Forage 2020, by Tri-State Livestock News

A

PUBLICATION

OF

SPRING 2020 EDITION

Since its inception in 1924, the name Sokota has been associated with quality seeds. The focus has always been, and will continue to be, the delivery of highly productive seeds that withstand the everchanging conditions of the Upper Midwest.

GRAIN SORGHUM GS-855

FORAGE SORGHUM FS-300

This hybrid has red grains that are large and round in shape.

The hybrid is 52 days to midbloom. It can be grown in short-season conditions and also in situations to escape drought in longer season conditions.

FS-300 is a non-BMR hybrid with tremendous yield potential.

FS-300 features good nutritional quality for a standard midrib hybrid and will produce a large grain head with high-grain yields.

FS-300 BMR

GS-750

This medium-early maturity hybrid produces a high-density, high-bushel weight, white grain. It has high tolerance to drought and will produce outstanding yields.

ALFALFA SB-1942 Northern hay producers will appreciate this top-yielding, finestemmed alfalfa that is specialized for the upper Midwest. Will alow up to four cuts if Mother Nature allows.

FS-300 BMR is the earliest BMR brachytic dwarf forage sorghum on the market. The tillering capabilities of this hybrid are unsurpassed, allowing for increased yields and ground cover.

FS-3100 BMR

FS3100 BMR is an Early, 100 day maturing BMR Brachytic Dwarf Forage Sorghum. The hybrid gets approximately 6 feet tall and has exceptional standability.

SORGHUM-SUDANGRASS SS-605

Produces thick, vigorous stands of fine-stemmed forage. It has excellent digestibility as compared to competing sorghum-sudan hybrids. Utilized by profit-conscious livestock producers. It’s a reliable, proven favorite.

SS-605 BMR

A brown midrib sorghum-sudangrass hybrid with excellent vigor and drought tolerance. Its exceptional palatability and digestibility makes this the variety of choice for many stockmen.

HYBRID PEARL MILLET

A warm-season annual grass commonly used for livestock forage. Having excellent seedling vigor, it is very quick to establish and can be ready for grazing or haying in as little as four weeks after emergence.

Call for a Dealer Near You

www.SokotaSeeds.com • Platte, SD • 605-337-9882

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

FORAGE 2020 1

Cobett Waterers

Earth-Heated, Farmer-Designed Waterers

Small Bowl

Bury Depth 9’6” $

Galvanized & Primed

Cap-Chur Dart Gun $

595

E HOIC

C

YOUR

$

5% Discount Full Bundles

85.95/Sheet

24’-6” Long

Allows medication of hard to handle animals or those in remote locations with ease.

Very accurate at 60 feet.

5 Bar $100

Electric Branding Irons

7 Bar $135

We’ve got your brand, custom design...

NO PROBLEM!!! Call for Quotes!

Custom Stainless Steel Branding Irons

Figures $49

Bars & 1/4 Circles $39

3 Bar $65 $

61.75- 10+ $

$

4 Bar $85

$

95 - 10+

#2 MIXED FIR & OAK

1095 EACH 1050 EA./BUNDLE

$

109.25 - 10+

Call for Semi Load Discounts

7 Bar • 25’ Panel 5 1/2’ Tall 2 3/8” Drill Stem Frame 3/4” Sucker Rod Cross

Switch Ties 10’ - 14’ - $295/Ft.

High Quality - Long Lasting Fir Ties

T-Posts All Posts are 1.33# per ft.

T-Posts....... 0+200......200+ 5½’ ............ $415 ......... $405 6’ .............$449 ......... $439 7’ .............$520 ..........$510 2

FORAGE 2020

TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

Standing water stays below the frost line when not in use, which means: • No Electricity • No Minimum Head Count • No Insulation • 50F/10C Water Year Round • Fresh Water with Every Use • No Thermos System $ 99 NEW $ 99 PRODUCT $ 99

8’ - 459 9’ - 479 10’ - 549 Ranch Hand All Season Mineral Tubs Convenient Size Easy to Handle 200 lb. Tub

$

Ranch Hand Ranch Hand All Season All Season w/Garlic $ $ 10850 EA 11450 EA

295

Concrete Ties

1695 $ 95 15 - 25+ $

Ranch Hand Ranch Hand High Phos High Phos w/Garlic $ $ 11050 EA 11650 EA

Delta Harrows

700#/Each 7” x 8” Tops 8 1/2’ Long

Truck Load Delivery Available

Great for creek crossings or alleyways!

Red Brand Barbed Wire Heavy Duty 12.5 Ga. 1320’ Rolls

5 FREE CLIPS with each post.

1,09500

Recommended Feeding Rate 1 tub/25 head of cattle

$

$

$

Stampede Freestanding Panel

#1 FIR

1495 EACH $ 1450 EA./BUNDLE

80.75 - 10+

6 Bar $115

128.25- 10+

Railroad Ties $

Large Bowl

Bury Depth 7’6”

Water Drinking Post

Dart Gun Blue ............................$595.00 Dart Gun Hard Case ....................$29.90 Cap-Chur Loads Brown (100) ....$17.95 Cap-Chur 10cc Darts(15) .............$83.25 Bore Snake ..................................$22.95 Hoppe’s Solvent ............................$5.45 12cc Disp. Syringe ..........................40¢ 19 Ga. x 1.5” Disp. Needle .............30¢

Single letter or figure .................. $128 Two letters or figures................... $138 Three letters or figures ................ $148

1,12500

2-3 Head Use Waterers

Dart Gun Starter Kit

ALL PRICES LISTED BELOW APPLY TO STANDARD 2”, 2.5”, 3”, 3.5”, OR 4” LETTERS OR FIGURES. 2” & 2.5” electric branders are made with a thin line 3/16” face, 3” and above with 3/8”.

$

E-Z48” Continuous Fence Tall x 20’ Long

Medicating Rifle Only

Complete Kit -------- $75500

Large Bowl

Bury Depth 9’6”

1.5” Deep

36”

97500

Single Head Use

$3.00/Roll Mail-In Rebate

6395 Roll $6295 Each/pallet quantity $

(27 rolls per pallet)

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

Hydraulic Fold Harrows 5/8” Tynes 24’ Harrow 28’ Harrow 32’ Harrow $

8,195

$

8,895

$

9,995

36’ Harrow 42’ Harrow $

11,195

$

12,895

The Vermeer N-series balers bring heavy-duty components for strength and durability in the field when you need it most.

Smart features like the available automatic pickup clutch and Auto Lube system help extend machine life. Plus, they’re backed by the best distribution network in the industry.

The TM610/TM710/TM810 trailed mowers offer simplicity. The hookup procedure is straightforward; after the hitch, PTO and hydraulics are connected it’s ready to go to the field. Toolless adjustments allow users to set the suspension between fields. The Quick-Clip® blade retention system lives up to its name. Horsepower requirements (TM610: 50 hp [37.3 kW]) are an average 20 percent lower than comparable 3-point disc mowers.

Verm e eer er C Corp orporat orat orati ation ion o rese res eserves ves ess thee rig riightt ttoo make m ke ma k chang chang han ang nges geess in eengine enggine gineerinng, g, desig esiignn an andd specifi s ecifi sp eci cifificati catiions cati ons; add ons; dd imp impprove im rove ovvement ove mennts; oorr di me ment d sconntinu tin e m tinue mannufa ufa f cturin cturin ctur inng at ing at any annyy time im me wi with itt ou out ut noti nootice ce or ob obliga liliga iga g tio ga ttion ion onn. Eq Equipm uipment uip ip ent e t show en shown is sho i for for fo or ill illustr ustrrativ at e ppurpos at rpos osseess onnly and nd ma may ayy displa lay ay opt optiona ionnal acccess ces orie ce or ess oor com co pone onenntss spe speccific fic to to their hei glo gl baal regi giionn Plea P ssee conta coonta nta taactt yo you our ur lloca ocal Ve oc Vermee rmeer deale rmee aler ler for for mor mor o e iinform infform orm mation ation oon macchine hine specific ppeecific cifificcatio atio t nnss Vermeer Verm Verm Ver Ve meer eer tthe thhee Ver Veerm Verme mee eeeerr andd Q Quick Qui ck Clip liip are arre tr trad tra trad addem ema emar maarkss of m

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FORAGE 2020 3

Baler Supplies

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FORAGE 2020

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Dan Todd 605-280-9214 TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

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What ranchers read.

