2020 Winter Cattlemen's Edition, Section A

2020

winter

cattlemen's edition

FEATURING SOUTH DAKOTA

A publication of the

®

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Diverse Agriculture South Dakota boasts a robust agriculture economy

The Wyoming Livestock Roundup is excited to highlight South Dakota farms, ranches and agribusinesses in this 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition.

Cover photo is courtesy of Bieber Red Angus located in Leola, S.D. Known as the Mount Rushmore State, South Dakota is a vast and diverse state, with row crops to the east eventually giving way to the ranches of the Black Hills in the west.

Early history Exploration of the state began as early as 1743 as French explorers searched for a route to the Pacific.

South Dakota was eventually a part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, orchestrated by then President Thomas Jefferson. The territory included in the deal doubled the size of the United States at the time. South Dakota officially entered the Union on Nov. 2, 1889.

Home to the Sioux Nation, consisting of Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribes, the origin of the state’s name comes from the Sioux Indian word meaning friends or allies. The infamous Black Hills also got their name from the Lakota word Paha Sapa, meaning “hills that are black.” Seen from a distance,

the pine-covered hills appear black as they rise thousands of feet about the surrounding prairies.

The first permanent settlement was established at Fort Pierre in 1817, though heavy settlement of the territory didn’t begin until the arrival of the railroad in 1873 and the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874.

The late 1870s brought a boom to South Dakota farm settlements east of the Missouri River. Many settlers and immigrant farmers raised wheat east of the Missouri River as equipment and milling technology surged.

Railroad advancement west of the Missouri was long met with native American opposition.

Driven by demand for gold, the land west of the Black Hills opened up to cattle in the mid 1870s. Following years of conflict, the Black Hills region was officially opened to settlement in 1877. Cattle operators from across the country swarmed to the region, which is still dominated by cattle today.

Agriculture today With 4,322,000 acres farmed and 29,600 operations, agriculture remains the number one industry in South Dakota, with a nearly $21 billion impact on the economy

annually and over 115,000 people employed. Ninetyfive percent of the operations in the state are family farms.

Cropland accounts for 19,813,517 acres, while pastureland comes in at 21,997,620 acres. Top agriculture counties by acreage are Meade, Perkins, Harding, Corson and Jackson.

USDA reports there are an estimated 48,9133 producers in the state, of which 34,051 are male and 14,862 are female. A majority of these producers are between the ages of 35 and 64 and over 10,000 self-reported as being a new or beginning farmer.

According to USDA, market value of agriculture products sold in South Dakota totaled $9,721,522,000 in 2017, which ranks 12th nationally. South Dakota contributes to three percent of U.S. agriculture sales.

Fifty-three percent of sales are contributed to crops, while 47 percent are livestock, poultry and other products.

Top crops in the state include 5,631,742 acres of soybeans, 5,274,250 acres of corn, 2,846,347 acres of forage, 1,261,014 acres of wheat and 577,539 acres of sunflowers.

USDA reports the live-

stock inventory to include 3,988,183 head of cattle and calves, 1,560,522 head of pigs and hogs and 233,006 sheep and lambs.

National rankings South Dakota boasts a number of top five and top 10 finishes in overall U.S. production for a variety of agriculture commodities.

The state is the number one producer of both bison and sunflowers. With over 33,000 head of bison, South Dakota accounts for 20.7 percent of total U.S. production. The state also produces a whopping 42 percent of the nation’s sunflowers at 1,230,040,000 pounds.

South Dakota comes in at number two for both honey and oat production with 12.2 and 14.1 percent total national production, respectively. The state produces 19,140,000 pounds of honey and 12,615,000 bushels of oats.

South Dakota has a number three national ranking for flaxseed, alfalfa, all hay and proso millet. The state produces 288,000 bushels of flaxseed and 2.9 percent of the national total. Over four million tons of alfalfa are produced and 7.1 percent of the U.S. total. All hay production came in at 6,580,000 tons and 4.9 percent of the national average. South Dakota produces 1,891,000 bushels of proso millet for 13.4 percent of the national production.

The state is the number

four producer of both navy beans and spring wheat. With 49,000 hundredweight of navy beans, South Dakota contributes 1.1 percent of the total U.S. production. Spring wheat production comes in at 60,480,000 bushels and 10 percent of national production.

Rounding out the top five national rankings are all beef cows, calf crop, lamb crop, land in farms, popcorn and sorghum for silage. The state’s beef inventory was reported at 1,690,000 head and 5.6 percent of national production. The calf crop came in at 1,660,000 head and 4.8 percent of the U.S. production. The lamb inventory included 215,000 head and 6.3 percent of national production. South Dakota was number five for land in farms at 43,300,000 acres and 4.7 percent of the U.S. total.

Popcorn production came in at 27,686,379

pounds and 3.5 percent of the national production.

Silage sorghum production totaled 243,000 tons and 5.4 percent of U.S. total production.

Other national top 10 products include chickpeas, corn for grain, all sheep and lambs, market sheep and lambs, all wheat, duram wheat, all cattle and calves, cattle on feed, onfarm grain bin storage capacity, sorghum for grain, soybeans, wool, corn for silage, cropland, principal crops harvested, principal crops planted, winter wheat, pig crops, other hay and off-farm grain storage capacity.

Information in this article was compiled from South Dakota Historical Society and USDA. Callie Hanson is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Bison leaders – South Dakota is the nation’s number one producer of bison. Toby Brusseau photo

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

11

Featured Operations

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South Dakota

2 21 6

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12 8 22 13 1 17

10 20

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1. Bar 69 Angus 2. Wedge Tent Ranch 3. South Dakota Dairy Producers 4. South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association 5. South Dakota State University Extension 6. Center of the Nation Wool 7. Nix Family 8. Millar Angus 9. 777 Bison Ranch 10. Cammack Ranch Supply 11. Doug and Merilee Sieck 12. Kitzan Family

13. Amdahl Angus and Herefords 14. South Dakota Ag in the Classroom 15. Pyramid Beef 16. Mohnen Angus 17. Star of the West Hat Company 18. Wall Meat Processing 19. Bakers LEMAR Angus 20. South Dakota Farm Bureau 21. Black Hills Stock Show 22. Blair Brothers Angus Ranch 23. Bieber Red Angus

South Dakota’s stats Population – 844,877 Nickname – The Mount Rushmore State State Capital – Pierre State Flower – Pasque Flower State Bird – Ring-necked Pheasant

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State Animal – Coyote State Tree – White Spruce State Gemstone – Agate State Soil – Houdek State Motto – Under God, the People Rule

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Diverse operation

Bar 69 Angus offers more than just high-quality cattle Deb and Craig Kukuchka, owners and operators of Bar 69 Angus, are both fifth generation cattle ranchers.

In fact, Craig grew up raising Herefords in Dayton, and Deb spent her younger years on her family’s Angus operation.

Craig ended up buying bulls from Deb’s father, Bob Sitz, which is where their story begins.

“Craig and I met at my dad’s bull sale, and as the saying goes, the rest is history,” Deb laughs. “After Craig and I were married, we learned to artificially inseminate (AI) and started raising a registered Angus herd.”

Deb notes, to this day, over 90 percent of their herd traces back to her two 4-H cows.

The family In 1988, the Kukuchkas moved from Montana to Belle Fourche, S.D. and leased a ranch 25 miles north of Belle Fourche. In 1993, they purchased this ranch, where the Bar 69 Angus headquarters now sits on the Belle Fourche River between Belle Fourche and Newell, S.D. “When we moved here we realized we really liked this area. It’s such a friendly ranching and farming community. It’s also a big advantage to have the three sale barns, the wool warehouse and all the businesses supporting agriculture nearby, so we decided it would be a good place to settle down,” Deb says.

This is where Deb and Craig raised their family, which includes their son Chase, his wife, Ashton and their daughters, Ellie and Cora, their daughter Callie, their daughter Chelsey, her husband, Michael and their children, Hanna and Jackson and their son, Tyler, and his son, Trey.

