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Buckin’ horses and Bailey Rodeo North Dakota stock to national events By KIM FUNDINGSLAND
Submitted Photo
Bailey Rodeo has become known for producing quality bucking horses. Here’s H46 Spider in action at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho.
near Karlsruhe. Today they have about 350 bucking stock on hand. Staff Writer “You don’t see that many horses kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com much any more,” remarked GunderKARLSRUHE – With 80 bulls and son. “We’ve got a pretty good set of 350 bucking horses to choose from, it horses. That’s what got us to those still takes a special animal to be se- rodeos, buckin’ horse power. It’s a lected for the National Finals Rodeo. pretty good deal.” A top performer in the Bailey Yet Bailey Rodeo has become well Rodeo line-up is H46 Spider, a horse known on the national scene for prothat provides plenty of excitement in ducing elite rodeo stock. “We’ve sent a couple of bulls and the arena and has earned a reputation bucking horses to the national finals nationally. “Good guys can score 85-90 on in Las Vegas,” said Shane Gunderson, Bailey Rodeo. “They start with a list that horse,” said Gunderson. “He’s not of over 700 to pick from in the U.S. so ridden a lot but when they do they getting there is a pretty good deal.” win money on him.” Gunderson was part of a group of Gunderson estimated Spider investors who purchased David Bai- tossed his riders about 70% of the ley Rodeo out of Oklahoma five years times he left the chute. ago and moved it to North Dakota. “He bucks every day of his life and Bailey Rodeo had been involved in he loves it,” said Gunderson. “Those Professional Rodeo for 40 years. Gun- good horses eat out of a bucket, no derson also purchased a line of buck- different than a saddle horse but they ing horses that were bred by the late get acquired for their job and actually Calvin Nelson of Kenmare. like it.” “I had that opportunity to buy Bailey Rodeo purchases a few them. Thirty-five years of genetics horses every year but, said Gunderwent a long ways,” said Gunderson. son, “90% are born and raised right “Calvin had sent 17 horses to the na- here in North Dakota.” tional finals before we even started Bucking horses don’t get introwith the Bailey thing.” duced to a rider until they are three or With a solid group of foundation four years old, and then just to see mares, Gunderson and Bailey Rodeo how they perform. At five or six years were soon raising 20-30 colts a year of age they can find themselves at a
rodeo arena. “For pro rodeos they need to be five to six years old, big enough and strong enough,” explained Gunderson. “Spider’s been to the National Finals Rodeo three times. We bought him at 18 years old and he was 23 years old at the NFR.” While Bailey Rodeo keeps about 80 head of bucking bulls year round, they do not have an extensive breeding program. The reason why is pretty simple. “We buy most of those bulls because there’s such a surplus in the country,” said Gunderson. “You can buy them cheaper than raising them.” Bailey Rodeo provides bucking stock for several rodeos in North Dakota, including one of the state’s top arena attractions. “The Winter Show in Valley City is one of the bigger rodeos we do,” said Gunderson. Whether or not Bailey Rodeo stock will be called upon once again for the national finals has not yet been determined. The selection of top stock isn’t made until October, several days after the annual Y’s Men’s Rodeo, the circuit finals, in Minot. However, as with many other events, the coronavirus pandemic has been altering a lot of plans. See RODEO — Page 3
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“They’re still planning on that one,” said Gunderson. “But I know there’s some questions there. The National Finals Rodeo is the first week in December and it is also scheduled to go on but time will tell.” Included in Bailey Rodeo stops this summer have been Killdeer, Steele and New Town. The latter turned out to be on a date where it was one of only two rodeos held in the U.S. due to coronavirus concerns elsewhere. It turned out to be a perfect opportunity to expose Bailey Rodeo stock to some big names in the business. “The biggest percentage of good cowboys in the U.S. showed up at the rodeo in New Town,” said Gunderson. “That helps. That’s what gets It takes plenty of people of all ages to produce a Bailey Rodeo. Bailey Rodeo is based in Karlsuhe. us stock in the finals.”
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Bins stand on an area farm. Farmers who sold between Jan. 15 and April 15 may be eligible for federal financial assistance.
