Commercial Feeds Program

It is the responsibility of the department's Agricultural Sciences Division to ensure the quality of all commercial feed products manufactured, sold or distributed in Montana. The feed program's major objectives are:

1. safeguarding the health of both man and animal;
2. promoting safe and effective nutrition of livestock and companion animals;
3. verifying and insuring truth in the labeling of products; and
4. making sure there is standardization and uniformity of terms and definitions used in the feed industry.

Statutes require that any person or business that manufactures, distributes, or acts as a guarantor for a commercial feed must obtain a permit by January 1st of each year. An inspection fee also must be paid based on the tonnage of commercial feed sold the previous year by January 31st. Inspections and sampling of feed products occur at manufacturing sites, storage areas, distribution points and retail stores statewide. Samples may also be taken in transit at check stations or at border crossings and at the end user's site.

Pet foods and specialty pet food products must be registered with the department. All feed products must have proper labeling. Products are sampled for survey, investigation, complaint and special study purposes. These samples are submitted to the department's Analytical Laboratory in Bozeman. Laboratory results are reported to the manufacturer and other interested parties.

Complaints are handled in a confidential, timely and objective manner. Discrepancies between a claim and an actual result are investigated and appropriate enforcement action is taken according to state law. Enforcement may include, a warning, stop sales, embargoes, penalty assessments, civil and/or criminal prosecutions.

For more information contact:

Licensing/Registration

Lynn Jones
(406)444-5400 or (406)444-2944
E-mail: agr@mt.gov

Program Manager

Bob Church
(406) 444-5410 
E-mail: angray@mt.gov

Program Coordinator

Levi Ostberg
(406) 444-5415
E-mail: bchurch@mt.gov

Laboratory Services

Heidi Hickes
(406) 994-3383 
E-mail: hhickes@mt.gov

Fees:

Annual Product Registration

Pet food: $50.00 per product

Annual Feed Facility License

$75 renewal, received before January 1
$100 renewal received after January 1
$100 new location or new applicants