Western Farm, Ranch, & Dairy Magazine - Rocky Mountain/Heartland Edition - Spring/Summer 2024 by Ritz Family Publishing, Inc.

• VERTICAL TILLAGE PARTS • TEETH • GRAIN GATES • GRAIN

STORAGE • TOW ROPES • V-BELTS • ZIP TIES AIR CONDITIONING • AUGER TUBES • BELTS • DRIVETRAIN PARTS

GRAIN TANK PARTS

STARTERS

Image by Marina Kraus

Ritz WESTERN FAR M, RANCH, & DAIRY

a Ritz Family Publication

President/CEO

Michael Ritz – mikeritz@ritzfamilypublishing.com

General Manager

Brenda Stoner – brenda@ritzfamilypublishing.com

Office Assistant

Kyle Heisey – kyle@ritzfamilypublishing.com

Sales

Kevin Davis – kevin@farmranchdairy.com

Pat Drury – pat@ritzfamilypublishing.com

Graphic Design

Julia Rehmke – julia@ritzfamilypublishing.com

Corporate Office

Ritz Family Publishing, Inc.

714 N Main Street Meridian, ID 83642 www.ritzfamilypublishing.com

Sales

For all sales inquiries, call toll free 1-800-330-3482 or 1-208-955-0124

info@ritzfamilypublishing.com

Subscriptions

For a subscription or to change your mailing address, call toll free: 1-800-330-3482 or 1-208-955-0124

info@ritzfamilypublishing.com

Printed By ESP Print + Mail, Boise, ID

Copyright© 2024. All rights reserved. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of this publication, however, the publisher does not assume responsibility for omissions or typographical errors. The publisher does not assume responsibility or is liable for the contents of any advertising herein. Publisher’s liability for errors in an advertisement is limited to a correct insertion in the next publication. In the event of a misprint, the publisher must be informed of such error prior to printing of the next publication.

Cover Image by Luke Stackpoole

Image by Markus Spiske

Restock The Hay Pile Or Raise $13

The dry summer and fall of last year and the bitter cold this winter have combined to make hay a valuable commodity. This has made many consider putting cropland to a temporary hay crop, such as sorghum-sudangrass or teff. At the same time, the explosion in China soybean purchases has made raising soybeans a very attractive proposition as well. It is nice for a change to be faced with actual profitable choices! But when faced with two attractive choices, why not choose both?

One thing the cover crop movement has taught us is that growing crops in rapid sequence does not exhaust soil, rather it feeds the soil microbes that increase soil productivity. It is entirely possible to plant a crop of oats, peas or spring triticale (or a mix of all three) in March and have a hay crop made by May, in plenty of time to plant soybeans. Not only can the hay crop make as much revenue as we typically expect from a bean crop alone but growing the hay can create a nice stubble to control soil erosion and improve water infiltration and rooting depth and may offer weed control benefits as well. Spring triticale is an unfamiliar crop to a lot of people, but it is a real rising star in the forage and cover crop world. A cross between rye and spring wheat, it has hybrid vigor compared to either parent. Compared to spring oats, it can yield much higher, and is more competitive against weeds. The quality drops after heading relative to oats, but most people prefer to bale in boot stage to leave as much growing season for the following crop as they can. Peas add both additional yield and additional protein to the mix. Or maybe you would prefer to focus on hay and forgo the beans altogether. In that case, why not grow two hay crops rather than one? You can raise the oat/pea/spring triticale, then follow with a summer forage crop as well. For maximum tonnage you could try a crop of dry stalk sorghum-sudangrass, which offers the high yield of sorghum-sudan in a faster drying package. Alternately, teff grass offers a very rapid drying hay option, while cowpeas or mung beans offer high protein options, Can’t make up your mind? Plan all of them in combination to hedge your bets. If your pastures are beat up after last

