The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in two flocks in Montana—a non-commercial, backyard flock (poultry) in Cascade County, and a non-commercial, backyard flock (non-poultry) in Judith Basin County.

Governor Greg Gianforte has announced that meat processed in Montana has doubled this fiscal year to date in facilities inspected by the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL).

Nearly $8 million in federal funding will support 17 meat processing projects in Montana, aiming to bolster Montana's agriculture producers and reduce consolidation in the meatpacking industry through expanding local meat processing capacity.

The term that comes to mind is “regulatory overreach” – a phrase that crops up from time to time, typically when regulators decide to make and enforce their own regulations.