Seedstock Beef Winter - 2019

Winter 2019

Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 1

MONTANA A Publication of the Yellowstone Newspaper Group

Seedstock Beef 2019 • First Edition

2018 Ag Year in Review: Pg. 12 Scholarships for Future Agriculturalists: Pg. 6

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

2 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

Annual Production Sale

MONDAY, FEBRUARY

25, 2019

1:00 PM • BEAVERHEAD LIVESTOCK AUCTION DILLON, MONTANA Sires Represented:

McConnell Altitude, Epic, Styles Cash R400, Rampage, Baldridge Colonel, Circle L Gus

AnGUS with Altitude

Selling...

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PAP

+7 +.7 +71 +119 +.38 +.50 +78.29 +145.31 39

Reg:17993084 Co-Owned with Bobcat Angus.

CED +12

BW WW YW MK MB RE $W $B PAP -1.3 +64 +104 +24 +.16 +.73 +73.92 +161.43 38

#19148663 • 2-2-18

Selling 20 Sons!

Circle L Gus 771F CE BW WW

YW

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PAP

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BW WW YW

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PAP

+5 +1.7 +79 +131 +.49 +.78 +75.54 +183.42 49

+10 -.5 +61 +104 +.28 +.57 +77.84 +156.40 36

#19167134 • 1-23-18

#19168178 • 1-22-18

#19258251 • 1-30-18

Circle L Payweight 753F CE BW WW

+9

YW

MB REA

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$B

-.7 +66 +108 +.70 +.34 +76.37 +143.02

Hand-Selected Heifers!

Circle L Altitude 717F CE BW WW

YW

MB REA

$W

$B

PAP

+2 +1.0 +64 +107 +.42 +0 +56.86 +108.38 39

Circle L Epic 713F CE

BW WW

YW

MB REA

$W

$B

PAP

+12 +.3 +74 +122 +.37 +.58 +72.14 156.43 41

CORY & KARI LAMEY 62211 Hwy. 43 Wise River, MT 59762 circlelangus@yahoo.com 406-832-3535 406-491-7363

#19167160 • 2-11-18

Circle L Blackbird 833F CE BW WW

YW

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+6 +2.4 +70 +116 +.71 +.40 +71.67 +150.50

#19148644 • 1-23-18

Circle L Royal Lass 716F CE

BW WW YW

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PAP

+14 -2.3 +54 +90 +.30 +.62 +52.94 +122.24 38

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Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 3

4 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

YOUR BOOTS ON THE HILL:

Opening the 2019 Montana Legislative Session

By Chelcie Cargill, Montana Farm Bureau Federation

The 66th Montana Legislature convened Monday, Jan.7 in Helena. While the session is still in its infancy, committees are beginning to meet and legislators are introducing their first bills of the term.

We’ve hit the ground running.

If you read our last column, you’re already familiar with these important Legislative committees. This is where issues surface and begin the legislative process. Here are some key agriculture issues that were introduced in committee this week.

House Bill 63: Remove sunset date to extend financial liability for pesticide applicators Sponsored by Rep. Ray Shaw (R) HD-71 / Sheridan. Heard in House Agriculture Committee, Thursday, Jan. 10.

This bill removes the sunset date in current law that gives rule-making authority for financial responsibility requirements of commercial pesticide applicators to the Department of Agriculture.

The sunset was put in place during the 2017 Legislative Session to encourage the Department and stakeholders to find a new, acceptable solution for all involved parties before that deadline.

The current financial responsibility required by the Department in rule is incredibly outdated, requiring a $500 and $1500 bond for ground and aerial applicators, respectively. Montana Farm Bureau members’ policy supports requiring liability insurance in lieu of a bond, so we supported the bill under the condition that the final rule

Join us...Bulls

implemented by the Department replaces the bond requirement with a liability insurance requirement. MFBF has provided ample input to the Department of Agriculture on our position throughout the new rule making process.

The rules proposed by the Department last month did make this revision, but required a $500 deductible for the liability insurance.

