Montana Livestock Ag Credit, Inc.

Tim Gill, President

Tim has served as President and CEO of Montana Livestock Ag Credit since March of 1986. He joined Montana’s premier agricultural finance company in 1979 as a Loan Officer and worked as senior loan officer and vice president. He graduated with a B.S. in Agriculture Business from Montana State University in 1976 and began his finance career at the Montana Department of Agriculture as the Business Development Officer until leaving in 1979.

Tim grew up in central Montana agriculture, and graduated from Fergus High School in Lewistown. He remains active in the industry and his community as Director and past Chairman of the Montana Council on Economic Education, past Chairman of Montana State University College of Agriculture Development Board, and past Director of the Lewis & Clark County Fair Board.  Tim serves as a Finance Committee member, Montana Stockgrower’s Association, and as a Trustee of their Research Education Endowment Foundation as well as a Tax and Credit Committee member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.  Tim is also a Director of the publicly traded FBL Financial Group Inc. headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Tim and his wife, Carol, have three grown sons, Levi, Cody, and Chase.  Tim enjoys many pastimes that he tries to share with his family, including fishing, hunting, boating, horseback trips into the back country, photography, reading, flying and motorcycles.

Mike Sjostrom, Vice President

Mike was hired as an Associate Loan Officer by Montana Livestock Ag Credit in 1981 and has served as Vice President since 1986.  Prior to working for Montana Livestock, Mike was employed by the Farmers Home Administration.  He is a third generation Montanan, raised on a cow/calf/wheat operation near Malta in Phillips County.  Mike recently moved back to Phillips County and works out of his home office in the Malta community, covering the northeastern part of Montana. 

Mike graduated from Dodson High School in 1972 and received a Bachelor of Science in Ag Business from Montana State University in 1978.  In 1991 and 1992 Mike attended and completed the Graduate School of Agri-Finance and Banking courses in Ames, Iowa.  Mike has served on the Statewide Steering Committee for Montana Range Days since 1991 and is in charge of Publicity and Scholarships.  Mike is a member of the Montana Stockgrowers Association and Montana Farm Bureau.

Mike and his wife, Deb, have two daughters.  Mike enjoys fishing, boating, local history, attending sporting events and activities in which his daughters are involved.

Joe Von Stein, Vice President

Joe started with Montana Livestock Ag Credit as an Associate Loan Officer in December of 1999 and is currently a Vice President.  He covers the north and west central Montana area.  Joe serves as a director for the Ag Lenders Range School, Inc. and as a member of the Montana State University College of Ag Development Board.

Joe is a graduate of Cascade High School and a 1993 Range Science and Ag Business graduate of Montana State University.  Joe is a Montana native from the Cascade area where he is actively involved in the family cow/calf, small grain operation.  Previously Joe was the Reclamation Specialist for Montana Salinity Control based out of Conrad.

Joe and his wife, Shelley reside in the Helena valley where they enjoy working on their house and spending time on the family ranches.  They recently had their first child, Reed, in October of 2007.

Casey Coulter, Loan Officer

Casey is a graduate of Garfield County District High School and Montana State University receiving Ag Business and Water Resources degrees in 2004.  He was raised north of Brusett, where the family still operates a third generation cow/calf and small grains operation. 

After graduation from MSU, Casey worked as a herd manager for a registered Angus operation in Southwest Montana.  He joined Montana Livestock Ag Credit in the fall of 2006 and now covers his old stomping grounds, the southeastern part of the State.

Casey lives and spends most of his free time on a ranch in the Boulder River Valley near Helena.  When not enjoying ranching and the Boulder River Valley, he likes to fish, hunt, and hit as many working cow horse shows as possible.  

Aaron Oxarart Asst. Vice President

Aaron is a 1994 graduate of Malta High School and a 1998 Ag Business graduate of Montana State University.  Aaron came to work for Montana Livestock Ag Credit right after college as an Intern and has been an Assistant Vice President since 2006.  Aaron “Hank” grew up on a cow/calf ranch 35 miles south of Malta in Southern Phillips County, where his family roots have been since the “Homesteader” days.  Aaron covers the western and southwestern parts of the State.  Aaron enjoys getting back to the family ranch as often as possible, along with hunting, skiing, boating, golfing, and spending quality time with his family.  Aaron and his wife, Becky, have three children, Ashton, Jace, and Luke.

