Salute to Agriculture Spring-Summer 2023

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Salute to Agriculture

Salute to Agriculture is a special publication of the Sterling Journal-Advocate, Fort Morgan Times and Brush News-Tribune

Our Staff

Brian Porter, Publisher

Sara Waite, Editor

Olivia Johnson, Assistant Editor

Callie Jones, Assistant Editor

Zant Reyez, Staff Writer

Jeff Rice, Staff Writer

Steve Buxton, Advertising Representative

Kim France, Advertising Representative

Andrew Ohlson, Advertising Representative

Kent Shorrock, Publication Design

Copyright 2023, Prairie Mountain Media

Inside

PHOTO BY AARON ONTIVEROZ THE DENVER POST Cows at Quail Ridge Dairy await milking on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Read more about the dairy on page 20.

Logan County’s Sonnenberg Farm earns ‘Centennial Farm’ designation

Operation has been home to six generations of Sonnenberg family

By Jeff Rice jerice@ prairiemountainmedia com

It is a story told many times over in northeast Colorado, but a story that never gets old. It’s a story of how a family helped build Colorado into the significant agricultural player it is today.

This story begins in 1917 when Henry Paul Sonnenberg (called H.P. by everyone who knew him) and his wife Caroline bought a small farm from a Mr Stinson Just two miles north of the Washington County line on Logan County Road 67, the acreage is now part of the Sonnenberg Farm that is owned and farmed by Jerry Sonnenberg and his sons Ryan and Josh. It has been designated a Colorado Centennial Farm for having remained in the same family for more than 100 years.

No one actually lives on that original acreage; it’s all farmed, and the families live elsewhere around that part of Logan County. But it was once the home of HP’s son Ernest and the origin of an ag-

ricultural operation that today includes cattle, wheat and corn crops, horse training and trucking.

In 1923, Ernest Sonnenberg bought that small farm from his

father for $30 an acre. He built a three-room house and, in 1926, a small barn. His son Gordon was born in 1936 and would later inherit the farm and pass it on to his

son Jerry.

Ernest fed hogs and cattle on his place and, in 1937, rented a half-section east of Highway 61 where Jerry

COURTESY PHOTO

Four generations of Sonnenbergs pose with their certification of their operation as a Colorado Centennial Farm

Sonnenberg

The operation grew significantly in 1941 when Ernest and his brother Edward bought the Clarence Day Ranch north of the Eagle Point school site It’s now the site of Sonnenberg & Sons Cattle Company’s feedlot and ranch

The family moved into a home on County Road 63 in 1959, where Jerry grew up, where he and Vonnie raised their children, and where the couple still lives.

The brothers Ernest and Edward operated the ranch together for a time until Ernest bought Edward’s half and ran it himself. Ernest’s son Gordon bought the operation from his father in 1976 and ran it until he retired in 2017. Gordon said he still goes out to the farm occasionally, just to keep up with the operation.

Gordon sold the operation to his son Jerry in 1995, but Jerry took a somewhat circuitous route to farm and ranch ownership.

“I wanted to be an architect,” the Logan County Commissioner said. “But I was a slacker in high school

The classes I took were not conducive to admission to architectural school ”

Instead, he drove a beet truck during sugar beet rehaul and drove for other trucking companies during the year. It paid well enough for the high school grad to buy a new Chevrolet Camero and his own house in Sterling.

Life took an unexpected turn in 1978 when Jerry was a passenger in a vehicle that rolled over, breaking his back. He spent six months in a hospital bed while he healed, and to keep his mind occupied he

bought a Tandy TRS 80 computer and taught himself computer programming.

When he was recovered from the auto accident, his grandfather Duff Mollohan leased him his first farm ground. Besides farming his own place, Jerry would go on to teach agriculture business management at Northeastern junior College, despite not having a college degree, and worked on the startup Starfish Software account for Sykes Enterprises He was so successful at Sykes that Starfish invited him to move to Santa Cruz, Calif., and join their development team.

Not bad for a “slacker.”

But that’s when Gordon Sonnenberg put his foot down.

“He said, ‘You are not going to raise my grandchildren in California,’ and he offered to sell me the whole place if I’d stay,” Jerry said.

Over the years the Sonnenberg

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Two photos showing the headquarters place of the Sonnenberg farming and ranching operation. At left, as it looked in the late 1950s and, at right, a Google Maps satellite photo.

COURTESY PHOTO

H P and Caroline Sonnenberg and their family SONNENBERG » PAGE 9

Jerry Sonnenberg among trio inducted into Ag Hall of Fame

and during his brief comments he emphasized that he couldn’t have served 16 years in the legislature without his family’s support.

By Jeff Rice jerice@ prairiemountainmedia

com

Agriculture is a family endeavor. That message was made clear Thursday evening during the Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame induction banquet at the Westminster Westin Conference Center.

Logan County Commissioner and former state senator Jerry Sonnenberg was among the inductees,

“While I was in Denver, it was my wife and my sons, my family, who kept things going back home,” Sonnenberg said. “This has always been a family venture. And it was because of them that I was able to do the things I thought needed to be done.”

During a video presentation on Sonnenberg’s achievements, the Sterling farmer and rancher said it was never his intention to run for office.

“All I ever wanted to do was provide some leadership, and I realized that getting elected was the way to do that,” he said

Sonnenberg continues in a community leadership role as a Logan County Commissioner.

Perhaps Sonnenberg’s greatest contribution to Colorado agriculture has been his work in rebuilding and maintaining the Colorado Agriculture Leadership Program. An alumnus of the program himself, Sonnenberg re-designed and found sustaining funding for the program in 2010, and now serves as president of its board of directors. CALP produces the annual Colorado Agriculture Forum, and has recently selected its 16th class of two-year fellows

Graduates of CALP now occupy a number of leadership positions in agriculture and related fields, and not just in Colorado

Eric Wilkinson of Greeley and Ben Rainbolt Jr. of Platteville were inducted along with Sonnenberg.

Wilkinson is the retired general manager of Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. He over-

saw key aspects of Colorado’s largest water projects and developed measures to prevent “buy-anddry” to take pressure off agricultural water supplies as Colorado’s population increased.

Rainbolt is the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. Following his 25-year career in education as a highly recognized and awarded agricultural education instructor who retired as a principal, he has shaped policy and developed new leaders in Colorado’s agriculture industry

The Premier Farm Credit Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame induction ceremony is conducted each year by the Colorado FFA The banquet also is used to raise funds for the Colorado FFA Foundation

Sonnenberg brings to 12 the number of Logan County people who have been inducted into the Ag Hall of Fame. Dave Hamil of Sterling was one of the first three

JEFF RICE JOURNAL-ADVOCATE

Colorado Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg helps Antone Sellers, left, and Kayla Rossi, right, induct Jerry Sonnenberg into the Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame Sellers is president of Colorado FFA and Rossi is treasurer

Former state senator joins 11 others from Logan County in state honor

Josh and Dani Sonnenberg operate the squeeze chute while working cattle at the family’s ranch and feedlot

Jeff Rice Journal-Advocate

Hall

FROM PAGE 8

to be inducted in 1989. Others from Logan County are Hilbert Kahl, 1993; Jack Annan, 1998; Keith Propst, 2002; Helen Budin, 2003; Bill Jackson, 2004; E S “Bud” VanBerg, 2006; Don Ament, 2008; Jim Read, 2010; Charlie Bartlett, 2017; and Chris Dinsdale in 2020 Although Jackson was inducted primarily for his work with the Greeley Tribune, he began his ag journalism career with the Journal-Advocate.

Sonnenberg

FROM PAGE 7

operation has grown and evolved, at one time including farmland near Fleming and Proctor Jerry

and his wife Vonnie now live in the home in which he grew up, and where the couple raised their sons, Josh and Ryan. Ryan lives on the ranch, which Josh manages, and Josh lives near his parents on the farmland, which Ryan manages.

The Sonnenberg operation was

inducted into History Colorado’s Centennial Farm and Ranch Program during a ceremony at the Colorado State Fair in August 2022, becoming the ninth Logan County farm to be so honored.

Sonnenberg, former state senator

“All I ever wanted to do was provide some leadership, and I realized that getting elected was the way to do that.”

Jerry

WINDOW ON AGRICULTURE

PT HOSE AND BEARING in Greeley prides itself on its extensive inventory of industrial supplies to keep manufacturers, large- and small-scale farms and heavy equipmentoperating.

“Our goal is to have inventory on a level our competitors may lack,” said Blake Hinchley, regional manager of PT Hose and Bearing in Greeley, adding that orders can be placed if items aren’t immediately available “Westrivetohaveproduct ontheshelftosatisfythecustomer’s requirementson-the-spot”

Theindustrialpartsretaileropened in Greeley in 2017 and in Fort Collins in 2020. There also are locations in Cheyenne, Wyo, and Gering, Neb Eachofthelocationshasaninventory of nearly 40,000 items in roughly 10,000-square-footwarehouses.

A family-owned operation, PT Hose and Bearing carries an array of industrial parts, including water pumps, hydraulic and industrial hoses,conveyorbelts,electricmotors, speed reducers, roller chains (and sprockets), gearboxes, bearings, valves, seals, and truck and safety supplies. The retailer welcomes the general public, caters to original equipment operators (OEMs), and serves several industries including construction,agriculture,andoiland gas.

PT Hose and Bearing also offers assemblyofhydraulicandindustrial hoses on site via a mobile hose truck.Allhosesarecustominlength

and matched to each individual application from tractors to excavators.

