lights high tunnels

EXTENSION EDUCATION

By Catherine Wissner, Extension Horticulturist

Using high tunnels for growing season extension

Growing in a high tunnel or hoop house can be very rewarding and help improve vegetable yields. Both are non-permanent, unheated greenhouse structures typically covered with plastic, and their names are interchangeable.

Growing plants in one of these structures has a very different set of rules compared to growing plants outside.

In a high tunnel, plant growers can start as early as February or March and garden as late as December. If growers are late getting a garden in, they can still get a crop of tomatoes with a high tunnel. To some degree, it can protect from frost and offer protection from small hail.

Fertilizer considerations

What works in an outside garden can be very damaging inside of a high tunnel. High tunnels have a different set of rules to follow. Regardless of growing direct in the soil, raised beds or containers, growers need to take a holistic approach to soil and water management.

It’s important to develop a fertilizer plan with low nitrogen inputs of around 10 percent nitrogen and keep records of what and when fertilizer is placed.

Never use Miracle Grow or manures in a high tunnel or greenhouse. Miracle Grow is the wrong type of nitrogen. Plants will get very leggy, have insect problems, little fruit and lots of leaves. Never use manures in a high tunnel. Manures are low in nitrogen, but very high in salts and can create soil problems.

Greenhouse temps

Soil in a high tunnel heats up fast, which is great for tomatoes, peppers and other warm season vegetables. However, it causes organic matter (OM) to decompose quicker compared to outside garden soil – a loss of 1.5 to three percent OM per year isn’t unusual.

After each season, growers need to add OM back to the soil. Grass clippings, leaves, old hay, peat moss or non-manurebased composts are best. It’s important not to work manures into the soil as they will raise soil salt levels and cause irreversible soil damage.

Keeping temperatures below 95 degrees Fahrenheit inside the high tunnel is very important. Pollen loses its viability at 90 degrees Fahrenheit and sticks together if the humidity is too high. Most vegetable plants will drop blossoms and stop growing at temps above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Air circulation is also very important. Rolling up the structure’s sides work best for achieving this. If the sides don’t roll up, utilizing box fans and opening windows can help with air circulation.

Growers do not want high humidity in their high tunnel. Humidity fosters fungal, bacterial and insect problems, which will be next to impossible to get rid of. It’s important to always keep growing structures on the dry side in an effort to avoid turning them into a petri dish.

General rules for these structures include increasing air circulation, decreasing humidity, never using overhead watering systems and keeping the area clean of dead plants and weeds.

Other important considerations include never using manures or Miracle Grow, and all diseases become worse with over watering and high humidity.

Catherine Wissner is the University of Wyoming Laramie County Extension horticulturist. She can be reached at cwissner@ uwyo.edu or 307-6334480.

Torrington Livestock Markets PO Box 1097 • Torrington, WY 82240 307.532.3333 Fax: 307.532.2040 www.torringtonlivestock.com Lex Madden 307-532-1580 Michael Schmitt 307-532-1776 Chuck Petersen 307-575-4015

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4 - YEARLINGS & CALVES

FEEDERS

J & J Ochsner Livestock 125 Angus/SimAngus-x Strs, 675-725#, Weaned 60+ days, Bunk Broke, Been on a Light Grower Ration, 2 Rounds of Shots, Wormed, Poured, Home Raised Doug, Kim & Cole DesEnfants 110 Blk/Bwf Strs & Hfrs, 625-800#, Weaned since Oct. 13, Bunk Broke, Been on a Light Grower Ration w/ Rumensin, Branding & Precond Shots David Sherrod 109 Red Angus Strs, 700-850#, Weaned 90+ days, Bunk Broke, Been on a Grower Ration, Branding & Precond Shots Randy & Ty Steben 99 Blk Hfrs & Strs, 700-750#, Weaned since 90+ days, Bunk Broke, Been on a Grower Ration, Branding & Precond Shots Chris & Allison Allison 69 Blk/Bwf Strs & Hfrs, 700-850#, Weaned 60 days, Bunk Broke,& Precond Shots. Choice to Fancy High Altitude Rosengreen Family 26 Mx Hfrs, 750-780#, PTO @ ranch, Complete Vac. Program, Bangs Vac., Coming off grass, Home Raised

