Sortin` Pen - Johnson & Associates, Inc.

Transcription

Sortin` Pen - Johnson & Associates, Inc.
The Only Weekly A Busy Rancher Needs To Read.
Billings, Montana
Thursday, May 21, 2015
by the publisher
Pat Goggins
As I See It
Our nation recognizes
its military on the third
Saturday in May each year
on a day called Armed
Services Day. I so admire
the various branches of
our Armed Services and
what they have meant to
the United States over the
centuries.
Sadly, it’s not just foreign
countries that give us a lot
of “fritz” ... there are also
factions within our own
population that don’t like
it here, that don’t like what
we’re doing elsewhere,
and that are willing to
riot about it and otherwise
raise trouble. These are
the people that I wish that
the Armed Services and
our administration could
address. They’re just as
dangerous, if not worse, as
foreign countries are. It’s
about time, in my opinion.
The biggest job that any
administration has is to
protect the citizens who
live within its borders.
I wish there were more
politicians, folks in high
power places and, if you
please, in our court systems from the Supreme
Court on down, who would
make our safety a higher
priority. If the dissatisfied
people are so unhappy that
they would like to destroy
this country from within,
including their own families, then somebody with
power who has the ability
to put restrictions on them
must say to them, “You
not only are you going to
lose your citizenship and
all the pluses that come
with it here in America,
but also you are going to
get yourself out of this
country. Go to where you
think it’s so much better.
And if you don’t go willingly and promptly, we’ll
take you there!”
…Cont. on pg 4
Food for Thought:
Children are like wet cement: whatever falls on
them makes an impression. -- Haim Ginott
Sortin’ Pen
By Leesa Zalesky
USDA issues Final Rule
on tenderized meat labeling...
USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Services (FSIS) has
issued a final rule that will require meat packers to label
beef that is mechanically tenderized, blade tenderized,
or needle tenderized. The new rule also applies to beef
products injected with a marinade or solution, unless the
products will be fully cooked or will receive another full
“contaminant lethality” treatment at an official establishment. Labels of raw and partially cooked needle or blade
tenderized beef products destined for household consumers,
hotels, restaurants, or similar institutions will also have to
bear validated cooking instructions. The instructions will
have to specify the minimum internal cooking temperatures
and any rest times for the products to ensure they are fully
cooked. FSIS says it’s amending the regulations because
scientific evidence shows that mechanically tenderized
beef products need to be fully cooked in order to reduce the
risk of pathogenic bacteria that may be transferred to the
meat’s interior. The rule will take effect on May 17, 2016.
30,000 comments
received on dietary guidelines...
The public comment period on the proposed federal dietary
guidelines recommending the health and environmental
benefits of a low-meat, more plant-based diet has led to
more than 30,000 comments being submitted to the depart…Cont. on pg 3
Volume 7
Now, here’s a surprise...
WTO Appellate Body
rules against U.S. COOL
By Leesa Zalesky
On May 18, the World Trade
Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body ruled against
the U.S. country of origin
labeling (COOL) rules for
meat, upholding a lower
panel’s report findings that
the original compliance
panel’s ruling “did not
err” in most circumstances
and that the U.S. COOL
requirements unfairly discriminate against Canadian
and Mexican livestock by
requiring labels of muscle
cuts of meat to state where
the animal was born, raised,
and slaughtered. The Appellate Body ruling on
May 18 is not subject to
further appeal at the WTO.
The ruling sets in motion a
process by which Canada
and Mexico can retaliate
against the U.S., but the two
countries would first have
to establish an amount of
economic harm inflicted by
COOL, something that may
be hard, if not impossible,
to do... a fact that appears
to be conveniently ignored
by those who want COOL
completely dismantled.
A comprehensive economic study, released earlier
this year of the U.S. COOL
program, showed COOL
has had no effect on prices
or markets for Canadian and
Mexican cattle exports to the
U.S. The study -- conducted
by Dr. C. Robert Taylor, an
Alfa Eminent Scholar in
Agriculture Economics and
Public Policy at Auburn University -- showed that there
was no decline in feeder and
fed cattle price basis after
COOL was implemented
and that, in fact, the price
basis narrowed rather than
widened after COOL was
implemented, with imports
receiving about the same
price as domestic cattle.
The piling on to get rid of
COOL began within minutes
of release of the Appellate
Body’s ruling:
- The National Cattlemen’s
…Cont. on pg 5
No. 34
In Flanders Field
by John McCrae
May 1915
In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Note: During World War I, a young Canadian artillery
officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on May
2, 1915, in the gun positions near Ypres. An exploding
German artillery shell landed near him. He was serving
in the same Canadian artillery unit as a friend of his, the
Canadian military doctor and artillery commander Major
John McCrae. As the brigade doctor, John McCrae was
asked to conduct the burial service for Alexis because the
chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty
that evening. It is believed that, later that evening after the
burial, McCrae began the draft for his now famous poem
“In Flanders Fields.”
Trans-Pacific
Trade Agreement
is cloaked in secrecy
Leesa Zalesky
The secrecy details surrounding the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) trade
agreement are staggering.
Negotiations over TPP
have been, since day one of
the negotiations, shrouded
in secrecy by the Obama
administration, but now,
as Congress is careening
towards a vote on the sweeping trade agreement, we’re
learning that the document is
locked down, guarded, and
only available for perusal
by members of Congress,
who can do so only under
watchful eyes and only
after surrendering their cell
phones at the door.
Sleep well, America.
Congress is about to vote
on a trade agreement that’s
bigger than NAFTA ever
thought of being, and only
a handful of members have
actually read it. Worse,
they’re not raising hell about
the secrecy.
Anyone who wants to
read the details of the TPP
agreement that the Obama
administration is fighting to
pass as quickly as it can: 1)
must be a member of Congress; 2) must go to a room
in the basement room of the
Capitol Building where the
document is locked away;
3) must surrender cell phone
at the door; 4) must read the
document one section at a
time as it’s handed to them
and they’re watched as they
read; 5) must hand over any
notes taken before leaving;
and 6) cannot discuss any
details of the agreement
publicly.
This is how we govern
these days?
Rep. Lloyd Dogget (D-TX)
says U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, who is
the Obama administration’s
point man on TPP and the
details surrounding it, is the
one limiting access. “The access to information is totally
at the whim of Froman,” said
Dogget. “He likes to make
available information that
he thinks helps his case,
and if it conflicts, then he
doesn’t want to make the
information available.” Rep.
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said
…Cont. on pg 4
New caucus
dedicated to protecting
property rights...
Congressman Tom Reed
formally established and
hosted the first event of
the Private Property Rights
Caucus in the House of Representatives. The inaugural
event for the caucus focused
on how government actions
are affecting Americans
across the country and began
to identify solutions to protect private property rights
- 14 members of Congress
from 11 states ranging from
Maine to California joined
as original members of the
caucus. “We are hearing
not only from New Yorkers
but also from Americans
across the country about
how important it is to defend
the rights of property owners from an overreaching
federal government,” Reed
explained. “The Private
Property Rights Caucus will
provide a platform to edu-
cate members of Congress
on the egregious actions
that government at all levels
imposes on property owners and how we can protect
property owners’ Constitutional rights as granted by
the Fifth Amendment.”
In January Reed introduced the Defense of Property Rights Act to provide
property owners with an
opportunity to seek compensation in federal court when
government action significantly impairs the value of
their land. “We care about
defending the Constitutional
rights given to all Americans
and future generations,”
Reed declared. “This is an
issue that affects Americans
from rural communities to
urban centers across the nation. We need fairness and
…Cont. on pg 4
INDEX
Agri-Kids......................12
Classified.....................21
Down Dirt Roads..........27
Obituary........................11
Barry Naugle..................6
Comments....................13
Farm & Food..................6
Prairie Ponderings........9
Bill’s Warbag..................8
Cooking in the West....17
Letters........................ 2-3
Ramblings......................7
Centennial Photo.........14
Cowgirl Sass..................7
Markets.........................22
2
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Letters
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
Good question...
Pat, being out of the state, but acutely aware of the importance of water to all of us, I have been intensely interested
in the CSKT compact. Both sides seem to have credible
arguments, yet only one can be right. Is this compact good
or bad for Montana? Why did present water law work since
1855 and suddenly need changing?
Since you have been politically involved for so many
years, you are aware of the issue. Please share your common
sense opinion: is this compact good or bad for Montana?
I was undecided until a proponent presented a list of
supposedly nefarious opponents, but omitted the many
credible, upright, prominent people who honestly oppose
in good faith. It proved to me that the proponents stooped
to low, despicable levels.
Stephen Anderson
Alma, KS
WESTERN AG REPORTER
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
Attention: Pat
Dear Mr. Goggins: I want to thank you and congratulate
you and your Western Ag Reporter for the large part you
have played in the performance evaluation programs over
the past 60 years. You have truly been an outstanding
influence.
I was employed by the University of Missouri Extension
Service in 1962, and the performance program was just
beginning in Missouri. I know you folks in Montana were
among the first, but I think Missouri was not far behind.
In the early days, people would weigh a group or two
of calves, and if they weighed light, they were convinced
that performance testing was a joke and that all of us who
believed in the program were nuts.
When I graduated from Oklahoma State University in
1962, I visited with Department Chairman Glen Bratcher
about getting some good heifers to take to Missouri. At
that time, about the only thing we had to go on was that
Editor’s note: Well, Stephen, you are stuck with me because Pat they were sisters to the Reserve Grand Champion Carload
- having a full plate of health issues for some time and knowing of Bulls at Denver.
that I’ve been dealing with this issue for months - passed the
It is interesting to me to review information from the 1961
letter along to me with instructions to “answer this” written on International Livestock Exposition in Chicago where the
the envelope. However, I’m not a-gonna do it either... for the champions played a large part in many herds’ selection
simple reason that I truly do not know what the answer is. In of seed stock. The Grand Champion Steer weighted 900
any case, it appears to me that you have made up your mind pounds and was shown by Iowa State University. It is also
anyway. I think only time will reveal the answer, and by then,
if it was the wrong thing to do, it will be too damn late. I have interesting to note that the Grand Champion Carcass came
said before and I guess I will say it again: I have close friends from a steer weighing 935 pounds with a 591-pound carcass,
and respected acquaintances on both sides of this issue, and and the Reserve Champion was an 865-pound steer with
about all I have concluded, after reading barrels of ink-expressed a 522-pound carcass.
Missouri had a statewide performance testing program
opinions, is that, no matter how it all shakes out, it’s a lose-lose
deal. I think both sides will lose on various points, no matter that allowed breeders to enter an all breeds bull sale if sale
what side ultimately prevails. It makes me ill to think of how standards were met. I have a catalog from the first Miswrong it could all go. I’m hoping the proponents were more right souri All Breeds Tested Bull Sale in 1963, and the heaviest
than they were wrong. LG
yearling weight bull from the entire state at that sale was
1,029 pounds.
I guess it is evident we’ve
come a long way, and I feel
proud to have worked most
of my life, as have you, to
promote performance testing. I retired after 36 years
Let’s help sponsor yet another wonderful “Running For The Brand”
with the University of Misevent! Join the Montana Running Rancher’s team by sponsoring the relay team headed to
souri, having spent a large
Washington in July. That’s when 12 ranchers from Montana will be running in the 200-mile
part of my efforts supporting
Ragnar Relay Race to raise awareness of BEEF as a powerful protein. Let’s help them
performance testing and the
with their expenses to get to Washington! They travel in a couple of vans. Let’s cover
breeders who adopted it.
those vans with our brands and logos. Ranch Brand: for $50, your ranch name and brand
I purchased my first Angus
will be stenciled on one of the team vans! Agribusiness Brand: for $150, your business
heifer on April 6, 1954, as
name and logo will be stenciled on one of the team vans! Let’s plaster those vans with our
a 4-H project, and I conbrands and logos! Send checks to Montana Running Ranchers, 1407-16th Street South,
tinue to run a small herd of
Great Falls, MT 59405, and PLEASE BE
Registered Angus cows that
SURE to tuck in a note that says you
my wife and I enjoy every
read about this promotion in WAR!
day. We are hoping to visit
Questions? Contact Aeric
your area this fall when the
Reilly with the Montana
Montana Angus Tour comes
Running Ranchers by
to your part of the state.
phone at 406-570- 5853
Fred E. Conner
or by email at aeric@
Albany, MO
reillyins.com
Calling all Montana ranchers!
Let’s brand these vans!
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30
2015
Duppong’s Willow Creek Farm Production Sale, Glen
Ullin, ND
Shaw Cattle Co. Female Sale, Caldwell, ID
JUNE
6
Diamond McNabb Horse Sale, Douglas, WY
13
101 Angus Ranch Complete Dispersion, Jerome, ID
20
Full House Elite Horse Sale, Newcastle, WY
22-23 Northern Livestock Video Early Summer Special, Billings,
MT
JULY
20-22 Northern Livestock Video Summertime Classic, Billings,
MT
Circulation Department
P.O. Box 30758 • Billings, Montana 59107
Musing the obvious:
1. Where were all the funds spent from the O&M account
during the 50 years the BIA ran the project? Apparently
not on Maintenance!
2. When will the liens be returned to the landowners?
WESTERN LIVESTOCK REPORTER INC. D.B.A.
WESTERN AG REPORTER
USPS 678-680
MAILING ADDRESS
P.O.Box 30758 - Billings, Montana 59107
OFFICE LOCATION
PAYS Exchange Bldg. - 18th & Minnesota Ave.
Phone (406) 259-4589 - FAX (406) 259-6888
Website: www.westernagreporter.com
Publisher
WLR PUBLICATIONS
General Manager
E-mail:[email protected]
JOHN P. GOGGINS
Editor
E-mail: [email protected]
LINDA GROSSKOPF
Advertising Manager
E-mail:[email protected]
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Accounting
E-mail:[email protected]
DOROTHY KETCHEM
Classified Manager
E-mail:warclass@ westernagreporter.com
JENI NOWAK
Circulation Manager
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PEGGY POLLARI
Monday - Thursday 8 am - 12 pm
AUGUST
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Spruce Mountain Ranch Angus Female Sale, Larkspur,
CO
22
Lazy U Quarter Horse Sale, Hershey, NE
24-25 Northern Livestock Video Early Fall Preview Sale,
Billings, MT
SEPTEMBER
12-13 Wildcat Creek Red Angus Dispersion. Peabody, KS
21
Northern Livestock Video Fall Premier Special, Billings,
MT
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Western Ag Reporter
The Bureau of Reclamation gave up co-ownership and/or
responsibility for the project to the BIA (Indian Services)
in about 1926, after completing approximately half the
project in less than 20 years. The BIA finished the project
around 1960, 35 years later.
The “owners of the land so irrigated” signed a contract to
repay the “government” for the cost of building the project
and accepted liens against their property [like a gun held
to their heads] in 1950.
Some of the money to pay off the project came from the
infamous “net power revenues” from the power generated
by the dam for which the cost of construction was also paid
for by the irrigators as part of the project.
The debt was cleared somewhere around 2002, but the
liens have never been removed because no one in the government seems to know where they stored the pink slips
to the irrigators’ properties.
The Congressional edict that the operation, maintenance,
and management of the project would be turned over to
the irrigators by the Secretary of the Interior after the
payoff occurred was ignored for a time. The BIA set the
terms and conditions for the turnover, which left them in
control... and the irrigators agreed to this situation. While
the project is 90% non-tribal, the tribes got a 50-50 share
in the management.
