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SERVING NORTHERN NEVADA’S

RURAL COMMUNITIES

Volume 1 • Issue 1 • spring 2010

Inside This Issue…

Water outlook for

2010 looks “tight”
Page 2
Dairymen continue
to lose money
Page 4
A look at some of
Northern Nevada’s
Centennial Ranches
Pages 9-11
44th Annual Bull Sale
termed a success
Pages 18-19
 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010

looks tight accept hope for more rain and snow. He

said farmers may idle fields and irrigate the
more fruital farms.
from last year. The Truckee River Basin
snow water content is also at 99 percent, an
increase of 50 percent from last year.

for 2010 “They’re going to be tightening their

The water outlook for Nevada will be similar to last year. This is a 2009 aerial photo of
Lahontan Reservoir.
By Steve Puterski
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Parts of Northern Nevada have seen
record snowfall this winter, but the 2010
water outlook doesn’t look strong.
Dan Greenlee, hydrologist and snow
survey program manager at the Natural
Resources Conservation Service in Reno,
said recent projections have most of
Northern Nevada below average or worse
for 2010.
“To get to the nut of the answer, I think
it’s going to be another tight year,” Greenlee
said. “We’re still a little behind average.”
He said the Carson system, which
delivers water to Fallon, Carson City,
Minden and others, is at about 80 percent
of the yearly snowpack average. He added
that the recent snow and rain in February
increased the size of the Lahontan
Reservoir from 48,000 acre/feet to 71,000.
However, though the Carson
Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
system sits below average, Greenlee
said Winnemucca’s outlook is bleak.
Winnemucca’s main reservoir, Rye Patch, is
holding about 12,000 acre/feet.
Greenlee added Winnemucca is looking
at about a 60 percent of average for
snowpack and a 37 percent runoff from
April through July.
“There’s probably far less runoff
“We’re still a little behind average”
Dan Greenlee ~ Hydrologist/Snow Survey Program Manager
Natural Resources Conservation
expected, particularly at the Rye Patch
Dam area,” Greenlee said. “They got very
minimal storage.”
Greenlee said there’s nothing much
the Winnemucca/Lovelock area can do
belts this year,” Greenlee said.
The Yerington area, however, has been
forecasted at about 85 to 90 percent,
Greenlee said. He said it’s not great, but
it’s better than most areas throughout the
region.
“A few more big storms and we’d be OK,”
Greenlee said.
According to the Nevada State Basin
Outlook Report for February (March was
not available at time of press), the recent
storms improved conditions in Western
Nevada and added 10-20 percentage
points to the snowpack.
The increase in snowpack has brought
the conditions close to average, though the
central part of the state remains dry. Due to
the lack of precipitation in Central Nevada,
the report states it leaves the state with
a large hole, though more recent storms
have helped.
Reservoir storage has not improved
as the Truckee River Basin recorded the
highest average at 76 percent. The Carson
basin was at 28 percent and Lake Tahoe at
one percent, according to
the report.
However, snowpack
conditions at Lake Tahoe
are average, and the snow
water content is at 99 Water is beginning to fill the region’s rivers and canals, but
percent, up 36 percent forecasters expect more of the same from last year’s supply.
Boca Reservoir was 23 percent of
average, Prosser Reservoir was 105 percent
of average, and Stampede Reservoir was
82 percent of average. The total reservoir
storage for the basin at the end of January
was 76 percent of average.
Lahontan Reservoir storage on the last
day of January was 48,500 acre-feet or 28
percent of average. At this time, last year,
reservoir storage was 55,300 acre-feet or 32
percent of average.
Streamflows are expected to be below
average throughout the state. The Carson
River, near Carson City, is expected to
flow at 82 percent of average from March
through July.
The Carson River at Fort Churchill is
expected to flow at 81 percent of average
through the same period. The East Fork
Carson River near Gardnerville is expected
to flow at 500 cubic feet per second in early
July, and drop to 200 cfs by mid July.
The highest flow is the Truckee River
Basin at 86 percent of average and the
lowest in the Lower Humboldt River Basin
at 48 percent of average.
Steve Ranson/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange

in Northern Nevada
By Steve Puterski individuals, each riding a horse, and
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange one has to rope the steer’s head and
Ropers and riders have grown in the other the heels. The team with
numbers steadily throughout the years the fastest time wins the event.
in Northern Nevada. Fallon’s Jade Corkill and partner
From youth and high school Chad Master’s set a world record
competitors to professionals, men and of 3.3 seconds in team roping at
women have the choice of numerous National Finals Rodeo in December.
groups. The American Cowboy Team Hofheins said it takes time, Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Roping Association (ACTRA), Fallon preparation and desire to compete in Team ropers from Washoe County hook up during a recent rodeo.
Horseman’s Association, Construction team roping.
Industry Cowboy’s Association (CICA) “People start as young as 6 or
7 years old and rope until their 80,” Ward said it’s important to establish the Donnie Waters Invitational, the
and National Pony Express Association a rapport when the horse is a baby, Bob Feist Invitational in Reno and the
give individuals a chance to enhance Hofheins said.
Alex Ward, president of the Fallon or foal, to lay the groundwork for ACTRA State Finals in Winnemucca.
their roping and equestrian experience. competition. She added it’s impossible Lee said the size and speed of the
Wade Hofheins, president of CICA, Horseman’s Association, says her
equestrian group of about 50 has a to train the horse from being spooked, livestock is what determines which skill
organizes jackpot team-roping events but a rider needs to know how the horse level of roper will take on the animal.
in Fallon. His organization bases variety of horses and classes. Her
members don’t perform jumps during will react. “I think it brings a lot of people to
the competitions on skill level and “You have to have that bond and that the different towns we go,” Lee said. “It
handicaps. their competitions, but ride and
perform in-hand (halter) competitions. trust with each other,” Ward said. helps the town and small communities.”
“We’ll have eight to 10 events a year,” In addition to the human element For information about CICA, visit at
Hofheins said. The Fallon Horseman’s Association
hosts four shows per year and gives the of roping, there are cattle who the www.cicaroping.com.
Hofheins said he has ropers from all
over Nevada participate in his events, younger riders an opportunity to handle competitors try to rope. To learn more about the Fallon
and grow with their horses. Tommy Lee of Fallon supplies Horseman’s Association, contact Alex
however most of the competitors are the livestock for events throughout Ward at (775) 217-5304 or visit www.
from Reno, Fallon and Fernley. “For the younger kids, it gives them
knowledge of what to expect in bigger Northern Nevada. Lee said he’ll supply fallonhorsemans.com.
Roping is comprised of two 40 to 50 events per year at events like
shows,” Ward said.
SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 

Cattlemen learn how to make The Nevada Ranch &

Farm Exchange is a

management strategies pay

By STEVE RANSON
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Nevada cattlemen are constantly learning
how to make management strategies pay in a
tight economy.
Sponsored by the University of Nevada
Cooperative Extension in Reno, the 45th
Cattlemen’s Update Proceedings that toured
the state earlier this year was designed to help
producers be more proficient and profitable.
“There have been a lot of changes in the
industry,” said Dean Karen Hinton of the
UNCE. “We are bringing the most up-to-date
research to make your industry as profitable as
possible.”
Hinton also said it was just as important
to receive feedback from the local producers
because of the tight economic times. She said
the UNCE had its budget sliced 17 percent
during the last Legislature.
Six speakers gave insight into the cattle
industry and tips make the industry survive.
UNCE Veterinarian Dr. David Thain said
about 70 percent of the public feels the
commercially produced food at grocery stores
is safe.
Thain said technological changes are making
the cattle producer more cognizant of better
care for their animals.
“What happens now can be on YouTube,”
Thain warned about bad animal care. “It’s so
easy to capture things and then take time out of
context and put them up for public view.”
He also had concern that Nevada’s rural
free publication printed
quarterly by the Sierra
Nevada Media Group.
Publisher
Thain also discussed health and biosecurity Pete Copeland
concerns with cattle. Editor
Dr. Ben Bruce, a livestock specialist with the Steve Ranson
UNCE, advised producers to establish personal
goals. Advertising
Western Nevada &
“If goal setting and planning do not come eastern California
easy to you, get help,” he emphasized. 775-782-5121
He advised producers to learn more about Victoria Grathwohl - x221
the plants on which animals graze such as the Adele Hoppe - x224
open rangeland or enclosed pastures. Jaylene Hutchison - x220
“You have to have profitability,” he said. “To
raise healthy livestock you need sustainable Central & eastern
range practices. Your ranges and pastures must Nevada
be in good shape over a period of time.” 775-423-6041
Shannon Burns
Bruce said healthy cows are more effective
grazers and tend to have a healthier diet, while Becky Taylor
cows in poor body condition tend to be less Circulation Manager
selective and don’t graze as well. Keith Sampson
“They are more than likely to consume Production
poisonous plants,” Bruce said. Michael L. Madsen
Fallon veterinarian Dr. Craig Schank said Ron Torrel
producers need to produce safe food for Send submissions to:
Editor
consumers. selection,” Torell said. “About 87.5 percent of The Lahontan Valley News
“We don’t want something that is tainted,” present calves’ genetic makeup is determined P. O. Box 1297
Schank said. by the last three bulls used.” Fallon, NV 89407
The longtime vet said several horrible Torell also cited some facts in production,
or e-mail:
incidences are giving the industry a black eye. stating that since 1977, the average cow size news@lahontanvalleynews.
Echoing Thain’s concerns, Schank said those has increased from 1,047 pounds to 1,370 com
bad incidences are emerging as videos on the pounds. News: 775-423-6041
Internet. Dr. Tom Geary, a research animal scientist Fax: 775-423-0474
By being the best in animal husbandry, for the U.S. Department of Agriculture near Reproduction without permission of
the publisher is prohibited. We advise
Schank said producers must treat their animals Miles City, Mont., gave a lesson from what he anyone who submits material to the
humanely. He emphasized a good vet-client- called Calving Distribution Management 101. Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange that
doing so constitutes a consent for
patient relationship for the purchase of By outlining changes a large central Montana the Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange

voice is being lost to the urban areas since the
majority of legislators hail from Las Vegas and
Reno, and they are the ones whose voting will
prescriptions.
The UNCE’s area livestock specialist from
Elko, Ron Torell, discussed “tools of the trade.”
range made with its breeding procedures,
he showed the progression how the ranch
became much more effective with the number
to publish the material as it chooses
without any further compensation to the
author including but not limited to all
print, electronic and archival versions.
All rights reserved.

affect the industry the most. “The best tool the industry has is sire of calves born during a shorter span of time. © 2010 Swift Communications

