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CBSSportswillhavea one hour documentary at 7 p.m. Monday about the 30 years the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo has been in Las Vegas. Should be interesting. Starting on Dec. 4, for 10 nights, at 7 local time, rodeo fans will be watch- ing CBS Sports, on chan- nel 221 for DirecTv and 158 on Dish as the Wran- gler National Finals Ro- deo gets underway. Crystal Deal, from Don and Janell Kish and listed as Growney Broth- ers Rodeo was selected 2nd place in the Pendle- ton Whisky Let'er Buck PRCA Bucking Stock Bull of the year. Cross the Line, a 5-year-old bull owned by summit Pro Rodeo was 1st, and Poker Face from Pete Carr Pro Rodeo was third. Medicine Woman, from Frontier Rodeo won Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year for the second time, while Dirty Jacket from Pete Carr Pro Rodeo took the Bareback Horse of the Year honors. This year there will be 27 first timers at the WNFR, and there are 7 out of 15 bull riders that are first timers, including Sage Kimzey, Strong City, OK, who was leading bull riding by nearly $18,000. Jordon Spears, Red- ding is going to the finals in bull riding ninth place. He was a District 1 Cali- fornia High School Rodeo bull rider. Many Red Bluff resi- dents will be in Las Vegas during the 10 days, enjoy- ing shopping at Cowboy Christmas and the rodeo each night. ReinedCowHorse event added New to National High School Rodeo Associa- tion (NHSRA) and Cali- fornia High School Rodeo Association (CHSRA) this season is the Reined Cow Horse event (RCH). Districts 1-2-3 met at the Tehama District Fair- ground Nov. 23 for a clinic in the morning with in- structors Ken Wold, Wil- ton, and Smoky Pritchett, Cottonwood, nationally qualified judges. In the afternoon, Wold and Pritchett judged the first two go-rounds, known as shows, allow- ing contestants to work towards qualifying for the CHSRA RCH State Finals, the first weekend in June 5-7 in Exeter. RCH is coed, with boys and girls competing in same event. This year each go-round will be considered as one rodeo. First was the dry work, entering the gate on the left lead, loping in. Lope one circle left, then change leads, either sim- ple or flying. Lope one cir- cle right, change leads (simple or flying). Con- tinue on the left lead around the enc, con- tinue up the middle of the arena, past the end marker. Stop. One and a half spins left. Continue down the middle of the arena, past the end marker. "Look where you are going, don't look down". "Faster, faster, now stop." Stop. One and a half spins right. Continue down the middle of the arena past the center marker. Stop. Back at least 10 feet. Wold was at one end of arena to work with the contestant on leads and stops, while Pritchett was explaining what they were doing to the contes- tants watching. Then the contestants learned how to work a cow in the reined cow horse pattern, with the two instructors demon- strating, and then actu- ally working a cow. First was " box cow" holding it at end of arena, with goal of not to be too fast. When your horse goes past the hip, rib, eye and head, the cow will stop. Then the goal is to keep it on the fence, showing control. The animal is driven with your horse's head on cow hip. Stop, turn back on fence, and drive it to end, and stop. "Always turn horse to cow, all the time." "Be safe" keep your horse away from cow, and do not cross path of cow. "We are here to teach you how to be safe. There is always another horse show next weekend." "Ex- otic cattle breeds of to- day, don't have respect for a horse" was another comment. Be safe. Con- trol was the key word, not wide open in speed. If it is a wild cow, turn it three or four times on fence, so you have control when you come in middle of arena. "Don't ever take your eye off the cow." For safety in high school rodeo, they can ride two handed with reins instead of just split reins and two handed. Also, the contestants need a breast collar in this event, so saddle doesn't slip during a quick turn. After a lunch of chili beans and hot dogs, etc.; the contestants worked a steer, thanks to Dave and Kathy Ferguson furnish- ing the cattle. Cattlemen and CattleWomen's convention Tehama County Cat- tlemen and CattleWomen attended the 98th an- nual convention of Cal- ifornia Cattlemen and 63rd annual meeting of California CowBelles/ CattleWomen last week at JA Nugget, Sparks, Nev. Kelly Mouton was rec- ognized at the CowBelle of the Year luncheon. The silver engraved brace- lets did not arrive in time, therefore the 24 honorees received a bracelet made of baling wire. American National Cat- tleWomen President Patti Buck, Ignacio, CO; ANCW President-Elect Melanie Fowle, Etna, CA; CCW President Tammie McEl- roy, Gridley, CA; and Cal- ifornia Beef Ambassa- dor Jillian Cassaca were speakers during the lun- cheon. Congratulations to Billy Flournoy, Likely, Modoc County cow/calf rancher upon his election as Pres- ident of California Cattle- men Assn. 1st Vice Pres- ident David Daley, Ph.D., Oroville, 2nd Vice Presi- dent Rich Ross, Lincoln. Sheila Bowen, Glen- nville, Kern County was installed as president of California CattleWomen. She and husband Jeff live on the Carver Bowen Ranch. 