SIDNEY HERALD SuNDAY, Nov. 24, 2013 1C

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By Bill Vander WeeleSIDNEY HERALD

This year, the area’s sugar beet harvest took an entire month and finished on Oct. 31.

Russ Fullmer, agriculture manager at Sidney Sugars, noted 80 percent of the harvest was completed by Oct. 10. Then wet conditions created a challenge for the final 20 percent of the beets.

“I’m glad we got 80 percent because they really got in clean,” Fullmer said.

The area’s sugar beet crop finished with a 27.5 tons per acre measurement.

“It’s a little behind last year, but it’s probably our second best one ever,” Fullmer said of the tonnage.

Sugar content was at 16.58 per-cent, which is the lowest in Sidney since 1995.

“There are contributing factors all over the place,” Fullmer said of the low sugar content. “The biggest culprit is always the grow-ing season.” He also mentioned

some beets suffered with disease and some farmers used too much fertilizer.

Fullmer added, “The crop got into the ground a couple weeks late, but the yield is just phenom-enal.”

In comparison, Fullmer said the sugar crop in the Billings area also had good tonnage and low sugar content. American Crystal reports the eastern North Dakota/Min-nesota region had tonnage about 25 and sugar content at about 17. Sugar growers in Michigan and Canada report high tonnage and sugar content at about 18.

Fullmer said the annual Top 10 growers recognition dinner will take place in either the second or third week of January.

Pleasant View, around the Glendive area, seemed to have the highest sugar content while the Fairview area appeared to have the best tonnage.

“But everybody was kinda in there,” Fullmer said.

Beet harvest produces near record tonnage

SubmIttED

This year’s harvest took the entire month of October.

SubmIttED

The beet on the pickup windshield is the winner of Sidney Sugar’s big beet contest. It weighed 29 pounds.

By SteVe daineSu.S. REpRESENtAtIvE

One of the best parts of my job is traveling our state and meeting with Montanans. I’ve put a lot of miles on my pick up over the past year, but there’s no better drive and no better view than being on a Montana highway or gravel road.

Whenever I drive through eastern Montana, I see signs of our state’s strong agriculture heritage at every turn of the road. And there is no other time of year when the importance of agricul-ture to our state’s economy and way of life is clearer than during harvest.

Agriculture is the backbone of Montana’s economy. As a fifth-generation Montanan, I have a deep appreciation for the value of this industry to our state and an even greater respect for the hard-working farmers who spend long days in the fields — especially

in the late summer and fall when there’s a crop to be cut.

One in five Montana jobs relies on agriculture, an industry that drives millions of dollars into our state’s economy every year.

That’s one of the reasons why passing a five-year Farm Bill into law is so important. I am hopeful that the House and Senate can quickly work together and find agreement on a long-term Farm Bill that provides Montana’s ag producers and rural communities with the certainty they need and deserve.

But agriculture is more than the economic driver of our state — it’s a way of life for thousands of Montana families. This is no more evident than in eastern Montana, where families have lived off the land for generations.

More than 100 years ago, my own great-great-grandmother — a tough widow and mother of seven — headed west to Montana, where

she homesteaded just an hour north of Great Falls. It wasn’t easy — but for this Norwegian widow, as well as so many homesteaders who came to eastern Montana in search of freedom and opportu-nity, it was well worth it.

Agriculture is a part of our state’s heritage. Our homestead-ers, farmers and ranchers have helped shape Montana and ensure that our state remains a great place to work and call home.

Harvest provides an opportunity for us to reflect on this industry’s importance to our state — and just as importantly, thank our farmers for the work they do.

As Montana’s sole voice in the U.S. House of Representatives, I remain committed to serving as an advocate for Montana’s farmers and ranchers and I look forward to working on behalf of all of our ag producers as I serve our state in Washington, D.C.

daines salutes growers for harvest 2013

By Tim FineExtEnsion agEnt

Another crop production year has come and gone and I can say with some amount of certainty that, in the four crop production cycles that I have witnessed, no two of them have been alike.