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 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010
Dairymen say they are losing money
By Rob Sabo
Neveda Ranch & Farm Exchange
Dairy farmers say they are losing large
amounts of money because low prices
for dairy products don’t cover the costs
of running their operations.
Despite recent recoveries in the price
per hundredweight for high-butterfat
whole milk, Churchill County dairymen
are still wondering what this year will
bring.
Newell Mills, owner of Mills Jersey
dairy, says he lost more than $300,000
during one recent 12-month period
although he brought just as much milk
to market as he had in previous years.
“That is how severe the price swings
are,” says Newell, 80. “We have been
profitable again since the first of
December, but we haven’t made up
for the losses we took during that 12
months we were off.
“Things are looking a lot better
than they were, and we still have a lot
to make up for —you can’t recover
$300,000 in three months.”
Larger dairies struggle more
David Perazzo, who runs Perazzo
Brothers Dairy with his brother,
Alan, estimates the dairy lost close to
$500,000 in 2009. Perazzo Brothers
Dairy has about 500 milking cows.
David Perazzo says dairy prices need to
average about $15 per hundredweight
for the dairy to break even.
Dan Alegre, owner of A&A Dairy, one
of the three largest dairies in Churchill
County, estimates he lost close to $2
million in 2009. A&A Dairy has been in
operation for 16 years, and the family
has been in the dairy industry for three
generations.
But Alegre worries about his ability
to keep the dairy running, and the
frustration of an uncertain future is
crystal clear in his voice as he tries to
forecast what will happen in 2010.
“You can’t figure it out,” says Alegre,
66. “We don’t have any idea. I don’t
know if I will be here in another year. It
is a bad situation — and it’s not just me.”
A & A employs 16, including Alegre’s
two sons, on 320 acres in Churchill
County. The dairy is milking about 1,500
head of cattle and has about 3,000 head
overall. A & A was forced to cull its herd
by 350 head in 2009.
Dairy cows at Mills Jersey Dairy.
Dairy prices have staged a slight
recovery from record lows last year that
financially hammered Northern Nevada
dairymen, but milk producers say
they’ve got a long way to go to recoup
the large losses that occurred in 2009.
Bill Christoph, co-owner of Liberty
Jersey Farms, says the majority of Fallon
dairies received prices that were about
20 percent under operating costs for
2009. Liberty Jersey’s revenues declined
more than 25 percent last year.
“Huge amounts of equities were just
burned,” Christoph says.
Some prices dip
Although the March price per
hundredweight (about 11.6 gallons) is
$16.44 for high-butterfat whole milk,
it’s dipped from a 16-month high of
$18.22 in January, the Nevada Dairy
Commission reports. Prices in the $11
range for much of 2009 forced Fallon-
area dairymen to significantly cull
their herds—and reach deep into their
savings.
Dairy prices historically have swung
drastically, but they hit a 15-year low
of $11.13 per hundredweight in March
of 2009 — one of six months in the
year with prices in the $11 range. That
compares with a 15-year high of $23.5
in October of 2007. (Those prices are for
whole milk with the highest butterfat
content; most farmers don’t see that
price for their entire delivery of milk to
processing facilities.)
I don’t know if I will be here in
another year. It is a bad situation —
and it’s not just me.”
Christoph says Churchill County
dairymen hope for stable prices.
“We have been on kind of a roller
coaster the last several years,” Christoph
says. “The highs have been good, but
the lows have been extremely difficult.
We can’t survive that kind of wild price
fluctuations. Many of us are looking at
Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Dairyman Newell Mills said he lost more than $300,000 during one recent 12-month period.
hedging strategies, but it’s really not
something we prefer to do. We are not
financial investors.”
Dan Alegre ~ Owner
A&A Dairy
To cover feed costs last year, A&A
dairy needed to the hundredweight
price to average at least $16.50, Alegre
says.
“It’s really put us in a real tough
situation here,” he says.
When prices plummeted last year,
many Northern Nevada dairymen sold
off many of their animals, says Mark
French, executive director of the Nevada
Dairy Commission. The sell-off helped
reduce inventory and stabilize pricing.
Improvements in overseas economies
also spurred demand greater demand,
he says, which further balanced supply
and demand.
Trying to hang on
But the key for Churchill and Lyon
county dairy farmers — there are nearly
two dozen dairy ranches in Fallon,
Fernley and Yerington — is whether
they can hang on long enough to ride
out the wild fluctuations in pricing.
“Dairymen are still hurting,” French
says. “A lot of them have been paying
bills with the equity on their farms, and
that is not good, and it is hard for them
to get more loans. They know it will turn
around, but can they survive until the
turnaround?”
Mills says because all agriculture
is cyclical, it’s up to farmers to sock
away funds in the flush times in order
to weather down cycles. He says he
entered the start of the downturn in
Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
2008 100 percent debt-free, but that
certainly isn’t the case today.
Mills Jersey dairy downsized its
herd, but did not lay off any staff since
it already ran lean at eight employees,
Newell says. “You have to do that to
survive the down periods,” he says.
French says economists predict
Northern Nevada dairy prices
to stabilize around $16.5 per
hundredweight. He feels the price
may be 50 cents less based on the
January to February drop of almost $2
per hundredweight. Fallon-area dairy
farmers need prices to average at least
$17 per hundredweight to see any profit,
he says.
“They still are producing milk at a
loss,” he says.
“Because we’re stubborn.”
Perazzo says one dairyman in Fallon
and another in Yerington were unable
to weather 2009’s depressed milk prices.
He says Perazzo Brothers Dairy will stay
in business because it’s all he knows
how to do.
“We will still be here just because we
are stubborn,” he says. “I don’t have
anything else to do; I am educated in
the dairy business. What other choice
do I have?
“I am sticking through this — but I
feel sorry for the next generation.”
The troubles in the dairy industry
have also caused ripples in hay sales.
Perazzo says for the first time the dairy
bought hay on an as-needed basis
rather than stockpiling what it needs
for the year. Many of his hay-raising
neighbors also hope for a recovery in
the dairy industry so cash-strapped
dairymen begin purchasing more hay.
“Hay farmers are hurting right now,”
Perazzo says. “I know they are looking
for nice rebound so their prices go up,
but I can’t see that happening. We have
a lot to make up for. We can’t afford the
high price of feed; we have to make up
the losses we incurred in 2009.”
SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 

Programs encourage Nevadans

to eat healthy, be active
By Robert Mills
UNCE
University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension health and nutrition programs
have secured nearly $1 million in federal
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program — Education (SNAP-Ed) grants
for 2010.
The $977,963 from the federal program
will go to 12 statewide programs that
help low-income Nevada families make
healthier choices when buying groceries.
In 2009, more than 10,000 Nevadans
benefitted from SNAP-Ed programs.
“For years we’ve heard calls for people
on nutritional assistance programs to make
better food choices,” said UNCE Nutrition
Specialist Mary Wilson. “That’s what we do.
We provide educational programs to help
families make healthier decisions.”
SNAP-Ed is a federal/state partnership
that supports nutrition education for
persons eligible for the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
benefits. SNAP, formerly known as the
Food Stamp program, helped put food
on the table for some 31 million people
per month in 2009. In Nevada, SNAP
programming helped more than 200,000
people in low-income households with
electronic benefits they use like cash at
most grocery stores. SNAP helps needy
households and those making the
transition from welfare to work.
The goal of SNAP-Ed is to provide
educational and social marketing
programs that increase the likelihood
that people eligible for SNAP will be more
percent. The program reached nearly
2,000 students in Clark County alone.
• Chefs for Kids
In collaboration with American
Culinary Federation Chefs, Chefs
for Kids targets high-risk schools
primarily in Clark County and
promotes lifelong, healthy lifestyles
“Our programs help families make
better food selections so their children
grow up healthier and stronger…”
that researchers say will lower their
risk for heart disease and other
chronic illnesses. Second-graders at
12 high-needs schools learn about
healthy food combinations, and a
video series is shown to first-graders at
24 high-needs sites.
• Eat Smart, Live Strong
The fledgling program is designed
to improve fruit and vegetable
consumption and physical activity
among seniors, many of whom are
low-income, hungry or in need of
nutrition-related assistance. The
program will include classes on
growing herbs and small vegetables
in window pots, food safety tips,
healthy recipes using commodity
teachers’ and students’ awareness of
healthy diet, with emphasis on eating
more vegetables and fruits. In-service
presentations reached 128 teachers,
and 73 classes reached 1,956 students
last year — a 225 percent increase over
the previous year.
• Veggies for Kids (VFK)
Mary Wilson ~ Nutrition Specialist
UNCE
The program helps American
Indian students in the second and
third grades choose more vegetables,
incorporating traditional Native
American cuisine. It also provides an
introduction to plant growing and
engages parents through take-home
assignments and newsletters. The
program is delivered in Washoe and
Mineral counties.
• Small Steps 4 Big Changes
This new program addresses the
problem of childhood obesity by
focusing on healthy eating from each
food group, incorporating easy-to-
fix snacks and encouraging physical
activity.
The grants could not have come at a
better time. State officials say that from
January 2008 to October 2009, there was a
79 percent increase in Nevadans receiving
assistance from the federal SNAP program.
Wilson said statewide surveys illustrated
a need for SNAP-ED programming.
“We conducted needs assessments in
order to understand the funding needed
to provide nutrition education to low-
income audiences,” Wilson said. “A lot of
these programs wouldn’t exist without this
funding.”
Wilson said a brighter Nevada tomorrow
starts with healthy steps today.
“A little prevention goes a long way,”
Wilson said. “Helping people stay healthier
is a great investment in our future. Our
programs help families make better
food selections so their children grow
up healthier and stronger so we—as
taxpayers—won’t pay for health-care costs
later on.”
Nutrition assistance is available to low-
wage, unemployed or part time workers;
recipients of welfare or other public
assistance payments; the elderly; the
disabled; and the homeless.
For more information on SNAP-ED, visit
the State of Nevada Web site or enroll at
1-800-992-0900.

LIFE DOESN’T STAND STILL

physically active and make healthy food
choices within a limited budget.
The 12 UNCE health and nutrition
programs reach a variety of audiences,
from pregnant and breastfeeding women
to school-age children and families with
young children. Programs such as UNCE’s
“All 4 Kids” encourage preschoolers
to choose healthier snacks and to “get
moving!” during TV commercials.
“All 12 programs are different in the
audiences they address,” Wilson said. “We
reach out to elementary school students,
middle school students, preschool
students, single moms and struggling
parents. The audiences are vast.”
Here is an overview of the 12 UNCE
programs:
• All 4 Kids
The new program focuses on low-
income preschoolers in Clark County
and promotes healthy eating and
physical activity. The pilot program
conducted last year reached nearly
300 children, and evaluations showed
that 80 percent consumed healthy
snacks such as fruit and vegetables
more often after taking the class. Their
motor skills also improved as a result
of the dances they learned.
• Calcium, It’s Not Just Milk
The ongoing program targets low-
income, middle-school-aged students
in Washoe and Clark counties and
encourages consumption of low-
fat, calcium-rich foods. Through
classroom lessons and in-school
activities, the number of students
who could identify calcium-rich
food increased from 8 percent to 70
foods and has already resulted in a
widely distributed fact sheet in large
type explaining expiration dates on
perishable food items.
• Food for Health and Soul/
Cocinando Delicioso Y Saludable
AND NEITHER SHOULD
This six-session class teaches families
how to modify their favorite recipes
by decreasing sugar, fat and salt and
increasing fiber, thereby decreasing
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An afterschool program teaching
good nutrition, specializing in
afterschool snacks.
• Nutrition in the Garden
Classes are conducted for third-, Andy Rice Ron Bankofier Chris Lamb
fourth- and fifth-graders at a Washoe
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• Team Nutrition Smart Choices
Now in its 10th year, the goal of this
ongoing program is to increase both
 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010

Youth Range Camp applications sought

BY SOCIETY FOR RANGE MANAGEMENT
Applications are now being accepted from high
school students to attend the Nevada Youth Range
Camp, June 20-26, at the U.S. Forest Service’s Big Creek
Campground in central Nevada. Applications must be
postmarked by April 26.
“Range Camp is a teenager’s best opportunity
to learn about Nevada’s desert and mountain
rangelands,” said Jim Gatzke, youth camp coordinator.
The Society for Range Management operates the
week-long camp for 14-18 year olds from Nevada and
eastern California.
a parent or sibling. The cost to attend Range Camp be in the Toiyabes when numerous wildflowers are
is $150, which includes meals and camp activities. in bloom and the vegetation is green from the recent
Applicants can be sponsored to attend Range Camp snowmelt.
by contacting their local conservation district or other The financial sponsors of the camp are Nevada
organizations. Forms and information can be found Bighorns Unlimited, Nevada conservation districts,
on the Nevada Youth Range Camp the Nevada Society for Range Management and the
Web site or by e-mailing Jim Nevada Wildlife Federation.
Gatzke or calling him at (775)
726-3101.
Completed applications with
enclosures can be mailed to NV
Youth Range Camp, c/o USDA

“Range Camp is a teenager’s best

opportunity to learn about Nevada’s
desert and mountain rangelands.”
Jim Gatzke ~ Youth Camp Coordinator
Nevada Youth Range Camp

