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Call Now to Book or Prepay for your Weed Control or Fertilizer Application for your Crop, Pasture, Range Land or Lawn. One mile west of Dairy Queen RONAN (406) 2 – March 26, 2014
Home & Ranch
676-4100
home & ranch
contents 5 Sheep shearing 11 Home security 14 Horseshoeing 22 Fire extinguishers 23 Post Creek Supply 26 Wheat stem sawflies 28 Swine PED virus
nd
2 Annual Spring Consignment Auction Farm Machinery, Tractors, Trucks, Trailers, Shop Equipment, Irrigation Equipment, Recreation Vehicles, Mobilehome, And Much More Already Consigned.
All Things Farm And Ranch And More! Thursday, April 24th, 2014 At Noon Evaro, MT • Hwy. 93 North, Mile Marker 10 Next To Grey Wolf Peak Casino And Conoco Station
32 Calving season 38 Bedbugs Home & Ranch
Please Call Jason 406-239-3529 or Reed 406-249-1776 If You Have Consignments Or Questions March 26, 2014 – 3
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ROUNDUP READY ALFALFA Stand establishment and controlling troublesome weeds and grasses is just a couple of the advantages of using roundup ready alfalfa. At Lake Seed, Inc. we carry Pioneer brand 54R03 roundup ready alfalfa. A high yielding, for fall dormancy with good forage quality. This variety has very good winterhardiness and an excellent disease resistance package.
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We carry a full line of Ag Crop Protection Products 4 – March 26, 2014
Home & Ranch
Nicole Tavenner/Valley Journal
With shears in hand
and a pen of sheep nearby, Polson rancher Will Tusick gets ready for a day of sheep shearing.
shear delight Story by Berl Tiskus Valley Journal
Photos by Nicole Tavenner Valley Journal
Work hard, play hard on sheep shearing day t’s a rite of spring, like green grass and the first dandelions. If it’s spring, it’s time to brand calves — and shear sheep. March 9 was shearing day at Will and Jan Tusick’s place south of Polson. The Tusicks raise Coopworth sheep, a long-wooled breed from New Zealand, and East Friesen, dairy sheep. For a good shearing crew, Will said you need a shearer; a wrangler who keeps the shearer supplied with ewes; a person to pick up the fleeces; several people skirting the fleeces; and people tromping wool into the wool sack. Skirting the fleece is putting the wool on a table and picking out the vegetable matter, dirt, manure and anything else sticking in the fleece. The Tusicks had lots of help from people who came to enjoy a day with friends and learn about sheep shearing.
I
Home & Ranch
Nicki Jimenez said she was surprised by how social an event shearing turned out to be. “It’s a big work day for the shearer,” Jimenez said, but not for the visiting onlookers and the children running around. This was the second time Jimenez helped with the sheep shearing. She grew up in Weston, Mass. “I’d never seen such a thing. There are not many sheep in eastern Massachusetts, mostly suburbs,” she said. There are even food traditions that go with shearing, Jimenez said. Jan makes red beans and rice, and Will prepares gumbo to feed the crowd when the shearing is done. The ewes are pregnant mamas, but “shearing doesn’t see page 6
March 26, 2014 – 5
“ “My sheep are coarse wool, carpet grade wool for carpets or sweaters.”
Iodine is applied to a small nick during the shearing process.
~ Sheep rancher Will Tusick
Nicole Tavenner/Valley Journal
Sheep shearing from page 5
seem to bother them,” Will said. A wool sack is not a little 20-pounder either; each bale weighs approximately 300 pounds. One fleece weighs between seven and 12 pounds on average. “My sheep are coarse wool, carpet grade wool for carpets or sweaters,” Will said. “It all goes to fiber diameter. The largest diameter is the coarsest. The finer the wool, the less itch.” The fine wools come from Rambouillet and Merino sheep. Will is a professional sheep shearer and has sheared for 35 years. He spent six years on an international crew working in the Rocky Mountain region. “I still shear, but it’s a young man’s game,” Will said. (Yet) I’m shearing better than I ever have before.” see page 8
Nicole Tavenner/Valley Journal
A group of friends and neighbors remove
6 – March 26, 2014
paint marks before stomping the wool to compress it for baling.
Home & Ranch
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(406) 676-4420 64194 Hwy 93, Ronan March 26, 2014 – 7
Nicole Tavenner/Valley Journal
Jan Tusick feeds
a freshly-sheared flock of sheep at her ranch south of Polson.
Sheep shearing from page 6
8 – March 26, 2014
Western Montana used to be home to many sheep operations, but just like dairy and swine, those numbers
have diminished, according to Will. Sheep ranching, like other agricultural ways of making a living, has
Home & Ranch
suffered because of lack of interest in younger generations. “The children haven’t taken up the
sheep crook or the dairy barn,” Will said. see page 10
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Sheep shearing from page 8
When Tusick started shearing here 30 years ago, many ranchers and farmers were in their 60s and soon retired. The kids didn’t come back to learn the ropes from their parents. However, there’s been a recent upsurge of young people who want to farm and raise animals; but because of high land prices, it’s very hard to break into the business. There’s also a strong learning curve. “We had young people here on Sunday,” Will said, “to see what shearing was like and to learn something. As I mentioned before, they are starting brand new.” Hopefully shearing at the Tusick’s might inspire some young people to become the next generation of sheep farmers.
