July 10, 2021

Volume 33 Number 11 • July 10, 2021

®

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

A Look Inside Social media messaging research discussed by Cat Urbigkit ......................... Page 2 Certified Angus Beef provides a market update ........... Page 6 UW Extension Entomologist Scott Schell lists the benefits of pollinators ..................... Page 7 Water quality and availability discussed as considerations for producers ................... Page 15

Quick Bits Right to Repair President Biden wants to give U.S. farmers more power in negotiating the sale of livestock to big processors and in deciding who repairs their tractors, the White House said on July 7. The executive order, expected within days, would encourage the Federal Trade Commission to limit the ability of farm equipment manufacturers to prevent tractor owners from using independent repair shops or repairing their own equipment.

Product of the USA: Changing labels for consumers On July 1, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to fully review the “Product of the USA” label.

This announcement came shortly after the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

(NCBA) filed a petition to the USDA to eliminate the use of the controversy label.

NCBA’s Vice Chair of International Trade Jaclyn Wilson joined the Beltway Beef podcast on July 2 to share more about the orga-

nization’s outlook on beef labeling.

Addressing the problem When asked about the concerns consumers have regarding beef products, Wilson says, “It’s just the labeling.”

Elaborating on her bold statement, Wilson explains, “When a consumer goes to the grocery store right now, people are interested in where their food comes from.”

With so many consumers Please see LABELS on page 4

80 years

PREPARATION IN FULL SWING

Laramie Jubilee Days celebrates Wyoming heritage

Wyoming county fair season is heating up Throughout the state, 4-H and FFA members can be found working diligently as county fair season gears up in Wyoming. Many junior exhibitors are down to the wire, as some county fairs are days away, while others are only a few weeks from gotime.

Sheridan County’s Maggie McStay and Crook

County sisters Teagan and Tana Timberman shared with the Wyoming Livestock Roundup how their involvement in youth agricultural organizations and showing livestock have shaped their future.

Sheridan County Fair “I am most excited to see all my friends at Please see FAIRS on page 5

Man Recovers A Campbell County man was rescued early July 6 after spending two nights trapper under an overturned fourwheeler in a pasture. He was found approximately 40 hours after he initially set out to open pasture gates for cattle on July 4, and was found pinned under the four-wheeler that rolled over top of him when he accidentally reversed down a steep embankment following a cow/ calf pair. The man is recovering well.

WYLR photo

Bison License For the third year, Gov. Mark Gordon is donating a wild bison license to support Wyoming wildlife conservation. The license will be issued through a random raffle open only to Wyoming residents.

“The bison is the symbol of Wyoming and a fitting hunt to raise money for conservation,” Gordon said. “I am happy to once again offer this opportunity to residents who care so deeply for our wildlife.”

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at wgfd.wyo.gov.

4-H Caucus Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) shared, “I am proud to join the Congressional 4-H Caucus to continue advocating for the positive impact that 4-H has on youth across Wyoming and the nation. This critical program empowers students with the skills, values and knowledge to be leaders in our communities. The four ‘H’s’ – head, heart, hands and health – are great ideals to live by, and I look forward to joining my colleagues in advancing 4-H’s mission in Congress.”

Every year, Laramie celebrates Jubilee Days with a weeklong celebration of Wyoming’s history. This year, Wyoming’s hometown celebration celebrates 80 years of the western lifestyle.

The long history of Jubilee Days all started to celebrate the Cowboy State’s heritage.

“One of the things we pride ourselves on is that Laramie Jubilee Days (LJD) is the only celebrated statehood event in the state of Wyoming,” shared acting LJD Rodeo Chairman Myron Hales.

The beginning Eighty years ago, Laramie cowboys were searching for a way to honor the birthday of Wyoming. The cowboys brought together their passion for the state and horses, celebrating Wyoming’s statehood the cowboy way.

Hales noted, “Jubilee Days got its start by celebrating statehood, so we just continued on from there.”

Cherishing Wyoming’s Please see LJD on page 5

Logan to be inducted into HOF Retiring Wyoming State Veterinarian Dr. Jim Logan has served livestock producers across the state – and nation – for many years in a number of capacities. Throughout his career, Jim played a key role in developing animal disease regulations, provided common sense approaches to animal health issues, and above all, worked with a passion for agriculture.

In recognition of Jim’s great works and enthusiasm Dr. Jim Logan, DVM for the agriculture industry, he has been selected for induction into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame (HOF) Class of 2021.

“Dedication to the agriculture industry through veterinary medicine defines Jim’s career,” shares the nominating committee. “His desire to work through difficult animal health regulatory issues, promote the Wyoming livestock industry from both within and outside of the state, educate producers and develop a deep-seated passion for agriculture in the youth of Wyoming, as well as over 20 years with the Wyoming Livestock Board deem Jim deserving of this honor.”

Dedication to animal health Jim began his veterinary journey at the University of Wyoming in 1969, and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Please see LOGAN on page 15

Hamiltons earn Ag HOF honor From improving their own operation near Hyattville through range improvement, sage brush control, stock water development and timber management to serving their local and state communities in leadership positions in many agricultural working groups and organizations, Keith and Linda Hamilton are prime examples of Wyoming’s finest agricultural leaders.

“Keith and Linda are hard workers,” writes Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation Media and Member Relations Director Kerin Clark. “The ranch keeps them very busy, but they both make time

to serve Wyoming agriculture.”

The nominating committee continues, “They’ve served on many committees and in many organizations over the years to improve the conditions of agriculture and it’s sustainability in Wyoming, as well as to influence policy to promote the success and needs of agriculture. They are truly an outstanding pair in this regard.”

Due to their unwavering dedication to Wyoming’s ag industry, Keith and Linda Hamilton were hand-picked as Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame

periodical

periodical

Please see HONOR on page 8

2

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

What’s Normal These Days?

After some 15 months of confusion, I’m expecting normalcy back in our lives soon, as I try to be positive about everything. To a number of us, normalcy means everything is back to what it was a year and a half ago.

From the Lately, I’m beginning to realize this Publisher may not ever happen.

Dennis Sun One of the biggest changes we have seen is how the labor force is so different. A good number of people realized they liked working from home in sweats and decided they wanted a house in the suburbs or wanted to live in a rural setting while working from home. We found this out big time in the Mountain States.

We hope the new normal will not be high unemployment. First, the country can’t afford to keep paying the unemployed an equivalent of $17 an hour and second, America needs to get back to manufacturing products so we are not as independent on other countries for goods.

We like to see the label “Product of the USA” and other broad U.S. origin labeling claims for meat products. If it has to be source verified, so be it. Across America, we are proud of the meat products we produce. Why should hamburger from Uganda be mixed with U.S. beef fat and called “Product of the USA?” Foreign beef, or any type of meat, should not have the USA label on it.

The U.S. had an all-time record of beef exports this past May, and this tells us consumers in other countries like U.S. beef. Why shouldn’t they? It is the best in the world, and the same goes for lamb.

A beef product that is gaining popularity is a hot dog that tastes like a steak. Reading an article from Drovers, the product is quite a success story.

In 2016, Patrick Montgomery started raising wagyu cattle in Missouri. He was developing a market for his prime steaks and realized there were a lot of trimmings left.

Montgomery thought about marketing the trimmings as high-end hamburgers, but instead started using them in hot dogs. At first, the hot dogs didn’t go over too well.

Then, he started sending the hot dogs out to food publications for review and everyone really liked them.

Food and Wine Magazine gave the KC Cattle Company’s hot dogs a great review. They wrote it was basically like eating a steak in a bun, or an elevated “tube steak,” if you will. The flavor had real depth and smoky undertones, and the texture and color – darker and more brown than red – was different than most hot dogs, in a good way.

The hot dogs caught on so quickly it took some time to meet demand, but both steaks and hot dogs are doing great. Now, they are mixing in some bacon ends and selling them as brats.

This story parallels the success of the beef processing plant in Cody where they also started with high-end steaks and now their big market for all the trimmings is beef jerky. It is another successful beef story and we hope there are more.

The U.S. lamb and beef industry are not going back to the normal way. There are some exciting happenings out there that we hope will be the new normal.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup Reporting the News by the Code of the West

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GUEST OPINIONS New Paper Proposes to Whitewash, Censor Messaging About Wildlife: Social Media Posts Are Being Studied

by Wildlife Researchers

By Cat Urbigkit The rapid growth in social media has resulted in a new field of wildlife conservation inquiry.

Called “conservation culturomics,” researchers are analyzing digital data from social media platforms to provide insights on humannature interactions. The increase in the number of papers published in scientific journals that use this technique has even generated discussion of data privacy concerns since social media users do not know their public posts, photos, videos, likes and comments are being scrutinized.

While I’ve read numerous papers, which have attempted to use social media posts to measure public attitudes toward wildlife, I recently stumbled upon the platform dedicated to this new field of inquiry, hosted by the Society for Conservation Biology.

How does a western Wyoming sheepherder who lives in large carnivore country stumble upon a new field of scientific inquiry? A new paper published in the journal Nature cited a scientific paper about wolf and grizzly bear depredation on cattle in the Upper Green River region, in which I was a co-author.

The new paper that cited my research is called “Framing of visual content shown on popular social media may affect viewers’ attitudes to threatened species,” written by researchers based in Argentina. I have no problem with the way in which my paper was cited, but the new paper should raise alarm

about how scientists want to manipulate the sharing of information about wildlife species and possible human-wildlife conflicts.

Background The authors of the new paper classified videos about vultures and mammalian predators that were posted to YouTube, and classified them as “negative” or “positive.” They explained, negatively framed videos of vultures and mammalian predators had titles or descriptions which included words such as “predation” or “killing,” as well as videos that suggested vultures may eat live animals, such as calves or lambs instead of carrion, or videos edited to emphasize vultures injuring or intimidating livestock when still alive.

In contrast, according to the authors, “positively framed videos did not use words such as “predation” or “killing” in their titles or descriptions; they either referred to vultures eating carrion and not live animals, or were edited to emphasize the positive role of these birds in the ecosystem (e.g., cleaning carcasses).

To get to their recommendations, we must disregard that factual information. The fact that predators by nature do kill other animals, and vultures do sometimes kill animals in addition to scavenging, was automatically classified as negative, rather than simply a neutral or factual statement.

Distancing An interesting twist in this research was its use

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of psychological distance.

The paper noted, “Messages framed with close psychological distance tend to be highly effective; when an object is perceived as close it tends to be perceived in a more concrete way, whereas when the object is perceived as distant it tends to be construed more abstractly. In other words, psychological distance is reduced when the framing of a message emphasizes a problem which will affect people like the viewers themselves.”

