Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1996)
w w r'"! Spilyay Tymoo Warm Springs, Oregon August 29, 1996 9 Arlene Boileau 4-H k Youth Norma Simpson Home Economics Bob Pawelek Livestock Sue Ryan 4-H Assistant Clint Jacks Staff Chair, Madras Bodie Shaw Ag & Natural Resources OMBCMfWI UMWMTT GXTHMSJON S6WICG (503) 553-3238 The Oregon Stale University Extension Service staff Is devoted to extending research-based Information from OSU to the people of Warm Springs in agriculture, nome economics, 4-n youin, roresiry, community aeveiopmeni, energy ana extension sea grant program witn u&u, united States .....,, ., uepartment or Agriculture, jenerson county ana me uonieaeratea i nrjes 01 warm springs cooperating. The txenslon service oners Its programs t '. i" onu maienais equany 10 an people. Ss 9t&KtHo-.. 1 11 "' ".v.: :.',r r::i ' 1 1 ".u. z .( The Clover speaks- by Sue Ryan Another year of 4-H Wilderness Enrich ment camp at Trout Lake has come and gone. First, let me tell that this year was something special. Campers in our first session, from August 3rd to August 7th, really got to experi ence the "wilderness" in our camp name. Bears came to camp in search of good-smelling gar bage. The tribal wildlife biologists were in formed and came to camp to let campers and staff know what to do around the bears. Also, Greg Stinson and Donnie Winishut from the Warm Springs Police Department along with Dave Simmons from Warm Springs Fire and Safety and Mickey Boileau stayed up at night along with staff to keep watch. We didn't have any problems- but learned a few things about bears and clean campsites. Although we man aged fine, it was difficult for Natural Resources to deal with the problem with people in the area. So, the Trout Lake campground was closed down August 7th with Session One campers heading home after their interesting experi ence. Then staff broke down camp and moved to the HcHe Longhouse to finish Session Two. Many grateful thanks to the Tribal Council for approving our last minute move and to the tribal Utilities department who showed up in force to help us move over. Session Two at He He Longhouse went as planned until Saturday, August 10th when the Warm Springs Police asked us to evacuate because He He Longhouse was to be used as an emergency shelter for evacuees from Simnasho because of the wild fire. So, our staff bonded together and packed gear and kids in less than an hour to move back to Warm Springs. We still went ahead and held our traditional Salmon dinner bake to close camp at Agency Longhouse. Thanks to Hilda Culpus and Bemice Mitchell for arranging the use of this facility at the last minute. We also want to thank all of the staff involved with our 4-H camp at Trout LakeHe He and also the following individuals for their assistance: Tom Kathreign from WSFPI, Kate Jackson and Ri chard Craig, Heather and Bodie Shaw, Sandi Thomas, Brenda Parrish, Terry Luther, Doug Calvin, Clint Jacks, David Simmons, Russell Graham, Effie Culpus, John Beal, and more. Many, many thanks and I apologize if I have left anyone off the list. One additional note on camp- although the amount is less than in previous years, we still have some unclaimed lost and found at the Extension office. If you had a camper up at Trout LakeHe He this year please stop by to see if these are your items. Natural Resource Notables- by Bodie Shaw As if Warm Springs hasn't had its share of natural disasters this year, somebody had to throw fire into the equation. Let's not ask what disaster could be next. The Simnasho Fire has rekindled, if you will, the age-old debate weighing the pros and cons of fire. This fire has brought about a few questions: what is our role in fire's natural setting? How can we do a better job of living in a fire dependent community? To refer to fire as a "natural disaster" is a misnomer. Fire is an essential component of natural processes of many, if not all wildland ecosystems. Fires rejuvenate systems and are an integral factor for properly functioning systems. Disruption of historic fire cycles has led to declining ecosystem vaiues, species loss, and catastrophic wildfire events such as the Simnasho Fire. Generalizations about the ecological effects of fire are very unreliable because of variations in the frequency, duration, intensity, and type of fire, in the character of the physical environment, and in the species and their adaptations to fire. The effects on vegetation can vary from beneficial to highly detrimental, while the major effects on animals will depend upon whethcror not the species is favored by the changes in the environment wrought by the fire. Fire does have direct adverse effects on plants and animals, but these are often relatively short-lived. There is growing evidence that fire plays an important and either a beneficial or a benign role in some ecosystems. The organisms