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is one

of the six agencies that contribute staff and resources
to organize and run the camp.
Campers will have the opportunity to learn
from range management professionals who are
knowledgeable in the ecology and management of
the Great Basin’s desert and mountain rangelands.
Students learn basic surveying and map reading,
identification and importance of rangeland plants,
evaluation of sagebrush and woodland ecosystems,
wildlife surveying techniques, evaluation of stream
health, and many other topics related to rangelands.
While the camp is educational, it also offers an
enjoyable, outdoor experience with activities such
as swimming, fishing, hiking, volleyball, horseshoes,
campfires and photography.
Interested students must submit an application and
letter of recommendation from an adult other than
NRCS, P.O. Box 8, Caliente,
NV 89008; or can be e-
mailed to Gatzke at james.
gatzke@nv.usda.gov. . If
Students from last year’s range camp spe
nt the
learning about range management, plan week
sent by e-mail, letters of
recommendation must
be on the adult’s official
letterhead or must be a
ts and habitat.
scanned copy of the adult’s
letter and signature. Applications must be postmarked
or e-mailed by Monday, April 26. Approved applicants Other agencies that
will be notified within two weeks. contribute staff and resources to organize and run
Camp is held every June at the U.S. Forest Service camp includes the Natural Resources Conservation
Big Creek Campground in central Nevada’s Toiyabe Service, the Nevada Division of Forestry, the Nevada
Mountain Range. The Toiyabes are one of Nevada’s Division of Conservation Districts, the Bureau of Land
most impressive mountain ranges with several peaks Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
over 10,000 feet in elevation. June is an ideal time to

Nevada students observe

national FFA week
By JAKE OLSEN
FFA Reporter
The week of Feb. 20-27 was National FFA Week. This can also be interpreted as FFA
awareness week.
During this week the Churchill County FFA Chapter planned different activities
that involved the entire school. Monday’s theme was Blue and Gold, which are the
FFA colors (National Blue and Corn Gold), AND the lunch activity was stick horse
racing. Four contestants had to run around the quad at the high school in rubber
mucking boots, a big foam hat, all while riding a stick horse. The winner got a free
pizza! That night the FFA members saw a nice movie in the Ag Classroom.
Tuesday was John Deere Green day and also drive your tractor to school day. At
lunch we held a straw bale race. The contestants raced a course while carrying a
straw bale. Luckily the bales weren’t too heavy! The winner got a pizza. That night the
FFA members went to one of our adviser’s house and played her Nintendo Wii. It was
a lot of fun.
Wednesday’s theme was to wear our chapter T-shirts. The lunch activity was a
barbecue hosted for the entire school by FFA. We had a great turnout and we also
had a contest involving whipped cream and bubble gum. The contestant had to eat
through the whipped cream and chew the bubble gum; the first one to blow a bubble
got an FFA T-shirt. The trick is ... the oil from the whipped cream makes it nearly
impossible to blow a bubble. It was still quite comical though. That night we paid a
visit to our local bowling alley. We all had a great time.
Before we knew it, Thursday was here. It was Camouflage Day. Everyone was
running around in their camo and at lunch we held frozen turkey bowling. This
requires 20 percent skill and 80 percent luck. We set up half-filled soda bottles and
rolled a frozen turkey at them. It was so much fun! That night was the school’s annual
X-treme Dodgeball tournament. The FFA chapter decided that we would put a team
together. Even though we didn’t win, we still had fun while we were at it!
Friday came around and it was wear your official dress to school. This means
that every FFA member was walking around campus in the official FFA jacket. That
morning the FFA put on a teacher’s appreciation breakfast before school. The lunch
activity was a milk drinking contest. This was a big hit. Everyone wanted to try;
All the members belonging to the Nevada FFA pose for a photograph.
however, there can only be one winner. That night we hosted a Sadie Hawkins Dance,
which we hope will be a continuing tradition. Sadie Hawkins means that girls ask
boys and the couples come as a matching pair. The dance was a lot of fun and a lot of
dancing!
To close the week, on Saturday was the weigh-in for all animals being shown at the
Churchill County Junior Livestock Show and Nevada Jr. Livestock Show. These are
always fun and eventful days. Just knowing the progress you are making with your
animal is awesome because it is a lot of work.
Along with National FFA Week, We had our Zone Initiation on Feb. 16, and
we worked the Fallon All Breeds Bull Sale Feb 17-20. Our local chapter did very
well in every contest. It was very beneficial to the CDEs we are competing in at State
Convention. Zone is a great way to get a feel for what the contest is like. The Bull Sale
is always a big thing for the local chapter. It is a fundraiser and good work experience.
Even though it is hard work, we enjoy doing it.
On top of all that, we are doing our fundraiser, Critters for Cause. All the proceeds
from this fundraiser go to Heifer International, which is an organization that sends
animals to third world countries. We hope to be able to make a big donation this year,
please help us make that possible by participating in the Critters for Cause fundraiser.
If you see the signs anywhere around town, just know that it is your local Churchill
County FFA Chapter!
SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 
Nevada FFA
students attend
state convention
By Jake Olsen
FFA Reporter
The Nevada FFA State
convention was held March 16-20.
At this convention, delegates
competed in many contests
ranging from plants and flowers
to leadership and speaking.
These contests are called CDEs or
Career Development Events. These
contests allowed us to dip our toes into
many different pools so we can make the best career
choice possible.
This year we had new teams that Churchill County
FFA has not had in a while such as poultry judging, ag
issues, and prepared public speaking. Of course, we
also had livestock judging, dairy judging, and dairy
foods, creed speaking, extemporaneous speaking,
floriculture and many more.
At State Convention we stayed very busy; however,
we still made time for fun as the state rents a roller
skating rink for the entire Nevada team. It is very
crowded but fun because we spent time meeting
others from around Nevada.
This year we also had two Nevada State Officer
candidates. Kadee Buckmaster and Christy Fagundes
worked hard in getting ready for intense interviewing
and evaluating. They have been great candidates so
we support them 100 percent.
State Convention is what we wait for and practice for
all year long. All in all, we walked away from Nevada
FFA State Convention sometimes winners, sometimes
humbled but ultimately better people.
Presented by the Carson Valley Arts Council and the Town of Genoa
Young ranchers, farmers attend
leadership conference
BY NEVADA FARM BUREAU
Eight Nevada Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers
development workshops, many opportunities for Nevadans
to interact with YF&R members from other states and many
recently traveled to Tulsa, Okla., to attend the American different agricultural enterprises across the U.S., followed
Farm Bureau YF&R Leadership Conference to network with by one day of Oklahoma agricultural tours, all interspersed
757 other members from across the nation and to learn with plenty of socially interactive family fun.
more about how Nevada’s YF&R state committee can be Jamie Perkins has served as the Nevada State YF&R
more effective. Committee Chair since 2007 and has pioneered the
Nevada’s entrant in the national Collegiate Discussion statewide Agricultural Literacy project getting over 130
Meet this year was Jimmy Lotspeich of Deeth, whose trip to Accurate Ag Books into elementary schools across the state.
nationals was sponsored by COUNTRY Financial. Perkins also assisted Lee Mathews, Nevada’s 2009
Lotspecih competed against 39 contestants from colleges “Harvest For All” campaign chair, with summer food drives
in 45 states. and has been active in helping Clark County Farm Bureau
Other conference highlights included a “Harvest for set up their YF&R County Committee.
All” service project in a Tulsa food bank, the city hosting To find out more about getting connected to the Nevada
this year’s event. The “Harvest for All” projects partner YF&R program, contact Perkins at (775) 728-4642, by
state YF&R committees that collect the food and monetary e-mail (jamie@nvfb.org), on FaceBook or through YF&R
donations, with the “Feeding America” organization to help Coordinator Stephanie Licht (775) 753-6993, e-mail slicht@
feed America’s hungry. nvfb.org.
Additionally, national
cash awards are given
during the Conference
to those state YF&R
Committees that collected
the most food, collected
the most money in
contributions, logged the
most volunteer hours
and carried out the most
innovative annual campaign
during the preceding year.
The national cash awards
are then taken back into the
winning state and go back
into the Feeding America
food bank programs.
This conference also
carried a wide variety of From left, Lacey Sproul, Nathan Whipple, Hannah Hardy, Jamie & Grant Perkins, Jimmy
personal and professional Lotspeich, Dann Mathews and Ashlee Diamond recently attended a youth leadership conference.
APRIL 29 - MAY 2, 2010
Featuring nationally known Cowboy poets and musicians including
Waddie Mitchell, Don Edwards, Paul Zarzyski,
Lacy J. Dalton, and David John and the
Comstock Cowboys
One and two day passes allow admission into over 90 non-ticketed
events and Western workshops and demonstrations presented
by talented artists. Watch demonstrations on Dutch oven cooking,
leather tooling, saddlery, silversmithing,
Cowboy gear and blacksmithing. Enjoy cowboy dinners,
a Pleasure Trail Ride and a tour of a working ranch.
tickets on sale now
Call: Carson Valley Arts Council 775-782-8207 ✪
Town of Genoa ✪ 775-782-8696
Or go online at: genoacowboyfestival.com
 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010
Nevada Farm Bureau:
Who we are and what we do
Who We Are: Nevada Farm Bureau
is Nevada’s largest farmer and rancher
organization. As a general farm/ranch
organization, we are involved with the
entire scope of agriculturally-related
issues and points of concern in our state.
What We Do: Nevada Farm Bureau
is an advocacy group, promoting the
interests of Nevada farm and ranch
families by seeking to implement
Farm Bureau policy positions.
Implementation of Farm Bureau public
policy is carried out in various forums
including regulatory and legislative
bodies.
Nevada Farm Bureau is a highly active
participant in our state’s legislative
sessions and also is involved with both
state and national regulatory agencies.
Nevada Farm Bureau is thoroughly
involved in the promotion of our state’s
agricultural industry with the general
public. A major emphasis in this regard
is demonstrated with projects like
Agriculture In The Classroom. This
project consists of an industry-wide
effort to inform school children and
educators about agriculture and to
advance an improved understanding
with these particular groups about the
origins of their food and fiber.
Our Members: Thirteen county
Farm Bureau organizations constitute
the Nevada Farm Bureau Federation.
Farmer/rancher members and associate
(non-farmer/rancher) members
STRENGTH TO GROW ON
Together We Keep
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participate in their local county Farm
Bureau organization.
Our Leaders: Nevada Farm Bureau
has a host of agricultural leaders serving
in various capacities.
The Nevada Farm Bureau Federation
Board of Directors consists of each
county Farm Bureau President who
is elected by that local county Farm
Bureau. Officers and remaining
members of the Board are elected by
voting delegates at the organization’s
annual meeting. These include the
Nevada Farm Bureau President, Vice
President and the Women’s Committee
Chairman (who serve one-year terms)
and three district directors (who serve
two-year terms).
The voting delegate body is
responsible for the finalization and
approval of the organization’s public
policy, developed on an annual basis.
Voting delegates are farmer/rancher
members of their respective county
Farm Bureaus.
Farm Bureau leaders from the
county Farm Bureau organizations
are also actively involved in various
committees charged with specific
responsibilities. On-going organizational
committees include the Nevada Farm
Bureau Women’s Committee; the
Natural Resources Committee and the
Resolutions Committee. Various ad-hoc
committees, such as the Legislative
Committee, are formed at various times
as required.
Fallon corn grower wins
first-place award
BY NATIONAL CORN GROWERS thrilled that these growers choose Pioneer
ASSOCIATION products for these winning yields,” says
Pioneer President Paul E. Schickler.
James N. Wadsworth of Flying W
“We’re especially impressed with the
Partnership outside of Fallon recently
high yields our customers have with
won first place in the Irrigated
Pioneer corn products this year in a very
division of the 2009 National
challenging growing season.
Corn Growers’ Association’s
“We’re excited about the diversity
(NCGA) Corn Yield Contest in
of hybrids represented in this year’s
Nevada.
contest by growers planting
Wadsworth won with
Pioneer products,”
Pioneer® brand hybrid
he says. “It shows
35F37, which yielded
that Pioneer is
245 bushels
advancing
per acre.
hybrids locally to deliver
Wadsworth
the right product on the
earned one of
right acre to help growers’
the 346 state titles
succeed across diverse
won by growers
environments.”
planting Pioneer hybrids. The
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a
NCGA awarded 525 state titles in this
DuPont business, is the
year’s contest. Growers planting Pioneer
world’s leading source of
hybrids dominated the contest and won
customized solutions
66 percent of all state awards presented.
for farmers, livestock producers and
In addition, growers planting Pioneer
grain and oilseed processors. With
products took 17 of the 24 national yield
headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa,
categories.
Pioneer provides access to advanced
The NCGA Corn Yield Contest is
plant genetics in nearly 70 countries.
an annual competition among corn
DuPont is a science-based products
producers with the goal of producing the
and services company. Founded in 1802,
highest yields. In the contest, growers
DuPont puts science to work by creating
compete within a broad range of corn
sustainable solutions essential to a better,
production classes, including non-
safer, healthier life for people everywhere.
irrigated, no-till/strip-till non-irrigated,
Operating in more than 70 countries,
no-till/strip-till irrigated, ridge-till non-
DuPont offers a wide range of innovative
irrigated, ridge-till irrigated and irrigated
products and services for markets
classes.
including agriculture and food; building
“Each year, we continue to see growers
and construction; communications; and
planting Pioneer corn hybrids succeed in
transportation.
the NCGA Corn Yield contest, and we’re
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SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 