Nicole Tavenner/Valley Journal
Far left: Will Tusick shares a laugh as he rounds up another sheep for shearing.
Top: Friends help move the heavy wool bales.
Left: Valuable wool will soon be sheared from sheep in Tusick’s flock.
vj Nicole Tavenner/Valley Journal
10 – March 26, 2014
Home & Ranch
Nicole Tavenner/Valley Journal
sweet, secure home home by Megan Strickland Valley Journal
m
many false alarms as possible. “False alarms are a nightmare,” he said. “The last thing we want is law enforcement wasting their time or that somebody thinks ‘Oh, it’s just a false alarm again, when someone has an actual break in.” Homeowners can prevent false alarms by taking simple precautions, most of which involve removing motion from a room. Leaving on a heating or cooling system that blows paper around and not removing balloons are two common culprits that trip detectors. “Insects are a big one,” Koberg said. “You get a spider going across the wall and it’s like a giant walking across a room.” It’s important to identify the source of false alarms because they sometimes indicate the system is getting old and worn out, Koberg said. Whether it’s a real emergency or a false alarm, responders in the Mission Valley do a superb job of arriving when alarm sounds, Koberg said. “I can’t tell you the number of times the fire department has headed out for burnt popcorn,” he said. “But they still respond and they treat everyone like it’s the real deal. We’re very fortunate to have them.” It takes about 30 seconds for an alarm to sound after a detector is tripped, prompting a dispatcher to get in touch with the homeowner or authorities to make sure the problem is taken care of. The security system once had a dispatch monitoring center in Ronan, but insurance companies eventually made all smaller
asked, gun-toting men foiled by the trip of a red beam is the scene that often plays out in advertisements for home security systems, but there are many more threats to protect
against. “There’s a lot more to an alarm system than just keeping the bad guy out,” said Bill Koberg of Mission Valley Security. “We do a lot of fire and water detection. We do propane and carbon monoxide protection.” There are more insurance claims for water damage each year than burglaries, he added. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the summer or in the winter, you can end up with water leaks that just cause massive damage,” he said. Custom homes are often the ones that have alarm systems that include water monitoring. Those homes aren’t occupied year-round and usually have a full package meant to detect any kind of problems whatsoever. “I’ve got one house that has over 47 water detectors,” Koberg said. Locals often opt for less extensive coverage, that detects intrusion and fire. Every system has to be specialized for the individual client, Koberg said. Children or pets that wander during the night or day can trip sensors, but provisions to avoid false alarms can be made. One sensor is so high-tech it can ignore the motion of a family dog up to 80 pounds, but will trip when a human walks by. Other glass break detectors are set specifically to sound an alarm when a window breaks, but won’t sound when a drinking glass shatters. “Different glass has different acoustics,” Koberg explained. That doesn’t mean the technology is fool proof. Fireworks have set off glass-break alarms in the past. According to Koberg, Mission Valley Security works to prevent as
see page 12
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March 26, 2014 – 11
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
Bill Koberg of Mission Valley Security installs both hardwired security systems and new digital security systems. Digital detectors can even alert homeowners in the event of a water leak.
Home security from page 11
firms in the nation go to a higher grade facility. “There’s no way any company in Montana could afford to do that,” Koberg said. Mission Valley Security’s calls are
routed through a shared monitoring center in Tusla, Okla. “They call back from there. If I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t know though.” Since Mission Valley Security went into business 17 years ago, digital systems have greatly improved the way home security works. It used to take a week to install some systems, but now those same systems take less than a day to put in.
“Today, 50 percent or more of my systems are digital and they are definitely as good as the hardwired ones,” Koberg said. Hardwired systems still carry the advantage of lesser maintenance needs such as battery replacement. Those systems almost always have to be installed during the construction phase of building. “It’s because of the labor factor,” Koberg
said. “If you’ve got a 2,000 square foot house and I’ve got to figure out how to wire the upstairs and the downstairs, it takes a lot of time.” By collaborating with a security firm before insulation goes in, homeowners make the process simpler. “It’s a lot easier,” Koberg said.
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your homegrown newspaper
12 – March 26, 2014
Home & Ranch
vj
Home & Ranch
March 26, 2014 – 13
“
“Horseshoers are kinda like cats. They don’t come when they’re called, and they don’t go out in the rain.” ~ Horseshoer Shane Reum
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
Horseshoer Shane Reum begins
his busy season, which runs through the fall.
