ATTENTION READERS! It’s an EPA “Miracle”—Turning Your “Dry Land” into a “Wetland?” By: Karen Budd-Falen | Budd-Falen Law Office, LLC
Remember the story from the Bible where Jesus turned the water into wine? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can also perform miracles—turning dry land into a wetland under the Clean Water Act (CWA). In fact, according to the EPA, a “wetland” can be private property that has NO surface water but has water beneath the surface that then flows under a paved street into a small manmade ditch that goes past other homes and eventually flows into a lake (a navigable water). Because the EPA has defined this dry land as a “wetland,” placing dirt on that property is regulated by the agency. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the federal government can determine that dry land is a wetland or a “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the CWA. In April 2007, the Sackett family broke ground to build a home on a lot that they purchased in a residential subdivision. The lot is bordered by a county-paved road on one side and residential houses on the other three sides. After the houses, there is a lake. Shortly after they began construction, the EPA sent investigators to inspect the job site for CWA compliance. Without doing any of the technical measurements required under the law, the EPA announced that the Sacketts were violating the CWA by putting additional dirt on their land without a federal permit. The EPA then sent the Sacketts an Order stating that their lot was a “federally regulated wetland” and commanded them to restore the lot to its natural condition and fence it for three years, or face tens of thousands of dollars in daily fines. The EPA Order was based on the property being adjacent to a small ditch across the street that eventually drained into a navigable lake. The U.S. Supreme Court has now taken this case. The landowners are arguing that the Court should clarify its decision in a prior CWA case from 2006. In that case, four Supreme Court Justices held that the CWA only grants federal authority over a WOTUS if the wetland (1) exhibits a relatively permanent water flow, (2) there is a continuous surface water connection between the wetland and a relatively permanent waterbody, and (3) it is difficult to determine where the wetland begins and the permanent navigable water ends (called the “connected waters” test). In contrast, four Justices argued that the definition of a WOTUS should be determined by the federal government as the CWA “experts.” The “tie” was broken by Justice Kennedy who said he would define a WOTUS to include a wetland if it bears a “substantial nexus” to a navigable water. Based on the Supreme Court split, every President has issued a markedly different rule defining a “WOTUS.” Obama expanded the authority of the EPA over private property justified by the “substantial nexus” test. Trump repealed Obama’s rule and developed his own definition based on the “connected waters” test. Now Biden is writing his own rule likely favoring greater authority for the federal to govern the use of private property.
The ruling soon to be issued by the U.S. Supreme Court will hopefully give landowners an answer as to what lands should be federally regulated under the CWA. This firm will be supporting the private landowners in this case because while I believe that Jesus did and can perform miracles, under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government should not have that same power.
VIEW ADDITIONAL ARTICLES AT
www.progressiverancher.com Visit our website to view or download “Economic Development in Nevada’s Changing Economy” from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development
IN THIS ISSUE 2 Budd-Fallon Law Office EPA “Miracle” (Editorial)
20 Drought.gov | Current Report
23 3 NCA | President’s Perspective 25 4 NCA Roundup Scholarships & FABBS Report 25 6 Nevada Beef Council Checkoff News
7 Nevada Beef Council Mediterranean Diet Recipe
8 Eye On The Outside (reprint) 11 Let’s Talk Ag (Editorial) 12 SRM | Rehabilitating Extremely Arid Habitats
15 Red Bluff Bull Sale Results
NDA | NV Drought Status
UNR | New Manager for Wolf Pack Meats - Tom Kulas Drovers | Feral Cattle Aerial Gunning Continues
27 Public Lands Council “The Daily Roundup”
28 E&E News / Energy Wire Feds Predict NEPA Delays
30 UNR | Vegetation Change in the Santa Rosa Mountains: A Repeat Photography Study 34 High Desert Grange & Snyders Vaccination Clinic
16 NFB - “There’s No Off Season 36 UNR | Gene-Editing Breakin Agricultural Advocacy” through in Tick-Borne Disease 17 NFB | Opposition to 36 Apply for 2022 Range Camp Helicopter Ban Bill (and Counselors Needed!) 17 NFB | Scholarships 37 Churchill County Cowbelles 18 NFB | Grassroots NL Recipe | Smoked Beef Short Ribs with Mustard & Rub 19 Don C. Bowman Obituary
Owner/Editor/Publisher – Leana Litten Carey progressiverancher@gmail.com Graphic Design/Layout – Visualize.Design
Cover Credit: Jake Pickering | Flying RJ Ranch Top Range Bull and Best of Angus at the Fallon All Breeds Bull Sale | Feb 19, 2022
Published 8 times a year. View all issues at www.progressiverancher.com Readership reaches more than 30,000. The views and opinions expressed by writers of articles appearing in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor. Letters of opinion are welcome; submit via email. Advertising rates available upon request. Advertising does not imply editorial endorsement. Liability for errors or omissions in advertisements shall not exceed the cost of the space occupied by the error or omission.
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president's perspective March Madness is upon us, for most Americans that’s about college basketball but it makes me think of calving heifers. Hope your calving is all quiet nights, calves that shoot right out and jump up quick, and minimal confusion. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Convention was the first week of February and Nevada was well represented. Past NCA Presidents Joe Guild and J.J. Goicoechea are in the leadership ranks and doing a great job. We attended some very informative sessions, CattleFax being one of my favorites. They said that all the fundamentals are in place to see our markets improving over the next few years, as long as we keep Black Swans on the endangered species list, we’ll be taking a bigger piece of the pie.
Their weather presentation was a bit of a mixed bag, there’s agreement in the weather community that La Nina will be replaced by El Nino this year but not much agreement when. El Nino events are better/
wetter for us and hopefully it comes sooner rather than later but it looked like for most of Northern Nevada our spring will be near normal-whatever that is. Being a weatherman is like being married- it’s pretty hard to be right. We also attended presentations from some of our leadership at the D.C. level in BLM and USFS, and EPA. As difficult as the political climate is now, it seems these folks are willing to build relationships to understand what our challenges are and rest assured your NCA leadership will be doing just that.
Quite a bit of policy work happened as well at Convention. The Marketing Committee got a little spicy but at the end of the day we adopted policy that should lend transparency to the marketplace while retaining marketing options with minimal government intrusion. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for letting me intrude in your world a few minutes, and as always appreciate your support!
Jon Griggs
Jon Griggs | President, NCA
Special Feeder Sales
March 8 April 12
For info about our Team Roping, please visit FallonLivestock.com www.progressiverancher.com
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MARCH 2022
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by Martin Paris | NCA Executive Director | O: 775-738-9214
Nevada Cattlemen’s Association Awarding Two Scholarship Opportunities The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association (NCA) is pleased to announce our 2022 scholarship opportunities. NCA will again be offering two scholarships. The NCA Scholarship will be awarded to a first-year college student beginning to pursue an education within the agricultural industry. This scholarship is open to all Nevada High School graduating seniors planning to attend a community college or four-year university and majoring in an agriculture related field. The amount of this scholarship for 2022 will be $1,500! The NCA is also pleased to announce the continuation of the Marvel/Andrae Scholarship, which is available to agriculture students that have completed their first year of college and are returning to continue working towards their degree in agriculture. The 2022 Marvel/ Andrae Scholarship amount will be $2,500!
The original seed money used to fund the Marvel/ Andrae Scholarship came from Agri Beef Company. This scholarship is to recognize the legacies of Tom & Rosita Marvel and Jim & Sharon Andrae and the many contributions these two Nevada ranching families have made to our ranching industry.
Eligibility & application requirements for the NCA Scholarship include: • Applicant must be a senior graduating from a Nevada High School.
• Applicant must plan to attend a Community College or a 4-year College or University.
• Applicant must be seeking a degree in an agriculturally related field. • Applicant must have a least a 2.5 GPA. A copy of the student’s official transcripts is required.
• Applicant must submit a typewritten essay of 1,000 to 1,500 words on any current issue involving the beef industry, including references cited. • Three letters of reference.
Eligibility & application requirements for the Marvel/ Andrae Scholarship include: • Applicant must plan to attend or be currently attending a Community College or a 4-year College or University.
• Applicant must be from Nevada and pursuing a degree in an agricultural-related field.
• Applicant must have at least a 2.8 GPA. A copy of the student’s transcripts is required.
• Returning students that were previous recipients of the NCA Scholarship will be eligible to apply for the Marvel/Andrae Scholarship. • Applicant should submit a cover letter outlining their background, current studies, and College or University they are currently attending and educational goals.
Students and educators interested in these two great Scholarship opportunities are encouraged to contact the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association. Scholarship application forms can be downloaded from the Nevada Cattlemen’s website at www.nevadacattlemen.org, or applicants can call the NCA office at 775-738-9214 or send a request to nca@nevadabeef.org for a copy. A completed application form and required information must be postmarked by April 11, 2022 and sent to: Attn: Research & Education Committee, c/o Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, P.O. Box 310, Elko, NV 89803; or submitted by email with the subject line, “2022 NCA Scholarship Applicant (Your Name)” to nca@nevadabeef.org.
56th Annual Fallon All Breeds Bull Sale Report On February 19, 2022, the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association held their 56th Annual Fallon All Breeds Bull Sale (FBS). Consignments arrived on Thursday the 17th. Sifting and grading of the bulls took place the morning of the 18th while the outdoor tradeshow vendors set up their displays. This year’s sale featured bulls ranging from 16-24 months of age. Cattlemen from California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah attended the sale looking to buy their range-ready bulls for the year. Sixty-four bulls were sold this year for an average of $3,233. Breed Averages included: 48 Angus for $3,566, 10 Herefords for $1,930, 3 Brangus for $2,633, 1 Charolais for $4,250 and 2 Red Angus for $2,175 The Top Range Bull and the Angus Best of Breed were awarded to Rick and Jerrie Libby of the Flying RJ Ranch for lot #29, RJR Sunny Legacy 13. The Hereford Best of Breed was awarded to Dan Bell of 4 MARCH 2022
the Bell Ranch for lot #97, BRS 132F 28C Buster 70H. Amador Angus was the recipient of this year’s top selling bull, Amador Stockade 7467 0464, for $5,250. This year’s recipient of the volume buyer jacket is Steve Lucas of Lucas Livestock. A special thank you to this year’s volume buyer and all of the buyers. Whether you bought one bull or eight, your continued support of the Fallon Bull Sale is much appreciated. The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association and Fallon Bull Sale Committee thank you for your participation and congratulate this year’s award recipients. Along with the dedicated group of buyers and consignors that participate in the sale, there are several sponsors who help make the sale possible year after year and they include: Elko IFA Country Store (ear tags for the sale), Progressive Rancher and Nevada Rancher (advertisement for the sale). Along with The Progressive Rancher
these dedicated sponsors a big thank you to Demar Dahl, Stix Cattle Company, and Robert DePaoli for contributing a donation calf. NCA would also like to thank the Churchill County FFA, Churchill County Cowbelles, sale ringmen, Eric Duarte (auctioneer), Dr. Randy Wallstrum (sale veterinarian), the Sifting and Grading Committees, the Fallon Bull Sale Committee members, and Fallon Livestock LLC. for all their hard work at this year’s sale. Without the support of our sponsors and volunteers, this sale would not be possible. Last but not least, the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association and Fallon Bull Sale Committee would like to recognize retiring committee member, Steve Biddinger. Steve has been involved with the Fallon All Breeds Bull Sale for 55 years as both a consignor and committee member. We wish Steve all the best and can’t think him enough for his decades of contributions to the sale. www.progressiverancher.com
Best of Angus Breed and Top Range Bull Sunny Legacy 13 of Flying RJ Ranch
Bell Ranch’s Best of Breed Hereford
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MARCH 2022
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Your Nevada Beef Council Board • Jay Dalton, Wells, Chair (cow-calf) • John Jackson, Tuscarora, Vice Chair (cow-calf) • Keri Pommerening, Smith Valley, Secretary/ Treasurer (cow-calf) • Annalyn Settelmeyer, Gardnerville (cow-calf) • Ted Christoph, Fallon (dairy) • Bernard Petersen, Ely (cow-calf) • Lucy Rechel, Yerington (feeder)
Get to Know the NBC’s New Manager of Producer Education and Engagement A Q&A with Makenzie Neves Makenzie Neves joined the Nevada and California Beef Councils as the Manager of Producer Education and Engagement last month. A California native, Neves grew up on a dairy in the Central Valley and is a third-generation agriculturalist. Q: Tell us about your upbringing on a California dairy. How did your family get involved in the dairy business? A: My grandparents immigrated to California from the Azores islands. My grandfather worked milking cows for another dairyman until he could purchase his own. Since then, my family has owned and operated Alfred Nunes dairy in Turlock, CA. While I do not work on the family operation, I loved growing up there with my cousins and appreciate my grandparent’s pursuit of their American dream.
Q: Why did you want join the NV & CA Beef Councils in this role? A: When I saw the job posting, I was really excited about how I might be able to apply what I’ve been studying in school to an industry I care about. While I might not be from Nevada, every producer I’ve met has welcomed me with open arms. Q: What are you most looking forward to about this position? A: I am most looking forward to working with producers. It is a large part of why I joined the organization. Much like my grandfather, I truly admire and appreciate the work our cattlemen and women do. I feel lucky to work with them. Q: Why do you think it’s important for beef producers to learn more about their Beef Checkoff investment on a state and national level?
