About
If one were to crack open a dictionary or Google synonyms for Montana, Rachel Prevost ‘20 might just come up. She embodies the core of the 406, leading with hands-on hard work, elevating the smallest of communities, and highlighting the true value of the Treasure State — its people.
She was born and raised alongside her three siblings on a farm and ranch in Lambert, Montana. She noted there’s beauty in the routine tasks that come with living off the land like taking care of livestock or hauling hay, which she helped her family with often.
“Growing up on a farm or ranch is such a privilege and to have that experience of spending time working with your family and having the chance to work with livestock and being part of agriculture is very rewarding in so many ways,” said Prevost.
As a youth, she was deeply engaged in 4H for 10 years. She showed livestock at the county fair with the Market Lamb Program and the Market Beef Program. She looks back fondly on the experience in 4-H as it exposed her to a wide range of skills like public speaking, crochet, quilting, cake decorating, and more.
She graduated from Lambert Public High School in 2016 with 14 other students. Prevost’s father, Charles Prevost, attended Carroll, and this helped influence her decision to enroll.
“Even as a tiny kid, I thought yeah I think that’s where I want to go to college,” stated Prevost. “...I really liked that Carroll had the small class sizes and that seemed like a really good fit. Coming from a smaller town, Carroll felt big to me.”
She picked Communication as her major during her first year but ended up adding on two more majors in Political Science and Public Relations. She was the design editor for the student-run Prospector Newspaper for a few years. She noted that she found invaluable guidance during her time at Carroll.
“Brent Northup has been a really important mentor in my life along with Charlotte Jones as well. I would say the same about Alan Hansen and Doreen Kutufam. I think that whole department has been great,” said Prevost about Carroll’s Communication Department. She also mentioned professors in the Political Science Department, “And I can’t forget Dr. [Alex] Street and Dr. [Jeremy] Johnson, too.”
Upon graduating, Prevost worked in the 2020 campaign cycle in Montana. After that, she began working for Montana Farmers Union (MFU) as the grassroots organization’s lobbyist.
“I’ve always felt very strongly about the importance of rural communities and really strongly about the critical role family farms play in the economic picture of our state,” she noted.
From there, Prevost moved into the role of Government Affairs and Member Services Director. On the Government Affairs side, she would track legislation, bring policy proposals forward, and testify on proposals as they arose. She’s worked on bills for the agricultural right to repair, advocating that farmers have the necessary tools and software to make their own repairs. She said MFU helped lobby Congress and our state legislature in the past for mandatory country of origin labeling on pork and beef, which were just about the only two items that didn’t have a mandatory country of origin labeling requirement. She stated that country of origin labeling is an issue that MFU members believe strongly in because it's critical for consumers to make informed choices on what products they want to buy and have confidence in knowing where it came from.
“American ranchers deserve credit for the high quality product they’re raising, and it should be labeled as such,” said Prevost.
On the Member Services Director side of the role, Prevost supervised MFU’s team ambassadors who are part-time employees who work remotely in rural Montana communities to coordinate membership programming and educational opportunities, while keeping the membership directly connected to MFU leadership.
She described the sense of community within MFU as “huge,” noting that membership connects farmers and ranchers to a statewide network of other family farmers and ranchers who care about shaping the future of agriculture and ensuring their voices are heard at both the state and national levels.The symbol of the Montana Farmers Union is a triangle to highlight the three pillars it is founded on, which are cooperation, education, and legislation.
Prevost highlighted that MFU is a huge proponent and supporter of producer-owned co-ops. MFU has started two meat processing, rancher-owned co-ops currently operating in the state over the last few years.
“Rural communities have experienced hollowing out,” she said. “This has been ongoing due to a myriad of reasons. We have seen businesses closing in small towns related to corporate consolidation. We’re losing small businesses in small towns. We see monopoly control of our food supply chain, which has an immense impact on access to Montana food in rural communities. So we’re strong advocates for local food system resiliency.”
Prevost noted that the past year has been difficult for a lot of family farms and ranches, not just in Montana. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contained a lot of funding for voluntary conservation programs, which has been frozen. This funding was critical for a lot of farmers and ranchers who were trying to do more innovative things like making investments based on climate smart practices. She stated that MFU supports Congressional oversight of tariffs because “Montana farmers and ranchers deserve certainty to operate under.”
As of October 21, Prevost has been named the Executive Director of Montana Farmers Union.
“Rachel has become an integral part of the Farmers Union family,” MFU President Walter Schweitzer said. “Her dedication and creativity have been inspiring, and I look forward to working alongside her as she takes Montana Farmers Union to its next level.”
An achievement in her personal life is that she ran three half marathons this year. She noted that the distance from her parents farm and ranch to her high school was about 12 miles, so when she looks at it that way, she feels very proud.
“I hope that [in five years], I still see myself in a role advocating for family farmers and ranchers or working in a role that has a positive impact for rural communities,” said Prevost. “... I want to really encourage the next generation to work hard at viewing technology as a tool and not just a fixture of life, really leaning back into in-person, community connection. We need to encourage people to be a part of things, to get involved.”