“We can go on site and do it for you,” Hinchley said “It’s as easy as food delivery. It’s a convenience we arehappytoprovide”

PTHoseandBearingsetsitselfapart with its inventory, knowledgeable employees and unmatched customerservice

“We have a unique ability when it comestohelpingcustomersintheir timeofneed,”Hinchleysaid

PTHoseandBearingoperates24/7 withphonesthatrolloverafterhours.

“Somebodyalwaysanswersready tohelp,”Hinchleysaid

The business is tailored to all phasesoftheagriculturalcyclefrom planting to harvest, helping big and small farming operations as well as dairies.

“We go back to customer service andkeepingthoseguysgoingyearround. We’re able to help them maintain the equipment they need to keep their operations running smoothly,”Hinchleysaid

PT Hose and Bearing is locally owned by two families with the principals being Jamey Fifield and TrentKeller.

“We’re not a big corporation. We use that to our advantage. We stockandstaffourstorestoprovide optimal value to our customers,” Hinchleysaid

Proudly offering unrivaled product knowledge. Unmatched local inventory! Hydraulic and industrial hoses made while you wait! Visit us in Greeley, Cheyenne, Scottsbluff/Gering, and our Fort Collins Location! We specialize in solutions for you and your business!

Vilsack: Good news on school meals

Ag Sec visits Greeley elementary school to announce changes to federal free-andreduced program

By Anne Delaney adelaney@greeleytribune.com

Students and staff at Maplewood Elementary School in Greeley on Wednesday morning welcomed a special visitor who announced opportunities for greater access to school meals for all students in the Greeley-Evans School District, as well as students across the U S U S Department of Agriculture

Secretary Tom Vilsack stopped by Maplewood to announce $60 million worth of federal grant funds from two programs to expand support for and access to school meal programs nationwide.

In Greeley-Evans School District 6, Vilsack’s announcement could mean all students next year will continue to eat for free. Money currently coming from the district’s general fund, as approved by the board of education in August, would be replaced by funding from Colorado’s voter-approved Healthy School Meals for All program and available grants, with the approval of a proposed rule change

There are two pots of money to benefit schools and school districts inside of Vilsack’s announcement:

• The USDA as part of its

Healthy Meals Incentives Initiatives is awarding $50 million to four organizations Boise State University, Chef Ann Foundation, Full Plates Full Potential and Illinois Public Health Institute to then manage sub-grants.

• The USDA also opened applications for up to $10 million in Team Nutrition Grants to support nutrition education for school children. The grants will extend nutrition education outside of the cafeteria, incorporating the work into other parts of the school day and even into enrichment activities outside of school.

The USDA is proposing a change that would give more schools nationwide the option to provide healthy school meals to all students at no cost, Vilsack also announced

The new rule would expand the number of schools eligible to opt into the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) beginning next school year by lowering the required percentage of students in districts who are eligible for free-and-reduced meals based on participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, from 40% to 25%.

The CEP is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas, according to the USDA website CEP allows the nation’s highest-poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students with-

JIM RYDBOM GREELEY TRIBUNE

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visits with students at Maplewood Elementary School during lunch hour in Greeley, Colorado March 22, 2023. Vilsack visited Maplewood to announce several actions from Biden-Harris administration through USDA and including new investments to support and expand students access to healthy school meals across the country.

Meals

FROM PAGE 12

out collecting household applications.

While Greeley-Evans School District has about 67% of students eligible for free-and-reduced meals including 91% of Maplewood’s roughly 560 students the rule change will affect and benefit the district because 34% of students are eligible for the CEP The other 33% are income eligible for freeand-reduced meals because a family fills out a benefits application, according to District 6 Director of Nutrition Services Danielle Bock.

“His announcement with the lowering of the threshold makes Prop FF (Healthy School Meals for All) easier to operate,” Bock said. “I think it’s really simple. The announcement at the press conference and the lowering of the threshold came at a time when we see states implementing universal meals.”

Vilsack said four states have opted into universal free school meals: Colorado, California, Min-

JIM RYDBOM GREELEY TRIBUNE

U S Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack smiles as he watches Maplewood students make a smoothie with pedal power during his visit to the Greeley elementary on Wednesday March 22, 2023

nesota and Vermont.

Brehan Riley, director of the school nutrition unit at the Colorado Department of Education, was among the attendees at Maplewood for Vilsack’s visit Riley said later based on 2022-23 numbers in Colorado, the number of school districts qualifying with the CEP change would nearly double from 66 to 123 and the number of schools statewide would more than double (398 to 798).

“Which is huge for state funding,” Riley said. “We’re saving the state funding (via Prop FF) for the federal.”

Vilsack said the department opted to visit Maplewood and District 6 to make the announcement for a variety of reasons including the state’s voter-passed Healthy School Meals for All program, the district’s active work behind nutrition services and the diversity in the school system and at Maplewood

Reyes said 18 different languages are spoken among students at the school. District 6 Superintendent Deirdre Pilch said about 91% of Maplewood students qualify for free-and-reduced meals, a metric that is an indicator of poverty levels

“Being able to provide healthy, nutritious and tasty is equally as important to us,” Pilch said near the end of Vilsack’s visit “Our job here is to turn poverty around Those who know the Greeley-Evans School District, you know we have struggled with student achievement a decade ago or so. It’s been our job to move our schools in the right direction, and to be able to do that, kids cannot be hungry. And they can’t be worried about whether or not they’re going to have food for lunch or food for dinner.”

The school has implemented a garden program for students, cooks food from scratch and provides nutrition education. Vilsack observed and participated in a culinary classroom, where District Wellness Coordinator Rachel Hurshman and Wellness Specialist Johanna Bishop prepared smooth-

ies and vegetable skewers as part of their daily lessons.

Hurshman worked with the students on the smoothies and then guided them through the process of blending the ingredients on a smoothie bike The “bike” was a one-wheeled machine with a blender attached to the front Vilsack expressed relief at not being asked to ride the smoothie bike.

“Some of the youngsters really went at it,” he said. “And what a great combination of physical activity and healthy snacks. As Danielle (Bock) indicated, it’s the kind of thing that ought to be in every school, to be able to make that con-

nection between physical activity and nutrition.”

Vilsack called the nutrition services work at Maplewood and in District 6 “miraculous ” He credited the elected school board for its commitment to students in opting to use the general funds to pay for meals for students who didn’t qualify for free-and-reduced meal benefits after federal food assistance expired following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Very extraordinary,” Vilsack said. “The understanding of the importance of this, of proper nutrition and the key link it has to young people’s performance in school and their overall health.”

Maplewood Principal Ramon

JIM RYDBOM GREELEY TRIBUNE United States Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J Vilsack watches Maplewood Elementary students make a healthy snack while speaking with District 6Director of Nutrition Daniell Bock, right, in Greeley March 22, 2023

Investment reaping economic resilience for industry’s future

By Kate Greenberg Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture

One of my favorite and most important parts of the job as Commissioner of Agriculture is traveling throughout Colorado visiting farms, ranches, and rural communities across our state.

Over the years, I have listened to many stories of hardship: culling herds due to drought, dried up rivers, fruit crops lost to an early freeze.

But I also hear stories of grit and perseverance: farmers and ranchers adapting to improve yields, advance stewardship, diversify markets, and provide food to people in need

It’s exactly this type of problem solving and tenacity that establishes Colorado as a leader in creativity and resilience, market diversification, and support for future generations.

One of the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s main priorities is fostering economic resilience. We do this by investing in small family businesses, including regional processing, farm-to-market infrastructure, Colorado Proud marketing and international business. All of this is to strengthen supply chains and diversify food systems for producers and consumers.

We are also preparing for a drier future by advancing farmer- and rancher-led solutions to our toughest soil, water, and climate challenges Over the past three years, CDA has partnered with hundreds of farmers, ranchers, researchers, conservation districts, and other organizations to build Colorado’s voluntary STAR Soil Health Program. We are also connecting STAR producers to new business opportunities. We look forward to building on this work in the years ahead through a $25 million USDA Climate Smart Commodities grant.

And of course none of this matters if we’re not supporting future generations in agriculture.

At CDA, we have expanded youth development to include STEM learning at our labs, expanded paid apprenticeships in the field, launched a new NextGen scholarship program, and created low-interest financing for beginning and underserved farmers and ranchers.

In agriculture, resilience includes diversity, whether it’s economic diversity that gives producers and family businesses choice in the market, biodiversity of natural and working lands, or human diversity where voices of all backgrounds are part of our agricultural fabric. Partnerships help us create practical solutions while our commitment to service and respect is the foundation of all that we do.

As farmers, ranchers, and all who work in ag, you see the effects of a changing world every day. Your lived experience must shape policy and programs as we prepare for the future. And we’re in this together: agriculture benefits our entire society, and therefore our entire society must be invested in its success.

CDA remains committed to supporting farmers, ranchers, and all who work in agriculture through policy, sound regulation, advancing new opportunities, and fighting for a place for the next generation in this ever-evolving business of feeding people and taking care of the land.

Kate Greenberg is the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture.

Kate Greenberg

Photo by Allison Porter

Production agriculture takes a toll on body and mind. AgrAbility aims to help.

New coordinator assigned to CSU Regional Engagement Center in Sterling

By Jeff Rice jerice@ prairiemountainmedia com

There was a new face at the head of the room when Colorado State University and Goodwill Industries presented the AgrAbility workshop in Sterling in February.