Bingo. This is why videos and posts used by environmental groups to promote wolf restoration are so successful: Wolves are construed as an abstract by the majority of the public.

But, the wolves that share our range here in western Wyoming are not an abstract to those who live alongside them. That’s why I often post to social media about these individual predators and the conflicts and interactions our family has with them.

According to the paper, “Videos with close psychological distance were more likely to generate comments proposing a lethal strategy for vultures and mammalian predators.”

So as we narrow the psychological distance, which takes wolves from being an abstract to an actual physical presence, support for lethal control in response to conflicts increases.

The Argentina researchers concluded, “Our results showed the way video content is framed could influ-

Please see SCIENCE on page 7

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ence tolerance toward wildlife species. Negatively framed content could affect the viewers’ perception, encouraging aggressive reactions towards animals, some of which may be threatened species. Most of the videos analyzed show no clear evidence of livestock being attacked by scavenger birds; however, the video frame infers that the attack really happened, which makes the video potential fake news and may generate negative consequences for species conservation.”

Okay, whatever on the potential fake news comment. The authors note that vultures “are rarely involved in predation events: Predation events by obligate and facultative scavenger birds together represent only 0.1 percent of the total sheep production in northwestern Argentine Patagonia,” to suggest, “greater caution is required in the presentation of information involving threatened species in conflict with humans, so as not to generate negative consequences.”

The “only 0.1 percent” statistic used by the authors is a method of placing vulture depredation on sheep in the abstract – but for livestock producers experiencing the depredations, the damage is concrete. It’s that distancing thing.

The authors propose to use the close psychological distance framing only for positive messaging about wildlife, and to not use testimonies from people who experience loss due to wild

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

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NEWS BRIEFS NIFA invests in education The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced July 7 an investment of $6.2 million for 21 Professional Development and Secondary School Teacher grants, which will increase the number of K-14 teachers and educational professionals trained in the food and agricultural sciences. These grants are part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

“As we work to build the talent pipeline for agricultural science, technology and business, we have to reach young people while they are in high school,” said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. “With this support from NIFA, teachers can develop skills necessary for integrating food and agricultural science into their classes; explore food and agricultural science career paths; and forge mentorships with agricultural professionals, business leaders and university faculty that will help guide the next generation of agricultural scientists and leaders.”

NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice.

For more information, visit nifa.usda.gov.

Volunteers sought Gov. Mark Gordon, in consultation with county commissioners, is now accepting applications to serve on the Sublette Mule Deer Migration Corridor Local Area Working Group. In early 2020, Gov. Mark Gordon signed Migration Corridor Executive Order (EO) 2020-1. The EO supports conservation of mule deer and pronghorn, protects landowner rights and accommodates multiple-use opportunities.

The Sublette Local Area Working Group follows the completed processes for the Platte Valley and Baggs Mule Deer Migration Corridors. Members will review the effectiveness of corridor designation on the migratory mule deer herd, discuss risks and threats to the functionality of the corridor, make recommendations about additional conservation opportunities and evaluate corridor designation effects on the local economy.

The Sublette Local Working Group will meet several times in person with a goal of completing the process by September 2021. The meetings will be facilitated by the Governor’s Office to make recommendations about additional opportunities for conservation, as well as to examine the impacts of any restrictions on development and use of lands encompassed in the designated corridor.

The application period closes July 26. To view Gordon’s press release and to apply via the online form, visit governor.wyo.gov/media/news-releases.

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Youth hunting expanded More youth will have the opportunity to hunt this fall in Wyoming. Effective July 1, youth hunters will be able to pursue big or trophy game animals at 11 years old if they turn 12 by the end of the calendar year.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has filed an emergency rule to modify Chapter 44 - licensing regulations to comply with a new law that lowers the minimum age to purchase a big or trophy game license. The emergency rule is effective for 120 days. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will finalize this change at the November 2021 meeting.

Two other licensing changes are also effective July 1.

The price of the conservation stamp increases to $21.50 to support access to more places to hunt and fish in Wyoming as well help fund wildlife and fish passage projects. Current 12-month conservation stamps are valid through the expiration date. Additionally, residents who are at least 65 years old and have resided in Wyoming for at least 30 years will be able to buy a pioneer trapping license for $20.

WGFD continues to draft regulations to address the new roadkill law passed by the 2021 Wyoming Legislature.

These draft rules will be open for public comment in midAugust. While the law is effective July 1, members of the public will not be able to begin collecting roadkill carcasses until those regulations are approved by the commission, presented for approval during their November meeting.

New rule expected The Biden administration plans to issue a new rule to protect the rights of farmers who raise cows, chickens and hogs against the country’s largest meat processors as part of a plan to encourage more competition in the agriculture sector.

The new rule will make it easier for farmers to sue companies they contract with over unfair, discriminatory or deceptive practices and is one of several steps that the White House plans to announce in the next few days. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is also expected to tighten the definition of what it means for meat to be labeled a “Product of USA” to exclude when animals are raised in other countries and simply processed in the United States.

The USDA also plans to invest in new local and regional markets, so farmers will have more options for selling the animals and crops they raise. Critics have said the major meat processing companies dominate the market for cattle, hogs and chickens, which makes it harder for small farmers to get a fair price.

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WWGA announce contest The Wyoming Wool Grower’s Auxiliary (WWGA) are pleased to announce the winner of the auxiliary scholarship, James Durfee. Durfee is the son of Steve and Melissa Durfee of Lovell and he is planning to attend Eastern Wyoming College in the fall of 2021 majoring in ag science and education.

The first winner of the Gene and Joy Hardy Memorial Scholarship is Dalton Butler. Butler’s parents are J.R. and Bobbi Butler of Hulett. Butler will be a sophomore at Casper College majoring in range management and aviation. Gene Hardy was a pilot and Butler’s interest in aviation was a deciding factor in awarding this year’s scholarship.

The auxiliary would also like to announce the Sheep Lead at the Wyoming State Fair will be Friday, Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. Entry forms are available at wystatefair.com.

The Wyoming Make It With Wool contest will be held Dec. 12-13 in conjunction with the Wyoming Stock Growers convention in Casper. Contestants must compete at a district contest. Entry forms can be obtained on the national Make It With Wool website. The state brochure with more information is available at wyowool.com.

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

LABELS continued from page 1 wanting to know where their beef product was raised, being able to share accurate information with them helps build credibility. However, the issue lies in the current “Product of the USA” label placed on beef products.

Wilson shares, “With the ‘Product of the USA’, we were having cattle that were exported in and were either minimally processed or repackaged at USDA facilities and they were able to get that label.”

Concerned about the negative implications the label has towards consumers, Wilson continues, “When a consumer reads the ‘Product of the USA’ label, they automatically assume the label is from cattle that are born, raised and harvested in the U.S. and this was not the case.”

Wanting to fix this prob-

lem, Wilson recognizes transparency between producers and consumers is best.

“By working on this label change, I think it is a great way to show our consumers that we are committed to making sure they have the information on where their product comes from.”

NCBA’s past contribution While NCBA’s petition to USDA is in the beginning stages, the trade, marketing and lobbying group is not new to the labeling issue.

“There were some concerns about misinformation out there in terms of what the consumers were understanding,” continues Wilson.

In response, the NCBA International Trade Committee put together a working group to fight to make beef labeling more consumer friendly.

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“They understand there might be some concerns about how things are currently labeled and this was something the committee worked hard and diligently on,” says Wilson. “They took the issue forward to the rest of the committee. They were approved to go ahead and work on the petition on the NCBA’s behalf.”

Wilson, excited about how well NCBA and USDA are working together on this issue, shares, “I think that was a great testament to what producers out in the country wanted, as well as being able to carry this action through in a way that doesn’t include lawsuits.”

Producers opportunities With a possible big change in the beef processing industry in the near future, new programs have been started to help beef producers sell their products.

Within the highlighted petition, NCBA outlined steps

to work with USDA and producers to use Processed Verified Program (PVP) labels to verify source origins.

“If producers want to take the time and energy to put the resources they have into verifying where their product comes from, it is great,” Wilson continues.

“There are consumers who want to know exactly where their food comes from, and if producers are willing to put in the work, I think they can be rewarded on the financial level.”

Wilson has always wanted to be upfront with consumers despite the struggles the industry faces regarding labeling products.

“One of the main parts is if a consumer comes up to us and says ‘Can you verify that this is your product?’

It is challenging. I can say it comes from my ranch and I raised it, but can I prove it?”

Wilson says.

To address this chal-

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SALE RESULTS -FRIDAY, JULY 2 - ALL CLASSES -2015HD Rock Lake Land & Cattle 1 Black Cow 1630 74.50C Sun Cattle Co Partnership 1 Black Cow 1280 74.50C Tyler Kimzey 2 Black Cow 1480 74.00C Oregon Trail Classic Scott Gilmore 2 Black Cow 1607 73.00C Pat Herring 1 Black Cow 1375 73.00C Gering Civic Center Travis McIntosh 1 Black Cow 1615 72.00C Gering, Nebraska Kruse Cattle LLC 5 BWF Cow 1288 69.00C August 10th & 11th, 2021 White Land & Livestock 10 Black Bull 819 126.00C Daniel Lovitt 1 Black Bull 1960 93.00C Deadline: Monday, July 19th Bryan Bruch 3 Black Bull 2426 90.00C Sandhills Roundup Rick Wehri 2 Blk/Red Bull 2140 104.50C Rick Wehri 3 Blk/Red Bull 2011 94.50C Cheyenne Frontier Days Event M Lazy Heart Ranch LLC 1 Charolais Bull 1985 105.00C Center - Cheyenne, Wyoming Sun Cattle Co Partnership 1 Black Heiferette 905 107.00C Sun Cattle Co Partnership 4 Black Heiferette 1068 91.00C September 16th, 2021 T Bench Land & Livestock LLC 1 Black Heiferette 1188 89.00C Deadline: Friday, August 27th Hanson Livestock Co 4 Black Heiferette 967 87.00C Trevor Barner 8 Black Heiferette 1150 82.00C www.cattlecountryvideo.com Midland Livestock Co 13 Blk/Red Heiferette 925 91.00C TORRINGTON T & J Livestock 1 Red Heiferette 1060 90.00C H Cross Livestock 5 Blk/Red Steer 637 151.00C LIVESTOCK AREA REPS Doug Derouchey 10 Blk/Red Steer 905 125.00C Cody Thompson - Lusk, WY 307-340-0150 Doug Derouchey 19 Mixed Steer 747 154.50C Ty Thompson – Lusk, WY 307-340-0770 Kettle Rock Ranch 17 Black Heifer 667 145.00C Rolling Hills Ranch 13 Black Heifer 585 143.00C Zach Johnson Lingle, WY –307-575-2171 Harding & Kirkbride Livestock 2 Black Heifer 767 143.00C Jeff Ward – Laramie, WY 307-399-9863 Wagstaff Family LLC 30 Black Heifer 739 138.50C Tam Staman – Crawford, NE 308-631-8513 Ty Lerwick 10 BWF Heifer Calf 483 159.00C Arnold Tollefson 18 Black Pairs 2-3yrs.

