Today, several key priorities championed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) moved one step closer to becoming law when the U.S. House of Representatives passed their reconciliation bill. The bill includes key cattle health, disaster recovery, and tax priorities crucial to the success of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers. “Cattle farmers and ranchers need Congress to invest in cattle health, strengthen our resources against foreign animal disease, support producers recovering from disasters or depredation, and pass tax relief that protects family farms and ranches for future generations,” said NCBA President and Nebraska cattleman Buck Wehrbein. “Thankfully, this reconciliation bill...

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Agri-kid Cody Ochsner of Torrington, Wyoming, smiling ear-to-ear while feeding heifers with his papa, Blake, at his family’s ranch, Ochsner Roth Cattle Co. This is Cody’s favorite thing to do, especially when jelly beans are involved. Photo by Terra Ochsner.

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As we all make plans for the upcoming three-day Memorial Day weekend, I hope that we will give pause to think about the holiday. Let us never forget those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. The author of this essay is unknown, but I think it is a noteworthy perspective. Memorial Day (author unknown) Memorial Day is supposed to be the day that a grateful nation pauses to quietly thank the more than one million men and women who have died in military service to their country since the Revolutionary War. (Note: according to Google, 646,596 soldiers died in battle and another 539,000...

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Sam went to a family funeral in Wyoming this week, leaving me to fend for myself with the dogs. I was getting ready to close my laptop tonight and looked over at my bookshelf. For whatever reason, a pile of family history documents my grandma mailed me a while back caught my eye, and with nothing better to do, I dug in. Growing up, I know I spaced out during hundreds of conversations about my family’s history. As the little girl who played fiddle, I was roped into many family reunions, nursing home afternoons, and funerals. At these events, my...

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As I was shoeing horses the other day on a ranch in the beautiful, central hinterlands of Montana, I spoke with an incredible farming family about their new crop of spring wheat and chickpeas planted in the ground. Spring is that wonderful time of year that all of us involved in agriculture know when seeding is in complete swing, bulls are turned back out with the cows, and veterinarians are artificially inseminating. Or in the case of the humble farrier, it’s a busy time preparing many ranch horses’ and their feet for the busy work ahead of branding or pushing...

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I am not known for my maternal instincts – my extended family wagered that I would lose my son as soon as we left the hospital. Frankly, I was worried, too. But last weekend, a few ewes made me look pretty darn motherly. When I headed to the barn at sunrise, I took enough milk for four bottle lambs. Three were triplets and one had a difficult birth, so the ewe left it for the coyotes. Now it was my turn to try to keep them alive. Before I fed the bottle babies, I scanned the sheep in the corral....

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Out of the 102 students who graduated this spring from Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, 42 will go into large animal or mixed practice veterinary medicine – an encouraging number in light of the ongoing rural and large animal veterinary shortage. Alyssa Barta and Olivia Ary were members of this year’s graduating class, and with the coveted three letters – DVM – now attached to their names, they reflected on their journey to becoming veterinarians. Alyssa Barta, DVM. . . For Barta, all of the “puzzle pieces” came together for her when she decided to become a vet....

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In Emmons County, North Dakota, and across much of the state, one of the top 10 most invasive and economically devastating weeds for farmers is the kochia weed. Kochia is an annual forb that can be found throughout much of the United States and Canada. It is a challenging species to control due to its ability to “establish and persist in harsh environments” on as little as six inches of annual rainfall, and it has become resistant to four different classes of herbicides, according to USDA NRCS. Herbicides are divided into different groups based on their chemistries. Kochia has become...

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Over the last two years, the Montana Chamber Foundation has been working to illuminate the wealth of career pathways available to students in rural Montana through a growing number of Cultivating Careers events. In its simplest form, Cultivating Careers could be described as a job fair; however, the Montana Chamber Foundation and its growing list of community partners have taken the concept to the next level by providing genuine, hands-on exposure to a variety of opportunities. In the beginning, the Cultivating Careers event started with the generous sponsorship and support of John Deere and RDO Equipment Company, but in the...

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I want to start off this week by recognizing the importance of Memorial Day. It’s a great opportunity to remember and give thanks to all of the members of our families who have passed before us, and all the military members who made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives fighting to keep and protect the freedoms all of us enjoy here in the United States. Please take a few moments over the Memorial Day weekend and give thanks for all the members of the U.S. military, past and present, and also give thanks for your family members who have...

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