Craig Daily Press / Agriculture

Cattlewomen’s Association names Craig native Christina Rhyne Rookie of the Year

Grass-fed beef, grain-fed beef, organic beef — what’s the difference? It’s a question Craig native Christina Rhyne tries to help shoppers answer as they navigate the meat section of City Market in Craig. “I think it’s important to know about agriculture in general because that’s where our food and fiber comes from,” said Rhyne, 31, a Moffat County Cattlewomen member. “And the more that we know about that, the better choices that we can make.” For her presentations at City Market, along with her other efforts to promote agriculture and the beef industry, the Colorado Cattlewomen’s Association named her its Rookie of the Year at an annual banquet Jan. 17 in Denver.

Moffat County Deputy Gary Nichols receives CCA award for 2nd time

Last year was an active one for the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office concerning livestock investigations. In addition to being home to one of the state’s largest cattle theft cases in recent memory, Moffat County was also the site of the first confirmed case of Equine Piroplasmosis in state history. Equine Piroplasmosis is a parasitic disease that affects horses, mules, donkeys and zebras. It’s most prevalent in South and Central America, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, and causes fever, anemia, jaundice, swollen abdomens and labored breathing in infected animals. Equine Piroplasmosis is most commonly transmitted by ticks, but has been widely spread of late through contaminated hypodermic needles used on racehorses.

Agriculture & Livestock: Poring over spring seed catalogs

Seed catalogs start arriving in the mail each year just before Christmas, some with discount coupons for orders sent in before the spring rush begins. Poring over seed catalogs can cause the senses to trigger memories of warm April/May planting days, the once-a-year odor of richly tilled soils that are “coming alive,” and the feel of garden soil on the hands. So, after the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, many gardeners like to take out the seed catalogs and pass long winter nights by deciding what to plant in that summer’s garden. Not so with others, however. “Shame on you for doing this to us (writing about seed catalogs) in January,” Craig resident Lorrae Moon said. Moon chuckled.

Agriculture & Livestock: Looking back on 2011, ahead to the new year

The end of 2011 and the beginning of the new year may have found area residents in a reflective mood. These reflections may include reasons to be thankful. For example, a ranch or farm family might be grateful for: • A stackyard full of hay bales. • The previous summer’s plentiful pasture and stock ponds filled with water. • Enough summer pasture to let cattle and sheep graze into fall.

Craig teen wins 3rd place at national livestock competition in Arizona

Cali has that winning attitude. You can see it in his walk — the way he prances when he enters the ring — and you can see it in his face, said Andrea Maneotis. He has the look: confident and assured. “He always held his ears up and kind of was just cocky,” Andrea’s mother, Karen Maneotis, said.

Agriculture & Livestock: Taking down the tree

There are memories associated with decorating the house for Christmas for those connected to family traditions. This is especially true with the Christmas tree. Sometimes it’s after all the hustle and bustle that we really take time to reflect on these memories — like the day we take the tree down. For this story, assume that it’s a grandma who is doing the “taking down.” She goes to the storage shed to bring out the boxes marked “Christmas” and “fragile.”

Agriculture & Livestock: Memories like books in a library

A few weeks ago, our family went to watch our granddaughter, Jessica, perform in Moffat County High School’s musical production of “Footloose.” After the performance, as everyone was congratulating the cast, one of the parents talked about memories made that night. I’ve thought about memories since then. To me, it seems memories are stored in the brain much like books are shelved in a library. Some memories are “pushed back in the stacks” because they’re painful. Others seem to be stored right where we can get them.

Agriculture & Livestock: Enrolling in 4-H for 2012

Youth development, life skills, leadership skills, and community service — they’re all part of the 4-H program. Moffat County 4-H members and leaders just celebrated the end of the 2011 4-H year, and now it’s time to enroll for 2012. The 4-H ages, as of Jan. 1 of the current enrollment year, are: traditional 4-H: 8 to 18 years old, and Cloverbuds: 5 to 7 years old. To be eligible for completion of 2012 projects, 4-H enrollment must be received by June 1, 2012.

