Hofeldt, Allen honored with Chamber ag awards at field day

Press release

Two local agricultural leaders are being honored today during the Northern Agricultural Research Center Virtual Field Day.

Each year during NARC's Field Day the Agribusiness Committee of the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce presents its Outstanding Ag Leader Award to a local agricultural producer who has a demonstrated record of leadership for Montana's agricultural industry in north-central Montana and its Outstanding Ag Advocate Award to someone who has a demonstrated record of advocacy for Montana's agricultural industry in north-central Montana.

Clayton Hofeldt, the 2020 Outstanding Ag Leader award recipient, is a fifth-generation rancher - Bar 9 Ranch - in the Bear Paw Mountains south of Lloyd. He is recognized for his willingness to share his knowledge of agriculture and cattle with others through hands-on experiences and support of area agriculture related activities. An active registered Angus breeder, Hofeldt is a member of several Angus and stockgrower organizations.

A Chinook High School and Montana State University-Northern alum, Hofeldt actively promotes the future of agriculture by working with the youth and young adults involved with Northern's Professional Agricultural Students - PAS - Club, Collegiate Stockgrowers and Rodeo Clubs and Chinook FFA. Hofeldt also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame & Western Heritage Center.

Tom Allen, a lifelong agriculture advocate dedicated to north-central Montana Agriculture, is the recipient of the 2020 Outstanding Ag Advocate Award. Allen's involvement with agriculture in north-central Montana started at a young age growing up on his family's farm between Big Sandy and Box Elder. He attended the College of Agriculture at Montana State University, earning a bachelor's degree in agriculture education extension and a master's degree in plant cciences. Most of Allen's career has been with MSU, applying his education to research and outreach. He worked at NARC for almost 30 years, most recently in his role as farm operations manager. Last fall, Allen returned to an outreach role, one he held previously in both Liberty County and Chouteau County, taking the position of Hill County Agriculture Extension Agent/4-H Agent. As County Agent, Allen connects producers and public in the agriculture and natural resources fields to scient-based research from MSU. Allen also works with developing 4-H youth in Hill County.

NARC, established in 1915, is one of seven off-campus research centers making up Montana State University's Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. MSU College of Agriculture and MAES are presenting Field Day this year in a virtual format, through short, recorded presentations and a live segment. Each research center, including projects from the Northern Ag Research Center, will be covering topics specific to the research they conduct. The recorded presentations can be found on the MAES website at https://agresearch.montana.edu/virtualfielddays.html .

The live segment was scheduled to be held today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., moderated by Research Centers Department Head and NARC Superintendent Darrin Boss. During this segment community members and any interested viewers could agriculture-related questions of MSU researchers and agriculture experts.

Coverage of the event is possible through a partnership with Montana PBS.