utah farm bureau news - may 2015

LEOPOLD: Conservation Award Call for Entries 7 Water: Shareholder Change Applications 17

Utah Farm Bureau News MAY 2015VOL. 61, NO. 4

Inside:National Perspective 3 Farm Bureau at Work 11Member Benefits 8Baxter Black 12 Farm Safety Column 27Classifieds 31

PRAIRIE DOG continued on pg. 13

WOTUS continued on pg 27

Photo by Matt HargreavesSalt Lake County farmer Gene Drake has students captivated as he cuts into an apple during the County’s Farm Field Days in Herriman. Drake explained to 2nd grade students all that goes into growing food and the challenges faced by farmers and ranchers.

AFBF says WOTUS rule would disregard exemptions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The proposed Waters of the U.S. Rule, “unless dramatically altered,” will result in potential Clean Water Act liability and federal permit requirements for a tremendous number of commonplace and essential farming, ranching and forestry practices nationwide, accord-

ing to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

In testimony today, AFBF General Counsel Ellen Steen told a House Agriculture sub-committee that the WOTUS rule will create enormous un-certainty and vulnerability for farmers and ranchers nation-wide.

“It is impossible to know how many farmers, ranchers and forest landowners will be visited by [EPA] enforcement staff or will be sued by citi-zen plaintiffs’ lawyers—and it is impossible to know when those inspections and lawsuits will happen,” Steen said. “But what is certain is that a vast number of common, respon-sible farming, ranching and forestry practices that occur today without the need for a federal permit would be highly vulnerable to Clean Water Act

Plan will increase prairie dog num-bers while helping private landown-ers

SALT LAKE CITY – If you own land where Utah prairie dogs live in southwestern Utah, action taken on March 5 might affect you. That day, members of the Utah Wildlife Board ap-proved the Utah Prairie Dog Management Plan for Non-federal Lands.

The plan makes it easier to remove prairie dogs from pri-vate property and place those prairie dogs on public land. Placing the prairie dogs on public land should speed their recovery and give them a bet-ter chance of being removed from the federal Endangered Species list.

You can review a draft copy of the plan, which is now final, at http://goo.gl/1X3On8.

Everyone winsFound only in southwestern

Utah, Utah prairie dogs were placed on the federal Endan-gered Species list in 1973. Until late 2014, all Utah prairie dogs in the state were managed by

Utah prairie dog planapproved

Utah Farm Bureau News2 May 2015

Utah Farm Bureau News(ISSN 1068-5960)Matt Hargreaves, Editor9865 South StateSandy, Utah 84070-3205Phone Numbers:General Inquiries: (801) 233-3000Address Changes: (801) 233-3009Farm Bureau News: (801) 233-3003Classified Ads: ..........(801) 233-3010Fax: .............................(801) 233-3030FB News E-mail: [email protected] site: .....http://www.utahfarmbureau.orgNational Ad Rep:The Weiss Group9414 E. San Salvador Dr. #226Scottsdale, Arizona 85258(480) 860-5394 [email protected] Display Ad Information:Jennifer Dahl(775) 752-3061

Utah Farm BureauFederation OfficersChairman and PresidentLeland J. Hogan, South Rim*Vice PresidentStephen A. Osguthorpe, Park City*CEO and Secretary/TreasurerRandy N. Parker, Riverton* Denotes member of the Board of Directors

BOARD OF DIRECTORS District 1 ............................ John Ferry, CorinneDistrict 2 ...............Ron Gibson, West WeberDistrict 3 ...................Ken Patterson, SyracuseDistrict 4 ................ Rex Larsen, Spanish ForkDistrict 5 ................ .....Joël Hatch, HuntingtonDistrict 6 ...........Edwin Sunderland, ChesterDistrict 7 ..................................Craig Laub, BerylFB Women’s Chairman ...Belva Parr, LindonYoung Farmer & Rancher Chairman..

Meagher McConkie, AltamontPeriodicals Postage Paid at Sandy, Utah and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, 9865 South State, Sandy, Utah 84070. Published quarterly for all Farm Bureau members (April/Spring, July/Summer, Oct./Fall, Dec./Winter). Published expressly for farmer/rancher Farm Bureau members and others who specifically request copies Feb., March, May, June, Aug., Sept., and Nov. All eleven issues published by the Utah Farm Bureau Federation in Sandy, Utah. Editorial and Business Office, 9865 South State, Sandy, Utah 84070-3205.

Dear Farm Bureau Member:

You belong to an organization that provides an infrastructure for its members to learn, grow, experience and express themselves. Farm Bureau’s mission is a journey – not a destination. For 99 years, the content of Farm Bureau’s policy book has changed. Each year, it’s reprinted and published. This continual process is evidence that Farm Bureau policy reflects the needs of farmers and ranchers. This process begins and ends with Farm Bureau members and families. Farm Bureau members assemble to explore ideas and draft policies. This grassroots process begins in the spring of each year following the legislative session and concludes in November at the annual Utah Farm Bureau Convention. The Midyear Conference is one stop along the journey to develop Farm Bureau policy. This timetable allows for all Farm Bureau members to be actively involved in the policy making process.

All Farm Bureau members are invited to attend Utah Farm Bureau’s annual Midyear Conference scheduled for July 16-17, 2015 at the Sharwan Student Center, on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Meet-ings begin at 1:00 PM on Thursday, July 16th and conclude at 12 noon on the 17th. There will be an evening banquet Thursday evening beginning at 6:00 PM, followed by an evening at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Early bird registration by June 15 will be $55/person, $65 afterwards. The Utah Farm Bureau has reserved hotel blocks at the Crystal Inn Hotel & Suites, Abbey Inn, and the Best Western Plus Town & Country. New this year, attendees are responsible for their own hotel reservations. Contact your county Farm Bureau Secretary to register for the conference. You may also contact Susan Furner, Executive Assistant for the Utah Farm Bureau, to learn more about the conference at [email protected] or 801-233-3040.

The Midyear Conference is an integral part to this policy making process. Already, important ag-ricultural issues have been identified that need further understanding, education and discussion. The primary purpose of Utah Farm Bureau’s Midyear Conference is two-fold: First, provide a forum for Farm Bureau members to communicate with local, state and national government agencies and industry leaders on pertinent agriculture issues. Second, allow for Farm Bureau members to discuss and debate among themselves in preparation for policy action later in the year.

Tentative conference topics include the treatment of rural Utah in the legislature, laws governing access to private roads, private property rights, and more.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend and participate in the conference. Look for more details in your June edition of the Farm Bureau News or our website www.utahfarmbureau.org. We invite each of you to extend a personal invitation to at least one Farm Bureau member, family or friend who has not previously attended a Midyear Conference to come join with us. I look forward to seeing you all in Cedar City.

Sincerely,

Leland HoganPresident, Utah Farm Bureau Federation

Hogan: All Farm Bureau Members Invited to Midyear Conference

Utah Farm Bureau News 3May 2015

AgAgenda: Farmers and ranch-ers are tired of EPA doubletalkBy Bob StallmanAmerican Farm Bureau President

Thoughts: Weber River ruling

misses the boat

PARKER continued on pg 21

By Randy Parker

Chief Executive OfficerUtah Farm Bureau

B u s i n e s s o w n e r s around the country have joined with farm-ers and ranchers in speaking out on the Waters of the U.S. rule. More than 30 states also oppose the rule. Yet, even in the face of mounting opposition, the EPA still isn’t lis-tening.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has un-veiled her latest, cam-paign-style WOTUS spin, calling the effort the “Clean Water Rule” – as though a bum-per-sticker approach to a complex regula-tion would change any-thing for people so pro-foundly affected by her agency’s actions.

Slogans may matter more than facts at the EPA, but the details still matter to farmers and ranchers who know full well the importance of clean water. We depend on it for our livelihoods, after all. Our biggest objection, in fact, is not about clean water. It’s about land.

McCarthy ins is ts that the rule will allow business as usual for agriculture. She has said farmers and ranch-ers won’t need special permits “to go about their business.” But what she’s saying just doesn’t match up with

the language of the rule. Anyone who’s been out on farmland knows that water collects in spots

that aren’t regular water sources for anything else, let alone major streams and rivers.

Prairie potholes are a good example of the “wa-ters” the EPA is targeting. These isolated wetlands are sprinkled across the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains. By pool-ing these isolated features together, the Waters of the U.S. rule would let the agencies treat them as a “significant nexus” to streams and rivers – an idea that’s simply not supported by law or com-mon sense. Together, the prairie potholes in a region could be treated just like a large body of water, even though the end result would be more control over land, not water – something that Congress never intended.

Rather than recogniz-ing the careful steward-ship that farmers and ranchers practice, EPA

keeps forcing farm-ers and ranchers back on the defensive. Mc-Carthy said farmers shouldn’t worry about the rule at all “unless you want to pollute or destroy jurisdictional water.” Statements like this hint that the agency is looking to broaden the rule by making it more ambiguous, not less.

Farmers and ranchers can’t afford the steep fines that regulators could impose for nor-mal farming practices. And farmers aren’t looking to sidestep regulations: We have the most to lose if one of our most valuable resources is compro-mised.

EPA claims that it’s simplifying regula-tions and making them easier to follow, but the fine print tells an-other story. No matter what name the agency gives its rule, it can only lead to needless pain for agriculture and businesses across the country. If EPA won’t listen, perhaps Con-gress will. Please let your senators and rep-resentative know that farmers, small business owners and state and local governments are looking to them to stop the Waters of the U.S. rule.

Headl ines reading “No Trespassing Signs are Coming Down” and “Fishermen can get back on the Weber River” fol-lowed the stunning recent ‘Navigable for Title’ ruling from Utah Third Dis-trict Court Judge Keith Kelly. The legal finding is the outcome of a lawsuit filed Utah Stream Ac-cess Coalition against landowners on a one-mile stretch of the upper Weber River, including Stewart Grow, whose deeded property includes a streambed, which water regularly flows over. Grow has been paying property taxes on what he was told by the state was his deeded private prop-erty for more than half a century! Grow and his neighbors have now been ordered by Judge Kelly to take down their “No Trespassing” signs.

After joining Mr. Grow and his legal team in the courtroom, I am disap-pointed and troubled by what can only be called judicial activism.

Judge Kelly’s 26-page ruling ultimately trans-fers lands in private own-ership since before state-hood to the state based on his narrow interpretation of navigable for title. The Kelly Court leaned heavily

on testimony of sporadic, high spring runoff periods for pre-statehood timber floats to move railroad ties, mining timbers and cordwood downstream. Judge Kelly wrote these drives played a “signifi-cant role in developing the railroad and mining industries in northern Utah.”

State Representative Dixon Pitcher (R-Ogden) seemed to revel in the

court’s decision telling the Ogden Standard-Ex-aminer, “It’s a great win for the citizens of Utah because it gives them ac-cess to some of these very fine waterways.” Pitcher seemed to rebuke Farm Bureau and property owners across the state saying, if they (private property advocates) “had been willing to compro-mise, they would have been able to retain their property while grant-ing public access”, but instead, he said “they


Along the CountrysideVice President- CommunicationsMatt Hargreaves

GRAZING continued on pg 24

Southern Utah range conference provides lessons on using grazing to reduce wildfire threats

Ranchers from Kane and Washington counties met re-cently at the Arizona Strip Range conference to learn about grazing management techniques and oth-er issues impacting those grazing the strip of land between the Utah-Arizona border and the Grand Canyon.

The conference has been a staple for southern Utah ranch-ers for the past 37 years, and is run in collaboration with Utah State University Extension and University of Arizona Extension, in partnership with Western SARE, NRCS, the Utah Farm Bureau, the Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Forest Service.

The conference kicked off with a presentation on using grazing as a fuels reduction treatment on rangelands by Eric Thacker, USU Extension Range Special-ist. Thacker looked at the eco-logical impacts, effectiveness, and impacts on ranchers using grazing to reduce wildfire loads.

“We have altered the wildfire frequency schedule, from gen-erations of putting fires out,” Thacker said. “We now have a much larger fuel load and cheat-grass has increased the size and intensity of fires.”

Since 2006, wildfire and inva-sive species have been viewed as threats to the Great Basin rangelands. Grazing has been suggested as a tool for reducing these wildfire risks.

A survey was conducted by Dr. Brunson (Utah State University) in 2006 and 2010, the survey asked about acceptance of tools to reduce wildfire risk. Surpris-ingly, grazing came out on top as an acceptable tool, despite reports in the media of the gen-

eral public viewing grazing as a detriment. The results showed researchers that there was an opportunity to have an impact

in public perception, position-ing grazing as a beneficial tool. On the contrary, herbicides and mechanical treatments were less favorable options. Prescribed fires were also viewed favorable behind grazing as an acceptable tool for fuels reduction treat-ments.

Researchers found people viewed grazing as an accept-able tool, but it does have l i m i t a t i o n s . While grazing can reduce fu-els it cannot stop all wild-fires. This in-cludes adverse weather, hu-midity, wind direction, and landscape fea-tures (lots of topographical changes), all of which increases the risk of fires. Therefore it is important to re-member that grazing can reduce wildfire risk but not illuminate the occurrence of wildfires.

Grazing is helpful because it can impact the amount and dis-tribution of fuels. Bunch grasses (which have bareground be-tween plants) take more extreme fire events to spread, compared with cheatgrass or other invasive

annual grasses, which provide a continuous fuel source for fires.

So where does grazing fit in? It doesn’t fireproof a landscape,

but it doesn’t have to. “You’re trying to re-

duce the fire risk, so that instead of 20 ft. flames, you have 4 ft. flames,” Thacker said. “This can be achieved through

landscape fuel reduction and targeted grazing.