Ty Wells, Asst. Vice President

Ty started as an Associate Loan Officer with Montana Livestock Ag Credit in August of 2001.  Since that time he has had the opportunity to cover the Central, Northeastern, and Eastern parts of the state.  He is currently an Assistant Vice President and is handling Central, and South Central Montana. 

Ty is originally from Northeastern Wyoming where his family homesteaded on the Powder River.  He graduated from Campbell County High School in Gillette in 1995 and attended Casper College where he received an Associates of Science in Ag Business.  He then finished his bachelor’s degree in Ag Business at Montana State University. 

When he is not headed down the gravel roads for Montana Livestock, he is spending time with his longtime girlfriend, Libby, on her ranch and tending to his cows and other ranch duties in the Smith River Valley.

Mary Patzer, Operations Manager

Mary began working for Montana Livestock Ag Credit in June of 1978 working as a Clerk Typist.   Mary recently became the Operations Manager and has completed 15 years at Montana Livestock.  Mary is a graduate of Helena High School and attended Helena Vo Tech.    Mary and her husband, Kelley, have two children.  Lisa is currently doing missionary work in the Bahamas and Ryan is scheduled to graduate from Montana Tech in Civil Engineering in December.  Mary enjoys spending time with her family, whether it is snowmobiling or spending time at their cabin in Canyon Creek.

Susan Salzsieder, Corporate Treasurer

Susan came to work for MLACI in August of 2001.  She is a graduate of LaMoure High School, LaMoure, ND.  Susan received her BS in Accounting from Phillips University in Enid, OK.  Prior to coming to work for Montana Livestock Ag Credit, she was the Manager of the Accounting Department for Triangle Insurance in Enid, OK.  Triangle insured Farmers Cooperatives and cotton gins throughout Oklahoma and Texas.  Susan is responsible for all accounting functions for Montana Livestock

Both Susan and her husband, John, grew up on farms in rural North Dakota.  They have two sons, Todd of Boise, ID and Leigh and wife, Christi, of Columbia, SC , and two grandsons.  In her spare time, Susan enjoys traveling, camping and reading.

Allison Berg, Data Support Assistant

Allison graduated from Columbia Falls High School and attended Montana State University where she met her husband of 26 years.   Allison has worked at the Data Support desk for Montana Livestock Ag Credit since May of 2002.    Allison and her husband, Bob, have 2 grown children.  J.T. is attending college at MSU and Lynsey is attending Helena College of Technology.  They are enjoying the empty nest with trips on their Harley motorcycles and traveling.

Nichole Eastman, Loan Processor

Nichole just began working for Montana Livestock Ag Credit this past November. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Nichole and her husband, Nathan, had their beautiful baby girl, Lillian, in June of 2007. When they are not changing diapers and tickling tummies, Nathan and Nichole enjoy white water rafting, camping, and spending time outdoors.

Pat Smith, Corporate Pilot

Pat is a Montana native, originally from Northwest Montana.  Pat is a graduate of Lincoln County High.  He attended college in Grand Forks, North Dakota and graduated from the University of North Dakota in Aircrafts System Management with his Airline Transport Pilot’s License.  While attending college, he worked as a flight instructor for the University.  Pat has also worked as an aerial applicator.  Prior to working for Montana Livestock Ag Credit, he worked as a weather modification pilot in North Dakota, the Middle East, Greece and Turkey.    In 1994 Pat took the yoke as the Corporate Pilot for Montana Livestock, in charge of flying the Company’s Cessna 340.  Pat attends simulator training annually to maintain his proficiency for instrument flying and emergency procedures.  When not flying, Pat can be found enjoying outdoor activities including motorcycling, snowmobiling, hiking, and fishing.  Pat and his wife, Marieta, have three sons.  Michael is currently attending Montana Tech in Butte majoring in Petroleum Engineering.  J.B. is working for the Department of Transportation.  Nick is a sophomore attending Helena High School.