Hans McPherson, president of Montana Farm Bureau, has been elected to a one-year term on the American Farm Bureau Board of Directors. The Stevensville diversified rancher says he is, “Thrilled and honored to be serving on this prestigious board. This provides a great opportunity to bring western issues to the forefront in Farm Bureau. There are so many issues affecting the West: brucellosis, wildfires, water, and all of those public lands issues such as monuments and wilderness designations.”

He is looking forward to banding together with other western state Farm Bureau presidents so the West has a strong voice in the country’s largest agricultural organization.

Lillian Ostendorf, a Powderville rancher, has been re-elected to her fourth two-year term as western region representative on the AFBF Women’s Leadership Committee. Ostendorf said she is looking forward to the next two years working with the WLC. Plans include a Washington, D.C. fly-in, raising funds for the White Reinhardt program scholarships to increase agricultural literacy, recruiting new members, hosting the Women’s Communication Boot Camp and raising the awareness of the opiod epidemic in rural areas.

The elections took place during the American Farm Bureau Convention January 5-10, 2018 in Nashville.