June 26, 2021

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Volume 33 Number 9 • June 26, 2021

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

A Look Inside Hellyer Ranch receives grant for carbon sequestration........... .......................................page 4 WY L.E.A.D. Class 16 completes educational trip to Washington, D.C............page 9 Managing livestock through drought is discussed by University of Wyoming Extension.....................page 15 Lee Pitts considers the future effects of the national debt ....... .....................................page 16

Wildfire activity heating up in summer 2021 Wildfires are frequently discussed across the state, especially following the active 2020 fire season. With the hot, dry summer months ahead, it is important to be cautious now, more than ever.

Wyoming State Forester Bill Crapser explained, “All predictions show it is going to be a long hot summer, with a lot of activity.” Understanding fires now will hopefully limit

their impact later this summer. Current fire activity In the last few years, fire activity has been high, and this year is heading in the same direction. “Right now, we are

looking at a normal fire season for June, and an above-normal fire season is the prediction for July and August across the state,” said Crapser, anticipating to see an increase Please see FIRE on page 4

Quick Bits

CNFR RESULTS

UW Field Day

College athletes make impressive showing at national finals

The University of Wyoming (UW) Sheridan Research and Extension Center Field Day will be held June 30. Events will run from 1:30-4:30 p.m. at the original research center site at 663 Wyarno Road in Sheridan. The field day includes wagon tours of field sites and research, discussion of long-term invasive grass control and reestablishing desirable species. Dinner will be served. For more information, call 307673-2856 or e-mail shrec@ uwyo.edu.

The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association hosted the 2021 College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper June 13-19. Throughout the six days of performances at the Ford Wyoming Center, collegiate cowboys and cowgirls from across the nation traveled to Wyoming to compete for championship titles.

Saddle bronc riding Coming into the short go following the third performance on June 18, University of Wyoming (UW) Athlete Garrett Uptain was tied for 10th place. Upon receiving a no-score in the short go June 19, Uptain finished the season ninth in the average with 220 points Please see CNFR on page 14

Boxed Beef Boxed beef values have started to decline over the last 10 trading days, breaking from the 12-week climb. The last two weeks have shown consecutive slipping. The week ending June 11 averaged 23 cents lower than the previous week, and the week ending June 18 fell from $8.61. Another trade on June 21 showed another decline from last week of $2.08, or 1%.

Sage Grouse In the Great Basin, the expansion of juniper woodlands is threatening sagebrush biome, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Sage grouse are considered an indicator of the condition of sagebrush ecosystems, and results from a recent study indicate targeted conifer removal as an effective management strategy for conserving sage grouse populations.

WCW Board The Wyoming Council for Women (WCW) announced Gov. Mark Gordon has appointed three new board members. The newest members of the WCW are JoAnn Skiem-True of Casper as an at-large member, Terri Lesli from Gillette as the district six representative and Kate Debow Hayes from Riverton as the district nine representative.

Champion ropers – Casper brothers Carson and Kellan Johnson, competing for Casper College, made solid runs through four performances at the CNFR, winning the team roping event. Photo courtesy of Jackie Jensen Photography

Cattle markets NCBA looks into the future of marketing in the beef industry The June 18 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Beltway Beef podcast featured a deep dive into the foreseeable future of cattle markets. NCBA’s Director of Government Affairs and Market Regulatory Policy Tanner Beymer joined the podcast to discuss an array of challenges facing the cattle and beef industry in regards to cattle marketing. “Producer profitability touches on everybody’s policy issue area currently,” says Beymer. “Specifically, as it relates to cattle market space, there is a lot happening.” Packers and stockyards Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the possibility of revisiting the Packers and Stockyards Act. Undue or unreasonable preferences and advantages in livestock negotiations is prohibited by Section 202 of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Many have discussed the idea that the Packers and Stockyards Act needs to be strengthened, and Please see NCBA on page 8

Educator honored Lander – Riva Lobatos has been selected as the Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom (WAIC) Educator of the Year. Lobatos currently teaches fourth grade at Fort Washakie Elementary in Fremont County. Lobatos is active in her school, education communities and WAIC programs. WAIC shared, “She has been involved with writing, revising and teaching the Wyoming Stewardship Program (WSP) over the past four years.” “Using the WAIC materials provided my students with information about the state they live in and inspired many of them to talk their grown-ups into exploring more of the state,” said Lobatos. “Not only have we talked about caring for the land, water and animals, but we have also introduced the idea of recycling and its impact on future generations.” Lobatos uses WSP to have meaningful discussions on natural resources, the economic impacts of those resources and the importance of caring for the land with her students. This year through her virtual classroom, Lobatos has used resources from the WPS as she and her students explored Devils Tower and a Wyoming trona mine through virtual field trips. As the 2021 WAIC Educator of the Year, Lobatos will be awarded a cash prize of $2,500, funded by the Vermillion Ranch Limited Partnership, Mantha Phillips and the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. In addition, Lobatos will be recognized at the 2021 Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame Picnic Aug. 18 at Riverside Park in Douglas.during the Wyoming State Fair.

High temperatures lead to heat stress in cattle As weather conditions transition from the cool spring to hot summer, it is important for producers to keep an eye on how their livestock are responding. Rapid changes in temperature are not easy on anyone, and this type of event can place a large strain on cattle. “Cattle have had little opportunity to adjust to the summer heat,” University of Nebraska Extension Educator Erin Laborie says in the Beef Watch podcast dated June 11. “This combination of warm temperatures, high humidity and lack of air movement really causes some con-

cern as far as cattle experiencing heat stress,” Laborie continues. “Cattle really don’t handle heat stress as well as we do.” Regulating heat Cattle regulate heat differently than humans. Laborie, focusing on how cattle control internal heat, explains, “Their thermal natural zone – which is the range in temperature in which they don’t use additional energy to maintain their core body temperature – generally is about 32 degrees to 75 degrees.”

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Please see HEAT on page 5


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