Karl Ohs
| Karl Ohs | |
|---|---|
| 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Montana | |
|
In office January 1, 2001 – January 3, 2005 |
|
| Governor | Judy Martz |
| Preceded by | Judy Martz |
| Succeeded by | John Bohlinger |
| Member of the Montana House of Representatives | |
|
In office 1995 1997 1999 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 18, 1946 Malta, Montana, U.S. |
| Died | November 25, 2007 (aged 61) Helena, Montana, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
Karl Ohs (November 18, 1946 – November 25, 2007) was the 28th Lieutenant Governor of the state of Montana serving under Judy Martz.
Karl Ohs was born in Malta, Montana and was a Montana rancher and farmer before entering politics. He attended Montana State College (Later Montana State University) where he wrestled for the Fighting Bobcats and was a two time Big Sky Conference Champion. In 1969, Ohs left his studies in agricultural economics at Montana State University to help the family move to a new ranch in Pony, Montana in a Tobacco Root Mountain valley outside Harrison in Madison County. Ohs was only a few credits short of graduation when he left Montana State.
He stayed on to work the family ranch with his father and his brother, Jerry, and raised his four children, Brad, Eric, Brian and Elizabeth. While serving as Lieutenant Governor, Karl returned to MSU and completed his Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business in 2004. Accepting his diploma and giving the commencement speech, Ohs said, "I promised myself I would be back, but I never thought it would be 40 years."
Ohs political involvement was sparked when he attended Willie Nelson's Farm Aid conference in St. Louis in September 1986. Carrying the vital spirit sparked by meeting with farmers and ranchers from all over the United States, Ohs returned home and began searching for ways and means of increasing economic options for Montana agriculture. In 1988, Ohs and nine other Montana ranchers and farmers formed MAGPI, Montana Agricultural Producers, Inc. Ohs served as Chairman of MAGPI, leading the company's exploration of alternative products and alternative markets.
For MAGPI, alternative crops had to be accompanied by alternative markets. "No sense in growing it if you can't sell it and make a profit," Ohs often said. In 1989 and 1990, Ohs traveled throughout Montana, educating and encouraging farmers to consider canola as a contract crop, much as they did for barley. MAGPI also promoted production of weed seed-free hay, participating in programs to require only weed seed-free hay on US Forest Service and State owned lands: "It's win-win all they [sic?] way around: we need to get after our noxious weeds here in Montana and we need to find crops farmers can grow that have a market."
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