“Callie just graduated from South Dakota State University, and she is back on the ranch. Chase and his family are also back on the ranch,” says Deb. “Chelsey and her family live in Raleigh, N.C., and Tyler and Trey live in Sheridan.”

The exchange program Besides the help of the family, the Kukuchkas have also been involved with a student agricultural exchange program for many years. The program sends over young people, ages 18 to 28, from other countries to gain experience in agriculture in the U.S. Deb explains the family became involved in the program because of her sister.

“Back then, my sister ran a bed and breakfast, and she started getting trainees to help her,” explains Deb. “She ended up talking me into it, and we hosted our first trainee in 1991.”

“Finding labor can be tough. It is so hard to find people who want to work as hard as we have to work on our ranch,” Deb adds. “But these young people come over, and they want to learn and they want to work.”

Over the years, Bar 69 Angus has housed nearly 40 trainees from all over the world, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

“They usually come over at the end of February through the first of November, so they get a pretty good feel for most of the cycle here on the ranch,” Deb explains.

“They see shearing, lambing, calving, AI, vaccinating and shipping. They also get to do a lot of riding because we do almost everything in the saddle. They really learn a lot.”

While their trainees have the opportunity to learn about the ranch, Deb notes the Kukuchas have the opportunity to learn about the world.

“It is not only a good experience for the students, it has also been a good experience for us,” Deb says. “After spending time and visiting with these kids, we learn so much about the world and realize how blessed we are.”

The Angus operation Presently, the Kukuchkas run about 300 registered Angus cows.

“Our goal is to raise cattle consistent and sound in all

traits,” the Kukuchka family notes. “We know what it takes to make cows work in our environment, which is very similar to the commercial cattleman’s environment.

This gives us insight into our customers’ needs.”

Bar 69 Angus strives for easy keeping cows with good dispositions, according to Deb. “We do all of our sorting, gathering and working horseback, so our cattle are really easy to work with and be around,” she says. “Nobody has time to put up with cattle with poor dispositions.”

“Our pasture ground is north of Belle Fourche and half of it is Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ground,” she adds. “The environment we run on is native grass with rough draws, deep creeks and sagebrush.”

“We bring the cattle home before calving then take them right back out to pasture postcalving, when the weather permits,” says Deb. The operation’s cows are AI’d through natural heat detection for three weeks, after which bulls are turned out and then pulled at the end of 45 days. Their heifers start calving at the beginning of February, and their cows start calving at the beginning of March.

In the fall, the calves are preconditioned, pasture weaned and then brought home to be fed on homegrown feed consisting of corn silage, oats and hay.

The commercial steer calves and one-third of the heifer calves are sold on Superior in the fall.

“Fifty of our heifers are sold through our annual production sale and the rest are kept for replacements,” explains Deb. She also notes they market their bulls through their annual bull sale. This year the sale will take place on April 2 at Belle Fourche Livestock in Belle Fourche, S.D. and marks the family’s 32nd annual sale.

The sheep operation On top of their Angus operation, the Kukuchka

family runs nearly 1,000 head of Targhee ewes.

“When we first started out, we were just a young couple trying to make payments,” says Deb. “I used to be a vocational ag teacher, and I started talking to one of my students who ran a lot of sheep. We figured out we could run more animal unit months (AUM) with sheep and cattle, and we are better able to utilize pasture because the sheep eat weeds and forbs while the cattle eat the grass.”

After deciding sheep would be a good fit on their operation, Deb, Craig and

Craig’s father headed to Wyoming to buy some Targhee ewes.

“We didn’t know a thing about sheep, but Craig’s dad knew a little, so we took him with us,” laughs Deb. “We bought some ‘open’ ewes that ended up lambing in February.”

“We had one open faced shed, nothing else we probably needed, so we hung some tarps and learned all about sheep and lambing very quickly,” she continues.

Deb explains they decided to raise Targhees because they are a dual-purpose breed.

“Our Targhees have really fine wool. We sell our wool at Center of the Nation Wool and it all goes out to export. Our lambs sell at Newell Sheep Yards, with the ewe lambs in demand as replacements,” Deb says.

“We are blessed to be able to work together as family and provide profitable genetics for both our Angus and sheep customers.”

Please visit bar69angus. com for more information.

Hannah Bugas is the assistant editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net

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Wedge Tent Ranch Growing more grass in South Dakota

G BAR H GENETICS ANGUS BULL SALE

Ranching has been a lifelong passion for Bart Carmichael, who started leasing his grandparents’ place near Faith, S.D. as a junior in high school.

“They wanted to sell out, and I wanted to ranch.

I leased it month by month for two years, then signed a five-year lease in 1992.

Three years into that lease, Shannon and I got married.

We realized payments to buy the place weren’t much more than the lease payments, so in 1996 we made a purchase deal,” he says.

The ranch was mostly pasture – a commercial cow/ calf operation, with a little hay ground.

“When we started, it was four big pastures. After Shannon and I got married, the first thing we did was start dividing those pastures,” he says.

In 2012, they had a seri-

ous drought and decided to put the whole herd together and do more rotations, using 40-acre pieces with temporary electric fence.

“Our oldest son Kenny kept busy that summer moving and building fences. It helped stretch our pasture,” he explains.

They decided they needed more permanent fences to make it easier to divide pastures with temporary hot wires.

“Every week we were building about a mile and a half of fence,” he says.

The rotational grazing extended their grazing season and there are not many days they have to feed hay.

“We’ve never gotten by without feeding any hay,” he says. “The best was 33 days of feeding. This last year we had more snow and had to feed for 90 days. One year we had to start feeding

Dec. 6, but by the first of February, we were grazing again and were able to graze all the way through.”

The cattle After a few years with commercial cattle, Bart and Shannon started raising registered Black Angus.

“Our initial goal was to raise good replacement heifers, but we also kept bull calves for our own use. It grew from there,” says Bart.

“Some of the neighbors started buying a few bulls.

We sold bulls private treaty for four years, then started having a public sale in 2005 at the sale facility in Faith, S.D.” Their sale is always the last Wednesday in April.

“We sell yearling bulls and two-year-olds. Some folks prefer yearlings and others want older bulls.

We moved our calving season a little later, and

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

now it’s harder to have yearling bulls old enough for the sale,” says Bart. “But, most of our customers calve in late spring like we do, so it’s not a problem for them.

They aren’t breeding cows until July or August.”

“People don’t buy our bulls to have the biggest calves, they want our bulls because they sire good heifers that make the best cows,” says Bart. “Maternal traits are most important to us.

Producers have to start with a good cow, then everything else falls into place.”

The cattle are grazed rotationally and are easy to move. The biggest chore is in July, breeding them AI. “We synchronize and breed every female,” he says.

Grazing Bart has always been interested in grass and grazing. He went to the Ranching for Profit school in 2014 and again in December 2018, where he and Shannon went together.

“Now, we’re in the fol-

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low-up program, Executive Link, with continuing education. It’s been an evolving process and a gradual change. One idea leads to another,” says Bart.

“This is how our grazing management evolved.

All our pastures were fenced into half sections, and the cattle were grazing more uniformly and it worked,” Bart explains. “Then about two years later, we noticed the cattle were spot grazing again, so we broke those pastures up into smaller pieces.”

“Every time we’d do that we’d see a benefit. We didn’t just suddenly divide everything down into seven acres a day, it was gradual.

Smaller pieces gave everything else more recovery time. Once we leave a spot, it’s 14 to 16 months before the cattle come back to it again,” he says.

All forage species have a chance to mature and go to seed. This has made a huge difference in forage quantity and quality. The long rest and recovery on rotated pastures has allowed some of the missing native plants to come back. One plant that appeared last fall, that he hadn’t seen before, is winterfat.

Calving The important thing is to try to work with nature rather than against her.

“This includes our new calving season. That has been an ongoing process in itself. When I was in high school, I took every ag class available,” says Bart.

“The teachers were telling us to not do things the way grandpa did it.”

“So, I was going to show my grandpa how to get it done the modern way.

He calved the middle of April. The first year I was here we started calving on the first of March and we kept moving them earlier,” says Bart. “But now everything calves the end of April.”