walk a mile in his
shoes by Berl Tiskus Valley Journal
14 – March 26, 2014
or anyone considering becoming a horse owner, horseshoer Shane Reum has some wisdom to share. “Buying your horse is the cheapest part,” he said. Along with hay, pasture, a horse trailer, a vet, a saddle and tack, horseshoeing is one service a new horse owner would need, and Reum is an expert. On a crisp, sunny March morning, Reum backs his red pickup onto the
f
Home & Ranch
hay-covered base of a hay shed, unloads his anvil, opens his tool box, dons his shoeing chaps and hauls his combination foot stand and bucket to the first horse, ready to go to work. “Horseshoers are kinda like cats — they don’t come when they are called, and they don’t go out in the rain.” While he laughingly says that, Reum runs his business on some sage advice his dad gave him when he first started shoeing — respect peo-
ple’s time, be on time and you’ll be good. Communication is very important. “If you’re going to be late, call and tell your customer,” he said. As Reum begins, he first pulls the old shoes from a sorrel mare. Then he trims her feet, using a hoof knife and a rasp, making sure the hoof is level and balanced. The hoof scraps are “pure protein,” and the ranch dogs eat them like candy. Reum said he’s always
popular with the dogs. The next step is to shape a horseshoe, using a hammer and anvil. The shoe should be the same shape as the horse’s foot and be level. After shaping the shoe, Reum nails it to the horse’s hoof. “I always get questions about whether it hurts the horse. It doesn’t,” he said. The hoof wall, the outer rim of the hoof, is constantly growing and needs to be worn off or trimmed. With no blood vessels or nerves, it’s where the shoe is nailed. “A horse feels the vibrations from hammering the shoe in, but it doesn’t hurt,” Reum explained. A horse carries twothirds of its weight on its front end so its front feet are larger, and back feet are more rounded and smaller. Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal see page 17
Shane Reum shapes
a horsehoe using a hammer and anvil.
Mission Valley Power would like to remind everyone that intends to burn grass or fields, to pick days that are not too windy. If you are burning near a power pole, we advise you to cut or pull high weeds around it first. It's the smart thing to do! This precaution will prevent power outages should the pole catch fire. We advise you to call your local fire department before burning.
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“Your Mission Valley Tire Headquarters.” Home & Ranch
March 26, 2014 – 15
16 – March 26, 2014
Home & Ranch
Like an old school cowboy, Reum sticks horseshoe nails in his mouth as he bends over the mare’s foot. He said he couldn’t put the nails in his shirt pocket or use a magnet because it just doesn’t feel right. After Reum nails on the shoes, he uses a tool call a clincher to bend down the ends of the horseshoe nails. Then the ends are snipped off with a clinch cutter, and any hoof hanging over the shoe is rasped off. Reum repeats the process with the other five horses, taking between 45 minutes to an hour per horse. Horses who are being used all the time usually behave well for a horseshoer, allowing him or her to pick up their feet. Young horses who haven’t been shod before just don’t know what’s going on, Reum
said, so a shoer needs to take time with them so they know what’s expected. Sometimes he has to tranquilize a horse, just to calm it down or because the horse’s owner requests it. He doesn’t shoe “bad” horses anymore — horses that have been traumatized, hate being shod, dislike or try to hurt people. He mainly shoes ranch horses, barrel horses and pleasure horses with the occasional jumping horse or mountain horse. Ranch horses and rodeo horses need to be shod or have their shoes reset every six weeks. Barrel racers are the most demanding owners to shoe for, but owners ask their horses to give every ounce of speed and athleticism, Reum said, so everything needs to be right. see page 18
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
Horseshoer Shane Reum said putting the horseshoe nails in his pocket, or using a magnet to hold them, just wouldn’t feel right. So he holds them handily in his mouth.
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March 26, 2014 – 17
Horseshoeing from page 17
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
A horse waits patiently for new shoes
as its owner passes the time brushing its tail.
Shane Reum
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal nails a freshly-shaped horseshoe to the horse’s hoof.
“
I’m muleheaded. Tell me I can’t do something, and I’ll do it. Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
~ Horseshoer Shane Reum
Recently removed horseshoes join a pile of rusty old friends.
18 – March 26, 2014
Home & Ranch
A horseshoer has to know a lot about breeds of horses, Reum said. Arabians and Tennessee Walkers are quick-footed. Arabians and Thoroughbreds are the most “hot,” which may mean sensitive, excitable, high strung and with a lot of energy, depending on the horse. There are a few draft horses around, but mainly someone who has stocks shoes them. A stock for horses is a wooden chute the horse is walked into and then its foot is tied up. Farriers do this because workhorses are so large, and it’s hard to hold up their feet. Reum has also shod mules. They can be temperamental, but they’re very flexible and have a thicker foot than a horse. “Mules are way smarter than horses,” Reum said. “They don’t hurt themselves.” Frequently asked whether or not he gets kicked, Reum said that he does get kicked once in a while, but the main thing he worries about while shoeing alone is a bite. When horses bite, they slide their teeth off when letting go, instead of opening their mouth, as they do taking a bite of grass. If it’s an arm, a shoulder or a leg, when a horse’s teeth slide off, it hurts. Reum, a Charlo resident, has been a horseshoer since 1997. After a year of college at the University of Montana Western in Dillon, he decided being “locked up inside wasn’t gonna work.” He went to shoeing school in Bozeman. The school began Sept. 1 and ended in December. Students were working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week. “My legs were shaking, my back was hurting, and there were several days I wondered why I chose this profession,” Reum said. His body got used to the rigors of horseshoeing but some folks in the Mission Valley told him there wasn’t enough room for another shoer. Reum wasn’t deterred. “I’m muleheaded,” he said. “Tell me I can’t do something, and I’ll do it.”