Landscape Fuel reductionThis involves spreading out

many animals over a large area, to reduce fuel loads. Thacker cautions ranchers that they do not have to remove all of the veg-

etation to reduce wildfire risk. This approach is not necessary and may hurt the perception that grazing can be beneficial.

“Be moderate; don’t take out all the fuel (grass). Think about it as a 50% reduction,” Thacker said. “In order to effectively re-duce wildfire risk, we don’t have to take out every blade of grass.”

Thacker said breaking up the landscape keeps fires from

spreading.Thacker gave the example

where there wasn’t uniform distribution of livestock and how that may actually help reduced the wildfire spread

“It’s good to have some areas that are lightly grazed and other areas that are grazed more heav-ily, to benefit wildlife and wa-tershed, this will also help with public perception. Don’t graze it all. A moderate level of utili-zation will reduce wildfire risk and ensure sagebrush and sage grouse stay on the landscape.”

Targeted GrazingThis is what most people think

of when using grazing as a fire reduction tool. This in-volves maximum control of animals for time and intensity.

“This is not for the faint of heart. They are heavily used pastures,” Thack-er said. “This method is most often used for fuel reduction and weed con-trol.”

Camp Williams (in Utah County) was used as an example of using target-ed grazing to reduce fire threats. The area had in-creased fire risk because of encroaching homes, and the fact that 1.5 mil-lion people lived within

30 miles of the base. There was lots of cheatgrass and oak brush in the area.

USU began a project on Camp Williams, starting with goats in 2001 along the north boundary, because of fears of fires going into Herriman. They began graz-ing a 150 ft. buffer beside the roads along the north boundary. After the Machine Gun Fire in

Photo courtesy of Eric ThackerCattle graze at Camp Williams to reduce wildfire threats.


FINANCE continued on pg 25

Photo courtesy of Tyson Roberts

Davis County farmer Tyson Roberts is interviewed by KUTV about how the challenges of wild spring weather in Utah are impacting agriculture.

Unleashing the American economy

By Dale Newton, Director of Finance, UFBF

There seems to be a common misperception that the U. S. stock, or equity, markets have not rebounded from the sig-nificant decline of 2008 and 2009. The truth is that the U. S. equity mar-kets are one of the few bright spots in the ane-mic economic malaise known as the “Obama r e c o v e r y ” . While growth in gross do-mestic product [GDP], which is usually con-sidered the bell weather sta-tistic for eco-nomic growth, has underper-formed past economic re-coveries and just about every projection, the eq-uity markets continue to impress.

Of course, there are ups and downs in the equity markets during any given time period, but the improvement since 2009 is really re-markable. It is one more evidence of the tremen-dous resiliency of the American capitalistic marketplace in spite of large tax increases, ever growing governmental regulations, increasing government debt and worldwide uncertainty and instability.

Consider the following overall measure of the U. S. equity markets: the to-tal market capitalization

of the U. S. stock market was $8 trillion at its bear market low on March 9, 2009; the total market capitalization on March 31, 2015, 6 years later, was $25 trillion [source: BTN Research]. This is an increase in value of 213%, or about 35% per year, on average. Eq-uity investors that were in the markets in 2008 and then left the mar-

kets near the bottom and have stayed on the in-v e s t m e n t s i d e l i n e s can’t be very happy right now. They have per-haps missed a golden op-portunity to

recoup their losses.While March and

April 2015 have been rather lackluster on a total return basis, Feb-ruary 2015 was a won-derful month for U. S. equities. The S&P 500 Index gained 5.7% on a total return basis, its best one-month result since October 2011 and its best February per-formance since 1998. The index’s bull market run is now more than six years in length, a du-ration achieved by just three other bull mar-kets since 1950. As of mid-April, the S&P 500 Index has gone 1,290 calendar days without a 10% or greater drop in the index, the third-

longest stretch without a double-digit pullback in the last 50 years [source: BTN Research].

While it is well docu-mented that equity mar-kets go up and down, it is also important to stay in the markets once you are invested. Timing the gains and/or losses of the equity markets is very difficult, if not im-possible. For example, the total return on the S&P 500 in 2014 was a gain of 13.7%. If you missed the five best per-centage gain days [about 2% of the available trad-ing days] of 2014, the 13.7% gain falls to a 3.2% gain [source: BTN Research]. Get in the market and stay in the market. Diversify your investments, utilize a long time horizon and the odds are that you will be pleased with the eventual results. How-ever, that does not seem to be the view of many Americans, as 52% of adults surveyed in March 2015 do not have any money invested in

the stock market. More than 21% of the 52% do not invest in stocks be-cause they “don’t know enough about stocks” in order to feel comfortable about investing [source: Bankrate.com].

Aside from the some-times-unexplainable in-vestor psychological ef-fects on equity returns, or significant world or national events, stock values generally in-crease when companies are profitable. Most large companies, that comprise the popular stock indices, are prof-itable partly because of extraordinarily low in-terest rates, stagnant labor costs, increasing productivity and good demand for their prod-ucts. For example, 46% of the revenue gener-ated by companies in the S&P 500 is produced from sales to consum-ers outside the USA. Low interest rates are also a significant factor in corporate profitabil-ity. Companies are able to borrow or issue debt

at historic lows thereby minimizing interest ex-pense on their income statements. While these low rates are good for borrowers, they are not good for investors and savers. The yield on the U. S. 10-year Treasury note closed at 1.85% on Friday, April 3, 2015, the 38th day in 2015 that the yield has been below 2%. By comparison, from January 1962 to the end of August 2011 [almost 50 years] the yield on the 10-year U. S. Trea-sury note never closed below 2%. Rates are low indeed!

One of the significant drags on the current economy are the high tax rates paid by individuals and businesses. It makes one wonder how well the economy could do if governments [especially the federal government] would decrease tax rates, rather than continu-ally increasing them. To give you some idea of the current tax increases


at historic lows thereby minimizing interest ex-pense on their income statements. While these low rates are good for borrowers, they are not good for investors and savers. The yield on the U. S. 10-year Treasury note closed at 1.85% on Friday, April 3, 2015, the 38th day in 2015 that the yield has been below 2%. By comparison, from January 1962 to the end of August 2011 [almost 50 years] the yield on the 10-year U. S. Trea-sury note never closed below 2%. Rates are low indeed!

One of the significant drags on the current economy are the high tax rates paid by individuals and businesses. It makes one wonder how well the economy could do if governments [especially the federal government] would decrease tax rates, rather than continu-ally increasing them. To give you some idea of the current tax increases

Sand County Founda-tion, in partnership with the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, Western Ag-Credit and the Utah Cat-tlemen’s Association, is accepting applications for the 2015 Leopold Con-servation Award in Utah. The Award, which is com-prised of $10,000 and an Aldo Leopold crystal, rec-ognizes Utah farmers and ranchers who demon-strate outstanding stew-ardship and sustainable management of natural resources.

Given in honor of re-nowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leop-old Conservation Award inspires other land-

Leopold Conservation Award seeks Utah farmers and ranchers who exemplify land stewardship

owners by example and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private land-owners are recognized as conservation leaders. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethi-cal relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called “an evolutionary possibility and an ecologi-cal necessity.”

“Leopold Conservation Award recipients repre-sent the tremendous con-servation work of ranch-ing and farming families across Utah,” said Brent Haglund, Sand County Foundation President.

“We look forward to recog-nizing more outstanding landowners who are com-mitted to conservation in this great state.”

The 2015 award re-cipient was the Johnson Mountain Ranch of Se-vier Valley. The Leopold Conservation Award will be presented at the Utah Farm Bureau’s Conven-tion in November in Lay-ton.

“As the original environ-mentalists, farmers and ranchers are dedicated to caring for the land in their stewardship because it’s the right thing to do,” said Leland Hogan, president of the Utah Farm Bureau

Federation. “We are happy to once again partner with the Sand County Founda-tion in recognizing Utah’s farmers and ranchers with the preeminent award for conservation.”

“It is always exciting to see farmers and ranchers rewarded for their hard work and for doing what they know is best for the land,” adds Brent Tanner, executive vice president of the Utah Cattlemen’s As-sociation.

The nomination dead-line is August 3, 2015. To download an applica-tion, visit www.leopold-conservationaward.org.

The Leopold Conser-vation Award in Utah is

presented by Sand County Foundation, Utah Farm Bureau, Western AgCredit and Utah Cattlemen’s As-sociation.

The award program is made possible through generous contributions from Western AgCredit, The Nature Conservancy, Producers Livestock Mar-keting, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Utah Farm Bu-reau Federation, DuPont Pioneer, The Mosaic Com-pany and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Founda-tion.

For more information, contact David Bailey, 801-233-3020 or [email protected].


Member BenefitsFrom now through June 30th save even more with special promotional pricing available on Generac Generators, Miller welder/generators and ECHO power equipment. These limited time discounts are in addition to FREE standard ground shipping at Grainger.com and standard discounts off the Grainger catalog price.

-With more than 50 years of experience engineering standby power solutions, Generac offers a full-line of portable and automatic standby generators for power wherever and whenever you need it.

-Miller Bobcat™ engine driven welders are reliable and durable. Paired with Hobart® filler metals, also available through Grainger, farmers and ranchers can get the job done right.

-Choose from ECHO® blowers, trimmers, hedge trimmers, power pruners, augers, and chainsaws. Designed to be easy starting, long lasting and user friendly, all ECHO® outdoor power equipment features a 5-year consumer warranty and 2-year commercial warranty.

Use Utah Farm Bureau’s unique account number 855921920 to “Register Now” at Grainger.com. Create a user ID and Password and view exclusive Farm Bureau pricing. To ensure your membership discount is applied, ALWAYS reference 855921920 when visiting your local branch or ordering at 1-800-GRAINGER.

If you need additional help, please call Grainger’s special Farm Bureau Support line at (708) 396-1900 with your state discount code. They can help you get registered, place orders, check stock and answer questions about Grainger.com.

Ride, Slide, Splash, Scream and Laugh! All summer long with a season pass just $106.45 (includes tax) and your Farm Bureau membership. Advance ticket purchase only. Non Refundable. Call 801-233-3010 to purchase tickets.

Or…choose single day passes just $39.94 ea. (includes tax) for anyone over 2. Advance ticket purchase only. Non-refundable. Call 801-233-3010 to purchase tickets.

Take the whole gang to a Bees baseball game! The Bees are a Triple-A-affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Purchase “Bees” vouchers for just $10.00 ea. Redeem your voucher at the ticket window for the best available seat – excluding Diamond Seating. 2015 season April 17 – September 7. Vouchers are not valid July 4 or July 24. Great for a family night outing – won’t break the bank! Business associates and youth groups. Smith’s Ballpark is located at 77 West 1300 South in Salt

Lake City with the home plate entrance at the corner of West Temple and 1300 East.

Legoland (California) Park Hopper: $76 per adult & $71 per child with second day FREE. Including waterpark and aquarium with a second day FREE. Legoland and waterpark must be visited on the same day. All visits must occur before December 31, 2015. Purchase your tickets at www.utahfarmbureau.org. Legoland (California) $71 Adult (2nd day Free within 90 days)(Regular Price $85) (Ages 13+) $66 Child (Ages 3-12) Under 3 free. (2nd Day Free within 90 days)(Regular Price $79) Purchase your tickets at www.utahfarmbureau.org. San Diego Zoo: adult: $43.00 per day & child, $33.00 per day. Purchase your tickets at www.utahfarmbureau.org. San Diego Wild Animal Park: adult: $43.00 per day & child, $33.00 per day. Purchase your tickets at www.utahfarmbureau.org. SeaWorld (San Diego): $63.00 per guest. Single day admission. Children under 3 are FREE. Call 801-233-3010 to purchase these tickets. Advance purchase only. Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates an extraordinary 50 years of Movie-Making Magic with the 2015 debut of new “Fast & Furious – Supercharged” ride, first-ever “Nighttime Studio Tour” and “Springfield,” hometown of The Simpsons. $84.00 for 3 days! All visits must be completed by 3/18/16 Purchase your tickets at www.utahfarmbureau.org.

All tickets are non-refundable. Ticket prices subject to change without advance notice. For additional information about these and all other Farm Bureau member benefits, visit www.utahfarmbureau.org or call 801-233-3010. Visa or MasterCard accepted.


Another PerspectiveVice President - Member Services

& Women’s Committee CoordinatorAurline Boyack

2015 Creative Story contest winners announced

3rd Grade Contestant Name County1st Place Chase Huggard Emery 2nd Place Deanna Gale Iron 3rd Place Kyler Horne So. Box Elder

4th Grade Contestant Name County1st Place Shelby Hart So. Box Elder 2nd Place Jonathan Webb Beaver 3rd Place Austin Maughan Juab

5th Grade Contestant Name County1st Place Tylee Norton Emery2nd Place Derek Davidson So. Box Elder 3rd Place Landon Bown Sanpete

6th Grade Contestant Name County1st Place Hanna Williams Wayne 2nd Place Wade Huggard Emery 3rd Place Breeley Dallin Summit

7th Grade Contestant Name County1st Place Heather Johnson Utah 2nd Place Madison Bennett Sevier 3rd Place Shelby Stevens Sanpete

8th Grade Contestant Name County1st Place Alexia Moore So. Box Elder2nd Place Koby Smith Sanpete

Video Contest Winners 1st Place Division I Heather Johnson Utah2nd Place Division I Caleb Mortensen South Box

Photo by Matt Hargreaves

Congressman Jason Chaffetz (left) receives some initial in-structions from Utah County 4-H Director Jim Jensen on how to shear sheep. Chaffetz later tried his hand at the craft while attending Farm Field Days at Harward Farms in Springville.