We raised our concern that the $500 deductible would make the insurance policies either outrageously expensive or nonexistent. The Department received our concern and plans to address it in the final rule they propose.

House Bill 43: Issuance of Free Elk Hunting Licenses and Permits to Landowners who offer free public elk hunting.

House Bill 104: Providing necessary license prerequisites for free to Landowners who receive a free combination license for cooperating in the Hunter Management Program.

Sponsored by Rep. Denley Loge (R) HD-14/St. Regis. Heard in House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee, Thursday, January 10.

Have you heard the term “use a carrot, not a stick” before? These bills are both about providing landowners with the “whole carrot” to incentivize public access for hunting, providing benefits to farmers, ranchers, and sportsmen alike. Our policy supports voluntary, incentive based initiatives with regard to hunter access and providing hunting licenses to landowners, so we were able to support both bills.

HB 43 will provide landowners who allow free public elk hunting

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with an either-sex or antlerless elk license and permit. Landowners will be granted one tag for every four public hunters they allow to hunt on their property and specifics will be outlined in a voluntary, contractual agreement with the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The landowner can give the tag to an immediate relative or employee, should he or she choose. Hunters will be selected through a random drawing of people who already hold the relevant tag in the corresponding hunting district.

HB 104 is a very simple, clean up type bill and was supported by agriculture and wildlife groups, alike. Under current law, a landowner who participates in the block management program is given combination sports license, free of charge. This provides a little extra incentive for landowners to participate in Block Management, a program which is very popular amongst sportsmen. This bill simply adds the inclusion of “necessary prerequisites” which are 1) the base hunting license, 2) an aquatic invasive species prevention pass and 3) a wildlife conservation license to make the package complete. Not including these prerequisites the first time was probably an oversight and adding them to current law is an appropriate step at this time.

As always, you can get more details on any bill we mention in this column by visiting www.leg.mt.gov/, then navigate to the LAWS database and do a search by bill number.

We’re here every day throughout the session, lobbying on our members’ behalf. Still, we hear consistently from legislators: YOUR voices matter the most in their decision making.

This process is important. Montana Farm Bureau has three opportunities for our members to get involved. These events include training on the legislative process, face time with your elected offi-

Moving forward.

Giving back.

Our mission is to support agriculture with reliable, consistent credit. As a cooperative, our members benefit through patronage dividends and our support of rural communities.

A century of helping Northwest producers has positioned us well to embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead. And we’ll continue moving forward and giving back for another 100 years.

800.743.2125 | northwestfcs.com

Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 5 cials and agencies, and time to take in and participate in committee hearings. Take a day or two away from the farm or ranch to join us in Helena: • Jan. 31-Feb. 1 — Young Farmer and Rancher Calling on the Capitol: open to all YF&R members.

• Feb. 12-13 — Council of Presidents: open to all county Farm Bureau presidents.

• Feb. 27-28 — Counties Calling on the Capitol: open to all Montana Farm Bureau members.

Visit www.mfbf.org for more information. In the meantime, we’re here to be our members’ resource, and our priority is to connect you and your grassroots policies to the lawmakers who impact our livelihoods. Call or email any time to learn more.

Chelcie Cargill is a lobbyist for the Montana Farm Bureau Federation.

She’s a rancher and an expert in policy development and implementation, and serves as MFBF’s program coordinator for its ACE Leadership and Advocacy training program. Chelcie can be contacted at (406) 9302299 or chelciec@mfbf.org.

Nicole Rolf is the Director of National Affairs and a rancher from Miles City, Montana. Nicole works closely and expertly with our Congressional delegation on national issues affecting Montana agriculture.

She also works as the Eastern Montana Regional Manager. Nicole can be contacted at (406) 951-2429 or nicoler@mfbf.org.

Liv Stavick is the Director of State Affairs for Montana Farm Bureau Federation. She also coordinates the MFBF Farm & Trade Committee, the Resource Management, Environment and Technology Committee and is the Treasurer for the Farm Bureau PAC. Liv can be contacted at (406) 581-3996 or livs@mfbf.org. The Montana Farm Bureau Federation is a non-partisan, non-profit, grassroots organization that represents 22,000 member families in Montana.

