the Western Ag Reporter 01/15/15

Transcription

The Only Weekly A Busy Rancher Needs To Read.
Billings, Montana
Thursday, January 15, 2015
by the publisher
Pat Goggins
As I See It
Lately, the livestock
world and the capitalistic world have just gone
through some of the best
and some of the worst
times in our history. The
National Western Stock
Show is in full swing, and it
sets the pace the entire year
for many breeds of cattle
and horses. Of all the great
cattle expositions, it’s also
one of the most watched
for attitude.
Another good example
on the capitalistic side
of the scale was the annual Diamond Ring sale of
feeder and breeder cattle.
It took place last Monday,
and boy, oh boy, it also
will be a pacesetter for
the balance of the year for
the value of these feeder
and breeding cattle. This
sale has been going on for
several decades, and there
is no other sale like it in
America.
One of the worst examples of kicking the
capitalistic system square
in the teeth came about this
past week when President
Obama declared to the
world that, if two people,
same sex or otherwise,
decided to get a child by
one means or another, they
should be able to bring
that child up without any
poverty. In order to do that,
he said the government
should give them each
$100,000 a year subsidy
so they can enjoy the good
times of life. And further
he said they are entitled
to that and this country
should provide it! Well,
I’ll be darned! Isn’t that
something? That’s one of
the greatest speeches that
this President has made in a
socialistic way and as it has
to do with children. Yes, a
socialist is what he’s turning into being full-bore!
…Cont. on pg 4
Food for Thought:
To sin by silence when they should protest makes
cowards of men. - Abraham Lincoln
Sortin’ Pen
By Leesa Zalesky
Nebraska Supreme Court paves way for
Keystone Pipeline...
The Nebraska Supreme Court last week threw out a challenge to a proposed route for the Keystone XL pipeline, removing a major obstacle for the $8 billion cross-continental
project. Four of the seven judges said the landowners who
filed the lawsuit should have won the case challenging a
2012 state law that allows the governor to empower TransCanada to force landowners to sell their property for the
project. Because the lawsuit raised a constitutional question, a supermajority of five judges was needed to rule on
the law. The court said that, since five did not agree, “the
legislation must stand by default.” The nearly 1,200-mile
pipeline will carry about 800,000 barrels of crude oil per
day from Canada to refineries located along the Texas
Gulf Coast. An attorney for the landowners declined to
comment, saying he would release a detailed legal briefing
soon on other legal options in the case. The pipeline needs
presidential approval in the U.S. because the route crosses
the U.S.-Canada border. President Obama has threatened
to veto a Senate bill on the project.
New strain of hog virus identified...
A team of U.S. researchers has identified a new strain of
the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) in the U.S.,
and scientists say the discovery of a third strain is a sign that
the virus will keep mutating. The new strain was detected
in a Minnesota hog herd and will be at least as virulent as
the original strain that emerged in the U.S. in early 2013,
…Cont. on pg 3
Volume 7
No. 16
MT BOL has two positions to fill
By Lisa Schmidt
Montana livestock producers are welcome to
submit recommendations
to Governor Steve Bullock
for two positions on the
Board of Livestock (BOL).
Linda Neilsen, vice chair
of the BOL, submitted her
resignation effective January 31, 2015. Jan French,
chair of the BOL, asked Gov.
Bullock to not reinstate her
after her term ends in March.
Both Neilsen and French
have held seats on the BOL
for 10 years. Both women
said they have no hard feelings, but the BOL needs new
ideas to find solutions to the
Department of Livestock
budget crisis. Both wish new
members the best of luck.
By law, Gov. Bullock appoints BOL directors, and
the BOL administers the
Montana Department of
Livestock. Other members
of the BOL include John
Scully (2013-2019), Brett
DeBruycker (2009-2015),
Ed Waldner (2011-2017),
Jeffrey Lewis (2011-2017),
and John Lehfeldt (20132019).
Neilsen, who owns the
Glasgow Stockyards Auction, represents the cattle
industry on the BOL. She
said she hopes Gov. Bullock
will consider someone with
market experience for her
seat. “I know he wants to
appoint at least one woman,” she said. At least one
woman has been officially
nominated by an industry
organization. The Montana
Wool Growers Association
suggested cattle producer
and president of the Marias
River Livestock Association
Maggie Nutter be appointed.
French, who also represents the cattle industry on
the BOL, said she “thought
long and hard” before she
asked the governor to find
another volunteer for the
job. “I’ve never been a quit…Cont. on pg 4
SD cattle plunge through ice
and die in mass drowning
In a pasture alongside the
White Clay Reservoir that
straddles the NebraskaSouth Dakota border, Mike
Carlow fed 207 beef cattle
on January 6, and his brother
Pat fed them on January 7.
January 8 was the next
time the two saw the cattle,
and the sight was ghastly:
dozens of dark, motionless
lumps in the winter-white
setting of that reservoir. The
carcasses of at least 49 of
the cattle were stuck barely
above the water level.
After counting the survivors, Mike Carlow estimated 100 of the brothers’
cattle had drowned, many
of them still under the icewater mixture. “I’ve been
ranching over 40 years,”
he said, “and I don’t ever
remember cattle walking out
on ice and falling through.”
Bob Fortune, president of
the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, said
the large number of deaths
resulting from breaking
through ice and drowning is
extremely rare. “I’ve heard
of it happening one or two
times in my lifetime,” Fortune, a rancher for about 50
years, said. Occasionally, he
added, “one or two or three”
will drown that way.
The brothers, members of
the Oglala Sioux Tribe, live
on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation and collaborate
on the ranching, but each
owns his own herd. Of the
207 in that ill-fated group,
107 belonged to Mike Carlow. He estimated the loss
at about $300,000, which is
the amount he paid for 117
two-year-old bred heifers,
many of whom were among
the drowned. He said he has
no insurance. “Hopefully,”
Carlow said, “the Lord will
take care of us, and other
ranchers will feel our pain,
and something good (will)
…Cont. on pg 7
The 10,000 CSKT
claims hoax...
Fear-mongering in
Montana
By Catherine
Vandemoer, Ph.D.
Residents and legislators
in eastern Montana have
been threatened by the Compact Commission, compact
proponents, the Governor
and Attorney General, and
the CSKT that, if the CSKT
Compact doesn’t pass in
2015, the Tribes are going
to file “10,000 claims across
all of Montana.” This has
been an effective scare tactic
used to frighten and divide
Montanans into accepting
a flawed, unlawful, and
unconstitutional compact.
The purpose of this article
is to put this hoax/ threat/
scare tactic to rest and to
remind people that, if the
CSKT Compact was so
“good for Montana,” these
scare tactics would not have
to be used as a reason to
vote for it.
Origin of offreservation claims...
The compacting process
underway for every tribe
and federal land holding in
Montana is designed to determine the FEDERAL RESERVED WATER RIGHTS
belonging to and attached to
federal reservations of land,
including Indian reservations. By definition, federal
reserved water rights are
limited strictly to the land
so reserved and consist of
the amount of water necessary to fulfill the purposes of
the reservation. Every tribal
compact in Montana, except
the proposed CSKT Compact, identifies a purpose of
the Indian reservation and
determines an amount of
water required to fulfill the
purpose of the reservation.
No other tribe has claimed
or threatened to seek offreservation water rights.
The CSKT claim that -because Article III of the
Treaty of Hellgate secures a
right to take fish... in common with the citizens of the
territory in their aboriginal
territory, which is west of the
Continental Divide and does
…Cont. on pg 5
INDEX
Four-year-old Jhett Hauk of Miles City, Montana,
briskly takes care of business on a recent cold winter
morning. Thanks to Tracy Hauk, who said her son
asks every morning if it got cold enough the night
before to freeze the water tank. Here’s how we raise
‘em in the country! Work Ethic 101.
