By Kayla Sargent
With the stroke of President Trump’s pen, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act become law on Monday, November 25. The Act will make certain acts of animal cruelty a felony nationwide. Specifically, intentional “crushing” – defined as crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling, or otherwise causing serious bodily injury – will now be unlawful, as will the
Read MoreIn response to a recently published editorial opinion by Ethan Lane, NCBA VP of Government Affairs, ICOW (Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming) offers another side of the GRSB (Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef) issue.
Mr. Lane said NCBA isn’t a member of WWF (World Wildlife Federation) and WWF is not a member of NCBA. True, however, they are both on the Board
Read MoreWe recently returned from taking the grandchildren to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and I came back home with a diversification idea for the ranch. During our visit, we had several experiences with Uber which got me to thinking about starting my own version of Uber right here in Big Timber, Montana.
First of all, seven people do not fit in
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On Tuesday, November 19, 2019, Duane Lathim passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home on the family farm at the age of 85. Duane was born on July 24, 1934 in Dayton, Washington to Art and Okal (Walker) Lathim.
At the age of 9, the family moved to a small farm along the Snake River which is now Windust
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Charles Roy Gaugler, 70, of Garneill died Sunday afternoon at his home of natural causes. He was born September 9, 1949 in Lewistown, Montana the son of Bill and Faith (Stone) Gaugler. He was proud of his birth date: 9-9-49. He lived his entire life at his ranch headquarters in Garneill, Montana. Charles will be remembered by his generosity, sense
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A portion of the farmers and ranchers who attended the event.
By Kerry Hoffschneider
Regenerative farmer and cattle producer Curtis Sayles was one of several speakers at the “Opportunity in the Ark Valley” mini conference held November 7-8 in Lamar, Colorado. The conference offered farmers and ranchers a wide variety of information to improve their soils and learn about the
Read MoreAs a kid at our mountain cow camps we played “one hundred or bust” after dinner to determine who did the dishes. The cards are dealt and starting at zero, cowboy number one adds to the count by playing a card from his hand. The count proceeds around the table until the first unlucky player busts one hundred. They are
Read MoreLast week the plot thickened: Banjo and the ranch crew knew about the renegade’s plot to steal back the lynx and her kitten, even on Thanksgiving day. Will they get caught with Rascal’s help or does he abandon the crew at the last minute, and is there an early Christmas present headed to their way?
“Just a moment,” the Mama said
Read MoreBy Hertha L. Lund
Even though I would rather not engage in the CSKT Compact debate due to the nasty, vitriol of some who oppose it, I find myself again responding to unfounded arguments against the CSKT Compact. Recently, WAR printed an op-ed by someone who moved to Montana to fight the Compact who personally will not lose anything regardless of
Read MoreThe holiday season is here which, for me, can be summarized with two words: food and family. Although this column usually revolves around food (I mean, it is about agriculture after all), I want to take this opportunity to focus on family — specifically farming families.
A common claim I see online is the idea that America’s farms are no longer
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By Kayla Sargent
Scandal runs deep in the Brazilian meatpacking industry. JBS SA and Marfrig Global Foods, the world’s top two meat processors, have each been involved in multiple bribery schemes in order to obtain loans. Perhaps more concerning is the fact that these Brazilian companies used “ill-gotten financing to acquire American companies,” according to United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President
Read MoreWhile many in the U.S. dairy sector focus on why the nation’s largest milk bottler, Dean Foods, filed for bankruptcy November 12, the smart money — if there is any smart money left after four years of crushingly low milk prices — is focused on what’s next.
What’s next is what’s always next when your business is built on shrinking markets,
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Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) will hold its 135th Annual Convention and Trade Show December 10 – 12, in Billings, Montana. In-person registration begins Tuesday, December 10 at 12:00 p.m. or attendees can register online at www.mtbeef.org/msga-events/annual-convention-and-trade-show/.
MSGA’s Annual Convention provides attendees with education, information, fellowship and decision-making opportunities for Montana’s cattle industry as well as access to the largest ranching industry
Read MoreLast week I got halfway through an article published by Fast Company called “The beef industry wants you to think it has a ‘minimal’ environmental impact (it does not).” You may recall author Kristin Toussaint citing World Resources Institute (WRI) fellow Tim Searchinger in an effort to dispel NCBA’s recently published white paper about the true, and minimal, environmental impact
Read MoreFirst and foremost, I would like to take the opportunity to wish all of you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving. I know it seems like there are a lot of “trials-and-tribulations” in our lives at times, but this is the perfect holiday to reflect and be thankful we all live in this country. Be thankful for the freedoms and
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Corbin Cass, age 5, flanks a calf for the boys to brand at his family’s ranch just south of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Corbin is the son of Jacob and Ashely Cass and said working cows is his favorite thing to do.
Read MoreI am all about shopping local as the Black Friday ads overshadow the Thanksgiving holiday – especially since the experience I had the last time I ventured out on Black Friday. Although it was six years ago, it still looms large in my memory.
During a temporary lapse of sanity, I found myself caught up in the Black Friday shopping frenzy –
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by Sheila Hildebrand
At first glance, the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak appears to be an unfortunate opportunity for American pork producers as they face the current domestic market malaise caused by bulging supply. Ailing today’s hog market, Kerns and Associates Analyst Steve Meyer said “it is clear that it is neither export nor domestic consumer demand. That leaves
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by Mayzie Purviance
Over time, we as humans have combined various products for better or worse. Phrases such as “Bacon makes everything better,” and the vocal stylizing’s of the country music power couple Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash prove that sometimes, combining two things can be beneficial. On the other end of the spectrum lies many things which people
Read MoreIt was a Thursday. Sam slowly crept into my clinic and he was caked with mud. Being a working Corgi, he was short in stature but usually long on enthusiasm so obviously, something was amiss.
X-rays showed Sam had torn his diaphragm and abdominal organs had herniated into his chest. Surgery revealed his stomach had passed through the right side of his
Read MoreBy Gilles Stockton
Grass Range, MT
I am sure that most cattle producers would embrace enhanced disease traceability if indeed it was shown that this is necessary. But that is the point. The need for electronic identification for cattle in interstate commerce has never been made. Instead, like in a recent presentation by Joe Leathers at a Feeding Quality Forum
Read MoreIt was a Thursday. Sam slowly crept into my clinic and he was caked with mud. Being a working Corgi, he was short in stature but usually long on enthusiasm so obviously, something was amiss.
X-rays showed Sam had torn his diaphragm and abdominal organs had herniated into his chest. Surgery revealed his stomach had passed through the right side of
Read More“Do you think there’s any leftovers?” Tuff asked.
Banjo looked at him curiously, “I’m still stuffed. I don’t know how you can be thinking of leftovers already.”
“I can hardly wait,” Tuff said. “We need to get these renegades off the ranch, so I can bury my nose in some more pumpkin pie.” Banjo smiled.
“These fellows plot came at the worst possible
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) published a white paper proving what most in our industry already knows to be true – cattle are part of the climate solution, not the problem. The research concludes that global beef lifecycle emissions, from feed production to consumer, account for 6 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The white paper
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When I was younger, one of the most important lessons Ma (my great-grandmother) taught me was about judgment. She used an age-old expression, “Don’t make judgements unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” As time went on, I realized just how true this statement could be. Now, I think I see it more than ever in the way we,
Read MoreBy Barbara Quinn-Intermill, MS, RDN, CDE, LMNT
There seems to be a lot of clamoring to replace real meat in the marketplace. Here are some things to consider:
We need protein. In fact, experts predict that within the next 30 years, the world will need to produce 50 percent more protein to adequately feed everyone on this
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GAP Certification Can Only Be Authorized by EarthClaims
by Kayla Sargent
Cate Doubet Photo.
“GAP certified” may be listed in the sale catalog when a set of calves comes through the ring and the auctioneer exclaims, “these have all the bells and whistles, folks.” Global Animal Partnership (GAP) certification may be worth the
Read MoreThanksgiving was the kickoff to a month of bookkeeping, depreciation schedules and checkbook balancing for my parents on the southern Illinois dairy farm of my youth. It culminated in an afternoon meeting, usually the week after Christmas, where my father would detail the farm’s annual performance to his three, city-dwelling partners and lay out his plans for the coming year.
The
Read MoreDonald Everett Little Sr., 85, passed away dreaming of his late wife, Donna at his park model in Yuma, Arizona on October 9.
Don was born April 9, 1934 in Springfield, Illinois to James and Vera (Goodan) Little. After spending his younger years in Livingston, Montana, Don’s father relocated the family to Clyde Park when Don was a freshman. Story is
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The billboard graphic will be displayed in three locations across Montana over a six-month period.
The Montana Beef Council (MBC) is launching a new campaign to focus on the merits of their favorite protein, beef, focusing on the simplicity of one ingredient with multiple benefits. Three billboard locations were selected throughout the state to carry a simple message, “Nicely
Read MoreMother Nature turned a colorful, late fall into a bitterly cold, early winter as if to prove — after a planting, growing and harvest season marked by floods, drought and mud — that she’s still in charge and still not happy.