“At that time of year, the weather is less likely to be really cold. Now that we calve later, all our calves are in the perfect shed during those storms, they are still inside their mother,” he says.

There is no perfect season for calving, however.

“We AI every cow, using heat synchronization, so the calves come in a short time,” he says. “During one spring storm in April we had 62 calves born in a three-day period. My youngest son was 18 and helping me that year and we worked our tails off, we had to get those new calves in out of the weather.”

He continued, “We had 22 new calves in 11 hours and my son and I were in the barn and really tired, and I asked him what time of year he’d prefer to calve - since some of these cows were his.”

“He said, ‘Dad, I signed a rodeo scholarship, and I’ll be gone every weekend in April. I won’t be here next year,’” Bart

says.

It’s hard to find a calving season that works in every aspect. If we calve later, the cows are being bred later, sometimes during really hot weather we have to wean later.

It makes a difference in when you sell those calves; changing one thing affects everything else.

Bart says it’s important to have efficient cattle that can perform well without a lot of expensive inputs.

“I read something that focused on increasing profit and talked about increasing income by 20 percent. My focus has always been more on how I can decrease cost by 20 percent,” he says.

Family Bart and Shannon have four grown children. Their youngest son just graduated from high school and is going to Dickenson State College.

“They wanted to do things here on the ranch, but I told them that they had to leave home first for a while and get more experience, to find out what they really want to do,” says Bart.

“I always said they would learn two things: One being they were right and Dad doesn’t know everything and two being Dad is not nearly as dumb as they thought,” he says.

“They will have a much broader understanding of many things.”

Shannon teaches in Faith School District. Bart is a crop adjuster for Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) with Farm Service Agency (FSA).

NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters.

“In drought situations this becomes a full-time job. I started this job in 2002, and I enjoy getting out and meeting people.

All I do is forage rather than other crops, and I have enjoyed doing this job,” he says.

“Here on our own operation we’re always trying to think how to make things better and how to plan for the next generation,” he says. “With four kids, we need to figure out how that works and not wait until the last minute.

It seems like many folks in the generations before us had trouble passing the farm to the next in line.”

“People have told us their dad won’t let go, or their grandpa won’t let go.

We’ve been blessed that we were able to get a start so we want to be prepared to pass this on to our kids or grandkids,” says Bart.

For more information visit wedgetentranch.com.

Heather Smith-Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

The heart of dairy country South Dakota Dairy Producers gives a voice to dairy industry

Since 2009, South Dakota Dairy Producers (SDDP) have been a voice for the dairy industry. SDDP aims to promote dairy, bring dairy farmers together with suppliers and processors and to represent all dairies – regardless of size, operating style or location.

“South Dakota is in a very unique position currently in that we are increasing our number of milking cows at a time when most states are maintaining or losing cow numbers,” says SDDP Executive Director Tom Peterson. “A primary reason we have been able to continue a growth trend is through the unified efforts of many stakeholders.”

He continues, “Generational, as well as new dairy farmers, have had a willingness to expand and do business in South Dakota, combined with processors who have been willing to make the investment in plant expansion have created an environment where South Dakota has become a dairy destination.”

Mission and goals Tom notes SDPP efforts are focused in three main areas.

“We want to be a voice for the South Dakota dairy industry,” he says. “We aim to shape public policy by working through dairy industry partners and educate and mobilize our membership.”

The mission of SDDP is, “Working together to assure and enhance a sustainable dairy environment in South Dakota.”

Within this mission,

there are four pillars of focus - policy, growth, education and consumer confidence.

On the policy front, SDDP wants to be the voice of dairy with government and the agricultural community.

Growth is accomplished by cooperating with other commodities and stakeholders, SDDP is encouraging growth and opportunities for dairy in South Dakota.

Education is reached on a number of fronts including providing information to dairy farmers through South Dakota State University Extension, the I-29 Moo University and at the State Annual Meeting.

Consumer confidence is working to protect dairy farms license to operate by engaging the public and consumers to maximize and amplify the high level of trust already earned by dairy farmers.

Public outreach “SDDP is fortunate to work for dairy farmers who have established a long-standing culture of openness and transparency of their farms,” says Tom. “While care must still be taken, the dairy industry is unique in that there are fewer limitations regarding farm access and offering the public opportunities to see dairy farms first hand.”

He continues, “Visitors have the chance to see on-farm measures dairies take to ensure animals are well cared for and the high level of emphasis on recycling, efficient water

use and other practices that enhance the environment.”

With a huge focus on June Dairy Month, SDDP is active in at least four to five dairy farm open houses each year, with creative farmers who have developed opportunities that attract, in many cases, semi-urban populations who have had little or no opportunity to see a farm first-hand.

“These same people are making the purchasing decisions at the grocery store or restaurant, and building trust in where their food comes from is a key part of their decision

making,” says Tom. He continues, “SDDP was also instrumental in creating what has become known as the South Dakota Dairy Drive. While an intangible ‘brand or tagline’ it symbolizes the unified approach South Dakota has built to enhance and grow the dairy industry in the state.”

Annually SDDP is a partner in the “Dairy Drive” football and basketball games at South Dakota State University (SDSU) fostering the great relationship between SDDP, dairy farmers, SDSU and the processor and industry partners dedicated to the dairy industry.

SDPP organization The organization is led

by a nine-member board, which typically meets three to four times per year, with an annual meeting including all membership.

Board members consist of dairy farmers from various size farms, along with processor and industry representation. Currently, the representation consists of six dairy farmers and three board members from within the dairy industry.

“SDDP represents and works for dairies of all sizes. In addition to producer members, associate memberships are available to anyone with a stake in growing and supporting South Dakota’s dairy industry,” says Tom. “Associate and industry members can include food processors, farm lending

institutions, veterinarians, feed and nutrition companies, livestock equipment dealers and many others.”

He continues, “SDDP membership is voluntary and dues are renewed annually. Our members and board members are all very active in their communities, school systems, and have established a culture, with many opening their farms up to open houses, school tours and other opportunities to engage with the general public and South Dakota’s youth.”

For more information visit sddairyproducers.org.

Callie Hanson is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net. fcsamerica.com

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A8

Diverse cattlemen

South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association serves a diverse state and diverse cattle operations

“South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association (SDCA) is a membership-driven association covering the entirety of South Dakota,” SDCA President Eric Jennings explains.

“Being statewide in a state as diverse as South Dakota can be a challenge,” he notes.

“The east and west sides of the Missouri River are vastly different. It is much more than a geographic divide, it’s a cultural divide as well.”

Eric explains the soil types on each side of the river are vastly different. The east side of the state has ideal conditions for row crops and cattle feeding operations. Meanwhile, the western side of the state is dominated by rangelands and large cattle operations.

“We do our best to encompass all types of cattle operations and producers,” says Jennings. “We are here to enhance the business climate

for South Dakota beef producers and increase the viability of producers across the state.”

About SDCA According to SDCA, they are a grass roots organization consisting of 15 county and regional affiliates and two councils.

SDCA affiliates and councils appoint representatives to the SDCA Board of Directors and policy committees. These volunteer leaders are the producers’ voice at the state level, setting SDCA’s goals and shaping policy.

These policies are then carried

by SDCA members to the legislature, state agencies, consumer groups and media, providing a statewide voice for today’s beef producers.

As an affiliate of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), SDCA provides a voice for South Dakota cattlemen on national issues affecting local ranch-

ers. “Our involvement with NCBA ensures South Dakota ranchers have a seat at the decision-making table,” says SDCA. “The NCBA Washington office is considered one of the most effective ag lobbying groups on the Hill, while the Denver office conducts research, communication, membership services and beef promotion activities.”

According to SDCA, their mission is to advance and protect the interests of all cattlemen by enhancing profitability through representation, promotion and information sharing.

“Our vision is to be a producer-oriented organization that consumers and producers rely on for factual information to enhance a profitable business climate and promote environmental stewardship,” says SDCA. Committees Policy committees cover a variety of topics and issues effecting beef producers, according to SDCA. The agriculture and food policy committee aids in developing a plan of work and policies that will ensure cattlemen are being represented and addressed in legislation and regulation dealing with general agriculture or food-related policies.