native to such areas have evolved with fire and may grow better with a natural fire frequency than with no tire. Overprotection from tire can result in undesirable changes in the plant community and render the community susceptible to serious damage when a fire does occur. Much more needs to be known about the effects of fires of different types on particular ecosystems so that we can prevent destructive wildfire but retain benign and beneficial fire where it is a natural and desirable environmental factor. Fire has been a instrumental tool for healthy systems in the past, and although land managers have attempted to mimic fire to maintain proper functioning systems to some extent, most areas there haven't been successful. Ecologically appropriate prescribed fire regimes are designed and implemented to restore and maintain ecosystem functions and desired societal outputs. The ramifications of not using prescribed fire are serious, as we all can attest to. Sounds great in theory, what about application? As an example, ranchers and farmers need to know: how long a prescribed burn will take a land unit out of production, how much flexibility there will be to take up the slack on other range and agriculture units, and how increased forage production will be allocated between livestock and wildlife. Burn objectives (the desired mix of grasses and forbs) need to be carefully worked out. Land managers also need to be persuaded that short-term loss will be offset by the increased long-term vitality and land productivity. As one can imagine, this issue raises many conflicting interests, not only societal but also economical. To resolve some of these conflicts and to form a solid consensus tor investing in tire management, stakeholders must come together on the landscape, assess site specific conflicts and opportunities and agree upon priorities. As mcntionedearlicr.relauvely fewecosystems have not, at one time or another, been affected by fire. For most ecosystems, the frequency of fire is low, but fire is such a powerful ecological factor that regardless of frequencies, it is a major determinant of ecosystem character. What all this comes down to is that we as a community have to do a better job of living within a fire dependent community. Historically, fire has been an ever present component of our community. We can suppress all we want to but the simple fact remains that we cannot and will not keep fire out of its home. As with many natural systems, we are a mere nuisance. We need natural systems; they don't need us. t)Y' Wot Land v:,,v.v.v:.v, Using a dehydrator or an oven to dry fruit snacks can be easy and have tastey results by Norma L. Simpson During the special food preservation day at the Wellness Clinic in August, we saw the difference between selecting fruit and ways to prepare them before they were dried and as they dried. SELECTING THE FRUIT Some varieties of the same type fruit may be very different when they dry. If your family likes tart apples, they will be even more tart when they are dry. If some mem bers of your family like sweet apples, be sure to include those in the drying session. Gravenstein and Granny Smith are two tart apples. Gala apples have a mild flavor and Braeburn apples are more tart than Gala, but less tart than Granny Smith and Gravenstein. USING SCREENS OR PLASTIC TRAYS ON RACKS If you make fruit leather, be sure to lightly spray with vegetable oil or smear with a thin layer of margarine or butter to keep fruit liquid from sticking to the solid tray. We had two great examples of why the oil or butter is important. A visitor came to visit when I was ready to dry the fruit leather in both the round food dryers and in the oven. Three hours later I discovered my error as the fruit leather was stick to the foil and the solid tray. I had to discard the fruit leather on the foil, and scrap with a dull spatula to get it off the tray. That's the first time I have made crinkled fruit leather - tasty but shriveled. ANTI-DARKENING TREATMENT To keep light colored fruit from turning dark, dip slices into a mixture of 14 cup lemon or lime juice and 1 tablespoon honey and a quarts of water. As you put the fruit on the screen on the dehydrator rack, shake off the excess water mixture. If the mixture stands on the fruit, it becomes more sticky. About half way through the drying time, turn the fruit slices over. If the slices stick to the screen, it becomes hard to get the slices off in one piece. Braeburn apples stayed the brightest white, while Gala turns a golden color and the Gravenstein turned brown as soon as it was sliced, even when dipped in the lemon, honey water mixture. Even though lemon juice was smeared on the hole where the core had been, Gravenstein turned twice as brown as the other apples. OVEN DRYING If you do not have a dehydrator, you can use baking pans to hold the