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Whowouldhave thought, just a few years ago, that last week I was able to watch an Inter- net auction of 40 Tehama Angus Ranch bulls on my computer, via liveauctions. tv? Then I watched the Challenge of Champions CHSRA rodeo in Plymouth via 321actionvideo.com on my computer. The gold vests of District 1 were a big help watching the ac- tion. Congratulations to Brody Gill, Millville win- ning All Around Cowboy, first in Boys Cutting and first Team Roping with Brushton Minton. Last year, Bailey Bean of Ger- ber was All Around Cow- girl. FieldDayresults Partial results of the Te- hama County Cattlemen's Field Day at Rolling Hills Casino last weekend, since golf and shooting results are still missing. Congratulations to Chad Amen and Tony Turri for a successful Field Day. The working cow horse was won by JC Niesen rid- ing Ringo, second and third was a tie between Cole Hook on Mucho and Dave Ferguson on Dim- ples, fourth to Walt Brown on Blondie. There were 22 entries. In the stock dog trials there were 11 entries, and Brian Jacobs won 1st and 2nd with his two dogs. Hank Pritchard, Manton cattleman won the buckle for local cattlemen mem- ber. 10 entries in stockman's challenge and 1st to Brian and George Jacobs; 2nd to Dave and Kathy Ferguson, 3rd to Ed Ferry and John Freeman. Paint branding had 30 teams entered, with Roy Owens, Justin Davis and Robert Staley 1st. 2nd to Cole Hook, Grant Stein and Justin Davis. 3rd to Cole Hook, JC Niesen and Grant Stein. 4th to Cooper Stumbaugh, Ricky Fer- reira, and Adam Nelms. The traditional Darrell Conard Big Steer Weight Guessing for Ladies was won by Kathy Rogers with a guess of 1940 lbs on Larrry, the longhorn steer owned by Butch Thomas. Larry weighed 1950 lbs. Tehama County Cat- tleWomen had games for the younger children, and the Beef Ambassadors Emyli Palmer, Kayla Mc- Giffin and Danielle Muel- ler with assistance from Los Molinos FFA mem- ber Sarah Grayson, Corn- ing FFA Brandon Thom- son, and Red Bluff FFA Brittany Wright, Miranda Iverson and Jenny McClus- key kept them occupied roping dummies, riding stick horses, blowing bub- bles and other games in the morning. A load of something Jeff Fowle in Siskiyou County posted the follow- ing on his FaceBook page. " So.... To set the sce- nario: We have a large ma- nure pile...horse manure... rock free...it gets turned in the pile monthly...parts of the pile have been com- posting for two years...I load it for customers...by the bag, truck or trailer load, for a trade in vegeta- bles. An individual called to ask if I had any ma- nure for their garden, they needed a trailer load. I told them I did and that I'd load it for them, for a couple pounds of vegeta- bles during the summer. They asked if it was or- ganic. I replied it was not certified, but had been through a horse. They pro- ceeded to thank me, but said they preferred or- ganic for their garden and would get it elsewhere. I asked where and if it was also free or trade- able. The reply was: it's 40 miles away and was going to cost around $150 for a load. I shake my head....80 miles round trip + $150.... versus 3 miles and cou- ple pounds of vegetables... that's two zucchini or yel- low squash in our parts.... I just don't get it I guess." Don't reintroduce wolves, grizzlies California does not need wolves or grizzly bears re- introduced in our state. We have enough trou- ble complying with all the rules and regulations that are being introduced in California. Here's a column from the Wallowa County Chief- tan in Enterprise, Ore. written by Mack Birkma- ier, a past president of the Oregon Cattlemen's Asso- ciation, a lifetime rancher on Crow Creek and Jo- seph Creek and published March 17. Local cattle producer writes about recent night- marish experience that be- gan with Umatilla Pack wolves stampeding 250 head of pregnant cows. Wolves attacked and stampeded 250 head of very pregnant cows (calv- ing start date March 1) on the Birkmaier private land on Crow Creek pass Feb. 12, 2015. The cows were wintering on the open bunch grass range receiv- ing one-half feed of alfalfa hay. This 1,700-acre piece of land is about 10 miles northeast of Joseph. These cows were to be moved to the Birkmaier home ranch at the mouth of Crow Creek the last of Febru- ary (the ranch is about 20 miles north). With no warning from agency people, who nor- mally warn producers of wolves in the area, the wolves attacked in the night. The herd split into three groups. One group of about 70 cows went east, running in total panic, obliterating several barb wire fences. These cows ran about two miles to the Zumwalt road, then south and west about five miles down the OK Gulch road to the Wallowa Val- ley, then north to the Birk- maier ranch land, about three miles, then reversed and ran about three miles south where they were stopped. These cattle were wet from the condensa- tion of cold air on their overheated bodies. Their tongues were out gasping for air. Another bunch went north through several fences to the Krebs ranch, about four miles, then back and were going in a large circle still running when they were stopped. A third bunch stayed in the pasture, but were in a high state of panic. The cattle could not be fed for two days. They ran away from hay and the pickup trying to feed them. None were killed, no broken legs or stifled joints; some cuts from barbed wire, not se- rious. We thought we were