A: Beef producers need to know where their Checkoff dollars are going. When an investment is made, the investor checks on its performance to understand how their money is working for them. Producers should think about the Beef Checkoff in the same way. In order to understand Q: What led you to pursue degrees in public relations and agricultural how their investment is paying off, it’s important to stay up-to-date on communications? what the Beef Checkoff is doing on a state and national level. A: With my family background, I’ve always been passionate about agriculture. I was active in 4-H and FFA and really enjoyed the advocacy opportunities both organizations provided. In high school, my school counselor suggested I look into a communications program as I began applying to colleges. At Sacramento State, I fell in love with public relations. However, I knew I wanted to represent agriculture and decided to pursue a master’s degree in agricultural communications at Texas Tech University, a perfect degree to blend two of my passions. 6 MARCH 2022
Q: How can producers reach you? A: Producers can reach me at makenzie@calbeef.org. Please feel free to reach out anytime! Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself? A: I am looking forward to the upcoming year and am so excited to dive into my new role!
The Progressive Rancher
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MEDITERRANEAN BEEF AND SALAD PITA Traditional ingredients like feta, olives and pita bread give this salad a Mediterranean twist. The addition of Ground Beef gives it a boost of power-packed protein. Ingredients • • • • • • • •
1 pound Ground Beef 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce 1/3 cup crumbled herb-flavored feta cheese 1/3 cup prepared regular or reduced fat non-creamy Italian dressing or other vinaigrette 1/4 cup Kalamata or ripe olives, chopped 4 pita breads, toasted
Courtesy of Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.
Did You Know? The Mediterranean diet has been touted as one of the healthiest diets and has been ranked number one diet by the US News & World Report.
Preparation 1. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add Ground Beef and bell pepper; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into 3/4-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Pour off drippings. Cook’s Tip: Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness. 2. Add lettuce, cheese, dressing and olives to beef mixture; toss to combine. Top pitas with equal amounts of beef mixture.
The Mediterranean diet is a dietary pattern that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and healthy fats. It includes dairy and meat while limiting sodium, saturated fats, highly processed foods, and sugary beverages. This healthy dietary pattern can play a role in reducing risk factors that contribute to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Research conducted by Purdue University found that following a Mediterranean- style eating pattern that includes lean red meats, like lean beef, is just as effective in supporting a healthy heart as a Mediterranean style that limits red meat. This research is part of the growing body of scientific evidence demonstrating lean beef can be part of a healthy eating pattern to support heart health. Kori Dover, RD Nevada Beef Council
Nutrition information per serving, using 80% lean ground beef:
505 Calories, 24g Total Fat (8 g Saturated Fat; 8 g Monounsaturated Fat;) 81 mg Cholesterol; 843 mg Sodium; 39 g Total Carbohydrate; 3.6 g Dietary Fiber; 31 g Protein; 4.7 mg Iron; 8.3 mg NE Niacin; 0.5 mg Vitamin B6; 2.4 mcg Vitamin B12; 3.2 mg Zinc; 35.1 mcg Selenium. This recipe is an excellent source of Protein, Iron, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Zinc, and Selenium; and a good source of Dietary Fiber. www.progressiverancher.com
Reference: O’Connor LE, et al. A Mediterranean-style eating pattern with lean, unprocessed red meat has cardiometabolic benefits for adults who are overweight or obese in a randomized, crossover, controlled feeding trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2018;108:33-40.
The Progressive Rancher
www.nevadabeef.org www.mybeefcheckoff.org MARCH 2022
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REPRINT: MARCH 2014 They are my horses and it is my land and I want them protected. This is substantially the quote I heard recently from a wild horse advocate in a documentary about public land ranching on a local PBS station. In that same broadcast another person who purported to be an advocate for wild horse said, in effect, it was better for the horses that they die of thirst or starvation out on the ranges than in captivity of old age. Hmmm, they really care about the horses don’t they?
to achieve AML by “removal or destruction” of excess animals. Thus, even though the wild horse advocates do not want to hear it, the law allows the Secretary of the Interior to euthanize excess horses “to achieve and maintain a thriving ecological balance on the public ranges. And despite the misinformation otherwise disseminated by horse advocates, cattle and sheep can be removed by the land management agencies before the yearly permitted term expires to protect the resource. In other words, it isn’t only about the horses in the eyes of the law. Ultimately, it is about the multipally used resource. Livestock and horses alike have a right to be on the ranges. But, it is the ranges that are to receive the ultimate protection under the law.
animals have to be managed. Wild game animals are managed and excess hunts are authorized by wildlife biologists when here are too many animals the resource can effectively support. Livestock, as I said above, are removed when there is not enough forage to support them on the ranges.
Cases interpreting the WHBA and FLPMA and the BLM’s own handbook also support and authorize immediate removal of horses where an overpopulation exists. It is also up to the BLM to determine what the appropriate management level (AML) is in a given herd management (HMA) and to decide whether there is an overpopulation which requires an immediate removal.
The lies lodged against the livestock industry by the enemies of this form of agriculture just seem to be perpetuated in spite of scientific evidence and managerial evidence to the contrary. And here is the problem; these untruths remain in the minds of the public for a long time because the media repeats the lie without digging deeper and actually doing independent reporting. In seeking balance to stories they allow the opponents of public land grazing and animal agriculture in general, to repeat allegations about overgrazing or Now about that let them starve or die of thirst destruction of the public ranges in other ways by remark mentioned above. There is a very archaic livestock which are not supported by over 50 years use of the word husband which was originally of range science and changing ways to manage the used in Middle English in an agricultural context. livestock which use those ranges more effectively It meant the control or judicious use of resources. and not in harmful ways. A husband in this context was a conservative manager and steward of land and animals. I wrote about the sage grouse recently in this Ranchers are husbandmen and women of their publication. You will recall I made the case for recognition by those advocating a listing of the animals and the land. important role agriculture; particularly irrigated I can think of no one in my ranching experience agriculture has to play in the life cycle of the sage who enjoys seeing animals suffer or who stands grouse. And yet in a recent letter to the editor by and watches animals die from starvation in another publication an anti-grazing agitator or thirst. The very idea is nauseating to people once again attributed the decline in sage grouse whose livelihood depends on healthy land and numbers to overgrazing by livestock. Every animals. To see someone who claims to be an credible scientist who has looked at the problem advocate and protector of wild horses say they of sage grouse decline in the Great Basin puts the endorse an animal’s death in such a way reveals blame squarely on habitat destruction by fire and the truth about these people. They are living in counts as one of the only tools to help reduce fine a mythological world when it comes to horse fuel loads which contribute to catastrophic fires, protection. the use of well-managed grazing by livestock.
The WHBA at 16 U.S.C. sec. 1333 (b) (1) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make a determination whether if an overpopulation exists
In order to protect a viable healthy population of horses that is in a thriving natural ecological balance with the resource in which it lives, the
What is lost in the whole debate about wild horses and the sage grouse (more on them later) is what our laws actually say and mandate. The Wild and Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act (WHBA) gives the BLM the duty of managing wild horses and burros “as components of the public lands… in a manner…designed to achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance.” Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the BLM must manage for multiple uses in a way that balances competing uses but specifically as to wild horses, to protect range values and is targeted at “facilitating the removal and disposal of excess free-roaming wild horses and burros… which pose a threat to… domestic livestock grazing and other rangeland values. “ 43 U.S.C. sec. 1701 (a) (7), 1702 (c); 43 U.S.C. sec. 1901 (b) (4).
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The Progressive Rancher
Indeed, look to the law again in the Endangered Species Act (ESA). I believe you will not find any of the four factors required to list an endangered www.progressiverancher.com
species present in the current analysis underway to potentially list the bird which can be attributed to livestock grazing. See 16 U.S.C. sec. 1533, (4) (a) (1). The ESA authorizes the establishment of cooperative agreements and grants-in-aid to States that establish and maintain active and adequate programs for endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. Nevada and other western states are creating such plans right now. What might work in Wyoming may not be effective in Nevada. Therefore, rather than a one- size fits all listing, the Secretary of the Interior should be working with the individual States and create plans and agreements the States can work on to protect he sage grouse. If they want to play the overgrazing card, people should look with a critical eye to the Federal Land Management agencies who require livestock to be removed at the end of the season of use specified in the grazing permit or before , if conditions warrant it. However, they violate the law and their own rules by refusing to remove overpopulated numbers of horses and if they cannot adopt a horse, euthanize that animal humanely so that the animal is no longer a burden to the range or the nation’s taxpayers. What the advocates miss in this whole controversy is that there will always be wild horses out on the ranges protected by the law. Again, I argue for attention to the law which is not being done currently. What will eventually not happen is an excess of animals who do not contribute to a thriving natural ecological balance being removed from the range unless the agencies are forced to follow their own laws and rules. What we rational law-abiding citizens forget is that the vast majority of our fellow citizens do not know about these issues which take up so much of our time. Some know about the issues but simply do not care because so far their pocket book or dinner plate is not impacted. This case in point was made clear to me the day of this writing. I was watching a Sunday morning news talk show.
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Thomas K. Gallagher, PE 775•825•1653 / FAX 775•825•1683 333 Flint Street / Reno, NV 89501 tomg@nevadawatersolutions.com homework. She said that the drought impacts on California farmers in the area toured by the President were much greater than they would have been if some of the water they used to use for irrigation was not diverted to help save the endangered Delta Smelt fish which has now been found to not need the water in the first place.
audience who wants to believe in the myth of a pristine garden of eden mother nature’s paradise of the past. I ask, preserve what, in which geologic epoch, and in what state of natural change and flux? It never was the way they think it was and it never will be what they want it to be.
Many of us involved in agriculture in the west I’ll see you soon. know of this story. The TV show host and the other panelists were only vaguely aware of the farmer’s plight or had not heard of it. The point of this anecdote is to restate what I have said before. We are pretty much alone in these fights about QUESTION FROM THE EDITOR horses or sage grouse or whatever the next attack will be. This article was first printed in
The discussion was related to a recent trip President Obama made to California to view and discuss the impacts of the current drought on agriculture and the California economy. The There are advocates against us because they have inevitable climate change comments were made. had the ability to perpetuate lies and they have One female commentator, however, had done her had a sympathetic press and an eager misinformed www.progressiverancher.com
colton
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March 2014, 8 full years ago. What has changed...??? MARCH 2022
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10 MARCH 2022
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Let’s Talk Ag To-Be or Not-To-Be Plant Based By Staci Emmn | Editorial
UPCOMING SALES April 14
The discussion of plant-based meat products impacting animal-based meat products, and the impacts on livestock production, continues year after year, along with the discussions about destroying the environment.
It seems to me that once a month, I turn on the morning news and there is some type of plug for plant-based meat or plant-based products. The question I always have is: Do the promoters really know what is in that plant-based meat? If you don’t, you better pay close attention. Plant-based meat is a term used for products that mimic meat-based products. Most of these mimics are made to look like burgers, sausage, chicken, etc.; there are some products that even mimic fish products.
Wyndham Visalia • Visalia, CA Consignment Deadline: March 28
May 5
There are a variety of ingredients used to make these plant-based products that I usually call “fake meat.” Having one part of my family be vegetarians, I learned early about some of these projects made out of wheat gluten, soy and tofu, pea protein, potato starch, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, vegetables and then oils and fats. The tricky thing about this, is that a plain burger can be made out of beans and mushrooms, or it can contain all this stuff you can’t pronounce that will make it resemble a burger.
WVM Headquarters • Cottonwood, CA Consignment Deadline: April 20
Check our website www.wvmcattle.com for consignment deadlines.
The majority are saying that plant-based products are good for you. But, I think, it depends on what it is made from. My vegetables from my garden or unprocessed foods are good for you, and have vitamins and proteins, but something that is grown in a lab or mixed with filler can not be good for you in the long run.
Now that we’ve discused the products, let’s discuss the reports these types of products are going to impact the meat industry. For these products to impact the meat industry, several things would have to happen in succession. A study was recently released that says the products could impact the livestock industry and reduce production, however, it also states that for this to happen “consumers have to be willing to shift their diets, the structure of the meat industry (has to be impacted,) and the inter-linkages of the livestock industry with the other parts of the economy (has to be impacted).”
WATCH & LISTEN TO THE SALE on the Web at:
So, what does this mean? Historically, plant-based meats have been higher in price than meat products. Some plant-based product prices have gone down recently. Economists did an analysis recently, and with a 10% price reduction in plant-based meat, there would be minimal impact on the livestock industry. It might be because livestock producers have advantages of selling different cuts and adapting to consumer markets, and producers can adapt and respond to shifts in production, not to mention beef exports. The problem as I see it is our younger generations, like millennials, are eating these plant-based products more and more, and they are worried about impacts to the environment. A marketing campaign by the Center of Consumer Freedom is advertising about the health concerns regarding plant-based meat substitutes like the plant-based specialty burgers that are now being sold. According to the New York Times, the advertising is calling them “ultra-processed imitations” while asking the consumer to identify the ingredients. This argument is countered by saying plantbased is better for you and the environment. The biggest issue is that that plant-based manufacturers just do not have economy of scale, which the livestock industry needs to maintain.