Not happy about what? No one can say but almost every American from Montana’s Western Slope to Maryland’s Eastern Shore
Read MoreBy Samuel H. Clovis, Jr., MBA, DPA
Former National Co-Chair and Chief Policy Advisor,
Donald J. Trump for President Campaign
I am not sure people in Congress do not need a lesson in civics and perhaps a re-read (or more likely a first read) of the Constitution. Their ability to change rules to avoid accountability has led to a very dangerous situation for
Read MoreWhile running in the pre-dawn darkness, I spotted this season’s first holiday light display. I chuckled thinking of the meme condemning those who begin decorating for Christmas in October — “Mary hasn’t even told Joseph she is pregnant yet.”
Because I built my cattle-panel, Christmas igloo display three years ago and have neither used it nor taken it down, I might
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by Jamie Henneman
All over-the-counter animal antibiotics will soon require a veterinarian’s prescription, according to a new guidance document released by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The proposed regulation is an effort to “limit medically important antimicrobial drugs in animals that are considered necessary for human health.”
Common antibiotics like tylosin, penicillin and tetracycline are some of the drugs that
Read MoreBert Louis Hartman, 89, entered his heavenly home on November 4, 2019. Bert was always a man of God, and a hardworking cattle feeder and businessman who loved his family, his church and faith, and his work.
Born on March 25, 1930, Hartman remained a lifelong resident of Vineland, working as a cattle feeder for nearly 82 years, starting with his
Read MoreIt’s come to my attention that lately there’s been an influx of dairymen into the cattle business due to low milk prices. For many, making “The Change” has brought great joy because some dairymen felt there always was a cowboy or cowgirl hiding inside a dairyman’s body. But for others, making “The Change” has been more difficult because it involves
Read More“Alright, alright, alright!” snapped Rascal. “I’ve had about enough of this mushy stuff! I’m outta here. You mangy mutts can figure out this delivery truck gang yourselves and find some tasty treats elsewhere.”
The lynx mama looked up.
“Thank you for helping me get back to him,” she said and licked the top of her kitten’s head. “Those men are no good,”
Read MoreIn a time when there are continually more mouths to feed and an increasing need for high-quality, nutritious sources of protein, milk consumption has been on a steady decline for more than 40 years. Dean Foods Company, the nation’s largest milk processor, recently filed bankruptcy and cited decreased demand as a reason for financial strain.
While some say more cultured culinary
Read MoreThe Fall 2019 sale season kicked off in a big way for me last week as I attended a production sale every day of the week. The week before I had a couple of bull sales, but last week saw things kick into high gear and it will continue to be extremely steady from now until Christmas. I have already
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by Jamie Henneman
The single largest purchaser of beef in the United States, the McDonalds restaurant chain, recently pledged to only buy beef from sources that no longer use antibiotics for prevention purposes. The decision caused the consumer-watchdog publication Consumer Reports to give the company high ratings, praising the commitment.
“To protect public health and push the beef industry to eliminate the
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By Mayzie Purviance
The Green River Drift located in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley is a historic cattle drive which is still relevant today. The Sommers family, along with a handful of other families, has not only driven their cattle to and from the high country of the Drift, but been a part of a historic and revolutionary PBS documentary, “The
Read MoreLet’s talk about validity. Validity, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “the quality or state of being valid.” Valid, also defined by Merriam-Webster, means “having legal efficacy or force,” “well-grounded or justifiable: bring at once relevant and meaningful,” and “logically correct.”
In any news piece, story, movie, radio broadcast or gossip session, validity is of the utmost importance. If a source is invalid,
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By Mayzie Purviance
“We decided to do it ourselves,” Mary Heffernan said at the 2019 Montana Farm Bureau Convention in Billings, Montana on November 13. This phrase sums up Heffernan’s speech and the entire concept of her family’s operation, Five Marys Farms.
After opening several successful small businesses in the San Francisco Bay area, Mary and Brian Heffernan, along with their four
Read MoreWhen I first began this column, it was the first and easiest thing for me to write each week. As stories surfaced each day, there was always a new topic that demanded my attention and I knew exactly how I wanted to respond to pressing issues. Fake meat, animal activists, environmental extremists, industry division, the potential topics for a journalist
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By Kayla Sargent
Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have dominated the new plant-based protein markets. Now, the race is on to create plant-based “meats” that go ‘beyond’ the old ground products and replace whole muscle cuts like the beef industry’s prized possession — steak.
While research has been taking place overseas to “grow” cells on structures in a lab that resembles meat,
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During his lifetime, the Angus bull 1AN01238 RESOURCE made an impact on the global beef industry with progeny located around the world.
1AN01238 S A V RESOURCE 1441, a bull that has graced the pages of the GENEX Beef Genetic Management Guide since 2013 and ranked in the top ten for USA Angus sire registrations for the past four
Read MoreMerlyn Altha Kirk Robinson, 92, a longtime local Heppner area resident, passed away, July 10, 2019, at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner, Oregon. She was born September 5, 1926 and grew up on the local wheat and cattle ranches of her parents, Merle N. Kirk and Altha Devin Kirk. Merlyn and her descendants became the third, fourth and fifth generations
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With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Reverend Elias Stahl. He passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side after a short period of colon cancer. He was born October 27, 1948 at the Deerfield Colony where he lived all his life.
Eli was elected minister in 1987 and was ordained in 1995. He lived a dedicated
Read MoreBy the time the sliding side door was pulled open, Rascal had scooted out of the crate. He watched from the shadows of the many packages, as the delivery driver pulled the crate out of the box truck and slid the door snuggly closed. The masked bandit took a deep breath of relief, but quickly changed his focus when he
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This week, I subjected myself to watching the film, “Cowspiracy.” Although I have many scholarly thoughts and statistics to share, this week, we’re not going to do that — this week, we’re just going to talk. No crazy facts and figures, just logical thinking.
Cowspiracy is a 2014 documentary which was produced to shed light on animal agriculture’s environmental impact. If
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By Mayzie Purviance
The future, especially for the agricultural industry, can bring forward some concerns. However, events such as the Youth Ag Summit (YAS) shed some light on a younger generation of cultivators.
“It’s an awesome way to network with other people who are interested in your passions for wanting to make a difference in ag around the world and in our
Read MoreThis week’s column is one I have been contemplating for several months. It seems like every time I turn around I hear the word “sustainability” in agricultural circles. Most conventions or meetings I attend, many articles and opinion pieces, and multiple speakers all center around sustainability and how it pertains to the U.S. agricultural industry.
The definition of sustainability, according to
Read MoreBy Catherine Vandemoer, Ph.D.
Polson, MT
Once again, the proponents of the CSKT Compact are flooding the airwaves, newspapers, and mailboxes with threats of “endless litigation” and “having to hire your own lawyer” if the CSKT Compact is not passed by Congress. They claim that if the CSKT Compact is passed, Montanans will not have to go to court to defend their
Read MoreBy Ethan Lane, Vice President, Government Affairs, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)
When the topic of sustainability comes up in conversation in cattle circles, it’s common to see heads shaking. It’s not a topic we like to discuss in our industry – primarily because it’s so often raised with bad intentions and worse information. We bristle because we’ve been doing things
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A book review by Linda Grosskopf
Looking for a wonderful book for a Western-raised child? If so, then here is a suggestion just in time for Christmas – “J is for Jackalope”, written and illustrated by Teal Blake.
I am a great fan of the artist Teal Blake. I wasn’t aware, however, that his sizeable warbag of skills and talents included competent
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By Mayzie Purviance
Mike Callicrate joined the Northern Plains Resource Council at their 2019 annual meeting November 9, 2019 as their Saturday morning speaker. Callicrate holds many titles: Cattleman, political activist, author, founder of the farm advocacy group, Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), and the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit again the world’s largest meat packer IBP (now part
Read MoreLast Friday, I spoke to the South Dakota Stockgrowers; ranchers who have persevered through recent, repeated, catastrophic weather events. Like the twisted I-beam, makeshift flagpole jutting from the rubble of the World Trade Center, when the dust settles and the snow melts there are always a few determined cowboys still standing. Such describes the cattlemen of South Dakota. It was
Read MoreSeveral years ago, when Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Tom Friedman was asked to choose which rising Asian nation, China or India, he’d bet the farm on, Friedman didn’t hesitate to pick India.
The reason, he explained, was that while both nations were on an expressway to the future, India (the world’s largest democracy) had an open road in front of it and
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By Kayla Sargent
Readers may recall a WAR article about animal welfare versus animal rights titled “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing.” Cavalry Group founder Mindy Patterson warned us that animal “rights” is merely a political agenda while animal “welfare” is what ranchers know best — the animal’s health and wellbeing. The recently passed PACT Act is the utmost example of “a
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By Barry Naugle
The first thing I noticed that morning was that the troop transport ship’s engines were quiet. The ship was at dock. The ship’s speakers told every soldier to stay in his assigned quarters. Finally, our names were called and filed off the ship as an officer checked us onto American soil, once again, at the bottom of a
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Last week, I wrote a feature story titled “Miss Montana Anti-Ag.” For my column this week, I want to explain the back story because I believe it truly embodies the whole concept of Activists vs. Agriculture.