Ellis Vidmar has been named AgrAbility Program Coordinator for CSU’s Regional Engagement Center in Sterling It’s the first time a full-time staffer has been assigned locally to that program

AgrAbility is a U S Department of Agriculture program designed to help farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities to successfully work their agricultural operations. In Colorado, the program is coordinated by CSU Extension and Goodwill of Colorado.

Vidmar said her new position is part of an increased focus on rural areas of Colorado.

“We wanted a presence in the rural communities, and the Engagement Center was a perfect place for that,” she said. “I’m the

hub of information for resources in the area and across the state ” Vidmar has a number of contacts that can be helpful to ag producers facing health challenges, including Centennial Mental Health, McDonald & Keil Physical Therapy, Candiss Leathers, AgrAbility coordinator with Goodwill Industries of Denver, James Craig, Colorado AgrAbility’s rural rehabilitation specialist and veterans outreach, and Chad Reznicek, behavioral health specialist with the AgrAbility Project.

AgrAbility has become increasingly important because the number of farmers and ranchers facing physical and behavioral health challenges has grown as the producer population ages According to the U S Department of Agriculture, 37% of American farmers and ranchers are over the age of 65, compared with 14% of other small business owners, and the average of producer is just under 59 years of age. The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s statistics are almost identical to the national numbers.

“They are passionate about what they do, they love the work, they love the animals, they love working the land, it’s what they are,” Vidmar said. “They are (mentally) conditioned to work, and they are very aware that they’re helping to

JOURNAL-ADVOCATE PHOTO

Ellis Vidmar, AgrAbility coordinator for the CSU Engagement Center in Sterling. AGRABILITY » PAGE 17

AgrAbility

FROM PAGE 16

feed the world.”

Vidmar said her own father, in his mid-50s, often “works through” the aches and pains of advancing age and the physical toll of a lifetime of ranching in Colorado’s high country

“Sometimes his knees hurt so bad he can hardly get in the tractor, but the cattle still have to be fed, the work still has to be done,” she said

James Craig, Rural Rehabilitation Specialist for Colorado AgrAbility, explained that the vibration that comes through the steering wheel of a tractor, over time, can do serious damage to the shoul-

ders. The constant twisting back and forth watching the implement behind and the ground ahead can cause back problems; hours of bouncing along while working foot pedals in farm equipment and trucks wears on the knees, hips and back.

It’s not just the physical nature of the work that beats a person up; the mental stresses of agricultural work, combined with the isolation common among rural residents, is believed to have driven the rate of suicide up faster in rural areas than in urban centers According to a 2022 report from the Centers for Disease Control, the rate of suicide for urban males over the age of 20 was 27.7 per 100,000; the rate of suicide in the same age group in rural America was 40.4 per

During a recent AgrAbility workshop, Dr James Craig demonstrates simple hand tool modifications that can ease stress on the body during repetitive motion tasks

AgrAbility

FROM PAGE

100,000, a rate increase of 39.4% since 1999.

Contrary to popular belief, farming isn’t the perpetually bucolic experience most people think it is Constantly rising costs of inputs, volatile commodity prices and a growing list of state and federal regulations combine to make growing food one of the most complicated businesses in the country. Add to that the recent increase of misinformation and criticism being spread across multiple social media platforms, and producers often complain they feel like they’re “under siege.”

Behavioral health specialist Chad Reznicek said conditions unique to farming and ranching make it just as hard on the mind as it is on the body. Reznicek said farming is often a solitary occupation, which can be tough for a mind that has evolved to be social.

“We are weak, slow and naked,” Reznicek said “We can’t outrun predators, and we have no fangs or

claws. Our species has survived because we are social animals, we gather in tribes for self-protection. We need to socialize with other people to keep the tribe strong.”

The human mind also is naturally inquisitive and wasn’t meant for repetitive, menial tasks.

“Just because you’re trying to feed the world doesn’t mean you have to spend all of your time working your butt off,” Reznicek

said. “Feeding the world puts a tremendous weight on the backs of producers. Genetics drives farmers to hold onto their land, and there’s an inherent satisfaction that comes with it.”

He explained the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s “Eight Domains of Wellness” emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and

spiritual and how they can help keep producers and their families on an even keel. Good Therapy’s website, goodtherapy org, has a blog that explains The 8 Dimensions in detail

Reznicek said the finance of farming is among the top three stressors in production agriculture and recommended the Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Program’s website farmstress.us as a resource to manage that.

Vidmar said the workshops are a crucial part of the program because they bring useful information to the people who need it.

“The AgrAbility winter workshops are effective in rural and agriculture communities because they bring education to those we serve and want to serve,” Vidmar said. “AgrAbility is a growing resource for those involved in production agriculture with limitations or disabilities ”

Because of that, mental health in the rural communities has been getting more attention from the health community in recent years and Vidmar said that’s increasingly important to her program

“We need to make ourselves known, we need to erase the stigma (attached to mental health issues) and let people know it’s OK to reach out,” she said. “You can’t be expected to do this without help, and that’s why we’re here.

JOURNAL-ADVOCATE FILE PHOTO

Workers harvest sugar beets on a farm north of Sterling in 2016 Vibration from farm machinery can wear badly on the operator’s hands, arms and shoulders over time

in the country.

Happy to milk with her honey

Mary Kraft's plan was to leave dairy life far behind. Instead, she and husband Chris have built Quail Ridge Dairy from the ground up.

By Zant Reyez reyez@prairiemountainmedia com

Mary Kraft is a fourth-generation dairy farmer who, along with her husband Chris, owns Badger Creek Farm and Quail Ridge Dairy in Fort Morgan.

The couple took over Badger Creek in 1988 and opened Quail Ridge in 2007, with both being under the umbrella of Kraft Family Dairies. Mary said Quail Ridge was first a green field site, which means, “it was a big barren pasture.”

“A big nothing,” she continued. “No irrigation, no nothing. So, we built the whole thing.”

After taking over Badger Creek, the couple had 240 cows in the beginning Half of the cows were already on the dairy at the time of purchase and the other half they bought from her parent’s dairy farm located outside of Denver.

“Overnight, we had 240 (cows), she said. “We grew from the 240 (cows) to today where we’re milking about 6,500 (cows).”

According to Mary, her cows each produce 11 gallons of milk per day, which equals a rolling herd average (RHA) of 32,000 pounds of milk per cow, per year. Milking takes place three times a day, with no days off, with the only excep-

KRAFT » PAGE 21

quality milk according

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARY KRAFT

Mary and Chris Kraft (middle and right) stand in one of five stall barns. Quality feed and care are what makes for

to Mary.

tion when the cow is in her last two months of pregnancy.

However, all the milk produced, the vast acreage, and the high-end equipment maintaining the farm wasn’t originally her life plan Even though she was born and raised in the dairy livelihood, she once had aspirations of letting her words paint sceneries with nouns and vowels and put the aroma, and the daily grind, of the dairy farm far behind her.

“I was trying really hard to never get back on a dairy (farm) ever, ever, ever again,” she explained. “Then I met him (Chris) and I decided I liked him a lot, so here I am and I’m happy about it, but it’s not where I thought it was going to go.”

Before operating two dairies in Fort Morgan, Mary, and Chris attended Colorado State University.

Mary was pursuing her journalism degree, while Chris worked towards his animal science degree.

Chris, whose parents were missionaries, was raised in the Re-

public of South Africa. His parents arrived there soon after his first birthday Since they were on different degree tracks and life-

wise, the two didn’t meet in a classroom; they didn’t meet at a bar in Old Town Fort Collins they met while in the CSU Polo Club

“I had joined the Polo Club thinking there would be rich men with horses,” she recalled. “He had joined the Polo Club thinking there would be rich women with horses. Both of us were right about men and women being there. The rich part, both of us were wrong. Neither of us had a pot to piss in.”

After hitting it off over polo, the couple started envisioning their future, but what they saw was that the urban growth of Denver was going to hinder the growth of Mary’s family farm, so they began looking elsewhere for dairy farmland. That search led them to find Badger Creek. Mary’s family farm is now run by her nephew and was made a homestead in 1906.

Mary said before they purchased it from Dwight Miller, Badger Creek was gifted to Morgan Community College, serving as a teaching college for several years. Their house on the dairy has a projection room where classes used to be held.

When it comes to knowledge about dairy farms, Mary could lead any class at MCC or CSU from how a whole cotton seed is digested in the cow’s first stomach

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARY KRAFT

A midwife puts a newborn upright on one of the Kraft Dairy Farms. According to Mary, each cow produces 11gallons of milk per day.

to the technology she uses that details everything about every cow on her farms

The cotton seed is a tiny black seed that’s leftover from cotton puffs in the South All the fibers are taken off the puff to make shirts or cotton products, with the seed remaining

“Any cotton shirt that you have, a cow probably has the leftovers from that,” she said.

She said the seed is one of the newer foods she feeds to her cows. A cow, Kraft explained, is a ruminant with four stomachs. Once the cow eats the seed, she puts it into her first stomach where it soaks in enzymes. Once it’s soaked long enough, the cow coughs it up and chews the now squishy substance, which allows her to pop open the seed to unlock prime nourishment such as energy and fat.

“It’s a superfood,” she said of the seed.

Along with the cotton seed, hay, corn, and corn silage are also fed

to the cows. They’re fed three times a day, but Mary likes to entice her cows to eat more. A tractor with a tire tied to the front of it drives around every two hours to push the feed up to the cows.

