February 26 Edition Section B by Wyoming Livestock Roundup

The activist vision for western Wyoming: Few cattle, free-ranging elk, human restrictions Environmental advocates commenting on a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) proposal to reauthorize the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s (WGFD) continued use of two elk feedgrounds located on National Forest lands are using the opportunity to propose systematic change in western Wyoming. Their vision eliminates all elk feedgrounds in favor of elk free ranging in the winter across broad swathes of Sublette, Lincoln and Teton counties; with elkproof fences erected around small winter feedlots for cattle which remain in the region and restrictions on human use of public lands during the winter. The federal land management agency would declare its authority to protect predators on federal land and would rely on wolves to control disease in wildlife populations. Public land cattle grazing would be reduced or eliminated, and the USFS would consider having livestock producers switch from running cow/calf operations to steers, or ship livestock out of the region for the winter and spring seasons. Background The Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) is preparing a draft environmental impact statement for reauthorizing use of two elk feedgrounds in western Wyoming’s Sublette and Lincoln counties. The analysis will consider the impacts

“Lacking the ability to maintain these feedgrounds, WGFD would have been forced to drastically reduce the elk populations in this area. Should they have failed to do so, there would no longer be a viable cattle industry in northwestern Wyoming.” – Jim Magagna, Wyoming Stock Growers Association

South Park – Elk congregate along the Snake River on the South Park Feedground located near Jackson Hole. Cat Urbigkit photo

of the WGFD’s application to continue feeding elk at the Dell Creek Feedground near Bondurant and the Forest Park Feedground east of Alpine. Although the BTNF’s stated purpose of the analysis is to analyze the proposal to assure WGFD is “managing elk in a manner allowing the health of the land to be sustained and to meet the goals and objectives” of the forest plan, environmental activists want to stretch the scope of the analysis to encompass a much broader vision. Many of the comment letters submitted by environmental groups cited concerns for the spread of chronic wasting disease as

justification for closing the feedgrounds, while promoting the presence of wolves for disease control. The letters also cited other disease transmission risks, but respondents expressed little concern for the transmission of brucellosis to area cattle herds should the closures result in elk commingling with wintering cattle herds. Advocating closures A joint letter submitted by Wyoming Sierra Club, Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, Western Watersheds Project, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Yellowstone to Uintas Connection and Buffalo Roam Tours proposed immediate

closure of the Forest Park Feedground, phasing out feeding at Dell Creek within three years and starting the process of phasing out all feedgrounds on USFS lands. This “Sierra Club” letter took note of the high percentage of federal lands in western Wyoming, combined with its sparse human population to suggest the agency “allow elk to naturally free-range among their natural, healthier seasonal habitats throughout the region.” To maintain separation between brucellosisinfected elk and area cattle, the Sierra Club proposed alternatives such as “fence in the livestock with elk proof fences or con-

struct elk-proof fences to prevent elk from entering into private land where vulnerable livestock are pastured and allow elk to free range.” The letter advised, “Another way to separate elk from livestock is to ship the livestock to winter elsewhere.” A comment letter penned by John Carter of Bondurant of the Yellowstone to Uintas Connection, jointly with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council, advocated the closure of all feedgrounds in western Wyoming. Carter, who also serves on the advisory board for the anti-grazing group Western Watersheds Project, took aim at livestock grazing in Sublette County, asking, “Why should the public have to lose its wildlife so a handful of livestock permittees can graze their cattle at great public cost? … There is a 100-year history of taxpayer subsidized feeding of elk to essentially protect livestock producers’ stored hay and reduce mixing of elk and cattle.” Carter also suggested

area landowners weren’t leaving enough forage for wildlife on their private lands, stating, “This comes down to an ethical issue in our mind. Not everything must be for profit.” He suggested the BTNF eliminate hunting and trapping of predators and scavengers within the national forest boundaries, writing, “We remind the USFS it has primacy over management on public lands and is a cooperating agency with the state of Wyoming, not its servant.” In addition, Carter said national forest officials should “get engaged with the state, Bureau of Land Management and private landowners to provide forage and migration for these animals on lands managed by other entities.” A joint letter from the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the National Wildlife Federation suggested WGFD take action to reduce the number of elk in the Dell Creek area, noting, “Simply reauthorizing the feedground to allow more elk which are above objectives is not a Please see ELK on page B2