fruit leather or slices of foods. Be sure to stray oil on the pan so fruit does not stick. Spray on and wipe off the excess with a paper towel. With pans about 4 inches from the heating element, you can still dry two pans at a time. Be sure that the vents on the top of the oven are open so the moisture can escape either through the hot plates on the stove or the slots at the back of the stove. Be sure to use the lowest temperature for the baking temperature, which is about 1 50"F. You use the lowest temperature to preserve as much of the vitamins in the fruit as pos sible. To make the fruit leather it took about 3 hours for the thinnest layer and 4 hours for the thickest part of the leather. The fruit leather in a pan in the oven had a thick and a thin side because the oven shelves were not level. APPLES Of the apples that we tried this time, BRAEBURN, an apple imported from New Zealand, was the most beautiful apple of the three dried this time. Braeburn apples are about the size of your fist, with very white flesh. For some fruit, we say to peel them. But for these three apples we found that slicing them very thin (14 inch evenly thick) the slices dried in about 4-5 hours. Unless the storage carton was not sealed properly, after they were dried and pack aged, the Braeburn apples were very soft and retained their white flesh and red skin. I liked the ripples of the apples as they dried, rather than flat. BLUEBERRIES Look through the jars of fruit that you canned or froze last year. I found one jar of blueberries that had cooked from the raw (cold) pack to a big lump of berries that floated and juice that separated to the bot tom. Since we had not made the blueberries into a pie earlier, we decided to put the quart of juice and berries through the blender with 1 banana. The mixture is a great flavor. The bottom tip of the banana did not blend very well, so I had to take it from the tray. PEACHES Some of the peaches are a bit green, which made it hard to slip the skins by dipping in boiling water for 30 seconds. The peaches that were really green had to be cooked for about 3 minutes. That is the reason that the dried peaches have a ring on each piece. This batch of peaches have a wonderful golden color because the peaches were sliced hold ing on to the pit inside. Last year we cut the peaches and nectarines into wedges, Because there is so much difference in the thickness, the peaches had to be dried for 8 hours, compared to the 4-6 hours this year. Thick slices that were completely dried the same day took about 4 hours. Thick slices dried for 3 hours then turned off for the night, absorbed moisture from the air took 3 more hours to complete the drying process and are darker in color but still beautiful and tasty. NECTARINES Nectarines have a darker color around the pit. The bright peach color of the flesh also tended to stick to the screen so broke in pieces more often than the peaches. The slices took about 7 hours to dry enough to store in a freezer container that seals tightly to keep out moisture. Still a great fruit, though a bit tart for me. Nice for variety in a trail mix. RASPBERRIES I had two partial bags of raspberries that had been in the freezer getting in the way. They now are in raspberry-banana fruit rolls. They are tart and full of seeds for those of you who don't like seeds. If you do, try putting the mixture through a jelly bag to remove the seeds. STORAGE Once the fruit leather and slices are dry, put them into air-tight containers. Check the seals to be sure that the plastic cartons are sealed all around the edge - not just by looking but by testing the seal before you put the boxes or bags in a cool dry spot. Fruit that we did last year was as tasty and pliable as the sheets that we made this year. The fruit leather cooked in the oven is easier to cut into nice looking rolls when they are put into strips of clear plastic. You might try putting a tab of masking tape of the end of the clear plastic, so that you don't go through a fit trying to open the packages. It worked for me. Happy chewing ! STOCKMAN'S ROUNDUP: Making money by selling ranch horses by Bob Pawelek OSU Livestock Agent Next time you saddle up, instead of considering your horse as a way to get the job done, look at him as a new way to put money in the bank. Got a ranch horse that is as good as any hand on the ranch? Then, in the morning when you saddle up, instead of considering your mount as a way to get the job done, look at him as a new way to put money in the bank. If you have trainable young colts coming on, putting a little profit in your pocket by trading ranch horses for cold, hard cash can add up to smart ranching. In the agricultural world, "having your cake and eating it too" has always been a dream but seldom a reality. Winds of change, however, have drifted into the ranch horse market making that