Now, bear with me here, I know nothing about pageants other than what I’ve seen on Toddlers in Tiaras or the smash-hit Netflix movie, “Dumplin.”
Read MoreBy Ron Stoneberg Hinsdale, MT
It doesn’t seem possible that 2020 is just around the corner.
“What is the problem with that?” you might ask.
Well, just when you thought the sage grouse would follow the spotted owl into oblivion, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) plans to review the sage grouse status in 2020 to determine whether it should be listed
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By Abbie Burnett
It’s been 16 years since the “cow that stole Christmas,” shut down exports from North America and cost the beef industry an estimated $9 billion. Those were the days when terrorists also threatened to infect U.S. herds with anthrax.
All these years later and still no national traceability program? Four Sixes Ranch manager Joe Leathers let some exasperation show
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By Lilly Platts
The USDA announced an industrial hemp program on Tuesday, October 29, which is a long-awaited clarification to the legalization of growing the crop, which passed in the 2018 Farm Bill. Since the legalization, Montana has been operating under its own approved hemp guidelines, and the announcement of the program will allow the state to further improve and clarify
Read MoreIf China agreed to purchase “$40 to $50 billion,” of U.S. farm goods in “the next two years,” as President Donald J. Trump announced October 11, the futures market — where market reality is quickly sorted from political talk — literally wasn’t buying it.
In fact, November soybean futures, the nearby contract, opened Monday, October 14 at $9.405 per bu. and
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Rob Ziegler, UNL MS Animal Science Student
Travis Mulliniks, UNL Beef Cattle Nutritionist, Range Production Systems
Low-quality range pasture and cold wet winter left cows in thinner than normal condition coming into spring this year. The challenges of last summer and winter may have resulted in lower than average pregnancy rates in replacement heifers and young cows this fall, which may be
Read MoreContrary to her name, Happy is a not-so-cheerful 47-year-old elephant who is being held in captivity against her will, at least according to the Nonhuman Rights Project (NRP). If you believe the NRP, Happy is being illegally held in the Bronx Zoo against her wishes and is being segregated from her “multi-generational social group,” which means “family” in English.
The goal
Read MoreFrom the back of the delivery truck Rascal leapt with pawfuls of candied fruit he’d pilfered from a gift basket. The truck pulled away from the drive and the masked bandit waited until the dust settled and skedaddled to the barn.
“I should tell that mangy dog,” he said and took a bite of the fruit.
“I shouldn’t tell that mangy dog,”
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By Sheila Hildebrand
January 1, 2020 marks a deadline in which Cargill will fully implement Beef Quality Assurance Transportation (BQA-Transportation; or BTQA) requirements and certification for drivers delivering fed cattle to its plants. Tyson implemented the same requirement in January 2019.
Cargill’s website explains that “BQA is a stewardship certificate program created by the NCBA, and includes training for cattle producers in
Read MoreJust since our list of major chain restaurants selling or testing out Impossible Foods or Beyond Burger was published two weeks ago, a few more have jumped on the bandwagon. The most recent include Pizza Hut and Denny’s. Denny’s will initially offer the Beyond Burger in Los Angeles then expand to nationwide restaurants by 2020. Pizza Hut is doing a
Read MoreI turned sixty this week, so I thought I would try to write something astute to honor the milestone, but everything I wrote seemed rather cheesy. I have always been flattered when readers call me things like “a cowgirl Erma Bombeck,” so I decided that no one said it better than Erma, so I would just share her thoughts.
It is
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by Kayla Sargent
While the industry works to find a permanent solution to grant livestock haulers some flexibility from burdensome regulations, the Senate managed to kick the can down the road for another year. An appropriations bill passed on October 31 delayed the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate for agricultural trucking.
“I’m pleased to see that after months of hard work, we’ve
Read MoreI have a 3.1 mile running path north of my house and because it winds through the sage brush while climbing over three buttes it has been tagged as the Kerns Killer 5K. It is mowed to allow snake surveillance and we ran the course all summer without spotting a rattler. Mike, a fellow runner from Laurel, was looking for
Read MoreThe time has finally come that I can say, “Bull Sale Season is in full swing around Reporter Country.” From now until a few days before Christmas, there are few days where I don’t have a sale to attend. A high percentage of these sales of all breeds will also be offering registered and commercial bred females as well. We
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By Mayzie Purviance
Editor’s Note:
Last week I wrote about the current Miss Montana. Miss Montana is a contender for the Miss USA pageant, not Miss America — Miss USA and Miss America are represented by different individuals. Miss USA is part of the for-profit Miss Universe Organization. Winners of Miss USA go on to compete in the Miss Universe Pageant. The
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Author Unknown
Adapted by Bailey McKay
Ever wonder why Veterans Day is on the 11th of November and does not change?
World War I ended in armistice on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour.
Today I saw a gentleman selling poppies stop a lady and ask if he could re-position he poppy. While doing so he told the lady
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By Mayzie Purviance
“The Miss Universe Organization empowers women to realize their personal, professional and philanthropic goals through experiences that build self-confidence and act as catalysts for future success. We celebrate beauty, all forms of it, and provide the tools that help women to feel their most beautiful: ‘Confidently Beautiful.’” That’s the official mission of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) stated
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William T. (Bill) Bennett of Connell, Washington passed on to the great cattle ranch in the sky on Monday October 21, 2019 at the age of 91, he was one of the greatest cattlemen of all time. Bill was born November 28, 1927 at their family ranch outside of Winona, WA the first son of John W. and Marie (Gribbin)
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By Kayla Sargent
As much of the industry was gearing up to implement radio frequency identification (RFID) in their cattle programs, the USDA signaled late last week that the agency may have jumped the gun. A “factsheet” released in April 2019 by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) provided an implementation timeline with three significant dates to achieve the
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By Mel Burke
Despite an early-season snowstorm moving through the area, nearly 60 ladies attended the 2019 South Dakota Women in Ag conference held October 10 and 11 at The Lodge in Deadwood, South Dakota.
This conference is held every fall and is dedicated to women who want to better themselves and the future of agriculture. It is not restricted to women
Read MoreThe general rifle hunting season started this past week, so hundreds of optimistic out-of-state hunters poured into Montana to fulfill their dream of shooting a big bull elk. Few of those hunters’ dreams come true, but the statistics on success rates do not deter avid hunters from booking hunts or trying it on their own.
In general, the average hunter does
Read MoreNote: This first appeared in the September 5, 1956, Western Livestock Reporter.
Money wasn’t so plentiful when I was a boy and everyone had a lot of respect for a dollar. I remember one time when I was staying with my grandparents in North Platte, Nebraska, that a silver dollar caused me a lot of grief. I can’t remember exactly how
Read MoreOctober marks the second straight month of year over year decline in total feedlot inventory, according to the Cattle On Feed Report released last Friday. Total feedlot inventory for October came in at 11.3 million head, down 1.1 percent as compared to the same month last year. September placements were up 2 percent and marketings were up 1.1 percent as
Read MorePreg-checking season used to be my favorite because herd work at a family ranch usually meant a noon time feast dwarfing Thanksgiving. In my early years, I would devour a heaping, three-helping meal before attacking the desert counter. After lunch, I felt like a Shetland pony who had stuffed himself on grass clippings and was pacing, looking for a comfortable
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By Lilly Platts
Actual carcass data is extremely valuable but can be difficult for many producers to obtain. South Dakota State University’s (SDSU) Calf Value Discovery program gives regional producers a reliable place to gather such data. Beef producers can consign a minimum of five weaned and vaccinated steer calves between 500 and 800 pounds to be finished at the University
Read MoreBy Brian Yablonski and Whitney Tilt
We hear a lot about the value of Montana’s public lands these days — and for good reason. The region’s vast public lands are what draw many of us to the state. But often overlooked are the tremendous contributions of Montana’s private landowners, who are the little-thanked stewards of many of the things we enjoy
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“WTF? Announcing you’re pregnant by putting your partner in a Cow rape rack… This couple found the sexual violations cows endure for dairy somehow amusing. The glove he’s got on is what farmers wear when they shove their arm all the way inside a cow to forcibly impregnate her.” – PETA, Facebook Page Post, October 22, 2019
Dear PETA,
I, personally, do
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Joshua Solomon Dykes (47) went to be with Jesus on October 17, 2019. Josh died while doing what he loved; moving cattle back to his ranch.
Josh was a dedicated disciple of the Lord Jesus, a faithful and loving husband, devoted father, cattle rancher, cowboy and owner of 9-Mile Ranch in Walla Walla County, Washington.
He was born August 4, 1972 in
Read MoreThis early, bitterly cold, windy and snowy, winter storm that set in throughout much of Reporter Country sure has put a damper on fall cattle work. Producers in the midst of weaning, shipping and preg-checking are facing nasty weather that makes it tough on cattle, trucks and people alike. The markets aren’t where we’d like them to be, our industry
Read More“Is he still sulking?” Ben asked.
