Stories from the Agribusiness Newspaper Grass & Grain
Emily Miller Beisel knows how to compensate to help her horse when it’s needed. The Kansas native-turned Oklahoman barrel racer used her hand to keep up the second barrel as she rounded it on the final night of the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo.
And she turned in a time of 17.41 seconds to win the rodeo.
Her horse Ivory on Fire, “Liza,” gets a little close to barrel number two, and Beisel had to rectify the situation in Abilene. The mare “has been getting a little bit tight on me, with that barrel,” and she hasn’t been home to spend time re-teaching Liza.
When the barrel tottered after Beisel reached out to keep it up, the crowd cheered as it stayed up. “It was pretty wild,” she said. “I was glad (the crowd) let me know it was up so I could keep going to the third (barrel.)”
Ranked number one in the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association world standings, Beisel has qualified for five Wrangler National Finals Rodeos (NFR) (2019-2023), and is headed to her sixth.
She rode Liza for most of the ten rounds of the 2023 Wrangler NFR and at most of the winter rodeos as well. “She’s pretty much been my main horse all winter, and a big player this summer, too.”
The eight-year-old had a bit of an attitude tonight, Beisel said. “She’s a little spicy tonight, and I was surprised. I didn’t anticipate that with the temperature and humidity. She really dialed in once we went into the arena.”
A Kansan won the bull riding. Coy Pollmeier, Fort Scott, bested the field of bull riders with a score of 84.5 points on the New Frontier bull Sun Up. He competed on July 31, the night it rained.
Keeping his equipment dry is the biggest challenge for wet weather, Pollmeier said. "Once the rain and wind started, we put our ropes back in our bags and put them in the hospitality tent.”
Pollmeier and other bull riders put athletic tape over the tail of their rope and don’t remove it until they’re on their bull, putting their hand in their rope.
Even then, it gets wet, and the bulls are wet as well, which makes it more difficult. When the animal is wet, “You may want to pull your rope tighter than you normally do, and be a little bit more aware of where you’re putting your hand.”
Pollmeier, who turned 24 years old on August 3, rodeos full time, going nationwide but hitting as many of the rodeos in the Prairie Circuit (the pro rodeos in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma) as he can.
“I know a lot of guys will go out west or south in the summer, and look past the circuit rodeos, but there are so many good circuit rodeos, and even if they’re on the other side of the state, they feel like home to me.”
Pollmeier competed in Hill City on July 29, in Dodge City for the Xtreme Bulls on July 30, Phillipsburg on August 2, and was on to Dalhart, Texas and back to Dodge City to round out the weekend.
He is ranked second in the Prairie Circuit standings.
In the tie-down roping, it was a Missouri man who took the title. Fenton Nelson, Warrensburg, Mo., had a time of 8.5 seconds. When he threw his loop, he threw a figure eight, which caught not only around the calf’s head but the front leg as well.
A “figure eight” does not disqualify a cowboy, but it usually slows him down enough to make it difficult to be fast. But since this loop caught the calf’s front left leg, it helped Nelson.
“ It doesn’t affect your tie,” he said. “For me, it helped me flank because it gets a leg out of the way. “I made the best run I could on the calf I had.”
Nelson is also a steer wrestler; he did not turn in a qualified time in that event. His wife Alyssa Nelson competed in the breakaway roping, turning in a time of 2.9 seconds.
During the rodeo, a big check presentation was held for Tough Enough to Wear Pink night, with $4,100 raised through voluntary donations for the Elsie Brooks Memorial Cancer Fund of Dickinson County. The rodeo has partnered with the Brooks fund since 2008 and has raised, with this year’s donation, over $49,000 for financial help for people undergoing cancer treatment in Dickinson County.
Other 2024 champions include bareback rider Bodee Lammers, Tolar, Texas (85 points); steer wrestlers Trisyn Kalawaia, Hilo, Hawaii and Heath Thomas, Hemphill, Texas (3.8 seconds each); breakaway ropers Jordan Jo Hollabaugh, Springtown, Texas and Taylor Munsell, Alva, Okla. (2.0 seconds each); saddle bronc rider Parker Kempker, Deer Park, Fla. (87.5 points); team ropers Marcus Theriot, Lumberton, Miss. and Cole Curry, Liberty, Mo. (4.2 seconds); and steer roper Slade Wood, New Ulm, Texas.
Next year’s Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo is tentatively set for July 29-August 1, 2025.
