Learn by Doing

Leadership symposium

UW holds fifth installment of RMAL program, dedicated to leadership in ag

On April 20, the University of Wyoming’s (UW) College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources wrapped up their second annual Ranch Management and Agricultural Leadership (RMAL) Seminar Series in Laramie.

The five-part series included four sessions held at community colleges across the state, including a ranching on public lands segment held at Central Wyoming College in Riverton Jan. 26, a managing human resources segment at Sheridan College Feb. 16, a technology and innovation segment at Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington March 2 and a revenue diversification segment at Northwest College in Powell March 30.

Wyoming FFA members attend annual state convention

Over 1,400 Wyoming FFA members from across the state convened in Cheyenne April 19-22 to compete for titles in career development events ranging from veterinary science to public speaking, participate in leadership workshops and vie for a spot on the association’s leadership team.

The annual event is hosted each year to determine

BLM seeks public input

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Casper Field Office is currently seeking public input on a preliminary environmental assessment (EA) to provide supplemental analysis on the Marton Ranch Acquisition EA, which was originally issued by the BLM in May 2022 with the agency’s decision to purchase the 36,000-acre property.

In two separate press releases dated April 21, the BLM and Gov. Mark Gordon remind individuals the 21-day public comment period will soon close on May 12.

Background information

This supplemental analysis comes in response to a settlement agreement between the state of Wyoming and BLM, which took place in October 2022, after the state filed an appeal challenging the BLM’s purchase of the Marton Ranch near Casper in June of the same year.

According to the governor’s press release, the state expressed concerns the BLM didn’t properly involve the public in the acquisition process and the EA did not adequately consider the impact this purchase would have on recreation along the North Platte River.

After Wyoming filed a statement of reasons in support of its appeal, with the the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA), BLM filed a motion to set aside and remand its decision so it could “reevaluate its May 18, 2022 decision, provide additional opportunities for public notice and comment and supplement its environmental analysis to better address issues raised by the state.”

In their press releasee, BLM notes as part of the settlement they have agreed to conduct additional analysis of

Please see BLM on page 7 which of Wyoming’s 60 chapters will represent the state at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., celebrate the accomplishments of FFA members throughout the year and select new state officers.

Wyoming FFA Association Advisor Stacy Broda shared, “This year’s Wyoming FFA State Convention had

Please see FFA on page 6

The series concluded at its culminating event, a leadership symposium and luncheon on UW campus, featuring a lineup of high-profile speakers to discuss ways to hone and develop leadership skills for individuals,

Please see UW on page 5

Lambing preparation considerations discussed

Spring marks the busiest and most important season of the year for many sheep producers – lambing season. Success or failure during this time is the single largest factor affecting the profitability of a flock.

As producers prepare for lambs to hit the ground, there are a few things they should consider to ensure they have a successful lambing season.

Ewe health and nutrition is key

Proper ewe nutrition is perhaps the single most influential factor for lambing success. Correct feeding optimizes ewe health, which results in a higher number of lambs born, heavier weights of lambs born and improved colostrum quality and yield, which in turn influences lamb growth and performance.

According to an April 20 article, written by Allison Blackmon and published by Redd Summit Advisors, 70 percent of fetal growth occurs during the last six weeks of gestation, meaning this time period is one of the most energetically demanding for a pregnant ewe.

Blackmon notes the best way to ensure ewes’ nutritional requirements are being met is to pay close attention to body condition scores (BCS).

Ewes which are too fat or thin have

Please see LAMBS on page 7

Despite the mayor of New York City telling all New Yorkers to limit beef consumption and go vegan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, demand and consumption of beef is staying strong. This just proves how misguided and out of touch he really is.

All fresh beef retail prices in March were $7.23 per pound, which is unchanged from February and down 1.8 percent from a year ago.

The past few years have seen strong beef demand despite high prices, which tells the story people want to eat beef. During 2021-22, beef consumption was the highest per capita since 2010 at 58.9 pounds annually.

In 2020, all-fresh beef retail prices averaged $7.30 a pound, the highest on record. The highest monthly price ever was in October of 2021 at $7.55 a pound.

I would guess this was partly caused by the packers because slaughter was high and the price of live cattle was low.

Consumers continue to buy middle meats, such as tenderloins and ribeyes, with demand up 12 to 15 percent year-overyear. Surprisingly, brisket demand is weaker compared to last year. This is probably caused by higher costs due to demand.

As usual, the demand for hamburger keeps increasing, and because of this high demand, the price is rising as well.

Since meat is a commodity, prices rise and fall with the flow of supply and demand. Currently, demand remains high, and the supply of beef is going down.

This year, total cattle slaughter is down 2.9 percent, and carcass weights are lower. Fat steer slaughter is down 2.3 percent year-over-year, and fat heifer slaughter is up 0.4 percent.

While 2.3 and 0.4 percent don’t seem like a lot, bear in mind, last week 622,000 head of cattle were processed compared to 664,000 a year ago. This means 510 million pounds of beef was processed last week compared to 551 million pounds processed a year ago.

The lower number of head slaughtered and lower carcass weights are causing a national reduction of 41 million pounds of beef a week, which will always result in higher prices at the beef counter.

A recent peer reviewed edition of the scientific journal Animal Frontiers, published in the middle of April, confirms meat’s critical role in society. Building on scientific debate and evidence developed through the October 2022 International Summit on the Societal Role of Meat, hosted by Teagasc in Dublin, Ireland, some good information surfaced.

Some of the key findings were plant-based production does not only lead to human-edible food, but also large amounts of inedible biomass; livestock are the most viable option to return nutrients captured in this biomass back into the natural cycle, while producing high-quality, human-edible food and the outcome of unintended economic, social and environmental consequences when abandoning livestock could prove catastrophic to the already shaky ecological balance of the resource cycles and the remaining natural capital.

Other findings included sustainable livestock will also provide solutions for the additional challenge of today, to stay within the safe operating zone of Earth’s boundaries; human civilization has been built on livestock from initiating the Bronze Age more than 5,000 years ago toward being the bedrock of food security for modern societies today and lastly, human-managed livestock systems must be a part of the solution to environmental sustainability.

Has anybody noticed most of the people buying farmland today want everyone to be vegans? Is it all about money?