Offering 400 Yearling Bulls & A Really Nice Selection Of Coming Two’s

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

The cattle health and wellbeing committee provides strategic guidance to develop a plan of work and policies which will ensure cattle health and well-being issues are addressed to maintain the health and quality care of cattle.

The federal lands committee is charged with providing the strategic direction for a viable federal lands cattle industry using historical means and new opportunities.

International markets ensures international marketing initiatives and trade policy are integrated, provides direction and support for U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) activities and coordinates with the U.S. market so global market opportunities are maximized.

The live cattle marketing committee provides guidance in developing policies and a climate that will ensure live cattle marketing, grading, risk management and transportation issues are addressed in an effective manner, allowing the beef industry to maximize profitability while consistently meeting consumer needs and increasing market share.

Membership and information provides the necessary strategic guidance that will assure the resources and strong state/affiliate coordination required to achieve the SDCA mission.

The property rights and environmental management develops policy and provides

the necessary strategic guidance that will assure property rights and environmental issues are identified and managed effectively and efficiently, thereby avoiding an adverse effects on beef purchases.

Tax and credit addresses all federal and state tax and credit matters involving the beef cattle industry.

Issue priorities “One of our biggest priorities is getting involved with issues early before legislation is written,” says Eric. “It’s much easier for us to guide the initial legislation than try to change it after the fact.”

Eric noted SDCA has recently worked on a lot of national-scale issues.

“One thing that has really affected us this year were issues that arose due to crop insurance claims following the devastating blizzards and floods,” says Eric. “For those who claimed delayed planting, they couldn’t harvest or graze those lots until Nov.1.”

Eric notes waiting this late can be problematic as it is often too late to harvest or have adequate nutritional value for grazing.

“Our concern was there were millions of acres in South Dakota not planted, and the issue we saw was a possible shortage of forage for feeders and cow/calf operators,” Eric explains. “We were able to convince USDA to make an administrative change and didn’t have to go

through legislation to get an earlier harvest date so producers could produce a crop with some nutritional value.”

SDCA also assists in steering legislation in regards to livestock deprivation.

“We have over 7,000 elk in the Black Hills that come down to eat harvested feed in the winter,” says Eric. “In the spring, they often hit hay meadows which can be costly to hay producers.”

Also on the wildlife front, SDCA has worked on getting the gray wolf delisted to help ranchers avoid predation of their herds.

“We have also been very involved with meat labeling issues,” Eric states. “Labels such as country of origin, organic and natural need to be accurate and verifiable.”

He continues, “For fake meat products, consumers need to know what they are purchasing and eating.”

“Its really important for us producers to have a good livestock association in the state to represent us,” says Eric. “Our staff keeps track of issues 12 months a year so we are able to guide and direct policy before its written.”

He continues, “SDCA is a constant vigilance for issues.”

Visit sdcattlemen.org for more information.

Callie Hanson is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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A9

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

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A10

Spreading knowledge

SDSU Extension is a source of unbiased and vetted information for those in and out of agriculture Brookings, S.D. – South Dakota State University (SDSU) Agriculture Extension is committed to being South Dakota’s source of unbiased and vetted information regarding agriculture to producers and consumers alike.

According to SDSU, Extension empowers citizens to be more competitive in a growing global economy

through education and technical training or assistance.

“Our purpose is to foster a learning community environment empowering citizens to advocate for sustainable change that will strengthen agriculture, natural resources, youth, families and the communities of South Dakota,” says SDSU. “In pursuit of this purpose, several core values support

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

cialists within Extension assigned to different regional centers, and each center has a specialist dedicated to livestock production, crop production and natural resources,” says SDSU Extension Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources Alvaro Garcia.

Alvaro explains each specialist has assigned tasks, taking into consideration their expertise and what they were hired to do.

“For example, with crops such as corn and soybeans, which are grown abundantly in South Dakota, we have specialists looking at different aspects of corn genetics and how they perform in the state,” says Alvaro. “We also have specialists who work with non-traditional crops in the western part of the state such as sorghum and peas.”

“Our livestock group is staffed with diverse individuals who specialize in sheep, beef and dairy cattle,” says Alvaro.

Mission “Our overarching goal is to increase the sustainability of our producers, both environmentally and economically,” says Alvaro. “We want to see operations be able to continue throughout multiple generations.”

He explains many medium-sized operations are going under because in order to stay in business, they need to expand and may not have the resources to do so.

“This is where Extension can make a huge difference,” says Alvaro. “Oftentimes larger operations can hire consultants to help, but we can help small and midsize operations.”

He continues, “We can be present and help them through the ever-changing environment of agriculture.”

Alvaro says Extension also understands there is a growing disconnect between agriculture and the general public.

“Every time we have an opportunity to go into schools and areas not as close to farm areas and present, we take the chance to educate,” says Alvaro.

“We do think there is a bright future for agriculture and the importance of being mindful of the current climate of agriculture and how hard it can be for new start ups,” says Alvaro.

Livestock programs Alvaro noted livestock specialists across the state host programs to help educate producers on various technology and management methods.

“The most impactful of our livestock programs has probably been our artificial insemination (AI) workshops,” says Alvaro. “We have historically offered this program to adults, but have recently teamed up with our 4-H branch to offer this program to youth as well.”

He continues, “By teach-

ing producers advanced methods of breeding, we are working to improve the genetics of the South Dakota beef herd as a whole.”

Alvaro notes Extension has also sponsored feedlot management seminars to help producers better understand how to manage cattle in a feedlot setting.

Mental health “We have had a very challenging couple of years in the region, and we have made a concentrated effort to develop programs tackling the effects of farm stress,” Alvaro explains.

“We want our producers to be able to better cope with a less than ideal economic environment for agriculture.”

He continues, “Mental health is so important because there have been a lot of struggles across the region in connection with commodity prices and adverse weather such as torrential flooding and blizzards.”

“Farm stress is extremely stigmatized, and it’s not easy for people to talk about,” says Alvaro.

“We need to develop an approach that is mindful of these issues.”

Please visit sdstate.edu for more information.

Callie Hanson is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

A11

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

The middle men

Center of the Nation Wool links regional wool growers to textile buyers Belle Fourche, S.D. - “We are a middle man in every sense of the word,” says Center of the Nation Wool Director Larry Prager. “We receive wools from producers and do marketing on behalf of the growers.”

He continues, “For example, if we have a customer looking for a specific length, micron and color, we go through our lots to find something matching their needs.”

Larry notes they do the reverse of this when ranchers bring wool in during shearing time.

“Marketing starts when we receive wools from producers,” says Larry. “We will target lots to where they have the most potential and will return the most money to producers.”

“It is a quality-driven conversation on both ends,” says Larry. “At the ranch level, when we see premium lots we want to get those growers in the best position possible to make the most money.”

Logistics Larry explains the process of marketing wool begins at the ranch during shearing.

“Ranchers will call before shearing to get an

idea of what the market conditions are like,” says Larry. “Sorting is done at the ranch, and once the wool is in bales, it arrives at our warehouse.”

He continues, “From there, we check for quality markers such as length, color and uniformity. Each lot is core tested to establish how fine and clean the wool is. We take this info and form descriptions for each lot and begin the process of marketing the lots to potential buyers.”

He notes some buyers are looking for a very specific quality or certain features to the wool, while other buyers are purely price driven in their search.

“The thing with marketing wool is sometimes we will get a call from someone looking for wool for a very specific purpose,” says Larry. “If they need certain lengths, I can’t ship them anything less.”

“Our function as marketers is targeted marketing on behalf of growers,” says Larry. “We know how wool can be best applied for the best price.”

“We are uniquely positioned in that we can offer storage and year-round

marketing options,” says Larry. “We have the capacity to handle up to five million pounds of greasy wool, and we are fortunate to have some of the best wool in the world at our fingertips.”

History and future Larry explains Center of the Nation Wool began in 1960 in Carter County, Montana when a group of ranchers wanted to market their wool together because core testing was just becoming popular.

These ranchers formed Nation Center Wool Pool, which later become Farmers and Ranchers Wool.