Governor Laura Kelly has approved updated drought declarations for Kansas counties through proclamation.
“While drought conditions have improved in some areas of the state, many counties continue to be negatively impacted by the decline in water supply or strains on water resources,” said Kelly. “I strongly encourage all Kansans to continue to conserve water over the summer months.”
The drought declaration placed four counties into emergency status, 35 into warning status, and 66 into watch status. This action was recommended by Connie Owen, director of the Kansas Water Office and chair of the Governor’s Drought Response Team. While eastern Kansas has seen significant relief from drought since March, central and western Kansas has declined rapidly into Severe and, in a few counties, Extreme Drought.
“The counties in a watch status are experiencing conditions that indicate the probability of a water shortage is rising. It is important to monitor these conditions and be mindful of water usage in these counties,” said Owen. “Summer has arrived, and with it, higher temperatures and a decrease in precipitation. The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to monitor the drought conditions across Kansas and make recommendations to Governor Kelly as conditions change.”
Through an interagency agreement between the Kansas Water Office, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, counties in the emergency stage are eligible for emergency water use from certain state fishing lakes and some federal reservoirs.
Individuals and communities must contact the Kansas Water Office for a water supply request before any withdrawals from lakes. These requests will, in turn, be referred to the appropriate office to obtain necessary permits to withdraw the requested water.
This proclamation shall remain in effect for those counties identified until rescinded by a proclamation ending the declaration or revising the drought stage status of the affected counties.
Effective immediately, the proclamation:
· Declares a Drought Emergency, Warning, or Watch for the counties as identified below;
· Authorizes and directs all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor to implement the appropriate watch, warning, or emergency-level drought response actions assigned in the Operations Plan of the Governor’s Drought Response Team.
The Governor’s Drought Response Team will continue to watch the situation closely and work to minimize the negative drought-induced effects on Kansans.
For more detailed information about current conditions, visit the Climate and Drought webpage on the Kansas Water Office website at kwo.ks.gov.
County Drought Stage Declarations:
Drought Emergency: Hodgeman, Ness, Pawnee, Rush.
Drought Warning: Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, McPherson, Meade, Morton, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Russell, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Sumner, Wichita.
Drought Watch: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Elk, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Graham, Greenwood, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Rawlins, Republic, Riley, Rooks, Saline, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.
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"The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 is the product of extensive feedback from stakeholders and all Members of the House, and is responsive to the needs of farm country through the incorporation of hundreds of bipartisan policies. The release of this draft is a significant step forward in a years-long, deliberative process. The markup is one step in a greater House process, that should not be compromised by misleading arguments, false narratives, or edicts from the Senate. I look forward to engaging with colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we move to markup."
Discussion draft text of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 here.
An updated title-by-title summary can be found here.
To view additional details on the 2024 Farm Bill as they become available, visit: agriculture.house.gov/FarmBill
The Abilene rodeo is the same excellent show, but fans, and especially contestants, will see improvements in the arena.
Abilene resident John McDonald has been working on revamping and updating the timed event end of the arena, the north end where the steer wrestlers, tie-down ropers, team ropers, barrel racers and breakaway ropers begin their runs.
He installed a new timed event chute, built pens for steers and calves, built a new “arrow” chute (to load individual animals in), and constructed new arena fence. He also added pens, gates and a stripping chute at the end for the animals.
The changes will benefit the contestants; the ropers will be able to enter the box from the back, instead of going through the arena to enter through the front. Pens of steers and calves will be located on the north end of the arena, instead of having to send them through the arena during the show, and the steers and calves will be able to be placed according to the order they are needed for competition.
ENTERPRISE, Ala. — Regenerative farming pioneer David Brandt, who passed away recently from complications resulting from an automobile accident, will be honored with his name’s addition to the Kendra Brandt scholarship fund, the Soil Health Academy announced recently.
In 2020, shortly after the death of David’s wife, Kendra, SHA established a fund in her name that provides SHA school scholarships to women and beginning farmers who are committed to growing the regenerative agriculture movement by implementing regenerative principles in their own operations or through regenerative agriculture education, outreach or policy advocacy.
(Washington, D.C., January 23, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced it is extending the effective date of the final rule to list the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act until March 27, 2023. This decision comes after U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. and his colleagues urged the USFWS to delay the rule in a letter this month.
Despite the state’s ag prowess, many don’t have access to nutritious food
By Pat Melgares, K-State Research and Extension news service