summer’s drought, you could pasture this crop in late summer and give your perennial pastures a much-needed chance to restore vigor and grow deeper roots to weather the next drought. And, if spending all summer baling hay and spending all winter feeding hay sounds less than appealing to you, how about planting a crop that can be stockpiled and grazed without all that work, such as a crop of brown midrib sterile sorghum, with some companion crops for added protein and energy? Many people are using this very economical means of wintering livestock now with great success. In the fall, you can add yet another forage crop, drilled right into the living stubble of the summer mix as soon as it is hayed or grazed off in late summer. At first glance, this seems to doom the new seedlings to certain failure, as they are competing with the regrowth of the established summer crop for moisture and light. But it doesn’t work that way. The transpiration of moisture from the

regrowth of the summer crop cools the soil, dropping the temperature as much as 30 degrees relative to the air temperature. The cool-season seedlings need only 10% of the moisture at 80 degrees as they do at 100 degrees, so drilling a cool-season pasture mix of oats, triticale, rye, ryegrass, turnips, radishes and peas right into unkilled stubble of a summer annual mix can actually increase the survival of the seedlings. After a hard freeze has killed and thoroughly dried the summer plants, they can be grazed off right along with the green growth of the cool-season mix, saving on winter hay needs and providing much higher quality nutrition than hay. Besides, you also save the cost of termination! Best of all, the growing of crops in rapid succession provides those vital soil microbes a continual flow of nutritious root exudates for improving soil structure and water-holding capacity for better crops in the future.

One Call of Wyoming

One Call of Wyoming is a nonprofit organization that administers the 811 notification center within the state of Wyoming. Any entity within the state that owns/operates any underground facilities shall, by statute, register their location and contact information with the notification center, there are few exceptions to this requirement. If a person is involved in any activity in which earth, rock or other materials on or below the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by means of hand or power tools, power equipment, explosives or other means, and includes grading, trenching, digging, ditching, auguring, tunneling, boring, plowing in, pulling in, ripping, scraping and pipe installing, EXCEPT TILLING OF SOIL AND GARDENING OR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. They must call the notification center by dialing 811 in Wyoming or from out of state dial 1-800-849-2476 at least 2 full business days, and not more than 14 full business days, prior to beginning their excavation.

Once the notification center (811) has been contacted, the center will send out notifications to our member, operators/ owners, to let them know of your intended excavation activity near their underground facilities within the next 2 to

14 business days. The members must respond to the excavator within the 2 full business days and either clear the described dig area or mark their facilities within the described dig area in some fashion within 2 feet of the actual facility location.

PLEASE, for your safety and for the safety of the general public, and the protection of our vital underground infrastructure. Submit your request online at www.onecallofwyoming.com or dial 811 from within Wyoming, or if calling from out of state please dial 1-800-849-2476 at least 2 full business days prior to beginning, ANY excavation activity.

Submitted by One-Call of Wyoming’s Administration Office

Locate Number 1-800-849-2476

Image by Markus Winkler

Art’s Way Offers Snow Blowers to Handle What Mother Nature Dumps on Us.

Wi th the acquisition of Agro Trend, Art’s Way Manufacturing Co., Inc. a leading manufacturer and distributor of agricultural machinery, now offers a complete line of snow blowers. The acquisition will also bolster distribution of current Art’s Way products into Canada.

To meet virtually every snow moving need, there are currently 28 snow blower models in the Art’s Way lineup in four different categories: Compact, Standard, Farm Utility and Heavy Duty. Cutting widths range from 54 inches to 10 feet and cutting heights span from 24 to 38 inches. Rear mounted pto driven and pull type snow blowers offer flexible operating options

For directing snow, snow blowers in the Compact, Standard and Farm Utility lines feature a chute deflector and crank chute turner and have a hydraulic chute turner and hydraulic deflector as options for perfect snow dis-

All models operate smoothly with a high-efficiency fan. They are ruggedly constructed from formed steel for a long operating life with minimum maintenance. Options available for models with double augers to feed mounds of snow quickly and efficiently.

