A light breeze rattles the leaves of quaking aspens as sisters Madison and Naomi wait on the gravel road leading to the Brist family farm near Marion.  

The sunny day is warm as they drive a utility terrain vehicle, directing visitors down the private road to Lone Lake Farm, which was established in 1918. A pastoral scene of green pastures, hay fields, weathered barns and wood fences unfolds.  

Further up the road, cattle leisurely cross to graze on the other side. Kronk, one of the family dogs, trots alongside the unfamiliar vehicle as it slows to park. Kronk joined the family farm last summer to guard the livestock from predators, and he’s a natural. 

“We used to have mountain lion troubles. I think they’ve left," Naomi said. “It’s mainly coyotes and occasionally wolves up here. But ever since we got Kronk, our guard dog, he perimeters our whole farm. It makes a big difference." 

Madison, 17, Naomi, 13, Emma, 15, and Garrett, 11, are the fifth generation to reside on the family farm, where they raise animals for 4-H and FFA livestock projects. The Daily Inter Lake followed the Brist family in the months leading up to the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo in August, offering a glimpse into the world of raising livestock. 

The Brist children introduce a multitude of sheep, goats and cattle, including a cow-calf pair, that they have been raising to show at the fair. Some of the animals will be sold at the market livestock sale.  

Four-Hers typically start out raising small livestock — rabbits, poultry, goats, sheep — working up to showing hogs and cattle. Children may begin showing beef cattle at age 10. 

Most of the Brist children have shown animals for several years (Madison a decade) and while chores become a daily routine, there is always something new to learn and hard work to put into the care of their animals. 

Encouraging them along the way are mother, Tess, and father, Rob, whose great-grandfather, Ben, homesteaded the property.   

While Rob grew up showing livestock as a 4-Her and FFA member, Tess married into farm life and raising show animals has been a learning process. She thanks her father-in-law, Glen, for all the knowledge and expertise he shared with the family before his death in a farming accident last year. Emma’s market calf, a red Angus named Muffin, was bred by Glen in addition to Naomi’s calf, Toast.  

“Last summer, watching three generations farm next to each other was ...,” Tess said, pausing. “We never knew that was our last year that would happen.”  

“The pride that Glen had was just amazing, you know, for the kids, but he loved going and watching all the kids at the fair,” she adds. “Glen was such a huge supporter of 4-H and FFA in the aspect of these kids are our future farmers." 

Rob and Tess play a supporting role in the children’s livestock projects, stepping in only for more complex aspects, primarily letting them take charge of the responsibilities of animal care by attending clinics and seeking guidance from 4-H and FFA leaders. The livestock projects teach the children responsibility and commitment, they say.  

THE SIBLINGS understand that raising livestock comes with sacrifices, such as forgoing vacations or parties, because they can’t skip the duties of caring for an animal reliant on them. They do help each other out when needed. 

On an average day, the Brist children are awake by 5:30 a.m. to start chores — feeding, milking and tending to any other needs — finishing by 7 a.m. before heading to school, where some of them also participate in sports and theater. After school, they repeat the routine at 7 p.m.  

During summer break, they spend more time working with, bathing and grooming the animals in preparation for fair week. Feeding will increase to three times a day for the goats and the market lambs. 

This year was particularly busy as the Brists decided to breed their sheep (in addition to goats) rather than buy lambs to save on costs. The children also help harvest hay to provide feed for the livestock through the winter.  

“You can definitely purchase something for about $400 to $500 but some of the really good show lambs are well over $1,000,” Tess said. "We do get really good prices for lambs at our fair, but you might only come out a couple hundred dollars a head by the time you spend [money on grain].”  

Lambing season in January and February brought eight lambs to the farm. Spring break was spent helping the goats deliver 19 kids.  

“It was either waking up really early to have baby goats or staying up really late with baby goats,” Naomi said.   

At this year’s fair, Madison showed a cow-calf pair Maple and Rosie. Maple was bought from the Northern International Livestock Exposition stock show a few years ago. 

“Maddie showed Maple at the fair and she won grand champion heifer and she’s a foodie. She’s on the chunkier side,” Naomi said with a grin, but also noted, “She had her calf all by herself.” 

SIZE AND build are important when selecting breeding stock. The Brists want to give their animals any possible advantage when giving birth, which may prove difficult for some. 

When choosing livestock to breed Madison and Naomi said they primarily look at body structure, health and disposition. 

“Can she carry a baby healthily and happily? Does she have the rib structure to hold a baby and be able to feed herself?” said Madison, who bred a red Angus cross named Biscuit that Garrett planned to show and sell at the livestock sale 

Emma and Naomi also have breeding projects. If everything goes to plan, their heifers will calve next year.  

An easy birth cannot be guaranteed. Sometimes it’s not known that an animal isn’t suited for pregnancy until after delivery. The family recalled having to call friends to help deliver a 90-pound calf, which Madison said was hard on the heifer. The average calf should be about 60 to 70 pounds. 