“Yep,” Banjo said. They both looked at Tuff laying his head in the new fallen snow. Portions of his snoot and side of his jowls were still missing its fur.
“Looks like a roll of duct taped attacked him,” Ben said.
“Ha, ha, or a glue trap,” Banjo said. “Who would’ve known those would stick as well
Read MorePastor Raymond L. Stokes, age 80, of Sidney, Nebraska went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Wednesday, October 16, 2019. He was a loving dad, grandpa and friend who touched many lives with his old west, mountain man, historian way of life. He will be greatly missed.
Raymond Lloyd Stokes was born to Harold R. and Leona Mae
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Over the weekend, I got on Twitter and was blown away by the responses I saw regarding a video of someone sitting with a Holstein steer/bull (I couldn’t tell from the video) and preaching that people should “Meet your meat.” To match the original tweet, the same user tweeted, “Male dairy cows don’t produce dairy guys… They’re sent off to
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By Mayzie Purviance
The Center for Food Integrity hosted a webinar in September titled “The Protein Play: Emerging Trends and Consumer Appetites for Protein Alternatives.” This webinar contained a panel of four key players in the alternative protein (fake meat) game, two of which were David Ervin, Vice-President of Alternative Proteins for Tyson Foods, and Ujwal Arkalgu,creator of big data ethnography
Read MoreI know everybody was holding their breath last week when news broke about the explosion at one of the Cargill plants — I definitely was. Like I mentioned before, I wondered how long it would be until another “event” took place at a packing facility in an effort to demolish the fed cattle market again. I was upset when I
Read MoreHunting season has begun, which means I feel I should run a zig zag pattern between my house and my car when I head to work about daylight. I am hoping we have some nice fall weather ahead, but I am pretty sure hunters are wishing for snow and cold. I do remember hunting seasons that were not nice such
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Dorothy Eileen Ketchem, 73, of Billings, Montana was unexpectedly called home on Tuesday October 15, 2019.
Dorothy was born February 25, 1946, in Greeley, Colorado, and was the daughter of Lawrence and Eldora Stroh. Dorothy grew up in Greeley with 6 siblings.
Dorothy met the love of her life, Tom, in 1962 and was later married on September 9, 1967. The pair
Read MoreIt seems like everything is fake these days: fake news, fake ice cream, fake money, fake teeth, fake knees, fake hips and fake identities. Bald guys are wearing toupees, women are getting fake boobs and fake people pester me on the phone with robo-calls from fraudulent folks. Fake “reality” TV show stars in Hollywood are even creating fake grades and
Read MoreNot two miles from my central Illinois home, a farmer’s next crop — a dozen rolls of eight-inch, black plastic drainage pipe — wait to be planted several feet deep in this year’s browning corn stubble.
It’s tiling season in much of the Midwest, that post-harvest period when earth-chewing machines fight weather, mud and daylight to bury thousands of miles of
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By Kayla Sargent
The world is heading toward an “apocalypse” and animal agriculture, particularly cattle production, is one of the main causes. That’s the overall message that was relayed by a panel of speakers at the Good Food Institute’s Second Annual Conference. In a discussion titled, “The Why,” representatives from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, two of the budding industry’s
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As part of our effort to educate the public on the contents of “plant- based” meat, the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) placed an ad in USA Today. The ad compares real bacon to fake bacon–an ultra-processed imitation.
Americans love bacon. A poll revealed that only four percent of Americans don’t like the savory snack and nearly a quarter of Americans
Read MoreBanjo carried the plastic bag in his mouth and raced to the barn like a pup. Surprised, Tuff followed Banjo into the barn.
“I haven’t seen you this excited…about anything, in along time,” Tuff said. Banjo laughed.
“Ha…ha! This is perfect,” Banjo said with a snicker. “I feel like Rascal in a trash can finding his perfect pranks.” Tuff followed him.
“What’s in
Read MoreAs I sat down to listen to some recordings from the second annual Good Food Conference, I intended to write one article covering the entire meeting which was attended by roughly 900 people. But after watching just one, hour-long discussion and writing down nearly every quote as I felt they were blatant, not to mention often false, attacks on our
Read MoreShipping calves and pregnancy testing their mommas marks the end of one year and the beginning of the next for those in the cattle business. There is no other clear start-stop time. With the calves gone and the cows out on fall pasture, late October is one of the few times ranchers can take a breather. Processing everything in a
Read More“Hey! Who’s the wise guy?!” Rascal called as he tugged on the tack room door. He looked down the barn’s alley, “That mangy dog skunked me again.” He gave the tack room door another hard push with his shoulder to see if it would budge, but nothing…not even an inch. Rascal turned with his paws on his hips, snoot down
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cutting meat slaughterhouse workers in a meat factory
by Kayla Sargent
Two East Coast Senators are questioning foreign investments in the U.S. meatpacking industry. Specifically, Brazilian meat processor JBS S.A.’s move into the U.S. market is of concern, considering its “admitted criminal conduct” and involvement in “illicit financial activities,” Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) wrote in
Read MoreThis past week when we received fourteen inches of heavy, wet October snow I decided it was time to go vehicle shopping. The “Old Farmer’s Almanac” is predicting a polar-coaster winter, and I am tired of shoveling my Ford Taurus out of my half-mile long driveway. While we were vehicle shopping, I hit upon an innovative marketing plan for cattle.
We
Read MoreI’ve been in some form of the auction business for 45 years and have viewed auctions from all perspectives, from buyer, consignor, ring man, auctioneer, clerk, sale manager, etc. So I speak from some experience when I say there are some folks we’d just as soon NOT show up at an auction. Please, don’t be any of these people:
#10- The
Read MoreWe recently motored through 1,300 miles of rural Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York. The trophy wife and I were sporting our new “Stand Up for Betsy Ross” tee shirts and worried we might trigger the perpetually offended blue voters of the eastern states. However, barnyard flags and numerous “Trump-Pence 2020” signs calmed our fears. Outside the socialist quagmire of urban
Read MoreIf government and private estimates are accurate, hundreds of millions of American farm acres will have new owners in the next 15 years.
For example, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) survey takers and record keepers, predicts 100 million acres of today’s farmland will be sold by its current owners by 2023.
The American Farmland Trust (AFT), a
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Joe Thomas Helle, age 87, passed away in Dillon, Montana on October 8, 2019. Joe was born to Harold and Alice Helle in Williston North Dakota, May 14, 1932.
He spent his youth enjoying the outdoors and began his destiny in the rangelands of the West while working on the Shipstead Ranch in Scobey, Montana. His adventures included chasing wild horses,
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by Kayla Sargent
Like a modern day Boston Tea Party, Kansas cattle producers belonging to the Kansas Cattlemen’s Association (KCA) are protesting what they see as “taxation without representation.” Today’s situation has nothing to do with a tax on tea, but instead a tax on cattle sold. The KCA believes the Beef Checkoff is “taxation without representation.”
After publishing a briefing paper
Read MoreLate last Friday afternoon, President Trump broke the news of what he called Phase 1 of a trade agreement between the United States and China. Soon after, my phone started blowing up with texts and calls from folks wondering if I had heard any details.
President Trump said the Chinese have agreed to buy $40 billion to $50 billion worth of
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by Kayla Sargent
With the enactment of Proposition 12 in November 2018, practices changed for egg, pork and veal producers across the state of California. Commonly referred to as Prop 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative established new confinement standards for certain farm animals and bans the sale of product in the state that was not produced under those standards.
By 2022,
Read MoreIt has been a busy few weeks in the world of ag news. Discussions about markets, trade, packer investigations, the beef checkoff and the seemingly unending battle between our trade organizations have kept journalists and readers alike on their toes. I have noticed over the past month a new wave of producers getting involved, educating themselves and speaking out —
Read MoreBy John Purviance and Chad Edwards
There’s a species on this earth
That no man can deny.
He’s found in towns throughout the West,
And easy to identify.
He’s not a special critter,
No he’s not a real exotic.
He does not hail from Kathmandu
Nor an island in the tropics.
No one seems to know
How or where he originated.
His purpose on this earth
Is a subject that’s debated.
But in
Read Moreby Cattlemen’s Beef Board CEO Greg Hanes
In the few months since I took the helm as CEO of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) – the governing and administrative organization of the Beef Checkoff – there appears to be many misperceptions, false rumors, and misinformation about how the checkoff works and is administered. Let’s look at its history, what the Beef
Read MoreWhat’s worse than an anti-ag activist? An un-informed anti-ag activist. This week, we’re going to focus on a heavily discussed topic: Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
For the past year or so in the anti-ag and vegan Facebook groups I’m a member of, it seems the “animal-ag-is-bad train” has derailed from the historically consistent, “we shouldn’t kill another living thing,” argument to the
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Most cowboys love their dogs. When your soul is stained with horse sweat and cow manure, it is good to have a little buddy as eager to work at two o’clock in the morning as eleven o’clock at night. Even in their senior years, the great American cow dog holds the day’s task in higher esteem than life itself. They
Read MoreBanjo lifted one sleepy eye open when he heard Tuff burst through the screen door and the wood banged against its frame. Not wanting to move anything other than his eyelid, Banjo tried to ignore Tuff racing towards him.