This year was highlighted by early spring rains that delayed planting in some areas quite a bit but al-lowed for enough moisture to get the crop off to a good start. This was followed by some significant amounts of moisture that ultimately lead to disease pressure in many of our fields.

Then, just as we thought we were sailing smoothly on to harvest, many producers in the Yellowstone Valley

around Sidney received significant hail damage which really knocked back the sugar beets and leveled many wheat and barley stands. All in all, however, I would still dub this year’s harvest as a success across the board. There certainly were challenges along the way, but I think that most of the crop came in with fairly decent yields.

Small GrainSI always try to find hard

and fast facts whenever possible because in discuss-ing the crop with producers I typically only get reports when the crop is either re-ally good or really bad. So for a report on the wheat and barley crop, I turned to the harvest reports from the

Montana Wheat and Barley Committee (http://wbc.agr.mt.gov/wbc/Buyers/Qual-ity_reports/).

This report does not have yield figures for eastern Montana, but my assump-tion based on anecdotal evi-

dence (barber shop talk) is that the winter, spring, and durum wheats all yielded fairly well. Test weights, according to the statistics were up but protein was down quite a bit. While this

information encompasses all of eastern Montana, I feel it is a pretty fair assess-ment of the results we found here in Richland County.

There is no hard and fast data on the 2013 barley crop that I could find. However, I believe it fared just as well as the wheat crop did, with one exception. For whatever reason, much of the crop that was harvested early had a considerable amount of sprout damage and, as such, did not make malting quality. As harvest progressed, I believe that this situation became less drastic but there was quite a bit of the first few fields that were harvested that had to be sent into the feed barley market.

alFalFa and oTher hayFortunately for our

livestock producers, we had another good hay year. With last year’s crop not being so great, this hopefully helped to alleviate some concerns

with having enough hay to get through the winter.

This can be supported by the most recent weekly Montana Hay report out of Billings (http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/bl_gr310.txt) which states that “All classes of hay continue to trend steady. Interest is very light to light for all classes of hay, with light to moderate demand… Hay supplies are adequate assuming that they don’t receive a very hard winter that lasts late into spring.

SuGar BeeTSI would say that the sugar

beet campaign this year was another successful one. Harvest seemed to progress rather quickly this year compared to others.

Tonnage appeared to be pretty good, but sugar con-tent was maybe not as high as it has been in the past. I was pleasantly surprised to see how fast the sugar beet crop that got hailed out in

and around Sidney put new leaves on and continued to grow. This however, did not help with increasing the sugar content of the crop.

Corn

I really have not heard much of anything in regards to the corn crop. I believe that just about all of the crop is harvested, and this was a really good year for corn production.

We started off the year lacking the heat units to get the crop going but made up for it in the middle and end of the crop’s produc-tion cycle. The problem with the corn crop that was harvested for grain is that much of the nation had a good corn growing season and, as such, prices are not as strong as they have been in the past. This is not a con-cern for those that harvest to corn for silage though and I assume that there was plenty of good silage harvested.

PulSe CroPS and oilSeedS Our pulse crop and

oilseed producers I would guess are pretty happy with this year’s crop. There were a few fields that had some disease issues because of the wet spring that we had but all in all, it was a pretty good year for these crops as well. The weather cooperat-ed for the most part when it was time to harvest and this allowed for a fairly quick harvest period.

I guess that all in all, one could classify this year’s harvest as another fairly successful one. There were localized bouts of hail and wind damage that complete-ly leveled some crops, graz-ing land, and hay stands but even in most of those spots, a fair amount of the crop was able to be harvested.

In closing, I just want to say as sincerely as pos-sible, thank you to those of you who spend your lives making sure that the rest of us have food on our plate. I truly appreciate all that you do and I know it’s a thank-less job most of the time.

Harvest wrap2C sunday, nov. 24, 2013 sidnEy HERaLd

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on another successful

richland County experiences fairly successful harvest in 2013

‘all in all, however,

i would still dub this

year’s harvest as a

success across

the board.’

