Montana

[Desiree Brown]

Hi I'm currently in NY but we will be moving west n 4 years. I'm doing research now but I have no idea about the land out there. We are looking in the Montana Idaho Wyoming Utah area. I need trees and to be able to have a garden. This might sound silly but are the pastures good for grazing out there lol I know there is a lot of desert area out there. Can you give me any advice on areas out there. Thank you!!!!

 

[rookiefarmers]

I wouldn't be having so many conflicting feelings if it was a normal rooster, who would be OK for meat, or if he was mean like the other one. Not roo mention he was my daughters pick and her other one died as a chick. Sheesh. :/ I joined the group maybe someone will want him, and not for meat. thanks guys.

 

[karlamaria]

Hi I'm currently in NY but we will be moving west n 4 years. I'm doing research now but I have no idea about the land out there. We are looking in the Montana Idaho Wyoming Utah area. I need trees and to be able to have a garden. This might sound silly but are the pastures good for grazing out there lol I know there is a lot of desert area out there. Can you give me any advice on areas out there. Thank you!!!!

Montana is beautiful, lots of pastures, lots of trees and lots of land. Rich land for planting and living. Depends on where you want to live. I sugest you look up erea's of Montana and plan accordingly.

 

[karlamaria]

Don't know if anyone uses Facebook but I just started a new group for Montana and Wyoming poultry peeps. If you'd like to join here is the link! https://www.facebook.com/groups/268354896637731/

 

lol was that you? Nice ! I joined !

 

[DuginMT]

Hi I'm currently in NY but we will be moving west n 4 years. I'm doing research now but I have no idea about the land out there. We are looking in the Montana Idaho Wyoming Utah area. I need trees and to be able to have a garden. This might sound silly but are the pastures good for grazing out there lol I know there is a lot of desert area out there. Can you give me any advice on areas out there. Thank you!!!!
Desiree, KarlaMaria is right, Montana has everything from semi-rainforest in the NW to small areas of desert in the south and east. West half is mountainous or very hilly, while the east half is rolling hills or nearly flat plains. The semi-arid non-irrigated pastures may support only 2-4 head of cattle per 100 acres, the irrigated pastures may support 10 times that many animals. The western mountains and the creek and river bottoms across the state are moderately to heavily wooded. If I were looking to locate here again I would definitely look at groundwater - quality, availability, and quantity. One great resource is the Montana Ground Water Information Center, which has a great interactive website. Generally, surface water found in rivers, creeks, and irrigation ditches in the state is great to irrigate with, while a good share of the groundwater, particularly in eastern Montana, is not good to irrigate with due to high sodium content. Outdoor gardening is popular in Montana from late May, early June through September. Hope you find what you are looking for. I have a good friend from PA who moved to Forsyth, MT in about '95 and he loves it.

 

[Azriel]

Hi I'm currently in NY but we will be moving west n 4 years. I'm doing research now but I have no idea about the land out there. We are looking in the Montana Idaho Wyoming Utah area. I need trees and to be able to have a garden. This might sound silly but are the pastures good for grazing out there lol I know there is a lot of desert area out there. Can you give me any advice on areas out there. Thank you!!!!

Hi Desiree,
Montana has very different growing abilitys depending on where you live. I'm N of Billings in the Bull Mtns, and can grow a very good garden but I have to water a lot. We have lots of pine trees, but if you want shade or ornamental trees you will really have to work at it and water, water, water. The deer will eat almost anything you plant, so plan on putting fences around everything. I think pastures are good, but if you don't have irrigation you have to watch your numbers as you will end up with just dirt and weeds from over grazing.In my area, I was told you need 20 acres for 1 cow or 1 horse. Water is a big issue up here, a lot of places can not do wells and have to have cisterns.
Montana wages suck, but if you are thinking of retiring out here and have some money put away to buy a place, its beautiful, friendly, small town pace of live is great. You couldn't pay me enough to move back to MN, but its a big, big adjustment. I've seen alot of people come and go over the last few years for a lot of different reasons.

