Rehberg at MWGA Convention

Congressman Denny Rehberg

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Congressman Denny Rehberg, Montana's sole voice in the U.S. House of Representatives, addressed the Montana wool growers with his characteristic vivacity during the association's Saturday session. Rehberg came down hard on the federal government for its failed policies. Concerning the Endangered Species Act, Rehberg explained, "It's not that we can't sustain a little bit of loss for a failed federal program; it's that there shouldn't be a failed federal program." Rehberg has been working to pass reforms to the Endangered Species Act with the rationalization, "You don't have the phrase 'shoot, shovel, and shut up' if [the policy] works."

The Estate Tax remains a priority for the congressman as well. The fight, he maintained, is not between democrats and republicans. In Washington D.C., the discrepancy is between 'urban' and 'rural.' The urban populous is uneducated about the impact the estate tax has on farmers and ranchers. Rehberg and Senator Max Baucus are working together on the estate tax in hopes of reducing its impact in 2011. (Rehberg predicted that the largest tax increase in the history of the country will happen in January of 2011, after the 2001 Tax Relief package sunsets). Furthermore, Rehberg warned against accepting "tax relief" that allows higher taxes than existed before the sunset of former legislation.

Rehberg insisted that the federal government needs to focus on spending reform, tax reform, and health reform in that order. The president, he stated, is "so hell-bent on pushing something he based his presidency on" that he is not looking to resolve the problem of costs before he begins spending. There is a lack of innovation at the national level that is being bypassed by an increase in the size and spending of government.

A questioner brought up Tester's Wilderness Bill. Rehberg explained that he started working with the wilderness issue in 1979. He insisted that in order to protect agriculture, three standards MUST be in any wilderness bill:

1. There must be a "hard release," which clearly states that if certain lands are to be declared wilderness, all other lands will be exempt from the status now and in the future.


2. Timber sales must never be prohibited or restricted. Rehberg explained that currently appeals can prolong litigation so far into a three year logging contract that by the time the conflict is resolved, the remaining time in the contract is inadequate to harvest enough lumber to cover costs.


3. Water rights must never be compromised. The Clean Water and Restoration Act is just one piece of legislation forcing losses of water rights

Rehberg encouraged his audience to be proactive about protecting the rights of agriculture and invited them to visit his Facebook and Twitter pages for updates on his activities.

Wool Marketing Panel

Dr. Rodney Kott, extension sheep specialist

Bruce Barker, wool buyer

Larry Prager, wool buyer

Larry Prager and Bruce Barker provided an overview of the wool industry and addressed the most prominent concerns for producers. Dr. Rodney Kott provided wool samples as Prager and Barker explained that, although twine and paint residue remain problems, the biggest concern currently is with fibers from hair sheep. Many sacks of wool are coming in contaminated with these fibers. One hair sheep fleece in a 40,000 lb lot is enough to make the entire lot unsalable.

Prager gave an overview of the wool market and explained that the military is still the nation's biggest in-state buyer. Up to 70% of wool, however, is exported out of state. While producers may not be able to control the wool market, Prager and Barker encouraged individuals to do all they can to market the best possible product, beginning with contacting their preferred shearers by Christmas and deciding on an appropriate date for shearing. With adeuate planning and proper clean-up in preparation for shearing, producers can add value to their wool without additional expense. The competitive advantage, they explained, is with clean wool in a neatly fastened, dry package. Prager urged producers to monitor their wool packs carefully, whether they are packing for themselves or having someone else run the machine. A full, well-fastened bale fits perfectly into the shipping containers. A photograph illustrated how one over-sized bale could cost the packers valuable space in the container. In addition, Prager stressed the importance of labeling the bales such that the owner could identify their contents to the buyer at without confusion.