Having the cows fed prevents gas from building up in one of their stomachs If gas fills one of the stomachs, it goes to the belly which “kinks things off” like a garden hose That will kill the belly tissue, she said

“If we keep her full, that never happens,” Mary explained.

Electric identification is used when it comes to knowing every detail about each cow. A collar is placed around each cow’s neck, which serves as a transponder. The device feeds information such as how much milk the cow produced at her last milking to her body temperature to see if there’s any deviation in her milk output. All that information is right at Mary’s disposal.

Even though she didn’t want to continue on the dairy path, life put her back on it. Even though she did her best to get off the dairy farm to go see the world, she got to see the world thanks to dairy farming

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARY KRAFT THE FORT MORGAN TIMES

has visited other farms in Morgan County, Colorado, The Netherlands, and Germany to garner knowledge about what others are doing on farms near and far.

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CSU AgNext cattle emissions research employs public-private partnerships

By Jeff Rice jerice@prairiemountainmedia.com

“Innovation comes from failure, so part of our process is to fail as fast as we can, because the faster we fail, the faster we get to the 2 percent of solutions that actually work.”

That’s Dr. Kim Stackhouse-Lawson describing one of the ways AgNext is finding solutions to age-old challenges faced by livestock producers.

Stackhouse-Lawson is the director of AgNext, a collaborative effort between Colorado State University, ag-related businesses and producers to focus laser-like on issues that may stand between today’s producers and the sustainability they all seek. Presently, the program is working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cattle cow burps.

While beef and dairy cattle in the United States contribute just a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, it is a problem faced by livestock producers the world over.

“We’ve actually been working on these emissions, especially on methane, for a lot longer than people realize,” Stackhouse-Lawson said “When cattle release methane, it is lost as energy and that’s something we want to prevent ”

AgNext is doing that with a complex system of measurements taken with some of the most sophisticated equipment, with a price tag of $1.3 million. Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, C-Lock, Inc., Midwest PMS and Rabo Agrifinance paid for the machines that measure gas emissions from cattle. That’s an important part of the collaboration because no entity can solve the problems alone.

“The program was born of a need to meet challenges that academia can’t solve alone and that production agriculture can’t solve alone,” Stackhouse-Lawson said

A lot of successful farmers and ranchers are willing to experi-

retrieve treats.

ment on their own but results can be inconclusive and inconsistent CSU can offer rigorously controlled scientific experimentation by highly trained researchers, but often work is done in an academic bubble. Partners like Five Rivers, Farm Credit Services and Safeway, to name just a few, belong to an Industry Innovation Working Group that provides information and insight from the private sector. The program uses the university’s livestock research facility at CSU’s Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center just south of Wellington near Interstate 25.

Stackhouse-Lawson has six tenure-tracked faculty on her AgNext team and is hoping to hire several more All have a broad base of expertise over many disciplines and

JEFF RICE JOURNAL-ADVOCATE

Gas-measuring machines measure greenhouse emissions from cattle then the animals put their heads in to

CSU PHOTO

Dr Caravallo talks to students during one of the workshops presented by the AgNext program

AgNext

FROM PAGE 24

each has a deep knowledge of a specific subject.

The timelines on which AgNext works might seem strange to anyone familiar with university research For one thing, the research cycle goes far beyond the typical two years, or however long it takes a PhD candidate to complete their dissertation Stackhouse-Lawson said some solutions take several years to find, so AgNext works on an “as long as it takes” deadline. Thus the need to “fail fast” or find out what doesn’t work as quickly as possible.

Another difference is that the data is discussed with stakeholders as it is being gathered. Processes and methods that fail are disseminated as well as the successes. If the team can help prevent other scientists from making the mistakes they’ve made, they can more quickly determine if a strategy is practical.

“It’s getting the data out to the user the farmer or rancher, or

the feedlot operator in real time, so they can add that to their knowledge,” she said.

To that end, Stackhouse-Lawson and her faculty work hard at keeping private sector collaborators en-

gaged in the process.

“It’s important to build a level of trust between the researchers and the producers,” she said. “We want to develop a culture (wherein) when we’re sharing information,

there’s this notion of engagement, which means we listen to and we share information with our stakeholders.”

Then there is the emotional com-

JEFF RICE JOURNAL-ADVOCATE

The AgNext program is housed on CSU’s ARDEC campus south of Wellington off of Interstate 25.

AgNext

FROM PAGE 25

ponent, and that’s not a small matter. CSU’s researchers know full well that we humans are driven by emotion, and few people are as emotionally committed to their vocation as farmers and ranchers While there are those willing to experiment and “think outside the box,” many are committed to family tradition and, in some cases, even antiquated notions of what works. If the AgNext scientists can show producers that their information can be trusted, the producers will be more apt to adopt the new information and change their methods accordingly.

Collaboration extends beyond Colorado as well. AgNext will use some equipment on loan from Kansas State University, and the team is swapping information with other researchers as far away as University of California at Davis and Washington State University and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

The work AgNext has done so far has changed some of the ways the research is being done Most of what’s known about greenhouse gas emissions from cattle comes from laboratories where cattle are confined and measured. But confining animals in a lab setting reduces the amount they eat, thus giving a deceptively low measurement of the gases they emit. And it’s a tight fit, so only a few head can be measured at a time.

At ARDEC, AgNext measures 180 cattle in pens and could measure up to 200 animals at one

AGNEXT » PAGE 27

for cattle in the pasture

Dr Pedro Caravallo and Dr Kim Stackhouse-Lawson pose in front of

sensing machine

AgNext

FROM PAGE 26

time. The toughest measurement to take is when cattle are grazing, but that’s important because when they’re grazing on grass, ruminants emit 70 percent of the gas they release over their lifetime

While they search for answers, the researchers are uncovering even more questions For instance, why do seemingly identical animals produce different results? How much of an animal’s gas emission is from feed and how much is from genetics? Do different breeds produce reliably similar results?

Answering these questions will take years, if not decades, of research and analysis. Papers will be written and data will be shared and, along the way, there will be gleaming moments of discovery of those things that actually work.

“We have the largest research facility in the U.S. for measuring greenhouse gas emissions from livestock,” Stackhouse-Lawson said “We’ll find the answers ”

SCREENSHOT

Dr. Kim Stackhouse-Lawson explains the mission of the AgNext program in this screen grab of a video on the program’s website.

JEFF RICE JOURNAL-ADVOCATE

Readouts of gas emissions from cattle can be displayed on a smart phone as the animal is being measured.

Proclamation, new legislation highlight Colorado Agriculture Day at the Capitol

Governor signs loan program bill; Lt. Gov. and Ag Commissioner recognize industry, challenges

By Jeff Rice jerice@prairiemountainmedia.com

Flanked by FFA students and representatives of Colorado agricultural community, Lt. Gov. Diane Primavera on March 22 issued a proclamation making the day Colorado Agriculture Day.

Meanwhile, Gov. Jared Polis was signing Senate Bill 23-050, titled the Eligibility for Agricultural Future Loan Program The bill changes the definitions of “eli-

gible business” and “eligible farmer or rancher” under the Colorado agricultural future loan program to specify that:

• Eligible businesses include entities that are currently in operation and ones that will be in operation;

• Eligible businesses and eligible uses for the loan include businesses that conduct agricultural processing or ones that develop or manufacture technology designed to benefit farmers and ranchers; and

• Eligible farmers and ranchers include farmers and ranchers that currently own or operate or will own or operate a farm or ranch.

The bill, which also extends the program indefinitely, was sponsored in the House by Reps Richard Holtorf, who represents north- east Colorado, and Karen McCormick, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee

“I’m very glad to be on SB23050,” Holtorf said in a statement following the signing. “This bill promotes agriculture and agribusiness in the State of Colorado by allowing businesses related to agriculture to participate in loan programs administered through (the Colorado Department of Agriculture).”

Primavera and Colorado Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg both referenced SB 23-050 in their remarks during the proclamation presentation.

The lieutenant governor reminded the small crowd of her own Colorado roots, having grown up on a farm near Joes, in southern Yuma County She acknowledged the importance of agriculture to the state’s economy

“Everyone here knows that agriculture is an essential economic industry in our state with nearly 40,000 farms and ranches, nearly 200,000 people employed and $50 billion in economic output,” she said. “But it’s also a way of life for so many of our neighbors, and part of who we are as Coloradoans. The earliest days of our state are intricately linked to agricul-

ture, and it’s Colorado agriculture that puts food on our tables That’s why it’s important to our administration that we continue working to support our Colorado farmers and ranchers to help them succeed.

Commissioner Greenberg talked about the challenges facing producers and how the Colorado Department of Agriculture needs input from those producers to help find solutions.

“We’ve been working on programs and policies that are proactive and prepare us for a drier, more challenging future,” she said. “Thinking ahead now is critical to making sure agriculture can continue to thrive in Colorado. Colorado’s agricultural communities are full of problem solvers, innovators, and proactive thinkers who see the effects of a changing world every day ”

The proclamation, signed by Gov Jared Polis, credited agriculture with generating $47 billion in economic activity annually, helping to feed the world and contributing to national security.

“(A)griculture plays a preeminent role in the daily life of every Coloradan, and will continue to be of importance in the future progress and prosperity of our state’s economy,” read one section.

COURTESY PHOTO

State Rep. Richard Holtorf, second from left, looks over the shoulder of Gov. Jared Polis as he signs SB23-050, Eligibility For Agricultural Future Loan Program on Colorado Ag Day, March 22, 2023.