Tim FineExtension agent

Harvest wrapSIDNEY HERALD SuNDAY, Nov. 24, 2013 3C

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By Steve BullockMoNtANA govERNoR

Montana farms and ranch-es — especially family farms — are the backbone of Montana. They’re economic drivers for our state and a crucial part of the fabric of our rural communities.

As Montanans, we’re proud of our dynamic agriculture industry and the Sidney area is a major contributor to that success. Richland and other nearby counties have been leaders in the growing diversity of commodities produced in Montana.

The northeast part of the state provides significant quantities of durum, peas and lentils, sugar beets, malting barley, alfalfa and increasing amounts of corn and soybeans.

Revenue from wheat production will exceed $1 billion, with yield and total production exceeding last year. Livestock revenue is very strong and will also exceed a billion dollars. When producer revenue from other cereal crops, other livestock products, pulse and bean crops, oil seed crops, sugar beets, hay and other commodities are added together, Montana’s total agriculture revenue earned by producers may exceed $4 billion dollars the first time. This revenue provides an economic foun-dation for Montana’s small towns and larger cities, and for Montana as a whole.

Each growing season

encounters difficulties that producers must overcome. Montana was very dry this spring and it looked like it would be a disastrous year until it started to rain, just in time. Producers antici-pated and many realized a harvest with excellent pro-duction, however Montana also had one of the worst hail seasons in history which severely impacted some individual producers.

Consumers in Montana and around the world are thankful for the long hours that our farmers and ranchers work and for the enormous risks they take to put food on the table for all of us. It is great that our wheat and beef producers continue to produce top quality products; however it is even more exciting to see the strong effort to diversify into other commodities and value added products. It is no wonder that we have more young people choosing a career in agriculture each year.

We must all continue to work on issues that will allow Mon-tana’s agricul-ture to pros-per. A five-year farm bill with an adequate

safety net must be enacted. Research dollars are needed for Montana’s growing agricultural diversity with an emphasis placed on the needs of producers. Trans-portation rates and service in Montana must encourage the production of new com-modities and value added products rather than hinder their development.

Montana agriculture needs to expand process-ing capabilities in the state. Our Food and Ag Develop-ment Centers and Growth Through Agriculture Pro-gram can act as a catalyst for future processing.

A strong partnership between producers and consumers, and everyone in between, will allow our agriculture industry to create more jobs, contribute to enhanced educational efforts, and work with state government to insure that it continues to become more effective and efficient.

governor: Proud of dynamic ag industry

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406-433-2305 • 404 N. Central Ave., Sidney • www.ReynoldsMarket.com

Bigger STORE, Same FRIENDLY PEOPLE,

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Thank You Agriculture Industry!WAY TO GO ON ALL YOUR SUCCESS

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Harvest wrap4C sunday, nov. 24, 2013 sIdnEy HERaLd

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Contact your local grower dealerCulbertson, Fairview and North

Phil Hurley(h) 701.744.3331(c) 406.489.0416

Sidney and SouthKeith Nelson

(h) 406.798.3458(c) 406.480.2026

Rocky Mountain Region Sales RepresentativeRon Groskopf

(w) 307.672.8997 ext 106 (c) 307.620.2803 (e) ron.groskopf@beetseed.com

3

We love agriculture.

(It’s a good thing, since that’s all we do.)Advancing Rural America’s Success.

123 N. Central Ave. • Sidney • 406-433-3920 • 800-769-1040www.farm-credit.com

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216 S. Ellery, Fairview406-742-5203

We Salute our beet growers.Sidney Sugars & all area producers on

completion of another successful

Harvest!

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By Sarah BloomsIdnEy HERaLd

In short, Randi Hass, president of the Sidney Saddle Club, says horse owners in the area have very few options, espe-cially if people are new to the area. As a resident for about 15 years in the area, Hass said networking and knowing people makes all the differences.

“We offer summer boarding, April through October,” Hass said of the Sidney Saddle Club, located behind the fairgrounds and across the street from the Sidney Country Club. “We would like to expand our summer boarding, but it funds to build more pens and to get more space.”

