JANUARY 2015
Vol. XV No. 12 P.O. Box 306 Valier, MT 59486-0306
Phone 406-279-3291 Fax 406-279-3249 website: tradersdispatch.com E-MAIL: trader@3rivers.net
Another round of Farm Bill Meeting set for Montana producers Montana USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Montana State University (MSU) Extension announce another series of agricultural producer meetings that will be held across the state in January 2015 to cover important new programs authorized by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill). The meetings will involve a more in-depth presentation on the FSA’s Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, new 2015 program changes to the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) Buy-Up option. MSU Extension will present an analysis of Farm Bill programs and an explanation of several Farm Bill Decision Tools available to producers in understanding options under ARC, PLC, and NAP-Buy-Up. The 2014 Farm Bill authorizes three FSA program election options: PLC, ARC-County (ARC-CO) and ARC-Individual (ARC-IC). Producers must make a one-time decision to retain or reallocate crop acreage bases, to retain or update program payment yields and elect the type of coverage (price protection, county revenue protection, and/or individual revenue protection) for the 2014-18 crop years. Below are the dates/towns/times/meeting location and addresses. For more information, including a printable schedule, visit MSU Extension’s Farm Bill website at http://www. montana.edu/farmbill and Montana FSA’s website at www. fsa.usda.gov/mt. If you have any questions, please contact your local FSA office. January 13: Deer Lodge, 1:30 to 4 p.m., Powell County Community Center (416 Cottonwood Ave.) January 20: Livingston, 2 to 4:30 p.m., MSU Park County Extension Office (119 South 3rd St.) January 21: Townsend, 8 to 10:30 a.m., 4-H Building at the Townsend Fairgrounds (189 Hwy 12 East) CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
PRODUCTION SALES
Feb. 2, Gateway Simmental & Lucky Cross, Lewistown....................................A8 Feb. 4, Begger’s Diamond V, Wibaux...................................................................A9 Feb. 7, Prickly Pear Simmental Ranch, Helena..................................................A7 Feb. 16, Bulls of the Big Sky, Billings.................................................................A5 Feb. 18, Veseth Cattle Co., Malta.........................................................................A6 Feb. 21, Sparks Herefords, Plevna....................................................................A24 Feb. 24, Connelly Angus, Valier.........................................................................A41 Feb. 28, Bitterroot Performance Bull Sale, Missoula.......................................A12 Mar. 2, Hill’s Ranch Simmentals, Stanford........................................................A15 Mar. 2, Clear Creek Angus & Weaver Herefords, Chinook...............................A14 Mar. 3, Apex Angus, Valier..................................................................................A21 Mar. 6, Sutherlin Farms Red Angus, Stevensville............................................A22 Mar. 6, Diamond Bar S, Great Falls....................................................................A27 Mar. 7, Redland Red Angus & Gelbvieh, Hysham............................................A29 Mar. 7, Bulls of the Bitterroot, Stevensville......................................................A28 Mar. 9, Montana Shorthorn Association, Three Forks.....................................A44 Mar. 9, Holden Herefords, Valier.........................................................................A24 Mar. 10, Cooper Hereford Ranch, Willow Creek................................................A25 Mar. 12, Fritz Red Angus, Brady........................................................................A33 Mar. 13, Flesch Angus, Shelby...........................................................................A35 Mar. 16, Sun River Red Angus, Great Falls.......................................................A36 Mar. 19, Kicking Horse Ranch, Great Falls.......................................................A37 Mar. 25, Westphal Registered Red Angus, Grass Range.................................A48 Apr. 8, Pass Creek Angus, Wyola.......................................................................A45
PRIVATE TREATY
Storey Herefords, Bozeman...............................................................................A30 Anchor Polled Herefords, Vaughn.....................................................................A25 Churchill Cattle Co, Manhattan.........................................................................A25 Beery’s Land & Livestock Co., Vida..................................................................A25 Duncan Ranch Co, Jopin...................................................................................A25 Elings Polled Herefords, Conrad.......................................................................A25 Ehlke Herefords, Townsend...............................................................................A25 Feddes Herefords, Manhattan...........................................................................A25 McMurry Cattle, Billings.....................................................................................A25 Snowshoe Cattle Co., Pompeys Pillar..............................................................A24 Thomas Herefords, Gold Creek.........................................................................A24 Wichman Herefords, Moore...............................................................................A24 Sidwell Ranch, Columbus..................................................................................A24 Diamond K Shorthorns, Twin Bridges..............................................................A42
Darrol Berkram and Butch Gillespie study the provided forage samples at the Glacier County Extension Forage Seminar December 1, 2014, to mark their quiz. Attendees were given the task of matching forage samples up with the correct nutrient analysis, estimating the crude protein and energy values of the various samples, and calculating the pounds of various forages a cow would have to consume in order to get one pound of crude protein. Photo by Kari Lewis, Glacier County Extension.
Cropping seminars scheduled
Montana State University Extension will host the annual cropping seminar series January 12-15 in Fort Benton, Chester, Shelby, Cut Bank, Choteau, Conrad, Stanford, and Great Falls. Speakers at each location will feature Kent McVay, Ron Larsen, and Dr. Reddy. Kent McVay leads the Cropping Systems research at the Southern Ag Research Center at Huntley, and will be discussing crop rotations and crop choices for dryland production. In addition, McVay will discuss nitrogen management for wheat and barley, along with advantages and challenges of single and multispecie cover crops. Ron Larsen, manager of the Montana Seed Growers Association, will discuss how certified seed can reduce disease and weed pressures, and the basics of determining a seeding rate, calculating germination rates, and reading a seed label. Dr. Gadi Reddy, superintendent of the Western Triangle Ag Research Center and associate profes-
Fort Keogh on the road in Helena
On Saturday, January 24, 2015, researchers from the Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Center in Miles City, Montana will be in Helena sharing results of some of their research. The lectures will be at Helena College in their Lecture Hall at 1115 North Roberts from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. A lunch is provided, but attendees must pre-register by contacting the MSU/ CONTINUED ON PAGE A3
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sor of entomology/insect ecology will share his research on biological control strategies of the wheat stem sawfly utilizing parasitic nematodes and fungal pathogens. Dr. Reddy will also cover research projects in wireworm management. Lastly, there will be cereal variety trial updates at each location from each region’s researcher. Peggy Lamb, agronomy research scientist at Northern Ag Research Center in Havre, will speak in Great Falls, Fort Benton, and Chester. Dave Wichman, superintendent and agronomist at the Central Ag Research Center at Moccasin, will give updates in Fort Benton, Great Falls, and Stanford. John Miller, agronomy research associate at the Western Triangle Ag Research Center near Conrad, will cover talks in Shelby, Cut Bank, Conrad, and Choteau. Three private or commercial pesticide applicator credits will be available for attendees. No pre-registration is required, there is no CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
UPCOMING AUCTIONS
Jan. 14, Big Iron, Online................................................... A2 Jan. 21, Big Iron, Online................................................... A2 Jan. 25, RLP Auctions, Western Auction, Hamilton....... A3 Jan. 28, Big Iron, Online................................................... A2
ADVERTISING DEADLINE HAS CHANGED The deadline for the February 2015 issue is Wed., Jan. 28