Eager to leave the 21st century

behind for a few hours?
By Sheila Gardner
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Take a tour of the Dangberg Home
Ranch, where it’s easy to imagine
yourself a contemporary of German
pioneer H.F. Dangberg Sr. and his
children, whose family history has
become a Carson Valley legend. The
Dangberg Land and Livestock Co.
founded the town of Minden in 1906,
and at its peak in the mid-20th century,
the company managed 48,000 acres, with
cattle and sheep ranches and orchards in
Douglas and Alpine counties.
Like many visitors to the Dangberg
Home Ranch, Doris Bauman can
remember when the Dangberg sisters,
Margaret, Katrina and Ruth, still lived in
the compound.
“I remember Margaret in jeans,”
Bauman said as she and a group of
friends toured the landmark, now a state
park, last summer.
It’s that strong link to the past
which Nevada State Park Interpreter
Mark Jensen hopes to preserve as he
introduces the home ranch to a new
generation of visitors.
“It is very important to us to respect
the memory of later generations of
Dangbergs, as there are still numerous
Shannon LItz/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange Dangberg Home Ranch
The Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in October 2008.
individuals in Carson Valley who knew Historic Park
and cared about them,” Jensen said.
Despite the prosperity, the Dangbergs
In 2008, more than 1,300 visitors The park opens April 22 for tours conducted
endured family tragedy as well.
came to the ranch. Two special exhibits, Wednesday through Sundays at 10 a.m. with
Jensen remembered the day he
clothing and toys, drew 164 and 143 additional tours on weekends at 2 p.m.
opened Dwight Dangberg’s trunk and
visitors respectively.
found a smashed horn on top and little Admission is $3 for adults and free for children
Encouraged by the response, Jensen
red sailor suit. 12 and under.
is adding more ranch tours during the
Jensen guessed that he was the first
week and two lectures as well as seasonal Reservations are required and can be made by
to open the trunk after the little boy
exhibits. calling 783-9417 or e-mailing dangbergranch@
died of scarlet fever at age 5 in 1904. He
“We will expand the existing interior parks.nv.gov. Tours are limited to 10 people, but
can imagine grieving family members
exhibits in the house, laundry and stone special arrangements may be made in advance for
putting away the little boy’s toys and
cellar with artifacts that will better tell larger groups.
clothes in the attic, where they were
the story of the Dangberg family and
discovered 100 years later.
Carson Valley ranching,” Jensen said.
“Part of our respect involves making
“We’re also aware that not everyone
careful decisions about which artifacts to
admired the Dangbergs, and that the
display and which stories to tell,” he said.
family’s business dealings could be
The ranch sits on 5.5 acres on Highway
controversial. We’re striving to present a
88, south of Douglas High School and the
balanced interpretation.”
Carson Valley Swim Center. Visitors may
The tour offers a glimpse of family life.
tour the first floor of the main residence,
It’s as if the Dangbergs had just stepped
stone cellar, laundry house, bunkhouse,
out for the afternoon. The furniture,
and carriage house.
vintage hat boxes and sheet music on
“Unfortunately, we won’t be opening
the grand piano show how, for close to
the upstairs of the house this season,”
a century, the Dangbergs enjoyed life’s
Jensen said.
luxuries that were unknown in most of
Musically inclined guests are invited
the homes in Carson Valley.
to play the grand
piano in the living
room.
“Our goal next
year is to recreate
Gertrude’s flower Shannon LItz/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
garden,” he said. A view through the pillars toward the bunk house at the Dangberg Home Ranch.
“She would show Jensen said. stories of the various family members
her peonies at “The mice did their part [in damaging and how those stories are made real by
the CVIC Hall items], but for the most part, we were the artifacts and documents.”
on Carson Valley lucky.” For Jensen, and his devoted team of
Day.” From the jar of plums preserved in volunteers, restoring the home ranch is a
When the 1948 to little Dwight’s Levi dungarees, labor of love.
Nevada Division believed to be the oldest pair in the state, “Becoming involved with the home
of State Parks took every corner and tabletop gives visitors a ranch means not only becoming
over restoration peek into the past. involved with the Dangbergs as historical
of the ranch, they “The home ranch offers a variety figures, but also becoming involved
discovered 18,000 of attractions to those who work and with them as individuals whose sorrows
artifacts. volunteer here,” Jensen said. “One draw and joys were very much like those we
“It’s hard to is the immediate awareness of history experience in our own lives today,” he
imagine anyone people feel as they walk through the said.
Shannon LItz/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange preserving that buildings or work with the artifacts and
Michael and Janet Fischer as H.F. and Margaret Ferris Dangberg Sr. much history,” archives. Adding to that are the personal
arrive at the Minden Centennial Celebration in 2006.
Centennial Ranch gro
10
generation after generation
BY CHRISTY LATTIN
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
What started out as a 120-acre family ranch in the Union
District in 1909 has blossomed into 480 acres of farmland
handed down through four generations and will soon
receive the state’s Centennial Ranch award.
Perfect Vista Ranches, better known as the Newcomb-
Mathewson-Washburn Ranch, borders Harrigan Road
from Union Lane south to Berney Road. Churchill County
Commissioner Gwen Mathewson Washburn and her
husband Bill are the proud owners of the ranch that was
first deeded to her great-grandmother in 1909.
The property was originally homesteaded in 1887 but
was deeded to Mary Newcomb in 1909. Mary’s husband,
Horace, her son, Art, and his family had come West seeking
a milder climate while Art battled tuberculosis and settled
on the established ranch on the south fork of the Carson
River.
Art passed away shortly after the move, and Mary’s
daughter, Florence Newcomb Mathewson, and her
husband, Clyde, moved from South Dakota and purchased
the ranch in 1912.
Together, Florence and Clyde raised two sons, Bill and
Art, until her death in 1932. After Bill served in World War
II he relocated to California, but Art remained to work the
family ranch.
Art and Phyllis Corlett married in 1942 and lived in his
grandmother’s house for a time. The original ranch house
— built with adobe blocks made from the mud of the
Carson River — had two rooms and an attic. Through the
years, a carport, porch and two more rooms were added.
After Art and Phyllis assumed ownership of the ranch in
1948, the couple enclosed the front porch to make room for
their growing family of six daughters.
“Needing more room, we enclosed the carport which
made two more rooms. We converted what had originally
been a separator room for milk and cream into a bathroom;
so, as the family grew, so did the house,” Phyllis wrote
for the Churchill County Museum’s 2008-2009 In Focus
publication.
Phyllis
and Art
continued
to renovate
the home
and replaced
wooden
floors with
concrete,
Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
modernized
The permanent protection of the Cushman-
Corkill Ranch has recently been established. the kitchen
and faced the
home with new siding.
“It was very well built because it was not damaged by the
large earthquakes in the mid-1950s,” Phyllis stated.
The ranch once boasted several outbuildings like chicken
houses, barns and shops, but the only original structure on
the Mathewson ranch today is the adobe block cellar/ice
house.
After Art died in 1969, Phyllis continued raising her
daughters on the ranch before moving into town.
Gwen Mathewson Washburn and husband Bill began
farming the ranch in 1973 and purchased the property from
Phyllis in 1991.
The original ranch house encountered vandalism and
was often a temporary respite for homeless people, so
Gwen and her husband Bill had no choice but to remove
the house.
“The ranch has been in the same family for 100 years, just
one of quite a few in this valley that have passed the century
mark, a tribute to this community and its heritage. But the
old house, which stood and served its residents well for
almost 150 years, just a memory now, was much more. It
was a loving, living place. It was home,” Phyllis wrote.
Bill Washburn brought a 240-acre ranch to the family
union, and he and Gwen purchased a 160-acre section
to connect the Mathewson and Washburn ranches. The
Washburns, along with sons Wes and Wayne, grow alfalfa,
corn, oats and Sudan grass. They also run about 350 cow
and calf pairs.
“All of us work,” Gwen said, adding that Wes’ daughters
Monica Washburn and Brittany Washburn Ames are now
ws
assisting with the ranch.
With six daughters in the Mathewson family, how did
Gwen wind up with the family ranch?
“Because I married the farmer and they didn’t,” Gwen
laughed.
Bill said some of the biggest changes on the ranch
include laser leveling, the addition of advanced irrigation
structures and the disappearance of horsedrawn
equipment.
He said the family switched from dairy to beef cattle in
the 1970s because of the high cost of building a commercial
milking barn.
“It was a major decision. We agonized over it,” Bill said.
Advanced and automated equipment also allows the
family to work the ranch themselves without having to hire
outside help.
Now that Gwen and Bill are in their 60s, Wes is playing
a larger role on the ranch — something which doesn’t
surprise his parents.
Bill said Wes was only 9 years old when he said he wanted
to farm with him. The young man leased farm ground
and owned his first cattle at age 15 and was very active
in 4-H and FFA — organizations in which his own grown
daughters participated.
The joy Wes and his wife, Tutie, receive from their young
grandchildren is evident by the smiles on their faces, and
the little ones are very much at home on the family ranch.
Perhaps in another 20 years, the Newcomb-Mathewson-
Washburn ranch will be handed down to the seventh
generation.
Testolin Ranch
A row of stately cottonwood trees along Testolin Road
overlooks a small two-room cabin sitting in a grassy yard
— the original site of one of the oldest ranches in Churchill
County which will soon receive the state’s prestigious
Centennial Ranch award.
Beulah Testolin, 85, now lives in a modern home
overlooking the ranch her husband’s father homesteaded
in 1907. The fact that the ranch remains in the family’s
hands is a testament to their agrarian roots.
Antonio Testolin Sr. immigrated from Italy in 1901 and
lived in Minnesota and Pennsylvania before heading
west. He worked in Utah coal mines before continuing his
westward journey to San Francisco, where he owned and
operated a grocery. He left the Bay Area following the 1906
earthquake and fires and worked in Crockett, Calif., and
Lake Tahoe for a short time.
In 1907, Testolin homesteaded 120 acres in the Union
District south of town near what is now Naval Air Station
Fallon. He worked hard to clear sagebrush from the land
before he planted “fancy” vegetables like celery, eggplant
and cardone. He also raised poultry and eggs and earned a
decent living traveling to mining towns east of Fallon to sell
his fresh vegetables and food.
After his ranch was established, Testolin asked Italia
Binotto, a fellow Italian, to travel to the United States to be
his bride, and the two married in 1910.
The couple’s first home was a two-room cabin which
still stands in the shade of the cottonwood trees Testolin
Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Five generations of the Mathewson-Washburn family. From left
are Sarah Washburn Schopper and husband Henry Schopper;
Phyllis Mathewson Perry and husband James Perry; Gwen
Mathewson Washburn and husband Bill Washburn; in the
window are Brittany Washburn Ames with husband Tom Ames
IV and children Tom Ames V and Tutie; Monica Washburn with
daughter Rylee Washburn-Moore; and Tutie and Wes Washburn.
NEVADA RANCH & FARM EXCHANGE
planted. Although another room was later added, it wasn’t
large enough to hold the growing family. Beulah, while not
quite certain, thinks all seven of the Testolin children were
born in the small cabin.
With Italia’s help, Testolin continued raising vegetables in
their large garden. The couple added beef, chickens, hogs
and turkeys to their farming operation and kept the mining
towns supplied with their goods.
The farm continued for the next few decades with
electricity brought to the home in 1929. About 1938, the
office building from the Wonder mine in eastern Churchill
County was purchased and relocated to the family’s home
site to allow more room for the large family. The new house for at least 100 years and must be a working ranch or farm
was placed several yards from the old two-room cabin and
is used today by the custom farmer who works the land
today.
Tony Jr. and Beulah were married in 1944 and lived in
the cabin with their daughters Irene and Rachel for several
years. They moved into the mining office house in 1949,
the same year Testolin passed away, leaving his ranch to his Preservation Office.
son.
For the next few years,
Tony Jr. and his family
farmed the ranch, but he
found it to be too much
work for one man to do. The
ranch was leased to Jerry
and Betty Alberson, who
farmed the land from 1965
until 1995.
Needing a change, Tony Jr. and Beulah bought the
Tierney Creek Ranch in the Reese River Valley in 1954. For
the next 37 years, the couple ran a cattle operation and grew Nevada Cattleman’s Association, Nevada Department of
90 acres of alfalfa on the 1,400-acre ranch.
Beulah and Tony Jr. spent most of every week apart after
their girls started school. Beulah and the girls would spend
Sunday evening through Friday afternoon in Fallon at
the family ranch, while Tony Jr. farmed the Tierney Creek
Ranch.
Beulah said she spent 11 years driving back and forth but Bunny Corkill in the latest edition of “Churchill County IN
said she was fortunate that someone helped her change
almost every flat tire she got. However, she once had a flat
tire near Eastgate while returning to Reese River Valley ...
with a calf she purchased at auction that day.
Struggling with the girls and the calf, Beulah eventually
changed the flat tire herself — on her birthday.
When Tony Jr. didn’t see his family by the expected hour,
he began looking for them. He met them on Elk Horn
Pass and learned of their mishap. Beulah recollected his
response.
“It’s ruined, just ruined,” Tony Jr. said repeatedly.
He was talking about the chicken dinner he diligently
prepared for her birthday.
Tony Jr. retired in 1991 and returned to the Testolin Ranch
for good. He and Beulah built a modern home on top of
the sand hill and spent the next 10 years traveling around
Nevada and the United States.
Today, the Hiibel family leases and farms the Testolin
Ranch, growing alfalfa and corn.
Tony Jr. died in 2001, and in time, the ranch will pass to
his daughters, Irene Merritt and Rachel Wright.
The Testolin Ranch will be honored as a Centennial
Ranch along with other century old ranches at an October
ceremony.
Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Top: Inside the two-room cabin where seven children
were born to Tony and Italia Testolin. Time has not
been kind to the cabin, which dates back to 1907.
Left: Beulah Testolin stands in front of the two-room
cabin where her husband, Tony Jr., and his six siblings
were born. The Testolin Ranch is being honored by the
state with the Centennial Ranch award.
The Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
established the Centennial Ranches and Farm
program in 2004 to honor families who continue
the ranching tradition for generations. To qualify for this
award, the ranch or farm must have belonged to the family
with a minimum of 160 acres, or if less than 160 acres, must
have gross yearly sales of at least $1,000.
Today, the Centennial Ranch program is funded by the
Agricultural Council of Nevada, with support from the
Nevada Farm Bureau, Nevada Cattleman’s Association,
Nevada Department of Agriculture and the State Historic
For more information about other local Centennial
Ranches, read the article
“Centennial Ranches
Photo courtesy Beulah Testolin
— 2009” by Bunny Corkill
Italia and Antonio “Tony” Testolin
in the latest edition of
Sr., both Italian immigrants,
appear in a formal photo. Tony Sr. “Churchill County IN
homesteaded the Testolin Ranch FOCUS,” a publication
in 1907 and passed it on to his son,
from the Churchill County
Tony Jr.
Museum.
The Centennial
Ranch program is funded by the Agricultural Council
of Nevada with support from the Nevada Farm Bureau,
Agriculture and the State Historic Preservation Office.
The Centennial Ranch awards will be presented to six
families, three of whom are from Fallon, at an awards
ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion on Oct. 9.
For more information about other local Centennial
Ranches, read the article “Centennial Ranches — 2009” by
FOCUS,” a publication from the Churchill County Museum.
LVN appreciates the information provided by Corkill,
the Churchill County Museum and the Mathewson and
Washburn families.
Council seeking applications for Centennial Ranch Program
If your farm or ranch has been in your family for 100 years
or more, the Agricultural Council of Nevada would like to
hear from you.
The Ag Council is the lead sponsor of Nevada’s
Centennial Ranch and Farm Awards Program. According
to Liz Warner, program coordinator, 35 longtime, family-
owned agricultural operations have been recognized since
the program started in 2004.
Six families were formally inducted into the program
last year. They were the Kallenbach-Ormachea-Sherman
Ranch, Churchill County (1908); Bradshaw “End of the
Rainbow” Ranch, Lincoln County (1873); Bailey Ranch,
Eureka County (1875); Testolin Ranch, Churchill County
Centennial ranch in Fallon protected
by Nevada Land Conservancy with
conservation easement
BY NEVADA LAND CONSERVANCY
A bit of ranching history has been preserved in
Churchill County with the permanent protection of the
Cushman-Corkill Ranch in Fallon.
Family members sought a conservation easement
to preserve the property as a working ranch and also
to protect it from development, and the Nevada Land
Conservancy, a local nonprofit land trust, was able to
secure funding to purchase and hold a conservation
easement in perpetuity.
The 430-acre Corkill ranch, located in a prime
agricultural area, was one of several properties identified
by Naval Air Station Fallon as important to protect in
order to secure a buffer zone around the base against
future urban development and challenges to military
activities.
“By contributing funds to purchase a restrictive use easement on this
property, the Navy is helping to protect the agricultural and historical values
that have contributed so much to Fallon’s heritage and frontier spirit.”
Fallon Naval Air Station is providing funds through
their Encroachment Management Program, which is
matched with funds from the Nevada Division of State
Lands State Question One Program. The protection of
the property will help to preserve the rural character of
Churchill County for the future.
“We are very happy that NAS Fallon, in our continuing
efforts to be good neighbors and find compatible uses
for the land surrounding the base, is able to team up
with groups such as the Nevada Land Conservancy and
the State of Nevada to protect and preserve historical
properties such as the Cushman-Corkill Ranch,” said
Commanding Officer, Capt. Michael Glaser.
“By contributing funds to purchase a restrictive
use easement on this property, the Navy is helping to
protect the agricultural and historical values that have
contributed so much to Fallon’s heritage and frontier
spirit.”
In addition to its value to the family, the United States
Navy and Churchill County, the ranch provides important
benefits to native wildlife. The abundant water on the
property helps to provide for habitat, enhancing the
additional wildlife habitat and wetlands on its southern
border. Roughly 100-acres of wetland and riparian areas
have been created by an agricultural drain field.Species
noted on the property include mule deer, coyotes, rabbits,
ring-necked pheasant, white-faced ibis, blue heron,
quail, egrets, and various migratory birds.
“Preserving working ranches is a key element of the
Conservancy’s land protection goals. In the case of
BY USDA
(1907); Ranch No. 1 (Trimmer/Giovacchini), Douglas
County (1909); and the Perfecta Vista Ranches-Mathewson
Ranch, Churchill County (1909).
“We know there are other long-time, continuously
operating family ranches and farms dating back to the
nineteenth-century that have not yet applied for Centennial
status,” said Warner. “We would like to add them to this
prestigious list of Nevada’s pioneering families.”
As Nevada grows increasingly more urban, and the
demands for water in the sprawling metropolitan areas
lead to the further decline of farms and ranches, the
Centennial Ranch and Farm Program is a wonderful means
to recognize the long-time family-owned businesses
MARCH/APRIL 2010
this property, we are fortunate to work with a family
who cares so passionately for their land and the
surrounding community,” said Becky Stock, Nevada Land
Conservancy’s Project Manager.
The Cushman-Corkill Ranch also has been designated
a Nevada Centennial Ranch by the Nevada State Historic
Preservation Office’s Nevada Centennial Ranches and
Farms Program.
Purchased in 1861 by Josiah Cushman, it is the oldest
continuously operating, family-owned ranch in the state
of Nevada. Furthermore, Josiah Cushman was the first to
begin irrigating the lands of Churchill County.
Early western emigrants stopped at the Cushman
ranch to rest and feed their cattle before crossing the
Sierra. Since its beginning, cattle have been produced
on the ranch, and hay was originally grown and
Capt. Michael Glaser ~ Commanding Officer
NAS Fallon
freighted throughout the West. After irrigation came to
the valley and the Newlands Project was established,
corn, potatoes, Sudan grass and small grains were also
produced. Four generations have lived and worked
on this property and the family intends to keep it as a
working ranch.
Josiah Cushman met his first wife, Mary, when her
family stopped at his ranch before pressing on for
California. Josiah Cushman had two children with Mary
and seven children by his second wife, Elizabeth. The
youngest of these children was Pete Cushman, who ran
the ranch with his brothers and mother after Josiah’s
death in 1913.
Pete and his wife Mabel remained on the property until
it was purchased by the Corkill Brothers in 1969, nine
years after their daughter Bunny married Bill Corkill. Bill
and Bunny’s son, Bruce, now operate the ranch with his
wife Mitzi. They have a son, Jade, and a daughter, Bailey,
who also love life on the family ranch.
Nevada Land Conservancy is Nevada’s first
independent, non-profit land trust working with
landowners and communities to protect and preserve
the special places and open spaces of Nevada for future
generation.
NVLC is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year,
and has protected more than two acres a day in the past
decade. For information on Nevada Land Conservancy’s
projects, please call (775) 851-5180 or visit nvlc.org.
dedicated to agriculture in our nation’s most arid state,
wrote Guy Rocha, Nevada State Archivist.
Bruce Petersen, state conservationist for the Natural
Resources Conservation Service, one of the founding
sponsors, said, “We know that ranchers and farmers are the
best stewards of the land. They wouldn’t be in operation for
100 years or more if they hadn’t taken care of their natural
resources.”
Applications are due by June 1. Application forms and
more information can be found online at http://www.
nv.nrcs.usda.gov/centennial_awards.html. For more
information, contact Liz Warner at the NRCS State Office,
(775) 857-8500 x 105.
12 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010