Whether or not the Bak-ken oil field boom has been a contributing factor in the issues owners face is yet to be determined, but Hass said some people at the club are hesitant to really put

the funds in to expand be-cause one day, the demand may not be there.

During the winter months, though, the saddle club doesn’t have the facili-ty to board horses. The club blows out the water lines because of the inevitable freeze they might endure. Installing something that would hold through the winter is just too pricey.

“It would be nice to be able to keep some horses because I know some people get desperate and say ‘I’ll haul the water, I’ll do whatever,’ but our policy just as of now is no winter horses.”

Options that owners may take include shipping their horses back home, whether it be nearby Idaho, or down South around Arkansas. Other options just remain slim.

“I know some families have to send their horses back,” Hass said. “They haven’t found anything

to keep their horses here through the winter.”

If people thought trying to find housing in the area is difficult on their own — try finding a place to rent with a few 1,200-pound animals right behind you. Chances are, you won’t find a 10-acre ranch style house for rent, none at least at a reasonable price.

Troubles don’t necessar-ily end for owners if in fact they do find winter board for their horses.

Other factors that make it difficult to shelter the ani-mals include finding, and paying, for hay, and build-ing a relationship with a local farrier, if you can find one, and getting area large

animal veterinarians to care for the animals.

With very few options in the area for farriers and vets, it’s just inevitable that people will run into sched-uling issues, if the service provider will even take new

clients on board.Hass hopes that in the

future, the Sidney Saddle Club can take the financial measures to expand the facility, but it will take dedi-cation to fundraising to get the project done.

Facebook groups like Horse Connect MonDak Area and Eastern Mon-tana Ranch and Farm, to name a few, are great tools to utilize if people look to network with other eques-trians in the area. Hass said she has repeatedly heard people saying they use the groups for help with things in the horse industry.

While the saddle club held all the horses it could for the most part during this past summer, other events and family nights that go on at the club may interest area equestrians unfamiliar with the area.

For questions about the club, call Hass at 480-0141.

Challenge increases to house horses during winter months

ELLEn WznIck | sIdnEy HERaLd

Horses head for water on a field near Highway 16.

ELLEn WznIck | sIdnEy HERaLd

Options that owners may take include shipping their horses back home, whether it be nearby Idaho, or down South around Arkansas.

‘It would be nice to be able to keep some horses

because I know some people get desperate and

say ‘I’ll haul the water, I’ll do whatever,’ but our

policy just as of now is no winter horses.’

randi hasssidney saddle club president

Harvest wrapSIDNEY HERALD SuNDAY, Nov. 24, 2013 5C

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CONGRATULATIONSarea farmers and

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By Jon TesTeru.S. SENAtoR

I join all Montanans in celebrating this year’s har-vest in Richland County and across our state.

Agriculture is the number one industry in Montana. Whether it’s sugar beets, oats or wheat, I know how hard farmers work to get to harvest.

As the only working farmer in the Senate, I recog-nize the time and effort that goes into making a living off the land. And I bring my unique perspective to the table when working with other members of Congress on important legislation. And no legislation is more important right now than the Farm Bill.

Farmers and ranchers need the certainty of a long-term Farm Bill. Unfortu-nately, despite the Senate passing a responsible Farm Bill earlier this year that saved taxpayers more than $20 billion, politics got in the way of good policy.

Instead of coming to the table with constructive ideas on how to improve the Farm Bill, the House of Repre-sentatives chose to practice slash-and-burn politics. By making drastic and irre-

sponsible cuts to nutrition assistance, they won’t solve our budget problems. But they will put vulnerable Montana families at risk.

I am working hard to make sure that these cuts don’t happen, because nutrition assistance not only helps feed families, it also puts more money in the pockets of Montana farmers and boosts our economy.

I am also working to block measures in the House’s Farm Bill that let big meat-packing corporations con-trol the market for smaller livestock producers. These kinds of anti-competitive practices gouge producers and go against the freedoms that we as Montanans value. And I am supporting efforts to make sure Montana ranchers who were hit hard by the 2012 drought finally get the support they need.