Money Matters A special column for the Utah Farm Bureau News provided by USU Extension

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$

EGGS continued on pg 13

By Amanda Christensen, Assistant Professor, Utah State University Extension

It’s the time of year when we see beautiful spring blos-soms and blushing brides. When you’re in the middle of planning a wedding, plans to manage budgets and bank account balances as a new couple aren’t always popular discussion topics.

When you read the word “budget” what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Unrealistic? Stress? Confined? Restricting? But you have to start somewhere, and you have to have the de-sire to manage your money.

Want to track how much money you spend eating out? How about cutting back

@FamFinPro’s three baby steps for budgetingon your monthly utility bill? Maybe there is a fun trip you are planning for next summer and you’d like to have a good chunk of money set aside for it. How about a little more Christmas money for that spe-cial someone’s gift? Whatever the reason, here are three baby steps to get you started:

-Automate your savings. This is the KEY to getting off to the right start. Automati-cally sending a chunk of your paycheck into a savings ac-count is a foolproof way to set money aside. You don’t have to remember a monthly transaction and the money is moving from checking to savings without you touching it—which equals less tempta-tion to spend it.

-Take out your personal al-

lowance in cash every month. Allowing yourself to spend some of your money every month however you choose is an absolute must! Decide how much each person can spend and stick to it. Take the mon-ey, in cash, out of the bank and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

-Use the PowerPay App. This free app allows you to en-ter all your debts and see how long it will take to pay them off, with or without power payments. Both spouses can download the app and stay on top of paying down debt together. Don’t have a smart phone? You can also find Pow-erPay at: www.powerpay.org.

These baby steps for bud-geting, whether for wedded bliss or something else, will be helpful moving forward

and will get you on the right track.

What tips do you have for newly married couples for managing their finances? I’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to check out my YouTube channel for weekly videos about finan-cial management—includ-ing more tips for newlyweds managing their finances.

You can contact me on Twitter & Instagram at @FamFinPro, at www.Face-book.com/FamFinPro or on YouTube at Amanda Christensen (FamFinPro).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A California law that regulates agricultural production in other states is unconstitutional for multiple reasons, and a lower court ruling that barred other states from bringing suit against California on behalf of their citizens should be reversed, ac-cording to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (State of Missouri, et al. v. Harris, et al.), AFBF urged the court to find

American Farm Bureau files brief in egg law casethat six states have standing to challenge California’s egg law.

A federal district court in California dismissed a lawsuit brought by officials from Mis-souri, Alabama, Iowa, Ken-tucky, Nebraska and Oklahoma on behalf of their citizens in October of 2014, months before a new California law imposed hen cage size restrictions on any shell eggs sold in the state, including those produced out-of-state. California’s legisla-ture enacted the law to protect California egg producers from a competitive disadvantage

resulting from the 2008 Propo-sition 2 ballot initiative that imposed cage size restrictions on California egg producers.

“It is unfortunate that Cali-fornia’s voters put egg pro-ducers in their state at a clear competitive disadvantage, and we sympathize with the Cali-fornia farmers who will bear the brunt of that action,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “Freedom from unreasonable restrictions on interstate com-merce, however, is a hallmark of our nation and the federalist system of government estab-

lished in the U.S. Constitution. Without a legitimate health or safety justification, the Califor-nia Legislature simply does not have the authority to regulate how eggs are produced in other states. A foreign trading partner attempting this kind of trade-barring action would cause an outcry all across the world trade arena.”

The California law presents out-of-state egg producers with an untenable situation and, because all “consumers will suffer,” the states of Alabama,


YOUR Utah Farm Bureau at Work

May 2015Utah Farm Bureau… participated in an Endangered Species Mitigation Fund meeting in which grant applications were considered to help fund various habitat improvement projects throughout the State of Utah. Utah’s Department of Natural Resources administers this program.

Utah Farm Bureau… participated in Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources board meeting in which bucks, bulls and once-in-a-life time permits were discussed. Utah Farm Bureau believes big game wildlife should be managed with multiple-use and sustained yield principles.

Utah Farm Bureau… participated in and submitted comments on the Capitol Reef grazing and trailing EIS to the scoping meetings in Bicknell and Hanksville. Staff also submitted comments to the forest service on the three proposed corrals on the north end of the Ferron/Price District.

Utah Farm Bureau staff… participated in Spring Issue Surfacing Meetings throughout every county in Utah.

Utah Farm Bureau… attended SWARM and CCARM sage grouse working group meetings, as well as a Wildland Fuels meeting in Fillmore.

By John Keeler, Southern Regional Man-ager, Utah Farm Bureau

The Capitol Reef National Park located in Wayne and Garfield Counties is in the process of gath-ering public input (Scoping) on an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to determine what the public feels or knows about the impacts that livestock grazing and trailing has on the resources of the Park. At the heart of the potential im-pacts are 3 endangered or threat-ened plants and 1 threatened owl.

Capitol Reef was created as a Monument by presidential proc-lamation in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt who set aside 37,000 acres for the monu-ment. In 1971 Congress officially changed the status to a Park and enlarged the Park to 241,671 acres after President Lyndon B. John-son issued a proclamation as he left office in 1969. The National

Capitol Reef NP conducts grazing & trailing EISParks & Conservation Association encouraged the enlargement of the Monument. As part of the Con-gressional action in 1971, grazing was to be phased out in 10-20 years with some permittees phased out in 1982 and 1992.

In the early 1980s Farm Bureau began working to extend the graz-ing and trailing. Booth Wallentine, working with Senators Garn and Hatch and with Representatives Jim Hansen and Dan Marriott began to prepare legislation to get this accomplished. The Utah Cattleman’s Association, Governor Matheson and USU joined in the effort and provided much needed support.

In 1982 a bill was signed by President Reagan to extend graz-ing and trailing within the Park and to conduct research, on the im-pacts of those two activities, which was started in 1983. The National

Academy of Sciences was given the responsibility for the research. USU also conducted research on grazing in the Park. Guy Pace, Dell Lefevre and Jim Bowns were instrumental in giving testimony to congressional committees.

In 1988 the National Park Ser-vice proposed a buyout to permit-tees. Farm Bureau again went into action to negotiate a further exten-sion to permittees who didn’t want to be bought out and fought for terms that would extend the graz-ing to grazers who were permitted in 1971 and all heirs born before 1971. Farm Bureau felt this was a reasonable approach as this was language that was contained in the Grand Teton National Park. This

was accomplished and is the cur-rent status for just a few families left in the Park today.

The BLM managed grazing prior to it being designated as a Park and for several decades thereafter. Between 2000 and 2010 the Na-tional Park Service assumed sole responsibility for permitting and management of the two remaining active allotments. In 2010 the Park applied for funds to prepare and complete NEPA, ESA and NHPA compliance. The funds were au-thorized in 2013 and the Park and the NPS began the EIS process.

The question has been asked, “Why is the NPS preparing an EIS for livestock grazing and trailing

EIS continued on pg 28

Utah Farm Bureau News12 May 2015On the edge of common senseBAXTER BLACK

Photo courtesy of Dianne Batty

Uintah County rancher and legislator Scott Chew takes time to show kids what wool feels like at the county’s Farm Field Day.

One of the greatest feelings in the world is to see a cow loose on the road and realize it’s not yours! I know that sounds awful. And I do feel a little guilty sayin’ it, but it’s true! Of course, I do feel bad for whos’ever critter it is. And many’s the time I’ve driven ‘em down my lane and penned ‘em up and called the owner of the wandering beast. Chasin’ somebody else’s cow back where she belongs is kinda like drivin’ a rented car. You do your best but you don’t worry about the outcome quite as much. ‘Specially if there’s three or four neighbors helpin’!

Or passing motorists who are always willing to help. They’re usually about as much help as a town dog but they’re enthusiastic! There’s something that draws these good Samaritans, like a car wreck or someone threatening to jump off a bridge!

If things are getting out of hand, there’s always the possibility you can take down your rope and get a shot or two at her before she crawls through the fence! ‘Course, if it’s your cow, it’s different! You’re racin’ around tryin’ to get the lower pasture gate open whilst keepin’ an eye on her last reported position. You’re shouting orders at members of your family and the neighborhood pets, stationing motorists to slow down traffic and mostly makin’ a fool of yourself.

The cow, on the other hand, has developed amnesia! She seems to have lost all memory of where she’s been eating and sleeping for seven years! She’s got her head up in the air like a drum major! She’s crashing through the neighbor’s corn, headin’ for the truck stop a mile away! You manage to get her headed off the creek, where she breaks back south, in the opposite direction of your place! You are a’horseback and the wife’s ratlin’ down the end of the cornrows in the pickup. It’s a good thing the thirty-thirty is with her!

The cow finally turns up the neighbor’s drive and is converged on by six vehicles, swerving in like treasury agents at a moonshiner’s convention! You find her in the neighbor’s shop calmly chewing on electrical wire.

With a little help you get her worked into his corral, then go home and get the trailer and haul her home. An experience you won’t long forget, ‘specially since it will be the hot topic at the coffee shop for the next thirty days

Loose Cow

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Farm Bureau Federation urged Congress to reauthorize the Grain Stan-dards Act. South Carolina Farm Bureau President David Winkles called the act critical to ensuring the integrity and reliability of America’s grain trade, in his testimony before a House Agriculture subcom-mittee.

“Our grain inspection system has earned worldwide recogni-tion as being reliable and im-partial,” Winkles said. But U.S. grain trade was jeopardized when a labor dispute led to the shutdown of grain inspec-tion services out of the Port of Vancouver last summer. These

Farm Bureau calls forrenewed, reliable grain

inspection standardsdisruptions bring chaos to the marketplace and threaten cus-tomer relationships that have taken years to build: farmers, local businesses and consum-ers around the world pay the price.

Farm Bureau believes it is essential to have a contingency plan in place to ensure that of-ficial grain inspection activities still occur regardless of service disruptions. “We need to have a reliable third party inspec-tion and grading program for emergency situations to assure both seller and buyer that every contract can be expected to be fulfilled in a timely manner,” Winkles said.


DISASTER continued on pg 20

PRAIRIE DOGContinued from pg. 1

EGGSContinued from pg. 10

the federal government. Then, last November, a ruling in fed-eral court returned management authority—for Utah prairie dogs that are not found on federal land—back to the state of Utah.

Kevin Bunnell, regional su-pervisor for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), says the plan removes federal restrictions that have created difficulties for those living in residential areas.

“Through the plan we’re hop-ing to give private landowners some relief while still allowing Utah prairie dogs to recover,” Bunnell said. “In fact, we think the plan will speed the recovery of the species.”

In the course of compiling the plan, DWR biologists met with 20 entities. The entities included locally elected officials in southwestern Utah, federal land managers, government representatives at both the state and federal levels, and the Utah Farm Bureau, which represents thousands of landowners in the state.

According to Utah DWR, the plan has widespread support in southern Utah.

“I think the reason why is sim-ple, we met with key stakehold-ers, many of whom represent those who live with prairie dogs every day,” Bunnell said. “We listened to what they had to say and did our best to address their concerns.”

The following are some high-lights from the plan:

·In the past, restrictions have been placed on private property that doesn’t have prairie dogs on it but might in the future. Those restrictions have been lifted.

·Landowners who have 50 or more prairie dogs on their property can now be compensated for crop losses and damage caused by Utah prairie dogs.

Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Ne-braska and Oklahoma should be allowed to file suit against California on behalf of all their citizens, AFBF said. Accord-ing to AFBF’s brief, the law would have detrimental effects on the national egg market, since California accounts for one in every eight eggs sold in the U.S.

As for out-of-state egg pro-ducers, they “are placed be-tween a rock and a hard place,” deciding whether to opt out of that sizeable market, or comply by incurring enor-mous capital costs associated with installing cage systems required by California law. The Congressional Research Service estimates compliance costs between $25 and $30 per hen. For a medium-sized farm with 300,000 hens, costs would be between $8 million and $9 million.

“It is more than sufficient to establish … standing to allege that one state has enacted a law that threatens broad-based harm to an entire in-dustry within another state,” according to AFBF’s brief. “The injury to each state’s egg-consuming public assuredly is enough (to warrant the suit against California),” accord-ing to AFBF. “The claim is straight-forward: By playing with the levers of the national supply of shell eggs, Califor-nia’s legislation is likely to drive up the cost of eggs for consumers within the plaintiff states. That is all that is neces-sary to establish … standing.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agri-culture (USDA) has designated Davis and Weber counties in Utah as primary natural di-saster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought.

“Our hearts go out to those Utah farmers and ranchers affected by recent natural di-sasters,” said Agriculture Sec-retary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are committed to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustain-ing the successes of America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through these difficult times. We’re also tell-

USDA designates 2 counties in Utah as primary

natural disaster areasing Utah producers that USDA stands with you and your com-munities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”

Farmers and ranchers in Box Elder, Cache, Morgan, Rich, Salt Lake and Tooele counties in Utah also qualify for natu-ral disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

All counties listed above were designated natural disas-ter areas on April 1, 2015, mak-ing all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provid-


Practical PolicyVice President- Public PolicySterling Brown

Farmers and ranchers are in a unique position in the market place in that they are price tak-ers, not price givers. That means they cannot pass on added costs of production to their customers. Because they produce a per-ishable product and operate in perhaps the most nearly-perfectly competitive market in the world, they have little if any control over time of marketing or price. If you add to a farmer or rancher’s cost of production by a tax or other regulation, he has no ability to pass that cost on to the con-sumer, unlike most other busi-nesses. He simply must absorb the added cost.

