NCHA Announces Rafter P Hardship Award Winner

Developed by Brad Pryor, President of Rafter P Construction in collaboration with the NCHA, this award was developed to provide financial assistance for an outstanding youth member to attend the 2023 Great American Insurance Group Summer Cutting Spectacular and 2023 NYCHA Holy Cow Performance Horses Youth World Finals. The winner will be immersed in the National Youth Cutting Horse Association convention events this July.

“Winning a scholarship from an organization I admire so much is a huge honor. My journey in the cutting horse industry is just beginning, and attending one of the NCHA’s Triple Crown shows is a wonderful opportunity. I am excited to watch incredible horses and riders compete and make new connections. All of this will continue to propel my passion for this sport,” said award recipient Brooke Salmon.

“I am interested in supporting the youth of the NCHA because to me that is where the foundation of an organization is built from. I feel that the NCHA has built a great program during their NYCHA convention to really educate these kids about the industry and how to be successful no matter what their path forward is. I am excited to see the growth of this program and feel our first recipient Brooke is very deserving of this award” said Brad Pryor, president of Rafter P Construction.

NCHA is very passionate about continuing to grow youth involvement in the Western way of life and is thankful to have incredible partners like Rafter P Construction to create new opportunities.

option for soil carbon sequestration, also known as “regenerative agriculture,” especially with the need to decrease carbon emissions and introduce the carbon credits initiative.

Incorporating a perennial legume such as alfalfa can help stabilize soils nutritionally depleted by row crop or specialty crop production, as has occurred in many agricultural areas in the Western U.S. Alfalfa was introduced into crop rotation in Europe, and encouraged globally, as a measure of the Agri-Environmental Scheme to reduce the impacts of agriculture intensification on the environment.

Switching from annual forage crop production for dairy animals and livestock feed to perennial alfalfa can minimize soil disturbance and erosion. This practice can help restore depleted soils, minimize inputs and decrease the footprint of agricultural production.

While suspected of higher total applied irrigation water than many other crops, alfalfa has greater water use efficiency. Additionally, the entire above-ground portion of the plant is harvested as many as 12 times per year in the Southwestern region. When compared to other crops harvested less frequently, alfalfa’s ratio of harvestable biomass/water applied shows it is far more water efficient. Furthermore, the majority of the irrigation water used in alfalfa is recycled back into the environment.

Alfalfa is a rich habitat for wildlife allowing for a diversity of local niches and preserving many endangered species from different animal families.

Alfalfa fields are important contributors to the biodiversity of agricultural systems by functioning as insectaries for beneficial insects, many of which are pollinators or natural enemies that play important roles in the low desert agroecosystem. Beneficial insects move from alfalfa fields into other crops, where they play crucial roles in pollination and biological control. These roles reduce our reliance on synthetic insecticides.

Western alfalfa production is quite different from production in other areas where non-dormant, irrigated varieties provide yearround habitat for insects. This allows alfalfa to play an important role in insecticide resistance management by acting as a refuge, especially for aphids and whiteflies.

Alfalfa improves soil characteristics with its deep roots; as a legume, it fixes atmospheric nitrogen through bacteria in the root nodules. Because of its nature as a perennial plant that stays in the field for three to five years, alfalfa helps trap sediments and takes up nitrate pollutants, mitigating water and air pollution.

In summary, if alfalfa fields are eliminated or significantly reduced, it is highly likely most of the original acreage will be converted to residential and commercial uses. This situation will likely decrease farmland and increase the population in those areas. As a result, the region may experience shortages of certain food products thereby relying on food from non-local sources, including those imported from abroad. This will likely increase food prices and extend the supply chain. With the increase in population comes all known environmental impacts, alteration of ecosystems, and pollution of air, water and soil, all of which impact our carbon footprint.

Ayman M. Mostafa, Ph.D., is Area Programmatic Agent & Regional Specialist Cooperative Extension & Dept. of Entomology at The University of Arizona. This column was originally published by Arizona Farm Bureau and is republished with permission.