It’s my responsibility to stand up for all hard-work-ing Montanans. That’s why I will keep pushing members of Congress to find common ground and pass a Farm Bill that provides a strong safety net, saves taxpayer money and supports strong future harvests in Montana.

To all my fellow Treasure State farmers and ranchers, thanks for all you do.

Order Gross $/A No. % of Mean

No. Variety Name NSP $28.00 Tests Ext. /A+/T Lbs Rank % of Mean Lbs Rank % of Mean % Rank % of Mean Tons Rank % of Mean % Ext.1 BTS 49RR1N $1,389 6 202.4 9,294 1 102.2 302 3 100.2 16.08 3 99.7 30.0 1 102.0 93.92 Crystal RR081 $1,386 6 202.1 9,181 2 101.0 305 2 101.1 16.29 2 101.0 29.4 3 99.9 93.43 Crystal RR022NT $1,357 6 199.8 8,965 3 98.6 305 1 101.2 16.30 1 101.1 28.7 4 97.7 93.54 Crystal RR052 $1,340 6 195.7 8,926 4 98.2 294 4 97.5 15.85 4 98.2 29.6 2 100.5 92.6

9,091 301.7 16.13 29.4 93.49,091 301.7 16.13 29.4 93.4

Order Gross $/A No. % of Mean

No. Variety Name NSP $28.00 Tests Ext. /A+/T Lbs Rank % of Mean Lbs Rank % of Mean % Rank % of Mean Tons Rank % of Mean % Ext.1 SV36046N RR $1,317 6 196.1 8,820 1 97.0 299 1 99.1 15.91 1 98.7 28.9 1 98.2 93.8

8,820 299.0 15.91 28.9 93.89,091 301.7 16.13 29.4 93.4

Group Average:Mean of Approved Varieties:

Location: All - Seed Committee Varieties With Three Years: Results Data From 2011 To 2013Test, Limited, Specialty and Introductory Varieties

Ext. Sugar / Acre Ext. Sugar / Ton Sugar Tons / Acre

Group Average:Mean of Approved Varieties:

Location: All - Seed Committee Varieties With Three Years: Results Data From 2011 To 2013

Approved Varieties

Ext. Sugar / Acre Ext. Sugar / Ton Sugar Tons / Acre

tester salutes Montana’s farmersBy AmericAn sugAr AlliAnce

The U.S. candy business is booming.

While most industries constricted, U.S. confection-ers and other makers of sugar-containing products (SCP) have added jobs since 2006, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Domestic SCP plants are announcing major expan-sions. Foreign SCP compa-nies are opening plants in America. Share prices for top SCP companies have out-paced other stocks. And net profit margins in the sector were 60 percent higher than other food manufacturers between 2004 and 2012.

So why in the world would two national news publications like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times write articles about U.S. sugar prices pushing confectioners abroad?

“It’s simply not true,” said Jack Roney, an econo-mist with the American Sugar Alliance. “U.S. sugar prices are low, and candy companies are thriving and expanding.”

Roney pointed to Depart-ment of Commerce data showing increased candy

production in America in recent years, as well as a list of candy factory expansions announced since 2011.

Among those domestic expansions was Spangler Candy, an Ohio based company that the New York Times ironically used as its primary example of a flee-ing candy company.

“American candy produc-ers, like [Spangler Candy] the maker of Dum Dum lollipops, are moving jobs to Mexico to take advantage of the lower sugar prices there,” read the New York Times article.

Actually, according to a press release from Spangler Candy, it needed more space to keep up with booming sales, and its growth plan was two-fold.

First, it added 20,000 square feet to its Ohio plant as part of a $5 million ex-pansion project to produce branded products. Second, it procured space in Mexico to produce generic candy it makes for other companies’ labels.

“Bottom line, Spangler has expanded its U.S. pres-ence, not relocated,” Roney said. “If any companies have relocated, it’s because of cheaper labor, lower taxes, and reduced regula-tory burdens, not sugar.”

But the New York Times failed to report on U.S. expansions by Spangler and others, and, like a similar Wall Street Journal article, completely missed the mark on sugar prices, Roney said.

