Study looks at Hutterite impact on state economy, jobs

Montana's Hutterite communities contribute more than $365 million in annual spending for the state and 2,200 year-round jobs, according to what is being touted as a first-of-its-kind study by the University of Montana and Montana State University.

“Our basic finding is that the presence of the 81 farming operations owned and operated by the 38 Lehrerleut communities examined in this study support production, employment and income in the Montana economy that is significant in size and scope,” the authors wrote.

They said the relationships between their agricultural and other operations and the rest of the state economy leads to jobs and income in non-Hutterite and nonagricultural sectors, “resulting in a larger economic pie for all Montanans to share. “

The study, which looks at links between Hutterite businesses and Montana’s economy, found that more than 80% of the Hutterite production is from grain, hogs and eggs, with grain making up 39% of that, 29% is from hogs and eggs making up 13%, research officials said.

"It’s a great study, I think," said David Wipf, an elder with the Hutterite Miller Colony north of Choteau. He said it certainly did not overemphasize what Hutterites are doing as not every colony was involved.

The report was by UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, MSU Extension, MSU Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics and the MSU College of Agriculture and was released Tuesday. It focused on the Hutterite’s Lehrerleut branch.

The study was commissioned by the Great Falls law firm of Church, Harris, Johnson and Williams and the accounting firm of  Anderson ZurMuehlen.

“We saw the need to obtain an objective understanding and quantification of the Hutterite communities’ economic contributions to their communities and the state,” Ron Nelson of the law firm said in a news release. 

The report notes their desire to shun public attention and their self-sufficiency have contributed to low levels of awareness among Montanans.

The 35-page report said its basic finding that the farming operations by the Lehrerleut communities, of which there are 4,318 members, “support production, employment and income in the Montana economy that is significant in size and scope.”

It also noted there are links with non-Hutterite agricultural and non-agriculture sectors that result “in a larger economic pie for all Montanans to share.”

“The study highlights the importance of the Hutterite Communities in diversifying Montana’s agricultural production,” George Haynes, an MSU professor of agricultural economics, said in a news release. “They implement cutting-edge technologies to help promote efficiency and reduce labor requirements in their operations, allowing them to venture into underdeveloped markets in the state.”

More than 1,600 of the 2,200 jobs which owe their existence to Hutterite communities are in a 10-county part of Montana north and east of Great Falls, the study said. Most of the jobs are in farming and farm support, construction, retail trade, health care and social assistance and food services.

Hutterites have had an “important presence” in Montana for more than 100 years, researchers said, adding there are more than 5,000 members in Montana with the Lehrerleuts and Darisuleuts as the two prominent branches. Only South Dakota has more members. 

The study notes the Hutterites came from Europe in the 1870s to escape religious persecution. They originally settled in South Dakota, which remains their largest concentration in the United States. The largest home is Alberta and nearly 75% of Hutterities live in Canada.

Hutterites.org says they have a common ancestry with the Anabaptists, the Mennonites and Amish

In June, Bob Sivertsen, a former state lawmaker from the Hi-Line, had a meeting Havre to discuss a boycott of Hutterite farm products, saying the Hutterite communal lifestyle and religious exemptions gives them unfair advantages over the average non-communal farmer, the Havre Herald reported.

Officials from the Montana Department of Revenue, told the Herald the Hutterites, like all farmers, pay taxes on property such as movable equipment and on livestock.

A review by the Herald found that local Hutterite colonies are among the biggest real property taxpayers on the Hi-Line.

The study released Tuesday noted that Hutterites pay “substantial personal and real property taxes” and are subject to state and federal income taxes. It also noted the Lehrerleut communities build big improvements that bring large tax revenues, which the report said would otherwise not be realized in rural areas.

"We try to be good neighbors and try to help out with food banks, as much as we can," Wipf said.

Also, the study looked at age. It said of the Luhrerleut's 4,318 members were somewhat younger than the overall population of the state. It said 57% were 19 to 64 years old, 33% were less than 19 and 17% are at least 65. The study noted 23% of the state's population was less than 19, 60% are 19 to 64 and 17% are at least 65.

Reporter Phil Drake is our eye on the state capitol. For tips, suggestions or comment, he can be reached at 406-231-9021 or pdrake@greatfallstribune.com. To support his work, subscribe today and get a special offer.

See for yourself

Read the Bureau of Business and Economic Research report on the Hutterites at http://bit.ly/34Hlzv3