Most all of this was done when the project consisted of
three divisions and NO FJBC. Four years after project
turnover, the FJBC was illegally dissolved from within,
and rather than the three original districts managing it, the
BIA stepped in and took it back. The BIA fired everyone
working on the project and hired back ONLY tribal members
at a 50% increase in salary that is funded by the irrigators,
who had no say in the action.
During the 50 years following the project completion, the
BIA ran the project. The irrigators paid their administrative fees and their operation and maintenance (O&M) fees
against their acreage. The BIA did little or no maintenance
on the project during that time, running it into disrepair.
After the project was supposedly turned over to the irrigators, all kinds of maintenance was magically done with
that same annual O&M money for four years, illuminating
the BIA’s mismanagement for 50 years.
Now that the BIA has again assumed control of the
project, they say that there is not enough money to fund
the necessary repairs to the project (that they let go during
their 50-year reign) and that the O&M costs will go up $7/
acre this next year.
Everyone keeps referring to a small portion of the illusive
$55M from the state taxpayers of Montana, and when the
illegal compact is finished that may be used by the tribes
to fix a few things on the project. The latest estimate, by
the BIA, is that they will need $160M to repair the project.
Somehow, this doesn’t calculate....
Is that about it?
PATRICK K. GOGGINS
MAY
CLIP AND MAIL
Let’s see if I have this straight...
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Western Ag Reporter was born on October 1, 2008 by combining Western Livestock
Reporter (established in 1940) and Agri-News (established in 1968).
Western Ag Reporter (USPS 678-680) is published weekly by Western Livestock Reporter,
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3
Thursday, May 21, 2015
WESTERN AG REPORTER
3. Who really owns the dam if the Irrigation Project paid
for its construction with the Repayment Contract?
4. By what right, legal or otherwise, did the BIA reassume
control of the project in 2014 when the FJBC dissolved and
why was it not turned back over to them when the three
districts rejoined?
5. When, and by what legal process, was the Flathead
Irrigation & Power Project renamed the Flathead Indian
Irrigation Project when only 10% of the project is Indian?
6. How is it that the “Compact” gives management of the
Irrigation Project water to the tribes and not to the project?
7. When will the real Americans stand up and be counted
for anything besides a firing squad?
Michael Gale
email
P.S. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in
large groups.
Oh yes, we have ‘em!
Greetings from Wisconsin! I love the paper and look
forward to every issue. It is good to know that even Montana has “leftwing nutjobs”! Makes me feel better here in
Obama-supporting Wisconsin.
If Krayton ever gets tired of the West, we could sure use
someone like him in Wisconsin.
Jeff Lass
Warrens, WI
What ain’t busted don’t need to be fixed!
Linda, reference the May 7 issue of WAR, specifically
the front page reports on the American Prairie Reserve and
Gilles Stockton’s report on free trade.
In my opinion, the BLM should not even consider the
American Prairie Reserve (APR) request. Its request -- for
permission to remove fences and to manage BLM land
and APR land by bison rather than cattle -- violates longstanding policy if not the law and would set a dangerous
precedent. It seems to me the American Prairie Reserve
wants everything both ways. On the one hand, it wants bison
to be declared “wild” and managed as “wild.” On the other
hand, it now wants to manage bison as domestic cattle.
This proves to me that it was a mistake, for example, to
allow elk to be owned and managed as domestic grazing
animals. It confused the meaning of “wild.” This whole
business also proves to me that the American Prairie Reserve was a bad idea to begin with.
Concerning the free trade article by Gilles Stockton, I say
God help us if and when we ever run out of people like
Stockton who tells it like it is and the Western Ag Reporter
that gives Stockton a voice to be heard by thousands of
people throughout our country.
The BLM (the old Taylor Grazing Service) was created
to make it possible for frontier settlers to be financially
viable in the arid West of our western public land states,
domestic livestock (cattle, sheep, and horses) being part of
the necessary mix to go with limited farming. All the old
rules of survival still apply for the western ranchers and
what ain’t busted don’t need to be fixed!
Jack Mahon
Helena, MT
Sortin Pen
cont. from pg. 1
ments of Health & Human Services (HHS) and USDA,
most of them applauding the 2015 Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee for making environmental sustainability part of its decision-making process. The guidelines
are published every five years by USDA and HHS, with
guidance from the committee, a federally appointed panel
of nutritionists. Christiana Wyly -- coordinator of the My
Plate My Planet Initiative, a coalition of groups supporting
the recommendations’ inclusion of environmental sustainability in the dietary guidelines -- said that more than 150
organizations, scholars, authors, and advocates signed the
My Plate My Planet Initiative’s open letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and HHS Secretary Silvian Mathews
Burwell supporting the proposed guidelines.
Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director of the Organic
Consumers Association (OCA), said her group is urging
HHS and USDA to consider promoting 100% grass-fed beef
over beef that is factory-farmed. Baden-Mayer said grazing
cattle not only makes for more nutrient dense meat, but it
also benefits the environment by cutting carbon emissions,
fertilizing the soil, and using less water. “We’re using our
best farm land to grow crops for animals in feedlots,” said
Baden-Mayer. “It’s completely unsustainable and doesn’t
make any sense. The wonderful thing about grazing animals
is they can eat food we can’t.”
OCA is part of a larger coalition organized by Friends of
the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity, which
is advocating support of sustainable food sources to the
administration through a petition drive. “There is a strong
body of evidence showing that a diet with less meat and
more plant-based foods is better for our health and the health
of the planet,” says the petition. “How food is produced
has a big impact on public health and the environment.”
USDA offering $11.9 million
in organic certification assistance...
The USDA’s Ag Marketing Service (AMS) has announced
$11.9 million in organic certification assistance, which will
be available through state departments of agriculture to make
organic certification more affordable for organic producers
and handlers across the country. The funding is provided
on a cost share basis, and certification assistance is distributed through two programs. Through the National Organic
Certification Cost Share Program, $11 million is available
to organic farms and businesses nationwide. Through the
Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost Share Program, an
additional $900,000 is available to organic producers
(crop and livestock operators only) in Connecticut,
Delaware, Hawaii, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts,
Nevada, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Funded by the 2014
Farm Bill, these programs provide cost share assistance to
USDA certified organic producers and handlers, covering
as much as 75% of an individual applicant’s certification
costs, up to a maximum of $750 annually per certification
scope. In 2014, USDA issued nearly 10,000 reimbursements
totaling over $6 million.
Jon Marvel retires...
The man who vowed to send ranchers into extinction
when he formed the Western Watersheds Project (WWP)
in 1993 has retired from the organization. Jon Marvel’s
all-out angry attack on livestock grazing and his theatrical
performances won him a strong core of supporters with deep
pockets. Under Marvel’s leadership, WWP forced the Idaho
Land Board and legislature to operate all of its endowment
land under a constitutional mandate to maximize long-term
financial returns, meaning WWP could bid against ranchers
for -- and drive up the price of -- grazing rights.
WWP’s new executive director is Travis Bruner, 36, a
Bozeman, Montana, native who graduated in 2013 from
the University of Colorado law school.
Bird Flu in the U.S.:
25 million hens may be lost in Iowa...
Rose Acre Farms in Iowa, a family-owned egg-laying
operation that has 17 facilities across six states, has announced that it is euthanizing about 1.5 million chickens
at its Winterset, Iowa, facility due to a bird flu outbreak.
Entire flocks are depopulated with carbon monoxide gas,
according to USDA, regardless of how many birds on a
farm are actually infected. Some are killed with foam. About
40% of Iowa’s egg-laying hens- - about 25 million birds
-- are already dead or will be euthanized. Nationwide so
far, 33.5 million chickens, turkeys, and ducks have been
killed in order to try to halt the spread of the disease. Iowa’s
first case of bird flu was discovered last month, and in the
weeks since, 44 cases of the illness have been reported,
and Iowa’s governor has declared a state of emergency.
Quarantine zones have been established, with some counties
in northwestern Iowa almost entirely covered in quarantine
where workers in hazmat suits and “shower in, shower out”
policies are the norm. This is the worst outbreak of bird flu
in the U.S. in history, with two strains of the highly contagious H5 virus - H5N2 and H5N8 - having been confirmed.
Migrating birds are believed to be responsible for some of
the virus’ spread, and researchers are still studying how it is
reaching poultry farms like Rose Acre Farms. The disease
has been confirmed in 16 states so far.
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4
Thursday, May 21, 2015
As I See It
cont. from pg. 1
We need leaders with some
guts and some gall. We need
people who know how to say
NO on behalf of our country.
I don’t mean maybe; I mean
NO! Those troublemaking
folks should be told in no
uncertain terms: “If you
don’t like it here with all
the perks that you have,
and if you’re willing to lose
your citizenship and all of
those perks, then get out.
Go somewhere else and
stay there! But remember,
leave now and you will have
forever lost your United
States citizenship and all
its opportunities and perks.”
This has got to come about.
We’re playing footsie with
these rioters and other folks
who would ruin so much of
what we have in this wonderful country. I’ve had it with
them. I can’t stand it. I just
don’t know how those folks
in high places -- whose job
it is to protect our laws and
privileges and opportunities
-- can stand by and let these
situations go on and not put
a stop to them.
They say, if we put them
away for life in prison, that in
itself is the ruination of a person and the ruination of any
future they might think they
have, but I think it would be
far better to eliminate their
citizenship, kick them out
of the country, tell them
to leave and stay gone and
that their privileges and opportunities as an American
citizen will be gone forever
at all levels. I for one have
absolutely had it.
I cannot stand it anymore.
We don’t have anyone with
any guts or glory to defend
the outstanding privileges
this country offers. This
country offers more than
anyplace in the world and
by golly, somebody, someplace, has got to stand up
for the U.S. and say to these
ungrateful, unpatriotic, and
troublemaking rioters: No,
you’re no longer going to be
a citizen of this great nation
with all its perks and privileges. You get out of here.
You’re done. Go away and
we’ll help you a little to get
out of here. Forever may the
door be closed to you.
Think this is a little strong?
Something has got to be
done to curb this thing. This
country can be destroyed
from within probably quicker than from without.
I hope you observed Armed
Services Day. Those men
and women who are on the
list of the various military
complements deserve our
thanks and recognition.
Congratulations to every
one of them! Let’s thank
them whenever we can ...
personally for what their
service means to each and
every one of us average
American citizens.
As for that small but vocal minority of folks who
think they can rule this
country with their threats of
violence, let’s all tell them
that their days are numbered.
Ophus Auction Service
B & M Lund Auction
Saturday, June 6th
The Farm, 1907 Grass lake Rd., is located 15 miles south east of Fort Benton Mt. Then 2 miles east
on Grass Lake Rd., or 11 miles north west of Geraldine on Highway 80
Register For Bidders Numbers At 9 a.m. Auction Starts At 10 a.m.
SEEDING & TILLAGE
1997 John Deere 8400 MFWD tractor, cab air 1998 John Deere 9300 4X4 tractor, Cab air heat,
heat, 225 HP, 16 speed power shift, EZ steer, 4 360 HP, 12 speed, 4 Hyd, PTO, Diff lock, 710/70R
Hyd, 3 Pt with quick tach, PTO, 20.8R-42 duals, 38 duals, rear wheel weights, 4,496 Hr.
Front fenders, front Wt package, 9,600 Hr. factory new engine at 7,200 Hr. sells with a 12 Ft
Degelman 4 way dozer nice unit.
• 1978 IH 1800 truck, 446 V-8 in frame overhauled,
5&2 speed, 16 Ft. box & hoist, 124,276 miles.
• 1972 Chevy C-60 dump truck, 366, 5&2 speed, airbrakes, 4 yard box, 189,000 miles.
• 1972 IH 1700 Loadstar truck, V-8, 5& 2 speed, 16 Ft.
box & hoist, 130,197 miles.
• 1954 Ford C-600 water truck, 292 V-8, 4 & 2
speed,1,000 Gal galvanized tank, 16 Hp Briggs
pump.
• 1956 Chevy truck for parts, 15 Ft. box & hoist.
• 1978 GMC 1 Ton pickup, 454, 4 speed, service body,
gas tank, 106,390 miles.
• 2006 Jet 42 Ft. grain trailer, Ag hoppers, roll tarp,
nice.
• 1972 Butler aluminum 6,700 Gal semi-trailer,
mixing cone & pump.
• 1974 Titan 20 Ft. grain pup trailer, roll tarp, 20 Ft
hitch.
• 1994 Corn Husker 24 Ft. grain pup trailer, 12 Ft. hitch.
2003 Freightliner FLD120 Classic semi, sleeper, • 2007 PJ 22 Ft. bumper pull trailer, tandem 7,000 #
500 Hp series 60 Detroit, 10 speed with deep axles, ramps.
under, 246 in wheel base, 12,000# front axle, • Homemade 8X14 Ft. single axle trailer with side rails.
40,000# rears, 603,448 miles
• 1977 W-W 2 horse trailer, tandem axle.
TANKS
• 1,500 Gal black poly water tank.
• 7,000 Gal poly water tank.
• 2 - 6,000 Gal flat bottom fuel tanks & 2 inch pump.
• 600 Gal. fuel tank & stand.
• 300 Gal pickup tank & new pump.
ROCK PICKERS
• Highline XL 78 rock picker, Hyd reel.
• Danuser post hole digger, 8 and 12 inch bits.
(and they for that matter)
are part of the United States
capitalistic system and that
you believe in the opportunities that we offer each
other. Tell them, if they don’t
want to be good American
citizens, “Goodbye! Good
riddance forever and ever.
Amen!”
Property Rights
affect property owners.
Original members of the
Private Property Rights
Caucus include Reps. Tom
Reed (NY), Mo Brooks
(AL), Mark Amodei (NV),
Jason Chaffetz (UT), Mike
Coffman (CO), Rodney
Davis (IL), Bob Gibbs (OH),
Paul Gosar (AZ), Mike
Kelly (PA), Doug LaMalfa
(CA), Cynthia Lummis
(WY), Bruce Poliquin (ME),
Mike Simpson (ID), and
Glenn Thompson (PA).
www.westernagreporter.com
cont. from pg. 1
respect for private property.
We also need government
at all levels to carefully
consider the impact that
regulatory actions have on
property rights and property
values.”
The Statement of Purpose
for the Private Property
Caucus is as follows: “The
purpose of the Private
Property Rights Caucus
is to educate members of
Congress and their staff on
the importance of property
rights to a free society and
how landowners across the
country are being impacted
by government action and to
raise awareness of the issues
Congress must address to
protect Americans’ rights
to their property.”
The May 11 event featured
a round table discussion of
avenues to study for House
action: protecting property
rights through regulatory reform, reforming the judicial
process, and considering
individual statutes which
2007 John Deere 6420 MFWD tractor, cab air
heat, 90 HP, power quad, 3 Pt, dual PTO, 2 Hyd,
2,229 Hr. sells with a JD 640 Self leveling loader, 7 Ft bucket, rock bucket with grapple, pallet
forks.
• 1970 John Deere 4020 tractor, diesel 8 speed, ROPS
& canopy, PTO, new seat & rear tires, extra Hyd oil
cooler, 7,522 Hr.
1987 John Deere 4450 MFWD tractor, Cab air
Heat, only 250 Hr. on a 130 Hp factory crate motor, 15 speed power shift, 2 Hyd, dual PTO, 3 Pt,
front fenders, just went through JD winter check,
11,850 Hr.
