Cherry Creek Progress Through Performance Bull Sale

Cherry Crk Blue Collar J187S

PAP 39 Highly recommended for heifers at elevation. Perfect bull to lead off our 50th annual bull sale. Combines tremendous phenotype, calving ease, pap, performance, carcass, and an epd profile that’s second to none. We’ll use this bull in our AI program next year.

Cherry Crk Ramesses J355 BH

Lunch: Noon • Sale Time: 1 p.m. Selling 140 Fall Yearlings

ALL OF THE BULLS HAVE BEEN PAP TESTED BY DR. TIM HOLT AFTER SPENDING THE SUMMER AT 8,000’ IN WALDEN, CO

Cherry Crk Blue Collar J179S

PAP 37 Highly recommended for heifers at elevation. Herd bull prospect. Another outstanding son of Blue Collar and a beautiful first calf heifer by Assertive. Added length of body and extra eye appeal. We will also use this bull heavily in our AI program next year.

Cherry Crk Commodore J218M

PAP 36 Recommended for large heifers and cows at elevation. Herd bull prospect. Elite EPD profile combining calving ease, performance, pap, and carcass. Dam is a powerful Hickok daughter and is also the granddam to lot 4.

42 Herd bull prospect that combines eye appeal, calving ease, performance, and PAP. Dam is a first

Our 2023 Sires Include: Circle

Circle

Gusto • CA Mountain Program 445 Cherry Crk Blue Collar G275

Cherry Crk Advance G248 (Reg #19799376) Plus many sired by Cherry Creek herd sires.

Shawn & Diane 307-534-5865 boothangus@scottsbluff.net Michael & Lindsy 307-532-1805

Kacey 307-532-1532 boothscherrycreekranch.com

It’s no secret I live for fall when I can spend every Saturday in front of a few TVs, eat some great food and spend time with my friends while watching college football. And I, along with many other young women who follow college football, obviously accumulate some “favorite,” good-looking and talented players who I follow to the National Football League.

And I, along with many other young women who followed college football in 2019, love Joe Burrow, current quarterback for the Bengals and former quarterback of the 2019 National Collegiate Athletic Association National Champions, the Louisiana State University Tigers.

Naturally, when I saw headlines this past week involving Joe Burrow and agriculture, I was intrigued.

It’s recently come to light Joe Burrow and a handful of other professional athletes pooled their money to purchase a 104-acre farm in northern Iowa. The farm in question has traditionally produced corn and soybeans, some- thing it will continue to do as the athletes plan to lease the land back to farmers.

It’s been reported the group of athletes are looking for more properties to purchase and lease back for farming as well.

Now, I know what people are thinking, what’s with all these richy-rich, border-line celebrities purchasing farmland? Is this the same thing as Bill Gates purchasing farmland?

I’ll answer the latter first. This is not the same as Bill Gates’ purchase of farmland. Bill Gates wants to purchase land to push his agenda. He believes agriculture is responsible for global warming and intends to dedicate his newly purchased land to combat climate issues.

Burrow and his company of fellow athletes have not stated any sort of intention such as this. In fact, Joe Burrow himself is from Ames, Iowa, home of Iowa State University – a college which focuses heavily on agriculture.

A news outlet in Iowa called We Are Iowa quoted Patricof Company’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Patricof stating, “I think of it as a really smart recession hedge for people who are learning to invest for the long term. It provides significant downside protection and the opportunity to create a long-term investment strategy which fits the profile of somebody who’s young and can continue to make a lot of money and wants to be conservative with their investment strategy.”

The Patricof Company is an investment company which specializes in helping professional athletes find unique investment opportunities. From what I can tell, this specific investment was right up this company and the athletes’ alley.

This brings me to the answer of our other question – what’s with all these richy-rich, borderline celebrities purchasing farmland?

Hear me out. Maybe they think American agriculture is a good investment. And why wouldn’t it be?

Sure, there are down years in farming and ranching, but there are also up years. There’s a reason so many farms and ranches out there are multi-generation –enough is made to at least breakeven.

And corn and soybean farming? I’d venture to say it’s a win-win in the fight against alternative proteins. I think this is an awesome investment, and I’m very pleased with the good public relations being generated around agriculture in the U.S. right now because of it.

Putting my market- ing and business driven opinion aside, on a personal note, this makes me proud of American agriculture. Here we have these millionaire athletes who could invest in just about anything they want, and they chose to invest in agriculture.

They recognized the importance of American ag and said, “You know what? I don’t need to buy stock in Apple or Tesla, I want to buy a farm and trust agriculturists to get the job done,” and that makes my heart swell.

We, as food, fiber and fuel producers, should be excited about this. These athletes are trendsetters, and soon, I believe many others will catch on to this trend of agricultural appreciation.