Down Dirt Roads.............. 26
Markets............................. 31
Agri-Kids............................ 6
Classified......................... 30
Farm & Food...................... 9
Obituaries......................... 22
Barry Naugle.................... 11
Comments.......................... 7
It’s the Pitts...................... 19
Prairie Ponderings.......... 21
Bill’s Warbag.................... 25
Cooking in the West........ 13
Letters............................. 2-3
Ramblings........................ 10
2
Sales Calendar 2015
JANUARY
16 NWSS Colorado Angus Foundation Female Sale, Denver, CO
17 Redland Black Angus Production Sale, Buffalo, WY
17 NWSS Maine Anjou ‘Bright Lights’ Bull & Female Sale,
Denver, CO
17 McCumber-Spickler Angus Partners Com’l Female Sale,
Mandan, ND
19 NWSS Pens of 3 & 5 Prospect Calf Sale, Denver, CO
19 Van Newkirk Herefords 42nd Annual Bull & Female Sale,
Oshkosh, NE
21 NWSS Commercial Female Sale, Denver, CO
22 Marcy Cattle Co. Angus Bull Sale, Gordon, NE
23 Mill Bar Angus Ranch Production Sale, McCook, NE
24 Jauer Angus Dependable Genetics Sale, Hinton, IA
25 Triangle J Ranch Simmental & Angus Bull Sale, Miller, NE
26 Martin Angus Ranch Bull Sale, Ogallala, NE
26 Sodak Angus Ranch 58th Annual Bull Sale, Reva, SD
27 Churchill Cattle Co. Hereford Bull Sale, Manhattan, MT
27 Joseph Angus Ranch Bull Sale, Valentine, NE
30 Soreide Charolais Annual Production Sale, Bowman, ND
31 Baldridge Bros. Angus Bull Sale, North Platte, NE
31 21 Angus Ranch Top Cut Bull Sale, New England, ND
31 Boeckel Angus Ranch Production Sale, Mandan, ND
FEBRUARY
1
2
2
4
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
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26
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27
27
27
28
28
28
Frey Angus Ranch Production Sale, Granville, ND
Topp Herefords Annual Production Sale, Grace City, ND
Gateway Simmentals Production Sale, Lewistown, MT
Begger’s Diamond V Ranch Production Sale, Wibaux, MT
Ridder Hereford Ranch Production Sale, Callaway, NE
Stroh Herefords Annual Sale, Killdeer, ND
Idland Cattle Co. Production Sale, Glendive, MT
Elkington Polled Herefords, Idaho Falls, ID
McConnell Angus Ranch Bull Sale, Dix, NE
Maher Angus Sale, Morristown, SD
TJS Red Angus Production Sale, Buffalo, WY
Upstream Ranch Annual Production Sale, Taylor, NE
Bartos Angus Ranch Production Sale, Verdigre, NE
Pelton Polled Hfds/ Wasem Red Angus & Reiss Ranch Angus
Sale, Killdeer, ND
Prickly Pear Simmental Production Sale, Helena, MT
TNT Angus/Carter Polled Hereford Sale, Devils Lake, ND
Mrnak Hereford Ranch Annual Production Sale, Bowman, ND
Wicks Simmental/Angus Sale, Richardton, ND
BB Cattle Company Annual Sale, Connell, WA
Fawcett’s Elm Creek Production Sale, Ree Heights, SD
Edge of the West Production Sale, Mandan, ND
Felton Angus Annual Production Sale, Big Timber, MT
Carter Family Angus Bull Sale, Arthur, NE
South Mountain Ranch Bull Sale, Melba, ID
G Bar H Genetics Angus Bull Sale, Torrington, WY
Spear U Angus Bull Sale, Philip, SD
FairView Angus Ranch Annual Sale, Melville, MT
Meadow Acres Angus Production Sale, Hermiston, OR
SandPoint Cattle Co. Angus Bull Sale, Chappell, NE
Spruce Hill Angus Ranch Sale, Bowman, ND
Performance Plus Bull Sale, Lewiston, ID
Booth’s Cherry Creek Ranch Bull Sale, Veteran, WY
Foos Angus Ranch Bull Sale, Belle Fourche, SD
Wittkopp Angus Production Sale, Glasgow, MT
Lassle Ranch Simmental Production Sale, Glendive, MT
Hoot Owl Ranch 1st Annual Production Sale, Gering, NE
Mohnen Angus Ranch Production Sale, White Lake, SD
Idaho Angus Gem State Classic, Twin Falls, ID
Berger’s HerdMaster SimAngus Bull Sale, North Platte, NE
Schaff’s Angus Valley 112th Production Sale, St. Anthony, ND
Kenner Simmentals Annual Production Sale, Leeds, ND
Bruner Angus Ranch Annual Production Sale, Drake, ND
Weaver Angus Ranch Production Sale, Ft. Collins, CO
Tokach Angus Ranch Annual Production Sale, Mandan, ND
Rausch Herefords Annual Production Sale, Bowdle, SD
Bulls of the Big Sky Simmental Sale, Billings, MT
Kessler Angus Ranch Bull Sale, Milton Freewater, OR
Doug Booth Family Angus Bull Sale, Torrington, WY
Coleman Angus/Trexler Angus Bull Sale, Missoula, MT
Shaw Cattle Co. Annual Bull Sale, Caldwell, ID
Ostrand/Slagle Angus Bull Sale, Sargent, NE
Hilltop Angus Farm Production Sale, Bowdle, SD
Johnson Black Simmental Production Sale, Baker, MT
Krebs Ranch Annual Bull Sale, Gordon, NE
Mogck & Sons Angus Production Sale, Olivet, SD
Miske Ranch Angus Production Sale, Glendive, MT
Durbin Creek Ranch Hereford Bull Sale, Worland, WY
Hoffman Ranch Annual Bull Sale, Thedford, NE
Dietz Family Angus Production Sale, Dickinson, ND
JR Ranch Annual Bull Sale, Othello, WA
Minert/Simonson Angus Bull Sale, Dunning, NE
Powder River Angus Bull Sale, Buffalo, WY
Schiefelbein Farms Annual Bull Sale, Kimball, MN
Varilek Angus Annual Production Sale, Geddes, SD
Carlson Angus Ranch Production Sale, Regent, ND
Colyer Hereford & Angus Production Sale, Bruneau, ID
MR Angus Ranch/Russell Angus Annual Bull Sale,
Wheatland, WY
Arrow One Angus Production Sale, North Platte, NE
Hart Angus Annual Bull Sale, Frederick, SD
Circle L Angus Production Sale, Dillon, MT
Haynes Cattle Co. Angus Bull Sale, Ogallala, NE
J C Heiken & Sons Angus Bull Sale, Miles City, MT
Connelly Angus Production Sale, Valier, MT
TC Ranch Annual Angus Production Sale, Franklin, NE
Stortz/Gibbs Angus Production Sale, Glendive, MT
Bear Mountain Ranch Production Sale, Palisade, NE
Brown’s Angus Ranch Production Sale, Center, ND
Van Dyke Angus Production Sale, Manhattan, MT
Performance Partners Bull Sale, Brush, CO
Skinner Ranch Seedstock Sale, Hall, MT
Cow Camp Ranch Annual Bull Sale, Lost Springs, KS
Ranchers Choice Bull Sale, Eltopia, WA
Lone Valley Seedstock Bull Sale, Creston, NE
Bush Angus Annual Production Sale, Britton, SD
MARCH
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
Edgar Brothers Annual Production Sale, Aberdeen, SD
Clear Creek Angus Production Sale, Chinook, MT
Thomas Angus Bull & Female Sale, Baker City, OR
Jindra Angus Production Sale, Creighton, NE
Doll Ranch Charolais & Simmental Production Sale, New
Salem, ND
Apex Angus Production Sale, Valier, MT
Adams Connection Snake River Genetics, Firth, ID
Lonesome River Ranch Angus Production Sale, Milburn, NE
Pederson’s Broken Heart Red Angus Sale, Firesteel, SD
Letters
WESTERN AG REPORTER
We are delighted to print letters from
our readers on ag and livestock
issues. However, the letters are
subject to editing for length, grammar,
libel, and pertinence to the industry
and/or subject at hand.
Editor
to the
Of lone rangers and illegal compacts...
(Montana Governor) Bullock, shame on you, or may we
commend you for being the Lone Ranger that produced
the “Illegal Compact”?
On February 27, 1905, the State of Montana passed
legislation, asking Congress to issue land patents and
water appropriations in the State of Montana. As we have
uncovered forgotten laws, I am saddened by the amount
of individuals involved.
I happen to have water rights that were decreed in Federal
District Court on March 9, 1931, in the case of Sheer v.
Moody. Water appropriations were decreed at 1 miner’s
inch per acre or 18 feet in 365 days if available. State water
right law from 1935 set the law for you to protect.
Another District Court of the United States, for the
District of Montana, done in open court on July 31, 1941,
reaffirmed our water rights. In 1949, Congress issued
repayment contracts that 60% of the landowners, cities,
and towns included on the Flathead Irrigation and Power
Project were required to sign by Congressional law, decreed
in Polson, MT.
The 1973 Water Use Act reaffirmed our very valuable
water rights prior to 1972. You and many others before you
have allowed the “State Department of Natural Resources”
to amend these appropriations from “year-round irrigation,
power, municipalities, and other purposes” to “irrigation
only, April to October.” Now the Compact amends these
rights of ownership to the federal government as of 12:00
a.m., July 16, 1855. This was already done to the Crow
Tribe without the permission of the landowners.
I’m looking forward to your testimony in January.
Gene Erb
St. Ignatius, MT
Good articles...
Linda, could you send your free copies of the paper to
some good friends, address enclosed? I think they will
appreciate the good articles in the paper.
Anita Billingsley
Parkman, WY
Editor’s note: OF COURSE! LG
Pat’s book, SSS stickers, & trial subs...
Linda, if you still give two-month free trial subscriptions,
I have enclosed the name and address of a guy that I think
would appreciate one.
I am sending $50 for SSS stickers and $50 for Pat’s book.
Howard Gilmore
Kettle Falls, WA
Editor’s note: Good to hear from you, Howard! And of course we
are still give free two-month subs. The SSS bumper stickers and
Pat’s good biography were sent last week. Happy New Year! LG
I’ve always felt the writer’s great weapon
is the truth and integrity of his voice.
And as long as what you’re saying
is what you truly, honestly believe to be the case,
then, whatever the consequences, that’s fine.
That’s an honorable position.
Salman Rushdie
be Matt Miles. We were wondering if the author was Matt
Miles? It was a great article, very touching.
Richard & Susanna Lindteigen
Email
Editor’s Note: In my most-of-20 years’ tenure here at Pat’s various
papers, I have received reams and boxes of material. Some of it
comes without proper attribution; some of it loses its attribution
over time. This is one of those pieces about which I basically
know nothing ... not where I got it, not who wrote it. In fact, I
don’t even know for sure that it’s actual non-fiction as opposed
of someone’s well-written fiction. While I infinitely prefer it to
be a true story, I am able to enjoy it no matter what. You are
correct: it’s a great article and very touching. LG
Compact motivation?
Individuals capable of looking beyond immediate ramifications of how this proposed water compact (in western
Montana) will affect themselves personally can see the
possibility of a water control scheme. There is urgency for
certain motivated people operating in their own interests to
get this legislation passed. Land without water is of little
value. The law of supply and demand will lead to cheap
land becoming readily available. When irrigation water
becomes limited, for any reason, productive revenues and
potential land salability both decline but property taxes
continue. Seasonal droughts are understandable, but water
supply controlled by a very few people gaining control and
manipulating distribution feeds favoritism.
Constitutionally, the water is state responsibility. When
that is transferred to a five-member board on the reservation operating under another government, the economic
security of landowners as well as the economy of the
state are in jeopardy. Add to that the issues of tax-free
advantages and the take-over of Kerr dam and the water
stored behind it. Private lakefront properties, docks, and
even public recreation would become subject to potential
new regulations. To what extent would there be federal or
even state influence and control?
This compact is a “forever” document immune to corrections and/or modifications. At this very late date, public
comment will be of little significance for the supposedly
“revised” compact scheduled for legislative action.
Clarice Ryan
Bigfork, MT
Don’t take the compact lightly...
You may have received an invitation to participate in
debate-style email correspondence sponsored by Ed Berry.
cont. on pg. 3
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A mystery...
On the front page of the December 25 issue, there was
a story called “Christmas Eve, 1881.” At the end of the
story, it was noted that the author was unknown but might
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3
WESTERN AG REPORTER
Sortin Pen
Letters to the Editor
according to animal health officials. The original strain
may have mutated in response to increased immunity in
herds as producers and veterinarians worked to contain it.
PEDv has killed about 8 million pigs or about 10% of
the U.S. hog population in the past two years. Precautions
with the new strain are the same as those taken with the two
previous strains. Researchers have determined that PEDv
can be spread from pig to pig by contact with manure and
that it can also be spread from farm to farm on trucks.
Time would probably be better spent studying the details
of the proposed CSKT water compact itself and arriving at
“informed” opinions based upon “facts.” Extensive information has been made available on the internet, which would
be of much greater value than reading ongoing emotional,
uninformed reactions of those who have formed opinions
while visiting with other equally uninformed individuals.
Too many people have opinions based upon how they anticipate the outcomes will personally affect themselves without
considering the long range and widespread ramifications
of how it would ultimately impact the entire community or
even the entire state. Exchanging personal opinions based
upon ignorance is of little value.
THIS IS NOT A GAME for light chit chat or entertaining
banter. This is a very involved matter with long-lasting
“forever” impacts virtually devoid of much needed potential
corrections submerged in a massive document. People’s
lives as well as the economy and the future of our state are
basically at stake. Complications now extend beyond the
tribal water compact and include Kerr dam, power generation, and land values. No one wants to endorse legislation
which would create lasting
damage to the best interests
of the people, economy,
and our way of life. Unfortunately, the compact as
proposed includes a mutual
defense clause, which means
that Montanans will be fighting their own state as well
as the federal government
and the tribes if they legally
challenge the compact and
its administrators and dictatorial perpetrators.
