Volume 35 Number 38 • January 13, 2024
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The Weekly News Source for Ranchers, Farmers and the Agribusiness Community • www.wylr.net
A Look Inside Winter cattle yard preparation tips discussed................Page 9 BCRC offers estimation tool to help producers make replacement heifer decisions.... ....................................Page 11 Agricultural diversification strategies outlined.......Page 16 NCBA shares concern over USDA’s decision to allow Paraguay imports..............Page 22
Quick Bits Snow Report
USDA presents the RMA Livestock Roadshow The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) launched its 2024 workshop and webinar series aimed to inform agricultural producers on
updates and improvements. Created in 1996, USDA RMA was created to serve agricultural producers through effective marketbased risk management tools to strengthen the eco-
nomic stability of rural communities. From beef to dairy to pork, livestock producers face unique and complex challenges, and RMA wants to ensure producers know
what options are available to best protect their operation. To help livestock producers know what insurance resources are out there and answer any questions, RMA Please see USDA on page 7
National Sheep Study
In the third snow report for Water Year 2024, the state’s snowpack telemetry data reads 64% of median, with a basin high of 78% and a basin low of 12%. In 2023, the state was at 122% and at 120% in 2022. The report and a map displaying basin snow water equivalent percentages of median for Wyoming may be found at wrds.uwyo.edu/ wrds/nrcs/nrcs.html.
Crop Prices Corn prices made moderate inroads after starting the Dec. 9 session in the red, but a round of technical buying moved prices more than 0.75% higher. March futures added four cents to $4.59, with May futures up 3.75 cents to $4.71. Soybean prices followed a broad set of other commodities higher on Dec. 9, but weren’t able to gather much forward momentum. January futures added two cents to $12.41, with March futures up 2.25 cents to $12.47. March Chicago soft red winter wheat futures held steady at $6.10, March Kansas City hard red winter wheat futures eased two cents lower to $6.25, and March MGEX spring wheat futures added two cents to $7.07.
Meeting Set The first statutory meeting of 2024 for the Wyoming State Board of Control will commence Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. through Feb. 8, in Room 54 of the Herschler Building in Cheyenne. Video conferencing will also be available. For more information, contact Cheryl Timm at cheryl. timm@wyo.gov or call 307777-6899.
AHA Pricing The American Hereford Association (AHA) will have a new pricing structure for DNA testing, effective Jan. 1. DNA test pricing will be based on animal age, similar to how registration fees are structured. Consequently, members who test cattle at younger ages will enjoy a price discount compared to the previous pricing structure. Conversely, prices will increase for those who elect to test cattle at older ages.
WYLR photo
NAHMS to conduct sheep and lamb health and management research in 2024 The National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), a non-regulatory unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), will conduct its fourth national study of the U.S. sheep industry. The Sheep 2024 Study will take an in-depth look at U.S. sheep operations and provide the industry with new and valuable information regarding priority health and
management issues facing the U.S. sheep industry. The study, conducted approximately every 10 years, consists of two phases and includes biological sampling and two questionnaires. 2024 study launched According to NAHMS, the first surveys have already hit mailboxes and were sent to a select group of 4,940 randomly chosen sheep producers. Data collection will Please see SHEEP on page 6
Remarkable research MSU to study interactions and disease transmission between wild and domestic sheep The coexistence of domestic and Bighorn sheep has led to disease outbreaks and ongoing controversy between producers and wildlife enthusiasts for years. Recently, Montana State University’s (MSU) College of Agriculture received a $4 million grant from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to help better understand interactions between the two species and how diseases spread between their populations. According to a Jan. 4 press release published by MSU News Service, data gathered in the study will help wildlife managers create effective management strategies to allow both species to exist on Montana’s rangelands. “Being able to better predict when and where domestic and wild sheep are likely to interact will allow us to be more efficient with our time and resources,” notes MSU Extension Wildlife Specialist and Assistant Professor Jared Beaver in the press release. “It allows us to focus Please see MSU on page 17
New law requires businesses to report On Jan. 1, a new law went into effect which will require some farmers and ranchers to file reports about their businesses to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The law, entitled the Congressional Transparency Act (CTA), was enacted in 2021 to “stop tax fraud, money laundering and financial terrorism by capturing more ownership information from U.S. businesses and companies operating within U.S. borders.” Reporting companies According to FinCEN, the law will require certain companies doing business in the U.S. to report information about the individuals who ultimately own or control them. Those required to comply include both domestic and foreign entities. Domestic reporting companies include corporations, LLPs or any other similar entity created by filing documents with the secretary of state or a similar office under state law. “If you’re just a farmer who farms in your own name and you haven’t set up any sort of entity like an LLC, you won’t have to do this reporting,” explains Iowa State Ag Law Expert Kristine Tidgren in an article published by the Billings Chamber of Commerce. “But, if you’re a limited partnership and you had to go to the secretary of state’s office to get limited liability protection, you’ll be subject to this law,” she continues. Existing reporting companies created or registered to do business in the U.S. before Jan. 1 must file by Jan. 1, 2025. Please see LAW on page 14
Task force releases final report On Jan. 10, a task force on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP), created upon the request of Gov. Mark Gordon, released their final report of recommendations, which were submitted as comments to the BLM and are now available for public review. With the deadline for BLM’s extended public comment period quickly approaching, the task force and the governor encourage individuals who have not submitted comments to do so before Jan. 17. Background information The governor’s task force was created in response to public outcry following the BLM’s release of a 1,300-plus page draft
RMP which selected Alternative B – the most restrictive alternative – as the agency’s preferred method in moving forward. Gordon understood recommendations made by a representative group of stakeholders would carry more weight with the BLM, so he assembled a task force representing a wide array of Wyoming’s diverse interests, including agriculture, mining, oil and gas, conservation, economic development and tourism, sportsmen and hunting, motorized access, renewable energy and utilities, local government, the Wyoming House of Representatives and the Wyoming Senate. Gordon charged the task force with
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Please see RMP on page 23