Craig Daily Press / Agriculture

Important shows Sunday for Moffat County 4-H, FFA

The annual Market Beef Weigh-in and Tagging and the Moffat County Midwinter Invitational Feeder Calf Show are Sunday.

Dissecting the noble traits of being a winner

While working on a story about local exhibitors who attended the 2010 National Western Stock Show — to be featured in an upcoming issue of the Craig Daily Press — this author has been pondering the word “winner.” Just who is a “winner,” anyway?

Poisonous plants, rangeland grasses focus of upcoming workshop

Poisonous Plants and New Developments in Rangeland Grasses is an informative workshop scheduled for Feb. 3 at the Steamboat Springs Community Center, 1605 Lincoln Ave.

Gearing up for food preservation workshops

The 2010 seed and nursery catalogs are out. Just browsing through the pages of vegetables and fruits is enough to make a person’s mouth water. One can imagine the sliced tomatoes, buttered corn on the cob, creamed peas and potatoes, green and wax beans, and all of the other vegetables from the summer garden.

Time for the National Western Stock Show

January marks the beginning of the National Western Stock Show. Running nearly the entire month, the 2010 Stock Show is jam packed with events, including Cattlemen meetings, rodeos and livestock show competitions. Area 4-H and FFA members have circled dates of their livestock shows on the calendar.

New Year’s resolutions for 2010

When 2010 rolls around in a few days, we’ll get a chance to remember the resolutions we intend to keep in the New Year.

A childhood country Christmas

There wasn’t a lot of money when my sisters, brother and I were growing up on the ranch, but at Christmas we never knew any different. Santa always visited us.

Diane Prather: Ian’s heifer wrangle

Almost a year ago, during the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Ian Duzik participated in the National FFA organization’s Heifer Wrangle and caught a calf. The Heifer Wrangle is similar to the National Western Catch-It-Calf Contest. In both cases, participants try to catch calves in an arena. In neither case do winners get to keep the calves they catch. In the case of the Catch-It-Calf Contest, winners are presented with steers that they feed for the next year’s Stock Show.

Local clubs and organizations carrying out community missions

The holiday season finds agriculture organizations, 4-H clubs and the Moffat County FFA Chapter busy planning Christmas parties and carrying out community service activities.

Watching over the water tanks

During the winter and spring months, when we’re feeding cows at the house, I have to keep two large water tanks filled. It’s not such a bad job, just monotonous. So, I’ve tried starting the hose and going off to do something else while the tank fills.

4-H Achievment Night Awards — Part 2

Awards and recognition — it’s what 4-H Achievement is all about. This year’s Achievement Night was held Oct. 29 at the Moffat County High School Auditorium, and this week’s story is Part 2 of the award results.

Youths recognized during 4-H event

The annual 4-H Achievement Night was Oct. 29 at the Moffat County High School Auditorium. An inspirational talk by Sam Glenn was followed by an awards program. The event marked the end of the 2009 4-H year.

It's pre-winter time

Pre-winter has arrived in Northwest Colorado. As residents, we know that this time of year (usually around Halloween) there are periods of snow, sometimes heavy.

Diane Prather: A newfangled phone system

Recently, I ordered a textbook via the phone from a publishing company. It took time and patience to reach the correct department because the company had an automatic answering device with a number of push button choices. It got me to wondering what would happen if a rancher had to rely on a similar phone system to get help with a problem - perhaps one requiring a veterinarian.