State offers up agritourism grants to give farmers, ranchers more revenue options

The Montana Department of Commerce is set to divvy out $300,000 in agritourism grant funding following the passage of legislation this session.

The agency is taking applications for the program until Oct. 23 and it’s the second cycle of funding for agritourism in the state, commerce spokesperson Mitch Staley wrote in an email. The funding started in 2023 and was reupped as part of Senate Bill 405, brought by Montana Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, this past session.

“Especially in some of the more dry land areas, diversifying how they get their income helps alleviate a lot of the risk that some of these farmers, ranchers face with bad weather years,” Zolnikov said during a Senate Finance and Claims meeting earlier this year.