1333 1825.00H Lander Nicodemus – Cheyenne, WY 307-421-8141 Chance Horrocks 6 Black Pairs 2-3yrs.

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1287 1775.00H Chris Williams - Greybull, WY 307-272-4567 Chance Horrocks 11 Black Pairs SM 1744 1685.00H Justin Smith - Lusk, WY 307-340-0724 Scott Gilmore 14 Black Pairs SM 1607 1625.00H Scott Redden - Burns, CO 970-596-3588 Gary Call 4 Black Pairs 3yrs.

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“By working on this label change, I think it is a great way to show our consumers that we are committed to making sure they have the information on where their product comes from.”

–Jaclyn Wilson, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association lenge, Wilson implemented PVP into her family’s fifth generation cattle operation.

Following the program’s guidelines, the Wilson family invested time, energy and money into the new labeling opportunity.

“We are trying to prove to our consumers that with verification, we are putting in the time and energy on a volunteer basis,” Wilson says, summarizing their experience. “For us, it has been worth it to be able to say we can tell you where

our beef comes from and back it up.”

Optimistic, Wilson shares her thoughts on the future of the beef industry, concluding, “As long as we continue to work together as an industry and find solutions to these cloudy or grey areas, I think the beef industry can definitely continue to move forward.”

Savannah Peterson is an intern for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

USDA seeks partners The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing up to $17 million for conservation partners to help protect and restore critical wetlands on agricultural lands through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP).

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is prioritizing proposals that focus on assisting historically underserved producers conserving wetlands. Proposals from partners are due Aug. 15, 2021.

“Our goal is to support agricultural producers in their efforts to conserve natural resources on their land,” said Acting Wyoming State Conservationist Tony Sunseri. “Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnerships help partners and producers work together to protect wetland ecosystems on working lands.”

Through WREP projects, eligible conservation partners protect, restore and enhance high-priority wetlands on agriculture lands. WREP enables effective integration of wetland restoration on working agricultural landscapes, providing meaningful benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program and to the communities where the wetlands exist.

Eligible partners include Tribes, state and local governments and non-government organizations. WREP partners are required to contribute a financial or technical assistance fund match.

WREP funding is for Fiscal Year 2022 which begins on Oct. 1, 2021.

Partners interested in applying should contact their NRCS state office for more information or visit usda.gov.

EVENING EVENTS Pig Wrestling

Little Buckaroo Rodeo Horse Pulls Copper Mountain Band

&

Jesse Cornett & The Revolvers

AND SO MUCH MORE! 4-H & FFA Events • Livestock Sale • Petting Zoo • Vendors • Locally Made Exhibits Archery Shoot • Free Stage Music • Hypnotist • Comedy Stunt Show Miniature Golf • Sports Zone • Mechanical Bull • Laser Maze • Clown

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

FAIRS continued from page 1 county fair,” says 17-yearold Maggie, of Sheridan.

“It’s always one big social event.”

This year, Maggie will exhibit two steers, two heifers and two pigs.

“It’s my last year showing, so I might as well go out showing my favorite animals,” she explains.

The upcoming college freshman has been involved in showing livestock for the last eight years.

“My favorite animal in the barn is most definitely my crossbred steer – he is like a big dog and he is super easy to work,” Maggie continues. “I really enjoy my time working with him. I also have a Hereford steer, who looks the best, but he also is the most stubborn.”

Maggie recently traveled to Hereford Junior Nationals to exhibit her

Hereford steer in preparation for the Sheridan County Fair.

Maggie has many mentors in her life. But, one who stands out is her livestock judging coach, Travis Adam.

“He has really taken me under his wing and has taught me all I know,” says Maggie. “He not only has given me practical livestock judging skills, but also skills that are applicable in the real world.”

This is Maggie’s last year showing livestock in Sheridan County, as she is headed to Kewanee, Ill. to attend Black Hawk East College where she is majoring in agriculture business. Along with being a student, she will also compete as a member of the livestock judging team. Her current goals are to start with Black Hawk East and move onto senior college.

LJD continued from page 1 foundation, local horse enthusiasts gathered in true Wyoming fashion on July 10, 1940 for a horse race. This was just the start of a longstanding tradition.

“LJD got started by horse races,” Hales explained. “Then, eventually the event moved from the horse race to the rodeo events. It has run the full gamut.”

It is only appropriate the Cowboy State honors its history with the four-legged animals.

Growth of LJD Over the years, the event has grown. With the rapid growth came many changes to the celebration.

“Forty-five years ago, LJD moved to the fairgrounds where we currently are today and we have been building

on it ever since,” Hales shared.

This big move has allowed for more activities to take place during the Jubilee Days celebration.

“It started out as a low-gear, local rodeo and has turned into the professional rodeo we have today. Now, we have added bull riding and junior bull riding to the rodeo events, as well as a team roping, ranch rodeo and a kid’s horse show.”

Hales said. “We just try and build on it every year and make improvements.”

The growth mindset behind the event has been evident. Over the years, Jubilee Days continues to add new horse events for regional cowboys.

In addition, downtown Laramie fills with guests coming to town for a busy week. With the addition

For more information, visit laramiejubileedays.org.

5

“I want to be a breed representative when I’m through with college,” she shares. “It’s the ideal job, because they get to travel and talk about cows. Ideally, I would love to represent Red Angus or the Hereford breed.”

The Sheridan County Fair will be held July 30-Aug. 9 in Sheridan.

Crook County sisters Teagan and Tana Timberman are preparing a steer, lambs and chickens for the Crook County Fair, which begins July 24.

The sisters show through FFA and are members of the Whitcomb FFA Chapter in Moorcroft.

Teagan will be exhibiting her steer and a lamb, and her younger sister Tana will exhibit her lamb and poultry.

The sisters strive to see improvements in their livestock every year and love seeing the end product of what they have raised.

“I am definitely excited to see how well

my animal places in market classes,” says Teagan. “I think the market show is my favorite part, because I can see not only where I place, but also all my handwork pays off.”

This year, Teagan is showing a steer she received through a scholarship program in Crook County. The scholarship selects two of the best steers from a participating ranch as well as two students to receive the animals. The students must write an essay explaining why they would be a good recipient of the steer. Teagan was selected as one of two students, and she has been preparing her calf T.J. for the county fair.

The girls both voice their biggest mentors are their parents, Jobee and Jamie Timberman. The sisters are extremely grateful for their parents and how they strive to provide the girls with everything and anything they need help with while showing. The Timberman sisters also

of cooking contests, a parade, vendors and more, Wyoming’s birthday celebration continues to get better.

2021 event The 2021 Laramie Jubilee Days kicked off July 3. After many challenges last year, the committee has planned a thrilling event to celebrate 80 years of the hometown celebration.

“We are building on what we have and blowing things up this year to celebrate the 80th year of LJD,” Hales said, looking forward to this year’s event.

Sticking to the event’s heritage, the schedule is full of horse shows and rodeos. During the 2021 Jubilee Days, kids’ horse shows, ranch rodeos, team roping contests and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Rodeo performances are underway in Laramie.

The cowboy heritage of the state is also celebrated with bull riding for athletes of all ages.

While the Albany County Fairgrounds is busy with cowboys and

cowgirls, downtown Laramie continue the celebration.

July 8-10, the Laramie city limits are packed with something for everyone. The wide variety of activities honors the hometown heritage.

Excited about the new opportunities downtown, Hales shared, “For downtown events, we have the street dance and chili cooking – which is a national deal. There is also a jalapeño eating contest, a parade and all kinds of different events for everyone downtown.”

All in all, the 2021 Laramie Jubilee Days brings together the old Wyoming lifestyle with the new hometown activities.

Hales concluded, “We are blessed to be able to rodeo again and provide the community with entertainment.”

Savannah Peterson is an intern for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

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share their FFA Advisor Hugh Jenkins is another one of their mentors.

“Until Mr. Jenkins came along, neither of us would have been involved in FFA,” says Tana. “He has taught us so much when it comes to agriculture.”

This fall, Teagan will be attending the University of Wyoming to work towards a degree in criminal justice. She would like to be a personal investiga-

tor further down the road.

Tana will be a freshman in high school this year, and she is looking forward to one of her biggest goals – owning and operating her own hatchery. She currently has 60 chickens and is working towards growing her business.

Cameron Magee is an intern for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.

Preparing for fair – Maggie McStay drives her pig at a local jackpot, gearing up for the Sheridan County Fair. Courtesy photo

Year-round shows – Maggie McStay finds time to show yearround, taking calves to both the Northern International Livestock Expo (NILE) and the Black Hills Stock Show. Courtesy photo

S AV E T H E DAT E !

6

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

By Paul Dykstra

Market update The estimated weekly slaughter total last week was 623,000 head, a significant reduction from the prior week, thanks, in part, to the three-day weekend. Recent weekday daily steer and heifer slaughter totals have been in the range of 93,000 to 95,000. Looking back at the last two years, we could make a case that current fed cattle slaughter is about 1,000 to 2,000 head per day shy of recent history for this time of year.

Turning the calendar to the month of July, one of the characteristics which continues to be seasonally abnormal in the market is the historically wide Choice/Select cutout price spread. The wide range in fed cattle cash prices in the first week of July featured the lower values in Texas at $118 per hundredweight (cwt) and the top of the range of $127 per cwt in Iowa. It’s fairly intuitive to see that cattle with the highest quality grade potential in the northern tier of the feeding region were worth the premium paid, while the

poorest grade-potential cattle in the south were discounted.

The cash price trading range is as wide as we’ve seen in a long time and is unseasonably driven on quality.

The wholesale boxed beef market continues to adjust lower, as would be perfectly seasonal at this time. Granted, the price retreat is relative to the spring highs, which are second only to 2020.