• “THE BEAST” WD-9 tractor customized with cab, 390
Ford engine with C-6 Auto trans into tractor trans,
rear mounted loader with pallet forks two buckets &
boom, “one of a kind”
COMBINES & GRAIN HANDLING
These combines are well maintained and do not have mice.
There is 1 multi-crop auger selling separate.
VEHICLES
• 2005 Buick Park Avenue 4 door car, loaded leather
seats, 3.8L, auto, 130,000 miles, nice car.
• 1981 Chevy C10 4X2 pickup, 350, Auto Trans, 172,335
miles.
• 1991 Mitsubishi mini pickup 4X4, 3 Cyl. 657 CC gas, 4
speed, right hand drive, fold down box sides.
1998 Case IH 2388 Combine, Big Top grain tank Brent 874 Grain cart, PTO drive, roll tarp, 30.5Ext, 3,125 engine Hr. 2,451 Sep Hr. sells with a 32 tires.
Honey Bee SP30 Ft header, pickup reel, transport hitch.
• Farm King double screen grain cleaner, 3 HP 220
electric motor.
• 1996 Case IH 2188 combine, 30.5l-32 tires, chopper, • Handlair 566 grain vac., 1,000 PTO.
adj. sieve, shows 2,821 engine Hr. it has more, sells • MK 13-71 swing out auger, remote controlled
with a Honey Bee SP30 Ft. header, pickup reel,
motorized mover on swing auger
transport hitch.
• Farm King 10 X60 Hyd. swing out auger.
• Farm King 8X48 PTO auger.
• Westfield 8 X36 & 8 X41 & 8 X50 Ft PTO augers.
• Case IH 2015 pickup header with Swath-master
• Westfield J208-41 PTO auger.
attachment.
• Farm King 8 inch transfer auger.
• 2 - Hyd. bin sweeps.
2007 GMC . Ton 4X4 pickup, four door pickup, • Case IH 1015 pickup header with Westward
• 4 - 12 inch aeration fans.
5.3L, Auto, rhino lined short box, grill guard, attachment.
•
2011
Brandt
Drive
over
grain
deck.
• 3 - 16 inch aeration fans.
108,155 miles, nice.
AUCTIONEERS NOTE:
HayBuster 3106 Rock-Eze wheel type rock picker
with a 10 Ft. windrower “like new”.
This could be the auction of the year, Ben has a large shop and he is not afraid to
use it. All equipment is ready to go. We have 1 ½ hours of small items and then right into the listed items. There is a loading dock and there will be
help loading out. You can call Ben Lund for more info. 406-737-4341 or John Poindexter at 406-737-4367
Thanks Shane
• 26 Ft. Schutle 5026 mower, 3 section.
• 46 Ft. Valmar 240, pull type, PTO drive, foam marker.
• 2010 Wilmar Super 800 tandem axle fertilizer spreader, Hyd. spinners, roll tarp, nice shape.
• Walker MBSSD Zero turn mower, 27 Hp, 60 inch deck.
• Generac 25 KW PTO trailer mounted generator.
• Commercial Mosquito fogger 3 Pt., PTO drive.
• Vogel 40 Ft. pull type rye wicker.
• Iron rack with some iron.
• 11 Hp gas portable two stage air compressor.
• 8,000 watt generator.
• 9 Ft. dozer off a 1030 Case .
• 2 - Older Clark axles.
• Clausing 8 Ft. metal lathe, 16 inch throw, 4 jaw
chuck, 3 phase.
• Selection of Gear pullers & seal drivers.
• 3 Hp Quincy air compressor & large tank.
• 16 Ft. truck van body.
• 2 - JD 710/70R-38 wheels & tires.
• Various tractor wheel weights.
• 2 - sets of scaffolding.
• 1993 Suzuki 250 4X4 ATV, windshield runs well.
• Honda 90 motorcycle for restoring
• Semi-trailer landing gear.
• 2 - Large tow cables.
• Many large field rocks for landscaping.
EVERYTHING
ELSE
• 2 - Roller conveyors.
Sprayers
• Summers ultimate NT 1000 suspended boom 90 Ft.
sprayer, 1000 gal. tank, auto fold, auto boom height,
auto rate control, wind screens, triple nozzles,
280/90R-46 tires.
• 1991 Ford L 8000 truck 7.8 L diesel, 5 speed with
hi-low, hi float tires all around, sells with a 60 Ft.
Summers mid mount boom sprayer, 500 Gal. tank,
Honda engine, EZ guide, Calc-An-Acre.
All to be moved
• 4 - 3,000 bushel grain bins.
• 3 - 2,500 bushel grain bins.
• 4,000 bushel grain bin.
• 30 X 50 Ft. slant wall steel building, 11 Ft. sidewalls.
Swather & Extra header
• 1995 MacDon 9,000 swather, 5,677 Hr. sells with a 14
Ft. MacDon 920 hay header, steel conditioner.
• Sells separate 2005 MacDon 972, Harvest header
25 Ft. triple delivery, pickup reel, multi-crop auger,
transport kit.
Dirt Equipment
• Steiger 11 yard Hyd. Scraper.
• Meyers 3 Pt. ditcher.
• 1970s Galion T500 series L road grader, IH diesel,
scafier, 12 Ft. blade, front mount snow plow.
OPHUS AUCTION SERVICE
- By Brandy Brown, Communications Director, 202225-3161
Editor’s note: I would
VERY much like to see
Montana’s Congressmen
involved in this most excellent cause. If you would like
to see your Congress men
and women participate, clip
this article out and send it
along to them! Hats off to the
folks that already belong!
Private property rights are
at the tip-top of a list of
absolutely crucial issues for
Americans. LG
You Amaz
CLASSIFIEDS
e
B
W i ll 406.259.4589
Trans-Pacific
cont. from pg. 1
TRUCKS & TRAILERS
• 1984 Mack semi, E7 Mack 350 Hp diesel, 10 speed,
• 1979 GMC General tandem truck, 8V-92 Detroit,
13 speed, steerable 3rd axle, 19 Ft. box 62 inch
sides & hoist, roll tarp, steel floor, dual fuel tanks,
pintle hitch.
• 1977 IH Fleet star 2050 tandem axle truck, 3208 Cat
250 Hp, Auto Trans, 18 Ft. box & hoist, double frame,
16,000 # front axle.
“Get out! And we’ll help
you stay out, but you have
forever lost all privileges
offered by being a United
States citizen and/or its opportunities and perks!”
If you know somebody
who needs to read this, tell
him or her you’ve had it with
their kind. Tell them that you
ed !
• 20 Ft. IH 475 disk, Hyd wing fold, nice shape. John
Deere 14 Ft offset disk, serrated disks, nice shape.
• 42 Ft. 3 section Land roller, 42 inch heavy wall
rollers.
• 70 Ft. Gates Magnum heavy harrow, 9/16 teeth, with
carbide tips, very nice.
• 41 Ft. John Deere 1600 chisel plow, 3 section,
Frigstead harrows.
• 7 - shank deep ripper, good shape.
• 24 Ft. Krause chisel plow, Hyd wing lift, Flexi-Coil
harrows.
• 20 Ft. Rollo-Flex chisel plow, hand crank wing lift.
• 14 Ft. Noble blade 5 small blades.
• 20 Ft. Shafer offset disk, no wheels.
• 15 Ft. Graham chisel plow.
• 10 Ft. 3 point cultivator.
2011 John Deere1910 Air drill, 57 Ft., single
shoot, 12 inch spacing capped steel packers, all • Melro 912 5 bottom 2 Pt. plow, auto trip.
• 6 sections of drag harrows.
run monitor.
• 17 foot truck round bale rack.
TRACTORS
• 2 - John Deere 9450 hoe drills, 12 inch spacing
steel packers, double & single hitches, Gustafson
grain treater.
WESTERN AG REPORTER
the terms to gain access are
ridiculous. “It’s like being
in kindergarten,” she told
Politico. “You give back the
toys at the end.”
According to Brietbart
News, as of May 7, only
two Senate Republicans
from the entire Republican
conference of 54 members
have admitted that they have
gone to the secret basement
room and read the details of
the trade deal. Senators Jeff
Sessions (R-AL) and Mike
Lee (R-UT) admit they’ve
made the trek to the secret
room to read the document..
Lee’s press secretary told
Politico that the senator remains undecided on whether
he’ll support the deal. This
means that a vast majority of
U.S. Senators are preparing
to vote on a trade agreement
they haven’t read or at least
hadn’t read just days before
they are to vote on it. And
they have no idea what the
so-called “living agreement” section of the deal is.
In his “critical alert” to
members across Capitol
Hill, Sessions wrote about
his concerns with the “living
agreement” section and, in
doing so, probably breached
the rules associated with
being allowed to read the
document. Nevertheless,
Sessions wrote, “This (the
living agreement provision) means the president
could update the agreement
‘as appropriate to address
trade issues that emerge in
the future as well as new
issues that arise with the
expansion of the agreement
to include new countries,’”
wrote Sessions. “The ‘living
agreement’ provision means
that participating nations
could both add countries to
the TPP without Congress’
approval (like China) and
also change any of the terms
of the agreement, including
in controversial areas such
as the entry of foreign workers and foreign employees.
This has far-reaching implications: the Congressional
Research Service reports
that, if the U.S. signs onto
an international trade agreement, the implementing
legislation of that trade
agreement would supersede conflicting federal,
state, and local laws. When
this occurs, U.S. workers
may be subject to a sudden
change in tariffs, regulations, or dispute resolution
proceedings in international
tribunals outside the U.S.
Promoters of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) should
explain why the American
people ought to trust the administration and its foreign
partners to revise or rewrite
international agreements
or add new members to
those agreements, without
congressional approval.
Does this not represent an
abdication of congressional
authority?”
Sessions also wrote to
President Obama asking
him to make at least the
TPP’s “living agreement”
public before Congress is
asked to vote on TPA. So
far, that’s a failed attempt
at transparency.
Remember when thenSpeaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi said Congress would
have to pass the Affordable
Care Act in order to learn
what was in it? Here we go
again.
Trans-Pacific
cont. from pg. 1
Beef Association (NCBA),
which has long opposed
COOL, issued a statement
by NCBA President Philip
Ellis, a Wyoming cattle
producer, calling for a total
repeal of the COOL law.
“We have long said that
COOL is not just burdensome and costly to cattle
producers; it is generally
ignored by consumers and
violates our international
trade obligations. Retaliation will irreparably harm
our economy and our relationships with our top
trading partners and send a
signal to the world that the
U.S. doesn’t play by the
rules. It is long past time that
Congress repeal this broken
regulation.”
- The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), in
a statement from president
Ron Prestage, agreed and
urged Congress to repeal the
law quickly, saying retaliation by Canada and Mexico
would be a “death sentence
for U.S. jobs and exports.”
- House Ag Committee
Chairman Michael Conaway (R-TX), a long time
opponent of COOL, issued
a statement saying he would
host a press conference on
May 19 at the House Triangle alongside NCBA’s Philip
Ellis, NPPC, the National
Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, Rep. David
Rouzer (R-NC), Rep. Vicky
Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Kurt
Schrader (D-OR), and Rep.
Jim Costa (D-CA) to address
the swift need for action
by Congress to avoid the
“economically devastating effects of retaliation.”
Conaway said, “Once again,
the WTO has found COOL
to be non-compliant, a decision we fully expected. As
retaliation by Canada and
Mexico becomes reality, it
is more important than ever
to act quickly to avoid a
protracted trade war with our
two largest trade partners. I
have asked my colleagues
to weigh in on resolving
this issue once and for all
during a business meeting
May 20 in a targeted effort to
5
Thursday, May 21, 2015
WESTERN AG REPORTER
remove ongoing uncertainty
and to provide stability.”
(The House and Senate are
scheduled to be in session
until May 22 but will begin
a weeklong Memorial Day
recess that day.)
- In a May 18 media advisory, Canadian Ag Minister
Gerry Ritz and Minister
of International Trade Ed
Fast said they would hold a
press conference May 19 to
address the WTO ruling on
U.S. COOL. In a joint prepress conference statement,
the two ministers said, “For
the fourth time, the WTO has
ruled against the U.S. COOL
policy, reaffirming Canada’s
long-standing position that
these measures are blatantly
protectionist and discriminate against Canada. The
U.S. has used and exhausted
all possible means to avoid
its international obligations, damaging our highly
integrated North American
supply chain and hurting
producers and processors
on both sides of the border.
Once again, we call on the
U.S. to cease this harmful
policy and to repeal COOL’s
provisions against beef and
pork, removing this unnecessary trade barrier. In light
of this final ruling, and due
to the fact that the U.S. has
continued to discriminate
against Canadian livestock
products, Canada will be
seeking authority from the
WTO to use retaliatory measures on U.S. ag and non-ag
products. Our government
stands on the side of Canadian farmers and ranchers
and will continue to protect
all hardworking Canadians
throughout this retaliatory
process.” (Editor’s note:
How very nice that the Canadian government and the
Canadian cattlemen’s organizations stand on the side of
their Canadian farmers and
ranchers. Gee, what a novel
thought. Who knew? LG)
- The North American
Meat Institute’s (NAMI)
President and CEO Barry
Carpenter said his group
welcomes the WTO ruling.
“If there ever was any question that COOL is a trade
barrier that violates our
international agreements,
the WTO ruling today
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
RegulaR Cattle Sale
& Cow/Calf PaiRS
feedeRS SPeCial
Tuesday, June 2 , 2015
RegulaR Cattle Sale
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
RegulaR Cattle Sale
& dRy Cow SPeCial
should lay those doubts to
rest. Now, after years of
grappling with this costly
and onerous rule -- a rule
that USDA’s own economic
analysis says is a burden on
livestock producers, meat
packers, and processors with
no consumer benefit -- it is
clear that repealing the statute is the best step forward.
Any action other than repeal
invites retaliation from
Canada and Mexico that
could cost the U.S. economy
billions of dollars. We look
forward to working with
Congress to repeal COOL
once and for all, so that the
U.S. can comply with its
trade obligations, avoid unnecessary retaliation against
our products, and restore our
strong relationships with
important trading partners.”
Prior to going to work for
the meat packing industry,
Carpenter was a deputy
administrator at USDA’s Ag
Marketing Service (AMS)
in the Livestock and Seed
Division.
- American Farm Bureau
Federation (AFBF) president Bob Stallman said in
a prepared statement, “The
WTO panel has ruled that
U.S COOL regulations for
meats are not in compliance with previous WTO
decisions. That means we
need further effort to craft an
acceptable COOL program.
AFBF supports a COOL
program that adheres to
appropriate parameters and
meets WTO requirements.”
National Farmers Union
president Roger Johnson
said that, despite the WTO
decision, there’s still a
path forward for COOL if
Canada, Mexico, and the
U.S. can negotiate how to
move forward. “As we have
seen in other disputes, once
decisions are handed down,
WTO members often work
together to find a solution
that will work for them,”
said Johnson. “In this case,
such a solution must involve
continuation of a meaningful COOL requirement.”