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 44 • February 26, 2022

ELK continued from page B1 viable solution.” Potential solutions to separate elk from cattle “include habitat leasing programs, elk occupancy agreements with landowners, shifts in elk management and seasonal closures to secure transitional and crucial winter range on USFS lands. In addition, the USFS should consider opportunities to create forage reserves or accept voluntary permit waivers on grazing allotments adjacent to the Dell Creek Feedground, providing additional forage for wintering elk and decreasing the need for supplemental feed.” Jackson Hole’s Lloyd Dorsey, also a Western Watersheds Project advisory board member, wrote, “Shockingly, contrary to the recommendations of virtually all wildlife scientists and abetted by the BTNF, the WGFD has persisted for decades in this travesty by holding thousands of elk on small, disease-infested plots of land in three of Wyoming’s 23 counties during winter months, thus knowingly maintaining high levels of disease in those herds.” Dorsey added, “Rather than piecemeal an analysis of only one or a few elk feedgrounds, the BTNF should examine the entire elk feedground program as

a whole, examine its impacts on the BTNF and surrounding lands and wildlife and should eliminate the adverse impacts by helping eliminate feedgrounds.” Dorsey demanded, “The BTNF must stop the indiscriminate recreational and sport killing of coyotes, foxes and other scavengers on USFS lands.” Dorsey also pointed out the success rate for elk hunters in Wyoming is double the rate of neighboring states. “Wyoming shouldn’t be stockpiling excess elk to appease special interests,” he wrote. “The methods are well known, the tools are at hand, elk are abundant and there is no reason for delaying ending elk feedgrounds.” “Protecting extensive, connected habitats, managing free-ranging elk herds and conserving predators can improve the health of the currently sick elk herds, at high risk and confined on small feedgrounds months at a time,” Dorsey wrote. “Predators can, if conserved in abundance, steward the game herds, remove infected individuals and help ensure healthy wildlife over the long term. Elk feedgrounds are an error of wildlife management whose time has passed.”

Elk herd – Elk move across their winter range on a Sublette County elk feedground. Cat Urbigkit photo

Supporting feedgrounds Organizations supporting continued use of the elk feedground system have a vastly different view than the environmental activists. Brandon Jensen of the Budd-Falen Law Offices penned a letter for the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association and Safari Club International, noting without elk feedgrounds, “elk in the area would be forced to migrate further from their summer range and onto private lands – overburdening feed sources on local ranches, raising the

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risk of disease transmission between livestock and wildlife and increasing the danger to both elk and humans on public roadways. These harmful interactions would all result in a decline in the local elk population.” Wyoming Department of Agriculture Director Doug Miyamoto wrote his agency supports continuing the long-term use of both feedgrounds to reduce the transmission of brucellosis to cattle, and to reduce the risk of elk damage to adjacent properties while reducing the costs associated with

damage control efforts. Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) Executive Vice President Jim Magagna noted the elk feedground program was “critical to the very survival of the cattle industry in northwestern Wyoming. Lacking the ability to maintain these feedgrounds, WGFD would have been forced to drastically reduce the elk populations in this area. Should they have failed to do so, there would no longer be a viable cattle industry in northwestern Wyoming. The unavoidable out-

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come would have been more subdivision of private lands resulting in less open space for wildlife, recreation and general public enjoyment.” Magagna said WSGA “looks forward to the day when animal health advancements and elk management tools will combine to make it no longer necessary to maintain these elk feedgrounds. This day has not yet arrived.” Cat Urbigkit is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

March 12, 2022 Buffalo Livestock Auction

Lunch at Noon - Sale begins at 1 pm Please contact us to make arrangements to view the bulls at the Foss Feedyard in Manderson

SELLING SONS OF:

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Melvin & Luella Leland (701) 565-2347 Todd & Carla Leland (701) 565-2361 192 Hwy 16 N • Sidney, MT 59270

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 44 • February 26, 2022

Texas A&M AgriLife examines impact of Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act A recent report by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University provides an assessment of the proposed Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2021, known as Senate Bill 3229, and its potential impact on segments of the beef and cattle supply chain. The lead author for the report was Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Economist Justin Benavidez. Collaborators included AFPC Co-Directors Bart Fischer and Joe Outlaw, as well as AgriLife Extension Economist David Anderson. “This report is comprised of two parts,” Fischer said. “The first is an analysis of the impact of the bill on negotiated trade volume. The second is a qualitative, economicsbased summary of the bill’s expected effects.” The report presents the expected effects in a matrix format, highlighting the anticipated directional impact of each portion of the bill on a set of stakeholder groups and market outcomes, including cattle and beef prices, market transparency, price discovery and data confidentiality. Report background In November 2021, a bipartisan group of U.S.