Middle meat prices are dropping significantly, with wholesale Certified Angus Beef (CAB) ribeye rolls dropping a massive $1.20 per pound during the first week of July. The same week’s average $11.46 per pound price is still 23 percent higher than a year ago and 30 percent higher than two years ago. Strip loins were down just $0.20 per pound last week and remain 16 percent higher than a year ago and 30 percent higher than two years ago. Much to the chagrin of meat buyers, CAB tenderloins and top butts are pricing 50 percent higher and 40 percent higher

than a year ago, respectively.

As summer progresses with typical hot July temperatures and lighter meal options favored among consumers, we anticipate further reductions in middle meat prices. The end meats are also adjusting slightly lower at this point, in keeping with the entire beef complex, noting the welcome softening of overall prices.

Ground beef and hot dogs tend to get a lot of press in protein circles as July consumer favorites. Ground beef, in particular, is at a price point that will generate some sticker shock for many.

CAB wholesale ground round, chuck and sirloin values are between 30 percent and 40 percent higher than a year ago, although also slightly softer last week.

In summary, boxed beef prices are weakening, but could stand to decline more in order to stimulate tonnage movement in July.

Are carcass premiums supply or demand driven?

A recent seminar speaker was recently quoted as saying, “When beef prices are high, the Choice/Select spread is high.” The comment was not entirely incorrect, because this is often the case, depending on the moment in time being described.

A 10-year examination of supply and price trends provides fairly clear relationships between supply and

demand factors impacting quality carcass premiums. I specifically looked at Choice data, since it is the highest volume quality grade category in the fed cattle supply chain for which a premium is available.

In a 10-year-average weekly trend for the Choice cutout value and the Choice/ Select spread, carcass values exceed the annual average in March through early June.

Only briefly in late October and early November does the cutout value again spike above the average.

At first glance, the Choice/Select price spread appears to generally follow the Choice cutout price throughout the year. But, closer inspection shows the Choice premium remains weak, near the $5.00 per cwt level well into April, long after beef prices jump higher in March. As well, in October beef prices, on average, neared their annual lows in the 10-year period. Yet, the Choice/Select spread was in the $11.00 per cwt range and moving swiftly higher to the early December fall peak.

This is an imperfect relationship but not a total disconnect.

I also examined the relationship between the weekly share of carcasses grading Choice and the Choice/ Select spread. With no prior knowledge that demand for Choice and higher grading beef changes throughout the

year, a person could conclude supply is the singular driving force behind the premiums paid for Choice beef over Select.

Without statistical analysis, it’s fair to say supply is certainly impactful to price.

Two important factors to note in this discussion are that first, we’re looking at supply change within a total range of four percentage points. Second, there is a difference between the volume of Choice beef produced and simply the proportion of carcasses graded Choice.

The assumption that beef prices above the annual average cause a wide Choice/ Select price spread is incorrect as a singular cause-andeffect relationship. More appropriately, we can say the Choice/Select spread is wide during the times of the year when demand is highest for high-quality middle meats.

These times can be defined by spring grilling demand, centered on a large handful of holidays, plus the run-up to winter holidays such as Christmas. The supply side is equally important, with periods of smaller supplies of high-quality grade carcasses aligned with increasing prices for those same carcasses, while the Select price falls behind.

These phenomenon logically align with aggregate beef prices above the annual average price.

The CAB brand and

Prime prices are, of course, additive above the underlying Choice price. The CAB wholesale cutout premium reached record highs in 202021, touching $24 per cwt in data from the first week of July. Yet, the 10-year data through 2019 reflects a more moderate premium range for CAB above Choice, ranging from roughly $8 per cwt to $13 per cwt premiums, with more muted seasonal effects, given the smaller range.

Much of the market signal for quality is driven on the Choice premium, when the price spreads seasonally widen. Adding a modest $10 per cwt CAB premium on top of a $15 per cwt Choice premium, for instance, is an attention-grabbing price signal. The extreme pricing data for 2020 through today, while quite convincing in favor of heightened quality demand under restricted supply, has been excluded from the charts due to the extenuating circumstances caused

by COVID-19.

At last, the perfect storm occurs, on average, at the same times annually; when demand for highly marbled middle meats is at its peak and the supply of carcasses to fulfill that demand is also near annual lows.

Paul Dykstra is the assistant director of supply management and analysis at CAB. He can be reached at pdykstra@certifiedangusbeef.com.

WSGA recognizes stewardship Ten Sleep – Keith and Laura Galloway of the Galloway Ranch will be honored with the 2021 Environmental Stewardship Award on July 14 in Ten Sleep.

The ranch was nominated by the Washakie County Conservation District for their partnership in utilizing Cost Share Programs and grant funds for several projects. These projects include the installation of an irrigation system for a windbreak and a solar pump system for livestock water on the mountain, as well as a corral relocation and replacement of a failing septic system which helped eliminate contaminant runoff and improve water quality on the Nowood River.

The Galloways are

also being recognized for the many educational opportunities they have highlighted in Best Management Practices.

These include tours with the Wyoming Resource Education Days (WyRED) range students – a summer camp and competition in which presentations were given on grazing land management. They have also hosted area landowners during district workshops providing a review of a sage brush mowing project that improved forage for livestock and wildlife, which includes a key core area of sage grouse habitat.

“The land and water development and rotational grazing were key factors in their selection,” said Wyoming Stock Growers Association Executive Vice President Jim Magagna.

Being the recipient of the 2021 award, the Galloway Ranch will become the Wyoming Stock Growers Region Five nominee for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Environmental Stewardship competition in 2022.

Since 1872, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) has served the livestock business and families of Wyoming by protecting their economic, legislative, regulatory, judicial, environmental, custom and cultural interests. WSGA promote the role of the cattle industry in resource stewardship, animal care and the production of high-quality, safe and nutritious beef.

Learn more at wysga. org or call 307-638-3942.

ASI offers supply chain comments to USDA In response to a Federal Register notice on supply chains in agriculture production, the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) recently offered comments calling for support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for increased access to lamb processing in the United States.

“Even a year later, these new small to mid-sized packers lack adequate fabrication facilities to fully participate in the food supply chain,” read ASI’s comments to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. “Many local and regional processing facilities utilized by small to mid-size sheep and lamb producers lack the resources to invest in infrastructure to meet the growing demand for processing lamb at a local level. This was further evi-

denced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of processing capacity at the local level. Utilizing resources authorized under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021; grants and guaranteed loans to these small and mid-sized facilities to invest in fabrication facilities and encourage the entry of additional packing entities would be tremendously helpful in enhancing the geographic distribution of the industry’s infrastructure.

ASI’s comments also addressed the need for nylon sacks for the storage and shipment of American wool. These sacks are manufactured exclusively in China and have been subject to tariffs and supply shortages, which creates a barrier to market participation for American wool growers.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

EXTENSION EDUCATION

By Scott Schell UW Extension entomologist

Farmers, ranchers benefit from promoting pollinators I want to make the case that all Wyoming farmers and ranchers can benefit by promoting pollinators. Creating, enhancing and protecting habitat that provides flowers during the growing season can promote pollinators, increase crop yields, reduce pest insect populations and add value to land.

Pollinators increase yields To ensure profitable yields, human-managed pollinators – usually honey bees and alfalfa leafcutter bees – are brought in to provide pollination services. Dry beans, though they have self-fertile flowers, show

increased yield when wild pollinators, such as bumblebees, visit the flowers and “trip” them.

Livestock producers rely on the production of grass, a wind-pollinated “crop,” and may not think there would be any advantage to maintaining a diversity of flowering plants as part of their range management. Even grassland, however, can benefit from flowering plants in the plant community.

Pollinators reduce pests Evidence for fewer pests can be seen in pure stands of crested or intermediate wheatgrass. These pastures can become heavily infested with black

grass bugs, a native insect which sucks the cell contents out of grass leaves, stunting the plants and reducing the nutritional value of the forage. Black grass bug populations are rarely noticeable on native prairie, where flowering plants help support populations of their many predators and parasitoids.

Many of the same plants benefiting pollinators also promote increased populations of beneficial insect species.

These beneficial insects – the many predators or parasitoids of crop pest insects – can help control pests in crops that don’t need insect pollination.

While the juvenile forms of many of these beneficial insects prey upon pests, their adult forms use nectar and pollen from flowers to survive and reproduce.

Examples of these insects are green and brown lacewings, many tachinid fly species and a multitude of parasitoid wasp species. Parasitoid wasps seek out pest insect

7

adults, immature insects and even eggs, as places to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch and eventually kill the pest insect.

The parasitoid wasps in the genus Bathyplectes attack alfalfa weevils and are an example of an important beneficial species that feeds on flower nectar as adults.

Pollinators need a hand One way to promote pollinator populations, and wildlife in general, is to ensure they have healthy habitats, which provide everything they need throughout their life cycles.

Pollinator conservation seed mixes are available to add flowering plants and boost pollination. I would recommend checking any wild mix

CattleC Country C Video

factsheet offers guidance and other resources for planning pollinator plantings: bit.ly/restore4pollinators University of Wyoming Extension “Promoting Pollinators on Your Place, A Wyoming Guide” provides information on ornamental plant species, habitats favored by pollinators and an excellent section on getting started with beekeeping: bit.ly/yourplacepollinators Pollinator Guide resources from Barnyards & Backyards magazine originally published spring 2018: bit.ly/ BBpollinatorguide

SCIENCE continued from page 2 animal depredations.

The authors lament, “The videos analyzed show how viewers comments are more negative toward vultures and mammalian predators when they see a person who is describing the loss of their livestock or claiming damages from the authorities for their losses (close psychological distance), than when they see only the interaction between these animals and livestock, without testimonies (distant psychological distance).”

They continue, “The media probably find that these videos attract viewers, since they cause social alarm and curiosity. However, these messages may intensify conflicts, which could impact negatively on threatened species such as vultures, increasing threats of action like poisoning or persecution. In this sense, the use of close psychological distance framing may be a good strategy for the implementation of conservation measures that promote positive

perception of wildlife species. For instance, videos could be shown of people who have obtained benefits from wildlife, such as vultures cleaning dead animals produced by livestock production, instead of showing people who have lost livestock.”

The strategy proposed by the authors is known as whitewashing – deliberately attempting to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts about someone or something.

Policing thought The really striking part of this new research paper is its recommendations.

The authors propose, “The incorporation of a complaint category that enables social media users to report uploaded information or frames involving wildlife species that could negatively affect their conservation.”