In the years leading up to the

Agriculture personal property tax exemptions

mid-1980’s, Utah farmers and ranchers were being penalized by Utah’s property tax laws found in the Utah Constitution. Our Constitution, drafted in the

horse and buggy days of 1895, had not kept pace with the vastly changed conditions we operate under now. In the mid-1980’s, Utah farmers and ranchers were paying 50% of their net incomes on property taxes. At this same time, the average Utah citizen was paying 3% of his/her net income on property taxes and

other Utah businesses (non-farm) were paying 3-5% of net income on property taxes. To address this inequity, the Utah Legislature passed a couple Resolutions calling for amend-ments to the Utah Constitution.

First, in 1982, Utah voters passed a Constitutional Amend-ment calling for the exemption of livestock from personal prop-erty taxes. The following year, the Utah Legislature exempted all livestock from personal prop-erty taxes.

Second, in 1986, Proposition 2 passed, calling for an exemption of farm machinery and equip-ment. The next year, the Utah Legislature exempted from taxes virtually all common agricul-tural equipment and machinery, except for that which requires a license for highway use.

Legislative action, combined with strong voter turnout and support, gave Utah food produc-ers more equal footing under the law. Yes, the passage of Proposi-tion 2, costs everyone more in taxes (at the time, 90 cents per person per year). But, certainly worth it to correct the inequity in the tax system and to help preserve Utah agriculture, the food machine that feeds us all three times a day.

Water rights, ditches, canals, reservoirs and other associated irrigation facilities, if used for irrigating land, are exempt from personal property taxes.

As stated in Utah law, all struc-tures which are located on land in agricultural use are valued, assessed, and taxed using the same standards, methods, and procedures that apply to other taxable structures (UCA 59-2-507 (2)). Agricultural taxable structures include: farmhouses, hay barns, milk parlors, work-shops, sheds and corals. Regard-less of whether these structures required a building permit or not, they are taxable. Panel fenc-

ing, used for temporary corals, livestock shoots, etc., are not taxable.

The Farm Land Assessment Act of 1969, commonly referred to as “Greenbelt,” allows quali-fying agriculture property to be assessed and taxed based on its production value rather than its speculative or market value. Private farmland can qualify for assessment and taxation under the Farmland Assessment Act if the land meets the following criteria: is at least five contigu-ous acres.

Land less than five acres may qualify where devoted to agricultural use in conjunction with other eligible acreage un-der identical legal ownership. Qualifying acreage must ac-tively be devoted to agricultural use with a reasonable expecta-tion of profit, must be devoted to agricultural use for at least two successive years and must meet average annual produc-tion requirements. Production requirements are defined as land that produces in excess of 50 percent of the average ag-ricultural production per acre for the given type of land. Some exceptions apply. Landowners with land actively devoted to agriculture must file for Green-belt with the County Assessor in the county in which the land is located for this preferential assessment on or before May 1 of the taxable year.

Agriculture has long been recognized as Utah’s most ba-sic industry. Agriculture is not just another business, either in Utah or nationally. In fact, the lifestyle we enjoy in this state is highly dependent upon a strong, healthy agricultural economy. Profitable conditions for our farmers and ranchers not only means that grocery store shelves will continue to be full, offering Utah’s con-TAX continued on pg 21


Leader Feature: Joël HatchUtah Farm Bureau State Board of Directors ~ District 5 (Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, San Juan & Uintah CountiesResidence: HuntingtonFamily: Jordan (Husband), Holly (daughter), and Hadan (son)Began Farming: August 5, 1989Kind of Operation: Beef cow/calf ranch and alfalfa/oat hayOther organization involvement: Branch manager and lender for Eastern Utah Community Credit Union, Emery County Repub-lican Party Vice Chair for Huntington precinct, Emery County COC Board member, Board of Directors for Utah Farm Bureau, Primary teacher for LDS churchFarm Bureau Service: YF&R Emery County Chair, YF&R District Five Chair, Emery County Women’s Chair, Emery County Secretary/Treasurer, Emery County President, District Five Board of Directors.

What got you involved with Farm Bureau? Wayne Urie and Jay Humphrey approached Jordan and I about being the YF&R leaders for Emery County in 1997. We have been involved in some capacity ever since.

If you could, what is one thing you would change in ag-riculture? I would like the ability to educate the media on agri-culture issues. I believe that the media tends to lean on the side of “what sells” more than telling both sides of an issue. I think that if both sides of any issue were told, the public could/would be better educated to choose what they think and believe, especially about agriculture issues.

What do you see for Utah agriculture 20 years from now? I see the world having a much larger population and Utah’s agriculture products will be key to feeding this increased population.

What do you like most about being a farmer/rancher? I like seeing a product from start to finish, whether it is the birth of a calf turning to beef on the table or turning alfalfa/oat seed in to a bale of hay. Seeing the end product of what we do is very gratifying.

Why should anyone join Farm Bureau, and what are the benefits? There are benefits to joining Farm Bureau for everyone. Farm Bureau offers rewards to informants who help catch and con-vict individuals involved in theft or vandalism of a Farm Bureau’s member’s property. Farm Bureau provides a voice for everyone involved in agriculture, to our elected officials, to protect our right and ways of life.

How do we as farmers and ranchers help people not in-volved in agriculture understand the ‘why’ we do what we do, and not just the ‘how’? Farm Bureau allows or provides op-portunities for each of us, as farmers and ranchers, to tell our stories. They teach us how to tell our individual story so that it is interesting and important to everyone we tell it to. The Farm Bureau teaches us that it is important to educate and involve the public, so that they all know what we are providing for them.

What have you learned as being a Farm Bureau State Board member or what do you like the most about it? The most important, or impressive thing that I have learned is that Farm Bureau is made up of many members, but we are all one organiza-tion and one voice and we are strong. It does not seem to matter if it is on a County or State level, when someone from Farm Bureau speaks, we are listened to. We are important.

What are some of your fondest memories about Farm Bureau? Jordan and I spent a lot of time at Farm Bureau functions

and conventions together and we have made a lot of good friends. Since I lost Jordan, Farm Bureau friends have continued to be a good support system for me, and being involved with Farm Bureau always make me think of Jordan.

What advice do you give to young farmers and ranchers? Get involved and stay involved. Sometime you feel pressure to do or be somewhere else, but Farm Bureau is important and worth a sacrifice of your time. The Farm Bureau offers opportunities and education that you will not get anywhere else. It will pay out in the end, so get involved and stay involved.

What equipment do you use? We have an AGCO Swather, a Massey Ferguson tractor, Hesston Baler, and a Case Backhoe, so I guess I prefer the red/yellow equipment. I raise Simmental Angus cattle and Columbia sheep. I have a herd of red heelers and pride black cats. I drive a Lexus to work, a Dodge to pull a Wilson trailer, and a Corvette to drive fast.

What is the most recent book you’ve read or movie you’ve seen? Or which is your favorite? I read all kinds of books, when time allows. I do not watch very many movies, as that is not fun to do alone. I do, however, love to listen and sing along with 70’s music as I farm! Good equipment with a radio makes everything better!

What did you want to be when you ‘grew up’? I wanted to be a nurse until I discovered I don’t do well with blood. I do like money, so I decided to be a banker!

If you could be on any “reality” television show, which would it be? I’m pretty sure that “The Real Housewives of Farm-ing” would be a HUGE hit!

Anything else you want to add? I have an incredible family and great friends that make everything I do possible. I have a lot of people tell me how strong I am and how impressed they are with what I do. My answer to that is, “Well don’t be! I have a support sys-tem that literally holds me up in everything I do”! That, my friends, is a true statement. Hold on tight to your family and friends. You never know when you will need them as much as I do.


GO TEAM continued on pg 28

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By Katharine NyeIn early January, I received

a phone call from Matt Harg-reaves asking if I wanted to be a member of Farm Bureau’s GO Team and receive train-ing in Washington, D.C. After some quick research on what GO Team does (GO stands for Grassroots Outreach) I agreed.

During this same time, I was also interning for the Utah State Legislature in Representative Curt Webb’s offi ce. After an im-passioned request, detailing how my attendance would improve my political acumen and deepen my perspective, my Represen-tative reluctantly agreed that I could take four days off during the middle of the Legislative session to travel to our nation’s

Cultivating the crop of advocacyCapital. Fortunately, the intern-ship and the GO Team’s objec-tives dovetailed nicely, and did indeed broaden my perspective politically.

According to the team’s web-site, GO’s objectives are as fol-lows:

“The GO Team is designed to help you make an impact on public policy aff ecting agricul-ture. As a member of the GO Team, you have tremendous infl uence with your member of Congress and are a valuable re-source beyond Capitol Hill. You are able to give a “real world” perspective on how legislation will affect you, other farmers and ranchers, your community, consumers and others…”

So on February 22nd, I headed

off to the airport, well rested because even though my fl ight was at 7:00 am, it was still later than my usual start to the day as a legislative intern, which was 4

a.m. Being the political nerd that I am, I felt a thrill of excitement for the new roads ahead as our plane came in over the city.

Bright and early on Monday morning, I trekked to the Ameri-can Farm Bureau Headquarters on Maryland Avenue. As soon as the elevator doors opened, I was greeted by Johnna Miller, Farm Bureau’s Director of Media and Advocacy Training. Saying we had a lot of work ahead of us, Johnna steered me towards breakfast and then into the con-ference room. Once there, I met fellow GO Team initiates from Kansas, Oregon, Texas, New York, and Arkansas. As soon as breakfast dishes were cleared, we jumped right in.

John Torres, Director of Lead-ership Development at AFBF, started us out with the basics of telling our story. What we say is just as important as how we deliver it. John taught us that knowing our story, and what we want people to know about us as agriculturists is an impor-tant tool to have when we begin

advocating. John is also a policy expert, and shared with us what to know and expect when deal-ing with lawmakers and their staff . The most important thing we learned from this segment of our training was that building relationships with legislative

staff ers will pay dividends in the future. Having those contacts and knowing people in Congres-sional offi ces is our foot in the door to get our voice heard.

Later in the day, we moved into media training with John-na. During this portion, we learned the best way to deliver an eff ective advocacy message, whether on TV, radio or in print. We learned that we need to engage with consumers on a human level, rather than just spouting scientifi c facts all the time. This was a real shift in perspective for me, as I had previously been taught that we need to deal in cold, hard facts. This lesson came back to telling our story…sharing what makes us unique as individual produc-ers, and the message we want to communicate as an agricultural industry as a whole.

We were given the opportunity to practice our elevator speeches on each other, and received feed-back and critiques to help make our messages sharper and more focused. We also had several


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By David B. Hartvigsen, Smith-Hartvigsen, PLLC

Beginning on May 12, 2015, new procedures will apply to change ap-plications proposed by shareholders of water companies. These new procedures were put into place by House Bill 43 (“HB43”) that was re-cently passed and just signed into law by Gov-ernor Herbert. It was sponsored by Kay McIff in the House and Jerry Stevenson in the Sen-ate. The new procedures, which are contained in the Shareholder Change Section (73-3-3.5) of the water code, are generally as follows:

1) A shareholder seek-

Water & the Law: Shareholder change applicationsing to file a water right change application based on his or her shares in a water company must pre-pare a normal change ap-plication (using the form available from the State Engineer) setting forth the proposed changes and then deliver that form to the water company by certifi ed mail, electronic delivery, or in person with written or electronic confi rmation of the date of receipt.

2) The shareholder shall cooperate with the water company in providing information relevant to the preparation and/or corrections of the pro-posed change applica-tion. This includes all of

the information that was previously required under Section 73-3-3.5.

3) As before, the water company has 120 days to respond to the share-holder’s change request. That response must now be in writing and must describe the reasons for any partial or complete denial of the request. One of the key changes made by HB43 is that if a water company fails to issue this written response within that 120-day period, the water company is deemed to have consented to (rather than denied) the shareholder’s request and the shareholder is allowed to fi led the pro-posed change application.

4) In considering a pro-posed change request, the water company, the same as before, is allowed to consider: a) any increased costs to the water compa-ny and/or its sharehold-ers; b) any potential in-terference with the water company’s ability to man-age and distribute water to its shareholders; c) any water quantity or qual-ity impairments to other shareholders, including carrier water; d) any re-sulting violation of law or court order; e) if ap-plicable, the retirement of land from irrigation; and f) the cumulative eff ects that approval may have on the water company and/or its shareholders. It also added one new

factor, i.e., whether the proposed change would create preferential access to the company’s water to the detriment of other shareholders.

5) If the shareholder is not happy with the deci-sion of the water compa-ny, the shareholder may seek court review of that decision, beginning with court- referred mediation. If either party declines to mediate and then later loses in court, the court may award attorney fees against that party.

6) If: a) the water com-pany consents to the pro-posed change request; b) allowed by court order or mediation agreement;

WATER continued on pg 30


FB14_80 YFR Ad_3.indd 2 5/13/14 10:04 AM



Utah County fruit farmer Robert McMullin met to talk about the lessons learned from generations working on the farm.

Ninety-seven percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned, according to new census dataWASHINGTON – The U.S. De-

partment of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports that family-owned farms remain the backbone of the agriculture industry. The latest data come from the Census of Ag-riculture farm typology report and help shine light on the question, “What is a family farm?”

The 2012 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report is a special data series that primarily focuses on the “family farm.” By definition, a family farm is any farm where the majority of the business is owned by the operator and individuals related to the operator, including through blood, marriage, or adop-tion.

Five Facts to Know about Family Farms

1. Food equals family – 97 percent of the 2.1 million farms in the United States are family-owned operations.

2. Small business matters – 88 percent of all U.S. farms are small family farms.

3. Local connections come in small packages – 58 percent of all direct farm sales to consum-ers come from small family farms.

4. Big business matters too – 64 percent of all vegetable sales and 66 percent of all dairy sales come from the 3 percent of farms that are large or very large family farms.

5. Farming provides new be-ginnings – 18 percent of principal operators on family farms in the U.S. started within the last 10 years.