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6 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

Scholarships Offered to Future Agriculturalists Now accepting applications for scholarships for the 2019-2020 academic year, the NILE Foundation expects to award over $30,000 to youth.

For almost 30 years, the NILE (Northern International Livestock Exposition) has awarded scholarships to deserving FFA and 4-H students. The criteria being that applicants have been actively involved in their communities, leaders in their respective programs, excelled in the classroom, and participated in NILE events.

"Promoting the future of agriculture through the support of youth via scholarships is a long-standing tradition of NILE." says Jennifer Boka, General Manager of the NILE. "Educating today's youth to be tomorrows ag proponents is crucial to the entire world and we at the NILE are proud to support and embrace the future of agriculture."

Each year the NILE touches the lives of nearly 10,000 youth and provides over $55,000 in cash and live animal scholarships. Major highlights of NILE Youth Programs are the NILE Merit Heifer Program, 4th Grade Ag Education, Jr. Fed Livestock Show, Scholarship Program, and Internship Program. Live Animal scholarships are donations of heifers to kids in the Merit Heifer Program.

The NILE Foundation was established in 2009 as a supporting arm of the NILE organization, which is dedicated to the promotion of livestock, agriculture education, and respect for the western culture. It is funded through generous donations and the annual fundraiser, Stetsons and Stilettos. This year the theme is Kentucky Derby and held Saturday, May 4th.

Scholarship applications and guidelines can be found at www. thenile.org, or by contacting the NILE Office at (406) 256-2495.

Applications must be submitted to the NILE Office by March 1, 2018 by 4 p.m. (postmarked March 1st will not be accepted). Applications incomplete or late will not be considered. Scholarships will be awarded and announced in early April 2019. Similar to previous years, the NILE Scholarship Committee will be awarding five levels of scholarships: • High School One Time Scholarship - Awarded to high school seniors that meet the qualifications listed in the guidelines.

• Secondary One Time Scholarship - Offered will also be a one-time grant, for students already enrolled in College or a Vo-Tech school meeting the qualifications.

• Shining Star: All qualified applicants are eligible. This scholarship is for an applicant that stands out in the crowd.

• Needle In The Haystack – This scholarship will be awarded to any NILE scholarship applicant if they attend Stetsons & Stilettos in May 2019. The winner will be randomly drawn that night.

• Rolling Scholarship - The rolling scholarships will be offered to a select group of High School Seniors who will have the opportunity to renew the scholarship yearly, up to four years of their secondary education. Recipients of rolling scholarships will be chosen from the pool of applicants that are current seniors in High School.

Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 7

Early winter snowfall hit or miss across the treasure state Source: NRCS Press Release

After last winter’s record-setting snowfall, the mountains across the state of Montana have received sporadic snowfall so far this year, leaving some river basins near normal for snowpack, while others are below normal on January 1. Early season snowfall has favored regions along the Continental Divide in western and south-central Montana so far this winter, and this is where the highest snowpack percentages can be found.

“What’s been unique about this winter so far is that the snowpack in these regions would be below normal for this date if it weren’t for the storm that dropped significant totals during the last week of October into early November,” said Lucas Zukiewicz, hydrologist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“Many areas that were overlooked by the early November weather remain below normal for snowpack at this time, except for some regions of western Montana along the Idaho border which received heavy snowfall during the latter half of December.”

The month of December was also well above average across the state with regards to temperatures, aside from a cold arctic air during the first week of the month. Monthly temperature departures were 3-7 degrees above average in northwest and north-central Montana and 1-3 degrees above average in southwest and south-central Montana.

“After a long and hard winter of shoveling and shivering last year, it’s been a mild winter so far this year,” Zukiewicz said.

“While that’s nice in some ways, it’s the cold snowy weather during winter and spring that assures our water supply when it warms

up in the summer.”

Long-term weather forecasts by the National Weather Service combine the effects of long-term trends, soil moisture, and, when appropriate, ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation). “Forecasts issued for the month of January aren’t painting a pretty picture of things to come and are calling for above average temperatures and below average precipitation,” he said.