Humanitarianism = efficiency
for this veterinarian
BY STEPHANIE CARROLL important; however, not all cases taken
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange on by animal rights groups are necessarily
The humane treatment of animals is abuse, yet the resulting legislation can
a major concern for all those working seriously impact the food producing
with animals whether they are wild or industry and its customers.
domesticated, meant to be pets or food For example, Schank said in the pig-
sold at market. raising industry, producers often use
However, positive efforts made by farrowing crates after a mother pig has
humanitarian groups, such as People for babies because the mother is naturally
the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the inclined to kill or eat several of the
Humane Society of the United States, can offspring, which is less efficient for the
also have a negative impact on business business. Although Schank said scientific
practices. evidence shows the pigs are not harmed
Veterinarian Dr. Craig Schank said it is in the crates, animal rights groups
crucial food producers working with attacked the practice.
animals treat them well because “Now they’re outlawing the use of
the more legislation farrowing crates in hog production,”
animal Schank said. “What’s going to
rights happen next is we’re going to raise
groups less pigs.”
push Schank said ranch and
farm organizations, such
as the Nevada Cattle and
Beef Association and the
Nevada Farm Bureau, also
have lobbyists, but it is
difficult to compete with
the popularity of animal
rights organizations.
“They’re more likely
to listen to some famous
person like Carrie
Underwood ... rather
than someone with sound
science and research,”
Veterinarian Dr. Craig Schank Schank said, adding those
groups also receive vast
concerning the industry, the more limited amounts of monetary donations. “Dollars
and expensive food production can be. speak volumes when it comes to getting
Schank has lived and worked with the word out.”
ranch and farm animals throughout his With those limitations, Schank said the
life and with Lahontan Valley Veterinary best way to ensure animal rights groups
Clinic, a full equine facility. He also do not attack an efficient practice is to
served on the Nevada Board of Veterinary make efforts to be humane and use good
Medical Examiners. husbandry techniques.
Schank said there has been several well “We need to be kind and quiet and
known incidences of animal abuse in the watch our tempers,” Schank said. “We
food industry, which were revealed to the need to make sure our facilities are set up
public through horrific media footage right. ”
and documentaries. One example is the Schank said good veterinarian care
Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. abuses is important. He added veterinarian
in Chino, Calif., which led to the largest services have also been affected by
beef recall in U.S. history and at least animal rights groups, and there have been
two arrests in 2008 after an undercover major strides in the last decade or so.
Humane Society investigator exposed the “We are getting better at administering
company through an online broadcast. medication to animals that are in
“I was appalled when I saw that video, pain,” Schank said. “Some of the pain
and they did the right thing by closing medication that we’re using is better.”
that plant,” Schank said. Still, he added, It’s difficult to compete with large
people forget only one incident. “That’s organizations with celebrity and major
the exception rather than the rule ... The monetary support; nevertheless, Schank
producers I talk to are not out to abuse said producers can fight for efficiency
their animals.” and lower costs by being good to their
Schank said stopping abuse is animals.
Rural Nevada receives $42
million in recovery funds
BY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF to transport fresh, healthy food from
AGRICULTURE FBNN’s warehouse in Storey County’s
Tahoe Reno Industrial Center to those
The one year anniversary of the
communities’ local food banks.
signing of the American Recovery and
“We were able to provide $99,711.00
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) occurred in
to match to Rural Development’s
February, and many Nevadans will quite
grants in order to make these dreams a
rightly ask whether any of that funding
reality,” said Cherie Jamason, FBNN’s
has had an impact where they live.
CEO. “Thanks to the commitment of
“I completely understand it when rural
these local agencies to the families
Nevadans ask how the Recovery Act
in their communities, a good thing is
has made a difference in their lives and
about to happen.” The trucks, built by
communities,” said Sarah Adler, state
International and provided through
director for USDA Rural Development.
Feeding America of Chicago, IL are
“Although my staff do not spend time
scheduled for delivery within the next six
tooting their own horns, I am proud to
weeks.
share that $42 million in ARRA funds
Creating and retaining jobs is the
have been spent or obligated in rural
primary purpose of ARRA, and USDA
Nevada in just one year, spread across 13
Rural Development is contributing not
community and business development
only through its housing programs. A
projects and 258 home ownership loans.”
total of $7 million has been obligated
A major line of business for the agency
for water and wastewater projects in
is bringing qualified low to moderate
four locations throughout rural Nevada,
income families into home ownership,
with about $7 million more anticipated
through direct mortgages or by
before Sept. 30, 2010. Each of these
guaranteeing the mortgage of a private
projects creates significant employment
sector bank or mortgage lender.
in engineering, construction,
“When you think of the commitment
permitting, and long-term operations
and personal spending associated with
and maintenance of safe, sustainable
each home loan alone, you realize that
community infrastructure systems.
this investment will multiply and grow
In addition, about $2.6 million
for many years to come,” Adler said.
has been obligated in five business
“Looking past the surface, one also sees
development projects. Communities
the realtors, title companies, mortgage
such as Walker Lake, Wells, Battle
lenders, and property values that USDA
Mountain and Wadsworth will all feel
Rural Development has helped to sustain
the impact of private sector investment
throughout rural Nevada.”
and job growth thanks to ARRA
Housing Program Director Bill Brewer
funded business development grants
reported that in Lyon County, Rural
or guarantees of commercial bank
Development made 242 loans with either
loans. Nevada’s Business and Industry
ARRA or disaster funding made available
Loan Guarantee program has $11.7
as a result of the collapse of the TCID
million remaining in ARRA funding to
canal.
guaranteed additional business loans
“Single mothers, couples moving
throughout the rural portions of the
to Nevada for their retirement home,
state.
and young families just starting into
“The Recovery Act has made a quiet,
the job market all can find a path to
but huge, difference in just its first year
home ownership by contacting us,”
of existence,” concluded Adler. “Because
said Brewer. “We have plenty of direct
it takes time to do the job right, many of
mortgage ARRA funds available between
these projects are still in the planning
now and Sept. 30, and we want to use it
and approval stages. When the shovels,
all.”
and backhoes and water lines, actually
Recovery Act funding and partnership
go into the ground, rural Nevadans will
with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada
see and feel more of the investment
(FBNN) are also teaming up to fight
ARRA is making in their success.”
a significant enemy in rural Nevada:
USDA Rural Development has a
hunger. USDA Rural Development used
wide variety of programs in housing,
ARRA funds to make grants totaling
community facilities and infrastructure,
$79,898.00 to both the Boys and Girls
business development, and renewable
Club of Mason Valley, in Yerington,
energy available to rural Nevada’s
and Consolidated Agencies for Human
individuals and communities. For
Services (CAHS) in Hawthorne.
information, call the USDA Rural
These grants will be matched by FBNN
Development State Office in Carson City
to purchase refrigerated food trucks
at (775) 887-1222.