“Whether small or large - on the East Coast, West Coast, or the Mid-west - family farms produce food and fiber for people all across the U.S. and the world.” Hamer said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Farm Bureau praised the European Commission for its careful and scientific analysis in approving 17 different genetically modified agricultural products for food and feed. The approval came in the face of fierce oppo-sition by anti-science and anti-trade forces on the continent. Unfortunately, the EC today also undermined its principled position by recommending that individual states be permitted to opt out of importation or use of the products within their own borders. AFBF views this decision with alarm.

In addition to undercutting its own authority, the EC now runs the risk of violating its international trade obligations, undermining the role of science, and jeopardizing the foundation of the single market in Europe.

Farm Bureau alarmed by politicization of EU’s

food approval processNationalizing the EU decision-

making process would fragment the single European market. If adopted, this proposal would hin-der intra-European trade, leading to higher feed prices, a weaker livestock industry and an overall decrease in consumer welfare.

This proposal would have ma-jor effects on GM crop exporters such as the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Argentina, which would lose important customers and face increasing uncertainty in Euro-pean markets to which they still had access.

Farm Bureau strongly urges the European Parliament to consider the significant impact this legisla-tive proposal would have on the European Union and its trading partners alike. This proposal rep-resents a step backward for trade, science and freedom.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Farmers and ranchers are leading the way in exploring commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), Michi-gan farmer and agronomist Jeff VanderWerff, a Farm Bureau member, told a Senate subcom-mittee recently.

America’s farmers and ranch-ers embrace technology that allows their farming busi-nesses to be more efficient, economical and environmen-tally friendly. VanderWerff sees these benefits firsthand on his farm where he where uses precision technology. “I rely on data to produce the accu-

Farmers and ranchers value drones

rate information critical to my day-to-day business decisions. These decisions affect my yield, environmental impact and ul-timately the economic viability of my farm,” he said.

According to VanderWerff, UAS and the detailed scouting information it could provide on weed emergence, insect infestation and potential nu-trient shortages would help farmers and ranchers to man-age their fields and respond to threats quickly before they turn catastrophic. “Currently, I spend about 12 hours a week

DRONES continued on page 24


The winning submission becomes property of the Utah State Fair and may be used in any form without further compensation in perpetuity. The Fair reserves the right to not select a winner if none of the submissions meet the goals and expectations of the center committee. Sumbissions will not be returned.

Requirements: The contest is to name the baby farm animal center at the State Fair and provide a logo that will be used to identify the center both on-site and through promotion. Image and wording must incorporate correct agricultural principles and concepts.

Deadline: Submissions must be received by June 1, 2015.

Send Submissions To: [email protected], or Sarah Buttars 10980 S. Jordan Gateway, South Jordan, UT 84095

Applicant Qualifications: To enter, applicants must be between the ages of 12-18 and a resident of Utah.

Final Artwork Requirements: Digital submission should be 300 dpi and saved as a layered tiff, Photoshop file or Illustrator (EPS) and be CS6 Compatible. Entries may be of any media (e.g. pastels, oils, full-color photos, prints, digital design, etc.). Hard copy artwork will also be accepted. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR NAME, AGE, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS WITH SUBMISSIONS. Please consider how well the design will reproduce on various mediums. By submitting, you give organizers the right to reproduce any portion of the work submitted, including the submission in its entirety.

Winner will receive: $200 & 8 State Fair Tickets

Center Information: Originally designed as a birthing center to educate Fair attendees about farm animals, the exhibit opened in 2014 and featured chicks hatching on site, calves, lambs and more. The center was a favorite attraction and organizers are looking forward to the 2015 Fair, but the center needs a name and logo! Since births can’t be guaranteed to happen on-site, please refrain from using the word “birth” or “birthing” in your submission. The name should explain what attendees will see and experience when visiting the exhibit.

Baby Farm Animal Education Center

ed eligibility require-ments are met. Farm-ers in eligible coun-ties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the ex-tent of losses, security available and repay-ment ability. FSA has

DISASTERContinued from pg. 13

a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

Additional programs available to assist farm-ers and ranchers in-clude the Emergency Conservation Program, The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emer-gency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish

Program, and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility require-ments and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

pushed it too far.”That’s a disturbing,

anti-private property po-sition.

The framers of the Unit-ed States Constitution recognized the principles of good government (in-cluding the courts) start with the protection of private property rights. John Adams, second President of the United States, signer of the Dec-laration of Independence and framer of the United States Constitution de-clared: “Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist! The moment the idea is admitted into soci-ety that property is not as sacred as the laws of God and there is not the force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”

Interestingly, and con-trary to the Kelly rul-ing, the United States Supreme Court has his-torically recognized the special need for “certainty and predictability where land titles are concerned.” Particularly striking and apparently missing from Kelly’s consideration in the Weber River deci-sion is a similar case, Leo Sheep Co. vs United States (1979). The U.S. High Court recognized a riparian property owner “will naturally form his expectations as to wheth-er or not he owns the riv-erbed based on the condi-tions at his location.”

Judge Kelly cites the PPL Montana vs Mon-tana (2012) case, suggest-ing his fi nding is excluded because it “does not over-rule earlier authorities

that based navigability determinations on evi-dence of log drives.” That seems like a very narrow and activist view of this obviously much larger legal navigability deter-mination for Kelly to rely on, then to take away people’s private prop-erty. If he had looked be-yond justifying his judi-cial viewpoint, he would have found a high legal standard for navigable for title claims. Under the Kelly log drive stan-dard, it could be argued the Madison River was susceptible of log drives at statehood, therefore the Madison was navi-gable for title. But, the Supreme Court denied Montana’s navigable for title claim.

In the PPL Montana vs Montana case, Utah Farm Bureau submitted an Amicus Brief focused on protecting longstand-ing, historic private prop-erty rights and I had the honor of attending oral arguments in the U.S. Su-preme Court Chambers. The comments of Justice Kennedy in writing for a unanimous Court are instructive and provide valuable insights related to the Weber River.

Kennedy chided the state of Montana for waiting more than 100 years after statehood to make claim on the Madi-son and other rivers un-der a navigable for title claim stating “the State’s long failure to assert title is some evidence to sup-port the conclusion that the river segments were non-navigable.” Kennedy further warned “it is not for a State, by courts or

PARKERContinued from pg. 3

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Utah Farm Bureau News 21May 2015TAXContinued from pg. 14

sumers a wide variety of wholesome food at some of the lowest prices found anywhere in the world, but that a large number of businesses and jobs related to our agricul-tural industry will also be preserved.

Farmers and ranchers do not produce discre-tionary products that somehow fill wants of society like recreation, luxury items and enter-tainment. Agriculture produces life-sustaining products, without which we cannot exist, let alone enjoy those luxuries of life to which we have become so accustomed. Agriculture is the rea-son we enjoy affluence in this state and nation. Because the agriculture food machine has been so successful and efficient, we have much more of disposable income to spend on other items to improve our standard of living.

legislature, in dealing with the general subject of beds of streams, to adopt a retroactive rule for determining navi-gability which would enlarge what actually passed to the State at the time of admission.”

Navigability for title is a constitutional prin-ciple related to equality among the states that says “title to the beds of rivers is passed to the state when it is admitted to the Union, if the rivers were then navigable.”

In the Daniel Ball case (1870), the U.S. Supreme Court provided great de-tail defining navigable for title: “Those rivers must be regarded as public navigable rivers in law which are navigable in fact. And they are naviga-ble in fact when they are used, or susceptible of being used, in their ordi-nary condition, as high-ways for commerce, over which trade and travel are or may be conducted in customary modes of trade and travel on wa-

ter.” Navigable in fact requires rivers to be used for both trade and travel – not trade or travel!

Judge Kelly correctly found railroad tie drives and cordwood floats sub-stantiate that commerce occurred, but in the nar-rowest sense. According to the Utah Stream Access Coalition’s expert witness, the timber drives were held periodically and only during high spring run-off, often meeting with many challenges moving the timber down the wa-terway. In addition, the expert conceded the We-ber River was not used at any time for travel. What does this all mean? Kelly’s legal standard for trade and travel in the stream’s ordinary condition as navigable in fact – pardon the pun – misses the boat!

Judge Kelly also erred in determining, “that evi-dence of seasonality of commerce on a waterway should not bar a finding of navigability, provided that the waterway was regularly used for com-

merce on a seasonal ba-sis.”

Use and “ordinary con-dition” are explicitly de-fined by the U.S. Supreme Court, a standard that seems to have eluded the Kelly court. United States vs. Utah (1931) says, “its (the stream) susceptibil-ity of use as a highway for commerce was not con-fined to exceptional con-ditions or short periods of temporary high water.” For even greater clarity, in United States vs. Rio Grande Dam & Irriga-tion Co. (1899), the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Rio Grande River was in fact not navigable in the New Mexico Territory pointing out: “Its use for any purposes of trans-portation has been and is exceptional, and only in times of temporary high water. The ordinary flow of water is insufficient.”

Expert testimony from both the defendant’s and plaintiff’s witnesses at trial noted that timber drives took place only

during periodic spring runoff, and often neces-sitated holding logs for years awaiting adequate snow melt and high water. In addition, the experts noted as the logs moved down river, they often required extraordinary measures by worker to keep the logs from jam-ming up on the river.

The facts of the Weber River decision seem to be in conflict with numer-ous U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

As we consider the U.S. Supreme Court’s defer-ence to certainty of title, will the Kelly ruling facili-tate predictability or lead to more legal challenges and greater uncertainty? Will anglers seek access to waterways that cross private property in neigh-borhoods and backyards like Mill Creek and City Creek in Salt Lake County or other urban setting across the state?

Will this liberal, judicial activist finding tee up myriad legal questions for more than century of pri-

PARKER continued on pg 25


County ConnectionVice President- OrganizationDavid Bailey

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives you the test first, the lesson afterwards.” – Vernon Sanders Law – Major League Baseball Pitcher

We’ve all been there, weather you were mowing the lawn, plowing a field or cutting some hay. It could have even been a simple task l i k e d r i v -ing through a narrower t h a n e x -pected gate or driveway. F o r s o m e reason, I’ve noticed farmers and ranchers in particular seem to have a need to get extra close to the edge of the field, fence line, ditch bank, power pole, water valve or whatever lies at the edge. It appears that famers like me seem to think that the big profits are found on that one last unreachable patch or blade of grass that are often the hard-est and most perilous to reach.

Recently this mentality cost me dearly, as I was just finish-ing up plowing an old decadent stand of grass hay. The dilapi-dated fence that once held cattle in check had long since given up that task. Most of the barbed wire was somewhere between buried alive and a rusted mass of confusion. The old fence posts had sunk deep into the earth and most were tilted at various degrees, perfectly positioned to inflict damage to even the toughest Goodyear 18.4R38 tractor tire. To my credit, mo-ments before the sidewall of my tire was shredded to bits I had walked up and down the fence line bending posts away from the working side of the property in a valiant effort to avoid calam-ity. To my dismay I somehow missed a short, angled, weed strangled, rusted-out post that

Learning the hard waydug deep into the tire’s sidewall and ended my work for several days.

Although I uttered no curse words at the moment I heard the air quickly escaping, I admit I did think of a few choice ones that would have worked well under the circumstances. I knew

immediately what the sound of rushing tire air meant to my checkbook and to the work I would leave undone for the next few days.

As it is with farming and ranching, so it is with leader-ship. No matter what prepara-tions we think we have made or care we have taken, it seems like Murphy’s Law always has a way of catching us. Although I had made a few careful – albeit quick – preparations to avoid the situation, my “well laid plan” came undone in just a few short seconds.

All is not lost in circumstances such as this one. I re-learned a valuable lesson about farm life and regular life. As I reviewed my mishap over the next few days, I came to the conclusion that I certainly could have done more to mitigate my risk by stay-ing away from the edge but over-all I chalked it up to bad-luck coupled with my inner need to get every last inch of dirt turned over and into production.

I know I’m not the first tractor driver to punch an irreparable hole into a $1,000, tire and I’m pretty sure I won’t be the last. I’m fortunate that only a tire was at stake and not my life. Farming and ranching can be

and is a dangerous place. We are constantly dealing with risks few of our urban neighbors would tolerate. I’m grateful for the lessons I learn from growing up and living on a farm and espe-cially for the opportunity to fail once in a while.

Successful companies, orga-nizations, cultures and families are most often led by leaders who push the limits but give their people room to fail while chasing success. Temporary failure can be good for any organization if used to spawn new and better ways to suc-ceed. In his new book, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure, Financial Times columnist Tim Harford advised to “expose yourself to lots of dif-ferent ideas and try lots of differ-ent approaches, on the grounds that failure is common.” He also stated that “few of our own fail-ures are fatal”

With this in mind, Utah Farm Bureau seeks new and better ways to accomplish our mission. We recently produced a new Farm Bureau video to help tell our story better. This approach may not have been possible several years ago because of the expense of such produc-tion. With today’s ever-evolving technology, it has become more cost effective than ever and has become a reality.

Please take some time to view and share our new Farm Bureau Video. You can find the video on our Utah Farm Bureau website, www.utahfarmbureau.org or at http://goo.gl/8N3veY. Our suc-cess depends on our dynamic leaders who engage themselves on every level and strive for excellence, even in the face of a failure here and there. At Utah Farm Bureau – We work for those who work to feed the world.


YF&R Focus: Kenny & Jamila McFarlandYoung Farmer & Rancher Committee ~ District 2 (Morgan, Summit, Weber Counties)

YF&R continued on pg 30

Top 5 Ways One Would Know You Work on a Fam-

ily Farm/Ranch:1. You learned how to and

were expected to drive a tractor even before most people consider preparing to receive their driver’s li-cense.