Community leaders and
planners, especially, should
be observing and giving
serious consideration to
this very critical issue. They
may be taking for granted
proper control, availability,
distribution, and use of our
cont. from pg. 1
cont. from pg. 2
U.S. opens roads to Mexican trucks...
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) officials announced last week that a policy change is imminent which
will allow Mexican trucking companies to make long-haul
trips into the U.S. A DOT spokesman said a three-year pilot
program determined that Mexican carriers can meet U.S.
safety levels. “Opening the door to a safe cross-border
trucking system with Mexico is a major step forward in
strengthening our relationship with the nation’s thirdlargest trading partner and in meeting our obligations under
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement),” said
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. Fifteen Mexican
trucking companies enrolled in the pilot program, which
ended in October 2014. The report said trucks crossed the
U.S. border more than 28,000 times, traveling more than 1.5
million miles in the U.S. and undergoing more than 5,500
safety inspections. After a 2009 appropriations bill halted
a project to open U.S. roads to Mexican trucks, Mexico
imposed tariffs, mostly on U.S. ag products like tomatoes
and potatoes. The tariffs were suspended after the pilot
program began, and Mexico agreed to permanently end the
tariffs when the U.S.-Mexican trucking dispute was settled.
FMD on the move in China...
Chinese animal health officials say more that than 300
Chinese pigs have died from foot and mouth disease in
Anhui province and that hundreds more have been depopulated, some 3000 kilometers from the original source of
the disease on the eastern side of the country. The outbreak
involves a pig farm near the city of Maanshan, where a
926-head herd was culled after being identified as infected
with FMD. Scientists have confirmed the strain as serotype
A, the same strain being found in Tibet and Yunnan.
water - all essential to life. Now is the time to bring up
the subject in conversation with others and to carefully
explore the reasoning and possible motives concerning
what is technically, legally, and morally right or wrong
in this pending legislation now underway in our Montana
state legislature.
Excellent sources of Montana water information are as
follows:
www.westernmtwaterrights.wordpress.com or www.
landandwateralliance
Clarice Ryan
Bigfork, MT
Standing strong!
Linda, thanks again for standing strong and supporting
the ranching and ag families of this great country, as well
as the values that made us great!
I would like to request a complimentary subscription
for some fine folks that came to look at horses. They raise
sheep in Nevada in spite of all the challenges in their state,
between wild horses and battles with the government over
their public land grazing permits. I know they’ll enjoy WAR!
Debbie Skow
email
More arrested in China
for selling infected meat...
Chinese authorities have seized more than 1,000 tons
of contaminated meat and have arrested more than 110
people on suspicion of selling meat from diseased pigs in
11 provinces, according to Reuters News. The perpetrators were members of a network that had been acquiring
infected meat - mostly pork - for reduced prices. The pork
that had been put on the market had been converted into
oil or bacon. Consumption of the products could lead to
food-borne illnesses and affect human health.
Grazing Lands Coalition Conference set...
The North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition will hold its
2015 Winter Workshop on January 21 at the Grand Hotel
in Minot. Keynote speakers for this year’s event are
Dan Dagget and Dr. Gordon
Hazard and his son, Mark
Gordon Hazard. Also on the
program are Jed Rider and
his wife Melissa, who have
been ranching for 10 years
14 miles north of Alexander,
ND, the heart of the Bakken
oil field. Their cow herd is
Syngenta Wheats
rotationally grazed through
WestBred
Wheats
30 to 40 pastures throughForage Barleys, Oats, Peas and Triticale
out the year, depending on
weather. Registration for
the event is $30 per person,
$50 per couple, or $20 per
✽ Custom Pasture & Hay Mixes
student. Call 701-527-5169
✽ Pioneer Alfalfa ✽
for more information.
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Your Seed Today!!
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4
As I See It
cont. from pg. 1
Yes, we had good times,
and we’ve had bad times.
The pacesetting sales continue to carry the load for
whoever is in the livestock
or ag trade. However, we
certainly don’t need to have
our President promoting the
idea that the United States
should subsidize every child
born so that they can enjoy
all the good things in life.
That merely being born in the
United States should entitle
them to the good things isn’t
reality, and it goes absolutely
against the grains of capitalism. We should each earn and
create our good times. We
don’t need and furthermore
we can’t afford government
subsidies for all the children
that come into this country,
one way or another. This idea
should not be forced upon the
shoulders of young people
all the way down the road.
Absolutely not!
Remember, a pacesetter
exposition like the National
Shenk Livestock
& Equipment
A SUBSIDIARY OF SHENK AG ENTERPRISES LLC
Your Source For…
Rotogrind
Grain & Tub Grinders
Allied/Buhler
Farm King
Tillage: Chisel plows, disks
Grain Handling: augers,
grain vacs, mills
Max-A-Mill
We are also an
Ag-Direct
Lending Agent
Shenk Livestock &
Equipment
“Providing Customer Service
You Can Recommend”
Dave Shenk
208-249-1718
website:
www.shenklivestock.com
email:
[email protected]
We’re impressed by
the Rotogrind grain
and tub grinders.
We use them
ourselves. Their
uncomplicated design
and durability won
our confidence before
we became dealers.
Now we’re proud to
offer them to you.
Western Stock Show is good
for the attitude of America.
Reputation breeding and
feeder events that are truly
trendsetters are good. We’ve
seen a week of that just past.
Enjoy it, and take it for what
it’s worth because it will
make a difference to you
in your livestock trade, and
every one of us will enjoy
the future through better
prices, better management,
and better livestock if we
will but condone the idea
and thoughts that are very
important to the success of
a business.
We congratulate all of you
who did the purchasing as
well as all of you who did
the selling and winning at
the great show in Denver.
It’s no small feat. It does
not mean everything, but it
certainly does have merit.
And having moisture in our
watersheds has merit, and
having the prospect of grass
for spring and summer has
merit. I appreciate there have
been some losses and some
problems with the cold temperatures and the blizzards,
but that goes with raising
livestock in the West... that’s
why we have hardy cattle.
In this issue, you are able to
see a lot of results of the various sales and shows. I just
hope you read through them
and digest them. We in the
livestock trade of America
must be inwardly encouraged by this as we move on
into another year of 2015.
If and when we at the paper
see different ideas, thoughts,
and procedures, we’ll report
them in our efforts to help
each and every one of you
WESTERN AG REPORTER
readers in some common
way in 2015 and thereafter.
We’ve been around a long
time, and we promise to attempt to be around for many
years to come. Good luck
and happy and prosperous
belated wishes for a great
new year of 2015.
MT BOL
the problems that caused the
department’s imbalance between income and expenses
have been growing for a
long time so solutions will
not come overnight. Both
women said they hope new
volunteers will bring different ideas to the table. “We
need to build credibility on
the board,” said Neilsen.
Montana legislators have
communicated that they
will not cooperate to solve
funding issues at the Department of Livestock without
changes in management.
“We need to find a new way
to fund the department,” said
French. “There are good
people out there who want
to help.”
French and Neilsen have
led the BOL to make tough
decisions such as laying
off all employees that “we
could lay off and still provide services,” said French.
The BOL has cut costs at
the lab as much as possible
while still competing with
out-of-state labs. Per capita
fees have increased by the
amount allowed - 10% of
the average of the last three
years. Brand fees have
increased by 25 cents per
head. Also, every employee
in the four departments
that depend on per capita
fees for funding has taken
a mandatory four hour per
week furlough. “This affects
everyone in brands, animal
health, centralized services,
and the lab, clear to the top,”
said French.
French and Neilsen said
the department needs help
from the legislature during
this session, but “this is going to be a tough fiscal legislative session,” said Roeder.
Plummeting oil prices have
erased a projected budget
surplus from state income
projections.
None of the ag industry
organizations are advocating for a different system.
“We have a good system. It
just needs to be run better,”
said Roeder.
cont. from pg. 1
ter. But I’ve always believed
that an organization needs
new blood every once in
a while. At the same time,
when Linda and I are gone,
the board has lost a lot of
experience,” French said.
The experience that French
refers to includes the brucellosis crisis of 2007 when a
herd of cattle near Bridger
tested positive for the disease, among others. “The
brucellosis years were
tough,” said Neilsen. “We
didn’t spend that money
frivolously. We spent it on
brucellosis.”
That crisis led to the establishment of the Designated
Surveillance Area (DSA)
where livestock are tested
for the contagious disease
more often. The DSA has
expanded so testing has
increased. Increased testing without full reimbursement of costs put financial
pressure on the Montana
Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
and contributed to budgetary
problems at the Department
of Livestock. “Forty percent
of the tests at the lab are
zoonotic - people can catch
those diseases from animals
- so they are a public health
issue with no funding,” said
French. “It’s not just rabies.
It is anthrax, brucellosis, and
blue-tongue, too. I don’t
think livestock producers
should have to fund public
health.”
Other issues contributed,
too, including the changing
structure of livestock marketing. While the Department of Livestock collects
inspection fees at auction
markets, any fees collected
“in the country” stay with the
local livestock inspectors
as their wages. “They were
really counting on a big fall
run at the auctions, but there
wasn’t much of one,” said
Brent Roeder, secretary of
the Montana Wool Growers
Association.
French and Neilsen agree
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CSKT
cont. from pg. 1
not include any portion of
eastern Montana - they have
a “water right for instream
flow” off-reservation.
Since when does a right to
take fish mean a water right?
The language of Article III
in the Treaty of Hellgate is
the same language as nine
other tribes in Washington,
Oregon, and Idaho... all negotiated by Governor Isaac
Stevens, and the treaties
of these tribes are therefore called “Stevens treaty
tribes.”
What the Compact Commission is attempting to
do in the CSKT Compact
is to create a new type of
water right from language
that guarantees access to
fishing sites. The Compact
Commission and the CSKT
are skating on thin legal and
precedential ice. Indeed, a
law review article written
in 2006 by John Carter, the
tribes’ own lawyer, states
that this new type of water
right is unrecognized by
the federal reserved rights
doctrine (Winters), the McCarran Amendment, and the
Montana Constitution. So
the tribes and the Compact
Commission collaborated
to set precedent by creating
this new water right out of
thin air.
Using the excuse that
the tribes’ access to fish in
common with the citizens
of the state is a water right,
the Compact Commission
transfers water belonging to
the state of Montana and its
citizens over to the federal
5
WESTERN AG REPORTER
government to be held in
trust for the CSKT. This is
an unprecedented and an
unlawful forfeiture of water
belonging to the State of
Montana.
Aboriginal and
subsistence territory...
The CSKT aboriginal territory -- those lands whose
title, interest, rights, and
claims were ceded to the
U.S. in exchange for $21
million in cash and a reservation - lies west of the Continental Divide. The CSKT
were granted access to their
usual and accustomed places
on those lands, in common
with the citizens of the
territory (state citizens) to
take fish and engage in the
privilege of hunting. Note:
The right to “take fish” is
NOT a water right.