Art’s Way Manufacturing will lease the facility in Clifford, Ontario and plans on continuing manufacturing, marketing and sales from the Canadian location.

Art’s Way manufactures and distributes farm machinery niche products including animal feed processing equipment, sugar beet defoliators and harvesters, land maintenance equipment, crop shredding equipment, round hay balers, plows, hay and forage equipment, manure spreaders, reels for combines and swathers, and top and bottom drive augers, as well as pressurized tanks and vessels, and modular animal confinement buildings and laboratories. market service parts are also an important part of the Company’s business. The Company has three reporting segments agricultural products; pressurized tanks and vessels; and modular buildings.

For more information on their new line of snow blowers contact Art’s Way Mfg. via phone, email or web:

Rawhide Portable Corral

John McDonald knows a thing or two about livestock equipment after working with cattle and rodeo livestock most of his life. Knowing there had to be a better portable corral design out there; he came up with it himself.

In 2003 the public was introduced to his original Rawhide Portable Corral. It could be set up by one person without any lifting and it could be done quickly; yet it could also be pulled down the road at highway speeds, ensuring that no time would be wasted while catching cattle.

Fast forward to 2018 and now customers have two different corrals to choose from; the Rawhide Original, throwback to the first design, or the Rawhide Processor.

Even though the Processor’s design is viewed as the superior portable corral on the market, John believes that there are still those who will want a smaller, more affordable system. Enter the Rawhide Original, which is a blend between the two designs he has offered throughout the years and has a bumper hitch with

permanent transport wheels. The Original is only offered in the Standard and Large sizes.

The Processor is offered in three sizes for the convenience of ranchers and cattle producers throughout the world and the main difference with this design is the ability to custom-ize the corral upon ordering by including a hydraulic alley, head gate or loading chute. Whether you simply want to catch your cattle or process them on site and load them into a trailer from the pasture, you are able to do so with the Processor.

The design of the Processor continues to impress cattle producers with its versatility and ease of use. The permanent sheeted adjustable alley aids with working your livestock, whether it is done on site or in the field. The adjustable alley can be sized from thirty (30) inches down to sixteen (16) inches; either manually or hydraulically.

The most notable features of the Rawhide corrals are that they are easy to set up and they are easy to transport. We mean it when we say that one person can open up the corral without lifting a panel. This will continue to be the model as we move forward with our newer designs.

The key is one person can handle it all by themselves. Cus-tomers can manipulate the panels so it is not just one big pen, but two, three or even four pens for sorting, as one can never have enough pens when it comes to working cattle.

John’s design was the first portable corral on the market to offer the hydraulic lift option. This has been so popular that we now offer customers the option to buy the Hydraulic Lift Kit with or without the battery so that they may upgrade existing equipment of their own. A lift kit includes the jack, power unit, solar panel and of course the option of including a battery at time of purchase.

John and his wife Mary run the family business at their manufacturing plant in Abilene, Kansas, which is the only place where a Rawhide may be purchased outside of South Texas, where we now have a dealer in Hempstead.

Please check out our website for more information and to view our videos: www.rawhideportablecorral. com or find us on Facebook. Phone # 785-263-3436

Harvest Precision Starts at the Header

For farmers, it’s common to focus a significant amount of effort on seeding and spraying because we think that’s where we have the most control over the quality of crop we grow and value for money spent. After that, we hope to have mother nature on our side and to have a good harvest window.

“Farming has changed dramatically over the last fifteen years. We have precision planting, we have precision spraying but at harvest we just jump in the combine and go”, says Steve Kastning, Founder & President of Duck Foot Parts Inc. “Now we have Duck Foot® that allows you to full-circle your farming with harvest precision.”

The frustration of header loss and seeing the inefficiency of how the crop was feeding into the combine, drove a Saskatchewan farmer to develop a solution. “Being farmers ourselves, we share in the experience of our customers. We wanted to develop a product that would increase yield and save time for farmers during harvest”, says Steve Kastning.