Overall, plant-based product markets are very small compared to meat-based products. However, the meat industry will continue to be under attack on environmental fronts, slaughter and processing techniques and regulation, and concerns about the general welfare of the animals. These issues are here to stay, and the future will depend on how the livestock industry decides to handle them, and keeps its position in the consumer marketplace. www.progressiverancher.com
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Challenges in Rehabilitating Extremely Arid Habitats A Case Study: Dry Lake Valley
By Charlie D. Clements and Dan N. Harmon
It is well documented how difficult of a task resource managers have when attempting to restore or rehabilitate disturbed or degraded habitats throughout the Great Basin. These challenges are multiplied many times over when attempting to restore or rehabilitate severely arid habitats. Rangeland revegetation has been around for more than a century and many experienced researchers have cautioned future researchers on the numerous frustrations that lay ahead when addressing the restoration or rehabilitation of range sites that are not only degraded, but also are severely limited by lack of effective amount and periodicity of annual precipitation. Sites that regularly receive less than 7” of annual precipitation often lack the necessary precipitation to achieve any level of revegetation success. Researchers have reported that favorable conditions to establish seeded plants in these arid environments may only occur 1 out of every 4 years, while others have reported the
necessary conditions needed to recruit natural or artificially induced seedling recruitment vegetation may only occur 1 or 2 years out of every 15 years (Fig. 1). Nonetheless, many of these habitats are critical to wildlife as well as sustainable grazing practices. In 2013, we were approached by the US Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (USDIBLM) to investigate revegetation practices that could possibly reduce the exotic and introduced annual grass, cheatgrass, while at the same time improving grazing resources. Our first investigation to the site took place in June 2013 and we recorded that the habitat was a degraded winterfat/Indian ricegrass community, while the community was dominated by cheatgrass and Russian thistle with a sparse presence of winterfat, Indian ricegrass, galleta grass and sand drop seed. In 2015, a 5-acre exclosure was constructed to
aid our research efforts on testing two soil-active, pre-emergent herbicides, Plateau (Imazapic) and Landmark XP (Sulfometuron-Methyl) to control invasive annual species such as cheatgrass. Pretreatment data collection revealed a remnant perennial grass population of 0.14 perennial grasses/ ft² (6,070/acre) dominated by Indian ricegrass and galleta grass with a shrub population of 0.03/ ft² (1,335/acre) dominated by winterfat. The site appears to be very static in amount and periodicity of precipitation, nonetheless we set out with a goal of increasing the perennial grass density to 0.40/ ft², to aid in the suppression of cheatgrass and significantly improve foraging resources. In the fall of 2016, we set up 12 randomized 60’ x 150’ plots which included herbicide applications with Plateau @ 6 oz/acre rate, Landmark @ 1.75 oz/acre rate and control plots (no herbicide application). Plots were sprayed in the fall of 2016, fallowed for 1 year and then seeded the following fall.
Figure 1. Dry Lake Valley, located in eastern Nevada, represents habitats that are severely limited due to extremely frequent drought conditions.
12 MARCH 2022
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We also replicated these treatments a second year, 2017 application, fallowed for 1 year and seeded the following fall. The herbicide applications of both soil-active, pre-emergent herbicides significantly reduced invasive annual species in the treated plots (Fig. 2). Cheatgrass densities were reduced from an average of 2.6/ft² in herbicide treated plots down to 0/ft² in May 2017 and 1.3 cheatgrass plants/ft² down to 0 cheatgrass/ft² in May 2018. Control plots remained above 2 cheatgrass plants/ ft² in both recorded years 2017 and 2018. The site received 4.9” of annual precipitation from October 2017 through September 2018, year 1 of seedling growth year and 10.4” for the 2018/2019 precipitation year for seedling growth for the year 2 plots. Following the 1 year fallow (activity period for these herbicides), we investigated the seeding of three seed mixes; 1) Introduced, 2) Native, and 3) Introduced/Native: Seed Mix Introduced
Figure 2. Dry Lake Valley Plateau Plot, May 2017. Excellent control of invasive annual weeds significantly reduces above ground weed densities as well as weed seed banks. Once the treated plot is fallowed for one-year, the plot is seeded and the seedlings of seeded species emerge with less competition from weedy species.
Seeded Species Rate (lbs/acre) Siberian wheatgrass 7 Russian wildrye 3 ‘Immigrant’ Forage kochia 2
Native
Indian ricegrass Sand dropseed Needle and Threadgrass Winterfat Bee Plant
4 4 1 1.5 0.5
Figure 3. Kincaid no-till experimental drill seeding seed mixes at Dry Lake Valley site fallowing 1 year herbicide fallow.
Introduced/ Native
Siberian wheatgrass Indian ricegrass Sand drop seed Needle and Threadgrass Forage kochia Winterfat Bee Plant
4 2 2 1 1 1 0.5
Herbicide treated and control plots were seeded in the fall of 2017 (Year 1) and 2018 (Year 2) using a Kincaid no-till experimental drill (Fig. 3). All plots were monitored using 10 randomized 3 ft² quadrats/plot that became fixed over-time to record monthly and annual mortality. In May 2018 we recorded seeded species seedling emergence and densities. Initial seedling emergence was not significantly different among pre-emergent herbicides with herbicide treated plots averaging 1.7/ft² in the Introduced plots, 0.90/ft² in Native plots and 1.2/ft² in the Introduced/Native seed mix plots. Seeding treatments in the Control plots averaged 0.70/ft² in the Introduced plots, 0.50/ft² in the Native plots and 0.80/ft² in the Introduced/Native seed mix plots. In September 2019 the survivability and establishment of seeded species in the Introduced, Native and Introduced/
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MARCH 2022
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Native seed mix plots for year 1 was 0.80/ft², 0.40/ ft² and 0.70/ft², respectfully. Plots seeded in 2018, year 2, resulted in initial average seedling densities of 2.5/ft² in the Introduced plots, 0.95/ft² in the Native plots and 2.4/ft² in the Introduced/Native seed mix plots. Control plots averaged 2.30/ft² in the Introduced plots, 1.4/ft² in the Native plots and 2.8/ft² in the Introduced/native seed mix plots as recorded in May 2019. In May 2020, seedling survivability and establishment in the year 2 plots decreased to 1.3/ft², 0.60/ft² and 1.3/ ft² in the herbicide treated Introduced, native and Introduced/Native seed mix plots, respectfully, and 1.2/ft², 0.70/ft² and 0.90/ft² in the control plots. The significant increase in precipitation from year 1 to year 2 resulted in significant increases in seedling emergence and establishment of seeded species (Fig. 4), but did not result in a significant increase in cheatgrass (Fig. 5).
Figure 4. Perennial grass, Siberian wheatgrass, successfully established in these arid environments of Dry Lake Valley where perennial grass densities were nearly absent prior to weed control and seeding efforts.
Figure 5. Effective weed control practices improve seedling survivability of seeded species by decreasing the competition with weedy species such as cheatgrass at the seedling stage.
Cheatgrass appears to not be playing as much as a significant role at this site as it did back in 2017 when they were at 2.6/ft² as we only recorded 0.13 cheatgrass/ft² on average in all of our plots in May 2019, yet the Russian thistle density on the site has significantly increased from less than 0.9/ft² in 2017 to more than 9.4/ft² in 2019. Prior to treating these plots with soil-active, preemergent herbicides to control invasive annual species, and seeding the plots to separate seed mixes, the sites average perennial grass density was 0.14 perennial grasses/ft², whereas following the herbicide and seeding applications the site averages 0.90 perennial grasses/ft² (39,200/acre), a 600% increase, far surpassing the goal of 0.40 perennial grasses/ft². Siberian wheatgrass and Indian ricegrass were the most successful species used on this site. More research needs to be conducted to see what effects the success and failure of shrub species like winterfat and ‘Immigrant’ forage kochia at this site as our efforts yielded very low and spotty success seeding these shrubs. Our investigation of using pre-emergent herbicides in these arid habitats resulted in effective weed control as well as reducing competition for seeded species at the seedling stage. The use of introduced species, such as Siberian wheatgrass, in these arid sites increases the level of success of establishing perennial grasses, reducing cheatgrass densities and providing increased forage value. The use of Introduced/Native seed mixes can be used to hedge bet with seed mixes whereas during below average years the introduced species still perform at a level of success that is not experienced when using native species only and improve the overall density and quality of desirable forage and providing as an added tool to suppress invasive annuals such as cheatgrass.
14 MARCH 2022
The Progressive Rancher
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The Red Bluff Bull Sale began in 1941 as a Hereford Show, started by a small group of local Cattlemen. In the past 80 years it has developed into the Largest Livestock show and sale this side of the Rockies and one of the most prestigious sales in the United States.
2022 Supreme Bull Lot #375-JMDM Aftershock 004H Consigned by: Broken M/Livestock of Live Oak, CA Purchased by: Ospital Ranch of Valley Springs, CA Supreme Bull Sponsor: The Moulton Museum
Zoetis, our Corporate Bull Sale partner, continues to be the driving force behind our success. Lots that have been i50k or HD50K tested will be noted in the catalog and sale order. Though we do not require genetic testing, we strongly encourage our consignors to take advantage of this technology as more and more buyers are demanding this information. For more information about how Zoetis products can help your operation, contact Kurt Urricelqui 530/941-2727 (CA/NW Nev.) Please take time to thank Zoetis reps for supporting this event.
2022 Red Bluff Bull Sale Results Breed Averages:
2022 Supreme Bull Lot #375-JMDM Aftershock 004H Consigned by: Broken M/Livestock of Live Oak, CA Purchased by: Ospital Ranch of Valley Springs, CA Supreme Bull Sponsor: The Moulton Museum www.progressiverancher.com
Count 10 Count 154 Count 29 Count 1 Count 1 Count 1 Count 9 Count 27 Count 10 Count 5 Count 36 Count 1 Count 6
Balancer Avg. Bull Price $6,250 Total Sale $62,500 Angus Avg. Bull Price $5,191.56 otal Sale $799,500 Sim-Angus Avg. Bull Price $4,677.59 Total Sale $135,650 Maine-Anjou Avg. Bull Price $4,500 Total Sale $4,500 Brangus Avg. Bull Price $4,500 Total Sale $4,500 Maine-Angus Avg. Bull Price $3,800 Total Sale $3,800 Red Angus Avg. Bull Price $3,744.44 Total Sale $33,700 Charolais Avg. Bull Price $3,701.85 Total Sale $99,950 Polled Hereford Avg. Bull Price $3,675 Total Sale $36,750 Simmental Avg. Bull Price $3,580 Total Sale $17,900 Hereford Avg. Bull Price $3,487.50 Total Sale $125,550 Limousin Avg. Bull Price $2,750 Total Sale $2,750 Shorthorn Avg. Bull Price $2,550 Total Sale $15,300
Count 290 Avg. Bull Price $4,628.79
The Progressive Rancher
Total Sale $1,342,350 MARCH 2022
15
Nevada Farm Bureau
There’s No Off Season In Agricultural Advocacy By Doug Busselman | NFB, Executive Vice President As something of a sports fan (although the last few years have been a bit of a challenge in dealing with the state-of-affairs in professional sport leagues), I’ve followed the various sports during the seasons when they engage in their games and during times of the year when they aren’t actively “playing” their respective sports. The intervals between seasons are referred to as “the off-season.” During the off-season the athletes continue to train and improve their skills as well as go through various activities aimed at being more successful when the season begins again. Advocacy is identified as something that involves promoting the interests or cause of someone or a group of people. It’s also said to be something about helping people find their voice. Advocacy is one of the reasons that Farm Bureau exist. Our mission statement says that Nevada Farm Bureau’s Voice for our state’s agricultural produces is to be used to promote, preserve, protect and resolve challenges through advocacy, education and leadership. Even though 2022 is not a year where the Nevada Legislature holds the 120-day session of deliberating and sometimes passing legislation for changes to state law, this year is far from an off-season in the work of representing and advocating for farmers and ranchers. You could easily make the case that there isn’t even such a thing as a day off from needing to take opportunities for advocating on behalf of Nevada agriculture. Farming and ranching is a 365 day a year (with an extra day on leap-years) line of work and advocating is something that needs to be addressed whenever and wherever the need arises. On the state level, the Nevada Legislature adopted a new procedure in the 2021 Legislative Session, forming interim joint committees of the number of standing committees in the Senate and Assembly. These joint interim committees have been holding meetings this year and will be developing proposed legislation that will be brought forward in the 2023 Legislative Session. 16 MARCH 2022
The Natural Resources Joint Interim Committees is one committee who is working this year by holding meetings, receiving informational reports and likely will be constructing an agenda of work through bill drafts that will be submitted for official consideration in the next session. Based on the scope of legislation, which come before the Assembly and Senate Natural Resources committees agricultural and natural resources matters fit into the portfolio the interim committee will be dealing with. The Joint Interim Standing Committee on Natural Resources is planning to hold five meetings. Two of the five will have been concluded when you read this article. Beyond the January and February meetings, the committee have also scheduled meeting dates for March 21st, June 16th and August 22nd. The committee is chaired by Assemblyman Howard Watts of Las Vegas and the vice chair is Senator Fabian Donate, also from Las Vegas (both legislators served as chairs for their respective bodies in the 2021 Legislative Session). Two additional Senators, Senator Pete Goicoechea of Eurkea and Senator Melanie Scheible of Las Vegas are also members of the committee. Assembly members include -- Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton of Las Vegas, Assemblyman John Ellison of Elko, Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen from Sparks and Assemblywoman Sarah Peters of Reno. The committee also has a subcommittee associated with it (the Subcommittee on Public Lands) and who’s members were appointed by Chairman Watts of the Natural Resourced committee in their first meeting on January 21st. Based on recent information, the committee will be chaired by Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton and include members -- Senator Melanie Schieble, Senator Pete Goicoechea, Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen, Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones and a representative of the Nevada Native American Community. Their first committee meeting was announced as being scheduled for April 15th, but the official calendar on the Nevada Legislative webpage doesn’t have this meeting on the calendar The Progressive Rancher
at this time. During the 2021st Legislative Session the subcommittee was assigned the responsibility of considering the topic of water conservation and Chairman Watts made a point of stressing the importance of this topic during the meeting where he appointed subcommittee members. What “water conservation” will mean in the context of considerations and possible legislative initiatives is not known at this point in time, but will definitely be a subject that agricultural water right owners will need to pay attention to. There are also additional topics that will surface from the other eight Joint Interim Standing Committees and the other legislative working committees that are identified as “Statutory Committees,” “Legislative Interim Studies” or “Non-Legislative Committees.” Beyond the legislative realm, a host of regulatory actions are on the front-burner based on state agencies completing assignments that came from the last legislative session or who are developing/ amending regulations on their own initiative. The Nevada Department of Agriculture has brought forward a full schedule of workshops, hearings and other activities related to the range of areas which fit into their regulatory purview. On the national level, possibly because so much of “national” issues hit the ground in a state which is 87-plus controlled by federal management, there has been an overwhelming rash of matters of significant importance over the current timespan. From another round of Sage Grouse possible planning to another round of federal agencies seeking to pursue greater control over water and lands, using the Clean Water Act there has been almost a full-time requirement for studying Federal Register Notices of which agency is announcing something new. Although we’ve been fortunate that Congress haven’t been able to actually pass all the various horrible ideas that seem to be on their list of things that the majority party is wanting to cram through, but staying on top of those impending disasters have required priority attention. More of the same www.progressiverancher.com
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nvfb.org for the weekly Nevada Farm Bureau Grassroots Newsletter and have current AG topics delivered right to your inbox. seems to be in the works with the proposal for throwing another monkey wrench into any progress for responsible actions of bringing Wild Horse and Burro populations to Appropriate Management Levels (AML) – (See HR 6635). Lastly it is also important to consider the upcoming elections in the mix of areas that require advocacy attention. Every candidate seeking votes for whatever office they are interested in pursing needs to be engaged with by advocates who ask questions and make their perspectives known. Real, indepth understanding of where candidates stand on important issues must be a priority and completely vetted when voters enter the voting booth – or as things are now set up to be the approach determined by the majority legislative process in Nevada – complete their mail-in ballots. Agricultural advocacy is not the full responsibility of a single person or a single organization. Agricultural producers themselves need to be part of the process and make the most of every opportunity to weigh in with their stories and messages to build better understanding of the issues they face. It’s not something that can occur in starts and spurts. Time and effort are required on an on-going basis, creating working relationships and connecting with others to make things happen. There is no off-season for those who are associated with agricultural advocacy. www.progressiverancher.com
Nevada Farm Bureau Signals Strong Opposition To Bill To Ban Helicopters From Wild Horse and Burro Gathers Brittney Money | Director of Communications NFB has written Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus to express opposition to her proposed legislation HR 6635. The measure was introduced on February 8, 2022 and if enacted into law would ban the use of helicopters or fixed wing aircraft for Wild Horse and Burro gathers.
