Liberty County

Liberty County is in the middle of the Golden Triangle, the prime crop-producing region of Montana. Encompassing 1,458 square miles along the Hi-Line of Montana, Liberty County has approximately 2,000 residents in the communities of Chester, Joplin, Lothair and Whitlash, with Chester serving as the county seat. The Sweetgrass Hills, rising to almost 7,000 feet in the northern part of the county, are considered sacred by local Native American tribes. Tiber Dam and Lake Elwell in the southern part of the county provide recreational opportunities for area residents.

Agriculture accounts for much of the economy in Liberty County with approximately 913,000 acres utilized to produce wheat, barley, pulses, mustard and cattle. Two shuttle loader elevators utilize the rail service to export many of the cereal crops to international markets. Additionally, four Hutterite colonies within county boundaries and two nearby contain large-scale hog, poultry and gardening operations that sell goods locally and regionally.

Contact

111 First Street East, Suite 5
Chester, MT 59522
406-759-5625
https://www.montana.edu/extension/liberty

Staying Current in Agriculture

Crop production is an economic driver in Liberty County. Programs offered by Liberty County MSU Extension helped growers to be successful in their production practices and kept them up to date on the latest research. The annual multi-county Cropping Seminar series offered MSU researchers the opportunity to teach growers about invasive weed threats, updates on new pesticide regulations, strategies for managing pulse crop pests and updates on the development of a winter barley breeding program, all topics that can increase production practices.

Liberty County MSU Extension is available to help address horticultural and agricultural needs throughout the county. During 2025, eight crop diseases, seven horticultural diseases, one insect and one plant were identified through use of the Schutter Diagnostic Lab. MSU Extension also helped three growers ascertain appropriate nitrate levels for forage crops, thus helping growers identify safe forage feeding amounts and saving livestock from adverse conditions.

In September, a pest management tour was conducted in the area, aiding growers in obtaining the necessary private pesticide applicator credits for their five-year licenses, which expire at the end of 2025. The tour included a variety of topics to address needs across crop production and range management. Twenty-seven producers had opportunities to network and ask questions regarding farming practices and land stewardship to researchers and state agronomy specialists.

Caption: Growers gained valuable insights from MSU researchers by attending MSU Extension programs.

Credit: Julie Gagnon

Making It From Scratch With 4-H Fun Fridays

Liberty County 4-H continued the 4-H Fun Fridays series during the 2024-25 school year to help meet the needs of school-age children without school on Fridays. This program, open to children in kindergarten through sixth grade, regardless of 4-H membership, met each Friday for an hour.

The 4-H Fun Friday program met for two blocks throughout the school year. The fall block focused on life skill development activities, with 15 youth gaining skills in how to write and address a thank you note, telephone etiquette, counting back change in a financial transaction, liquid and dry measurements, mental health, fire safety, gift wrapping, simple sewing stitches, and dancing. Representatives of First Bank of Montana, the Chester Post Office and the Liberty County EMS were among those community members who helped teach some of the classes.

The winter session of 4-H Fun Fridays explored making products from raw materials, including making jams, pasta, soups, jerky, egg dishes, wool beads, candles, and paper. Fourteen youth attended, including one youth that subsequently joined 4-H. Liberty County 4-H Teen Ambassadors assisted in weekly programming, as did 4-H volunteers, area MSU Extension agents and local businesses. The program is continuing in 2025 and provides parents with peace of mind knowing their children are still engaged in education on a day without school.

Caption: Chouteau County FCS Extension agent Janell Barber teaches a young 4-Her how to measure liquids.

Credit: Jesse Fulbright

Ambassadors on the Cutting Edge of Leadership

The Liberty County 4-H Teen Ambassador team worked to promote 4-H and better themselves in 2025. Meeting throughout the year, the five-member team planned a workshop for a statewide 4-H event, gained valuable communication and leadership skills through leading events and meetings locally and developed teamwork as they learned each other’s strengths.

Ambassadors developed and taught a workshop on ax and knife safety at 4-H Rec Lab, a statewide 4-H event. Youth developed their lesson plan, invited subject matter experts and practiced before leading the hour-long workshop to 20 of their peers, resulting in youth understanding more about how to handle axes, pocketknives and kitchen knives in safe and productive ways.

Three teen ambassadors attended 4-H Citizenship Seminar, where teens developed individual legislative bills for a mock legislative process. Teens developed skills in public speaking, working towards consensus and using correct parliamentary procedure.

Two teen ambassadors attended 4-H Pre-Congress and Congress in July where ambassadors participated in planning committees to organize events. Liberty County Ambassador Trent Fulbright was selected as a Montana State 4-H Ambassador, the first from Liberty County in over 15 years.

Through local civic events and participation in 4-H events, members gained valuable experience, life skills and increased confidence in their abilities to lead other youth, all skills that will apply long after their time in 4-H.

Caption: The Liberty County 4-H Teen Ambassador program inspired local 4-H members through their teamwork and leadership.

Credit: Jesse Fulbright

Improving Mental Health in the Community

Liberty County MSU Extension offered Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper training classes to the 2026 Chester-Joplin-Inverness (CJI) Senior class and Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM) classes to the freshmen class in 2025 to help educate about mental health and suicide awareness. Montana ranks consistently in the top five states per capita in suicide.

QPR Gatekeeper training helps participants learn how to recognize suicide warning signs and clues, and is meant to offer hope through positive action. Participants learn how to ask the suicide question, how to persuade someone to stay alive, and how to refer them to someone who can provide help. Fourteen students completed the training and gained an understanding of the difficulty of asking someone if they are thinking of killing themselves. They are better prepared to ask difficult questions of others about suicide and are better equipped to understand the clues to a potential suicide. Students are better prepared to help others if they are potentially thinking about suicide or are in a mental health crisis.

YAM was co-facilitated with Logan Health Chester’s Tobacco Prevention Specialist Lynda Vande Sandt. A five-hour long course, YAM helped 19 students gain awareness of mental health, stress and crisis situations as they develop problem-solving skills related to those issues. Students gained critical thinking skills needed for different stress and crisis situations they might find themselves in. Participants talked about impacts in their lives,  stating:

• It made me realize that we need to help people in need.
• This class helped me learn that it is ok to talk.
• There are better ways to help others.
• It made me realize how important mental health is.
• It has impacted the way I talk to my friend.

Caption: Members of the Chester-Joplin-Inverness freshman class learned how to be aware of their mental health in 2025.

Credit: Jesse Fulbright