Duck Foot® are slip-over paddle tines that fit over the existing tines on a header and are secured to the reel pipe by a patented clip system. Installation is fast and easy and by following specific recommendations including header settings, combine operators will be able to keep the cutter bar clear, evenly feed the combine, slow their reel speed, and increase ground speed. All these benefits add up to reductions of time in the field, fuel and wear and tear on equipment. Field tests show significant results, up to 75% savings in header loss and an average ground speed increase of 27% in most crops. If you consider the case of soybeans where 80% of the losses are found at Harvest Precision Starts at the Header the header, it’s easy to see the payoff of adding a precision tool like Duck Foot®.

You work too hard to leave harvest to chance. Steve says, “If you aren’t incorporating harvest precision as part of your farming strategy, you’re leaving money on the ground”.

Duck Foot Parts: The Trusted Name in Header Precision and Harvest Efficiency

For more information, visit www.duckfootparts.ca

Award-winning patented farm innovation

Field-tested and proven to reduce header loss and increase ground speed

Clears the cutter bar and feeds crop evenly for better threshing

Beneficial in most crops and crop conditions Duck Foot Parts

Seed & Belting Americas

100% American Made

100% American Quality

FREE Ground Shipping on belts to US lower 48 states

Stalk Knockers

Stalk Knockers are the most user friendly and lightest weight option on the market. No need to be removed when trailering, saving valuable time. They were invented by two farmers in southwest Iowa looking for a better solution for managing stalk residue on their own farm. www.stalkknockers.com .

Image by Jan Kopriva

C & R Supply, Inc

Birth of a Sprayer . . .the Family Expands

After carefully listening to customers who were disappointed with the performance or lack of features in ATV sprayers available, C & R Supply set out to design a series, or family of sprayers to meet their needs. The family began with the EZ ATV Sprayer which features a unique tank design that was created with input from customers and ATV manufacturers. Using this input, and keeping the operator in mind the EZ ATV Sprayer was designed for ease of operation, functional ability and safety. The design was a success! This unit has been in demand since 1998 and continues to hold a strong presence in the market today.

The EZ ATV Sprayer has a sleek design which brings the weight forward and more to a center of gravity for better machine balance. Allowing the legs of the tank to wrap around the fenders of the ATV gives the sprayers dual sumps maximum drainage and the ability to run on side hills without losing its prime. The pump, strainer, and main shut off are mounted underneath the tank in a protected cavity, which also serves as a dual slosh baffle. The top of the tank is designed with a fill catch area to prevent chemical from getting on the operator. The EZ Sprayer is fitted with a 4 gpm Shurflo Pump and a quality Tee-Jet trigger style handgun in the convenient control panel at your side. All brackets and boomless nozzle or boom accessories are attached to the tank for quick and easy mounting. The EZ ATV Sprayer has several different options and accessories to meet your needs.

As time went on customers began seeing a need in their operation for UTV’s. C & R Supply responded by expanding their family of sprayers. The UTV sprayer was born and it was named the C & R Slide In after its ability to be easily slid on and off the bed of the UTV as needed. The sprayer is mounted on a powder coated frame which allows the unit to be transferred as a single piece of equipment. This sprayer, like its elder sibling, was built with only the highest of quality components. The Slide In features a 60 gal tank, left and right electric controls with wiring harness, a Shurflo 4gm by pass pump, and Boominator nozzles which can spray a width of up to 30 feet. An 8 inch hand gun from Tee Jet with adjustable tip for hand spraying is also included. The Slide In sprayer has options and accessories available to meet the needs of

your operation including a convenient retractable hose reel add on and additional boom options.

