March 9, 2019

Volume 30 Number 45 • March 9, 2019

®

The Weekly News Source for Wyoming’s Ranchers, Farmers and AgriBusiness Community • www.wylr.net

A Look Inside Cold weather is expected to continue into March. . . Page A8 The Wyoming Hay and Forage Association has its sights on growth. . . . . . . . . . . Page A15 The Wyoming State Fair Board is working on 2019’s big event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page B3 Heart Mountain Irrigation District eyes an expansion project to help irrigators better use water. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page B5

Quick Bits Meat Report Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 4.7 billion pounds in January, up 2% from the 4.59 billion pounds produced in January 2018.

Beef production, at 2.31 billion pounds, was 1% above the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.83 million head, up 3% from January 2018. The average live weight was down 13 pounds from the previous year, at 1,363 pounds.

Nesvik looks to build on experience, past priorities for WGFD Cheyenne – On March 1, Brian Nesvik was appointed

by Gov. Mark Gordon as Director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), replacing Scott Talbott, who retired in early 2019.

“Brian Nesvik brings

tremendous experience in dealing with wildlife management, endangered species and law enforcement throughout the state,” Gov. Gordon said.

Nesvik, who stepped into the position after serving as WGFD Chief Game War-

den, looks forward to continuing his career with the agency to enhance wildlife and address wildlife issues across the state.

Wildlife career Nesvik is a native Wyomingite. He was raised in Casper and graduated from

high school in Cheyenne.

“I went to work for WGFD in 1995, where I served as a game warden all over the state,” he explained. “I served as game warden in Glendo, Laramie, Casper, Elk Please see WGFD on page A6

Industry advocates animal care during transport of cull cows

CELEBRATING AGRICULTURE

March 14 marks 2019’s National Ag Day Beginning in 1973, the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) launched the National Ag Day program, and since then, the organization has promoted the celebration of the agriculture industry in midMarch during National Ag Week, which is March 10-16 this year.

ACA says, “We believe every American should understand how food and fiber products are produced; appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products; value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy; and acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.”

In 2019, National Ag Day celebrations surround the theme, “Agriculture: Food for Life.” The 46th anni-

WBCIA Report

versary event will specifically recognize that each American farmer feeds about 165 people, and agriculture products are America’s number one export. At the same time, new technology means farmers are more environmentally friendly than ever before.

“Today is really about recognizing the role of agriculture and celebrating it,” says ACA. To celebrate National Ag Day, the Wyoming Livestock Roundup wants to see your favorite photos from the farm, ranch or your ag business. E-mail photos to roundup@wylr.net, mail them to PO Box 850, Casper, WY 82602 or text them to 307-254-2473 to show us what ag looks like in your life. Submissions will be printed in the March 16 and March 23 editions of the Roundup. Call 307-234-2700 with questions.

Please see RANGE on page A5

The results from the Wyoming Beef Cattle Improvement Association Test have been released and are available at wylr.net. This year, Angus bulls averaged a gain of 2.87 pounds per day. Angus bulls average 2.74 pounds weight per day of age (WDA), and Red Angus bulls had an average daily gain of 3.49 pounds and 2.88 WDA.

Horse Data

As of March 1, 2018, the wild horse and burro population on public lands was estimated at 82,000 animals, which is more than triple the number of animals the land can support in conjunction with other legally mandated land uses. To learn more about the wild horse or burro program, visit blm.gov/whb.

Land Bill

On March 4, Idaho lawmakers voted to effectively kill a bill that would have given the public the ability to file civil lawsuits against those who block access to public land. It would have altered an existing Idaho code to offer “a civil remedy” to public land access issues. Representatives from the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation and Idaho Cattle Association expressed concerns that the bill’s language – undefined terms such as “willful” and “flagrant” – would allow “perpetual litigation against landowners across the state.” – Idaho Statesman

Dairy culls

Celebrating agriculture -- This time of year, Wyoming ranchers are looking forward to nice weather for calving. The week of March 10-16, producers will celebrate the ag industry -- no matter what the weather looks like. Saige Albert photo

As the dairy industry continues to put more focus on the welfare of their cattle, progress is being made to ensure cows are fit to be transported when they are culled from the dairy herd.

Lily Edwards-Callaway, an assistant professor with the Colorado State University (CSU) Department of Animal Sciences, talked to producers about the welfare of their dairy cattle and safely transporting them during a presentation at the Colorado Farm Show.

Fitness for transport issues are becoming more important as the country becomes more concerned with animal welfare issues, Edwards-Callaway explains.

“What does fitness for transport mean, what does it look like and who does it matter to? Dairy cows have a dual-purpose career. It is essential we consider what is best for them in regards to milk and meat,” she says.

Nearly a third of cows are culled annually from U.S. dairy herds, and most are culled due to health and productivity issues.

Please see DAIRY on page A10

Gray wolf to be delisted

Fagerlin: Trust is given not earned

On March 6, Jennifer Houston, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), and Bob Skinner, president of the Public Lands Council (PLC), expressed their appreciation to the Department of Interior after an announcement that the agency will publish a gray wolf delisting rule in the Federal Register.

“The recovery of the gray wolf in the United States is a conservation success story. When the federal government collaborates with state wildlife officials and local land managers, it enhances our ability to protect the wildlife and ecosystems that we all cherish. This is exactly how the Endangered Species Act is supposed to work,” said Houston and Skinner. “Unfortunately, as ranchers know all too well, the current Endangered Species Act rarely functions as Congress originally intended.”

The pair continued, “Radical environmental activists use an endless cycle of lawsuits and procedural tricks to thwart effective conservation. That is why it has taken so long to delist the gray wolf, even though science has long shown the species had reached stable population levels. That is also why the Endangered Species Act’s overall effectiveness hovers at an abysmal rate of just two percent.”

“NCBA and PLC would like to commend Acting Secretary Bernhardt and his team for making this science-based decision,” Houston and Skinner said. “We look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Interior and state wildlife agencies as this process moves forward.”

“To improve trust in the agriculture industry, we have to be accept that trust is given not earned,” says Richard Fagerlin, founder of Peak Solutions and author of Trustology.

“To build trust, we have to start with ourselves,” says Fagerlin. “We have to have an open mind when it comes to building trust and closing the gap between consumers and producers.”

Consumers He notes the Chinese Proverb, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second-best time is right now,” is a good analogy for how farm-

ers and ranchers need to relate to non-ag members of the public.

“We are in the people business whether we like it or not,” Fagerlin says.

“We have to have an open mind about how we go about communicating with people. If not we will be left behind.”

While he applauded the efforts of educational programs, he believes they are targeting the wrong audience.

“These programs are really great in theory,” he says. “But they target rural kids who are likely already being exposed to agriculture. We need to be getting out there and talking to urban

periodical

periodical

Please see TRUST on page A11

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Proves a Point Ranching in the Intermountain Region has always had its challenges and trials. To some, this winter has been just that – a challenge. But come spring, as the calves and lambs start popping out, we soon put the snow and cold out of From the our mind for the time. If it was a really Publisher bad winter, we won’t forget, and we’ll Dennis Sun always remember the year of that winter. That is why we like winters we can’t remember.

As I’ve said before in this column, we like to puff out our chests and brag about the cattle and sheep we raise in Wyoming and the surrounding Intermountain Region. And we’re not just bragging. The prices reflect the quality of cattle and sheep.

The latest regional news release and cattle and sheep inventory of Jan. 1, 2019 conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the Mountain Regional Field Office came out at the end of February. As expected, cattle numbers in most of the mountain states were either unchanged or down two percent. Utah’s cattle numbers were up three percent, the only state with a gain, and Wyoming was down at two percent.

The report said Wyoming’s inventory of all cattle and calves totaled 1.3 million head. The number of beef cows, at 714,000 head, were unchanged from 2018, but the 2018 Wyoming calf crop, at 670,000 head, is up two percent from 2017. That number was surprising to me as the northern one-third of Wyoming had a really tough spring in 2018 where calves were lost. The beef replacement heifers were unchanged from 2018 at 16,000 head. Steers over 500 pounds and over were down 14 percent to 150,000 head, but the number of total calves under 500 pounds was up 18 percent to around 100,000 head.

The report said there were 6,000 dairy cows in Wyoming. They sure have them hid out across the state.

Nationally, the number of cattle and calves as of Jan. 1, 2019 totaled 94.8 million head. This was slightly above the 94.3 million head from the year before. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for all feedlots totaled 14.4 million head and that is up two percent from Jan. 1, 2018.

We can all hope and pray for a strong export market and a strong consumer demand again this year. I think we export around 10 percent of our fed beef, that number is really vital to the cattle markets.

The sheep and lamb inventory for Jan. 1, 2019 for the Mountain Region showed all Mountain States down except for New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Arizona was down eight percent and Utah was down five percent. Those are big numbers.

Wyoming was up one percent for the total number of sheep and lambs from Jan. 1, 2018, totaling around 350,000 head. The number of breeding sheep and lambs increased by two percent from last year to around 265,000 head, while market sheep and lambs were unchanged at 85,000 head.

The 2018 number of lambs was up two percent from 2017.

Now, for the good part. Nationally, the average price for wool sold in 2018 was $1.75 per pound, up 16 percent. The average price for wool sold from Wyoming and some neighboring mountain states was $2.50 per pound, up 28 percent from 2018.

With lamb imports down and demand up, both overseas and nationally, it should be a good year for those raising sheep. Good for them.

GUEST OPINIONS Acid Soil: Prevention May Be Cheaper Than Cure

By Meryl Rygg McKenna, Rocky Mountain Certified Crop Advisers There is so much more to dirt than meets the eye. Along with nutrients, texture, organic matter and so on, soil pH is critical to the health of plants.

Ongoing soil tests show fields are becoming more acidic. At least 20 of Montana’s agricultural counties have soils acidic enough to affect crop health, even in areas traditionally known for high-pH or alkaline soils.

A pH value is a measure of acidity on a scale from zero to 14. Acidic soils have low pH values – less than seven; basic soils have high pH values – greater than seven; and a pH of seven is neutral. Each pH unit change represents a 10-fold change in acidity.

Why does it matter?

Acidic soil affects crop health in multiple ways, said Clain Jones, chair of the Rocky Mountain Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) program and Extension soil fertility specialist with Montana State University. As soil pH drops, plants go hungry because nutrients are less available than in neutral-pH soil.

For example, at low pH, phosphorus sticks more to clay or iron particles, while nitrogen, potassium, sulfur, calcium and magnesium are easily leached away and lost.

Nitrogen fixation by legumes is severely limited at pH levels lower than six.

At low pH, aluminum and manganese become more available, leading to toxic levels that produce yellow, brown or even pink foliage and poor growth, especially once pH falls below five. Too much aluminum creates plants with club- or broom-shaped roots.

Farmers also see an increase

in some fungal diseases such as Rhizoctonia and Cephalosporium stripe.

As pH levels go down, the effectiveness of herbicides and pesticides changes, as well as how long they stay in the soil, possibly resulting in crop damage.

What makes soil more acidic?

Some soils have naturally low pH levels, such as forest soils and those that receive high amounts of precipitation. Soils coming from granite sources have lower pH than those from chalky or limestone sources.

However, certain farm procedures also contribute to the change in soil acidity.

One is the practice of applying more ammoniumbased nitrogen (N) fertilizer than a crop needs or can use.

High N rates are often applied because they frequently produce high yield, protein and profit.

Chuck Gatzemeier, a CCA in Glacier County, Mont., said acidic soil was already an issue in Idaho and parts of Canada’s Prairie Provinces before he began seeing it in Montana around 10 years ago.

“The primary source of soil acidification, in my perspective, has been farmers planting wheat on wheat on wheat, then fertilizing for high yields and high protein without soil sampling first to find out how much N is needed,” Gatzemeier said.

Jones explained what happens when too much N is added. Ammonium or urea fertilizer combined with air and water produces nitrate plus acid. When nitrate is not taken up by plants, it leaches out of

the soil, and acid is left behind.

Removal of crop residue adds to acidity in that it takes away calcium, magnesium and potassium, which “buffer” pH drop. For example, if oat straw is removed with the grain harvest, Gatzemeier said the amount of lime required to counter the acidifying effect is six times greater than if the straw stayed on the field.

Because fertilizer is generally applied to the surface or in the top few inches of soil, acidity concentrates in the top three to six inches.

Fortunately, farmers can prevent and remedy acidic soil.

Prevention and mitigation To prevent soil from becoming too acidic, Gatzemeier said CCAs advise farmers to have soil samples assessed every year.

“Look at your nitrogen level, especially in the top six inches of soil,” he said. “Look at the amount of organic matter in that same sample, and look at the pH level every year. If the pH level is going down and becoming more acidic, what we’re doing needs to change.”

Depending on a field’s location, Gatzemeier said soil with two percent organic matter is good. When more organic matter is present in the soil, more N will be released as the previous year’s roots decompose, which can lower fertilizer N needs.

If the organic matter is three percent or more in the top six inches, count on at least 10 to 20 pounds of N per acre being released into the soil from that organic matter.

A similar release is expected after a pulse crop is grown for

grain. Subtract that amount from the recommended N application rate.

Aerating, using vertical tilling machines that open up soil with serrated disks, has become common in Idaho and Canada as a remedy for acidification. Gatzemeier said many Montana farmers, too, now till on a four-year cycle and find it very helpful.

Farmers can also mix soil from eight or 10 inches deep, which has a higher pH level, with the low-pH soil from shallow depths, but with caution. If doing so will only make the acidic layer thicker, more lime could be required later to correct it, at substantial cost for delivery and application.

Lime is a common remedy, but it takes a large amount and it must be worked into the soil. Because acidity is a relatively new issue in Montana, there are not many sources of readily available agricultural lime, though spent sugarbeet lime is free in Billings and Sidney, Mont. Lime is not used to prevent acidification.

Crop rotation is especially useful when crops that require little N such as legumes are included. Perennials have actually been shown to reverse acidification, though slowly, in North Dakota.

As always, the four R’s apply. When fertilizing, always use the Right source at the Right rate, at the Right time, in the Right place. Follow these four guidelines for every crop, every year.

For more information on the certified crop adviser program, or to find one near you, visit certifiedcropadviser.org.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup Reporting the News by the Code of the West

Wyoming Livestock Roundup (USPS # 005-774) is published weekly by Maverick Press, Inc. P.O. Box 850 • Casper, WY 82602 Periodicals postage paid in Casper, WY Fax: 307-472-1781 • Email: roundup@wylr.net

Phone: 307-234-2700 800-967-1647 • www.wylr.net

DENNIS SUN, Publisher • Cell: 307-262-6132 email: dennis@wylr.net SAIGE ALBERT, Managing Editor • saige@wylr.net CALLIE HANSON, Assistant Editor • callie@wylr.net BEAU PITT, Production Coordinator • beau@wylr.net JODY MICHELENA, Advertising Director • jodym@wylr.net CURT COX, Director of Livestock Field Services • 307-630-4604 • curt@wylr.net CODY NEGRI, Livestock Field Services Representative • 208-697-1093 • cody@wylr.net ANDREA ZINK, Circulation/Accounting Manager • andrea@wylr.net DENISE OLSON, Classified Sales Manager • 307-685-8213 • denise@wylr.net

Subscription Rates: 1 year: $50; 2 years: $75; 3 years: $110 Postmaster: Send address changes to: andrea@wylr.net Wyoming Livestock Roundup • P.O. Box 850 • Casper, WY 82602 Member: Wyoming Stock Growers Association Wyoming Wool Growers Association • Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation Wyoming CattleWomen • Wyoming Horse Council Livestock Publications Council • United States Cattlemen’s Association National Cattlemen’s Beef Association • Fremont County Cattlemen's Association Green River Valley Cattlemen's Association • Wyoming Angus Association Converse County Stock Growers Association • Carbon County Stock Growers Association

This publication is © 2019 by Maverick Press, Inc.

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

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Fire research highlighted

NEWS BRIEFS Cattle inventory released On Feb. 28, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released their Cattle Inventory report, pinpointing a 0.5 million head increase in the number of all cattle and calves in the U.S. The Jan. 1 inventory of all cattle and calves in Wyoming totaled 1.3 million head, down two percent from 2018, according to the cattle survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of NASS. Beef cows, at 714,000 head, were unchanged from the previous year. Milk cows were unchanged from last year at 6,000 head. Wyoming’s 2018 calf crop, at 670,000 head, is up two percent from 2017.

Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, were unchanged at 160,000 head. Milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over was also unchanged at 4,000 head.

Other heifers 500 pounds and over dropped seven percent to 126,000 head, and steers 500 pounds and over was also reduced 14 percent to 150,000 head.

Bulls 500 pounds and over was unchanged at 40,000 head, and calves under 500 pounds were up 18 percent to 100,000 head.

The total inventory included 65,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, down seven percent from last year.

Coyote fur makes return Coyote fur pelt are in demand as fur-trimmed parkas grow in popularity. Reports have shown that a good, western coyote pelt – sought after for its silky, lightcolor fur, can bring more than $100, and top prices of $170 have been seen in Colorado. Prices are up nearly 40 percent from four years ago.

Late fall and early winter are the prime trapping time, when coyote coats are at their fullest, but a lot of the selling happens in late winter. Fur is sold at big auction houses in Canada, by individual fur buyers across North America and at local auctions near where the animals roam.

The hot market for coyotes comes as trappers deal with recent economic slumps in China and Russia, competition from ranched fur and the intense ire of animal welfare activists, who consider the popular steel leghold traps particularly cruel.

Beyond Meat launches ‘beef’ Beyond Beef, a new plant-based protein is being marketed as having 25 percent less saturated fat than beef and is made with a blend of pea, mung bean and rice proteins.

“We’ve long had our eye on creating a product that enables consumers to enjoy all the benefits and versatility of ground beef while tapping into the human health, environmental and animal welfare benefits of plant-based foods,” said Ethan Brown, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond Meat. “As is our commitment, we’ve built this latest addition to our family of plant-based meats while being thoughtful about ingredient choices that support everyday use by the whole family, including strict avoidance of GMOs, soy or gluten.”

In a news release, the company said, “a unique binding system allows the product to seamlessly shape into a variety of forms – from meatballs and sliders, to empanadas and tacos.”

Beyond Beef is the latest addition to Beyond Meat’s portfolio of products that are available at more than 35,000 restaurants, grocery stores, universities, hotels and stadiums. – Meatingplace

DEQ sets groundwater day In recognition of the importance of groundwater to the citizens of the state and in conjunction with the National Groundwater Association “Groundwater Awareness Week,” the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Water Quality Division (WQD) has designated March 13 as “Know Your Well Day.” Over 72 percent of Wyoming’s population relies on groundwater for part or all of their drinking water supply.

There are more than 90,000 private wells in Wyoming.

There is no state or federal agency that regulates water quality in private wells. Therefore, it is important for private well owners to regularly inspect, maintain and sample their wells and to be aware of potential threats to groundwater nearby and on their property, says DEQ. “Water quality varies considerably across the state, and it can have naturally occurring constituents such as sulfates, sodium, total dissolved solids or iron,” said Lily Barkau, DEQ Groundwater Program manager. “We strongly urge all private well owners to test their wells regularly.”

The public can find more information regarding drinking water wells, common contaminants, water well testing and other resources pertaining to groundwater, by visiting DEQ’s “Know Your Well” website at knowyourwell.org.

WBC sets meeting The Wyoming Beef Council (WBC) will hold a public business meeting in Riverton March 19-20.

While there, the five-member board will review potential programs to be conducted in Fiscal Year 2020 which begins July 1, 2019. The meeting will be held at the Hampton Inn, in Riverton from 1-5 p.m. on March 19 and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 20.

In addition to reviewing funding requests and the Fiscal Year 2020 proposed budget and marketing plan, WBC members will also interview candidates to represent the WBC on the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

All Wyoming beef producers are invited to attend this important and informative meeting. For a copy of the agenda, contact Ann Wittmann, WBC executive director, at ann.wittmann@wyo.gov or call 307-777-7396.

Meat increase to slow Last year the meat complex showed a marked slowdown increasing total red meat and poultry by only 2.25 percent, according to the Daily Livestock Report (DLR).

“In 2019, that number is expected to slow, moving closer to one percent,” added DLR. “By 2020, red meat and poultry production may actually see a decline in net total commercial production.”

The cattle inventory report has already indicated that the total U.S. beef herd has moderated growth, with total cattle and calves up only half a percent.

“The longer biological lag in the cattle cycle indicates that higher beef production will still be the case in 2019 and in 2020, but we are moving from annual average increases of between 2.6 percent and 6.4 percent to one to two percent in 2019 and under one percent in 2020.

AI school set The University of Wyoming Extension is hosting a beef artificial insemination (AI) school April 2-4, at the Laramie Research and Extension Center near Laramie.

The class is limited to 15 participants. Cost is $100 and must be paid prior to attending.

“AI can potentially be a beneficial practice for largeand small-scale operations,” said Brian Sebade, University of Wyoming Extension educator.

Topics include the AI process and palpation; heifer development and nutrition; equipment and semen handling; synch protocols; and reproduction anatomy.

Participants gain skills by working with live cattle every day at the class, said Sebade.

Sessions are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Lunch is provided the final day.

To reserve a spot, contact Sebade at bsebade@uwyo. edu or 307-721-2571.

A new University of Wyoming (UW) bulletin will aid researchers, land managers and others in understanding some of the underlying mechanisms of ponderosa pine ecosystem recovery following high-intensity wildfires.

The publication details a study examining ecological impacts of the 2012 Arapaho Fire, which burned nearly 100,000 acres in the north Laramie Mountains of southeast Wyoming, including the UW-owned Rogers Research Site.

Preliminary results indicate the addition of soil amendments to a burned site, including compost and its aerated teas, could improve short-term recovery rates of the microbial community and soil nutrients, among the key elements for plant growth.

The findings are presented in RRS Bulletin 8, Soil amendment addition and microbial community recovery following high-severity fire, Rogers Research Site, north Laramie Mountains.

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Food safety revisited

NEWS BRIEFS Survey shows checkoff support Eighty percent of beef producers nationwide say the beef checkoff helps drive demand for beef. That is one major finding from a recent Producer Attitude Survey commissioned by the checkoff – and conducted and reviewed by a third-party, independent research firm – to gauge beef producers’ awareness, overall sentiment and concerns about the program.

