Montana Department of Livestock requests $2.7M increase for new lab equipment, meat inspectors and milk program funding shift

The Montana Department of Livestock told the House and Senate appropriations committee that it is seeking a $2,700,000 increase above base funding for the 2027 biennium to cover new staff, laboratory equipment and software and to shore up programs affected by declining federal grants and fewer dairy operations.

Rob Miller, legislative fiscal analyst, said the overall request included a roughly $1,700,000 general-fund increase and $1,300,000 in state special revenue increases and noted federal special revenue was expected to decline by about $264,000. “The overall budget change … is $2,700,000 above base funding,” Miller said as he walked the committee through the agency budget comparison and staffing tables.

Why it matters: The department presented the requests as necessary to open and equip a new veterinary diagnostic lab, keep growing meat inspection capacity as new processors come online, and preserve milk inspection coverage without large fee increases to a shrinking dairy sector.

The largest single components are an appropriation for eight new meat and poultry inspection positions (about $1,200,000 of the increase, including roughly $1,000,000 in personal services and $200,000 operations) and a one-time…