Currently ENSO-neutral conditions are present, but El Nino is expected to form and continue through the Northern Hemisphere during winter of 2018/2019 (~90% chance) and through spring (~60% chance). “It should be noted that a single climate index to predict future snowfall before runoff isn’t always the best idea, as other climate conditions such as the Artic Oscillation can impact week to week weather patterns,” Zukiewicz said. “That being said, it would still be wise to keep this in mind as we get further into winter, as it will certainly play some role in the weather patterns over the coming months.”

Reservoir storage across the state is above average in many basins due to abundant runoff last spring and summer. Zukiewicz said this could prove to be important should the weather take a turn to the dry and warm side through the rest of winter. The NRCS Montana Snow Survey will issue its next Snowpack and Water Supply Outlook on February 1.

Monthly Water Supply Outlook Reports can be found at the website below after the fifth business day of the month: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/mt/snow/waterproducts/basin/

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8 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

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S A V THUNDERBIRD 9061 # RL 9061 BIRDIE 3102 RL 0145 IMAGE 102 # Marb

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92.25 151.06

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28.55

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Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 9

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Dominating muscle, dimension, growth and stature Outlier genetics for maximum performance Heaviest weaning weight bull in Stevenson Angus 70+ year history Ranks at the top for the calving ease, growth and $value EPD spread Top production cow family with his dam posting 4 NR 108, 2 YR 107, 6 IMF 111 and 6 RE 107.

Next two dams record 5 NR 110 and 9 NR 107.

• BIG LEAGUE demand, one of the hottest bulls in the industry today.

JINDRA 3RD DIMENSION JINDRA ACCLAIM JINDRA BLACKBIRD LASSY 1111

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S A V THUNDERBIRD 9061 # RL 9061 BIRDIE 3102 RL 0145 IMAGE 102 # Marb

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• Multi-trait leader for calving ease and performance.

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10 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 11

Reproduction and Nutrition Join Forces Agri-Best Feeds is pleased to announce that Dwain Hould has joined their team as their Outside Sales Cattle Specialist.

Dwain has over 40 years of experience in the beef industry and is an expert in beef cattle genetics. He has worked directly in the semen business for both Genex Beef and Alta Genetics. He was the area marketing manager for 14 years, overseeing all of the beef semen sales for Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin through a team of 40+ sales representatives.

Over his years of studying and understanding genetics, custom AI service, supporting his sales team, and working with cattlemen across the country, he has seen the need and stands firm on the need for good nutrition to support good reproduction. To him, getting cattle bred and calves on the ground is of utmost importance in beef production. Dwain says, “With my background in repro, SweetPro is the right product to get your cattle bred. I have never seen a product work better than SweetPro.” Agri-Best Feeds has established itself as an industry leader in cattle nutrition through products that are uniquely better. AgriBest Feeds’ flagship product, SweetPro, is a different approach to supplementation. SweetPro is a complete supplement that contains the vitamin and minerals (about 50% chelated) that cattle require on a distiller grain (both DDGS and CDS) carrier, instead of the common molasses carrier of most other supplements.

On top of that, all SweetPro products come standard with their powerful digestive aid, ProBiotein (fermented wheat, oats, barley, and flax) that helps cattle get up to 25% more digestible nutrients out of every bite of forage, resulting in cattle performing better on LESS forage – True Feed Efficiency.

Speaking of True Feed Efficiency, Dwain most recently worked with GrowSafe, Midland Bull Test, and McDonnel Angus, educating cattle producers on the benefits and use of efficiency genetics.

Now that he is working with Agri-Best Feeds, he will be helping

producers maximize the genetic potential of their herd in every area of beef production – and he is still an excellent resource for genetic recommendations.

The family business, Agri-Best Feeds, has been familiar with Dwain, and vice versa. Both have served different segments of the cattle industry in this region for over 10 years, and have had mutual respect for the investments each have made to the industry. When Agri-Best Feeds started looking for an Outside Sales Cattle Specialist and heard that Dwain might be available, they reached out to Dwain. Dwain thought that it would be a good fit and joined Agri-Best Feeds in mid-November. When Dwain was asked what drew him to Agri-Best feeds, he said, “This is a great group of people to work with. They are results oriented like me, and desire to help ranchers improve their bottom line.”

