July 18, 2020

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Volume 32 Number 12 • July 18, 2020

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

A Look Inside Soil health research highlights impact on entire food system.... ...................................... Page 2 Cross-breeding buffalo and cattle were making headlines in the early 1900s.............. Page 6 Test your knowledge with this month's crossword puzzle......... .................................... Page 11

Outcome-based grazing to mitigate wildfires on rangelands Currently in the western U.S. there are 34 large wildfires burning with a total of 445,920 acres included. Of those large fires, only three are contained and new fires are being reported each day.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), over 1.5 million acres in the U.S. have burned this year to date. In a recent The Art of Range podcast, Host Tip Hudson, range and live-

stock specialist with Washington State University Extension, shares a presentation from the 2020 Society for Range Management annual meeting. The presentation was part of a symposium titled,

Addressing Flexibility through Outcome Based Grazing Authorization, that also included presentations from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rangeland management

Please see FIRE on page 5

Weevil control

Lee Pitts dislikes noisy, crowded cities............. Page 12

Quick Bits U.S. Drought For the contiguous 48 states, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 27.46% of the area in moderate drought or worse, compared with 25.77% a week earlier. Drought now affects 36,812,296 people, compared with 32,522,590 a week earlier. For all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed 23.04% of the area in moderate drought or worse, compared with 21.62% a week earlier. Drought now affects 39,734,494 people, compared with 35,439,725 a week earlier.

HOT, DRY SUMMER

UW studies pesticide application combinations

Plans for managing cows in arid conditions are important “Hot, dry conditions persisting through the early summer have taken a toll on grass growth in much of the Great Plains this year,” states University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Cow/Calf Systems and Stocker Management Specialist Dr. Karla Wilke. “We went from a really cold April to a really hot June, so our range is short on production and short on quality.” During UNL’s July 14 BeefWatch podcast Wilke discusses several options cattle producers may want to consider to conserve grass in dry areas. Supplementing cows on pasture Wilke notes one of the most common questions

she gets asked is if producers can provide a protein supplement to their cattle on pasture like they do in the winter. Her answer is yes and no. “When we provide a protein supplement such as range cubes or distillers’ grains, we provide nitrogen to the bacteria in the rumen, which helps cattle digest lower-quality forage and most likely helps them maintain body condition,” she explains. “However, this also helps them move feed through the rumen faster, increasing their intake, which is the exact opposite of our goal when we are trying to Please see DRY on page 11

Corn Futures Corn futures rose July 16 in anticipation of increased Chinese export demand. September futures gained three cents per bushel to $3.2925, while new crop December futures rose 2.75 cents per bushel to $3.3675. Cash corn prices strengthened at rail locations in the Eastern Corn Belt July 15. Basis was mixed at ethanol plants across the Corn Belt and inched a penny higher to 12 cents per bushel below September futures prices at a Blair, Neb. processing facility. Cash sales were mostly light across the Midwest.

Soy Prices Boosted by a fresh round of Chinese export demand, the soy complex traded mostly higher on July 16. August soybeans rose five cents per bushel to $8.9125 as August soymeal prices soared $1 per ton to $286.8. Soyoil gains were more modest as August futures posted a mere one cent per pound gain to $28.81.

COVID-19 Coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose by 67,824 to 3,499,398 cases as of July 16, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The death toll increased by 953 lives to 137,419 deaths.

Drought plan – With hot, dry conditions affecting grass growth and quality, it is important for producers to have solid herd and nutrition management plans. WYLR photo

University of Wyoming (UW) scientists have been hard at work researching if applying both an insecticide and an herbicide at the same time early in the season controls alfalfa weevils. “Herbicides to control weeds are usually applied earlier than the insecticide used for weevil control, but some producers are skeptical that enough larvae have emerged at this time to offer any control,” states Randa Jabbour, plant sciences associate professor at UW. She notes, because of this, some companies are offering the option to apply the two pesticides in one application for increased convenience. “Many producers say it’s helping, but as of right now there is no data to back it up,” says Plant Sciences Graduate Student Micah McClure. Therefore, researchers at UW set out to measure alfalfa weevil control after applying both insecticide and herbicide early in the season. They also looked at how the practice affects beneficial insects. Alfalfa weevils According to Jabbour the alfalfa weevil is about threesixteenths of an inch long, and Please see WEEVIL on page 4

Reintroduction plan discussed

Teton County Fair focuses on tradition

“We had some really good news come out of both Washingtons on July 7 when Secretary David Bernhardt announced the Department of the Interior (DOI) is not going to proceed with their 2015 plans to reintroduce grizzlies in the northern Cascades of Washington State,” says Kaitlynn Glover, executive director of both the National Beef Cattlemen’s Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC). Glover applauded Bernhardt and the DOI’s decision during NCBA’s Beltway Beef podcast on July 11. “The department said they are instead going to listen to folks on the ground and focus on managing populations across the existing range, which is really good news,” she says. Reason for the decision In regards to why DOI decided against the reintroduction plan, Glover notes the DOI’s long history of managing and protecting large predators, as well as the challenges producers in the western U.S. face when sharing public lands with them. “Grizzly bears had some history in the north Cascades, and over time, for a variety of reasons, those populations moved to other places. Then they didn’t have many grizzlies anymore,” she explains. “So, the plan over the last few years was to examine what it would look like if DOI were to relocate bears up to that area again.” “Relocations are tricky in any scenario, but what the DOI would have been doing is dropping these bears in the middle of an ecosystem they haven’t been in for a really

The 64th Annual Teton County Fair continues the Wyoming county fair run this week with 4-H events scheduled from Friday, July 17 through Sunday, July 26. This year creates a unique opportunity for county fairs to make agriculture and the history of fairs the center of attention. “We look forward to focusing on the traditions of county fair – showcasing youth livestock shows and bringing awareness to the program,” says Extension Educator Glenn Owings. “Handson sewing, quilting and other static projects are certainly a nod to fair traditions as well.”

Please see GRIZZLY on page 10

The fair board made the tough decision to cancel night events and other entertainment, along with the carnival and food vendors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fair will still feature 4-H events, the Blue Ribbon Exhibit Hall and the Open Class Horse Show. “We submitted a mitigation plan to our county health department with a schedule of how we would work to meet health orders and stagger participants in our indoor space,” says Owings. “The health department has been very responsive and helpful in our efforts to make things safe while still being able to host

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Please see FAIR on page 11


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