2. Your wife/significant other has driven some piece of equipment to assist the work when you were short an employee…WITH THE KIDS IN TOW!

3. At lunchtime each day you have to debate whether you swing by mom’s house or go home where your wife has threatened/encouraged you to eat lunch.

4. You were given an opportu-nity to learn and apprecia-tion for working outdoors, working hard to provide for your family, and trusting in God to watch over your work.

5. The majority of your em-ployees either have your same last name or they have spent so much time working for you that you consider them your brother/sister.

These ways of identifying some aspects of a family farm/ranch operation may not apply to all, but they are a few that we have joked about as we’ve worked our 6th generation fam-ily farm.

We are the McFarland Family – Kenny, Jamila, Naleah, Han-nah, and our newest addition to the family, baby Will. The month of May not only marks the beginning of our busiest time of year, but we also cel-ebrate our 7th anniversary mar-ried. We met in high school and as we dated, I was invited to ride in the tractor, hang out while

Kenny irrigated and even to pick sweet corn. But I didn’t realize as a teenager that the work Kenny did would be in our future and how much I would actually learn and appreciate about agriculture. I grew up with more of a city life. I lived in the same rural area but I wasn’t encouraged to go play in the dirt and I never really contemplated how my food got to the grocery store.

When we began married life we were both attending Utah State University and Kenny would work on the farm in the sum-mer. We always thought about farming and living on a farm but never really considered it as a full-time career until after Kenny had received his business degree and had to experience his extreme dislike of being cooped up in an office all day. We have now moved our family out onto the farm and each year learn so much more about the importance of the work we do.

Our farm is located in West Weber, which is west of Ogden. We operate a 200 acre produce farm, specializing in producing sweet corn, tomatoes, melons, onions, squash and pumpkins. Kenny works with his dad, who began the produce business after Kenny’s grandpa sold the dairy cows. Kenny has incorporated the research he has learned with-in his business degree to improve the business side of the farm and has appreciated the experience and knowledge his dad has been able to teach him about the skill of farming as well. Kenny and I have begun to offer fresh produce to our neighboring communities by operating multiple produce stands covering Northern Utah. As of last year, we have taken additional measures to offer the community opportunities to come out to our farm, to see

where their food is grown and to gain a greater appreciation for agriculture in Weber County.

George Washington once stat-ed that, “Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man.” How, then, are less than 1 per-cent of America’s population considered farmers and only roughly half of that 1 percent claim farming as their principal occupation? How is it that less than 1 in 4 farms in this country produce gross revenues in excess of $50,000 (U.S. EPA, 2014)? The numbers can be heartbreak-ing and discouraging to think about. What is happening to “the most healthful, most useful, and most noble” career choice in our nation today?

We feel that one of the biggest obstacles as young farmers and ranchers are the dwindling op-portunities for younger people to farm or ranch due to an unsup-portive world, which thinks that agriculture is an occupation of the past. Often, as we explain what Kenny does for a living, we have had others think we are kid-ding because they haven’t heard of anyone that ‘still farms’. We also find that as the youth in our communities are being guided

toward occupations, farming or agriculture in general is looked at as an alternative if nothing else works out. As we interact with our high school employees, we encourage them to expand their view beyond looking at agriculture as more than just a ‘temporary job until a real job comes along.’

I have received my Master’s Degree in School Counseling and during my internship experience, I was not once encouraged to advise students towards occupa-tions of agriculture unless they specifically came to me about it or if they were viewed as not wanting to expand their educa-tion past high school. Isn’t that another poor example of support our professional world offers the hope of our future?

Some of the criticism of a ca-reer in agriculture starts right on our own farms, at a very young age. How many of us have been told or actually found ourselves saying, “You need to go to col-lege and get a real job?” Or, “…this farming is just too hard and there are a lot better ways to make money?” Or, “I just don’t know how you can afford to farm anymore?” Or, “how could you


2013, leaders at the base wanted to do something along south boundary as well.

Pictures showed that the fuel break had worked in come places where the fire didn’t cross the grazed area. Recently they have focused on larger pastures, about 200-700 acres on the south boundary. They have targeted 80% utili-zation to reduce fuels and control cheatgrass. The targeted area was set to be conducted in the early spring to try and control cheatgrass.

Lessons learned from the project include: 1) Heavy grazing was effec-tive, but a caution that heavy grazing may lead to declines in bunch grasses and increases in annual grasses. 2) In order for this to work it takes a coordinated disciplined approach to monitor and manage grazing, ensur-ing objectives are being met.

“You need to get off when it’s time to get off. I’m not sure it’s realistic, because logistics make it difficult to move 500 pair quickly.” Thacker said. “We’re considering a late summer or early fall window for grazing,

GRAZINGContinued from pg. 5

because the grasses can take heavier use once they have set seed.”

Another consideration from the experiment was that ranchers need to fully consider all of the benefits and challenges that come from a fuels grazing perspective.

“Don’t just view it as low-cost feed. You have to install fencing, haul water, etc.,” Thacker said. “Also, some studies suggest you shouldn’t use breeding stock in these situations. You’re push-ing them too hard, so performance goes down. You can’t expect good livestock performance when grazing rangelands that hard.”

Thacker suggests go-ing to 50% utilization; so you still reduce wildfire risk and don’t push ani-mals too hard, and it will also help ensure healthy grasses.

Other topics covered at the conference included the effects of water qual-ity on ruminant health, basic guidelines concern-ing stocking rates and drought, beef production without mature cows, an a history of ranching and livestock management from Eric and Kline Es-plin. The conference will convene again next April.

walking the nearly 3,000 acres of land we farm. This may be effective, but it is not efficient,” he said. UAS can also help farmers reduce their environmental im-pact. “With the imag-ery from unmanned aircraft, I can spot-treat sections of my fields as opposed to watering and spray-ing the entire field,” VanderWerff said.

Precision technol-ogy does not come w i t h o u t p o t e n -tial risks, however. Farmers and ranch-ers must be sure their data is secure and cannot be used un-fairly against them by any third party, including the gov-ernment. “The use of unmanned aircraft will be an important addition to a farmer’s management tool-box, but it is critical that the data remain under the ownership and control of the farmer,” VanderW-erff said.

He noted that Farm Bureau is pleased with the Federal Avi-ation Administra-tion’s notice of pro-posed rulemaking for small UAS. “It is our hope that farmers and ranchers are able to secure the rights through this process to use UAS as part of their precision agri-cultural systems.”

DRONESContinued from pg. 19

WASHINGTON, D.C – Finding and securing adequate land to grow crops and raise animals was once again the top challenge identified in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual out-look survey of participants in the Young Farmers & Ranchers program. That challenge was identified by 29 percent of respondents, followed by government regulations, which was identified by 13 percent of the respondents.

“For young people who want to begin farming or ranching or expand an established farm or ranch, securing adequate land remains their top chal-lenge,” said Jon Hegeman, AFBF’s national YF&R Committee chair and a farmer from Alabama.

Other issues ranked as

Young farmers still concerned about

adequate landtop concerns by young farmers and ranchers in-cluded the willingness of parents to turn over the reins, 10 percent; overall profitability, 10 percent; taxes and the availability of water, both 7 percent; and urbanization and the availability of ag financ-ing, each coming in at 5 percent.

The 23rd annual YF&R survey revealed that 84 percent of those surveyed are more optimistic about farming and ranching than they were five years ago. Last year, 91 percent of those surveyed said they were more optimistic about farming compared to five years ago.

The informal survey of young farmers and ranch-ers, ages 18-35, was con-ducted online in February.

Utah Farm Bureau News 25May 2015FINANCEContinued from pg. 6

PARKERContinued from pg. 21

Scholarships offered for Hispanic students to study agriculture, natural resources, and

public affairsThe National Organization of Professional Hispanic

NRCS Employees (NOPHNRCSE) has the mission to motivate and mentor members for leadership roles to assist NRCS and partners in delivering natural resources conservation. Following our mission, NOPHNRCSE is proud to present the 2015 scholarship program.

This year NOPHNRCSE will award three $1,000.00 academic scholarships to qualified students that are pursuing a degree in Agriculture, Natural Resources, or Natural Resources Conservation related field of

study at an accredited school of higher education. In addition to the scholarships mentioned above,

NOPHNRCSE offers one specially funded scholarship, established by a notable member and her family to encourage new generations of Hispanics to pursue careers in Public Affairs, Agriculture or Natural Resources Conservation

The due date for consideration is May 29th, 2015. For more information please contact Bianca Soto at 410-546-4777 ext. 109 or [email protected].

consider the following: marginal tax rates on ordinary income are up 24%, a burden that falls directly on small busi-nesses; tax rates on cap-ital gains and dividends are up 59%; and the es-tate tax rate is up 14%. While meaningful tax reform has languished in the U. S., other na-tions have cut corporate tax rates. The United States now has the high-est corporate tax rate in the world and the most punitive treatment of foreign earnings.

And it’s not just com-panies that are paying higher taxes. In spite of what you might hear on the local or national news, the top 1% of U. S. individual taxpayers will pay more than 46% of all the federal income tax collected by the IRS for 2014. On the other

hand, the bottom 60% of taxpayers are estimated to pay less than 3% of federal income taxes for tax year 2014. The top 1%, or 10%, seem to be doing more than their fair share. And, if you’re wondering how your tax burden compares with our country’s CEO, you should know that Presi-dent Obama reported $477,383 of adjusted gross income on his 2014 tax return. Mr. and Mrs. Obama paid $88,467 in federal income tax, an effective rate of 18.5% [source: The White House]. But, it’s not just income taxes and not only on the federal lev-el. While several states do not have an income tax, Utah is not one of them. Keep in mind that for every $100 that the average American pays in state income tax in a single year, he/she also pays $103 in sales taxes [on consumer purchas-

es throughout the year] and over $145 in prop-erty taxes [source: Tax Foundation]. The taxes just never end!

So where does this leave us – the individual American worker, inves-tor, farmer or rancher? The equity markets have been very kind to inves-tors the past 7 years; it is difficult to find a decent return in the debt mar-kets with the historically low interest rates; the regulatory burden on ev-eryone is very high and growing; and tax rates are increasing at an alarming rate. However, in spite of all of this, the economy is still growing – albeit at a pathetic rate. The U. S. economy grew by 2.4% in 2014, a below average growth rate over the last 50 years, but a solid recovery from the 2.1% contraction that took place in the first quarter of 2014. In one sense, it is amazing that

the economy is grow-ing at all. This is testa-ment to the vibrancy, productivity and com-plexity of the American free enterprise system. It would just be amaz-ing to see what this sys-tem could accomplish if governmental regulation and taxation was signifi-cantly reduced! Gee, it seems like 1776 all over again.

Sources: -Principal Financial Group, Weekly Market Review, various weeks in 2015

-Wall Street Journal, “What’s Wrong with the Golden Goose?” by Phil Gramm, April 21, 2015

vate property rights, in-vestments on waterways for irrigation and culinary improvements, fences that keep livestock in and the public safe, land title, devalued property, taxes and redrawn property lines – all because some-body occasionally floated ties or cordwood before statehood?

The state of Utah has sought and won title based on navigability on numerous waterbodies across the state includ-ing the Great Salt Lake and Colorado River for example. However, it’s important to recognize the state has not sought title to the bed of the Weber River and other similar waterways across the state. State leaders recognize and honor pri-vate property rights, as well as development and investments going back more than 100 years and are concerned with the uncertainty title chal-lenges would cause.

The Kelly Court in the Weber River case seeks to undo what the Found-ers and the nation’s High Court set out to protect – the sanctity of property rights and certainty of title. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Loui-siana’s Parm vs Shumate (2007) case got it right declaring: “although an owner must let water pass through his estate, state law does not mandate that the landowner allow public access to the wa-terway.”

This case should be ap-pealed to the Utah Su-preme Court.


Answering tough ag questionsBy Cyndie Sirekis, AFBF

Through social media, Amer-ica’s farmers and ranchers ex-plain why they do certain things when raising animals for food. This communication is not just one way. Facebook posts from the farm, tweets from the tractor seat and blogs from the “back 40” allow members of the non-

farming public to ask questions on everything from how today’s food is grown to how it is pro-cessed and eventually brought to market.

Although a growing number of farmers use social media to interact with consumers, trepi-dation about answering tough ag-related questions causes some

to shy away from using this valu-able communications tool. But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to a couple of social media experts who teamed up recently to share time-tested tips with Farm Bureau members.

“Be authentic in telling your story,” says Lyndsey Murphy, digital media specialist at the American Farm Bureau. “Speak for you and your farm, not the

whole of agriculture,” she ad-vises. If you’re not sure how to answer a question, it’s perfectly OK to say you don’t know but will find the answer.

Murphy finds that using social media to build relationships yields great rewards because everyone is on the same playing field with similar opportunities for interaction. But it does take time. “People’s viewpoints are unlikely to be changed after interacting with you just once,” she cautions.

“Using beautiful visuals and an authentic voice to share what we as agriculturalists know and love” is the sweet spot for many farmers active in social media, Murphy says. She’s found that visuals are a tremendous help in telling one’s farm story be-cause “people might not always believe what they read but they always believe what they can see with their own two eyes.”

Photos, videos and fun info-graphics are all proven effective at helping tell a farm or ranch story.

For many in agriculture, deep connections to the farm make it hard to hear some comments without feeling judged or that the other person is misinformed. This happens online and in person, notes Janice Person, director of online outreach at Monsanto.

“Reacting the wrong way can shut down any opportunity for dialogue but when we listen from a place of truly trying to understand others, we learn a lot and others notice that we are open to their thoughts,” Person says.

“Although ‘haters’ sometimes surface on social media, using respect as a baseline for online interactions not only is the right thing to do, it helps build a community that will reinforce the guidelines that have been established,” Person says.