The authors conclude, “There is a need for greater care in the way messages about wildlife species are presented, especially messages about threatened species, since they could have negative consequences for

their conservation. Taking regulatory action in the event of inaccurate messages about wildlife, without violating the freedom of expression, would help to improve conservation action for diverse wildlife species.”

Let this sit for a minute. The authors propose, “Taking regulatory action in the event of inaccurate messages about wildlife…”

My view is that perhaps the widespread public messaging promoted by such wildlife professionals through unrelentingly positive framing leads to an unrealistic view of nature. The Disneyesque view of wild animals, and whitewashing of conflicts, continues to be promoted by some wildlife professionals and advocates, as this new conservation culturomics papers confirms.

Cat Urbigkit is an author and photographer based in western Wyoming. Urbigkit writes about big predators and life on western rangelands. This article was originally published on Urbigkit’s online platform, rangewriting.com.

offices can be found at bit. ly/nrcsfinder.

Pollinators add value to land The decline of many kinds of pollinators in the United States and around the world has been well documented, and the problem has the potential to impact food production.

Most people in the agricultural industry care about the long-term sustainability of agricultural production, especially those who want to pass on productive land to the next generation.

Scott Schell is the assistant Extension entomologist at the University of Wyoming in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He can be reached at sschell@uwyo. edu or 307-766-2508.

www.cattlecountryvideo.com

V

Oregon Trail Classic Gering, Nebraska Gering Civic Center

Pollinator resources To learn more about how to enhance pollinator habitats, check out the following resources: Issue of Rangelands Journal devoted to pollinators in rangelands: bit.ly/rangepollinators USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) website with pollinator information: bit.ly/nrcspollinators Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension (SARE) “Habitat Plantings and Restoration for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects”

considered for planting with a county weed and pest district to make sure it doesn’t contain plant species which can become invasive in the region.

For enhancing pollinator and beneficial insect habitats on eligible land, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides technical assistance through its Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) program. This and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program also provide financial incentives to maintain pollinator enhancements.

The quickest way to find out if funding is available for enhancing land is to contact a local field office. Local NRCS

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$

154.50

7012

H & T Ranch Co

600

Spayed Yearling Heifers

830

8/2/2021

8/6/2021

$

156.50

7013

H & T Ranch Co

260

Spayed Yearling Heifers

925

7/7/2021

7/16/2021

$

146.00

7016

Carlin Ranch

1575

Spayed Yearling Heifers

870

8/2/2021

8/12/2021

$

158.50

7017

Casey Cattle Co

164

Yearling Steers

900

7/10/2021

7/15/2021

$

158.00

7018

Arrow Crown Cattle Co

170

Spayed Yearling Heifers

875

8/6/2021

8/20/2021

$

154.00

7019

Arrow Crown Cattle Co

72

Spayed Yearling Heifers

875

8/9/2021

8/23/2021

$

151.00

7020

Park Range Ranch LLC

185

Yearling Steers

900

9/1/2021

9/15/2021

$

162.00

7021

Park Range Ranch LLC

130

Spayed Yearling Heifers

880

9/1/2021

9/15/2021

$

152.00

7022

Springfield Ranch

120

Yearling Steers

925

8/9/2021

8/13/2021

$

156.00

7023

Shon & Cathy Whetham

395

Yearling Steers

950

8/17/2021

8/20/2021

$

159.00

7024

Shon & Cathy Whetham

400

Yearling Steers

895

8/25/2021

8/27/2021

$

162.00

7025

Shon & Cathy Whetham

227

Spayed Yearling Heifers

895

9/7/2021

9/10/2021

$

148.00

7026

ZX Bar Ranch

110

Yearling Steers

925

9/1/2021

9/4/2021

7027

Double D Cattle

65

Open Yearling Heifers

935

8/2/2021

7028

Micheli Ranches

200

Yearling Steers

915

9/10/2021

7029

Scott & Allison Salo

460

Yearling Steers

925

7/19/2021

7030

Scott & Allison Salo

120

Yearling Steers

955

7031

D & M Livestock

65

Yearling Steers

935

7032

Frontier Land

60

Yearling Steers

7033

Frontier Land

60

Yearling Steers

7034

Mountain Valley Livestock

230

Yearling Steers

$

159.50

$

135.50

9/20/2021

$

156.00

7/21/2021

$

162.00

7/12/2021

7/15/2021

$

154.50

8/12/2021

8/26/2021

$

159.50

1005

7/10/2021

7/17/2021

$

150.50

995

7/10/2021

7/17/2021

$

144.50

985

7/26/2021

7/28/2021

$

155.00

7035

Tyson & Lisa Brown

300

Yearling Steers

1060

7/9/2021

7/23/2021

$

148.50

7036

Tyson & Lisa Brown

105

Yearling Steers

1060

7/9/2021

7/23/2021

$

148.50

7038

Tyson & Lisa Brown

650

Yearling Steers

970

7/16/2021

7/30/2021

$

158.50

7040

Tyson & Lisa Brown

940

Yearling Steers

950

8/3/2021

8/17/2021

$

158.50

7041

Cook Cattle Co

300

Yearling Steers

1005

7/20/2021

7/30/2021

$

157.00

7042

FX Land Company

200

Yearling Steers

985

9/1/2021

9/10/2021

$

156.00

7043

Lazy A One LLC (Mike, Bonn 300

Yearling Steers

1000

8/30/2021

9/3/2021

$

157.50

7044

Lazy A One LLC (Mike, Bonn 295

Yearling Steers

925

7/12/2021

7/16/2021

$

163.50

7045

Nathan & Kathryn Painter

112

Yearling Steers

975

7/14/2021

7/17/2021

$

156.00

7046

Dunn Ranch (Jim & Mae Dun 275

Yearling Steers

1000

8/4/2021

8/6/2021

$

157.00

7047

Dyer Ranch LLC

Yearling Steers

1000

8/26/2021

8/27/2021

$

153.50 155.50

168

7048

Dyer Ranch LLC

116

Yearling Steers

925

7/8/2021

7/9/2021

$

7049

Tod & Marilyn Nelson

160

Yearling Steers

900

8/2/2021

8/6/2021

$

159.50

7050

Mike Wickersham

116

Yearling Steers

1000

7/20/2021

7/24/2021

$

156.00

7051

H & T Ranch Co

170

Yearling Steers

960

7/7/2021

7/9/2021

$

159.50

7052

Trent McVickers

230

Open Yearling Heifers

1025

7/8/2021

7/10/2021

$

128.50

7053

Fiddleback Ranch

450

Steer Calves

525

10/5/2021

$

203.00

7053

Fiddleback Ranch

100

Heifer Calves

490

10/5/2021

$

180.00

7054

Crystal River Ranch

82

Steer Calves

580

11/15/2021 11/20/2021

$

165.00

7055

JRB LLC

300

Weaned Steer Clvs

520

12/10/2021 12/17/2021

$

187.00

Cattle Country Video • Torrington, WY www.cattlecountryvideo.com

8

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

HONOR continued from page 1 (HOF) 2021 inductees.

Keith – agriculture involvement Growing up as the fourth generation on the Hamilton Ranch, Keith’s agricultural involvement holds deep roots in working to advance agricultural leadership and conserve natural resources important to the western lifestyle. Throughout the years, Keith has been recognized as a strong voice for agriculture and a great role model for younger leaders.

Keith joined Wyoming Farm Bureau in 1975, and began taking on leadership positions in 1981 as the Big Horn County Farm Bureau vice president. In 1988, Keith joined the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors and represented Big Horn, Fremont, Hot Springs, Park and Washakie counties as the northwest district director

until 2010.

In addition to serving the agricultural community through the Wyoming Farm Bureau, Keith has been very active in serving on public lands boards, wildlife working groups and livestock organizations.

“He is currently our valued representative as the Wyoming Board of Director to the National Public Lands Council and he is the type of person I would like to have as a neighbor,” shared Wyoming State Grazing Board Chairman Mark Anderson. “He and Linda have also contributed a lot to the sheep industry in Wyoming and the West. His family have ranched in the Basin for many, many years and he is a wonderful example of the types of family ranches Wyoming needs to remain in our business.”

The nominating committee shares, Keith has

also served as a member of the Big Horn Basin Sage Grouse Working Group, the Big Horn County Predator Management Board and is the past chairman of the Wyoming State Grazing Board.

Linda – agriculture involvement There is no doubt both Keith and Linda Hamilton represent the epitome of hard work, integrity, giving, sharing and Wyoming hospitality, note the nominating committee. In fact, nominators share Linda leads with selfless volunteerism, a community-based spirit and outstanding work ethic.

“Linda is a leader in the field of agriculture and is an invaluable asset to the Hamilton Ranch,” writes a member of the nominating committee. “She is a progressive leader and has shared much of her extensive knowledge of agriculture and financial matters within our local community and other agricultural communities throughout the state.”

With a servant heart, Linda has dedicated her time and efforts to many events and organizations within the Hyattville community, as well as serving as a founding member of Wyoming Agriculture in the Classroom (WAIC). She has also served on the Northwest College Alumni Board of Directors, WAIC Board of Directors and the Hyattville Methodist Church Board of Directors.

“Linda joined the South Big Horn Conservation District Board in 1991 and has served ever since, holding the position of chairwoman for much of this time,” explains South Big Horn Conservation District Chairman George Kelso.

“She has actively promoted the district and its efforts to assist farmers and ranchers in the southern part of Big Horn County in improving their operations and protecting soil, water, plant and wildlife resources.”

In addition, the committee shares Linda served

on the Wyoming Association of Conservation District (WACD) Board for several years, and served as an important role as a spokesperson for conservation districts in both state government and the legislature.

Linda served as a WACD councilman from 2009-13 and again from 2015-18. In addition, Linda represented the sheep industry on the Department of Environmental Quality Non-Point Task Force since 2005.

Nominators add, “Linda is dedicated to the promotion of local agriculture and the ranching way of life.

She continues to demonstrate resilience and dedication, and will continue to do so for years to come.”

Leaders in agriculture In addition to their involvement in civic activities, Keith and Linda Hamilton’s love and passion for agriculture show both in their dedication to organizations, as well as in the improvement of operations on their ranch.

The Hamiltons were one of four operations to initially enroll in the Wyoming Stewardship Program in 1982, later known as Coordinated Resource Management (CRM). This program opened the door for the Hamiltons to work closely with agencies such as Wyoming Game and

Fish Department, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Wyoming Department of Agriculture on improving ranch operations. The Hamilton Ranch continues their involvement with these agencies to this day using the CRM format.