“Today, sugar is cheaper in America than it is in Mexico, Canada and most other countries,” he ex-plained.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, candy companies paid an average of 26 cents for a pound of sugar in October — the exact same price they paid in 1983.

Mexican sugar prices, meanwhile, traded for 27 cents per pound in October.

As for world prices, it would currently cost 28 cents per pound to import refined sug-ar from the world market.

Roney pointed to other prices to drive home his point that sugar is being wrongly vilified by a hand-ful of reporters.

“U.S. candy companies purchasing sugar today are paying about the same today as they did 30 years ago,” he said, “but the cost of a candy bar has jumped 300 percent over that same time. If someone’s getting rich in this scenario, it isn’t the sugar producer.”

Both articles surfaced as Congress started negotiat-ing differences between the House and Senate’s compet-ing versions of the pending Farm Bill. While those bills contain many differences, they both have the same sugar policy provisions.

“Congress recognizes the need to provide an adequate safety net for sugar farm-ers facing low, stagnant prices,” he said. “That’s why both the House and Senate rejected repeated attempts by candy companies to gut that policy and outsource America’s sugar produc-tion.”

national news misses mark on candyland ‘u.s. sugar prices

are low, and candy

companies are thriving

and expanding.’

Jack roneyAmerican Sugar Alliance

Harvest wrapSIDNEY HERALD SuNDAY, Nov. 24, 2013 7C

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A non-profit county wide Economic Development Corporation1060 S. Central Avenue StE 3, Sidney, MT 59270 • 482-4679 • Fax: 406-482-5552

redc@midrivers.com • www.RichlandEconomicDevelopment.comLeslie Messer, Executive Director • Katie Dasinger, Project Assistant

2013

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U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture to back off new poultry and meat processing rules that help the world’s largest meatpacking companies at the expense of smaller pro-cessing facilities and local food producers.

Tester is questioning USDA plans to allow the largest meat processing plants to speed up their inspection process, saying the practice will increase big meatpackers’ advan-tage in the market, reduce oversight and lead to more health and safety viola-tions.

USDA’s proposed new rules for poultry processing facilities allow for animal carcasses to move through the line more quickly with fewer safety inspectors. Tester wants the depart-ment to stop and review the draft poultry rules and a similar meat process-ing program, pointing to data that shows processing facilities with faster lines and fewer inspectors have more health and safety violations.

“These recent USDA actions threaten to take rural America and con-sumer confidence in the wrong direction,” Tester told Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Given these violations and the lack of thorough food safety evaluations, any attempt by USDA to expand this altered inspection approach is misguided and prema-ture.”

“Sen. Tester is right to ask tough questions of the USDA,” said Gynnie Rob-nett with the Coalition for Sensible Safeguard. “The administration’s proposal to replace some federal

food inspectors with food company employees could threaten the safety of the poultry we serve to our families during the holi-days and throughout the year, and has worrying im-plications for workers who are already doing one of the most dangerous jobs in America. Congress should investigate whether the Agriculture Department’s proposal is the right thing to do.”

Tester is also urging USDA to reinstate the ban that prevents cooked chick-en from China from being sold in the United States. Tester says the ban keeps chicken from a country “with an atrocious record

on food safety” out of the U.S. and wants the depart-ment to require labeling of processed food from China and other countries.

Tester also wants USDA to expand opportunities for small and local meat pro-cessors. He says too many Montana ranchers do not have access to the slaughter and processing facilities needed to sell their goods.

Tester, the Senate’s only working farmer, recently removed the controversial “Monsanto Protection Act” from a government funding bill, saying the measure’s removal was a “victory for American consumers and family farm agriculture.”

Tester to USDA: Don’t choose bigmeat packers over small producers

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 28th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day din-ner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.04, a 44-cent price decrease from last year’s average of $49.48.

“The cost of this year’s meal, at less than $5 per serving, remains an excellent value for consumers,” said American Farm Bureau President President Bob Stallman, a rice and cattle producer from Texas. “Amer-ica’s farm and ranch families are honored to produce the food from our nation’s land for family Thanksgiving celebrations.”