For more information check out www.agribestfeeds.com, call 866 601-6646, or reach out to Dwain directly at 406 321-4517 or dwain@agribestfeeds.com.

12 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

2018 Ag Year in Review

By Will Rodger

2018 was a tough year for the farm economy, but Congress and the courts helped soften the blow.

EPA Water Rule The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2015 Waters of the United States rule continued to create concern across farm and ranch country. Its hundreds of pages of murky provisions that reached into areas functioning as productive farmland put farmers and ranchers at risk of five- and six-figure fines every time they worked their lands.

After years of back and forth in the court: ·The Supreme Court ordered the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in January to lift its nationwide stay of the rule, but federal district courts in North Dakota, Georgia and Texas issued interim orders blocking the rule in dozens of states; • The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers in February published a rule to immediately delay implementation of the 2015 rule nationwide while they continued working to formally repeal the rule • The delay rule was struck down in August by a federal court in South Carolina, bringing the 2015 rule back from the dead in 22 states; dozens of states and business organizations, including AFBF, filed legal briefs asking the courts to permanently eliminate the 2015 rule nationwide • In December, EPA and the Army Corps proposed a new Clean

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Water Rule that will—if finalized—provide a lawful and common-sense definition of “waters of the U.S.” • The fight continues, but no one can doubt this EPA – and Farm Bureau – will fight for clean water and clear rules.

Trade Farmers want fair trade. Results were mixed in 2018.

President Trump demanded a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, and may have it. After months of negotiations, officials delivered an agreement that gives America’s farmers increased access to dairy in Canada as well as non-discriminatory wheat pricing and grading standards. The agreement now goes to the House, where it is believed that Democrats may aim to strengthen minimum-wage provisions for Mexico, among other things.

China, in the meantime, ended up in a full-blown trade war as the U.S. and the world’s most populous nation piled tariff on tariff to force concessions from one another. Soybean farmers suffered the most as soy sent to China plummeted from 40 percent of U.S. exports to nothing at all in November. Spot soy prices – $9.60 a bushel at the beginning of the year – fell to $8.44 in September, recovering to $8.90 by year-end.

In all, U.S. farm income was at its third-lowest over the past 20 years – not a disaster, but too close for comfort for many farms.

Continues on next page....

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Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 13 Farm Bill It took longer than many people wanted, but the 2018 farm bill passed the same year it was introduced. Improvements in cotton and dairy as well as a largely unchanged Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and conservation provisions meant a good outcome for most farms and ranchers. Hop producers will get crop insurance soon, while a new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production at the Agriculture Department allows rooftop, indoor and other urban farmers to compete for grant funding.

Mental health, too, gets attention as opioid addiction and suicide rates have spiked across rural America. The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network will provide $10 million yearly through 2023 to pay for mental health professionals working in agricultural communities.

The farm bill also fights fraudulent organic imports by authorizing $5 million to help the department collect data on the organic sector.

It also establishes $50 million in baseline funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative.

Immigration and Labor Hopes were high that Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s proposal to increase the number of legally authorized migrant farm workers would make it through Congress, but it was not to be. Although nearly all farm interests supported the bill, some voices claimed it did not go far enough. A good bill, it seemed, wasn’t good enough for everyone.

Will Rodger is director of policy communications at the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Southcentral Cattle & Forage Series Huntley, MT • Feb. 5, 2019 Agenda: • 3:30 p.m. Genetic Selection: The Past and Future

Calllie Cooley & Nikki Bailey, MSU Extension Agents, Yellowstone & Carbon Counties

• 4:30 p.m. Mineral Nutrition and Feeding Sugar Beets to Cattle Megan Van Emon, MSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist

• 5:30 p.m. Dinner (provided) • 6:00 p.m. Grazing Cover Crops

Darrin Boss, Northern Ag Research Center Superintendent

Southern Ag Research Center 748 Railroad Hwy, 59037 RSVP Required by February 1 Call: 406-256-2828 Email: callie.cooley@montana.edu

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14 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

How to behave when you encounter

A cattle drive

By Barton Stam

Encountering cattle crossing or traveling the roads and highways shouldn’t be a surprise when driving around Wyoming. Many roads in Wyoming pass through land used for cattle ranching. To move cattle to different pastures, ranchers often must cross roads or even travel down rights of way. There are things that can be done to ensure a safe trip for a motorist and the cattle.