The same core group incorporated in 1984 and became Center of the Nation Wool.

“Those same original producers are still a part of our organization today,” says Larry.

“I think Center of the Nation Wool has survived while others have failed due to the strength of our producers,” says Larry.

“That sentiment remains with us as we move forward.”

“We are coming off about a five-year run where wools have been trending higher,” says Larry. “But,

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we are seeing a declining market structure in the last six months.”

He continues, “Despite a declining market, sheep numbers are stable and improving and in many rangeland scenarios, sheep are the most efficient animal to stock.”

“I think sheep will stabilize, and we are in a place where quality of wool on open range prairies and growing conditions are excellent,” says Larry. “We have great genetics in the region and producers who know what they are doing.”

“Our function as marketers is targeted marketing on behalf of growers. We know how wool can be best applied for the best price.” - Larry Prager, Center of the Nation Wool market. We have the ability to target specific markets.

That’s where our leverage really lies.”

Center of the Nation Wool can be reached at 605-892-6311.

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

“Moving forward, we are not a very diversified company. We market wool and that is our sole purpose. I don’t foresee us moving into other sectors such as feeding,” says Larry.

He continues, “We are representing ranchers because they are busy people, who individually don’t have much leverage on the

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A12

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Seeds of change

Switching to natural beef proved a success for the Nix family Traditional farming/ ranching on the family farm in south-central South Dakota became a struggle for Brett Nix, trying to make a living doing what his parents and

grandparents had done.

Eventually, he made the change from crops to grass - resulting in fewer expensive inputs, healthier soil and a more satisfying lifestyle.

A village – The Nix operation is headed by Brett Nix and his wife Lori and their children have also been involved. Courtesy photo

Early years Brett’s grandparents homesteaded near the little town of Murdo, S.D. “My grandmother was instrumental in helping them survive the tough times during the 1930s. She went to work in Pierre, S.D. to bring in some income,” he explains.

“My grandfather later told my dad he didn’t want to sell him the place because he couldn’t make a living out here.

He continues, “So, my dad went into the service, then came back and bought a neighboring place, because all he wanted to do was farm.

He and my mother eventually bought my grandparents’ place also and added more land along the way.”

Brett joined his parents on the ranch in 1979.

“We continued adding acreage and had a typical high-input operation. It was the modern way of farming, working from dawn until dark,” he says. “My parents were extremely hard workers and back then one could advance with hard work and a few good decisions.”

“This is still true today, but it’s more difficult. Our decisions have to be even more well-thought-through and our hard work must encompass more creative thinking and

strategizing and not just the sweat of our brow,” says Brett.

Seeds of change Farming with his parents, he was using typical farming/ ranching methods, until the late 1990s when they started no-till and added a few more crops.

“We intensified rotations and also had livestock, running 300 to 400 cows. In 2008, when prices and inputs skyrocketed, it was a crisis point financially and we were already to the breaking point work-wise,” says Brett Financial challenges forced a look at other options to survive.

“We were calving in February to March and into April.

All our cows had to go through the barn,” Brett says. “This was very labor intensive, but for a while all our kids were involved and we had a lot of help. As they started to graduate and go their own way, we had less help. I could see this was not sustainable.”

“Seeds of change had been planted in our minds,” he says. “We’d done a ranch inventory with Farm Credit Service with one of their programs to help farmers and ranchers better manage their resources.”

“The banking side of the crisis was another issue,” he says.

Farm Credit took their records and information and crunched it through their system.

“They sent back a detailed

report, defining our problems.

We were spending a lot of money on inputs,” he says.

“We took a hard look at the size and scope of our business and dollars invested in equipment. This was the beginning of a change for us.”

To learn how to better manage his operation, Brett went to a Ranching for Profit school in Abilene, Texas in 2012 and a follow-up school in Rapid City, S.D. in 2015.

He also attended holistic management workshops.

“One of the first things we did was move our calving season into May-June,” he explains. “We knew we couldn’t calve in cold weather anymore because it limited the number of cattle we could run. We could only calve out as many cows as we could run through our barn.”

This necessitated a few more changes, like selling 40 cows that wouldn’t do well calving at pasture.

“We had a short discussion, whether to put a bull with them and sell them as bred cows to add value, then asked ourselves if we’d want to be the person buying them,” he explains. “So we ran those cows without a bull until we could wean their current calves and sold them as open cows.”

After they started calving in summer, calving was enjoyable.

“This also matched our cows’ peak demand for forage to the peak growing sea-

son. We didn’t have very many problems, but did discover some of our cows were milking too heavy. We had to change our genetics a little as we went along,” he says.

“We were still farming 3,000 acres and didn’t like what we were doing. With notill we had to use chemicals and fertilizers. So, we decided to plant everything back to grass,” Brett says.

Another motivating reason for change was they wanted to be better stewards of the land.

“We are responsible for it and wanted to be doing something better with this resource God entrusted to us as caretakers. For many years we’d been taking from it, and it was time to reverse that process,” says Brett Drought had always been an issue.

“We probably created some of our drought situations with our management styles of farming and grazing.

We set up a drought plan and have less problems, thanks to our grazing management and adjusting stocking rate to our grass and moisture,” says Brett.

Natural beef “Today, we sell beef as grass-fed, drug-free and natural. We have not used any chemicals on our land or livestock for five years,” he says.

“We use biological methods and some mechanical means to control undesirable Continued on next page

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A13

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page plants, though our livestock graze most plants on our land,” he explains.

The decision to raise cattle more naturally took a few changes. They don’t pour cattle anymore with dewormers or insecticides. When cattle are not overgrazing, they are not picking up many worms because the worm larvae are on the lower part of the plants When cattle are moved to

new pasture after grazing just a short time, they leave most the worm and fly load behind.

By the time they come back again, after a long recovery for each pasture, most worm eggs/larvae and horn fly larvae in manure were left behind and perished - due to dung beetle activity and not having a new host.

“We did more culling when we quit using deworm-

Natural beef – The Nix family markets their cattle as grass-fed, drug-free and natural. The operation has not used any chemicals on their land or livestock since 2015. Courtesy photo

ers and insecticides. There’d be a few cows that didn’t hold up or do well in our system, so those went to market, but as we changed other things, those issues have become minimal,” Brett says.

Early on, they had an extensive heifer development program, feeding them to grow to a certain size before breeding. Today, the heifers grow naturally, on grass and minimal harvested feed.

Nearly all heifers are exposed to bulls. The ones that conceive generally make good cows and the ones that aren’t pregnant stay in the stocker group. Calves stay on their mothers through winter. This makes winter chores easy and calves stay healthy.

“In our old system we usually fed between six and seven months of the year.

Now we’re down to less than three months feeding with a tractor and are still decreasing that each year. We do a lot of bale grazing with our rotation, trying to leave as much ground cover and nutrients on the land as possible,” he says.

“We create a grazing plan but we don’t really have a system. We just have a few principles we try to stay with. We don’t want cattle on any piece of land for more than three to five days if we can help it, because after that the grass is starting to regrow. We don’t want cows to take a second bite once it starts to regrow,” he explains.

“All our land is marginal farm ground, but some of it we’d already planted back to grass, and put up hay. Now we graze it, rather than hay it,” he explains. “Some of the land gets twice-over grazing - once early and once late in the year, which has advanced the soil health and biology.”

He tries to change season of use every year, so a certain piece of land might have a year of recovery and sometimes 18 months.

“We are continually changing to make our lives, our land and our resources better. And we want to con-

tinue educating ourselves along the way,” he says.

Heather Smith-Thomas is a corresponding writer

for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

Grazing plan – The Nixs work to ensure cows don’t graze a lot of grass for more than three to five days to ensure maximum grass and soil health. Courtesy photo

Genuine. Devoted. Proven.

Family business – Brett and Lori Nix have successfully grown their operation, which was originally homesteaded by Brett’s grandparents in the 1930s. Courtesy photo

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Bull sales

Millar Angus fulfills bull sale dreams on the ranch Jon and Breezy Millar have a purebred Angus operation near Sturgis, S.D. They both grew up with cattle. Jon’s roots go back to Onida, S.D. where his parents, Ellis and Pat Millar and his brothers, Jess and Jim, operated a purebred Angus operation.

