August 14, 2015
CapitalPress.com
Subscribe to our weekly dairy or livestock email
newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters
Greener
Pastures
Doug Warnock
Ranch
heritage,
sound
management
go together
By DOUG WARNOCK
For the Capital Press
T
wo factors are character-
istic of several of ranches
I visited on a professional
improvement tour in South Da-
kota this summer. The factors:
The ranches are still operated by
the family who started the ranch
over a century ago, and they are
well managed.
Blair Brothers Angus Ranch,
at Vale, S.D., was founded by Ed
Blair’s grandfather in 1906. Ed
and his brother, Rich, and neph-
ews Chad and Brenton currently
operate the ranch. The Blairs run
a herd of 1,200 cows and 300
heifers and sell commercial bulls
to established customers from
North Dakota to Texas. Their
target is to raise premium cattle
that will perform well for their
customers. They pay attention
to calving ease, desirable car-
cass traits and good gain on feed,
when selecting breeding animals.
Artificial insemination, Tem-
ple Grandin-style working facil-
ities, low stress animal handling
and short duration grazing are
important aspects of their man-
agement.
Jack Orwick is the fourth
generation of his family to oper-
ate the Orwick Ranch near New-
ell, South Dakota. The Orwick
family came from Ireland and
established their ranch in 1910.
They run 350 head of Hereford
cattle and 1,500 Rambouillet
ewes. Cattle and sheep are run
together, taking advantage of the
fact that cows and ewes prefer
different plant species and thus
complement one another in har-
vesting forage.
Recognizing the impor-
tance of stock water placement
in getting uniform distribution
of grazing animals across the
rangeland, a series of earthen
dams was built to collect rain
and provide drinking water for
the livestock. Guard dogs are
helpful in combating predation
of the sheep.
The family has endured the
ravages of nature over the years.
The most recent example being
an early, unexpected blizzard
that came in October of 2013
killing 200 ewes and 200 lambs.
This freak storm, named Atlas,
was reported as killing around
100,000 cattle and thousands of
sheep. Being resilient people,
the Orwicks have overcome
these losses and look to the fu-
ture.
Two generations of the
Stomprud family operate their
Angus ranch. Larry and Ei-
leen Stomprud and their son,
Jay, and his wife, Jennifer, are
the managers. Larry’s grandfa-
ther homesteaded the ranch in
1909, so Jay is the fourth gen-
eration on the ranch. The ranch
includes 6,600 acres and 300
Angus cows.
Larry came back to the ranch
after a career in the Army and
convinced Jay and Jennifer to
come and help manage it. Jay
was not raised on the ranch, be-
cause of his dad’s Army career,
and had to learn about the oper-
ation from the beginning. Beef
South Dakota, a program for
people new to beef production
and management helped Jay and
Jennifer adapt to ranch life and
successfully take on the respon-
sibility of running the operation.
The Stompruds lost 50 cows,
a herd bull and 3 calves in the
same freak storm that killed
the Orwick sheep in October of
2013. Again, their resilience saw
them through this harsh setback
and they have fully recovered.
The heritage of the
multi-generational ranch, sound
business management and a
spirit of resilience are character-
istics of these modern beef cat-
tle operations on the prairies of
western South Dakota.
Doug Warnock, retired from
Washington State University
Extension, lives on a ranch in
the Touchet River Valley where
he writes about and teaches
grazing management. He can be
contacted at dwarnockgreener-
pastures@gmail.com.
11
Dairy/Livestock
Workshops address changes in livestock drug use
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
New restriction on the use
of antibiotics in food animals
will mean significant changes
in the way farmers, ranchers
and veterinarians operate.
New Food and Drug Ad-
ministration guidelines and
expansion of the Veterinary
Feed Directive will prohibit
over-the-counter use of feed-
grade antibiotics without a
prescription and for anything
other than to prevent, control
or treat a specifically identi-
fied disease.
The changes have been
thoroughly vetted on the feed
and pharmaceutical side but
not in producer and veterinari-
an communities, said Sheldon
Jones, vice president of pro-
grams for Farm Foundation.