“The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is working to accomplish the difficult and long-overdue process of bringing Wild Horse and Burro populations to their Appropriate Management Levels (AML),” Nevada Farm Bureau President Bevan Lister of Pioche, NV wrote in his February 14th letter to Congresswoman Titus. “Congressional actions like HR 6635 would seriously thwart the activities that are being carried out to achieve AML for Wild Horses and Burro populations as well as eventually bring impacted landscapes back to a status capable of providing habitat for wildlife and all multiple use stakeholders.”
Throughout the Western states where Wild Horses and Burros live on designated federally-managed areas the population estimates from a year ago place the numbers at 71,735 Wild Horses and 14,454 Burros. The total of 89,189 animals is well over three-times the maximum AML level.
Nevada has the biggest over-population of the Westwide totals. The Nevada estimates from last year indicated that there were 42,994 Wild Horses and 4,087 Burros. Maximum AML population for Nevada is 12,811. In other words, Nevada not only has nearly 60 percent of the Wild Horses and Burros in the West, but also is over three and half times over the number of Wild Horses and Burros that are supposed to be in the state.
Nevada Farm Bureau’s letter drew attention to that not only is the use of helicopters for conducting gathers more humane than other methods, it is also 22,000 Wild Horses and Burros from over-populated the only cost-effective management measure available herds would be gathered and 19,000 of these animals for gathering the necessary size of animals over very would be removed from the federally-managed lands, open and difficult terrain. according to the 2022 Fiscal Year Plan that the BLM has announced. At least 2,300 animals would receive various fertility controls before being released.
Scholarship Opportunity We are excited to announce the Dave Fulstone Scholarship is now open. The Dave Fulstone Scholarship is awarded through the Nevada Heritage Foundation an organization that supports education of Nevada’s youth in agricultural related fields. The Dave Fulstone Scholarship is available to any student graduating from high school this year, a current college student or a trade school student who is furthering their education in a course of study pertaining to agriculture. A successful candidate for the scholarship must be from a Nevada Farm Bureau member family. A completed application must be submitted and include a copy of your most recent transcript and two letters of recommendation. The Progressive Rancher
Full application details and application forms can be found on the Nevada Farm Bureau website at nvfb.org or by using the direct link: Dave Fulstone scholarship: www.nvfb.org/articles/dave-fulstone-scholarship-2/ The Application deadline is April 1st. Applications can be emailed to Julie Wolf at wolfranch1nv@gmail.com or mailed to: Nevada Heritage Foundation Scholarship Committee C/O Nevada Farm Bureau Nevada Heritage Foundation 2165 Green Vista Dr Suite 205 Sparks, Nevada 89431
For more information, please call the Nevada Farm Bureau office at 775-674-4000.
MARCH 2022
17
Nevada Farm Bureau
NFB GRASSROOTS NEWSLETTER
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Follow Up On Bill To Ban Helicopter Wild Horse Gathers
Ecosystem Science and Management of the University of Wyoming covered 70 reports of gathers (34 bait trapping and 21 helicopter gathers).
Last week’s newsletter identified that Nevada Farm Bureau had written Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus to express opposition to her proposed legislation HR 6635.
While there wasn’t any resolution of Nevada Farm Bureau’s concerns over further Congressional activities which would become a roadblock to bringing Wild Horse and Burro populations to Appropriate Management Levels, there may still be additional interaction with Congresswoman Titus and her staff in regard to her proposed legislation.
This week we want to offer this update on what has taken place since sending that letter. On Tuesday, February 22, Nevada Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Doug Busselman participated in a Zoom meeting with two of the Congresswoman’s staff who are working on this issue. The discussion was a cordial exchange of views on the importance of having effective means for removing excessive Wild Horses and Burros. The Congresswoman’s position is that something other than helicopter gathers need to be used because of the harm done to Wild Horses through such gathers. A recent gather in central Nevada resulted in a colt having to be put down because of a broken leg that came about during the gather. Doug Busselman told the staff members that there are risks which go with gathering horses, but that leaving excessive horses on the rangelands and the consequences of not having sufficient forage or water, as well as the damage caused to the land were not better results than the risk of doing gathers. Staff members pointed to the language of the proposed legislation which would have the Government Accounting Office to bring a report to the House Natural Resources Committee, within a year of the passage of the bill, providing information on humane alternatives to the use of helicopters and fixed winged aircraft or using unmanned aircraft systems for gathers. The language also seeks to have the report cover the “job creation presented by the use of such humane alternatives.” In response, Busselman stated that although Farm Bureau would not oppose on-the-ground, pilot projects to seek for effective gathering methods, this exploration for other ways should not come after foreclosing the use of what is known to be effective gathering practices using helicopters. Farm Bureau has also provided the Congresswoman’s office with a copy of a paper that was published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science that studied the capture methods using helicopter and water trapping. The results of gathers from 2010 to 2019, written by John Derek Scasta who was with the Department of 18 MARCH 2022
Farm Bureau Preparing Public Comments On 30 x 30 Atlas Project March 7 is the deadline for public comments to be submitted to a January 4th Federal Register Notice asking for public comments to the development of a planned “American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas.” This Atlas, prepared by an interagency federal government group, is intended as a tool for the public to use in keeping track of the “continuum of conservation actions” that are being carried out to meet President Biden’s Executive Order 14008 to conserve “at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.” The general concern regarding the 30 x 30 program that the federal government is leaping into action to advance is that no where is there any stated definition of what “conservation” will mean or whether there isn’t already meaningful conservation already happening.
“Honor Private Property Rights and Support the Voluntary Stewardship Efforts of Private Landowners and Fishers.” Intertwined in the proposed areas for input are themes of seeking where to draw boundaries and setting benchmarks for ecological functions as well as gathering data on the extent of disturbance or expected future risks from climate change, or other human stressors. The input requested also note the need for considerations to be given to the durability of management status. Coming from federal government agencies, “durability of management status” has traditionally meant the agencies being in charge of the management and anything short doesn’t constitute sufficient amounts of “durability.”
How Do You Define “Conservation”? While it seems apparent that federal agencies involved with the Biden 30 x 30 initiative don’t want to be pinned down with a defined answer of what constitutes “conservation” – we’d be interested in hearing back from you on what would fit your view of what “conservation” should mean? If the United States should pursue a goal of “at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030” what does that mean and how do we know whether the goal has been accomplished? When is land “conserved?” When is water “conserved?” How do you think the federal government should measure what fits into the baseline and how will they continue to monitor progress?
The federal government officials who are engaged in this project and their unwillingness to be specific about what they actually have in mind, makes it quite obvious that this is simply another land grab scheme. Nevada Farm Bureau’s draft comment letter notes – “We are deeply distrustful of the way that conservation is suggested as being a ‘continuum,’ yet specifically ask the question – ‘What stewardship actions should be considered, in addition to permanent protections, to capture a more complete picture of conservation and restoration in America?’”
We welcome you dropping your thoughts on conservation to doug@nvfb.org
In their May 6, 2021 report “Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful” the agency heads for the U.S. Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce and the Council on Environmental Quality gave flowery platitudes to core principles that the initiative will take.
The agenda includes anticipated reports from Nevada’s Department of Agriculture as well as the agency involved with State Parks and Outdoor Recreation. A presentation will be provided on the economic impact of climate change in Nevada and the appointments for the subcommittee on Public Lands will be revisited. Also wildfires in Nevada will be covered in a presentation to the committee.
The questions posed in the Federal Register for public comment input for developing the “American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas” portray ecological considerations that have nothing even remotely in common with the core principle of The Progressive Rancher
Nevada Legislative Joint Natural Resources Committee To Meet Feb. 28 Looking ahead to upcoming activities, the second meeting of the Joint Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to take place Monday, February 28th starts at 9:30 a.m. and will be available to view on the Nevada Legislature’s website.
View the agenda here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/ App/ I nte r i m C om m i tte e / REL/ I nte r i m 2021/ Meeting/24185 www.progressiverancher.com
In Loving Memory
DON CLIFFORD BOWMAN July 1937 was full of celebration in Rifle Colorado. By the end of that month, Smokey and Helen Bowman had welcomed and named Don Clifford Bowman. Little did they know what colorful, successful, and memorable character their son would turn out to be.
To list all of his accomplishments would take more space than allowed, so just to name a few: Ranch Cowboy; Rodeo Clown and Bullfighter for decades; Surveyor, Heavy Equipment Operator; Leather Artist, Real Estate broker specializing in Ranch properties, and last but not least, Author of books and articles dedicated to preserving the history of the Western life that he loved.
Don Clifford Bowman was gifted in many ways, including a sense of humor. The stories of his practical jokes often preceded him in any social setting. Perhaps the best known is the “Tailor” joke played on unsuspecting ladies during an evening entertainment. Don loved the animals that filled his life whether it was the famous border collie Goofy that was part of his Rodeo Clown act; Lucky the Longhorn Steer whom he rode in parades and rodeo; or his beloved horse Gato, who adorned the cover of his book “Horsefeathers”.
Don’s motto was “Life is to short not to have fun!” He had a lot of fun! Don is preceded in death by his son Michael Bowman and is survived by his daughter Brandi Bowman, stepsons Pat and Danny Ariaz, sister Shirley (Crystal) Crook, sister Shyla Bowman, four grandchildren, five great grandchildren, two great great grand children and his brother in-law Pete Crystal.
There was a celebration of Don’s life February 19, 2022 in Fallon, Nevada. The family would like to thank everyone who came for their loving support. www.progressiverancher.com
The Progressive Rancher
MARCH 2022
19
Drought.gov National Integrated Drought Information System
20 MARCH 2022
The Progressive Rancher
www.progressiverancher.com
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MARCH 2022
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Nevada Department of Agriculture News Nevada’s Current Drought Status CONTACT: Mikayla Jones / Public Information Officer I | Division of Administrative Services 405 South 21st Street, Sparks, NV 89431 Office: 775-353-3628
U.S.