Business was slow when he first began shoeing, so he worked at Western Business Center and would shoe horses in the evenings and on weekends. Now he’s got children he “would do anything for,” is self-employed, chair of the Charlo School Board of Trustees, a firefighter, and will be heading up the softball and baseball programs. As a farrier, he’s “run ragged” in the summertime. There are seven farriers working in the Mission Valley, and they’re all busy. Horseshoeing is a good career for a young person who likes to work, Reum said. The going rate per horse is in the $60 to $100 range, according to Reum. Some things have changed since Reum began his career. Horseshoes were $1.15 a pound, when Reum began shoeing, and now they cost $2.60 each. He buys horseshoes and nails from both Cenex and Westland Seed. Reum had some words of wisdom to horse owners or people who are thinking about getting a horse. “If you are going to own horses, maintain them, take care of them,” Reum cautioned. If a horse spends most of its time in a pasture, it might not need to be shod, but its feet should be trimmed. A horse that’s ridden on cement or blacktop or hard or rocky ground should be shod. “Take your shoes off and walk a mile,” Reum said, to explain how a barefooted horse feels in rock. “See how you feel.” With spring coming, Reum said horse owners should be cognizant of grass founder and realize the first green grass is very high in sugar; too much might cause grass founder. Some horses are more prone than others, but the disease causes the bond between the sensitive and insensitive laminae, tissues in a horse’s foot, to fail as the laminae die. A preventative measure is to not let overweight horses out on new green grass by keeping them corraled.
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
“
”
If you are going to own a horse, take care of them, maintain them. ~ Horseshoer Shane Reum
vj Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
Home & Ranch
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
March 26, 2014 – 19
20 - March 26, 2014
Valley Journal
Home & Ranch
March 26, 2014 – 21
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Valley Journal
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22 – March 26, 2014
omeownership comes with a list of maintenance requirements: changing fire detector batteries, replacing weather stripping, and updating old pipes to name a few. One of the most overlooked duties is servicing a fire extinguisher, according to Mission Valley Security owner Bill Koberg. “Fire extinguishers are what I call “the little red thing that sits in a corner and gets used as a doorstop,” Koberg said. Mission Valley Security is the only local place Koberg knows of that services the potentially homesaving and lifesaving devices. He recommends people bring their extinguishers in at least every three years to be serviced. Koberg has seen people go as long and 20 years without servicing their extinguishers, which he said can be dangerous. People often don’t bring in their extinguishers because they don’t know they need to, or the gauge is in the green section that indicates the extinguisher is ready to fire. But Koberg cautions: the gauge can lie. “I’ve taken fire extinguishers apart where it’s right in the green and there’s absolutely nothing left in it,” he said. Koberg suggests turning the extinguisher upside down every six months to make sure
h
Put some “spring” back into your carpet Carpet
by Megan Strickland
mile marker 1, Hwy 35, Polson
Home & Ranch
you can still hear powder moving around inside. If you can’t hear the powder, Koberg suggests gently tapping the extinguisher with a mallet to see if it loosens the powder. If that doesn’t work, it’s time for it to be serviced. More expensive extinguishers often cost less to be serviced. The plastic parts for cheaper models are both prone to malfunction and cost about three times as much to replace compared to more expensive extinguishers. “If it has a plastic head, throw it away and get one that has a good, metal serviceable head,” Koberg said. “Those plastic-headed ones are just absolute garbage. I’ve seen them fail many times.” Koberg also suggests that people learn how to properly use their fire extinguisher and make sure they have the right kind. Some models are made specifically for grease or chemical fires. Others are more suitable for house fires. “A fire extinguisher used inaccurately is as dangerous as the fire itself,” Koberg said. For more advice on fire extinguishers visit the National Fire Protection Association website at: http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/fire-and-safety-equipment/fire-extinguishers.
John Schnase/Valley Journal
Rims for every conceivable type of wheel line up at Post Creek Supply northwest of St. Ignatius.
another man’s
treasure by Megan Strickland Valley Journal
wenty-one years ago John Weber traded some grain for processed feed and opened a feed store on Fish Hatchery Road outside of St. Ignatius. He took in a couple of pieces of farm equipment on consignment and it wasn’t long before people started calling to ask where to find parts for their machinery. Weber had a penchant for finding spare bits that could give a second life to farm machines and ever since then the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Today Post Creek Supply is the go-to place for Mission Valley farmers to buy machinery, have
t
outfits repaired, or find parts, Weber said. “I built it from nothing. We didn’t have any place to get parts at. I used to work at another shop that closed up, then they quit, so I decided to start a parts yard.” Growth occurred as years ticked by. Weber’s wreckage yard started with an old broken down swather he traded for. It now spans 10 acres and is a place to find parts for both antique and modern machinery. see page 24
John Schnase/Valley Journal
The number of farm equipment parts have grown since owner John Weber took a few peices on consignment years ago.
Home & Ranch
March 26, 2014 – 23
growth over the years. She deals parts for the store, and her husband Mike from page 23 Clark is a mechanic for the “It started out with one repair part of the shop. Some piece of junk, then another of his more specialized work piece of junk,” includes starter, Weber said. generator, and “Then it got to alternator repair where I was and construction. buying machinMike bought out ery and then Mel’s Electric reselling it. last year. “People think Then I got Weber’s brother it’s a into selling new Milton also stuff. Now we works on museum.” sell a lot of new machinery. machinery.” “If you need ~ Post Creek Supply Although any electrical or co-owner Bonnie Clark much of the starter work we store’s customer can do it,” Mike base is local, the said. shop has “Bring your shipped parts to Australia, stuff in during the winterHawaii and other parts of the time, not the summertime word. when it’s busy.” “It’s got to be all word of May through September mouth,” Weber’s daughter are the busiest months for the and co-owner Bonnie Clark shop, which also sees a fair said of the businesses’ ability amount of random tourists to obtain far-reaching clienstopping by. tele. “People think it’s a museBonnie was a child when um,” Bonnie said. her father opened the store. Whether its people passing “I was always in the mix,” through who pick through she said of the business’s the antiques, someone trying
Post Creek Supply
“
John Schnase/Valley Journal
Acres of colorful equipment and parts can be seen from Highway 93, causing curious travelers to stop and ask if the supply company is a museum, according to co-owner Bonnie Clark.