1st Vice President is Cheryl Foster, Mon- tague, Siskiyou County. Tehama County Cattle- Women received awards for their beef promotion efforts during the year in the Bayer HealthCare Beef Promotion & Edu- cation book; the Califor- nia Beef Council contest in memory of Walt Rod- man for Beef Promotion and the monthly news- letters. TCCA President Steve McCarthy, State Direc- tors Wally Roney and Steve Zane represented the local membership, and attending was Monte Shults. Representing TCCW were Linda Borror, Jeanne Smith, Kelly Mou- ton, Charlene Priest, Ken- dra McCluskey and Jean Barton at the various committee meetings and Board of Directors meet- ing. Winter Dinner set for Jan. 10 The 63rd annual Cattle- men's Winter Dinner and Scholarship Auction will be 6 p.m. Jan. 10 at Te- hama District Fairground. Presale tickets will be $25 for a Vic Woolery prime rib dinner. JEANBARTON Gearing up for the National Finals Rodeo COURTESYPHOTO Glenn/Colusa CattleWomen member Callie Borror with John Ascuaga at the Nugget, during the 98th annual convention of California Cattlemen and 63rd annual meeting of California CattleWomen. Americans draw their cuisine from a vast array of cultures, but on Thanks- giving most of us sit down to eat essentially the same foods: Roast turkey with cranberry sauce, stuff- ing, mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean casserole, dinner rolls and sweetpo- tatoes topped with melted mini marshmallows, fol- lowed by pumpkin pie for dessert. Although you may call them candied yams, if they were grown in the U.S., the soft, orange roots you've smothered in butter and brown sugar are sweet- potatoes. If you don't add butter and sugar, sweet- potatoes are a healthful sweet treat, loaded with vitamins A, B-6, C and E and potassium and man- ganese. In California, sweetpo- tato classes come in four colors: Tan Jewell with or- ange flesh; light yellow Jer- sey with white flesh; purple oriental with white flesh; red garnet with deep or- ange flesh. Scott Stoddard, UC Co- operative Extension advi- sor who evaluates sweetpo- tato varieties for production in California, is trying to identify lines with red and purple skin that grow and store well. It is a high prior- ity for the industry because the Garnet class dominates many markets throughout the state. "Apparently, Californians like well-tanned sweetpo- tatoes, especially in South- ern California," said Stod- dard, who is based in Mer- ced County. "It's the same eye ap- peal as when people choose peaches," Stoddard said. "People tend to choose peaches with more red blush to the skin. Just as we tend to choose more col- orful peaches, red-skinned sweetpotatoes are very pop- ular, even more than the traditional tan skin sweet- potatoes that dominate in the rest of the United States." "The red variety is in high demand in LA, the Bay Area and Seattle markets," said Jason Tucker, a grower and vice president of the CA Sweetpotato Council. "With our climate and sandy soil, we can grow any variety in California. It gives us so much flex- ibility and we're looking for new varieties. We can grow distinctive varieties, such as the Oriental vari- ety, to meet demands even in other countries like Ko- rea and Japan." Louisiana State Uni- versity and North Caro- lina State University have the only two sweetpo- tato breeding programs in the U.S. For more than 50 years, UC has collaborated with the two universities in the National Sweetpo- tato Collaborators Trial, in which varieties are grown and evaluated in several states. Because the breed- ers are mainly interested in sweetpotatoes with light- colored skin, they used to discard the others. In 1998, Stoddard began screen- ing their castoffs for high yields and sweet flavor in other colors. "Sweetpotatoes are ex- pected to be on shelves 12 months a year so we need one that will store up to a year," said Stoddard. Sweet- potatoes are harvested from July through October so he is looking for a red- skinned sweetpotato that offers better nematode re- sistance and holds up in storage longer. "The white ones and Orientals store well, but the reds break down in June and July." In addition to high yields and consistent flavor in a variety, Tucker said, "We are looking for varieties that maintain a high level of sugar, or sucrose levels, smooth skin and a con- sistent shape with a dis- tinct color — purple, red or white." Before Stoddard intro- duces a new variety to a California field, he has the plant material virus-tested by Foundation