As a girl growing up in the Highwood Valley, Colleen McGowan Gustafson refused to go to kindergarten.  She was too busy "helping" her dad with the cattle to bother with A, B, Cs. 

The land called to Gustafson then, and it calls to her still. 

Gustafson, who ranches with her husband Barr, on Gustafson +3 Ranch south of Browning, finds the land — of high prairie grasses rolling to the Sweet Grass Hills to the northeast and the Rocky Mountain Front to the west — sometimes so beautiful it's painful.  Even while it leaves her emotionally and spiritually exuberant. 

"I think an intrinsic bond with nature is part of the human condition, and those of us in production agriculture are blessed to be able to build on that connection throughout our life’s work," Gustafson said. " It truly is worth a lot to experience the beauty and splendor of a blue-sky Montana day from the back of a good horse.” 

Gustafson's story is among those collected in the new book "Montana Women: From the Ground Up: Passionate Voices in Agriculture & Land Conservation." 

Photos are reprinted from "Montana Women From the Ground Up: Passionate Voices in Agriculture & Land Conservation" by Kristine Ellis, for Broadwater and Glacier County Conservation Districts.  Arcadia Publishing 2018

Interested in this topic?  You may also want to view these photo galleries:

The book began with an oral history project at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, where resource specialist and project director Linda Brander started the ball rolling in 2012.  Her goal was to preserve the stories of Montana women who farm and ranch. 

Brander realized conservation districts were uniquely positioned to capture this slice of Montana history before it was lost.  Montana has 58 conservation districts, established in 1939 as a resource for those who wanted to protect soil, water and other natural resources.  The districts were with farmers and ranchers on best practices. 

More than 50 Montana ranchers shared their story through the project.  The stories are added to the Montana Historical Society's oral history collection and on the DNRC website. 

What emerged, author Kristine Ellis wrote, is "a taste of Montana agriculture" and common threads of "their passion for farming and ranching and their determination to leave their land better than how they found it." 

When her youngest child left home and she had to run her Bar VW Ranch near Cut Bank alone, Valerie Wadman turned to an internship program. 

She's seen people freak out finding two yokes in an egg and some who hope to become producers themselves.  They come from all over the country, and Wadman teaches them about country life. 

"But I’ve always figured that even if they aren’t going to ever live on a farm or a ranch, they will gain life skills and knowledge, as well as a better appreciation for what farmers and ranchers go through to provide them with food," she said. " So I think being willing to be a mentor for them is really important.” 

Joliet cattle rancher Linda Finley's family has been running cattle on their Carbon County land since the late 1800s.  Her mother and daughter share the way of life on the family's land. 

Her grandmothers loved to work outside, but Finley struggled to find acceptance as a ranch hand along with her older brothers. 

"As a young girl, if we were going out for a ride, my horse was caught and saddled and tied in the trailer, and I was asleep in the pickup before the others showed up.  Because they were not going to leave me, that’s all there was to it," she said. " I did every kind of job that I could just to help out, and if I didn’t know it, I learned it.  And if I couldn’t do it the way they did it, I would figure out a way that I could do it.” 

She had a close relationship with her grandparents as she grew up and takes a long view of the land. 

“We are just simply the keepers of the place for now," Finley said. " Her parents kept it for her, my parents worked hard to keep it for my generation, and I will do the same for the next with hopes that they will carry that on.” 

From the Ground Up, Montana Women and Agriculture oral history project is ongoing.  If you or someone you know has a women-in-ag oral history to share, contact Linda Brander, 444-0520, LLbrander@mt.gov.  For more information, visit the DNRC website. 

The book launch party is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, May 12 at the Montana Historical Society in Helena. 