To bridge the information
gap, Farm Foundation will be
holding 12 workshops across
the country over the next three
months specifically aimed at
meeting the needs of produc-
ers and their veterinarians, he
said.
Among the workshops are
one in Davis, Calif., on Oct.
13 and one in Twin Falls, Ida-
ho, on Oct. 22.
The new restrictions fully
take effect in December 2016.
The issue is probably on pro-
ducers’ backburners consider-
ing other high-profile issues,
such as EPA’s new waters of
the U.S. rule, but implementa-
tion is not that far away, Jones
said.
A long list of medically
important antimicrobial drugs
will no longer be allowed for
growth promotion and will
require a prescription, veter-
inary oversight and record-
keeping as opposed to over-
the-counter mass distribution
through feed and water sys-
tems, he said.
“It changes the landscape,”
he said.
Prescription use of those
drugs through feed or water
systems will be allowed for
therapeutic reasons, such as
preventing shipping fever or
avian influenza under spe-
cific conditions. But the re-
strictions will change many
current production practices,
he said.
Animal
pharmaceuti-
cal companies have already
agreed to change labeled uses,
which will render those prac-
tices off-label and illegal, he
said.
Some livestock produc-
ers, mainly pork and poultry
producers who operate under
company guidelines, already
have these kinds of restric-
tions. But independent beef
and dairy producers might not
be getting enough information
or the correct information, he
said.
The workshops are being
conducted to give them the
information they need to get
a business model in place, he
said.
The information gap is
partially regional, partial-
ly structural and partially in
veterinarian-deficit areas, he
said.
FDA and USDA officials
will be present at each work-
shop, giving producers, vet-
erinarians and feed suppliers
an opportunity to discuss
implementation and manage-
ment challenges, said Mary
Thompson, Farm Foundation
vice president of communica-
tions.
Rabobank: Cow-calf production to shift to Corn Belt
The organization is also con-
ducting an online survey for pro-
ducers, veterinarians and feed
suppliers to gauge awareness of
the changes and to learn more
about potential implications.
Farm Foundation will be
compiling comments from
the workshops into a report
assessing the economic and
physical challenges facing
producers in implementation.
It will evaluate informational
and educational needs, as well
as veterinarians’ role in mon-
itoring and managing antimi-
crobial drug use, she said.
Farm Foundation will also
convene a summit in late fall
to address the issues inden-
tified in the workshops and
advance the conversation on
industry adaptation, she said.
For the workshop schedule
and to learn more: www.farm-
foundation.org.
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Dairy
Markets
Capital Press
Lee Mielke
The rebuilding of the U.S.
beef herd is underway, with an
additional 3 million to 4 mil-
lion cows expected over the
next four to six years. But the
distribution of that population
will be considerably different
than in the past, according to
one analysis.
Expanding on research re-
leased in February on the ad-
vantages of confined cow-calf
production, Rabobank this
week released a new report
on the geography of herd re-
building this go-round.
“Beef Cow Rebuilding —
The Case of Diversification”
makes the case for concentrat-
ing cow-calf production to the
center of the U.S., from the
Southwest region up through
the Plains states and into the
Corn Belt.
The first phase of the re-
building will be repopula-
tion of existing capacity in
traditional production areas,
much of it in the Southwest
and High Plains. Repopulat-
ing is likely be fast paced and
start leveling out in 2017, Ra-
bobank senior analysts Don
Close and Sterling Liddell
said in the report.
The second phase — new-
ly developed capacity in
nontraditional areas that will
require more investment,
construction and economic
incentive — will come next
and dominate herd rebuilding
from 2018 through 2020, they
reported.
That additional capacity
will take place in the row-crop
Cash dairy
prices a
mixed bag
By LEE MIELKE
For the Capital Press
C
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Rabobank says cattlemen are rebuilding the U.S. herd, but that the production center is moving to the
Corn Belt.
regions of the central U.S.
with confined and semi-con-
fined cow-calf units, leading
to a unified central-states cow
herd, according to the report.