COMMUNITY, CULTURE, AND ECONOMY in

Fort Morgan

There’s nothing ordinary about Marlin Eisenach

Extension agent has been dispensing ag knowledge in Morgan County for 36 years

By Zant Reyez reyez@ prairiemountainmedia com

“I just don’t want to be ordinary,” said Marlin Eisenach in his quaint office at the Colorado State University Morgan County Extension office. “You know what I mean? I want to do things that challenge me and make me a bet-

ter person and a more knowledgeable person.”

If you ask anyone in the agriculture scene who the most knowledgeable agriculture resource in Morgan County is, they’ll most likely tell you Eisenach is the person to go to a walking textbook.

For 36 years, Eisenach has worked in extension which as he explained comes from a land grant university. In this case, it’s

CSU. He said the goal is for information to come from CSU to producers and people in the agriculture realm in Morgan County.

“We’re just a link from Colorado State University. We have access to use the faculty at CSU,” he said. “If I have questions, there’s a specialist there that can help me answer questions. We want to make sure we give unbiased information to our clientele. That’s the main pur-

pose of this.”

Eisenach, a 1961 Fort Morgan High School graduate, attended CSU after high school and graduated with two bachelor’s degrees, one in both animal science and agronomy. After CSU, he returned to his family farm, located five miles south of Fort Morgan. Eisenach farmed there until he got his extension job. The farm, which is still in his family, grew corn, alfalfa, hay, sugar beets, and small grains

All of that, however, is just the topsoil in his fertile career For more than 30 years, he’s served as a livestock superintendent at the Colorado State Fair and the National Western Stock Show. He taught sheep production courses at CSU from 1989-2015. He’s also been a prominent advocate for 4-H and FFA.

Everything he’s done to tend and

SLADE RAND THE FORT MORGAN TIMES

Marlin Eisenach works as an extension agent in the Colorado State University Morgan County Extension Office in Fort Morgan

KATIE ROTH THE FORT MORGAN TIMES Morgan County Extension Agent Marlin Eisenach models a sturdy sled during the Morgan County Cattleman’s Association auction.

FROM PAGE 30

foster his passion for seeding new information about agriculture and livestock into people is rooted in his history of farming on his family’s land He said, during that time, he always thought that his calling was to give back as much as he could to agriculture and enrich others’ knowledge about it

“Number one: I’ve been blessed,” he reflected. “The Lord has blessed me in a lot of ways to allow me the opportunities.”

“I like to be a leader,” he continued. “You know what I mean? To be a leader, you’re going to make decisions that are going to upset people. But you have to do it for the betterment of the program not the betterment of you or the betterment of individuals that want to have some favoritism. Especially showing livestock and stuff like that.”

When it comes to judging livestock, Eisenach has been everywhere. From the Morgan County

DOUG LARKEY SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Extension Agent Marlin Eisenach was very impressed that this young lady passed first grade because he spent four years in first grade, or so he joked during the Open Class Bottle Calf, Lamb, Kid Show at the 2022Morgan County Fair

Fair to the Louisiana State Fair, where he judged 800 lambs in one day, his love and knowledge for his craft have taken him across the country and ocean

Twelve years ago, he flew to Kenya for a one-month stay He was there via CSU, the USDA, and the Kenyan government to work with local dairy producers to improve their milk production.

“They used a lot of artificial insemination, so they had some pretty nice dairy cattle,” he said. “I was shocked.”

He said he was the first person to judge a dairy show in the country while he was there. It was the

first time a dairy show took place in the country according to Eisenach, and he called the experience “a sight to see.” Another paramount takeaway was the way their people utilized the vast land in Kenya.

“Those that lived out on the land, they utilized every square inch of their soil for food production,” he said

However, the trip was not only an eye-opening experience through an agricultural lens but a humanitarian one, too Eisenach witnessed people with extreme sickness and undernourishment lining the streets he walked in the country and having military protection outside his hotel room, those experiences brought out an appreciation for his home country.

“When I went over there and

KATIE ROTH THE FORT MORGAN TIMES Morgan County Extension Agent Marlin Eisenach (top left) opens the gate for a Mutton Bustin’ participant at the 2021Brush Rodeo.

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Dr. Keith Belk (right), Department Head Animal Sciences congratulates Marlin Eisenach (left) for receiving the 2023Livestock Leader award.

Eisenach

FROM PAGE 32

spent 30 days, I was so happy to get back and realize how lucky we are in the United States of America,” he stated “Granted, we all see problems, but listen, if people went over there for 30 days and saw what I did, it’d be an eye-opener ”

Sitting back in his chair after recalling that trip, he glanced around his office that’s strewn with awards, plaques, and pictures of his grandchildren at their livestock showings. His newest award is the CSU Livestock Leader award. It recognizes outstanding individuals for their contribution to the livestock industry. The reception for it was held this last January.

“Marlin has been a mainstay in Colorado Agriculture and youth development for over 35 years as a volunteer and an Extension agent,” said CSU animal sciences department head Keith Belk in the award’s press release “His commitment to and passion for youth with interests in livestock production are second to none His commitment to CSU is undeniable and his efforts to recruit Colorado youth into CSU programs have had a huge impact.”

Other awards are adorning the room and as humbled as he is by them, he doesn’t mind them too much. The reward he gets is teaching youths in 4-H and FFA about life skills that come with livestock

judging. It comes from teaching anyone raising livestock that quality water, a clean pen, and quality animal comfort are key factors in rising quality livestock.

His reward comes from keeping tabs on the growing dairy industry in Morgan County which now has 45,000 milking cows Just like the end of an honest day’s work on the farm, his reward is knowing he’s put hard work every day into everything he does. So when the day comes when he fully puts his feet up and retires, he can look back fondly at his not-so-ordinary life.

“The thing is hard work, dedication,” he lays out. “How many people get up in the morning dreading to go to work? Not me.”

KATIE ROTH THE FORT MORGAN TIMES Marlin Eisenach, the CSU Extension Agent in charge of livestock, asks each participant a few questions. One girl takes him up on the offer to sing a song for the audience as her goat hides behind the chair.

Auctioneer Chuck Miller, right, and CSU Livestock Extension Agent Marlin Eisenach, left, at the Morgan County Cattlemen’s 80th Annual Banquet, just as the auction is about to begin

Sterling FFA spreading the word about the importance of agriculture

Chapter's busy schedule has included conferences, fundraisers and FFA Week celebration

By Callie Jones cjones@ prairiemountainmedia.com

Sterling High School’s FFA chapter has had a busy few months attending conferences, raising funds and spreading the word about the importance of agriculture.

In December the chapter took 38 members to attend the District XVI FFA Leadership Conference at Northeastern Junior College that was put on by the district officer team which includes SHS students Grace Peterson and Connie Gassaway. At the conference, students attended various workshops and learned about leadership.

That same month they also held their annual cornhole tournament. FFA members were responsible for recruiting several sponsors for the event and shop students made the cornhole boards with the sponsors’ logos on them.

“We had a pretty good turnout for that,” said Alie Sator, chapter vice president

In January, several Sterling FFA members made the trip to Denver to attend the National Western Stock Show’s FFA Day While there, they were able to walk around and see the various exhibits, as well as watch the cattle show and the rodeo.

The following month, the chapter celebrated FFA Week with various dress-up days for their classmates to participate in and different activities, including an FFA member lock-in, where members got to play games and just hang out with each other; Drive Your Tractor to School Day and Morning Ag Greetings, which had FFA

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Sterling High School FFA members are pictured with the winners of the chapter’s annual cornhole tournament fundraiser Dec. 10, 2022.

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Sterling High School art teacher Tiffany Mulford is all smiles after getting pied in the face for an FFA fundraiser to raise money for the David Walsh Cancer Center, part of the chapter’s FFA Week celebrations

COURTESY PHOTO

Sterling FFA member Hunter Koester cooks up hashbrowns for a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast that was part of the chapter’s FFA Week celebrations

Merino FFA revs up competitive drive

Members preparing for various Leadership Development Events

By Merino High School FFA

The Merino FFA chapter is excited to announce that they are currently practicing and preparing for several Leadership Development Events (LDEs), including parliamentary procedure, prepared and extemporaneous speaking. In addition, several members will be competing in career development events (CDEs).

The Merino FFA chapter has a long history of success in these events, and this year they are determined to continue that tradition. The teams have been working hard to perfect their skills and will be putting their best foot forward

at the upcoming competitions.

In addition to their preparations for the LDEs and CDEs, the Merino FFA chapter recently had a successful FFA Week The Logan County Cattlewomen provided their support during the week, and the Merino FFA chapter prepared and served breakfast to the faculty at Merino Schools as a way of showing their appreciation for all that they do. The elementary students also made butter with our FFA members and toured our barnyard.

“We are grateful to the Logan County Cattlewomen for their support and for helping us make FFA Week a success,” said advisor Todd Everhart. “Our students had a great time serving breakfast to the faculty, and it was a great way to show our appreciation for all they do.”

The Merino FFA chapter is

COURTESY PHOTO

Merino High School FFA members prepare pancakes to serve to faculty at Merino School as a way of showing appreciation for all that they do as part of the chapter’s FFA Week celebrations

MERINO » PAGE 36

Merino

FROM PAGE 35

proud to announce that four of their members Monte Cook, Cooper Dewitt, Baylie Erickson, and Tobi-Beth Erickson have recently completed and submitted their state FFA degrees for approval This is a significant accom-

plishment and a testament to the dedication and hard work of these students. Their accomplishments demonstrate the importance of perseverance and hard work.