Jon has always loved cattle and purchased his first registered Angus cow in 1975 when he was 12 years old from his parents’ herd. Breezy grew up on her parents’ commercial cattle operation east of Sturgis, S.D. Jon and Breezy met at South Dakota State University, where they were both active in rodeo. Jon earned a degree in general agriculture and Breezy majored in advertising. After college, they purchased 20 registered Angus cows and started

leasing the ranch where they live today, along the Belle Fourche River.

With the lease, came a chance to run some cattle on shares. With hard work, including Jon’s custom farming and Breezy’s job at KBHB Radio, their registered Angus herd gradually expanded.

In 2011, they were able to purchase the ranch.

Jon, Breezy, their son Ryle and daughter Kobi handle the daily chores.

“At Millar Angus we place a great deal of emphasis on the mama cow, knowing we need to have a good factory,” says Jon. “For a cow to stay in our herd, she must be efficient and functional, raising a big calf with a consistent breed-back year after year.”

“She must be a hardworking female with calv-

ing ease, good replacement heifers and good temperament. Our herd consists of deep-bodied females that provide the thickness, length and good udder quality our customers look for. Our cattle must be easy-fleshing and as economical and profitable as possible to help reduce ever-rising input costs in today’s beef industry,” he says.

The heifers are synchronized to start calving Jan. 10 and the cows are AI bred for one natural cycle, with cleanup bulls turned out for 45 days.

The cows start calving Jan. 20.

Today, the Millar Angus herd is backed by nearly 35 years of AI breeding. The first cows they purchased trace back to cattle in Jon’s parents’ herd, with founda-

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

tion bloodlines of Traveler 8180, Marshal Pride and Black Revolution.

More recent sires utilized in the Millar herd include Tombstone 050, Millars Cash, Connealy Consensus and Millars Designer.

Sales On Feb. 26, 2002, their goal of hosting their own production sale became a reality when they sold 16 bulls to a crowd of buyers at Philip Livestock Auction in Philip, S.D. They continued to hold their production sale in Philip until 2015, when Jon and Breezy fulfilled another dream by hosting the sale at their ranch.

They built their new sale facility, where they sold 120 bulls in late February 2015 for their first athome annual bull sale.

There are many things that go into producing a successful sale.

“While we always enjoyed working with the crew at Philip, it was nice

having our sale right here, rather than hauling our bulls more than 100 miles to the sale,” says Breezy.

Their sale takes place on the third Wednesday in February each year.

“The first year we had a lot of extra things to do because we were still finishing up the new sale barn, so it became a little easier the second time around,” she says.

Breezy takes care of all the advertising.

“I graduated from South Dakota State University as an advertising major and that’s been helpful. When I place my advertising, I like to utilize a variety of different media,” says Breezy.

“I use local radio sta-

tions geared toward the ag sector and always use regional ag papers. This provides more chance to reach potential customers.”

“In college, I was taught to never buy advertising based on our own personal tendencies and preferences, but to think more in terms of what our customers might see or hear. I try to think about our potential customers when I place ads,” she says.

“We use other avenues, as well - such as our website, social media and our quarterly Millar Angus Bull-e-tin,” says Breezy.

“This is a fun newsletter that features customContinued on next page

Lifelong love – Jon Millar has always had a passion for cattle and purchased his first Angus cow at age 12. Courtesy photo

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A15

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page ers, photos and things that have been happening around the ranch as well as updates on our sales and the bulls offered.”

“I also handle the graphic design and layout of all of our ads and the sale catalog,” Breezy says.

Part of having a successful sale is catering to the customers.

“We offer donuts and coffee in the morning prior to the sale, while people are viewing the bulls, and serve a complimentary ribeye steak sandwich lunch, catered by a good friend who owns a catering business. After lunch buyers can enjoy a piece of homemade pie, made by a local women’s auxiliary.”

Putting on a sale is often a team effort.

Right outside the sale barn is a large lot, used for various things throughout the year. On sale day, however, it becomes multiple pens for bulls.

“We use free-standing, continuous fence panels, with gates, to create our bull pens,” she says.

“People can go right outside the door and view the

bulls, walk among them and make evaluations.”

She continues, “During the sale, it’s a video auction. We started this type of auction when we moved the sale to our ranch.”

“A couple weeks prior to the sale, the bulls are all videoed by DV Auction.

Then we upload these videos to our website so people can view any bull they want to look at online,” she explains. “The video sale saves a lot of labor and leg work on sale day.

We don’t need a crew bringing bulls in, taking them back out and re-penning them. “ She continues, “The bulls just stay in their pens and the audience watches the video screens in the sale barn. DV Auction supplies us with three large screen TVs that we set up in front of the auction block and I set up a mock sale ring around them.”

Developing bulls Jon develops the bulls.

“We try to grow them, rather than get them too fleshy too fast. We want them to gain to meet their genetic potential without

being fat,” Jon says. “People don’t like to buy fat bulls, but they also don’t want a lean one either.”

“Our customers tell us the bulls they buy from us go out and do their job and hold together well, and come back in the fall in good condition. I think this is due to the fact that we develop them properly,” he says.

About six weeks before the sale, the bulls are trimmed and clipped.

“At that time, we also take pictures of some of the bulls for our sale catalog. We like a lot of photos, to give a good representation of the bulls,” he says.

A couple days before the sale, the bulls are brought in and cleaned up, with any touchups necessary on the clipping.

“It’s like buying a new car, people want to buy a clean one,” he explains. “It makes a difference if they look nice. The morning of the sale all we have to do

is run them in and blow out their hair and they are good to go.”

“When we pen and display the bulls on the day of the sale, we like to pen them by sire group and size,” says Jon. “Their weight on sale day will

be anywhere from 1,000 pounds for the younger ones up to 1,350.”

He explains if they put a single 1,000-pound bull in a pen of six 1,300-pound bulls, the small one looks out of place and is at a disadvantage when people are

looking at the bulls.

Please visit millarangus. com for more information.

Heather Smith-Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Family affair – Jon and Breezy involve their children, Kobi and Ryle, in day-to-day activities on the ranch. Courtesy photo

Crawford Livestock Market, LLC Can BID*BUY*VIEW online on cattleusa.com *Must be pre-approved before sale day*

2020 Crawford Livestock Market Winter and Spring Lineup Bull sale ease – The Millar’s goal is to make the bull buying process as seamless as possible for their buyers. Courtesy photo

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Friday, January 24 – Regular Cattle & Special Feeder Sale Friday, January 31 – NO SALE Friday, February 7 – Regular Cattle & Special Feeder Sale Friday, February 14 – NO SALE Friday, February 21 – Regular Cattle & Special Bred Cow & Heifer Sale Friday, February 28 – NO SALE Friday, March 6 – Regular Cattle & Special Feeder Sale Friday, March 13 – Regular Cattle Sale & Special Bred Cow & Heifer Sale Friday, March 20 – Regular Cattle Friday, March 27 – Regular Cattle & Federle Angus Bull Sale Friday, April 3 – Regular Cattle & Oetken Angus Bull Sale Friday, April 10 –Regular Cattle Sale & Sellman Angus Bull Sale Friday, April 17 – Regular Cattle & Back to Grass Feeder Special Friday, April 24 – Regular Cattle & Bred Cow & Pair Special & Red Western Red Angus Bull Sale Friday, May 1 – Regular Cattle Friday, May 8 – Regular Cattle & Feeder Special Friday, May 15 – Regular Cattle & Pair & Bred Cow Special

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE SALES CALL: Office – 308-665-2220 • Toll Free – 1-866-665-2220 Jack & Laurel Hunter - 308-430-9108 Rich & Alicia Robertson: 307-340-1165 Rex Micheel: 308-430-0552

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A16

Preserving the West

777 Bison Ranch practices holistic management and conservation The 777 Bison Ranch in Hermosa, S.D. wasn’t always a bison operation. In fact, the Hillenbrand family started out raising cattle until the skittish South Dakota climate changed their plans.