Additionally, the Hamilton Ranch was recognized as the 1998 Environmental Stewardship Award Winner, as well as a Wyoming Centennial Ranch in 2015 – both of which reflect the nature of Keith and Linda as leaders in agriculture.

Keith, Linda and the Hamilton Ranch are longtime members of the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, Wyoming Stock Growers Association. As well as past members of the Mountain States Lamb Co-op.

Keith shares, “It is a tremendous honor to be associated with the folks who have received this before us. We are tremendously thrilled.”

Keith and Linda will be recognized, alongside Dr. Jim Logan, at the Wyoming Ag Hall of Fame Picnic at 5 p.m. Aug. 18 at Riverside Park in Douglas.

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

Wyoming leadership – Keith and Linda Hamilton will be inducted into the Wyoming Ag Hall of Fame, being recognized for their many years of agriculture leadership. Courtesy photo

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

CALENDAR

Sept. 11 Sept. 13

Submit your events to: Editor, Wyoming Livestock Roundup, P.O. Box 850, Casper, WY, 82602, or e-mail to roundup@wylr.net.

Sept. 14

EVENTS July 9-17 July 14 July 14-15 July 16-25 July 21 July 23-Aug. 1 July 23-Aug. 1 July 23-Aug. 1 July 23-Aug. 1 July 24-Aug. 1 June 25-26 July 26-31 July 26-Aug. 1 July 27-31 July 28-31 July 28-Aug. 7 July 29-Aug. 7 July 29-Aug. 7 July 30-31

Sept. 15

Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo, Central Wyoming Fairgrounds, Casper. For more information, visit centralwyomingfair.com or call 307235-5775.

Galloway Ranch 2021 Environmental Stewardship Tour, Ten Sleep.

For more information, contact the Wyoming Stock Growers Association at 307-638-3942 or visit wysga.org.

Wyoming Game and Fish Commission Meeting, Best Western Sheridan Center, Sheridan. For more information, visit wgfd.wyo.gov/About-Us/ Game-and-Fish-Commission.

Converse County Fair, Wyoming State Fairgrounds, Douglas. For more information, visit conversecountyfair.com or call 307-358-5438.

Double 8 Ranch 2020 Environmental Stewardship Tour, Elk Mountain.

For more information, contact the Wyoming Stock Growers Association at 307-638-3942 or visit wysga.org.

Cheyenne Frontier Days, Frontier Park, Cheyenne. For more information, visit cfdrodeo.com.

Platte County Fair, Platte County Fairgrounds, Wheatland. For more information, visit plattecountyfair.org or call 307-322-9504.

Teton County Fair, Teton County Fairgrounds, Jackson. For more information, visit tetoncountyfair.com or call 307-733-5289.

Weston County Fair, Weston County Fairgrounds, Newcastle. For more information, visit westoncountyfair.com or call 307-746-9906.

Crook County Fair, Crook County Fairgrounds, Sundance. For more information, visit crookcofair.com or call 307-283-2644.

16th Annual Thermopolis Cowboy Rendezvous PRCA Rodeo, Hot Springs County Fairgrounds, Thermopolis. For more information, visit thermopoliscowboyrendezvous.com.

Washakie County Fair, Washakie County Fairgrounds, Worland. For more information, call 307-431-6318.

Big Horn County Fair, Big Horn County Fairgrounds, Basin. For more information, visit bighornfair.com or call 307-568-2968.

Park County Fair, Park County Fairgrounds, Powell. For more information, call 307-754-8855.

Sublette County Fair, Sublette County Fairgrounds, Big Piney. For more information, visit sublettecountyfair.com or call 307-276-5373.

Albany County Fair, Albany County Fairgrounds, Laramie. For more information, visit albanycountyfair.org or call 307-742-3224.

Goshen County Fair, Goshen County Fairgrounds, Torrington. For more information, visit goshencounty.org or call 307-532-2525.

Uinta County Fair, Uinta County Fairgrounds, Evanston. For more information, visit uintacountyfair.org or call 307-783-0313.

Red Desert Roundup Rodeo, Sweetwater Events Complex, Rock Springs. For more information, visit rdrrodeo.com.

SALES July 12-14 July 15-17 July 19-21 Aug. 2-6 Aug. 10-11 Aug. 16-17 Aug. 16-20 Aug. 23-24 Sept. 3-5 Sept. 4

Western Video Market, Silver Legacy, Reno, Nev., 530-347-3793, wvmcattle.com United States Targhee Sheep Association National Show and Sale, Spink County Fairgrounds, Redfield, SD, 702-292-5715, 605-380-5262, ustargheesheep.org Northern Livestock Video Auction 17th Annual Summertime Classic, 866-616-5035, northernlivestockvideo.com Superior Livestock Auction Video Royale XXIX, Winnemucca, Nev., 800422-2117, superiorlivestock.com Cattle Country Video Oregon Trail Classic Sale, Gering Civic Center, Gering, Neb., 888-322-8853, cattlecountryvideo.com Western Video Market, Little America, Cheyenne, 530-347-3793, wvmcattle.com Superior Livestock Auction Big Horn Classic XVII, Sheridan, 800-4222117, superiorlivestock.com Northern Livestock Video Auction Early Fall Preview, 866-616-5035, northernlivestockvideo.com Powder River Quarter Horse Breeders Association 44th Annual Horse Sale, Futurity & Versatility Ranch Horse Show, Broadus, Mont., 406-4275420, prqhba.com Proffit Ranch 20th Annual Labor Day Horse Sale, Diamond X Ranch, Evanston, 307-723-5857, proffitranch.com

Big horn Basin

Sept. 14

Sept. 16 Sept. 16 Sept. 17 Sept. 17-18 Sept 19 Nov. 30 Feb. 21

Open Box Rafter Ranch 28th Annual Horse Sale, Rapid City, S.D., 605538-4450, rafterranch.com Wyoming Wool Growers Association Premier Ewe Sale, Douglas, 307265-5250, wyowool.com 93rd Annual Wyoming State Ram Sale, Wyoming State Fairgrounds, Douglas, 307-265-5250, 307-351-1422, wyowool.com Western Video Market, Haythorn Ranch, Ogallala, Neb., 530-347-3793, wvmcattle.com 8th Annual Montana Ewe Sale, Eastern Montana Fairgrounds, Miles City, Mont., 406-945-0404, mtsheep.org 96th Annual Montana Ram Sale, Eastern Montana Fairgrounds, Miles City, Mont., 406-210-2852, mtsheep.org Cattle Country Video Sandhills Roundup Sale, Cheyenne Frontier Days Event Center, Cheyenne, 888-322-8853, cattlecountryvideo.com Northern Livestock Video Auction Fall Premier, 866-616-5035, northernlivestockvideo.com 25th Anniversary Van Norman and Friends Production Sale, Elko County Fairgrounds, Elko, Nev., 775-756-6508, 775-934-7404, vannormansale.com 19th Annual Sugar Bars Legacy Sale, Sheridan County Fairgrounds, Sheridan, 605-347-8120, sugarbarslegacy.com Western Video Market, Silver Legacy, Reno, Nev., 530-347-3793, wvmcattle.com Weaver Ranch 37th Annual Production Sale, at the ranch, Fort Collins., Colo., 970-568-3898

POSTCARD from the Past

Compiled by Dick Perue rrichardperue@gmail.com

Sheep Docking and Castration Methods Since I grew up on one of the biggest sheep outfits in the country, I was well aware of the necessity of docking and castrating. However, I never realized it could be so complicated until I sought advice on the internet.

The following is what they write on the computer. Not quite what I remember of the simpler methods we used, but then that was more than 70 years ago when all we had were a sharp knife and good teeth.

Docking is when the tail is shortened. Castration is when the testicles are removed or destroyed. Both are routine management practices on most sheep farms in the United States and other developed countries.

According to the last U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service National Animal Health Monitoring System Study in 2010, 78.6

percent of U.S. sheep operations docked lambs, and 81.5 percent of lambs were docked. Three-quarters of U.S. operations castrated ram lambs. The average age of castration was 24.7 days.

Docking Docking improves the health and welfare of sheep and lambs. It prevents fecal matter from accumulating on the tail and hindquarters of the animal. Research has shown tail docking reduces the risk of fly strike from wool maggots, while having no ill effects on lamb mortality or production.

Docking facilitates shearing and crutching. It makes it easier to observe the ewe’s vulva and udder and detect potential birthing and milking problems.

Some lamb buyers discriminate against tailed lambs, since having a tail lowers the dressing percent or yield of the lamb.

On the other hand, ethnic buyers of lambs often prefer undocked lambs. For the Muslim Festival of Sacrifice, unblemished lambs are usually preferred. An

Worland, WY

Sale Barn: 307-347-9201 Danny Vigil: 307-388-0781

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RECAP: Thursday, July 1, 2021 – All Class Cattle 276 head. Cows $1 to $2 lower: $59.50 - $74.50, top $76 • Heiferettes: $74 - $94 Bulls $1 to $2 lower: $83.50 - $97 Consignments – July 15, 2021 Bill Haun – 2 loads weigh-up cows • Nicholas Ranch – 1 load weigh-up cows • Kate Anthony – 5 lambs, 6 goats, 3 rounds of shots, dewormed.

• Upcoming Sales • July 15 – July 17 – July 29 – Aug. 12 –

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Castrating and docking a lamb the old fashioned way in the 1920s – As the above article notes, proper aseptic techniques must be used when the surgical method of castration is performed. As a kid, my observation was that when the “bite ‘em off” method was used, most of the antiseptic was a stiff shot of cheap booze guzzled by sheepman before and after each castration. 1920s photo from the Bob Martin/Dick Perue collection. Photographer and participants unknown. Historical Reproductions by Perue

unblemished lamb is one that has not been docked, castrated or had its horns removed.

It is natural for a sheep to have a tail. The tail does not interfere with breeding or lambing. The tail protects the ewe’s vulva and udder from weather extremes.

To some extent, sheep use their tail to scatter their feces. Tail length is the most heritable trait in sheep. A sheep’s tail is halfway between the length of its two parents.

Scientists are trying to breed wooled sheep with short tails that do not require docking.

Castration The need for castration varies and is based on management needs of the farm and preference of the market place. Ram lambs grow faster and have better body composition than wether lambs, and when ram lambs are marketed at a young age – typically less than six months – commercial lamb buyers usually do not discriminate in price.

Ethnic lamb buyers often prefer intact males and usually pay a premium for them.