“Rise and shine,” Tuff called. “The mama is on a rampage.”
With that, Banjo lifted his head.
“Why?’ he asked.
But his question was answered
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Robert T. Smith, 88 of Forest Grove, Montana, died at his home on October 3, 2019 surrounded by family. He was the oldest of five siblings, born February 19, 1931 in Harrison, Nebraska. He graduated 8th grade from Drylander School and then high school in Grass Range, class of 1949.
Robert served in the Navy during the Korean War and was
Read MoreThe internal memo only confirmed what unofficial Washington had been saying for more than a year and what official Washington had been downplaying for even longer: The White House plan to move two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies to Kansas City will severely cripple USDA data collection, handcuff policymakers who depend on the data and analysis, and gut both
Read MoreIn the late-September Senate Ag Committee hearing on the state of the livestock industry, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) stressed the importance of unity in our industry. He said it would be much easier for our Congressmen and women to work on our behalf if Congress was receiving the same, clear message from cattlemen across the nation. We have witnessed the
Read MoreBy U.S. Cattlemen’s Association Vice President Brooke Miller
Like most ranchers, I am not too keen on leaving the ranch and getting involved in politics and policy. In fact, if I hadn’t bumped into Jess Peterson at a bull sale in southern Virginia a few years back, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA). After we chatted,
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C4T founder Couy Griffin recently met with President Trump after the C4T cowboys rode their horses to the site of the 9/11 attacks in honor of those who died in 2001. C4T hopes to work with the President and his administration to solve issues affecting rural New Mexico.
By Jamie Henneman
It’s not certain that riding horseback into Washington D.C.
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Today we’re going to discuss something that isn’t easy to talk about: animal control, specifically in wild horses.
Thousands of wild horses or burros roam American soil. Although movies and books paint the picture of wild horses being beautiful, majestic animals, this is not always the case.
According to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency manages and protects approximately 88,000
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Robert was born on October 2, 1934 in New Castle, Nebraska to Marie (Pierson) Koch and Hurbert Koch. Bob was raised in New Castle, Nebraska and graduated from New Castle High School in May of 1952. He married Mary Lou LaDue in March 1957 and to this union five children were born, Kim, Jeff, Jan, Jody and Danelle. Mary Lou
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By Lilly Platts
The Northern International Livestock Exposition (NILE) has been offering participants and spectators alike a place to gather in Billings, Montana each October for over 50 years, and this year’s event, October 12-19, promises to be jam-packed with youth events, rodeo, livestock, top-quality equine, and much more.
Radiant Rodeo is a recently organized event at NILE, which was started to
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by Kayla Sargent
In the heat of the day in mid August nearly, 900 horses find cover in 15,000 acres of high-mountain desert pasture. The grass is far too dry to take a Suburban off the well travelled road, but eight horses meandered to the top of the ridge — four bays and four grays. The horses are fairly quiet and
Read MoreThere is no animal on earth more detestable than a pack rat. I believe it is because they mark everything, so they just ooze as they go, and they build a huge nest called a midden wherein you might find everything that has been missing in an outfitter camp for the last five years. They do not make good tent
Read MoreOne of our biggest fights in livestock agriculture since the 1970’s has been all of the “Health Experts” recommending consumers in the United States and the rest of the world eat less red meat. The last few years have even seen recommendations of NO red meat consumtion.
Last week a new report came out that may prove
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John Robert Chatham Jr., 86, of Huntley, Montana was lifted up to Heaven on Monday, September 16, 2019. He was born in Crow Agency on February 15, 1933 to John Robert Chatham Sr. and Edith (Erickson) Chatham.
John received his education from Antler School on Rotten Grass Creek, Lodge Grass High School, and Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. He married
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by Kayla Sargent
In the midst of the recent Western Ag Reporter (WAR) #FairCattleMarkets campaign, the question and answer session at the Senate Ag Committee titled, “Perspectives on the Livestock and Poultry Sectors,” that WAR initially covered last week, spotlighted several issues and potential solutions to bring competition and transparency back to cattle markets.
When the cattle market plunged following the Tyson
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By Mayzie Purviance
35,173 represents the number of Tweets containing #FairCattleMarkets in a one-week period. 35,173 times people were concerned about unfair cattle markets. 35,173 times people cared about the cow-calf producers and independent feeders across the nation. 35, 173 times people wanted to help the hands who feed them.
President Trump may not have tweeted using #FairCattleMarkets himself, but it’s safe
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Thomas Wayne Dashiell, 100, was born to parents George and Annie Dashiell on June 23, 1919 at the family homestead and farm near Mt. Hope, Washington. Tom passed away peacefully the morning of September 24, 2019 at Palouse Country Assisted Living in Fairfield, Washington. He lived in the area on the same road his entire life.
He was preceded in death
Read MoreSome years ago, I wrote a column on how farm groups sternly preached the value of what they reverently called “sound science” but, in fact, usually endorsed only “science that sounds good” to the groups. Not coincidentally, I noted, most of that good-sounding science was “science” tied to research bought-and-paid-for by the groups themselves.
Examples of this thumb-on-the-scale tactic continue to
Read MoreThe trophy wife and I are training for marathons in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York scheduled for the first week of October. Last week, my Garmin watch showed I have pounded out 1,746 miles over the previous 12 months. Druann leads me with 1,936 miles.
Interestingly, my app also shows I burned 229,005 calories, so at 3,500 calories per pound of
Read MoreI am so excited my favorite holiday of the year is near. Columbus Day, which is also celebrated on the same day as Thanksgiving in Canada, is the perfect holiday because you don’t have to buy cards or gifts for it, decorate for it, cook for the celebration, or even gather all of the family together for it. It is
Read MoreLast week Banjo thought his biggest problem was Rascal getting his grubby paws into the peanut butter until the sinister snake revealed himself in a surprise attack. Just when Milo the mongoose thought the coast was clear, Banjo realized it was the snake’s plan… it was a ruse. What will happen to Milo? Will the rattler revel in his plans
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Unseasonably green grass was present throughout the tour due to a surplus of rain this year.
Rod Geppert, Angus Area Regional Manager, announces Ryan Effling as the winner of the $1200 Grand Prize Giveaway as Tour Coordinator Justin Urhig congratulates him.
Greg Shearer of Spear U Angus greets the crowd and announces his upcoming Complete Herd
Read MoreOur #FairCattleMarkets campaign wrapped up on Monday this week and reflecting on the grassroots movement, our team is in agreement that it was a success. It successfully reached a total of 1 million people on Twitter alone. But the reach was only a small portion of the success — this led to many more wins.
The campaign successfully started some meaningful
Read MoreSupportive commentary by Phil AcMoody, Butternut Ridge Farms, Michigan, regarding Gilles Stockton’s commentary, “Non-logic and the NCBA” in the August 15, 2019 Western Ag Reporter.
As we look at and talk about the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) media and lobbying push to have the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) – better known as NAFTA 2.0 – ratified by Congress,
Read Moreby NCBA CEO Colin Woodall
The activist-funded Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) has again resorted to half-truths and smear tactics to pit beef producers against one another. It’s clear that their allies at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have taught the staff some new tricks to help tear the beef industry apart from the inside. It should come
Read MoreBy Gilles Stockton, Grass Range, MT
Feeders and ranchers alike have every reason to be upset at the hit cattle prices took following a fire in a Tyson slaughter plant back in August. We can’t call this downturn a collapse because the collapse came in 2015 when Congress rescinded Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). However, we were all hopeful that the
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“What’s the other one taste like?” I asked, “Dog food,” they answered. And that, my friends, about sums up this entire Beyond Beef® vs. traditional beef series.
To give you a recap: Last week at the grocery store I purchased a pound of ground Beyond Beef®, a pound of regular ground beef, hamburger buns, salt, pepper and sliced cheddar cheese to
Read MoreLast Monday the board was higher and in the first few days of our #FairCattleMarkets Twitter campaign, I suggested sticking up for ourselves and trying to reach President Trump could have something to do with the uptick. Some analysts were attributing this to 9 percent lower cattle on feed. They forgot to mention that this decline was due to cratering
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Arlen James Sawyer, 66, passed away Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska. Arlen was born January 30, 1953 in Madison, South Dakota to Richard James and Dorothy Elizabeth (Cherrey) Sawyer.
He was raised on his family’s Angus farm near Howard, South Dakota. Arlen graduated from Howard High School in 1971. He was a 4-H member
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By Mayzie Purviance
On behalf of cow-calf producers and independent feeders everywhere: thank YOU! Thank you, from the neighbor who will be hauling steers to their local sale barn this coming weekend. Thank you, from that kid in your child’s class who is wearing muddy jeans to school because she got up early this morning to feed cows and complete her
Read MoreTuff slipped on the wet grass as he raced for the barn. He could hardly believe his eyes, and unless Banjo saw it for himself, he wouldn’t either. The gust of wind helped thrust him through the barn door just in time to see Banjo and Ben leading their way out to the corrals.
