Nominations open for annual Outstanding Ag Leader award at Montana State

BOZEMAN - Nominations are now open for Montana State University's premier agricultural award. MSU's College of Agriculture is seeking nominations for its 2026 Outstanding Agricultural Leader Award, which will be presented during the college's Celebrate Agriculture week Oct. 25-31 on the MSU campus. The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, Sept. 11.

The award recognizes individuals, families or businesses that have made exceptional contributions to Montana agriculture through leadership, service, advocacy, innovation, production or business.

Nominations can be submitted online at https://ag.montana.edu/celebrateag/aggie_nomination.html, and a list of past recipients can be found at https://ag.montana.edu/celebrateag/outstandingaggie.html. The 2025 award was presented to Gordon Stoner of Outlook.

Nominees should be well respected within their communities, actively engaged in the agricultural industry and demonstrate leadership through their contributions to Montana agriculture. Nominees who are not selected will be reconsidered for future years, but application forms should be updated.

Hard copies of the nomination form can be requested by calling the College of Agriculture dean's office at 406-994-3681.

Celebrate Agriculture is a MSU's annual tribute to the legacy of agriculture, natural resources and life sciences in Montana. This gathering serves as a platform to honor the state's agricultural heritage that encompasses allied industries while celebrating its present and future leaders, producers and students.