“The bill proposes to establish a regional mandatory minimum threshold for the percentage of cattle purchased under negotiated grid or negotiated pricing terms.” – Justin Benavidez, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension

Supply chain – A recent Agricultural and Food Policy Center report assesses the potential impact of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2021 on aspects of the cattle and beef supply chain. Texas A&M AgriLife courtesy photo by Kay Ledbetter

senators announced a cattle market proposal introduced as the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2021. Sen. John Boozman, (R-AR), ranking member, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, requested AFPC evaluate the potential impacts the bill may have on various segments of the beef and cattle supply chain. “The report builds on work published by AFPC in

October 2021 at the request of the bipartisan leadership of the House Committee on Agriculture in the 116th Congress,” Fischer said. Senate Bill 3229 “The bill proposes to establish a regional mandatory minimum threshold for the percentage of cattle purchased under negotiated grid or negotiated pricing terms,” Benavidez said. “It also proposes the establishment of a cattle contract library and expands report-

ing requirements for cattle pricing and slaughter.” The bill establishes regional mandatory minimum thresholds of negotiated cash and negotiated grid trades based on a region’s 18-month average trade. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has voiced concern with the negotiated minimums portion of the bill, as has the American Farm Bureau Federation. To determine if the

minimum and maximum bounds of the bill as proposed impose an economic cost to the cattle market, the authors established an unrestricted forecast of negotiated trade for various U.S. cattle-producing regions – Texas-Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa-Minnesota. In each region, they modeled expected negotiated trade as a function of the following: The trend in negotiated trade; whether the cattle cycle year saw an increase or decrease in herd size; seasonality of historic negotiated trade; the previous week’s negotiated trade volume; and the total weekly fed cattle trade. The criteria also included a dummy variable accounting for the introduction of the industry-led “75 Percent Plan.” “The difference in the expected amount of unrestricted negotiated trade and the amount of negotiated trade compelled by Senate Bill 3229 provides a measure of the cost of

the bill’s negotiated trade provisions,” Benavidez explained. The report contains figures showing the expected unrestricted negotiated trade plotted against the negotiated trade minimums compelled by the bill through December 2026, a five-year outlook. The authors also addressed whether changes in negotiated volume would have a cost. “Typically, a move away from alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs) results in lost efficiency,” Anderson said. “This efficiency loss translates directly into increasing the transaction cost of buying and selling cattle.” Anderson said industry research also shows packers operating with AMAs tend to have lower marketing costs. “Reliability of supply is a critical component in operating a large packing plant, and industry research has shown plants Please see A&M on page B5

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 44 • February 26, 2022

It’s the Pitts by Lee Pitts

Baxter Slept Here Author’s Note: I am rerunning this column in honor of my dear friend, Baxter Black, who has retired due to health issues. This was written 34 years ago, and I’m glad to say through the years which followed Baxter became my soulmate, psychiatrist, critic and one of my very best friends. Thanks for the memories, Baxter. “Guess who’s coming to dinner?” I told my wife excitedly. “My idol, Baxter Black.” We cleaned out the goldfish bowl, scooped up after the dog, mowed the

lawn and changed the top sheet on the extra bed in preparation for our famous house guest. The day Baxter came to visit, he came off the plane wearing a gaudy, violet scarf and an American flag for a shirt. There were white stars in a field of blue around his shoulders and red and white stripes running lengthwise up and down his skinny body. The people at the airport stood in salute as he walked off the plane. I was in awe. This was my hero, the man who had written those great Amer-

ican classics; “Loony Lucy’s Spa and Health Food Coop,” “Prewitt’s Cow,” “Vegetarian Nightmare,” “How the Angel Got on Top of the Christmas Tree” and my wife’s all-time favorite: “Bentley, the Born Again Bull.” As we headed home, I didn’t know what to say to this man I considered a god. He’d actually been on “The Tonight Show.” When we got home, I offered my guest a drink, but all we had in the house was a cheap bottle of wine. I offered Baxter a glass, but he grabbed the bottle and we went off to feed the cows. I discovered Baxter is a rider, a roper, a windmill fixer and a helluva gate opener. We drove around in search of cows with Baxter surfing on the top of the load of hay. He had the bottle of cheap wine in one hand all the while

pontificating about surfing in California. I was embarrassed we couldn’t find the cows, but Baxter just threw the hay off in a convenient spot. I showed him my horse Gentleman and he asked, “Why would anybody in their right mind leave him a stud?” Trying to be the perfect hosts, we took Baxter to our favorite restaurant. I knew I’d made a mistake when in front of my entire community he started reciting, “Runnin’ Wild Horses” in his American flag shirt. Baxter drank tequila and ate oysters. Not Hereford oysters, the real slimy kind. Soon he was doing a free floor show and was autographing copies of his latest book. He met so many people – he signed one to Allan and Margaret. Unfortunately, they were not a pair. He became despondent over ruining a good book.