cliche" a reachable goal for today's rancher. Ask successful ranchers who have been affiliated with horses sales in the past several years. With smiles on their faces and pocketbooks a little fatter, they'll be quick to tell you that a good ranch horse at a reputable sale will bring big bucks on today's market At the Fort Worth Stock Show Sale in February, 1994, Phil Guitar sold a gelding that brought $12,000. A cowboy who works for Guitar had an interest in the horse, trained him well and helped his boss earn that extra cash. At the same Fort Worth sale, a horse consigned from the Four Sixes Ranch at Burnett, Texas was the second highest-selling horse bringing $10,000. The Fort Worth Stock Show Sale, however, is just one auction where high dollars are traded for ranch horses. At the Big Country Ranch Horse Sale held in late spring in Laughlin, Nevada, a 1990 gelding, Docs Okie Leo, consigned by Gray Ranch of Louisiana, took top sale honors bringing $8,250. Another sale in the Sacramento Valley last fall consigned a gelding which sold for $14,350. Before visions of $$ signs send you running to hitch up the trailer, it's important to realize that these top dollar prices are the exceptions to the ranch horse sales. The averages of $3,000 or better, however, are also enticing. This past June, a sale at the Public Auction Yard at Billings, Montana yielded prices averaging just over $2,000, with quite a few bringing much more than that. There are several reasons ranch horses are bringing such good prices. Firstly, it is expensive to buy a young horse and have him trained. You really don't know what you've got until you train him. A prospective buyer is better off with an animal that is over 5 years of age or so with some experience. In fact, horses at the Billings sale sold much better if they were between the ages of 5 and 8. Supply and demand is a reason these horses sell. Years ago, cowboys would break four colts and use them through the spring. Now, those hands have one good horse in the front of the trailer and a four-wheeler on the back, so there are not as many horses to sell. There is no doubt that the ranch horse is a used product He is often ridden from sunup to sundown in all kinds of weather. Besides the long hours, he's been expected to be an all-around cow horse, no matter if calves are standing up or sprawled on their side, and he's loped on every kind of turf from grassy plains to vertical rimrock. Ironically, it's the using that makes the price rise. Rather than losing his value, if he is good-minded, trained well and presented at a reputable sale, his price just gets better with the wear. When ranchers can use their investment for several years and then sell a horse at a fair price, that adds up to double profits on one horse. Not just any ranch horse w ill bring a good profit in the sale ring, however. There are tricks to the trade that make some horses sell well while others bring mediocre prices. For ranchers to have their cake and eat it too, they need to know these tricks. Making a good product is not enough. Knowing the best place to market the ranch horse, as well as who the potential buyers are and what they are looking for, are the added ingredients that help put an extra dollar in your pocket. Sales One of the main ingredients in capturing top prices for a ranch horse is to select quality sales. Ranchers can have the best ranch horse in their part of the country, but without a reputable sales management company who will do the preliminary footwork to get buyers to the sale, they will go home with a horse in their trailer rather than a check in their pocket. Sales management is one reason for good ranch horse prices. Many work hard to put on good sales. They advertise. If a sale does not, the difference is noticeable. Often the bigger sales will initiate an intense screening program as a way to find good sale horses. Theses sales also require full commission to be paid on passouts which ensures consignors are committed to selling their horses. If they want to run that horse up to a figure, then that is their business, but they must pay the commission to do so. Sales discourage sellers who run the horse up for advertising and then pass him out. Before the horses ever reach the big sale rings at Fort Worth and Miles City, horses and sellers are screened to get the best ones possible. Often, videos of the horse are sent in so they can see the product Also, they have a good network of people to depend on for information about the horse and the seller. The seller is researched because they want "a good, honest cowboy who knows how to work a horse." Screening requires objectivity, however, because what may not be worth its salt in your eyes may be just what the other person is looking for. Visual inspection of all horses at the Houston Premier Sale, for instance, is required before