Prolonged drought puts strain on Montana businesses, people

HAVRE, Mont. _ Mike Williams hasn’t sold a big
$100,000 farm tractor or combine in three years; his
implement dealership used to sell between four and
nine a year. It’s been more than a year and a half
since he’s even taken home a paycheck.

Becky Bohrer – Associated Press The Spokesman Review

Williams, now living off his savings, has whittled down
his inventory, laid off workers and asked himself, at
the end of a long day, if he’d be better off just
walking away.

"Some days I look out the window and wonder, `Is it
worth it?’ " he said. "I used to love coming to work."

It’s become a matter of survival for small business
owners like Williams and countless others across
drought-stricken north-central Montana. The farmers
and ranchers who once loyally bought cars,
combines and chemicals now are holding tight to
what money they have — or seeking better deals in
bigger cities.

Implement and feed dealers and the farmers they
support are feeling the effects of four years of
drought and a reeling agricultural economy. And
another drought year is taking shape.

Once optimistic, many farmers now seem resigned to
another terribly dry year. Recent snowstorms have
helped some, but promise no immediate end to dry
conditions. Rivers and reservoirs hold less water
than normal, wells and springs have gone dry,
mountain snowpack is lagging, and dry Montana soil
is being blown away.

So, as farmers survey wheat fields of dust and
ranchers walk pastures grazed to the nubs, difficult
choices are being made. Some have sold out,
purging cattle herds built up over generations.
Others are trying to diversify, a risky move rich with
debt. Still others are preparing to head for the fields,
aiming for another year in business and praying for
rain in a state just declared a drought disaster area,
once again.

"I can hang on for a while. The question is, do I want
to?" asked 37-year-old wheat farmer Pat Dailey of
Chester, Mont. "I have friends who have quit, and
they’re happier than ever."

In the region’s towns, there are vacant storefronts,
quiet Main Streets, seemingly constant chatter about
rain — or at least, the hope of rain. Store shelves
have gaping holes where goods no longer in stock
once hung. In places, hometown service is provided
with a forced smile.

"It’s so easy to be negative," said Williams, the Havre
implement dealer. "You have to find something
positive or you’re going to go nuts."

Local leaders are seeking ways to diversify their
towns’ agriculture-driven economies. But, as Havre
Mayor Bob Rice said, "The problem here is, we’ve
lived on agriculture so long, the way the farmers and
ranchers go is the way the city goes. And that’s not
good right now."

About 80 percent of Fort Benton’s businesses are
agriculture related, officials said. The town and
Chouteau County watched its last implement dealer
close last spring, leaving farmers and ranchers to
drive 40 to 100 miles for parts or equipment.
Chester, across the county line, lost its dealer last
fall. Roger Axtman, whose family ran Axtman Farm
Equipment Inc., at Fort Benton, said the business lost
about 60 percent of its customer base over five
years.

"We weren’t taking home any wages," said Axtman,
who now works at a real estate agency. "When you
have no money coming in, it’s better to be working for
somebody else."

At Power Motors, one of two dealers of new and used
cars and trucks at Fort Benton, sales are slow and
loyal customers are thinning, said office manager
Cecilia Dostal.

"Some people would order new vehicles every year
or so, and no longer," she said. "We used to have
loyal customers. Now, they go to six or seven places
for deals."

Fewer customers come through Ed Lehman’s
hardware store in Fort Benton. They spend less than
they once did, forcing him to reduce inventories of
frying pans and hammers or simply eliminate items.
He has opted to diversify in hopes of drawing in
customers, adding paint and plumbing supplies,
appliances and furniture. It’s a gamble.

"I hope we won’t have to close it," Lehman said. "The
bank might close it."

Customers prowl aisles of cards, souvenirs and crafts
while awaiting their prescriptions at the Benton
Pharmacy, the only one left in Chouteau County. On
a recent Monday evening, the dinner rush at Bob’s
Riverfront consisted of six diners feasting on
meatloaf and potatoes.

"People are uptight, stressed. We still have bills to
pay," owner Robert Knox said.

Mike Novak does not foresee imminent layoffs at his
Chester travel center — a grocery, gas station and
Subway sandwich shop on U.S. 2. But the prospect
keeps him awake some nights. For many of his 30
employees, work there is the only family income.

"You get sick in the stomach to know your business
could fail," Novak said. But, "there are a lot of
circumstances beyond people’s control. They just
need to realize they have to do the best they can."

Farmers’ efforts to reduce expenses has exerted a
real strain on local businesses, said Michael Walstad,
a vice president with Heritage Bank at Chester. Loan
assistance is available. But, unlike the farmers
themselves, "there are no disaster payments."

Grain merchant Bob Way is among those worried
about job security. The amount of grain handled at
the Havre and Big Sandy elevators declined sharply
in the past year, and layoffs are possible, he said.

"Typically we handle 2 million bushels of grain at Big
Sandy," he said. "And half-a-million, assuming there’s
rain, will be good this year."

United Agri Products in Havre has had to expand its
coverage area to find new customers, creating new
expenses, said manager Arleen Rice. Chemical tanks
stand on the lot, reminding Rice of her concerns with
weeds or undernourished soil as farmers find — and
cut — any possible corners to reduce expenses.

"It’s time to deal with harsh realities," she said. "We
can’t keep joking."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=040702&ID=s1128459&cat=section.business