I told him I would take the mistake off his hands. His face lit up and underneath “To Allan and Margaret” he wrote, “close personal friends of the Pitts.” When we got home, I discovered a malfunction in our plumbing. Our toilet always goes on the blink when we have company. I gave Baxter the bad news, “You can use the toilet only once.” I was totally embarrassed. I told my wife, “Here I am trying to make him feel at home and our toilet breaks.” She said, “If he had wanted to be treated like he was at home, he wouldn’t leave home and Cindy and Boller all the time.” I kept trying to go to bed, but Baxter wanted to talk. We stayed up until 2:30 a.m. admiring each other’s work. The dog barked all night because Baxter was sleeping in her room. Four

hours after we had gone to bed, I heard this terrible caterwauling from the living room. Baxter was playing the piano resplendent in his newly recharged American flag shirt. Baxter looked a little full in the face and was in an awful hurry to leave the next morning. I got a nice note about a week later from Baxter. It said in part, “Sorry we went to bed so early, I hope you got the toilet fixed. I waited till I got to the airport. I barely made it.” And he wasn’t talking about the plane. Because I was still so embarrassed, I never replied, but I take this opportunity to do so now. “Dear Baxter, we got the toilet fixed and everybody in town wants to know when my crazy friend in the patriotic shirt is coming back for a visit?”

SALE REPORTS Doug Booth Family Angus Bull Sale Reported By: Curt Cox, WLR Field Editor Feb. 15, 2022 Torrington Livestock, Torrington Auctioneer: Lex Madden 82 Yearling Angus Bulls Avg. $5,203 Top Sellers Angus Lot 15 – DDB Stunner J28 – Price: $11,750 DOB: 2/5/21 Sire: Musgrave 316 Stunner Dam’s Sire: Ellingson Homestead 6030 EPDs: BW: +0.8, WW: +79, YW: +138 and Milk: +30 Buyer: Spring Cove Ranch, Bliss, Idaho Lot 6 – DB Treasure J11 – Price: $8,750 DOB: 1/30/21 Sire: MGR Treasure Dam’s Sire: B/D Rice Payday 7027 EPDs: BW: -0.1, WW: +76, YW: +130 and Milk: +20 Buyer: Thaler Land and Livestock, La Grange Lot 79 – DDB Fair N Square J196 – Price: $8,250 DOB: 3/13/21 Sire: Myers Fair-N-Square M39 Dam’s Sire: SydGen Fate 2800 EPDs: BW: +3.2, WW: +69, YW: +135 and Milk: +30 Buyer: Justin Hogan,

Densmore, Kan. Lot 67 – DDB Ashland J138 – Price: $8,250 DOB: 2/22/21 Sire: G A R Ashland Dam’s Sire: MGR Treasure EPDs: BW: +2.3, WW: +76, YW: +132 and Milk: +27 Buyer: Vollman Ranches, Douglas Lot 55 – DB Exclusive J119 – Price: $7,750 DOB: 2/19/21 Sire: Musgrave 316 Exclusive Dam’s Sire: V A R Discovery 2240 EPDs: BW: +2.3, WW: +68, YW: +122 and Milk: +25 Buyer: Vollman Ranches, Douglas Lot 8 – CDB Fair-NSquare J15 – Price: $7,750 DOB: 1/31/21 Sire: Myers Fair-N-Square M39 Dam’s Sire: Musgrave 316 Stunner EPDs: BW: +3.8, WW: +87, YW: +149 and Milk: +28 Buyer: Thaler Land and Livestock, La Grange

CROSSWORD Wyoming Livestock Roundup Crosswords, created by Myles Mellor.

Solution for the Feb. 19, 2022, crossword

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 44 • February 26, 2022

How My FFA Experience Still Comes Into Play Seven Years Later Seven years ago, I wore my blue and gold corduroy jacket for the last time. When I think of my time as an FFA member, like many people, I get nostalgic. The stories I could tell from this period of my life are sweet, some funny and almost all too ag-nerdy for most people to want to listen to. So, in lieu of sharing those memories, I’d like to share how my investment in being an FFA member is currently paying off for me in honor of National FFA Week.

Career readiness Whilst an FFA member, I had to not only be an interview candidate multiple times, but be an interviewer a few times, as well. I learned what to say in interviews and what not to say from both sides of the table. I’m sure the first interview I ever had was more than lacking, but being able to have the practice in high school gave me a leg up when it came to interviews later on. This “jump

start” on interviews created a domino effect for me: from scholarship interviews in high school, to internship interviews in college and finally, for job interviews in “the real world.” Interviewing in FFA gave me the opportunity to get feedback from real, agricultural industry professionals – something incredibly valuable as a 16-year-old. Another way FFA gave me critique from working professionals? Resumes. The first resume I ever made up was for an FFA competition, and I’m sure it looked horrendous. However, an ag teacher gave me feedback on said resume, and I tweaked it until it was right. On top of this, I had to help plan and execute multiple events as an FFA member and officer – something I capitalized on in college when I became a certified event planner. Public speaking I’ve never really been

