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 equipment request for the new diagnostic lab (about $1,100,000). The department also requested roughly $300,000 for animal-health software maintenance.

Tawny Szymanski, administrator of the Animal Health and Food Safety Division and state veterinarian, told the committee that growth in Montana meat processing and new plants coming online have driven the need for additional inspectors and supervisory capacity. “This is for 8 new FTEs within our meat and poultry program,” Szymanski said, describing a plan to split an overlarge eastern circuit into two and to add a supervisor, a compliance investigator, a relief inspector and four inspectors to serve expanding demand.

Szymanski said the meat and poultry bureau currently has 12 applications for new plants and 19 additional facilities that have expressed interest; agency staff said the state’s federal match for inspection has decreased in recent years so new general-fund dollars would be required unless federal support increases.

On the diagnostic lab, the department said it is completing a new livestock veterinary diagnostic facility and needs one-time funding for furnishings, specialized instruments and moving expenses tied to cost escalation during construction. Honeycutt said the lab will open during the biennium and that “a vast majority of the new spending … is in conjunction with that opening date.”

Milk inspection: The department requested a $150,000 per year shift from state special revenue (milk inspection fees) to the general fund to maintain staffing and service level for milk inspection as the number of licensed dairies has declined. “Attrition in our dairy industry has really caused a budgetary crunch,” Szymanski said. She told legislators the state has about 40 licensed dairies and the current fee (14 cents per 100 pounds) and the reduced producer base make sustaining the program by fee increases alone impractical.

Mike Honeycutt, executive officer for the Department of Livestock, said department and industry met and agreed that a partial general-fund support for milk inspection is justified because the work is primarily a public-safety function that benefits consumers as much as producers. “The dairy producers will continue to pay fees into the program, but it helps bring some of the public-safety burden into that as well,” Honeycutt said.

Software and laboratory operations: The agency asked for $75,000 in ongoing state special revenue for application maintenance for a new animal-health system and $210,000 per year in proprietary lab funds for supplies to cover CWD and brucellosis testing demands.

Industry representatives who spoke at the hearing — including Ellie Brighton of the Montana Stock Growers Association and Jasmine Krotkov of Montana Farmers Union — told the committee they support the department’s requests, particularly the meat-inspection additions and funding for the diagnostic lab. “It is crucial that the Department of Livestock has the personnel to provide the support that those plants need to grow the capacity there,” Brighton said.

What didn’t change: The department reported that some previously approved decision packages have been implemented (for example, purchase of a MALDI instrument and four previously authorized meat inspectors), and that most of the new proposals are concentrated in the animal health and food safety division.

Next steps: No formal votes occurred in the hearing; the committee will consider these decision packages in the House and Senate budget process. Department staff said the new lab is expected to be operational in 2026 and that many elements of the budget depend on both legislative approvals and potential federal funding changes.