He added, “During this holiday season, many farmers and ranchers will be reach-ing out to consumers in-person or through social media, to answer questions about the food that they grow or the poultry and livestock they raise.”

The survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a

family of 10 with plenty for leftovers. The big ticket item — a 16-pound tur-

key — came in at $21.76 this year. That was roughly $1.36 per pound, a decrease of about 3 cents per pound, or a total of 47 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2012. The whole bird was the biggest contributor to the final total, showing the largest price decrease compared to last year.

“When you think you can feed a family of 10 this wonderful meal for less than $5 per person, it says a lot about the productiv-ity of American agriculture. It is certainly something for which to be thankful,” said Janet Krob, Montana Farm Bureau, who did the price checking in Bozeman for this sur-vey. “Our farmers and ranchers take pride in providing you with comfort food not only at Thanksgiving but every day of the year.”

Strategic shoppers may pay even less for frozen tom turkey compared to the 167 volunteer shoppers who checked prices at grocery stores in 34 states.

“In addition to the turkey, other items that declined in price included a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, $2.18; one pound of

green peas, $1.54; a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.67; fresh cranber-ries, $2.42; a half pint of whipping cream, $1.85; and two nine-inch pie shells, $2.49.

Items that showed a moderate price in-crease from last year included three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.36; one gallon of whole milk, $3.66; and a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.10.

In Montana, some prices were slightly higher than the average. For instance, tur-key was priced at $1.49 per pound, pumpkin pie mix was $3.99 and cube stuffing was $3.49. On the other hand, sweet potatoes, brown and serve rolls and whipping cream were substantially lower that the national average.

In addition, a combined group of mis-cellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter) increased to $3.20. A one-pound relish tray of carrots and celery increased to 81 cents.

The average cost of the dinner has remained around $49 since 2011. Further, despite retail price increases during the last year or so, American consumers have en-joyed relatively stable food costs in general over the years, particularly when adjusted for inflation.

The stable average price reported this year by Farm Bureau for a classic Thanksgiving dinner tracks closely with the government’s Consumer Price Index for food eaten at home (available online at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf), which indicates a 1 percent increase compared to a year ago.

The survey was first conducted in 1986. While Farm Bureau does not make any scientific claims about the data, it is an informal gauge of price trends around the nation.

Farm Bureau’s survey menu has re-mained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons

Cost of classic Thanksgiving dinner down from 2012

Hope Kincheloe, who hails from Dillon, won the Montana Farm Bureau Fed-eration Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet during the Montana Farm Bureau Federation Conven-tion at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. The Discussion Meet is meant to simulate a committee meet-ing with ideas discussed and solutions developed.

Kincheloe shared ideas with two other participants regarding the question: “How can we encourage young farmers and ranch-

ers to be involved in Farm Bureau? How can young producers lead even if they don’t hold positions on the board?”

Kincheloe, who was raised on a sheep and cattle ranch in the Musselshell Valley, noted, “There are 23 million people involved in production agriculture, so we have a big footstep to fill. We need to reach out not only to our ag produc-ers but to those involved in the agricultural business sector such as agricultural finance and agricultural retail. I feel being involved with these groups, and of course engaging our fellow producers, is a good place to start recruiting more young people to be involved.”

She said it is important to

identify key issues and use work on those issues for re-taining and recruiting new members. “We need to hone in on issues that need to be addressed, and use those issues to encourage others in the community to be lead-ers. It’s important we get them to advocate what we’re doing as well as spread the word about all of the good work Farm Bureau does.”

Kincheloe won $500 from the Montana Farm Bureau and an all-expense paid trip to compete in the national competition at the Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federa-tion Convention in January in San Antonio. The winner of the national competition drives home in a new GMC/Chevrolet truck.

Kincheloe wins young farmer discussion meet

SubmIttED

Hope Kincheloe, left, Dillon shares ideas with Pat Hackley, Culbertson, regarding how to encourage young people to be involved in Farm Bureau during the Montana Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet.

