SEPTEMBER 2021
Vol. XXII No. 8 P.O. Box 997 Conrad, MT 59425-0997
Phone 406-271-5533 Fax 406-271-5727 website: tradersdispatch.com
September waste pesticide disposal events
Montana Department of Agriculture The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is facilitating pesticide disposal events in its Central District (Havre, Great Falls, Lewistown, and Bozeman) during the week of September 20th. Annual pesticide waste collection events have collected close to 720,000 pounds of pesticide waste from over 1,800 participants since the program’s inception in 1994. 2021 Pesticide Waste Collection Dates and Locations: • Tuesday, September 21st - Havre • Wednesday, September 22nd - Great Falls • Thursday, September 23rd – Lewistown • Friday, September 24th - Bozeman The MDA program was designed to assist individuals with disposing of any pesticides that are unusable as originally intended, or cannot be used for any other purpose, in an environmentally responsible way. In effect, the pesticide and waste disposal program protects Montana’s ecosystems and groundwater, as well as families, pets, livestock and drinking
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Dealing with more than just dry conditions during drought By Matt Stockton, Agricultural Economist, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
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UPCOMING AUCTIONS
Sept 15 - Oct 7, Shobe Auction & Realty, CA Ranch Equipment, Online....... A9 Sept 18 - Oct 2, Pate Auction Co., State of Montana Surplus, Online........... A3 Sept 18, Montana Auction Co, Fischer Estate, Sidney MT............................. A5 Sept 18, Ophus Auction Company, Stuart (Scott) MacKenzie Estate, Chinook MT................................................................................................................. A2 Sept 21, Kinsey Auctioneers & Real Estate, Fallon County Municipal Equipment, Baker MT...................................................................................................... A4 Sept 25, GSI Auction Service, Harold “Frenchie” Girard Retirement, Scobey MT............................................................................................................... A11 Sept 25, Kamerman Auction Co., Rahn Farms, Three Forks MT.................. A13 Sept 25, Weaver Auctions, Robinson Ranch & Fall Consignment, Racetrack MT................................................................................................................. A6 Sept 25, Montana Auction Co, Royce Perrett Estate, Sidney MT................. A15 Sept 30, Shobe Auction & Realty, Bob Ryffel Tractor Collection, Raynesford MT............................................................................................................... A17 Oct 2, Montana Auction Co, Winhofer Firearm, Sidney MT.......................... A19 Oct 2, Logan Auction Service, Inc., Francor Liquidation, Whitehall MT...... A12 Oct 9, Barnes Auction, LaCense MT LLC, Selkirk Ranch, Dillon MT............ A23 Oct 19, Bitz Auction, Kirsch Retirement, Belfield ND................................... A18
PRODUCTION SALES
Dec 11........................ Pharo Cattle Company, Butte MT.............................. A24
Soil health for ranchers
Adriane Good, Montana State University Extension Pondera County Montana State University Extension Pondera County, Pondera County Conservation District, and A Land of Grass Ranch will be cooperating to host two, one day Soil Health for Ranchers workshops. The workshops will be hosted at A Land of Grass Ranch on September 26 and 27. The workshops will feature Nicole Masters, from Integrity Soils. Ms. Masters is the director of Integrity Soils and has written a book on soil health, titled For the Love of Soil: Strategies to Regenerate Our Food Production Systems.
The most recent drought conditions have grown to cover a large portion of the west and central United States, as shown in Figure 1. Those who depend on rain to provide water for either crops or livestock continue to watch and hope that conditions will change soon. Many have had to consider and implement various strategies to preserve their livelihoods. Those who have farmed and ranched for many years have seen other occasions when dry conditions limited forage production and reduced yields, which resulted in hardship and financial difficulty. Each drought has varying outcomes, depending on the factors faced by the individual farm or ranch. While drought may produce the same dry conditions for many, its effects are individualized. There are as many strategies for dealing with drought, as there are individuals who ranch and farm. Instead of writing about specific response strategies and suggesting possible solutions blindly and without knowing the details of the individual circumstances, I would rather focus on the nature of the farming and ranching businesses and the consequential interaction with dry times. Generally, the cow calf and crop busi-
nesses are classified as commodity-based operations. This means that producers are price takers and rely heavily on productivity and cost to make a profit. During a drought, local price may see huge swings, depending on the availability of local production. For instance, when local cattle markets almost collapse, and a flood of excess livestock occurs, markets are in a period of susceptibility. Droughts, like most things, are not equal in outcomes, nor are they equally distributed, as can be seen by the map, Figure 1. We have all heard about incidents where adjacent tracts of land have been impacted differently during the same weather conditions, micro conditions, etc. While possibly located in the same general vicinity, each ranch or farm has unique resources, including soil, topography, vegetation, etc. Furthermore, each operation CONTINUED ON PAGE A4
PRIVATE TREATY
Bar LM Ranch, Stevensville MT................................ A11 Central Montana Tarentaise, Fort Benton MT.......... A26 Feddes Herefords, Manhattan MT.............................. C9 JK Ranches, Huson MT............................................... A4 McMurry Cattle, Billings MT....................................... C9
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OTHER DATED EVENTS
Sept 17 - 19, Teton Antique Steam & Gas Threshing Assoc, Choteau MT... A40 Sept 21 - 23, North Montana Angus Tour, North Central Montana ............... A7 Oct 5 , .Triangle Ag Services, Open House, Fort Benton MT......................... A21 Dec 2 - 4, Montana Organic Association, Bozeman MT.............................. A26
ADVERTISING DEADLINE The deadline for October issue is WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29. Advertiser Index B1 Recipe Patch A38 Email: advertising@tradersdispatch.com
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