“Banjo! Banjo!” Tuff called. “It’s absolutely unbelievable!
Read MoreI entered college in the ‘70s when UW’s Hill Hall boomed with the driving beat of disco. Rock music was foreign to me because FM signals exhausted themselves before reaching our ranch in northern Wyoming. Even AM signals were sketchy until after sunset when Oklahoma City’s KOMA signal made its 925-mile trek to the Big Horn foothills.
I was a poor,
Read MoreI have been fortunate in my lifetime to have owned many amazing horses. In fact, I have hardly ever met a horse I didn’t like. I think the horse is the most majestic creature God has created. I even love horses that don’t belong to me such as Max, the dude horse subject of this often-requested poem I wrote as
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The Heaton family in front of BLS after the sale.
Grant Heaton watches as cattle sell in the fundraiser for DMD at BLS.
September 19 dawned a bit dreary, but the sun shone through the clouds as the sale at Billings LiveStock Commission (BLS) broke for lunch. Resuming the sale after lunch the lots commissioned for the Calves
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Ingredients for burgers.
With a hefty amount of professional etiquette and journalistic integrity, I will give you my detailed review of purchasing, cooking and eating a plain and dry burger made with Beyond Beef®. Please note, everything I am about to say is 100 percent my opinion and could possibly gross you out a little. Read with caution.
Last week,
Read MoreThe Twitter campaign to reach President Trump is in full swing. We asked all of you to tweet our President daily from September 23 to September 30 and we certainly need to flood his account this entire week, but feel free to keep sending tweets for as long as you wish. The first tweet I sent to President on Monday
Read MoreGrassroots advocacy. This is a term that nearly all ag organizations, large or small, like to boast about. But boy oh boy, have we seen the power of it shine over the past two weeks. Between our #FairCattleMarkets Twitter campaign, the Senate Committee hearing on the livestock industry and the wide-spread and respectful responses to Ellen Degeneres urging viewers to
Read MoreBy Joe Maxwell, Organization for Competitive Markets
This week the Beef Checkoff Program budget for 2020 was released, outlining how cattle producers’ $40,900,000 in research and promotion funds will be spent in the coming year. The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC) named seven organizations as contractors that will be granted the beef checkoff funds. Once again, the
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After a long, hard fought battle, John P. “Jack” Chase, Jr. passed away at the Sheridan Hospital on September 5, 2019, with his family by his side.
Jack was born on a small farm in Canton, Massachusetts, on July 2, 1934 to Barbara and John P. Chase. He grew up in a large family with an older brother, George, and four
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I’m calling it now, the official word of 2019 is, “fake.” It seems I hear this word on a daily basis. Our president is constantly tweeting about fake news, young girls are constantly calling each other fake and, in the agricultural industry, we’re constantly discussing the topic of fake meat.
Fake meat is a current hot button issue among the food
Read MoreShe knew he was close because Wynonna could smell him. A rattler had a scent unlike any other snakes. This is what set Wynonna above all other rattlesnake wranglers – she could smell the musky odor they emitted. Usually a snake will release a vile odor as a method of self-defense, which most everyone can smell, but for Wynonna she
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AgResource President Dan Basse shared market outlook at the 2019 Feeding Quality Forum in Amarillo, Texas. Abbie Burnett photo.
By Abbie Burnett
Producer Communications,Certified Angus Beef LLC
“Economic and political order has become disorder,” AgResource president Dan Basse said in market analysis comments at the 2019 Feeding Quality Forum in Amarillo, Texas.
In a third of the world’s economies today, Germany included,
Read MoreHope all of you are working on setting up a Twitter account if you don’t already have one. Since we started the “Tweet President Trump, Our Cattle Markets Need Help” campaign, I have been pleased with the number of people who have called, emailed, or told me at events that they created a Twitter account – many had to have
Read MoreOn the front page of last week’s Western Ag Reporter, Joe Goggins urged a Twitter attack to combat the crisis in the cattle market. I am up for that! I am sharpening my poison pen, cracking my knuckles and ready to join in the Twitter attack.
Truthfully, I do have a Twitter account, but I don’t really know how to Tweet.
Read MoreDriving home from another long day at the office of getting our Annual Herd Reference Edition off to print and sealing the details of our #FairCattleMarkets campaign, a radio advertisement caught my attention and made me double check what station I was tuned to. “Four companies control over 80 percent of the meatpacking industry,” the ad announced.
Still fired up from
Read MoreYou know you’re deep in the rabbit hole when bad news – say, a government report that shows steep cuts in anticipated 2019 crop yields – is good news because it will hopefully boost prices. Conversely, when good news arrives, like an unexpected week of perfect September weather, it’s actually bad news because it just drags already low prices even
Read MoreJohn was born in Scotland, became a sailor at 13, captained his own ship at 21 and then emigrated to Virginia. He was so enthralled with the dream called America, none were surprised when he joined her fledgling Navy – fledgling being the proper term for a Navy lacking ships, sailors and armaments. John was eventually deployed to European waters
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Multiple species grazing at White Oaks Pasture. Angie Mosier photo.
by Kerry Hoffschneider
You may have seen Will Harris, agriculturist and livestock steward, from Bluffton, Georgia on a recent episode of CNN’s Vital Signs where he confronted Dr. Pat O’Reilly Brown, Impossible Foods founder in a dialogue about “fake meat” vs. beef raised out on the land. Harris is the
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By Kayla Sargent
On behalf of cow-calf producers and independent cattle feeders nationwide, Western Ag Reporter is launching a Twitter campaign asking President Donald Trump for assistance in rebalancing the cattle markets. The ever-widening gap between packer profit margins and producer’s price for cattle has raised concern across the countryside.
“We are dispersing cowherds and seeing farmers wanting to
Read MoreWow, if you read both John and Joe’s commentaries on the front page regarding the cattle markets before you got here, chances are you are fired up — and you should be. Going into the fall run and maybe having calves at home that have yet to sell, you are probably concerned about when this criminal action in the market
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By Joe Goggins
Cow-calf producers and independent cattle feeders, it is time to be heard and it is time to fight. Very seldom do I get the notion to write an opinion in our newspaper, however after reading these comments early this week, my blood began to boil:
An Excerpt from a Monday, September 9, 2019 Report by David Kruse, CommStock Investments,
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By Karla H. Wilke
Producers with a corn crop impacted by the canal breach may want to consider making corn silage out of this year’s crop. Photo credit Troy Walz.
UNL Cow/Calf Systems and Stocker Management
On July 17 when the Gering-Ft. Laramie canal breached, it left over 100,000 acres of irrigated crops in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska without water.
Read MoreHow long is our government going to continue to allow the packers to have their way with us? Million-dollar question, isn’t it… or should I say billion-dollar question?
Live cattle futures took a big dive again last Friday with the October contract down the limit ($3) to settle a little below $95. Feeder cattle futures followed suit seeing losses of roughly
Read MoreCrime and punishment, the concept is simple: you commit a crime, you get punished for it. Whether that punishment is issued by law enforcement or normal civilians, it’s safe to assume you will get punished if you commit a crime. Evidently, a group of activists didn’t think their plan to “free” rabbits from a rabbit farm in rural Australia was
Read MoreOver Labor Day I went speed camping with my 10 mini-Kimmels and four mini-Kernses. The South Fork of the Judith River is wader-friendly and before tents were pitched the grandkids hit the creek. A couple of my descendants had swimwear, but the youngest bunch stripped to their underwear and jumped into the water. Mountain streams are icy cold so three
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Four-year-old Keegan Peter dove right in and ran the gate while the family sorted fall-calvers from spring-calvers late last month near Quitman, Missouri. His dad Craig Peter and Grandpa Randy McCollam were doing the sorting in the back and he was letting the cows into the triangle pen. Grandpa Randy said Keegan loves to work and help wherever he can
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By Mayzie Purviance
With vegan campaigns popping up in the wake of Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger, the time to counter these anti-ag movements is now. The great state of Colorado is leading by example and doing just that with the launching of the “Better with Beef” campaign.
The agricultural industry has been catching flak for environmental activists claims that animal
Read MoreA gentle rain washed over the ranch. Banjo and Tuff sat dircetly in the center of the lane enjoying every moment of the mist from the sky.
“Sure is refreshing,” Tuff said.
“You said it,” Banjo replied. “I’m not sure where this front came from, but I’m thankful for a little reprieve from the hot weather. Plus, it helps cut down on
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Branson Grocery opened in an old church building on the edge of Ekalaka in February. Eric Dietrich / MTFP photo.