Figure 1: Start of the Water Year drought conditions
Nevada is entering its third year of drought despite the precipitation experienced in October, December and February. At the beginning of this water year (Oct. 1, 2021) the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) showed that Nevada was mostly in extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4) drought (Figure 1), caused byMonitor back-to-back years of drought in 2020 and 2021. After a record rain 22, event 2022 in late October, Drought February November followed with very dry conditions. In December, large amounts of snow and precipitation (Released Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022) arrived setting records for snowfall totals in the Sierra Nevada mountains. This was followed by the driest 7 a.m. January on record with a measurement of zero precipitation. This dryValid weather hasEST brought snowpack levels in high elevations down from “above normal” to “normal”. This whiplash of extreme wet followed Drought Conditions (Percent Area) by record dry months has led to some improvement in the USDM, but drought persists throughout the None D0-D4 D1-D4 D2-D4 D3-D4 D4 state (see figure 2). With enduring drought conditions, producers in Nevada may face similar scenarios to last year’s drought which saw water shutoffs, increased presence 0.00 of weeds lower groundwater Current 100.00and 100.00 67.50 21.84 7.50 levels. The USDM map is updated weekly at www.drought.gov/states/nevada (See Figure 2)
Nevada
Last Week
Drought Monitor U.S. Drought U.S. Monitor
Nevada Nevada
0.00
21.84
7.50
February 2022 February 2022 0.00 100.0022, 89.98 56.33 100.0022,
25.02
02-15-2022
100.00 100.00 67.50
3 Months Ago 11-23-2021
Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022) (Released(Released Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022) Start of Valid 7 a.m. EST Valid100.00 7 a.m.100.00 EST 68.07 24.21 Calendar Year 0.00
7.50
Drought Conditions (Percent Area)
01-04-2022
Start of Water Year 09-28-2021
DroughtNone Conditions (Percent Area) D0-D4 D1-D4 D2-D4 D3-D4
D4
0.00 100.00 100.00 95.18 67.60 25.02 None D0-D4 D2-D4 67.50 D3-D4 Current 0.00 D1-D4 100.00 100.00 21.84 D47.50
One Year AgoLast Week 0.00 100.00 100.00 100.0067.50 91.59 76.08 40.15 Current 0.00 21.84 0.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 67.50 21.847.50 7.50 02-23-2021
Last Week Intensity: 02-15-2022
None
02-15-2022
3 Months Ago
0.00
11-23-2021
Start of Calendar Year
3 Months Ago
01-04-2022
0.00
0.00
100.00 89.98
100.00 100.00 100.00 67.50 0.00
56.33
21.84
25.02
7.50
D2 Severe Drought 100.00 100.00 68.07 24.21 7.50
100.00 100.00 89.98
56.33
25.02
11-23-2021 Start of Dry D0 Abnormally 0.00 Water Year
100.00 100.00 95.18
D3 Extreme Drought 67.60
25.02
0.00
100.00 100.00 91.59
76.08
40.15
09-28-2021 Start D1ofModerate Drought D4 Exceptional Drought 100.00 100.00 68.07 24.21 7.50 Calendar YearOne 0.00 Year Ago
01-04-2022
02-23-2021
The Start Drought of Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions. Local conditions may For more on the25.02 0.00vary. 100.00 100.00information 95.18 67.60 Water YearIntensity: Drought Monitor, go to https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About.aspx 09-28-2021 None
One Year Ago
Author: 02-23-2021
D2 Severe Drought
D0 Abnormally D3 Extreme 0.00 100.00 Dry 100.00 91.59 76.08 Drought 40.15 D1 Moderate Drought
D4 Exceptional Drought
Brad Pugh The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions. Intensity: CPC/NOAALocal conditions may vary. For more information on the None
The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions. Local conditions may vary. For more information, go to: droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About.aspx
Author: Brad Pugh, CPC/NOAA www.progressiverancher.com
Figure 2: Current conditions as of February 2022 The Progressive Rancher
Drought Monitor, go to https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About.aspx D2 Severe Drought
Author: Dry D0 Abnormally
Brad Pugh D1 Moderate Drought CPC/NOAA
D3 Extreme Drought D4 Exceptional Drought
The Drought Monitor focuses on broad-scale conditions. Local conditions may vary. For more information on the Drought Monitor, go to https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/About.aspx
droughtmonitor.unl.edu
Author: Brad Pugh CPC/NOAA
droughtmonitor.unl.edu MARCH 2022
23
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24 MARCH 2022
The Progressive Rancher
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Feral Cattle Aerial Gunning Continues As Court Denies Restraining Order Tom Kulas has joined the University of Nevada, Reno Experiment Station’s Wolf Pack Meats facility as the new operations manager. Kulas will be overseeing the operations of the facility, which includes the slaughter, processing and packaging of livestock such as beef, lamb and sheep, swine, and goat.
Wolf Pack Meats is a USDA-approved facility that offers students the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of meat technology while using the industry’s best machinery. Kulas is focusing on continuing the facility’s efforts in teaching, research and outreach to offer students and faculty a first-hand experience in meat production, retail distribution and packaging.
Kulas has been in professional management for over 20 years in various industries, gaining experience in managing and motivating teams and overseeing program finances. He plans to use his knowledge and experience to grow the Wolf Pack Meats team and increase the production of the facility to better serve northern Nevada consumers. “We are delighted to have been able to bring someone of Tom’s experience in management and business operations to Wolf Pack Meats,” Chris Pritsos, director of the University of Nevada, Reno Experiment Station, said. “Under Tom’s leadership, we expect that Wolf Pack Meats will be able to better serve our students, faculty and stakeholders.” Located at the Main Station Field Lab in east Reno, Wolf Pack Meats is one of only two meat-processing plants in Nevada capable of providing U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected harvesting services to local farmers. The facility maintains its own herd, which it uses to study ways to produce meat in greater quantities with higher quality. “I was looking for something different, and I think this position is going to be an exciting new project for me,” Kulas said. “It’s also great to be part of an organization like the University and have so much support.”
The facility currently harvests about 3,000 animals each year, while providing students with the chance to not only see the commercial process in action, but also receive hands-on training and experience in a real commercial facility.
Kulas is excited to continue to grow the Wolf Pack Meats facility while maintaining the high quality, consistency and safety that students, employees and shoppers expect.
www.progressiverancher.com
The New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association filed a complaint asking the Court to enter a restraining order against the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In an emergency hearing, the judge denied the application for a restraining order and has given the ‘go ahead’ on shooting feral cattle in Gila National Forest via helicopter. These feral cattle have a unique history dating back to the 1970s when a local rancher went bankrupt. The rancher who next obtained grazing privileges attempted to gather and manage the cows with little success. Since the late 1990s, permitted grazing of the area has ceased, yet the feral cattle continue to reproduce and inhabit the area. The Forest Service estimates 200 head roam the forest—none of which have ever been in ownership or have brands of local ranchers.
A Defenders of Wildlife representative states the cattle overgraze riverside areas, erode streambanks, harm water quality and degrade the habitat of endangered species. Feral cattle damage the wilderness areas and threaten the public, as they have been known to charge hikers, the Forest Service explains.
Despite consensus that the feral cattle harm the forest, many ranchers believe aerial gunning is not the solution. Bronson Corn, President-Elect of NMCGA stated in a release, “The repercussions of gunning-down and leaving of cattle carcasses in the Gila will be felt by the agriculture community and many New Mexican’s for some time. Those animals could have entered the food chain and been of benefit to many, instead they are being consumed by predators that already have the natural inclination to depredate producer’s livestock. The overall situation and the waste of protein is saddening.” NMCGA explains the economic impact of the operation in a release, giving an example of the Gila operation waste using actual meat prices from Santa Fe, New Mexico. “200 cattle x 440 lbs (the average amount of edible beef one cow produces) = 88,000 lbs of beef.” One pound of ground beef chuck in Santa Fe costs approximately $4.48 at a local supermarket. “This is roughly $394,240 worth of beef, if it was all processed as ground beef…The value left behind both monetarily and nutritionally from the gunning-down of estray cattle in the Gila is too momentous to disregard.”
Jurisdiction of estray livestock falls on the New Mexico Livestock Board. However, in a recent meeting of New Mexico state lawmakers in the House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee, a vote passed tasking the Livestock Board, Agriculture Department and U.S. Forest Service to work together to expedite the removal of the feral livestock. The U.S. Wildlife Services began aerial surveys of the forest as planned with forty-seven head killed on day one.
The Progressive Rancher
MARCH 2022
25
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26 MARCH 2022
The Progressive Rancher
www.progressiverancher.com
Wyoming: Bill seeks continued wild horse management.
Wyoming legislators want to encourage the BLM to keep up on wild horse management, Wyoming Public Radio - The Wyoming House of Representatives is considering a
BLM: Public information forum; Planned burn on Spruce Mountain.
Bureau of Land Management to hold public information forum to develop a tool to identify Southern Nevada district restoration opportunities, BLM - As part of the Biden-Harris
Administration’s America the Beautiful campaign to conserve, connect and restore 30 percent of public land by 2030, the BLM Southern Nevada District Office is hosting an information forum to gather input from public land users to prioritize areas for restoration projects. “This information forum is a critical early step to gather public input so BLM can develop a GIS tool to identify restoration opportunities that have the greatest benefit to threatened and endangered species and migratory birds,” said Angie Bulletts, Southern Nevada District Manager. “Funding has been secured and input will be used to direct which projects will receive funding.”
BLM plans burning on Spruce Mountain, Elko Daily - Weather conditions permitting, the Bureau of Land Management Elko District is planning a 51-acre prescribed fire on public land on the west portion of Spruce Mountain. This project is designed to reduce hand-piled debris from thinning operations, remove hazardous fuels and improve wildlife habitat. Burning operations are scheduled for multiple days between 2/24 and 3/31. “The burn is planned in an area where brush and trees have been thinned to reduce accumulations of fuels and remove hazards which leads to less intense fires in the treated area and provides firefighters a higher probability of containing future wildfires,” said Elko District Fuels Manager Tyson Gripp.
USDA: Black vulture permits.
USDA announces 2022 black vulture permit process, Ohio Farm Bureau - While black
vultures can be extremely detrimental to livestock producers, these birds remain important to conservation and agriculture resources by cleaning up animal carcasses from the ecosystem. As migratory birds, black vultures are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, state laws and regulations, which means they can’t be killed or destroyed without a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Migratory Bird Depredation permit. As a way to streamline the permitting process, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has obtained a statewide depredation permit for black vultures from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ODNR will work with USDA Wildlife Services to issue sub-permits to livestock producers who are experiencing issues with black vultures. These sub-permits cover commercial livestock, including cattle, horses, sheep, goats and swine and are free to livestock producers.
Sage Grouse: Request for extending public comment period.
Lawmakers seek more comment on grouse, The Chronicle (subs req’d) - U.S. Rep. Dan
Newhouse, R-4th District, and others have urged Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to extend the public comment period for the ongoing greater sage grouse scoping process.The lawmakers want to increase participation from states, local governments, tribes and stakeholders.
Colorado: Using controlled burns to decrease wildfire risk.
Prescribed burns could help prevent the next Marshall fire. They’re not easy to pull off in grasslands, CPR News - Many Boulder County land managers agree there’s a
need for more controlled burns across both grasslands and forestlands along the Front Range. But setting those fires isn’t easy in such a heavily populated area. Boulder County communities have plans for controlled burns on thousands of acres to reduce wildfire risk, clear overgrown vegetation around irrigation ditches and promote overall ecosystem health, John Potter, the resource and stewardship manager for the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department, said. The challenge is finding ways to follow through. Over the last five years, Potter said his office has only been able to burn about eight acres per year across the city’s vast 46,000-acre open space system.
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pair of bills that deal with the management of wild horses on state lands. The main bill is House Bill 5 which would ask the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reimburse the state for the cost of grazing on state lands and the Wind River Reservation. The committee is also supporting House Bill 24 which could give the state power to manage horses and burros. The goal is to force the Bureau of Land Management to keep wild horse populations under control.
Bison: Hunting perimeters of Yellowstone causing concern.
Flying Bullets and Bison Culling, Western Ag Reporter - Bison hunting isn’t allowed in
Yellowstone National Park, but in a tiny gulch just outside of the park perimeter, where the two herds that call Yellowstone home merge, bison hunting is legal. Neighbors Against Bison Slaughter, who filed the lawsuit against the National Park Service and other federal government agencies, stated “we believe in hunting for subsistence and for meat. But the hunting here has stepped over the line to threaten the safety and peace of the neighborhood. The hunting creates a public safety hazard, risks the lives of the neighbors and their property, and upsets our way of life.”
Infrastructure: Spending infrastructure money.
States to feds: Don’t tell us how to spend infrastructure money, The Salem News - State
and local leaders from both parties are at odds with the Biden administration over how billions of dollars in new infrastructure money should be spent. Republican governors are upset over a federal memo seeking to limit dollars for highway expansions. Western states and some progressive cities don’t like the feds’ plan for how to deploy electric vehicle chargers. Some construction groups fear that labor guidelines included in certain programs could hurt red states without a strong union presence. And more conflicts are likely to surface as federal agencies continue to roll out details for the bill’s programs.
Wolves: Wolf shot in Eastern Oregon.
Another wolf was discovered unlawfully shot in eastern Oregon; a $22,500 reward has been offered for information, List 23 - Officials said on February 23 that investigators are
looking for the person who unlawfully shot and killed a wolf in eastern Oregon, and that conservation organizations have paid a reward of over $20,000. On February 15, Oregon State police arrived at a remote location east of La Grande in Union County, Oregon. One black female wolf was discovered with a tracking collar and was known as OR 109. The wolf was found dead that morning, according to authorities.
Montana: Designating public land as wilderness.
Bill will protect waterways, public land and wildlife, Whitefish Pilot - Outdoor recreation
comprises $7.1 billion of Montana’s economy and generates $286 million in tax revenue. Additionally, the outdoor recreation economy provides 71,000 jobs to Montanans. By expanding the Bob Marshall, these numbers will only continue to grow. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) seeks to designate an additional 80,000 acres of public land as wilderness. Doing so will result in sustainable timber management and forest restoration, protect the headwaters of the Blackfoot and Clearwater Rivers, and increase opportunities for outdoor recreation and tourism, including some areas for motorized recreation.
California: Court protecting Western Joshua tree.
California Court Maintains Protections for Western Joshua Tree, JD Supra - On February
16, 2022, a California state court upheld protections afforded the western Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The ruling came in connection with a lawsuit filed by the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association and others (Plaintiffs), alleging that the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) failed to abide by its own rules in finding a petition to list the western Joshua tree indicated listing the tree may be warranted. A Commission finding that listing a species under CESA may be warranted results in “candidate” status for that species and affords the same level of protection as if the species were formally listed as threatened or endangered under state law.
