by Nolan Lister, Independent Record
With more than half of all ag producers in Montana either past or close to retirement age, family farms face a demographic reckoning.
Montana is the oldest state west of the Mississippi, and is growing older as more Montanans enter their senior years. The economic, cultural, and personal impacts of that trend present Montanans with new challenges, and new opportunities for change. Graying Pains, launching in March 2020, is a six-month series of weekly stories and broadcasts exploring how Montanans can improve with age.
On-the-farm training
by Brendan Heidner, Glendive Ranger-Review
Not everyone who is interested in agriculture grows up on a farm, and without the skills and experience, finding your way into a family farm operation as a new producer is difficult. Dawson Community College may have found an answer in the fertile fields of Iowa.
Aging into independence
by Melody Martinsen, Choteau Acantha
A low-cost, high-benefit strength-training program offered through Montana State University Extension may be one solution for how seniors living in small towns can access a fitness program that will help them age well.
Bringing knowledge and comfort to the classroom
by Andi Bourne, Seeley Swan Pathfinder
At Seeley Lake Elementary, 'Grandma Pearl' is Missoula County's longest-serving foster grandparent.
The return of ‘Graying Pains’
by Brad Tyer, Montana Free Press
Statewide reporting project on aging demographics to relaunch
For the rural elderly, it can take a village
by Keith Hammonds, Boulder Monitor
There was something special happening on a January morning at Kalispell’s First Presbyterian Church.
MTFP coordinating statewide reporting project on aging in Montana
by MTFP Staff
Growing old may not be for the faint of heart but, as anyone over 40 will tell you, it sure beats the alternative.