to find the right part, new rig, or needing a repair, Post Creek’s staff exuberates a warm, family atmosphere. The toy tractor of Bonnie’s toddler-age son sits in the store and resembles the heavier duty equipment in the
yard. The family plans a future where the small tyke can grow up “in the mix” of the business like his mother. After working with parts and machinery for decades, Weber said many people think he’s a mechanic even
though he isn’t. His vast knowledge and experience allow him to point people in the right direction if the demands of the customer exceed the store’s abilities. For the most part, however, according to
Weber, Post Creek Supply is the place for Mission Valley farmers in mechanical distress. “I think most folks come to us,” he said.
vj
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March 26, 2014 – 25
persistent
pest Wheat stem sawfly devastation leads to conference
courtesy photo
A wheat stem sawfly female is at rest before she lays eggs on a wheat plant.
News from Montana State University heat stem sawflies heavily damage more wheat than any other insect in Montana, and now Colorado and Nebraska are experiencing unprecedented outbreaks, says Montana State University entomologist David Weaver. Continuing to search for solutions, experts from three countries and four states will share their findings at the Sixth International Wheat Stem Sawfly Conference to be held April 3 and 4 at the Procrastinator Theatre in MSU’s Strand Union building. The conference is free and open to the public, but seating is limited so people who want to attend are asked to notify the organizers at wheatstemsawfly@gmail.com “We all recognize that problems associated with wheat stem sawfly are dynamic and evolving,” Weaver said. “It is a devastating pest with features in its life cycle that make it very difficult to manage. This results in an ability to cause very large economic losses at the level of individual growers through to the large-scale regional impacts in much of the northern and central parts of the wheat belt.” Jack Stivers, MSU Lake County Agent, said that as the pest is more prevelant on the east side of the continental
W
26 – March 26, 2014
divide, the wheat stem sawfly doesn’t pose much threat to farmers in Lake County. “We don’t have much of a problem on this side of the mountain,” Stivers said, “and I’m glad we don’t.” MSU economist Anton Bekkerman, who will give two presentations at the conference, conducted the first formal economic study on the impacts of wheat stem sawfly in Montana. During his talk from 10 to 10:30 a.m. April 3, he will give a 15-year perspective on the damage it caused. “The high wheat prices observed in 2012 resulted in estimated direct damages of approximately $80.1 million to Montana farmers,” Bekkerman said. “What is perhaps equally as important is that these damages implied that nearly 9.7 million bushels of Montana wheat did not reach consumers. This has important indirect economic implications all along the wheat marketing chain.” The estimated expected losses to individual farmers with 2,000-acre operations were between $15,000 and $20,000 for spring wheat producers and $25,000 and $47,000 for winter wheat producers in 2012, Bekkerman said. Winter wheat producers in high impact areas were expected to lose $110,000 and $120,000 per farm.
“In evaluating two widely used management strategies – solid stemmed varieties and swathing – the results indicate that highest long-run economic returns are likely when using a slightly less yielding solid stem variety that minimizes the chances of the sawfly population growing rather than planting higher yielding varieties and swathing, which can increase long-run sawfly populations and exacerbate damage,” Bekkerman added. Other conference speakers will give updates on the southward expansion of wheat stem sawflies and share their findings about biological control, integrated pest management, host plant resistance, the genetics of both wheat stem sawfly and wheat, population monitoring, and chemical ecology. A keynote speaker will be MarieClaude Bon from the European Biological Control Laboratory in France. She will speak from 1:30 to 2 p.m. April 3 on genetic variation among wheat stem sawfly populations. Genetic variation is probably one reason that wheat stem sawflies are so persistent and intractable in Montana, Weaver said. Compared to other areas of the northern Great Plains, the genetic diversity of wheat stem sawflies in Montana is much greater. Bon will discuss this variation and its implications.
Home & Ranch
Another reason that wheat stem sawflies are a problem is because they have not yet been managed using any known insecticides, Weaver said. As a result, researchers are continually testing new insecticides and investigating other options, including the exploration of newly discovered genetic traits in existing wheat germ plasm that provide additional resistance. The Wheat Stem Sawfly Conference is held every two years, with the 2012 conference also held at MSU. Since beginning in 2003, the conference has been held in Bozeman three times and has been part of past Pacific BranchEntomological Society of America and Entomological Society of Canada meetings. The conferences draw scientists, members of the agribusiness community, agricultural leaders and wheat growers. “Agricultural research has had these wonderful and highly supportive relationships with wheat growers in the state,” Weaver said. “They are very interested in attending these presentations to find out more about the wheat stem sawfly research that is being conducted.” For a complete schedule of the conference and more details, go to http://www.entomology.montana.edu/saw fly/iwsscprogram2014.pdf and scroll down.