nervous in front of other people, specifically with public speaking. However, giving speeches at FFA competitions and camps, being judged on those speeches and then taking critiques and suggestions for better public speaking in the future helped me significantly. I apply many of these suggestions when I’m giving speeches at conferences and to ag classes today, seven years later. If we want to break it down even further: The first speech I ever gave about agriculture, specifically, turned into a segment in all of my public speeches I give today. A cliché we always hear about FFA is it’s more than “plows, sows and cows,” but you know why it’s a cliché? Because it’s true! FFA taught me how to conduct myself in a professional manner and prepared me for my current

career as an agricultural communicator. Connections Now is the time for the cheesy part: FFA gave me more friends than I could count. And I don’t mean “say hello at a grocery store and move on” friends, I mean some of the absolute best friends I could’ve ever asked for. I was the maid of honor in my Greenhand president’s wedding. I was the maid of honor in my Chapter Conduct vice president’s wedding as well. I lived with a fellow district officer from a neighboring high school for three years while we were in college, and we’re still great friends to this day. When I got to college, I ran into a handful of other people I’d met at FFA conventions and camps throughout the years, and our friendships bloomed as well. I guess when it comes

down to it, some of my best memories from high school involved goofing off in the back of a bus headed to an FFA competition; laughing with my buddies in the ag shop; and making silly – and very annoying, I might add – inside jokes with friends from other schools at leadership camps and conventions. As cliché as it sounds, I’m most thankful for my time as an FFA member for these connections and friendships I made with people who not only shared a similar interest as me, but an interest in me well after we graduated high school. FFA not only prepared me for my future as an agriculturist but brought me together with people who have gone out of their way to check in on me and visit me, even from 1,000plus miles away. Truly, there’s nothing more you can ask of an organization, in my opinion.

Pine Coulee Sale Bulls ad Wy Livestock Roundup 2/19 and 2/26 Issue

A&M continued from page B3 with higher AMAs volume have more stable average monthly volumes,” he said. “The increased costs from a mandated reduction in AMAs would be shouldered by the cattle feeding sector.” Benavidez noted the report also shows the region including Texas would see the greatest negative impact from the imposition of mandatory trade minimums. Expected effects of the bill The report provides a matrix of the expected effects of the bill by its three primary segments: the Negotiated Trade Mandate, contract library and expanded reporting requirements. First, a Negotiated Trade Mandate is expected to have negative effects on short-term cattle and calf prices. “Negotiated trade mandates do provide additional price discovery and market transparency, but more price discovery does not mean cattle prices will be higher,” Benavidez said. “The mandate will result in lower short-term fed cattle prices due to the increase in the costs of the feeder-packer cattle sale transaction.”

Benavidez said the bill does increase price discovery, but at the cost of lower prices to cattle producers and higher prices to beef consumers. Second, the effects of a contract library would be exclusively felt in terms of increased market transparency. Third, expanded reporting requirements would impact two areas, transparency and discovery, and would likely increase both. “In overall terms of the bill’s impact on various segments of the beef and cattle supply chain, the bottom line is there would be tradeoffs,” Fischer said. “While the bill may be able to achieve greater price discovery and market transparency, forcing the movement away from AMAs via regional mandatory minimums for negotiated purchases will result in lower cattle prices and higher wholesale and retail beef prices.” This article was written by Paul Schattenberg and is courtesy of Texas A&M AgriLife. For more information, visit agrilife.org. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

3/14/2022 Wagon Box Ranch, Hardin, MT

SELLING 160 BULLS John Carrel (406) 855-2832 Jim Stampfel (406) 780-1230

Lunch at 11:00 • Sale at Noon

ALSO SELLING SONS OF:

B-L Natural Law • PF Broadview 5009 Executive Decision • Pine Coulee Resource 60C

PINE COULEE RESOURCE 221J S A V Resource 1441 X JC Blackcap 58C BW +4.3 WW +76 YW +129 Milk +22 Sells as Lot 22

PINE COULEE STUNNER H565 Musgrave 316 Stunner X Pine Coulee Ever Entense A40 BW +4.2 WW +90 YW +156 Milk +26 Sells as Lot 1

PINE COULEE RESOLVE J302 Coleman Resove 7219 X Pine Coulee Lass Z7 BW +2.2 WW +55 YW +105 Milk +23

Sells as Lot 33

PINE COULEE NORTHERN 122J

Shipwheel Northern Lights X JC Black Nellie 111F BW +1.3 WW +63 YW +115 Milk +28

Sells as Lot 132

PINE COULEE DRIFTER J312 Pine Coulee Drifter G372 X Pine Coulee Lucy Blackbird Z11 BW +3.5 WW +56 YW +100 Milk +31

