Rockpile Museum hosts second annual Powder River Basin Sheepherders’ Festival

Hundreds of sheepherding enthusiasts gathered in Gillette at the Rockpile Museum for the second annual Powder River Basin Sheepherders’ Festival May 5-6, which hosted a number of different activities and vendors to honor and celebrate sheepherding culture in the area.

“We really try to focus on the three cultures of sheepherders in this area – Scottish, Basque and Quechuan/Peruvian,” noted Brittney Elsasser,

WyoTech offers new program

WyoTech recently announced they will offer a yearlong ranch training program on their campus in Laramie for anyone 18 years old and over who are interested in agriculture and the great outdoors, regardless of how much ranch or farm experience they have.

“Working on a ranch builds a lot of character,” says Jim Mathis, president and chief executive officer of WyoTech in an AccessWire article published May 4.

“There are days that are truly glamorous – we’ve got the sunrise, the sunset and beautiful weather. But not every day is fun. In fact, a lot of days are plain hard work. However, at the end of the day, when individuals see the fence they built, the corrals they created or the calf they pulled, they’ll think ‘Wow. I did that,’” he adds.

The Ranch Operations Program director of Adult Programs and Community Outreach for the Rockpile Museum.

According to WyoTech, the Ranch Operations Program will offer enrollment twice a year – July 3 and Jan. 2, 2024 – and will be broken down into eight six-week phases, beginning with summer operations involving irrigation, rotational grazing, equipment operation, haying, marketing calves, fencing and land capabilities.

Dormitories on WyoTech’s campus will be offered as living quarters for participants, although the opportunity to voluntarily stay on various operations across the state may occur on certain occasions.

The 12-month program will focus on teaching participants about ranching while also cultivating qualities needed to be a rancher, such as grit, tenacity, integrity and an appreciation for nature and agriculture.

An emphasis on culture

Elsasser, who coordinated the big event, noted the inaugural Powder River Basin Sheepherders’ Festival was held last spring after the former Rockpile Museum educator did some research on the vast culture of sheepherding across Wyoming.

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“We had over 300 boots on the Hill here in Washington, D.C. for the legislative conference this week, and cattle producers had a great opportunity to meet members of Congress and talk about some of the issues they are facing,” explains NCBA’s Director of Policy Communications Hunter Ihrman during an episode of NCBA’s Beltway Beef podcast, dated May 2. During the podcast, Ihrman sits down with NCBA’s Executive Director of Government Affairs Allison Rivera to discuss the event.

Voicing concerns Rivera notes the NCBA and PLC Spring

WBC and MBC hold first ever joint meeting

The Wyoming Beef Council (WBC) and Montana Beef Council (MBC) held a joint meeting on May 4 in Cody for the very first time in the history of both organizations.

According to WBC Program Manager Gary Gwin, the idea for the joint meeting came about in February during the Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show in New Orleans, when WBC Executive Director Ann Wittmann and MBC Executive Director Chaley Harney decided the gathering would be a good opportunity for members of both councils.

“All of the state beef councils are not

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only aware of each other, but generally speaking, they are all pretty good friends,” Gwin stated. “Ann and Chaley started talking about and planning the meeting at the conference in New Orleans, which is how it all began.”

He noted the two councils decided on holding the meeting in Cody because it is a fairly central location for both WBC and MBC members who are spread out between their respective states.

Sharing valuable information

Gwin explained the overarching goal of the meeting was to showcase and share the unique way each state beef council is

Please see MEETING on page 13

Agriculture, like other industries, is always looking for better ways to grow and market their products.

Ranchers and farmers are always looking for ways to improve, especially on two things – improving the land and improving profits for their businesses. Change usually costs money to implement, which in lean years makes it harder to accomplish.

Currently, all we hear from Washington, D.C. is how we need to manage for climate change and conservation. This confuses me because ranchers and farmers have been contstantly adapting to manage for the changing climate and for better conservation, not only on their private lands but also on the federal lands they use and the state lands they lease.

Producers and landowners do this despite more government regulations, overpopulation of wildlife, damage by recreationalists and the threat of predators – some of which are protected. Also, using livestock and proper grazing as a tool can improve the land for conservation while sequestering carbon.

The changes farmers and ranchers implement are utilizing better genetics in their livestock and crops, using better equipment and technology and ensuring a sustainable business for future generations.

Technology is a great tool for producers. However, I don’t believe one should change their ranch or farm for technology, instead they should adapt technology to the needs of their operation.

Genetics is one of the biggest improvements for livestock. Ranchers are now providing more beef with less cattle, with more efficient traits for growth and feed consumption.

If one wants to confuse a person not involved in agriculture, have them read a bull sale catalog with all of the genetic traits of each bull. They will then understand why some bulls bring $100,000 or more.

The sheep industry is also using improved genetics for lamb meat and wool.

The dairy industry has always been leaders when it comes to using genetics, producing more milk per cow. They have been using artificial insemination for many years, producing better milk cows while increasing the size of their dairies. A 5,000 head dairy is common these days.

They are using improved genetics, embryo transplants and sexed semen to improve replacement herds, while also using sexed semen from Angus bulls for the remainder of the herd to produce male calves to feed out for beef.

Holstein and Jersey dairy cows have a propensity to marble, and using those traits with beef genetics will help meet the Prime beef grade, utilizing more value out of those beef-cross animals.

Market segments are much more complex now than they ever have been, and a majority of consumers buy beef because it tastes good and it’s nutritious. Using improved genetics should provide more high-quality beef products for the meat case and restaurants at a cheaper price.

I realize change is always going to happen – it’s inevitable. We all have to change with the times, but in regard to meat, we shouldn’t have to eat plant-based imitation meat or meat grown in a lab dish.

Remember, we need a farmer or rancher three times a day for our food.