Plant Ser- vices at UC Davis. A purple sweetpotato with white flesh called Murasaki is a variety that emerged from Stoddard's test plots in 2008 and is now being grown commer- cially. Burgundy, released in 2014, is the first variety with red skin and orange flesh released in 30 years. While Burgundy has better nematode resistance and improved storage charac- teristics, yields have failed to reach the numbers nec- essary to be commercially successful. Sometimes when look- ing for a new red-skin culti- var, the UC Cooperative Ex- tension advisor finds other desirable qualities. Stod- dard is most excited about a tan-skin sweetpotato that he named Bellevue, after a road near the field where the variety was first evalu- ated and connects Atwater and Merced. "This variety has shown excellent yield potential combined with superior shape and skin quality in numerous test locations around the world, includ- ing North Carolina, Sene- gal, Israel and Australia," he said. "It also has high nema- tode resistance and nice color. But it's not red, though ironically it came out of the red-skin trial." "It takes a few years to see if they will be success- ful," Stoddard said. "Things always show up once you move from a small plot to millions of plants, that's when their true personal- ity comes out. We'll see how they do in different soil and in different areas. All vari- eties have their own person- ality." About 300 acres of Bel- levue were grown in Cali- fornia in 2014. Although it may only be grown in Cali- fornia, Bellevue is patented by LSU. The varieties are pat- ented by LSU and NC State to provide funding for their breeding programs. "Scott is a highly valu- able asset to Merced County growers, he provides all of our sweetpotato research," said Tucker. "He brings new varieties from North Carolina and Louisiana to California to find a new variety that works well in our soil and climate. He analyzes them so we can make better de- cisions about which variet- ies we will grow." About 90 percent of the estimated 20,000 acres of sweetpotatoes grown in the state are in Merced County, around Atwater and Tur- lock, where the soils are sandy. UC COOPERATIVE EXTENSION Researcher seeks more colorful sweet potatoes By Scott Mcfetridge AssociatedPress DES MOINES, IOWA Christ- mas trees likely will cost a little more this year, and growers like John Tillman say it's about time. Six years of decreased demand and low prices put many growers out of busi- ness. Those who withstood the downturn are relieved they survived. "I'm awful proud to still be in the Christmas tree business," said Tillman, who ships up to 20,000 trees each fall from nine fields south of Olympia, Washington. "We lost a lot of farmers who didn't make it through." Prices vary according to the variety of tree, but growers this year will see about $20 per tree, $2 more than the last several years, according to Bryan Ostlund, executive direc- tor of the Salem, Oregon- based Pacific Northwest Tree Association. Prices will likely rise as the hol- idays near and supply de- creases. Consumers looking to deck their home could pay a little more than last year, but costs vary widely de- pending on factors such as transportation, tree- lot rental space and big- box retailers' demand that prices remain stable. For example, a 6-foot Douglas fir in Oregon, which grows about one-third of the na- tion's Christmas trees, could sell for $25 while a similar tree hauled to Southern California might go for $80. Tara Deering-Hansen, a spokeswoman for Mid- western supermarket chain Hy-Vee, said wholesale tree prices have climbed slightly but prices are set at each store and custom- ers might not see any in- crease. Heavy snow last week slowed the shipment of trees from Michigan, which ranks third in pro- duction and supplies much of the Midwest and parts of the South. In some loading yards, stacks of trees await- ing shipment were covered with up to 2 feet of snow. "Getting the snow off was more work than load- ing the trees," said Dan Wahmhoff, co-owner of a nursery in southwestern Michigan. "It was definitely a chal- lenge — wind and snow and cold, trucks were get- ting stuck — but we made it through." In the coming years, growers expect the supply of trees to remain stable with prices gradually in- creasing, in part because it takes six to seven years for a seedling to grow large enough to sell. Even with the increase, most growers are being paid less now than in the mid-2000s, when trees from new and expanded farms hit the market as de- mand fell. And the industry still faces challenges, as com- petition from artificial tree manufacturers and other factors have led to a drop in trees harvested, from 20.8 million in 2002 to 17.3 million in 2012, ac- cording to the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture. 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