In addition to this achievement, the Merino FFA chapter has also been working to bring learning to real life Recently, several professionals from the community visited the school to speak to the students about their careers and

provide real-world insights. Andy Bartlett from Trimble, Andy Piel and Jessica Lebsock from Premier Farm Credit, and Derek Smith from Apex Electric all shared their knowledge and experience with the students.

“The visits from these professionals were incredibly valuable for our students,” said Everhart “They provided valuable insights into different industries and careers and

helped our students connect what they are learning in the classroom to the real world.”

The Merino FFA chapter is committed to providing its members with a well-rounded education that prepares them for success in their future careers These recent accomplishments and experiences are a testament to the dedication and hard work of both the students and the community supporters

COURTESY PHOTO

Jessica Lebsock from Premier Farm Credit helps Merino High School FFA students with a worksheet during a visit to their class

COURTESY PHOTO

Merino High School FFA members listen to a presentation by Derek Smith of Apex Electric

COURTESY PHOTO

Merino FFA members listen to remarks from Andy Bartlett from Trimble during his visit to their classroom

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Collaborating with local, national and international partners, CCPC aims to expand the corn industry in all its forms, from grain corn and animal protein to ethanol and distiller’s dried grain with solubles (DDGS). By focusing on you, the

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Colorado Corn Promotion Council

FROM PAGE 34

members sharing agriculture facts with fellow students; and a teacher appreciation breakfast On the final day of the celebration, they held a Pie-In-The-Face Fundraiser and in exchange for buying tickets, SHS students got a chance to pie their favorite teacher in the face Money raised from this fundraiser was donated to the David Walsh Cancer Center, in Sterling.

Earlier this month, the meats evaluation, food science, floriculture, horse evaluation and veterinary science teams traveled to Aims Community College, in Fort Lupton, to compete in the first Career Development Event contest of the year.

Also, on Saturday, March 11, the chapter held its annual Northeastern Colorado Stock Show, a prospect show for cattle, at the Logan County Fairgrounds. Top award winners were: Trista Lebsack, champion market beef and champion senior showmanship; Tyeson Fox, champion breeding beef; Trotter Thomas, champion intermediate showmanship; Cade Kroeker, champion junior showmanship; Bristal Weyeman, reserve champion breeding beef and third place market beef; Colton Kroeker, reserve champion market beef and third place intermediate showmanship; Garrett Scholz, third place breeding beef; Tyla Thomas, reserve champion senior showmanship; Tessa Delmore, third place senior showmanship; Taya Stromberger, reserve champion intermediate showmanship; Camden Gross, reserve champion interme-

Sterling High School FFA members Jalyssa Maker, Tyla Thomas, Jaden Martinez, Emma Stumpf and Connie Gassaway serve up food at a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast that was part of the chapter’s FFA Week celebrations

diate showmanship; and Hannah Fox, third place intermediate showmanship.

The last couple of months has also brought special visitors In February, Andy Steinert from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service showed the greenhouse production class different soil structures and taught them how to properly perform a soil texture test. That same month, Matt Scott from Eastern Wyoming College spent the day with SHS ag students promoting the precision agriculture degree and showing them several different drones the program uses.

The FFA chapter has plenty to keep them busy for the remainder

STERLING » PAGE 39 American

MikeYarrington~970-580-9481

ToddCurlee~970-520-1437

COURTESY PHOTO

Sterling High School FFA member

Alie Sator arrives at school with her tractor on Drive Your Tractor to School Day, part of the chapter’s

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Sterling High School FFA members

Ayla Baney and Elle Sonnenberg

greet guests at the chapter’s annual cornhole tournament fundraiser

Dec 10, 2022

COURTESY PHOTO

Sterling High School FFA member

Dakota Fickes is pictured with his tractor on Drive Your Tractor to School Day, part of the chapter’s FFA Week celebrations

COURTESY PHOTO

Sterling

FROM PAGE 38

of the year too, including its annual oyster fry and auction, set for Monday, April 3, in the Wally Post Gym at SHS A dinner of Rocky Mountain oysters and chicken strips, donated by Nutrien Ag Solutions, will be served from 5 to 7 p m and an auction will immediately follow dinner. There will be both a silent and live auction, as well as a hired hand auction where FFA members will be auctioned off in pairs to do labor for a certain amount of hours.

Tickets are being sold right now. Pre-paid tickets cost $10 for adults and $8 for kids ages 7-12, tickets will also be available at the door for $12 for adults and $10 for kids ages 7-12. All profits will go to the FFA members to help them attend conferences, conventions, competitions and different events.

Being involved in FFA has taught the students a lot.

“I learned how to work on an officer team, being able to work with other people and also advance myself as a person and grow my leadership skills to be able to lead our chapter and the students in it,” Sator said.

Jaden Martinez, an executive committee member on the officer team, has also learned how to work as a team and built his social leadership skills.

“With being an officer you’re held to a higher standard, so you have to set a good example. I’ve kind of learned to work with all of the FFA kids and just help everyone try to benefit I’ve also learned a lot

about ag, more than I knew before, this year just has really taught me a lot about animals, crops, everything in agriculture,” he said.

Grace Peterson, the chapter’s secretary, said she too has learned a lot about working with others on a team and also how to share about agriculture with other people.

All three say FFA has definitely helped prepare them for their future. While Sator would like to do something in agriculture, possibly be a beef nutritionist or a large animal veterinarian, Peterson isn’t really sure what her future career plans are but says FFA has definitely been a way to broaden her horizons. Martinez isn’t sure of his future plans either, possibly ag law, but he considers FFA a way to open doors for him for whatever he decides he wants to do in the future.

To keep up to date on all of Ster-

COURTESY PHOTO

Sterling High School FFA member Alie Sator hosts the biweekly FFA Round Up radio show

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Sterling FFA members Haley Emmerson and Ava Reeves cook up pancakes for a Teacher Appreciation Breakfast that was part of the chapter’s FFA Week celebrations.

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Sterling FFA members enjoy the National Western Stock Show

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Sterling High School FFA members are pictured at a Career Development Event contest at Aims Community College in Fort Lupton March 3, 2023.

Economist: Tight labor market but good commodity prices

CSU's Stephen Kuntz

By Jeff Rice jerice@prairiemountainmedia.com

It’s no secret in agriculture that every silver lining hides a cloud, and economist Stephen Kuntz seemed to confirm that adage Thursday during his presentation at the Colorado Farm Show in Greeley.

Kuntz, a professor and extension economist for Colorado State University, forecast continued

strong prices for U S commodities in 2023 At the same time, however, the prices of everything from parts to fertilizer will remain just as strong.

One of the biggest problems for ag producers, Kuntz said, is the tight labor market. According to Fortune Magazine, the U.S. labor pool is smaller than most people thought, and for a variety of reasons.

“(A)n unexpected wave of retirements, a drop in legal immigration, the loss of workers to COVID-19 deaths and illnesses (all played a part,)” Fortune said. “The result, though, is that employers are having to compete for a smaller pool of workers and to offer steadily higher pay to attract them It’s a trend that

could fuel wage growth and high inflation well into 2023.”

Kuntz echoed that theme during his presentation

“How many of you are still trying to hire people?” he asked the small crowd A few hands went up “How many of you have given up trying?” More hands went up. “You can’t find what you need, can’t pay ’em enough, can’t get out of ’em what you pay ’em for,” he summarized.

Fuel prices have moderated some since they spiked last summer, and while equipment parts seem to be flowing again, and parts prices are starting to come down, the supply chain isn’t yet fully recovered from the pandemic. Kuntz said there are some suppliers that are only working 40-hour weeks, although they could make much more revenue by putting on extra shifts. He hinted that, again the labor market may be the reason.

The war in Ukraine has caused natural gas prices to spike and grain exports from there to drop by nearly 30%; persistent drought in Argentina has devastated that country’s corn and soybean crops; and drought in the U S means tighter hay stocks going forward. Add to that a smaller than anticipated wheat yield last summer and a beef cattle inventory that’s expected to be lower than a year ago and commodity prices for U.S. farmers and ranchers should re-

main strong.

Kuntz ventured that corn prices would remain in the $6 to $7-perbushel range in 2023, wheat at between $7 and $8 per bushel and hay prices anywhere from $150 a ton for low-quality to $375 for excellent quality

In the beef industry, where economists are awaiting the Jan. 31 release of the USDA’s beef cattle inventory, Kuntz pegged fed cattle fluctuating between $147 and $160 per hundredweight, with the higher prices probably occurring in the second and fourth quarters. Feeder cattle and calves will lead the industry, however, with 700- to 800-lb. feeders bringing as much as $188 per hundredweight by the third quarter and $191 by year end.

In the dairy industry, where dairymen have been crossbreeding beef and dairy cattle for several years, Kuntz said he sees milk prices between $18 75 and $24 per hundredweight, with the highest prices bookending the year in the first and fourth quarters

Kuntz pointed out that his prognostications are only as good as the information he had Thursday morning.

“I have been wrong before, and I will be wrong again,” he said. “Anything can happen and cause us to re-think our numbers. But the trends look good. The economy is strong.”

cites a long list of factors that will affect U.S. producers

JEFF RICE JOURNAL-ADVOCATE

The big machines were the star of the show again at the three-day Colorado Farm Show in Greeley

Attention History Buffs, Collectors and Dealers...

The 57th Annual Colorado Gun Collectors Association Gun Show Takes Place this May!