WEANED CALVES

Jim & Shirley Miller/ Grace Meadows 200 Mx Strs & Hfrs, 500-600#, Weaned 45+ days, Hay Fed, 3 Rounds of Shots Greg & Peggy DesEnfants 158 Mostly Blk/Bwf Strs & Hfrs, 500-750#, Weaned since 10/15, Running out on pasture, Full Vac. Program Mark Swanson 155 Blk/Char-x Strs & Hfrs, 500-550#, Weaned for 40+ days, Bunk Broke, Ground Corn, Branding & Precond Shots Nick & Shawna Harris 120 Mostly Blk/Bwf Strs & Hfrs. 620-650#, Weaned 40 days, Hay Fed, Lick Tubs, Branding & Precond Shots Needmore Land & Cattle 115 Blk Strs & Hfrs, 350-500#, Weaned 45 days, Hay Fed, 3 Rnds of Shots Ritschard Cattle Co. 110 Blk/Bwf/Char-x Strs & Hfrs, 550=600#, Weaned 55+days, Hay Fed, 3 Rounds of Modified Live, High Elevation Mike Horniker/Horniker Steer Ranch 100 Blk/Bwf (5 Red) Strs & Hfrs, 350-600#, Weaned 80+ days, Hay Fed, Branding and Precond Shots Adam Percival 100 Blk/Rd Strs & Hfrs, 500-700#, Weaned 60+ days, Running Out, Bunk Broke, Branding & Weaning Shots Bruce Kilmer 98 Black Strs & Hfrs, 450-550#, Weaned 45 days, Running out on Pasture, Hay Fed, Branding & Precond Shots Levi Kosmicki 90 Blk/Bwf/Red/Rwf Strs & Hfrs, 450-650#, Weaned 60 days, Running out on pasture, Hay Fed, Branding and Pre-cond. Shots Nick Meyers 85 Blk Strs & Hfrs, 450-525#, Weaned 45 days, Bunk Broke, Cake Broke, Branding & Precond Shots Jo Reilly Estate & Amy Applegarth 60 Mostly Blk few Bwf Strs, 450-600#, Weaned 60+ days. Branding & Precond Shots Joe & Annie Campbell 60 Blk/Bwf/Rwf Strs & Hfrs, 400-500#, Weaned 50 days, Hay Fed, Branding & Precond Shots Hank Davis/Lazy HX LLC 60 Char/Red Hfrs, 550-600#, Weaned 60 days, Branding & Precond Shots, Choice to Fancy, Green Matt Eastman 50 Blk (1Bwf) Angus/Maine Ajou-x Strs & Hfrs, 500-600#, Weaned 60+ days, Branding, Precond & Booster Shots Grant Weaver 48 Mostly Blk Strs & Hfrs, 625-750#, Weaned 55+ days, Branding & Precond Shots Charlie Lenz 43 Mx Strs & Hfrs, 700#, Weaned 60 days, Long Stem Hay, Branding & Weaning Shots Jim Licking 42 Blk/Bwf Strs & Hfrs, 600#, Weaned 42 days, Bunk Broke, Branding & Precond Shots Rockin Lazy A/ Nate Allsup 35 Blk Angus Strs & Hfrs, 400-500#, Weaned 60 days, Branding & Weaning Shots Vern Zook 34 Mostly Blk few Rd Strs & Hfrs, 500-650#, Weaned 35 days, Bunk Broke, Hay Fed, Branding & Precond Shots Dallan Christian 32 Mostly Blk Strs & Hfrs, 650#, Weaned 45 days, Long Stem Hay, Birth, Branding & Weaning Shots TJ Ranch/Tom Jackson 50 Blk Strs & Hfrs, 500-700#, Weaned 60 days, Bunk Broke, Branding & Weaning Shots Bryan Ennis 12 Mx Strs & Hfrs, 450-500#, Weaned for 90+ days, Been on a Vac. 45 Program, Bunk Broke, Hay Fed Phil Zimmerman 10 Blk Strs & Hfrs, 500#, Weaned 60+ days, Hay Fed, Branding Shots: Bovi-Shield Gold, Vision 7 w/Spur