Quotes from Montana women in ag:

"It doesn't matter whether we're fencing or feeding cows, or whatever.  I do most of the riding in the summer, and he does the mechanic work; it's a good trade-off.  And if I'm down suckling a calf, which he hates to do, he has no problem putting supper on the table." —  Betty Johnson Hedstrom

"There's that prevalent idea of the farmer with the straw in his mouth and the bib coveralls, but farming is a business, so don't underestimate our skills and intelligence." —  Donna Fritz Griffin

“You know, farming life can get hard at times, but you just have to be strong and keep going.  Because tomorrow is a new day.  The good days have always outweighed the tough ones, and with the Lord’s help, we always made it through.” —  Eleanor Baney Keopke

“My mother was a politician, so I come by it naturally.  We had a big Farm Bureau group, and the women were very active in it.  The men couldn’t go testify because they had to feed the cattle, but we’d go to Helena and testify on hearings.  I think we acquired a lot of friends throughout the state because we were all for agriculture.  But we had to fight for our water rights, our property rights and all that, and we did.  A lot of people aren’t cognizant of the legislature now, but you have to make yourself heard.” —  Esther Johnson McDonald

“When I was born, everyone was poor.  But we had a big garden and fruit trees and hogs and beef, and that’s how we kept going and how I grew so healthy. ...  There was always a lot of chores along with everything in the house.  Then along came the kids.  Early in the morning till ten o’clock at night you were working, but it was fun.  Looking back, it was fun.” —  Andrea Kallen Olenik, Hardin

"I think an intrinsic bond with nature is part of the human condition, and those of us in production agriculture are blessed to be able to build on that connection throughout our life's work." —  Colleen McGowan Gustaffson

At eighty-two, Arlene Pile still loves taking her four-wheeler out to check fences, watering holes and the overall condition of the EOB Ranch.(Photo: Ross Campbell, DNRC)

"On a farm, where you can create your own environment—you really have that privilege of doing that — it makes it so important that you give a strong positive feel.  Our girls always helped with all parts of the farm; there was no division.  Nobody said, oh, that’s not my job.  We were strong believers in cooperatives for all farmers, but also cooperating at home." —  Doris Hellebust Bishop, Brady

“Ranching and farming have been my whole life.  It wasn’t always easy, but you do the best you can with what you’ve got.  I have a strong love for nursing and family, and farming allowed me time to do both.  I will go out of my way to help neighbors in need.  You never know when you might be that neighbor in need.” —  Avis Ronning Berkram, Cut Bank

“I remember they were very dry years and that we couldn’t even make hay.  They had to make hay out of thistles.  They put molasses on the thistles and the straw, and then you better not be behind the cows.  We still tried to raise our gardens and milk cows and chickens.  That’s what kept us going." —  Verna Sokoloski, Wibaux

“I have been with Paul going down country roads, and I’m driving and he’s on the tailgate of the pickup and we stop so he can dig out goat’s beard.  It is a noxious weed.  You take care of the land around you, whether it’s your land or the barrow pit.  You just do.” —  Bonnie Norsby Kronebusch, Conrad

Photos are reprinted from "Montana Women From the Ground Up: Passionate Voices in Agriculture & Land Conservation" by Kristine Ellis, for Broadwater and Glacier County Conservation Districts.(Photo: Arcadia Publishing 2018)

“Dad fixed up twenty-two-volt electricity for the house, but we had to be very careful and not use too much because if the wind didn’t blow, we didn’t have electricity.  We would listen to the radio news at noon and in the evening, and then we always got to listen to The Lone Ranger.” —  Joyce Larsen Dye, Shelby

“Life on the farm has been wonderful to me and my family.  I can’t think of a better way to raise your kids.  It’s hard work and teaches everyone to work together.  Every year when harvest was over, it was AMEN!  Yes, I would do it all over again.” —  Georgia Tovatten Tomsheck, Glacier County

“Some of my fondest memories are the four-wheeler rides Roger and I would take each Friday evening when I would get up to the ranch from my town job.  We always rode double and went first to check on the wheat, of course, to see how much it had grown in five days, and then to check on the wildflowers. ...  I still love that feeling of checking things.” —  Judi Black Knapp, Treasure County

— From "Montana Women: From the Ground Up: Passionate Voices in Agriculture & Land Conservation"