If you ’ re a history buff or have an interest in firearms, then the Colorado Gun Collectors Association is definitely worth checking out.They have been in the business for almost six decades, and their knowledge and passion for historic firearms are unparalleled

Their annual show is a must-visit for anyone interested in firearms, attracting collectors and dealers from all over the world With over 1500 tables in 2015, there’s no shortage of unique and rare firearms to see and appreciate Apart from the show, the CGCA is a great resource for anyone looking to expand their knowledge on historic firearms. With over 500 members, there’s a wealth of experience and knowledge to tap into, and the CGCA is always happy to welcome new members.

One of the standout features of the CGCA is their commitment to ethical standards They uphold and promote the highest ethical standards in all their activities, ensuring that the historic firearms they deal with are treated with respect and care

The CGCA is also involved in charitable and volunteer work, giving back to the Colorado community in a meaningful way It’s clear that they take their role in promoting and preserving the history of firearms seriously.

In short, if you ’ re interested in historic firearms then the s to w, s, cal able e heck hey be

Volunteer service at National Western Stock Show was richly rewarding

A first-person account from a rookie volunteer

By Jeff Rice jerice@prairiemountainmedia.com

It was nearly nine o’clock at night, I was cold, exhausted and hungry. I was also pretty pleased with myself.

For the past four hours I’d ferried people between the National We s t er n S t o ck Show’s Hall of Education and the new Stockyards Complex and points in between. Using an ancient gas-powered, six-person golf cart, I’d made the round trip countless times, saving my passengers long walks through mud, slush and snow Prior to that I’d spent several hours in the Activity Pavilion helping with Top Hogs of the West, one of the many side shows that runs during the Stock Show.

All the years that I’ve covered agriculture for Colorado newspapers, I’ve been at a loss as to how to cover something as massive and as important as the National Western Stock Show; nearly three weeks of rodeos, horse shows, vendor displays, fiddling and auctioneer con-

tests, and myriad other activities. Because of budget constraints, it’s not possible to just camp out in Denver and wander around the grounds looking for stories every day.

In memory of Chad Lauer Welcome farmers and ranchers!

It was Guy McEndaffer, whom I interviewed shortly after his appointment as Logan County Fair Manager, who gave me the idea of volunteering for the Stock Show. McEndaffer is on the Stock Show

River Station provides a friendly and clean environment along with great customer service.They offer Hunt Brothers Pizza, Lauer Krauts, a wide variety of cold drinks, fountain drinks and coffee They also have a great selection of a wide variety of snacks.

River Station Customers are what make their business run.They appreciate them very much and are very thankful for all of them over the years

Board of Directors, and when I mentioned to him that I’d like to get closer to the Stock Show, he suggested signing up as a volunteer.

So, when the call went out in Octo-

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW NWSS volunteers help unload hay for the horse paddock during the NWSS Horse Show Volunteers perform countless chores during the Stock Show, allowing exhibitors and staff to focus on their performance and the stock show’s operations

Jeff Rice

ber 2022 for volunteers, I signed up.

There have been things in my life that I’ve entered into that were, at first, overwhelming and chaotic and raised in my mind questions about my judgement Enlisting in the Army and enrolling in graduate school were two such experiences; both taught me that sometimes you just keep your mouth shut, your ears open, and ask only one question: “Where do I go now?” Being a Stock Show volunteer was just like that. There was an orientation dinner, but I left there less oriented than before, only because the Stock Show is so big it can’t be explained in one evening. That was followed by a day of training in which I basically learned that I’d be shown what to do and how to do it as needed.

So when I showed up that first weekend, I knew only where I was supposed to be and when I was supposed to be there. As it turned out, that was enough

The first thing on my arrival the first Friday, I was issued my snazzy Western-style black vest with “NW Volunteer” embroidered in red, front and back It was a uniform, of sorts, and people look a you differently when you’re in uniform. For one thing, they think you really know what you’re doing.

I didn’t, but I learned fast.

I learned that cowboy boots are great for riding horses but not for walking three or four miles a day on concrete and pavement. By the end of the first day, as they say in the infantry, my dogs were barkin’ loud and long. By the second

day I’d abandoned my Justins for a brand new pair of lace-up work boots bought from a vendor and my feet thanked me for it.

The work was uncomplicated, essentially consisting of helping people stay out of the way of the livestock. During the llama show, the

animals are led from the paddock through a vendor area and into the arena; my job was to keep people out of the way as the llamas were led through, for the safety of both people and animals. It was easy work but it meant being on my feet for several hours.

There were the fiddling championships, in which the contestants were ushered in and out of a door used by the public; the draft horse competition in which access to the paddock had to be blocked when

teams were passing through, and the trained pig show, where the hogs and their trainer entered and exited through the crowd.

And then there were the golf carts.

One of the biggest improvements to the Stock Show grounds is the new Stockyard Complex and Event Center, which replaced the century-old pens just west of the main complex. While the new complex is beautiful and well-designed,

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW

Scott Nauman, guest relations liaison, gives a guest directions during the 2023National Western Stock Show The red vest identifies Nauman as a team leader whose expertise is valued buy show-goers and other volunteers alike VOLUNTEER

it’s about a half-mile hike through mud, ice and snow from the main complex To overcome that, the Stock Show employs two “people hauler” trailers pulled by farm tractors, and a fleet of antiquated six-passenger golf carts to ferry people between the two venues

The golf carts are anything but flashy, but the service they rendered was beyond valuable. I spent three four-hour shifts hauling show-goers between “the hill” and the Stockyard Complex, and points in-between, and every one of my passengers was deeply grateful for the ride. I was especially gratified for the countless times that I saved families the trek either up or down the hill underneath the railroad tracks at Gate 6, with strollers, babies, shopping bags and dogtired kiddoes.

The most fun was joking with my passengers during the trips and dispensing information about the Stock Show, Denver and Colorado At the end of each shift I was cold, hungry and exhausted, but I’ve rarely been happier

According to Kellie Lombardi, Coordinator of Volunteer Services, about 800 volunteers give 30,000 hours of time to the Stock Show Complex each year, and that includes the myriad events that occur at the complex outside of the National Western.

“This volunteer time provides a million-dollar savings, which allows the organization to further its mission,” Lombardi said. “Volunteering for the Stock Show mis-

sion guarantees to bring together all kinds of people from different backgrounds who want to make a difference in our community and state.”

As with anything worthwhile, I got a lot more from my experience than I gave. In exchange for 30 hours of my time I made new friends, learned about llamas and draft horses, and got to spend time among some of the finest people I’ve ever met.

In the words of that great American philosopher Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I’ll be back.”

The job’s not all glamor; here a volunteer picks up pieces of trash that could harm a horse’s hoof in the horse paddock

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW

PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW

Diane Cousins staffs an information booth in the Education Hall. Hundreds of people visit the booths each day, usually asking for directions to a particular event or display.

Agritourism in the sky

Orange Skies Free Fall Center draws thousands from Denver area to Morgan County

By Robin Northrup

For The Times

Over the years, agritourism has grown in popularity not only for sources of income but because of rising curiosity about rural and farm activities. Although states have different definitions of agritourism, Colorado has embraced many different activities to connect residents and visitors with the heritage, natural resources, and culinary experiences of rural areas.

Mike Bohn, owner of Orange Skies Free Fall Center, has brought a new type of agritourism to Fort Morgan: skydiving While enlisted in the Marine Corps, Bohn took his first skydiving lesson and was hooked He continued his training and eventually began competing. After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, he continued to compete and began training elite military personnel and now owns his own skydiving busi-

LELAND PROCELL SPECIAL TO THE TIMES Founder of Orange Skies Free Fall Center, Mike Bohn, completes a tandem sky-dive

LELAND PROCELL SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Sky-divers create a crab-like

over the Morgan County

Skydiving

FROM PAGE 45

ness. He has been skydiving for more than 20 years.

Originally from Lakewood, Bohn has recently built a home in Fort Morgan

“As soon as you break over the hill where the big cell phone towers are, I breathe a sigh of relief I feel a lot more comfortable out here. The people here are a quieter touch, more respectful. I have traveled all around the world and I find Fort Morgan to be pretty nice,” he said.

Bohn is a Marine veteran and National Championship skydiver who has won six U.S. National Champions on the US parachute team.

So, how does a skydiving business qualify as agritourism? The answer: having an ag plane for his business qualifies him to operate under Part 91, which is the section of the Federal Aviation Regulations that provides general operating and flight rules for civil aircraft

Orange Skies Free Fall Center is based out of the Fort Morgan Airport Bohn leases land from the City of Fort Morgan for his 200 by 300-yard landing area

According to Bohn, there may be instances when someone might

land on a neighboring property or you might have to recover a parachute out of a corn or wheat field but the thrill is worth any hiccups

When he first arrived in the area, he introduced himself to the local landowners near the airport, and

over the years, they have become great friends.

“I have the attitude of respecting people’s land,” Bohn said “The land in this area has been owned by generations It has passed through

LELAND PROCELL SPECIAL TO THE TIMES Sky-divers partake in the recent Colorado Head Up Record a sky-diving formation.

LELAND PROCELL SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

A sky-diver comes in for a gentle landing.

someone’s parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. I look up to these people. It’s their dirt, their corn, and their cows. This is serious, this is their life If you don’t have a good relationship with the farmers around the airport, it becomes very difficult to run a business ”

There have been times when Bohn has had to meet with landowners and have them help navigate through fences and across fields to find a parachute. He has even had parachutes delivered to him by the landowners riding up on horseback.

Bohn is also part of the Airport Advisory Board.

