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The pitched elevations of southern Ohio are a far cry from the wide open spaces of southeast Montana, in distance if not topography.

The terrain in both places is different, yet the same. The landscapes in Brown County make up the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, while Big Sky Country in Alzada, Montana, eventually leads to the deep forests and mountain peaks of the Black Hills Mountain region.
Despite that similarity, 80 acres of farmland looks and feels a whole lot different in Ohio than 25,000 acres on a ranch out West.

But for Brown County Farm Bureau member Gary Heibertshausen and his wife, Joyce, the ties that bind them to Farm Bureau are both familiar and brand new.

When the Heibertshausens moved to Montana in 2010, Gary was a Farm Bureau member in northwest Ohio. They joined the Montana Farm Bureau when the couple went into partnership on the ranch in Montana.

Beyond the 25,000 acres there were also 3,000 head of sheep to manage, along with cattle and dry land hay.

It didn’t take too long for Heibertshausen to become a Farm Bureau county board member in Montana then state trustee, a job he relished and enjoyed. It also apparently only took one stop at the Montana ranch for American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall to declare that Joyce made the best strawberry pie he’d ever had.

Most importantly, it was with Montana Farm Bureau where Heibertshausen embraced the importance of farmers and ranchers telling their story and advocating for what was necessary for the industry and the farming and ranching community.

“We need to step outside our box and tell folks what we do and how safely we do it and how we care for the land,” he said.

Heibertshausen was on the state board when the Montana Farm Bureau’s ACE (Advocate. Communicate. Educate.) program was created. The program is similar to Ohio Farm Bureau’s AgriPOWER program. He also is an ACE graduate, and was the vice president of Montana Farm Bureau when they left Montana in January 2025.

Heibertshausen brought that advocacy enthusiasm back to Ohio when he and Joyce decided the pull of the grandchildren, who live in the Buckeye State, was too strong to resist. The partnership in Montana ran its course, and the couple headed back east.

They currently have 150 sheep, 10 cows, a couple Border Collies and one bull named Craig, and they also grow hay. They are hoping to eventually double the amount of sheep and triple the cows, but are taking it slow. They also want to stay involved in Farm Bureau, and are taking that slow, too, as they have adjusted to their new surroundings.

“Farm Bureau gives you that safety net if you don’t know where to turn,” he said. “You can contact that Farm Bureau office and they will know where to direct you for what you need.”
Farm Bureau is a county, state and national federation. Wherever a farmer or rancher goes, Farm Bureau is there. That is a comforting thought, even if there are times when members disagree, Heibertshausen said.

The issues facing farmers are similar, but are sometimes different, he said. For example, water is a big issue for ranchers in the Plains, but for different reasons than it is for farmers in Ohio. Water rights is a complicated issue where water scarcity has been the norm for decades.

Cattle prices, too, can cause large disagreements between livestock producers in the ag industry throughout the country, Heibertshausen said. But, at the end of the day, Farm Bureau is “one, big family,” he said.

“I believe strongly in the Farm Bureau concept and way of life and the Farm Bureau family,” he said. “Our story needs to be told. Whether you’re in California, if you’re in Maine or wherever you are, sharing our stories is important to our way of life.”

Heibertshausen plans to continue doing all he can to advocate for agriculture.

“We feed the world. We do it as safely as anybody,” he said. “The majority of our population is several generations away from the farm aspect of things. So they really don’t have an understanding of what we do. We need to step out of our comfort zone and tell them.”

KEY POINTS

• Members telling their personal agriculture stories and experiences to people outside the industry is essential to maintain the farming way of life.
• American Farm Bureau, Ohio Farm Bureau and county Farm Bureaus make up the Farm Bureau family.

WHAT’S NEXT

• Learn more about how to become an active member of your county Farm Bureau by visiting ofbf.org/counties.