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Hi-Line Hi-Line
FARM & FARM & RANCH RANCH
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FARM FARM & & RANCH RANCH
March2017 2017 March
Sustainablility Starts with You
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Glasgow Stockyards, Inc. Linda & Mark Nielsen, Owners Iva Murch, Manager 263-7529 Dean Barnes, Yard Manager 263-1175 Ed Hinton, Auctioneer 783-7285
March, April & May 2017 Schedule
March 2017
SEAN R. HEAVEY / FOR FARM & RANCH
A John Deere combine takes down wheat at the Pattison's Farm near Jensen Trail in August of 2016.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: The Sky is the Limit MERYL RYGG MCKENNA FOR FARM & RANCH Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: The Sky is the Limit! Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often called drones, are a hot topic in the agricultural industry. Drones, ďŹ tted with a wide range of camera and lens types, have the potential to revolutionize business as usual by bringing detailed, timely, and unique crop data to the producer. Some producers already use UAVs ďŹ tted with cameras to check distant watering sites, track their livestock, and check for pests, crop deďŹ ciencies, ďŹ eld moisture levels or
document crop failures. The sky is truly the limit for aerial technology! What is a drone? In Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) terminology, an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) – generally equivalent to a drone or UAV – is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard; either an operator on the ground controls it, or it is auto-piloted by an onboard computer system. The FAA sets speciďŹ c regulations regarding the weight of aircraft and camera, plus rules governing the on-ground pilot’s maneuvers and locations. Note that the FAA requires operators ying for workrelated purposes to obtain a certiďŹ cate to
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SEAN R. HEAVEY / FOR FARM & RANCH
The photographer takes a selfie with his DJI Inspire drone near a homestead along the Milk River in April, 2015. y a UAV. Two basic types of UAVs are commercially available to the producer, either ďŹ xedwing (e.g. small airplane) or multi-rotor (e.g. quadcopter). Fixed-wing UAVs have longer ight times and bigger payload capacities but are usually more expensive. Multi-rotor types generally have shorter ight times, lighter payloads, are more maneuverable and are generally less expensive. Aerial imagery: For many agricultural uses, the utility is not the drone itself but the aerial photographs it can provide. Aerial imagery is a powerful tool allowing producers to see patterns that aren’t visible from the ground, at the time and place of their choosing. Cameras mounted on a drone can be ďŹ tted with special lenses that see things the human eye can’t. Using multispectral and hyper-spectral lenses, cameras can capture data in infrared, ultraviolet, and very narrow visible light bands. Videos, single photos, multi-spectral images such as near-infrared or thermal, or combinations of these, are all possible. Many plants show signs of stress and growth in bands that are invisible to the naked eye, while others show signs of growth in very narrow visible light bands, so the special lenses provide information that is otherwise difďŹ cult to get. A producer can obtain evidence of water stress, chlorophyll production (photosynthesis), weed distribution, nutrient deďŹ ciencies and disease hot spots.
A camera connected to a GPS system can take “geo-taggedâ€? images referenced to speciďŹ c ďŹ eld locations. This allows for comparing images taken at different times as the growing season progresses. As with any technology, cost and complexity vary greatly. Special lenses that capture non-visible light add to the price. And because of the large amounts of data collected, the more complex systems require special software designed to analyze and process the raw data before they can provide usable images. Most set-ups will come with the necessary software, for additional cost. Some might ask, “Why not just use satellite imagery?â€? UAVs have several clear advantages over satellites. First, a typical satellite image resolution of 50 feet is quite coarse compared to UAV images. That means everything within a 50-foot by 50-foot area is represented by one pixel (one color). Conversely, the area represented by one pixel in a UAV image can be on the order of a few inches. UAV images can monitor individual plants if needed. Additional advantages of UAVs include being able to y them according to the producer’s timetable, not the satellite’s passing, and avoiding atmospheric interference such as cloud cover, which often affects satellite imagery. Will one work for you? To summarize, the advantages of UAVs are clear – they can y according to your own timing and weather, record the precise level
Thursday
2
Infinity Angus Bull & Female Production Auction, Stock Cow & Bred Heifer Auction & All Class Cattle Auction
20
McRae’s Big Dry Angus Production Auction, Replacement Heifer & Feeder Special & All Class Cattle Auction
9
March Feeder Special & All Class Cattle Auction
27
Humbert - Fossum “North Country� Angus Production Auction, Anderson #BS 5SJBOHMF $IBSPMBJT 1SPEVDUJPO Auction & All Class Cattle Auction
COURTESY ELIZABETH SHIPSTEAD / FOR FARM & RANCH
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All Class Cattle Auction