“I have so much respect for the airport manager and how much he knows about aviation,” said Bohn. “There are massive resources at this airport.”

This year he will also be working with the airport for the Fort Morgan Fly-In and Air Expo.

Bohn has become involved in

the community and enjoys working with younger people. He hired a couple of local high school students and is teaching them to pack parachutes. He likes to give his staff confidence in what they do, teach them the importance of safety, equipment inspections, and being drug and alcohol-free, and likes to think of himself as a role model His motto is to adapt and overcome

During the summers, you can see the staff of Orange Skies Free Fall Center being ambassadors They know the importance of treating people with respect, picking up trash at the airport or on the way home, being a good person, and serving as an example to others.

If you are a first-time skydiver, you can have the experience while being attached to a tandem skydiving instructor. You will jump from the airplane and freefall before your parachute opens and you glide back to earth.

If you are a professional, they have the best pricing and benefits available in the state. They also have limited gear for rent.

Orange Skies Free Fall Center does approximately 3,000 tan-

dems a year and brings out 6,50010,000 people from Denver and surrounding areas. If you decide that you would like to go skydiving, Orange Skies believes that people don’t ask enough serious questions before making their final decision.

They recommend that prospective divers ask themselves the following questions:

• How long has the company been in business?

• How many jumps have they made?

• What kind of experience do you have?

• What’s the difference between 500 and 10,000 jumps?

These questions are important to Bohn. You can’t work at his business unless you have a minimum of 1,500 jumps. He has staff with 7,000 to 8,000 jumps. He doesn’t have any equipment that is more than two years old and he believes that turbine aircraft are more consistent and increase your safety.

He has invested more than $10,000 in equipment this year. He understands the importance of equipment inspections and being ready for the new season. He has taken people up skydiving from 18

to 96 years old.

“I do everything in my power to make sure that I make this sport as safe as possible. It’s a real thing and most people don’t know to ask these questions,” said Bohn.

During the skydiving season, which is April through December, you can find the Orange Skies hangar filled with people packing parachutes, customers waiting and people watching parachutes fly Packages available also include pictures and videos of your experience They have cameras that are worn on the instructor’s hand or you can have an additional instructor who flies around the customer and the surrounding area recording video.

Call 720-880-8930 and make an appointment to visit the Orange Skies Free Fall Center, located at 23101 State Hwy 52, Fort Morgan, CO 80701. Phone calls are answered 7 days a week. The business is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Monday April to December.

You can learn more about Orange Skies Free Fall Center and its team at https://skydiveorangeskies. com/

Coloradans support state’s agriculture

Some misperceptions persist but overall attitudes are positive toward farms and ranches

By Jeff Rice jerice@ prairiemountainmedia.com

Coloradans overwhelmingly support the state’s massive agricultural industry, although there are some misperceptions about farmers and ranchers.

That’s according to a new public opinion survey conducted by the Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado State University. CDA and CSU have been conducting the survey every five years since 1996

The latest survey shows 98% of respondents agreed that Colorado’s food and ag industry is important to the state’s future economic development; that the presence of ranches, farms, and agriculture is important to the quality of life in Colorado; and that it is important to maintain land and water in Colorado for agricultural purposes.

Colorado Agriculture

Commissioner Kate Greenberg said the survey results show Coloradans want to

buy local products and that they care about where their food comes from.

“This is an incredible opportunity for Colorado agriculture to showcase the diversity of production and people who grow and raise our food and to highlight Colorado ag’s commitment to soil, water and climate stewardship and economic resilience,” Greenberg said. “Favorable public attitude toward agriculture is crucial to the longer-term sustainability of Colorado’s food and ag industry and consumer awareness will help us build new local and regional markets for Colorado producers looking to reach their neighbors ”

According to the survey, more than 90% of Coloradans put agriculture in their top three most important ways Colorado can use its water and 98% believe Colorado’s land and water resources should be used to support efforts to increase food security.

There still are some misperceptions, however,

especially when it comes to livestock. The number of Coloradans who don’t believe farm and ranch animals are treated humanely has grown over the years, from 6% in 2001 to 8% in 2016 and 11% in 2022. This in spite of renewed efforts by the livestock industry to show that treatment of ag animals has improved dramatically over the years.

Genetically modified food plants, called GMOs, are another area of misunderstanding, with 21% of Coloradans believing they’re never safe for consumption Again, that is in spite of efforts of ag advocates to spread the word that there is no scientific evidence that GMOs pose any risk whatsoever to humans who consume them.

On the other hand, large majorities of Coloradans believe that food produced in Colorado is always or usually safe.

Other findings include overwhelming support for developing strong lo-

SURVEY » PAGE 49

food systems (96%) and using public funding to protect soil and water resources (84%). Additionally, 83% of Coloradans reported that knowing a food product was grown or raised in Colorado was likely to influence their purchasing decision when shopping or dining out And more than 85% of Coloradans don’t care whether groceries are labeled as vegan or gluten-free.

Despite fears that Colorado’s expanding metropolitan corridor is a threat to the state’s irrigation water supply and agriculture in general, most Coloradans say they believe it’s important to protect the state’s ag land and water resources. And not just for food security (86%) and for open space and wildlife habitat (86%) but also for maintaining family, cultural and spiritual beliefs (53%) and maintaining Colorado’s western heritage (51%.)

The 2022 survey, completed this fall by independent researcher ETC Institute, surveyed more than 1,100 Coloradans

Greenberg said the findings from the survey help CDA and other agricultural stakeholders understand public perceptions of agriculture in Colorado and provide insights into new and emerging topics. The survey is also intended to help the State and its partners identify topics where increased public engagement could be beneficial to the agricultural industry.

The full report can be found at ag.colorado.gov/markets.

Cattlemen raise scholarship funds

Contributions funded 15 scholarships and two heifer donations in 2022

By Brian Porter bporter@prairiemountainmedia com

Morgan County Cattlemen gathered Feb. 4 to remember Craig Lambley, celebrate Marlin Eisenach and raise funds for scholarships during their 83rd annual banquet.

Lambley, the president of Brush State Bank, which opened in 2015 at Livestock Exchange, was wellknown in agricultural circles and as a supporter of youth agriculture. He died Dec. 4, 2022, as, his obituary read, a “redneck banker cowboy who loved and gave with all he had.”

Eisenach, the longtime Morgan County livestock extension agent, was also celebrating a birthday and Morgan County Cattlemen sang to him and presented him a birthday cake and banner

“It’s always a pleasure to work with the Morgan County Cattlemen’s Association,” Eisenach said.

His son-in-law Dan Kendrick said it is a unique organization in Morgan County which stands above in its support of agriculture.

“This group means a lot to me,” Eisenach said. “They have always helped our youth and I hope we also help our ranchers in Morgan County.”

BEING A CUSTOMER-MEMBER MEANS A LOT THIS YEAR IT PAYS EVEN MORE

It’s no secret that it pays to be a Premier Farm Credit customer-member. This year patronage dividends totaled $6.5 million. Because when we do well, our customers benefit That’s the Premier Farm Credit difference.

The organization provided 15 scholarships to youth in 2022, he said, both for those pursuing ag education and for those who might return to Morgan County in other disciplines. Those scholarship recipients were Bryce Kendrick and Faye Glenda at Northeastern Junior College; Megan Andrews and Selan Gebremeskel at Morgan Community College; Ali-

cia Hilzer, Zoey Sneed and Kathryn Schoonveld at Fort Hays State University; Jayce Lorenzini at Colorado State University; Paige Finegan at West Texas A&M University; Kirsten Dahl at Texas A&M University; Jordan Kendrick and Kamryn Herrera at University of Northern Colorado; Rylee Givens at San Diego State University; and Harley Holdren and Julie Onufrak at Laramie County Community College.

Some of the majors students will be trained in outside of agriculture pursuits include accounting, criminology, law enforcement, nursing, political science and radiology.

The Morgan County Cattlemen’s Association also has a program through which it donates to help youth begin their own cattle herd.

“They’re giving two young people a heifer each year to help them get started in the cattle business,” auctioneer Bryson Miller said. “We need more people in the cattle business ”

April 2023

Thurs, Apr 6th Weigh Cows & Bulls All Breeds Bull Sale

Fri, Apr 7th Feeder/Stocker Sale

Thurs, Apr 13th COMBINED SALE Bred Cow Special

Sat, Apr 15th Hay Sale

Thurs, Apr 20th COMBINED ALE

Thurs, Apr 27th COMBINED SALE

May 2023

Thurs, May 4th COMBINED SALE

Thurs, May 11th COMBINED SALE

Thurs, May 18th COMBINED SALE

Sat, May 20th Hay Sale

Thurs, May 25 h COMBINED SALE

Sale

June 2023

Thurs, June 1s COMBINED SALE

Thurs, June 8th COMBINED SALE

Thurs, June 15th COMBINED SALE

Sat, June 17th Hay Sale

Thurs, June 22nd COMBINED SALE

Thurs, June 29 h COMBINED SALE

Combined Sales – Selling ALL Classes of Cattle & Loose Horses

Thursday Sales Start @ 9am

Every Thursday Breds & Pairs Start @ 1pm

Friday Sales Start @ 10am

Hay Sales Start @ 10am

“This group means a lot to me ... They have always helped our youth and I hope we also help our ranchers in Morgan County.”

Marlin Eisenach, longtime Morgan County livestock extension agent

E S

AWARD-WINNING BUILDER FOR QUALITY & BUILDING DESIGN