Brands division reports equipment upgrades and market staffing; centralized services outlines predator-control and loss-claim programs

The department’s brands enforcement and centralized services divisions briefed the committee on recent equipment purchases, market staffing adjustments, and statutory programs funded outside the main budget bill.

Jay Bodner, brands division administrator, described the division’s mission: “Our purpose of the brands division is to protect Montana livestock interest from theft and other livestock crimes,” and gave updated counts and operational details for markets and law enforcement coverage.

Why it matters: The brands division provides the state’s primary livestock law-enforcement presence, operates 12 livestock markets, maintains roughly 51,000 recorded brands and oversees deputy stock inspectors who assist local enforcement. Changes to staffing and systems can affect livestock commerce and theft prevention across the state.

What the brands division told lawmakers: - The brands program maintains about 51,000 recorded brands and inspects brands on animals crossing county or state lines or changing ownership. The division also records liens and collects the beef checkoff assessments at markets. - Recent one-time upgrades included a $180,000 package that bought law-enforcement radios, two livestock trailers and market improvements; a system replacement for brand records has been implemented and is operating about a year without major disruption. - The division repurposed an assistant-administrator position into a third area supervisor to improve regional supervision of district investigators and markets; an additional roving market staff position for eastern markets remains vacant and recruiting is ongoing.

Centralized services and statutory programs: Brian (Bridal) Simonson, deputy executive officer and centralized services administrator, outlined functions that sit outside of House Bill 2 appropriations, including the Board of Milk Control, the Livestock Loss Board and predator-control cooperative agreements. He said the department uses statutory appropriations and proprietary lab fees to run key programs.

Simonson noted a statutory cooperative agreement that funds predator control through contracts with USDA Wildlife Services and said the department currently allocates roughly $525,000 a year to that effort, most of which covers helicopter maintenance and operations. The Livestock Loss Board carries out indemnity and prevention grant work for depredation claims and receives a statutory appropriation for claims and prevention grants.

Additional context: The centralized-services administrator said proprietary fees at the veterinary diagnostic lab amount to about $1.7–$1.8 million annually in lab revenue, and that some programs (predator control, livestock loss claims) are funded or partly funded via statutory appropriations and donor-designated funds rather than via the HB2 omnibus appropriation.

Public comment at the hearing came from industry groups supporting the department’s budget requests; representatives from Montana Stock Growers and Montana Farmers Union urged approval of lab funding and additional meat-inspection capacity to support growing local processing.

What didn’t happen: Brands and centralized services presented informational and implementation outcomes from prior approvals; no new decision packages were requested for brands in this hearing and the committee took no votes.

Next steps: Committee staff will continue budget work and consider agency decision packages; brands and centralized-services staff said they will continue recruiting for vacant market positions and finalize radio and trailer outfitting funded in prior appropriations.