C & R Supply, Inc. is a distributor and manufacturer of agricultural and roadside spray equipment located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. For over 40 years, C & R Supply, Inc. has been a leader in the distribution and servicing of many quality products from Raven Industries, Spraying Systems, Banjo, and more. They also lead the way in designing and manufacturing new and advanced products as their customer needs change. This family of quality sprayers began with the introduction of the C & R Foam Marker and Spot Sprayer which progressed to the units we are featuring here today. C & R is a provider of precision ag products such as GPS guidance systems, variable rate controllers, mapping, steering assist systems, and chemical injection units. C & R Supply prides themselves on having the knowledge and experience to continually advance their product line to keep up with ever changing technology in a way that helps producers maximize their output.

Image by Zelle Duda

Beefmaster Heterosis Can Impact Any Herd

BBeefmaster is a beef breed developed in America that improves beef quality and production efficiency when crossed with any other cattle breed for commercial beef production. The breed originated in Southern Texas in the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s. The Lasater family originally developed a large herd of Hereford cattle carefully selected to withstand the heat and insects of the Texas Gulf Coast region, but they were still not perfectly suited to that difficult environment. So Lasater began to experiment with incorporating Bos indicus or Zebu genetics, in the form of Gyr and Guzerat bulls from India and Nelore from Brazil. While the practice of crossbreeding was virtually unheard of at the time, they immediately saw a tremendous jump in productive traits, such as weight gain and reproductive rates. This is genetic advantage known as heterosis or hybrid vigor.

eefmaster is a beef breed developed in America that improves beef quality and production efficiency when crossed with any other cattle breed for commercial beef production. The breed originated in Southern Texas in the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s. The Lasater family originally developed a large herd of Hereford cattle carefully selected to withstand the heat and insects of the Texas Gulf Coast region, but they were still not perfectly suited to that difficult environment. So Lasater began to experiment with incorporating Bos indicus or Zebu genetics, in the form of Gyr and Guzerat bulls from India and Nelore from Brazil. While the practice of crossbreeding was virtually unheard of at the time, they immediately saw a tremendous jump in productive traits, such as weight gain and reproductive rates. This is genetic advantage known as heterosis or hybrid vigor.

losophy known today as The Lasater Philosophy. The concept is to only select cattle for economically relevant traits, which he distilled to these Six Essential traits. It is the only breed in history to be selected only using pressure for productive traits, as opposed to aesthetics.

In 1937, the herd was closed to outside genetics with continued internal development to cull low-performers and upgrade all traits together equally. By 1954 the foundation herd was recognized by USDA under the name of Beefmaster.

By the early 1930’s, the ranch also incorporated Milking Shorthorn genetics, to augment milk production and carcass quality. They could immediately see that the three-way hybrid was far superior to the two-way crosses. The final composite ended up at roughly 50% Bos indicus and 50% Bos taurus (25% Hereford and 25% Shorthorn).

As Lasater developed the breed, he also formed a unique selection philosophy known today as The Lasater Philosophy. The concept is to only select cattle for economically relevant traits, which he distilled to these Six Essential traits. It is the only breed in history to be selected only using pressure for productive traits, as opposed to aesthetics.

excellence, particularly in harsh desert or tropical environments. The breed has excelled across most regions of the United States and is the leading breed of choice for commercial cattlemen in Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Panama, Columbia and several other Latin American regions. With global demand for higher-quality beef growing geometrically, Beefmasters provide the perfect breed to cross on commercial cattle to improve production efficiency and carcass quality, while not sacrificing adaptability.

Commercial cattlemen have noted substantial economic gains from using Beefmasters to provide an average increase of 60 lbs., or more at weaning when compared with other breeds. They excel post-weaning as well, with faster weight gains, excellent feed conversion and carcass yields around 64%.

In a time when sustainability is becoming increasingly critical, Beefmasters have repeatedly demonstrated that they are highly efficient converters of both forage and feeds into lean, tender, high-quality beef. A recent study at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) demonstrated Beefmasters dominance when compared to 18 of the most widely used beef breeds in the United States.