The region’s choice ag weekly since 1981

1501 5TH AVENUE, SUITE 101, BELLE FOURCHE, SOUTH DAKOTA 57717 | 1 (877) 347-9100 | (605) 723-7013 | www.tsln.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS: (877) 347-9100 Publisher: SABRINA “BREE” POPPE Cell (605) 639-0356 | Office (877) 347-9104 spoppe@tsln-fre.com GM of Sales & Marketing & Fieldman: DENNIS GINKENS Cell (406) 670-9839 | dginkens@tsln-fre.com Editor: CARRIE STADHEIM (605) 622-8935 | cstadheim@tsln-fre.com Digital & Sections Editor: MARIA TIBBETTS (605) 484-4488 | mtibbetts@tsln-fre.com Digital Engagment Editor: LIZ BANMAN MUNSTERTEIGER marketing@tsln-fre.com Graphic Designer: CHRISTA VANDYKE Special Projects & Major Account Coordinator: DIANNA PALMER Northern Black Hills Territory (605) 723-7010 | dpalmer@tsln-fre.com Account Manager: SUSAN CABLE SD–S. of I-90 Rosebud East Territory (605) 840-1986 | (888) 648-4449 | scable@tsln-fre.com Account Manager: KRISTEN SCHURR Montana-Wyoming-National (406) 498-6022 | kschurr@tsln-fre.com Commercial Account Manager: LEAH BRENCE West River Territory SD/ND (406) 839-1097 | lbrence@tsln-fre.com Commercial Account Manager: TRACY L. HAUK East River SD/ND Territory (406) 951-3211 | thauk@tsln-fre.com Cattle Marketing Assistant & NE Territory Account Manager: CARISSA LEE (877) 347-9114 | clee@tsln-fre.com Director of Field Services & Ringman: SCOTT DIRK West of River ND & SD Territory (605) 380-6024 | sdirk@tsln-fre.com

Table of Contents 8

KNOWING WHAT IS FAIR FOR ALL WHEN LEASING LAND

BY DEANNA NELSON-LICKING

14 LET IT GROW

Cover Crops Solve Many Problems for Farmers & Ranchers

BY MEGAN SILVEIRA

24 CROP INSURANCE ISN’T

JUST FOR FARMERS

BY RUTH WIECHMANN

30 PLANTING THE SEED

Seed Companies Provide Information, Support for Farmers and Ranchers

BY TERESA CLARK

40 AT HOME ON THE RANGE

BY RUTH NICOLAUS

Field Service & Ringman: DAN PIROUTEK (605) 544-3316 | dpiroutek@tsln-fre.com Field Service & Ringman : MATT WZNICK MT & WY Territory (406) 489-2414 | mwznick@tsln-fre.com Field Service & Ringman: DREW FELLER CO & NE Territory (402) 841-4215 | dfeller@tsln-fre.com

CLASSIFIEDS: CLASSIFIEDS@TSLN-FRE.COM COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ERRORS: The Tri-State Livestock News & Farmer & Rancher Exchange shall be responsible for errors or omission in connection with an advertisement only to the extent of the space covered by the error.

Opinions stated in letters or signed columns do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of Tri-State Livestock News.

6

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

50 BUDDY SEATS AND URBAN SPRAWL

Smeja Family Works Together for Future

BY TAMARA CHOAT

60 HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

PAGE 30

90-year-old Slide Stacker Is Back in the Field

BY LINDA TEAHON

66 PLANT PROFILE

Common Mullein Verbascum Thapsus

BY JAN SWAN WOOD

70 DO UNTO OTHERS

Neighbors Pitch in to Put Up Hay

BY DUSTI BERRY

79 ADVERTISER INDEX PAGE 40 TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

FORAGE 2020 7

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DEANNA NELSON-LICKING

W

ith the increased cost of running a ranch and rising land values, more producers are looking to expand by leasing ground both for pasture and hay production, instead of purchasing. But establishing a price that is fair for both parties can be difficult.

One place to start can be the USDA National Ag Statistics Survey (NASS) which provides

8

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

the current reported lease rate for each state and region. Additionally, state extension offices and ag real estate lenders are good sources for the most current information.

When leasing pasture land a written lease agreement is probably a wise plan. The price can fluctuate greatly depending on how the rate is calculated: per acre basis, per head, by animal unit or by pair. A cow-calf pair is typically considered to be 1.25 to 1.30

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

KNOWING

WHAT IS FAIR FOR ALL WHEN LEASING

LAND TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

FORAGE 2020 9

animal units (animal unit being 1,000-pound animal). However, this can vary depending on weight of cow and age of calf. The stocking rate and who will do the work should be decided ahead of time.

With the surveys being a year old, current market trends play a factor in determining a fair rate, and expected cattle markets can influence pasture rental prices. Summer pasture is usually figured for a five-month grazing season. The lease agreement should also be able to account for weather-related disasters such as hail, flooding, drought or fire.

Allan Vyhnalek, extension educator for University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), addressed this in his article, “Frequently Asked Questions Farmland Leases.”

What should I rent my ground for? (How do I calculate a fair rental rate?)

Land rent can be based on several things, rental rates of the local area, percentage return on investment, survey data showing rental rates, percent of gross income, and many others. The recommendation is to calculate

the estimated rental rate based on three or four of these factors and then decide.

The local rental rate might be obtained from an ag loan officer at your local bank, by ag real estate professionals, or from professional farm managers.

To calculate a percent return on investment, multiply the value of the land by the percent return that you’d like to receive. Be sure to factor in expenses such as land taxes when making this calculation.

Both the National Ag Statistics Service and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln have land value surveys that are released each year. The UNL survey preliminary data is released in March with final data released in the summer. The NASS survey final data is usually released in early September.

The percent of gross income is calculated by taking the average yield of the commodity grown multiplied by the expected price for that commodity which equals the gross income per acre. The landlord would typically receive about 30 percent of the gross income calculation; however, the number will change based

A COW-CALF PAIR IS TYPICALLY CONSIDERED TO BE 1.25 TO 1.30 ANIMAL UNITS (ANIMAL UNIT BEING 1,000 LB. ANIMAL) WHEN WORKING OUT A PASTURE LEASE DEAL.

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

on yield and price. The percentage should represent an average across five or more years.

The bottom line on rental rate is that it will be what the renter agrees to pay and the landlord agrees to accept. Pricing will also be based on supply and demand of farmland rental ground in the area. There is no right or wrong definitive rental price. The final rent is simply an agreement between parties involved. Typically this constitutes a fair and equitable trade price for the use of the ground.

Jim Jansen, agriculture economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, says, “Profitability plays a factor in figuring pasture lease rate along with quality of property, fencing, water, land competition and weed/ cedar tree control. It all is based on who is responsible for what and if it is priced by the acre or animal unit. The quality of the land plays a huge part of determining lease price. People can look at the averages for their area and compare it, are they above or below, are they looking to make a deal for a family member and overall profitability.”

Building

a Lease

A quick online search will provide numerous sample leases, but here is a checklist of items to consider including in a lease agreement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY (number of acres, legal description, physical description) TERM – How long is the lease good for, is there an option for renewal, when and how will that be communicated?

COST – How much and when payments are due?

PURPOSE – What will the tenant be using the land for, how many animals, what crops, etc.? What is not allowed?

CONDITION – How will the lease term and payments be adjusted in the case of inclement weather (drought, hail, blizzard)?

IMPROVEMENTS – Who pays for fencing or improvements, who does the work?

FEDERAL PAYMENTS – If the property qualifies for federal programs, will that go to the landlord or lessee?

INSURANCE – Who carries insurance on the property?

TAXES – Who is responsible for the taxes?

DEFAULT – What happens if payments aren’t made as agreed?

UTILITIES, ROADS, RIGHT-OF-WAY – If any of these things are changed during the term of the lease, how will that be handled?

TERMINATION – How is the lease terminated, and how much notice is required?

TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

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FORAGE 2020 11

He also mentioned that hay ground has many influencing factors, some go by cash equivalent, or share of the crop; the cost of operating is also figured into the deal. With having to go by last year’s cattle prices, profitability for both parties plays the determining role. “Profitability of the enterprise balances the availability of assets,” he said. “(Lease price) for pasture it is based on carrying capacity of the property which of course is determined by soils’ quality and rain fall. Other factors include quality of fence, access, and quality water.

Grass hay is similar to pasture rent. If it is highly productive it will be closer to crop rental rates,” said Jack Davis, South Dakota State University Extension, crops business management field specialist.

Caleb Carter, ag educator for University of Wyoming Extension, says federal payments need to be figured into leases. In his article for High Plains Cropsite, “Developing a Fair Lease Rate: Some Tips and Tools,” he wrote, “The simplest form of lease is a fixed cash lease.

This format provides the tenant with the most managerial freedom, while protecting the land owner from any market or production risk. In this case, all the risk is born by the tenant. This type of lease tends to be fairly rigid in the rate, taking a long time to change. Long-term leases of this form should use a long-term average in order to attempt to find a fair rental rate.”

Regional differences in ag land values are related When there is competition for the land, often the to differences in land productivity among regions, lease rate will go beyond what might be fair or profincluding per-acre values of cropland and pasture itable to the leasee, but that is something that the in each region and the proportion of pasture and individual will have to decide. In areas with more INSTOCK STOCK READY FORDELIVERY: DELIVERY: cropland. In South Dakota, statewide cropland valIN READY FOR 7- NEW SP WINDROWER’S, 3-PT ROTARY DISC MOCO’S, 4-6830 SIDE PULL DISC MOWERS, 5-560 CS RD BALERS, 2- SMALL SQ. BALERS available farm some cattle are SQ. 7-4-NEW WINDROWER’S, 3-PT ROTARY MOCO’S, 4-6830ground, SIDE PULL DISC MOWERS, 5-560 CSproducers RD BALERS, 2- TRACTORS. SMALL BALERS SKIDSP STEER LOADERS (WHEEL, & MANY ATTACHMENTS), 2-COMPACT TRACTOR W/LOADERS & MANY ues are greatly influenced by values estimated in TRACKDISC 4- SKID STEER LOADERS (WHEEL, TRACK & MANY ATTACHMENTS), 2-COMPACT TRACTOR W/LOADERS & MANY TRACTORS. to pay a higher price for summer pasture bethe north central and the three eastern regions of able USEDEQUIPMENT EQUIPMENTPRICED PRICEDRIGHT RIGHT USED cause they can winter their cows corn stalks for FINANCING RIGHT ANDREADY READY FORon YOU!!! the state. Pasture/rangeland statewide values areFINANCING RIGHT AND FOR YOU!!! heavily influenced by values reported in regions west of the Missouri River.

