Show J 'Wayne McArthur 31 V 31 Classified ads 34 By Jennifer Hines agriculture editor The horse locks eyes with the cow A quick shift in direction on the cow’s part elicits an immediate response from the bay Head and chest down he rears back on his hind legs then pivots and ir two steps ahead of the mindless dummy The black Styrofoam cow controlled through a switch at the nearby and races halfway operator's fingertips jerks arena at Buford “Junior" Swanson’s place in around the bay-color- back-and-for- 100-fo- th ot Hyrum Swanson 80 and friends DeWitt Palmer and “Swede” Hansen skills gather most mornings to train their horses in What’s different about their training device' is the motorized controls which keep the artificial cow rolling along the rope cow-cutti- draglines stretched around the arena Equipped with a quick-revercapability the controls are easier on the operator than propelling the dragline by pedalling a bicycle — the more conventional method The new training device is the brainchild of Swanson who says he spent many nights and tried three different mechanisms before he found the right one In addition to the motorized power Swanson’s aparatus runs in a around the arena rather than in a straight line another plus for the training horses he says Swanson was looking for a better method for training cutting and sketched it up and got a horses so he “dreamed it up welder" he says Training with an artificial cow is much cheaper and offers more control than training with live cattle Swanson ezplains A cowboy load of live cattle a week Palmer can go through a semi-truc- k says "They go sour on you" he ezplains that is they quit trying to outrun the norse Swanson says the mechanical device is "the best thing for a and get him in a young horse You can drill him in weak spots Once down he the horse can draw cattle the pattern pattern gets to him" Swanson ought to know Up until years ago he competed in cutting skills for “30 to 35 years’"An injury to his back stopped his traveling Besides he says “you get tired of chasing around and it gets expensive” - Swanson was given his first horse for his third birthday and has “never been without one since" se half-circ- le ' His bay stallion double-bre- d from Doc Bar shows his cutting skills in spite of little work over the last year Cutting is hard work and a horse can turn between 30 to 50 turns in five minutes of training Swanson says The best cutting horses “have the cow bred into them" While cutting Kills are important when running a cattle drive today most cutting is done competitively in the arena Swanson said Cutting competitions for grabs are “big business" with large purses up Some of the riders at Swanson's place last week are competitors others use cutting training simply as a discipline for themselves and their horses “It's one way for me to improve” says Rich Jones 31 of Hyrum "The better broke your horse is the better it performs whether you use it or not" Anyone who's interested in cutting is welcome to drop by Swanson says He need not anticipate a shortage of interested folks doing just that As Palmer says "Cow cutters never die 'cuz they've always got next year's prospect in the barn" 'Junior' Swanson practices his cutting skills Pork producers vote this week Cache County pork producers are urged to vote this Wednesday or Thursday on whether to continue paying into a fund that promotes pork consumption nationwide Producers can vote at the Utah State University Extension office located in the Cache County Courthouse 179 N Main Logan between the hours of 8 am to 5 enhance their yards shrub beds that haven’t been mulched before remove sod two inches deep at least 18 inches around small trees and more around bigger trees This will improve the appearance and make mowing the lawn easier Then apply a three-inc-h layer of mulch and level it with a rake Baker says hardwood bark mulch also makes good paths and surfacing material under children's playground equipment Along the sides of the house it can reduce mud splattering and along sidewalks and driveways it keeps the grass back and reduces the need for trimming might consider hardwood bark mulch Pork producers who have produced and “Hardwood bark mulch protects and owned two or more hogs or pigs for sale beautifies plants" says Fred Baker Utah from Nov 1 1996 to present are eligible to State University Extension forester “The vote in the referendum mulch is easy to apply and maintain and is This includes partnerships and corporarelatively inexpensive tions as well as spouses and youth who Baker said the mulch usually comes in have produced or owned hogs for sale in bags of three cubic feet enough to cover 36 Coliform mastitis increases in summer their own names square feet an inch deep Hot summer months increase the risk of The mulch which can be applied about Money raised from this checkoff is used for advertising promotion consumer and any time helps conserve soil moisture and dairy cows contracting an udder disease education research programs weeds It also virtually eliminates called coliform mastitis This type of mastitis is caused by a group wind erosion and improves soil Hardwood bark mulch can spruce up yard texture and aeration See HUBER on page 32 Homeowners looking for a way to To apply the mulch around trees and PIUa Xss August Farm Price Index rose - The Farm WASHINGTON (UPI) Price Index fueled by drought-induce- d high grain prices ano rebounding livethis month rose 21 percent stock prices standing 13 percent above last year's level the government said last Tuesday August index for feed grains and Is 68 percent above the August 1967 hay mark the Agriculture Department aaid in its monthly report on prices paid to index farmers In July the reached its higheat level in four years The index rose 21 percent this month and now is 13 percent above Its August all-prod- 19871evel “Higher prices for cattle apples tomatoes ana lettuce were partially offset by lower prices for cotton corn onions and soybeans" the report said “Average prices for beef cattle and calves creased sharply from July but were below the high levels recorded during February through March of this year" Bed cattle prices averaged $6640 up $320 per hundredweight since July Hog prices were up slightly Milk prices were up 20 cents to $1160 per 100 pounds but they are 60 cents m-T- he 21 percent below the price recorded in August 1987 Although the feed grains and hay index is 68 percent above last August it declined 28 percent from July Corn was down 6 cents a bushel to average $266 in Sorghum was down 23 cents to $433 oats were down 28 cents to $258 and barley decreased 18 cents to $279 Wheat prices were up reaching $356 a bushel compared to the $350 average in July Soybeans were down 10 cents to $840 a bushel Cotton dipped from 586 cents a pound in July to 552 cents this month mid-Augu- st in his arena in Hyrum Rgricuhjre repat ASCS issues new rules United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service recently issued new rules for payment eligibility under the 1989 and 1990 price support and Conservation Reserve programs ASCS made the final rules on maximum payment limitations after reviewing approximately 900 comments received in response to proposed rules said Steve Fitzwater ASCS Cache County executive director Producers are required to be “actively engaged in farming" Fitzwater said In 1988 and previous years the only requirement for payment eligibility was to be identified as a producer “Significant contributions of active personal managemnt will no longer be determined based upon the hours provided for management" Fitzwater said “but will be determined based upon the activites which are critical to the profitability of the farming operation" A member of a joint operation such aa a partnership owning land may qualify as being actively engaged in farming under the landowner provisions if it is documented that upon dissolution of the joint operation the member would receive a share of the land The final rules also state that cash rent tenants renting equipment from the landowner at a fair market value may qualify as separate person from the landowner for payment limitation purposes under the cash rent tenant provisions To be considered actively engaged in farming stockholders who collectively own at least 50 percent of the stock of a corporation must contribute active personal labor or active personal management for the corporation Fitzwater said The ASCS official sail noncitizens will be ineligible to receive certain payments unless these persons are providing land captial and a substantial amount of personal labor to the farming operation Extension agents receive national awards Two Utah State University Extension county agents received awards last month at the annual meeting of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in Charlotte NC Joseph Austin or Sevier County received the association’s Distinquished Service Award and Shawn Olson of Davis County received the Achievement Award Austin who serves as supervisor of USU Extension's Southwest District was honored for his service to the livestock industry See AGRICULTURE REPORTenpm |