Referring to indications
that the Obama Administration will work with Canada
and Mexico on COOL,
Johnson said, “We support
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
RegulaR Cattle Sale
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
RegulaR Cattle Sale
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
RegulaR Cattle Sale
& dRy Cow SPeCial
For complete details on the market, check out our market report
and USDA report at www.milescitylivestock.net
Field Representatives
Bart Meged
Collin Gibbs
Andy Wemmer
Charles Hellickson
406-421-5377
406-939-0645
406-853-0539
406-853-6037
406- 951-3005
Mark Zehms, Yard Foreman • 406-853-1945 ~ Amanda Kincheloe, Office Manager • 406-234-1790
Visit our website at www.milescitylivestock.net
1-800-755-5177
1-406-234-1790
that approach to the extent
it results in a mutually
agreed upon result that provides consumers meaningful information on the meat
products they purchase,
including the country where
the animal was born, raised,
and slaughtered. With the
significant interest by consumers in knowing where
their food comes from, any
other result is not acceptable. While those who have
opposed giving consumers
more information on where
their meat products are from
have focused on potential
retaliation, retaliation is
relevant only if the parties
cannot reach an agreement
on how to move forward and
then only after an arbitration
process. And the amount of
any retaliation is, by definition, speculative at best and
aimed to raise alarm where
none is warranted. Indeed,
looking at the recent report
from Dr. Robert Taylor at
Auburn University, there
is significant evidence indicating that any harm to
our trading partners has,
in fact, been negligible at
most. Congress may well
have a role to play once the
administration has worked
with our trading partners
following today’s decision
if a statutory modification
is deemed warranted by the
administration, but the time
for action is not now. The
U.S. as a sovereign country
can decide how and whether
to implement the adverse
ruling.”
Leo McDonnell, Director Emeritus of the U.S.
Cattlemen’s Association,
concurred, saying that the
U.S., particularly its elected
officials, need to weigh
the next steps with COOL
thoughtfully and with the
facts. “It’s being suggested
that Congress should immediately repeal the COOL
law because of a fear of
retaliatory tariffs. Do we really lack such statesmanship
in our elected officials and
industry leaders that they
would withdraw from our
right and our duty to govern
ourselves and sacrifice the
freedoms and sovereignty
that most of us cherish?
Imagine if a company like
Pepsi was told that it, along
with its competitors, could
no longer differentiate its
soda from others. There is
something inherently and
fundamentally wrong with
anyone who would suggest
this in our country, and it
bears watching. Our elected
officials need to stand their
ground -- just as we have
asked generations of military men and women to do -to protect our nation’s right
to govern itself. Hopefully,
we can move COOL forward
in a meaningful way that
meets growing consumer
demand for more information about where and how
their food is produced and in
an effective manner that allows U.S. cattle producers to
differentiate their product.”
Editor’s note: Leesa said above,
“The piling on to get rid of
COOL began within minutes
of release of the Appellate
Body’s ruling.” What she should
have said was this: “The
piling on to get rid of COOL
began within minutes of the
merging of the American
cattlemen’s organization
(the National Cattlemen’s
Association) and the American
meatpackers to form NCBA.
As for Leo’s question, “Do we
really lack such statesmanship
in our elected officials and
industry leaders that they
would withdraw from our
right and our duty to govern
ourselves and sacrifice the
freedoms and sovereignty
that most of us cherish?” ...
sadly but unequivocally, the
simple answer is that, yes, we
do. Furthermore, Leo, it is
painfully clear by now that, in
America, pop and clothing and
countless other items enjoy the
benefits of being Made in the
USA ... but not beef. It’s beyond
the pale. LG
WESTERNAGREPORTER.COM
Rick Young and Sons Auctioneers
Anipro Arena Spring
Consignment Auction
Saturday June 6, 2015 10:00 A.M.
4 miles South of Absarokee on Highway 78
TRAILERS
• 2008 Travalong 24' Gooseneck Stock Trailer
• 2001 Titan 20' Gooseneck Stock Trailer
Hydraulic Squeeze Chute
• 2000 Featherlite 20' Gooseneck Stock Trailer
• 1988 Travalong 16' Gooseneck Stock Trailer
• 1996 Titan. 20' Gooseneck Stock Trailer
RTV 900 ATV
• 1998 PJ 24' Tandem Dual Flatbed Trailer
• Several Small Flatbed Trailers
HUNDREDS MORE ITEMS
• 1996 Hitachi EX Track Excavator
TRACTORS
• Farmhand Power Box 450 Manure Spreader
• 2002 M.F. 3120 with Westendorf Loader
• EZEE-On 20' Lift Wing Disc
• 1994 J.D. 3155 with 265 J.D. Loader
• Danuser MD 6 Post Pounder
• N. H. TM 165 with Allied 2895 Loader
• 3 Buggies • 2-Kubota RTV 900 ATVs
• J.D. 2510 with Farmhand 235 Loader
• Powder River Hydraulic Squeeze Chute
• International Hydro 70
• 2006 Kawasaki Mule
• Ford 6600 with Leon Snow Blade
• 2007 Polaris Ranger ATV
• Ford Jubilee
• 20-Winchester Lever Action Rifles HAYING MACHINERY
• 6 - Savage Model 99 Rifles
• 2007 J.D. 945 MOCO rotary swather
• 50 Total Firearms
• 2010 J.D. 348 square baler
• 2008 Ford F350 XLT with Flatbed
• H&S 12 wheel rake
• 12 Western Saddles • Boats
• 2 - 2007 New Holland BR780 A Round Balers • Motor Homes • Antiques
• New Holland 1048 Bale Wagon S.P.
• Pearson Squeeze Chute
• New Holland 166 Windrow Turner
• Bobcat C-10
• J.D.700 Fold Wing Rake
• Hyd. Post Hole Digger
• Case IH 8460 Round Baler
• Lots of 3 Point Equipment
Watch next week for complete listing
Sale managed by Rick Young and Sons Auctioneers
wwwrickyoungauctioneers.com. 406-321-1534
Sale Managed By : Rick Young & Sons Auctioneers
phone: 406-328-4296 • cell 406-321-1534 • www.rickyoungauctioneers.com
6
&
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Farm
Food
by Alan Guebert
The Land of Milk
and
Uncle Honey
Two years ago, the 20th tor, there wasn’t an impleanniversary of this weekly
effort came and went without notice by its founder,
editor, and office cleaning
crew. Two months later,
that same person finally
realized the oversight and
then promptly
forgot it. This
mid-May, however, there is
a first-ever most likely,
only-time-ever
- reminder that
22 years have
passed since
three daily
newspapers in
central Illinois
began to print
these musings.
That reminder
is a collection
of Farm and Food File
columns centered on “the
southern Illinois dairy farm
of my youth.”
The book, published by
the University of Illinois
Press, was released on the
column’s anniversary, May
15. Its title is as good as any
phrase or sentence contained
in any of the 54 columns it
holds: The Land of Milk
and Uncle Honey. Longtime readers may remember
my great Uncle Honey.
Honey wasn’t just a paradox; Honey was the perfect
paradox. Seated on a trac-
ment, animal, or telephone
pole Honey couldn’t bend,
bind, or break. Machinery
dealers loved him; cows
and cats feared him. Off
a tractor, however, Honey
was as peaceful as a June
sunrise. He
nodded more
than talked,
smiled more
than frowned,
and always
wore a broadbrimmed hat,
never a cap.
He was an
important, albeit dangerous, part of
my wide-eyed
youth... thus
t h e b o o k ’s
clever title, a
title neither Mary Grace Foxwell, my co-author daughter,
nor I thought of or likely ever
would have. It comes from
the hardworking, patient
publishing team at the University of Illinois. Evidently
they remembered their Old
Testament (Exodus 3:8) better than this 1969 graduate of
St. John’s Lutheran School.
While the book is mostly
my words, it is Gracie’s
triumph. Three years ago,
after more than a decade of
reader requests for a book
that compiled all the “southern Illinois” columns, Gracie
asked for copies of those
pieces. When compiled, I
was astonished to discover
there were more than 60.
Then Gracie -- as good an
editor as I’ve enjoyed (okay,
tolerated) in almost 35 years
of ag journalism -- went to
work. She edited each one,
sorted all by topic and season, and suggested I write a
lengthy, story-behind-thecolumn prologue; she wrote
a descriptive, revealing epilogue and made all presentable to potential publishers.
My role, which I fulfilled
with great diligence, was to
stay out of the way. Within
months the good folks at U
of I Press, grabbed it. Remarkable as that seems, it’s
completely explainable if
you know the Former Farmboy Corollary. The Former
Farmboy Corollary holds
that, whenever two former
farmboys meet, goodwill
pours forth. (The Full-Time
Farmer Corollary, on the
other hand, states that, whenever two full-time farmers
meet, concrete pours forth,
usually within 24 hours.)
In the book’s case, the two
former farmboys were/are
Michael Roux, U of I Press’s
marketing manager, and me.
After reading Gracie’s wellprepared manuscript, Roux
made the book a personal
project. That was more than
a year ago. Now it’s a reality;
144 pages of stories, photographs, and memories of
the people, food, and events
- the culture - of American
agriculture 50 years ago.
Back then, change was
everywhere so we quickly
dropped the old to grab as
much of the new we could
hold. Along the way, however, my kind, machinerychallenged Uncle Honey
and your homegrown noon
dinner gave way to today’s
WANTED
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WESTERN AG REPORTER
I’d Rather
Be Lucky
Than Smart
by Barry Naugle
Cowboys, heel flies,
and cattle dips
Some time back, John
Wayne starred in a movie
about driving a large herd
of cattle from South Texas
to the North. Due to circumstances which I have
forgotten, he could only hire
very young kids as cowboys
to move the herd. They got
the job done.
At the time of this movie,
the oil and gas fields were
discovered in Wyoming
in the areas of Kemmerer,
La Barge, Big Piney, and
Pinedale. In the bars and
saloons, grizzled ranchers
and badly bent old cowboys
wisely discoursed about
overthrusts, synclines, and
24/7 chases for more efficiency and more profit.
Both, however, will fade
because today, like yesterday, will fade. In its place
will rise a new land of milk
and Uncle Honey because
loving, hardworking people;
simple, great food; and the
memories both generate will
never fade.
(c) 2105 ag comm
Alan’s note: Please check the
website http://farmandfoodfile.
com/author-events/ to see if my
daughter and I have scheduled
a book reading and signing
in your community. If so,
we’d be grateful if you’d add
it to the paper’s “community
event” calendar. If we’ve yet to
schedule an event in your area
and you would like us to, email
me or call (me: 309-202-3456
or Mary Grace: 309-241-8334),
and every effort will be made
to do so. Currently, we are in
IL, WI, and MN from May 22
through June 30. July will be
devoted to IA, NE, SD, and ND.
And we plan to spend August
in KY, OH, and IN. We will,
however, go anywhere anytime
in between. Invite us!
anticlines. Big money ruined
the atmosphere. Came time
for the spring roundups in
this area, but the cowboys
were gone. They had traded
in their Five X beaver stetsons for tin hard-hats and
were now happily dispersing
their $500 a week paychecks
instead of hoarding the $90
a month stipend.
The Muddy Roundup was
woefully short of hands.
There was one rancher in his
mid-forties to run the crew,
one boy of 18, and that was
it. The boss rancher talked
the local school into letting a
group of kids out of “durance
vile” to become cowboys for
several weeks. The rancher
himself doubled as cook and
first aid administrator.
Once, when I was riding
with my boss, we came to
an area where four fences
cornered. Off a bit from the
corners was evidence of old
corrals. Old rotting posts
and rails lay on the ground
amid grass that was taller
and a little greener than the
surrounding vegetation... a
clue that at one time the old
pens had been more heavily
fertilized by crowded cattle.
Amid the rotting posts and
more lush greenery was a
large metal trough. I asked
what this set-up had been.
He told me, “This was
a dipping vat for cattle. A
group of ranchers got together and bought the long
metal trough and built the
corrals. Then they would
force their cattle through an
insecticide solution in the vat
to get rid of ticks, lice, and
cattle grubs or warbles that
infested the cattle bought up
from Texas. After several
years of treatment, we seldom saw the heel flies that
caused the grubs in cattle’s
backs. But the ranchers quit
that practice, and the heel
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P.O. Box 30758
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Office: 406-259-4589
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Fax: 406-259-6888
E-mail:
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flies are back.”
The trough was at least a
few feet wide. The length
was something like 20 feet
long, which included a
sloping ramp at each end.
The trough was buried in
the ground so that the sloping ramps were at ground
level. The tank was filled
with an insecticide solution.
A man with a pole pushed
the cattle’s heads under the
pest-killing solution as they
swam past under him.
I had yet to experience any
incidences with heel flies.
But the youngsters on the
Muddy Roundup did. The
boss man and his youngsters
had eaten their cornflakes
with sugar and canned milk
and washed it down with
hot cocoa before daylight.
Their horses were caught and
saddled. Many a saddle had
two stirrups dangling one
below the other by a thong...
a “Jacob’s Ladder” so the
short-legged rider could
mount his steed unassisted.
By daylight they had gathered some 800 head from
a section-sized holding
pasture and were holding
the bunch loosely against
a Forest Service fence. A
Forest Ranger would count
the cattle going onto the U.S.
Forest allotment. A few cows
would be cut back because
their owners had no permit
to graze the Forest. The
work was going just right.
The young cowboys were
doing fine and not crowding
or hurrying the cattle. Then
disaster struck.
The cows on the edge of the
herd seemed to freeze. They
appeared apprehensive.
Their heads turned this way
and that. Slowly their tails
raised and stood out straight
behind them. They bolted.
These heel flies did not bite
or sting. They hovered and
buzzed at the heels of the
cows and gently touched the
bristly hairs while depositing
their eggs on the hair. This
tickling egg-laying drove the
cattle to stampede. If there
were 800 cows in that bunch,
800 grown and experienced
cowboys could not have
held them. They scattered
in every direction like spit
on a hot griddle.
The downcast crew of the
Muddy Roundup rode back
to their tents, knowing that
tomorrow they would try
again. The boss said, “Buck
up, boys. That’s cowboying.
Y’all did good.”
Just before the boys dozed
off in their sleeping bags,
a small voiced called out,
“Boss? Can one cow stampede?”
The boss mumbled an answer. “Yeah. But they don’t
scatter much.”
FREMONT COUNTY SPRING SPECTACULAR
YOUTH LIVESTOCK SHOW
JUNE 5 - 7, Fairgrounds, Riverton, WY
FAMILY FUN!
2 Shows - 2 Judges - 2 Days
Market Beef, Goats & Lambs:
“NEW” Ewe Lamb Shows: 2 shows, 2 days
Beef Heifers: 3 Shows, 2 Days
Market Hogs: 3 Shows, 3 Days
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your sales rep today
SHOWMANSHIP CONTESTS: 3 Age Groups
YELLOWSTONE COUNTY IMPLEMENT
Billings, 5121 Midland Road, East of Holiday Inn • 1-800-823-9242 or 406-248-7787
7:30 AM - 5:30 PM M-F & 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Sat
GUARANTEED CASH PAYOUT OVER $5,000
Plus Awards, Belt Buckles & Daily Jackpot Cash Payouts!
ENTRIES DUE: JUNE 2, 5:00 P.M.
FMI: 307-856-6611 or fremontcountyfair.org/ Springfair
Ramblings of a
Conservative
Cow Doctor
COWGIRL
Sass & Savvy
by Rep. Krayton Kerns, DVM
www.kraytonkerns.org
by Julie Carter
An appeal to Heaven
In 1868, Decoration Day
was established to honor the
battlefield casualties of the
Civil War. After World War
I, Decoration Day expanded
to honor all fallen heroes.
Beginning with our War for
Independence up through
the first Gulf War, 650,954
Americans have died on
the battlefield. If we add
deaths from wartime disease, starvation, or accidents
unrelated to hostilities, an
additional 538,503 fatalities
brings America’s total cost
of freedom to 1,431,290
lives. Liberty is expensive.
I fear average Americans
and most politicians ignore
the high price paid by others.