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FORAGE 2020

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

THE QUALITY OF THE LAND AND WATER PLAY A FACTOR WHEN FIGURING A FAIR PRICE.

TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

FORAGE 2020 13

LET IT GROW

BY MEGAN SILVEIRA

C

over crops are an answer to a variety of problems.

“A cover crop is something a farmer uses to protect the soil, help prevent erosion and build soil health,” said Miranda Meehan, extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist at North Dakota State University.

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

Cover crops solve many problems

for farmers & ranchers Cattle grazing cover crops in 2013, in eastern South Dakota. The cover crop mixture included radishes and Sunn Hemp. In South Dakota, the NRCS, Pheasants Forever and other partners cooperated on many pilot projects. The cover crop seed was cost-shared and planted in food plots that previously had a corn-on-corn rotation. The purpose is to develop mixes that would do well on prevent plant acres or could act as season-long grazing mixes. These plots provided great brooding cover for pheasants and pollinator forage.

Project partners are hoping to get the mixes “fine tuned” and apply them on a larger scale for helping agricultural lands.

PHOTO BY BEN LARDY, FARM BILL BIOLOGIST WITH THE USDA NRCS AND IN COOPERATION WITH PHEASANTS FOREVER, INC. AND QUAIL FOREVER.

Producers select a crop based on various com-

primers.” These crops are planted in order to help

ponents unique to their own operation. While

soil get back to the state of health where it can

each cover crop can offer a multitude of benefits,

function properly. Cover crops deposit the needed

Meehan urges ranchers to look at the big picture.

photosynthesized carbon into the environment to

Richard Bieber, soil caretaker and famer from

improve soil health, he said.

Trail City, South Dakota, sees “cover crop” as a la-

“The purpose of what modern agriculture wants

bel for plants he prefers to look at as “biological

to label as a cover crop is to give carbon to the

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| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

FORAGE 2020 15

ground,” Bieber said. “We need to look at what our soils needs first, then what our plants and livestock need secondly, and what our pocketbooks need last.”

Annual rye, winter wheat and various cereal crops are common examples of cover crops for ranchers in the United States, but Meehan recommends a diverse mix of species when planting a cover crop to be grazed by cattle. She said this increases the odds of growth in the crop. Mixing cool and warm season grasses will yield a high-quality forage, which Meehan said evens out the nutritional plane.

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Bieber reminds ranchers, however, that anything that makes a seed can fulfill the definition of a cover crop. In Mother Nature, Bieber said hundreds of species of plant grow naturally at various stages.

He works to emulate this natural environment as much as possible in his own operation and encourages ranchers to consider those stages when planning for cover crops. He said this means having something in the early stages of growth, something emerging from the ground, something in the middle stages or life and something dying all in the soil at the same time.

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

This hayland, near Sturgis, South Dakota, was hayed in late June. It was then planted to cover crop.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTH DAKOTA NRCS.

Meehan said there is no “one size fits all” recommendation when it comes to selecting cover crops.

Her best piece of advice is to think big picture and what the cover crop should do for the operation at

Southeast Research-Extension Center from Kansas State University.

Farney said ranchers can face many repercussions if they plant a crop not suited to their operations. In

that given year.

“Know what you want that cover crop to do for you, and look at your ranch’s objectives,” she said.

Understanding the crops themselves is the key factor to gaining from the use of cover crops, said Jaymelynn Farney beef systems specialist at the

Missouri, for example, Farney said there have been recent reports of cattle that were poisoned after eating sorghum-sudangrasses high in nitrates.

“Most cover crops grow rapidly. In growing rapidly, they accumulate a lot of nitrates,” she said.

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Cattle grazing cover crops in Brown County, South Dakota, in the fall of 2013.

The cover crops were planted on August 1, 2013.

PHOTO BY DOUG FARRAND, USDA NRCS, ABERDEEN, SD.

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Farney said ruminants’ stomachs convert nitrate to nitrite, which is absorbed into the animal’s blood stream where it in turn converts hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which cannot carry oxygen.

season and improvement to a ranch-

With this example in mind, Farney urges ranchers to understand the crops they plant as cover crops and to perform any needed tests before grazing these crops.

field. Meehan said the benefits of

These crops not only help give back to the overall soil health, but Meehan said ranchers can either graze cattle or hay the crop after the season is over. This option has many benefits, including an extension of the grazing

less supplemental forage. If cattle are

TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

er’s bottom line.

The nutritional needs of cattle can easily be met when the livestock are being grazed on a solid cover crop this are twofold – as not only are cattle being supplied with the proper nutrients, but ranchers are saving money as they are required to feed not put on the crop to graze, Meehan said haying the crop is also a viable option. As if the nutritional benefits of planting cover crops were not

enough, Meehan said these plants also do a great job at suppressing weeds.

While Bieber said he does graze a cow-calf herd on his cover crops on occasion, he prefers to focus on the livestock present underneath the soil. A host of microbes and biological matter reside beneath the ground, and Bieber said the utilization of grazing a cover crop can come from fecal matter hitting the ground rather than the animal harvesting the grass.

“The intended use of cover crops is to feed the below-the-ground livestock and for the abovethe-ground livestock to graze if it’s the right time and place,” he said. “I look at livestock as biological distributors.”

The positive effects of cover crops even extend beyond the soil’s surface, Meehan said. In addition to efficiently utilizing moisture, cover crops help prevent soil erosion and add to overall soil health.

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Cover Crops in Northwestern South Dakota.

PHOTO BY MIEKO ALLEY, SOIL CONSERVATION TECHNICIAN, WITH THE USDA NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, BISON, SD.

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Meehan said grazing cattle on a cover crop system actually accelerates the process of breaking down organic material while simultaneously enhancing the nutrient availability.

Despite all these benefits, there are some challenges and additional costs accompanying cover crops. Meehan said ranchers will have many factors to consider to properly graze their cattle on these cover crops.

In her area, Meehan said fields dedicated to cover crops are not often fenced adequately for livestock. Access to a clean water supply is another common concern.

These challenges, however, are easily fixed. With the application of various temporary fencing options or waterers, Meehan said ranchers can begin to capitalize on grazing their cover crops.

“The money that you’re saving in feeding costs by grazing a cover crop helps offset the costs in the long run,” she said. “There is the potential to put in permanent fixtures and use strategic thinking to turn it into a long-term investment.”

Mother Nature is the one variable that ranchers can’t control or definitively plan for.

This reality has been proven to operations in many parts of North Dakota this year, she said. With the excessive rainfall and current snowfall, Meehan said ranchers in this part of the country need to think through all planting decisions.

TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

“Looking at where we’re currently sitting, I think it’s safe to say there’s going to be excessive moisture this year,” she said.

With this fact in mind, Meehan encourages ranchers to look at all options when making decision regarding cover crops. She said claiming prevented plant acres is a viable option for ranchers affected by excessive moisture.

“Prevented plant acres refers to if you’re unable to plant a crop due to Mother Nature-related reasons,” Meehan said. “If you’re unable to plant a crop because of issues such as flooding, you can claim prevented plant and receive a payment – sort of like an insurance.”

Meehan also said the USDA program of prevented plant acres was revised in 2019, creating more flexibility for ranchers plagued by bad weather but still looking to utilize cover crops.

At the end of the day, Bieber said ranchers and producers of all kinds need to fulfill their duties as stewards of the land to truly reap the benefits of planting cover crops.

He believes the secret to success is focusing on the place it all starts – the soil.

“I just think we need to care for our soil like we care for our grandchildren,” he said. “We have to keep our soils clothed and fed properly.

Cover crops themselves are only one component of this.”

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Cover crops in northeastern South Dakota.

PHOTO BY BEN LARDY, FARM BILL BIOLOGIST WITH THE USDA NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE AND IN COOPERATION WITH PHEASANTS FOREVER, INC. AND QUAIL FOREVER.

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Most insurance won’t match the market price dollar for dollar, but it will provide some assistance when Mother Nature puts ranchers in the red. GETTY IMAGES.

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Crop insurance

BY RUTH WIECHMANN

H

isn’t just for farmers

ail. Drought. Flood.

Grasshoppers.

Fire. Wind.

The perils that may plague a forage crop are about as numerous as the insurance policies available to protect against them. While insurance won’t cover everything, it might

be worth talking to an insurance agent about how to mitigate some of the damage Mother Nature can do.

Federal crop insurance can be confusing, but there are viable options available to producers through private companies and through the Farm Service Agency.

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The Risk Management Association (RMA), which is part of the USDA, makes the rules for all federal crop insurance policies carried by private insurers as well as the rules for the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), which is administered through the FSA. Rules for both vary from county to county and from state to state, and they can change from year to year, so it’s important to keep up with the details. RMA determines which crops and forages are insurable or non-insurable in any given area. All of this information is posted on the RMA website, rma.usda.gov, where producers can search to find the information vital to their area.

Pasture, Rangeland and Forage insurance can provide some cash flow when the hay or pasture dries up. GETTY IMAGES.

Cindy Kopren, Cindy’s Crop Insurance, Bison, South Dakota, said that, for instance, producers in

Federal crop insurance rates are set by the government, but other types of insurance premiums are set by individual insurance companies.

GETTY IMAGES.

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| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

Perkins County can insure both grain and silage corn, but producers in Harding County can insure only silage corn.

Requests to insure crops not already in the program can be sent with a written agreement to the RMA office in Billings for approval.

The Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) insurance program is designed to protect producers from yield losses caused by low precipitation levels.