lucky. The rest of the story, we feared, would be told at calving time and maybe before. By the way, the at- tacking wolves, from the Umatilla Pack, were at Dug Bar on the Snake River the next day (32 air miles away and over a mile climbing and descending). Now about fladry and why it wasn't used. Fladry was not an option under these conditions on a large area with cattle grazing out in the winter time. Fladry is an electric wire with strips of col- ored plastic attached. Wolf cheerleaders, both local and everywhere, claim this cure-all is the an- swer to end all wolf dep- redations. Our experi- ence: It may have a place on small acreages; we find it hard to keep it electri- fied. Wet snow will take it to the ground, wind blows tumbleweeds and mus- tard plants into it and if you use existing fences to put it on, wind blows it into the wires of existing fence and shorts it out. To use it on larger acreages requires a separate fence and many electric fence controllers and it's just im- practical. In the early days of the wolf debate, fladry was of- fered as a tool by the agen- cies and enviro groups to suck stock producers in to thinking they could use this to protect their ani- mals. If it was practical it probably wouldn't be stacked up in the court- house. Talking to other ranches in other states confirms our belief that most ranchers know it doesn't work, and so does the wolf. As I write this on the 11th day of March, 50 cows have calved. Our worst fears are coming true: one aborted a few days af- ter the attack; three back- wards hind feet first; one upside down and back- wards (the hind leg of this calf penetrated both the virginal and rectal walls); one more upside down and backwards; one tail first (breech); two with legs turned back; one with head turned back. Several vaginal prolapses probably caused by improperly posi- tioned calves. Is this indi- rect loss or what? My son Tom and his wife Kelly have had to deal with this horrible task night and day, 31 miles from vet clinics and assis- tance. What kind of people support turning the ter- rorist of the animal king- dom loose on these de- fenseless animals and in- flicting this kind of pain and loss? When I think of my family out in the barn trying their best to save these poor animals — it takes hours with good luck to straighten and get them out — I get damn mad. Who do I blame? After devoting about 10 years of my life to fight- ing this invasion of wolves from neighboring states through the political sys- tem, attending numer- ous ODFW hearings and workshops all over the state and participating in the largest "no wolf" hear- ing in the state of Oregon at Enterprise, and losing it all when we were slam- dunked by the ODFW commission in Troutdale (who, by the way, didn't have guts enough to at- tend the Enterprise hear- ing) yea, I'm bitter. We lost eight calves this summer, we were compen- sated for one. If we aren't compensated for indi- rect loss from wolves, our ranch and all others are in serious jeopardy. JEANBARTON Cattlemen's Field Day generates kudos COURTESYPHOTO The team of Jim Sauve, Mike McCluskey, Andy Newport and Ken Reineman relax a er a day of golf at Tehama County Cattlemen's Field Day at Rolling Hills Casino. WASHINGTON Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Fri- day provided farm owners and producers one addi- tional week, until April 7, to choose between Agricul- ture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), the safety-net pro- grams established by the 2014 Farm Bill. The final day to update yield history or reallocate base acres also will be April 7. If no changes are made to yield history or base acres by the deadline, the farm's current yield and base acres will be used. If a program choice of ARC or PLC is not made, there will be no 2014 crop year payments for the farm and the farm will de- fault to PLC coverage for the 2015 through 2018 crop years. Producers who have an appointment at their lo- cal FSA offices scheduled by April 7 will be able to make an election between ARC and PLC, even if their ac- tual appointment is after April 7. These safety-net pro- grams provide important fi- nancial protection against unexpected changes in the marketplace. As part of the strong education and out- reach campaign launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Sep- tember, to date more than 5 million educational post- cards, in English and Span- ish, have been sent to pro- ducers nationwide, and more than 5,000 events have been conducted to ed- ucate producers on the pro- grams. The online tools at www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc, which allow producers to explore how ARC or PLC coverage will affect their operation, have been pre- sented to more than 3,400 groups. Covered commodities under ARC and PLC in- clude barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mus- tard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice (which includes short grain and sweet rice), saf- flower seed, sesame, soy- beans, sunflower seed and wheat. Producers need to con- tact the Farm Service Agency by April 7. To learn more, farmers can con- tact their local Farm Ser- vice Agency county office. To find local offices, visit http://offices.usda.gov. USDA De ad lin es f or s af et y- net p ro gr am s ex te nd ed b y on e we ek RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 NoMoney Down! 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