Farm SafetyVice President- Farm SafetyA.J. Ferguson

Fire Safety: Don’t get burned WOTUSContinued from pg. 1

Every day in the United States, a fire department somewhere responds to a fire nearly every 15 seconds. Farm homes and buildings a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y vulnerable to fires. T h e s e a r e s o m e eye opening facts from the U.S. Fire A d m i n i s t r a t i o n about agricultural fires:

• A n e s t i m a t e d 2 0 , 0 0 0 agricultural fires each year result in $102 million in direct property loss.

• Nearly two-thirds of all agricultural fires occur in orchards or crops.

• Agricultural fires peak in the early spring and again in the summer.

• Equipment fires usually involve cars, trucks and tractors.

• T h e l e a d i n g c a u s e o f agricultural fires is open flame.

• In a study between 1996 through 1998, agricultural fires were responsible for nearly 50 civilian injuries and 25 fatalities.

Agricultural burning can be very costly to fields and haystacks, if proper precaution is not taken. Be prepared for any emergency when burning fence lines and ditch banks. Some means of suppressing or extinguishing the fire should be available in case the fire burns out of control.

It only takes a few minutes for a tractor fire to turn an expensive piece of farm machinery into a smoldering pile of scrap. Studies indicate that property damage losses from farm equipment fires cost U.S. farmers and ranchers and their insurers as much as $25 million a year.

Here are tips from farm safety

experts on preventing losses from farm equipment fires:

• Before beginning the harvest season and then every week after, check all switches, wiring harnesses, fuses, circuit breakers, battery connections and all other electrical components for proper operation. If you observe any sparking, arcing or blown fuses correct the problem immediately.

• Make sure a l l exhaust mani fo lds and muff ler connections are tight to prevent hot gases and sparks from entering critical areas.

• Make sure all bearings and other drive systems are properly lubricated and maintained. Replace any part that becomes worn or damaged. A badly worn bearing will glow red hot, and a slipping belt can burst into flames if not replaced.

• Clean crop residue and other dry flammable materials from the machine. Take a few minutes each day to clear them from the engine compartment and cab with compressed air or a broom.

• If a fuel, oil or hydraulic line begins to leak, repair or replace them at once. A little diesel fuel or hydraulic oil combined with dried chaff or grass can turn a combine or tractor into a raging inferno.

• It’s good to give the engine a thorough cleaning at least once each season with a high-pressure washer and

degreasing solvent. A clean engine will run cooler, operate more efficiently, and greatly

reduce the chance of fire.• If fire does occur, a good extinguisher can limit the spread of fire and help to reduce loss. Select a high quality, heavy-duty 10 lb ABC dry chemical extinguisher. Mount it in the cab in

a readily accessible place. Consider mounting a second extinguisher on all combines outside the cab where it can be reached from the ground.

• Check your fire extinguisher’s pressure gauge several times each season and recharge if the pressure gets low. Also, gently invert the extinguisher once or twice each year to keep the extinguisher’s compound from becoming packed in the bottom of the canister from the equipment’s vibration.

If you suspect a fire, shut the machine off a quickly as possible. Make sure the key is turned completely off to prevent the flow of current into the fire area. You should only attempt to fight a fire if you can do so without harming or putting yourself in danger. Attack the fire from upwind, and aim the extinguisher at the base of the flames. If the fire is out of your control, seek help immediately. If you are able to extinguish the fire, locate the cause and don’t resume operation until it is corrected.

Also, be careful when driving vehicles into fields of dry vegetation. All newer vehicles have a catalytic converter underneath the body as part of the exhaust system. These systems can become very hot and will start fires. If you would like further information contact me at 801-233-3006 or [email protected].

enforcement under this rule.”According to AFBF’s general

counsel, several statutory ex-emptions demonstrate a clear determination by Congress not to impose Clean Water Act regu-lation on ordinary farming and ranching activities. However, agency and judicial interpreta-tions over the past several de-cades have significantly limited the agricultural exemptions that have traditionally insulated farming and ranching from Clean Water Act permit requirements.

“Much of the remaining ben-efit of those exemptions would be eliminated by an expansive interpretation of ‘waters of the United States’ to cover ditches and drainage paths that run across and nearby farm and pasture lands,” Steen testified. “The result would be wide-scale litigation risk and potential Clean Water Act liability for innumera-ble routine farming and ranching activities that occur today with-out the need for cumbersome and costly Clean Water Act permits.”

Steen explained that because ditches and ephemeral drain-ages are ubiquitous on farm and ranch lands—running alongside and even within farm fields and pastures—“the proposed rule will make it impossible for many farmers to apply fertilizer or crop protection products to those fields without triggering Clean Water Act ‘pollutant’ discharge liability and permit require-ments.”

“A Clean Water Act pollutant discharge to waters of the U.S. arguably would occur each time even a molecule of fertilizer or pesticide falls into a jurisdic-tional ditch, ephemeral drainage or low spot -- even if the feature is dry at the time of the purported ‘discharge,’” Steen told the sub-committee.



Newly selected State FFA officers gathered at the Utah Farm Bureau offices for training and a meet & greet with Farm Bureau leaders.EISContinued from pg. 11

instead of an EA (environmental assessment) as other agencies have done?” The Capitol Reef National Park believes livestock grazing and trailing, and associated rangeland management activities have the potential to significantly impact park resources. Their opinion is based on information considered in preparing the 1998 General Management Plan, scientific lit-erature, and data acquired through monitoring and evaluation of the condition of natural resources & rangeland health in Capitol Reef’s allotments and trailing routes.

The Utah Farm Bureau attend-ed open houses in Bicknell and Hanksville along with ranchers and interested parties in early April to see what is being proposed and to provide input. We asked to see the research and data referred to in the previous paragraph and subsequently submitted com-ments questioning, if in fact, the research and data shows livestock actually cause substantial damage or if it is only speculated to be a major concern. We also visited with ranchers and Park employ-ees and gave suggestions on some potential solutions to some of their concerns with trailing. We also

suggested that the NPS use all tools necessary in seeking solutions to their concerns.

Another question has been posed, “Will the NPS consider an alternative in the EIS to end livestock grazing and trailing in the Park?” Their answer to this question is NO. Congress has been consistent in its intent and legislation that the NPS shall allow grazing and trailing to continue in the Park until a mandated phase out occurs. However the Park has the authority to manage trailing to protect Park resources. The purpose of this EIS, according to the Park is to provide guidance and tools needed to the NPS and permit holders, which promote the shared conservation and stew-ardship of the natural resources, ecological processes, and cultural resources of Capitol Reef National Park through the long-term man-agement of livestock grazing and trailing at the Park. The Farm Bu-reau also offered our help as this process moves forward.

We encourage all interested agricultural parties to submit com-ments to Capitol Reef National Park at: parkplanning.nps.gov/care lgtmp eis scoping or mail comments to Capitol Reef National Park Park, Fruita, Utah.

GO TEAMContinued from pg. 16

round-table discussions about the different fields that we each come from in agriculture. This was especially helpful in sharing knowledge across the board, as some of my fellow team mem-bers come from vastly different backgrounds in production ag-riculture than my own of dairy farming. While the GO Team’s objective is to use the knowl-edge people already have about their own practices, it’s helpful for the team as a whole to have some general knowledge about agriculture.

Later in the week, I joined Utah Farm Bureau CEO Randy Parker, along with several other Farm Bureau members in visit-ing Utah’s Congressional delega-tion. We had the opportunity to visit with representatives from Senator Mike Lee and Senator Orrin Hatch’s offices. Randy communicated the importance of political action on the Wa-ters of the United States issue (#DitchtheRule or http://ditch-therule.fb.org), while the other Farm Bureau members shared updates of agriculture in Utah. I spoke about Farm Bureau’s position on labeling GMOs, and the implications for Utah agri-culturists in particular. Although our visits were quick, it was an eye-opening experience for me about how politics work on the national level. I appreciated the opportunity to get my foot in the door for future dealings with members of Congress, and issues that the GO Team may call upon me for.

What makes the GO Team unique is that it relies on the expertise you already have as a member of your agricultural field. Instead of molding all of its members into the same thing, it draws on the strengths and expertise of each individual

member to answer the public’s questions about production agriculture. In a variety of me-diums, across the vast spectrum of agriculture, GO Team is there; ready to respond immediately to our consumers’ questions, con-cerns and viewpoints. Since we are spread across the country, and have a variety of field expe-riences, we are able to respond more quickly and accurately than the time it might take for an organization or industry as a whole to come up with a media-ready response. I’m looking forward to being able to serve my industry as an advocate for consumers, and as a voice for fellow agriculturists.

Back home in Utah, I immedi-ately put my new skills to work in Representative Webb’s office. Confronted with concerned citi-zens each day, I was able to an-swer their questions in a timely manner, and make them feel that their voice had been heard, as well as ensuring that Repre-sentative Webb was made aware of their concerns. Although not all the issues I dealt with were agriculture-related, the skills we learned in Washington, D.C. are relevant across the board.

I appreciate that Farm Bu-reau’s training not only encom-passes our own agricultural issues, but also can extend to other areas of interest of its members. It’s a mark of the quality of the organization, and the depth of their care and con-cern for Farm Bureau members. I’m grateful for the opportunity to pay forward at least a small part of what Farm Bureau has invested in me. The fact that it will benefit United State agricul-ture as a whole is just the cherry on top! I’m looking forward to my experience as a GO Team member!


B

Hard work deserves rewards like this.Chevrolet presents this exclusive $500 private offer 1 toward the purchase or lease of an all-new Chevy Silverado — the 2014 North American Truck of the Year. From the family of the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size pickups2 in America, rest assured your Silverado will keep you working without skipping a beat.

1 Offer available through 4/1/17. Available on qualified 2014 and 2015 Chevrolet vehicles. This offer is not available with some other offers. Only customers who have been active members of an eligible Farm Bureau for a minimum of 30 days will be eligible to receive a certificate. Customers can obtain certificates at www.fbverify.com/gm. Farm Bureau and the FB logo are registered service marks of the American Farm Bureau Federation and are used herein under license by General Motors. 2 Dependability based on longevity: 1987–April 2013 full-size pickup registrations.


ever pay for the land?” As young farmers who have,

in the last 10 years, experienced the very difficult decision of whether or not to continue farming, we say with our heads held high that there is no other career that would be more ‘healthful, useful, and noble’ than what we are doing today. We consider what we do a very real job. We believe that farm-ers and ranchers are still able to make money, and with some improvements in efficiency, we can still afford to farm and pur-chase land.

This attitude is what fuels our involvement with the Farm Bureau, because Farm Bureau allows us a platform for ad-vocacy for the profession we esteem so highly. Each time we attend a Farm Bureau training conference we are encouraged to ‘Tell Your Story’. We feel that this really is the only way that people outside the agricultural community can fully realize how important the work is and how there is still a huge interest in working the land and providing the food we grow.

There are so many avenues in agriculture and if we expect to sustain our world’s food, fuel, and fiber needs, we each need to be exemplifying the work we do as significant to us as it is. We both appreciate all of the opportunities that Farm Bureau has provided or encouraged us to take a role in. We love pro-moting agriculture and hope that the small efforts we take – whether on our farm, in schools, or in just conversing throughout life – we are promoting a posi-tive perspective for this work we love!

YF&RContinued from pg. 23

or c) the water company did not properly respond within the 120-day period, then the shareholder is allowed to proceed with filing the change application with the State Engineer and must include information / documentation as to which of these three prerequi-sites has occurred.

There are four additional new provisions enacted by HB43. The shareholder may seek to negoti-ate with the water company a monetary buyout from the com-pany in exchange for a pro-rata share of the company’s water rights. The shareholder may also unilaterally file for extensions on approved change applications. If the shareholder fails to comply with any properly approved con-dition within 90 days of receiving notice from the company of that failure, then the water company may petition the State Engineer to revoke the change application approval. Finally, Section 73-3-3.5 no longer applies to “Public Water Suppliers” as defined in Section 73-1-4 of the water code.

These changes were designed to balance and protect the in-terests of both water companies and shareholders. Changes that will harm the water company and/or other shareholders can be rejected. On the other hand, shareholders seeking changes now have a better procedure for moving through the process.

Water companies should re-view their bylaws and policies to implement these new proce-dures and shareholders seeking changes should make sure they follow these new procedures in order to receive the protections they provide. The author may be contacted at [email protected] or 801-413-1600 with any questions concerning these new procedures.

WATERContinued from pg. 17

By Kristi Spence, Utah Dairy CouncilR I C H M O N D , C a c h e

County – In an era of modern agriculture, the Internet, and Instagram, there is still an important place for the rich tradition of a cow show. Coming together to celebrate dairy farming, dairy cattle, and connect with old friends is a powerful draw, and this year, the city of Richmond and the national dairy industry celebrate 100 years of the Richmond Black and White Days (also known as the Western Spring National Show) – the country’s longest running cow show. The show runs May 12-16, 2015 in Richmond.

In 1915, a group of dairy cow breeders organized an event to celebrate their common interests of dairy farming and dairy cattle. They brought together their best cows to be judged, evaluated, discussed, and admired. The first exhibition took place on March 17, 1915 on the farm of C. Z. Harris in Richmond, and the Harris family is still intimately involved. C. Z. Harris’s great grandson, Craig Harris, is not

One of the world’s premier dairy shows

celebrates its rich 100-year history

only still living in Richmond, but he still operates the dairy, Harris Dairyland, and he is the show’s chairman.

This year’s installment promises to be specia l . Richmond has a long history of selecting the most prominent and accredited judges for its annual show and over the years has called upon expertise from universities and renowned breeders as well as herdsmen and farm managers from some of the most famous Holstein breeding establishments. The prize purse for champions is generously funded with $10,000 at stake for the show’s Grand Champion.