Brent Thorpe, vice president/related services for Farm Credit Services of America, who oversees crop insurance sales in west-central South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, explained that PRF coverage

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PRF DECISION TOOL https://prodwebnlb.rma.usda.gov/apps/prf Specifically covers Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance (PRF).

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Not all crops are insurable in all areas. If insurance is important to you, check into what is covered in your area before you plant. GETTY IMAGES.

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is based on rainfall data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. RMA determines a grazing value based on stocking rates, available forage, and local forage values. Animal Unit Month data for each state and county is used to determine the “yield” for grazed acreage, and local hay prices are used to determine current value.

“Producers must select at least two 2-month periods or index intervals during which precipitation is important to their operations,” he said. “Coverage is based on rainfall in a defined grid and the rainfall index supplied by the NOAA. Because coverage is based on the rainfall index and not on a producer’s production averages, you may have poor production on a grid and still not receive coverage or vice versa.”

“Rainfall insurance can be a guessing game,” Cindy Kopren said. “It is all based off of satellite data from different NOAA stations.

For instance, in 2018, which was a relatively dry year, in our area

producers in Ziebach County all got paid but producers in Perkins County did not.”

you live in an area that has a history of a lot of hail you may have higher rates.

Kopren recommends that producers wanting to know how the program evaluations work in their specific location check out the Policies and Procedures crop link on the USDA’s website.

“Unlike federal crop insurance, every company is different. Each company sets its own rates; they are sent to the insurance commission in each state. With federal crop insurance every company has the same prices because they are all under the RMA and they set the rates.”

Grain crops are covered by federal crop insurance; crops such as oats, barley or wheat grown for hay are insurable only under NAP. “NAP is intended to reduce financial losses that occur when natural disasters cause a catastrophic loss of eligible crops or commodities,” Brent said. “Crops or commodities planted and grown for livestock consumption including annual, biennial and perennial grasses, legumes, small grains grown for forage, and native forage are all included. NAP coverage will be equal to fifty percent of the approved yield at fifty-five percent of the average market price as established by the Commodity Credit Corporation. There is also coverage available for some crops for up to 65 percent of the approved yield and 100 percent of the price.”

Brent said that in some counties producers can elect dual use, insuring small grain crops with both an annual forage policy under the PRF and with a multi-peril small grains policy for grain.

Hail insurance is a separate option that producers may wish to consider. Producers can purchase hail insurance along with multi-peril crop insurance policies or NAP. “Hail insurance is based on the township and range where each field is located,” Kopren said. “If

Cindy said that she is not aware of changes to the RMA or NAP programs this year, although some years there have been major changes.

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BY TERESA CLARK

PLANTING THE SEED Seed companies provide information, support for farmers and ranchers

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

S

eed is an interesting business that impacts everyone in one way or another. “Almost everyday you either touch a seed, eat a seed, or you may just have a seed get caught in your pants leg,” says Don Hijar, who is the owner of Pawnee Buttes Seed in Greeley, Colo.

“Trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers. All of them are producing seed all the time. That seed is blown everywhere or washed and carried away by animals and humans. There are all kinds of seed being produced all the time, but the challenge is in determining what kind of seed we want for what purpose.”

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FORAGE 2020 31

“Almost everyday you either touch a seed, eat a seed, or you may just have a seed get caught in your pants leg,” says Don Hijar, who is the owner of Pawnee Buttes Seed in Greeley, Colo. PHOTO COURTESY OF DON HIJAR

As sole owner of Pawnee Buttes Seed for over 20 years, Hijar has learned a lot about the seed business.

The company currently sells seed for more than 500 species of grasses and flowers, as well as shrubs and wetlands seed. Most of it is grown in the western United States, from Kansas City to the West Coast, and from Canada to the Mexican border. The seed is shipped to Greeley, where it is collected and made into seed packages that are shipped out to customers all over the US, as well as other countries.

It’s a challenge managing 500 types of seed. “We try to know where all those different species grow.

We don’t just sell Kentucky Bluegrass to everyone who wants to plant grass. We sell the right species for the project,” Hijar says. If a rancher is planting irrigated grass, they may want a different variety than a municipality looking to conserve water, he says.

Customer feedback and the market drive these companies in the direction they need to go. “When I started answering the phones exclusively for Tug of

Millborn Seed has two locations and mutiple specialty divisions.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MILLBORN SEED.

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| FARMER & RANCHER EXCHANGE

War Seed in 2014, Timothy was not a grass that was in demand,” says Eric Engh, the director of marketing, sales manager, and executive vice president of Tug of War Seeds in New Plymouth, Idaho. “Now the world has discovered how extraordinary Timothy is, so we sell a lot more of it than we used to. It is all driven by our customers and the feedback we have received from them over the years.”

in the bee business pollinating fields. From there,

Engh says his company has been in business for over 30 years, in one aspect or another. They started

side sources. We deal on a premium seed basis only,”

they progressed to the wholesale end of alfalfa, and then retail. In addition to alfalfa, they also sell grass seed and corn. Most of the seed is grown locally, although some is grown in the northwest, or with Canadian suppliers. “We used to grow all our own seed, but we became so large, we had to have outEngh says.

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Some companies are large enough they can create different divisions, and employ experts in each of those areas to help customers.

Millborn Seeds, which is headquartered in Brookings, South Dakota, and has a western location in Rapid City, supplies customers with specialty seed products ranging from native grasses and wildflowers to small grains.

Millborn Seeds forage and cover crops specialist, Matt Metzger, says they have a forage and cover crops division, which consists of hay, pasture, alfalfa, small grains, and cover crops that directly relate to the livestock industry.

CORN • SOYBEANS • ALFALFA SORGHUM • COVER CROPS Greg Winter - 970-324-4100 www.farmnutrients.com 34

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The conservation and wildlife division handles native grasses, CRP and government programs, as well as customers who want to plant acres back to native habitat or food plots for wildlife. The commercial and turf division handles small scale residential land seeding, large scale pipeline reclamation, and roadside seedings. “Within all those divisions, we are pretty diverse. We follow the demand in each respective division, and make our decisions based on the products we need to carry to meet those demands and stay in tune with those different industries,” Metzger says.

A shift is taking place in agriculture, and the way acres have traditionally been used. A lot of customers

are not in production agriculture. “Anybody disturbing the earth’s surface is a potential customer of ours,” Hijar says. “Since I live along the Front Range in Colorado, I see a lot of people moving here. We have a lot of small acreage people, and from there it’s from A to Z. Our customers vary from someone working on an oil rig to doctors, lawyers, or professors. We sell them all seed for their property that might be anything from two acres to 150 acres. We may call them small acreages, but the big thing is they aren’t agriculturists, farmers or producers. They may just have a piece of ground where they want to run a few horses, cows, pigs, goats or chickens. We work with a lot of people like that,” Hijar says.

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FORAGE 2020 35

Other customers are government entities like the Forest Service, BLM, or the Department of Defense.

They also work with people who want to buy turf grass for golf courses or sports complexes. “Land mass is not just farmers and ranchers, it’s really any entity that owns or manages land,” Hijar says.

When a customer calls, Metzger says they have to work through some basic questions to determine how to offer the best advice. Some of Metzger’s customers have questions about how to make their operations more sustainable, whether it’s by implementing cover crops or utilizing annual forages to incorporate livestock into their operation. In the conservation area, the questions are different. Customers may want to know what type of food plot to plant for a targeted game animal or what seed mix could be put together to plant a portion of land to native habitat, he says.

The questions may differ depending upon the piece of land, Engh says. Some customers want to know the seeding rate or how many pounds to put on per acre.

Others are concerned about increasing production on an older field, or what the person who referred them to the company is doing and all their farming practices, Engh says. “If they ask that, they’ve seen the field and they’ve seen the success, so they want to do exactly what they did.”

No matter who the customer is, the seed salesmen all agree they want a positive outcome so their customers are satisfied. “We don’t just sell quality seed, as much as we confirm the direction the customer is headed. I want to be a partner from a distance as much as I can,” Engh says. “If a farmer calls and asks for a certain seed that I don’t feel is right for them, unless they give me enough information to change my mind, I will decline the sale. I’ve always felt that when a salesperson, who

From wildflowers to corn, seed companies employ experts who can help landowners decide what is best for their purposes and property. GETTY IMAGE.

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FORAGE 2020 39

AT HOME ON

THE RANGE Students analyze an eco-site for a variety of range characteristics at the 2019 National Range Judging Contest near Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY AMBER KOLOUSEK.

BY RUTH NICOLAUS

T

he kids in South Dakota and Wyoming FFA and 4-H chapters have been excelling at range judging and soils judging for years.

Last year, at the National 4-H Range Judging Contest in Oklahoma, the 4-H contest was won by a team of 4-Hers from Wessington Springs, South Dakota: Noah Hainy, Rylie Stevens, Landon Wolter, and Isaac Kolousek.

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And in Wyoming, the Chief Washakie FFA chapter from Worland has won the state range judging contest seven out of the last 10 years.

The range judging contest consists of identifying range plants and characteristics about each one: its species name, whether it’s native or introduced, warm or cool season, a perennial or biennial, and if cattle and wildlife graze it. Students walk through a designated area and identify flagged plants.

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Range Judging Youth

Learn More Than Plant Identification

The contest also includes another part, an eco-site, where students analyze a designated area, determining the percentage of different species, how much has been grazed, how many animal units per month it can support, where salt, mineral and water tanks should be located, and more.

The national FFA and 4-H contests are held in conjunction each year, in the Oklahoma City area, in May. For years, South Dakota has taken teams of FFA and 4-H youth to the national contest.