But now the Compact
Commission starts waving
around the map of the CSKT
“subsistence range,” which
shows that the CSKT, like
all other tribes in Montana,
roamed all over Montana
to hunt and fish as part of
a nomadic lifestyle. The
CSKT subsistence area was
not included in the Treaty
of Hellgate. But the Compact Commission and the
tribes say, with a straight
face, that the tribes will
file 10,000 claims to water
in their subsistence area, a
claim that has no basis in
fact. Moreover, the CSKT
share the same subsistence
area with six other tribes in
Montana as well as tribes
in North and South Dakota
and Wyoming. Have any of
those tribes claimed water
rights outside of their reservation in their subsistence
area?
So what will be the effect
on intertribal relations if the
CSKT all of a sudden claim
they own water rights on
other reservations?
Are the 10,000 water
claims valid?
In a word, NO. They are
not included in or implied
by the Treaty of Hellgate;
nor are they supported by
any other treaty made with
any other tribe in Montana;
nor are they supported by
federal or state law. They
are being used as a threat to
scare Montanans into supporting the CSKT Compact.
As a practical matter,
the CSKT could file for a
water right in Chicago, but
it doesn’t mean they will
be granted it. Because the
tribes do not have to pay
a filing fee when they file
water rights, the intent is to
“gum up the works” of the
Montana General Stream
Adjudication if they can’t
get the Compact... to make
the Court go through the
process of basically saying
“no” to all of the subsistence
area’s “10,000 claims.”
If the CSKT Compact is so
good for Montana, why do
compact proponents have
to use scare tactics to get
it passed? To date, no one
can tell you anything about
why the compact is good for
Montana, except that “if you
don’t pass it, the Tribes are
going to file 10,000 claims!”
Is the sky really falling?
Don’t start out the New
Year in false fear. Have the
courage to protect Montana’s water rights from
the overreach of the federal
government!
Don’t miss this!
NOTE: Catherine Vandemoer
is a water manager and
Chairman of the Board of
the Montana Land & Water
Alliance. She has over 26 years
of experience in the field of
federal reserved water rights
quantification, management,
and administration. Contact
her through the website
www.westernmtwaterrights.
wordpress.com
The annual banquet of the Montana Pro
Rodeo Hall & Wall of Fame is scheduled
for Saturday, January 31 from 1 p.m. to 11
p.m. at the Holiday Inn Grand in Billings,
Montana. For banquet reservations, call
406-256-6515. For room reservations, call
406-238-8951.
Winter weather places high demands upon mother cows’ nutrient requirements.
Nutra-Lix: the necessary barrier against weak calves.
“Like” us on Facebook!
Stroh Hereford Ranch
www.NutraLix.com
PENS
E
R
O
F
E
NG B
LLIED.
G HAP
WINNIN
LO
25th Annual Production Sale
Video of sale bulls available online at www.thelivestocklink.com
Thursday February 5, 2015
ORE IS
THE SC
TA
1:00 P.M. Mountain Time • At The Ranch Located 1.5 Miles East of the Killdeer Roundabout
on Highway 200 or 5 miles west of Dunn Center.
Selling Will Be:
54 Coming 2 Year Old Bulls • 10 Bred Hereford Heifers
4 F1 Baldy Heifers Bred Black • 5 Yearling F1 Heifers
SH Harley 339
SHR Rancher Charlie 385
EPDs: BW:1.5 WW:43 YW:77 MM:31
M&G:52 FAT:+0.040 REA: +0.20 MARB:+0.08
EPDs: BW: 4.8 WW:55 YW:85 MM:25
M&G:52 FAT: +0.006 REA:+0.05 MARB:+0.03
Thank you to all the growers in Montana who planted Pioneer® brand products in the
2014 National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest. We’re proud to be allies in the
pursuit of yield. Talk to a trusted Pioneer sales professional about planting a contender.
Rank
This bull is a great combination of genetics: Mr. Mom x Harley.
He is a meat wagon just like his Sire. This bull is one of our
more efficient attractive profiling Harley sons.
SHR Domino S 372
SHR Rancher Charlie 385 is a high performing Rancher son.
The effect of his genetics will be in your herd for years to come.
SHR Rancher Charlie is out of an 11 year old cow that has
consistently raised a functionable calf. This bull has old style
appeal with a modern genetic combination from the Sire.
EPDs: Actual Birth Weight:83 205-Day Weight: 601
365-Day Weight: 968 BW: 2.7 WW:48 YW: 83 MM:23
M&G: 47 FAT: 0.008 REA: 0.34 MARB: 0.04
Sires Represented:
SHR Domino 09 • KB L1 Domino 826U
SH Domino 102
Churchill Rancher 8108U ET
KB L1 Domino 1112Y
DS Rendition 359W
Churchill Yankee ET
R 157K North Star 50W
UU Harley 9130 • SR Navarro 150X
SR Navarro 140X
64 Years of raising cattle
with today’s cattleman in mind
A powerful 09 son in a moderate framed muscle package.
This bull is easily one of the thickest bulls in the sale and a
great female maker with muscle to burn.
Gentle Disposition
Range Raised
For Further Information:
Mike, Dawn, Luke and Matt Stroh
Tony & Leona Stroh
1010 Highway 22 South
Killdeer, North Dakota 58640
(701) 573-4373 or Mike Cell: (701) 290-1191
[email protected]
10550 Highway 200
Killdeer, North Dakota 58640
(701) 764-5217
Entrant Name City, State
Brand
Hybrid
Yield (bu/a)
A Non-Irrigated
First Place
Lori Rohde
Second Place
Glenn Rohde
Glasgow, MT
Glasgow, MT
Pioneer
Pioneer
P7443R
P39D97
110.25 bu.
88.67 bu.
No-Till/Strip Till
First Place
Brent Icopini
Second Place
Bart Icopini
Third Place
Joseph Icopini
Hysham, MT
Hysham, MT
Hysham, MT
Pioneer
Pioneer
Pioneer
P9305AM
P9675AMX
P38N85
210.38 bu.
207.91 bu.
205.53 bu.
Irrigated
First Place
Second Place
Park City, MT
Hysham, MT
Pioneer
Pioneer
P9305AM
P8954AM
213.68 bu.
208.94 bu.
Eric Lowell
Ernie Icopini
See the full list of winners at pioneer.com/NCGA.
Hybrid and variety responses are variable and subject to any number of environmental, disease and pest pressures. Individual results may vary.
All Pioneer products are hybrids unless designated with AM1, AM, AMRW, AMX and AMXT, in which case they are brands.
The DuPont Oval Logo is a registered trademark of DuPont. PIONEER® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are
part of the labeling and purchase documents.
®, TM, SM Trademarks and service marks of Pioneer. © 2014 PHII. DUPPCO13020_012714_HPJ
SEE YOUR PIONEER REPRESENTATIVE:
Laurel, MT. . . . . . . . . Tom Robertus . . . . 406-855-8673
Three Forks, MT . . . . Circle S Seeds. . . . . 406-285-3269
Miles City, MT. . . . . . Dave Gillette . . . . . 406-853-6060
Circle, MT. . . . . . . . Brett Schillinger . . . 406-974-1434
Baker, MT . . . . . . . . . Derrick Enos . . . . . 406-775-6100
Savage, MT. . . . . . Harlan Conradsen. . . 406-776-2400
Hysham, MT. . . . . . . . Dale Icopini . . . . . 406-749-0575
Glasgow, MT. . . . . . . Glenn Rohde. . . . . 406-263-5075
Plentywood, MT . . . Carlson Aerial . . . . 406-895-2518
Scobey, MT. . . . . . . . . Cahill Seed. . . . . . 406-783-5510
Chinook, MT. . . . . . . Randy Reed . . . . . 406-357-3468
Ft. Benton, MT. . . . Taylor Aviation . . . . 406-662-5682
Ronan, MT . . . . . . . . . Lake Seed . . . . . . 406-676-2174
Greybull, WY . . . . . . Ken Weekes . . . . . 307-272-1098
Worland, WY . . . . . . . . Bill Haun . . . . . . 307-388-8743
Riverton, WY . . . . . . Alan Lebsack. . . . . 307-850-8544
Beach, ND. . . . . . . . . . Steve Zook. . . . . . 701-872-6265
Cartwright, ND . . . Carroll Paulson . . . . 701-744-5137
Vale, SD. . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Hansen . . . . . 605-456-2689
6
WESTERN AG REPORTER
Agri-News 4 Kids
Hey, kids, Banjo is a three-legged ranch dog. He lives on a big ranch in Montana with his two-legged family
(Hannah & Tate) and his four-legged friends (Rascal, the pesky raccoon; Mrs. McBauck, queen of the hen house;
Cowsuela, head mother cow; & Horse Chief Ben, boss of the cavvy). This page is for you kids out there in the
rural countryside. Why not send us a picture of yourself doing something fun? Write to Agri-News 4 Kids, PO Box
30755, Billings MT 59107.
More of Rascal’s pesky pranks...
“Does that really say 20
below up there?” asked
Pudge.
“Yes, it sure does,” said
Banjo. “Prepare yourself
for feeding today. It’s going
to be brutal out there.” The
animals warmed themselves by the wood-burning stove and in their cozy
hay beds for a little while
longer until they had to go
help the Papa feed cows.
Meanwhile, someone
else was already out and
about this early morning.
His rotund belly added a
layer of fat so he stayed
a bit warmer while he
skittered around. “Ha,”
sniveled Rascal. “They’re
all warm and toasty with
their two square meals a
day, and then here’s little
ol’ me... wasting away
to nothing, just nothing.”
Rascal skedaddled from
shed to shed as he made
his way to his goal. “Almost
there,” the masked bandit
whispered to himself.
The tractor was higher off
the ground than Rascal he
had remembered. “This’ll
teach them,” he said. Rascal started chewing, and
chewing, and chewing.
He tried to gnaw through
every wire and hose he
could wrap his pointy teeth
around. “Ow, ow, ow,” he
wailed as he tried to bite.
He bit so hard on what he
thought must have been
an oil line that, when he
pulled away, he looked
down and saw one of his
pointy teeth stuck in it!
“Dwat,” he stuttered in pain.
“Uh-aw-owie,” he cupped
his human-like paws up
to his mouth. The masked
bandit sat on his haunches
and pouted. “I thought this
would work for sure,” he
mumbled to himself. Then
it dawned on him. It was
like a light bulb illuminated
above his head, and a ‘ding’
sound rang around him.
“Why didn’t I think of this
before?” he asked softly.
He had to suck his gut in
as he squished between
the pipes and the engine,
but he finally shimmied to
where he wanted to be: by
the battery. He used his
side teeth to grind at the
cables and managed to
sever one side clean. The
other side, the red cable,
he had to work at hard.