It’s the same with caring for ourselves. If we don’t grow our own faith, ďŹ nd ways to ďŹ nd reprieve or a mental break...sustainability for ourselves, for families and for agriculture will not occur. Taking care of oneself is going to look different for each person, but here are three things to consider...Let’s get back to the basics of... Considering God- I know that not everyone believes in God. But it’s hard to deny His hand when you work in agriculture. Considering God gives us an opportunity to consider Someone greater than ourselves. So at least consider God. Search Him out for yourself. You won’t be disappointed. Face to face - Social Media is great especially for those times of the year that it’s your best option to connect with friends outside the tractor or combine. Ranching still has something that farming doesn’t. “Brandingsâ€? still take a few hands, especially if your branding with a ďŹ re and horses and it is usually a family affair! I don’t hear of any “seedings.â€? Some may have a harvest crew, but they don’t usually bring their families, even for the evening meal. Unfortunately this may be a downside to farming: being able to do so much farming with fewer hands. But, let’s consider the “in betweenâ€? moments and the seasons of less work. Connect with your neighbors face to face. Be mindful of the spur of the moment opportunities to celebrate birthdays or catch a meal together. Generations before us did this well. We need to get back to this. Family and community is a priority! Speaking of past generations...if you talk to your parents or grandparents, many of them were very involved in community and church organizations. Their family was a priority. Church and fellowship was a priority. The way they did this was by getting involved and putting as much emphasis on family and community organizations as they did their ag operations. Our family has the best of intentions, but consistency is our struggle. Its hard to be involved in a community project or a church organization, when you “drop off the face of the earthâ€? from seeding to harvest. But we are working and will continue to work on those “in between moments.â€? How can you work to make personal sustainability a priority?
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Feeder Special & All Class Cattle Auction
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Woodland Farms Montana Angus Sale, Fahlgren Angus Production Auction & All Class Cattle Auction
ELIZABETH SHIPSTEAD FOR FARM & RANCH Sustainability starts with you! Sustainability is such a buzz word right now, but what does it really mean and how does it affect us? I heard Rick Haines from the Independent Ag Network deďŹ ne it as the continuing on of an ag operation from generation to generation of the ag family. He said, if you don’t have that, you don’t have sustainability. That is my favorite deďŹ nition, but I’d take it a step further. Sustainability to me, is the ability to continue farming or ranching to your fullest potential while taking care of yourself and your family. We are a resource just like our livestock, our farm/ranch entity, our land, our equipment, etc. If we aren’t personally “sustainableâ€? in the ag lifestyle, then we won’t be able to pass the Farm or Ranch on, and sustainability (as the non-rural and non-farming/ranching community deďŹ nes it) will not be achieved either. There are 2% of us who call agriculture our profession. But it goes beyond a career. We know that agriculture is a lifestyle and a lifelong, heartfelt mission. Due to the overwhelming nature of ag, we have seen our communities rocked by suicide. We see farm/ranch kids choose not to come back to the farm because they have seen the amount of stress and strain their parents go through and don’t want that for themselves. We can’t control the weather. We can’t control the markets. There is struggle even with the most forward thinking, innovative plans. We can thank Adam and Eve for that struggle. But in the midst of our ag lifestyle, we can control how we care for ourselves, our spouses, and our children. We need to see ourselves as an important commodity that must be sustainable. You’ll notice that I listed “ourselvesâ€? ďŹ rst. Remember the safety spiel when you get on an airplane? They always say to put your own oxygen mask on ďŹ rst before helping someone else. If you are passed out from lack of oxygen, how helpful are you going to be? Not much! In fact you could be more of a liability to those around you.
1946 - 2017
April 2017 (cont.)
Thursday
The Shipstead family takes in the view from Lookout Hill near the Fort Peck Dam.
SERVING AREA âœŻ LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS FOR 71 YEARS!
April 2017
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Thursday
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May 2017 Thursday
#PXMFT + 3FE "OHVT #VMM 'FNBMF Production Auction, Feeder Auction & All Class Cattle Auction Eayrs Angus Bull Production Auction, Wiseman Red Angus Bull Auction, Bred Heifer, Pair & All Class Cattle Auction
18 25
Nelson Simmental & Simmental/Angus Composite Bull Production Auction, and “Going to Grass� All Class Cattle Auction Koenig Red Angus Bull and Female Production Auction, Cow Calf Pair Special & All Class Cattle Auction All Class Cattle Auction All Class Cattle Auction
228-9306
1 0 #PY t (MBTHPX .5 t HTJ!OFNPOU OFU t XXX HMBTHPXTUPDLZBSET DPN
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