Completed in January, the survey reported from a sampling of beef and dairy producers nationwide. Using 2012 Agriculture Census statistics, the data was weighted by age, geography and type of operation to be proportionate to the number of beef and dairy farms in that region, resulting in the adjusted sample size of 1,200 producers.

“For more than 25 years, the checkoff has commissioned an outside research firm to conduct this type of survey,” said Brian Malaer, co-chair of the checkoff’s Investor Relations Working Group. “Overall, producers continue to have very favorable attitudes toward the beef checkoff and have consistently supported the program over time.”

Key findings of the survey include 80 percent of producers say the beef checkoff drives demand for beef, 72 percent say they approve of the beef checkoff, and 68 percent say the beef checkoff leads to greater profitability in their own operations.

FDA, FSIS agree on lab meat The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a formal agreement to jointly oversee the production of human food products derived from the cells of livestock and poultry on March 7.

FSIS and FDA released a formal agreement to address the regulatory oversight of human food produced using this new technology.

The formal agreement describes the oversight roles and responsibilities for both agencies and how the agencies will collaborate to regulate the development and entry of these products into commerce.

This shared regulatory approach will ensure that cell-cultured products derived from the cell lines of livestock and poultry are produced safely and are accurately labeled.

“Consumers trust the USDA mark of inspection to ensure safe, wholesome and accurately labeled products,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears. “We look forward to continued collaboration with FDA and our stakeholders to safely regulate these new products and ensure parity in labeling.”

Learn more at fsis.usda.gov/formalagreement.

America’s largest source of efficiency tested bulls

The U.S. government plans to issue new guidelines for food companies as early as this week after an increase in recalls of meat and poultry products possibly containing metal, plastic and other foreign materials, a food safety official said on March 5.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will advise food makers to start internal investigations when they receive customer complaints and to notify the government within 24 hours if contaminated products are in the marketplace, Carmen Rottenberg, administrator of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, said in an interview.

The voluntary guidelines, in the works for months, are designed to ensure companies meet pre-existing regulatory requirements, she said. More food prepared by machines contributes to more parts breaking off and contaminating food, consumer advocates say.

Drones used for health The Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center is trying to improve ranching with the help of drones. Scientists are trying to find ways to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock by using drones to help detect sick or injured animals. New technology may make it easier for ranchers in the panhandle to detect a fever or illness in their livestock.

Brent Auvermann, center director at Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center, explained they use sensors attached to the camera of the drone.

“One of the sensors we’re using is a thermal imager that helps us look for hot spots on the animal,” Auvermann said. “It’s difficult when we’re outside under the bright panhandle sunshine and makes it more complicated, but we think we can do it.”

“We’re in preliminary stages just trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t just in terms of measuring temperatures on the animals,” Auvermann stated. – My High Plains

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March is National Deli Meat Month and to celebrate the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), a contractor to the beef checkoff, is celebrating America’s love of beef and sushi by shining a light on Beefshi.

Beefshi is a creative, new culinary concept that uses prepared beef products like bologna, summer sausage, corned beef and pastrami as central ingredients in sushi.

Sushi refers to rice seasoned with vinegar and paired with a variety of other ingredients such as meat and vegetables, not the commonly misunderstood concept of raw seafood.

Multiple state beef councils worked with NAMI to develop a variety of concepts, including the Wyoming Beef Council (WBC) which conceptualized the Double BLT Mega Roll – a sushi roll that combines roast beef, bacon, lettuce and tomato.

Working with a Culinary Institute of America trained chef, NAMI developed eight new Beefshi recipes, adding to eight recipes from 2018. The concept is brought to life – complete with recipes, how-to videos and nutrition facts at Beefshi.com.

“We enjoyed participating in the Beefshi development process,” said WBC Executive Director Ann Wittmann. “We encourage consumers to get creative with the tasty, convenient beef deli meats available to consumers.

WS sees support The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) – along with 218 additional livestock, aviation, sportsmen, civil, conservation and commodity stakeholders – sent a letter to the U.S. House and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee members urging their continued support for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services (WS).

ASI President Benny Cox said the letter shows the broad impact Wildlife Services has on the American economy.

“For sheep producers, the Wildlife Services predation management program is critically important to our ability to maintain profitability and protect the safety of our flock,” said Cox. “Wildlife Services’ efforts go far beyond just protecting the livestock industry. Their work keeps Americans safe in the air through their aviation program, protects rural and urban civil infrastructure, protects critical wildlife habitat for recreation and keeps our food supply safe by working with aquaculture, dairy and commodity row crop producers.”

ASI is asking Congress to fully fund USDA Wildlife Services in the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations process, plus an increase of $3.4 million in National Environmental Policy Act compliance costs.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

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Muscle, fat cell development during mid-gestation can be impacted by nutrient restriction “If we think about a feedlot steer, what percent of their life – from conception to harvest – is spent in gestation, assuming they are harvested at 15 months of age?” asks South Dakota State University Extension Meat Science Specialist Amanda Blair.

With nine months in gestation and 15 months spent growing, about 40 percent of a steer’s life is spent in gestation, she says.

“When we think about the growth of a feedlot steer, gestation is a pretty significant portion of their life,” Blair says. “Mid-gestation is considered to be a critical time point in regards to outcomes from feeding cattle.”

Feedlot performance, growth performance, yield grade and quality grade all have links to mid-gestation, which is defined as three to six months of gestation.

Blair explains, “Midgestation is a key developmental time point for both muscle and fat.”

Muscle and fat Early in gestation, primary muscle fibers are established. Those fibers act as a scaffolding for secondary muscle fibers to develop on and around.

“These secondary muscle fibers make up the bulk of the muscle mass of an individual, and production of these fibers peaks in mid-gestation,” Blair says.

“Then, it tails off sometime in late gestation, ending before birth.”

Cattle, humans and other livestock species are born with the number of muscle fibers they will have throughout their lives.

“Any insult that would happen during mid-gestation could influence muscle production for the rest of an animal’s life,” she continues. “We can make muscle fibers bigger, but we can’t

ever make more.”

Fat cells are established during early gestation, as well, but they continue to develop postnatally.

“However, similarly to muscle, any insult that might occur can alter the establishment of cells early and could also influence the distribution of those cells in the body of the animal postnatally,” Blair adds.

While muscle and fat are often thought of first in animal production, Blair says, “On the whole, however, they rank fairly low in importance when it comes to the developing fetus.”

She adds, “If resources are limited, growth priority is definitely going to be given to vital organs, such as the brain, heart and lungs, and muscle and fat development could be compromised.”

Research Researchers at South Dakota State University fed cows at mid-gestation such that they maintained a body condition score of five or lost a body condition score.

“The loss was due to primarily energy restriction,” Blair explains. “At the end of mid-gestation, cows were placed back on a 100 percent energy level diet.”

She continues, “This meant cows were at either positive or negative energy level during mid-gestation, depending on the treatment they received.”

Results showed no difference in birthweight, which initially led researchers to believe there was no impact of nutritional deficit in mid-gestation.

“However, if we look at some of the subsequent results, we did find calves exposed to negative energy status during gestation had lighter receiving weights when entering the feedlot,” Blair says. “They were

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also lighter at days 28 and 57 in the feedlot. This was mitigated by the end of the trial.”

At slaughter, there were no differences in body weight, hot carcass weight or ribeye area.

No influences in meat color or tenderness were seen in the study, either.

“We did, however, see a difference in the ratio of marbling to back fat, indicating this restriction may have shifted the distribution of fat in the carcass,” Blair explains. “In this case, we saw more marbling and less backfat in the cattle from restricted dams.”

A decreased tendency for backfat translated to a tendency for improved yield grade in nutrient restricted calves.

Other literature Graduate students involved in the project also noted previous literature showed impacts in health from nutrient restriction during mid-gestation, so the study also looked at health.

“To determine if there were impacts on the immune system, we vaccinated them with a novel antigen, which would cause an immune reaction but it would not make them sick,” Blair says. “We did not want to compromise the rest of the study.”

The results showed calves from dams with negative energy status during mid-gestation had a reduced immune response when challenged.

Blair comments, “I think this result warrants further research in this area.”

“While the research shows benefits to carcass in the form of marbling and yield grades, the effects on

receiving weight and potential health in the feedlot is a concern,” Blair summarizes. “We have seen some positive things, but we also know there are negative impacts from energy restriction in mid-gestation.”

Protein work Another study at University of Wyoming restricted protein in midgestation.

In the study, cattle grazed on native range, receiving five to six percent crude protein. At mid-gestation, half of the cows were moved to improved pastures that provided about 11 percent crude protein. At the end of mid-gestation, all the cows were moved to the same pasture and were provided an alfalfa supplement.

“Again, in this study, there were no differences in birthweight or 205-day adjusted weaning weight,” Blair says. “However, the calves exposed to this protein restriction at mid-gestation had average daily gains

“If resources are limited, growth priority is definitely going to be given to vital organs, such as the brain, heart and lungs, and muscle and fat development could be compromised.”

– Amanda Blair, South Dakota State University Extension and decreased final body weight, which translated to a decrease in hot carcass weight.”

There were no differences seen in ribeye area, yield grade or marbling scores, but a decrease in backfat thickness and tenderness was seen.

More studies South Dakota State University furthered the work to look at the differences seen when cows were fed either 100 percent or 80 percent of their metabolizable protein requirements.

“We found a similar result,” Blair says. “Those restricted in mid-gestation had a reduction in tenderness.”

Research done in sheep showed increase in connective tissue cells as a result of nutrient restriction.

“Connective tissue impacts tenderness and equals toughness,” she comments. “This has not been validated in beef work.”

Amanda Blair presented during the 26th Annual Cattlemen’s College, held in late January 2019 in conjunction with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Feeding during gestation -- During mid-gestation, development of muscle fibers and distribution of fat cells occurs, says Amanda Blair of South Dakota State University. If cows are nutritionally challenged during this time period, the number of muscle fibers developed may be reduced, and fat distribution amongst the muscle fibers may also suffer. Saige Albert photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

WGFD continued from page A1 Mountain and Pinedale.

Then, I went to Cody as a regional supervisor.”

During that time, Nesvik oversaw a large staff of game wardens, biologists and administrative staffers, and he also spent time working with biologists and wardens in some of the most remote country in the lower 48 states.

After only 10 months in

Cody, Nesvik was promoted to Chief Game Warden eight years ago.

In addition to his WGFD career, Nesvik has served 32 years in the Army National Guard, and he currently serves as the Commanding General of the Wyoming National Guard.

“Serving as director was never in my long-term plans,

Keep up on the latest from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at wgfd.wyo. gov.

but as I advanced in the department, I began to work on higher-level policy work in my previous job. I saw opportunities to really influence and work on important wildlife issues,” Nesvik commented. “This is a great opportunity, and I’m looking forward to serving the state.”

WGFD priorities As Nesvik looks over the next several years, he sees WGFD will continue to focus on its top issues of endangered species, migration corridors and chronic wasting disease, while also highlighting cheatgrass impacts on habitats and rela-

tionships with landowners.

“Certainly, endangered species issues – including grizzly bears and wolves, continue to be at the top of our priority list,” Nesvik emphasized. “We have management authority over wolves now, so that is less of an issue, but grizzly bears continue to be a real challenge.”

At the same time, aquatic invasives species (AIS) pose a continual threat to Wyoming’s waterways and fish.

“It’s important that we continue to put up a very good defense against AIS, and we need to keep our eye on monitoring,” he said.

“There is an opportunity be a leader on another invasive species – cheatgrass. We must do a better job as a state in dealing with cheatgrass.”

Nesvik called cheatgrass the “cancer of Wyoming,” which must be addressed to maintain habitats for both wildlife and livestock.

“Migration corridors are certainly a big issue today, as well,” he continued. “We have some of the best science in the world on how to define where big game animals, specifically mule deer, move and what habitats they need to move from summer to winter.”

“There are opportunities to make sure Wyoming is a leader in establishing migration corridors and does it right,” Nesvik said.

Chronic wasting disease also poses a continued issue for wildlife populations.

“We have some tremendous research needs and potentially opportunities to explore significant management actions to deal with the spread of disease and the prevalence of disease in herds,” he explained.

Partnerships As he looks toward his next several years, Nesvik comments partnerships between WGFD, landowners and livestock producers will continue to be vital to the work of WGFD.

“We have what I would consider an exemplary relationship between our department and present landowners and livestock producers in our state.”

– Brian Nesvik, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Outgoing director In 2019, Scott Talbott retired as Director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, but newly appoint Director Brian Nesvik and Gov. Mark Gordon praised his work over the years, noting Talbott was an asset to the agency.

Gordon said, “Scott Talbott provided excellent leadership and service to this state as director and in the decades he worked on behalf of wildlife and the public in many other roles. Scott’s commitment to and knowledge of hunting, fishing, the wildlife laws and each of Wyoming species is hard to match.”

Nesvik, who has worked side-by-side with Talbott for many years, comments, “If I had to define just one thing, I would say Director Talbott really developed lasting relationships with folks around our state. He made that a high priority and did it well.”

He continued that Talbott’s commitment to interacting with the public was essential to building relationships throughout the state, which will continue to be important moving forward.

“We have what I would consider an exemplary relationship between our department and present landowners and livestock producers in our state,” he said. “That is a pretty cool opportunity, especially because 50 percent of our state is private land.”

Nesvik continued, “Frankly, we wouldn’t have the abundance and diversity of wildlife that we do without private landowners providing habitat.”

Expanding leadership Currently, WGFD has posted Nesvik’s former position, Wildlife Division chief, as well as WGFD deputy director, and the agency is seeking qualified candidates for both positions.

“Right now, both positions are open, and we’ll go through the selection process for each position in the near future to fill those jobs,” Nesvik said, adding, however, that the structure of WGFD will be maintained.

“We’re certainly inter-

ested in looking at ways we can be more efficient and effective,” Nesvik commented, “and I see the potential for development of initiatives that fit into our strategic plan.”

Over the last several years, WGFD developed a strategic plan informed by constituents from around the state, and Nesvik said it provides a solid framework for the next five to 10 years.

“I am incredibly honored by this opportunity to lead a team of the best and brightest in managing world-class natural resources for the citizens of our great state,” Nesvik said. “I am grateful for the Governor’s appointment and will discharge my duties commensurate with the tremendous value Wyoming places in our outdoors, our fish and our wildlife.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

SALE REPORTS Lund Angus Ranch 26th Annual Bull Sale Reported by: Cody Negri, WLR Field Rep March 6, 2019 Lund Angus Ranch, Gunnison, Utah Auctioneer: Eric Duarte 71 Yearling Angus Bulls Avg. $4,490 Top Sellers Lot 1 – Lund Real Deal 299F – Price: $10,250 DOB: 2/23/18 Sire: Lund Real Deal 98B Dams Sire: Sitz Elite Design 10398 EPDS: BW: 0.5, WW: 54, YW: 101 and Milk: 26 Buyer: PH Livestock, Rawlins Lot 2 – Lund Capitalist 115F – Price: $9,500 DOB: 1/8/18 Sire: Connealy Capitalist 839A Dams Sire: KCC Game Day 2744 EPDS: BW: 0.3, WW: 53, YW: 94 and Milk: 24 Buyer: PH Livestock, Rawlins Lot 19 – Lund Juneau 121F – Price: $7,500 DOB: 1/9/18 Sire: Sitz Juneau 9713 Dams Sire: Sitz Pride Design 542W EPDS: BW: 0.1, WW: 45, YW: 77 and Milk: 21 Buyer: Warm Creek Ranch, Fayette, Utah Lot 10 – Lund Acclaim 108F – Price: $6,750 DOB: 12/31/17 Sire: Sitz Investment 11845 Dams Sire: Sitz Pride Design 542W EPDS: BW: 1.4, WW: 55, YW: 100 and Milk: 28 Buyer: PH Livestock, Rawlins

Vision Angus Annual Sale Reported By: Curt Cox, WLR Field Editor March 4, 2019 Lincoln County Fairgrounds, North Platte, Neb.

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Lucky 7 Angus “Cowboy Bulls” Sale Reported By: Curt Cox, WLR Field Editor March 2, 2019 Riverton Livestock Auction, Riverton Auctioneers: Warren Thompson and Barry Ellis 53 Yearling Angus Bulls Avg. $5,387 32 Fall Yearling Angus Bulls Avg. $4,906 273 Two-Year-Old Angus Bulls Avg. $4,616 Top Sellers Lot 96 – Lucky 7 Capitalist 736 – Price: $12,000 DOB: 1/31/17 Sire: AB-LVS Capitalist 4507 Dam’s Sire: MCD SF Consensus 3518 EPDs: BW: +0.7, WW: +68, YW: +118 and Milk: +20 Buyer: DeGrand Angus, Baker, Mont.

Lot 7 – Lucky 7 Capitalist 866 – Price: $9,500 DOB: 1/30/18 Sire: AV-LVS Capitalist 4507 Dam’s Sire: SD Homesteader 708 EPDs: BW: +3.0, WW: +78, YW: +142 and Milk: +28 Buyer: DeGrand Angus, Baker, Mont.

Lot 23 – Lucky 7 Special Focus 862 – Price $9,250 DOB: 1/22/18 Sire: Lucky 7 Special Focus 448 Dam’s Sire: C C A Uno 049 EPDs: BW: -0.7, WW: +71, YW: +116 and Milk: +28 Buyer: Dunmire Ranch Company, McFadden Lot 13 – Lucky 7 Grand Total 806 – Price: $9,000 DOB: 1/29/18 Sire: Degrand 0118 Total Dam’s Sire: A A R Ten X 7008 S A EPDs: BW: -0.4, WW: +63, YW: +104 and Milk: +19 Buyer: Dunmire Ranch Company, McFadden Lot 95 – Lucky 7 Special Focus 7158 – Price: $8,500 DOB: 4/10/17 Sire: Lucky 7 Special Focus 4520 Dam’s Sire: Lucky 7 886 2210 EPDs: BW: -0.6, WW: +53, YW: +87 and Milk: +20 Buyer: Dunmire Ranch Company, McFadden Lot 101 – Lucky 7 Special Focus 7069 – Price: $8,500 DOB: 4/8/17 Sire: Lucky 7 Special Focus 448 Dam’s Sire: Mytty In Focus EPDs: BW: -0.4, WW: +54 YW: +95 and Milk: +27 Buyer: Dunmire Ranch Company, McFadden

Durbin Creek Ranch Annual Polled Hereford Bull Sale Reported By: Curt Cox, WLR Field Editor Feb. 28, 2019 Big Horn Basin Livestock Auction, Worland Auctioneer: Joe Goggins 95 Two-Year-Old Polled Hereford Bulls Avg. $5,111 320 F1 Baldy Heifer Calves Avg. $1,035 6 Ranch-Broke Horses Avg. $4,125 Top Sellers Lot 9 – DCR 199B Cowboss 7208– Price: $9,000 DOB: 4/28/17 Sire: NJW 79P 88X Cowboss 199B Dam’s Sire: TW Hercules EPDs: BW: +1.6, WW: +42, YW: +79, Milk: +26 and M&G: +47 Buyer: Pamela Holland, Worland Lot 2 – DCR 199B Slinger 7649 – Price: $8,500 DOB: 9/17/17 Sire: NJW 79P 88X Cowboss 199B Dam’s Sire: DCR Koot 722 EPDs: BW: +1.8, WW: +50, YW: +81, Milk: +22 and M&G: +46 Buyer: Intermountain Heifer Development, Thermopolis Lot 7 – DCR 199B Cowboss 7051 – Price: $8,000 DOB: 4/21/17 Sire: NJW 79P 88X Cowboss 199B Dam’s Sire: K&B Red Felton 7006T EPDs: BW: +3.7, WW: +52, YW: +85, Milk: +25 and M&G: +51 Buyer: Miracle Mountain Ranch, Decatur, Ala. Lot 13 – DCR 199B Cowboss 7232 – Price: $8,000 DOB: 4/27/17 Sire: NJW 79P 88X Cowboss 199B ET Dam’s Sire: NJW 72S M326 Trust 100W ET EPDs: BW: +3.4, WW: +57, YW: +98, Milk: +29 and M&G: +58 Buyer: Intermountain Heifer Development, Thermopolis Lot 33 – DCR DVB 428B Manhattan 7274 – Price: $7,750 DOB: 4/18/17 Sire: Churchill Manhattan 428B ET Dam’s Sire: TW Hercules EPDs: BW: -0.1, WW: +38, YW: +58, Milk: +28 and M&G: +47 Buyer: Barnum Ranch, Stapleton, Neb.

Auctioneer: Kyle Schow 55 Angus Bulls Avg. $5,264 9 Open Registered Angus Heifers Avg. $2,361 Top Sellers Bulls Lot 33 – Vision Unanimous 7076 – Price: $9,500 DOB: 10/1/17 Sire: Vision Unanimous 1418 Dam’s Sire: Connealy Consensus 7229 EPDs: BW: +3.9, WW: +85, YW: +135 and Milk: +9 Buyer: Twin Creek Ranch, Bassett, Neb. Lot 35 – Vision Emperial 8001 – Price: $9,000 DOB: 1/1/18 Sire: Vision Emperial 6003 Dam’s Sire: Moore 902Focus 008 EPDs: BW: +1.2, WW: +73, YW: +127 and Milk: +25 Buyers: Chuck and Jerry Ardissono, Oshkosh, Neb. Lot 7 – Vision Pedigree 8023 – Price: $9,000 DOB: 1/12/18 Sire: S A V Pedigree 4884 Dam’s Sire: Barstow Cash EPDs: BW: +3.2, WW: +76, YW: +143 and Milk: +27 Buyer: Lazy End Cattle, Torrington Lot 11 – Vision Chaps 8012 – Price: $9,000 DOB: 1/7/18 Sire: Ellingson Chaps 4095 Dam’s Sire: Bruin Uproar 0070 EPDs: BW: +3.3, WW: +68, YW: +127 and Milk: +30 Buyer: Seedorf Ranch, Yuma, Colo.

