Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

I was visiting with a neighbor the other night and heard something really interesting. Many of the people on the Rosebud flat run out of hay during the recent snowstorm and had to go with no feed for their cattle since none was available. This to me shows how much some people were hurt by the storm even though all you heard in the paper was how great the moisture was.

Before the storm hit the green grass was really coming along good. The cold temperatures and snow really cooled the ground off and has slowed the grass up from what it was doing before the storm. Saturday I kicked the yearlings out and yesterday I kicked the two-year olds and their calves out mostly because I am running short on hay myself. The grass is not coming as fast as it was before the storm and the storm layed down all the old grass I was banking on to turn cattle out on. I feel kind of bad about kicking out on such little grass since the green is so slow but I don't have a lot of choice. The cows start going out today to spread them out further on what little green is coming.

At this point the only solace I have is watching the yearlings. Normally when I kick them out they try to come back home for feed again. Even on the short grass this bunch isn't doing that. They are hanging around their water, content and getting the green grass in the area. Every time I go up there they are laying around contentedly chewing their cud so they must be getting enough to eat. Hopefully the cows will be just as happy.

Now if I could just get the cows out and get some faring done. I need to get all the renovating done and one field planted down to grass. The guy I was talking to said he tried to renovate and got his tractor stuck right away. I had to laugh and told him that I was going to try the same day but once I got to the field decided that it was to wet and was going to wait a couple of days to try. Hopefully today I can at least try to renovate and get the plow set. I bout a new to me field cultivator last fall to replace the one I had so I could more efficiently renovate the fields. The old one was broke down more than it was working and I never could get all the renovating done every year so a change was in order. Trying to figure out this new fangled thing and all its adjustments might be a little difficult. We'll see.

I've also heard a little news on the calves I sold last year. The buyer is extremely happy with them ands hopes the price of fats holds for a little while longer. He should have the first 150 steers or so ready for market in about a month. That's pretty good if you ask me, the oldest any of them could be at that point is 14 1/2 months old. Last year he sold the first of them about the same time and did real well with them. Just shows I have some good genetics I guess. I hope the market stays good for the guy too. The more money he makes on them the more likely he will buy them again from me this year. I pushed him a little hard last year for the price I got and it looks like it works out for both of us.

Normally at this time of year I would be wishing for more hours in the day to get my work done. As slow as the grass is coming I can't go any faster than I am so I feel like I am falling further and further behind. I just need to keep my eye on the ball though, everything will get done in good order if I just keep pluging along and I don't get rained out to often. More coming tonight and tomorrow it looks like. I've always heard spring rains make the grass grow faster. I could stand that now so I hope it works.

Do every day or two something for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test. William James

Fruits, vegetables not as nutritious as 50 years ago

In spite of what Mother taught you about the benefits of eating broccoli, data collected by the U.S. government show that the nutritional content of America's vegetables and fruits has declined during the past 50 years -- in some cases dramatically.

Donald Davis, a biochemist at the University of Texas, said that of 13 major nutrients in fruits and vegetables tracked by the Agriculture Department from 1950 to 1999, six showed noticeable declines -- protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C. The declines ranged from 6 percent for protein, 15 percent for iron, 20 percent for vitamin C, and 38 percent for riboflavin.

I found this interesting. I understand why farmers use faster growing hybrids but this is the first time I have ever come across information that claims crops grown this way are not as nutritious. This won't stop me from eating my fruits and veggies but does it mean I have to eat more now? I don't know if I could handle that personally. Meat and potatoes are my basic staple but My Darling Wife wants me to live a long time and feeds me fruits and veggies all the time.

Darling, I beg, please don't feed me more because of this, enough is enough.

As for begging, it is safer to beg than to take, but it is finer to take than to beg. Oscar Wilde

Most college students lack skills to do complex tasks, study says

Most college students close to earning a diploma cannot handle many complex but common tasks, from understanding credit card offers to comparing the cost per ounce of food.

Those are the sobering findings of a study of literacy on college campuses, the first to target the skills of students as they approach the start of their careers.

More than 50 percent of students at four-year schools and more than 75 percent at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks.

That means they could not interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.

What is going on in this world. I'm just a dumb cowboy who didn't complete college and I can handle these things, why can't college graduates? It really makes a person wonder.

What may seem depressing or even tragic to one person may seem like an absolute scream to another person, especially if he has had between four and seven beers. Dave Barry

Using images from above, USDA prosecutes farmers

Satellites have monitored crop conditions around the world for decades, helping traders predict futures prices in commodities markets and governments anticipate crop shortages.

But those satellite images are now increasingly turning up in courtrooms across the nation as the Agriculture Department's Risk Management Agency cracks down on farmers involved in crop insurance fraud.

Strikes me as kind of scary that they are using satellites to keep track of what you are doing. Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are catching people in insurance fraud cases but using satellites to do it strikes me odd. This leads me to a question, does taking pictures of your crops from space violate the 4th amendment restrictions against unreasonable search? Why are they taking pictures if they don't suspect you? Do they need a warrant? Since your crops are out in the open I assume no warrant is needed but it still seems like an unreasonable search. What's next, use satellites to track home improvements so the government can increase your taxes? How far will this satellite surveillance go to keep track of the ordinary citizen? Technology always leads to interesting questions.

Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture, health care, and life sciences is directly related to scientific advancement. Christopher Bond

I see over at New West they are "reporting", I use that term loosely here, that Idaho has lost its brucellosis free status. This peaked my interest as stories that involve cattle do so I looked into it. The "reporter", Bill Schneider, uses as source material for this report a website called Ralph Maughan's Wildlife Reports for this information.

On this website it states, "Now brucellosis has been spread by feedlot elk to Idaho cattle, and Idaho has most its brucellosis free status, accompanied by deafening media silence, a sure sign of heavy politics." The only documentation on this website for this information is the same source the New West story uses. One is a story from KIFI that states Idaho has lost its brucellosis status and is dated Dec. 23, 2005. The other is a story from the Sublette Examiner dated Dec 29, 2005 that says;

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture announced late last week that it has learned that Idaho will likely lose its brucellosis-free status and will join Wyoming in its class A status.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is expected to publish a public notice of the status change in early January 2006.

I will point out that this report states that it is going to happen but has yet not happened.

Since I have not found anything definite yet in these reports I decided to look a little further to see if I could find any information if Idaho has lost, at the present time as being "reported," its brucellosis free status. The logical first stop is The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) since they are the ones to deal with this kind of situation. Looked around and searched far and wide and could find no announcement on Idaho and its brucellosis status. Next I searched the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website for any information on the issue. I again struck out.

Logically the next place to look was the Idaho State Department of Agriculture website. If there was a change in brucellosis status it would defiantly be located here. I struck out yet again. Lots of rules and regs about cattle and Brucellosis but nothing on the status being changed at this time. Running out of ideas I went to the State of Idaho web site. At this point I didn't feel I was going to find anything and guess what? I didn't.

So we have two published documents that aren't even in agreement as to the status of Idaho and its brucellosis status and a lot of negative findings, by me, on any other reports of Idaho's status yet the on-line Journalistic Endeavor New West emphatically states, "Idaho Loses its Brucellosis Free Status." I'm just a dumb cowboy but this doesn't seem very "Journalistic" to me. Sensationalistic maybe, but journalistic, no. I thought reporters were supposed to check there stories out a little better than this. Not just grab sketchy information from a website and report it as "news" because it fits an agenda they like. The tag line to the story in New West is "IDAHO PRESS NOT INTERESTED." Maybe the Idaho press checks its facts.

There should be truth in thought, truth in speech, and truth in action. Mohandas Gandhi

P.S. As a cattleman and knowing the situation in Idaho I do not doubt they will lose their brucellosis free status. But it seems negligent to me to report it as fact when there is very little information backing it up. If anybody can direct me to a governmental press release on this I would appreciate it. I can't find anything saying that it's happened from an official source, just conjecture and only from the sites listed.

UPDATE: I see the New West added some information on the article listed that explains yet again that Idaho will lose it's brucellosis free status but it has not happened yet as anybody that follws such stories all ready knows. The title of the article remains the same and misleads people into believing that it has all ready happened. What a wonderful job they do over there misleading the public with their "style of journalism."

Mouse Thrown Into Fire Sets Home Ablaze

A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire.

Revenge is often like biting a dog because the dog bit you. Austin O'Malley

UPDATE: It turns out the story was false. Oh well, it sure sounded good.

Cow flees packing plant, dodges vehicles, train before recapture

A cow that escaped a slaughterhouse here dodged vehicles, ran in front of a train, braved the icy Missouri River and took three tranquilizer darts before being recaptured six hours later.

Now, I like a good chunk of beef as much as the next person, but do you really blame this heifer? I sure enough would try to get away. Pretty humourous episode if you ask me.

I wanted to get away from my past and everything connected with it. Georg Solti

Judge sentences man to 60 days for sexual assault on young girl

Mark Hulett admitted repeatedly sexually assaulting a young girl for four years. Sounds like he deserves the rope. Judge Edward Cashman sentenced him to 60 days in jail. Kind of sounds like the judge might deserve the rope too. The story gives a lot of reasons for the light sentence but it's wrong. This girl is scared for life and all the Judge in concerned about is getting the offender treatment. How about the abused girl? Does she get any treatment or justice? Not with a sentence like this.

On to another one.

Parents leave kids home alone to gamble in Vegas

A California couple left their 5- and 9-year-old children home alone for the weekend while they went to gamble in Las Vegas.

I'm not real sure this one deserves the noose. They don't deserve the children but the noose might be a little extreme. Maybe if we used the noose on those people that harmed children these folks wouldn't have left them like they did. I don't know for sure but it's worth a try.

Fairness is what justice really is. Potter Stewart

I see Thailand is lifting its import ban on US beef. I don't know how big of market that is for US beef but every little bit helps.

Fortune truly helps those who are of good judgment. Euripides

I've been complaining about the unusually warm temperatures we have been having the past couple of weeks and while I stand by my complaints, it could be worse. Look at what is going on in the weather all over our country.

We have excessive rain and flooding in northern California, severe drought and out of control fires burning up Texas and Oklahoma, and while not in the country, Tropical Storm Zeta is running around the Atlantic. It's just unbelievable. I don't think there is any "normal" in the weather anymore. It just does what it wants.

Bad weather always looks worse through a window. Tom Lehrer