“Bzzt! Zap!” it sparked.
“Ow!” wailed Rascal as he
was jerked back into the
underside of the tractor
hood. He rubbed his head
and stuck out his tongue.
“I don’t think that should’ve
happened,” he stammered
while he rubbing his head.
He sucked his gut in once
again and slid to the ground
under the tractor. “That’ll
teach them,” he said as
he loped away to one of
his favorite hiding places
to wait and watch.
“Come on, boy!” called
the Papa. “Come on!”
Banjo and Tuff leapt to
their seven paws combined
and scooted through the
slatted opening of the barn
door. “See you later,” said
Pudge.
“Stay warm, my friends!”
called Ben, the Horse
Chief.
Their breath steamed in
front of them as they ran.
It looked like it hung and
froze in mid-air for a moment, and then they’d exhale again. The dogs’ coats
instantly were covered in
a frosty white dust. Banjo
looked like he had a white
mustache, and Tuff looked
like a goatee had formed
below his lower jaw.
“It’s colder than I thought,”
said Banjo. “Thank goodness the wind hasn’t started yet.”
“Yet,” said Tuff. “It’s early;
I bet we get hit with it right
as the hay is coming off.”
The old tractor door
creaked at the hinge as
the Papa closed it. Banjo
sat almost on the Papa’s
lap, and Tuff sat wedged
against the other side of the
cab on the floor. The Papa
pumped the fuel and turned
the key. Nothing. He tilted
his head. “Hmmmm,” he
said. He gave it a rest for a
minute and looked over at
the dogs. “Didn’t I plug it in?
I thought I just unplugged
it, but maybe I’m just not
thinking about it right,” said
the Papa. He climbed out
of the tractor and checked
the cord that attached to
the block heater. He shook
his head. The end of the
extension cord was draped
over a twisted piece of wire
hanging off the side of the
barn. “Yep, I did, just like
I thought,” said the Papa.
He hopped back into tractor. Rubbing his hands
together and bringing them
to his mouth to blow his hot
breath into them before he
tried again, the Papa sat
for a moment. “It’s just cold
out, boys,” said the Papa. It
might take a while for this
‘old girl’ to get started this
afternoon.” He pulled the
gear shift back into neutral
and tried again to get the
tractor started, but nothing.
“There’s no juice,” said the
Papa. “I bet the battery
seized up. We’ll have to
go charge it.”
To be continued...
AGRI-KID
of the Week
Four-year-old Cormac George Edmundson of
Harrison, Montana, lends a hand to the process of
erecting a branding pen. According to his mother
Nikki, Cormac “loves the cows, all animals, and his
dad.” Good lad!
Won’t you
share your
memories
of your
grandmother’s
kitchen?
M O RI E S O F
ME
In the November 13 issue
of the paper, a column written by Julie Carter inspired the
WAR editor to ask her WAR readers to share memories
and photos if available of their grandmother’s kitchens.
Please be specific with details - who, what, when, where,
etc. Length not important. No deadline.
SD Csttle
cont. from pg. 1
I mentioned to all of you last week that I would be in Denver for the National Western Stock Show and then would
be returning home to work the Diamond Ring Ranch Sale
before returning again to Denver. It was a pretty interesting
drive getting to Denver as the roads were pretty darn bad on
the trip down. But after arriving, the weather has been really
good most days, and most of the cattle for the first part of
Stock Show are in place both “On The Hill” and “In The
Yards.” From what I have seen and from all of the reports
that I have been given, this year’s Stock Show will be one
of the largest that has taken place for many, many years!
Stall space for the cattle on the hill and pen space for
cattle in the yards of all breeds is as tight right now as I
have ever seen it. Then consider the fact that all of these
cattle need space to tie-out, and that space is even tighter!
I guess what I am saying is that all indications are that the
Stock Show is going to have near-record turnouts, and one
can just feel the excitement that is spreading throughout
the facility.
Reports are coming in that the early sales that have been
taking place in Denver have been absolutely fantastic. I
would venture to say that this will continue for the next
couple of weeks. The National Western Stock Show is certainly what most people consider to be the “Super Bowl”
of livestock shows and events. I guess, since my Dallas
Cowboys now have no chance to make the Super Bowl,
I’m very glad that I am able to attend this one!
As I am sitting here at my laptop, I just returned to Denver
from Billings where I worked the Diamond Ring Sale. I
mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the futures markets
have been all over the place since the end of last year and
into the early weeks of 2015. With that said, the Diamond
Ring sale was incredible. Demand was extremely strong
for all classes of feeder cattle, replacement heifers, and
bred stock.
There were a lot of steer calves that brought from $1,825
to nearly $2,100 per head depending on their weight, and
the replacement heifers were pretty much from $1,700 to
$1,800 per head.
Now that I am back in Denver, I checked the weather
reports for the rest of this week, and they are showing
temperatures in the 40s and 50s so the turnout should be
extremely strong for those folks that are exhibiting and
displaying cattle here at the National Western. It sounds
like many areas around Reporter Country are supposed to
see some nicer weather as well. In fact on the news at home
last night, they were talking about some flood warnings
that will be in effect if these temperatures do reach the
mid-40s as predicted!
I know that many operations around our readership area
are calving already, and the warmer temperatures will be
welcome. There are even more folks that are getting ready
to start calving here in the very near future, and they too
are relieved that the weather is predicted to warm up some!
On this same note, I have talked to many breeders that
have upcoming sales here in the very near future that are
extremely excited about the prospect of getting their sale
cattle pictured now that the weather is finally changing.
Many areas have had a pretty tough go since Christmas
and have not been able to take any photos.
I know that my schedule is going to be very busy for a
few weeks after I return from the Stock Show as I try to
help everyone get their advertising and sale catalog photos
taken. It is that way every year when I get home, and I just
hope that Mother Nature will cooperate so that I can try to
get everyone taken care of in a timely manner!
Keep an eye one the Reporter for the next couple of weeks
as we will try to get the Stock Show results from the shows
and sales to you as fast as we possibly can.
VISIT US ONLINE AT:
7
WESTERN AG REPORTER
come from this tragic loss.”
He said the area of the
reservoir where the cattle
died had been iced over for
some time. The cattle drank
water from the spillway of
the White Clay Dam, which
is at the north end of the
reservoir. Carlow’s theory
is that “one hell of a windstorm” the night (of January
7) pushed the cattle to seek
shelter behind a treeline
near the water. When some
of them ventured out onto
the ice, their weight broke
through.
The morning of the 8th,
when Pat Carlow went out
to feed the cattle, he couldn’t
find them. When a lengthy
search turned up the sad
truth, he called his brother,
a contractor working on a
project at the Prairie Wind
Casino.
The immediate plan is to
round up the surviving cattle
and take them to safety on a
ranch lot. “We’ll feed them
there,” Mike Carlow said.
After that, “I don’t know
what the hell is going to happen,” he said. His ranching
business, Carlow said, “was
starting to really pay off.
“Hopefully, we can stay in
business.”
- By Jim Stasiowski, Rapid
City Journal, 1/9
Editor’s note: When I spied
this headline, chills ran down
my backbone as it brought
back horrific memories of a
similar situation endured by
Dick and I on Christmas Eve
of 1991... we both aged years
as tears ran down our faces as
we sat our saddlehorses and
contemplated all the dead cows
wedged into the narrow, deep,
winding, treacherous creek
banks of Muddy Creek. We had
Campbell Farmings’s Camp 8
leased on the Crow Reservation
between St. Xavier and Pryor.
The cows belonged to Frank
Booth of Colorado, and it
was an expensive proposition
making good that disaster.
... No wonder I got my fill of
that operation. I could take the
work, but I just couldn’t stand
the tragedies. LG
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Selling
90 18-month
58th Annual Bull Sale
MondAy, JAn. 26, 2015
1:00 p.m. MT • at the Ranch • Reva, South Dakota
Connealy Confidence
HA Program
AAR Tex X 7008
Mogck Sure Shot
50 Black Angus Bulls by:
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• Tomstone
• Cedar Ridge
• AAR Ten X
• Sodak Program X381
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• SO Pay Weight N333
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40 Red Angus 18 mo Bulls by:
• Sodak Final Answer Y544
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Vaughn & Lois Meyer
Jeffery Meyer
(605) 866-4426
(605) 866-4451
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.sodakangus.com
8
Do NOT miss this!
The top ten mistakes family
businesses make...
FREE workshop for farm &
ranch families
Farmers and ranchers lie.
No matter how well intended, that’s a hard fact for ag
Announcing...
families to face, nationally known professional speaker,
author, and family business consultant Jolene Brown said.
She said the three biggest lies heard around farms and
ranches everywhere are these:
1. Work hard; someday this will all be yours.
2. I’m going to retire someday.
3. Don’t worry about your brothers and sisters. They
have their own jobs, and they’re not interested in the farm.
If you’ve heard - or said - one of those well-intended
promises, you’re not alone,
Brown said. These lines
often lead to the No. 1
mistake that breaks up a
family business: We assume
conversations are contracts.
The consultant, an Iowa
farmer, will lead a free
workshop entitled “Top
Ten Stupid Things Families Do To Break Up Their
Business,” from 1-4 p.m.,
Thursday, January 29, at
the American Legion in Big
Timber, Montana. The event
will be hosted by the Sweet
Grass County Farm Bureau
with support from the Crazy
Mountain Stockgrowers and
other local sponsors.
57th Annual
Bull & Female Sale
Monday, February 16
17
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140 Bulls - 50 Yearlings • 90 2 Yr. Olds
Every bull is indexed for best use on black cows
200 Open Replacement Heifers 30 Registered • 170 Commercial
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2 miles West of Hoven, SD on Hwys 20 and 47
Jerry 605-948-2146 • Vern 605-948-2375 • Shannon 605-948-2157
[email protected] • www.rauschherefords.com
Relying on a promise...
It’s not that the mistakes
are intentional or malicious,
Brown continued. I hear all
the time: ‘I always assumed
my father’s word was good.’
And his word may very
well have been good, but
when it comes to successfully passing on a business,
assets, and management,
a good word or a promise
is null without the proper
contracts and paperwork.
Sadly, for some farming
and ranching families, that
assumption often leads to
fighting on the way to the
funeral home, she said. It’s
natural for family businesses
to put relationships first, but
that can be damaging to both
the family and the business.
It’s just really important
that we understand that
we’re not here because the
business is more important
than the family; it’s because,
to honor the family, we have
to do the business right,
Brown said. There are common mistakes that many,
WESTERN AG REPORTER
many ranch families make. I have some great tools that
will really help work through the emotion and get to the
meat of what makes a family business successful.
After reading an article written by Brown in BEEF magazine, Sweet Grass County Young Farmer & Rancher committee chair Jennie Anderson said she knew that bringing
the workshop to Big Timber and surrounding areas would
be beneficial to all family and small businesses, not just
agriculturalists. “Jolene’s article struck a chord with me
because it really touched on my own experience with family
and business. I found her words to ring very true and her
approach to be fresh and honest. When I read it, my first
thought was, ‘I wish I had read this a year ago.’ It might
have saved me and my family from some of the struggles
we went through,” Anderson said.