Lot 19 – Vision Renown 8010 – Price: $9,000 DOB: 1/6/18 Sire: S A V Renown 3439 Dam’s Sire: VisionTopline Royal Stockman EPDs: BW: +3.3, WW: +67, YW: +119 and Milk: +12 Buyer: Twin Creek Ranch, Bassett, Neb. Females Lot 75 – Vision Erica 872 – Price: $3,000 DOB: 3/14/18 Sire: Vision Advance 6009 Dam’s Sire: Vision Unanimous 1418 EPDs: BW: +2.6, WW: +70, YW: +137 and Milk: +28 Buyer: Alec Ibach, Kearney, Neb. Lot 77 – Vision Karama 838 – Price: $3,000 DOB: 2/1/18 Sire: S A V Pattern 6926 Dam’s Sire: Vision Unanimous 1418 EPDs: BW: +2.9, WW: +68, YW: +125 and Milk: +22 Buyer: Yorges Show Cattle, Torrington

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A8

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Record cold weather to hit Northern Plains and Midwest through March “Ongoing extreme cold accompanied with high winds will spread over the Northern Plains into early March,” according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Near record cold temperatures are expected along with above-average precipitation. NWS noted sub-zero temperatures are not common in March.

Cold weather safety NWS stresses that those working outside, including ranchers, should take extra precaution to avoid coldrelated injuries.

NWS says, “Frostbite is damage to body tissue caused by extreme cold.

A wind chill of -20 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) will cause frostbite in just 30 minutes.”

“Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and a white or pale appearance in extrem-

ities, such as fingers, toes, ear lobes or the tip of the nose,” they warn.

NWS described hypothermia as a condition brought on when the body temperature drops to less than 95°F. “It can kill,” they warn. “For those who survive, there are likely to be lasting kidney, liver and pancreas problems.”

NWS says warning signs include uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech, drowsiness and apparent exhaustion.

“If medical care is not available, warm the person slowly, starting with the body core,” says NWS. “Warming the arms and legs first drives cold blood toward the heart and can lead to heart failure.”

Find the latest forecasts from the National Weather Service at weather.gov.

Livestock care Livestock are also susceptible to impacts from extremely cold temperatures.

“Throughout this event, continue to monitor livestock health, feed and water availability,” according to NWS. “Livestock will have increased energy needs in extreme cold.”

They note calving cows and new calves are at the largest risk in extreme cold.

It is suggested ranchers keep records of any deaths during this event to file for appropriate compensation through a Livestock Indemnity Program.

“Producers should closely monitor water sources,” says NWS. “Under extreme cold, water can freeze very quickly and limit access.”

“The wind can often be the biggest issue for cattle, especially new calves,” NWS said. “Windbreaks throughout the pasture can

minimize the risk of injury or death during extreme weather conditions.”

Prevention “Prevention is the key in dealing with hypothermia, frostbite and other cold weather-related injuries,” according to NWS. They note the signs of injury, such as frostbite, may not become evident for up to two weeks. Ranchers should look for early signs of disease and injury and understand these injuries often occur with very young animals or previously injured or debilitated animals.

Cold stressed calves According to Glenn Selk from Oklahoma State University Extension, changing feeding times can encourage cows and heifers to calve in the daylight.

“Utilizing calculated feeding times can prevent a good majority of the herd from calving in the middle of the night,” he says. “But ranchers will inevitably

“Prevention is the key in dealing with hypothermia, frostbite and other cold weather-related injuries.” – National Weather Service have cattle who still calve in the middle of the coldest night of the winter.”

He explains the Canadians conducted research to determine the most effective way to warm up coldstressed or hypothermic calves. The study included utilizing blankets, heat lamps, room temperature and warm water.

“The study found the calves submerged in warm water, about 100 degrees, were warmed up a half hour faster than calves warmed under the other methods,” according to Selk. “When the calves are rewarmed quickly, they present more energy and are more willing to find their mothers and nurse.”

He notes it is vitally

important for calves to nurse as soon as possible to receive adequate colostrum from the mother.

“Ranchers who want to use this method for extreme cold-stressed calves should have an old bathtub or large tub on hand,” he says. “Fill the tub up enough to cover the calf’s body.”

Selk notes the calf should be completely dried off before returning outside to its mother.

“We want the calves to be able to be warmed as quickly as possible so they can begin the bonding process,” Selk comments.

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

A9

O’Brian: Grain outlook more positive than what market would suggest Manhattan, Kan. – “February tends to be an interesting time in the grain markets as March contracts go out for delivery and production concerns linger around the corner,” says Dan O’Brian, Kansas State University Grain market economist.

Absence of news “In the absence of any strong export news, worldwide crop issues and March contracts off the board, the pressure tends to drive markets down,” says O’Brian.

He explains the weakness in the market is a technical one as opposed to weakness associated with supply and demand issues.

“Around the corner, we will begin to look at crop production as a major factor in the market,” he says. “We will also look at winter wheat and hard red wheat to determine poten-

tial winter damage.”

He explains much of the Midwest begins planting corn in early April, and there are still snowdrifts around much of the region.

“When we look at parts of Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, we’re seeing a lot of moisture, which could be a determinant in the market soon,” O’Brian notes.

“Soon enough, production concerns will enter the focus of the market lens to shape the market,” O’Brian says.

Exports “Because exports are typically down this time of year, we tend to view the market in a negative way,” O’Brian explains.

“The one exception at this time is soybeans.”

He comments soybean prospects are picking up from the previous months.

As of the week ending Feb. 21, there were over

Grain crops -- With a lack of remarkable market news for many grain crops, Dan O’Brien, a Kansas State University economist, says more information will emerge as the production year begins to take shape. Photo by Madeline Robinson, Lucky Lyn Photography

To listen to Kansas State University’s “Ag Today with Erik Atkinson” program, visit agtodayksu.libsyn.com.

83 million bushels set to export.

“This is very welcome and much better than what we’ve been seeing,” he says. “When trade tariffs were applied to China, the outlook of the soybean market was very grim.”

According to O’Brian the USDA is set to release backlogged trade data of both shipments and purchases up to Feb. 28.

“We are 25 weeks into the corn market, about 48 percent through, and looking purchases of 1.6 billion bushels,” he says.

“This would account for 64 percent of the USDA’s projection of 2.45 billion bushels.”

“The market is arguably in good shape as far as what’s on the books,” O’Brian comments. “We are a little behind in terms of actual shipments but can catch up depending on crop options around the world, particularly in South America.”

Purchases “Grain sorghum purchases are sitting at about 29 million bushels, with about 25 million already shipped,” says O’Brian.

“USDA projected around 100 million bushels for the year.”

He explains buyers in the sorghum market have gone hand-to-mouth, as there is a major lack in forward purchasing.

“I think we see this lack of forward purchasing behavior with sorghum buyers because the supplies are they when they need or want them,” O’Brian says. “They aren’t having to fight hand-overfist to get their hands on

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any supply.

Wheat “Wheat is 73 percent through the market year, as we are in week 38 of 52,” he says. “We’ve seen purchases of 800 million bushels, which is about 80 percent of the billionbushel USDA projection.”

He says, although exports have seemed low, they are actually pretty well on target. Last week, the U.S. shipped out around 25 million bushels.

He adds, “We only need to export 14 million to keep up the pace.

“We have weeks where actual shipments aren’t bad, even though the futures don’t reflect that,” says O’Brian.

“Soybeans are 76 percent through their projection and only halfway through the market year,” O’Brian notes.

He explains the largest issue with soybeans will be when South American crops become available on the market. At that point, the U.S. will have to compete dollar-for-dollar with the South Americans, which may slow down exports.

“Overall, it’s not as if there haven’t been crop purchases made,” O’Brian explains. “It’s more a fact of there hasn’t been any surprise in the mar-

“In the absence of any strong export news, worldwide crop issues and March contracts off the board, the pressure tends to drive markets down,” – Dan O’Brian, Kansas State University kets to drive gangbuster shipments. If there had been flooding in Argentina, droughts in Brazil or hard freezes in the Black Sea region, the purchases would be more robust.”

Dan O’Brian is featured weekly in Kansas State University’s “Agri-

culture Today with Erik Atkinson” program. The program covers current affairs across the agriculture sector.

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Virtual beef tours expand In an effort to share more about beef farming and ranching with audiences across the globe, “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.” is making its virtual ranch tours available in Korean, Japanese and Spanish.

The project, made possible by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, contractors to the beef checkoff and Iowa Beef Industry Council will offer a variety of new audiences an opportunity to virtually experience the U.S. beef industry and production practices.

“International customers are very interested in the story behind U.S. beef, but most live in large cities and have never seen the clean open spaces where cattle are raised,” said Dan Halstrom, USMEF president of CEO. “These videos allow international audiences to feel like they are right in the middle of daily life on a family ranch or farm, and a key component of that story is the tremendous care that goes into raising the animals. From genetics to grazing and feeding practices to environmental stewardship, these families make the investments necessary to raise the finest beef in the world.”

A10

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

DAIRY continued from page A1 “More than 75 percent of the cows deviated clinically from the normal condition,” Edwards-Callaway says, referring to a recent study.

In this study, 31 percent were lame, 20 percent had mastitis, and 22 percent had wounds, but all of them were considered fit for transport.

Edwards-Callaway asks, “When a cow leaves the farm, do we know what her journey will be like?”

How long is transport?

Nearly 92 percent of dairy operations have sold some cows through a nearby livestock market, and 37 percent have sold cull dairy cows directly to packing plants.

Edwards-Callaway refers to a National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) completed in 2016 that looked at 154 loads of cull cattle. That report showed, on average, dairy and beef cows were in transit for 6.7 hours, but a

few were in transit for more than 24 hours.

Edwards-Callaway reminds producers that once they bring cull cows to the livestock market, they have no idea how far she will be transported once she is purchased.

“Road transport can be stressful, with multiple handling events, mixing with other animals, handling by various people, no milking and changes in ownership,” she explains.

During their journey, these cows will have times where they don’t have access to feed or water, and the journey to their destination may be long.

Pro-active culling Because of the stress, Edwards-Callaway believes producers need to be more pro-active in their culling techniques, considering if the animal is actually fit for transport.

The condition of the ani-

mal and the distance it is expected to travel should be considered, and it may not hurt to have the herd veterinarian play an active role in that decision, according to some research consultation conducted in Canada that Edwards-Callaway shared.

The study also stated that producers should train their personnel to become more involved in recognizing and handling animals that need to be culled, she noted.

Many times, dairy cows are culled for clinical conditions or weaknesses that aren’t normal or the same as beef cull cows.

“Dairy cows have a higher risk of becoming nonambulatory during a long haul,” she explains. “They also have a higher risk of dying and a higher incidence of becoming dark cutters.”

Edwards-Callaway shares some research showing that dairy cows spend more than 50 percent of their time lying down, and if they are deprived of that time,

they will lie down even longer.

During transport, animals may be denied the ability to lie down for long periods of time. However, Edwards-Callaway reminds producers this is not unique to the dairy industry.

Is she acceptable?

“What are the financial disincentives for sending unfit dairy cattle to market?” she asks.

Producers may profit on the sales price, if the cow makes the trip. There may also be savings associated with euthanasia and carcass removal.

Livestock auction markets may worry about losing a consignor’s future business, if they don’t accept their cull cows.

“They may just go down the road to the next market where they will take them,” she says.

Processors need to consider how much margin they can make from processing a lean cow, death loss transporting that cow and the

“It all boils down to timely marketing and management.” – Lily Edwards-Callaway, Colorado State University possibility the animal may not pass regulatory inspection.

Other considerations are scrutiny by in-plant inspection, alignment with retail and customer expectations and quality defects, she says.

Bruising The 2016 NBQA report also showed 64 percent of carcasses from cull bulls and cows were bruised.

Edwards-Callaway tells producers that cows and bulls typically show more bruising than fat steers, which may be attributed to the semi-trailer being too short for taller dairy cattle. Referring to the report, Edwards-Callaway says looking at the relationship between body condition and bruising, cull cows with a lower body condition score had more bruising.

“Only three percent of

the animals experience a traumatic event at unloading. Nearly 71.4 percent of these bruises were dark red or purple, which means they are not very old bruises,” she explains.

Edwards-Callaway shares a statement by her protegee, Dr. Gary Smith, who served on the faculty at CSU and Texas A&M. “It all boils down to timely marketing and management. When a cow’s productivity goes downhill, get her to market. When we know her teeth are gone, get her to market. When she’s a little bit lame, get her to market,” she says.

The key, Edwards-Callaway notes, is in not waiting too long.

Gayle Smith is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Marketing dairy cows -- When marketing dairy culls, Lily EdwardsCallaway noted timing is very important for producers to consider.

Saige Albert photo

Wyo FFA members honored The Wyoming FFA Association announced the recipients of the 2019 Wyoming State FFA Degree, the highest award the state can bestow on its members. A total of 184 members representing 49 Wyoming FFA chapters earned the degree. These members will receive their degrees on April 12 as part of the Wyoming FFA Convention, held in Cheyenne each year.

“The State FFA Degree is awarded to FFA members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA and made significant accomplishments in their supervised agriculture experiences or SAEs,” explained State FFA Advisor Stacy Broda. “The state degree is given to the top FFA members in the Wyoming FFA. Less than 10 percent of our members earn the degree each year, marking it as a significant accomplishment.”

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

TRUST continued from page A1 publics who have never experienced agriculture.”

He comments the Peterson Brothers Farm in Kansas is going about the issue the correct way. By involving non-ag members of the public, they are creating a relationship of trust between producer and consumer.

“We have to think of our relationship with consumers as that – a relationship,” he says. “Building relationships takes effort and time, but we have to learn how to properly trust each other before it will ever get any better.”

Trust “We define trust as confidence in our relationship with others,” according to Fagerlin.

He explains the problem with framing trust in a black-and-white fashion is everyone approaches trust from different angles.

“Trust is not a game where there’s a winner or a

loser,” says Fagerlin. “We can’t do that because, when we have a winner, there will also be a loser, which doesn’t harbor healthy relationships.”

“I like to think of trust as an if-then statement,” he explains. “If we have high trust, then certain things happen within the relationship.”

He described the impact of having trust as a more transparent, productive and creative team that is able to communicate more effectively.

“When we are working in a low-trust environment, we see high turnover amongst the team and no one claiming blame for their wrongdoings,” says Fagerlin.

The big lie “The fact of the matter is some of us just come out of the womb naturally trusting everyone we come in contact with, and some peo-

Groundwater depletion seen

Several large aquifer systems in the United States are experiencing groundwater depletion, according to a Council for Agricultural Science and Technology report.

The Ogallala Aquifer in the Great Plains is the U.S. aquifer system with the greatest long-term groundwater storage depletion. The Columbia Plateau Aquifer and the Snake River Plain Aquifer, both in the Pacific Northwest, have had a net accretion of groundwater levels compared to predevelopment conditions.

The consequences of depletion include reduced flow to surface water systems and ecosystems; loss of productivity of groundwater wells; subsidence of land and ground failures; and degradation of groundwater quality.

Groundwater is the Earth’s most extracted raw material, with about 70 percent of groundwater withdrawals used for agriculture irrigation. Long-term regional droughts have further increased groundwater usage. Several approaches to mitigate groundwater depletion are being tried, including extracting less groundwater from aquifers, enhancing groundwater replenishment using alternative water sources and changing crop selection and agricultural practices.

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A11

ple are the opposite,” Fagerlin says. “Sometimes things might happen that make us trust people less or not trust people at all.”

“There are two major lies about trust that we have to understand, the first being that trust is earned,” he says.

“The second biggest lie is the old adage that trust takes a lifetime to build a second to break.”

He explains the risk and reward doesn’t make sense in these scenarios. He asked why people would want to dole something out and more or less expect to lose it.

“To build trust in our teams and with consumers, we can’t take these commonly accepted ideas literally,” Fagerlin says.

“The concept of trust being earned makes it seem like a scorekeeping game,” he explains. “Under that assumption, each party has to do something worthy to gain the others trust but one misstep could erase all the worthy actions.”

He explains although it’s human nature to want to meet people in the middle, the definition of what the middle really is could vary wildly between parties.

“The problem is, halfway isn’t all the way there,” he says. “When we think this way, we are already loading the other person down with expectations.”

“Halfway to infinity never gets us there,” Fagerlin comments. “Relationships go to die at the halfway point.”

“We have to continue making steps towards each other to close the gap,” Fagerlin says.

Building boundaries “If we are unwilling to give trust, we will never receive it,” Fagerlin notes.

He explains building trust isn’t necessarily about blindly giving everyone trust because that’s simply not constructive.

“We have to understand there will be people who take advantage of our trust,” says Fagerlin. “We

“There are two major lies about trust that we have to understand, the first being that trust is earned.

The second biggest lie is the old adage that trust takes a lifetime to build a second to break.” – Richard Fagerlin, Peak Solutions don’t want to have eyesclosed, trust-fall type relationships but instead openeyed, aware trust.”

He explains, instead of thinking about all the reasons we don’t trust a certain person, to think about the boundaries in which we do trust that person.

He used his own experience with his first home as an example. The house sat next to a very busy street, and he didn’t trust his kids to play in the front yard in fear they may run into traffic. Instead of distrusting them playing in the entire house, he moved their play to the safety of the fenced backyard.

“We have to recognize the boundaries in which we trust certain people and build from there,” says

Fagerlin.

He stressed we absolutely cannot let the two percent of people who take advantage of our trust ruin it for the other 98 percent.

“We build walls and prevent relationships,” he says. “We have to be willing to go all the way instead of halfway.”

“When I shifted my thinking to this, my entire outlook of trust and relationships changed,” Fagerlin says.

Fagerlin was a featured speaker at the Beef Improvement Federation Young Producers Conference held in Loveland, Colo. June 20-23.

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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A12

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Trade negotiations can have major impacts on agriculture sector, according to Purdue leader Washington D.C. – As the Trump administration works to make good on their vow to pursue new trade deals across the world, agriculture has been among the most impacted industries to these negotiations, according to Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, Ph.D., director of the Center for Global Trade Analysis at Purdue University.

Van der Mensbrugghe was a featured speaker at a Farm Foundation forum held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The forum, titled, “U.S. and Canadian Perspectives on Trans-Pacific Trade,” was held on March 14.

“United States agriculture is at a crossroads,” said van der Mensbrugghe.

“Unresolved trade negotiations have put agriculture in a very unique spot.”

“The U.S. is on a new trajectory,” he explained.

“We have to decide where the best spot to land is.”

Van der Mensbrug-

ghe explained the United States has had a downward trending pattern in tariffs since the post World War II era, regardless of major agreements.

“Since the onset of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadian and Mexican shares have nearly doubled,” van der Mensbrugghe said. “In 1995, Canada and Mexico had 14 percent of the shares, and today they are up to 30 percent, not to mention, the Chinese share nearly tripled from five percent to 14 percent.”

Trade agreements and negotiations Van der Mensbrugghe explained since 2017 when Trump initiated tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, Canada, Mexico and other established U.S. trading partners retaliated.

“The problem with this tariff is the retaliation didn’t necessarily hurt those businesses,” he said.

“Agriculture and other industries caught the brunt of these retaliations.”

Van der Mensbrugghe explained the dissolution of NAFTA as a worst-case scenario when it comes to trade agreements.

“Following the negotiations surrounding NAFTA in recent times, it has been discussed what would happen if the agreement were to dissolve,” he said. “We would revert back to a most favored nation tariff rates.”

He noted the dissolution would also cause uncertainty about special regimes such as dairy quotas and estimates of reversions would be based on a complicated methodology.

USMCA Van der Mensbrugghe also explained the yet-tobe-ratified United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA), which consolidates NAFTA. “This agreement would alter the access to our main markets,” he

said.

Van der Mensbrugghe said the main market access changes are auto content for dutyfree access is raised to 75 percent, 46 percent of auto content must be produced in factories where workers are paid at least $16 per hour, and import quotas for products such as poultry and dairy are expanded.

“There are also a number of changes not directly linked to market access,” said van der Mensbrugghe. “These include an extension of copyright to 70 years, new measures for the digital economy including removing duties from music and eBooks, as well as protection of internet companies. The deal also improves transparency in import and export licensing.”

TPP “The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been another point of discussion amongst

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“United States agriculture is at a crossroads.” – Dominique van der Mensbrugghe, Purdue University trade analyst,” van der Mensbrugghe said. “The plan was implemented in late December, and six of the 13 agreeing countries have ratified it so far.”

He noted Australia, Brunei, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam are all part of the partnership.

“The United States had reason to join this agreement,” he said. “It would have reduced the tariff on U.S. agriculture products in places like Japan and Singapore where U.S. products have 19 and 16 percent tariffs, respectively.”

“The partnership also would have eliminated agricultural export subsidies and transparencies of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and other nontariff trade measures, such as biotech products,” said van der Mensbrugghe.

Best-case scenario “The persistence of a trade war will overwhelm the potential positive impact of USMCA,” van der Mensbrugghe said.

He noted the results of

these scenarios are based on a number of assumptions but are likely to be very robust.

“Results reflect medium-term impacts after adjustment and ignore costs,” he noted.

“Results do assume normal investment behavior.”

He commented despite assuming normal investment behavior, a different tariff environment in NAFTA could impact investment and changes to deep supply chains.

He also stated a volatile tariff environment could dampen the appetite for investments.

“However, farmers could face worst at the dissolution of NAFTA and a more acute trade war,” he commented.

“The best outcome for farmers is the ratification of USMCA, the U.S. rejoining TPP and reversion to pre-2017 tariffs,” van der Mensbrugghe said.

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

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Trade challenges -- With trade negotiations and a number of moving pieces in the global market, Dominique van der Mensbrugghe said partnerships are important to selling U.S. agriculture products and moving the agriculture industry forward. Saige Albert photo

Study analyzes trade In a study published Feb. 27 in the journal BioScience, a team of environmental scientists seeks to analyze the role of trade in distributing food internationally and to what extent this has benefited or hindered the human right to food.

The study, “Food Inequality, Injustice and Rights,” looks at international food trade and whether it enhances or erodes equitable access to food across the planet. The researchers analyzed annual United Nations data on international food trade from 1986 to 2010 in nearly 180 countries and focused on 266 commodities such as rice, wheat, maize and soybeans as well as animal products.

“This study shows that trade plays a very important role in distributing food more equitably across the planet, from countries with high production like the United States and Brazil to nations with more limited agricultural resources like Japan and Middle Eastern countries,” says Kyle Davis, a postdoctoral fellow with the Data Science Institute and co-author on the paper.