Excellent Buy. Curb appeal. Very nice
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Affordable is the Key Word – Yes it needs
room arrangement – 3 bedrooms. 2 full baths on the main floor. Upstairs would be a great family room with a 1/2 bath. Nice condition. Double car garage MLS #321454
views – Lovely 4 bedroom, 2 full bath home. Large utility room. Office space. Shop. How about a garden? Chickens? 4-H Project? Home is in excellent condition. 2.62 acres.
a facelift. Interior is cozy. 1.5 story home. 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. Great utility room. Loads of interior and exterior storage. Expensive upgrades have been done. Fenced yard. MLS #324224
some updating. At $55,000 you can afford to. 1 bedroom, 1 bath. 2 living-rooms. Fenced back yard. Storage everywhere you look. New single car garage. MLS #321430
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Stunning Custom Built Home – The best of everything including location. 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths. Finished basement with a wet bar, would be a perfect media room. Attached double car garage. 30 x 45 heated shop building. Underground sprinklers. 7.50 acres. Who wouldn’t enjoy living here? MLS #324447
Ranch style handicap accessible home. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Master Suite has a handicap tub/shower. Lovely kitchen with loads of counter and cupboard space. All appliances included. Attached double garage. Very private yard. Only 10 years old! MLS #324814
Great buy at
Best of all Worlds – Live on Flathead Lake but just far enough back you don’t have to pay for lake frontage but you have the view. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. Heated tuck under garage. Totally open floor plan with the kitchen at one end and living room with fireplace at the other end. Windows totally take up 3 sides. Lots of deck space. Gazebo. 1.34 acres create privacy. MLS #319476
$155,000
Nice home right on Highway 93, full basement and finished attic. Zoned commercial. MLS #323827
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Beautiful custom home featuring
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4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, wraparound poach, triple car garage, large well maintained fenced yard with lots of trees, Separate living quarters with its own bath and kitchenette. Offered below assessed value. MLS #320923
$239,900
For Sale 2100+ sq. ft. airplane hanger at the Ronan Airport. Building is on leased ground and includes a finished office, bathroom and upstairs storage. Also has a gas forced air furnace, electric baseboards, plumbed for laundry and wired for 220. The door is 43 wide by 14 high and the building is well insulated. Easy access and a great location. MLS #323698 Come take a look.
$105,000
Perfect location and price with this mainlevel, 3 bedroom/2 bath home. Centrally located near Charlo School, and a short drive to Ronan and Missoula. Currently being spruced up with new trim, paint, new carpeting in bedrooms, new laminate flooring in dining, living rooms, and master bedroom. Call Davina at 531-2173 for more info. MLS #324827 A must see!
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63228 U.S. 93 Ronan (406) 676-8610 Home & Ranch
March 26, 2014 – 27
swine at risk by Berl Tiskus Valley Journal
s
tate of Montana veterinarians have confirmed the presence of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus in two swine facilities in Montana. Although they haven’t disclosed the location, neither facility is in Lake County. The Montana Department of Livestock did say PED doesn’t harm humans, food safety or other livestock, but it can kill young pigs. The disease causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration, and can have mortality rates of up to 100 percent in suckling pigs, according to an MDL press release. First discovered in the United States in 2013, PED is highly contagious. Iowa State University has done some research, and the U.S. PED virus shows a similarity to a PED virus known to exist in China, according to Dr. Tahnee Szymanski, assistant Montana state veterinarian. In hog barns, pigs are usually kept closely confined, especially see page 30
Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal
Two piglets are part of a litter living with their mother under a heat lamp to keep them warm.
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March 26, 2014 – 29
“It’s deadly, deadly,” Trevor Motichka said. The family goes by what the Montana State University Extension Service recommends from page 28 when vaccinating piglets so he was hoping to when they have litters of baby pigs, so PED is be able to vaccinate for PED. There is no vaccine yet, but Szymanski said easier to spread. animal health companies are close. “It’s fecal-oral transmission,” said Lake County Extension Agent Jack Stivers Szymanski, adding that the MDL recommends said the Market Livestock Board has decided strict biosecurity measures. not to weigh the swine in late April as they She suggested limiting the traffic from outhave done in previside people, animals ous years, just as a and vehicles around precaution. the hog barn. “We want to “You want to botavoid contamination tleneck traffic so you and co-mingling of can control the flow hogs,” Stivers said. of traffic,” said The Market Szymanski. Livestock board has Farmers are even been discussing talking about disinoptions on tagging fecting tires and or using some other undercarriages of method of identifitrucks and vehicles. cation for the 4-H “It’s spread on Berl Tiskus/Valley Journal swine without boots, clothing, and Weaner pigs are destined to be 4-H projects. bringing all the pigs tires,” Szymanski to one location. said. PED is so contagious, it could spread rapidly So far, no cases of PED have been found in if even one pig was infected. Nothing has Lake County, and farmers want to keep it that been decided, Stivers said. way. Szymanski commends the 4-H leaders even Many local kids have 4-H swine projects though “We think they are low risk.” and now is the time of year they are picking For more information on PED, visit the up their piglets. Montana Department of Livestock at The Motichka family sells young pigs for llv.mt.gov. 4-H projects and were concerned when they vj heard about porcine epidemic diarrhea.