consignment That sale looks for reputable consignors who have raised quality horses, who have sold horses in the past in their sales and who have good reputations in the horse industry. Public Education After finding just the right sale, ranchers then need to become familiar with the buyer market Persons wnting the checks for today's ranch horse put more thought into their purchase than they did years ago, thus forcing the sale of better horses. For some buyers, it is a matter of pure economics. The free-flowing dollar of the 1980s has tightened. Others are looking for horses that can work cattle in the morning and entertain children in the afternoon. Still others buy with a wary eye to keep from being burned in the horse market as they have before. The American horse public has gotten horse smart. They know about horse traders. Those who will pay good money for a gelding have already paid $800 to $ 1200 for a horse from a horse trader and ended up unhappy. Today's buyers are just as smart as the sellers, sometimes smarter. Buyers are doing their homework because they are buying for more purposes than just ranches, like team penning and 4-H projects. One buyer may want a high-performance horse while another just likes a good horse to do different things on. Education has not only changed the buying trends of the buyer, it has sprinkled new faces among them also. With the increased activity on sale management's part to upgrade the quality of horses passing through their ring, the buyers have changed from a majority of interested spectators who would buy a horse if the price was right to many committed buyers hunting a specific animal. Buyers now want something they can turn out for three to four weeks, then catch it out of the pasture and it be the same to ride. Unless the horse has been ridden hard and seasoned, he won't be that way. They had rather pay more and get the seasoned horse rather than a young one that will act up if he's turned out for a while. The decision to sell Even though ranchers know the buyer market and find a sale management company they are comfortable with, deciding whether it is economically feasible to sell a good ranch horse depends on their personal program. Making money is the whole reason for selling a ranch horse, but there must be younger horses ready to take his place for the program to work. Most ranchers have several good hands working on the ranch and a remuda of young horses waiting to be ridden. In the past a favorite gelding served the cowboy until time to put him out to pasture and only then w as a young horse brought into the program. Ranchers who have become active in horse sales, however, work on a revolving plan. Rather than keep a ranch horse until time for pasture, they sell the horse in its prime and straddle a younger horse to ready him for future sales. Besides adding income to the ranch's bottom line, the sale of quality horse flesh at quality horse sales is excellent advertisement for a ranch. A good ranch horse in a sale is good for your ranch's reputation and good for advertising it if you do raise a bunch of horses. There is so much demand for them, most ranchers won't hardly sell a horse privately at the ranch anymore. You can sell fillies, even studs, but usually it's geldings that bring the best prices. It's just good advertising for their whole breeding program. Going the extra mile usually pays off. To satisfy buyers in Texas, many sellers there guarantee their animals. They try to find out who buys their horses and then let the buyer dictate to them if they can get along with this horse. If they can't, the seller will swap out a horse with them. The ranch horse The horse that will whip the checkbook out of a buyer's pocket is a highly seasoned animal with plenty of years left to ride. Years ago, horses were considered over-the-hill by the age of 12 because of their rigorous schedule. Today, although the schedule may be as rigorous, the addition of trucks and four-wheelers allows horses to be rotated and thus not burned out so rapidly. Quite a few outfits do a day's work on 15- to 18-year olds now. Ranchers feed better now, use better minerals and do everything better. The animals may be rested two to three days after one hard day of work. Today's trend shows buyers looking for horses 5 years of age and up. Ranchers want an animal that is physically appealing to the eye and one that can handle every aspect of ranch life from separating a cow to opening gates. They are looking for a combination horse that can drag calves, won't spook carrying a flag in a parade and will patiently ride Junior and Sis around and around in the trap. If this describes your ranch horse, if you have a replacement for him, and if you find a reputable sale, then your horse may be your ticket to having your cake and eating it too. Who knows, he may even top the sale! i 1