Reported by ministries within each country, the United Nations data provide information on the exporting country, the importing country and the amount of each commodity flowing between them. By combining all of these linkages, the researchers were able to develop a network of international food trade for each commodity and each year. And by assessing how these networks redistribute food across the planet – and comparing this with a hypothetical world in which no trade occurred – Davis and his collaborators were able to examine whether rights to adequate food were closer to being met under globalization through food trade.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Convenience or Performance Trait?

We often consider temperament a convenience trait. Looking for bulls to use, we study pedigrees, pictures, performance data and now videos until we develop a list of prospective herd sires. The final call before bidding – is he docile enough?

Replacement heifer candidates will follow a similar pattern with “attitude” a deciding factor after you consider many other traits.

Even if it’s the last thing you think about at decision time, work at Texas A&M suggests disposition affects performance at many points in development.

Researchers sorted heifers from the same ranch into excitable and calm groups based on exit speed from the chute after processing. Like most evaluations by default, that sort produced a group of “fast” or excitable heifers. Interestingly, cattle in this experiment were fed in the same pens, so performance was compara-

ble between these groups within the same environment.

Excitable heifers were 72 pounds lighter upon feedyard entry, suggesting pre-weaning performance was reduced. That says herd operators at all stages along the production chain could realize benefits from selecting for docile cattle.

On the other hand, building on their heavier feedyard entry weights, the calm heifers gained 12 percent faster during the growing period.

That brought with it an eight percent greater feed intake, but feed efficiency still favored the calm heifers. No big surprises there, but how these groups behaved during the feeding period offers new insights.

Excitable heifers went to the bunk as often as their calm pen mates, but they were slower to approach the bunk and then spent three minutes less time eating.

To speculate just a bit,

that could be linked to a greater “flight response.”

The study did not get into that aspect, but we can imagine how the excitable set would challenge the best feedyard cowboy to accurately evaluate their health status.

Based on performance results, the researchers suggested the use of disposition as a sorting tool – imagine checking the wild bunch every morning.

While many of the cattle were Bos indicusinfluenced, performance and behavior results were consistent across breeds.

That tells us the excitable, “fast” calves of each breed represented were slower gaining and less efficient.

Disposition challenges occur in every breed, yet these data suggest the bottom 15 percent of all operations, on the average and regardless of breed, may contain relatively “excitable” cattle.

Further evaluation should quantify the threshold for “slow enough.” We

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all know cattle that are faster than seems ideal, but the acceptable range of exit speed or excitability within a herd or group remains undefined.

In the Texas research, performance results extended beyond the feedyard and into the beef supply chain. Calm heifers had more valuable carcasses because they weighed 24 pounds more.

They also had larger ribeyes and eight percentage points more grading Choice.

Tenderness didn’t directly contribute to the

$56 carcass value advantage of calm heifers, but they did yield more tender steaks across the aging groups of one, seven and 14 days following harvest.

These results are consistent with past studies where calm cattle perform better at the feedyard and on the rail than excitable ones. Most of the existing data were on steers, however, and this look at the heifer side makes us think about the traditionally built-in option for a pen of growing heifers. On decision day, we can keep

the calm ones with better breeding and performance, but we must keep in mind that the other half probably won’t perform as well for anyone on down the supply chain.

Whether you keep most, some or none of your heifers as replacements, that’s more logic to support culling beyond reproductive failure. Keep whittling off the bottom 10 percent to 15 percent of the fast ones that may be slowly eroding profitability and consumer demand for the whole beef community.

A14

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Living soil ecosystems add carbon to soils, enabling crop production Typically, soil mapping shows many Wyoming soils have one percent organic matter or less, says University of Wyoming (UW) Extension Educator Caitlyn Youngquist, who noted that soils across the state are generally very fragile.

While there is a range of soil types across the state, from high mountain lands to deserts and upland plains, several keys are important to maintaining healthy soils, particularly in cropland across the state.

Carbon cycling Youngquist explains, “The entire soil system is driven by carbon dioxide and carbon through photosynthesis.”

With the goal of getting carbon into soils, Youngquist describes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere goes through the process of photosynthesis, where it enters the soil after being processed by the plant.

“Animals also eat the plant,” she continues. “The carbon cycles through the animal and back to the soil

in manure.”

Carbon is lost from systems through erosion.

“When the wind blows soil into our neighbor’s fields, we’re also sending them a lot of carbon, which is like gold,” Youngquist says.

Crop harvest also removes carbon from the system.

Additionally, root respiration and organic matter loss can result when soil is tilled, further depleting the carbon in the system.

“When we think about

a healthy soil system, the entire system is driven by organic carbon in the soil because that’s what the soil microbial community eats,” Youngquist says. “Carbon drives the entire food chain under the soil.”

“We gain carbon into the system – our main goal – through photosynthesis,” Youngquist says, adding carbon comes from living roots, cover crops and through adding carbon in the form of manure and mulch. “We lose carbon through bare soil and

Our Record Says It Best

Selling 17 Red Angus Bulls WBCIA SALE • Friday, March 15, 2019 • 1 p.m.

Pingetzer’s Bull & Heifer Development Center • Shoshoni, WY

Several Top Prospects Include: WBCIA Ratio #3

WBCIA Ratio #1

Lot 926 Six Excellent Answer F7

1/25/18 RAA# 4031162 CED: +13 BW: -0.4 WW: +72 YW: +113 M: +20 Final Wt: 1225# ADG: 4.32 ADG Ratio: 131 WDA: 3.10 WDA Ratio: 110

Lot 931 Six Outlyer F64

3/5/18 RAA# 4031128 CED: +10 BW: -0.2 WW: +59 YW: +95 M: +29 Final Wt: 1135# ADG: 4.30 ADG Ratio: 130 WDA: 3.20 WDA Ratio: 113

“Mycorrhizal fungi form amazing associations with plant roots.” – Caitlyn Youngquist, UW Extension erosion, crop harvest and tillage.”

Fungi The piece that is missing in carbon cycling, however, is mycorrhizal fungi.

“Mycorrhizal fungi form amazing associations with plant roots,” Youngquist describes.

“The plants feed them carbon in the form of sugars, and then the mycorrhizae go out into the soil and pick up water and nutrients that are hard for plants to get.”

In many soils in the Big Horn Basin, iron and phosphorus are largely unavailable, so when associations are built with mycorrhizal fungi, the ability of plants to reach and uptake water and nutrients increases by 10 to 100 times, she says.

“Eight to 90 percent of plants form these mycorrhizal associations,” Youngquist continues. “Sugarbeets do not, and brassicas do not. Most crops do, however.”

In addition, the fungi produce large quantities of soil carbon and serve to hold soils together, which also helps to reduce erosion.

“They form glues – called glomalin – and glue little pieces of soil together,” she adds, noting the fungi sit on root hairs of the plants. “They are fascinating organisms.”

Bacteria “We also have billions of bacteria in the soil,” says Youngquist. “Very few of them cause dis-

ease. Most of them are little soluble bags of fertilizer floating around.”

She continues, “When they die, they pop open and feed plants.”

Bacteria also decompose things in the soil, including dead plants, roots, manure and more.

Nitrogen fixing bacteria are also important for the soil, particularly for legumes.

Other living creatures “We also have nematodes in the soil,” Youngquist says. “A few nematodes cause disease, but most of them do not.

They are veracious predators and eat a lot of bacteria and fungi.”

Microarthropods eat dead bacteria and dead nematodes, then die and are consumed by bacteria.

Earthworms also contribute to the soil environment, stirring up the system and digesting organic matter.

“Earthworms are a good indication of a healthy system,” Youngquist says.

“There’s a whole food chain that goes on in the soil,” Youngquist comments. “It’s an aggressive food chain, and there’s a feeding frenzy always going on in our soil.”

Youngquist presented during 2019’s WESTI Ag Days, held Feb. 12-13 in Worland.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

WBCIA Ratio #4

Sires Include: DBL Tree New Direction 1510 Dubas Excellent Answer Z22 Six Outlook D4 Six Outlook A11

Lot 930 Six Outlook F107

3/30/18 RAA# 4031046 CED: +8 BW: +2.2 WW: +69 YW: +110 M: +23 Final Wt: 1020# ADG: 4.13 ADG Ratio: 125 WDA: 3.09 WDA Ratio: 110

SIX IRON RANCH SHOSHONI, WY • (Junction US 26-789 - Wyo 134)

Robert & Paige Pingetzer – 307-856-4401 Brace & Haley Pingetzer – 307-851-5985

Linked to carbon -- Caitlyn Youngquist notes that the entire soil ecosystem is driven by carbon. Adequate carbon allows healthy bacteria, fungi and other living creature in the soil, which stimulate plant health. Saige Albert photo

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

A15

Wyoming Hay and Forage Association continues to grow under new director

In February of 2016, the Wyoming Hay and Forage Association (WHFA) launched with the goals of promoting Wyoming’s high-quality hay and forage, establishing a networking opportunity for hay and forage producers in the state and creating opportunities for continued education about forage production.

In January 2019, with a membership of nearly 30 producers and growing, a new executive director, Toby Skinner, took over the leadership of the association, following Scott Keith, who left to pursue opportunities in another career.

“I joined the Board of Directors for WHFA in 2018,” Skinner says, noting he took over for a friend who was looking to exit the board. “Then, Scott was promoted, and he asked me if I’d be interested in taking over his position. I started in January as executive director.”

Background Skinner was raised on a large ranch north of Fort Laramie. The family sold the ranch in 1999 and purchased a hay farm that they currently own today.

“I also worked for Brown Company and Frontier Equipment. Then, I partnered with Cheyenne Kubota and worked with him for a while,” Skinner explains. “When the opportunity to take over and be more involved in the family farm came up, I came back home.”

Skinner’s management experience poises him well to move the organization forward and enhance the ability of WHFA to positively impact its membership and the hay and forage industry in Wyoming.

WHFA goals As his first goals as director, Skinner says his primary task is to increase sponsorship and membership levels.

“We want to bring more people in and get the

word out that Wyoming has a hay and forage association,” he describes.

“A lot of people don’t know what we do,” Skinner continues. “We want to explain this isn’t just a play to sell hay. It is a broader marketing and educational tool where we can increase everyone’s knowledge about production and expand our network.”

Currently, WHFA’s website averages 2,500 view a week, but Skinner notes they have room to advance their social media presence.

“I hope to leverage the Facebook page more to spread the word about WHFA and what we’re doing,” he comments.

WHFA will also host the Wyoming Hay Show, held during the Wyoming State Fair.

Skinner says, “Overall, we’re working on brainstorming different ways to get our name out so people recognize WHFA.” Producer education In addition to marketing, WHFA emphasizes producer education and has hosted workshops to provide information.

“Our workshops are free to members, but they cost for non-members to attend,” Skinner says.

“This year, we hosted two winter meetings, one in Casper and one in Torrington.”

The Torrington event was held in conjunction with Brown Company’s Customer Appreciation Days, which Skinner says was effective in drawing a good crowd.

“Most producers stayed until the end of the meeting, and it was a great opportunity for everyone,” he notes. “We had some weather impacts in Casper that made attendance a little lower, but we had almost 40 people attend both workshops.”

This year, producers were led through an explanation of enterprise bud-

Learn more about the Wyoming Hay and Forage Association by visiting wyhay.com.

Hemp bill signed Gov. Mark Gordon has signed into law a measure that puts Wyoming on a viable path for industrial hemp production. Gordon signed House Bill 171 on March 7.

The legislation, sponsored by Republican Rep. Bunky Loucks of Casper, allows for hemp to be grown in the state, along with the production and sale of hemp-based products, including ones containing CBD oil.

Loucks said the ability to grow hemp will be an immense benefit to the agricultural community.

The growing market for industrial hemp and the potential for the state to become a manufacturing hub for hempderived products could provide growers with a new cash crop.

Christine Bekes of Powell Economic Partnership says the measure could be a major boon to Wyoming’s economy.

geting and calculating break-even yields.

“Our hope and our goal was to give producers the understanding and confidence to use this tool on their own operations to improve their profitability,” explains University of Wyoming Extension’s Caleb Carter, who led the workshop with colleague John Hewlett.

In the future, Skinner says he hopes to partner with sponsors across the state to host workshop in conjunction with customer appreciation events.

He hopes to have another producer education event in the late fall after haying is complete for the season.

“We’re also hoping to move our workshops around to locations where they are most effective for producers across the state,” he explained.

Membership Producers interested in becoming a member of WHFA should visit the association’s website to find a membership application.

Alternatively, Skinner says any member of the

Board of Directors should be able to provide information on membership.

Membership dues can be paid via PayPal or check.

Current leadership of WHFA includes President and Northeast Director Brian Wing, Vice President and Northwest Director Bill Cox, Treasurer and Southwest Director Jerry Weliever, Secretary and Eastern Industry Representative Scott Keith, Southeast Director Robert Cook, Western Industry Representative Mark Evans and Assistant Secretary Caleb Carter.

“This is a new association. We’re trying to grow our membership to promote Wyoming hay,” Skinner describes. “Wyoming hay is really highquality, and we don’t have a lot of the pests that other states have. WHFA can help to promote hay and help producers get the most for their hay.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Torrington Livestock Markets PO Box 1097 • Torrington, WY 82240 307.532.3333 Fax: 307.532.2040

Building membership -- As the Wyoming Hay and Forage Association continues to grow, Executive Director Toby Skinner encourages forage producers to reach out and join the association, which provides marketing, networking and education resources. Heather Smith Thomas photo

NBA promotes pet food The National Bison Association (NBA) launched a new website to help pet owners to select brands made with authentic North American bison and to avoid deceptively labeled products made with water buffalo labeled only as “buffalo.”

“As more people discover the great taste and nutritional benefits of bison, they are bringing it to the table for all members of their family, including their companion animals,” said Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association. “Our new site, entitled ‘Sniffing Out the Best Bison Brands for Your Companion Animal,’ will help pet parents find products in the marketplace containing authentic North American Bison.”

The National Bison Association developed the new website after some companies have refused to fully label or disclose that the “buffalo” in their brands is actually imported water buffalo.

Lex Madden: 307-532-1580 Michael Schmitt: 307-532-1776 Chuck Petersen 307-575-4015

www.torringtonlivestock.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019 - YEARLING & CALF SPECIAL FEEDERS Boyd & Cheryl Yeik 235 Fancy Blk few Broc Strs & Hfrs, 635-650#, Weaned a long time, Hay Fed with some Beet Pulp, Full Vac. Program, Poured, Hfrs Bangs Vac. Donald Simmons 234 Blk Strs, 775-850#, 3 Rounds of Shots, No Implants, Home Raised M & M Cattle C LLC 75 Blk/Bwf Hfrs, 750-800#, Guaranteed Open, Replacement Heifers, Weaned 120 days, Ground Hay and Distiller Grains, Branding Shots: 7-way, Vista Once, Pre-cond. Shots: 7-way, Vista Once, Weaning Shots: Nasalgen, Bangs Vac., Best out of 200 head Ralph Ebert 94 Blk/Rd few Char Hfrs, 700#, Weaned a long time, Full Vac. Program, On a Grower Ration CALVES Wm. Hill Family 330 Blk Strs & Hfrs, 400-600#, Weaned in Nov, Running Out, Hay Fed, Wintered for Grass, Branding Shots, No Implants Bob Swift 236 Blk Strs, 600#, 3 Rounds of Shots, Home Raised, High Elevation, Been on a Grower Ration Jack Creek Land & Cattle 211 Blk/Bwf Strs, 625#, Weaned since Oct., 3 Rounds of Shots, Home Raise *****Pending 230 Blk/Bwf Hfrs, 475-535#, Weaned since Oct., 3 Rounds of Shots, Home Raised VF Limited L.L.C. 200 Blk/Bwf few Char-x Strs & Hfrs, 500-700#, Weaned in Nov., Running out and supplemented with Long Stem Hay, Complete Vac. Program Mike & Chris Tobin 90 Blk/Rd Strs, 450-550#, Weaned on Sept. 20, Running Out, Hay Fed, Cake Broke, Lick Tubs, Branding, Precond & Booster Shots, Home Raised

MANY MORE CONSIGNMENTS BY SALE DAY!!!

FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019 - BRED COW SPECIAL & ALL CLASSES Larry Jacobsen & Kay Beatty 120 Extra Fancy Blk Angus Cows, 3 yr olds to ST, Bred to Blk Angus Bulls, CF: Now, Shots: Vira Shield 6 Program, ScourGuard, Type A Toxemia Vac., Poured (2x), Home Raised, Selling only because they want to be done Calving.g Out, Hay Fed, Cake Broke, Lick Tubs, Branding, Precond & Booster Shots, Home Raised

MANY MORE CONSIGNMENTS BY SALE DAY!!!

SALE RESULTS - MONDAY, MARCH 4 - 841 HD Dan Ingalls Dan Ingalls Bench Mark Cattle Bruce & Barbara Kilmer Bench Mark Cattle Dan Ingalls Bench Mark Cattle Dan Ingalls Bruce & Barbara Kilmer Bench Mark Cattle Tyler Scherz Bench Mark Cattle Don & Carol McDowell Bench Mark Cattle Dan Ingalls Bench Mark Cattle Cole Creek Sheep Co Corey McNeill Don & Carol McDowell Dan Ingalls Cole Creek Sheep Co Dan Ingalls Bench Mark Cattle Bench Mark Cattle Bench Mark Cattle Bench Mark Cattle Steve & Carla Pitts Dan Ingalls Cole Creek Sheep Co Ridgeline Ranch

20 Black Bred Cow-3yr/April-May 15 Black Bred Cow-3yr/April-May 35 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 22 Black Bred Cow-3yr/April-May 8 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 34 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 12 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 22 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 4 Black Bred Cow-3yr/April-May 6 Black Bred Cow-3yr/April-May 2 Black Bred Cow-3yr/March-May 44 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 13 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 6 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 9 Black Bred Cow-SM/April-May 24 Black Bred Cow-SS/April-May 7 Black Bred Cow-SM/May-June 3 Black Bred Cow-SS/March-April 12 Black Bred Cow-SS/April-May 11 Black Bred Cow-SS/April-May 5 Black Bred Cow-SM/May-June 11 Black Bred Cow-ST/April-May 20 Black Bred Cow-ST/April-May 3 Black Bred Cow-SS/April-May 29 Black Bred Cow-ST/April-May 16 Black Bred Cow-ST/April-May 4 Black/Red Bred Cow-ST/March-April 27 Black/Red Bred Cow-ST/April-May 8 Black Bred Heifer/April-May 6 Hereford Bred Heifer/March-April

1168 1231 1268 1122 1333 1284 1244 1077 981 1069 1310 1131 1323 1234 1432 1327 1425 1415 1354 1176 1505 1373 1271 1376 1139 1228 1571 1180 1091 1089

SALE RESULTS - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6 - 1910 HD 1725.00H 1700.00H 1685.00H 1625.00H 1575.00H 1550.00H 1500.00H 1450.00H 1450.00H 1425.00H 1425.00H 1400.00H 1400.00H 1375.00H 1360.00H 1300.00H 1150.00H 1125.00H 1075.00H 1025.00H 1025.00H 1025.00H 1010.00H 975.00H 900.00H 835.00H 1075.00H 850.00H 1300.00H 1625.00H

TORRINGTON LIVESTOCK AREA REPS

Cody Thompson - Lusk, WY 307-334-3388 or 307-340-0150 Ty Thompson – Lusk, WY 307-340-0770 Zach Johnson Lingle, WY –307-575-2171 Jeff Ward – Laramie, WY 307-399-9863 Tam Staman – Crawford, NE 308-631-8513 or 308-665-1332 Lander Nicodemus – Cheyenne, WY 307-421-8141 Danny Nicodemus – Cheyenne, WY 307-632-4325 Chris Williams - Greybull, WY 307-272-4567 Artie Johnson - Lusk, WY 307-216-0117

David & Dawn Cronk Greg Gompert Wanetta & Marc Clark Lazy TM Livestock LLC Lazy TM Livestock LLC Greg Gompert Bremer Land & Cattle D & W Livestock Co D & W Livestock Co Arrow Crown Cattle Co Stuart & Linda McLaen Richard Burford Pathfinder Cattle Co LLC 7 C Ranch Wanetta & Marc Clark Tyler & Mandy Stevenson 7 C Ranch 7 C Ranch Shane Dickerson Dan Peart Ranch Pathfinder Cattle Co LLC Richard Burford Pipestone Ranch Pipestone Ranch Dan Peart Ranch Notch Peak Cattle Co LLC 7 C Ranch Michael Moore Dan Peart Ranch Dan Peart Ranch

13 Black Steer 23 Black Steer 53 Black/Red Steer 22 Mixed Steer 89 Mixed Steer 15 Black Heifer 16 Black Heifer 89 Mixed Heifer 182 Mixed Heifer 19 Mixed Heifer 10 Red Heifer 10 Black Steer Calf 47 Black Steer Calf 88 Black Steer Calf 10 Black Steer Calf 21 Black/Red Steer Calf 26 Red Steer Calf 97 Black Heifer Calf 12 Black Heifer Calf 41 Black Heifer Calf 85 Black Heifer Calf 33 Black Heifer Calf 34 Black Heifer Calf 65 Black Heifer Calf 14 Black Heifer Calf 7 Black/Red Heifer Calf 32 Black/Red Heifer Calf 22 Black/Red Heifer Calf 10 Char/Red Heifer Calf 6 Charolais Heifer Calf

687 743 690 743 849 657 793 684 756 711 736 425 496 571 590 550 541 538 550 457 593 592 597 647 645 465 455 558 430 514

147.00C 146.25C 153.00C 141.50C 136.00C 139.50C 139.50C 141.00C 140.25C 136.50C 138.50C 197.00C 192.00C 187.50C 174.00C 190.00C 176.00C 171.00C 170.00C 165.00C 157.00C 154.00C 154.00C 145.00C 144.00C 173.00C 171.00C 157.00C 173.50C 165.00C

“Like Us” for Sale Updates, Results and News

High Plains Hay Exchange

Hay for Sale

Direct Seller to Buyer Sales Contact Thorpe Thompson 308-430-0248

www.highplainshay.com

(307) 532-3333 - www.torringtonlivestock.com

A16

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019 March 12

CALENDAR

March 13

Submit your events to: Editor, Wyoming Livestock Roundup, P.O. Box 850, Casper, WY, 82602, or e-mail to roundup@wylr.net.