Bob Hanson, a rancher from White Sulphur Springs, has been re-elected president of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation. Bruce Wright, a farmer from Bozeman, was re-elect-ed as vice president of the state’s largest agricultural organization.

Troy Kurth, who owns and operates TK Quarter Horses in Missoula was re-elected as District 1 director. Jen-nifer Bergin, a Melstone cattle rancher, was elected as District 3 replacing Bill Jones from Harlowton who termed out after six years of service on the board. Mack Cole, a Hysham rancher, was re-elected as District 5 director. Tom Depuydt, a cattle producer and grain farmer from Saco was elected as District 7 direc-tor replacing Jim Bowman from Hinsdale who termed out. Ken Johnson, a wheat farmer from Conrad, was re-elected as District 9 director.

Gretchen Schubert, a rancher from Huntley, was re-elected as the new Mon-tana Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee chair.

Jenny Stovall, a cattle rancher from Billings, was elected as the Montana Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer and Rancher committee chair replacing Peter Taylor of Kirby who had reached the age limit.

More than 400 people attended the Convention at the Billings Hotel and Con-vention Center. The event started with the Montana Farm Bureau Foundation Youth Speech Contest and concluded with the final delegate session.

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By Max Baucusu.s. sEnatoR

One in five Montana jobs rely on agriculture. Richland County is a real economic engine for the state as it ranks first in sugar beet and safflower production, first in acre-age for oats and provides a good portion of the state’s barley and wheat harvests. Richland County is also an important livestock pro-ducer in the state.

As one of the most pro-ductive agricultural coun-ties in the state, Richland County’s harvest supports jobs across Montana both on and off the fields. Dur-ing harvest, it’s important that we take time to recog-nize both the contributions of our Richland County farmers and ranchers and the incredible risks they take to strengthen our ag-riculture industry which is the backbone of Montana’s economy.

Between the weather and prices, farmers, ranchers and agriculture-related businesses have enough unpredictability thrown at them every day without Congress adding uncertain-ty. They deserve a five-year Farm Bill they can count on to make business decisions for themselves and their kids and grandkids. As one of 12 senators appointed to the joint Farm Bill conference committee, it’s critical that folks back in

Washington understand the unique challenges facing our sugar beet farmers and stockgrowers in Richland County.

I recently spent the day working on a farm in Fort Benton. The view from the combine reminded me of the job I have ahead. Our Farm Bill goals should look the same whether we’re sitting in a combine or a Congressional Hearing Room. But, too often priorities get lost in the 2,000 miles between the Capital Building and the field.

During the first meeting of the Farm Bill conference committee, I shared some of the top Montana priori-ties I’ll be fighting for over the coming weeks:

• Making Livestock Disas-ter Assistance Programs I created in 2008 permanent;

• Making sure programs for farmers are designed in a way that works for Mon-tana’s large, rural counties;

• Finding a responsible balance between cutting waste and protecting pro-grams that feed Montana families in tough times; and

• Making sure the Forest Service has tools to fight Bark Beetle infestation and protect Montana timber jobs.

The Farm Bill is a huge

opportunity to show people that Congress can work for them. The Farm Bill is about jobs. Our agricul-ture industry faces enough unpredictability, and I see the Farm Bill as an impor-tant vehicle for delivering some certainty for farm-ers, ranchers and all of

the businesses that rely on agriculture to support their bottom lines.

This is my sixth Farm Bill. I’m determined to leave Montanans with cer-tainty they can count on so that harvest time contin-ues to be a profitable time of the year in Richland County and beyond.

Max Baucus is Montana’s senior

U.S. senator. He is chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, and a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Baucus is currently appointed to serve as one of 12 U.S. Senators on the joint conference committee tasked with meshing the Senate and U.S. House versions of the Farm Bill into a piece of legislation ready to become law.

Baucus: Richland county harvest fuels Montana jobs

BaucussubmIttEd

Richland County ranks first in sugar beet and safflower production in Montana. ‘The Farm Bill is a huge

opportunity to show

people that congress

can work for them.’

Max Baucusu.s. senator