Winners of the 2019 National 4-H Range Contest pose on stage, from left to right: Noah Hainy, Rylie Stevens, Landon Wolter and Isaac Kolousk, with advisor Craig Shryock and Dave Ollila, state advisor for the range judging teams. On far left is the president of the Oklahoma State Association of Conservation Districts.

PHOTO COURTESY NOAH HAINY.

The state has a strong range and soils tradition.

In the 1970s, the South Dakota Section of the Society of Range Management, under the guidance of Dr. James Johnson, an SDSU Extension range specialist, and Rod Bomberger, a Natural Resources Conservation Service regional range management specialist, developed youth activities. An endowment was established that pays for students’ travel to Oklahoma. The South Dakota Section pays for FFA travel expenses. The 4-H range teams are sponsored by the South Dakota

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Youth from South Dakota pose in front of a statue at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. FFA youth are on the left (Sierra Burg, Chloe Munson, Ty VonEye and Seth Tebay) with 4-H on the right (Landon Wolter, Isaac Kolousek, Rylie Stevens and Noah Hainy). PHOTO BY AMBER KOLOUSEK.

Grassland Coalition; the soils teams are sponsored by the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition.

Society of Range Management, and ag teachers assist with the contests.

4-H teams compete at the annual Rangeland Days contest, which this year will be in Murdo in June.

The winning range team and soil team will go on to compete at the national contest in Oklahoma.

The national contest, on the FFA side, has been dominated by Oklahoma and Texas teams, who nearly always win. South Dakota ag teachers use that to their advantage. When Dave Ollila was the ag teacher and FFA advisor at Newell High School he would take his FFA students to the contest to gain experience, and then, the next year, take some of those same students as 4-H members. The competition in the 4-H division isn’t as deep, Ollila said, “and it’s not Texans and Okies.” South Dakota 4-Hers have done well at the national contest: in the last thirty

For FFA, South Dakota is split into four quadrants: northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. Each region hosts a contest and crowns two winning teams: one for range and one for soils, who go on to compete at nationals in Oklahoma. (The southeast region does not have a range team but qualifies two soils teams.) South Dakota Extension, NRCS, the

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FFA and 4-H youth from across the nation judge range at the 2019 National Range Judging contest, held near Oklahoma City in May of 2019. PHOTO

BY AMBER KOLOUSEK.

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FORAGE 2020 43

years, they’ve won the contest twenty times, with several second and third place finishes.

However, Ollila stressed, it doesn’t mean the South Dakota kids aren’t doing well. “I would compare our (4-H) scores to the FFA teams, and we’d always be in the top five. We are competitive, it’s just hard to get over the hump on the FFA side.”

will you have there?” Ollila would ask. “I would lead them to natural resource jobs. Rangeland management, BLM, forest service. You can have great careers in rural America. That was always my goal, as an ag teacher, to lead the kids to career paths so that they could come back home.”

Ollila no longer teaches and is now the Extension sheep field specialist and advisor for the state’s range judging teams, both FFA and 4-H, and for the past eight years has accompanied the teams to Oklahoma to help with coaching. He also does all the coordination of travel details.

And for his students who might live as adults in urban areas, knowing more about range and soils was still beneficial, he would tell them. “You might become a doctor or an engineer and live in Indianapolis or New Orleans. And if somebody is bashing ag, you have to speak up for us. You have to say, we’re not hurting animals, and we’re not raping the land. We’re improving it.”

Range judging is a great teaching tool for all students, not just those who hope to ranch, Ollila said.

In his classroom, he would ask his students how many wanted to live in a big city. Out of 100 kids, three or four might raise their hands. Then he’d ask where the rest of the kids wanted to live, and they would respond with “small town.” “Well, what jobs

While students are in Oklahoma for nationals, Ollila and FFA and 4-H advisors make sure the kids see different things. In past years, they’ve visited the Braum’s Dairy Farm, milk processing plant and bakery, the Lazy E Arena, Express Ranches stud farm and more. It’s a great learning experience for kids, and good incentive for the other students. “Then they’d

The Wessington Springs South Dakota 4-H chapter holds their trophies and prizes after winning the 2019 National Range Judging Contest. Each of the four team members placed in the top five. From left to right: advisor Craig Shryock, Isaac Kolousek, Noah Hainy, Rylie Stevens and Landon Wolter, with a representative from the contest on the right. PHOTO BY AMBER KOLOUSEK. 44

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DURABILITY REDEFINED. come home, and tell the other kids, and it fired up the other kids to go the next year,” Ollila said.

Craig Shryock’s Wessington Springs 4-H team not only won the national title last year, but its members finished individually in first, second, third and fifth places.

“That’s about the best individual finish we’ve ever had,” he said. “I’ve had four in the top ten before but never that good.”

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The kids on the range and soils teams are dedicated, he said. The teams go to nationals a week early, spending hours each day in the field, identifying plants. The plants in Oklahoma are different-- they may have only seen them in textbooks, so there is a lot of new info to cover.

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Back home, when spring rolls around, he takes students outside two or three times a week. Ten blocks from the school, he and students can be in the hills, identifying plants. And his ranch is two miles from town, with more plants to identify.

He enjoys getting kids out into a real-life situation. “I like it because you get them out of the (school) building,” he said. “We go out and practice, and we spend a lot of time in the Suburban together, and tromping out in the rangelands, up and down hills. (The kids) like getting out of the building.”

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For the statewide contest he and the teams go a day early to study. During the day, they’re in pastures and on ranches, identifying, and spending their evenings memorizing and studying. “Most any kid can do it if they want to put the time in,” Shryock said.

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It’s not just the content they learn, Shryock said. “The biggest thing these kids get out of it is when they decide they want to be on a winning team, they set goals to achieve it. It teaches them if they put their mind to it, they can get it done if they go about it right. Goal setting and hard work will pay off.” Shryock has taught school at Wessington Springs for 37 years.

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“The kids put in a lot to do it,” he said. “To be good (on the 4-H teams), we like to take them down in FFA the year before and then take them back the next year in 4-H.” Shryock’s teams have done well. In addition to his national and individual champions last year, in 2018, Wessington Springs was the National Homesite Evaluation 4-H champion and reserve national champion in 2017 in soils judging.

Landon Wolter was on both of those teams, making him the only person to place that high in all three areas in the nation.

Shyrock’s team last year was special, he said.

“They were four extremely talented young men. My wife was a former elementary teacher who had all of them and she told me, if I can’t win nationals with them, I should quit. They’re intelligent, hard workers, and super good kids.”

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Three of the four national champions from last year are in college. Noah Hainy, the first-place individual champion, is a freshman at South Dakota State University, as a wildlife and fisheries science major.

Winning the national contest was “really exciting,” he said. “We put in a lot of hard work. It was really rewarding to know that spending that much time and working for something, we were able to accomplish it.”

He credits his teacher and others for the help.

“We’ve been very fortunate that we have a good ag teacher in Mr. Shryock, and we’ve been fortunate to get help from other coaches in the area. Lance Howe is a big soils influence at our school, and for range, we have Dave Ollila, who is a big resource for all of us on the team.”

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Hainy had always planned to make a career of something including natural resources, but being on the range team solidified it. “I would have probably gone into the major, but this strengthened my decision.” The knowledge he’s gained has helped in his classes. “Anything to do with plants, I definitely feel like I can do better just because I’ve gone through range, and I know what each plant can do.”

Rylie Stevens, who won second place, is a freshman at SDSU, majoring in ag education. Landon Wolter, the third-place winner, is a senior at Wessington Springs and plans on attending SDSU, to major in engineering. Isaac Kolousek, who finished in fifth place, is a freshman studying engineering at

Contestants at 2019 National Range Judging Competition.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NRCS.

the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City.

South Dakota’s neighbor to the west, Wyoming, also has kids that excel at knowledge of the range.

Grace Godfrey’s FFA students in the Chief Washakie FFA chapter at Worland High School have won the state range judging contest in 2010, 201215, 2017 and 2019.

In 2016, they finished second at state, and the kids were “crushed,” she said. “They were beside themselves. They felt like they had let everybody down.”

School district policy at Worland High School allows teachers and advisors only one national trip a year. Godfrey saves that for the National FFA convention, so her students haven’t been to the National Range Judging Contest in Oklahoma.

Godfrey wasn’t an expert on range judging herself, until she attended her first WY-RED: Wyoming Range Education Days, in 2006. It’s a week-long camp for FFA and 4-H youth, and conservation districts sponsor the Worland kids’ attendance.

It was a great way to become better skilled at range, she said. The atmosphere was laid back, with kids

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Students from the Chief Washakie FFA chapter in Worland, Wyo., stand for a photo with prizes after winning the 2019 state range contest. From left to right, Koby Busch, Abel Vega, Branson Townsend, Luke Voss, Konnor Macy and instructor Grace Godfrey. PHOTO COURTESY GRACE GODFREY.

learning alongside adults. The advisors there “had expertise in the field, and I didn’t have to know anything. I could learn right along with my students.”

As soon as school is out in May, Godfrey and her students spend a week or two collecting plants, pressing them, and mounting them. She has a diverse area in which to identify plants. The Bighorns are forty miles to the southeast, with badlands and farming areas close. “I’ll start flagging plants, and

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the kids follow behind, identifying them. Then as we come back, we pull flags and collect plants as we go.”

Godfrey’s kids give it all when they go to WYRED. State range judging is the day after WY-RED ends, and they work hard. “Camp starts at 8 a.m.,” she said, “so we get up at six and go to the plant line and practice before everybody gets there. And before we go home for the night, we go identify plants again.” Peer pressure keeps the kids going.