March 15

EVENTS March 13

State Loan and Investment Board Special Meeting, Cheyenne, Hathaway Building, 8:30 a.m. Visit lands.wyo.gov for more information.

March 13 Know Your Well Day. For more information on water well testing, visit knowyourwell.org.

March 13 Pesticide Applicator Training, Baggs, Higher Education Center, 1-5 p.m.

RSVP to Carbon County Weed and Pest at 307-324-6584.

March 14-15 Wyoming Water Development Commission Meeting, Cheyenne, Wyoming Water Development Office. For more information or an agenda, visit wwdc.state.wy.us.

March 15-18 Farm Bureau FUSION Conference, Milwaukee, Wisc. For more information, visit fb.org/events/2019-fusion-conference.

March 18 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Seasons and Regulations, Cokeville, Town Hall, 6 p.m. Contact WFGD at 307-777-4600.

March 18 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Season and Regulations, Powell, Bighorn Federal Bank, 6 p.m. Contact WGFD at 307-777-4600.

March 18 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Season and Regulations, Sheridan, Game and Fish Office, 4 p.m. Contact WGFD at 307-777-4600.

March 18 Southwest Sage Grouse Working Group Meeting, Green River, Green River Game and Fish Department Office, 9 a.m. For more information, call 307-875-3223.

March 18 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Season and Regulations, Worland, Worland Fairgrounds, 6 p.m. Contact WFGD at 307-777-4600.

March 19 Wyoming Beef Council Meeting, Riverton, Hampton Inn. For a copy of the agenda or more information, contact Ann Wittmann at ann.wittman@wyo. gov or 307-777-7396.

March 19 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Season and Regulations, Afton, Afton civic center, 6 p.m. Contact WFGD at 307-777-4600.

March 19 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Season and Regulations, Buffalo, Johnson County Library, 4 p.m. Contact WFGD at 307-777-4600.

March 19 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Season and Regulations.

Gillette, Campbell County Library, 4p.m. Contact WFGD at 307-777-4600.

March 19 WGFD Public Meetings for Proposed Hunting Season and Regulations, Greybull, Town Hall, 6p.m. Contact WFGD at 307-777-4600.

SALES March 10-11 March 11 March 11 March 11 March 12 March 12 March 12

Spring Cove Ranch Centennial Celebration Sale, at the ranch, Bliss, Idaho, 208-352-4332, 208-320-8803, springcoveranch.com Barstow Angus Ranch 28th Annual “Rock Solid” Bull Sale, at the ranch, Springview, Neb., 402-322-0286, 402-382-5280, barstowangus.com Holden Herefords 53rd Annual Production Sale, at the ranch, Valier, Mont., 406-279-3301, 406-590-3307, 406-450-0129, holdenherefords.com Pine Coulee Bull Sale, Wagon Box Ranch, Hardin, Mont., 406-855-2832, 406-780-1230, pinecoulee.com Hancock Livestock Third Annual Bull Sale, Riverton Livestock Auction, Riverton, 307-250-6900, hancocklivestock.com Cooper Hereford Ranch 53rd Annual Production Sale, at the ranch, Willow Creek, Mont., 406-285-6985, 406-539-6885, cooperherefords.com Loosli Red Angus 45th Annual Production Sale, at the ranch, Ashton, Idaho, 208-652-3303, 208-227-3779, 208-351-3333, loosliredangus.com

Big horn Basin LIVESTOCK AUCTION LLC

March 7, 2019 - 313 Head Cows $1 to $2 Higher • Bulls Steady • Feeders No Test BULLS Thompson Cattle Co. - Billings, MT 1 Blk Bull, 2200# ........................................ $9400 1 Blk Bull, 2065# ........................................ $9300 1 Blk Bull, 2155# ........................................ $9300 1 Blk Bull, 2150# ........................................ $9050 Vigil Farms - Worland 1 Blk Bull, 2290# ........................................ $9300 1 Blk Bull, 2090# ........................................ $9150 1 Blk Bull, 1820# ........................................ $8900 Clark, Tim & Joshua - Worland 1 BWF Bull, 1710# ..................................... $9250 1 Blk Bull, 1880# ........................................ $9050 1 Blk Bull, 2055# ........................................ $8900 Durbin Creek Ranch - Thermopolis 1 Hrfd Bull, 2200#....................................... $9250 Devries, Gerald & Raymon - Thermopolis 1 Blk Bull, 1035# ........................................ $9000 1 Blk Bull, 1760# ........................................ $8700 Whitehead, Dustin & Heidi - Worland 1 Red Bull, 1970# ....................................... $8950 J & J Baling - Manderson 1 Blk Bull, 1840# ........................................ $8150 Johnson, Jerry & Sharon - Thermopolis 1 Blk Bull, 2155# ........................................ $8000 Goton, Michael - Shell 1 Blk Bull, 2100# ........................................ $7700 Bischoff, Jack Andrew - Lovell 1 Blk Bull, 1945# ........................................ $7600 Stuckey, Rob & Kathy - Worland 1 Blk Bull, 1970# ........................................ $7350 BRED COWS Loudan, Roy - Worland 3 Blk Bred Cows ..................................... $140000 3 Blk Bred Cows ..................................... $130000 Ludwig, Clair - Shell 2 BWF Bred Cows .................................. $132500 Goton, Michael - Shell 1 BWF Bred Cow.................................... $132500 COWS McCracken, Shawn - Powell 1 CharX Cow, 1670# .................................. $6950 1 CharX Cow, 1690# .................................. $6650

March 14

Worland, WY

Sale Barn: 307-347-9201 Danny Vigil: 307-388-0781 Redland, Kendrick - Worland 1 Blk Cow, 1430# ....................................... $6500 1 Blk Cow, 1415# ....................................... $6050 1 Blk Cow, 1415# ....................................... $5850 Herman, Bob - Hyattville 1 Blk Cow, 985# ......................................... $6400 Acord, John or Timmy - Meeteetse 1 Blk Cow, 1250# ....................................... $6350 1 CharX Cow, 1570# .................................. $6250 1 Red Cow, 1335# ...................................... $6100 2 Blk Cows, avg. 1333#.............................. $6100 1 RWF Cow, 1270# .................................... $6100 1 Blk Cow, 1365# ....................................... $6050 2 Mxd Cows, avg. 1480# ............................ $6000 3 Mxd Cows, avg. 1248# ............................ $6000 2 Blk Cows, avg. 1493#.............................. $6000 3 Blk Cows, avg. 1522#.............................. $5950 Redland, Adam & Briana - Manderson 1 Blk Cow, 1385# ....................................... $6350 2 BWF Cows, avg. 1493#........................... $6300 Hook, Jace - Thermopolis 2 Blk Cows, avg. 1268#.............................. $6200 Johnstone, Casey - Ten Sleep 1 Hrfd Cow, 1325#..................................... $6200 Bischoff, Jack Andrew - Lovell 1 Blk Cow, 1360# ....................................... $5800 Zeller Ranch - Meeteetse 1 Blk Cow, 1240# ....................................... $5700 Ingalls, Jasper & Ronja - Riverton 3 Mxd Cows, avg. 1053# ............................ $5600

March 15 March 15 March 15 March 16 March 16 March 16 March 16 March 16 March 20

Gordon Livestock Market Horse Sale, Gordon, Neb., 308-282-1171, 308282-9998, 308-360-0427, gordonlivestock.dvauction.com Sitz Angus 17th Annual Spring Bull Sale, at the ranch, Dillon, Mont., 406683-5277, 406-685-3360, 208-670-2364, sitzangus.com Wheeler Mountain Ranch Annual Bull Sale, at the ranch, Whitehall, Mont., 406-287-9234, 406-490-5977, 406-580-1390, wmrangus.com WBCIA Bull Test 33rd Annual Sale, Pingetzer’s Bull and Heifer Development Center, Shoshoni, 307-856-4401, 307-851-4401 Montana Performance Bull Co-op with Basin Angus Ranch Annual Bull Sale, Midland Bull Test Sale Facility, Columbus, Mont., 406-780-1219, 406321-2470, 406-350-0350, basinangus.com TD Angus “Next Generation” Herd Sire and Foundation Female Sale, at the ranch, North Platte, Neb., 307-660-8650, 308-530-7999, tdangus.com Big Horn Basin Auctioneers Open Consignment Auction, Worland, 307371-9722 Gray’s Angus Ranch “Second Century” Performance Bull Sale, at the ranch, Harrison, Neb., 308-668-2520, 308-668-2525, graysangusranch.com Altenburg Super Baldy Ranch LLC Sale, Centennial Livestock Auction, Fort Collins, Colo., 970-481-2570, altenburgsuperbaldy.com Diamond Peak Cattle Company Bull Sale, Riverton Livestock Auction, Riverton, 970-326-8620, diamondpeakcattle.com MTR Cattle Company Bull Sale, Buffalo Livestock Auction, Buffalo, 307684-7858, 307-217-0408, 307-217-0409, mtrcattle.com Winding River Private Treaty Opening Day, Bridger, Mont., 406-652-7515, 406-208-8643, windingriverangus.com Wagner Charolais Eighth Annual Bull Sale, Sterling Livestock Commission, Sterling, Colo., 970-420-2336, wagnercharolais.com

POSTCARD from the Past

Compiled by Dick Perue rrichardperue@gmail.com

Building Churches in Frontier Towns The discovery of two early 1900 pictures of the First Presbyterian Church of Saratoga prompted me to compile the following history of the church edifice and parsonage in my hometown. Although this is about Saratoga, it could be a reflection of the history of nearly every frontier town in Wyoming.

Steps are being taken toward erection of a church building, probably to be put up during the summer . . . (of 1891).

Doing their share towards the erection of the church building were the Ladies Home Missionary Society, who gave a benefit entertainment and supper. Later that same year, another entertainment was given which brought in about $40. The erection of the 24-footby-46-foot frame church building on Bridge Street did not begin until 1892.

In December of 1892, Rev. Hick gave a humorous lecture on courtship and marriage, which was followed by vocal and instrumental music, all part of an entertainment to raise money for the new church building. The

church school attendance was growing quite rapidly, so everyone was looking forward to the completion of the church.

In May of 1893, the Ladies Aid once again held a fundraising supper, but it wasn’t until June 1893, when word was received that the Board of Church Erection had granted $675 to assist in the building of the Presbyterian Church, that the people were assured of the construction of a place of worship.

T.H. Hood was engaged to build the church and finally, after many unavoidable delays, the first services were held in the structure in May of 1894.

An article in the May 24, 1894 issue of “The Saratoga Sun” notes, The members of the Presbyterian church borrowed a sufficient number of chairs from Burdick hall last Saturday to seat their new church and for the first time held services in that edifice Sunday morning.

There was a fair attendance, and the Presbyterian people are well pleased to be able at last to worship in their own edifice.

The church continued to grow, all the time receiving new members and holding both morning and eve-

• Upcoming Sales • March 14 - Feeder Special w/ All Class Cattle March 21 - All Class Cattle, Sheep & Goat March 22 - Horse Sale March 28 - All Class Cattle April 4 - All Class Cattle April 11 - Grass Calf Special April 18 - All Class Cattle, Sheep & Goats April 25 - All Class Cattle April 26 - Horse Sale May 2 - All Class Cattle May 9 - All Class Cattle and Pair Special May 16 - All Class Cattle, Sheep & Goats

March 14, 2019 Consignments Twitchell Nicholas – 70 steers, weaned Nov. 1, two rounds of shots.

Simms – 80 blk heifers, 650-700#, weaned, two rounds of shots, Bang vacc., replacements, fancy.

TD Partnership – 100 blk mixed calves, 700-850#, weaned, two rounds of shots.

Bruce Thurgood – 35 blk steers, 850#. 5 blk heifers, 775#, weaned, two rounds of shots.

RG Ranch – 45 blk baldy heifers, 575-600#, weaned, two rounds of shots.

Mike Peterson – 50 mixed blk calves, 600-625#, weaned, two rounds of shots.

Agar Ranch – 12 steers, 1400-1600#, ready to process, springtime BBQ ready.

Flying V/TCC – 70 blk steers, 850-950#, weaned, two rounds of shots.

Michael P. Goton – 25 mixed calves, 600-650#, weaned, two rounds of shots.

Turn of the century – The edifice and parsonage of the Saratoga Presbyterian church are shown in this early 1900s photo by Lora Nichols. Photo courtesy of Grand Encampment Museum, Historical Reproductions by Perue

ning services. Appropriate dedication ceremonies had not been rendered during the first services held so that on Nov. 8, 1896, the new pastor, Rev. Robinson, assisted Rev. Dr. Kirkwood and Dr. Coltman with the dedication ceremony. . . at which Miss Nellie Johnson sang, “One Sweetly Solemn Thought,” Mrs. W.L. Johnson presided at the organ, Dr. Kirkwood preached the sermon to a most attentive audience, and “a well filled choir rendered excellent music.”

The article continues, The Presbyterian Church is a neat frame structure with stained glass windows and pleasing architecture. It is comfortably seated with chairs of the theatrical pattern, and the interior is nicely finished and presents an inviting and restful appearance to the eye. It is a popular religious resort, and the congregations are always large and composed of the best people in the community.

The church edifice being completed, the people began a movement to erect a substantial parsonage. Liberal donations toward the structure were given at once and the committee ordered the lumber for the building from Mowry Bros. and Co. and the finishing material from Morrison Merrill and Co. in Cheyenne.

The minister’s home was built on the lot adjoining the church, as shown to the left. As subscriptions to the parsonage fund came in, the work started in October 1899. Teams of horses went to Mowry’s saw mill for the lumber and the rest was hauled from Ft. Steele. During this time, the Ladies Aid gave a “Grand Dinner,” and the $60 realized from it was turned into the building fund.

The parsonage was completed in 1900, but then that’s another story for a future “Postcard from the Past.”

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Selling 26 Angus and 3 Red Angus Bulls at the WBCIA Bull Test Sale Friday, March 15, 2019 • 1 p.m.

Pingetzer's Bull & Heifer Development Center • Shoshoni, WY

: g n i r u t a Fe

ADG Ratio 122

ADG Ratio 118

LOT 806

LOT 812

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Final Wt: 1310# ADG: 3.33 ADG Ratio: 118 WDA: 3.18 WDA Ratio: 122

Final Wt: 1135# ADG: 3.32 ADG Ratio: 118 WDA: 2.92 WDA Ratio: 107

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Preview videos at:

Genetic tools provide insight “The industry is moving forward with superior genetic selection tools,” says Jerry Bohn, National Cattleman’s Beef Association vice president.

NCBA sponsored a webinar, titled “Moving Forward with Superior Genetic Selection Tools,” explaining how commercial and seedstock producers could utilize genetic tools to improve their herds.

Speakers ranged from scientists to breed association representatives. The webinar aired Feb. 25 on the association’s “Cattleman to Cattleman” channel on YouTube.

Progeny expectations “To be put simply, the expected progeny difference (EPD) tells producers how we can expect one animal to differ from another,” says Mahidu Saatchi, International Genetic Solutions lead genomicist.

“For example, we could have bull A scored at 10, and bull B scored at zero for yearling weight EPD,” he said. “Bull A will likely produce progeny that are an average of 10 pounds heavier than bull B. This doesn’t mean they will all be heavier but is simply an average.”

Saatchi explained the technology used to calculate EPDs has evolved a lot since its inception. EPDs are calculated using phenotypes, performance and contemporary groups, pedigrees and more recently genetics.

Advanced EPDs “We can now use DNA technology like never before,” he said. “We know DNA is the basis of inheritance, and we can use this technology to understand the basic genes that cause differences.”

He explained despite the complicated nature of DNA technology, running tests is relatively inexpensive to producers and can provide more accurate EPDs. “Producers can choose how many data points they want in their reports,” Saatchi said. “The more data points, the more expensive the test will be.”

“There are two types of single-step models used to calculate EPDs,” Saatchi explained. “The SS-GBLUP uses all markers, adjusts for relationships and assumes all markers have equal impacts. The SS-SHM is a marker effect model that is able to squeeze more information out of DNA by weighing markers based on their impact and leveraging biological facts.”

He explained, even with the popularity of these tests and models, a very strong computer is required to complete the analyses.

Advancing computer sciences have allowed for improvements in the software used to build these

models.

“I have found the BOLT software to be more accurate than the older Cornell system,” he noted. “The need for improving accuracy drives innovation.”

Seedstock utilization “The value of purchasing genomically enhanced, parent-verified bulls is confidence,” said American Hereford Association President Shane Bedwell.

He explained when it comes to purchasing bulls, verified parentage is extremely important to have accurate EPDs. Advanced DNA technologies used in EPDs has made this process more efficient than ever.

“When we have better, more accurate EPDs, we can verify young bulls that haven’t performed yet,” he noted.

“As a whole, we are making a better product from one end of the chain to the other by having genomically enhanced, parent verified animals,” said Bedwell.

Index selection Bedwell explained the index selection was developed in 1943 as a means to simplify sire selection.

Ideally, it utilized economically relevant traits to formulate the index and increases commercial line profit.

“To determine economically relevant traits, we have to ask ourselves some questions,” he said.

“Ranchers need to determine what their breeding and marketing goals are, what traits directly impact the profitability of their specific enterprise and whether there are environmental constraints.”

He listed some of the more commonly cited traits including, calving ease direct, weaning weigh direct, yearling weight, mature weight and carcass weight.

“Some of the indicators for these traits include birthweight, yearling height, mature height and scrotal circumference,” he noted.

“When we utilize the index selection tool, we are simplifying the process of choosing sires,” Bedwell said. “We are able to look at traits weighted based on impact for specific production scenarios.”

“We have to remember high index values in one trait don’t mean all traits will have high values,” Bedwell said. “A bull could be in the 100th percentile for one trait and the 70th for another, and that’s just how it goes.”

He also stated, “Breed improvement and advancement of a breed is not always going to match the profit index goals.”

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

To view “Moving Forward with Superior Genetic Selection Tools,” visit beefusa. org/cattlemenswebinarseries.aspx.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

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Honest Auction y An

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I’d spent years watching auctions on BigIron’s website, and after seeing the prices that some of the equipment sold for, I knew that BigIron was the company I wanted to help sell my equipment. I also knew that my equipment would be seen by a large audience - Adam Collins, Indiana

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After our sales rep got the listing up online, I’ve never gotten so many calls in my life - New York, Canada, Wisconsin. We had a couple guys from Colorado come to Nebraska before the sale just to see the tractor in person and take it for a drive.

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

LISCO & M DIAMOND ANGUS ANGUS BULL SALE

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RIVERTON LIVESTOCK AUCTION Tuesday, March 5, 2019 Market Report • 1,979 Head Sold Representative Sales COWS DUBOIS 2 Cow, 1135# ...................................$75.00 RIVERTON 2 Cow, 1082# ...................................$68.50 1 Cow, 1205# ...................................$68.00 5 Cow, 1105# ...................................$63.50 1 Cow, 1235# ...................................$62.50 MCKINNON 1 Cow, 1370# ...................................$58.00 LANDER 7 Cow, 1323# ...................................$57.50 SHOSHONI 6 Cow, 1370# ...................................$56.50 SHOSHONI 3 Cow, 1328# ...................................$55.00 LANDER 3 Cow, 1390# ...................................$54.50 BULLS BOULDER 2 Bull, 1212# ....................................$97.00 SHOSHONI 1 Bull, 2425# ....................................$90.50 RIVERTON 1 Bull, 1905# ....................................$82.50 1 Bull, 2235# ....................................$82.00 2 Bull, 1985# ....................................$81.00 STEERS EDEN 3 Steer, 318#..................................$220.00 RIVERTON 9 Steer, 300#..................................$214.00 COKEVILLE 5 Steer, 347#..................................$203.00 RIVERTON 11 Steer, 395# ..................................$198.00 6 Steer, 434#..................................$197.00 40 Steer, 466#..................................$194.50 39 Steer, 484#..................................$191.00 9 Steer, 515#..................................$189.00 33 Steer, 505#..................................$186.00 LANDER 6 Steer, 516#..................................$180.00 SHOSHONI 75 Steer, 564#..................................$178.50 RIVERTON 13 Steer, 556#..................................$174.50 RAWLINS 92 Steer, 646#..................................$163.50 SHOSHONI 90 Steer, 648#..................................$163.50 228 Steer, 644#..................................$163.10 RIVERTON 5 Steer, 657#..................................$159.00

10 Steer, 701#..................................$147.00 40 Steer, 684#..................................$146.50 THERMOPOLIS 20 Steer, 785#..................................$140.00 RIVERTON 14 Steer, 803#..................................$139.50 HEIFERS RIVERTON 8 Heifer, 400#.................................$172.00 23 Heifer, 488#.................................$161.00 8 Heifer, 503#.................................$157.50 LANDER 100 Heifer, 568#.................................$157.00 8 Heifer, 548#.................................$155.00 RIVERTON 12 Heifer, 558#.................................$154.50 55 Heifer, 639#.................................$144.50 TENSLEEP 95 Heifer, 655#.................................$143.75 8 Heifer, 620#.................................$143.00 RIVERTON 6 Heifer, 640#.................................$141.00 SHOSHONI 38 Heifer, 633#.................................$140.50 RIVERTON 16 Heifer, 738#.................................$134.50 18 Heifer, 739#.................................$132.75 HEIFERETTES FORT WASHAKIE 12 Heiferette, 854# ..........................$105.50 FORT BRIDGER 5 Heiferette, 869# ..........................$102.00 FORT WASHAKIE 6 Heiferette, 956# ............................$95.00

TUESDAY, MARCH 12 BRED COW SPECIAL W/ HANCOCK ANGUS BULL SALE (1 PM) START TIME 8:00 AM W/ WEIGH UPS BREDS @ 11:00 AM Hancock Angus - 36 Yrling Blk Ang bulls. All sired by proven AI sires. PAP & semen tested & Carcass Ultrasounded. BVD & Bangs tested free.

