Each semester, we would take one of our welds to a local technical college to have them stress tested. The college staff would put the welds in a large hydraulic press. They would bend the metal until the welds were bent in half or broke. The student whose weld could withstand the highest pressure would win the competition.

“Many of the infectious diseases of importance, such as West Nile virus or equine encephalomyelitis (sleeping sickness) are transmitted by insects that become active in the spring,” Daly said. “Others are transmitted between horses, and spring and summer activities are more apt to bring horses from different locations into contact with one another.

South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension specialists and South Dakota cattle producers are teaming up to apply research to a generations-old idea that for every cow grazing on rangeland, a ewe can be added and not have a negative impact on forage quality or availability.

The cash fed cattle trade was slow to develop last week as packers—again suffering losses over $50/head—tried to hold out for improved leverage later in the week.

Overall, meat (beef, pork, chicken, and turkey) production was estimated up compared to the prior month’s report—mostly on declines from beef—while imports were expected to be up and exports were projected to be down. All of this results in a higher-than-anticipated domestic meat supply, upping the per capita availability.

An attempt to resolve a long standing debate over water rights between landowners in western Montana and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) failed to pass the state legislature last week, marking another step in a decades old debate over ownership of water in the region.

According to the Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), President Barack Obama’s proposed budget, unveiled last Wednesday, includes an increase in the public lands grazing fee assessment that would put many family ranches out of business.

Canada is considering imposing sanctions of up to $980 million a year against the U.S. unless it complies with a WTO ruling requiring changes in how it labels meat, according to media reports. Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told reporters last Tuesday the country would consider “extensive retaliatory measures” against the U.

Drought conditions in parts of the Plains have improved modestly since the beginning of the year. Some improvement has occurred in South Dakota, Kansas and Oklahoma. Additionally, the latest drought outlook from the Climate Prediction Center continues to push the line for potential drought improvement farther west.

It’s nothing new that consumers are both increasingly interested in how their food is raised and disconnected with the realities of production agriculture. A good number of certifications and assurance programs have arisen to meet this growing trend in consumer interest.