The Progressive Rancher
MARCH 2022
27
ENERGY WIRE By Niina H. Farah, Heather Richards | EENEWS.NET A judge’s order blocking the Biden administration’s application of an interim climate metric will cause sweeping delays in agency rulemaking and stall planned projects requiring new environmental reviews, a White House official said this weekend.
Dominic Mancini, the deputy administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said a recent preliminary injunction barring the Biden administration from using an interim calculation of the social cost of greenhouse gases could slow finalization of at least 38 pending rules from four different agencies. The decision would also affect dozens of pending agency analyses — including those for federal oil and gas activity — leading to increased costs and more uncertainty for industry, Mancini said in a declaration filed Saturday with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. “The cumulative burden of the Preliminary Injunction is quite significant,” he said.
Mancini later added, “[A]gencies are spending considerable resources and delaying a myriad of regulatory actions as they fully consider the implications of a changed scope of analyses.”
Judge James Cain of the Louisiana district court stunned legal observers last week when he issued an order preventing the Biden administration from using an interim social cost of carbon metric developed by an interagency working group (Energywire, Feb. 14). The social cost of carbon puts value on a metric ton of emissions and is used to assess the societal benefits of imposing stricter regulation of emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxides.
Cain dismissed the metric’s incorporation of global emissions and sided with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) and other challengers’ arguments that the metric would cause harm by increasing states’ regulatory costs.
Justice Department attorneys stated in a filing over the weekend that the federal government plans to fight Cain’s ruling in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The federal government also requested that Cain, a Trump pick, stop his ruling from taking effect no later than Feb. 28. If the judge declined to block his order by 28 MARCH 2022
that date, DOJ attorneys said they would ask the 5th Circuit to intervene.
An initial tally by federal agencies revealed a wide-ranging impact from Cain’s order, including on rulemakings being drafted in response to earlier court orders that had required more thorough climate analyses.
“In some instances, the burdens imposed by the Preliminary Injunction go well beyond delay and waste of resources,” Mancini said. “Agencies are now struggling to reconcile their conflicting obligations to comply with the Court’s order and with the requirements of the [Administrative Procedure Act] and other relevant statutes.” The scramble to comply with Cain’s decision could have far-reaching implications for the already contentious federal oil and gas programs managed by the Interior Department, slowing leasing and, in some cases, new drilling.
The department’s preliminary review identified three pending rules and 27 analyses mandated under the National Environmental Policy Act affected by Cain’s ruling. These included environmental reviews for “several planned and potential oil and gas lease sales,” Mancini said.
Interior has been preparing for a suite of onshore oil and gas sales across several states since late last year. These would be the first onshore lease auctions of this administration, which instituted a leasing moratorium shortly after President Biden took office — until a separate federal lawsuit forced Interior to resume auctions. The social cost of carbon ruling has undermined those auctions. In some cases, Mancini said, Interior had already finalized its responses to comments on the analyses and had revised environmental assessments for planned onshore oil and gas lease sales.
“Revising the NEPA analysis would be burdensome and time-consuming for the BLM, and, following those revisions, the Agency anticipates subsequently recirculating the revised analyses for 30 days public comment,” he said. The Louisiana district court’s injunction has also halted the Bureau of Land Management’s work on applications for permits to drill (APDs) for 18 wells on oil and gas leases in New Mexico, according to court documents.
Feds predict NEPA delays after court nixes climate metric The NEPA review for those APDs would have used the now-enjoined carbon estimates.
“BLM is still assessing how many other applications are similarly affected,” Mancini added. A spokesperson for Interior confirmed it was expecting delays in permitting — the approval of individual oil and gas wells — as well as leasing for its oil and gas programs in the wake of the court decision. “The Interior Department continues to move forward with reforms to address the significant shortcomings in the nation’s onshore and offshore oil and gas programs,” Interior communications director Melissa Schwartz said in an email Saturday.
“Specifically, the Department is committed to ensuring its programs account for climate impacts, provide a fair return to taxpayers, discourage speculation, hold operators responsible for remediation, and more fully include communities, Tribal, state and local governments in decisionmaking,” the agency stated. Impacts from Cain’s injunction could also grip Interior rulemakings and efforts to reform the federal oil program.
One example is BLM’s pending waste prevention rule for oil and gas development on public lands, which would tighten methane pollution controls on federal drilling and production.
The rule would replace the Trump administration’s 2018 rescission rule, which had been tossed out by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for relying on a social cost of methane that only considered domestic emissions. If BLM followed Cain’s direction and applied domestic-only emissions to its social cost of carbon calculation then the agency would then be violating the California district court ruling that had found that approach inadequate, Mancini said. Similarly, BLM could be found to be in violation of prior court precedent if it monetized certain costs or benefits like coal and oil royalties but excluded climate costs, Mancini warned.
Other federal agencies also could face significant regulatory setbacks if Cain’s ruling remains in place.
The Progressive Rancher
The delays caused by the injunction follow a year of political tension over the federal oil and gas program, which climate activists have pushed the White House to retire and which oil and gas allies have fiercely defended.
The president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming recently said the slow-walking of new leasing from the Biden administration constituted a “dereliction of duty.”
“The Administration’s failure to uphold the law in regards to quarterly lease sales will have tangible negative impacts on the state and her people,” said association President Pete Obermueller in a recent statement.
Cain’s ruling will likely extend far beyond Interior. The Department of Energy said about 21 pending rules would be affected, while EPA counted at least five rules in an initial tally. The DOT identified nine rules, as well as 60 records of decision or environmental impact statements.
Mancini noted that changing the social cost of greenhouse gases would often require agencies to redo modeling used in impact assessments. Restarting regulatory analyses would then trigger lengthy review both within and between agencies. Even starting over with agency guidance or NEPA actions could put a strain on agency resources, Mancini said. These requirements “could preclude agencies from conducting analysis and developing policy on other pressing issues,” he added.
In addition to the delays in rulemaking and analysis, the decision is also preventing the Biden administration from finalizing the social cost of greenhouse gas values.
To date, the Biden administration has used interim values identical to those adopted by the Obama administration but adjusted for inflation. Cain’s injunction effectively shuttered the interagency working group tasked with finalizing the updated values, Mancini said. He noted that the finalized values were set to undergo additional comment and independent peer review, and said:
“As a result of the Preliminary Injunction, all this effort has ceased, affecting the ability of the Federal government to avail itself of the latest scientific and economic information in decision making.” www.progressiverancher.com
www.progressiverancher.com
The Progressive Rancher
MARCH 2022
29
Vegetation Change in the Santa Rosa Mountains: A Repeat Photography Study by Brad Schultz, Extension Educator, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Winnemucca, NV Background: Repeat photography can qualitatively document vegetation changes at large scales. For those involved in discussions about the “condition” or “state” of rangelands today, there is great benefit for understanding what the composition and structure of those rangelands was shortly after settlement: an era of unmanaged grazing that exemplified the tragedy of the commons. The Forest Service’s Santa Rosa Ranger District (hereafter District), in north-central Humboldt County, is one area with a photographic history of over 100 years. The District has about 288,000 acres in active grazing allotments. Willow laced small streams, wet and dry meadows, and stands of aspen are common, and interspaced with mountain big sagebrush, mountain brush and low sagebrush plant communities. Livestock grazing began in the 1860’s, but use was poorly documented until 1906-1910 era, when 150,000 to 200,000 head of sheep, 16,000 head of cattle, and about 1,500 domestic horses grazed the District each year (Figure 1).
This equated to about one million head months per year, or about 5.4 months per head, per year, on the District. This resulted in continuous grazing from when plant growth began each spring until the stock moved to other areas in the fall. In 1912, the District implemented a permit system. Livestock numbers declined from about 200,000 to 81,000 head, mostly through elimination of the nomadic sheep herds, but also 2,500 fewer cattle. Even with dramatically fewer numbers, livestock grazing remained season-long until at least the late 1940’s. The District had only three or four grazing allotments, with no internal pastures, and no infrastructure to adequately implement rotation grazing systems. Sheep permits were converted to cattle or being phased out. The implementation of rotational grazing systems began in the late 1940’s, as did the construction of associated infrastructure (fences, water developments,etc.).Full implementation and enforcement of rotation systems across the entire District probably did
not occur until the 1960-1970 era, with periodic adjustments since then. The last sheep permit ended in 1963. Deer populations from the 1950s into the 1980s were much larger than today, Today, livestock grazing occurs in 12 active allotments with 58 pastures. Each allotment follows either a rest-rotation or deferred rotation system, with two to seven pasture per allotment. Turn-on dates range from mid-April to midJune, and off-dates from late August to the end of September. The current permits total about 10,542 head of cattle and a couple dozen domestic horses. This equates to about 36,500 permitted head months or 3.6 percent of those in 1910. Each head now spends and average of 3.6 months on the District, which is 65% of the annual duration in 1910. Since 1970, livestock numbers have changed little, and the District has built several large riparian pastures since 1990. District wide management changes from 1912 through the 1960’s have given way to periodic adjustments that typically address site specific issues.
Methods and Work to Date: In about 2015 the USFS provided Brad Schultz, Extension Educator in Winnemucca, NV thousands of historical photos from the District. Some were from the 1910-1930s era, but most from the 1950’ through the early 1990’s. Those with distinct topographic features to facilitate their relocation were extracted for potential use. Repeat photography works best when the past and current photos occur at the same growth stage, time of day, and sunlight. Since 2015 smoke-filled skies often have precluded replicating the conditions of the original photos. In 2020 and 2021, repeat photos occurred whenever skies were clear of smoke, following the concept that any current photo is more useful than no photo, for understanding changes in rangeland landscapes. For all repeat photos, topographic features were realigned to the extent possible. The photo-point of the new photo was recorded with a handheld GPS unit, to facilitate future efforts of photo documentation. To date, about 150 repeat photos have been obtained, but space only allows presentation of a few in this article. Results and Discussion: The historic photos occur across a suite of vegetation types ranging from upland shrub-grass range, to aspen stands, to wet and dry meadows. Pictures from the 1910 era show widespread severe degradation (Photos a in Figures 2-4), which often persisted into the 1960’s and later (Figure 2b, 2c, 5a, and 6a).
Forest Reserve was established in 1911. Figure 1. The change in head months per year on the Santa Rosa Ranger District since 1906. Head month numbers remained near one million through at least 1910 or 1911, before being cut 57 percent in 1913. Head months have remained almost constant since about 1970, and have declined about 14,000 since 1960. 30 MARCH 2022
The Progressive Rancher
The photo record clearly demonstrates that only cutting livestock numbers was not a viable solution to the historic grazing problems on the District. Head months on the District in 1945 and later were only five percent or less of those in 1910, but severely degraded range persisted for several decades or more. Many stands of aspen only began to establish an understory in the early 1960s (Figures 2b and 2c).
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Fig 2a - Overgrazing by cattle in Cottonwood Creek, 1919
Fig 3a
Fig 2b - Above Martin Cr. Guard Station, 1951
Fig 3b
Figures 3-8 are a representative sample of the photos taken to date. They show the degree of vegetation or soil changes across time, which ranges from 45 to 104 years between photos. The caption for each pair of photos provides an interpretation of their comparison. Fig 2c
Figures 2a-2c. Figure 2a shows the typical degradation on rangelands in the Santa Rosa Mountains in 1919, seven years after the initial 57 percent cut in head-months on the District. Season-long heavy grazing continues almost everywhere. Aspen stands typically had no young shoots, shrubs in adjacent communities were heavily used and often showed extensive physical damage, and few perennial grasses were easily observed. Bareground, with many dead woody branches was common. In at least some and probably many areas, this persisted into the 1950’s and early 1960’s (middle and bottom photos, respectively). www.progressiverancher.com
The initial large reduction in livestock numbers set the stage for recovery of the vegetation and soils, but landscape wide recovery of desired perennial herbaceous species, aspen stands and riparian willows was slow (Figures 5-7). Slow recovery occurred, at least in part, because grazing of the forage plants remained largely season-long until at species from developing sufficient leaf least the late 1940’s, and possibly even area to replenish their energy reserves and maintain large root systems that into the 1950s and 1960s. reduce soil erosion (Figure 6, next pg). Construction of the infrastructure needed for effective rotation systems Increasing the number of pastures, started in the 1940s but took years to developing water, and implementing build out, and in some respects is still rotational grazing systems benefited the inadequate. Accompanying season- vegetation across all plant communities long use, was heavy forage utilization (Figures 3-8). Eventually managed and inadequate recovery periods for grazing allowed the forage plants across grazed plants. This prevented desired all pastures to complete their annual The Progressive Rancher
Figures 3a-3b. The 1917 (3a) and 2021 (3b) photos show the original and rebuilt southeast corner post of an historic exclosure that was abandoned (i.e., no wire fence) decades ago. In 1917, young aspen reside inside the exclosure but are virtually absent outside. Outside there are many dead aspen stems on the ground surface, with an occasional shrub, no obvious perennial grasses, and substantial bare ground with high erosion potential. In 2021 (nine years after the area burned) there were young aspen everywhere, and these greatly impaired visibility through the stand. Ground cover is very high, with no potential for erosion. The stand has expanded outward so that the corner post is now 30 to 40 feet within the stand’s perimeter.. These two photos show the benefit of changing from season-long heavy use to grazing only part of the growing season in most years with ample recovery periods. Elevation of this site is about 6,400 feet. growth cycle – defined as no grazing before completing seed production during at least one year (and often two or more years) of the rotation cycle. Pastures grazed with deferred rotation systems are grazed every year, but grazing in one or more pastures occurs only after growth, energy production and energy storage have occurred for the year. Across the rotation cycle (2 to 5+ years depending on the allotment), MARCH 2022
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Fig 4a - 198,000 Head Months
Fig 4b - 36,500 Head Months
Figures 4a and 4b. Above the forks of Martin Creek in 1920 (4a) and early August 2021 (4b), 101 years aprat. The elevation is about 7,100 feet. In 1920, most of the shrubs were dead, there were no obvious perennial grasses, and the widespread bare ground had great potential for erosion. In 2021, there was substantial mountain brush and sagebrush, abundant bunchgrasses, and no obvious bare ground. The creation of seven pastures in this allotment facilitated a change from season-long heavy use, to moderate use for short periods, lasting about 3.5weeks or less in each pasture, each year (deferred rotation system). Cattle were scheduled to use this pasture in mid-August, 2021: clearly after the seed production growth stage. The outcome of decades of deferred rotation grazing has been the increase in desired perennial grasses. Fig 5a - 70,000 Head Months
Fig 5b - 36,500 Head Months
Figures 5a and 5b. The East Fork of the Quinn River at Devils Gate in 1952 (5a) and August 2020 (5b), 68 years later. Elevation at this site is about 4,900 feet. The original photo shows no willows or other riparian vegetation in the stream at the crossing in the foreground or further downstream (similar colored area in photos upper left quadrat). The season-long use that occurred into the 1940’s, even with head month numbers being 93 percent less than in 1910, precluded the establishment of willows. Better control the time (season) and duration of use since the early 1950s has led to substantial increases in willows and other riparian plants. all plants receive some exposure to grazing during the growth stages they are least resistant to grazing, but also non-use during those periods in other years. Generally, there are lengthy growing periods between grazing events so plants have time to recover. Cutting livestock numbers does little to improve the outcomes of grazing if the time of use, duration of use, and intensity of use do not allow the plant time to produce and store sufficient energy to remain alive during dormant periods and renew growth the following year. Adequate energy production also allows the perennial herbaceous plants to produce large, dense root systems 32 MARCH 2022
capable of capturing enough water and nutrients to provide for abundant leaf and stem growth, the basis of abundant forage.