MWGA Keynote Speakers

Dr. Krayton Kerns, DVM, was the MWGA's Friday luncheon speaker. Kerns, veterinarian, state representative for House District 58, and author of "Ramblings of a Conservative Cow Doctor," garnered laughter from the Wool Growers during the Friday luncheon while talking about his experience as a veterinarian and politician. Kerns listed a few of the bills that entered the 2009 legislative session, which could have had grave consequences for Montana's farmers and ranchers had the people in HD 58 not put him in office (in other words, the margin of defeat was only one vote). One bill, HB 787, would have made it illegal to leave children under eight years of age alone in a vehicle. The room filled with chuckles as Kerns asked how many present could remember driving the pickup while their folks fed hay and having their children do the same for them...at far less than eight years of age. Kerns encouraged Montanans to be alert to the anti-agricultural movement taking place across the country and pushed for action. The 2011 session, he warned, will be the biggest in US history. Montana needs the support of agricultural representatives and our duty as citizens of Montana is to become involved and encourage the people who can best represent us. "The biggest chicken in the world," declared Kerns, "is a republican businessman." He urged his listeners to overcome their fear of standing up for their beliefs, to post signs supporting their candidates, and to encourage their neighbors to do likewise.

MWGA Annual Meeting Information Session

Brad Boner
Mountain States Lamb
Friday, December 4, 2009

Mountain States Lamb sprang from a little group of discontented sheep ranchers at the 1999 Wyoming Ram Sale and grew into a cooperative with members in 11 western states. Five of the co-op's 140 member ranching families live in Montana and 61 live in the founding state of Wyoming. The co-op's mission, as stated on their website, is "To provide premium quality, value added lamb products in response to our consumer's demands while enhancing sustained profitability for member family farms and ranches in the Rocky Mountain region."

Brad Boner, Mountain States Lamb Vice Chairman, delineated the co-op's operation system. Members buy either class A or class B shares, the latter of which does not gain the member voting rights. Members' lambs are evaluated on a grid system with premiums offered for lambs within the target weight class. The grid system was devised to address consumer concern over product consistency. The cooperative receives funding from member dues and a one dollar per head kill fee.

Boner described the promise of quality that comes with buying a Cadillac and explained that the co-op wants to create that same degree of report with their lambs. "Do we have to do things different, think outside the box?" asked Boner, "Absolutely." But Boner's message was one of confidence and faith in the model the cooperative has formed.

The co-op processes approximately 1.7 million lambs per year. Currently, 130 different products are available for sale and the diversity grows annually. To learn more about their line of products, find out how to buy shares, or just look into the co-op, visit their website, http://www.mslamb.com/.

WHAT TO DO UNTIL THE TRAPPER ARRIVES

Mike Foster
Eastern Montana Supervisor, Wildlife Services
Friday, December 4, 2009

Mike Foster provided a synopsis for ranchers handling supposed wolf kills. Foster explained that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not manage wolves after they have been delisted, so Wildlife Services (WS) is responsible for all wolf work as long as the wolves' status remains as it is currently. For each investigation, WS is required to fill out a WS Form 200 (investigation report), which lists the case as confirmed, probable, possible/unknown, or other. "Other" indicates that the animal was undoubtedly killed by some other predator than a wolf. Confirmed and probable wolf kills reimburse the owner 100% of the animal's current market value. Possible/unknown reports provide no compensation.


Foster provided a list of actions for livestock owners faced with a possible wolf kill:
1. Alert the local trapper or WS personnel as soon as possible.
2. Cover the carcass to preserve it from further destruction.
3. Preserve tracks.
4. Keep livestock out of the area as much as possible.
5. Lock up guard dogs (to prevent them from eating on the carcass, being caught in snares,
or being poisoned).
6. Don't call the media (dealing with the media adds more difficulty to WS's job).
7. Take photographs of the scene, especially if it cannot be preserved.

Foster encouraged the use of preventative predator control work, urging producers to call the trapper before they move livestock into a new pasture, rather than waiting until depredation has occurred.