Jill Schramm/MDN
Coronavirus funding aids agriculture ND producers take their time to sign up for CFAP
By JILL SCHRAMM
Senior Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com North Dakota farmers and ranchers weren’t rushing to sign up under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program in its first month of enrollment, but that is expected to change over the summer. Brad Thykeson, executive director for the USDA North Dakota Farm Service Agency, said the program’s
opening on May 26 came at a time when producers were planting, branding or moving cattle to pasture. “Producers weren’t really knocking at our doors and, of course, we were also closed due to the coronavirus,” he said. “So our applications probably aren’t as high as our neighboring states, just because of the fact that I think producers were too busy tending to business out on the farm or the ranch.” However, as of June 26, the pro-
gram had paid out more than $70 million in North Dakota. “The applications are going up every day,” Thykeson said. “The program runs until August 28 so producers still have good time to sign up and participate.” The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP, provides financial assistance to producers of agricultural See AID — Page 7
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commodities who have suffered a 5% or greater price decline or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID19 and face additional significant market costs. Eligible commodities include malting barley, canola, corn, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat and hard red spring wheat. Certain specialty crops also are eligible. Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, hogs, lambs and yearling sheep. Any dumped milk production during the months of January, February and March 2020 is eligible for assistance. Wool producers also may be eligible. Thykeson said it is uncertain how much money will be requested in applications statewide or nationwide. Part of the uncertainty is because the program is open to all producers, regardless of whether they have participated in a federal program previously. “It’s 80% funded right now, just because they want to be conservative to make sure there’s enough money to go around,” Thykeson said. As of late June, just over $4 billion of the $16 billion program had been paid out. “So we are still a long way from the finish line to get those monies out,” Thykeson said. “There will still be a lot of activity coming in.” To be included, livestock and crops have a window of sale between Jan. 15 and April 15. That has generated some objection because not all producers were able to take advantage of that window. Government programs include timeframes to avoid abuse and to prevent the program from influenc-
Jill Schramm/MDN
Livestock graze a Burlington-area pasture in June. A coronavirus assistance package for agriculture included aid to livestock producers who sold during the market decline between Jan. 15 and April 15. ing the market place, Thykeson said. He said as April 15 passed, the government moved into the Commodity Credit Corp. funding so producers did receive some benefits after the window closed, although to a lesser degree. Thykeson said the coronavirus funding isn’t likely to be extended retroactively beyond April 15, but
producers may see additional funds added to the CCC to increase the amount of money paid to those who missed out on the earlier aid. “We aren’t seeing any windfalls in any of our commodities, whether they’re cattle or whether they’re crops,” he said. “We are still in depressed marketing times so I think the
producers are trying to figure out how to make something work and, of course, the government programs seem to be kind of our life support right now.” Producers who are eligible for CFAP can make an appointment at their local county offices or enroll online. Since late June, producers have been able to fully complete an
application online, including signature. They can do so by navigating to farmers.gov and clicking on CFAP. Thykeson said the online signup is user friendly. It gives producers the ability to use a calculator to see how much they are entitled to claim. An Excel spreadsheet, which may require enabling the editing func-
tion, allows producers to input their data and get an estimate of their payments. Producers also can transfer data from the spreadsheet directly to the assistance application. Once FSA staff become fully comfortable with the processing, Thykeson said, producers can expect a seven- to 10-day turnaround for payment.
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IntelliFarms operates Harvey office SD Precision ag company moves closer to ND customer base By JILL SCHRAMM
Senior Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com HARVEY – A precision agriculture company with a popular product for managing grain bins has been building its North Dakota customer base since opening an office in Harvey last year. IntelliFarms Northern Division president and CEO Jared Halland expanded his Britton, S.D., business into Harvey in May 2019 in response to the interest by farmers in the area. “I believe every farmer deserves to have service after they have or buy a product. We have such a big following in that Harvey/Esmond area that we felt it was our obligation to give back to the farms and our obligation to give back to the community. So that’s why we opened the office in Harvey – for better sales, better service, and to let people know that we’re available to help whenever we possibly can,” Halland said. “Having an of-
fice there for a farmer to go to, to sit down and do training, is really beneficial for the farms and the customer service team.” He credited Harvey’s economic development office and director Paul Gunderson for assistance in setting up in the community, where it located its offices in a former NAPA store building. Without the efforts of Gunderson and Hank Joubert, who now manages the Harvey IntelliFarms office, the move to Harvey would not have happened, Halland said. The office has three full-time employees. Hank and Jaimie Joubert are in sales and Josh Vogel is a customer service representative. For every 100 customers within a service area, IntelliFarms staffs a customer service representative. Since 2014, IntelliFarms Northern Division has gone from three to more than 19 employees and six full-time subcontractors, Halland said. The company is looking to open a second North Dakota ofSee FARM — Page 12
Submitted Photo
IntelliFarms in Harvey currently is the company’s only North Dakota office for IntelliFarms and AGI SureTrack precision ag products. It opened in May 2019.