The aspen stand in Figure 8a and 8b strongly indicates the cyclic nature of these communities. Large mature trees periodically die-off, even at the comparatively low stock numbers of the 1970’s (compared to 1910). When properly grazed, the stands maintain young shoots in their understory, and these shoots grow into canopy gaps that emerge upon the death of large established trees. Despite substantial improvement rangeland landscapes across much of the District, problems
persist. Typically, they are site-specific, not landscape wide issues. Numerous water troughs still remain on some meadows, and those meadows will remain over used and below their potential until the troughs are moved off site. Other troughs have fallen into disrepair and if restored (and sometimes moved) would improve livestock distribution. Also, stock ponds built decades ago on seasonal or ephemeral streams to provide stock water have filled with sediment and store little or no water. An important step for further improvement of grazing management and rangeland vegetation on the District is identifying
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dysfunctional infrastructure and fixing those problems.
The photo history of the District informs today’s land managers about the extreme rangeland degradation historically present at the District’s creation. Most of us know overgrazing was common and detrimental, but few probably fully understand just how poor range conditions were, landscape wide. Nor do many fully understand, nor appreciate, the magnitude of positive changes that have occurred once managed grazing controlled the timing, duration, and intensity of use, sufficient to allow perennial plants to remain vigorous and robust, both above and below ground. www.progressiverancher.com
Fig 6a - 51,000 Head Months
Fig 6b - 36,500 Head Months
Figures 6a and 6b. Figure 6a is from March 5, 1965 and 6b from June 6, 2021. They compare a low sagebrush site (slope above the drainage) and seasonal drainage 56 years apart. In 1965 there was extensive rill erosion on the slope (most obvious just above the drainage) and there were few bunchgrasses present between the shrubs. The is no apparent riparian vegetation in the seasonal drainage along the bottom of the photo. In 2021, there is no apparent rill erosion and many Sandberg bluegrass plants on the slope above the drainage. The drainage now has both currant (Ribes sp) and wild rose shrubs, and widespread grasslike plants (Carex and Juncus). Changing the timing and duration of use to provide for post-grazing recovery periods has increased bunchgrasses, whose dense fibrous root systems facilitated less hill-slope erosion, and palatable shrubs and grass-like plants in the drainage, which collectively trap more sediment, increasing the amount of water retained on the site, further benefiting the plants. Figures 7a and 7b. Cabin Creek in the Martin Basin Allotment on August 6, 1975 (7a), and 45 years later on July 31, 2020 (7b). The elevation along the stream is about 6,050 feet. In 1975, open water was visible along most above its confluence with the North Fork of Cabin Creek (upper center of photos). There was no open water visible in 2020 following large increases in willow density and size. Meadow vegetation also appears to have expanded as well. This area became a riparian pasture in the early 2000s, which provided additional control of the timing and duration of livestock use, benefiting desired vegetation. Figures 8a and 8b. Aspen stands at about 8,600 feet on Granite Peak on August 7, 1975 (8a) and June 30, 2021 (8b), 46 years apart. In 1975, a large number of mature trees in the stand were dead and diseased. There was scattered currant and snowberry shrubs (larger dark green plants) amongst the mountain sagebrush in the foreground, between the aspen stand and the bare ridgeline toward the bottom of the 2021 photo. In 2021, there were only a few dead and diseased trees and substantial infilling and expansion of the aspen stand. Mountain brush shrubs have increased substantially in the foreground, but also in the bowl above the far-right end of the aspen stand. This comparison shows the cyclic nature of many aspen stands, provided there is sufficient sapling growth in the stand’s understory.
Fig 7a - 36,500 Head Months
Fig 8a - 36,800 Head Months
Fig 7b - 36,500 Head Months
Fig 8b - 36,500 Head Months
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The Progressive Rancher
MARCH 2022
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Snyder's Pinenut Livestock Vaccination Clinic with The High Desert Grange
HIGH DESERT GRANGE The Gateway to Friendship, Family & Community To learn more, please visit
grange.org/highdesertnv22 highdesertgrange22 highdesertgrange22@gmail.com
On February 3, 2022 Snyders Pinenut livestock hosted a injection education clinic to the High Desert Grange youth. Patrick Snyder provided information on correct injection sites and the proper way to give injections. Patrick also talked about the importance of a veterinarian client relationship and spoke about the importance of withdrawals times on medications and correct procedures on dosage use. Patrick talked about the importance of vaccines to prevent diseases. This information is so important for youth to learn so they are responsible livestock producers, not to mention preventing illness, and providing a quality product for the food chain. All youth were able to do practice injections on the demo cow that Partick has at the store for educations purposes.
34 MARCH 2022
The Progressive Rancher
www.progressiverancher.com
Fallon: 8-5:30 M-F Gardnerville: 8-5 M-F Snyders Pinenut Livestock Supply
800-513-4963 • www.pinenutlivestocksupply.com Complete selection of animal health products, feed, and equipment for beef, dairy, equine, sheep, goat and small animal. Well-trained staff help make the right decision for any size herd. Our Fallon & Gardnerville stores can ship next-day. www.progressiverancher.com
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MARCH 2022
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Join Us for Range Camp 2022 About: We invite high school youth to enjoy a week of fun, camping, and learning about rangelands and natural resource management. This year the camp headquarters will be located in the Timber Creek Campground area Northwest of McGill, NV. This area provides a splendid setting for learning and recreation. The camp has a long and successful history. Since 1961, hundreds of Nevada’s youth have participated in the program. Today, many former campers manage natural resources for their families, communities, or agencies.
Gene-editing breakthrough in the battle against tick-borne diseases Collaborative research leads to noteworthy discovery that could decrease public health threat of tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease University-led research has developed a new method that allows gene editing in ticks at the embryo stage, a protocol previously thought impossible for ticks. This ground-breaking discovery, published in iScience Journal, could decrease the ability of ticks to be a vector for disease causing pathogens. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the research collaboration was led by Monika Gulia-Nuss and Andrew Nuss, assistant professors at the University of Nevada, Reno, and involved Jason Rasgon at The Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamic and Robert Harrell at University of Maryland’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research.
“Ticks are a public health nuisance. They transmit so many pathogens that can cause diseases in humans, companion animals, and wild animals,” said GuliaNuss, faculty member in UNR’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources. “If we understand the [tick] vectors better, we can probably find ways to control them as well, either through new acaricides, vaccines or drug development.” While Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease, there are at least 20 different infections that are transmitted by ticks in the U.S. More than 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed each year, and the number of new cases and the areas where ticks are found are increasing.
Through collaboration with Rasgon and Harrell, Gulia-Nuss’ lab was able to develop the first gene-editing protocol for ticks. The researchers successfully carried out targeted gene disruption in ticks through two CRISPR gene-editing methods: embryo injection and Receptor-Mediated Ovary Transduction of Cargo (ReMOT Control), a less labor-intensive method of gene-editing first developed in insects by the Rasgon lab. Harrell, an expert in insect embryo injections, was an important collaborator for finding appropriate injection conditions for tick embryos. With this new development, researchers can start editing genes, allowing them to ask questions that weren’t possible before. For example, when editing or removing certain genes, they can examine what happens to the tick and if this alteration interferes with the capacity of the tick to harbor a pathogen.
This public-impact research attracted the attention of the Congressionally established Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, which invited Gulia-Nuss to present her pioneering findings at their most recent meeting. “This is the first time ticks have been modified on the genetic level, so this research was really interesting for the [group],” she said.
Gulia-Nuss values the collaboration happening across labs, universities and research specialties. With the expertise and collaborative efforts of more researchers, more progress can be achieved in tick research, eventually reducing the tick-borne disease threat. “Together we stand stronger,” she said. Contact: Jane Tors, Research Communications Director, UNR 775-327-2359 | jtors@unr.edu
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Purpose: Nevada Youth Range Camp focuses on relationships between people and rangeland. Campers learn about plants, wildlife, water, and soil in order to make good decisions about rangeland management and use. They learn skills and explore careers in rangeland and related resource management. The camp challenges youth to explore resource problems and to create logical solutions.
Program: The week is filled with many learning opportunities. Instructors teach various subjects through group investigations. Camp instructors and counselors are trained specialists from the University of Nevada, Reno; Nevada State Parks; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Bureau of Land Management; Forest Service; Nevada Division of Forestry; Nevada Division of Conservation Districts; Nevada Division of Wildlife; and others. During the week, campers learn the importance of range plants, how to identify them, and their usefulness to livestock, wildlife, and watersheds. They focus on the connections between range soils and vegetation. Campers study wildlife and learn about habitat conservation. A local rancher takes campers on a ranch tour and discusses range management as a business. Campers also use teamwork to develop and present a rangeland management plan and implement a conservation project.
Schedule: Campers arrive by noon on Sunday and break camp next Saturday a.m. Campers register and form groups with an adult counselor and assistant youth counselor. The weeklong program runs from 7a.m. to 9p.m., and includes instruction, projects, rest, meals and recreation. Adult supervision occurs throughout the entire week. Parents and sponsors are welcome to visit the camp any time and are especially invited for the Friday night awards program. The evening programs are geared for enjoyment and personal interest and include map and compass orientation, conservation skill workshops, wildlife presentations, and campfires. Mid-week, a shower and swim in McGill precedes the BBQ and special evening program. While the camp is educational, it also offers an enjoyable outdoor experience shared with youth from around Nevada. Activities include swimming, fishing, hiking, volleyball, horseshoes, campfires, and entertainment, along with ample opportunities for photography. Campers must bring along their own tackle and valid Nevada fishing license if they plan to fish. How to Apply: Download and save the application packet to your computer. Using Adobe Acrobat, complete the entire application packet by filling out, signing, and saving. You may also print and fill it out by hand. Ask an adult other than a parent, relative, or sibling to write a letter of recommendation for your application. Email your application and letter of recommendation to emower@parks.nv.gov or print the packet and mail it with your recommendation letter to: NV Youth Range Camp C/O Kershaw Ryan State Park, PO Box 985, Caliente NV, 89008
Please note that if you submit your application and letter of recommendation by email, the recommendation must be a scanned copy of the adult’s signed letter or be formatted on the adult’s official letterhead. Applications must be postmarked or emailed by April 30, 2022. You will receive an acceptance letter by email.
Payment: Please submit payment by May 30, 2022. The payment should be sent to: Nevada Youth Range Camp C/O Kershaw Ryan State Park, PO Box 985, Caliente NV, 89008. If you have any questions regarding the application process, feel free to contact Ethan Mower at emower@parks.nv.gov or at 775-726-3564.
We need volunteer counselors! Contact emower@parks.nv.gov
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If you’re considering selling the ranch or farm, call us! We market aggressively and know the business well!
Wildhorse Cattle Co Elko | White Pine | Nye Counties
Copper Creek Recreational Retreat and Pasture
Talbot Creek Ranch Lamoille
897 acres in Elko, White Pine and Nye Counties with USFS grazing permits west of Wildhorse Reservoir and BLM permits on East and South of Wildhorse. 361 acres with water rights at the Wildhorse headquarters. Excellent summer and winter grazing. Price: $4,200,000
Approximately 400 Acres with nearly 1/2 mile of Copper Creek on it. In the Charleston Valley. Borders forest on two sides. Short distance to Bruneau River. 81 acres with water rights. Charleston, Nevada Price: $689,000
This 426 acre property is truly unique with over a mile of year-round Talbot Creek running through it and bordering the Humbolt National Forest. 2 cabins, large metal storage building. Priced to sell at $2,100,000
Bar O Ranch Summer and Winter Range
Chicken Ranch South of Wells
909+ Deeded acres of which over 700 acres have Water rights for irrigation. Currently 2 pivots in and New seeding planned and another new pivot about To be installed. Winter range out the gate and summer Range not to far away on the Utah side of the border. Three good manufactured homes plus three shops and Other outbuildings. Owner rated at approx. 300 head Year around. Price: $4,000,000. Will increase with addition of two more pivots and well to service them.