Survey shows importance of

BY UNCE
Nevada producers and horse owners
can benefit from each other.
University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension (UNCE) has released three
publications that focus on cool season
hay attributes and values for horse
owners and hay producers. They are
available for free online at www.unce.
unr.edu.
Several UNCE specialists and other
University of Nevada, Reno faculty
teamed together and surveyed Nevada
horse owners in 2005 to determine
cool season hays’ appeal to local horse
cool season hay
owners. The survey rated the importance
of cool season hay characteristics in
their purchasing decisions. They also
compared hay producers and horse
owners on the important characteristics
of cool season hays.
All three publications surveyed horse
owners about their primary reason
for using a horse, the horse owner’s
location, the type of horse owner, and
hay producer’s direct customers. For
example, 325 of 1,000 horse owners
returned surveys with 222 labeled
as private horse owners, 42 as horse
breeders, 32 as ranchers, 25 as either
trainers or boarders, five as racehorse
owners, and three did not specify.
Recognizing the hay attributes
regarded as most important by horse
owners may help producers ensure
repeat customers or potentially increase
their market share. The study
suggests that the value of
hay attributes varies
among horse
owner types.
The revealed
information can help cool season hay
producers identify characteristics of the
greatest importance to their customers.
For more information, visit www.unce.
unr.edu and click on the publications tab
and search “cool season hay” under
the title category.
SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 13
Cooperative Extension
BY THOMAS RANSON
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Cooperative Extension is more than
agriculture and 4-H.
Across the country, cooperative
extension programs at many of the state
colleges all have one similar goal in
common: to educate communities that
they offer an abundance of programs,
ranging from health and nutrition to
community development.
“Many people don’t realize the
breadth of Cooperative Extension
programming,” said Dean Karen Hinton
of the University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension. “They might be aware that
we teach gardening classes, or that the
4-H program is under our auspices. They
might know that we work with farmers on
alternative crops, water management and
weed control. But they might not know
that we train day care workers how to do
their jobs better, or that we have programs
on nutrition and health.”
UNCE offers six main programs:
agriculture; natural resources; children,
youth and families; horticulture,
health and nutrition, and community
development. Because of the variety,
Nevadans can access all kinds of
information to help with their daily
routine. From learning how what kind
of fish are safe to eat to stopping weed
spread, UNCE is the
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place to go, either online or at a local
office.
“We did a major study on mercury
in Nevada¹s waterways last year that
involved scientists from nutrition, natural
resources and biochemistry that led
to recommendations for Nevadans on
what types of fish they can eat and how
often they should eat them,” said Hinton,
whose college works with federal and
state agencies, different colleges and local
officials. “Weeds are a problem all over
Nevada. ­They are invading our public
rangelands as well as private cropland,
so we often have experts from many
different disciplines working together to
stop the spread of weeds. There are a lot of
examples of collaboration.”
Accessing plentiful information wasn’t
this easy. Ten years ago, the state’s needs
and important issues always change,
prompting UNCE to work on a wide
range of programs. Thanks to feedback,
especially from smaller communities like
Fallon, it helps the college serve them
better.
“We have offices serving all of Nevada’s
counties, and the educators who staff
those offices work hard to bring programs,
classes and events to those counties,”
Hinton said. “Our mission is to extend
outreach from
the University. That’s why our
slogan is ‘bringing the university
to you.’ When a community issue is
identified, we bring not only the expertise
of our own Cooperative Extension faculty
but the expertise of the entire university.”
The times have changed again,
dramatically, because of the economy.
Cuts to university funding can make it
difficult to bring the university to rural
areas.
“Our faculty are entrepreneurial, so
they are out there looking for grants,
partnerships and contributions to keep
programs alive and thriving,” Hinton said.
This hasn’t stopped UNCE from
launching a pilot program that will train
volunteers across the state how to most
effectively teach the senior population.
“Fallon is one of the towns, along
with Ely, Gardnerville and Minden,
and Hawthorne, where we’ll test our
curriculum,” said Hinton, who is
collaborating with Fallon’s Pam Powell
who developed a course that focuses on
variety of issues. “This program promises
to spread quickly through the state ­
bringing a powerful, cost-free network
of resources to seniors and helping them
to quickly and easily find the answers to
their questions about medicine, nutrition,
finances and other
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issues.” Other successful programs that
have helped Fallon include diversifying
crops by developing a vertically integrated
TEFF industry (headed by Jay Davidson),
4-H from traditional animal projects to
geographic information systems, and
teaching homeowners to save their house
during wildfire season.
“Jay’s work led to the formation of a
new TEFF marketing and production
company, and through his efforts there
are now 2,000 acres of TEFF in production
in two counties producing $1.2 million
worth of the grain, which is produced
using a third less water than alfalfa,”
Hinton said.
Regardless of the issue, UNCE’s goal is
help communities throughout the state.
Through its many programs available,
Nevadans can benefit whether it’s
learning how to grow crops or becoming a
leader in the community.
“We don’t just have offices in
communities across the state,” Hinton
said.
“We have people who live in Fallon
and Lovelock and Winnemucca and
many other small towns. Our faculty and
staff serve their communities on and off
the job. They volunteer in their schools
and they serve on volunteer boards and
committees. Our connection to these
communities and our ability to help
them in both large and small ways is
something that I’m very proud of.
People know they can come to
us for research-based, unbiased
information and education.”
The University of Nevada
Cooperative Extension assists
the state’s ranchers and farmers
with assistance from agriculture
to health and nutrition.
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14 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010
Churchill County 4-H
develops youth skills
BY STEPHANIE CARROLL
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
The 4-H youth organization offers
experiences and opportunities for rural
youth to develop important life skills in
Churchill County.
“They learn leadership, business skills,
citizenship, life skills and accountability
to offer to their future,” said Amanda
Allegre, 4-H community based
instructor.
Allegre said in Churchill County, 4-H
groups are project-based, so children
join specific clubs depending on their
interests. Despite common assumptions,
Allegre said 4-H is not all about animals
and livestock. Local clubs focus on
archery, scrap-booking, leather crafts,
GPS technology and more.
Nevertheless, Churchill County is an
agricultural and livestock community,
which makes itself a prime location for
comparable 4-H programs. Allegre said
the clubs focus on beef, livestock, sheep,
goats, rabbits and more. “We have a lot
of the traditional clubs,” Allegre said.
“We have quite an extensive thing going
on.”
Agricultural Service Center Know what’s in your herbicide
offers one-stop rural shopping before you apply
BY STEPHANIE CARROLL
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
The U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Lahontan Conservation District and
the University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension offer agricultural programs and
services at the Agricultural Service Center
in Fallon.
• The USDA provides a plethora of
services through many agencies, and in
Fallon these include Rural Development,
Farm Service Agency and the Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
Rural Development is a USDA agency
that aims to improve the economy and
quality of life in rural areas. For the
agricultural community, it offers the Rural
Energy for America Program and the
Value-Added Producer Grant, said Herb
Shedd director of the business cooperative
programs.
Shedd said the energy program offers
grants for installing renewable energy
systems like solar panels. The producer
grant allows farmers to acquire funds
to research crops with greater profit
possibilities or to transition into a more
profitable crop.
The Farm Service Agency offers loans
to farmers and ranchers who need
assistance, either because they are new to
the field and cannot get a loan from a bank
or because they are struggling financially,
said Carolyn Persinger farm loan chief.
According to its Web site the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
is a USDA agency that helps private land
owners and managers conserve soil, water
and other resources by offering a variety
of programs like financial and technical
assistance.
• The Lahontan Conservation District
conducts similar projects by providing free
chemicals for weed control and clearing
out debris from the Carson River, said
District Clerk Jessi Eckert. Conservation
districts partner with the NRCS and work
to conserve state and natural resources
by coordinating local entities and
land owners according to the Nevada
Allegre said the goal of 4-H programs
is to help youth grow and develop life
skills. They are given opportunities to
develop leadership, self esteem, respect,
role modeling and problem solving.
“Well-rounded youth is our goal,”
Allegre said.
Club members build skills through
4-H curriculum and events. Allegre
said Churchill County has many events
where students can show off their work
and demonstrations. There is a livestock
show in April, which gives members the
opportunity to qualify for the Nevada
Junior Livestock Show in Reno in May.
In August, the Nevada State Fair offers a
large venue.
“When they practice their
demonstrations, they practice their
public speaking,” Allegre said. “It gives
them the confidence to speak to the
general public and to people asking
questions.”
Allegre added there is a 4-H camp
at Lake Tahoe in July, which not only
offers the experience of learning in the
outdoors but also provides members the
opportunity to mentor by becoming a
Many state and federal agencies serve the
counties’ ranchers and farmers.
conservation districts Web site.
“We do programs to conserve natural
resources, like soil, water — those type of
things,” Eckert said.
• The University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension (UNCE) is located in the USDA
Service Center but is not a USDA agency.
It is an arm of the University of Nevada,
Reno, said Jay Davison, alternative
crops and forage specialist. The UNCE
formulates programs and services based
on specific community needs and offers
programs in agriculture, community
development, health and nutrition,
horticulture, natural resources and youth
and families according to the UNCE Web
page.
In Churchill County, Davison said
the UNCE tests soil, water and pests.
The organization is also involved with
weed control and conducts studies and
experiments that can provide useful
information to local farmers.
Resources at the Agricultural Service
Center provide local farmers and others
“one-stop shopping” for services that
allow Fallon to be a productive agricultural
community.
The Agricultural Service Center is
located at 111 Sheckler Road, (775) 423-
5121.
Communities throughout Nevada are proud of their 4-H programs.
teen counselor at age 14 or a chaperone
at 19.
“A lot of leadership. That is a huge
thing,” Allegre said. “We do a lot of youth
adult-partnerships.” Plus, Allegre said
club members participate in community
service, fundraising and local events.
“Anything that gets the kids involved
in the community is something we
BY UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
As a new planting season gets under
way, University of Illinois Extension Weed
Specialist Aaron Hager cautions farmers
to be aware of the differences between
glufosinate and glyphosate, the active
ingredients in two popular herbicides,
before starting weed control applications.
When glyphosate-resistant soybeans
came on the market a few years ago, many
believed it was unlikely that another
herbicide or herbicide-resistant crop
would be needed again, Hager says in a
University of Illinois Extension report.
However, over time, farmers saw more and
more glyphosate-resistant weed species
popping up but no new herbicide active
ingredients coming into the marketplace to
control them.
“Resistance evolves in weeds through
repeated applications of the same type
of herbicide,” Hager says. “The once-
perceived invincibility of glyphosate has
been tempered by the realities imposed
by the diversity of our Illinois cropping
systems. New weed management practices
are needed to manage the consequences
of long-term weed control.”
One new herbicide-
resistant variety, glufosinate-
resistant soybean, became
commercially available in
2009. Glufosinate, another
non-selective herbicide, is sold
under the trade name Ignite.
And while glyphosate and
glufosinate may sound alike
and share certain similarities
as they provide broad-
spectrum weed control, lack
soil-residual activity, and
require herbicide-resistant
crops for in-crop applications,
they should not be used
interchangeably.
“Significant differences exist
between these two popular
Kim LambNevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
strive for,” Allegre said. “We want to be
able to make the effort to educate the
community on what these kids have to
offer.”
The 4-H department is located at the
Nevada Cooperative Extension Office
in the Agricultural Service Center at 111
Sheckler Road, (775) 423-5121. It costs
$3 to join as many clubs as desired.
herbicides that require deeper
understanding of how each one works,”
Hager says. “For example, in 2010 you
would not want to spray glyphosate
on glufosinate-resistant soybean, or
glufosinate on glyphosate-resistant
soybean.”
Glufosinate inhibits a plant enzyme
involved in the early steps of nitrogen
assimilation. Its target site is completely
different than glyphosate’s. Because of
this, glufosinate can control glyphosate-
resistant weed populations such as
waterhemp and marestail.
While their spectrum of control is
comparable for several weed species,
glufosinate tends to be more effective
on annual broadleaf weeds than annual
grasses, while glyphosate is more effective
on grasses.
Glufosinate is a “contact” herbicide, in
contrast to glyphosate being extensively
translocated within the plant. Hager
encourages farmers to utilize application
parameters that provide for the best
coverage of target weeds and consider
environmental conditions that optimize
glufosinate’s performance.
For example, glufosinate
performs better in bright
sunshine and warm air
temperatures. Due to
its limited translocation,
glufosinate should be applied
when annual weeds are 6 inches
tall or less.
“We can control large weeds
with glyphosate,” Hager says.
“But we have to manage weeds
with glufosinate. We need to
think differently about how we
apply it. Farmers may want to
include soil-residual herbicides or
spray glufosinate twice -- early when
the weeds are smaller because it needs
contact with the whole plant and a
second time due to waterhemp’s late
emergence.”
SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 15