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Recent rainfall has given area crops a huge boost, reversing what was becoming a very troubling pattern of dry weather leading to drought conditions. Kim Fundingsland/MDN
From drought to deluge Rain saved, boosted crops
By KIM FUNDINGSLAND
Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com Much of North Dakota went from worsening drought conditions to very wet in a period of a few days. A growing concern about lack of moisture for crops, particularly early seeded wheat, changed to talk of maybe too much rain. Indeed, in many areas rainfall recently topped three inches or more as a couple of days of thunderstorms rattled across the landscape. One of the best, or maybe worse hit areas, was centered around Harvey. “We cover a pretty big trade area between Fessenden and the Anamoose and Drake area,” said Joel Schimke, Harvey Farmers Elevator manager. “The worst of the rain went through an eightto 10-mile stretch. Rainfall totals from east of Harvey to west of Harvey were from 5 1/2 to 7 inches. Water ran over the tops of roads and washed out some culverts. We got enough rain to last us a long time.” Sometimes too much rain can cause large areas of fields to
wash away. Schimke said that was a problem in some of the lower areas but not real widespread. It did have a few producers shaking their heads though, those who had gone back into their fields and planted low lying areas that were too wet to seed initially due to spring soil moisture. “Before the rain, the wheat was really struggling and needed some rain,” said Schimke in talking about previous drought conditions. “Now there’s worry about disease in wheat with so much water around.” Later planted crops, such as corn and beans, were doing fairly well before the recent heavy rains but were in need of additional moisture to give those crops a boost. From that standpoint, the rainfall was exactly what was needed. “It helps the wheat too,” said Schimke. “It’ll help fill out what was there.” In the Garrison area, the story was similar as concerns about dry conditions were washed away by heavy rainfall. “It was pretty amazing that the crops held on as long as they did. Without the soil moisture from last fall, we could have been See RAIN— Page 12
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fice. Halland said there are numerous types of precision agriculture equipment designed for different activities but not all make financial sense. His company focuses on those systems that are shown to generate a return on investment, he said. IntelliFarms’ products include YieldTrack, which provides access to databases on corn and soybean seed performance; TankManager, which allows for inventory tracking; MarketManager, for up-to-date information on the demand for specialty crops; and FieldData Manager, for tracking growing conditions and optimal grain planting and harvesting. The CashBidManager software can show prices at elevators across the country and calculate time and labor to help make better decisions on where to sell. Last year, a North Dakota organic wheat producer sold to Panera Bread in Kansas City to capture premium pricing, Halland said. However, by far the most popular
INSIDE AG product is BinManager. “The BinManager is our heavy hitter. It provides the farmer with precision in their bins to know exactly what’s going on – moisture, temperature, hotspot alerts, mold growth,” Halland said. “The CSR (customer service representative) team will actually watch the bins for them to make sure that they’re not making the wrong decisions,” he added. “Even some of the older gentlemen that have never surfed the web have bought BinManager because of the team of support that comes with it. He can just call in and say, ‘What are my bins doing? Is everything okay?’” The monitoring system requires no bin entry, which is a safety feature that can actually save lives, he said. It can detect toxic gases and with 3D imagery can see grain voids in the bin. Halland recalled numerous times in the past, before BinManager, when he and his grandfather would be in a bin with shovels when it was not safe to be there. Ag Growth International acquired IntelliFarms in March 2019, although the Northern Division has retained the IntelliFarms name. IntelliFarms Northern Division can supply AGI SureTrack
products to its customers in the Dakotas and Minnesota. Halland said coming under the new corporate umbrella also has expanded the resources for research and development of advanced technologies for farmers. In addition, IntelliFarms has partnered with Farm Mobile, which tracks field data. Data can be uploaded to the SureTrack program. “We talk about precision farming quite a bit, but we never talk about big data and who owns that data,” Halland said. “With Farm Mobile or SureTrack, that data is owned by the farms.” IntelliFarms also wants to be a valuable member of its communities. Employees give back through volunteer work. They have donated time to Cooperstown Bible Camp and to food pantries in the tri-state area. For every additional customer service representative brought on board, the company offers to erect a children’s playground for a church or religious organization. An opportunity still exists for a church group in the Harvey/Esmond area that would like a playground. So far, IntelliFarms, which has offices in Britton and Clark, S.D., has installed multiple playgrounds.