“My family bought the 777 Ranch in the early 1970s,” explains Mimi Hillenbrand.

“We ran a cow/calf operation with black Angus and Hereford cattle, which was traditionally managed and grazed.”

“In the early 1980s, we bought our first 100 head of bison from Custer State Park, and we ran both cattle and bison,” she continues.

Mimi notes the first spring they had the bison, a horrible blizzard blew in.

“Several of the cattle calved during the storm,” she says. “However, the bison didn’t start calving until after the storm. We realized because the bison had evolved

here, they were well adapted to the environment and more suited for the climate.”

Therefore, the Hillenbrands made the sensible decision to switch to an all bison operation.

Holistic management Mimi explains around the same time they decided to make the switch to bison, they were introduced to Allen Savory and the concept of holistic management (HM).

“The first time I heard Allen Savory speak about HM, I was hooked,” says Mimi. “It made so much sense to me.”

From there, Mimi and the manager at the time decided to switch from a traditional management model to holistic management.

“We attended several HM courses and started planning our grazing to allow adequate plant recovery,” Mimi

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She continues, “HM encompasses the whole. It is not just about intensive grazing, it is a way to make decisions taking into consideration the land, the people and the animals.”

Conservation and carbon sequestering Part of 777 Bison Ranch’s HM includes working with wildlife and planning their grazing with conservation and wildlife in mind, according to Mimi.

“When we build new fence, we make sure we have adequate places wildlife can cross safely and we don’t allow hunting of wildlife,” she explains. “We also do not put up hay, which has allowed our grouse population

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THE WYOMING LIVESTOCK BOARD is preparing for the 2021 Brand renewal and wants to remind producers that it is very important to keep their mailing address current. By law, the Livestock Board must notify the brand owner, by mail, at the address shown on the brand records. There are over 5,100 brands up for renewal. If the brand has not been rerecorded within sixty (60) days from the expiration date of the brand, the brand will be declared delinquent. Brands that are subject to renewal expire on January 1, 2021 and the 60 day grace period expires March 1, 2021.

If you are not sure of when your brand is scheduled for renewal, or are not sure if the Wyoming Livestock Board has your current address, please contact the Wyoming Livestock Board via phone, mail, email, or fax at following address: Wyoming Livestock Board 1934 Wyott Drive, Cheyenne, WY 82002-0051 Office phone 307-777-7515 Fax 307-777-6561 or brands@wyo.gov

Attention Brand Owners

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

to increase.”

“In addition, we work with our local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office to improve our conservation efforts. They help us with such things as planting trees to increase cover and food for wildlife, and they also helped us make improvements with our stock tanks to make them more bird safe,” Mimi adds.

Mimi notes two years ago she became curious about how much carbon the ranch was sequestering and wanted a complete report on the health of 777 Bison Ranch.

“I wanted to see what 30 plus years of practicing HM had accomplished and what the differences were compared to traditional grazing,” she says. “A friend recommended Applied Ecological Services out of Wisconsin to do the work.”

She continues, “It took a year to collect and analyze the data. The results blew me away. In 30 years of practicing HM, we increased and created top soil, in some places up to six inches, our water infiltration improved, our plant diversity was three times higher than on traditionally managed land, our carbon sequestering was higher in both organic carbon and inorganic carbon, our soil health was really good and our forage quality/quantity had improved. The study had proved what my transects showed along with improvement in all areas.”

Preserving the West On top of their holistic management and conservation efforts, 777 Bison Ranch is doing several other things to preserve the West.

According to their website, the entire 777 bison herd is DNA tested for the cattle gene.

“Cattle genes were introduced to the buffalo population at the turn of the century when they were crossbred with cattle to help them from going extinct. Cattle gene

Tough weather – The tough and unpredictable South Dakota weather inspired the Hillenbrand family to switch from cattle to buffalo. Toby Brusseau photo

Genetically diverse – 777 Bison Ranch has one of the most diverse herds of bison in the U.S. Toby Brusseau photo

introgression into bison is less than one percent. However, we at the 777 Bison Ranch strive to keep bison as bison.

Therefore, we genetically test all of our animals and keep our herd in the purest form,” reads their website.

Today, 777 Bison Ranch has one of the most genetically diverse herds of bison.

They also mimic the way their ancestors roamed the Great Plains by rotating grazing paddocks and running a 100 percent grass-fed operation.

“We have several goals at 777 Bison Ranch,” Mimi notes. “We strive to raise healthy bison, care for the land and promote the diversity of plants and animals, to keep the people who work here happy, to be a part of the community and to be profitable.”

Overcoming challenges While there is a good demand and strong market for bison meat, Mimi explains raising bison is a lot different than raising other livestock.

“To raise bison, one has to be prepared to fix a lot of fence,” she says. “Handling

facilities also have to be fortified and built stoutly, and the cost of infrastructures for bison cost more than for cattle and sheep.”

“Bison are still wild animals and their flight zones and pressure points are way more sensitive,” she adds.

“Working bison requires more patience and understanding of the animal.”

Mimi further explains calving is easier with bison than cattle as they do not require help, and since bison evolved on the prairie they utilize forage more efficiently.

She also notes it is important to find a vet that likes working with bison because many vets do not and not all processing plants process bison.

Despite these challenges, 777 Bison Ranch has evolved into a successful operation that works diligently to preserve the West.

For more information, visit 777bisonranch.com.

Hannah Bugas is the assistant editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

A17

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Ranchers helping ranchers

Cammack Ranch Supply uses first-hand experience to advise customers In the early 1970s, newlyweds Gary and Amy Cammack had the opportunity to purchase the general store in Union Center, S.D. The store consisted of a post office and gas pumps and sold everything from beer to livestock salt.

In 1979, the local feed mill came up for sale and the couple purchased it.

“The mill had very few merchandise items, but we took it over in 1979 and have been moving forward ever since,” says Gary. “From the time we opened our business to now, our inventory has grown 100 times over.”

Cammack Ranch Supply’s primary trade area includes North and South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana.

“We are about solving problems with our customers,” says Gary. “Our business lives and dies with the livestock industry, they are our friends and loyal customers.”

Best sellers Some of the most common issues customers come to Cammack’s with include water issues and windbreaks.

“We have a lot of customers who want to get water out to pastures and have better placement so they can more evenly graze their pastures,” says Gary.

The store also specializes in windbreaks, which stems from needs they had on their own cow/calf operation.

“Twenty years ago, we looked at our own operation and realized the serious implications winter weather could have on our cattle,” says Gary. “We teamed up with a researcher from University of Wyoming to figure out which structures would work best for us and our customers.”

He continues, “The breaks are made from a product we innovated called super steel. This has changed the way folks can ranch by providing advanced protection from the elements for their cattle.”

“These are problems we deal with on our own ranch.

We are always looking for solutions for livestock producers,” says Gary.

Ranching centered Gary notes their family has a cow/calf operation near Union Center, S.D. He explains each of their employees, from the janitor to the managers, has some sort of ranching or agriculture background.

“This gives us a leg up because anytime someone calls the store, they are going to be speaking to someone with a relatable experience in

agriculture,” says Gary. “Our employees have a working

knowledge of agriculture and can make good recommendations on cost-effective solutions. If we don’t have what a customer needs in store, we can at least get them pointed in the right direction.”

“We learn a lot from our customers from everyday conversations in the store,” says Gary. “The day the coffee pot goes dry, we will lock the doors and call it quits.”

For more information,

visit cammmackranchsupply. com.

Callie Hanson is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup.

Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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A18

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Learning new methods Growing grass and cattle in South Dakota

Doug Sieck and his wife Merilee live in north-central South Dakota, not far from where he grew up. He went to college and came back to help his parents.

“There was never quite enough there for all of us.

In the early 1990s, I started a little welding business out of our shop, to help make ends meet, but the farming at that time was eating up all the welding money,” says Doug.

He continues, “I realized if I wasn’t going to make very much money in agriculture, I would rather try to make money doing something I liked.”

He enjoyed cattle and in the mid 1990s started planting more of the 3,000 acres of cropland back to grass,

with the intention of running more cattle.