Advantages to new growth
in the Corn Belt include ac-
cess to high-moisture distill-
ers grain products, proximity
to feedlots and the opportu-
nity for row crop farmers to
diversify income sources, the
analysts reported.
Some of those advantages
have already been important
factors in moving the fed
cattle supply toward the Mid-
west states of Iowa and Ne-
braska. But tightening crop
profit margins and a trend
toward cover crops in key
regions of the Corn Belt will
contribute to giving Midwest
states further advantage, the
analysts said.
The migration has also
been supported by multiple
years of largely favorable
winter weather. In addition,
cow-calf operations in the
Corn Belt have an advantage
for securing adequate feed at
lower prices, and the expan-
sion of small confinement
units will magnify that ad-
vantage, they said.
Confinement units also
address some of the challeng-
es of high land opportunity
costs in the Corn Belt, they
said.
“As a result of the returns
and natural hedge to grain
prices, small-unit cow-calf
confinement operations are
expected to play a major role
Zoetis supports Idaho range initiative
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Zoetis, an animal health
company, says it will support
the Idaho Save the Range Ini-
tiative, an effort to protect the
state’s grazing range by bolster-
ing the Idaho Cattle Association
Legal Fund.
From Aug. 1 through Nov.
10, 2016, Zoetis will contribute
to CALF for each documented
dose of the company’s products
used by Idaho cattle producers.
Each donation will be made to
CALF in the name of the pro-
ducer.
Contributions to CALF will
be qualified after a copy of re-
ceipts of product are submitted to
the ICA office at P.O. Box 15397,
Boise, ID 83715 or electronically
to dawn@idahocattle.org.
in new growth development
in the Corn Belt region,” the
report states.
But there are also chal-
lenges. Increased concen-
tration in the Central Plains
and Corn Belt increases the
potential for supply issues
from regional droughts. The
relatively low cost of entry,
short payback periods and
ease of converting to other
uses is also expected to make
the size of the beef cow herd
more sensitive to prices, the
analysts reported.
The first phase of herd
rebuilding appears fairly
certain. After the first three
years, however, a longer
period of exposure to risks
— such as drought — and
changes in consumption pat-
terns increases the potential
range of eventual herd size,
they said.
ash dairy traders had to
digest last week’s Global
Dairy Trade auction and
June Dairy Products report and
took the cash block Cheddar
down to $1.7125 per pound by
Wednesday. It rallied Thursday,
then slipped Friday, and closed
at $1.75, up the third week in a
row and a quarter-cent above the
previous week, but 35 cents be-
low a year ago when it jumped
10 cents.
The blocks lost a penny
Monday but inched up a half-
cent Tuesday, to $1.7450.
The Cheddar barrels closed
Friday at $1.7175, up 2 cents
on the week and 41 cents below
a year ago when they jumped
12 1/4 cents. They were un-
changed Monday but lost a pen-
ny and a half Tuesday, slipping
to $1.7025. Eight cars of block
traded hands last week at the
CME and 20 of barrel.
Many industry contacts sug-
gest the prices are defying the
odds by holding at current lev-
els, according to Dairy Market
News. Trading is holding within
a range and is bouncing back
and forth. Milk production in
the Midwest is declining some-
what, but without hot days and
nights, manufacturers report
the decline has been slow and
steady.
Services & Supplies
2015 Special Section
October 2nd, 2015
Doing Business with the
Ag Community?
On October 2nd, 2015, Capital Press Ag Weekly readers
will find labor and money saving tips in the
2015 Winter Services & Supplies Special Section.
Place an ad in this Special Section and reach Capital Press
readers online and in the newspaper with YOUR
services and supplies!
Content will include: Online Agribusiness, Equipment,
Maintenance, New Products, Consulting & Planning Services
and much more!
Contact us by Sept. 4th to advertise
your product or service!
(503) 364-4798 of (800) 882-6789
33-2/#5
FAX (503) 364-2692 or (503) 370-4383
P.O. Box 2048 • Salem, OR 97308
www.CapitalPress.com
ROP-32-4-4/#13