November 5, 2022

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Volume 34 Number 28 • November 5, 2022

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The Weekly News Source for Wyoming’s Ranchers, Farmers and AgriBusiness Community • www.wylr.net

A Look Inside WWGA executive director recalls sale season, looks forward to future................Page 2 The Farmer’s Field discusses benefits of an ag grant...Page 8 Paul Dykstra gives CAB market update....................Page 11 Chris Nolt explains health savings accounts..............Page 18

Quick Bits ADMB Meeting The Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board (ADMB) will meet on Nov. 9 via Zoom at 10 a.m. The ADMB will hear updates on rabies testing, wolf management, wolf compensation claims, set dates for 2023 meetings and discuss any other business as needed. There will be an opportunity for public comment. For a complete agenda or more information, visit wyadmb. com or contact Jerry Johnson at 307-777-6781.

Casper hosts irrigation infrastructure public meeting A Critical Aging Irrigation Infrastructure Assessment public meeting was held in Casper on Oct. 26. Attendees gathered to discuss aging irrigation infrastructure in the area. Representatives from state and

federal agencies attended to discuss additional funding opportunities for resourcerelated projects. Opening address Wyoming Sen. Brian Boner gave an opening statement during the Octo-

ber meeting. He noted much Committee decided an of the state’s irrigation infra- assessment was needed in structure is more than 100 order to minimize the ecoyears old. nomic impacts and distribuRoughly two years tions to producers as a result ago, the Wyoming Water of aging irrigation infraDevelopment Commission structure failures. (WWDC) and Select Water Please see IRRIGATION on page 13

National FFA Convention

PAPO Meeting The Pinedale Anticline Project Office (PAPO) Board of Directors will meet in person on Dec. 13. The board will review and make decisions concerning budget and projects. The meeting will be from 3:30-5 p.m. and will be held in the Elk Conference Room at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Office in Cheyenne. The meeting is open to the public. For an agenda, visit wy.blm.gov/jio-papo. For more information, contact Tracy Hoover at thoover@ blm.gov or 307-367-5342.

Scholarship Wyoming CattleWomen are now accepting applications for two $500 scholarships. The scholarships will be awarded based on application criteria and an essay component. Applicants must be from the state of Wyoming, enrolled as a full-time student and have a minimum GPA of 2.5. The application deadline is Feb. 28, 2023. For details or to complete the application, visit wyocattlewomen.org.

Land Sale

A recent vote by the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation Land Board will set aside 5,700 acres of state-managed public land. The new public land will provide access to an additional 100,000 acres owned by both the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. The land sits at the base of the Big Snowy Mountains. It is being sold for $8.2 million by a local children’s hospital.

Award winners – Wyoming FFA members headed to the 95th National FFA Convention and Expo Oct. 26-29 in Indianapolis, Ind. to compete with high school students around the nation. Pictured left to right, Kinley Wade, Kenzia Martinez, Kymber Stinson and Grace Baas, all of the Snowy Range FFA, earned a silver emblem in the Poultry Evaluation event. Courtesy photo

Wyoming students compete and earn honors at annual event The 95th National FFA Convention and Expo took place Oct. 26-29 in Indianapolis, Ind. Top competitors from the Wyoming FFA State Convention headed to the event to compete against high school students from around the nation. Speaking events The Extemporaneous Public Speaking event is designed to recognize FFA members for their ability to prepare and present a factual speech on a specific agricul-

Joannides joins WAIC Born and raised in Cheyenne, spending 10 years working in higher education and intercollegiate athletics around the country, Andrew Joannides is now back in Cheyenne and joined the Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom (WAIC) team as their executive director on Oct. 17. Founded in 1985, the nonprofit WAIC has worked tirelessly to develop curriculum to increase students’ understanding of Wyoming’s vast resources so they become informed citizens capable of serving as stewards for Wyoming’s future. Through the Wyoming Stewardship Project, Bookmark & Beyond, Educator of the Year and educator workshops and courses, Andrew Joannides WAIC is helping build a future in which the interdependence of Wyoming’s people, agriculture, natural resources and outdoor recreation and tourism is acknowledged and valued for the benefit of all communities. “I am fired up to get back home and to have the special opportunity to join and lead the WAIC team. I have been chomping at the bit to get back to my roots, and it has been a dream of mine to help serve the young people of the great state of Wyoming. This organization plays a major role in the future of our state, and I am grateful for the board of Please see WAIC on page 19

tural issue in a well thought out and logical manner. Ethan Jackowski of the Cheyenne Frontier FFA, Bree Coxbill of the Southeast FFA and Wyatt Stillwagner of the Amity FFA earned bronze emblems in this event. Sarah Turner of the Cheyenne High Plains FFA won a silver emblem in the Prepared Public Speaking event. This event is designed to recognize FFA members for their ability to prepare and present a factual speech on a Please see FFA on page 10

Minimizing loss UNL Extension educators provide hay storage considerations University of NebraskaLincoln (UNL) Extension Beef Educator Steve Niemeyer joined UNL Assistant Extension Beef Educator Connor Biehler during a UNL BeefWatch podcast on Oct. 24 to discuss minimizing storage losses of round bale hay. As producers transition into fall and winter seasons, maintaining hay quality in storage becomes an important consideration. “Whether producers are producing their own hay or they are purchasing it, they have either gone through the work or have got the economic investment into it, so it is best to store it and preserve it in a way producers are going to be able to get the greatest amount of feed out of it,” says Biehler. Economical decisions Niemeyer says storing round hay bales by lining them up against a fencerow may look easy, but it’s not an economical strategy for producers. “Baled forage probably constitutes the highest Please see UNL on page 7

WNFR hosts Wyoming cowboys Las Vegas, Nev. – The 64th Annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) will be held Dec. 1-10 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Cowboys and cowgirls compete during the regular rodeo season, Oct. 1-Sept. 30, to earn their way into the top 15 of the world standings. Placings are based on money earned. At the finals, two champions will be crowned: an average champion – a contestant who has the best cumulative score or time over the 10 rounds; and a world champion – a contestant who has won the most cumulative money during the rodeo season, in addition to earnings at

the finals. As the regular rodeo season comes to a close, several cowboys and cowgirls with Wyoming ties will be making their way to the finals to compete. Saddle bronc riding Hillsdale native Brody Cress has qualified for the WNFR for the sixth time – qualifying each year since 2017. Cress has won three WNFR Saddle Bronc average titles in 2017, 2019 and 2021. In 2021, Cress finished third in the world with total earnings of $325,746, and $183,521 of this coming from the WNFR. Cress’ current 2022 earnings total is

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Please see WNFR on page 12


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