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.

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.  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 shares 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.

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 out of college as an Intern and has been an Assistant Vice President since 2006.  Aaron “Hank” grew up on a cow/calf ranch 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 and also enjoys spending quality time with his wife and three children.

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 and is currently the Operations Manager/Corporate Secretary. She is a graduate of Helena High School and attended Helena Vo Tech.    Mary and her husband, Kelley, have two children.  Lisa returned to Montana in December, after completing three years of missionary work in the Bahamas. Ryan recently graduated Montana Tech in Civil Engineering.  Mary enjoys spending time with her family, whether it is snowmobiling, four-wheeling or just spending time at their cabin in Canyon Creek.

Rhonda Ronan, Bookkeeper

Rhonda was born and raised in Lander, Wyoming. She received her B.S. in Accounting from Montana State University in 1995. Rhonda and her husband, Bob, have two children. Anaka is 10 and Luc is 7. As a family, they enjoy camping, bicyclying, movies and their Boston Terrier, Derby.

Allison Berg, Data Support Assistant

Allison graduated from Columbia Falls High School and attended Montana State University where she met her husband of 28 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 living and working in Helena and Lynsey is attending Missoula College of Technology.  They are enjoying the empty nest with trips on their Harley motorcycles and traveling.

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.