(1:00 PM) BRED HEIFERS John Cowdin - 6 Blk Ang Bred Hfrs. Bred to LBW Blk Ang bulls to start calving 5/1. High elevation.

Complete dispersion.

Early Consignments BRED COWS Rodewald Ranch - 224 Blk Ang & AngX 3-9 Yr old Bred cows. Bred to Registered Blk Ang bulls to start calving the end of April. Rec Bovishield Gold VL5 & Vision 7 & poured. Complete dispersal.

Fancy, powerful cows!

Peterson Ranches - 175 Blk Ang & AngX 3 Yr Old Bred cows. Bred to Blk Ang bulls to start calving 3/20. Rec Virashield 6 VL5 & poured. Fancy, high elevation 2nd calf cows!

30 Blk & Red Running Age Bred cows. Bred to Blk Ang bulls to start calving 3/20.

Sandstone Ranches - 90 Blk Ang 6 & 7 Yr old Bred cows. Start calving 4/15. Rec Virashield 6 VL5, Vision 7 & poured w/ Dectomax.

Gardner Livestock - 75 Blk Ang ST Bred cows.

Bred to Vermillion Blk Ang bulls to start calving mid March. Fancy, high elevation ST cows! One brand, one raising.

Widhalm & Branson - 74 3-Yr Old Blk Ang Bred cows. Bred to McClun Registered Hereford bulls to start calving mid March. Complete dispersion.

High elevation cows! Extremely fancy, 2nd calf cows!

3 3-Yr Old Registered McClun Hereford bulls Snelling Farms - 30 Blk Ang & AngX 4-6 Yr old Bred cows. Bred to Lucky 7 Blk Ang bulls to start calving 4/1. Choice, high desert cows!

John Cowdin - 27 Blk Ang 3-9 Yr old Bred cows.

Bred to Blk Ang bulls to start calving 5/1. High elevation cattle. Complete dispersion.

Jeremy Olsen - 18 Blk/Red 3-Yr Old Bred cows.

Bred to Blk/Hereford bulls to start calving May 1st.

Tom & Jen Severude - 10 3-6 Yr old Bred cows.

Bred to Blk Ang bulls to calve in April. Rec Virashield 6 VL5, Cleanup 2 & Safeguard. High desert, young cows!

PAIRS Coyote Springs - 6 CorrienteX Pairs. Calves big enough to rope!

Dillon Hedges - 1 Hereford 5 Yr old Pair. Calf sired

by Connealy Blk Ang bull. Comp vacc & poured.

OPEN COWS Gardner Livestock - 25 open cows

SATURDAY, MARCH 16 DIAMOND PEAK BULL SALE START TIME 1:00 PM Diamond Peak Cattle - 70 Blk Ang 2 Yr olds, 60 Blk Ang Yrling Bulls & 10 SimAngus 2 Yr olds. Sires include Regal Duty, Indeed, Confirmed & Bluestem.

PAP tested. (1:00 PM)

TUESDAY, MARCH 19 FEEDER SPECIAL W/ ALL CATTLE CLASSES, START TIME 8:00 AM W/ WEIGH UPS McMurry Ranch - 150 Blk Ang & AngX Strs 550650#. Long time weaned. Comp vacc. Hay fed.

Choice, high desert grass steers!

Campbell Livestock - 100 Blk Ang & AngX Strs & Hfrs 500-550#. Rec Pyramid 5, 7-way & wormed.

Weaned since Nov. 100% Blk Ang sired. One brand, one raising.

Applequist Ranch - 90 Blk Ang & AngX Strs 550600#. Weaned 11/15. Rec Pyramid 5 + Presponse, 7-way. Hay fed. One brand, high desert.

JF Ranch - 85 Blk Hfrs 575-625#. Rec two rounds of shots. Long time weaned. Hay fed & fancy!

Frank Deede - 20 Blk & Hereford Strs & Hfrs 400600#. Long time weaned. Hay fed, bunk broke.

Green!

Ken Weston - 15 Blk Ang & AngX Strs & Hfrs 450550#

TUESDAY, MARCH 26 BRED COW SPECIAL W/ NORTHWEST WYOMNG ANGUS ASSOCIATION BULL SALE (1 PM) & SHEEP & HORSES START TIME 8:00 AM W/ SHEEP & WEIGH UPS Northwest WY Angus Bull sale - 50 Yrling Angus Bulls 4 Two Yr Old Angus bulls. PAP & Semen tested.

Bulls sired by high quality Angus bulls.

Contact: Riverton Livestock Auction (307) 856-2209 • Jeff Brown (307) 850-4193 • Tom Linn (307) 728-8519 • Mark Winter (580) 747-9436 • www.rivertonlivestock.com • Also watch our live cattle auction at www.cattleusa.com

1490 South 8th Street East • River ton, WY 82501 • (307) 856-2209

®

WLA: Incentivizing stewardship could be the key to conservation economics “The oldest task in human history – to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.”

Aldo Leopold provided the simple definition of conservation used by the Western Landowners Alliance today.

Cole Mannix, Western Landowners Alliance (WLA) associate director, authored and published a document laying the complicated nature of conservation economics.

The document was published in December 2018 with support from National Geographic Society.

Conservation as a form of economics “People most commonly associate conservation with the setting aside of land in parks or wilderness or legally restricting human use of the area,” said Mannix. “But this is problematic. The need for wildlife to move with the seasons from one part of their range to another illustrates the limits of these islands of protection.”

He explained there is

less land to set aside, and conservation today must increasingly focus on supporting those kinds of economic activities compatible with ecological health and discouraging those that are not.

“The stewardship of western private lands is critically important in its own right for the larger landscape,” he noted. “Unlike management of public lands, private stewardship must support itself within the market economy, where landowners and managers are immersed in the daily tension between ecology and market forces.”

“Working with living systems requires human observation and ongoing adaptation,” Mannix noted.

“In other words, stewardship is an art, difficult to capture in action and continuing to lose artists.”

Growth in agriculture “Unlimited growth is neither possible nor desirable,” Mannix said.

He explained many of the long-accepted teachings of Norman Borlaug’s

For more information on Western Landowners Alliance, visit westernlandowners.org.

KUKUCHKA’S

A

70 50

Green Revolution have been proven false. The revolution does not account for the price of food and fiber nor the ecological cost of U.S. agriculture.

“Despite the largest gains in agricultural productivity and the lowest food prices in the world, child hunger in the U.S. has increased from one in 16 in the 1960s to nearly one in six presently,” Mannix said.

He noted part of this increase could be attributed to stricter definitions of hunger, yet poverty is often a larger cause of hunger than food supply.

Mark Bittman of the New York Times stated the way to feed 9 billion people is to eliminate poverty.

“Let’s think of the poorest place on earth and put ourselves there,” Bittman explained. “Undoubtedly, we won’t be hungry, and the difference between us and the natives isn’t the availability of food, instead the wad of 20 dollar bills in our pockets.”

“If insufficient yield were the main obstacle of feeding people, agricultural trade organizations wouldn’t have to work so hard to expand markets,”

31 TH ANNUAL

“If insufficient yield were the main obstacle of feeding people, agricultural trade organizations wouldn’t have to work so hard to expand markets.” – Cole Mannix, Western Landowners Alliance als and energy inputs are unlimited and waste outputs are either assumed to be negligible or flow off the page.

“As the economy grows, it becomes increasingly impossible to ignore the limits of Earth’s ecosystems,” Mannix noted.

Improving conservation economics “Profit is essential,” said Mannix, “but it often ranks lower for western landowners than values such as heritage and way of life.”

“Ultimately, turning the big picture trends discussed in this paper require a scale and urgency of response beyond what existing tools and approaches are achieving,” Mannix noted.

“Improving conservation economics is not synonymous with getting more money,” Mannix explained. “Rather, it includes all the various ways to increase sup-

port and decrease risks for stewardship and vice-versa for the competition.”

“At a time when care for our natural resources and wildlife has never been more important, farmers and ranchers not only have less time than ever to pay attention, but they continue to lose the ability to distinguish the products of their stewardship,” said Mannix.

He explained for conservation to be at an appropriate scale, there must be policies in place.

“Policies must be designed not only to encourage more good but also to discourage harm,” Mannix commented. “At a time when the playing field has been sloped so steeply against stewardship, our goal should be to level that slope as much as possible.”

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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he said. “Forty percent of food would not be wasted and 40 percent of corn wouldn’t be allocated for biofuel use.”

Economic growth paradigm “Despite important gains in conservation, the specter of diminished western lands continues to expand,” said Mannix.

“Today, human demands are exceeding the limits of the biosphere, changing the climate, altering fundamental natural cycles and crowding out biodiversity.”

He explained the nature of humans has always been to find a substitute for things we no longer have access to.

“The economic principle of substitution in textbook economics assumes if any given input in the economy becomes scarce or too expensive, innovation will find an acceptable replacement,” Mannix explained. “But the issue is, there is no substitution for fresh water, soil or biodiversity.”

He explained the textbook definition and use of economics puts the economy in a man-made vacuum, where raw materi-

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B2

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Quality grade improvements enables supply, increases consumer demand For National Beef, increased marbling and improved quality grade has been important in providing supply to meet demand from consumers.

Chad Barker, vice president of procurement for National Beef, says the number of cattle grading Choice has increased from about 45 percent to almost 85 percent Choice today.

“Grading has improved, but it hasn’t changed our focus,” Barker said. “We still look for the high Choice, Prime, quality, black-hided kind of cattle.”

“The quality has improved so quickly, it’s hard to imagine,” he added. “I think we will see the same kind of improvement over the next four or five years that we’ve seen in the last five.”

With the trajectory set, Barker sees the goal of 100

percent Choice cattle occurring in the next five years. He also notes their focus will shift toward soundness and quality coupled with efficiency and feedlot performance.

“Ranchers and feedlots have accomplished so much in improving Choice, and I feel like Prime is our next big opportunity as an industry,” Barker said. “Hopefully, we can balance it with the supply and grow the demand as the supply grows.”

Barker hopes to see the amount of Prime grading cattle increase from one percent today to an average of five percent or better on a weekly basis.

“At those levels, we can start having guys feature Prime beef, expect to get it and hopefully build the business to grow along with the cow/calf guys and feedlots that are producing for us,” he said.

Beef grades Additionally, the announcement that Select grade beef will be all but phased out by 2025 means Choice will be the lowest quality available to consumers.

“The Choice grade breaks down into High Choice, Average Choice and Low Choice,” explained the Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) in a white paper. “Corresponding scores for those three divisions are Moderate, Modest and Small, in declining order. Of significance is that upper twothirds Choice carcasses are often cooler-sorted branded beef programs, such as Certified Angus Beef, Sterling Silver or Tyson’s Chairman’s Reserve.”

As a result of genetic improvements, specifically selection of genetics related

to higher marbling, has positively affected beef quality grades, said RAAA. Seedstock producers have trended towards high-marbling bulls and females both.

“Commercial producers, for their part, did what the market was telling them to do and bid aggressively on the higher-marbling bulls seedstock suppliers offered.

Observable marbling premiums in the wholesale beef market translated back down the supply chain, resulting in both greater demand for and a larger supply of highmarbling genetics,” RAAA added.

Beef demand The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) noted beef demand is up 15 percent since 2012 according to January retail sales data from IRI Freshlook.

“Strong consumer beef

“Ranchers and feedlots have accomplished so much in improving Choice, and I feel like Prime is our next big opportunity as an industry.” – Chad Barker, National Beef demand is expected to continue into 2019 with USDA predicting consumers in the United States will eat 8.9 percent more beef this year than in 2015,” CBB added. “Much of beef’s demand is driven by ground beef and loin cuts which are particularly popular with consumers at the grocery store.”

Travis O’Quinn, assistant professor of meat science at Kansas State University, believes consumers have been clearly communicating that Choice beef is preferred over Select, saying, “There is sound evidence Select beef will fail to meet consumer eating expectations about 25

percent of the time. This percentage decreases significantly at higher quality grades – Choice and Prime. Thus, we have hard data supporting the fact that with the increase in Choice beef production and the reduction of Select the overall eating quality of U.S. beef is improving. This trend represents a positive change made by the industry.”

Barker spoke during a recent edition of Angus Video New Report, sponsored by Certified Angus Beef. Learn more at angus.org.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

BIG COUNTRY GENETICS 4.6.19 bull sale NORTHWEST COLLEGE AG FACILIT Y

POWELL, WY

1424E

1129E

716E

$API 169.7 $TI 92.2 LEACHMAN PROPHET J030Z x GW PREMIUM BEEF 021TS

863E

$API 147.0 $TI 77.5 NLC COW BOSS 160C x HOOKS SHEAR FORCE 38K

$API 150.1 $TI 72.8 GW GOLDEN EAGLE 015B x GW PREMIUM BEEF 021TS

1508E

736E

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Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

B3

Wyoming State Fair continues on positive trajectory with new infusion of funds from Legislature Douglas – Feb. 28 brought a gathering of Wyoming State Fair stakeholders to the Wyoming State Fairgrounds for a community meeting, which provided updates on the annual event and looked at challenges that continue into the future.

Of note, Wyoming State Fair Board President Joe Rankin commented, “Over the last few years, our budget has been cut severely. We were fortunate to get some of that money back last year and this year both.”

Increased support Sen. Brian Boner of Douglas noted the Wyoming Legislature pledged additional support to the Wyoming State Fair this year.

“As another option for funding, last year we started the State Fair Endowment,” Boner said. “After we took about a 30 percent budget cut several years ago, we decided it would be a good idea to have a cushion and an additional fund set aside to stabilize the Wyoming State Fair budget.”

The interest from the endowment would help fund fair activities.

Currently, one percent of revenues from the fair are deposited into the account, as well as 75 percent of the interest.

“As it stands right now, only 25 percent of the interest from the endowment

goes to the state fair,” Boner said, noting changes made be made to provide the Wyoming State Fair Board more flexibility moving forward.

“The good news is, in the session that ended on Feb. 28, we added $1.1 million to the Wyoming State Fair Endowment from our supplemental budget bill and an additional $2 million from the Pari-Mutuel Commission,” Boner emphasized. “We had an issue with excess revenue from the Pari-Mutuel Commission account, so we transferred $2 million of that to the Wyoming State Fair Endowment.”

At a five percent return, the endowment – which sits between $3.2 and $3.3 million – will now provide roughly $150,000 for the annual Wyoming State Fair.

“We’ll continue to assess other methods to remove the uncertainty of the budget,” Boner said.

The past and present Rankin also noted the last several years have been an anomaly for the fair. In 2018, the Wyoming State Fair made changes to compensate for the 2018 Great American Eclipse, which was on Sunday following the event.

“We let some of our exhibitors go home early in anticipation of a lot of traffic,” he said. “As a result, our Saturday numbers at fair were terrible, which is highly unusual.”

State Fair Board In 2018, the Wyoming Legislature passed legislation, which was signed by then-Gov. Matt Mead, to create a Wyoming State Fair (WSP) Board, under the supervision of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture.

The board includes members from each of the four quadrants of the state, as well as members from Douglas and Converse County, youth development organizations and state government agencies.

WSF Board President Joe Rankin comments, “Rather than directly under the Board of Agriculture, we are a separate board, but we answer to the Department of Agriculture and the governor.”

“The board started in September, and it has been a big learning curve for many of us,” Rankin said, noting many board members had not served at the state level in the past.

The WSF Board is funded by the legislature, with a budget attached to the Wyoming Department of Agriculture’s.

Learn more about the Wyoming State Fair at wystatefair.org.

In 2018, the Wyoming State Fair Board also held 17 meetings from around the state seeking input on the Wyoming State Fair.

“A lot of comments came from parents of 4-H and FFA members, who come for the whole week. They were concerned about the amount of time they spend at the fair and how much it costs,” Rankin added. “As a result, we cut a day off, thinking that would also save us some money.”

He continued, “It really didn’t save us much money.”

Wyoming State Fair Director James Goodrich added, “A big component of shortening the 2018 fair was an effort to save money in security, temporary labor, janitorial, etc. We did achieve some cost savings with that, which was helpful.”

“The trap we got into by reducing the number of days, we also reduced our opportunities for income,” he continued. “Our income from the shorter fair was less. We knew that was going to happen.”

Impact of change While it wasn’t a surprise to Wyoming State Fair staff that revenue was down, Goodrich added major costs weren’t reduced enough to cover reduced revenues.

While 4-H and FFA families indicated they would be more willing to participate in a shorter fair, participation numbers did not reflect the number of comments received.

Rankin also noted that 4-H and FFA members were also forced to make choices as to what species they wanted to show, since show schedules often overlapped.

At the same time, some vendors did not return to Wyoming State Fair as a result of the shorter number of days.

“We were not able to fill the number of inside vendor spaces this year because of the shortened fair,” Goodrich commented. “We saved some money by shortening the fair last year, but we also lost some revenues.”

“It was super busy for four days,” Rankin said. “This year, with our new board, we decided to add a day back on.”

The schedule for the Wyoming State Fair will start on Aug. 9 with the Ft. Fetterman Remount Horse Sale,

followed by what Rankin dubbed the “Ranch Weekend.” The ranch rodeo, stock dog events, Dutch oven cookoff, sheep wagon contest and more will be held that weekend.

On Aug. 12, exhibits will begin arriving at the fairgrounds. Livestock shows will start on Aug. 13 and will continue through Aug. 17.

“I think our schedule is going to work well,” Goodrich said. “There are still some things we won’t be able to fit in the five-day schedule, but I think the intent of the fair is preserved over the five days.”

A look forward The upcoming Wyoming State Fair will be the first event under the direction of the Wyoming State Fair Board, and Boner said, “We’ll assess how that goes, and if there are any ideas for legislative fixes, we are all ears.”

“During the interim, I hope we will also assess where we are with the Wyoming State Fair and get some feedback from stakeholders,” he added. “We want to give more flexibility to the board, so they truly have control over the event. We need to give the people in charge of the Wyoming State Fair the authority to be in charge.”

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at saige@wylr.net.

“The good news is, in the session that ended on Feb. 28, we added $1.1 million to the Wyoming State Fair Endowment from our supplemental budget bill and an additional $2 million from the Pari-Mutuel Commission.” – Sen. Brian Boner, Wyoming Legislature

Fees Another topic of conversation related to the fees during both fair time and in the offseason.

“Those fees have previously been set by the Board of Ag,” Wyoming State Fair Board President Joe Rankin explained. “We would come up with ideas, but the Board of Ag would have to approve those fees.”

Several years ago, the Wyoming State Fair looked at different facilities – including similar facilities in Rapid City, S.D., Rock Springs and Gillette – to determine a new set of prices that is comparable to surrounding resources.

Wyoming State Fair Director James Goodrich commented, “We adjusted arena and building fees accordingly.”

“When it came down to daily fees, arena usage and similar square footage, we were in the right ballpark.

We made a few adjustments – mostly upward – to be in line with other facilities around the state,” he said.

For activities held outside of Wyoming State Fair week, in addition to cost of renting the facilities, the Wyoming State Fair requires insurance must be purchased by the renter – as mandated by the state, which can be costly, as well. If alcohol is present at the event, additional coverage is required.

“People have said it is expensive to rent our buildings, but if we look at prices in Casper, Fort Collins, Colo. or others, we are extremely reasonable,” Goodrich said. “We have also always tried to be as reasonable as possible while also generating as much revenue as possible for what the market will bear here.”

Rankin noted, “Several years ago, the Wyoming Legislature told us Wyoming State Fair wasn’t doing enough to make money for itself, so we bumped fees – not much, but it was a jump.”

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B4

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Research shows beef stands up when compared to plant-based proteins “Our goal at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is to make beef the number one protein. We do that through all of our programs,” Mandy Carr, NCBA senior executive director for science, culinary and outreach team, says. “We mark the acceptance of proteins every quarter, and consumers do believe that beef is the number one protein.”

The “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.” slogan provides a starting point for many consumers, and consumers who are familiar with the beef brand keep it at the top of their protein list. However, those consumers unfamiliar with the slogan are more vulnerable, says Carr.

“Consumers across the globe are looking at alternatives to their protein choices,” Carr continues, noting that before the last several years, protein alternatives included fish, poultry and pork. “Today, we know that alternatives includes plant-based or labbased alternatives, as well.”

In countries like Germany and the United Kingdom, the number of consumers who are decreasing their meat intake has shifted.

“While these companies are looking to mimic beef, how can beef hold its position as the top protein?” Carr asks, noting beef easily wins the fight when compared to plantbased proteins.

Visit beefresearch.org or beefitswhatsfordinner.com for infographics and facts related to beef sustainability.

Sustainability Sustainability is often used as a target when plantbased protein alternatives are supported.

Alternative proteins claim to be superior in terms of sustainability.

“Beyond Meat is a plant-based protein competitor. Their burger or crumble is a pea protein,” Carr says. “In their vision, they tend to play on the emotions of consumer.”

Beyond Meat makes claims like, “It’s worth the fight to transition to a different protein because it’s better for the planet.”

However, the beef industry assesses sustainability using a whole lifecycle assessment.

“U.S. beef is one of the most environmentally efficient and sustainable when it comes to raising any protein,” Carr says. “Producers are committed to excellence, and they continue to be good stewards of their

livestock and the natural resources they are entrusted with.”

She emphasizes, “When we look at sustainability, today in the United States, U.S. farmers and ranchers produce 18 percent of the world’s beef with only eight percent of the world’s cattle. How do we do that?

Increases in efficiency and other characteristics allow us to do this.”

Carr cites welfare, management, nutrition and genetic advances have all enabled increased efficiency.

Grain competition Carr says advocates for alternative protein sources say cattle compete with humans for grain.

“The fact of the matter is, whether we are talking about grass-fed or grain-fed beef animals, we are talking about livestock that spend 90 percent of their life consuming forages and plants,” she says. “Only 10 percent

“Marketing claims for alternative proteins often only include the good qualities about these products. They tend to leave out key pieces that may be negative as related to nutrition.”

– Mandy Carr, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association of their lives are spent consuming grains.”

Additionally, a large majority of the U.S. is not suitable for crop production, meaning ruminant animals are necessary to harvest Only two percent of arable cropland is used for corn, and two percent of corn production goes toward animal “That equates to 0.03 percent of the landmass in the U.S. used to grow corn fed to animals,” Carr emphasizes.