When voters elect officials
promising to use government to deliver freebies
sucked from the wallets of
others, we cheapen the lives
of soldiers drawing their final breath on the battlefield.
Sadly, one entire political
party and half of the second
promote this covetousness to
maintain their positions of
power. Do you really believe
1,431,290 Americans paid
the ultimate sacrifice just
so you could have nationalized healthcare, subsidized
housing, extended unemployment, food stamps, and
green electricity? I do not,
but here is the problem.
Last week, I heard a radio
announcer summarizing
an op-ed piece stating that
virtually no one alters their
political opinions even
when confronted with irrefutable logic and facts.
Thomas Paine warned, “To
argue with a person who
has renounced the use of
reason is like administering
medicine to the dead.” If
you always vote Democrat
because Democrats are for
poor people or always vote
Republican because Republicans are for business,
you are immune to logic,
and I have wasted the last
nine years of my life trying
to explain the principles
of American freedom and
limited government.
It is time to return to America’s original approach.
George Washington was a
godly man, and the painting
of him praying in the snow
in front of his horse is a very
accurate, eye-witness account. General Washington
knew that the probability of a
rag-tag assembly of farmers,
merchants, and indentured
servants defeating the most
powerful and well trained
military in the world was
nil... except for the dispensation of Providence, so he
turned to God. In 1775, a
full year before our Declaration of Independence,
General Washington ordered
the creation of America’s
first flag, an all-white banner displaying an evergreen
tree below the motto “An
Appeal to Heaven.” As
he knew the weak-kneed
caucus of the Continental
Congress would never support aggression against the
crown, the flags were affixed
7
Thursday, May 21, 2015
WESTERN AG REPORTER
to the six privately-owned
schooners of “Washington’s
Secret Navy.” Within a short
few months, America’s
“Lee” captured the British
“Nancy,” and patriots commandeered an enormous
supply of muskets and
munitions destined for the
British regulars stationed
in Boston. This marked the
first of several miraculous
events that launched our
great American experiment
in freedom, and this brings
me to my point.
America was founded by
the grace of God, and by His
actions she shall be restored.
When I see progressive
presidential candidates proposing Biblical principles
be edited so as to be trendy,
I see the magnitude of our
problem. However, in face
of the violence inflicted on
believers worldwide and
the intimidating threats and
fines levied on practicing
Christians here at home,
now is not the time to be
shy. Instead, be bold. Fence
sitters can be brought into
the fold when they see courageous Christians openly
living their faith. Godly
men are gathering under the
“Appeal to Heaven” banner
and are asking for God to
save our republic. He always
has been and always will
be our only hope, and we
should join them in prayer
this Memorial Day.
The lingo of the West
Cowboy lingo has always
been my first language. I
never thought to dissect, define, or explain it. It always
seemed pretty clear to me.
Recently a few questions
from someone, who seriously wanted to be correct in
his terminology but claimed
only Eastern savvy, sent me
on a quest to learn why I
knew what I knew.
Here in the Southwest,
just a few cow trails north
of Mexico, we are quite
familiar with the mixture
of Spanish and English
terms. I had just never seen
them all in a list until I
purchased Robert Smead’s
book called “Vocabulario
Vaquero, Cowboy Talk.”
The book is a dictionary of
sorts that shows the absorption of a large number of
ranch-related words from
Spanish into English. He
contends it offers striking
evidence of that heritage in
the history of the American
West and its cowboys.
Many of the essential
cowboy items of tack originated in the Spanish culture.
The bozal, usually written
and said as bosal, is the
nose band of a headstall or
hackamore, which is from
the Spanish term jáquima.
Cowboys still use chaps.
That is pronounced as
“shaps,” which stems from
the original Spanish chaparreras, also pronounced with
the “sh.” When you hear
someone say “chaps” with
the ch sound, see if he/she
isn’t from New York City,,,
and check the origin of his
salsa while you’re at it.
Corral, lariat, latigo, cinch,
and ten-gallon hat all are
words we throw around that
have Spanish roots. Gallon
in the hat doesn’t refer to
capacity, but to the braided
decorations or galones that
adorned it. What came first,
tank or tanque? Both hold
water.
After the words themselves
comes the peculiar direct
phrases used by the cowboy
who is almost always free
from the constraints of polite
society or convention. These
are covered in two books
written by Ramon Adams
called “Cowboy Lingo” and
“Western Words.”
A cowboy’s slang usually strengthens rather that
weakens his speech. The
jargon of this individual
among individuals is often
picturesque and humorous
and leaves you with no doubt
how the man felt about the
subject he was talking about.
He squeezes the juice from
language, molds it to suit
his needs, and is a genius at
making a verb out of anything. The words “cowboy”
and “rodeo” are verbs, and
“try” is not. “He paid his
fees, knowing he better have
enough try to cowboy up and
rodeo like a tuff.”
When riding a horse with
a rough gait that pounds
even the best of riders, you
will hear, “That buzzard bait
would give a woodpecker a
headache.” For a breed of
mankind that has a reputation for being “men of few
words,” the cowboy culture
has its own entire dictionary of the West. It is filled
with words from several
nationalities and many occupations, all rolled into a
“lingo” uniquely their own.
Now I guess I better go
catch my old cow-hocked,
gotch-eared, ring-tailed cayuse, cinch up my kack, and
spend a little more daylight
riding for the brand instead
of for the grub line.
Julie can be reached for
comment at jcarternm@
gmail.com
Owners: Snowbelt Angus Ranch Company
Bert 406-672-0014 • Teddy 406-557-6218
LARGE FARM AUCTION
SATURDAY, May 30, 2015 10:00 A.M
Location: From Jordan, MT-Take Hwy 200 toward Winnet for 25 miles, turn South (left)
for 6.1 miles (on Hwy you turn between mile marker 188 & 187) Lunch will be available
FARM MACHINERY
Don’t miss this!
You are cordially invited to attend the Eighth
Annual Stetsons & Stilettos Ball hosted by
the NILE Foundation on Friday, May 29 at
the Northern Hotel in Billings, Montana. This
function is a benefit for NILE youth programs
and scholarships; there will be an outstanding selection of live and silent auction items.
A four-course steak dinner will be followed
by dancing to the Copper Mountain Band.
Limited seating. Price increase after May 11.
Questions? Call 0406-56-2495.
2008 JD 7330 Premium MFWD Tractor, 3 pt, PTO, 420/80R46 new tires, wheel weights, 5,166 hours
& JD 740 Front-end Loader w/7’ Bucket & Grapple (new)
Case IH 7130 MFWD Tractor, 3 pt, PTO, 18.4R42 tires, 4,651 hours & Buhler 2895 Front-end Loader
IHC 400 gas Tractor & Farmhand F11 Front-end Loader w/Bucket
IHC 544 gas Tractor, hydro, fresh overhaul & Farmhand F11 Front-end Loader w/Bucket
Steiger Panther II ST310 4-wheel drive Tractor, 23.1×34 duals, 4,000 hours (front planetarys rebuilt @ 2,000 hours) Steiger ST280 4-wheel drive
Tractor, 320 hp, 20.8×38 tires, reman inframe overhaul, frontend planetarys turned
(2) IHC 4366 4-wheel drive Tractor & Dozer (1-for parts & has 18.4×38 tires, 80%)
(2) JD 9400 Hoe Drills & (2) 9450 Hoe Drills, 10” spacing, Gen Carbide points, solid packers w/JD transports
(2) JD 8’ Double Disc Grass Seeding Drills, 6” spacing, solid packers
Concord 4812 Air Seeder, 12” spacing, 48’, new Stealth 1” points, heavy springs w/340 bushel Cart
JD 29’ Disc, model 331, new tires & hoses, disc hardly worn, 9” spacing
JD 26’ Disc, model 335, 7” spacing • JD 37’ Cultivator, model 1010, 6” spacing, Noble Harrows
Melroe 38’ Chisel Plow & Morris Harrows • Renn 24’ Chisel Plow & Harrows Wilray 16’ Roller
HAYING & LIVESTOCK EQUIP, AUGERS & BINS
Vermeer BPX Bale Processor w/liquid feed attachment & pump, model 9000 (brand new)
Vermeer R2300 Twin Rake (like new) • (2) Hay Buster H1000 Tub Grinders (1-for parts)
(5) 16’ Calf Shelters (made by Star Structures) • (2) Thorson Squeeze Chutes (1-Clinic, 1-Standard)
Powder River Calf Table • 2W Maternity Pen • (6) Sturdy Bilt Tapered Bale Feeders
(2) Heavy Duty 2-bale Feeders (made by Circle Machine Works) • (2) Heavy Duty 5-bale Feeders (made by Circle Machine Works)
(9) 10’ & (8) 8’ Winkel Portable Panels • (19) 12’ Stroberg Portable Panels • (2) 12’ Gates w/6’ Walk-ins
(27) 12’ & (17) 10’ & (15) 8’ Blue Portable Panels • (2) 12’ Gates • (2) 12’ Panels w/Walk-in Gates
(10) 12’ Sheep Panels • (17) 10’ Green Portable Panels • (3) 36” Walk-in Gates • Brandt Grain Vac, model 5000 (new updated fan assembly)
Brandt 10×60 Swing-a-way Auger • Westfield 10×61 Swing-a-way Auger • Brandt 7×41 PTO Auger
Feterl 8×55 PTO Auger • 2200 bushel Hopper Bin • 650 & 1050 bushel Steffes Hopper Bin (epoxy coated)
INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT & TRAILERS
Fiat-Allis Pay Loader, 3-yard Bucket (like new tires) • Allis Chalmers HD6 Crawler, power shift, dozer, 2,523 hours
Huber Wabco Motor Grader, 140 hp Detroit Diesel • Case 580B gas Backhoe w/Front-end Loader
Liftall Forklift, new valves in engine, 30’ lift, 7,000 # • 1997 Jet 42’ Hopper Grain Trailer, spring ride
40’ Hay Trailer • Wabash 48’ Van Trailer, air ride suspension • Fruehauf 42’ Flatbed Trailer & Lode
King Double Hopper Tanks Lode King Double Hopper Drill Fill
Circle D 28’ Tandem Axle Dually Trailer w/beavertail, 10,000# axles • Kiefer 16’ bumper-pull Stock Trailer
1 ¼ ton Trailer w/600 gallon aluminum Fuel Tank, 24 volt centrifugal pump, 2-hose reels w/meters • (2) Military 1 ¼ ton Cargo Fuel Trailers
COMBINE, SPRAYERS & MISC
Case 1660 Combine, 3,400 hours w/25’ Header, model 1010 • 25’ Header, model 1010
JD 6620 Combine (for parts) & JD 220 Header (good shape)
AG Chem Big A 2700 SP Sprayer, L10 Cummins, Fuller 10-speed, 1600 gallon stainless steel Tank, 60’ Booms, Raven Controller, Foam Marker
1972 GMC Fertilizer Truck, Detroit 300 hp Silver, 5-speed Allison automatic, 60’ Booms w/Dickey John Controller Enduraplas Fire Fighting Pickup
Sprayer w/260 gallon water tank & Honda GX160 engine & hose reel
Honda GC160 w/Pump • F&S Electric Hose Reel • Handler II Chemical Mixer • Sotera Diaphram Chemical Pump • Tuthill Fill Rite Pump
Enduraplas Mixing Cone • 1400 & 1100 gallon Poly Tanks • 40’ Storage Container
Miller 225 AC/DC Bobcat Welder w/8000 watt Generator & 16 hp Onan Engine • Portable Lincoln SA200 Pipeline Welder on Trailer
Ingersoll Rand Portable Air Compressor w/13 hp electric start Honda engine (new) • New Galvanized Tin (for 40×80 Shop)
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North Dakota, South Dakota,
Minnesota
PO Box 155
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Cell (701) 300-0845
E-mail:
[email protected]
If you're looking for herd bulls,
replacements, registered or
commercial females, I've been
making the rounds in my territory.
I'd like to help.
TRUCKS, PICKUPS & ATV’S
1996 Ford F800 Crew Cab single axle Truck, Cummins 8.3, 10-speed Fuller, 14’ Service Bed w/5500# IMT Crane w/24” reach & hydraulic Down
Riggers & Air 1974 Intl 4300 Truck, Cummins 325 hp, Reman Engine & Clutch, 13-speed Fuller, Wet Kit
1979 GMC Tandem Axle Truck, Tag, hydraulic Lift, 427 Engine, 10-speed Clark transmission, 20’ Box & Hoist w/52” sides, 50,000 miles
1975 GMC Tandem Axle Truck, Twin Screw, 427 Engine, 13-speed Road Ranger, 18’ Box w/60” sides
1971 Chevy C50 Truck, 350 Engine, 4&2, 17’ Box & 2-way Hoist • 1969 Chevy C50 Truck, 350 Engine 4&2, 15’ Box & Hoist
Military 12-yard Dump Truck, Cummins 855, 5-speed, 14’ Box (new hydraulic cylinder) • Military 2 ½ ton Tractor Truck
2008 Ford F350 Extended Cab Pickup, 4×4, 6.4 liter diesel, 6-speed, manual, 8’ Omaha Standard Flatbed, 126,000 miles
2005 Chevy 2500 HD Pickup, 6.0 liter engine, 5-speed automatic, 4×4, new radial tires w/2012 Hydra Bed, cross box, 140,000 miles
2001 Chevy 1500 Extended Cab Pickup, 5.3 liter, automatic, 4×4
1994 Chevy Extended Cab Pickup, 350 engine, 5-speed manual, 105,000 miles w/Triple T Flatbed (new)
1991 Dodge 350 Pickup, 360 engine, 4-speed, 4×4 w/Hydra Bed
1984 Chevy Dually Pickup, 454 engine, 4-speed manual, propane conversion kit, runs on gas or propane
1984 Chevy 1-ton diesel Pickup w/Hydra Bed • 1980 Chevy ½ ton Pickup, automatic, 4×4, rebuilt engine & transmission w/Flatbed
1979 GMC ¾ ton Pickup, 350 rebuilt, 4-speed, 4×4, Knapheide 8’ Service Bed
1973 Chevy ¾ ton Pickup, 350 rebuilt, turbo, automatic, 102,000 miles w/J&M Flatbed & Delta side Toolboxes • 8’ Utility Pickup Box
(3) Honda Rancher ATV’s, ((2) 2-wheel drive, (1) 4-wheel drive)
Auctioneer’s Note: Snow Belt Angus Ranch sold their ranch and will be offering their full line of equipment at auction.
There will be approximately (1) hour of small items and then we will move into the machinery line.
Rick Kniepkamp
Circle, Montana
WE SELL & ADVERTISE
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
www.r-kauction.com
(406) 485-2548
Rick Kniepkamp (406) 485-2548 or Cell (406) 939-1632
All information is from sources deemed reliable, but is not
guaranteed by the Seller or the Auctioneers. Offering is subject
to error, omission, and approval of purchase by owner. We urge
independent verification of each and every item submitted to the
satisfaction of any prospective buyer. It is every potential
bidder/purchaser’s sole responsibility to accomplish his or her
due diligence in whatever manner he or she deems advisable.
Announcements made sale day take precedence over any
printed materials. The property sells “As is-Where is.” RK
Statewide Auction Service and its auctioneers are acting solely
as auctioneers for the sellers.
8
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Bill in his prime, about 1915.
Diggin' in…
by
Bill Huntington
The bulls went right through
the lemonade stand!
It was a special occasion;
I think it was Labor Day.