3796 + Deeded acres fenced an cross fenced with a stock water well and water from a permitted Spring. The ranch has an approved irrigation permit for 130 acres and 3 phase power is readily available. There is a 100 acre parcel zoned Industrial with Rail access and access onto US. Hwy 93. Price: $2,250,000
Lund Farm Lund, Nevada 100 acre farm with irrigation well and flood irrigation system. Approx. 90 acres water righted. Nice manufactured Home plus several small pastures near house with water and A small feed lot in center of property. Great farming/ ranching Community with K-12 Schools and even an Ag program. Price: $685,000 www.progressiverancher.com
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Bassett Lake Farm - McGill, NV 160 acre farm property near Bassett Lake. Has nice log home plus shop and a lot of nice fencing. Two pivots and two irrigation wells plus domestic well. Excellent farm for small cattle operation or hay for Supplemental income. Great privacy but only 7 miles out of town. Price $775,000.
Paul D. Bottari
Broker | NV Lic# B 015476
paul@bottarirealty.com Cell: 775.752.0952 O: 775.752.3040 | F: 775.752.3021 1222 6th St. PO Box 368 Wells, NV 89835 BOTTARIREALTY.COM Broker Paul Bottari was selected Realtor’s Land Institute’s Land Broker of America in 2019 MARCH 2022
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Churchill County Cowbelles |
Favorite Beef Recipes
Smoked Beef Short Ribs with Mustard Beef ribs are perfect to BBQ! Similar in taste to brisket, easier to cook and ready in half the time, while also being cheaper to buy... what’s not to like? Here’s how to turn these ‘brisket on a stick’ behemoths into a wonderful beefy treat.
By Leana L. Carey, President
Preparing Your Smoker
You want to set up your smoker for indirect smoking, temperature 225 °F to 250 °F, and because the whole cook will take a good 8 to 10 hours, you want to have a good amount of fuel in there to last the duration. For smoking wood, I use 3 good chunks, with my preferred being oak, hickory or beech. I sometimes add a chunk of cherry for extra color to the bark. Of course, use whatever wood you prefer, but do go with a good, strong tasting wood smoke as beef can take it and even deserves it, a fruit wood is too mild. For this cook, I used oak. Preparing the Ribs
Short ribs often come with a layer of fat on top. In my experience, this is often only a couple of millimeters thick, and I leave it on. You can remove it if you wish, but nearly all of it will render out anyway and this layer of fat is added flavor!
BIG, Rich, Moist and Tender Short Ribs
Beef short ribs are one of my very favorite cuts to cook on the BBQ and are every bit as good as they look! Somewhat brisket-like in taste, every bit as flavorful, moist and melt in your mouth, yet only taking 8 to 10 hours to cook instead of 16 or more for a full brisket. Smoked beef ribs (cooked correctly) are moist, tender, incredibly beefy, have an intense smoky and spicy bark with melt in your mouth meat, and they have a significant wow factor that is sure to impress your guests.
However, sometimes beef ribs will have a much thicker cap comprised of fat, meat, and silverskin which MUST be removed because the silverskin will not render down during cooking and is inedible. This extra layer of meat is either (commonly believed to be) a piece of brisket, or it is the muscle that forms the ‘cap’ on a fore rib of beef. I’m not 100% sure which it is, but either way it cooks differently to the rib meat and stated, and must be removed, along with the silverskin between this meat and the rib meat.
What are Beef Short Ribs?
Beef short ribs are the huge, often foot long, dinosaur-like ribs from a cow that can weigh as much as 2.5 pounds each, but 1 to 1.5 pounds each is more the norm. Pretty much always sold in joints of 3 to 4, and also known as ‘short plate ribs,’ they are the largest and meatiest of any kind of ribs. You can buy them individually, but they are better bought in plates of up to 4 ribs. INGREDIENTS: • Two plates of 4x short ribs each •2x Tablespoons yellow mustard •60g Black Peppercorns •20g Kosher or Sea Salt •1 Tablespoon garlic powder •1 Tablespoon smoked paprika • 1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) EQUIPMENT: •A smoker •Two aluminum trays •Aluminum foil •Braising liquid (I use beer but beef stock also works) What to Look For When Buying Beef Ribs
Make sure you buy short ribs, not back ribs (which have very little meat). Secondly, within the name ‘short ribs’, there are two sub-types: Plate short ribs, and chuck short ribs. Either of these are what we want. The chuck short ribs come from closer to the shoulder, tend to be slightly smaller and have more connective tissue. The plate short ribs are longer and larger have a higher ‘meat to connective tissue’ ratio, and once cooked are slightly more lean and tender than chuck short ribs. For the purpose of smoking, I’ve always found cooking them as pairs or higher is best (not cooking them as individual ribs) then separating them into single ribs after cooking. So buy a plate of 2, 3 or 4 ribs, depending on your needs. Finally, you want to buy beef ribs with a good amount of marbling, as intramuscular fat is what keeps them moist during cooking and is responsible for a ton of flavor. If you’re looking to follow my cook, where I wrap with a liquid for part of the cook, you can buy any ribs USDA choice or better. If you plan to cook them straight through without wrapping, I recommend only USDA prime or better, or meat with similar levels of marbling. I used two plates of USDA prime chuck short ribs, with four ribs to each cut. 38 MARCH 2022
To check for this layer, look at your ribs from the side. If they are comprised of: • Bone, thick meat, thin layer of fat, then you are good to go. • Bone, thick meat, thin layer of fat, second layer of meat, second layer of fat, then you need to remove the fat cap and extra layer of meat. When removing the fat cap in the second example, you must remove the topmost layer of fat and the top layer of meat between the two fat layers, which includes the inedible layer of silverskin. Remove the Membrane - or Not?
On the bone side of the ribs is a membrane, and I like to remove this. This membrane is a thick, tough layer of connective tissue that remains very tough and chewy even after the meat is thoroughly cooked. Many people leave the membrane on, which is absolutely fine. It can be useful in that it helps prevent the meat from falling off the bone after cooking, and can simply be left (or eaten) from the finished product.
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If you don’t want to mess about removing membrane from ribs, a good trick is to score it in a crisscross pattern, so some rub flavor gets through, and it shrinking during cooking doesn’t cause the rib meat to contract as much, curl up and disfigure. Here’s How To Remove The Membrane
Personally, I always remove the membrane. Simply insert the end of a blunt knife into the area above one of the end ribs and lift the membrane.
Smoke for 4 Hours, Then Wrap With Liquid
Once you can get your finger in, remove the knife and use your finger to work the membrane loose until you have a loose corner, and you are able to grab it. You can now simply pull the membrane right off. If you find your fingers slip while trying to pull it off, use some kitchen paper between your thumb and fingers which will provide the grip necessary. The membrane on beef ribs is tough, it rarely if ever rips, so you should be able to pull it off all in one go. However, if it does rip, work another part free and try again. With practice, you’ll become better and begin to find it easy. Making the Rub
For this cook, I’ve gone with a slightly modified Texas rub. 60g black peppercorns, 20g of kosher salt, one tablespoon of garlic powder, one tablespoon of smoked paprika, one teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, if you like just a little heat.) Put your peppercorns into a pestle and mortar and grind away until the pepper is still relatively coarse. Then add the other ingredients, a few more grinds to mix thoroughly, and you’re done. Coat the Ribs in Mustard
In order to help the rub stick, I like to cover the ribs in a thin layer of mustard. You could also use a thin layer of oil if you prefer.
For the first few hours of the cook, we want the ribs to take on a smoky flavor and the bark to develop. I find 4 hours is the sweet spot for this. Any less than 4 hours and the bark will not be good enough. Now it’s time to wrap if you choose. I’ve done this both ways, both wrapped part way through and left unwrapped for the entirety of the cook, and both ways obtain good but slightly different results. If you want a slightly drier rib, with a more pronounced and deep, chewy bark, then leave the ribs uncovered for the duration. If you like a more moist and tender rib, with less ‘bite’ and more fall off the bone, then wrap part way through the cook. Wrap or Not? How to Decide? It Depends on Marbling
Another factor to consider if deciding to wrap or not is the quality or grade of meat you have, particularly the amount of marbling in the ribs you are cooking. If you have USDA choice or lower quality, I would recommend wrapping them. There isn’t as much fat in them, and they can dry out if left unwrapped. If you have USDA Prime or better, with tons of marbling and intramuscular fat, then there’s no need to wrap, but you can if you wish. In my house, we prefer to wrap our ribs. They tend to be much more tender and moist when wrapped with some braising liquid. I also find that regardless of the ribs I’m cooking, whether beef ribs or pork ribs, when wrapping, the results are more predictable as the tenderness of the finished product and how moist it remains is less dependent on the meat quality and amount of marbling. So, for this cook, I put them on the smoker for approx 4 hours to smoke before placing the ribs into silver trays with a couple of glugs of beer (or you can use beef stock) and then I sealed the trays with aluminum foil. I still left the temp probe in one of the racks to remotely monitor temps. Cook To Tenderness, Not Temp
Leave the ribs cooking until they hit 200 °F in the thickest part, as shown by the remote temperature probe, then start to probe for tenderness. Note that not all ribs are the same and not all will be done at the same temp! Some can be ready at 203 °F, while some may need to go as high as 210 °F, depending on the makeup of the muscle, fat and connective tissues of the animal the ribs came from. The best way to check is they should be soft to the touch, have a little wobble, and ‘probe like butter’ if stuck with a toothpick, skewer or instant-read thermometer probe. When Done, Remove, Wrap and Rest
When the ribs are cooked to the correct tenderness, remove them from the smoker, unwrap and remove from the tray with the braising liquid. Then wrap them again in either pink butcher paper or tin foil, and place into a cooler to rest for at least half an hour, with an hour being preferable. Slice Into Individual Ribs and Serve Apply Dry Rub
Add copious amounts of rub, but not so much that the meat’s completely covered. You want to just see the meat through the rub in places. The first time you do this, it may seem like an excessive amount, but after such long cooking, the pepper in the rub will ‘soften’ somewhat, and the rub combines with the outer surface of the ribs to create an incredibly spicy, smoky, delicious bark, so apply the rub liberally. Add Your Ribs to The Smoker
Put the ribs ‘rib side down’ directly onto the grates in your smoker that’s preheated to and holding a steady temp between 225 °F to 250 °F. Place a remote digital smoker thermometer temperature probe into the ribs, making sure it’s into one of the thickest parts and not touching bone. www.progressiverancher.com
After they are rested, unwrap and slice into individual ribs to serve while still on the bone. One rib per person with sides is a good-sized portion, and serving with pickles and bread is a good combination. The pickles cut through the rib’s fattiness and richness, and the bread provides sustenance and is perfect to sop drippings. Add Sauce if You Wish
You can add sauce if you like; return the ribs to the smoker for 10 minutes for the sauce to set and then serve. However, I prefer not to sauce them and instead provide a good sauce with some heat that people can help themselves to if they desire. If you do decide to sauce your ribs, one with some heat goes very well, whereas an overly sweet sauce can be super sickly on top of the richness and fattiness of beef ribs, so please, don’t go too sweet with your choice of sauce.
The Progressive Rancher
MARCH 2022
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Presort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Permit #40 Tooele, UT
Let us be your source for bulls that Target the Brand. Join us Monday March 14th, 2022 at the ranch in Bliss, Idaho for our Annual Spring Cove Ranch Angus Bull and Female Sale.
Selling 170 yrlg & Fall yrlg Bulls and 80 Heifers.
20 sons of Sitz Accomplishment 720F sell
CED+9 BW+.7 WW+75 YW+131 SC+1.27 Milk+21 CW+56 Marb+.92 Rib+.49 $M+83 $C+288
25 sons & grandsons of Southern Charm AA31 sell CED+4 BW+3.2 WW+69 YW+116 SC+2.05 Milk+29 CW+47 Marb+.98 Rib+.87 $M+62 $C+270
For sale books call or text : 208-320-8803 www.springcoveranch.com Find us on Facebook The Pioneer Herd of the West
20 sons of Sitz Resilient 10208 sell
CED+8 BW+.4 WW+80 YW+139 SC+1.05 Milk+26 CW+63 Marb+.68 Rib+.93 $M+94 $C+309
10 sons of S S Enforcer E812 sell
CED+9 BW+1.0 WW+88 YW+166 SC+1.58 Milk+30 CW+72 Marb+1.03 Rib+1.01 $M+87 $C+349
15 sons of Musgrave 316 Exclusive sell
CED+8 BW+.5 WW+70 YW+124 SC+1.15 Milk+23 CW+58 Marb+.94 Rib+.72 $M+84 $C+306
Spring Cove Ranch Angus since 1919 269 Spring Cove Rd Bliss, Idaho 83314
15 sons of Sydgen Enhance sell
CED+8 BW+.4 WW+70 YW+138 SC+1.38 Milk+31 CW+63 Marb+1.18 Rib+.81 $M+71 $C+323
For more information call:
Art Butler: 208-280-1026 Stacy Butler: 208-320-8803 Josh Mavencamp: 208-358-0057 Sarah Helmick: 208-490-0741 Randy Lancaster, Triple L: 208-731-1947