First, and most importantly, slow down.

And by slowing down, I don’t mean down to 60 miles per hour on highways having a posted limit of 65. When cattle are on the road, 10 mph may be too fast. Stopping and letting stock get all the way across the road may be the best course of action. Turning on emergency flashers may help other motorists slow down, too.

Going slow will help avoid vehicle-cattle collisions.

Pay attention to the riders. They may direct you to drive through or around the herd. They know motorists would like to be on their way and are usually helpful in getting them through safely and quickly. Don’t honk a horn or otherwise harass the cattle. See the “Handling Livestock Effectively” article on page 16 to understand how your actions can affect livestock.

Cows and horses have little traction on asphalt and concrete roads. Moving quickly to dodge a vehicle could cause them to slip and fall. The most efficient way to work through cattle is slowly.

Many times herds will be strung out along a road with the faster cows ahead of the slower-moving animals. Be sure to get through the entire herd before accelerating to cruising speed.

Look out not only for cattle and riders but cow dogs.

Cow dogs are often so focused on their job working the cattle they may not be paying attention to cars zipping down the road.

Good cow dogs are often the best hands ranchers have. Running over one would be a real tragedy.

Please don’t get out of the vehicle to help or take photographs.

The livestock handlers usually have enough to worry about – cows, dogs, horses, and vehicles. A passing motorist getting out on foot is going to add to their worries and likely will be more harm than help. It’s also safer in the vehicle.

When cowherds need to cross busy roads, ranchers will often post someone on both sides of the herd to flag down traffic. This could look like anything from a ranch worker in a beat-up pickup with an orange flag to a peace officer in a patrol car with flashing lights.

So, if happening across a cattle drive on a road, slow way down and you should be back on your way in a few minutes. It might even be a good time to have a passenger break out a camera and get a few pictures (from inside the car) of real Western life.

Barton Stam is a University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service educator serving Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie counties. He can be reached at (307) 864-3421 or brstam@uwyo.edu.

bls

We like horses Billings Area News Group - Jan. 24, 2019 - 15

Horse Sales

B I L L I N G S , M O N TA N A

- See 100’s of horses

- All in one place, all in one day - All kinds and classes

- Ponies, ranch horses, performance prospects, finished arena horses, teams, recreational horses & mules.

- All pass-outs called in the sale ring - Federally licensed and bonded - Operate under the guidelines set forth by the USDA and

Congratulations! Top four teams Billings Livestock’s “Spring Rope Horse Sale” April 2018

- Consign on-line, 24/7

#cowboyslivehere #goodbetterBLS #billingsrocks

w w w. b i l l i n g s l i v e s t o c k . c o m

Loose Horses –

- State of Montana, Department of Livestock

We sell ‘em 8 a.m. EVERY BLS Sale – strong, strong market with active buyer participation!

It ’s where to go to get ‘em January 26

Winter Special Catalog Sale

February 22-23-24 February Special Catalog Sale

featuring our Annual Sons and Daughters Session

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at Billings Livestock Horse Sales

Jann Parker

March 23

Spring Special Catalog Sale featuring our annual Outfitters and Trail Horse Sessions

April 26-27

April Special Catalog Sale featuring our Spring Rope Horse Sale

May 25

Cow Country Classic Catalog Sale

featuring our Ranch Horse Sale and Competition

June 22

Summer Special Catalog Sale featuring Performance Horses

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16 - Montana Seedstock Beef! Winter 2019

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Selling ...

145 Angus Bulls 10 Embryo Transfer Angus Bulls