Cascade County

Cascade County, located in central Montana, is known as the "Electric City" due to its historical significance in hydroelectric generation plants and smelter activity. The MSU Extension office is in the county seat, Great Falls, which is on the Missouri River and is one of the pioneer cities in the state. The terrain is primarily gently rolling plains dissected by the Missouri River and its numerous coulees and tributaries. The Little Belt Mountains are found in the southeastern portion of the county. The population of the county is approximately 84,400, which includes the incorporated city of Great Falls and the towns of Belt, Cascade, Centerville, Fort Shaw, Monarch, Neihart, Sand Coulee, Simms, Sun River, Ulm, and Vaughn, many of which have complete K-12 school systems.

Cascade County's economic base includes agriculture, military, education, small manufacturing, food processing, and many service industries. Most agricultural income is derived from crop production. Great Falls is home to the Benefis Health Care system, Malmstrom Air Force Base, and many cultural attractions, including the Charles M. Russell Museum/Gallery, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, the Paris Gibson Center, and the First People's Buffalo Jump. Great Falls is a primary destination for tourism, with outdoor recreational opportunities, including fishing, hunting, boating, golfing, hiking, and historical exploration.

Contact

3300 Third Street NE, #9
Great Falls, MT 59404
406-454-6980
https://www.montana.edu/extension/cascade/

Forage nitrate testing instrumental to ranchers

Cascade County experienced little moisture in the winter of 2024-2025 and drought continued into the spring. Many ranchers saw little forage production and yields were approximately 50% less than the previous growing season. Ranchers utilized the free nitrate testing services offered through Cascade County MSU Extension. Agriculture Agent Rose Malisani tested 48 samples, and 35 tested “hot,” which means a higher nitrate level in the forage can cause health problems (increased levels of nitrate in forage can be toxic to cattle) including abortion, reduced milk production, weak offspring, or death.

Many Cascade County ranchers run 250 cows in their herd, with each cow being valued at $2500 each. Feeding high nitrate forages could lead to a loss of up to $625,000 per herd. If 35 ranchers fed cows high nitrate forage without testing, losses could reach as high as $21 million in Cascade County. Malisani acquired a nitrate testing meter during the growing season which gives a more accurate reading than nitrate strip tests and helps ranchers make valuable decisions about balancing forage and feeds to protect cattle health.

Caption: Nitrate meter shows nitrate concentrations in forage. 

Credit: Rose Malisani, MSU Extension-Cascade County

Cascade County ServSafe

As a service to the Cascade City-County Health Department, MSU Extension in Cascade County offers food safety training to help individuals and businesses in the food service industry obtain the necessary certification for compliance with state and local ordinances governing food safety.

The ServSafe Food Manager training course prepares individuals for the ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification exam. The program covers various topics, including types of contamination, personal hygiene, cross-contamination, time and temperature control, allergens, sanitation, and pest control. The 8-hour classroom course includes the ServSafe 7th edition textbook, a practice test, and a final exam. The ServSafe Food Manager Certification demonstrates an individual's knowledge and skills to manage food safety in diverse settings, including convenience stores, food trucks, restaurants, schools, and hospitals. The certification is valid for five years. To be certified in ServSafe, participants must score 70% or better.

In addition to complying with state and local regulations, ServSafe Food Manager certification impacts the food service industry by reducing the risk of foodborne illnesses, building customer trust, giving managers the tools to train staff, and increasing the overall efficiency and safety of operations.

In 2025, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Felicia O'Brien offered the class six times, resulting in a total of 95 participants with an overall pass rate of 83 percent.

Caption: ServSafe class in session.

Credit: Felicia O’Brien, MSU Extension-Cascade County

Cascade County 4-H

The new 4-H year began in October with over 330 members and 90 volunteers participating across Cascade County. Members engaged in a variety of educational and leadership opportunities designed to build skills and confidence supporting the national program's goal of creating "Beyond Ready Members," youth who are prepared for success in college, careers, and community life.

Highlights of the year included the Fall Youth Training; Legislative Breakfast, where members engaged with state leaders and created their own mock bills and presented to their fellow teammates; 4-H camp, which always has a focus in our county on leadership development and teamwork. Some of our 4-H members represented Cascade County at the Western Nationals in January and IGNITE in Washington DC in April.

Locally, 4-H presenters held seven project days with an average of 85 participants learning through doing with 4-H curriculum content. We hosted a successful Shooting Sports tournament with over 100 statewide youth in February, an annual Livestock Show and Sale with 192 lots, as well as a County Horse Show at the end of July.

Members participated in the State Fair and contributed to the nine days of competitions that included demonstrating their talents in projects: Rabbit, Dog, Cat, Poultry, Aerospace, Robotics, Lego Engineering, Quilting, Sewing, Communication contests, Demonstrations, Fashion Review, Cooking, Cake Decorating, Leathercraft, Woodworking and Welding. Through all of these engaging experiences, Cascade County 4-H continues to foster learning, leadership and life skills, empowering youth to be ready for their futures.

Caption: Cascade 4-H Achievement Night

Credit: Jenn Volkmar, MSU Extension-Cascade County