Anonymous donation promotes College of Agriculture programs

A $10 million anonymous donation has been awarded to MSU’s Extension and College of Agriculture. The donation will support precision agriculture, the extension’s 4-H youth development program, and two scholarships within the college

According to Mike Becker, MSU’s spokesperson, $5 million of the endowment will contribute to establishing a new faculty chair for precision agriculture. Precision agriculture is the use of new and developing technological advances to improve agricultural production.

This would include, for example, using “censor tech computer analyses to look at field conditions, and help Montana be more efficient in the state’s largest industry,” Becker explained.

MSU Extension’s 4-H youth development program will receive $3 million from the donation, increasing its impact on Montana youth and MSU students, Becker said. The Extension is a component of MSU’s land grant status, whose original purpose was to “educate the sons and daughters of working families, who would then take their university knowledge and make it useful to their communities,” said Becker.

The 4-H program has approximately 6.5 million members nationwide with 20,000 of those in Montana, and offers programs mainly in leadership development, whether that be through livestock husbandry or nutrition programs. 4-H “touches every school in the state, and the money will help reach more students,” Becker said.

The remaining endowment will support, at $1 million each, a new scholarship in the

college and the Dan Scott Ranch Management Program. The new scholarship will go to students who seek to pursue a career in agriculture, while the Dan Scott Management Program “educates the next generation of Montana ranch managers and provides the skills and knowledge to create more profitable ranches and improve natural resource use,” according to the MSU News Service.

“Every corner of Montana will feel this gift,” says Becker. Supporting the growth of agriculture is vital, as Montana is a significant contributor to the nation’s food supply. According to the University of Arkansas’s Research Extension, Montana contributed approximately $3.7 billion in agricultural cash receipts in 2020, with “the highest valued commodities being cattle and calves, wheat, and hay.”

This donation, and others like it, can help ensure continued food security and that those working the fields are properly supported, says Becker.

“The university is grateful any time a donor chooses to give, and we’ll put money to the best use of students and Montana,” says Becker. “It’ll pay off in the long run for students and community members across Montana.”

To learn more about precision agriculture, visit https://www.montana.edu/news/mountainsandminds/22121/the-future-of-farming.

For more information about 4-H or MSU Extension, visit https://msuextension.org/.