The Billings Chamber of Commerce announces that Jess Peterson of Western Skies Strategies, has been selected as the Billings Chamber 2024 recipient of the Award for Agriculture Excellence, presented by Stockman Bank. 

The award recognizes an individual, business or organization that has made outstanding contributions to the Billings agricultural community with a nod to their demonstrated excellence in their involvement in agriculture, leadership ability, and participation in civic, service and community organizations. The recipient is nominated by their peers and selected by the Billings Chamber Ag Committee and Board of Directors.

Peterson bridges the gap between urban and rural daily, as he conducts business in the greater Billings area and sometimes via horseback, sharing real-life insights and education about agriculture. As such he is the epitome of this award which recognizes an individual, business or organization that has made outstanding contributions to the Billings agricultural community with a nod to their demonstrated excellence in their involvement in agriculture, leadership ability, and participation in civic, service and community organizations. He will be honored at the 2025 Ag Celebration Banquet on January 31.

 “Jess does an excellent job of allowing downtown Billings to be better educated about rural Montana,” shares his nominator. “He lives and breathes agriculture daily as evidenced in his involvement with the Billings Chamber, our community, and the entire region of Southeastern Montana, while simultaneously running his lobbying company of Western Skies Strategies with his cow-calf operation.”

Peterson convened area auction company owners, cattle traders, cattle futures brokers, and businesspeople when the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission came to Billings. His involvement and relationships with producers in Carbon and Stillwater Counties helped the Billings Chamber lead a successful flood tour in 2022. Prior to the flood tour response, Peterson was a catalyst of the fire relief efforts held in Billings and Forsyth for our neighbors in Rosebud County.

This passionate, energetic and humble ag industry advocate gives back through mentorship of the next generations in agriculture, infusing agriculture onto the Billings Chamber Board of Directors, and reminding business owners in Montana’s City of the importance of agriculture on a regular basis.