Understanding through experience...
While Brown’s messages cover serious topics, her workshops are filled with laughter and interactions, are hands-on,
and share common sense and applicable knowledge. “We
really want to encourage all generations or individuals
involved in the family business to come out for the event.
I think families that have more than one generation or
family unit present at the workshop will be the ones that
get the most use out of it,” Anderson said.
Brown said her stories, tips, and tools come from years
of working as a consultant in family businesses, sitting
around kitchen tables across the country, and “learning
from the same kinds of people who will be sitting in the
audience. Through this, many will recognize that they’re
doing a lot of things right. But this is an opportunity to
start a conversation that maybe you’ve been putting off
or that is difficult.”
It’s a job, not a birthright...
Other common mistakes that can lead to heartaches down
the road that will be addressed that afternoon include battling this assumption: just because an individual was born
into a family or just because potential co-workers were
raised in the same household does NOT mean they can
work together. “We assume that it’s a birthright, and it’s
not. It’s a condition,” Brown said. “Another big mistake
is that they assume there is enough money for everyone
who wants to be in the business.”
Then there are the struggles of conversations about the
involvement of in-laws, familial expectations, “fringe
benefits” of living and working with those you love most,
and weighing the differences between what’s fair and
what’s equal.
And the critical mistake that is so often overlooked: “We
fail to celebrate. We work so, so hard in the agriculture
business. We tend to the weeds, the seeds, the breeds,
the feeds, the money, and the marketing... but how do we
nourish the people? How do we manage, lead, support?”
Brown said. “At the end of the day, we’re in the people
business. When we forget to celebrate, we’re like the
hamster on the wheel.”
“So many families in agriculture experience some level
of this same struggle when it comes to the farm or ranch
and the next generation,” Anderson said. “It is a sensitive
subject with a lot of emotion and sentiment attached to
it. My hope is that this workshop will give people a new
perspective and better understanding on how to deal with
these issues when they arise.”
The workshop is free. An RSVP is requested but not
required. Contact Jennie Anderson at 406-537-4426.
Kessler Angus Bull Sale
February 17, 2015
At the Ranch • Sale at 12:30 p.m. • Lunch at 11:30 a.m.
He !
lls
Se
Kesslers Innovation 4520
Sire: SAV Pioneer 7301 • MGS: Quaker Hill Objective 3J15
BD: 1/5/14 • BW 92 • 205 adj Wt: 890 • Ratio: 127
CED +2 • B: 3.0 • W: +76 • Y: +124 • Milk: +36
Marb: +.22 • REA: +.87 • $B: +93.86
Selling Sons of:
Kesslers Frontman R001, AAR Ten X 7008,
VAR Reserve 1111, Sitz Lightning 6592, SAV Beacon 0008,
Kesslers Windy 1613, Kesslers Pendleton 9589
Follow us on Facebook
Randy Kessler Family
49838 Fruitvale Rd.
Milton-Freewater, OR 97862
541-558-3821 Home
509-520-3281 Randy Cell
email: [email protected]
&
Farm
Food
by Alan Guebert
Welcome back, foodie
We didn’t know it back
then, but everyone on the
big southern Illinois dairy
farm of my youth was a
foodie. Of course there was
no one named Bittman or
Pollan or Waters to tell us
we were foodies, but there
were people named Mom
and Grandma and Aunt Nina
whose food knocked your
socks off... despite their
cracking a cookbook about
as often as they wrote one,
which was never.
Most of the ingredients
these professional amateurs
used in our breakfasts,
dinners, and suppers came
either from our farm and
garden or were purchased
- hogs, peaches, roasting
hens, eggs, apples, and such
- from neighbors within 10
miles of our kitchen table.
So, in almost perfect ignorance, we ate farm-to-table,
our farm to our table, for
9
WESTERN AG REPORTER
decades. We were foodies,
indeed, and “locavores” to
boot, long before anyone
on the East or West Coast
cooked up either word or
concept.
If you grew up on a farm
or a ranch two or more
generations ago, you, too,
were a foodie and locavore
because, back then, rural
food leaned more on home
butchering and canning than
grocery getting and buying.
Eating local was more about
what you had on-hand, not
what you carried home
from town. Besides, most
“store-bought” food (the
name our farm’s hired men
gave all goods purchased in
town) back then involved a
lot more novelty - Oreos,
Coca-Cola, Froot Loops than nutrition. “Real” food,
the pork loin in the basement
freezer or the milk from
that morning’s chores in the
VISIT US ONLINE AT:
Conundrums...
Free people are not equal.
Equal people are not free.
A gun is like a parachute. If you need one and don’t have
one, you’ll probably never need one again.
The definition of the word “conundrum” is this: something
that is puzzling or confusing. Here are six conundrums of
Socialism in the United States of America:
1. America is capitalist and greedy; yet half of the population is subsidized.
2. Half of the population is subsidized; yet they think
they are victims.
3. They think they are victims; yet their representatives
run the government.
4. Their representatives run the government; yet the poor
keep getting poorer.
5. The poor keep getting poorer; yet they have things that
people in other countries only dream about.
6. They have things that people in other countries only
dream about; yet they want America to be more like those
other countries.
That, my friends, pretty much sums up the USA in the
21st Century. Makes you wonder who is doing the math.
These three, short sentences tell you a lot about the direction of our current government and cultural environment:
1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the
actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge
ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny
how that works.
2. It seems we constantly hear about how Social Security
is going to run out of money. But we NEVER hear about
welfare or food stamps running out of money! What’s really
interesting and worth noting is that the first group worked
for their money, but the second didn’t. Think about it...
3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, creating no pay raises for our military, and cutting our army
to a level lower than before WWII, but not stopping the
payments or benefits to illegal aliens? Am I the only one
missing something?
DWAYNE DIETZ
Commercial Advertising
Representative
P.O. Box 30758
Billings, MT 59107
Cell: 406-672-8500
Office: 406-259-4589
E-mail:
[email protected]
If you're wanting to advertise your
commercial business.
I'd like to help.
refrigerator, easily beat the
“goodness” of the French
fries from that new little
building with yellow arches
on the state highway.
Today, novelty dominates
American food. Those yellow arches are now golden
arches, and we are now a
nation addicted to sugar, fat,
and drive-through windows.
Food is mere fuel, and we
eat more of it in our family
car than at our family table.
For proof, look how we - you
and I - have changed our
food patterns in the last 40
or so years.
-- In 1960, according to
USDA data, we spent 26
cents of our food dollar on
restaurant meals; in 2013 it
was 50%.
-- In 1950, the standard
soft-drink bottle contained
6.5 ounces; in 1960 it grew to
12 ounces; and in the 1990s,
20 ounces became the norm.
numbers in a 2011 article
published by Grist, the U.S.
“churned out 2,168 calories
per day per person, 402 of
which came from added
sugar and 410 from added
fat... or, combined, about
37% of the total.” In 2008,
the U.S. produced 2,673
calories per day person
(“...powerful evidence that
[America’s] cheap food
policy... succeeded...”) of
which “added fats and sugars [grew] to 459 and 641
calories, respectively, a 35%
jump over the 1970 level...”
Harvard University, Americans spent “an estimated
$190 billion treating obesity-related health conditions.”
-- Also, in 2013, U.S. organic sales (which USDA
does not track) totaled an
estimated $35.1 billion, an
11.5% increase from 2012
but still only 18.4% of the
amount spent we spent to
treat obesity-related health
problems that year.
What’s it all mean, fellow
former foodies?
According to that brief
survey, most of us ate less
sugar and less fat when we
ate more fresh, more local
food at home 40 or 50 years
ago than what we buy and
eat (mostly) in town today.
Also, most of us were skinnier and healthier (as were
our parents when compared
to us today), and all of us
had more neighbors and
more “community” - local
banks, medical care, grocery
and clothing stores, and the
like - than almost any of
us have anywhere in rural
America today. In short, we
had it very, very good - despite Grandma pushing the
pickled beets and lima beans
every chance she got. Little
wonder, then, that a new food
culture, a foodie culture, is
taking root across the U.S.
now. These folks just want
to eat like we used to.
(c) 2015 ag comm
PRICKLY PEAR
SIMMENTAL RANCH
Blacks
Reds
SALE
February 7, 2015
At the Ranch - Helena, Montana
Sitz Emblazon 9598
ANGUS MEANS
BUSINESS.
A reliable business partner is
American Angus Association®,
a team of skilled Regional
Managers can guide your
operation toward success.
5 sons and
grandsons
sell.
Reg #2567980
Son of Sitz
Emblazon
9598
HE SELLS
Contact Kurt Kangas to
locate Angus genetics, select
marketing options tailored to
your needs, and to access
Association programs and
services. Put the business
breed to work for you.
Ellingson
Legacy M229
(OLIE)
19 sons and
grandsons sell
(6 flush sons)
Kurt Kangas,
Regional Manager
P.O. Box 819
Big Timber, MT 59011
661.706.2041
[email protected]
Reg #2171761
Montana
Wyoming
Alaska
SAV Final Answer 0035
5 sons and grandsons sell
Reg #2320695
3201 Frederick Ave.
St. Joseph, MO 64506
816.383.5100 • www.ANGUS.org
To subscribe to the Angus Journal, call
816.383.5200. Watch The Angus Report on
RFD-TV Monday mornings at 7:30 CST.
© 2014-2015 American Angus Association
MCM Top Grade 018x
5 sons sell
Reg #2540315
Ellingson Blazer X37
11 sons and grandsons sell
Reg #256900
PRICKLY PEAR SIMMENTAL RANCH
Cattle Manager - Troy Wheeler
406-949-1754 - [email protected]
2515 Canyon Ferry Road • Helena MT 59602
Don and Nancy Burnham
Gary Burnhan • 406-439-2360
ASA Charter Member No. 174
38th Annual Bull Sale
Friday, February 6, 2015
1:00 p.m. MT • at the ranch
Morristown, South Dakota
Open House Bull Preview
Sunday, January 25, 2015
11:00 a.m. to sundown
at the ranch
Check out our web site at: www.maherangus.com
Casey & Gina Maher
701-522-3616
[email protected]
Dan & Gloria Maher
701-522-3244
6335
6355 101st Street
Morristown, SD 57645
10
Ramblings of a
Conservative
Cow Doctor
by Rep. Krayton Kerns, DVM
www.kraytonkerns.org
Gift Horses
“Never look a gift horse
in the mouth” is an old
adage reminding a person to be thankful for the
bounty received through
the generosity of others.
Honestly giving thanks is
certainly proper, but true
charity does not exist in the
political arena, so no thanks
ONE
BIG
DAY!