 

[FlySammyJ]

Hi I'm currently in NY but we will be moving west n 4 years. I'm doing research now but I have no idea about the land out there. We are looking in the Montana Idaho Wyoming Utah area. I need trees and to be able to have a garden. This might sound silly but are the pastures good for grazing out there lol I know there is a lot of desert area out there. Can you give me any advice on areas out there. Thank you!!!!

I agree with all above, the Rockies create thousands of micro-climates here. Even within my county there are several different climate zones, precipitation levels, and gardening conditions. A great resource is the Climate Map published by the MSU Ag Extension office: http://www.msuextension.org/store/Products/Climate-Atlas-of-Montana---Mapping-Montanas-Weather__EB0113.aspx

If you want trees you definitely want to live on the Western side of the continental divide. I lived in Forsyth for a year, and I can testify that once you got away from the river you can easily walk a mile without laying eyes on a tree. Close to rivers on the Eastern side, cottonwoods are about the only thing that will grow to any height, and they're dangerously brittle, useless for timber, and **** near useless for firewood. On the Western side the mountains catch all the rain, so you'll see more impressive forests with biodiversity more like Oregon or Washington. Gardeners definitely have an easier time over there, if they're low enough in elevation to have a season long enough to grow anything.

Please excuse my pessimistic tone, I grew up gardening in sub-tropic Arkansas and am finding getting things to grow on an alkali sagebrush-steppe pretty challenging.

If you're in the plains, you have to look at the particular plot to judge grazing quality. Out here we have to irrigate to get land to support cattle. I've seen a lot of skinny, unhealthy cows show up at auction because people think they can turn a few hundred cows out on to a desert and they'll find something to eat somehow. I think it should qualify as animal cruelty. When you look a prospective parcels, inspect any cattle present to get an idea of how yours will look. Have well water tested, and in fact just go ahead and take a whiff so you know what you'll be dealing with. In Wyoming I had to shower from a well that gave water so hard it literally would not facilitate the use of soap, and I came out dirtier and smellier than when I went in.

Wages are low, but so is cost of living, so I think in the long run it evens out. In some remote areas fresh produce can be hard to come by. There's no sales tax in MT, but they get it back from you in property tax.

 

[DuginMT]

First "Free" Ranging tonight! About 7:00 tonight, I decided to let the chickens out of the run and see what they would do. They immediately started devouring the greenery by the gate and never got more than 10' away from it. I posted my kid chicken wranglers in strategic spots to block their escape, but the chicks never seemed to want to take off, they were so happy eating live green weeds and grass for once! Couple of pics below. We left them out for about 5 minutes and then we herded them back in there, surprisingly easily I thought. Hopefully we can work them up to two or three hours per evening outside, eventually. Have a great weekend all!

Doug

 

[Azriel]

Looking good Duginmt, I think you'll find that they won't go too far even if left out for a few hours. Just leave the coop door open so they can come and go as they like. I don't think you should have problems with hawks this time of the year, but watch it as fall rolls around. Great you've got your "chicken herders" handy.
We had another round of wild weather last night, the lightning and thunder was so bad that the house was shaking and I was hiding under my covers. I checked my rain gage and I got about 2" over night, and I have another "lake" in front of my barn. I'm loving the rain, but the nasty storms could settle down some.
Would anyone in the Billings/Roundup area like a free EE pullet? I have a very sweet little girl at point of lay that for some reason my flock started beating up. I have tried to reintroduce her several times but each time the entire flock jumps on her and just tries to kill her. She is about 4 months, very sweet and does fine by herself, but I think she would do well if put with 1 or 2 younger pullets that wouldn't pick on her. She is very meek, and just lays down and screems when they start picking on her, and I think thats why the entire flock comes running and tries to kill her.

 

[karlamaria]

Awesome Dug !!! thats so cute, kids all around to watch them. they will do well, you can leave them out if there are no neighborhood dogs, but you do have houses close enough to you that might see them. so sitting out there is a good idea, unless you think there safe. I had a friend who recently lost all her birds from dogs.dang dogs ! and she was pretty far from neighbors them chickens are looking good, and your boys are adorable!!

Azriel Im sorry bout your girl, but on facebook there are lots from that erea that would take her,