PRE- COND. CALVES

Kal Herring 100 Blk Strs, 450#, Branding & Precond Shots Josh Weaver 60 Mostly Blk few Red Strs & Hfrs, 525-625#, Branding & Precond Shots Si Deselms/Dennis Hanson 26 Red Angus Strs, 550-600#, Branding & Precond Shots, Producer All Natural

CALVES

Harry & Barb Epler 95 Blk Strs & Hfrs, 500-600#, Branding Shots, Producer All Natural FRIDAY, JANUARY 6 - ALL CLASSES MONDAY, JANUARY 9 ~ BRED COW SPECIAL

David Sherrod 21 Red Angus Cows, 1400#, 7 yr olds, Bred to Schuler Red Angus Bulls, CF: Feb. 20 for 60 days, Prebreeding Shots: PregGuard Gold FP 10, Guardian, Poured, Safeguard, Been on a Complete Mineral Program, Hot Wire Trained, Home Raised, 1-iron, Great Mothers, Gentle TORRINGTON LIVESTOCK AREA REPS Cody Thompson - Lusk, WY 307-340-0150 *** Ty Thompson – Lusk, WY 307-340-0770 Zach Johnson Lingle, WY –307-575-2171 *** Jeff Ward – Laramie, WY 307-399-9863 Tam Staman – Crawford, NE 308-631-8513 *** Lander Nicodemus – Cheyenne, WY 307-421-8141 Danny Nicodemus – Cheyenne, WY 307-632-4325 *** Chris Williams - Greybull, WY 307-272-4567 Justin Smith - Lusk, WY 307-340-0724 *** Hunter Dockery - Lusk, WY 307-340-1202 Scott Redden - Burns, Co 970-596-3588 *** Nolan Brott - Lusk, WY 307-216-0033 www.torringtonlivestock.com

He noted coal is on the decline, and he foresees this having a big impact on Wyoming. However, BLM is working diligently to continue oil and gas lease sales, with one planned for June 2023.

“Oil and gas lease sales are big because the state gets half of the money from those lease sales,” he said.

Last June, the total revenue from these lease sales was roughly $13 million, with $6.5 million going to the state. In addition, the fourth economic output, grazing on BLM lands, generates $200 million per year.

Grazing rule

The BLM is working on preparing a new rule to guide its management of cows and other livestock grazing on federal lands.

“Our grazing regulations were last modified in 1995, so this is the real reason behind updating and reviewing these regulations,” he said. “BLM revised the rule in 2006, but it was enjoined by the court.”

“Our current rules were crafted with the idea that seasons stay the same every year, and it’s never truer, now than ever before. So, we need to have the flexibility to work with permittee holders and landowners,” he mentioned.

He noted another big part of the goal is conservation and restoration, which is expected to be part of the rule in an effort to ensure public lands are available for future generations.

Land acquisitions

In June, BLM purchased the Marton Ranch, acquiring 35,670 acres of private land southwest of Casper. The ranch borders 8.8 miles of the North Platte River east of Alcova. In June, the state of Wyoming filed an appeal challenging the purchase.

“It’s a done deal [in terms of the purchase],” said Archuleta. “The governor’s office filed a complaint, and the BLM has agreed to address their complaint by gathering public notice and comments.”

Another concern was in reference to fishing in the North Platte River. He shared BLM is going to do further environmental analysis as requested by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. He expects the analysis will be completed in an environmental assessment and will be available for public input.

“One thing that will come out of this is a better ongoing notification process,” he said. “I felt we had done a good job notifying folks. However, for some, this wasn’t the case, so we’re going to take another look and see what we can do better.”

“One of our goals in land acquisitions is to consolidate BLM parcels into a manageable grouping of land,” he said. “All of our resource management plans provide an opportunity for the disposal of lands, but unfortunately, it’s not a simple process. BLM is looking into opportunities in an effort to have a better approach.”

“There will likely be acquisitions in the future, and I want to be able to sit down in rooms like these to discuss the pros and cons,” he shared.

BLM is waiting for final arrangements to be made on the appeal before making further action on the property, but the Martons will be grazing the property for at least two more years and will have the ability to extend their grazing abilities, he mentioned.