The show consisted of races,
bucking bulls, and bucking horses. It really was a
WILD show. We opened
with a free-for-all horse
race. There was about 15
entries for a $10 purse. It
was a quarter-mile circle
track. It had rained the day
before and was still slippery.
(Editor’s note: This column
appeared in the August 6,
1952, issue of the Western
Livestock Reporter, but it
probably took place about
1915 in Billings, MT. LG)
Doc Dennis, a well known
character, entered the race.
He was wearing a big tengallon hat that looked like a
parasol and a beaded vest.
He had a pair of big tapaderos on his stirrups that pretty
near touched the ground.
Doc got away in the lead. His
tapaderos was a-flopping
and the mud was a-flying.
When Doc came around the
turn, his horse hit a greasy
spot. Doc’s horse fell, and all
you could see was Doc’s hat
and tapaderos flying in the
air. Then all the other horses
ran over him before he could
get up. He was tough. He
lost a little hide but mostly
he was mudded up.
We had four big bulls in a
corral. They got to fighting,
and we turned them out as
we didn’t want them to tear
the corral down. They kept
right on fighting and got
under the grandstand. Frank
Savarsy had a lemonade
stand on the shady side of the
grand stand. The bulls went
right through the lemonade
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stand and turned the barrel of
lemonade over and knocked
the counter down... four by
fours was a-cracking, bulls
a-bawling, people a-boiling
out of the grandstand! Old
Diego Frank grabbed an
axe and took after the bulls,
yelling, “Goddamneddy,
Goddamneddy, I kill the
Goddamneddy bulls!”
I don’t know if he got in a
slash or not as I was too busy
laughing to see. The bulls
came out just as the crowd
got out of the grandstand.
They met almost head on.
The people rushed back for
the grandstand. We didn’t
have to chase the bulls as
Savarsy and his axe done
it for us.
The bullfight didn’t take
any of the buck out of the
bulls; in fact, it just warmed
them up! George Williams
rode one with a saddle. This
one was called the Lamey
bull, and he was awfully
mean. He busted the cinch,
and George and his saddle
sailed off.
I rode the next bull. I did
okay... until he bucked into
the other bulls. They started
to fight and to chase him. I
was scared to stay on, and I
didn’t dare to get off. Everybody was cheering the bulls.
The bucking horses had
an extra kink in their back
that day too. A good many
of the local boys around
Billings was riding. One in
particular was Earl Talcott.
Everybody used to say he
was raised on a horse with a
rope in his hand. He drawed
a good forked horse called
“Bull in the Woods” that
had bucked off a lot of the
boys. This old pony was
plenty tough, and he was
bothering Earl. Earl didn’t
reach for the saddlehorn, but
it looked like he might have
been reaching for the back of
the saddle. His shirttail was
out, fanning the breeze, and
he grabbed his shirt instead
of his saddle and pulled it up
right over his head! It must
have helped steady him for
he got straightened up in the
WESTERN AG REPORTER
Why World War II remains
Americans’ favorite war
By Robert J. Samuelson
To mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War
II (Victory in Europe Day
occurred on May 8; Victory
over Japan Day happens
on August14), the Census
Bureau has published some
fascinating numbers that
also throw light on the war’s
larger historical meaning.
They help explain why
WWII remains our favorite
war. Here’s an overview.
First, the numbers.
10 million men drafted...
They concern the share
of Americans who served
in the military. That was,
Census reports, 16.1 million
men. Of these, 6.1 million
volunteered, and 10 million
were drafted. According
to Census, 406,000 were
killed, and another 671,000
saddle and made a good ride.
We had caught a coyote for
the occasion, and we took it
out in the middle of the arena
and turned it loose for the
boys to rope. Several boys
missed their loop but Earl
didn’t miss. When Earl made
his throw, he had the coyote
on the end of his loop.
I have no criticism of the
present rodeos. They are
good. But I do miss the
excitement and fun we used
to have when the unexpected
took place.
Note: If you enjoyed this
column, you will likely enjoy Bill’s latest book, Treasures from Bill’s Warbag.
It also makes a great gift.
$40 postpaid. Huntington
Trust, PO Box 85, Billings,
MT 59103.
were wounded - a casualty
rate of about 1 in 15 for
all services. (These figures
cover only men. Census
also reported separately
that 342,000 women served
in World War II; 217 died.)
At the war’s end, 12.1
million Americans were still
in uniform. This compared
with 3.1 million in 1970 at
the height of the war in Vietnam and 1.5 million in 2011.
In 1950, 28% of all men 18
and over were World War
II veterans; today, the active duty military (men and
women) are less than 1% of
the 18-and-over population,
says Census.
What these figures show is
that, compared with World
War II, we fight our wars
today from our hip pocket.
The Census numbers actually understate the wartime
mobilization. Looking at
just men aged 15 to 39 in
1940 (as I have), from 50 to
60% served in World War II.
Presumably, the others were
unfit, too old or exempted
from service.
Now, the implications.
This massive mobilization
tells us that the triumph in
World War II was a collective, democratic, and
unifying event, the likes of
which we never experienced
before (the Civil War in
some respects rivaled the
effect, but of course, it was
also hugely divisive). It involved almost everyone. As
soldiers, sailors, and airmen,
rich and the poor were tossed
in together; so were North
and South, urban and rural.
Shared victory...
The triumph was not the
property of any group, region, or class; the victory
was national. It belonged to
everyone. One of the war’s
great emotional appeals,
I think, is this emphasis
on communal responsibility, obligation, and reward.
(Unsurprisingly, there are
many exceptions to this, the
most conspicuous being the
continued segregation, even
in fighting units, of AfricanAmericans.)
It’s why we love World
War II. It reminds us who
we can be when we are at
our best. There is much focus now on inequality, but
the inequality is economic,
measured in dollars and
cents. World War II did not
eliminate differences of income and wealth, but it did
emphasize equality of duty
and contribution. Patriotic
commitment was not a function of bank accounts.
A second great consequence of the war was that
it reconciled Americans
- not all, but many - to the
inevitability of large organizations, even if they were
often clumsy, arbitrary, and
wrong. The U.S. Army was
a massive organization. So
were the vast corporations
that churned out Sherman
tanks, B-24s, and Liberty
ships. Many veterans knew
first-hand the vices of the
huge military; but they also
grudgingly acknowledged
the virtues. We could, it
seemed, solve many problems simply by throwing
resources at them.
Carried into the 1950s,
this lesson meant that the
violent ideological battles
of the 1930s went largely
unrepeated. The combination of victory and economic
success laid a foundation
of confidence for nearly
two decades of prosperity
and (relatively speaking)
domestic tranquility, until
we discovered that World
War II’s simple and nostalgic teachings no longer
matched the real world’s
complexities.
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Modeled after the popular ABC reality
show Shark Tank, innovators will present
their progressive ideas for the livestock
and ag audience and will compete to win
the favor of the Sharks in a fast-paced,
high-energy setting. The innovators who
dare to enter the Stock Tank must try to
convince the Sharks, who are already titans
of the industry, along with the attendees in
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Join us in the afternoon of Tuesday, June
16 at the Sheraton Steamboat Resort in
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Questions? Contact Colorado Livestock
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John Goggins, Field Editor
Montana, Northern Wyoming
& Alberta, Canada
P.O. Box 30758
Billings, MT 59107
Cell (406) 698-4159
Office (406) 259-4589
E-mail: [email protected]
If you're looking for herd bulls,
replacements, registered or
commercial females, I've been
making the rounds in my
territory. I'd like to help.
USDA COOL
study submitted to
Congress is biased
In a formal complaint filed
May 15 under the U.S. Data
Quality Act and the USDA’s Quality Information
Guidelines, R-CALF USA
challenges the accuracy,
objectivity, and integrity of
the report that USDA submitted to Congress regarding the economic impact of
the United States’ country
of origin labeling (COOL)
law. The complaint urges the
recall of the USDA COOL
report and calls for a new
economic analysis.
Congress directed the
USDA to conduct an economic analysis of COOL
in the 2014 Farm Bill. The
complaint alleges that the
resulting USDA COOL
report fails to comply with
the study specifications
established by Congress,
which resulted in grossly
overstated costs and understated benefits. Passed
by Congress in 2001, the
Data Quality Act requires
information disseminated
by federal agencies to be
accurate, reliable, and unbiased. Under the act, federal
agencies are also required
to maintain the integrity
of information as well as
to ensure their information
has utility.
According to the complaint, the USDA COOL
report is blatantly biased
and lacks both utility and
integrity. The complaint
alleges that at least two of
the three researchers commissioned by the USDA
to conduct the study - Ted
Schroeder, PhD, and Glynn
Tonsor, PhD, both of Kansas State University - were
predisposed to faulting
COOL because they were
already invested in a broad
public campaign to promote
and disseminate their 2012
claims that the costs of
COOL exceeded benefits.
These earlier claims, the
complaint states, were used
to support the 2013 federal
lawsuit filed by the multinational meatpacking lobby
against COOL.
The complaint does not
stop there. It also alleges that
the firm that provided the
USDA with cost estimates
for its study -- Sparks Companies, Inc., now Informa
Economics, Inc. -- “has a
long and sordid history of
providing grossly exaggerated, sky-is-falling-type
economic studies to benefit
the self-interests of industrialized ag conglomerates.”
The complaint explains
that Sparks/ Informa had
used exaggerated claims
to help the meatpacking
lobby defeat the 2002 U.S.
Senate-passed prohibition
against packer ownership
and feeding of livestock, to
delay the implementation
of the COOL law in 2003,
and to scuttle the USDA’s
proposed rules that would
have prohibited meatpackers from engaging in retaliatory, discriminatory, and
deceptive practices against
individual livestock producers.
As evidence that the USDA’s COOL report lacks
integrity, the complaint
9
Thursday, May 21, 2015
WESTERN AG REPORTER
alleges that the USDA misrepresented the findings of
a 2014 survey by Oklahoma
State University and then
omitted the survey’s most
relevant finding, namely
that results indicate that
“consumers valued beef that
was born or born and raised
in Canada $0.89 and $1.05
less, respectively, than beef
that was born, raised, and
slaughtered in the U.S.” It
also alleges the COOL report contradicts the USDA’s
2010 COOL investigation
that found that “Packers
were not able to sell beef
with ‘Canada’ or ‘Mexico’
labels for the same price
as beef produced entirely
within the United States.”
The complaint states that,
because of the deficiencies plaguing the COOL
Report, “it is more likely
that the true cost of COOL
is closer to zero than it is
to the overly inflated costs
highlighted in the COOL
Report.” The complaint
concludes: “Unfortunately,
COOL detractors are now
wringing their hands in anticipation of using this work
of fiction to leverage their
congressionally-focused
efforts to repeal COOL.
This at the expense of the
far more numerous COOL
supporters, which consist
of consumers who want to
know where their food was
born, raised, and slaughtered
and U.S. farmers and ranchers who want to differentiate
their U.S.-origin product
from among the growing
tide of imported products.”
- RCALF, 5/15
Prairie
Ponderings
by Lisa Schmidt
Straw...
Thank goodness for straw.
We have not had 100 drops
of rain for more than a month.
I know because my daughter,
Abigail, and I counted. The
value of straw is not nearly
as evident when the ground
is wet, but I can see it from
a mile away now that the
ground is so dry.
Our prairie grass depends
on irrigation from the sky and
fertilization from our animals. Each plant competes
for a drink and nutrients from
the soil so each seed “stakes
its claim” with a little open
soil between it and the next
plant. The plants need more
space between one another
on the rocky hillsides where
the soil is shallow and less
space in the coulees and dips
of our rolling terrain.
Wind and sun suck moisture from open soil. Straw
covers open soil. Straw is
all that is between us and no
grass for our animals.
Each winter, we feed straw
along with grass and alfalfa
to our sheep and cattle. The
stems from harvested wheat
and barley give our livestock
a boost of energy. The sheep
and cows eat what they need
and leave the rest. What goes
in must come out so the
straw mixes with naturallygenerated fertilizer.
We leave some of the straw
bales standing as windbreaks, too. By spring, even
the standing bales are humps
of mulch on the pasture.
Just like mulch in a garden,
if those humps of straw are
so deep that sunlight cannot
reach the grass underneath,
they will kill the grass. And
just like in a garden, if the
straw covers the soil yet
still allows sunlight to reach
grass, the straw helps keep
the soil warm and reduces
evaporation.
My husband Steve and I try
to treat the Graham Ranch as
one giant garden. Earlier this
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.
spring, Steve pulled a row
of old tires across all of the
straw humps that were too
deep to let sunlight reach the
grass. He spread that straw in
a thin, even layer. Today, the
only grass on the hilltops that
is still green and growing is
peeking out from under that
thin layer of straw. All of the
other grass is crunchy dry
and dormant. It is that sickening, thirsty, blue-green color
that screams for rain.
I just finished reading
“Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs
Tonight” about a girl growing up in Rhodesia before
it became Zimbabwe. She
described the African bush
as so dry that, if a truck
drove across vegetation one
single time, she could see the
tracks for several years until
it rained again. Right now,
I hesitate to drive a pickup
outside our two-track trails
because I see what it does to
that thirsty, vulnerable grass.
In fact, I still can see tracks
where I drove the pickup six
weeks ago.
Our cattle and sheep expect lush, growing grass at
this time of year. They rush
around, following Steve’s
straw trails and the grass underneath. The growing season is a long hike for grass.
Remembrance
By Paul W. Larson
It’s that time again,
when the earth renews itself,
and the sexton manicures
that dedicated ground.
And the call comes
to dutifully place the flags,
one each for those who have come
from the wars to rest here.
We gather by the flag pole
to await the color guard
with flags and rifles, and
that solemn beat of drums
that breaks the silence.
Some of their hats are not quite
squarely placed, and the salutes
not quite as snappy now.
But no matter,
for we see in them all of those
whose sacrifice made possible
our presence here today.
Someone will speak, and ask
not to forget, and remind us of
that great debt of gratitude we owe
to those who served their country.
Taps will sound, and echoes return.
Rifles will crack into eternity.
Tears silently nourish the grass,
and the sounds of their feet shuffling
into a sea of flowers tell us
it’s that time again to “Stack Arms”
on another Memorial Day.
The straw is a water bottle
for the grass underneath. The
water bottle eventually will
run dry, but at least the grass
can take a sip for now.
I hope we get some rain
soon so all of the grass can
get a drink.
Lisa Schmidt and her husband,
Steve Hutton, raise grassfed beef
and lamb at the Graham Ranch
near Conrad, Montana. She can
be reached at [email protected]
10
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Why can’t that cattle fence call me?
Editor’s note: I saw this article
in the April 2015 issue of Ketch
Pen, put out by the Washington
Cattlemen’s Association. I
found the article ... or rather the
concept presented ... intriguing
and thought some of my readers
might too. LG
Why can’t that cattle
fence call me?
That was the question that
started a new adventure for
a young farmer on the family
farm in Quincy, Washington.
Ryan Escure, who works
with his father Patrick on
a 1,000-acre irrigated farm
in the Quincy Basin, had
that question rattling in his
head for a few months. Ryan
graduated from the local
Quincy High School and
continued his schooling at
Washington State University
and ITT Technical Institute
in electronic engineering
technologies. He worked for
Hewlett-Packard while he
went to school in Spokane;
after graduation, he went to
work for Nikon as an Intel
subcontractor in research
and development for seven
years in the semi-conductor
industry. “Working with
optics, lasers, and seismic
measuring equipment and
measuring everything in
nanometers was intense, but
a lot of fun.” Ryan decided
to come back to the farm to
raise his son. “I picked the
right time to come back into
farming; GPS was the big
thing at that time, and I was
able to jump right in and run
with it.”
