Working Ranch Magazine March/April 2025

that’s an improvement BY PEYTON VALENTINE Cross-Fencing Considerations You have options, which works best for you?

roper pasture utilization is an important obstacle to overcome for any operation. It allows for making the most of grazing op portunities and ensures the greatest success of a herd. An ef fective way to overcome that obstacle, depending on your cir cumstances, is cross-fencing. Both permanent, temporary, a hybrid of the two, or virtual options might help make grazing and rota tions of your herd more effective.

Effective watering systems, not spaced too far apart, ensure that cattle can easily forage in a pasture equally, rather than favoring one area within the radius of a water source. Berger points out that “If ranchers can increase water capacity and flow delivery, then they can group cat tle together and sometimes existing fences are all they need.” Before stretching wire or pounding posts, consider taking a serious look at water systems. There are still areas where cross-fencing will enhance forage capacity where water is available.

In assessing whether cross-fenc ing in some form might work on an operation, start by looking not down the fence line, but at your watering systems. Nebraska State Extension Educator, Aaron Berger, emphasizes,

“In my experience, in western range land, almost always the first limiting factor as far as effective use of range land and pasture is probably water. So water development in my mind always comes before the fence.”

WR MARCH 2025 ISSUE DEDICATION FROM THE EDITOR Dear Reader, We have been honored over the run of the magazine to have been blessed with a loyal stable of freelance writers that unfailingly deliver stories you and I would love to read. The most recent addi tion to our list of esteemed journalists was a young man by the name of Peyton Valentine whose very first article of what we believed would be a long run was published in the previous issue, January February 2025. UNITED STATES CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION COMMENDS USDA FOR STEPS TO IMPROVE COMPETITION AND FAIRNESS USCA IS EAGER TO SUBMIT COMMENTS AND CONTINUE MOMENTUM WASHINGTON – The USDA announced several steps to improve competition and ensure fairness in the livestock marketplace. Among those was the interim report of the inves tigation into competition in the meat retail industry and a rulemaking effort under the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921 to enhance price discovery in fed cattle markets. United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is currently reviewing the report and the proposed rulemaking

God, in his infinite wisdom, had other plans. Peyton was called home on December 21, 2024 before he could see his name on the WR masthead and a print byline. His family told us he was excited about the opportunity to write for us. It was a dream of his to share the ranching life he lived and loved. We’re so glad he made it, if only for a short time. Go on and gather us up some good horses, Peyton, we’ll be there one day and you can show us around the outfit.

CONTRIBUTORS Jaime Pullman, Gilda V. Bryant, Loretta Sorensen, Bert Entwistle, Terryn Drieling, James Beckham, Burt Rutherford, Peyton Valentine Shaie Williams, Tiffany Selchow, Linay Williams, & Jade Currid.

www.workingranchmag.com VOLUME 20 / NUMBER 1

22 I JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025 WORKING RANCH audited readers run 21 million head of beef cattle.

to be presented in the Price Discovery and Competition in Markets for Fed Cattle Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). For years, our group has sought avenues to increase price discovery and transparency in fed cattle markets and we look forward to submitting comments to further our efforts to foster a fair and competitive market for all cattle producers. “USCA appreciates the efforts by USDA to gather input from our indus try on both the investigation and for the proposed price discovery options. Their willingness to connect with pro ducers and organizations like USCA is appreciated and helps yield rule making procedures that make a difference for those of us in the countryside.”

and released the following statement shortly after USDA’s announcement. “We commend USDA for their inves tigation into competition and fairness in the meat industry and hope iden tifying the trend of continued consol idation will help inform future deci sions. We look forward to their con tinued investigation efforts, to further research the concerns raised, largely by small and mid-sized, independent farmers and ranchers and processors like those that make up USCA. As we further analyze the interim report, we will begin drafting comments for the upcoming AMS proposed rulemaking,” USCA President Justin Tupper said. “USCA is also carefully reviewing the preview of the price discovery options

20 I MARCH 2025 WORKING RANCH audited readers run 21 million head of beef cattle.