Getting fresh fruits and vegetables in one of Montana’s most isolated small towns, hours from the nearest shopping center, can be an ordeal. It got more difficult last winter when the only grocery store in the county, the Main
Read MoreMadison Cederberg of Miles City, Montana just turned 2 years old this past August and loves helping her family as a chute hand. Her parents are Dallas and Kimberly Cederberg and her grandparents are Daryn and Kass Cederberg of Three Forks, Montana. “She is no bigger than a peanut, but she loves whipping those cows up in the chute!” Kass
Read MoreThe American Prairie Reserve (APR) is 14,000 acres closer to their goal of creating the nation’s largest nature reserve right in our backyard. The acquisition of another Phillips County ranch last week brings their total control of leased or purchased land to 419,000 acres. This is a far cry from their projected three million acres that they hope to acquire,
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Nine hundred geldings gathered from BLM ranges five years ago now graze 15,000 acres at the Spanish Q Ranch near Ennis, Montana. Karen Rice photo.
by Kayla Sargent
Many envision an iconic stud horse galloping across the prairie with his mane blowing in the wind when wild horses are mentioned. In reality, the image seen in many wild horse herds
Read MoreVaughn Meyer, Reva, SD
A few weeks ago, the Cattleman’s Beef Board (CBB) shared the “good news” results of our producer Return on Investment (ROI) study. Dr. Harry Kaiser, professor of economics at Cornell University, conducted another five-year ROI update embodying more positive attributes for beef producers. Dr. Kaiser’s analysis concluded a 71-cent increase over our 2014 ROI of $11.20. Seventy-one
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Martin “Marty” Allan Swandal, 83, of Wilsall, Montana passed away peacefully at his home on Friday, August 23, 2019.
Marty was born on October 28, 1935 in Livingston, Montana to Chris and Ruth Swandal. He was raised along Flathead Creek in Wilsall. He attended Wilsall schools and graduated in 1954. He married his high school sweetheart Virginia Nelson on June 4,
Read MoreMy friend Woody always has been forgetful. In fact, it’s why he got fired, but I’ll let him tell the story.
“I had this real good ranch job working for an absentee owner who lived in Chicago. He was pleased with my work and I was happy with his money. Then one day the owner writes me from the windy city
Read MoreLast week while Banjo was checking the hillside pastures with Big Ed, a thunderstorm breached the ranch scattered lightning from hilltop to hilltop. One strike was a direct hit on the ranch, threatening the sheep flock with fire. Then, Big Ed and Banjo discovered that fire isn’t the only thing putting the flock in peril. Will the flock make it
Read MoreMany colleges and universities are back in session now and there are packs of mourning mothers walking around suffering empty nest syndrome. My advice to them is that it will pass. I remember when I sent my last child off to college and thought I would be bored and lonely forever, but such is not the case. I saw a
Read MoreHope all of you had a great Labor Day weekend. It sure was hot around our part of the country, but it made for ideal grilling conditions. I hope the majority of the U.S. was able to fire up the grill and throw some beef on for their families. I am anxious to see how beef movement was over the
Read MoreMost rural Americans are old enough to remember when their president noted that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.” That was, after all, several tariff hikes, dozens of trade meetings, and more than 15,000 presidential tweets ago. It may seem like a lifetime, but it was just 19 months ago, on March 2, 2018.
What most have forgotten about
Read Moreby Bill McKee, Colorado
To Governor Jared Polis,
Being neither well educated nor well spoken, I feel unqualified to lend advice to you as a speech writer… but here we go. Two key points when addressing a specialized industry group (farmers, ranchers, rocket scientist, etc.) would be: 1. DO NO HARM and 2. LEARN A FEW KEY FACTS (every industry has a
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By Mayzie Purviance
Have you ever wondered when the best time is to wean calves, potty-train a toddler or even wax the floor? Well, according to the Farmer’s Almanac it’s today, September 6, 2019. The Almanac, which began publishing in 1818 and has since grown into an online and print edition and e-newsletter, claims to be “time-tested and generations approved.”
“It is a
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It’s the top of the ninth in the Activists vs. Agriculture baseball game. The Activists, although playing a dirty game, are up by a number of runs. They came out swinging hard and despite their lack of basic common knowledge and tendency to bribe the umpire, they’re winning.
Agriculture, I regret to inform you, is losing. And we’re going to continue
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by Lilly Platts
Blonde-haired, bright blued-eyed Grant Heaton lives his life like any active ranch kid would. He loves horses, cows and helping his dad out on the ranch. At the age of three, Grant was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). DMD affects 15,000 children in the U.S., and 300,000 worldwide. While rare, the disease has no cure and
Read MoreThe recent market news and manipulations, increasing popularity of fake meat, challenging trade talks and all of the assaults that continually hit our industry can take the wind out of anyone’s sails. And honestly I have been a bit down in the dumps. But when this dark cloud sneaks up on me, I am reminded why I chose to be
Read MoreAs mothers of kindergarteners and college students are mourning the transition of their children from the nest to school, I started looking back through the archives for columns about both of those topics, but I got distracted by this essay I found which Bret wrote for a college composition class. With his wedding approaching, I found it especially noteworthy.
All parents
Read MoreSometime in mid-August, well after fair season and just before corn silage season, my brothers and I endured the hand-me-down season on the southern Illinois dairy farm of our youth. It was just as you suspect. One morning some weeks before school began, my mother watched as we tried on our next older brother’s clothes to see how they fit
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Today, the term “fake news,” made famous by President Trump, is used in everyday conversation. While I, along with many other people, use fake news as a response to outrageous Facebook posts or light-hearted teasing, I’m here to tell you, fake news is no joke.
Fake news is a derivative of the word “spin.” The Open School of Journalism defines “spin”
Read MoreThe morning was cool. Banjo took in a deep breath and released as he gazed across the ranch. Geese flew above his head and heard their wings push up and down through the air. He spotted a clump of quaking aspens whose leaves where changing to a glimmering gold and noticed the south pasture was showing signs it needed water
Read MoreThe news of a nearly finished trade deal with Japan was certainly welcome this week. The deal is not signed, but the nuts and bolts of it are in place. At least some deals are making progress, but a few big ones are still not done.
The United States Mexico Canada Agreement continues to sit in the House having yet to
Read MoreMonte G. Thomas of Milton-Freewater, Oregon passed away on August 21, 2019 at the age of 78.
Monte was born July 16, 1941 in Walla Walla, Washington to Ralph “Zeke” Thomas and Virginia (Tarwater) Thomas. Raised in a ranching family, Monte was a member of 4-H and FFA. He graduated from Wa-Hi and attended Cal-Poly in San Luis Obispo.
After college, Monte returned
Read MoreWhen we went to press with last week’s issue, there had yet to be official news on the severity of the fire in the Tyson plant in Kansas. I noted in my Comments that the pictures made it appear to be a devastating fire, which I assumed consumed a large portion of the plant. Now that more information has come
Read MoreAg Twitter had a big sandbox to play in after the USDA clobbered the agricultural futures markets August 12 with its number-filled Crop Report and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE). The updated numbers – planted acreage, estimated production, and projected usage – hit the market like a hailstorm. Corn futures snapped under the deluge of unforeseen acres and,
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Six-hundred-fifty feet into the tunnel, workers came across the first pile of dirt and debris from the smaller of the two sinkholes. Goshen Irrigation District photo.
by Kayla Sargent
Since July 17, hay, corn, sugar beets, and dry beans across 107,000 acres have been without water in Goshen County, Wyoming and Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. An irrigation tunnel collapse leading
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by Kayla Sargent
When a cattleman hears barn burner, it’s generally regarded as great market news. But in a literal sense, as in the case of the Tyson plant fire where an estimated six percent of the nation’s fed cattle packing capacity came to a halt, the effects on the market can be devastating. On the evening of August 9, Tyson
Read MoreIn the sorting alley it’s easy to separate the dudes from the real cowboys. You may be a dude if…
There are sheets on your bed in the bunkhouse.
The camp cookie is a three star Michelin chef.
When you set out for the day’s work you are provided a sack lunch and a wine cooler.
The ratio of riders to cows exceeds two
Read More“What’s in the burlap sack?” Tuff asked. Banjo looked at in curiously.
“I think it’s something that may belong to our new friend, Wynonna,” Banjo said. Like a flash, Wynonna presented herself in front of the two dogs. Tuff looked back and forth with amazement at her speed from where she shot into the open from out of nowhere to be
Read MoreOver the past few weeks, several people have mentioned an article titled, “This is the Beginning of the End of the Beef Industry” written by Rowan Jacobsen and published by Outside magazine in late July. In short, the five page article explains that cattle’s environmental impact and the poor quality of fast food burgers mean “alt meat isn’t going to
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I’m going to confess something I don’t typically broadcast… I am a member of various animal rights and vegan Facebook groups. Dad, if you’re reading this, please do not disown me. I promise I did this for a good reason.
For the past two years I have been a silent member of these groups, observing every shared article, “like,” comment and
Read More“Where is it?” Banjo muttered. He rummaged through an overflowing bucket in the tack room. He tossed out a curry comb, a mis-matched set of gloves, a screwdriver, a wad of baling twine and various other items.