NRCS helps farmers and ranchers improve

lands and increase crop production
Federal programs are processed at USDA service centers in Minden and Fallon
BY JOYCE HOLLISTER
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Jim Gifford, the NRCS District
Conservationist, has some money to give
away.
Not him personally, but the Natural
Resources Conservation Service in
Minden, an agency with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, does ‹ in
the form of payments to ranchers and
farmers who want to improve their land
and agricultural practices.
For the past couple of years, not as
many ranchers and farmers signed up for
the money available from the 2002 and
2008 federal farm bills as could have.
The NRCS Minden office serves
Carson Valley, Carson City and Storey
County, parts of Washoe County, and
northern Mono County and Alpine
County, Calif.
The NRCS can help ranchers and
farmers through various cost-share
programs to improve their water use
and crop production, keep their land in
agriculture and enhance wildlife habitat.
The NRCS share is a percentage of a
project’s final expenses and varies from
project to project. The agency also assists
with planning, engineering and technical
requirements, working closely with the
local conservation districts whose boards
include active producers.
Ranchers like J.B. Lekumberry can
testify to the benefit of the federal dollars.
Lekumberry, with his wife, Lisa, and her
sisters and husbands, runs the Trimmer
Ranch No. 1 in Genoa. He is the secretary
of the Carson Valley Conservation
District.
“If you’re tapping into the goals
of the district, they can come in and
pay depending on how you qualify,”
Lekumberry said.
Trimmer Ranch No. 1 recently took
advantage of a project to eradicate
weeds.
“Instead of just one or two of us, there
was a whole crew,” Lekumberry said.
“It was fantastic.”
He called the program a win-win
situation for ranchers.
The NRCS offers three major programs
that address different practices.
Gifford said ranchers and farmers,
even hobby farmers, who produce
at least $1,000 worth of agricultural
products can qualify. Anyone interested
can call or stop by the office to determine
if they are eligible.
The Environmental Quality
Improvement Program, known as EQIP
(pronounced “equip”), is the most
utilized NRCS program in this area, he
said.
Participants can get help with a
variety of ranch improvements, such
as irrigation system upgrades and soil
erosion projects. Increasing wildlife
habitat is another practice that EQIP
covers.
“Under the EQIP program we can do
fencing, we can do livestock water wells,
“The USDA knows there’s an interest
in growing food locally,”
solar-powered pumps, pipelines, water
troughs, land leveling, big irrigation
pipelines,” Gifford said.
Ranchers can make improvements
that they might not be able to afford by
themselves. When the agricultural land
is improved, the community benefits.
Sportsmen and fishermen also benefit
from environmental conservation.
“Water quality is a top priority in this
area,” Gifford added. “One of the ways we
can improve water quality is to exclude
livestock from the river and sloughs ...
We’re not getting pathogens in the river
from the cowpies.” Another involves
grazing.
“Ranchers can move their salt and
supplemental feeding areas to different
locations to avoid cattle concentrating on
one area, [what is called] a sacrifice area,”
Gifford explained. “If that area is close
to a water body, there are concerns that
they’re getting into the water system.”
Under another CSP practice, ranchers
monitor grazing so as to effectively rotate
cattle from pasture to pasture to ensure
the cattle are not overgrazing.
The Farm and Ranchland Protection
Program, or FRPP, helps coordinate
conservation easements that strip the
development rights from a property.
The land remains in agriculture
and the owner must follow a defined
conservation plan.
“Our only involvement is helping to
write the conservation plan ‹ not the
main contract. Someone like Nevada
Land Conservancy or Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) takes care of the
[easement] contract,” Gifford said.
One of the newest NRCS programs is
the three-year High Tunnels, or Hoop
House, Pilot Project. Growers can
install structures made of bowed frames
covered with polyethylene in which they
can raise vegetables and other specialty
crops.
Jim Gifford ~ District Conservationist
NRCS
“The USDA knows there’s an interest in
growing food locally,” Gifford said.
“By cost-sharing hoop houses, we’re
hoping to extend the growing season and
grow vegetables we couldn’t normally
grow here because of the frost. It would
really help if we can avoid the frosts
in May and September.” New in 2010,
Gifford said, NRCS will offer EQIP
funds for ranchers who hold leases and
allotments on public land and want
to improve air, soil and water quality,
domestic livestock and plant health,
fish and wildlife habitat, and energy
conservation.
Gifford said he expects NRCS
programs will attract more participation
in 2010 because of the down economy.
Interested producers can contact
Gifford at (775) 782-3661, ext. 114, or
stop by the office at the Hickey Building,
1702 County Road, Suite A1, Minden.
Rod Dahl, District Conservationist
in the Fallon USDA office, said EQIP
is the most popular NRCS program in
Churchill County. He said the ranchers
also are interested in the Farm and
Ranch Land Protection Program and
the Grassland Protection Program,
especially projects aimed at water
conservation and keeping ranches from
being converted to other uses.
In Fallon, ranchers grow mostly alfalfa.
The NRCS programs help ranchers
convert to different types of crops, such
as turf grass or organic vegetables, which
are less water consumptive. Also high on
the priority list are wetland and wildlife
habitat protection and enhancement.
Churchill County ranchers and
farmers can contact Dahl at the Fallon
USDA Center, 111 Sheckler Road, Fallon,
or call (775) 423-5124.

