Volume 35 Number 29 • November 11, 2023
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The Weekly News Source for Ranchers, Farmers and the Agribusiness Community • www.wylr.net
A Look Inside Drought conditions eased during month of October.......... .................................Page A15 Mitigating early embryonic loss studied at Texas A&M...... .................................Page A16 U of I study proves cattle and sage grouse can coexist.......... ...................................Page B5 2023 National FFA Convention sets attendance record.... ................................. Page B11
PLC provides update on happenings in Washington, D.C. During the West Central States Wool Growers Association Convention, held Nov. 2-4 in Boise, Idaho, Public Lands Council (PLC) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Director Sigrid Johannes provided an update from Capitol Hill
in regards to the agriculture industry. Speaker of the House To begin, Johannes discussed the election of Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new Speaker of the House, noting it is hard to talk about Washington, D.C. without
Welcome News
ASI president offers insight into the state of the American lamb industry at annual convention On Nov. 2-4, the West Central States Wool Growers Association held their annual convention at the Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho. With a resounding theme of “Opportunities for American Lamb,” the meeting agenda was packed with an impressive lineup of educational programming, including a range of topics from targeted grazing to reproductive technologies and fabrication of lamb to export marketing strategies. The event also included updates from state and national organizations, and to kick off the weekend, American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) President Brad
Public Hearing
Gov. Mark Gordon has announced the appointment of Del McOmie as director of the Wyoming State Construction Department. He replaces Jerry Vincent, who resigned after leading the agency since 2021. McComie previously served as director of the State Construction Department from 2016-19. He has also served as director of the Wyoming School Facilities Department and spent 15 years as chief engineer with the Wyoming Department of Transportation.
Please see PLC on page A8
FOR AMERICAN LAMB
Gov. Mark Gordon welcomed the announcement of the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by extreme environmental groups challenging the issuance of over 4,000 federal Applications for Permit to Drill (APD) in the Powder River Basin and in New Mexico. The state joined oil and gas companies working in Wyoming to support the approved permits and to meet the nation’s need for affordable energy. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, finding the plaintiffs did not not have standing to sue. The state supported this position.
New Director
only one or two people pulling the strings for the rest of the Senate, but we have the same sort of dynamic happening in the House, where we have eight members who succeeded in booting out Kevin McCarthy
OPPORTUNITIES
Quick Bits
The Sheridan County Board of County Commissioners has formally requested a public hearing be held for the Columbus Peak Ranch Land Exchange. Accordingly, the Office of State Lands and Investments will hold a public hearing on behalf of the State Board of Land Commissioners on Nov. 13 from 2-4 p.m. The hearing will take place at Sheridan College in the Kinnison Hall in the Whitney Center for the Arts. Written comments are currently being accepted and will be presented to the State Board of Land Commissioners prior to its consideration of the proposed exchange. Written comments, questions and/ or concerns can be directed to Jason Crowder at jason. crowder@wyo.gov.
bringing it up. “I am sure everybody is sick of hearing the word unprecedented because we have said it so much over the past couple of years, but this is truly an unprecedented situation,” Johannes stated. “People joke there are
Please see ASI on page A7
WYLR photos
English show results reported The Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE) drew hundreds of cattle producers from across the U.S. and Canada to Billings. Mont. for the annual week-long stock show and rodeo, held Oct. 13-21. During these seven days, breeders, exhibitors and consignors had the opportunity to show off their highest-quality cattle in 14 open and junior breed shows, four junior fed market shows, a pen show and multiple breed sales. Cattlemen from Wyoming and its neighboring states found themselves atop the podium in multiple English breed shows at the NILE. Aberdeen show results In the Junior Moderator Division of the NILE Aberdeen Show, Fransisco Lewis of Parker, Colo. received top honors with his Grand Champion Moderator Female DR Annie Oakley 17K, sired by DR Sure Aman 94F. Sierra Skor of Williston, N.D. followed in the reservechampion position with her heifer 4 Skors Luna L56F, sired by 4 Skors Ehlert. In the open show, Wildcat Cattle of Gering, Neb. exhibited the Grand Champion Moderator Female – WC Lyla 7L, a daughter of JCR First Responder 8193F – followed by Lewis’ DR Annie Oakley 17K in reserve. The title of Grand Champion Moderator Bull went to Deep Creek Seedstock’s DCS Laxer 2L of Mitchell, Neb. This bull was sired by DUFF Dividend 17112. Athol, Idaho’s 4-D Land and Livestock exhibited the reserve champion bull in this category – F-D Cornerstone, a son of TL Julius. The Grand Champion Aberdeen Female – ILC Kimberly 20K, a daughter of ILC Maverick – was exhibited by Please see RESULTS on page A9
WWGA update Borcher provides update on Wyoming sheep industry Sheep producers, industry leaders and other agriculture stakeholders hailing from Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Nevada gathered in Boise, Idaho Nov. 2-4 for the West Central States Wool Growers Convention, an annual event dedicated to providing cutting-edge, high-quality information for attendees in an effort to improve lamb and sheep production in the West. During the meeting, individuals were able to attend educational programming relating to this year’s theme of “Opportunities for American Lamb” and hear updates from national organizations such as the Public Lands Council (PLC), the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and the American Lamb Board, among others. Additionally, on the first morning of the convention, meeting attendees split up by state to focus on industry happenings closer to home. Wyoming Wool Growers Association (WWGA) Executive Director Alison Borcher led the Wyoming breakout session. Please see SHEEP on page A13
Right to repair law makes progress On Oct. 24, the White House convened with federal and state officials, small business owners and private sector leaders to discuss the importance of the right to repair. “The right to repair is the right to fix something an individual owns when it breaks, either by themselves or by taking it to an independent repair shop,” states a White House press release. “By giving consumers more choices on where and how to get their devices fixed, right to repair lowers costs, makes it easier to fix the things you own and increases competition.” A report released earlier this year by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group
Education Fund estimates U.S. farmers lose $3 billion to tractor downtime and pay an additional $1.2 billion in excess repair costs each year. President Biden has endorsed the right to repair in his Executive Order on Promoting Competition, and in April 2023, Colorado passed the nation’s first right to repair law for agricultural equipment. Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) signed the Consumer Right to Repair Agriculture Equipment Act, making Colorado the first state to ensure farmers can fix their own equipment under the right to repair law, which requires manufacturers to provide the necessary manuals, tools, parts
periodical
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Please see LAWS on page A6