“When you have a kid who has been there the year

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before, and he tells his classmates, this is what we do, we get up early, it works. It’s a tradition. If it works, don’t mess with it.”

Studying range is relevant to her students, she believes. “They can apply it locally,” she said. “It’s more applicable to kids. They can see the relevance of why we need to do it.”

And treats help, too. “A little success goes a long way,” she said. “We have daily contests and we play for candy bars, and everybody wants to beat the next person.”

Range is pertinent to the kids.

“Range is probably our biggest natural resource,” Godfrey said. “We don’t think about it like that.

We like to think about coal or methane gas but we overlook the range part. I’ve had several kids go into range management as a career choice, or even help their parents on their own ranch, to look at rotating pastures differently.”

Godfrey says the goal is to make youth aware of the land and soil around them. “The big gist is getting kids turned on about natural resources and ag.

That’s what we’re trying to do.

“They’re trying to figure out what they want to do in life, and what they’re good at, and when you turn them on to an area and they’re successful, you see the light bulb come on.”

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BY TAMARA CHOAT

L

ike most other farm families, Trevor and Cassie Smieja and their kids combine seeds, dirt, sunshine, water, and a lot of hard work to grow hay bales and other commodities.

Agriculture is a way of life for the Smieja family. Trevor and Cassie met in FFA, married and started farming and are raising four kids: Kiley, 16, Alexa, 13, Bob, 9, and Haylee, 1, who all work side by side with their parents. PHOTOS BY ASHLEY NORSWORTHY, COURTESY SMIEJA FAMILY.

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BUDDY SEATS AND URBAN SPRAWL

Smeja family works together

for the future

The Smiejas’ hay and farming

operation is unique in that they operate on strictly leased land in one of the fastest growing

suburban areas of the nation.

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Smieja Hay and Grain, based outside of Belgrade, Mont., includes 1,500 acres of hay, a few thousand acres of grain, and pasture for around 50 pairs of Red Angus cows. Their main crops are hay, wheat and barley, but they also raise silage corn and gluten-free oats as a cash crop.

What makes their business unique is that Trevor and Cassie Smieja don’t own a single acre of land and they have successfully built up a farming enterprise strictly on leased land around Bozeman, Montana – the fastest growing city of its size in the U.S. In 2019 Gallatin County – which includes Bozeman and nearby Belgrade – was named the fastest growing county in the state of Montana. It is estimated that 10 new people move to the area every day.

This rapid influx of people has made the option of turning the rich, fertile mountain valley soil into a housing development much more attractive than turning the soil with a plow.

Competition is steep, and the Smeijas say there are times when they have laid inputs in the ground in the spring, only to see construction equipment move in before they can harvest.

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“I can’t say it wouldn’t be easier to do this in a different location,” says Trevor with a laugh. Most of their leases are year to year and they lose 50-100 acres a year to subdivisions. “No one’s willing to do long term; they’re hoping the next big boom comes up.” Beyond lease uncertainty, the reality of non-agricultural community growth means little patience for their way of life. “There have been times when the kids have been with us in equipment and we’ve missed having near collisions. People are flying around us, flashing lights, honking horns. If we had it to do all over, we would have built this in a more ag-friendly location.”

Even without the hurdle of urban sprawl they continue to overcome year after year, Trevor and Cassie’s story is special. Trevor grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota.

“I’ve always liked making hay,” he says. “I’d do anything to get out of the barn and not have to milk cows – so I’d sit on the tractor and bale hay all afternoon.”

After his dad passed away when he was in his early teens, Trevor’s new hobby became skipping school.

His mother informed him they were moving. She got remarried, and they ended

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“I can’t say it woudn’t be easier to do this in a different location...”

Farming is a true family affair for the Smiejas – the

kids have all grown up in the buddy seats and today operate equipment at just nine years old and up.

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FORAGE 2020 53

up in Belgrade in 1996 as Trevor was starting high school. They sold the farm in Minnesota, but Trevor was able to keep a few of his dad’s John Deere tractors. In Belgrade he joined FFA and as his first project he started his own hay operation – on 7.5 acres.

In FFA Trevor also met a girl who would come to be a key player in expanding from that 7.5 acres. Cassie was two years younger and, in 2002 after they both had graduated, they got married and “have continued growing together ever since,” Trevor says, adding four more Smiejas to their farm crew. “Crops and kids, that’s what we raise,” says Cassie. And the two are not mutually exclusive – the kids literally grew up on the tractors and today, each have their own area of the farm they especially enjoy.

Trevor and Cassie Smieja are growing more

than hay and grain – they are growing a family with strong work ethics and deep roots.

Daughter Kiley, 16, is a junior in high school and has operated every piece of equipment they have. She recently placed sixth in the nation in the National FFA Agronomy contest. Alexa, 13, loves animals and livestock shows and recently started raising show pigs. Both girls have served as the Montana Red Angus Ambassador.

Bob, 9, likes to rake and run the Bobcat as well as the combine. Baby Haylee, just shy of 1, is once again filling the buddy seat near mom as the older ones have moved on to driving their own.

The Smiejas have worked hard to build up a solid reputation both as renters and growers. “We spend

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a lot of time pounding the pavement, trying to do a really good job, relying on word-of-mouth,” Trevor says. Rent varies wildly from $15/acre on a poor piece of land no one wants to $111/acre for pivot-irrigated.

His passion is growing high quality forage, mostly large square bales that are more easily exported out of state. They focus on producing feeder-quality hay – mostly alfalfa and some alfalfa/grass mix, and have transitioned to making mostly large squares due to their ability to export out of state.

Their strong customer base and solid marketing relationships have grown over time – most on a verbal agreement or a handshake. Although they’ve sold hay as far as Kentucky, lately most of it is going to Idaho.

A typical year in the life of the Smiejas starts with calving in January; two-thirds of their herd is registered Red Angus. The rest of the winter includes working on equipment, trucking and grain delivery. March is time to brand and Cassie starts planning her work as a certified A.I. tech. Trevor says by April he is “chomping at the bit to start churning dirt and putting seeds in the ground.”

When planting wraps up it’s full on all summer – spraying, getting hay equipment ready, and baling by the end of June. They put up hay all of July, compete at the county fair, and then get the combines ready. August it’s time for the second cutting of hay.

In September they start chopping corn for silage, and in October seed winter wheat if the mountain storms haven’t set in. When the ground freezes in November they take an annual break for a week and go visit family in Minnesota for Thanksgiving.

In December it’s time to get ready for calving and continue equipment maintenance. In addition, Cassie laughs, winter is the time when the kids are supposed to be working on their 4-H record books.

It’s not all work and no play for the Smiejas though. The kids still find time to compete, play and show. Trevor and Cassie serve as 4-H leaders and softball and baseball coaches and chauffeurs to jackpot livestock shows. “We’re gone every week from the middle of May through the Fourth of July, usually with softball or jackpot shows,” says Cassie.

“We have to have 4-H done ahead of time.”

Both Trevor and Cassie say their lifestyle isn’t always easy, especially with the challenges they face, but the fact that they work together as a family every single day make it worthwhile. “The kids have grown up beside us, literally, farming,” she says.

Trevor adds, “It’s a lot of hard work and there is a lot of sacrifice – there are days when we’re trying to fix two or three broken balers and the bad weather is coming and tempers can get really bad, really fast – but the kids are out there learning with us. We’re all in it together.”

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Up until this past year the kids went to public school but this year are in a hybrid homeschool program. They attend public school Wednesdays and Fridays then do the rest of their work at home. It’s been a good mix for their lifestyle, the parents say.

Last fall Kiley ran the corn chopper and in between truckloads would do her homework in the cab. “A truck would pull up, she’d put her book down and fill it, and then go right back to studying,” says Trevor.

Bill Tatarka, with his family, owns Mow-Ten-Vue Dairy between Bozeman and Belgrade. He has known

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and worked with the Smiejas for over ten years – sharing equipment and helping each other at harvest.

“Everything they’ve done, they’ve earned by their dedication and hard work,” says Tatarka. “They will do anything they can to help out a neighbor. If a neighbor is in trouble they’ll leave their own stuff and come help. I respect them for what they do and how hard they work at it.”

Trevor said a pinnacle moment in his life occurred a few years ago when the whole family was in the hay field. Alexa and Bob were running twin rakes, Cassie

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and Kiley were each on a big baler, and he was stacking bales behind them.

“I realized any decision we make involving the future is not just about Cassie and I. When we envision our future it always involves the kids,” he says. “They are all passionate about agriculture and we would love to see them get to carry this on – whether it be the lease farming here or somewhere else where they can put roots down in their own dirt.”

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The only one of four brothers to “see action� in World War II, Richard Palczewski, 91, said his ranch background gave him an advantage in the U.S. Navy.

“I got to run this landing craft and I only had an eighth grade education.� Palczewski said when he mentioned his limited education to one of his superiors, the response was “I know, but you have comBy Amanda Radke WHEN THE GOING mon sense.� for Tri-State Livestock A quick snapshot Palczewski News Scott says 400 poundof current prices at press time, One brother, GETS TOUGH, steers are bringing Carl, also served cwt; 500 pound in THE TOUGH KEEP steers are $220-240/cwt;$260-275/ lose to 3,500 calves pound steers the second World the Navy during and 600 are $205-220, respectively.

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North Dakota in the extreme southwest One factor that is good spot this year are in a cow-calf playing into the corner of the state. decision of the as they sell operator of how their calf crop, long to hold his At the age of twelve, weaned says J.R. Scott, calves is corn, and the overall MacDon R85 Pull Type he was hired abundance HLA to that’s herd Field at sheep of his disposal now Rep. for a big outfit south that the 2015 corn grain MacDon A30D Pull Type 16ft Disc of Ralph, South is winding down. “While everyone harvest Dakota.

