Western Ag Reporter: History, Content, Readers and Staff

Profile updated November 2026

Western Ag Reporter is a weekly agricultural newspaper published in Billings, Montana, with roots that go back to 1940. Written for working farmers and ranchers, it pairs news that affects production agriculture with Western history, a weekly cooking column and Western humor, and it describes itself, cheerfully, as not politically correct.

History of Western Ag Reporter

Western Ag Reporter traces its start to 1940. It is published in Billings, the trading center of the Yellowstone Valley and the largest city in Montana, where livestock auctions, implement dealers and agricultural lenders serve ranches across eastern Montana and northern Wyoming.

Over the decades the paper has kept a deliberately practical, ranch-country voice. Its stories have been picked up by community newspapers in the region; the Blaine County Journal in northern Montana, for example, ran a Western Ag Reporter piece promoting National Ag Week in 2021.

Western Ag Reporter Today

The paper still publishes weekly, with a circulation of about 15,000, and it actively buys freelance work. In a 2026 writers' market listing, editor Terra Ochsner said the paper welcomes new writers and wants material an agricultural readership would value, with about 800 words as a good length and longer pieces considered if they are strong.

Issue size swings with the seasons; the paper notes its issues run larger in spring and fall, the busy sale and marketing seasons in Montana cattle country.

What Western Ag Reporter Is Publishing Now

Production agriculture

News affecting cattle, sheep and crop producers, from markets and policy to weather and ranch management.

Western history

Regular historical features on the settlement, ranching and people of the West.

Cooking, patriotism and humor

A weekly cooking column, patriotic material and Western humor round out each issue.

Western Ag Reporter Editors and Staff

Published listings and editorial contact lists name:

• Terra Ochsner - Editor
• Alan Sears - Editorial contact
• Calli DeMers - Editorial contact
• Kellie Kubacak - Editorial contact

Submissions and story ideas go to editor@westernagreporter.com.

Who Reads Western Ag Reporter

Readers are primarily ranchers and farmers in Montana and the surrounding region, people who raise cattle and sheep on rangeland and grow wheat, barley and hay. Cattle are the largest segment of U.S. livestock receipts, according to USDA's Economic Research Service. USDA's Census of Agriculture and Quick Stats database give county-level detail on the Montana ranch economy the paper covers.

Western Ag Reporter Sources and Agriculture Authority Links

• WritersWeekly: Western Ag Reporter - 2026 listing with editor, circulation and content.
• Blaine County Journal: Western Ag Reporter - a reprinted Western Ag Reporter article.
• USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - cattle and livestock economics.
• USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - Montana county farm statistics.
• USDA NASS Quick Stats - Montana crop and livestock data.

Western Ag Reporter FAQ

Where is Western Ag Reporter published?

In Billings, Montana.

How often is Western Ag Reporter published?

Weekly.

Who edits Western Ag Reporter?

Terra Ochsner is listed as editor; the editorial address is editor@westernagreporter.com.

Does Western Ag Reporter accept freelance articles?

Yes. It welcomes new writers and prefers pieces of about 800 words of interest to agricultural readers.

More than eight decades after it began, Western Ag Reporter is still a weekly, plain-spoken paper for the ranchers and farmers of Montana.