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done a long time ago,” stated Shane Crawford, agronomist, CHS Garrison. “The four to five inches of rain gives up real good potential and the attitudes are a lot better. You can watch the soybeans and corn grow now.” Jeff Kittel manages the Plaza-Makoti Equity Elevator. Rainfall in that area ranged from 3 1/2 to more than 6 inches over a three-day stretch. “The rain was much, much needed in our area,” said Kittel. “For the earlier wheat it was probably too late but will stabilize the crop. Early wheat was really starting to get stressed. The later stuff, the row crops, will really perk up and grow. It’s hard to say what it will mean in bushels but the rain will help.” Drought conditions had yet to invade most of the area north of Minot. Nevertheless,
JULY 2020 the rainfall was good news for growers. Total rainfall from recent storms ranged from 1.5 to 4 inches from Lansford to Glenburn to Newburg to Bottineau. “We didn’t get any 6-inch dumps. That was pretty good,” said Wayne Johnson, Border Ag & Energy of Bottineau. “The rain was welcome. We were good because we were still so wet from last year. We were two weeks behind in seeding due to wetness.” Now, said Johnson, the crops are in real good shape and don’t really need a lot more rain. “We could use a squirt before harvest, especially if it stays hot,” said Johnson. “All in all, I think we’re okay.” Wet conditions create an ideal environment for scab to develop in wheat. Because wet ground will likely keep equipment out of the fields, noted Johnson, any fungicide application may have to be done by plane.
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Feasibility study to determine constructing safflower refinery plant in McKenzie County By ELOISE OGDEN
Regional Editor eogden@minotdailynews.com WATFORD CITY – McKenzie County Job Development Authority recently awarded funds to Safflower Technologies International for help in undertaking a feasibility study for a safflower refinery plant to be located in the Watford City area, according to Daniel Stenberg of the Job Development Authority. Stenberg said the local Job Development Authority is continuing to look for ways to diversify the local economy and add value to crops that local farmers are growing. According to NDSU Extension, Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) is an annual oilseed crop adapted primarily to the cereal grain areas of the western Great Plains. In North Dakota, safflower has been grown in experimental test plots since 1928 and on a commercial
basis since 1957. Acreage has been concentrated in the western part of the state. Safflower is well-adapted to western North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as eastern Montana. Safflower provides three principal products: oil, meal and birdseed. Paige Brummund, Ward County agriculture and natural resources Extension agent said, to her knowledge, there is no safflower acreage in Ward County. If a safflower refinery is established in the Watford City area, she said there might be interest in safflower acreage in this area. USDA Farm Service Agency in Ward County confirmed there is no safflower acreage in the county and has not been any since about 20 years ago. Jerald Bergman, of Williston, is in charge of research and development for Safflower Technologies International. He is handling the proposed safflower refinery project. STI is headquartered in Laurel, Mont.
He said McKenzie County Job Development Authority provided $8,000 to STI to undertake the feasibility study. After the study is completed, another $8,000 would come from the county. Bergman developed Healthola safflower oil, a natural, non-GMO safflower released by Montana State University. He said on July 1 that they are starting the feasibility study in the next 30 days. It will be about four months to complete, Bergman said. He said the feasibility study will include visiting existing refineries as well as getting costs for equipment and operating costs. The company has an elevator and seed cleaning facility in Fairview, Mont. The proposal is to build a safflower refinery on the North Dakota side in McKenzie County. If the project is determined feasible, Bergman said it will expand the markets.
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Safflower Technologies International is studying the feasibility of establishing a safflower refinery plant in McKenzie County. In North Dakota, safflower acreage has been concentrated in the western part of the state, according to NDSU Extension.
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