Agriculture & Livestock: Celebrating 2011 4-H Year — Part 3

Moffat County 4-H members excelled in project work during 2011, and over three weeks the Agriculture & Livestock pages of the Craig Daily Press have featured stories about their achievements that were recognized during the annual 4-H Achievement Night on Nov. 4. The following 4-H members went that extra step to understand and demonstrate the importance of good record-keeping during their project journeys. The Best-Kept Livestock and Horse Records were presented to: • One Enterprise — junior: first place: Josie Timmer, second place: Jared Baker, third place: Joel Ross, fourth place: Tiffany Hildebrandt, and fifth place: Brayden Tuttle. • One Enterprise — intermediate: first place: Sarye Morgan, second place: Sadye Morgan, third place: Keenan Hildebrandt, fourth place: Bryce Tuttle, and fifth place: Brittany Swindler.

Agriculture & Livestock: Celebrating the 2011 4-H Year: Part 2

This is the second part of the awards and recognitions from Moffat County 4-H Achievement Night, held at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion on the evening of Nov. 4. During the year, three 4-H members in the horse project passed advancement levels. Those members are: Mattie Jo Duzik, Level 2 Western; Ripley Bellio, Level 2 Western; and Taylor Duzik, Level 4 Western. Awards were presented to 4-H members enrolled in livestock, horse, dog, rabbit and poultry projects. The following members received awards: • Outstanding Dog Exhibitor Award (composition of points from obedience score, showmanship score and record book score): Emma Balstad.

Agriculture & Livestock: Celebrating the 2011 4-H Year — Part 1

Celebrating the achievements of the 2011 4-H year was the focus of the annual Moffat County 4-H Achievement Night, held the evening of November 4 at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Craig. In attendance were 4-H members, leaders, parents and special guests. After the welcome, presentation of colors and pledges, 4-H agent Alisa Comstock introduced speaker Rich Wolter. Wolter, a motivational youth speaker, travels all over the world with his message that “Dreams don’t have to stay dreams.” He has spent the last decade mentoring, coaching, motivating and inspiring teens to reach for their dreams.

Agriculture & Livestock: Signs of a new hunting season

This time of year is a busy time for ranchers. Among their jobs: gathering strays from summer pasture; weaning, preconditioning and selling calves; “preg” testing; winterizing farm equipment; and, for some, hauling in hay. Besides all this work, some ranchers are now busy with another branch of their business — hunting season.

Agriculture & Livestock: Halloween memories on Morapos Creek

Each year when Halloween rolls around, I think about those years when my siblings and I were growing up at the family ranch on Morapos Creek. Surprisingly, I remember the weather on Halloween night to be crisp and clear, though it undoubtedly had snowed earlier in the month. I remember the crunch of fallen leaves as we were out and about. Whatever the weather was like, we looked forward to the holiday. We girls can’t remember wearing Halloween costumes to school.

Agriculture & Livestock: Keeping food safe

Fresh fruits and vegetables provide nutrients that are an important part of our diets. Even when winter sets in, and there are no gardens or produce markets, we still find a wide variety of fresh produce at local grocery stores. What a lot of ways we can prepare fresh fruit and vegetable dishes.

Agriculture & Livestock: Keeping fruits and vegetables safe

All it takes is a visit to the grocery store to remind ourselves what a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are available to consumers. Fresh fruits and vegetables are delicious and nutritionally beneficial, but as with any other food products, steps must be taken to ensure product safety and quality. “Guide to Washing Fresh Produce,” No. 9.380, is one in a series of brochures produced by Colorado State University Extension. It was written by A. Zander, Boulder County Extension Agent and M. Bunning, Extension Food Safety Specialist and Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. According to information provided in the brochure, there are seven steps to limiting bacterial contamination and pesticides.