Sells as Lot 122

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Meat prices – The report notes while the bill would increase price discovery, it would mean lower prices to cattle producers and higher prices to beef consumers. Texas A&M AgriLife Stock photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 44 • February 26, 2022

Increasing longevity and fertility: How to utilize nutrition to develop more productive, fertile heifers The Beef Reproduction Task Force welcomed University of Wyoming Department of Animal Science Assistant Professor and Extension Beef Specialist Dr. Shelby Rosasco to discuss nutritional management of replacement heifers on Feb. 15. Rosasco shares producers can increase longevity and fertility rates in heifers with a development program specific to their herd. Heifer development considerations “One of the biggest economic decisions producers make each year is deciding whether or not to retain and develop replacement heifers,” says Rosasco. Although developing replacement heifers can be challenging, Rosasco insists the benefits outweigh the extra time and financial commitment. “How we manage these heifers during the first few years of life has a big influence on heifer performance and reproduction, as well as

plays a key role in establishing heifer fertility,” she says. Rosasco mentions each cattle operation is unique, so there isn’t a specific right or wrong way to develop heifers for all operations. “Producers need to come up with nutritional management strategies to fit within their system,” she adds. Rosasco recommends producers first decide whether to retain and develop their own heifers or purchase heifers. “There are pros and cons to both retaining and purchasing heifers. If producers are buying, it’s still going to give an opportunity to positively impact fertility and help them pick out the right heifers,” says Rosasco. She recommends selecting heifers that look the best, are expected to have high levels of fertility, get bred early and wean marketable calves. Rosasco also mentions financial impacts are important for producers to consider.

For more information, visit beefrepro.org.

“I always think it’s important to consider the economic side of our heifer development systems. We need to make sure these heifers have the ability to breakeven and repeat their development costs and start providing us a profit,” she explains. Heifer expectations Rosasco encourages producers to create expectations for the first couple years of the heifers’ lives. “We are putting a lot of pressure on these heifers, especially from a reproductive standpoint,” she adds. Rosasco says producers should expect heifers to attain puberty prior to breeding season, become pregnant to calve by two years of age, calve without assistance, wean a marketable calf, rebreed as a firstcalf heifer and maintain a 365-day calving interval. “All of these expectations are going to lead towards maximizing heifer lifetime productivity. This includes maximizing her fertility and reproductive performance,” says Rosasco. Selecting heifers Rosasco recommends

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producers evaluate the current status of their herd before selecting and developing a productive heifer. She adds, it’s important for producers to note if there have been issues with “heifers attaining puberty prior to the start of the breeding season.” Evaluating pregnancy rates is another important

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selection step, says Rosasco. “If pregnancy rates are low, this could be an indicator we are having issues with puberty attainment and we may need to bump nutrition up,” she says. “If pregnancy rates are acceptable, this is telling us puberty attainment is probably at an OK level in the herd.” Rosasco also mentions selecting heifers typically becoming pregnant early in the first breeding season influences cow longevity. She notes a study from the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb. finds producers with heifers calving within the first 21 days of their first calving season “have an increased percentage of heifers remaining in the herd over nine calving seasons.” “This can be really important from a longevity standpoint and the heifers’ ability to be productive,” says Rosasco. “It’s also important from a fertility standpoint. When heifers are bred early and attain puberty earlier on, they are fertile at the beginning of the breeding season – helping pass this trait on.” Rosasco mentions the study also shows calving periods impact productivity. “Those heifers calving in the first 21 days of their first calving season had an increased average calf weaning weight over their first six calves,” she says. Nutritional programming Rosasco mentions producers have the ability to nutritionally program heifers during the first year of their life. “We can use nutrition to impact puberty attainment and potentially program timing and on-set of puberty attainment,” she adds. Rosasco notes the importance of developmental windows early in a heifer’s life. “The pre-pubertal period is a time point we can target from a nutritional standpoint to ensure our heifers have the best opportunity to attain puberty and decrease the age of puberty attainment,” she adds. Rosasco shares, research

from the 1960s to 1990s created guidelines saying replacement heifers should reach 60 to 65 percent of mature body weight by the beginning of the breeding season. She says in western, arid parts of the country, this target weight can be economically challenging for producers. “With the amount of feed we have to put in these heifers, with corn and feed prices the way they are this year, pushing these heifers to this 65 percent mature body weight can be a challenge,” Rosasco shares. She notes more recent research finds, “Producers can actually develop heifers closer to 50 or 55 percent mature body weight, and producers can develop heifers out grazing and utilizing winter range as a way to reduce development cost while still maintaining reproductive performance in these heifers.” Rosasco explains this new research gives producers more options when considering a development plan. “It gives producers opportunities to consider what best fits in their production system to get heifers to meet their specific goals,” she says. Post-breeding nutritional management Rosasco mentions nutritional management during the post-breeding period is a crucial step in the development program. “Alterations in plane of nutrition during post-breeding can actually alter conception rates and embryo quality,” she says. Rosasco shares, studies have found heifers on a diet designed for gain “had an increase in conception rates” compared to heifers on a diet designed to maintain or lose. “This suggests we need to keep these heifers on a positive plane of nutrition in order to ensure the work we put into these heifers is not going to waste,” Rosasco concludes. Kaitlyn Root is an editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 44 • February 26, 2022