“We ended up selling the place in 2007 to Basin Electric. This changed my situation from being in debt to having some capital to work with,” he says. “Doing the typical rancher thing, I turned around and bought another place, so I was back in debt.”

“It was good debt, however, being that it was land debt. I was fortunate to be able to buy land just before land values went up,” he says.

Learning new ways Doug attended the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition (SDGC) Grazing School in Oacoma, S.D.

“I thought I knew quite a bit about grazing and cat-

tle, but came away from that school realizing there was still a lot more to learn, especially the value of rest in the grazing plan,” says Doug.

Then, the South Dakota No-Till Association sponsored a bus tour to North Dakota, to tour the Burleigh County Conservation District’s test plots.

“It was early fall and we also went out to Gabe Brown’s place. I remember him standing in a warmseason cover crop mix that came up to his chest. These cover crops took less fertilizer and chemical and had all this vegetation. That really appealed to me,” says Doug.

“I came back from that tour and planted winter trit-

Abundant grass – After attending a number of educational seminars, Doug Sieck learned best practices for growing high-quality and abundant grass in South Dakota. Courtesy photo

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combined, and this was my first stab at cover crops,” he says. “I also threw in some turnips just because they sounded kind of fun.”

Then in 2009, he went to a holistic resource management school, which further influenced how he managed his resources.

When he came home from that school, he started moving his cows every day.

Within a few years, he saw more plant diversity and an increase in some of the native plants like big bluestem and more of it going to seed.

“I was still planting more cropland back to grass and alfalfa. Then, two years ago it was really dry. Instead of selling cows, I just kept rotating them through the grass and the cover crops I’d planted,” he explains.

“A few years earlier if we’d had a year that dry, we’d have been out of feed and selling some cows,” says Doug.

The change in grazing management has given those pastures more resiliency in dry years.

He also does some bale grazing, which has improved the soil and production in those areas.

On a dry year a couple years ago, it was easy to tell where he’d been bale grazing.

“There was green grass about knee high in those spots, whereas 15 to 20 feet away where there had been no bales, it was significantly drier and the grass not so good,” he says.

The litter and nutrients, urine and manure from the cattle, in that 30-foot bale circle where the cows were eating helped the soil, and that much additional organic matter also helps hold more moisture. The nutrients and moisture stay there instead of running Continued on next page

A19

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

Continued from previous page off, which also helps with water quality issues.

Making changes Another change he made when he put more of his place into grass was to buy lowbirthweight bulls for easier calving.

“We used to calve the end of March, and calving was a bit rough, so we changed to the first of May,” he says. “Most of the time the later calving is better, but it does require some changes; if someone is used to selling 600-pound calves in November it won’t be the same.”

He decided to try smaller cattle after reading some of the articles written by Kit Pharo, who talked about how a semi-load of smaller calves can give producers a bigger check than a semi-load of bigger calves.

“They bring more dollars per pound. A semi-load is 50,000 pounds. If a 500pound calf brings $2 per pound and we are selling a semi-load of 500-pound calves, it would be $100,000.

If we sell a semi-load of 600pound calves at $1.80 per pound, we are only getting $90,000 for those calves,” says Doug.

A cow eats about three percent of her body weight in forage and smaller cows eat less feed than the larger ones.

A person can run more cows on the same pasture if they are not so big.

“We could run 100 1,500pound cows or we could have 150 1,000-pound cows and they’ll eat the same amount of total feed. Not only will we have more calves, but also get more dollars per pound when we sell them,” he says.

He raises many of his own bulls now, to have the genetics and frame score he wants. He prefers a smaller, wider cow and doesn’t want heavy-milking cows. They

require more feed and may not breed back as readily especially when leaving the calves on the cows all winter. In the end, the ranch conditions help select toward the genetics producers want because only the fertile, good producing cattle stay in the herd.

These past few years he’s been moving cows every three to five days.

“We use a lot of poly wire and if there’s a hayfield or pasture I want to graze and the fence isn’t very good or there isn’t a fence around it, I just run poly wire and the cows respect it,” he says.

When cattle grow up around electric fence they are “trained” to it.

“I like the plastic stepin posts, the posts with the orange loop on top and pigtail posts because there’s nothing to short out. I can put them into the ground without getting off my four-wheeler and even tap them into frozen ground when I’m going across corn fields in the winter. My cows graze my cornstalks and the neighbor’s field,” says Doug.

“One of the things that has really made a difference for me was being affiliated with the SDGC,” he says. “I ended up being on the board of directors for three years because I felt I owed them a lot.”

He continues, “While I was on that board, Jeff Zimprich, the head of the Natural Resource Conservation Service in South Dakota, said he would like to start a soil health coalition and wanted us to help him get it going.

We thought it was a good idea because we were all concerned about soil health and were doing the things that the Soil Health Coalition is doing now.”

He notes the coalition put

on their fourth annual South Dakota Soil Coalition Soil Health School in September 2019 and had 30 producers attend the 2.5 day school.

“They learned about the importance of keeping the

ground covered, the value of mulch on the soil and the value of not disturbing the soil any more than we have to,” he says. “They are also learning the value of long rest periods in rotation graz-

ing. We try to emphasize the grassland component in everything we do, if we can.”

“These producers are also learning the value of diversity, whether it’s in pastures or crop rotations,” says

Doug.

Heather Smith-Thomas is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

Smaller cattle – Doug took initiative to downsize his cattle after reading up on the benefits of smaller-framed cattle. Courtesy photo

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A20

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • 2020 Winter Cattlemen’s Edition

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100+ Angus BullS

Over 50 Bulls Suitable for Use on first-calf heifers All bulls PAP Tested for use on high-altitude ranches

AI Sires for the 2019 born bull calves AI SIRES: S Cornerstone 607 • Mystic Hill Balance 4134 S Summit 4604 • Marcy’s Scale Breaker N Plus HA Cowboy Up • HARB Hindquarter 473 JH

AAA# 18601521 CED: +6 BW: +1.2 WW: +74 YW: +120 SC: +1.49 M: +31

FEATURING PROGENY BY THIS OUTSTANDING SIRE! Central Wy Fairgrounds Arena

Casper, Wyoming | Visit www.mdiamondangus.com

BECKTON’S 75th Anniversary BULL and HEIFER SALE Tuesday, April 14, 2020

50+ Females

Young Heifer Pairs | Heifer Calves Dick Lisco

Brad Boner

(307) 358-3810 Cell (307) 359-0167 liscoangus@vcn.com

(307) 436-5406 Cell (307) 359-1162 brad@mdiamondangus.com

HERDBUILDER 16 of the top 20 highest ranking sires on the Red Angus Herd Builder Index are Beckton sires or descended from Beckton sires.

Selling 300 Red Angus 250 Bulls and 50 Heifers

1:00 pm at our ranch 10 miles west of Sheridan

Delivered free anywhere in the continental U.S. Video of sale animals will be available on our website.

Direct line telephone bidding will be available.

Call, write or email for a catalog

www.becktonredangus.com becktonwyo@gmail.com 37 Beckton Drive • Sheridan,WY 82801 307-674-6095 • 307-674-8162 - Evenings Fax: 307-672-7281 Cam and Trish Forbes

Industry leading genetics and the highest quality Red Angus - 75 Years of Satisfied Customers

Serving our customers for 75 years, with industry leading genetics and the highest quality cattle.

LOW MAINTENANCE ENERGY This has been the #1 Herd for producing Low Maintenance Energy EPD for many years.

13 of the top 20 sires in the entire Red Angus breed for lowest Maintenance Energy EPD are Beckton sires or descended from Beckton sires.

HERD STAYABILITY Beckton is the #1 Herd in the Red Angus breed for Stayabilty, and has been for many years.

11 of the top 20 sires in the bred for Stayability EPD are Beckton sires descended from Beckton sires.

EASY CALVING Beckton has long been the #1 Herd for easy calving, with the best average Calving Ease EPD of any major herd. 18 of the top 20 sires in the breed for Calving Ease EPD are Beckton sire or descended from Beckton sires.