MWGA Annual Meeting Information Session

John Stueber
State Director of Wildlife Services
Friday, December 4, 2009

John Stueber, State Director of Wildlife Services, shot the 126th annual MWGA convention off with a look at the impact of predators on Montana agriculture in federal fiscal year (FY) 2009. While the media focuses primarily on wolves, Stueber affirmed that coyotes remain the most destructive predator in the state, costing $528,773 per year in prevention and control. Wolves, however, are impacting the livestock industry in more ways than direct livestock kills. Wildlife Services (WS) is being required to devote more and more time to wolf complaints, investigation, paperwork, monitoring traps, and even removing a single wolf from a specific pack without a budget increase. In FY '09, wolf complaints were up to 243 from 166 in FY '08. Of those, 143 were confirmed wolf complaints, up from 81 confirmed in FY '08. With so much attention on wolves, WS is having difficulty balancing the various duties they are required to perform as a federal agency.

Coyote control is not the only WS duty suffering from the focus on wolves. WS is also responsible for conducting avian influenza testing, disease surveillance, work at airports and handling mountain lion, black bear, and grizzly bear complaints across the state. In September, US District Judge Donald Molloy increased WS's work load by ruling to relist grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone area as an endangered species. Greater protection means more complicated and costly efforts to control grizzly bear problems.

Discussing the future of WS after his presentation, Stueber expressed concern over the agency's budget. While funding remains tight, expecially with the increasing burden of wolf work and the cost of maintaining three helicopters and one airplane, Stueber was hesitant to ask that more money be directed to them from livestock producers. Currently 72.1% of the agency's budget is allotted from the federal government, with only 3.5% of their funds coming from sheep petitions. Stueber suggested that there needs to be a more sensible means of gathering funding for livestock protection than increasing the payment burden (federal taxes and county petitions) on the people who are already taking a hit with livestock losses.

MWGA Annual Convention: Lamb Marketing Panel

MWGA Annual Convention, Information Session
Friday, December 4, 2009

LAMB MARKETING PANEL

Dr. Rodney Kott, moderator
Joel Schumacher, MSU Extension Economist
Rick Jarrett, sheep producer and member of Sweet Grass Natural Lamb
Dan Ryan, sheep producer
Arville Lammers, sheep producer

The Montana Wool Growers Association hosted a group of individuals with varied marketing experience for this year's lamb marketing panel. Rick Jarrett is a member of Sweet Grass Natural Lamb, a cooperative of sheep producers in Sweet Grass County, Montana, that markets approximately one thousand lambs per year. Dan Ryan is a sheep producer from Missoula, Montana who formerly marketed his lamb products at the Missoula farmer's market. Arville Lammers is a sheep producer who tried marketing his products locally, but unlike Ryan, did not find it profitable and returned to traditional marketing methods.

Although their experiences marketing lamb have been vastly different, the three sheep producers agreed on one key point: location is crucial to one's marketing strategy. Lammers experienced a loss of value by slaughtering locally. At the time, Lammers did not have the local demand for his products to allow him to mark up his produce for a sizeable profit. Ryan, on the other hand, found himself in the perfect location at the perfect time: Missoula, Montana at the peak of the local foods movement. Ryan found that he could sell his products with a substantial mark-up, because the demand was there for local produce. When he ran into trouble getting rid of less popular cuts of meat, he found a creative way to process and package them that appealed to his customers. Two examples Ryan provided were: saving the livers and having a processing plant make them into liverwurst toward the end of the season and saving the tongues and selling four or five in one package as a delicacy. When Ryan let Missoula, he left behind a market that demanded five to six lambs per week with a gross profit of $170 to $200 per lamb. The expense of distribution was Ryan's biggest obstacle. When he moved away from Missoula, the travel costs made continuing in that market impractical.

Jarrett agreed that marketing is the hardest part of production and asked the audience for advice, "What we all lack is expertise and if you can offer us some expertise, it would be a real help." Ryan commented that he had found the American Lamb Board's publications extremely helpful for marketing his produce and advised anyone trying to sell at local markets to offer customers ALB recipe books and promotional materials.

Joel Schumacher summarized the panel's comments by highlighting three key points: accessibility and distance to market and slaughter are crucial to the net income for producers marketing directly to customers; the inconsistency among popularity of meat cuts makes meeting demand difficult; and the efficiency of processing individually is far lower than at slaughter plants, because pelts are difficult to market on a small scale and waste is harder to dispose of. Despite the difficulties of direct marketing, a common theme in the discussions was the need to adapt to the local foods trend developing in the United States.