“Cattle have this opportunity to not only graze land that is not highly utilizable for growing crops for human consumption, but they also use the leftovers from crops harvested for humans and continue to upgrade that plant residue into high-quality proteins,” she says.

Nutrition implications Alternative protein producers also often claim superior nutrition in alternative products.

“Marketing claims for alternative proteins often only include the good qualities about these products,” Carr explains. “In a consumer’s mind, the argument is about positive attributes.

They tend to leave out key pieces that may be negative as related to nutrition.”

Beef, however, supplies vital nutrients to human consumers of all ages. Carr says, noting, “Calorie-tocalorie and serving-sizeto serving size, beef has the highest quality protein compared to the alternatives.”

Beef’s low sodium and lean nature makes it ideal for heart-healthy diets.

“On average, a threeounce serving of lean beef provides 10 percent of the daily value of 10 different essential nutrients with less than 10 percent of the calories,” she describes. “Calorie for calorie, we get the most potential per calorie than alternative products.”

In more depth, research also supports high-quality protein in weight management.

To get the equivalent amount of protein as three ounces of lean beef, Americans would have to consume three cups of quinoa,

which is over 600 calories.

“The efficient protein in beef offers is often not portrayed when it is compared to plant-based proteins,” Carr comments.

Clean labels Carr also says the trend toward a “clean label,” meaning nutrition labels that have fewer ingredients, favors beef.

“Beef has one ingredient on the label – just beef,” she comments. “When we compare that to plant-based alternatives, they have lots of ingredients that are often very hard to pronounce and unfamiliar.”

Taste In addition to being nutritionally superior, Carr says, “Taste is the biggest demand driver for consumers, and beef does very, very well on taste.”

The satisfaction of consumer perceptions for steak has been steady over many years.

“Overall, consumers are very pleased with their last steak-eating experiences,” she says. “Consumers have high expectations, but we’re also fulfilling those.”

Further, Carr comments, “Our competitors are basically trying to be beef in creating their products.”

However, meat substitutes don’t hit the mark when compared to beef.

She says the taste of plantbased proteins is improving, though.

“In 2018, one alternative company worked toward a goal to have a side-by-side blind taste test against beef,” she says.

“Ten years ago, only 10 percent of consumers said the alternative burger tasted like a beef burger. Last year, that jumped to 50 percent of consumers who preferred the alternative burger to beef.”

She emphasizes, “These companies are getting closer to their goal.”

Carr presented during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association 2019 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show, held in late January this year.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

BLM sale hits $88 million The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming raised $87.9 million in a competitive oil and gas lease sale last week. BLM originally planned to offer these parcels in December but delayed their sale to provide more time for public input.

BLM analyzed offering 577 nominated parcels at the sale, which occurred Feb. 25 through March 1. Through the public review process and in close coordination with the State of Wyoming, BLM ultimately offered 565 parcels encompassing about 758,000 acres. BLM received bids on 437 of these parcels, totaling 527,000 acres.

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

B5

Heart Mountain Irrigation District seeks updated water rights and infrastructure Powell – The 34,000-acre Heart Mountain Irrigation District is seeking to update water rights and improve its infrastructure to prevent interruptions in water supply and better serve their district, according to District Manager Tyler Weckler.

“We are petitioning to the State Engineer’s Office to expand water rights to previously unadjudicated areas within the district,” Weckler says. “We want our farmers who are utilizing irrigation to be able to do so with water rights.”

Water rights “Water rights follow the land,” he explains. “We want our producers to be able to continue to irrigate and utilize best practices.”

Weckler says Heart Mountain Irrigation District wants farmers who have water rights to continue to utilize those rights, but they also hope to offer the opportunity to farmers operating without to be able to claim water rights on their land and reap the benefits.

He noted the district is also operating under both state and federal grants to improve the infrastructure of the system, the federal WaterSMART Grant from the Bureau of Reclamation, as well as a $1.7 million grant through Wyoming Water Development Commission.

“What can get complicated is each grant has different requirements and priorities,” Weckler says.

“Where one grant may prioritize certain issues, the other grant may prioritize other issues.”

“We have to meet all the requirements of both grants to receive funding,” he explains.

If approved by the State Engineer’s Office, the enlargement would bring upwards of 3,400 more service contract acres into the district’s adjudicated area, according to Weckler.

Water rights Brian Duyck, president of the Heart Mountain

Irrigation Board of Directors explains the history of water rights in the district as “complicated.”

“The homesteaders farmed areas that weren’t necessarily irrigable,” he explains. “Back in the day, flood irrigation was the only option, and some of the very low or very high spots weren’t able to receive water.”

Duyck says because these lands weren’t irrigated in the past, they never had water rights to begin with.

When modern technology improved irrigating techniques and allowed for the ground to be leveled, there was still no water rights.

“We basically have a bunch of slivers of land that have no water rights, so the district extended contracts to these people, so they would be able to water their land without skipping over small slivers.”

He explains, of the 3,400 acres to be added, some of it is in slivers of less than an acre.

“These slivers without water rights could be in the middle of the field,” Duyck says. “This area needs regular water rights, so farmers can water their entire fields with no issues.”

Improving infrastructure Weckler explains the water used by irrigators originates high on Heart Mountain and comes through the mountains and into the Heart Mountain Canal, which is lined by concrete.

“The concrete liner was built in 1938,” Weckler says.

“We have had some seepage issues in the past due to the sandy, loamy nature of the location.”

“Leaks are to be expected in any irrigation infrastructure,” he explains.

“We have a maintenance crew that tends to small leaks as they occur.”

He explains issues occurring higher on the mountain can disrupt water supply to the entire district.

“If this canal were to fail,

For more information on Heart Mountain Irrigation District, visit heartmtnirrigation.com.

our district could be without water,” he says. “Maintaining this infrastructure ensures we have a constant water supply.”

“We have had large failures in the past,” he explains.

“With these grants, we’re hoping to go in and figure out where the weak points are and fix them.”

Timeline “We are currently in the process of environmental review for the WaterSMART Grant,” Weckler says. “These are just things that have to be done before we put a single bucket in the ground.”

“Once we pass all the environmental inspections, we can move onto the design and bidding process,” he explains. “This is a process all projects of this nature have to go through.”

Weckler notes Heart Mountain Irrigation District hopes to complete environmental reviews and bidding during the summer of 2019, with the goal of breaking

ground this fall.

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

“If this were to fail, our district could be without water. Maintaining this infrastructure ensures we have a constant water supply.” – Tyler Weckler, Heart Mountain Irrigation

Annual Production Sale March 25, 2019

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A A R Consistent 8536 The Jan. 1, 2019 inventory of all sheep and lambs in Wyoming totaled 350,000 head, up one percent from Jan. 1, 2018, according to the Jan. 1 Sheep and Goat Survey, conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

The number of breeding sheep and lambs increased by two percent from last year to 265,000 head, while market sheep and lambs were unchanged at 85,000 head. The number of replacement lambs were unchanged at 43,000 head. The number of rams one-year-old and older, at 7,000 head, is unchanged from last year.

Of the 85,000 head of market sheep and lambs, 2,000 head were market sheep and 83,000 head were market lambs.

The 2018 lamb crop, at 240,000 head, was up two percent from the 2017 lamb crop.

Wool production in Wyoming during 2018 totaled 2.4 million pounds, up two percent from the previous year.

The value of wool production for 2018 totaled $6 million and was up 28 percent from a year earlier as producers received $2.50 per pound of wool sold compared with two dollars per pound the previous year.

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B6

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Minimizing pathogen loading can increase stocking rates on western rangeland “Applying science to management is the key in reducing pathogen loading in water sources across the West,” said Ken Tate, University of California-Davis rangeland watershed specialist.

Tate spoke about ways cattle producers can minimize pathogens introduced to water sources at the Wyoming Association of Conservation Dis-

tricts Watershed Conference held in Casper Feb. 20-21.

Fecal distribution “We have to ask ourselves how cattle distribute their feces,” said Tate.

Tate joked much of his research in college boiled down to “putting poop in bags” to collect data. Through his research, he found over 60 percent of cattle fecal loading

For more information on Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts,visit conservewy.com.

SIDWELL RANCH

occurs near attractants.

“We figured out the cattle defecate closer to things like salt, feed and water,” he explained. “So, if we could position these attractants as far away from streams and rivers as possible, then we could prevent pathogens from traveling through the water sources.”

“When we have incidents like the E. coli outbreak in lettuce in 2018, people want to blame cattle,” he noted. “We have to understand there are wildlife populations that factor into pathogen loading, as well. Not to say cattle don’t

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magnify this, but they are not the sole contributors.”

Mobilization “To understand the distribution, we also had to determine if and how the pathogens mobilized from the original cow pat,” Tate said. “To determine this, we stirred bacteria into a cow pat and dosed a runoff plot to simulate rain or irrigation.”

“We found over 90 percent of microbes were stuck to the original pat or within one foot of it,” he explained.

“Of the remaining percentage of microbes, between 70 and 99.9 percent were trapped within a single yard of the pat.”

He explained this is especially important to consider because infected runoff can wreak havoc on wetlands.

Runoff into streams can affect water supply to people, as well as plants.

Managing for pathogen minimization “We want to manage cattle and pastures in such a way that we reduce pollution,” said Tate.

“This really all goes back to soil health,” he commented.

“When we can properly manage our soils, water and forages, we will be more profitable and better stewards of the land.”

“We want moderate stocking rates,” he said. “There needs to be a balance with forage production and site resil-

“We want to manage cattle and pastures in such a way that we reduce pollution,” – Ken Tate, University of California-Davis iency to reduce impacts to soil and vegetation.”

He explained managers should also manage livestock distribution across the land to minimize pathogen loading and pollution.

“When we distribute livestock more effectively through the land, we can in turn distribute waste in a more efficient way,” Tate said. “Distributing across the landscape will increase microbe decay and travel distance to upland attenuation.”

“We also have to manage riparian areas,” he noted.

“We want to distribute livestock onto resilient soils and uplands during wet periods to minimize damage on these sensitive areas.”

He recommended a mix of rest and rotational grazing, cross fencing, riparian pastures, off-stream drinking water, targeted supplement feeding, herding and movement of cattle and vegetative buffers.

“We essentially want to get pathogens as far from the water as possible,” he noted.

Source and sink pastures “We also want our pastures to be sink pastures,” he explained. “These types of pastures not only ensure we

are reducing pathogen loading and pollution but also maximize soil health and profits.”

“What we don’t want to have is a source pasture,” he said. “That means the pasture is the source of pollutants.”

“A source pasture will have high run-off rates, overstocking, discharge to streams, direct access to streams and cattle are able to graze immediately after irrigation,” he explained. “These are pretty much all practices we want to avoid because they’re bad for the environment and bad for the bottom line in the long-run.”

“On the flip side, we have sink pastures, which is what we want to have,” he said.

He described sink pastures as having moderate stocking rates, reduced runoff, a buffer to wetlands and limited access to streams.

“When we have sink pastures, the soil health is better, and we can actually double our stocking rate over time because we took care of the land,” he noted.

Callie Hanson is the assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

B7

Green River Valley Cattlemen and CattleWomen honor members for accomplishments Marbleton – The annual meeting of the Green River Valley Cattlemen’s Association (GRVCA) and CattleWomen (GRVCW) was held March 2-3 in Marbleton, and large crowds turned out for the event.

In addition to several presentations by experts in animal disease and more, attendees also celebrated GRVCW. This year in April, GRVCW will celebrate their 50 th anniversary, with a special reception at the Big Piney Library.

In 2019, GRVCW recognized DeeAnn Price and Joella Dugan with Lifetime Membership Awards. Florence Beard was selected as the 2019 Ranch Woman of the Year, and Zach Turnbull was presented with the 2019 Friend of Agriculture Award.

Look for more from the 2019 GRVCA meeting in next week’s Roundup.

Lifetime member – Third generation rancher Joella Dugan was honored as the 2019 Green River Valley CattleWomen Lifetime Member. Dugan was raised on a commercial Hereford and sheep operation. After high school in Pinedale and business college in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dugan returned to the ranch. She married Ralph Dugan and had two sons.

On the ranch, Dugan has been intimately involved in day-today activities, including bookkeeping, branding, cooking, haying and more. She later attended a veterinary trade school in Fort Collins, Colo., enabling her to help with vet services on the ranch.

Dugan worked at the U.S. Forest Service from 1973-99. She also was actively involved in 4-H. Today, Dugan lives in Pinedale and enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. Joy Ufford photo

Ranching legacy – DeeAnn Price received the honor of recognition as 2019 Green River Valley CattleWomen Lifetime Member during the annual meeting of the organization. Nominators Verla and Sue Sommers said, “This devoted wife, mother, top ranch hand and writer is not only one of the busiest people in Sublette County but one of the nicest, too.”

After Price attended Utah State University, she was married and returned to the Green River Valley.

According to her husband, she “rides the fall drift to gather cattle, helps feed cows and calves as needed and cooks meals. She is especially dedicated at calving time. She takes the night shift for calving heifers, getting up or sitting up at all hours to check on them. Any cold, premature, hungry or orphaned calf gets first class care in her hands.”

Price was also recognized as the 2005 Green River Valley CattleWomen Ranch Woman of the Year, as well. Joy Ufford photo

Ranch Woman of the Year – 2019’s Ranch Woman of the Year, Florence Beard was raised on a ranch in the Daniel area and worked alongside her husband Bob at Miller Land and Livestock’s Flying V, cooking, gardening and supporting ranch activities every day. Through the years, she took care of the house, yard and garden, while Bob took care of the cows, horses and ranch.

Beard was always up-to-date on the happenings around the ranch, while staying busy making her own butter, jams and jellies and bringing the feeling of home to the ranch.

Beard’s daughter Lisa said, “Both mom and dad always put the other first. They are very much a team with each pulling its own weight. They extend that same feeling to others making all feel welcome and important.”

In her actions and constant encouragement, Beard is often cited as being a reminder to work hard, make time for others and have a good attitude, said Andi James, Sublette County ranch woman. Joy Ufford photo

HIGH ALTITUDE BULL SALE

Friend of Agriculture – Zach Turnbull’s presence in the agriculture industry and dedication to helping others led to his nomination and selection as the 2019 Green River Valley CattleWomen Friend of Agriculture Award. Turnbull, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department employee, has worked hand-in-hand with ranchers to address conflicts with large carnivores across the region.

“He has tirelessly helped livestock producers first try any number of nonlethal methods to protect their livestock and will then take whatever steps are needed to resolve a conflict,” said Joy Ufford and Kevin Campbell in their nomination. “He is not a rancher, but he understands ranching and does his job in ways that greatly benefit our industry, from reporting to the Sublette County Predator Board or checking back to see if a ‘problem wolf’ is hanging around.”

Other area residents call him knowledgable, dedicated and hardworking, among other adjectives.

Cambell added, “Zach is a true asset and friend to the ranchers of Sublette County.” Joy Ufford photo

Access Yes expands In 2018, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s (WGFD) Access Yes program provided more than 2.8 million acres of hunting access, as well as 4,006 lake acres and 86 stream miles for fishing on otherwise inaccessible private, state and landlocked public lands through partnerships with private landowners.

Access Yes game wardens work with landowners to enroll them into one of WGFD’s access programs – hunter management areas, walk-in hunting areas and/or walk-in fishing areas. Donations from hunters, anglers and conservation groups are used to make easement payments to landowners for hunting and fishing access.

“Each year, we partner with landowners to increase quality hunting and fishing access to privately-owned lands and landlocked public lands, and that’s big value to our state,” said Scott Edberg, acting chief of the WGFD wildlife division. “A big thank you goes out to landowners for their partnership to make these access opportunities possible. We also extend thanks to hunters and anglers for donating to Access Yes when buying a license and to our partners for their continued donations to support the program.”

The Temple family at T-Heart Ranch has been committed to reducing the serious effects of Brisket Disease for more than 18 years. With the lowest elevation on the ranch at 7,800 feet they have experienced the same challenges as their customers and understand that at high altitude, just like everywhere else, live calves are the only ones that count. At elevation, that means the ones that PAP well. Working closely with the world’s #1 and most practical authority, Dr. Tim Holt at Colorado State University, T-Heart Ranch has methodically collected more than 16,000 PAP scores. Early on, Shane and Beth realized their customer’s need for environmental adaptation of bulls with low PAP scores just to survive and breed cows. As more facts surfaced about the genetic impact and potential to select for reduced losses to Brisket Disease, T-Heart Ranch began testing and selecting all replacement females using PAP scores as well. Selection pressure applied over years, and using all of the tools available to them, has created a vastly improved herd and now their customers are benefiting from these efforts.

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B8

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Vardiman: Land managers should be aware of problematic weeds across the landscape Invasive weed species are a burgeoning problem for Wyomingites – both in croplands and on the range. In particularly cheatgrass, ventenata, medusahead wildrye, palmer amaranth and glyphosate-resistant kochia should be of concern for Wyomingites.

While some species, like cheatgrass and kochia, are more prevalent across the state, other invasive species, including ventenata, medusahead and palmer amaranth, are new threats that producers should watch out for.

Ventenata At the end of May or beginning of June, if producers see a dark purple weed begin to dry down across their landscape, often cheatgrass comes to mind.

“Cheatgrass is a nasty weed, but it could also be ventenata,” explains Uni-

versity of Wyoming (UW) Extension Educator Jeremiah Vardiman. “I have heard people who have ventenata wish they had cheatgrass instead.”

While the species are very similar, Vardiman says ventenata is less palatable and provides very little spring grazing ability.

“In the seedling stage, ventenata looks almost identical to cheatgrass.

It is also a winter annual plant that germinates in the fall and produces thousands of seed heads in one year,” he explains.

“Areas with ventenata grass drop forage production by up to 50 percent.”

To distinguish ventenata from cheatgrass, Vardiman says the seed head is key.

The panicle of ventenata is also open and loose. Ventenata has a pyramidal panicle, meaning the petioles and seeds

are distributed in a pyramid shape.

Additionally, the awns of ventenata are bent and twisted.

“If producers are out on the landscape and they see what they think might be ventenata, contact Extension or Weed and Pest,” Vardiman emphasizes. “We have seen the plant in Sheridan and Johnson counties, and we want to do what we can to avoid its spread.”

Weed specialists are concerned the plant may spread via livestock, in either wool, hair or the rumen.

“So far we have seen ventenata mostly in rangelands, but all producers should be on the look-out for it,” he says.

Medusahead Another species of concern is medusahead wildrye, which is also a major problem in several western states.

“Medusahead wildrye has rigid, stiff awns, even when it’s green,” Vardiman describes. “The awns only get tougher as the plant matures.”

The seed head has characteristic long awns, but Vardiman says medusahead is often confused with native plants.

“The palatability of medusahead is really terrible,” he says. “Even when it’s green, it isn’t desirable to livestock, so it could be a real problem if it gets onto our rangelands.”

Palmer amaranth In cropland systems, Vardiman says a new concern is palmer amaranth.

The species is similar to red-root pigweed, which is commonly found in the Big Horn Basin.

While it hasn’t been found in Wyoming, Nebraska corn producers have seen infestations, and Vardiman adds, “This is a weed we definitely

“It’s important to keep all these plants in mind as we do weed management in our fields and on our land.” – Jeremiah Vardiman, UW Extension don’t want.”

“Palmer amaranth is aggressive and fast-growing,” he says. “It can get taller than corn in certain cases, and it can get as big around as a person’s wrist.”

The annual broadleaf weed looks very much like pigweed, and Vardiman comments, “We might think it is red-root pigweed on steroids.”

Palmer amaranth originated in the dry deserts of Mexico and the Southwest, and Vardiman notes it was introduced to the irrigated cropland of the Midwest through cotton meal, where it took off.

“Palmer amaranth was used to only six inches of water or less, so when it saw 40 inches of water in the Midwest, it went gangbusters,” he says. “If palmer amaranth gets into a field, it has been known to break equipment, including cutter bars on combines and swathers.”

He adds, “Palmer amaranth has a robust, woody stalk as it matures, and it’s hard to get rid of.”

To identify palmer amaranth, Vardiman says the plant has obligate leaves that are oval or eggshaped and evenly dispersed. The leaves might have a v-shaped watermark as it matures.

“The biggest indication for a sure-fire way to identify palmer amaranth is the petiole,” says Vardiman. “The petiole of the plant is longer than the leaf blade.”

Additionally, the leaf tip comes to a hair-like

point, and the stalk of the plant does not have any hairs on it.

“If anyone sees palmer amaranth, they should turn it in to their local Weed and Pest or Extension office as soon as possible,” Vardiman emphasizes.

Kochia Glyphosate-resistant kochia is not new to Wyoming, and the plant has been documented in the Big Horn Basin.

“We can identify glyphosate resistant kochia when we see strange patterns of kochia show up in our fields. We can see where the tumbleweed rolled through the field and distributed the seeds,” Vardiman explains.

When glyphosate resistant plants are seen, Vardiman notes all the plants are approximately the same size, and they are not present in straight lines.

“If we see straight lines in a field, that is likely not resistance,” he explains. “In those cases, it’s more likely we had sprayer skip.”

Vardiman emphasizes, “It’s important to keep all these plants in mind as we do weed management in our fields and on our land.”

Vardiman presented during 2019’s WESTI Ag Days, held Feb. 12-13 in Worland.

Saige Albert is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Invasive weed -- Similar to red-root pigweed, palmer amaranth is a native of Mexico and the southwest U.S. The weed can grow taller than corn and develops a woody set that can severely damage equipment in fields. Gary Stone photo

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

From the Kitchen Table

By Lynn Harlan

Here Kitty, Kitty I was in Colorado last month when the news broke of the gentleman who wrestled a mountain lion and survived. Travis Kauffman, 31, is a trail runner from Ft. Collins, Colo. and was out for a run on Feb. 4. He was planning on running about 12 miles on the trail system west of town. About six miles into his run, he heard pine needles rustling behind him, turned and saw the young cat about 10 feet away.

He raised his arms and yelled at the kitty but

to no avail. It leapt and latched onto his wrist and then began to claw at his face and neck. They wrestled together and rolled off down the trail. He was able to pin down the lion’s back legs and picked up a rock and hit the lion in the head.