Greater sage grouse

During the joint wildlife and federal land meeting, Archuleta gave an update on the Greater sage grouse. He shared BLM is currently working on another resource management plan amendment. The last amendment they are operating under is from 2015. An amendment was attempted in 2019, but was enjoined by the court.

“The amendment we’re doing right now is to try to address some of those issues raised by the court in 2019,” he said. “One of them was in regards to a range-wide habitat basis, rather than by state. Going forward, we will submit records of decision by state, but the analysis will be on a range-wide basis.”

To be announced at a future date, a public comment will be open on the BLM’s sage grouse plan.

“My goal is to keep the Greater sage grouse from getting listed,” he said.

Wild horses

In the joint wildlife meeting, Archuleta noted wild horses and burros are a tough topic to discuss. In the Wheatland facility, there was an outbreak of strangles and facilities throughout the state did not have the holding capacity to conduct gatherings this year.

“I’m battling hard to get funding in order to do another gathering and meet an appropriate management level, but every year we don’t do a gather, we get further behind,” he said. “Let’s not lose the momentum we have here in Wyoming to make more progress.”

“What we do here at BLM Wyoming matters, and my perspective on how we go about doing business is through a partnership,” he shared. “There’s no way we can do what we do without all of you and all of the industries we work with.”

“I’m always here, willing to listen and willing to talk,” Archuleta concluded. “There’s nothing like getting to know people and getting to know the ground to make a difference.”

Brittany Gunn is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@ wylr.net.

from zero to more than four percent. Now, as some economists argue, inflation is falling, and the Fed has done enough. Chair Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee will make even tougher decisions about when to halt rate increases.

The trickiest aspect of the Fed’s inflation fight is there is no playbook or rule of thumb to tell the Fed when to pause rate hikes.

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures index, has fallen from its peak of seven to six percent. This is still much too high for the Fed’s comfort, and Chair Powell has said there is greater risk in stopping too early than raising rates for too long.

U.S. government

The 118th Congress will convene in January, marking the official beginning of the farm bill reauthorization effort. With a Sept. 30 sunset for the current farm bill, Congress will have just nine months to complete the enormous task of passing the next bill.

As the reauthorization gets underway, a number of themes are anticipated. However, they differ significantly by party. Some interest groups are lined up to address consolidation in farming and agribusiness. Other groups will push policies to direct more resources to small and beginning producers.

Ultimately, the Senate will have the upper hand in this debate, and the policies arising in the bill will impact agriculture for the next decade to come.

U.S. agricultural economy

Despite the global pandemic and a steady barrage of disruptive challenges, the U.S. agricultural economy has fared quite well for the last three years. However, in 2023 producers and related industries will begin to show financial strains.

A relentless series of adversities including skyrocketing production costs, steeply higher interest rates and weakening demand will increasingly pressure farm income and margins.

The ongoing drought and increasing political tensions with China, the U.S.’s largest agricultural export market, present additional downside risk. China has made it clear it would like to minimize its dependence on imports of U.S. agricultural products, adopting a “buy only if we have to” attitude.

Grain, farm supply and biofuels

Grain elevators and merchandisers face a mixed picture for the year ahead. The good news for U.S. farmers is global grain and oilseed supplies are exceedingly tight. Ukrainian grain production and exports are still below average, providing underlying support for grain prices.

Ag retailers will begin 2023 on strong financial footing but face several challenges. Labor shortages and rising wages will negatively impact margins. Wholesale fertilizer costs will rise during the first half of 2023 as cooperatives absorb higher barge and rail costs and compete with export markets for limited supply.

The outlook for biofuels is very strong, supported by positive policy and demand tailwinds from 2022. Ethanol will benefit from greater usage of E15 gasoline and growing demand for corn oil.

Animal protein

Most U.S. animal protein industry segments have posted phenomenal financial performance over the past three years. However, this era of broad profitability will likely come to an end in 2023.

The high costs of feed, labor and construction support the prevailing cautionary attitude toward expanding animal production. Add in climate uncertainties, environmental, social and governance (ESG) pressures and increasing energy costs, and it’s likely 2023 will be a year when major market participants pause, reflect and consolidate.

On the demand side, consumers are reeling from rapidly declining real wages, a trend likely to continue well into 2023.

