Montana State's Steer-A-Year Seeks Donations for This Year's Program
Author: Montana State University News Service
Article Published: 09/25/2026 Volume: 5 Edition: 12Montana State University News Service
The Steer-A-Year program in Montana State University’s College of Agriculture will return for the 2026-27 academic year and is seeking donations of young cattle and feed.
Housed in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, Steer-A-Year teaches students about the many aspects of raising cattle through a hands-on academic approach, while supplying locally raised beef to campus dining halls.
Students spend the year taking care of the calves, including feeding, performing health checks, and managing steers, along with collecting data on feed efficiency and weight gain while studying livestock marketing. “For students, getting hands-on learning opportunities is huge,” said program adviser Hannah DelCurto-Wyffels.
Steer-A-Year accepts financial support or donations of steers, feed, and other supplies. Donated steers are housed at the Bozeman Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm, and at the end of the academic year, the cattle are sold to MSU Culinary Services. The meat is served in both of MSU’s award-winning dining halls, Miller and Rendezvous, helping fulfill the university’s commitment to using as many local ingredients as possible. Last year, Culinary Services purchased all 29 steers raised by Steer-A-Year students.
Proceeds from sales go directly toward student activities, such as support of travel and other costs for student teams and clubs in the College of Agriculture. Steer-A-Year students also meet with commodity groups and industry professionals, allowing for additional networking and learning opportunities.
Annual awards are presented to the producer who donated the best initial feeder steer, as judged by the MSU livestock judging team: the steer with the top rate of gain, the steer with the best feed efficiency, and the steer that produces the best carcass.
The benefits of the program are multi-faceted, supporting not only students, but the producers and community as well, said Delcurto-Wyffels. Cattle are fed using MSU’s Vytelle GrowSafe system, which provides producers with information about individual feed intake.
Contact: Hannah DelCurto-Wyffels, Steer-A-Year program adviser: hannah.delcurto@montana.edu or 406-994-3752