Swine at risk
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March 26, 2014 – 31
cattle guards
Wild weather complicates busy calving season for ranchers by Megan Strickland Valley Journal
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
32 – March 26, 2014
Home & Ranch
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
Dixon rancher Reece Middlemist prepares to tag, irst there was ice. Unusual melting and cooling patterns turned fields into slippery frozen sheets where one wrong step could send a pregnant heifer sliding across the pasture, to an injury. Broken legs often result in a premature trip to the burger factory.
f
Then there was snow. The 20-inch drifts and subzero temperatures were life-threatening for newborn calves who arrive in the world wet. The calves could quickly freeze to death if they weren’t dried and warmed. At last there came floods. The quickly melting snow
vaccinate and spray antiseptic on the umbilical cord a newborn calf.
mixed with rain to form ponds where dry land should be. The mud can be an incubator for calf scours, bacteria, and disease. Lake County ranchers are accustomed to taking whatever conditions Mother Nature throws their way in stride, but this year’s angry winter
threw curveball after curveball. As calving season wraps up, some are planning to breed later than usual to avoid the fury of the cold next year. “I’ll probably calve later next year,” Dixon rancher Reece Middlemist said. Middlemist and his brother,
Kyle, were seeing to the safe arrival of the last of 400 new calves last week. Their calving season began in midFebruary. “It’s been a little tough with the weather.” Deciding when to breed cows is always a guessing game meant to balance weather conditions and other
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
Kyle Middlemist keeps a concerned mother away from her baby until he’s finished working on her calf.
farm duties. Calves can arrive as early as January in Lake County. Arriving in the first month of the year means cattle will have more time to put on weight before they are sold off to feed lots, but it also risks interference from see page 34
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
A numbered ear tag
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helps ranchers identify cow-calf pairs.
March 26, 2014 – 33
Calving from page 33
cold and snow. Late calving in April or May is typically subject to milder conditions, but can overlap with plowing and other duties to prepare for planting season. “Calving season is our busiest time of year,” Middlemist said. In light of recent mild winters, Middlemist decided to calve early this spring, only to be hit by one of the coldest and snowiest seasons in recent memory. When the baby calves made their entrance into the world wet, shivering, in just under two feet of snow, it was more than an issue of discomfort. “They might not last 30 minutes in the cold,” Middlemist said. At the height of calving season, the Middlemists saw 20 calves arriving per day. In extreme cold each calf has to be brought in to a barn or shed, warmed, and dried off so they don’t freeze to death. The brothers worked out a schedule together so they could get some sleep. The herd has to be checked every couple of hours. Reece’s wife Katelyn and Kyle’s wife Emily were a great help in getting the newborns dried and warmed, Middlemist said. Of the 400 mothers, about 100 were first-calf heifers, which require a bit more attention. Middlemist puts those heifers in a separate pasture where they receive more hay and care to make their first birthing process a bit easier. The older cows, some of which are 13 years old, are old pros and rarely have complications. Sometimes the size or number of calves will pose problems. This year one of the Middlemist’s cows birthed a calf that likely has some sort of gigantism disorder. It weighed in at 160 pounds, almost double what an average calf is expected to weigh, but both mother and calf survived. Twins also face issues. Often mothers will abandon one of the calves. Middlemist had two twins abandoned this year. Both were brought into the family’s barn and bottle fed three times per day until they could see page 36
34 – March 26, 2014
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
Katelyn Middlemist bottle feeds “Midget,” a newborn twin calf abandoned by its mother. Home & Ranch
Home & Ranch
March 26, 2014 – 35
Calving from page 34
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
John Bartel feeds more than 150 cows
on his Ronan ranch after driving newborn calves, on his lap, from the barn back to their mothers.
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
Ranchers keep logs to inventory calves’ sex, birthdate, and cowcalf pairings.
“
This year’s calves are next summer’s steaks.
~ Ronan rancher John Bartel
36 – March 26, 2014
John Bartel fed his cattle
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal extra hay this year due to the rough winter conditions.
Home & Ranch
be matched with a cow that lost her calf. The oldest calf, named “Midget” sucked anxiously from a bottle held by the Middlemist’s 4-yearold daughter Ayden last week. Ronan rancher John Bartel stressed how important it is for calves to receive their mother’s milk in the first few hours after birth. That first milk has special antibodies and nutrients for the calf’s development. Some supplements are available that imitate the milk, but it isn’t the same. Mothers remove themselves from the herd before they give birth. Once the calves are born, the mothers can be very protective of their young, which can make removing them for warming difficult. Bartel drives out to the field in an ATV, places the calf on his lap and drives it back to a warming room. The calf is returned to its mother who will introduce it to the herd in a day or so. In that time, ranchers tag the calves with a piece of plastic that have a number corresponding to their mother. “If you wait more than a day or so, you can’t catch them,” Bartel said. Last week, Middlemist was deft at the tagging process. After locating a calf, he grabbed a toolbox, whip, shot of seven-way vaccine, and a spray bottle of antiseptic in one hand. He jumped out of his truck, strode forward, and in one quick motion, grabbed the back legs of the calf with the spare hand, dropped his equipment with the other, and flipped the calf onto its side. While sitting on top of it, Middlemist administered the shot, stuck the tag through the calf’s ear, and sprayed the umbilical cord with antiseptic. Although Middlemist’s actions were for the calf’s benefit, mama cows don’t take messing with their calves lightly. Occasionally Middlemist had to swat a cow’s nose with a whip to make it back up. The wildeyed mothers stomped anxiously in the minute or so it took Middlemist to complete the process.