Billings LiveStock Commission
100-150 Pieces
Annual
from
Trader Joe Estate
Sell!
HORSE SALE
SATURDAY
January 24
Loose Horses Sell 8 a.m.
Get The Very Most For Your Loose Horses
CABIN FEVER TACK SALE
Follows
Clean out those tack rooms and trailers!
Used and Collectible Tack Sells!
E
V
R
E
S
E
NO R
HE SELLS!
SPECIAL
INDOOR PREVIEW
Friday,
January 23
3 p.m.
Horse Sale Managers ~ Bill and Jann Parker
P.O. Box 31533
406-670-0773 Bill Cell
406-245-4151 BLS
Billings, MT 59107
406-855-1947 Jann Cell
406-245-4821 FAX
e-mail us at: [email protected]
View catalog online at billingslivestock.com
LOT 1
are required; actually, they
should be discouraged. The
ruling class can only offers
freebies after first stealing
them from someone else.
Therefore, they should occupy a spot on the societal
ladder several rungs below
horse thieves, something to
consider when you judge
President Obama’s new
round of community college
giveaways. Promising two
years’ free tuition to students maintaining a 2.5 GPA
sounds wonderful and elicits
very predictable responses
from all involved. College
students, Democrats, and the
media are so mesmerized by
free stuff that they praise the
president for his generosity,
but the GOP reflexively
asks, “How are you going
to pay for this?”
The Democrats counter
with their text book answer:
“Why are you against poor
people getting a college
education?” This statement
instantly triggers the erroneous argument of Democrats
being for poor people while
greedy Republicans are only
for the rich. Shortly after the
President’s announcement,
we can expect to see Sunday talk shows scheduling
one Democrat and one Republican facing each other
across a table. Each will
be nonchalantly fingering
the handle of a souvenir,
network, coffee cup filled
with water, a stage gimmick
I have noticed after appearing on a couple shows.
The professional interviewer launches the assault with the thoughtprovoking question, “Why
Selling:
102 YEARLING BULLS
13 2-YEAR-OLD BULLS
75% Offering Are Heifer Bulls • Raised With No Creep Feed
15 Commercial Heifers • 17 Bred Females
ICC PAY RAISE 4885 • 17974681
Mill Coulee Pay Raise X S A F Focus of E R
BW 56 Adj 205 Wt. 720
CED +15 BW -3.1 WW +74 YW +122 CEM +18 MK +21
CW I+40 MB I+.38 RE I+.63 $W +61.87 $B +104.04
LOT 17
ICC DENVER 4832 ET • +17995439
Sire: EXAR Denver 2002B
MGS: A A R New Trend
LOT 48
HD 50K INFORMATION ON SEVERAL BULLS IN THE SALE WILL BE
AVAILABLE SOON AND AT THE SALE. CALL GLEN - 406-974-2293
OR GARY WALL 406-208-8536 FOR MORE INFORMATION.
LOT 21
LOT 107 - 2-YR-OLD BULL
ICC CAPITALIST 4834 ET• +17986155
ICC CHIEF JUSTICE 3755 • 17696031
Sire: Connealy Capitalist 028
MGS: S A V Final Answer 0035
LOT 64
Sire: S D R Chief Justice N013
MGS: Vermilion Payweight J847
WESTERN AG REPORTER
do Republicans hate poor
people?” Starting the debate
at the lowest possible level
guarantees the exchange
will quickly collapse into
garbled nonsense with each
guest screaming over the top
of the other. It makes great
television, which doesn’t
say much for people who
actually watch television.
After a couple weeks of
broadcasting this circus
on nearly every network,
the GOP leadership will
compromise and pass a
program of one year’s free
tuition at all community
colleges. So you don’t miss
the obvious, bipartisanship
actually means taxpayers
get screwed both coming
and going, and this brings
me to my point.
Both sides have completely missed the argument.
It is NOT a question of freebies, fairness, and finances;
rather, it’s a question as to the
proper role of government.
In a constitutional republic
founded on the principles
of limited government, it is
wrong for the ruling class
to involve itself in things
such as higher education,
TANF, Obamacare, Medicaid, Medicare, prescription
drug benefits, pre-K day
care, or retirement. When
the unwashed are left to their
own desires and ambitions,
most will work, scrimp,
save, risk, and educate themselves into true prosperity,
and when they do, America
thrives. However, a nation
awash in government freestuff is a country where the
ruling class has hopelessly
trapped the unwashed in
dependency and debt. To
be stuck at the bottom is
miserable enough, but for
the ruling class to think
you are there for your own
benefit is absolutely revolting. Wise patriots should
look every government gift
horse directly in the mouth
because there is no free.
BEEF
Born & Raised in the USA
TM
Preparedness
begins at home...
By Sharon Loper
As 2015 begins, it’s an opportunity to take stock of our
lives and to examine what we can do to make them better
and to improve the community around us. One thing I’d
like to you to do in the coming year is RESOLVE TO BE
READY. As individuals, we can take small actions that
have a major impact for ourselves, for our immediate family, and also for our greater community. Being ready isn’t
a one-time action; it’s a commitment to preparing for all
hazards that might impact us. From traveling with a winter
survival kit... to making sure your property is insured... to
creating defensible space around one’s home to mitigate
against wildfires, there are things we can do to minimize
the chance that we will incur harm. Taking these steps not
only gives peace of mind, but also can protect you from
harm, protect you financially, help us be ready to help our
neighbors, and allow first responders the ability to concentrate on the most urgent needs.
Disaster response, recovery, and resiliency require the
involvement of the entire community, from state and local
officials to the private sector to individual citizens. When an
event occurs, it is those who are closest at hand that will be
able to provide an immediate response, so it’s vital that our
citizens and communities take ownership in preparedness
as the initial building block of emergency management. So
take some time to learn about the hazards that you face in
your community, be it flooding or tornadoes or wildfires.
Make the effort to plan for the safety of your household
and ensure that such an event doesn’t create a financial
hardship. And urge your friends, family, co-workers, and
neighbors to do the same, helping to build stronger communities across this region and the nation as a whole.
Note: Sharon Loper is the Acting Administrator for FEMA
Region VIII, which covers the states of Colorado, Montana,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
LOT 81
ONLINE UNRESERVED AUCTION • BigIron.com
ICC HOOVER DAM 4814 • 17877169
ICC FINAL PRODUCT 4806 • 17974053
Sire: Connealy Final Product
Sire: Hoover Dam
MGS: Mytty In Focus
MGS: G A R Expectation 4915
SIRES REPRESENTED:
Hoover Dam - 12 Sons • NBC - 15 Sons
catalog online:
Mill Coulee Pay Raise - 8 Sons • Werner War Party - 4 Sons
EXAR Denver 2002B - 7 Sons • Connealy Capitalist 028 - 4 Sons www.idlandcattleco.com
SydGen C C & 7 - 5 Sons • Connealy Final Product - 5 Sons
www.billpelton.com
GMAR End Product Z017 - 5 Sons • PA Power Tool 9108 - 3 Sons
ICC REECE’S GAME DAY 448 ET • +17991186
Sire: GDAR Game Day 449
MGS: L C R Precision 112
ICC VOLUME BUYER INCENTIVE
OFFERED AGAIN THIS YEAR!
PREVIEW THE BULLS ON FRONTIER STOCKYARDS:
Calving Ease • Performance • Maternal Strengths • Proven Pedigrees • Volume Discounts • Guarantees
Sale broadcast by Frontier Stockyards
866-621-5546 or 406-234-8710
[email protected]
www.frontierstockyards.com
For information contact:Scott Fraser: Frontier
StockyardsRepresentative - 406-860-6548
Wednesday, January 28 • 368 Lots Selling!
First Lots Scheduled to Close at 10:00 AM Central Time
NO BUYERS PREMIUM FEE & NO RESERVES!!
368 LOTS SELLING! Tractors (9); Combines (2); Backhoes
(1); Balers (1); Cultivators (11); Drills (1); Field Cultivators (2);
Forage Harvesters (1); Forklifts (3); Grain Carts (1); Headers (7); Planes (1); Planters (5); Skid Steer Attachments (2);
(12); Semis (1); Wheel Loaders (1); PLUS MUCH MORE!
BigIron.com Auctions Every Wednesday!
BigIron.com is a division of Stock Realty & Auction Co., 1-800-937-3558
SELL YOUR EQUIPMENT ON BIGIRON.COM
Call Today! 1-800-937-3558
I’d Rather
Be Lucky
Than Smart
by Barry Naugle
Mount Saint Helens,
May 1980
By memory, it does not
seem so long ago that Mount
Saint Helens blew its top in
that cataclysmic explosion.
But my date puts it at 34
years ago.
That old cone had been
rumbling, swelling, and
smoking for quite a period
of time. Our place in Washington state was about 75
miles away as the crow
flies, so we knew only of
the white plumes of smoke.
Each passing day, my wife
Jackie and I would wonder if
today it was more active than
yesterday. The day before
the big event, we decided
to take our little boat and
go fishing in our favorite
small pond in the potholes
south of Coulee Dam. This
nameless pond teemed with
perch, sunfish, and bass. We
could easily see our prey
darting about among the
water weeds infesting the
shallow shoreline. That day
we saw no fish, nor did we
get so much as a nibble. Our
fat worms and exotic lures
were ignored. No birds sang
either. The descending clear
notes of the Canyon Wren
were silent. By noon even
we, with our dulled civilized
senses, were beginning to
feel somewhat uncomfortable. The surrounding sandy
desert with its huge, black,
basaltic out-crops were eerily silent. We headed home.
I checked our cattle, and the
kids came home from their
activities. Our dinner was a
quiet one. We noticed these
happenings later, not while
they were occurring.
It was a Sunday morning.
Jackie and our youngest son
left in our pickup truck for
a church function, and I left
home in a company vehicle
to check the irrigation canal
that I managed. The highway
going by the head works of
the canal was blocked. A
local pilot had hit the high
power electric wires crossing the road and the Yakima
River and crashed, and the
way was blocked off. I
turned around and decided
to check the tail end of the
canal first.
I stopped at the end of the
canal to jaw with a farmer
when the sound of a tremen-
11
WESTERN AG REPORTER
dous explosion shook the air.
We stood there by the truck
wondering and questioning,
“Mount St. Helens? Did she
blow?” A short time later
we heard pinging sounds
from my pickup. It was
falling coarse ash from the
volcano’s explosion. The
farmer said, “I better get my
yearling colts into the barn.”
I headed home. Dark roiling clouds were dumping
more and more ash on everything. As the ash-laden
clouds came to the overhead
power lines, orange-reddish
lightning or sparks jumped
between the electrical wires;
the heavy ash-laden air
served as a conduit between
the power lines. Before I
drove the 10 miles or so to
my place, it was almost dark,
even though it was morning.
By the time Jackie and our
youngster arrived home,
it was pitch black outside.
Blacker than any night. No
star light or moon beam
could shine through the air
that was so heavy with that
grey volcanic ash.