Ryan and his father Patrick
reorganized the farm a bit:
automating the irrigation
equipment and designing
a new strip-till gooseneck
planter for planting corn.
Ryan was used to automation
at this point and understood
what it takes to install and
manipulate the equipment
WESTERN LIVESTOCK MARKET DIRECTORY
MONTANA ADVERTISE HERE!
BILLINGS
PAYS:
Public Auction Yards
• Cattle Sales On
Wednesdays
• Sheep and Hog Sales on
Mondays
• Special Feeder Sales on
Fridays
P.O. Box 1781
(406) 245-6447
“Montana’s Largest Auction Market!”
BLS:
Billings Live Stock
Commission Co.
• Cattle Sales Every ThursdayMondays (In-Season)
• Horse Sales Last Saturday
of the Month
P.O. Box 31533
Billings, MT 59107
1-800-635-7364
(406)-245-4151
Since 1934“Montana’s Pioneer Market!”
GREAT FALLS
406 Vaughn S. Frontage Rd.
Great Falls, MT 59404
• Regular Cattle Sales Every
Wednesday
• Special Feeder Sales
Saturdays In Season
(406) 727-5400
Manager:
Lynn Perry (406) 964-8815
Cell: (406) 788-5400
Yard Manager & Fieldman:
Ryan Perry: Cell (406) 788-9869
Office Manager: Sarah McCafferty
NEVADA
FALLON
Fallon Livestock
Exchange, Inc.
• Sales every Tuesday - 1 P.M.
• Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Hogs,
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• Special Sales by Anouncement
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2055 Trento Lane
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Nevada Livestock
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• Sales every Wednesday
• 11 a.m. Slaughter Cows, Bulls
• 10:30 a.m. Small Barn
• 1:00 p.m. Feeder Cattle • Horses Last
Jack Payne, Manager
775-217-9273
Office 775-423-7760
Fax 775-423-1813
1025 Allen Road - Fallon, NV
www.nevadalivestock.us
For Only $10 Per Week
406-259-4589
NEBRASKA
VALENTINE
Valentine
Livestock Auction
• Sales Every Thursday
Greg Arendt, Manager
126 N. Government
Valentine, NE 69201
1-800-682-4874
(Office) 402-376-3611
www.valentine-livestock.com
View sales at
www.cattleusa.com
N. DAKOTA
BOWMAN
★ Sale Every Monday ★
★ Specials As Advertised ★
Harry Kerr, Owner/Manager
701-523-5666
Wayne Miller, Fieldman
701-279-6649
PO Box 58 • Hwy. 85 S
Bowman, ND 58623
701-523-5922
Toll Free -877-211-0600
DICKINSON
Stockmen’s Livestock
Exchange, Inc.
• Sales Every Thursday 9 A.M.
• Call: (701) 225-8156
James Erickson:
(701) 225-1610
Larry Schnell:
(701) 225-8156
John Fischer:
(701) 290-1606
P.O. Box 1209
Dickinson, ND 58601
www.gostockmens.com
WYOMING
TORRINGTON
Torrington
Livestock Markets
626 West Valley Rd.
Torrington, WY
307-532-3333
All Classes - Every Friday
Yearlings & Calves - Wednesday
Bred Cow Specials
Go to
www.torringtonlivestock.com
for current listings, sale
schedules & results.
Shawn Madden
307-532-1575
Lex Madden
307-532-1580
ADVERTISE HERE!
For Only $10 Per Week
406-259-4589
S. DAKOTA
FAITH
Faith Livestock
Commission Co.
• Sale Every Monday
Cattle & Sheep
• Sheep Sale Wed. (In Season)
• Special Sales As Advertised
Gary Vance (605) 967-2162
Scott Vance (605) 739-5501
Cell (605) 484-7127
3rd Generation Business
P.O. Box 397
Faith, SD 57626
(605) 967-2200
[email protected]
Sales can be viewed live on website:
www.faithlivestock.com
LEMMON
LEMMON LIVESTOCK, INC.
Phone 605-374-3877
or 1-800-822-8853
Box 477
Lemmon, SD 57638
Sales Every Wednesday
Special Sales as Advertised
Paul Huffman, Owner
605-374-5675
or 605-645-2493
Chad Hetzel, Asst. Mgr.
701-376-3748
Clint Ehret, Field Rep.
406-778-3282
or 406-772-5522
ST. ONGE
St. Onge Livestock
CATTLE SELL EVERY FRIDAY
St. Onge, SD
605-642-2200 • 800-249-1995
Website:
www.stongelivestock.com
Justin Tupper Cattle Yards Mgr.
SHEEP SELL EVERY THURSDAY
Newell, SD
605-456-2348 • 800-409-4149
Barney Barnes,
Sheep Yards Mgr. & Auctioneer
FIELDMEN
Ron Frame: 605-641-0229
Tim Tetrault: 605-641-0328
Ray Pepin: 605-892-5072
Dustin Vining: 605-354-9966
Jess Cline: 307-751-8143
Gilbert Wood,
Fieldman & Auctioneer:
605-456-2400
AUCTIONEERS
Doug Dietterle: 605-788-2963
OFFICE MANAGER
Brooke Tupper: 605-642-2200
MOBRIDGE
Phone 605-845-3622
or 1-800-658-3598
P.O Box 190
Mobridge, SD 57601
www.mobridgelivestock.com
We are in the country every day
and would like to visit with you
about your cattle marketing needs.
Jason Anderberg • 605-848-0038
Tigh Anderberg • 605-845-4877
Casey Perman • 605-848-3338
John Hoven • 605-848-3507
Tom Anderberg • 605-845-3702
Sales Every Thursday
Tuesday and Thursday
Fall Feeder Cattle Sales
Fall Weigh-Up Sales Friday
at 2 pm
Special Sales as Advertised
and software.
In the spring of 2012,
while driving a tractor back
and forth planting corn,
Ryan watched his neighbor
gathering some loose cattle
that got out the night before,
and the wheels started spinning. “Why can’t that cattle
fence call me? The irrigation
equipment does.” He approached his neighbor about
the idea, and his neighbor
said, “If you can build it, we
will be your first customer!”
After a year of research,
the first prototype was completed, but it took another
year to complete testing
on all applications. All in
all, the system worked extremely well, well enough
that other ideas started to
form. As a result, Ryan and
his wife Pam started Eagle
Eye Monitoring Systems
in September 2014. Their
company has expanded to
include not only monitoring
electric fences for livestock,
but also monitoring security
perimeter fences, irrigation
equipment for wire theft,
water pumps for orchardists
and farmers, high/low pressures, and many other applications, including the ability
WESTERN AG REPORTER
to operate on solar power. All
these options are monitored
through a cell phone with a
simple text message.
Ryan has put together a
team, which has over 40
years of experience dealing with electric fences and
designing electronic equipment. Currently, Eagle Eye
is monitoring over 100,000
head of cattle and protecting
over 100 commercial businesses, 50 residential homes,
and a handful of irrigation
equipment.
Ryan and Pam are still
farming with Ryan’s father.
Ryan’s equipment is being
used on all 12 of their irrigation circles and pumps, and in
the winter, the equipment is
being used to monitor cattle
fences after harvest foliage.
The Eagle Eye team that
Ryan manages has engineers and sales personnel
on the East and West Coasts.
For more information, call
1-844-787-0705 or visit
electricfencealarm.com
Paris was NOT about religion
Editor’s note: Here are the high
points of yet another interesting
piece from the January 26 issue
of TIME magazine. Ponder on
its message. LG
By Kareem AbdulJabbar
Another horrendous act of
terrorism has taken place,
and people like myself who
are on media speed dial
under “Celebrity Muslims”
are thrust in the spotlight to
angrily condemn, disavow,
and explain ... again... how
these barbaric acts are in
NO way related to Islam.
For me, religion, no matter
which one, is ultimately
about people wanting to live
humble, moral lives that create a harmonious community
and promote tolerance and
friendship. All religious
rules should be in service of
this goal. The Islam I learned
and practice does just that.
Violence committed in the
name of religion is NEVER
about religion; it’s about
money. ...
When one looks at the goal
of these attacks, it’s clearly
NOT about scaring us into
changing our behavior. ...
The attacks of 9/11 didn’t
frighten the U.S. into embracing Islam. Like all terrorist attacks on the West,
they just strengthened our
resolve. So the attacks in
Paris, as with most others,
are NOT about changing
Western behavior; they’re
about swaggering into a
room and flexing a muscle,
hoping to elicit admiring
sighs. In this case, the sighs
are more recruits and more
donations to keep their organization alive. They have
to keep proving they are
more relevant than competing terrorist groups. It’s just
business.
Nor should we blame U.S.
foreign policy as the spark
that lights the fuse. Poverty, political oppression,
systemic corruption, lack
of education, lack of critical
thinking, and general hopelessness in these countries
are the spark. Yes, we’ve
made mistakes that will be
used to justify recruiting new
drones. But we shouldn’t kid
ourselves that the recent report detailing our extensive
and apparently ineffective
use of torture led to mass terrorist volunteers. The world
knew we tortured. The only
thing the report revealed was
how bad we were at it. More
important, if recruits were
swayed by logical idealism, they would realize that
the fact that we conducted,
released, and debated such
a report is what makes the
U.S. admirable. We don’t
always do the right thing,
but we strive to. We admit
our faults and make adjustments. It may be glacial, but
it’s movement forward.
Knowing that these attacks
are not about religion, we
have to reach a point where
we stop bringing Islam into
the discussion. I know we
aren’t there yet, because
much of the Western population doesn’t understand the
Islamic religion. All Westerners see are brutal beheadings, kidnappings of young
girls, bloody massacres at
schools, and these random
shootings. Naturally, they
are frightened when they
hear the word Muslim or
see someone in traditional
Muslim clothing. ...
When the Ku Klux Klan
burns a cross in a black
family’s yard, prominent
Christians aren’t required to
explain how it isn’t really a
Christian act. Most people
realize that the KKK doesn’t
represent Christian teachings. That’s what I and other
Muslims long for: the day
when these terrorists praising Muhammad or Allah’s
name as they debase their
actual teachings are instantly
recognized as thugs disguising themselves as Muslims.
It’s like bank robbers who
wear masks of Presidents;
we don’t really think Jimmy
Carter and George W. Bush
hit the Bank of America during their downtime.
Ironically, terrorism is an
act against the very religion
the perpetrators claim to
believe in. It’s an acknowledgment that the religion and
its teachings aren’t enough
to persuade people to follow
it. Any religion that requires
coercion is not about community but leaders who want
power.
We can’t end terrorism
any more than we can end
crime in general. But I look
forward to the day when
an act of terrorism by selfproclaimed Muslims will
be universally dismissed as
nothing more than a criminal
attack of a thuggish political
organization wearing an illfitting Muslim mask. To get
to that point, we will need to
teach our communities what
the real beliefs of Islam are.
In the meantime, keep my
name on speed dial so we
can get through this together.
NOTE: Abdul-Jabbar is a
six-time NBA champion and
league Most Valuable Player.
He is also a New York Times
best-selling author, filmmaker,
and education ambassador.
11
Thursday, May 21, 2015
WESTERN AG REPORTER
OBITUARIES
Jeanette
Potter
Stevenson
obituary notices to
no more than
350 words. Provide birth
and
death
dates
and
places;
names
parents,
spouses,
June
29, 1914 to Mayof10,
2015
and children; military service if applicable; contributions to
Editor’s Note: Due to space constraints, please limit
the
industry;
and Jeanette
survivors.Stevenson
LG
Onag
May
10, 2015,
died peacefully in
Lewistown, Montana, six weeks shy of her 101st birthday.
Jeanette was born June 29, 1914, in Miles City, Montana,
and spent her early life on a homestead in Sonnette in westcentral Powder River County. In a piece she wrote for “Reflections at Sunset,” Jeanette said living on the homestead
was not easy. Folks leaving their homes for the lure of free
land did not find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Jeanette wrote, “Instead, they found sagebrush, rocks that
resisted the plow, rattlesnakes to be feared, and coyotes
and bobcats that preyed on their chickens and turkeys - and
wind, always the wind.” She commented, however, on what
a wonderful life the homesteaders’ life was for children.
“Children grew up with the smell of pines, the sharp sweetness of the sage after a rain, the acrid gumweed in the hot
summer sun, and horses - always horses.”
After 10 years in Sonnette, Edith Potter and her two
daughters, Jeanette and Doris, moved to Pierre, South
Dakota, where Edith cooked for a railroad crew. (Edith
and daughter Jeanette moved back to Montana to Hobson.)
Jeanette attended Hobson High School, where she met her
future husband, Jamie Stevenson. She was the valedictorian
of the Class of 1931. After high school graduation, Jeanette
traveled to Missoula, where she attended the University for
a year, beginning nurse’s training.
Jamie and Jeanette were married in 1936; their main
concern after marriage was how to put food on the table.
They did what they could to simply survive. “We were
married in the height of the Depression, and we didn’t
have an acre of land,” Jeanette told Nancy Klemens for
the Angus Journal. Eventually, they were able to finance
and buy 240 acres of land near Hobson on Gumbo Flats.
Together with Jamie’s parents, they ran 40 cattle and 120
sheep. In time, the couple moved to Hauck Coulee southeast
of Hobson where they raised five sons: Jim, Wesley (aka
Sam), Wayne, Keith, and Rick.
Together, Jamie and Jeanette continually upgraded their
assets. In 1946, they bought three registered Angus heifers,
the beginning of the Stevenson Angus Ranch. By the early
‘50s, the majority of their herd was Angus. Jeanette became
a charter member of the Montana Angus Auxiliary in 1960,
serving as vice president from 1960-1962 and as president
from 1962-1964. She served as the editor of the Montana
Angus News magazine from 1967 until the early ‘80s.
Jeanette volunteered much of her time locally as well,
working with the Hobson Woman’s Club and the Methodist
Church, helping to organize Sunday school. She was president of the PTA, served as Worthy Matron of the Eastern
Star, helped to charter the Hobson FFA, and served as a
4-H leader for more than 20 years. “She managed to get
every kid to do everything possible, I think,” said Roberta,
“and Gramma never missed a livestock or 4-H show if her
grandchildren were showing.”
Jeanette’s son Keith said, “We called her ‘Wheels.’ We
Don’t miss this!
The Montana Trappers Association (MTA) is taking
registration for the annual Youth Trapper Camp. The YTC,
Inc., is a family-oriented camp that was developed to teach
youth and adults proper care, management, preservation, and
utilization of furbearers and other wildlife. The three-day
camp is held at Camp Kiwanis, south of Havre, Montana,
in the Bears Paw Mountains. Dates for the 2015 camp are
June 12-14. The camp is geared towards family participation with campers attending classes on trapping methods,
ethics, regulations, fur handling, health, and safety. Camp
instructors are certified through the MTA education program, Montana 4-H, and MTFWP personnel.
Youth and adults do not have to be MTA members to attend, but selection is on a first come, first accepted basis.
First year participants will attend nine classes dealing with
trapping basics, conservation, regulations, ethics, furbearer
ID, safety, and health. Returning participants receive more
intense hands-on training.
All meals, snacks, drinks, and eating utensils as well as
educational material are included in the camp fee. Camp
fees are $50 adults and youth ... or $30 for youth if the
$20 scholarship is requested. Any youth 10 years of age
and under must be accompanied by an adult. Youth attending without an adult will be housed in a cabin under the
supervision of a chaperone.
