrerleut Branch of the Hutterite Communities, with the communities represented in the study owning and operating multiple farming operations.

Hutterites are an anabaptist — believing people should not be baptized until they can decide to do so as adults — Christian sect that was formed in the 1500s.

The sect is named for anabaptist leader Jacob Hutter, who was tortured and burned at the stake for his beliefs in Austria in 1535.

His followers continued to travel through Europe to avoid persecution, and eventually, after many settled in Russia, emigrated to North America in the 1800s along with fellow anabaptist sect the Mennonnites.

The Amish, who are of Mennonnite descent, also are an anabaptist Christian sect.

The Hutterites settled in the Great Plains, with most colonies today in Montana, South Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

A press release about the study said that Montana has about 53 Hutterite communities and more than 5,000 members in the state, second in number only to South Dakota among U.S. states.

Montana’s Hutterite communities have a somewhat younger population than the rest of the state, it added. Each community operates as a religious corporation where the members live a communal lifestyle forgoing ownership of personal assets, other notable aspects of Hutterite communities include a high degree of self-sufficiency, and, in some cases, a diversification into other enterprises.

The operations of colonies have raised controversy due to their lifestyles and the way they are taxed as religious communes.

The organizers of the study said they wanted to see how the colonies fit into the big picture of Montana.

“We saw the need to obtain an objective understanding and quantification of the Hutterite Communities’ economic contributions to their communities and the state,” Ron Nelson of Church, Harris, Johnson and Williams P.C. said in a press release about the study.

The press release said that the study found that the presence of the Hutterite Communities in Montana produces more than 2,100 stable year-round jobs and contributes over $365 million in annual spending for the state. It added that the Hutterite communities also generate significant cash receipts from dairy, 9 percent, and cattle, 8 percent.

The study also indicates that north-central Montana and south-central Montana are the two regions most impacted by the presence of the Hutterite communities with employment and output in the economy. It also indicates that those two regions also have a higher number of Hutterite communities compared to the rest of the state.

“The substantial linkages that exist between the Hutterite Communities’ agricultural and other operations and the rest of the state economy ultimately support jobs and income in non-Hutterite and non-agricultural sectors of the economy, resulting in a larger economic pie for all Montanans to share,” Barkey said in the press release.

Hutterites also affect the employment opportunities in an area, within its own community and the surrounding communities, he said,

“The Montana economy, as a whole, is larger, contains more jobs, has more income has more production and has more people because of the presence of the Hutterite communities in the economy,” he said during the press conference. “So in other words, the total economic contribution, by our analysis, shows that the state economy has about 2,200 more jobs today than it would if the Hutterite communities were not a part of the economy. That includes jobs on both sides of those communities themselves and the non-Hutterite economy of the state.”

Hutterites are largely self-supportive but they make an impact to the manufacturing agricultural process, retail, trade, health care, government jobs and provide employment opportunities and products for the surrounding communities, Barkey said.

“The fact is that when the Hutterites spend money in the economy, it supports jobs and income outside the communities themselves,” he said. 

Hutterites pay taxes, buy fuel and spend money on health care and merchandise, he said, which contributes to the economy.

“The bottom line is that the Hutterite activities matter both within the communities and outside the communities across the entire state,” he said.

MSU Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics Professor and extension specialist George Haynes said in the press conference that the study was an overview of how the Hutterite colonies fit into the agricultural landscape of Montana.

“If the Hutterite communities were not a part of Montana agriculture the totals for the state would look very different,” he said.

He said that the Hutterite communities generally do not grow very much small grains, such as wheat, barely, peas, and lentils, which is a major component of most Montana farm operations. But where Hutterites make a large impact is in hog, egg, dairy and chicken markets. 

“You’ll notice things are not like the rest of Montana,” he said.

Hutterites make up about 30 percent of the whole state’s revenue on hogs, more than 13 percent of eggs — which is an uncommon product in the state — and about 10 percent of dairy products in the state — which is also an uncommon product in the state, he said.

He added that Hutterites do not have very high cattle production in the state compared to other producers, although they make up more than 90 percent of the state’s hog and egg industry.

“The study highlights the importance of the Hutterite Communities in diversifying Montana’s agricultural production,” Haynes said in the press release. “They implement cutting-edge technologies to help promote efficiency and reduce labor requirements in their operations, allowing them to venture into under-developed markets in the state.”

People can access the study by going to http://www.bber.umt.edu/pubs/econ/HutteriteContributions2019.pdf/ .