Even if an animal successfully gives birth, there is no guarantee that all the babies will survive, even with intervention. The children shared a time they brought an infant lamb from a set of triplets, indoors, to bottle-feed when they noticed it wasn’t nursing from its mother. But despite the extra care, the lamb died.  

But for the bottle-fed babies that survive, it is a special experience, Emma explained while introducing her show goat Simone. At the same time, Sapphire, her 4-month-old bottle-fed baby, bounds over, hooves clacking on the worn wood floor. 

“So, with the bottle-fed baby, as you can tell, they’re always in your back pocket,” she said, while Sapphire nuzzled her and Simone in an appeal for treats and attention. “They’re way friendlier, way, way, way friendlier and just love people.” 

Bottle-fed babies associate people with food, so it doesn’t take long at all to get them used to handling, while non-bottle-fed kids have to learn that people aren’t a danger.  

Naomi likened Sapphire to a dog.  

“She follows us around. She cries when she sees us, and she wags her tail when she sees us,” she said. 

When choosing market livestock to show, the Brists look at visual appeal and body structure from the perspective of where they hold weight and their potential to put on weight. They look at whether the animal will be able to gain muscle and fat in the right places to fetch the best price at market.  

A calm disposition is also important because the animals will be shown before being sold. 

EACH BRINGING a seer from the pens, Madison, Naomi, Emma and Garrett demonstrate how they train the animals for the show ring. 

First, they switched out nylon halters with heavier chain ones. Even a minor detail, such as switching to halters, is something the animals need time getting used to.  

“The chain, it’s got more bite to it than the nylon, and they learn to respect it more, and it just helps you keep control of your animal in the show ring, and it keeps their head up so they’ve got more of a nice view for the judge,” Madison said. 

Maintaining control is important when handling the stout steers, which, at their first weigh-in, come in at up to 900 pounds. Each day, they’ll be fed enough to gain more than 2 pounds to near the maximum weight of 1,500 pounds by fair week. 

Leading the steers to an open field, the four siblings begin the process of lining up the animals. It’s the first time they have practiced with their steers together.  

Using both the halter and show sticks, the youths signal to their animals where and how to position themselves. They use the show sticks to apply gentle pressure below the dewclaws to set the feet in the preferred, slightly offset stance.  

They also use the show sticks to steadily scratch the calf’s belly (or brisket), which calms the animals, Garrett said.  

As the children guided the steers around, their mother watched from afar, acting as the judge. 

A BOND is forged through working regularly with the animals, Tess said, and is a wonderful thing in that the children learn to pick up on signs of an animal’s health and well-being during daily feedings. 

Some of the animals the sisters have raised have been shown at multiple fairs, deepening that bond further. Madison has won with her goat Chamomile a few times. Naomi’s goat Sparkles, who is 7 years old but still going strong as one of the farm’s milk producers, has retired from the show ring.  

Having just provided a milking demonstration, the sisters sit around each other on wooden goat milking stands, discussing how bonding with the animals helps to understand their unique personalities, which informs how to handle the animals.  

“I've always thought of animals like people,” Madison said. “If you have a line of just sheep, each of them has a different personality. Like they all are not just copy, paste, copy, paste, copy, paste. That one's really nice. That one's really bossy. That one's really funny. That one doesn't have a brain.” 

Seated beside her, Naomi started to chuckle. Madison’s description brought to mind an earlier story Naomi shared about the idiosyncrasies of her sister’s calf, Bagel.  

“We’ve got pictures of him where he’s cross-eyed, but he’s sweet. And yesterday, he was kind of eating his grain peacefully, and grandma’s dog came up and barked at him, and he just spit out his grain really fast, and we started laughing,” Naomi said. 

Reflecting on raising animals and lessons learned, Emma said the experience has taught her patience, dedication and perseverance.   

“Sometimes you have to push through when you’re having a tough day, but the animals need [to be] fed so you have to go and feed them,” she said.  

Raising animals is a privilege that not everyone has, Emma added, recalling her realization in kindergarten that not everyone lived on a farm.  

“It gives you love for animals," Emma said, while scratching the head of a goat nudging her hand.  

"Even though the animal might be kind of rude or kind of bossy, you still have that deep affection for the animal,” she adds. “I just find that a good life lesson. “Even though a person might seem rude deep down there’s that sweetness there.” 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].

  

 Madison, Naomi, Garrett and Emma Brist lead their steers back to their pens on the family's farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

  

 Emma Brist milks one of the family's goats on their farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    Naomi Brist washes and dries the legs of one of the family's sheep on their farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
  

   Garrett Brist demonstrates showing his steer on the family's farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    Naomi Brist milks one of the family's goats on their farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 

    Kronk, the Brist family's Anatolian Shepherd Dog, trots across the farm on Tuesday, June 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    Emma Brist demonstrates showing her steer on the family's farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)  

   Naomi Brist demonstrates showing her steer on the family's farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)  

    Madison Brist demonstrates showing her steer on the family's farm near Marion on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)

    Kronk, the Brist family's Anatolian Shepherd Dog, on the farm on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)