For further information or registration forms, contact Jim
Buell by phone at 406-376-3178 or by email at 7mbuell@
itstriangle.com or go to the YTC link on the MTA website
at www.montanatrappers.org
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]
lived down in a coulee, and all you did was see the backend of her wheels as she drove away.” She loved to travel
and experience the world. Throughout her life, there were
many trips to the California coast to visit extended family
and to the annual livestock shows and meetings, anything
to do with Angus. Some of the most memorable trips
included a visit to the Holy Land, travels in Australia and
France, riding a camel in Egypt (in her 70s), and viewing
the Serengeti from a hot air balloon (in her 80s).
Jeanette was good about giving people down on their luck
a hand up, even to giving them a place to live. She gave
a home to several children who had family problems of
one kind or another. People were always welcome at her
home for a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. Jim said his
mother always told her children, “You’re no bigger than
your dreams. If you dream big, you can do big things.” And
Jim’s son Jim, Jeanette’s oldest grandchild, said, “Every
person that ever met Gramma walked away wanting to do
bigger and better things.”
Jamie Stevenson died in 1975 at the age of 62. That same
summer Jeanette was involved in a car accident that nearly
took her life. In 1976, she split and sold the ranch to her
boys. “That’s how all five boys got going,” Keith said.
Jeanette served as president of the American Angus Auxiliary in 1978-1979 and was named their Distinguished
Woman of the Year in 1986. She was inducted into the
Montana State Fair Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1981 for her
“distinguished and unselfish service.” She served on the
Governor’s Council for Aging and was recognized in 1990
as Montana’s Outstanding Senior Volunteer. In 1991, she
was formally inducted into the Angus Heritage Foundation,
the second woman ever to receive this honor.
Jeanette embraced life and lived it to the fullest. Her many
accomplishments, recognitions, and awards are a wonderful testament to her life’s work. She knew no stranger and
emanated a never-ending optimism that will influence for
generations to come.
Jeanette was preceded in death by her parents; sister
Doris Gary; husband Jamie Stevenson; three sons, Wayne,
Wesley, and Rick; and a great-grandson, Bryce Piocos. She
is survived by two sons, Keith and Jim; 15 grandchildren;
28 great-grandchildren; and 10 great-great-grandchildren.
The family suggests memorials in Jeanette’s honor be sent
to the Hobson Library or the Hobson Methodist Church.
The editor likes this photo and the thought behind
it. Here’s what the anti-ranchers don’t understand
about us. Michael Castleberry, who ranches near
Ekalaka, Montana, sent me this fun photo a couple
of weeks ago with the following caption: “Over the
weekend, we had a sick calf and wanted to give
it some shelter from the rainfall we were getting.
When we went back out the next day, the calf was
feeling better and standing on her own. She is still
doing well today... we went back to check on her this
morning, and we could barely pick her out from the
other calves. We posted this picture on Instagram,
and Sandy Jacobs suggested we send it your way for
the paper. The caption we used on Instagram said,
‘We are thankful for all the moisture we are getting.
This sick calf is thankful for the extra doghouse for
shelter.’” Thanks to both Michael for sharing and
Sandy for suggesting! It’s why our paper is the Best
in the West!
VISIT US ONLINE AT:
www.westernagreporter.com

Upcoming SaleS:
may
Wednesday, May 27
Regular Sale
JUne
Wednesday, June 3
Regular Sale
Wednesday, June 10
Regular Sale
Wednesday, June 17
Visit us at www.westernlivestockmontana.com
Serving
the Big Sky
Country
North
Central
REPRESENTATIVE
SALES
• Mayof13,
2015
• 837Montana
Sold
Steers
West Butte Ranch
Lance Mcdowell
John Simmes
Cows
Green Coulee Ranch
Mike Gondeiro
Ira And Sons Inc
Cooper Martin
Chris Moline
Cobb Charolais Rnch Inc
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
Anthony Ayers
Robert Rumney
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
Curry Cattle Co
McKamey West
Walter Johnson
David Bumgarner
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
Barrett Lnd & Lvestock
Charles Crabtree
Gregory Bumgarner ,
John McCafferty
Nels Debruycker
Lance Mcdowell
Charles Crabtree
John McCafferty
Broken O Land & Lvestck
Green Coulee Ranch
Kaare Pearson
Daniel Mortag
Joel McCafferty
David Ryffel
Broken O Land & Lvestck
Dan Bird
John Park
Billiette Brooks
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
Sweet Grass
Chester
Sunburst
4 blk/red
2 blk
8 blk/bwf
Sunburst
Belt
Bynum
Conrad
Geraldine
Augusta
Augusta
Choteau
Cascade
Augusta
Valier
Great Falls
Raynesford
Belt
Augusta
Augusta
Choteau
Belt
Belt
Choteau
Chester
Choteau
Belt
Augusta
Sunburst
Fairfield
Great Falls
Belt
Highwood
Augusta
Cut Bank
Dutton
Dillon
Augusta
1
3
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
5
2
1
2
1
1
3
1
3
2
1
1
1
3
2
2
1
2
2
2
blk
blk
blk
char
blk
char
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
rwf
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
char
blk
blk
blk
blk
Red
Red
blk
blk
Badger Hole Inc
Valley View Ranch Inc
John McCafferty
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
John Mott
Broken O Lnd & Lvestck
Orville Forseth
Jason Hanson
Bernice Boucher
Dana Ranch Co Inc
Diehlia Rains
David Ryffel
Billiette Brooks
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
Jason Hanson
Grassy Butte Farms Inc
James Or Theresa Hadley
F 5 Inc.
Dana Ranch Co Inc
Broken O Lnd & Lvestck
B & JJ Inc.
Reese Mortag
Dana Ranch Co Inc
Green Coulee Ranch
Dana Ranch Co Inc
Curry Cattle Co
Bulls
Bowman Ranch Inc
Diamond Willow Rnch Inc
Merle Morris
Levine Ranch
Clarence Kramer
Orville Forseth
Merle Morris
Keith Smelser
Michael Richert
Mountain View Rnch, Inc
Heiferettes
Rocky Ridge Angus
240.00
213.00
205.00
1,100
1,155
1,195
1,360
1,255
1,430
1,088
1,300
1,175
1,118
1,260
1,315
1,115
1,230
1,329
1,245
1,285
1,298
1,405
1,315
1,122
1,310
1,275
1,490
1,350
1,700
1,250
1,395
1,258
1,285
1,475
1,365
1,310
1,275
141.00
131.00
131.00
122.50
122.00
121.50
121.50
121.00
121.00
121.00
121.00
121.00
121.00
120.00
120.00
120.00
119.50
119.50
119.50
119.50
119.50
119.00
119.00
119.00
119.00
118.50
118.50
118.50
118.50
118.50
118.50
118.50
118.50
118.50
Choteau
Stockett
Belt
Augusta
Simms
Augusta
Fairfield
Sunburst
Conrad
Laredo
Simms
Highwood
Dillon
Augusta
Sunburst
Galata
Fairfie
Galata
Laredo
Augusta
Belt
Ulm
Laredo
Sunburst
Laredo
Valier
3
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
2
4
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
blk
bwf
blk
blk
blk
blk
red
blk
blk
blk
blk
red
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk
blk/bwf
blk
blk
1,380
1,230
1,293
1,420
1,353
1,485
1,785
1,255
1,265
1,310
1,235
1,345
1,285
1,521
1,195
1,315
1,363
1,698
1,340
1,270
1,455
1,218
1,428
1,528
1,245
1,378
118.50
118.25
118.00
118.00
117.50
117.50
117.50
117.50
117.00
117.00
116.50
116.50
116.50
116.50
116.00
116.00
116.00
115.50
115.50
115.00
115.00
115.00
115.00
114.50
114.50
114.50
Belt
Belt
Augusta
Wolf Creek
Choteau
Fairfield
Augusta
Power
Fairfield
Belt
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
char
char
blk
blk
blk
red
blk
red
blk
red
2,330
2,070
2,060
2,040
2,185
1,860
1,885
1,910
2,605
1,610
163.00
159.00
158.00
156.00
154.00
152.50
152.50
151.50
150.50
150.00
Galata
3 blk
917
169.50
Listen to Market Reports Monday thru Friday on:
KMON-AM 560
KSEN-AM 1150
Great Falls
Shelby
8:35 a.m.
6:30 a.m.
KOJM-AM 610
KPQX-FM 92.5
Havre
Havre
Your Golden Triangle Northern Livestock Video Auction Representative.
406 Vaughn S. Frontage Rd. • Great Falls, MT 59404
(406) 727-5400
6:40 a.m.
6:35 a.m.
Regular Sale
Wednesday, June 24
Regular Sale
JUly
Wednesday, July 1
NO SALE
Happy 4th of July!!!
Wednesday, July 8
Regular Sale
Regular Sale Every Wednesday
Call the Crew at Western To Consign
Sieben Ranch Co
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
Chris Moline
Rocky Ridge Angus
Steve Balgeman
Valley View Ranch Inc
Sieben Ranch Co
Barrett Lnd & Lvestck
Leroy Strand
Phil Wirth
Lance McDowell
Steer Calves
Lance McDowell
Daniel Mortag
Daniel Mortag
Daniel Mortag
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McKamey West
John Simmes
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Helena
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1
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General Manager: Lynn Perry • Cell (406) 788-5400
Yard Manager & Fieldman: Ryan Perry • Cell (406) 788-9869
Office Manager: Sarah McCafferty
Yard Foreman & Fieldman: Tim Brunner • Cell (406) 788-5403
Auctioneer:
Casey Weaver • Cell (406) 544-0386
Email: [email protected]
Website: westernlivestockmontana.com
[email protected]
Regular Cattle Sales Every Wednesday • Special Feeder Sales Saturdays In Season
12
Thursday, May 21, 2015
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.
Trouble in the offing...
“Aren’t they so cute?”
said Pudge as she admired
Osage’s fluffy ducklings
as they waddled behind
her. Banjo smiled as he
watched, too. “They’re
already getting big,” said
Pudge. “I just want them to
stay soft and fuzzy.”
“They’ll be getting feathers soon,” said Banjo.
“Then the fun will really
star.”
“What do you mean?”
said Pudge.
“They’ll start trying to fly,”
said Banjo.
“How is that funny?”
asked Pudge.
“Oh, it’s kind of funny
and kind of not, I guess.
They’ll just twitter and flutter and bounce along until
they get their wings under
them.” Pudge laughed
at the thought. It was already a warm spring morning. Bugs were hatching,
and the ducklings chased
them, mirroring Osage.
Banjo and Tuff sat on their
haunches and enjoyed
the peacefulness. Banjo
could see down to the
lower pasture where Tuff
was marching on patrol,
the south pasture where
Ben and the other horses
were hanging out, and the
calves and their mamas in
the hills where Big Ed was
on guard. The house was
down the lane, and the
trees that welcomed the
entrance blew in the soft
breeze. Banjo sighed a
contented sigh and looked
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May.indd 1
3/20/15 4:07 PM
at Pudge. He knew they’d
have to get ready for the
Memorial Day festivities,
but in the mean time, this
was a perfect way, he
thought, to celebrate the
day.
What Banjo couldn’t see
were the eyes lurking in
the sunny day’s shadows.
He was close, very close.
He knew that, if he really
wanted to, he could grab
one of the animals he
needed, but it might risk not
being able to nab the others. His true whiskers were
long and black, outlining
his pointed jowls and sharp
teeth and draping below
his chin. His eyes glowed
an ominous orange. He
only had a few more nights
before he would have to
wait another two years.
The wolf had thought for
sure that his previous traps
would have worked, but the
ranch crew evaded him.
He looked at his paw. It
still ached from the sharp
teeth he’d stepped on as
he tried to chase Banjo
and Tuff down. He’d looked
like a wolverine then, but
it was just a disguise.
The ultimate camouflage
he’d learned to pull from
the powers hidden deep
inside him at his core and
from his ancestor’s traits.
Some people would say
that they saw a wolf in the
mist and then it was gone
as quick as the mist came,
or they’d see a wolf dance
in the flames of a campfire,
all to disappear as the
flames changed direction.
This wolf had learned how
to elude and evolve for his
needs, and morphing into
another animal’s frame
was a gift he’d been given.
“Now only to make it last
forever,” muttered the wolf
as he watched and waited.
“Cling! Bang!” went a
noise. The wolf slunk back
and disappeared in the
tree’s shadow.
“Come on, Hannah!”
said Tate as pulled at the
harnesses. “Let’s get this
all straightened out so we
can harness up Ben and
Chisum for the Memorial
Day parade.”
“I’m coming,” she mumbled. She was sitting with
Banjo and Pudge, and now
had three fluffy ducklings
hopping up and down on
her lap. She’d brought
a couple pieces of stale
bread. “They love it,” she
giggled.
“Peep, peep, peep,” the
ducklings responded.
“They’re going to sink
when the get into the water,” said Osage to Banjo.
“They’ve eaten so much
lately.” The two laughed.
“They’re happy,” said
Banjo. Osage nodded.
“Come on!” hollered Tate
in frustration. Hannah leapt
to her feet.
“Okay, okay,” she said.
She looked over her shoulder, and the three ducklings were pitter-pattering
behind her.
The whistle was shrill,
and it made Hannah jump.
Banjo jumped to attention, the ducklings ran to
Osage and scurried under
her feathers, and Pudge
launched herself into the
nearest tree. Tate had two
fingers pushed against the
sides of his lips and let
out another sharp, high,
and deafening whistle.
He moved his head. “I see
them. Here comes Ben,”
said Tate.
Hannah shook her head.
“Do you really have to whistle so loud?” she asked.
“Well, it got you moving,
didn’t it?” he said. “We don’t
have all day. These lines
are a mess, and we need
to get all the animals in the
wagon too.”
Hannah gritted her teeth.
“Someone’s testy,” she
said. “It’s a beautiful day.
Let’s enjoy it. Let’s celebrate those we remember
in peace and not rush
around.”
Tate dropped an ornate
bridle. “I know,” said Tate,
scolding her. “But this is
important, too. These are
all of Grandpa’s harnesses
and his wagon. I want him
to be represented well for
all he did for our country
and for keeping our ranch
going. It’s his legacy and
our heritage.”
“You’re right,” said Hannah. “I’ll get all of the animals together.” Together
the siblings pulled the
reins out and laid them on
the ground, polished the
silver conchos, and rubbed
the leather seats until they
glowed. Hannah crated
Osage and her ducklings
and Mrs. McBauck and
a couple of hens. Pudge
haltered Ewela and her
lambs and Cowsuela and
her calf so they were safe
for the ride to town. “Load
up!” she called to Banjo
and Tuff. “Let’s go have us
a Memorial celebration to
remember!”
Banjo and Tuff wagged
their tails, and Tate gently
pulled on the reins for
Ben and Chisum to walk
forward. They were off, but
not out of sight when the
wolf appeared from behind
the trees.
“Perfect, they’re all together,” he hissed sinisterly. “Exactly as it needs
to be... all the guards... off
guard. It will be a day of
memories when they get
back. Ha.. ha.. ha!” His
eyes glowed, and saliva
plopped to the ground
as he curled his lips and
continued to laugh in his
wicked tone.
To be continued...
AGRI-KID
of the Week
Six-year-old Trevor Burdick helps wrestle calves at
Mundorf’s branding south of Wood Lake, Nebraska.
Yet another fine example of why our rural kids know
how to work! Thanks to Dedra Stoner for sharing.