Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Hay prices, blizzards, drought, grasshoppers, fuel prices, wildfires.

It's a tough time to be an agricultural producer.

We're reaching out to see if you know of a rancher or farmer who has had a hardship in recent months. New this year, we will be gifting free tickets to our festival in hopes that some of these producers can have something additional to look forward to. Free tickets will be randomly drawn from our pool of nominated producers.

Devastating weather events including the big April blizzard that swept the Rockies, and the ongoing drought are making it an extra tough year for our agricultural producers.

While there are a number of important disaster assistance programs available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we also wanted to do our small part to thank our ag producers, let them know we care and offer what we can as a neighbor: tickets to the festival, camping passes and beer tokens.

We invite our festival fans to nominate a deserving agricultural producer for our "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" ticket giveaway. Again, we are more than aware that this doesn't ease the major agricultural and livestock losses experienced this year, but it is just one way we as neighbors can help out.

Please send us a note with the name, hometown/location of the farm or ranch, email and phone number of an agricultural producer who you think might like a little boost from the Red Ants Pants Music Festival. We'll do our best to pitch in. You can email us at [email protected].

Since we started the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, the Red Ants Pants Foundation has distributed more than $110,000 in grants that support the pillars of our mission: increasing women's leadership, supporting working family farms and ranches, and enriching rural communities. The funds come from ticket sales to the Red Ants Pants Music Festival.

One of our grantees will stay in mind for many years to come. It was a group of women in Jordan, Mont., with the Garfield County Fire Foundation. In 2017 when some of the worst wildfires in Montana history struck their community, it was all hands on deck. Every able-bodied human was working the fire line, fueling trucks, fixing meals, looking after the neighbor's kids...one line in their grant application still brings tears to my eyes: "Jordan, where 'neighbor' is a verb."

Our friends in Jordan inspire us and I hope they inspire you as well.

The Red Ants Pants Music Festival takes place July 28 – 31, 2022, on the Jackson Ranch in White Sulphur Springs, Mont. Each year, with proceeds from the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, the Red Ants Pants Foundation awards grants to organizations and individuals whose projects further our mission. The Foundation has granted over $110,000 to over 90 entities across nearly every corner of Montana to date.

Sincerely,

Sarah Calhoun

Founder and owner of Red Ants Pants, producer of the Red Ants Pants Music Festival and executive director of the Red Ants Pants Foundation

 

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