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History repeats itself 90-year old slide stacker is back in the field

T

STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDA TEAHON

his story begins with former Blaine County, Nebraska resident, Marvin Sierks.

“Marv” as he is known, sold his haying equipment on his ranch auction, 10 miles east of Dunning, August 19, 1999 — a date he says he will remember the rest of his life.

Rancher Max Fay of Purdum bought the slide stacker offered in the sale. He moved it over rural gravel and oil roads approximately 30 miles. It took him a couple of days to get that far. As darkness approached one of the days, he left it beside the Hawley Flats road on “Roseberry’s corner” in northern Blaine County near the North Loup River in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Marvin Sierks and his slide stacker before restoration.

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Marvin Sierks is handy with a welder. This 1/12th scale stacker of cold rolled steel took him 50 hours to create. A photo of the restored stacker is shown in the background.

Fay didn’t get back to complete the remaining 20 mile journey to his ranch. He passed away.

The stacker was already 60 years old at that time and sat at Roseberry’s corner for the next 20 years.

It fell into disrepair as old boards rotted and the oak and hickory teeth “disappeared.”

Last June, Sierks returned to Blaine County for fencing jobs. He had been living near Gilner, where he owned and operated Sandhills Fencing Nebraska, since leaving the ranch.

He contacted Karen Fay, Max’s widow, and purchased the stacker from her.

“I dreamed of getting that slide stacker back and using it again, ever since the day I sold it.”

The history of the slide stacker began in the early 1900s. The Beaverhead County Slide Stacker was named after its place of origin, the Big Hole Valley in Beaverhead County, Montana. Later the stacker became known as the “Beaverslide.”

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Marv knew that it would be a challenge to restore and make it usable. He began working on the stacker on his late father’s birthday, June 11.

The first step was to move the dilapidated equipment away from yuccas and volunteer red cedars that had grown inside and around the cage.

He aired up the back tires and, surprisingly, they held up.

Oria Davis of Dunning had forge-welded the stacker in the 1930s and the front wheels were made of steel used from some ancient piece of farm machinery. So they were good to go.

It took several weeks to refurbish the stacker.

He bought new boards for the backstop. The four pullies—one at the top and bottom of each 33-foot 4-inch arm—still worked. The cables were still usable. Two new single-row, double-sealed, deepgroove ball bearings were found on a dusty self of a business in Grand Island.

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1935 photo of the first slide stacker owned by Charlie Sierks, Marvin’s father. The arms were 10 feet long. Charlie used three slides in his ranching history. The second was destroyed by a tornado in 1979. The third is the one Marvin restored.

Goose Creek rancher Johnny Klein, 30 miles away, heard that Marv was in need of teeth for the head. He had oak teeth stored in a hay mow and offered them to Marv. It took 10 to rebuild the head.

The slide, also known has the deck, had to be completely resurfaced with new boards.

Finally the stacker was ready to be moved.

Marv made arrangements with Dan Carson near Elsmere, for the stacker to be moved to and kept in a stack yard on his ranch.

June 25, 2019—just two months short of exactly 20 years after the day he sold it—history repeated itself. Marv’s John Deere 3020, pulling a 90-year old slide stacker headed across the prairie. They cut fences as the stacker moved through, and repaired the fences behind him.

The 14-foot wide slide crossed the North Loup River and Goose Creek bridges. The previously used route encountered power lines, so a path was carefully chosen because of the 21-foot,

6-inch span from the tip of slanted arms and pullies straight down to the ground. Another concern was getting up the The Big Hill in north Blaine County. The gravel road was muddy from a recent rain but the John Deere 3020 made it.

Near the end of the journey the stacker sank in soft sand coming out of a pasture. A neighbor

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July 4th Marvin Sierks’s children got the opportunity to stack with their father.

Ashley scatter raked and Dusty swept hay to the slide stacker.

It was another dream come true for Marvin.

FORAGE 2020 63

Topping the Big Hill with the slide stacker.

brought a larger tractor and hooked on, freeing the equipment.

Carson stacks with to not damage the fragile soil, leaving large ruts.

Finally Marv pulled into a stack yard and everyone involved with the journey celebrated the accomplishment. The trip of 12 miles had taken seven hours, including a short lunch break.

Sierks put his fencing business on hold and broke the old machinery out of retirement. He stacked 95 seven-ton stacks that summer, with a crew of three mowers, one straight/scatter rake and two sweeps.

According to the local Natural Resource District at Thedford, 34” of moisture fell in southern Cherry and Brown Counties in central Nebraska during the spring and summer of 2019.

The precipitation meant the hay meadows were soft—too soft for the Massey Ferguson 7620 Dan

Carson Ranch has a long history of feeding hay stacks to their cattle. In a normal haying season Carson builds free-standing 8-ton stacks with 20 loads of hay in each. Dan Carson says he prefers stacked hay. “It’s better hay. I can move it easily with

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Old meets new, as the slide stacker crosses a bale yard near Goose Creek.

my hay sleds. No hydraulic hoses and bale wrap to mess with. My cattle do better on loose hay.”

Carson does use a stack mover and gets the hay stacks into yards soon after it’s put up.

He feeds with a grapple fork on the loader mounted to his Massy 7620.

Only a few Nebraska ranchers, besides Carsons still stack their hay. One is Don Licking of North Platte, who not only uses the old equipment, but he powers it with a team of horses. It’s quite a sight for tourists

traveling north on Highway 83, many who stop and take photos. Buck Buckles of Gordon has gone to big round bales now but he too used a team of horses to stack hay not so long ago.

Marvin Sierks is living near Halsey now, back in his beloved Sandhills. He is currently writing a book on the history of mowers, straight rakes, slide stackers and stack movers. His old stacker is parked in a yard along Koshopah Road, waiting for the rain to come and prove that sometimes, it’s the old way that saves the day.

The Massey Ferguson 7620 with loader Dan Carson normally stacks with. The big tractor was too heavy in 2019’s wet summer, so the lighter tractor and old slide stacker saved the day.

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FORAGE 2020 65

PLANT PROFILE:

Common Mullein Verbascum thapsus

Common mullein that has already flowered can be chopped or sprayed, but if seeds have already formed, care should be taken to dispose of them where they won’t germinate.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

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BY JAN SWAN WOOD

M

ost folks know the tall, yellow-flowered plant as common mullein. Scientists call it Verbascum thapsus. For ranch kids, its soft, fuzzy leaves led to its identity as emergency toilet paper.

The yellow flowers of common mullein have been used to make dye. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

Common mullein, with its spiky seedhead that resembles a corncob, is becoming more common, and less liked. It grows on disturbed soils, banks, dry creek and river beds, shoulders of roadways, gravel pits, and anywhere else that is not too wet and has plenty of sunlight and loose soil.

It is a biennial, in that it has a two-year life cycle. The first year it comes up as a rosette of leaves that grow close to the ground. They have a velvety surface and the leaves can get up to 8 inches long. This first year plant grows a shallow taproot. The second year, the plant grows a stalk that can get up to 10 feet tall but is normally 4 to 6 feet tall and the root system becomes extensive, robbing other plants of available moisture. The leaves grow up the stalk, but become shorter and narrower as they do. The stalk then develops a “torch” of whiteish to yellow flowers at the top, somewhat like a slender ear of corn, ranging from 6 to 16 inches long. These compact flowers mature and dry down to tightly clustered seeds along the stalk.

Mullein is a very prolific seed producer.

Researchers at University of Nebraska/Lincoln have estimated that a single plant can produce up to 240,000 seeds that can remain viable in the soil for up to 100 years.

Common mullein was imported from Europe by the Puritans in the 1700s for its medicinal properties. It was also used to make yellow, brown or green dyes. Native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia, it is now found in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. Planting and cultivation of the weed, both as an ornamental and herb, has contributed to its spread, and care should be taken to control it as a cultivar.

Common mullein is classified as an invasive weed in South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming and listed as noxious in many counties of Montana. The weed can grow so thickly that grass is unable to reclaim disturbed soils or compete for available moisture against it. According to an article by Stevan Knezevic, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension weeds specialist, heavy stands of mullein can reduce grass production by as much as 50 percent, especially during dry years. It has low palatability, and offers no feed value for livestock.

In small areas with light infestation, manual removal can be effective. The first year plants can be readily pulled in moist conditions, or chopped with a hoe or shovel.

It is most effective in April and May,

Common mullein isn’t difficult to kill at this stage, and if the plant is cut off below the surface of the ground, it shouldn’t regrow. PHOTO BY JAN SWAN WOOD.

TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

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FORAGE 2020 67

according to Knezevic, but it’s important to remove the whole rosette.

Larger second year plants can also be chopped, but mowing is not effective as the plant will simply regrow and continue to produce a stalk and seedhead.

Removal of the seedheads before the seeds have started to disperse is easy enough to do, but care must be taken to dispose of the seeds where they will not contaminate the soil. That plant won’t regrow, but the seeds in the soil will continue to germinate for years, so diligent monitoring of the area is required to eradicate the species.

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Andrew Canham, of Mid Dakota Vegetation Management, Miller, South Dakota and Spearfish, South Dakota, specializes in spraying weeds throughout South Dakota, with crews working in many counties. Canham says, “Common mullein comes in quickly after a fire and can quickly populate an area. It will also show up in an area that is overgrazed. Soil type, environmental factors, and disturbances are the three major players, but I’d say fire is the primary disturbance.”