“You have to watch out,” Middlemist said. “I’ve been kicked before.” When he returned to the truck, Middlemist documented the tagged calf in a book. The data is imported into a computer system that allows ranchers to keep records of the cattle. When calving season is complete, Middlemist will be able to run a program that shows when the number of calves arrive each day peaked or other interesting information. Once the calves are tagged they will live in the fields until they are branded before summer. A summer in the fields allow the calves to grow, then it’s off to the feed lots where they stay for nine months or a year. “This year’s calves are next summer’s steaks,” Bartel said. Consumers are seeing record beef prices in the supermarket this year, because of record low numbers of U.S. cattle produced. The supply hasn’t been so low since the 1950s. The high prices don’t necessarily correlate to record profits. Ranchers are also facing increased costs of fuel, feed and other supplies, Bartel said. This year’s extra cold winter meant feeding cows five or six extra pounds of hay per day so they could withstand the conditions, Bartel said. While that amount might seem trivial, when multiplied by 150 cows, it meant the hay Bartel had set aside for springtime was gobbled up early and he’ll have to buy more. As domestic ranchers grapple with their own issues, the United States Department of Agriculture is considering importing Brazilian cattle to meet demand. It’s a move that drew the ire of Montana Senator Jon Tester. Tester worries that the imported beef will bring foot and mouth disease, which has been eradicated in the United States, but is still a problem in South America. An outbreak might spell disaster for the Montana cattle industry, which accounts for more than $1 billion and 2.6 million head of cattle. “Foot-and-mouth disease is one of the most contagious and destructive livestock diseases in existence,” Tester said in a January statement. “American beef is high quality and held to the highest standard of food safety. I strongly believe that both U.S. consumers and ranchers are best served by keeping Brazilian beef out of our country.” The USDA has extended the comment period for the proposed imports to April 22.
“ You have to watch out. I’ve been kicked before.
~ Rancher Reece Middlemist
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal
Ayden Middlemist’s role in the calving process
With more than 400 Middlemist cows,
is mostly to pet the bottle-fed calves.
Megan Strickland/Valley Journal Reece has a hectic schedule, first watching for newborns and then tracking them down to tag, vaccinate and possibly band.
vj Home & Ranch
March 26, 2014 – 37
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ast week a pest control company and the Lake County Health Department tried to grasp the extent of an infestation of sixlegged vampires feeding on local residents. “They’re everywhere,” said Launa Benson of a recent increase in bedbug cases she and her husband Tom Benson have seen through their Ronan business, Extreme Weed and Pest Control. Benson is on a mission to educate the public about the icky creatures that feed only on human blood. “I’ve just noticed I’m getting a lot more calls about them,” Benson said. “I think people either don’t know about them or that they’re afraid to tell people. There’s a myth that these are a dirty bug and you only get them if you’re ‘dirty’. That’s simply not true.” Bedbugs are indiscriminant parasites that Benson’s seen in brand new, top-of-the-line hotels, one of the last places anyone would consider unclean. The critters can hide anywhere a person can slip a credit card, Benson said. Bedbugs usually hide in the day and come out to feed at night. Although mattress crevices are
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home remedies work on the bugs, but that’s dozen cases is credible, the department is not the case, Benson said. Even specialists in the process of deploying information armed with heavy-duty pesticides have difabout the creatures. ficulty eradicating the bugs. In the interim, printed material about “It’s almost impossible,” Benson said. bedbugs is available at the Montana State Pesticides must be administered at least University Lake County Extension Office three times to complete a standard treatin Ronan. ment. This ensures the egg, nymph, and O’Connor advised anyone researching adults are all killed at differthe bugs on the web to stay ent stages of the lifecycle. away from “alarmist” sites like Missing a single bedbug can WebMD.com and start the process all over Wikipedia.com. again. The pests lay up to Official health department five eggs per day and can sites are the best place to go I think that people live without food for up to for information, she said. don’t know about one year. Benson had her own set of Most people notice a probadvice, that included setting them, or that they lem when little brownish red hotel luggage in the bathtub are afraid to tell stains show up on their during a stay so the bugs have people. sheets, or when they become a less likely chance of hitchcovered in itchy bites that hiking to the traveler’s home. ~ Launa Benson resemble mosquito bites. In She always pulls the sheets the worst cases, there might off the hotel bed to inspect for be a dank odor in homes rusty brown bloody excrement where the bugs stay. spots or exoskeletons that Bedbugs don’t transfer disease, but the indicate bedbugs live there. She also Lake County Health Department does try to checks the cracks for live bugs. keep tabs on outbreaks, so the organization If she finds evidence of the critters, she can distribute information to the public leaves. about how to prevent the spread of the Benson encouraged others to do the bugs. same. Brigid O’Connor, a nurse for the depart“If we don’t do something we’ll have ment, said before she made contact with them all over the valley,” she said. Benson on March 18, the county had only two reports of bedbugs in the past ninevj months. Since Benson’s report of a half-
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March 26, 2014 – 39
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