In the end, he managed to move around and get his knee on the lion’s neck and suffocate it. Kauffman needed 20 stitches and had numerous lacerations on his nose and cheek.

As anyone who has garnered bites or scratches

B9

from a wild barn cat or even a mad house kitty knows, a 40-pound young mountain lion is a serious opponent.

I live in prime mountain lion habitat, the southern Big Horns. There are deep, rocky canyons going up the slope and plenty of inaccessible hiding places.

This area has an open quota for lion hunting, and typically 25 or more lions are hunted and killed every winter. This winter, the tally stands at 31, which is the highest number for over 20 years, and the season isn’t over. It’s one of the highest concentrations of mountain lions in the state of Wyoming.

Our local guide and hunter, Sandy Forbes, tells me he traveled and hunted in many places when first learning, but this area is the roughest, meanest place to hunt.

This is mountain lion heaven, but they are shy creatures, and I’ve only seen one a couple of times,

crossing the highway on my way to town – except when they were treed on a hunt.

We are a sheep ranch, and we run ewes and lambs on the southern Big Horns in the summer. We do have damages from lions and black bears, and it’s a continuous job to find the kills and have the game warden certify them

as a big game animal kill.

We then send the claims into the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for compensation.

This reminded me of another mountain lion story, which is interesting for different reasons. In 1994, a 40-year-old marathon runner and mother of two children was killed in California by a three-year-

old mountain lion. This happened around Placerville, which is northeast of Sacramento. The lion was killed after a week search.

This story made national headlines because a fund was set up for her two children, and twice the money was raised for the two orphaned cubs of the lion. Yes, that would be California.

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Lot 1 Hunting lions – NeTeal Graves, Lynn Harlan’s “red-headed neighbor gal,” got her lion up behind the Red Wall on the Graves Ranch this winter. Courtesy photo

BLM seeks horse pastures The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it is seeking contractors for off-range pastures to provide a free-roaming environment and quality care for wild horses removed from western public lands.

BLM will award multiple contracts that can accommodate 200 to 5,000 head of wild horses, with a four-year or nine-year renewal option. All contracts require supplemental feed for a minimum of four months to ensure that animals maintain a quality body condition throughout the dormant months.

Bids will be accepted through May 3 in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas Panhandle north of Highway 82 and 84, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

For assistance, contact Kemi Ismael at 202912-7098 or kismael@blm.gov. A list of frequently asked questions is available at blm.gov/whb.

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B10

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

It’s the Pitts

by Lee Pitts

Everythin’ I Know I Learnt in Collage Over 30 years ago, Robert Fulghum wrote a short essay that overnight made him one of the most beloved writers in America.

The essay was called “All I Really Needed to Know I

Learned in Kindergarten.”

It contained sage advice such as, “Share everything.

Play fair. Don’t hit. Flush.

Take a nap every afternoon.

Be aware of wonder.”

The essay was read into

the Congressional Record, recited by Paul Harvey, quoted by Dear Abby and led to a multi-book deal for Fulghum who, by the way, had once been a working cowboy, among other jobs.

I’m afraid if Fulghum’s essay was written today to reflect current attitudes it would be called “Everythin’ I Know I Learnt in Collage” and would contain modern-day wisdom such as the following.

• Go in debt $200,000 to get a BA degree in blog writing and then go back home and live with your parents until you’re 35 and

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• Climate change is real, and the earth will selfdestruct in 20 years if we don’t stop cows from farting.

• America is a rotten place, and our founding fathers were a bunch of creeps and jerks.

• Success in life is best measured by the number of Facebook friends and YouTube subscribers.

• Anyone who makes over $100,000 a year should have to pay 90 percent of it in income tax.

• The energy that powers electric bikes and electric cars is all produced by windmills and solar panels.

All coal plants should be shut down, and while we’re at it, we should tear down all dams.

• The stock market is evil.

• It’s a waste of time to learn to spell or write because a computer will do that for you.

• It’s not impolite to put your phone on speaker and talk loudly in a crowded restaurant so everyone can hear both sides of your idiotic conversation, nor is it impolite to roll down your windows and turn your car

“I’m afraid if Fulghum’s essay was written today to reflect current attitudes it would be called ‘Everythin’ I Know I Learnt in Collage’ and would contain modern-day wisdom.” – Lee Pitts radio up so high the bass notes register on the Richter scale.

• Joining the Army, Navy or Marines is for suckers.

• Eating too much Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream won’t make you fat because its founders were greenies.

• Species didn’t start becoming endangered until loggers, ranchers and miners started wiping them out.

• The only way to get rich in America these days is to buy a winning lottery ticket.

• You should put more thought into the design of your tattoos, your computer passwords and what emojis you use than you do in selecting a “partner.”

Notice I did not say spouse.

• All Americans should be ashamed of themselves for the evil things our country has done.

• Everyone should be entitled to a free college education, free medical care, a good job and paid maternity leave for both the

sperm and egg donors.

• All cops are evil, and kneeling during the National Anthem will stop them from killing black people.

• Books are dead; rap is forever, and skateboards and social media are the future.

• Humans were never meant to eat meat or wheat or drink milk. Vegans rule.

• Socialism is much better than capitalism, and the best examples of the utopia-like conditions possible under socialism are the havens of Cuba, Venezuela and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

• All men are jerks.

• If a person finds himself or herself deeply in debt for school loans and is presently living out of their van with no job prospects, one can always go back to college for further education and a PhD. Then, they can become a highly paid college professor who knows everything.

Perdue attempts to restore SNAP On Feb. 28, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue reiterated during a U.S. Senate hearing the need to restore the original intent of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is to be a second chance and not a way of life.

Perdue’s comments come on the heels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishing in the Federal Register a proposed rule to move more able-bodied recipients of SNAP benefits to self-sufficiency through the dignity of work.

The rule aims to restore the system to what it was meant to be – assistance through difficult times not lifelong dependency. This proposed rule focuses on work-related program requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) and would apply to non-disabled people between the ages of 18 and 49, with no dependents.

The rule would not apply to the elderly, the disabled or pregnant women.

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Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

B11

Fires in the far West adversely impact ranchers, rangeland ecosystems In recent years, fire has become the biggest threat to natural resources in West, destroying wildlife habitat, timber resources and livestock forage, according to researchers.

More and more acreage burns each year, with devastating fires impacting not only livestock producers but also urban areas, with homes and towns destroyed and loss of human lives.

Fire has become one of the biggest concerns for many rural and urban areas alike, according to Robert Alverts, of Science and Management Consulting in Tigard, Ore. and part-time faculty at University of Nevada-Reno College of Agriculture.

Extensive burns Alverts says for the past three decades, between five and 10 million acres of forests and rangelands have burned each year, most of which are in federal ownership. These federal land areas are plagued with excessive fuel loads of beetle-killed timber and nonnative annual grasses, leading to extreme fires that cost millions of taxpayer dollars in suppression costs alone, not counting post-burn rehabilitation and restoration costs.

“Ranchers suffer shortterm losses after fire, including loss of forage in the year of the burn, and federal lands policy is to wait at least two years after re-seeding burned areas before allowing turnout again,” he comments. “This directly affects the ranchers with losses in the burn area, plus the indirect losses of suppliers and related companies, who lose business during that time.”

Invasive species He says the shift in land management by federal agencies, with an increase in fuel loads and the consequences of invasive annuals like cheat grass and medusahead has increased the risk for ranchers losing what has been productive grazing land.

“We also know that the work we’ve been doing on projects using late-season grazing to reduce cheatgrass with cattle grazing can turn this around. The big problem is getting the federal land managers to allow this. There are many Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) allotments that won’t allow late season grazing. We need to reevaluate and adjust the allotment management plans and use seasons,” says Alverts.

Grazing evaluation “There’s a needed para-

digm shift in the whole philosophy of grazing,” Averts asserts. “The agencies have to acknowledge and recognize the invasive annual plant communities over much of the western rangeland are now part of the permanent plant community, and we have to manage accordingly.”

He adds, “We need to account for the periodicity of the annual component. They may produce 2,000 pounds per acre one year and 150 pounds the next year.”

Averts summarizes that permittees need more flexibility of use.

“It should be outcomebased grazing instead of the current rigid adherence to a particular date on the calendar or time period,” he comments, noting the “rule book” for grazing is generally created in Washington, D.C. rather than on the allotments themselves.

Working with agencies “Even on the ground out here, we have many agency people who are naïve about grazing,” he continues.

As one example, Alverts points to a cheatgrass reduction project that has been in place since 2006.

“BLM had a young woman in their Washington office who worked in Nevada on rehab and restoration work but got a promotion to the head office, still doing rehab and restoration,” Alverts says.

“She asked me what kind of stubble height we left on our cheatgrass. I couldn’t believe she was that naïve. I told her we don’t want any stubble height because we are trying to get rid of cheatgrass.”

He continues, “Unfortunately this kind of ignorance is typical of the current BLM management, even at the district level.”

Forward thinking A few districts are forward thinking and have led the work on late season grazing, with demonstration areas.

“These have been tremendous, showing what we are able to do, and turn things around,” he says. “Every BLM district seems to have its own autonomy, and some are believers and others are not.

This makes it challenging for the permittees.”

Alverts continues, “We know there are huge shortterm impacts on ranchers after a fire. They lose forage that year and during the rest period for re-seeded allotments. This is always at least two growing seasons – and sometimes three – regardless of what the plant community does.”

“BLM is using the calen-

dar and the clock instead of the eyeball to determine condition,” he says.

Recovery “We know that some of these plants are not well-rooted the first year or so and can be abused if grazed too soon, but that doesn’t mean we have to always adhere to a two-year abstinence from grazing, nor should we, after rehabilitat-

ing the area,” Alverts says. “It should be a case-by-case situation.”

During the two- to threeyear timeframe that allotments are recovering, Alverts also cites ranchers must either buy hay or find alternative pastures, which is either difficult or impossible in regions that have experienced wildfire.

“On the other hand, we

also know that after a burn, there can be a lot of nutrients in the soil, and if we get the right moisture and the right seed mix in there, we can have a tremendous biological response and improved productivity – unless the fire burned so hot it killed everything and sterilized the soil,” he says. “It’s a complex issue.”

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2018 GR 16FT BUMPER PULL Front Tack, Saddle Rack, Mats, Drop Down Windows, 1 yr Warranty! $9,995

Herring Angus Ranch

$10,9W 90

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2019 • HERRING SALE BARN

2018 JACKSON 3-HORSE TRAILER Front Tack, Saddle Rack, Mats, 6,000# Axles, 1 yr Warranty! $11,995

NO

17th Annual High Country Bull & Horse Sale

1 1/2 miles North of Encampment on Hwy 230, then 1/2 mile West

SALE SCHEDULE

Friday – 4 p.m.

Horse & Bull Preview Saturday – 1 p.m. Sale Time Lunch will be served

Duff-Hobart

Selling 85 High Altitude Bulls 50 Angus – 25 Simm Composites & 10 Black Maine X Fertility & PAP Tested x2 at 7300’ Ultrasound Data & Performance Info Heifer Bulls - 25 Angus ANGUS BULLS Duff Hobart • Herring Legend 34 Herring Hobart 4 • Herring SX1 Herring Legend L817 • Remedy Combination SIMM X Broker • Steel Force Loaded Up • Ranch Hand CHAR X MAINE Yellow Jacket Son 70 MAINE X I Deliver COMPOSITE Monopoly • Monopoly R14

7 Ranch Broke Horses Ranch and Rope Horses All with rope experience

Contact us for more information or a Sale Catalog Kal Herring, Angus & Composites (307) 327-5396 Home • (307) 329-8228 Cell Fire impacts -- Changes in rangeland and forest ecosystems, including the increased presence of invasive species has resulted in large, more frequent and more devastating fires now than ever before, according to Robert Alverts. Heather Smith Thomas photo

Heather Smith Thomas is a correspondent for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Jon Gabel, Consultant (303) 594-5520

Cody Miller, Horses (307) 329-7400

Spec

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PRIME RATE MOTORS, INC. 2305 Coffeen Ave. Sheridan, WY 82801 307-674-6677 www.primeratemotors.com

All Trades Welcome Financing Available Like us on Facebook!

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Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

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Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

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WEBO Angus Turning Grass into

Annual le a S ll u B s ck a b en re G April 2, 2019

: g n i l Sel

At the Ranch - Lusk, WY - 1 pm - Lunch at noon

8 miles east on Hwy 20 to Node, then 0.6 miles south on Pfister Rd

17 PAP Efficiency-tested Two-year-old Angus Bulls 70 Yearling Angus Bulls • 4 Broke Horses from Manning Ranch

Lot 864 Sired by Spur Franchise

85# BW * CED +2 * BW +2.1 * Wean weight 774#’s WW top 20% * YW top 20% * Marbling top 30% REA top 25% * $W top 30% * $B top 30%

Lot 869 Sired by Conquest

77# BW * +10 CED epd top 20% * +.5 BW epd top 30% 3.32 WDA * WW top 3% * YW top 10% * $W top 10% $* 4 star Heifer Bull

Lot 895 Sired by Traction

84# BW * +6 CED epd* +1.1 BW epd * 3.06 WDA WW & YW above avg in top 40% * REA Top 30% Dam 368 day Caving interval

Spoonful of Rap

Lot 8136 Sired by Whitlock

88# BW * CED +4 * BW +2.8 * 3.47 WDA * WW top 10% YW top 5% * $W top 35% * $B top 15% Performance is stacked up

Lot 8144 Sired by Innovation

86#BW * CED +4 * BW +2.7 * 3.18 WDA Marbling top 35% * WW top 35% * YW top 35% Heifer Preg top 30% Sire adds beef and quality

Harry is a 7 yr old super gentle gelding. He is easy to be around and wants to please. He has been hauled to jackpots in the breakaway roping. He is started in the poles, goats, heeling, and barrels. Very cowy and a big stop. Easy to shoe and haul. Has been ranched on, drug calves to the fire and used in a feedlot. He is a smaller horse but has huge heart and tons of try.

17 Head of NEVER before offered for sale virgin 2 Year Old Bulls, Tested for Feed Efficiency PAP Tested at 20+ months of age

Lot 7213

Lot 7203 WEBO Granite 7203

BW 80# * ADG 3.66* 31.00 DMI * -.49 RFI (lbs) . 0661 DMI epd * -0.220RFI epd * PAP 41

WEBO Columbus 7213

BW 90# * ADG 2.98 * 30.75 DMI * -1.04 RFI (lbs) -.1764 DMI epd * -0.0441 RFI epd * PAP 38

Featured AI Sires:

Altitude • Fortress • Innovation • Keystone • Conquest • Composure Playbook • Paycheck • Basin Bonus • Traction • Whitlock

Buttons York & Family

P.O. Box 848 • Lusk, Wyoming 82225 Button’s Cell (307) 216-0090 • Odessa’s Cell (307)340-1182 Elly’s Cell (307) 340-1499 For horse information: ManDee Moore (307) 216-0236 • Alvie Manning (307) 216-0310

Lot 7211 WEBO Consensus 7211

BW 72# * ADG 2.87 * 28.53 DMI * -.57 RFI (lbs) -0.3307 DMI epd * -0.1764RFI epd * PAP 38

www.WEBOANGUS.com This sale will be broadcast live on the internet

Real time bidding and proxy bidding available

Spring Performance Sale

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Volume 30 No. 45 • March 9, 2019

500

Top Performance Yearling Angus Bulls Sired By These Bulls:

Connealy Spur - 63 Sons • Vermilion Re-Ride - 22 Sons SAV Privilege 3030 - 69 Sons • Vermilion Spur C846 - 13 Sons SAV Sensation 5615 - 38 Sons • Connealy Coutdown - 36 Sons Connealy Doc Neal - 37 Sons • KR Abundant - 28 Sons KR Joe Canada 5372 - 16 Sons • SAV Cutting Edge - 25 Sons

MARCH 21 & 22, 2019 Thursday - Heifer Sale at South Pryor Development Center - 12:00 Noon Friday - Bull Sale at Public Auction Yards, Billings, MT - 11:00 AM

Bulls can be viewed anytime at the Vermilion Ranch

Fertility Tested • Volume Discounts • First Year Breeding Guarantee • Performance Tested • Ultrasound Carcass Data • Free Delivery: Montana and Adjoining States Large Numbers of 1/2 and 3/4 Brothers and Calving Ease Heifer Bulls Lot 4 - Vermilion Re-Ride F114 19206462

Lot 52 - Vermilion Privilage F151 19206496

No Better Place in America to buy POUNDS & PERFORMANCE!

5500

Fancy Open Commercial Replacement Heifers

Heifers can be viewed anytime at the South Pryor Development Center

Sire: Vermilion Re-Ride • MGS: SAV Privilege BW 86 • WW 900 • YW 1487 • $W 88.33 • $B 136.86 BEPD +2.8 • WEPD +86 • YEPD +137 • Milk +26 Lot 7 - Vermilion Re-Ride F118 19206466

Sire: SAV Privilege • MGS: Sitz JLS Game Day 9630 BW 68 • WW 828 • YW 1441 • $W 76.61 • $B 147.37 BEPD +0.7 • WEPD +75 • YEPD +119 • Milk +23 Lot 85 - Vermilion Sensation F177 19210273

All One Iron • Ready To Breed • Montana’s Finest Sire: Vermilion Re-Ride • MGS: SAV Privilege BW 70 • WW 773 • YW 1341 • $W 72.95 • $B 140.48 BEPD +0.2 • WEPD +81 • YEPD +142 • Milk +16 Lot 11 - Vermilion Spur F123 19206471

Sire: SAV Sensation 5615 • MGS: Connealy Right Answer 746 BW 80 • WW 770 • YW 1607 • $W 64.58 • $B 160.76 BEPD +1.3 • WEPD +65 • YEPD +110 • Milk +25 Lot 94 - Vermilion Sensation 8807 19193760

Sire: Connealy Spur • MGS: SAV Privilege BW 88 • WW 882 • YW 1482 • $W 73.64 • $B 147.30 BEPD +3.6 • WEPD +81 • YEPD +131 • Milk +22 Lot 13 - Vermilion Spur F122 19206470

Sire: SAV Sensation • MGS: Connealy Spur BW 82 • WW 751 • YW 1357 • $W 61.81 • $B 129.24 BEPD +1.7 • WEPD +62 • YEPD +106 • Milk +28 Lot 100 - Vermilion Spur C846 F094 19189453

- We will be conducting our heifer sale at Vermilion Ranch’s South Pryor Development Center, 18 miles east of Billings on Hwy 87.

- All the heifers selling have been grown out and developed at the Center. We are proud of this facility and are excited about having the sale there.

- We will be able to show you the heifers in their surroundings, which are large developing lots; and they’ll all be sorted, lot numbered and identified.

- These heifers are the best of over 12,000 and represent the best Northern genetics available.

We have marketed these replacement heifers for years. Most come from our bull customers and will sell in lots back to their origin.

- The heifers can be viewed at any time. We encourage you to come to the sale early, drive through the Center, and take a close look at some of the very best heifers to sell anywhere.

Lot 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620

Hd Count Approx. Wt. 73 Angus Heifers 910 230 Angus Heifers 885 102 Angus Heifers 900 89 Angus Heifers 850 94 Angus Heifers 865 75 Angus Heifers 890 91 Angus Heifers 930 86 Angus Heifers 870 91 Angus Heifers 850 104 Angus Heifers 855 259 Angus Heifers 875 125 Angus Heifers 875 220 Angus Heifers 830 101 Angus Heifers 830 149 Angus Heifers 860 91 Angus Heifers 835 74 Angus Heifers 835 77 Angus Heifers 865 131 F1 BWF Heifers 890 120 F1 BWF Heifers 890

Lot 145 - Vermilion Spur F265 19210358

Sire: Connealy Spur • MGS: Sirz JLS Game Day 9630 BW 82 • WW 843 • YW 1349 • $W 76.27 • $B 155.70 BEPD +1.5 • WEPD +68 • YEPD +107 • Milk +25 Lot 31 - Vermilion Countdown F024 19189400

Lot 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640

Hd Count 125 137 109 380 69 89 247 130 107 176 190 106 258 229 79 212 94 100 194 80

Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers Angus Heifers

Approx. Wt. 855 910 835 810 850 860 865 820 840 820 815 815 790 825 805 800 800 800 800 835

Lot 200 - Vermilion Abundant F325 19210415

Sire: Vermilion Spur C846 • MGS: Connealy Countdown BW 84 • WW 804 • YW 1466 • $W 75.64 • $B 144.32 BEPD 0 • WEPD +63 • YEPD +114 • Milk +33 Lot 105 - Vermilion Spur C846 F012 19189392

Sire: Connealy Spur • MGS: Sitz JLS Game Day 9630 BW 88 • WW 741 • YW 1403 • $W 85.93 • $B 183.16 BEPD +4.3 • WEPD +91 • YEPD +152 • Milk +27 The

Best o

Sire: KR Abundant 4948 • MGS: DR Sierra Cut 7404 BW 95 • WW 886 • YW 1505 • $W 76.98 • $B 179.17 BEPD +4.5 • WEPD +85 • YEPD +143 • Milk +25

Sales Broadcast Live On Northern Livestock Video Auction

f Northern Ca ttle!

Call for buyer number (800) 821-6447

Sire: Connealy Countdown • MGS: Connealy Spur BW 76 • WW 856 • YW 1506 • $W 86.36 • $B 140.48 BEPD +0.2 • WEPD +81 • YEPD +142 • Milk +16

Sire: Vermilion Spur C846 • MGS: Musgrave Big Sky BW 78 • WW 704 • YW 1454 • $W 70.29 • $B 156.60 BEPD +0.3 • WEPD +63 • YEPD +117 • Milk +31

LIV

N IO EST OCK VIDEO AUCT

Vermilion Ranch Pat Goggins Family, Owners

Also live on Dish Network Channel 998 View Sale Videos & Catalog online at www.northernlivestockvideo.com

Bob Cook • Records & Sales Cell: 406.670.0078

Jake Kading • Herdsman Cell: 406.672.5844

Jeff Mosher - Vermilion North Greg Roberts - Diamond Ring Brandon Mosher - Pryor Creek Bill Shaules - South Pryor

PO Box 30758 • Billings, MT 59107 E-mail: bcook@cattleplus.com • www.vermilionangus.com