In South Dakota, the counties of Jackson, Fall River, and Oglalla-Lakota, have the highest concentration of common mullein. “My crews have sprayed large areas on ranches throughout southwestern South Dakota, and I know there have been big campaigns against it in other areas. In such big areas, it becomes a major expense to try to stop it,” says Canham.

While Knezevic says the thick, wooly coat of hair on the leaves may reduce herbicide effectiveness, Canham’s experience is that the right herbicide and the right method is effective against large infestations.

Canham’s herbicide of choice for common mullein is also one of the least costly. “It’s easily killed with Escort XP. I encourage the use of a surfactant due to the hairy leaves of the plant.” Canham continues “Bill Walker with Nutrien Solutions suggests a good penetrating surfactant or an organo-silicone surfactant to get your herbicides past the hairs on the leaves for better control.”

“In some cases, when spraying common mullein in the spiked or stalked stages, you may notice the plants start to droop or wilt down and then start to grow up again,” says Canham.”That’s normally an indication of the herbicides applied not getting to the leaf tissue for good uptake, which is why you need to get past the leaf hairs for good control, especially on the larger plants.

Surfactants can help you do that.”

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Canham adds some 2-4-D to the mix as well. “It’s a really low cost control compared to other products and helps translocate the Escort XP into the plants.

A Milestone/Escort XP combination will control Mullein and will control the other noxious weeds, such as Canada thistle and musk thistle as well.”

Escort, Milestone and many 2-4-D herbicides having a grazing label, so in most cases livestock can remain on the land when the herbicide is applied, but applicators must always read and follow label directions.

“The best control time is in the spring or fall when the rosette stage comes on and before the stalks elongate. It’s harder to find at that stage, but if you look for dried stalks from the past year, you’re liable to find a lot of the rosette stage

plants,” says Canham. “Detection and rapid response is critical, as is methodology. Finding it early and doing something then will save a lot of money in the long run.”

Canham encourages landowners to contact their local county weed supervisors to learn if common mullein is on the locally noxious weed list and visit about control programs that may be available.

Though common mullein isn’t toxic, it is an extremely prolific weed that thrives and reproduces rapidly in nearly any environment, therefore is very undesirable. Its potential for choking out other growth that is beneficial to livestock and wildlife, and the invasion of cropland, is a big concern and once established, it is very difficult to get rid of.

Though common mullein is a biennial, which means it doesn’t spread via roots, the prolific seed head ensures the plants carry on for generations.

PHOTO BY JAN SWAN WOOD.

Though common mullein is a biennial, which means it doesn’t spread via roots, the prolific seed head ensures the plants carry on for generations.

PHOTO BY JAN SWAN WOOD.

Common mullein can prevent grasses from filling in disturbed areas, and provides no forage value for livestock.

PHOTO BY JAN SWAN WOOD. TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

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FORAGE 2020 69

Do unto others Neighbors pitch in to put up hay

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TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

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M

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DUSTI BERRY

achinery of every color, spanning decades of model years, was gathered in a hayfield near Phillip, South Dakota in the summer of 2019, to do for one neighbor what he couldn’t do for himself.

The end of day one, everything had been mowed down TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS

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FORAGE 2020 71

The young man, with a young family, had been diagnosed with cancer and was facing a long road of physically- and financially-draining treatment. In the midst of one of the wettest, most trying years in recent history, “neighbors” from all over the county came together, putting aside their own work, bringing their equipment and their work ethic, to take on the task of putting up this young man’s entire hay crop - in just two days.

We all know he’d do the same for any one of us,” said one of the community members, who helped coordinate the haying crew—all of whom asked not to be named.

When a farmer or rancher experiences an obstacle, the work doesn’t wait. The hay still needs to be put up; the community saw that need, and they didn’t hesitate to lend a hand—and a tractor, and a baler, and a rake.

Early Wednesday morning, camera in hand, I followed a long string of tractors and haying equipment, of every brand and color, to a bottomland hayfield, where the men who’d headed up the haying operation checked the moisture of the hay. Finding it a bit too wet yet, we all drove back to a nearby neighbor’s place, where we visited over coffee on Spring Fly Control Flies can spread pinkeye, annoy animals and the front patio, and waited. Around reduce gains. 100-200 flies on sides of stocker 10 a.m., we headed back down to cattle can reduce gain in one summer of up to 50 pounds per head. the field. The dew was dry and soon, that first pass was made. A group of Cross 5 Vaccination other volunteers looked on from a Coolers Several Sizes Available nearby knoll, enjoying caramel rolls and conversation, waiting to offer assistance in any way needed. The day Heartland tanks provided perfect conditions to cut, and a total of five machines worked in five different fields, getting all the hay in each laid down by evening, without much in the way of breakdowns or equipment trouble. As the crystalyx & rangeland cake last of the windrows were cut, the crew gathered at the edge of the fiSioux Steel nal field, making plans to get the hay Sioux Steel Livestock Dealer baled. They decided to let the hay We have all of your spring calving dry down for two days, and the balsupplies! ing would commence on Saturday.

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Nearby, in Phillip, another hard-working group of volunteers prepared a hot meal for the crew to come back and enjoy at the fire department’s garage.

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at the time, “I just hope we can get it all baled up before it rains again.” The past couple of months had dumped nearly the average yearly rainfall on the area, and with more rain in the forecast, each of the haying crew 2015 AND GET $1,000 OFF. knew that these few dry days might TO BUY. be their only shot to get any hay put up. Yet they chose to be there instead, putting up hay for their neighbor, so he could focus his energy on recovery.

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On Saturday morning I drove the same dirt trail down to the bottom hayfield, this time following an even longer string of equipment; rakes, balers, tractors with hay forks, a skid loader, a tanker from the local volunteer fire department, even service pickups from each of the implement dealerships in town. It was a sight that knocked the breath right out of me, in a good way.

Today, the crew stayed together, opting to roll up each field all at once. Watching them at work was both mesmerizing and heartwarming --rakes pulled the rows together just ahead of the balers, and those bales barely made it off the belts before they were picked up and rowed neatly on the fields’ edges. Field one...

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two...three...once again the day remained perfect for making hay. A rain shower and a wicked thunderstorm rolled in mid-afternoon, yet by God’s good graces, it went directly south of where the crews were working.

In the fifth and final field, a semi rolled in to help transport the bales from the field center. As the sun slipped slowly down the western horizon, the last bales were unloaded and rowed at the field’s edge, and everyone gathered together for a moment, to visit and to line up their equipment, so I could get a photo of the entire crew.

As I followed that same string of equipment out of the field, down a dusty trail toward home, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a lump in my throat and tears of humility and deep appreciation on my cheeks. I watched the scene laid out before me - an entire year’s worth of hay for this man and his family, a summer’s worth of work - wrapping up in its second day. Not much more than a couple of slight hiccups, no weather-imposed challenges, no stalls due to equipment. It was nothing

short of incredible. I still struggle to find the words that adequately describe the experience. Each and every one of that crew left quietly as they came, heading back to their own daily responsibilities, wanting nothing for their tremendous act of kindness, other than for the young man and his family to be able to focus on their battle ahead, rather than the work that needed done.

The resounding comment heard throughout those two days made the same point, “We don’t want any thanks, it’s just what we do.”

“It’s amazing to live in a community so filled with compassionate people, you always know that when you’re down, they will be there to pick you back up and carry you through. It’s incredible to be on the receiving end of this kindness; it can be hard to ask for that kind of help, and here, you don’t ever need to ask,” said another community member who benefitted from a similar neighborly work party. “We truly couldn’t be more blessed.”

*Editor’s note: The young man featured in this story lost his battle with cancer in the fall of 2019. His family cherished the love and support of their community as they went through that enormous loss as well.

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“It’s amazing to live in a community so filled with compassionate people...”

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Advertiser Index Arrow Realty & Management ....................................................... 1

Lindskov Implement .............................. 3 & Inside Back Cover

Assman Implement ......................................................................45

Livestock Market Directory.............................................. 38 & 39

Buffalo Brand Seed ..................................................................... 49

Mathis Implement ........................................................................37

Butte Co Equipment .............................. 3 & Inside Back Cover

Meyerink Farm Service ................................................................73

Cammack Ranch Supply .............................................................. 2

Modern Farm Equipment ............................................................12

Circle S Seeds ................................................................................ 19

Montana Seeds ............................................................................. 64

Elevate Agronomics......................................................................55

Orwig’s Tubs, Inc. ...........................................................................78

Farm Credit Services -Rc ...........................................Back Cover

Pawnee Buttes Seed Inc. ............................................................79

Farm Nutrients ...............................................................................34

Pharmco-Platte ............................................................................80

Farmer & Rancher Exchange......................................................59

Quality Liquid Feeds ................................................................... 46

FMG Feed & Seed .........................................................................72

Rowse Rakes Inc ............................................................................74

Haakon Seeds ................................................................................57

Shur Wrap........................................................................................45

Heartland Tanks & Supply .........................................................37

Sokota Seed.....................................................Inside Front Cover

Hewitt Land Company .................................................................. 5

South Central Livestock Supply .............................................. 68

Hutchison Western ........................................................................ 4

The Fine Twine Company ......................................................... 68

Jason Bartels ...................................................................................54

Tri-State Livestock News...............................................23, 59, 75

Kennedy Implement ......................................................... 28 & 29

Warne Chemical & Equipment ................................................ 58

Lakeside Livestock Equipment .................................................57

Willrodt Motor ...............................................................................34

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