Veterinarians discuss the effects and treatment protocols of protozoan diseases Scours in calves can be caused by many different things. The most common causes are intestinal infections – which may be bacterial, viral or on some cases, due to tiny one-celled protozoan parasites. Most protozoa encountered in the environment are harmless. But several types can cause disease, and most of these are transmitted by the fecal-oral route – passed in feces of an infected animal and then ingested by a susceptible animal via contaminated feed and water, when licking a dirty hair coat or suckling a dirty udder. Cryptosporidiosis and coccidiosis are examples of protozoan diseases affecting calves. Various types of cryptosporidium can infect humans, sheep or other animals, but Cryptosporidium parvum infects cattle and can also infect humans. Geof Smith, a former professor at North Carolina State University, says stockmen need to understand this intestinal infection is hard to prevent or treat because it’s not viral or bacterial. “We’re probably never going to have a good vaccine, since there are almost no vaccines for protozoal diseases,” he explains. Treatment is also challenging Smith says, “Unlike bacteria, we can’t kill protozoa with antibiotics. We

don’t have any drugs in this country shown to work as an effective treatment for crypto.” It therefore comes down to management – nutrition, hygiene and trying to minimize fecal-oral contact. The best defense against crypto is a healthy herd in good condition, and a clean environment. Herd health can be compromised by inadequate nutrition, so if producers experience crypto, Smith encourages to look at trace mineral status – especially selenium and copper since those are crucial to a strong immune system. “We also see problems when there’s overcrowding in a calving pasture or snow and bad weather. If stockmen keep moving the cows calving to clean pastures and have calves born in clean areas, this disease can be minimized. The later-born calves in contaminated pastures are the ones that get sick,” he says. “These protozoa don’t live in the environment forever, but can live several weeks or months.” After being ingested, they multiply in the calf’s intestine, causing diarrhea. Calves are generally infected during their first weeks of life. “This is a disease of young calves, especially one to three weeks of age. It’s not something produc-

Disease control encouraged When treating sick calves, avoid contact with feces. Cryptosporidiosis can be spread from calves to humans. Calves or humans in good health can usually handle exposure and not become ill. Very young calves or humans, elderly people or anyone with a compromised immune system may become seriously ill, however, according to Geof Smith, DVM. Crypto can cause devastating illness in vulnerable people or calves that did not receive colostrum at birth. He encourages producers to be careful when treating sick calves so they don’t inadvertently spread the disease. Producers should wash hands and change clothes when coming indoors, especially if there are young children or elderly adults in the home. “Hydrogen peroxide is one disinfectant which will kill crypto oocysts. If working around calves with diarrhea, make sure to protect yourself and others from becoming infected,” says Smith. When handling and treating calves with crypto, wear gloves, don’t touch your mouth and also wash your hands afterward. Don’t eat or drink anything or put anything into your mouth while handling sick calves, he adds. Veterinarian David Rethorst had a client a few years ago who got crypto from sick calves he was treating. “The rancher passed it to his three-monthold son because he didn’t wash his hands and the ‘bug’ got carried into the house. Everyone survived, but it was a challenge getting through it. Producers need to realize there is human risk with this disease – even more than with an E. coli or Salmonella infection,” Rethorst says.

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ers will see in calves three or four months old,” Smith says. This is different than coccidiosis, which takes several weeks’ incubation to affect a calf. Coccidiosis may not show up until a calf is at least four weeks old and can affect older calves, he continues. In a herd, there may be several calves picking up a few oocysts, but whether they get sick may depend on how much they are exposed to. “This is similar to coccidiosis. It’s not uncommon for a calf to have a few oocysts; it’s when they get loaded up we start to have problems,” says Smith. Crypto is often mild and the animal can recover without treatment, but it can be life-threatening in any human or young animal with a compromised immune system or concurrent illness. Crypto can be deadly if young calves are challenged with several pathogens at once, such as bacterial and/or viral scours along with the protozoa. Calves with severe, hard-to-treat diarrhea usually have mixed infections.