When he couldn’t find it at the bottom of the bucket, Banjo dumped it over to ensure every last remnant of goods had fallen
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by Markie Hageman
From Idaho to the Dakotas, sprawling over rolling hills and stretching across the flat lands, creeping through timber and dispersed amongst cropland, a sea of lemon yellow laps at the horizons. Since mid-June, the prevalence of sweet clover has been the subject of old timers and youngsters, ranchers and townspeople. Conversations range from questioning haying quality to myths
Read MoreOnce again, last Friday I really thought cattle futures would open higher on Monday morning with the news of up to $116 fed cattle. But again, cattle futures were limit down in both live cattle and feeders, they opened limit down and stayed there. The plunge was attributed to the Tyson processing plant burning down in Kansas on Friday night.
Read MoreThe sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the yellow roses along the primrose path are dazzling distractions from what, in a matter of days, has already been a long month for farmers and ranchers. Worse, a long harvest and bitter winter also loom as President Donald J. Trump threatens even tougher trade sanctions on key U.S. food buyers
Read MoreThis past week we saw yet another major meatpacker announce their own venture into the “fake meat” market. Marfrig Global Foods is partnering with Archer Daniels Midland Co. to produce alternative protein products in Brazil. Marfrig Global Foods CEO Eduardo Miron said the “100 percent vegetable protein-based burgers” will have the “same taste and texture of beef.”
Now before you write
Read MoreOne of my biggest regrets in life is that I never got my pilot’s license. I often wonder what kind of career I’d have had if I took the money I spent on getting a college degree and spent it instead on auction school and flying lessons.
I’ve always been mesmerized by small aircraft and I come by it honestly. I
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Levi Carter brought home two goat kids that a nanny wouldn’t accept for his wife Tabi to help care for – their daughter Nova couldn’t wait to get her hands on them.
“There’s no denying that we have ourselves a little farm girl,” Levi wrote.
The family raises goats and cattle near Burlington Junction, Missouri.
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School is about to start, which means teachers are having back to school dreams, kids are buying supplies and clothes, and parents are celebrating the fact that they made it through summer vacation. My thoughts turn to the book I plan to write about education.
As a former English teacher, I absolutely love the manual, “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves” by British
Read MoreBy Gilles Stockton, Grass Range, MT
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is currently making a media and lobbying push to have the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) – better known as NAFTA 2.0 – ratified by Congress. In their press info NCBA states: “USMCA maintains science-based trade standards while rejecting failed policies of the past, like mandatory country-of-origin labeling.”
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On the afternoon of August 9, 2019, at the age of 85, Chris passed away as a result of a pickup accident while checking cows, his favorite pastime.
Chris was born October 22, 1933 in Miles City to John and Jessie Cameron. He attended school at Dick Creek school until 1944 when his family moved to Miles City. He graduated from
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by Hannah Gill
Although it had been over thirty years since the bareback rider stepped aboard a bucking horse, Montana rodeo legend Larry Peabody said an all too familiar feeling returned when he stepped on stage on August 3. Peabody was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs where he offered an acceptance speech.
“It was about like getting
Read MoreThis part of summer has always been deemed family vacation time, but in our industry it is county fair season, as you will note in this week’s issue. For the last few weeks in July and the first part of August the ranchers in our area all mark out a week to take “time off” from haying or moving cows
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Bailey McKay Photo
By Heather Smith Thomas
On hot summer days cattle can overheat quickly if they exert. Moving cattle is always safer during the cooler parts of the day, starting early in the morning if possible. Farrier and horse trainer, Billy Greenough, rides/cowboys for several large ranches south of Billings, Montana. Greenough was raised on a ranch on the
Read MoreWith regret and relief, I am closing this chapter of my life. I published my first column on March 1, 2006 and since then I have penned over 675 op-eds plus published three books. Were the spirit to grab me, I have enough material to publish volumes IV and V, but those works may remain my unfinished symphony. After great
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by Kayla Sargent
While it may be a relatively small market, President Trump’s announcement last week regarding U.S. beef sales to the European Union (EU) was considered big news. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), U.S. duty-free beef exports, from Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC) only, to the EU will nearly triple over the next seven years.
The announcement
Read MoreThe U.S.-China Trade War dominated the news this past Monday. President Trump announced he was going to put an additional 10 percent tariff on $300 billion dollars of Chinese goods if a deal was not in place by early September.
China retaliated by manipulating the yuan lower and allowed it to go past 7 to the dollar. Many wondered how the
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Kerry Bouchard of Augusta, Montana sent this photo of her two-year-old granddaughter, Breeze, catching up on the latest from the Western Ag Reporter. Kerry said Breeze enjoys “reading” WAR with her grandpa, but since he wasn’t home when she saw the latest issue, Breeze crawled into his recliner and dug in herself. We certainly agree with Kerry’s statement, “Gotta teach
Read MoreNote: This first appeared in the August 22, 1956, issue of the Western Livestock Reporter.
I remember one time in the early days when a big red bull came walking right down the middle of Montana Avenue in Billings, Montana. Every once in a while, he saw something that he didn’t like and would stop, lash his tail, paw dirt, and
Read More“Come on” called Banjo from the center of the pond. “It feels great out here!”
Marty shook his head. “Uh-uh, no way” he called. “Remember, cats don’t like water and I’m still a member of the feline family!”
Tuff raced from the pasture and directly into the pond, splashing his way to the center and dog paddling toward the wooden pallet island
Read MoreOn the farms of our youths, the dog days of August featured actual dogs and not a whole lot of anything else. Given the unsettled state of today’s growing season, commodity markets, and politics, maybe the best way to get through this August is to slide back to that era and just not say or do much else.
For example, let’s
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by Mayzie Purviance
“The King of Ag News,” a mantra once based off of publisher Patrick King Goggins’ successful publication, also describes our continued dedication to providing unbiased and a timely news to our readership. As someone who has only worked here for a month, I believe we live up to this self-created standard. But you don’t have to take
Read MoreAs a leatherworker I do a lot of restorations. I regularly repair leather-bound boxes to hold antique $40,00 carriage clocks, make knife sheaths for eBay sellers and repair bridles and other tack for cowboy friends. The restorations I dread the most are bringing old saddles back to life. I’ve done dozens, including a couple for a museum and one that
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by Kayla Sargent
It was a Friday afternoon in early August and live cattle traded from $113.00 to $114.00 according to USDA reports on Monday, August 6, 2018. Montana rancher and cattle feeder Shane Eaton was encouraged seeing cattle short and bidding active. But then that Monday he was perplexed when an unusually large number of live cattle were traded
Read MoreFor the past two weeks, we hosted a guest from Florida. During JJ’s visit, she and Chelsie camped on the top of the Big Horns, took a speed trip through Yellowstone and Glacier plus caught the rodeo in Cody. Flatlanders visiting Big Sky Country are always entertaining.
For the second night in a row, an electrical storm struck western Yellowstone County.
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Whitney Klasna Photo
by Lilly Platts
Farmers throughout the country faced one of the most difficult planting seasons in recent memory and many were forced to abandon their original crop plan due to excess moisture, closed roads, missed insurance deadlines, and other complications. In response, some have turned to cover crops, adding to the already growing uptrend in the overall
Read MoreWhile I continually use this space to talk about the emergence of “fake meat” into the national market space, it all became a bit more “real” last week for myself and fellow ranch family and friends when the issue came up in my hometown. It is easy for us to read the headlines and simply think, ‘well, I’m not in
Read MoreOur son is getting married in October and we are incredibly excited for the upcoming wedding. The only problem with the wedding planning: Bret is very frugal, and his frugality is threatening to put a damper on the wedding planning. His eye for the bottom line started long ago — probably when he chose cattle ranching as a profession. Once
Read MoreYou know it’s going to be a long, hot summer if, on the day before you assume the political leadership of the United Kingdom – as Boris Johnson did on July 23 – one of the world’s most authoritative newspapers, the New York Times, prints a column that begins with the phrase, “Boris Johnson, to whom lying comes as easily
Read MoreI am back on the trail this week. I left Sunday morning and will not be home again until next weekend. Upon landing in Billings on Wednesday, after spending three days at the Ag Media Summit in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I drove right from the airport to Great Falls for the Montana State Fair where I will spend the remainder of
Read MoreFourth-generation Montana rancher James “Jim/Luke” Martin Salmond, 77, a ruggedly independent cowboy all his life, died June 27, 2019, at Benefis Teton Medical Center in Choteau after a brief illness.
Jim was born in Great Falls on December 31, 1941, to third-generation ranchers, John C. “JC” and Alice (Johnson) Salmond. Jim was the younger of their two sons by just 11
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by Kayla Sargent
After discussions came to a quiet halt about a year ago, the comment period on the draft grizzly bear recovery plan for North Cascades National Park has reopened. The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a 90-day extension to the public comment window closing October 24.
The drafted plan suggested four alternative routes all with
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I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I know many of you were feeding cows as a strong winter blast blanketed the majority of Reporter Country. The weather the day of and the day after Thanksgiving got a little western. My sales kicked in again two days after Thanksgiving and we have been going strong ever since – and
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