So, be proud of yourselves, agriculturists, you’ve built an industry that’s indispensable, irreplicable and impeccable.

Farmers encourage policy

Coined “Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience,” a grassroots alliance of farmers, farmworkers and farmer allies will be heading to Washington D.C. during the week of March 6 with a singular ask for policymakers –make climate change policy a priority in the 2023 Farm Bill.

Led by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), Farm Aid and supported by an alliance of organizations, the event aims to bring a mass mobilization of producers to the Capitol, reminiscent of the 1979 Tractorcade.

With the next farm bill on the docket for the 118th Congress, farmers, ranchers and advocates want legislators to address the severe challenges facing the farming community due to the climate crisis. The next farm bill needs to explicitly empower farmers to tackle climate change by providing resources, assistance and incentives which will allow them to lead the way in implementing proven climate solutions.

“For countless farmers and communities across the country, a status quo farm bill would miss the mark. Nothing short of bold structural changes – including significant investments in sustainable agriculture and enacting fair pricing policies – will do. This vast alliance of farmers and advocates will assemble in our nation’s Capitol to demonstrate widespread support for such changes to ensure the next farm bill reflects real, inclusive and systematic change,” said Mike Lavender, NSAC interim policy director.

Cowgirls compete for World’s Greatest Horsewoman title during annual Art of the Cowgirl event

Every year, female artists, silversmiths, braiders, saddle makers and horsewomen gather to celebrate their contributions to the Western lifestyle and culture, raise funds to support emerging artists and expand their knowledge and skills via fellowships in their field at the annual Art of the Cowgirl event.

This four-day celebration includes a trade show, live music, an art auction, horse clinician demonstrations, colt starting, trick riding, an all-women’s ranch rodeo, an elite ranch horse sale, stock dog demonstrations, artist demonstrations and the crowing of the world’s greatest horsewoman.

This year, the Kimes Ranch World’s Greatest Horsewoman competition was held Jan. 18-22 in Queen Creek, Ariz. during Art of the Cowgirl and showcased several women from states across the West.

Road to the World’s Greatest Horsewoman

The World’s Greatest Horsewoman competition tests the skills and versatility of a horse and rider in four areas – herd work, reining, steer stopping and cow work.

The top 10 in the competition advance to a final round, where they start with a clean slate and compete for the title of the World’s Greatest Horsewoman.

Western states boasted seven of the top 10 finalists in the competition this year.

They included Maddie Fantaskey of Worland on Cr Tiny Tuff; Dylan Sponseller of Caldwell, Idaho on Spin N Twist Arey; Debbie Crafton of Ordway, Colo. on Logicality; Tina Robinson of Shandon, Calif. on Wendels New Editions; Karen Stallings of Camp Verde, Ariz. on Sheza Voodoo Dr and Tammy Johnston of Lindsay, Calif. on Mr. Cee Street.

The remaining top 10 finalists included Kelsey Love Thomas of Rising Star, Texas on Kit Kat Jerri; Morgan Holmes of Stephenville, Texas on Monster Truk; Gracen Walker of Canadian, Texas on Play Stylish With Me and Whitney Hall of Loco, Okla. on J Noble Daggett.

All-around cowgirl crowned

After an impressive showing across the board, Thomas was crowned the 2023 World’s Greatest Horsewoman on her mare Kit Kat Jerrie, fondly referred to as Elvira.

This is the duo’s second time bringing home the prestigious title. In fact, Thomas and Elvira received the same honors during the inaugural World’s Greatest Horsewoman competition in 2020. The pair also made the top 10 finalists in 2021.

In an Art of the Cowgirl interview, Thomas notes winning the 2020 event jumpstarted her cow horse career as well as her career showing in the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA).

Since then, Thomas has become a force in her field and boasts a long list of world titles. She is a five-time Ranch Horse Association of America World Cham- pion, a two-time Women’s Ranch Rodeo Association World Champion, a Ranch Cowgirls Rodeo Association World Champion and a NRCHA Limited Open Bridle World Champion.

“Every year, the competition gets stronger with better showmen and better horses,” says Thomas. “Anytime we get to show against tough competition, it makes us step up our game and get better. We love that part of being out here in Arizona.”

She continues, “Being out here and showcasing the cowgirls and horsewomen, as well as the camaraderie and partnerships that come with it is pretty awesome. This competition will always have a special place in my heart for me and my mare.” the World’s

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

For more information on Art of the Cowgirl or the World’s Greatest Horsewoman, visit artofthecowgirl.com.

Horsewoman

“Being out here and showcasing the cowgirls and horsewoman, as well as the camaraderie and partnerships that come with it is pretty awesome. This competition will always have a special place in my heart for me and my mare.”

– Kelsey Love Thomas

The