HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Volume 33 Number 35 • December 25, 2021
®
The Weekly News Source for Wyoming’s Ranchers, Farmers and AgriBusiness Community • www.wylr.net
A Look Inside Matt Lohr reminisces on family traditions decorating the Christmas tree........................ Page 2 Dick Perue highlights cowboystyle New Year’s commandments............................. Page 6 Wyoming State Make It With Wool Contest winners announced.................. Page 10
Predator board updated on grizzly bear and wolf conflicts Sublette County – The Sublette County Predator Board, which manages the county’s wild animal and bird damages, was updated about grizzly and wolf conflicts with livestock at its Dec. 3 annual meeting.
There were 91 confirmed grizzly conflicts with cattle, with the most in the Upper Green at 79, according to Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s (WGFD) Ken Mills. There were incidents near the Hoback Rim/Kend-
Lee Pitts shares experiences from livestock auctioneer contests............................. Page 12
all, three along the east slope of the Wyoming Range and one near Bondurant. Mills said conflicts rose this past year to as high as in 2015. North of Piney Creek, some black bear baits were removed after grizzlies hit on
them. Board member Jacque Downs said she lost 40 calves in the area. “It puts a hunter at risk,” Mills said of grizzlies frequenting the sites. “Anywhere in the Wyoming Range Please see BOARD on page 4
Quick Bits Disaster Funds
In the wake of devastating tornadoes in Kentucky and dust storms which sparked wildfires in Kansas, the Certified Angus Beef’s (CAB) Rural Relief Fund has donated $10,000 to these areas. In addition, through the end of 2021, the sale of each book “Sheltering Generations: The American Barn,” will be matched by CAB in donations up to another $10,000 to support farm and ranch families impacted by these natural disasters.
Nicholas unsaddled his horse and tossed the mare a flake of hay. He grabbed a few sticks of wood and a chunk of coal to add to the fire already burning in the stove. He knew a cozy camp was important for a sheepherder on Wyoming’s Red Desert. “Here Laddie!” and “Come Sadie,” he called to his Border Collie sheep dogs as he poured extra dog food into their bowls. He had already carried dog food tied in a spare oat bag out to the livestock guardian dogs. These big, white fluffy dogs were on patrol around the sheep as the herd bedded on top of a nearby hill. They would sleep through the long
winter’s night, snug in their warm wool fleeces. Nicholas looked at the calendar pinned to the wall inside his sheep wagon. “It’s Christmas Eve,” he told Laddie and Sadie. “It sure is a white Christmas!” He watched the sunset glowing pink and red, lighting up the drifted snow. The near constant winds had blown some of the sage-covered land bare, leaving grasses grown the previous summer exposed and waving yellow stems. The sheep grazed on this dried grass during the winter months. They also ate sweet kernels of golden corn, fed to them daily by Nicholas and Pepe, the camptender, who delivered it by pickup truck every morning. For now, though, Nicholas was content. Please see CHRISTMAS on page 11
Crop Prices
March corn closed up two cents on Dec. 17, rising above the key resistance area near $5.95 before setting back. March soybeans closed up 10.25 cents thanks to a rising basis in the Gulf and Pacific Northwest, as well as new exports to China and bean oil to India. March Kansas City wheat closed up 6.25 cents in the second day of recovery from the most recent plunge, supported by the bullish weather forecast.
H-2A Changes
The Department of Labor (DOL) published the 2022 Adverse Effect Wage Rates on Dec. 15, which is the minimum an employer must pay H-2A nonimmigrant agricultural workers and proposed changes on how these minimum wages are set for certain jobs. Wages in the Mountain I region, including Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, had the smallest increase at 13 cents per hour or 0.9% above 2020 wages. A comment period for these proposed changes will close on Jan. 31, 2022.
Bee Survey In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) will contact beekeepers nationwide during the Bee and Honey Production, Disposition and Income Inquiry to gather information on colony numbers, honey production, stocks and sales. NASS will publish the survey results in the annual honey report on March 18, 2022.
Original illustration by Hannah Bugas
Ag leadership Chouinard named YF&R chair At their most recent meeting, the Wyoming Farm Bureau (WyFB) named a new chair to their Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) committee. Kelli Chouinard took the reins from previous chair, Chelsea Baars. A central Florida native, Chouinard is no stranger to agriculture and hopes to bring an outside perspective to the committee and WyFB as a whole. “Not being from Wyoming originally can be a double edge sword,” she notes. “But I think my ability to see past the idea of how things have always been done is a huge asset in this role.” “Awareness is my main goal,” she stresses. “I want to get young producers to know they have resources available to them and how to utilize them. They know it’s there, but a lot of them don’t grasp the true value of what WyFB has to offer.” YF&R program The YF&R agriculture program includes both men and women between the ages of 18 and 35. The objective of the YF&R agriculture program is to provide leadership in building a more effective Farm Bureau, to preserve individual freedoms and expand opportunities in agriculture. Please see YF&R on page 5
Cull cow cutout values steady Over the last few years, cow/calf producers have noticed increasing value in cull cows. Common questions University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Assistant Professor and Livestock Extension Economist Elliott Dennis receives regarding this increase in cutout value are: “Why are prices higher now than in previous years?” and “Will prices remain high into 2022?” To answer these questions, Dennis shares his thoughts in his In the Cattle Markets newsletter, as well as discusses market fundamentals with UNL Beef Extension Educator Aaron Berger in the BeefWatch podcast. Berger notes cull cow income accounts for anywhere between 15 to 20 percent of gross receipts for cow/calf producers, and November and December are typically months with lower cull cow prices, but this year is unusual. Cull cow price variations “We have been seeing atypical seasonal patterns,” Dennis explains. “Generally, as people start to early wean and cull cows July through September, the price drops. This year, prices accelerated through the summer, and since around August, cutter cow cutout prices have been sitting steady to slightly increasing.” In 2014-15, a similar trend was seen when the mid-summer price stayed constant through early 2015, and prices fell during the fall of 2015, Dennis shares. “I think there are market fundamentals which could potentially have this period of extended higher cull cow prices be longer,” he continues. “The cow cycle is still in a contraction period, so there are still a lot of market incentives to bring cull cows to market.” In addition, Dennis shares this trend could be explained by drought and the price of feed including corn and hay, as well Please see VALUES on page 11
UW works to understand soil health Laramie – On Dec. 7, the University of Wyoming (UW) announced their participation in a $19 million research project to understand how a farmer’s or rancher’s grazing management decisions affect soil health on pastures and rangeland. UW Rangeland Extension Specialist Derek Scasta has extensive knowledge in rangeland health and is ecstatic Wyoming will be a part of this study. Project partners Several universities will be involved in the upcoming project, including the Noble Research Institute, UW, Michigan State University and Colorado State University. “The project began with some conversation with the Noble Research Institute,
which is based in Ardmore, Okla. and is one of the largest private agricultural research entities,” said Scasta. “The research institute was started to support farmers and ranchers in terms of sustainability.” Through the years, there has been a lot of emphasis on range and pasture lands – the U.S. has nearly 650 million acres in total. Until recently, conversation has been focused on doing more for ranchers in terms of soil health, Scasta explained. For many years, farmers have considered soil health practices, and for the state of Wyoming, many of these practices don’t apply to rangelands. For example, in Wyoming it is uneconomical and impractical to
periodical
periodical
Please see UW on page 4