It is usually not necessary to castrate ram lambs for the freezer or locker trade or when selling lamb directly to consumers, as there is no significant difference in the taste or tenderness of the meat from a young ram lamb versus a wether or ewe lamb. Older rams may have a slight taste difference and may not be as desirable for direct marketing. On the other hand, some consumers may prefer the taste of a male.

The testicles may be surgically removed.

With this method, a sharp knife or scalpel is used to remove the bottom onethird of the scrotal sac.

The testicles are removed and the wound is allowed to drain and heal naturally. Sometimes, people use their teeth to remove the tiny testicles.

It is essential that proper aseptic technique be used when the surgical method of castration is used.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

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Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

OBITUARIES

Shirley Jnell Willford

We welcome obituaries. Obituaries are printed free of charge and can be sent to roundup@wylr.net.

July 22, 1933 – June 15, 2021

Hayden Hester Jan. 28, 1991 – June 30, 2021

Hayden John Hester, 30, passed away in Casper June 30. Hayden was born Jan. 28, 1991 in Sheridan. At three days old, he met his forever parents, John and Sheri Hester.

Hayden grew up on the family ranch near Keeline and attended school in Lusk, graduating in 2009. He played football and basketball and participated in track.

He was a nine-year 4-H member of the Lance Creek 4-H Club, where he participated in showing livestock, wool judging, shooting sports, livestock judging and Junior Leaders. He was named Outstanding Senior Member in 2009.

After graduation, Hayden attended Sheridan College. In 2012, he was accepted to the

National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The wilderness and outdoor survival course took him to various places in South America. He graduated from NOLS with a degree and certification as a Leave No Trace Master Educator, Wilderness First Responder medical training, and he earned biology and other credits from the University of Utah.

Hayden worked for Dr. Dick VanHuele, traveling the country spaying heifers. He enjoyed seeing the different ranches and operations and how each was unique.

Eventually, Hayden settled back at the family ranch.

He joined Jenny Williams and her sons Tripton and Braxton in marriage on Aug. 17, 2019.

His proudest day was the birth of their son Rowan, and all the days the family had together.

His hobbies and interests included rock and mountain climbing, history, Native American artifacts and culture, archeology, paleontology, fishing, hunting, his motorcycle and cooking.

Hayden knew every inch of the ranch. He introduced his three boys at home to his interests and work at

the ranch so they could have an appreciation for the land, work ethic and fun.

Hayden will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

Hayden is survived by his wife Jenny; son Rowan K. Hester; step-sons Tripton and Braxton James; parents John and Sheri Hester; brother Drew Hester; grandmother Shirley Hladky; mother-inlaw Yvette Nalder; brothersin-law Devon Williams and Jason Cardenas; father-in-law James Williams and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents Newton and Ann Hester and Robert Hladky, as well as his aunt Kathy Hester Street.

Graveside services will be held at Prairie View Cemetery west and south of Keeline on July 12 at 10 a.m.

All of Hayden’s family and friends are invited to attend the service.

Memorials may be made in Hayden’s name and mailed to the Hayden Hester Memorial in care of Lusk State Bank, PO Box 1400, Lusk, WY 82225. Pier Funeral Home in Lusk is in charge of arrangements.

WY first to legally recognize DAO On July 1, the American CryptoFED Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) received notice from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office that the newly formed DAO is the first to be legally recognized in the United States. Earlier this year, Wyoming became the first state in the nation to pass legislation into law recognizing DAO’s as a distinct form of limited liability companies (LLC). The law became effective at midnight on July 1, 2021.

Wyoming’s Secretary of State Edward Buchanan noted the state’s spirit of innovation when he said, “Wyoming has a reputation for being on the leading edge of business technology, beginning in 1977 with the recognition of LLCs. We are proud to continue this innovation by offering legal protections to Decentralized Autonomous Organizations.

Marian Orr, CEO of the American CryptoFed DAO, stated. “Wyoming is the leading digital assets jurisdiction in the U.S., and now with this DAO law, Wyoming is arguably the top blockchain jurisdiction in the world. What this means is that creating a true digital currency with mass acceptance is now possible.”

The American CryptoFed DAO will be governed by its governance tokens issued pursuant to the token definition described in the Token Safe Harbor Proposal 2.0 outlined

by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. The rules are set by the consensus of the governance token holders and not influenced by a central government, and transaction records are stored transparently and immutably on a designated blockchain.

For more information and to learn more, visit americancryptofed.org.

2021 SHERIDAN JULY 30 - AUGUST 9

COUNTY FAIR

Sheridan, Wyoming

& 4-H AND FFA SHOW

Starting Friday, July 30 with the Horse Show and ending Monday, August 9 with the Livestock Sale

Visit sheridancountyfairgrounds.com for a full fair schedule.

Shirley Jnell Willford was born on July 22, 1933 in Omaha, Neb. to Homer Albert Whitlock and Aileen Janet Milisen Whitlock. She was the oldest of two children born to this union.

Jnell grew up in Laramie and graduated from Laramie High School in 1952. After high school, she attended the University of Wyoming, studying elementary education and was a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority.

While attending the university, Jnell met Bill Willford, a student in the college of agriculture and a member of the Farmhouse Fraternity. They began dating and during this time Bill returned to Saratoga to help with his family’s ranch. Bill and Jnell continued to correspond and they would get together as often as they could. They were married on June 26, 1954 in the United Presbyterian Church in Laramie.

Jnell and Bill built their home on the Willford Ranch, and it was there they raised their four children – Brad, Burt, Marcie and Brian. Jnell loved being on the ranch, and there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do. She could drive a tractor, dig post holes, fix fence, irrigate and help pull calves and lambs. She didn’t even mind having a bum lamb in the utility room on occasion.

Bill loved horses and Jnell learned how to ride.

She and her mother-inlaw Jo were featured in the Country Gentleman magazine in 1955. Jnell was a sharpshooter with a gun, and always kept one by

her back door, just in case.

Jnell devoted a lot of her life to being an educator in some fashion. She was a well-loved substitute teacher for the Saratoga schools for many years.

Jnell also taught swimming lessons, and taught countless people how to play card games – especially her favorite card game of bridge. In her later years when living in Missouri, she taught an elderly friend who was in the nursing home to read.

A competitive spirit, Jnell never just let anyone win in any kind of a game, no matter the age or experience of the competition.

Whether it was on the dirt court at the Willford Ranch, in the gym or outside during recess, Jnell was known to win a lot of games of PIG or HORSE. Jnell was a very active member of the community.

She and Bill were members of the Saratoga Stampeders.

They were also members of a square dancing group.

Jnell was a member of the Saratoga O.E.S., Snowy Range Cow Belles, Dirt Diggers Garden Club and the Saratoga Ladies Golf Association. She was in bowling leagues and dart leagues, and she was a member of the Bridge Club. Jnell also played on the Saratoga State Bank women’s softball team.

Bill and Jnell were always supporters at all the sporting events for Saratoga. They never missed a football, volleyball, basketball or baseball game, wrestling match or track and field event that their children were participating in.

In 1983, they were awarded the Super Fan Award by the Saratoga High School coaches and players.

In 1985, Jnell was chosen as Carbon County Ranch Woman of the Year. Bill and Jnell were members of the Cowboy Joe Club for many years and were avid Cowboy fans. Even after moving to Missouri, Jnell would still watch University of Wyoming football and basketball games whenever they were on the television.

Multi-talented Jnell

loved playing the piano with Bill and the kids standing beside singing.

Her sharp mind loved crossword puzzles, and her other favorite daily activity was watching Jeopardy. Jnell was never idle, even when watching television – she was always sewing clothes, patching jeans or knitting sweaters and hats. She made many quilts and afghans for friends and family.

In 1978 when Bill was told he would need to be on a dialysis machine, this brilliant, capable woman took the training so she could provide this lifeextending service to her beloved husband on the ranch they loved. This enabled Bill to be able spend his last years on the Willford Ranch and not in Denver.

Bill passed away in October of 1983, and several years later, Jnell moved into town in Saratoga and also had a home at Seminoe Reservoir. Many fun times were had during the summers at Seminoe when her grandchildren would come to stay with her, and she would teach them how to catch walleye and to watch out for rattlesnakes.

In 1991, Jnell moved to her farm in Piedmont, Mo. and enjoyed meeting the people in the small town and becoming a part of the community. She was always going into town to play cards, going to church or meeting her friends for lunch. Jnell loved being out on her farm and the quiet solace it provided her.

Jnell passed away at her home in Missouri on June 15 at the age of 87.

She is survived by her children Brad (Ann) Willford, Mrs. Burt (Tammy) Willford, Brian (Christie) Willford and Marcie Rollison; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents Homer and Aileen, her husband Bill and son Burt.

A memorial service will be held on July 17 at 2 p.m. at the Saratoga Cemetery Chapel.

Wyoming Livestock Roundup • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

15

Producers should consider water quality as well as water availability Hosts of the Kansas State University (KSU)Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) Cattle Chat podcast Brad White, Dustin Pendell and Phillip Lancaster discussed several current events and topics related to livestock production in the latest episode, including water quality and access for young calves.

It’s no surprise that water is necessary for animal health and well-being in any production. While most might greatly consider the quantity of water available, the BCI team of experts offers other factors to consider when providing water sources for livestock.

The importance of water quality “I was listening to a PhD student’s research proposal looking at the impacts of water quality and heat and cold stress on a carcass,” explains Dr. Pendell. “It’s more clear the impact that heat and cold stress have on carcass quality. But, when he said, ‘water quality,’ this kind of jumped out at me.”

The Cattle Chat team says, “There has been a lit-

tle bit of research from a nutritional standpoint. We don’t have a whole lot of knowledge on water other than to make sure it’s available in adequate quantities and test it for any contaminants.”

Referring to a study looking at cow/calf pairs drinking well water compared to water from ponds and streams, the team shared weaning weights on calves drinking well water were 20 or 30 pounds heavier than calves drinking out of ponds and streams.

“This is an impressive difference,” notes the team of experts. “We don’t think about it on both sides; both cows and the calves, but calves have to drink water, too.”

Water and calf development Producers with calves born earlier in the spring may wonder how much water the calves need or when they need to have water access.

The team of Extension experts says calves should have open access and ad

LOGAN continued from page 1 (DVM) from Colorado State University in 1975. At this time, he returned home to Riverton to practice veterinary medicine with Doug McLean, opening his own practice in 1981.

