Cowan and Solomon honored at ag appreciation banquet

The Northern Agricultural Research Center of Montana State University held its annual Field Day and Agriculture Appreciation Banquet where two locals were honored with awards for their outstanding work in the field of agriculture and their contributions to their community.

The banquet, which served more than 300 people, was kicked of by Northern Agricultural Research Center Superintendent Darrin Boss, also the head of MSU's Department of Research Centers, who thanked everyone involved in setting up the event, including all the center's staff.

"These are the people who get it done," he said.

Boss also thanked representatives from Montana Sens. Steve Daines' and Jon Tester's offices, as well as the state legislators who showed up, for their past and ongoing support.

The first award, for Outstanding Agriculture Advocate, went to Barbara Cowan for her exceptional land stewardship and work eliminating noxious weeds in the area.

The awards, presented by from the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce AgriBusiness Committee, were presented by Committee Chair Hiram Williams, who described Cowan as a hard worker and not afraid to personally instruct and guide her crews to improve range conditions, not just on her ranch, but the surrounding area.

"Barbara is willing to share her success and knowledge with her neighbors and helps them in their efforts as well," Williams said.

He said she's done incredible work around the area including extensive weed control in Beaver Creek Park as well as assisting the Hill County Weed District.

"Thanks to her humility and passion, she's set an example for us all," he said.

Cowan said she was grateful to have been recognized by her peers and the committee but she almost didn't end up coming because she initially thought the email she got saying she'd won was a scam.

"I've been warned, don't just open any message," she said. " ... So when I got this message that I'd won something, and I thought, 'Well this is bogus for sure.'"

She said the research center is truly a great place with an amazing history, and she's proud to know the people involved.

"It takes everyone to make all of this work, and to have the ag committee do this, I'm very thankful," she said.

The second award, for Outstanding Agriculture Leader, went to Ted Solomon, who was also praised for his land stewardship as well as taking great care of the natural resources he owns and has developed.

Williams said Solomon has started a number of businesses in the area, all of which provide valuable services, particularly Solomon Fire Equipment, which is used by local fire departments and the Federal Fire Service.

"Ted has always been a positive force in many other aspects of agriculture," Williams said. "... For 80 years, Ted has prioritized his family and our community, and a commitment to agriculture has been apparent in everything that he does."

Solomon said he's honored to have received the award and reflected on the place he's called home for so long.

"I couldn't be in a better place in the world than the Bear Paw Mountains," he said. "I've done a little bit of traveling, and there's nothing more peaceful than being around the bonfire up Beaver Creek at a campground ... . We're so fortunate to be in this part of Montana and this part of the country."

Solomon said it was great to be at the event with so many wonderful people working together and doing their best for each other.

After the awards, Montana Agriculture Experiment Station Associate Director Mary Burrows gave a brief speech about the station, and its ongoing funding and thanked staff for a great Field Day.

During the event Boss extended a thank you to everyone who made the banquet possible including the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce AgriBusiness Committee which did the cooking, Larry and Matt Sasaki and Lance Johnson for providing grills, Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods for providing side dishes, E-1 Towing for use of their tents, Torgerson's LLC of Havre for their Corporate Research Equipment Lease Program and Bear Paw Meats and its owners the Buck family. He also thanked the event's many sponsors.

In an interview after the event, he said the field day and banquet went extremely well this year, and he said it was great to see the continued community support the day gets, the hardest day of the year for him, but also the most gratifying.

"It was a great day ... outstanding," he said.

Boss also talked a little about the state of agriculture in the area, saying recent rains have definitely raised the spirits of many producers in the area. Though the drought remains, he said, and cattle producers especially are still in a pretty tough spot this year, the rain the area got this month was incredibly helpful overall.

In the coming year, he said the station is going to focus on finding ways to reduce input costs for producers who are facing a significant jump in costs for everything, especially fuel.

Boss said they will also continue to do economically relevant and unbiased research.