Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 12 • July 17, 2021
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UC Cooperative Extension piloting new drought decision support tool for ranchers Most ranchers in the West are well aware that the U.S. is in the second year of another significant drought. As of June 15, nearly 89 percent of the West is in moderate to exceptional
drought. California ranchers are coming off one of the driest rainy seasons in memory. While many producers have already started implementing drought plans,
The Drought Strategies Decision Support Tool can be found at ucanr. edu/sites/Livestock/files/352215. pdf and supporting spreadsheets can be found at ucanr.edu/sites/Livestock/ Drought/spreadsheets.
MARKET continued from page 1 equipment, feed and fertilizer are dominated by just a few large companies, meaning family farmers and ranchers now have to pay more for inputs,” reads the White House release. “Consolidation also limits farmers’ and ranchers’ options for selling their products, meaning they get less when they sell their produce and meat – even as prices rise – at the grocery store.” The first action sparked by the order is the direction to USDA to consider issuing new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act to, “make it easier for farm-
ers to bring and win claims, stopping chicken processors from exploiting and underpaying chicken farmers and adopt anti-retaliation practices for farmers who speak out against bad practices.” Next, USDA is directed to consider new rules to define which meat products are able to hold “Product of USA” labels, an ongoing issue to ensure consumers have accurate and transparent labels and to support U.S. producers. In addition, the order commits $500 million to expanding processing capacity in the beef industry.
others are still considering their options. Based on lessons learned during the 2012-16 drought, we understand these decisions are difficult, but critical to the long-term viability of ranches. To this end, University of California Cooperative Extension (UC) Livestock and Natural Resources Advisors Grace Woodmansee, serving Siskiyou County, Calif., and Dan Macon, serving California’s Placer, Sutter and
Yuba counties, have created a Drought Strategies Decision Support Tool to help producers walk through specific strategies to deal with on-the-ground conditions. This tool will guide ranchers through developing their forage outlook for the next 12 months. It will also help producers relate their reactive strategies, like weaning lambs early or selling breeding-age females with ranch goals and proactive drought strategies.
In addition, the tool is intended to help ranchers establish a critical date by which they will take action. The tool is linked to a series of simple spreadsheets to help producers analyze the costs and benefits of several key strategies such as feeding hay, weaning early or selling livestock. Woodmansee says the tool was developed based on her research into rancher strategies during the 2012-16 drought. She notes, “We realized in talk-
ing to producers who managed through this drought that reactive strategies like supplemental feeding are related to proactive strategies, like resting pastures to conserve forage. We hope ranchers will use this tool and provide us feedback on how we can make it even more useful.” For more information, or to provide comments and feedback, contact Woodmansee at gwoodmansee@ ucanr.edu or Macon at dmacon@ucanr.edu.
Third, the order directs the USDA to develop a plan to “increase opportunities for farmers to access markets and receive a fair return, including supporting alternative food distribution systems like farmers’ markets and developing standards and labels so consumers can choose to buy products that treat farmers fairly.” Last, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is encouraged to limit equipment manufacturers from restricting the ability to use independent repair shops or compete repairs at home. Industry response In response to the executive order, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Govern-
ment Affairs Ethan Lane shared, “We thank President Biden and Secretary Vilsack for the leadership and swift action they’ve shown on some of the top issues impacting our producers, including ‘Product of the USA’ labeling, and grants to expand regional, independent processing capacity.” Lane continued, “The executive order is a vital step toward securing a steady beef supply chain and increasing opportunities for profitability for our producers.” U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President Brooke Miller said, “USCA applauds President Biden for hearing the calls from cattle country regarding
increased consolidation in the U.S. cattle industry, and then issuing his own call for prompt action within his administration.” “This executive order comes just weeks after USCA Vice President Justin Tupper testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on the detrimental effects of a U.S. cattle and beef industry controlled by just four major meatpackers, two of which are foreign-owned and operated,” Miller continued. “USCA’s testimony was loud and clear – the Big Four meatpackers have held their thumb on the scales for far too long, tilting the playing field to their advantage and forc-
ing more and more independent cattle producers out of business.” National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) Policy Director Eric Deeble noted, “NSAC commends USDA for it’s commitment of $500 million to help expand meat processing capacity by strengthening tools to empower small- and medium-scale operators. For far too long, we have witnessed how inadequate competition stifles economic growth and innovation throughout the agricultural supply chain.” Averi Hales is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
Map highlights broadband needs A new digital map from the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides more detail about broadband needs across the country than any other publicly available resource. Tapping into data aggregated at the county, census tract and census block level from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), M-Lab, Ookla and Microsoft, the map shows the many parts of the country reporting connection speeds that fall below the FCC’s current benchmark for fixed broadband service of 25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload. Farmers, ranchers and others who live in rural communities struggle everyday with poor connection speeds, which slow down their work on the business
end of the farm, schoolwork and their ability to download and share important documents – and so much more. “A reliable and speedy broadband connection is also critical to farmers’ use of precision agriculture to farm as sustainably and efficiently as possible. Without high-speed internet, farmers cannot collect key data or analyze it to determine the exact amount of fertilizer to apply, how much water their crops need or the precise amount of herbicides or pesticides they should use,” explained Ryan Yates, managing director of public policy at the American Farm Bureau Federation. NTIA’s new map can help officials determine where to focus government funding and public-private partnership efforts to enhance broadband.
August 1-7, 2021 August 1-7, 2021
Carbon County Fair “Raising the Steaks!” “Raising the Steaks!” Mud Volleyball
Mud Volleyball • Livestock Shows Livestock Shows Trucks • Rodeos Vendors • Food • Pancake Breakfast Concert • ParadeVendors Junior Livestock Sale • Demolition Derby Food Trucks
Visit Us at Rodeos
www.carboncountyfairgrounds.com Concert
For full schedule and details
Parade Pancake Breakfast
Visit Us at www.carboncountyfairgrounds.com