Protecting both livestock and producers with a common sense approach placed Jim on many working groups and regulatory boards. According to nominators, Jim played a key role in the development of current Wyoming Brucellosis Designated Surveillance Area regulations to increase trust in the sale of Wyoming cattle. He also worked to revise language in the Code of Federal Regulations pertaining to brucellosis eradication and control.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinarian Morgan Hennessey says, “Jim has established working relationships with producers in Wyoming to ensure control of brucellosis within a designated surveillance area around the Greater Yellowstone Area, and these relationships have ensured the testing and management for brucellosis have occurred using a common sense approach in the best interest of Wyoming cattle producers.”

Jim’s long list of service includes activity and leadership positions within the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA), the American Veterinary Medical Association, Wyoming Veterinary Medical Asso-

ciation, the Wyoming Livestock Board, American Sheep Industry Association, USDA APHIS National Animal Health Surveillance System Steering Committee, Wyoming Wool Growers Association and Western States Livestock Health Association.

“As a veterinarian in private practice and in administrative leadership capacities, Jim has made livestock management issues and concerns manageable and comprehensible and can always be found providing resolutions to ongoing developments,” notes Mark Eisele. “Jim is well respected and admired by veterinarians and livestock practitioners locally, statewide, around the Intermountain West and nationally. His dedication is unlike any other in veterinary medicine and animal welfare that I have seen.”

Livestock promotion and passion for agriculture In addition to serving in many positions to enhance animal health, Jim has shown his dedication to the promotion of livestock, especially sheep, for many years. Nominators share through raising his own livestock, and pursuing similar adventures with his daughters, Jim has supported 4-H and FFA tirelessly.

Betsy Milek, Jim’s daughter, shares, “He would diligently and pateintly work with us and our 4-H friends to prepare us to fit and show our sheep at the fair. He also served on the Fremont County 4-H Council, and has always been willing to help the 4-H kids in any way possible, from writing out health certificates or doctoring animals to giving animal health

libitum access to water.

“We want to make sure they have access to clean fresh water, and calves that are still nursing the cow need the same access to water, even though they are consuming milk,” they add.

The reason behind this lies in calves’ digestive system and development.

“Because when that calf suckles, it causes a reflex reaction which allows milk to bypass the rumen and go to the true stomach in the small intestine,” explains the BCI team. “In the rumen, the high-quality milk protein would actually be downgraded to a lower quality microbial protein.”

Calves can avoid this by allowing milk to bypass the rumen.

“But, then the problem starts when the calf starts to eat solid food, some grass and things like that, and they don’t have any water or liquid going into the rumen,” says the team of experts.

“The liquid is important because it helps the rumen contractions mix lectures or being a narrator for the annual 4-H Fashion Revue.”

Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True shares, “Jim has given his career to the livestock industry, not only of Wyoming, but the nation as a whole. He has been an exemplary representative of Wyoming at events, conferences, conventions and in the dirt and mud of corrals.”

Eisele adds, “Jim’s experience, knowledge and humble way of explaining issues to agricultural producers, the general public and outside industry is the best that Wyomingites could have ever asked for. Jim is proving he will always have the Wyoming animal and livestock industry health at heart.”

Jim says, “I have been privileged and blessed to have been allowed to work with the Wyoming livestock industry all of my veterinary career, for 27 years in veterinary practice and since 1998 working for the Wyoming Livestock Board in regulatory veterinary medicine. I have a great deal of respect, admiration and affection for livestock producers and the animals they raise. I have many friends in the industry and I look forward to continuing to work with them in some capacity, even after retirement.”

Dr. Jim Logan, alongside Keith and Linda Hamilton, will be inducted into the Wyoming Ag Hall of Fame Aug. 18, 5 p.m. at Riverside Park in Douglas.

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

forage and feed better, and this mixing is what allows microbes in the rumen to come in contact with feed particles and attach to those feed particles to start the digestion process.”

It is important to consider when calves will start digesting forages.

“Depending on how much milk cows are producing, calves are going to start nibbling on grass and eating grass at around a month of age and this is only going to increase.”

Additionally, producers should consider calves’ need for water by understanding a cow’s milk production.

The team notes, lactation curves typically peak at about 60 days after calving. At this point, the team notes, “Milk production starts to decline, the calf starts to consume more and more grass and it starts to rely more on the digestion of grass for its nutrient requirements.”

Considerations for water facilities Water access continues to be a primary concern for producers.

“Think about if we

“We spend a lot of time talking about other nutrients and feed ingredients. From a veterinarian’s perspective, water might be the most important nutrient and we give it the least amount of consideration.” – KSU Beef Cattle Institute Cattle Chat Team are watering out of manmade structures: We need to make sure calves are able to access water in the summertime,” explains the team of experts, noting that winter usually comes with water access issues.

“Overall, we really do water a disservice as a nutrient,” says the team of experts. “We spend a lot of time talking about other nutrients and feed ingredients. From a veterinarian’s perspective, water might be the most important nutrient and we give it the least amount of consideration.”

The Cattle Chat team mentions, “If producers tie it into some of our previous discussions where we have talked about rotating pastures or being sure to leave adequate forage, one of the big limiting factors is access to water.”

“There has to be enough water at each of those areas. It’s easy to say, ‘well they can drink out of the pond, or they can drink out of that area for a little bit,’ but the water quality bleeds through into everything.”

The BCI Cattle Chat team leaves listeners with five tips for maintaining good water on their operation in their checklist for the week: Maintain good footing around the water facilities, the facilities should be designed for young calves, monitor water for potential toxins, avoid contamination and provide adequate quantities of water.

Chaney Peterson 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 • Volume 33 No. 11 • July 10, 2021

It’s the Pitts

by Lee Pitts

Purse Turtles I think there wouldn’t be near as many gangs, kids killing kids or troubled teenagers today if more urban kids had pets.

My best friend in high school didn’t speak a word of French, knew no calculus and didn’t play on the football team, and neither did I. I think I had the potential to

be a rebellious bad boy, but I had a wonderful dog who loved me unconditionally and got me through my difficult teenage years.

I had other pets, too; steers, lambs, pigs, cows, ducks, rabbits, chickens and heaven forbid, even a cat. Our house was filled with pets as we always had

Visit leepittsbooks.org for more from Lee Pitts.

a canary or a parakeet, and the goldfish bowl always had one or two residents, even though we had a hard time keeping the goldfish because we lived in earthquake country and they kept sloshing out of the bowl.

We also had several of those very small turtles that lived in a plastic dish with a palm tree sticking out of it.

The tiny turtles didn’t last very long, but they were way more social than the big turtle we had that I saw twice in 10 years.

I was inspired to write about turtles because a dear friend recently “adopted” a pet turtle for her cute two-year-old daughter.

They went to a “turtle rescue preserve,” where there were over 300 turtles of all sizes and ages that people had dropped off or were

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discovered in places they shouldn’t be, like sitting atop a fence post where they were placed as a sick practical joke.

My friends paid $85 for their turtle, which they optimistically named Buddy, not really knowing if it was a he or a she. How does one tell?

My friends were immediately drawn to Buddy because of its handicap: Someone had painted Buddy’s shell a bright white, probably so it was easier to find than our turtle. When my friends go to the lake for the weekend, the mother-in-law visits Buddy twice a day to feed it at home a chilled romaine/iceberg lettuce mix.

I was curious about the pet turtle market, so the next time I was in town I visited a pet store and asked the aggressive salesman if he had anything that would make a nice housewarming gift for Buddy. He showed me several padded turtle beds, leashes which looked exactly like the ones they sold for dogs and tur-

tle houses, which seemed redundant. He also suggested “enrichment toys” to foster Buddy’s mental acuity, a pet sounds music CD and a loofah brush and chamomile and lavender body wash with which my friends should massage Buddy religiously twice a day to remove the paint.

I understand some of the white on Buddy’s shell has now faded to a dull grey – probably the primer coat.

Has anyone seen these purses in which women haul around their small dogs?

The salesman showed me a turtle purse for Buddy and also a backpack to haul him because he walks at a slower pace than most humans. The “bio-accessory” backpack could also be turned around so Buddy could see where he’s going instead of where he’s been.

No doubt you’ve seen “service dogs” and even “service pot-bellied pigs” in the grocery store, and I feel confident in saying you’ll someday soon see “service turtles.”

When I think about it,

turtles have many advantages as pets compared to dogs. They don’t bark, a turtle can breathe through its butt – no really – they don’t have to sit next to you in the truck and stick their head out the window and when they get wet and “shake,” they don’t drench anyone in water.

Turtle owners don’t have to constantly throw them slobbery tennis balls because no matter how many times you try, the turtle will not retrieve the ball. They can’t be taught hard tricks like rolling over or sitting, but they are unrivaled at playing dead.

Veterinary bills are less, too, because they won’t pull a muscle trying to jump in and out the truck and they don’t drink out of the toilet like my dog did who suffered several concussions from being hit on the head by falling toilet seats.

Turtles also live a long time and there’s not near the emotional loss when one does die because you probably had no idea where it was anyway.

WY acreage highlights released Wyoming principal crop planted acreage, which includes acres planted to all major crops and those expected to be cut for all hay, is down 11 percent from 2020 to 1.28 million acres, according to the June 1 Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Wyoming corn producers planted 85,000 acres of corn this year, of which they intend to harvest 59,000 acres for grain, up from 54,000 acres harvested in 2020. This is an increase of nine percent from last year’s harvested grain acreage, but an 11 percent decrease in planted acreage for all purposes.

Barley planted area, at 79,000 acres, is seven percent more than last year’s acreage. Expected harvested acres, at 64,000 acres, are three percent above 2020.

Winter wheat producers planted 115,000 acres in the fall of 2020 for harvest in 2021, down from 120,000 acres

planted for the previous year’s crop.

Acreage expected to be harvested for grain is up 5,000 acres from last year to 95,000 acres.

The area to be harvested for hay is expected to decrease 140,000 acres from a year ago to 940,000 acres. If realized, this would be the lowest acreage of all hay harvested since 935,000 acres were harvested in 2012. Alfalfa hay harvested acreage is expected to decrease 160,000 acres to 450,000 acres, and all other hay harvested acreage is expected to increase 20,000 acres to 490,000 acres. If realized, this would be the lowest acreage of alfalfa hay harvested since 450,000 acres were harvested in 2013.

Sugarbeet plantings increased 700 acres from last year to 31,700 acres. The expected harvested area, at 30,800 acres, is unchanged from last year.

Acres planted to dry beans, at 25,000 acres, are down 14 percent from last year.

Harvested acres are expected to total 23,000 acres.

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