From nine in the morning until almost four in the
afternoon, we sat in our
darkened house. We turned
off the lights because the
daytime birds were trying
to fly, and they kept flying
into our lighted windows.
Gradually the light returned as the volcanic ash
and dust settled to the ground
and the air became clear
enough to see through it,
similar to looking through
a frosted window. Several
inches of ash lay on the
ground. Every tree and bush
bent under the weight of
Saint Helen’s gift.
We had 80 head of steers
in an a pasture a quarter
mile away. I tied a bandana
around my face because a
very fine dust lingered in the
air and walked to the field,
expecting to find numerous
dead cattle. Were there poisonous gases settling in low
ground depressions as there
were when Mount Vesuvius
killed off the population of
Pompeii? But, no. The cattle
were all up and grazing,
making puffs of dust as they
ate through the layer of ash.
I sealed off the air intakes
VISIT US ONLINE AT:
MARK FRISBIE
Field Editor
Washington, Oregon, Idaho,
Utah, California
11851 Fantastic Drive
Melba, ID 83641
Cell: 208-890-4517
Home: 208-495-2601
E-mail
[email protected]
of our vehicle’s engines with
folds of my wife’s nylon
stockings. Lots of engines
were ruined that day due
to the intake of that gritty
ash in the air. My neighbor
lost a nursing colt from dust
pneumonia. The farmer I
was talking to at the time
of the blow-up told me
later that his seven yearling
colts were unbroken and not
even trained to lead. Those
untrained colts crowded
around him and followed
him closely right into his
barn where he shut them in
with clean hay to eat.
The sprouting corn was
up several inches but unharmed... until a steady wind
arose, and the blowing ash
abraded the corn sprouts
away to nothing. Concrete
ditches were drifted full of
the ash and packed so hard
that you left only a slight
footprint when you walked
on it.
We had very few bugs
and mosquitoes that coming summer. The insects
breathed through their bodies that became clogged with
fine dust and killed them.
Consequently, most song
bird left the area. Their food
source was gone.
The town of Vantage, some
30 miles to our east by the
Columbia River, cashed in
on this volcanic bonanza.
The enterprising folks filled
small sandwich baggies with
the ash and sold “Mount
Saint Helen’s Volcanic
Dust” to the tourists passing
through for 25 cents a bag.
When they needed more
dust, they just went out to
the street curb and scooped
up more ash that the tourists
just stepped over.
Others melted the ash in
kilns and made some interesting glazed pottery. Pretty,
too. One person’s curse in
another person’s boon.
Note: An earthquake at
8:32:17 a.m. PST on Sunday, May 18, 1980, caused
the entire weakened north
face to slide away, creating
the largest landslide ever
recorded. This suddenly
exposed the partly molten,
gas- and steam-rich rock in
the volcano to lower pressure. The rock responded
by exploding a hot mix of
lava and pulverized older
rock toward Spirit Lake
so fast that it overtook the
avalanching north face. An
eruption column rose 80,000
feet into the atmosphere and
deposited ash in 11 U.S.
states. At the same time,
snow, ice, and several entire glaciers on the volcano
melted, forming a series of
large volcanic mudslides
that reached as far as the
Columbia River, nearly
50 miles to the southwest.
Fifty-seven people were
killed. Hundreds of square
miles were reduced to wasteland, causing over a billion
U.S. dollars in damage.
Thousands of game animals
were killed, and Mount St.
Helens was left with a crater
on its north side. At the time
of the eruption, the summit
of the volcano was owned
by the Burlington Northern
Railroad, but afterward, the
land passed to the U.S. Forest Service.
February 10, 2015
1:00 MST
At the Ranch, Mott, ND
3 1/2 miles north of Mott
Sale book can be viewed online at carlsonangus.livestockdirect.net
Carlson Rapid Fire 4006
Carlson Resource 435
Sire: Carlson Right Effect 203 • MGS: Brockhill Prophecy 4P
DOB: 1/24/14 • CED +6 • BW +.6 • WW +52 • YW +87 • Milk +23
Deep bodied, masculine Right Effect son with lots of fleshing
ability. Dam was the pick of the Soo Line Dispersal.
5 flush brothers sell.
Sire: SAV Resource 1441 • MGS: SydGen Contact
DOB: 3/1/14 • CED +2 • BW +3.2 • WW +70 • YW +114 • Milk +32
A stylish, long bodied Resource son
from a big performance daughter by SydGen Contact.
75 Yearling Bulls • 10 Two Year Olds
25 Bred Heifers
A.I bred to Connealy Capitalist and Prairie Pride Next Step
30 Purebred Commercial Heifer Calves
Sires:
Carlson Right Effect 203 • SAV Resource 1441
Mohnen South Dakota 402 • Connealy Capitalist 028
RB Active Duty 010 & more...
Jon Carlson
701-690-7190 • [email protected]
Jim & Sallee Carlson
[email protected]
Robert & Angela Carlson
(H) 701-563-4630 • (C) 701-690-9059
68th St. SW
Mott, ND 58646
12
WESTERN AG REPORTER
ND Hereford Association
awards Carter “Breeder
of the Year”
By Jason Frey
Photo courtesy of Anna Lemm
Jimmy Carter’s family was on hand to see him receive his award. L to R: Harlee, Jeri, Troy, & Jimmy Carter;
Malynda & Jay Penner; Mavis Carter holding Kenzy Penner; & Terry Carter.
a common sense approach to
Genetic Excellence
VOLUME
XV
BULL SALE
mon. feb. 2, 2015
1:00pm (cst)
TH 71U 719T VICTOR 2B
BW
WW
YW
M
REA
IMF
1.6
53
77
26
0.48
0.07
grace city, nd
TH 95W 17Y LAMBEAU 144B
BW
WW
YW
M
REA
IMF
0.8
44
87
21
0.23
0.14
Need a
scholarship?
Selling 560 Head
150 yrlg. bulls • 30 reg. open heifers
8 spring calving bred reg. heifers
8 fall calving bred reg. heifers
10 proven donors
350 Commercial Bred Heifers
selling feb. 2nd
TH 71U 719T VICTOR 7B
108 head AI`D, due 3/10 with a bull calf.
BW
WW
YW
M
REA
IMF
1.6
53
77
26
0.48
0.07
104 head AI`D, due 3/10 with a heifer calf.
TH 512X 145Y PROSPECTOR 49B
BW
WW
YW
M
REA
IMF
1.1
58
97
24
0.29
0.15
28 head bull bred, due 3/15-30 with a bull calf.
20 head bull bred, due 3/15-30 with a heifer
calf. • 74 head due Mar./Apr. sorted into
15 day calving intervals.
LT Premium Heifer Program
100% of LT heifers sourced from the Midwest.
Vast majority of LT heifers from Topp Herefords
genetics, with detailed records of their genetic
base. Entire group on a complete vaccination
program. Carcass data available on steer mates.
TH 60W 17Y LAMBEAU 439B
BW
WW
YW
M
REA
IMF
0.4
36
71
22
0.23
0.18
TH 29Z 145Y PROSPECTOR 154B
Become a TH customer and enjoy the benefits
of marketing your replacement heifers through
this unique program.
BW
WW
YW
M
REA
IMF
1.5
57
91
26
0.23
0.15
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!
The sale is just the beginning...
• Off the farm appraisals
• Carcass data & conversion results
• Forward contracting
• Carcass data evaluation report &
• Delivery options
consultation (if desired)
• PVP approval option
Purchase a Topp Herefords bull and you become part of the Alliance.
Ask us about the benefits of marketing your feeder cattle direct.
Desiring to encourage our youth in the
ranch and horse industry, the Montana Ranch
Horse Association is offering two college
scholarships for students majoring in equine
studies with an emphasis on colt-starting,
horsemanship, management, marketing, or
horseshoeing.
One scholarship will be for a first-year
student, and the other, for a student continuing his/her college education. The students
must be residents of Montana and Wyoming
and/or be nominated by a member of the
Montana Ranch Horse Association. For
information and application forms, email
[email protected] or log on to
www.realranchhorses.com for downloadable forms and information. Questions?
Contact Jack Blankenship at 406-670-3400.
Application deadline is March 10, and
scholarship recipients will be announced
April 19 at the 8th annual Real Ranch Horse
Invitational Sale held at the Yellowstone
Boys and Girls Ranch in Billings, MT.
OILFIELD PIPE
Topp Herefords/SB&B Feedlot Alliance
• Deferred payment option
The North Dakota Hereford Association gathered for its
annual meeting and banquet on December 8 in conjunction
with the North Star Classic in Valley City, ND. As part of
the evening’s festivities, the association awarded its annual
“Breeder of the Year” award to Carter’s Polled Herefords
of Rocklake, ND. Started in 1965 by Jimmy Carter with a
purchase of three yearling heifers, Carter’s Polled Herefords
has been a constant in the North Dakota Hereford scene
ever since. Several animals in herd still date back to the
initial foundation females purchased from Sam Bradley
of Rocklake, ND.
In May of 2011, all of the Carter Herefords were moved
to Freeman, SD, where Jimmy’s granddaughter Malynda
and her husband Jay Penner continue the program. Calves
are weaned and evaluated in the fall; bulls selected for
incorporation into the annual production sale are moved
to Rocklake, ND, where they are developed and put on
test with the Angus bulls raised by Jimmy’s son Terry and
grandson Troy of TNT Angus. The year 2015 marks a new
date for the joint sale, now being held the first Saturday in
February at Lake Region Livestock in Devils Lake, ND.
The heifers are retained in Freeman, SD, where they are
developed; AI’ed in the spring with the rest of the cow
herd, a practice Jimmy began incorporating back in the
early 1970s; and evaluated for retention. The purebred herd
currently numbers around 50 registered females; in addition, the program also contains a commercial component
focusing on the F1 cross female.
The years 2015 marks the 50th year of Carter’s Polled
Herefords, which is now in its fourth generation. Highlights
of the program throughout the years include selling numerous heifer champions in the North Star Classic. Carter’s
has also consigned cattle to the South Dakota Excellence
Sale in addition to the annual production sale and a few
head offered private treaty.
Jimmy’s family consists of two sons, Dennis and Terry
Carter; Terry’s wife Mavis; their daughter Malynda married
to Jay Penner; and their son Troy married to Jeri. Jimmy
has two great-granddaughters, Kenzy Penner (3) and Harlee
Carter (1 1/2).
Ryan and Prairie Topp
701.674.3152
1157 83rd Ave NE
[email protected]
Grace City, ND 58445
www.toppherefords.com
Please call or email to be added to our mailing list.
BEST QUALITY
CLEANEST
Located Across From Public Auction Yards, Billings, MT
TUBING • DRILL STEM • CASING
SUCKER ROD • FENCE CABLE • GUARD RAIL
(406) 245-5760
Agricultural Family Owned Business

the Western Ag Reporter 01/15/15

Transcription

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