As Lasater developed the breed, he also formed a unique selection phi-

The breed has rapidly grown around the world and has become known as the prime maternal cow for serious commercial cattlemen that appreciate their production excellence, particularly in harsh desert or tropical environments. The breed has excelled across most regions of the United States and is the leading breed of choice for commercial cattlemen in Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Panama, Columbia and several other Latin American regions. With global demand for higher-quality beef growing geometrically, Beefmasters provide the perfect breed to cross on commercial cattle to improve production efficiency and carcass quality, while not sacrificing adaptability.

The breed has rapidly grown around the world and has become known as the prime maternal cow for serious commercial cattlemen that appreciate their production

substantial economic gains from using Beefmasters to provide an average increase of 60 lbs., or more at weaning when compared with other breeds. They excel post-weaning as well, with faster weight gains, excellent feed conversion and carcass yields around 64% In a time when sustainability is becoming increasingly critical, Beefmasters have repeatedly demonstrated that they are highly efficient converters of both forage and feeds into lean, tender, high-quality beef. A recent study at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) demonstrated Beefmasters dominance when compared to 18 of the most widely used beef breeds in the United States. Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) is headquartered in Bryan, Texas. Beefmaster ranks fifth in the U.S. in terms of membership and is the largest of the American breeds. The association has over 3,000 members registering around 19,000 calves annually.

Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) is headquartered in Bryan, Tx. Beefmaster ranks fifth in the U.S. in terms of membership and is the largest of the American breeds. The association has over 3,000 members registering around 19,000 calves annually.

Commercial cattlemen have noted

Beefmasters also enjoy a rapidly growing international footprint, with established associations in eight countries worldwide. T hese i nnovative cat tlemen have seen the tremendous strengths Beefmasters bring to their own genetic improvement programs. For more information about what Beefmasters can do for your operation, please visit us w ww.beefmasters.org. e

Beefmasters also enjoy a rapidly growing international footprint, with established associations in eight countries worldwide. These innovative cattlemen have seen the tremendous strengths Beefmasters bring to their own genetic improvement programs. For more information about what Beefmasters can do for your operation, please visit us at www.beefmasters.org

Feed The Cow & Protect The Calf

Each new season brings new challenges, including dealing with scours of all kinds. In the US each year too many calves are lost due to preventable illness and death from scours. The impact this has on small and large operations is priceless when time and energy are also factored into the financial loss. Imogene Ingredients and our product, Farmatan, can help prevent scours in all livestock at a measurable rate.

A 1,760 head Cow/Calf operation in South Dakota lost 174 calves to scours in 2019. They added Farmatan to their cow’s mineral program and lost 2 calves in 2020. They had similar scours in 2021.

In a 225 head Angus herd in South Dakota they have been using Farmatan in their mineral for 4 years consistently. In 2017 they treated 110 calves for Cryptosporidium scours with 25 lost; 2018 treated 6 with none lost; 2019 treated 6 with none lost; 2020 and 2021 also brought no loss to scours. Farmatan is comprised of a complex group of natural

TANK COATINGS ROOF COATINGS

Available for METAL, composition shingles or tar roofs. Long lasting and easy to apply. We also manufacture tank coatings for concrete, rock, steel, galvanized or mobile tanks. Call for our free catalog: VIRDEN

PERMA-BILT (806) 352-2761 www.virdenproducts.com

compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Farmatan works to develop lower gut wall integrity by improving tight junctions between cell walls. Farmatan contains naturally occurring organic acids that help to support immune function in the GI tract; preventing leaky gut and providing immune support to help prevent and reduce the severity of calf scours.

Farmatan works for various target species: cow/calf, dairy, poultry, swine, and goats.

There are many options for prevention using Farmatan products – young animal paste, mineral, calf creep, milk replacer, lick tubs, and products formulated for poultry feed.

Are you asking yourself why you haven’t started incorporating Farmatan? We don’t know why either. Reach out, let’s talk about what we can do to help eliminate scours for your operation. We can be reached at www.farmatanusa.com.