Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2016)
July 1, 2016 CapitalPress.com Subscribe to our weekly dairy or livestock email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Greener Pastures Doug Warnock Research weighs impact of grazing after ire By DOUG WARNOCK For the Capital Press A study conducted at the Northern Great Basin Experimental Range near Burns, Ore., provides valuable information on the results of grazing after ire on sagebrush steppe rangeland. While the grazing followed prescribed burning, the study provides insight into what could result from grazing after wildire. The study evaluated cattle grazing impacts over four growing seasons, after ire, on Wyoming big sagebrush steppe in Eastern Oregon. Big sagebrush steppe is one of the major vegetation types in the intermountain region of the Western United States. Fire has been both a natu- ral and prescribed disturbance of big sagebrush communities for many years. It temporari- ly shifts vegetation from joint dominance by shrub and grass to a grass dominance. After ire, these rangelands typically receive a rest from grazing to allow for plant re- covery and regeneration. On most public lands a minimum of two years of rest from graz- ing is prescribed after ire. The management goals for a rangeland following ire are: (1) recovery of the ecological processes, such as hydrologic function, energy capture by the plants and resource capture; (2) recovery of the preferred plants; (3) adequate wildlife habitat; and (4) proitable use. In this study, treatments ap- plied to the sagebrush steppe included: (1) no grazing after burning; (2) no grazing on un- burned land; (3) two summer grazing applications after ire; (4) two spring grazing applica- tions after ire. Information collected from the study measured plant cano- py cover, plant density, annual forage yield and perennial grass seed yield. The severity of the burn to the plant community was classiied as low. Forage use in both the sum- mer-grazed treatments and the irst spring-grazed treatment were close to the targeted lev- el of 50 percent. The second spring-grazed treatment expe- rienced rapid plant regrowth during the grazing, which resulted in about 25 percent removal of forage, or a light grazing. Grass seed production was greater in the burned areas that were not grazed. However, there was enough seed produc- tion in the burned and grazed areas to support plant commu- nity recovery after ire. The other herbaceous responses, in- cluding canopy cover, density, composition and annual yield, did not differ among grazed and ungrazed burn treatments. All burn treatments — grazed and ungrazed — had greater herbaceous cover, herbaceous standing crop, herbaceous annual yield and grass seed production than the unburned treatment by the second or third year after ire. Livestock grazing during the irst several years after burning in big sagebrush steppe has often been considered un- desirable in order to have good plant recovery. This study supports the idea that moderate grazing following completion of the irst growth cycle after low se- verity ire does not limit plant recovery. It also suggests that requiring two years of rest from grazing after a ire may not be necessary in all situations. Doug Warnock, retired from Washington State University Extension, lives on a ranch in the Touchet River Valley where he consults and writes on grazing management. 11 Dairy/Livestock Commission hopes to impress consumers, ranchers Marketing campaign to focus on young parents By DON JENKINS Capital Press The Washington Beef Commission’s new market- ing plan stresses convincing urban millennials that the vir- tues of beef and the cattle in- dustry outweigh anything bad they’ve heard about either. Meanwhile, a state law- maker is meeting with cattle- men to hear what they think about the virtues of the beef commission. The commission, a state agency, recently adopted a one-year, $1 million budget, a 6 percent cut from the budget that expired at the end of June. The reduction continues a trend toward fewer cattle transactions and declining commission revenue. Cattle sellers pay a manda- tory $1.50 per-head fee, with $1 going to the state commis- sion and 50 cents to the nation- al Beef Board. Several major cattle groups in Washington this year sup- ported raising the beef check- off to $2.50, with the addi- tional dollar going to the state commission. However. support from cattlemen was far from unan- imous. Some ranchers won- dered how giving the beef commission $2 million instead of $1 million would help their Dairy Markets Lee Mielke ‘Brexit’ will impact trade, analyst says By LEE MIELKE For the Capital Press H istory was made last week and the fallout is still falling. The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union by a 51.9 to 48.1 percent margin. The “Brexit” vote prompted Prime Minister David Camer- on to resign. HighGround Dairy report- ed that the unexpected result “caused a knee-jerk reaction in inancial and commodity mar- kets across the globe. In partic- ular, market participants have locked to the U.S. dollar, Jap- anese yen and precious metals, causing a sharp decline in glob- al equity markets, foreign cur- rencies and in kind, commodi- ties priced in U.S. dollars.” The impact on dairy re- mains to be seen, but High- Ground warned, “A stronger U.S. dollar makes commodi- ties priced in its denomination more expensive to importing countries.” Courtesy of Washington Beef Commission A mother shows her daughter features of a Washington Beef Commission display at the Washington Brewers Festival on Father’s Day weekend in King County. The beef commission plans to use social media and events to reach consumers, particularly