After many years of service in various roles, Gretchen Sharp resigned from the South Dakota FFA Foundation in July to dedicate time to other endeavors. Serving as Executive Assistant from 2010-2025 and Executive Director from 2001-2010, she left a lasting mark on our organization. Gretchen’s contributions have been widely recognized, including the Honorary State FFA Degree in 2004, SD Association of Agricultural Educators Honorary Membership in 2005, and the Honorary American Degree—the organization’s highest honor, in 2009. Gretchen wore the FFA jacket herself as a Carrington, ND, and then Brookings, SD, FFA member and served as the 1991-92 SD State...

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“Did you see the jam?” Tuff asked. Banjo nodded. “I did,” he said. “Do you suppose it really is huckleberry?” “That’s what the label says,” Tuff said. “And the mama wouldn’t lie about her prize jam.” “That’s a fact. I thought maybe she was trying a new batch with another berry. I shouldn’t have even thought it might not be the real thing,” Banjo said. “With that bear muddling up our huckleberry picking, we missed helping her. She must have hiked into a new secret patch and picked more so she was ready for the fair.” “Or….” Tuff said. “Rascal...

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President Trump called out Australia for its policy of allowing imports of U.S. beef only if the beef came from cattle born and raised in the United States. In other words, Australia was allowing U.S. beef to be imported, but only if the beef was exclusively USA beef – not beef from cattle that had been imported from Mexico or Canada. On average, Australia imported about 1.8 million pounds of beef each year from the United States over the past 10 years. That’s roughly the live cattle equivalent of about 2,250 head of cattle per year, based on an 800...

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I bet you can’t guess what creature is the most dangerous in the world? I thought it was wolves, but it’s flies. That’s because they carry and spread more diseases than any other animal or insect in the world. Which begs the question...why didn’t Noah grab his big old fly swatter and kill both flies on the Ark when he had the chance? I was reading about the flies that spread New World screwworm when I came up with an idea that could solve another deadly immigration problem that is spreading mayhem and murder throughout the West. Only this one...

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Return on investment (ROI) is a top priority when it comes to a parasite management program, says Jesse Rave, backgrounder from Dell Rapids, South Dakota. Getting calves started on a healthy path is important for a positive return. The calves come in weighing 600 to 900 pounds and are finished out in one of Rave’s two feedlots. “We used to only work calves once, usually 24 hours after arrival,” he said. Depending on their incoming weight and days on feed, calves would typically receive a generic pour-on dewormer in addition to Safe-Guard® fed in the bunk, an implant, and a...

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The first day of school is upon us, and I am about to experience my 61st first day of school as a student, teacher, or administrator. No wonder I am so tired, and no wonder readers are thinking, “For the love of God, woman, hang up your ruler!” I have a picture on my desk that I received from a reader back in 2009. I look at it every year before school starts and tell myself I can do this because I am fulfilling my destiny. The picture sent to me by Ruth Knapp Coulter of Brussett, Montana, is a...

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Agri-kid of the week, Natalee Niederegger, from Harlem, Montana, roping and dragging calves for branding on the ranch. She is nine years old, and she has wanted to rope and drag calves since she was just a small fry. After lots of years of practice and persistence, it paid off. Dreams come true with hard work! Photo courtesy of Brittany Niederegger.

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My daughter, Abby, my friend, Colleen, and I grabbed the opportunity for a pack trip to the mountains last week. We planned to ride both familiar and unexplored trails for a couple of days, take a few deep breaths, and pause the chaos swirling among our respective to-do lists. We had no idea we were about to learn the importance of pushing ourselves just a little farther. We started out in the afternoon, so by the time our feet hit the stirrups, we had about two hours of daylight left. We headed for a meadow near a pretty, gurgling creek....

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The Wyoming Wool Initiative, in partnership with the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, is now accepting applications for its 2025-2026 Lamb-a-Year program. This flagship program, now in its fourth year, offers UW students valuable industry experience and provides regional sheep producers with individualized lamb quality data. “Lamb-a-Year is a value discovery program where producers donate lambs, we feed out those lambs here at the Laramie Research and Extension Center, collect performance and meat quality information, and give that information back to producers,” says Whit Stewart, UW Extension sheep specialist. “Lamb-a-Year is an investment in...

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I was working for Nick, a local horse trainer. He had me start the gelding he named “High Pockets” the same day we began working the other horses that came from the same owner. High Pockets kicked, bit, struck, and spun away from whomever was working him and had a mean eye. Nick’s son, Craig, was five or six years old and wanted to be with his dad or me all the time. We warned him to never come to the corral unless we were with him. Craig told me, a couple years ago, that he decided to go to...

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