“If calves get diarrhea, try to keep them hydrated and provide good supportive care. Antibiotics probably won’t be helpful,” says Smith. David Rethorst, veterinarian with Beef Health Solutions in Wamego, Kan. adds, in order to save these calves producers need a good electrolyte solution high in bicarb content. “Give two quarts, three to four times a day,” says Rethorst. “The more often,

the better. Producers can’t overdo the fluid and electrolytes for these calves because they are dehydrating so quickly.” Try not to bring crypto to the ranch. Since it’s most common in dairy calves, don’t buy dairy calves to raise on bottles, nurse cows or to graft on beef cows which lost their calves – unless producers are sure the dairy calves are healthy and have never been exposed to crypto.

Even if cattle look healthy, isolate them for five days after bringing them home to be sure they are not incubating the disease. Then, if they develop diarrhea, producers can clean the isolation pen and haven’t exposed other calves. Heather Smith Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to rounup@ wylr.net.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 44 • February 26, 2022

Cattlemen's group responds to misinformation in New York Times opinion pieces It is incredibly disappointing media outlets, such as the New York Times, continue to publish opinion pieces called “Meet the People Getting Paid to Kill Our Planet,” which not only threaten the livelihoods of American farmers and ranchers, but are also riddled with misinformation and lacking in credible sources. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) primary goal is protecting the livelihoods of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers. It is a responsibility to ensure these men and women have the ability to pass their farms and ranches – 90 percent of which are family-owned and operated – down to the next generation. The vast majority of these family-owned, multigenerational operations are small in size with fewer than 50 head of cattle. They rely on NCBA to protect them from misinformation and attacks by activists aiming to put them out of business with tactics like the faulty information and sensationalist reporting included in this piece. NCBA is armed only with fact-based, crediblysourced and scientificallyvetted information, which is often less interesting than the wild claims made

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by opponents of American agriculture. To address all the incorrect claims made in the 14-minute video would be akin to writing a thesis, but in support of American beef farmers and ranchers, NCBA would like to address several. Simply put, the claims about emissions and land use are not true. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), beef cattle are responsible for only two percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. Add in the production of animal feed and necessary fuel and electricity, all beef production is still only responsible for 3.7 percent of GHG emissions in the nation. By contrast, trans-

portation accounts for 29 percent of GHG emissions and electricity accounts for nearly 25 percent of GHG emissions in the United States. Almost a third of U.S. land is too rocky or dry to be used for growing food crops, but it’s perfect for cattle. This otherwise inarable land allows for cattle to contribute more than threetimes as much high-quality protein to the U.S. food supply than they consume, directly helping to increase food security in the nation. Not only this, but science shows cattle ranches provide numerous ecosystem benefits like preserving wildlife habitats, defending against invasive plants, mitigating wildfires and

storing carbon. In fact, the U.S. lands cattle graze and preserve are crucial for carbon sequestration, as they are estimated to contain 10 to 30 percent of the carbon stored in soil. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) continues to take swings at the industry without an understanding of how the industry actually operates and the sustainability measures which have long been in place. Enjoying beef and supporting America’s farmers and ranchers is not a partisan issue. America’s cattle farmers and ranchers have long been stewards of the land, air and water resources upon which their livelihoods depend. It is prob-

ably difficult for a vegan from New Jersey to understand the role of agriculture in rural communities, but it’s critical to the continued success of America. To suggest farmers and ranchers sharing their stories is part of a “myth” and a lobbying strategy is untrue and offensive. Cattle farmers and ranchers understand the importance of protecting natural resources, and they are continuously working to improve their practices in ways which benefit their land and their animals. They put into place management plans, invest in education and practices which improve animal welfare, reduce runoff from pastures and protect intact grasslands where cattle graze and animals like deer, elk, antelope and migratory birds depend upon. Cattle farmers and ranchers have set goals for continuous improvement. Because of decades of research, innovation and improvement, the U.S. is the global leader in sustainable beef production. Examples of innovation include enhanced productivity practices such as improved cattle genetics, more precise animal nutrition, increased resilience and efficiency and improved resource use,

among others. This is why U.S. beef’s carbon footprint is 10 to 50 times lower than other regions of the world. In fact, between 1961 and 2019, the U.S. beef industry has reduced emissions per pound of beef by more than 40 percent while also producing more than 60 percent more beef per animal. The beef industry shares a commitment to sustainability. It would be nice if the solution was as simple as eliminating a single food from our plates, but it’s not. Sharing opinion pieces which masquerade as journalism is irresponsible and damaging to the livelihoods of nearly a million farmers and ranchers across the country. We’re disappointed in the New York Times’ decision to publish this piece without properly vetting the information, and we’ll continue to defend against misinformation and propaganda which targets American agriculture without apology. The NCBA has represented America’s cattle producers since 1898, preserving the heritage and strength of the industry through education and public policy. This article is courtesy of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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