Dairy and milk supplies

After a year of stronger profits allowing producers to pay down debt, dairy producer margins will come under pressure in 2023.

Despite record-high milk prices earlier in 2022, herd expansion has been minimal among the major exporting countries, and this trend is expected to continue in 2023. Dairy product prices will eventually moderate in response to the gradual growth in global milk supplies.

Meanwhile, economic weakness and resurging COVID-19 infections in China, the top dairy-importing country, threaten to destabilize global dairy demand. Domestic demand for U.S. dairy products, particularly higherpriced brands, will face headwinds as consumers trim grocery spending.

Specialty crops

Specialty crop growers and processors face a multitude of headwinds in 2023. Costs of water, labor, fertilizer and other inputs are rising, while a strong U.S. dollar and weakening global economy drag on the U.S.’s ability to sell products abroad.

California in particular faces worsening conditions with the highest diesel prices and farm wages in the U.S. amidst a worsening drought. The drought has lifted the price of water to record highs as La Niña conditions persist into a third straight year.

Tight labor availability will require growers to lean harder on temporary agricultural employment of foreign workers or adopt more automation in the field. Despite the headwinds, growers and processors will benefit from falling costs of shipping containers and fewer delays at ocean ports.

Rural electricity

The global oil shocks of the 70s had a profound and wide-ranging impact on energy use, and today’s energy crisis foreshadows a similar response.

The collective response to the 70s crisis led to innovative policy measures, paving the way for greater energy security. These measures largely included dramatic conservation and fuel diversity but also funded moonshot projects for renewable development.

Surging energy prices, caused in large part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are yielding similar levels of policy intervention today. In addition, the initial seed investments made a half-century earlier are opening doors to greater opportunities for market substitution.

Rural communications

The rural communications market is heading into 2023 with numerous crosscurrents.

The increasing importance of broadband helps insulate the industry against economic weaknesses. However, new headwinds are emerging from a weakening economy. Tightening capital markets and aggressive network build activity across a wide range of market actors.

The biggest risk to network builds in 2023 will be the tight labor market and ongoing supply chain issues. This is of particular concern for smaller broadband operators who are competing against the larger national telecommunications companies for resources.

Cavey, Earnest, Ehmke, Fox, Halverson, Johnston, Kowalski, Pope, Viswanath and Zuckerberg work for CoBank, a cooperative bank and member of the Farm Credit System serving vital industries across rural America. Contact Julie Davis at judavis@ cobank.com or 202-2151354 or Dave Harding at david.h.harding@outlook.com or 262-825-79926 for questions or more information.

ALB receives grant

On Dec. 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its investment in 71 projects under the second funding pool of Partnerships for ClimateSmart Commodities. This included a grant awarded to the American Lamb Board (ALB) for “Measuring the Climate Benefits and Emissions of Prescribed Sheep Grazing and Promoting the Consumption of Climate-Smart Lamb.”

The ALB grant project plans to measure and report carbon sequestration, soil health and other benefits and associated ecosystem services provided by prescribed sheep grazing on four different pilot demonstration sites throughout the U.S. and market the resulting climatesmart lamb products. The USDA grant budget is $4.995 million.

ALB understands the importance of sustainability, including the industry’s environmental footprint. This new, multi-year project will complement the checkoff funded research nearing completion at Michigan State University, which is calculating emissions and developing mitigation strategies.

“People who are likely to be lamb consumers seem inclined to use sustainability factors when making purchase decisions. This issue is moving beyond a trend, so it’s time for the American lamb industry to take more aggressive action,” says ALB Chairman Peter Camino. “We’ve chosen to take this new challenge as an opportunity. We’re working on projects now to help producers increase productivity and lead to greater sustainability. So it’s a win-win.” Jennifer Reyes-Burr KMR Angus • Keith Russell MR Angus • Juan Reyes

5104 Hwy 34 • Wheatland, WY 82201 307-331-1530 (cell) mrangusranch@gmail.com 21419 WCR 13 • Johnstown, CO 80534 970-587-2534 • 970-371-7819 (cell) kmrangus@gmail.com 98 Olson Rd • Wheatland, WY 82201 307-322-4848 • 307-331-1568 (cell)