young parents. industry. Legislators dropped the pro- posal. “I couldn’t vote for it be- cause there was so much push- back,” Rep. Tom Dent, R-Mo- ses Lake, said last week. “It was pretty clear the idea was not well-vetted.” Dent, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, has been meeting with produc- ers to explain the beef commis- sion’s approach to promotion and to gauge support for in- creasing the beef checkoff. Dent said he believes a “ma- jority of people are good with the beef commission.” But he said he hesitates to say wheth- er a majority back raising the checkoff fee. “I’m really trying to listen to people,” he said. To balance its budget, the commission eliminated one position, shrinking the staff to two full-time and two part-time workers. Long gone are expensive television ads. Newspaper ad- vertising, radio spots and in- store coupons are largely things of the past, too. Instead, the commission will continue its shift toward social media and small events, such as cooking demonstra- tions and ranch tours. The beef commission, for example, plans to host a Christ- mas party for consumer blog- gers. “It’s just a kitschy way to build relations with bloggers,” commission Executive Director Patti Brumbach said. “We’re trying to think outside the box.” The beef commission had a high-proile connection with Washington State University’s annual football game in Seattle, but the Cougars discontinued the event after 2014. Brumbach said the com- mission would have been hard- pressed to afford continuing its sponsorship anyway. “We’re not looking for the big PR stunt,” she said. The social media campaign will include Facebook ads and YouTube videos targeted at millennials born between 1980 and 2000 and who have chil- dren. Social media will be com- bined with personal contact. The commission, for example, will hand out beef jerky and nu- tritional information at soccer games — attended by soccer moms. “A theme throughout our marketing is, How do we get to moms and dads?” Brum- bach said. She said the commission’s top goal is to build “trust” in beef’s taste, nutrition and value, and in the industry’s humane treatment of animals. For the irst time since 2013, the beef commission will sur- vey Seattle-Tacoma area con- sumers to check their attitudes toward beef and the cattle in- dustry. The beef commission has set goals to nudge consumers into having a more favorable view of the cattle industry, and to serve more beef to their families. Dent said the focus on so- cial media makes sense. New Washington State Dairy Ambassadors selected TACOMA, Wash. — The 2016-2017 Washington State Dairy Ambassador is Alicia Smaciarz of Raymond, Wash. She represented Lewis County and was selected from a ield of six inalists at the 61st annual Washington State Dairy Ambassador Corona- tion on June 25 at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, according to a press release from the Washing- ton State Dairy Women, who sponsor the ambassador pro- gram. Selected as equal alternate ambassadors were Jana Pla- german from Lynden, repre- senting Whatcom County, and Tiana Peterson, from Graham, representing King and Pierce counties. As a representative of the Dairy Farmers of Washington, the state dairy ambassador and the alternates will visit schools, attend county fairs, appear at Washington Inter- scholastic Activities Associa- tion events and speak before the Washington state legis- lature promoting the health and nutrition beneits of dairy products. A dairy ambassador typ- ically makes 400 public ap- pearances during her year- long tenure. At the end of her From left are Lydia Johnson, Nicole Buell, Becca Bartelheimer, Alternate Ambassador Jana Plager- man, Ambassador Alicia Smaciarz, Alternate Ambassador Tiana Peterson, Allyson Carothers and Caitlin Meek. The contest was held June 25 in Tacoma, Wash. reign Smaciarz and the alter- nate ambassadors will receive scholarships to continue their education. During 2015-2016, the dairy industry was repre- sented by Washington State Dairy Ambassador Nicole Buell of Marysville and Al- ternate State Dairy Ambassa- dors Amanda Howe of Bell- ingham and Lydia Johnson of Ethel. They traveled around the state educating students, par- ents and others on the positive impact and value of Washing- ton’s dairy industry and the importance of dairy products. The other 2016 inalists were: • Snohomish County: Bec- ca Bartelheimer. Courtesy of the Washington State Dairy Ambassador Program The new Washington State Dairy Ambassadors are, from left, Al- ternate Tiana Peterson, Ambassador Alicia Smaciarz and Alternate Jana Plagerman. • Snohomish County: Ally- son Carothers. • Grays Harbor County: Caitlin Meek. Butter, cheese slip Cash butter and cheese prices weakened some the fourth week of June Dairy Month as traders absorbed the May Milk Production report, anticipated Friday afternoon’s May Cold Storage data, and contemplated the Brexit vote. Block Cheddar closed Fri- day at $1.5125 per pound, down a quarter-cent on the week and 12 3/4-cents below a year ago. Barrel Cheddar inished at $1.5350, down a penny on the week and 9 cents below a year ago. Only two cars of block ex- changed hands on the week at the CME and none of barrel. The blocks ticked up three-quarters Monday and gained a penny Tuesday, hitting $1.53 per pound. The barrels were also up three-quarters Monday and a penny and three-quarters on Tuesday, closing the session at $1.56, highest barrel price since Nov. 11, 2015, and 3 cents above the blocks. FC Stone dairy broker Dave Kurzawski cautioned in his June 24 Insider Closing Bell that “it’s important to remember that when key events like Brexit happen, markets tend to over- react.” 27-4/#4N