In addition to the open show and junior shows, Richmond City celebrates the tradition with a weekend of festivities including a parade, a 1- ‐mile, 5k & 12k run, a horse pull, a talent show, melodrama, and fireworks.

For more information on Richmond Black & White Days, visit http://www.richmond-utah.com/bwdays.html.


CLASSIFIED ADVERTISINGIMPORTANT NOTICE1. Non‑commercial ads for Utah Farm Bureau members selling items they grow or make themselves, or used machinery, household items, etc., they themselves have used in the past. Each member family is entitled to one such ad free in each three‑month period. Ads can be up to 40 words or numbers such as phone number or Zip. Words such as “For Sale” are included, initials and numbers count as a word. All words over 40 cost 25 cents each. Ads over 40 words not accompanied by the extra payment, or not meeting the above requirements, will be returned to the sender. Family memberships cannot be combined to create larger ads, nor can a membership be used for free classified ad purposes by anyone other than immediate family members. Ads run for three months.2. Commercial ads for Utah Farm Bureau members where the member is acting as an agent or dealer (real estate, machinery, handicraft items made by people outside the member family, etc.) cost 25 cents per word. Payment MUST accompany such ads or they will be returned to the sender. Members are entitled to one such ad. Ads run for one month.3. Ads for non‑Utah Farm Bureau members cost 50 cents per word. Payment MUST accompany such ads or they will be returned to the sender. Ads run for one month.In all ads, short lines requested by the advertiser, extra lines of white space, and lines with words in all caps count as 6 words per line. Ads with borders and bold headlines may be submitted and placed within the classified section, but will be charged the display advertising rate. Please contact the classified advertising department for further information. No insurance ads will be accepted.***DEADLINE: ALL ADS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE 15TH OF THE MONTH IN ORDER TO APPEAR IN THE NEXT ISSUE. EXCEPT FOR THE JANUARY ISSUE, WHICH HAS A CLASSIFIED DEADLINE OF DEC. 5.Only free ads (Category 1 ads of 40 words or less) will be accepted by telephone at 801‑233‑3010, by fax at 801‑233‑3030 or e-mail at [email protected]. Please include your membership number. Ads must be received no later than the 15th of the monthMail ads, typed or neatly printed, with any payment due, to Utah Farm Bureau News, Classified Ad Department, 9865 South State Street, Sandy, UT 84070‑2305. Free ads must be resubmitted by mail, telephone or fax after running for three months. Ads for which there is a payment due will be run as long as payment is received in advance.ALL CLASSIFIED ADS will be listed on the Utah Farm Bureau web page unless the Utah Farm Bureau member specifies otherwise when placing the ad. The ads on the web site will run concurrently with the classified ads in the Utah Farm Bureau News. NOTE: The appearance of any ad in the Utah Farm Bureau News does not constitute an endorsement or approval of the service or merchandise offered. While every effort is made to ensure the legitimacy of services or merchandise advertised, the Utah Farm Bureau News or the Utah Farm Bureau Federation accepts no responsibility or liability for services or products advertised.

FARM EQUIPMENT:2011 Cat 930H Loader, quick attach, 3 yd bucket, new bolt-on cutting edge and hay forks. Approx. 4800 hrs. Excellent Condition. 2007 Challenger SP185 Rotary Swather e/w 16’ header. 850 hrs. Excellent Condition. Haybuster 1000 Tub Grinder. Kent 801-514-9959.1996 Ford LTS 8000 Dump Truck, Cummings Engine, Auto, Courtney Berg 20’ Grain Bed, extension sides, rear controls, Hydraulic Gate. Excellent Condition. 1985 International S-1900, Auto, Roto-Mix Horizontal Feed Box. New liners and lower auger. Good Condition. Lynn 801-514-9962 For Sale: Gated Pipe‑ 45 lengths of 12 inch Gated Pipe

in 30 foot lengths. 1350 feet total. 30 inch gate spacings. Good condition. $3.00 per foot. Also 12 inch Tee and 12X15 Universal hydrant. Located in Axtell, Utah (435) 340- 0325FOR SALE: 2009 CaseIH 335, Excellent condition. 2330 hrs, 3pt hitch, PTO, complete guidance, 18.4‑46 rubber 50%, row crop settings, power shift. Will chip to 400 hp for $2500. 435-279-0101 $165,000 or best offer!FOR SALE: Truax 816 drill 10 feet wide native grass box alfalfa box depth bands excellent condition 8500.00 435 678 2984FOR SALE: 10’ 335 International Disk, rebuilt. 3 – 3pt cultivator bars. Syphon tubes: 1/1/2”, 1”, ¾”. 3 – 2 row cultivators. 2- 500 gal. fuel tanks. 1987 Volvo 22’ box truck. Ray Child, 801‑825‑1701.WANTED: Metal self-feeder for cattle – preferably 12’. Call Bruce Fullmer, 435-690-1056. FOR SALE: 16’ packer. 14’ International Disk. Pull-behind JD ditcher. 10’ front end blade, fits any tractor. 1996 Chevy ¾ ton pickup, 4 wheel drive, 114,000 miles. 7 shank ripper. Must sell. All in very good condition. 801-698-7014. FOR SALE: Farm Machinery: 3 forage wagons; JD corn & hay chopper; New Holland 1032 stacker wagon; Knight 7725 manure slinger. Call 801-254-4550 or 801-259-5161. FOR SALE 1981 CASE 1290 Tractor, 53 Horsepower, 2405 Hours, 4 cycle diesel, Well Maintained. Contact Dan Stevenson 435-454-3555 or Robert Stagg 435-724-5688 Located in Altamont, Utah. Price $8,000. FOR SALE 1982 CASE 2090, 108 Horsepower, 4971 hours, 6 cycle diesel, 540/1000 PTO Powershift Transmission, A/C does not work, well maintained. Contact Dan Stevenson 435-454-3555 or Robert Stagg 435-724-5688. Located in Altamont, Utah. Price $12,000.

FEED:56 TON GRASS ALFALFA 3x4 Bales. Barn Stored $180 per ton. Paragonah UT. 435-590-7536 Kelly. 435-590-5446

Russell.

LIVESTOCK:COWS – Angus & Gelbvieh x Angus Balance. Cows mostly fall bred but a few spring pairs. Price varies depending on age and breed or pairs! $2,200 – $3,000. Larry 435-864-7879.JOHANSEN HEREFORD YEARLING BULLS for sale. Top quality heifer bulls and high growth bulls available. 25 to choose from. Line One Cooper/Holden breeding with an emphasis on muscle and high maternal traits. See more @ www.johansenherefords.com Call Jonathan (435)650‑8466 or Craig (435)381‑2545.

REAL ESTATE:DWELL REALTY GROUP, BRENT PARKER, (435)881-1000, email: [email protected] acres in Petersboro. Great for crops or pasture. Has an existing well on one end and a spring.12.92 acres in Richmond. Excellent soil with water shares. Adjacent 9.53 acres available.60 Acres in Cache Valley. Majestic setting with incredible views of the valley. 642.94 Acres of Farm Property in Cache Valley. Price Reduced. Unique. Part in CRP. Year around spring.7.51 Acres in Cache Valley. Building lot with irrigation water. Lots at Bear Lake. Views. Two at The Reserve. 10.01 Acres in Cache Valley. Views. Horse Property. Well permit.Home on 1.52 acres in Franklin. Fish pond and well landscaped. Beautiful setting.2,414 Acres in Cove. Beautiful recreational property with cabin and campsites up High Creek Canyon. 10.23 acre feet of water.60.96 acre ranch in Morgan Valley. Could be divided. 65

shares of water and a 6 bedroom home. Great views.7.37 acre parcel in Nibley in Cache Valley. Horse property. Can be subdivided. Irrigation shares.18.75 Acres in Cache Valley. Artesian well already dug. Secondary gravity pressure irrigation.Cabin in Logan Canyon. Beautiful setting close to river.View Lots in Mt. Sterling in Cache Valley. 1 to 5.5 acres. Home sites. Horse property.Dairy Farm in Cache Valley 41 acres. Irrigated. Updated home, excellent crops. Double 5 Herringbone parlor.185.38 Acres in Cache Valley with views. Can be divided. Located in popular Maple Rise area. Borders national forest.37.91 Acres located on the foothills of the Wellsvilles. Can be divided in up to five lots. Water shares. Canal runs through.400 Acres Bordering Oneida Narrows Reservoir. Beautiful and secluded. Adjacent to campground and boat dock. Seller financing.

MISCELLANEOUS:FREE Male & Female English Bulldogs To A Good Home. If Interested Contact: ([email protected] ) For More Information.FREE TO GOOD HOME: Part Border collie, part Australian shepherd. 2 yrs. old. Gentle, very good with children & other dogs. Must have room to run. Could be a good cattle or sheep dog. Call 435‑730‑5357. Ask for Mark.

AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES:THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS HAVE BEEN POSTED TO USAJOBS, PLEASE SEE THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW FULL ANNOUNCEMENT County Operations Trainee (COT)-3 Positions (Location to be determined) County Program Technician-Utah County OfficeCounty Program Technician-Beaver County OfficeCounty Program Technician-Emery County OfficeCounty Program Technician-Box Elder County OfficeCounty Program Technician-Duchesne County Office https://www.usajobs.gov/Search?keyword=fsa&Location=Uta

h&AutoCompleteSelected=&search=SearchWANTED: Full‑time Ranch Manager to help run the day‑to‑day operations of Sheep Ranch in beautiful southwestern Colorado. Looking for someone who is dependable, hard-working, and who has a passion for livestock and agriculture. Preferably experienced with sheep and educated/experienced in agriculture and business. Start Date: ASAP. Prior to May 1, 2015 if possible. Call Luke at 480-432-3787 or email [email protected].

CIRCLE FOUR FARMS OF MURPHY BROWN LLC: If you

are looking for a career in a fun, rewarding team environment, Circle Four Farms is the opportunity you’ve been searching for. We’re offering quality, full time Herd Technician animal production positions with training provided. Challenge yourself with a stable company that offers a starting entry‑level wage of $10 to $11, plus a full benefit package including: medical, prescription, dental, and vision insurance, life insurance plan, short and long term disability, company paid pension plan, 401(k) savings plan with company match, bonus/incentive programs, paid holidays and vacation and education reimbursement.C4 Job Application required. For more information please call our office: Circle Four Farms, PO Box 100, 341 South Main, Milford UT 84751, Phone (435) 387‑2107, Fax (435) 387‑2170. EOE / PWDNET - If you require accommodation or assistance to complete the application process, please call Lacy Davis at (435) 387-6047. When you contact Lacy, please identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. We will assist you promptly.


County Scenes

Salt Lake County▶ Board meetings are the first Tuesday of each month. Issue Surfacing Meeting, May 5, 7 p.m. at Jordan Valley Conservation Education CenterSevier County▶ Board meetings on 4th Wednesday of each month. Next meeting is May 27, 7 p.m. at the County Administration building in Richfield▶ Farm Field Day, May 14, County Fairgrounds in Richfield at 9 a.m.Washington County▶ Board meetings are the first Wednesday of each month. Next meetings are May 6 & June 3, 8 p.m. at Insurance office.Carbon County▶ Board meetings on 2nd Tuesday of each month. Next meeting planned for May 12.Kane County▶ County Farm Field Day, May 15, at elementary school in Orderville▶ Reese Family Farm Field Day, May 27, Reese property in KanabUtah County▶ Meetings are typically held the fourth Thursday of each month. Next board meeting is May 28, 7 p.m. at Extension officeEmery County▶ Board meetings, May 20, 7:30 p.m. at County courthouseBeaver County▶ Farm Field Day, May 5, Gillen’s Dairy at 8:30 a.m.Iron County▶ Board meeting, May 7, 7 p.m. at Cedar City libraryRich County▶ Board meeting, May 13, 12 p.m. at NRCS Board room in RandolphNorth Box Elder County▶ Farm Field Day, May 5, Sorenson Dairy in Howell▶ Board Meeting, May 21, FB Ins. office in Tremonton, 8 p.m.Cache County▶ Northern Farm Field Day, Jackson Smith dairy in Lewiston, May 11▶ Southern Farm Field Day, Wangsgard Dairy in Young Ward, May 13Weber County▶ Board meeting, May 26, Weber County Extension office, 7:30 p.m.South Box Elder County▶ Farm Field Day, May 7, Tule View Dairy in Brigham CitySan Juan County▶ Farm Field Days, May 11-12

State and Regional Activities ▶ UFBF YF&R Congressional Relations Trip, Feb. 27 - March 4, Washington, D.C.▶ National Agriculture Day, March 18.▶ UFBF Center closed May 25 for Memorial Day holiday▶ UFBF Board Meeting, May 26-27, Sandy, Utah▶ UFBF Midyear Registration Deadline, June 26

▶ DWR Board & RAC MeetingsRACs scheduled for May 5-6, 12-14. Visit wildlife.utah.gov for details. DWR Board meetings takes place at DNR Salt Lake Office Auditorium, 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City. They are typically held at 9 a.m, on the first Thursday of each month.

FB County Corner

[Top] Judges for the inaugural Ag Day Omelet Cook-off included (L to R): FFA President Christina Nolasco, Utah Jazz President Randy Rigby, UDAF Commissioner LuAnn Adams, and Utah Gov-ernor Gary Herbert. [Middle] Kane County ranchers Dustin & Harmony Cox and their children have a photo taken prior to an Easter ride. [Bottom] Mink farmer Justin McMullin poses for a photo while participating in Farm Field Days in Herriman.

utah farm bureau news - may 2015

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