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16 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010
Nevada farmers,
ranchers offered profit-
building workshops
4-day course will examine revenue strategies,
retirement, credit and other issues
By UNCE
Nevada agricultural producers can
learn how to increase revenue, lower costs
and deal with credit shortages in a free,
four-part course being offered around the
state by University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension and the College of Agriculture,
Biotechnology and Natural Resources.
The program, “Successful Agribusiness
Management Strategies,” will be divided
into half-day workshops and presented
at eight locations simultaneously through
Extension’s interactive video network.
Funding for the program was provided by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk
Management Agency.
The workshops will examine:
• Alternative enterprise feasibility and
risk analysis
• Dealing with credit issues and
bankruptcy
• Retirement strategies, along with
estate and farm transition planning
• Crop diversification and growing
techniques for arid Nevada
“These workshops are just another
way the University and Cooperative
Extension are helping Nevadans during
these difficult economic times,” said
Cooperative Extension Dean and Director
Karen Hinton.
Kynda Curtis, an assistant professor in
the University’s Department of Resource
Economics, will lead the training.
She said the program will include
valuable information to help all Nevada
agricultural producers become more
stable and profitable.
Here are the dates for “Successful
Agribusiness Management Strategies:”
Day 1: Friday, March 19, 2010
8:30 a.m. to noon
Day 2: Friday, March 26, 2010
8:30 a.m. to noon
Day 3: Friday, April 2, 2010
8:30 a.m. to noon
Day 4: Friday, April 9, 2010
8:30 a.m. to noon
COMSTOCK SEED
Ed & Linda Kleiner 775-265-0090 Gardnerville, NV
www.comstockseed.com
Here are the locations for “Successful
Agribusiness Management Strategies:”
• Churchill County UNCE Office Cooperative Extension and eXtension.org.
111 Sheckler Road, Fallon
• Douglas County UNCE Office interactive learning environment
1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville
• Elko County UNCE Office Extension experts from all over Nevada
701 Walnut Street, Elko
• Lyon County UNCE Office through www.unce.unr.edu, provides
504 S. Main Street, Yerington
• Northeast Clark County UNCE
Office
1897 N. Moapa Valley Blvd., Logandale
• Pershing County UNCE Office from around the country who collaborate
810 6th Street, Lovelock
• Northern Nye / Esmeralda Counties
UNCE Office Extension Dean and Director Karen
475 St. Patrick Street, Tonopah
• Tonopah White Pine County UNCE
Office
995 Campton Street, Ely
• Humboldt County UNCE Office
1085 Fairgrounds Road, Winnemucca
For more information or to register,
contact Kynda Curtis, (775) 784-1682,
kcurtis@cabnr.unr.edu.
Cooperative Extension is the
college that extends knowledge from
the University of Nevada to local
communities to address important
issues. Faculty and staff reached
hundreds of thousands of Nevada
citizens last year with research-based
information on agriculture, horticulture,
natural resources, health and nutrition,
community development and children,
youth and families.
Founded in 1874 as Nevada’s oldest
land-grant university, the University
of Nevada, Reno has more than 16,000
students and four campuses with
Cooperative Extension educational
programs in all Nevada counties. It is
ranked as one of the country’s top 150
research institutions by the Carnegie
Foundation, and is home to America’s
sixth-largest study abroad program,
as well as the state’s oldest and largest
medical school.
WE SPECIALIZE IN:
Native Seed Collections,
Drought Tolerant
Landscaping, Reclamation
and
Agriculture Seed
Extension offers
Nevadans tax
preparation tips online
By UNCE
It’s tax preparation season, and
Nevadans with questions about
deductions, Social Security benefits,
401(K) accounts and other personal
finance issues can get thorough, reliable
answers through University of Nevada
The Web site eXtension.org is an
delivering information from Cooperative
and the United States. The eXtension.org
site’s “Ask an Expert” feature, accessible
prompt, research-based answers to a wide
range of questions – from tax, retirement
and personal finance issues to queries
about when to plant heirloom tomatoes.
The answers are provided by researchers
on their answers and provide information
that’s based on sound research.
“eXtension is a great place to get solid,
clear answers to questions that come up
when you’re filling out your tax returns,”
said Jean Hilton, a state specialist with
the University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension and one of the personal finance
experts who help answer questions on the
site. “It’s fast, too.”
“eXtension is a great place to get solid, clear
answers to questions that come up when you’re
filling out your tax returns,”
For instance, one reader recently ask
what type of records he should keep for
tax-deductible business mileage. The
answer from the eXtension experts:
“Some people record all their mileage
on a calendar, planner, or business diary
that they keep in their car. Be sure to
jot down the date, the purpose of the
trip, the starting and ending odometer
readings, and the total number of
miles driven. Another good source of
documentation is a copy of the forms that
you provide to your employer for expense
reimbursement. Remember, you are
entitled to deduct the difference between
the IRS business mileage reimbursement
rate (50 cents in 2010) and the mileage
reimbursement rate provided by your
employer.
“Mileage expenses are also deductible
for charitable, moving, or medical
The Web site eXtension.org offers a wealth
of information.
purposes. In 2010, the mileage rate for
medical or moving purposes is 16.5 cents
per mile driven. The mileage rate for
service to a charitable organization is 14
cents per mile. As in the case of business
mileage, written documentation should
be kept of length and purpose of each
trip.”
University of Nevada Cooperative
Hinton, who helped create eXtension
and served as chairman of the eXtension
Governing Committee in 2009, said
answers provided on eXtension are vetted
by several Extension experts and are
frequently updated as new information
Jean Hilton ~ State Specialist
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
surfaces or laws change. She said the site
is receiving a lot of questions about how
losing a job affects a person’s income
taxes, as well as how Social Security
benefits are affected when one spouse
continues to work.
“There are a lot of people trying to cope
with difficult financial challenges right
now,” Hinton said. “So if you have doubts
or uncertainties, it’s nice to know there
is somewhere you can go to get reliable
answers.”
In addition to asking questions,
eXtension.org also allows visitors to read
through questions that have already been
posed, such as:
• Will unemployment hurt my credit
score?
• I am overextended in terms of
debt and am looking for a qualified,
trustworthy professional for credit
counseling. Is there an
organization to consult in
order to locate this type of
professional?
• What provisions
does the 2009 economic
stimulus bill have that may
affect me or my family?
To reach the Ask an
Expert feature, go to www.
unce.unr.edu and click on
the icon for “Managing
in Tough Times” on the
homepage. You can also
go to www.extension.org
to ask questions or read
through already-posted
questions and answers.
SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 17

Farmers, ranchers receive

Addressing the lesson in marketing
possible College Of By Steve Puterski
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
About 70 farmers throughout the state

Agriculture closure participated in a recent food safety and

marketing seminar.
The seminar, presented by the
University of Nevada, Reno and the
By Doug Busselman
Executive Vice President - Nevada Farm Bureau Federation
University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension, used video-conferencing
The answers to the proposal for closing the University of Nevada, Reno to present about 10 speakers to
College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources (CABNR) have viewers in Fallon, Reno, Gardnerville,
many possibilities with a variety of degrees of effectiveness. Yesterday, my Panaca, Yerington, Logandale, Ely and
Winnemucca.
suggestion was to consider the needs of Nevada agriculture and make the Kynda Curtis, an assistant professor
plans for a response in light of attempting to get us to where we need to be. in resource economics and a state
We should recognize that a fight to the death in defense of the status quo extension specialist, said the seminar
would be inappropriate. Whether the name “agriculture” is in the title for was put on by the request of farmers
around the state. Its purpose is to
the college or the research organization that’s connected to UNR doesn’t
educate farmers about food safety
make what has been going on the stuff farmers and ranchers need or and marketing tools to enhance the
necessarily want. Many of the current Nevada agricultural sector attended presence of local farms.
UNR and the College of Agriculture during the Golden Age of the school “More and more local producers
and remember the opportunities for the agricultural education that they are trying to differentiate their goods,”
Curtis said. “In order to do that, they
received. These same alums have been frustrated over the inability of
have to be concerned with safety Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
their children, interested in production agriculture, to get the same type of requirements and standards. It’s a B. Ann Lattin stands next to some of the
education. For the most part, with few key areas of study, if you wanted a learning process.” products featured at the new Growers Market
college education in agricultural studies, you have been required to look to Rick Lattin, owner of Lattin Farms, at Lattin Farms.
some other state and some other institution. said the farming and production of
food has changed dramatically in the Roberts told the audience some of the
The same has been true in regard to agricultural research. Pursuit of steps they will and may have to take to
past few years due to spinach, tomato
research dollars that didn’t connect to applied agricultural needs has been and pepper scares about five years ago. sell their products.
the focus of the Agricultural Research folks for some time. Again, in some Lattin said the tainted food came from Roberts went over the Hazard
instances there have been specific studies and projects which have retained conglomerated farms and not any local Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)
farmers in Nevada. System, which was developed by NASA
the practical needs of Nevada farmers and ranchers in mind, but those
Since the scares, Lattin said he’s and has been integrated into food
considerations have not made up the bulk of the research program. The regulations throughout the country.
noticed an increase in Nevada and
system of Experimental Stations around the state (including the Reno, Main throughout the country for the public to HACCP is designed to be proactive and
Station) have mostly been used for farming and providing the resources of buy locally farmed produce and other focus on preventing injury or illness
livestock feed and livestock for other research projects. products. caused by food.
“It’s created a little market for local He also discussed how farmers who
How the recommendations under consideration fit the requirements of
food,” Lattin said. “They say it’s putting a are looking to process food should
the Land Grant University criteria is questionable. Having been told that face to the food. If you trust your farmer, self-inspect the product, take corrective
because Cooperative Extension remains and the Ag Research portion will then you can trust the food.” action and use control steps to ensure
be retained (except for the likely real estate transactions that UNR high ups One of the big reasons for the boom safe food.
have been drooling over in regard to the Main Station for many years) the in buying local is import standards and “You’re going to want to have a plan,”
how food is regulated in other countries. Roberts said.
question remains what meaningful and significant aspect of being a Land Curtis said the seminar will also
Lattin said people feel safer and more
Grant University can we expect to come from the transition that is being comfortable buying from local farmers provide an opportunity to explore
considered? If the purpose is to pretend and go through the motions to and not from countries like China or different business avenues. The
keep getting the benefits associated with being a Land Grant University Mexico. marketing portion helped farmers to
– that’s what has been going on for at least the past 20 plus years…let’s quit “The whole agricultural scene is understand how to differentiate their
changing ... so farmers are having to products from foreign competitors as
pretending and stop cashing the Land Grant University checks that are no well as local sellers.
develop food safety plans because the
longer deserved. retailers are requiring it.” She discussed how and where to
While reviewing various other responses that have been offered by others, John Roberts of Sierra Foodservice place slogans such as “locally grown” or
I couldn’t help but notice the brilliant point observed by one person offering Sanitation gave a power-point “Nevada grown” on the items.
their perspective in the newspaper: presentation about the safety standards “That makes people aware of the fact
of ready-to-eat foods, processing, pest its locally grown, and you’re going to get
control and other topics. With the a better price,” Curtis said. “A lot of it has
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE changing of the agricultural landscape, to do with health issues.”
OF NEVADA
ARTICLE 11, SECTION 4 Sec: 4. Establishment of state university; control FREE

by board of regents. The Legislature shall provide for the establishment of a Don’t miss out on your
State University which shall embrace departments for Agriculture, Mechanic chance to advertise your SERVING NORTHERN
NEVADA RURAL COMMUNITIES

Arts, and Mining to be controlled by a Board of Regents whose duties shall business or service in VOLUME 1 • ISSUE
1 • SPRING 2010

be prescribed by Law. Northern Nevada’s premier

ARTICLE 11, SECTION 8[...] And the Legislature shall provide that if publication…
through neglect or any other contingency, any portion of the fund so set
apart [for a college for the benefit of Agriculture[,] the Mechanics Arts, and Nevada Ranch &
including Military tactics], shall be lost or misappropriated, the State of
Nevada shall replace said amount so lost or misappropriated in said fund so
Farm Exchange Inside This Issue…

that the principal of said fund shall remain forever undiminished[.] Call today! Water outlook for
2010 looks “tight”
Page 2
I salute you for your insight in pointing out the small detail of what is Dairymen continue
Central & eastern Nevada to lose money

written in the Nevada State Constitution. I have no doubt that University Page 4

775-423-6041
A look at some of
Northern Nevada’s
elites will find a way around that detail and will have some response to Centennial Ranches
Pages 9-11
44th Annual Bull
mitigate their actions regardless of what ought to be required, but through Western Nevada & eastern California termed a success Sale
Pages 18-19
your alert and public documentation people will know and understand the
portrayal for what it is. 775-782-5121
18 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange SPRING 2010

Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch &

Farm Exchange
Bidders look over a
grand champion bull
during the auction.

The 44 Fallon All Breeds th

Bull Sale a SUCCESS!

By MEGHAN BROWN and Casino Super 8 Motel, which donated rooms for the
Executive Director - Nevada Cattlemen’s Association Fallon Bull Sale committee and the NCA staff.
For the 44th year in a row, cattlemen from across the The NCA would also like to thank Demar Dahl who
West came together in Fallon to participate in the Fallon contributed to the raffle calf. Without the support of these
All Breeds Bull Sale. great sponsors, the Fallon Bull Sale would not be possible.
This year’s bulls ranged from yearlings to two-year old The Best of Breed Awards Top Range Bull were all
bulls. The overall sale average was $1,933 on 88 bulls. sponsored by Pinenut Livestock Supply, owned by John Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
Cattlemen from California, Nevada and Idaho attended and Renee Keithley. The Best of Breed Awards were Brandey Humphries, right and his son Beyson watch as
the sale, looking to buy their range-ready bulls for the presented to the following breeds: Red Angus, Balancer, the bull sale continues.
upcoming season. Angus, and Hereford.
by Rose Ranch was purchased by G Lazy B Ranch for
The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association (NCA) will The Top Range Bull Award was presented to Gillemott
Sunset Ranch of Washoe Valley for lot No. 96. This $2,100. The Gelbvieh average on two bulls was $1,095.
present an embroidered jacket to this year’s volume buyers, The high selling Brangus bulls Lot No.113/114 owned
Stix Cattle Company from Fernley and Jackson Ranch award winning bull was 23 months old and sold for $2,500
to Stix Cattle Company of Fernley. by Leonardini was purchased by Wes Washburn for
from Gerlach. This year’s buyer award was sponsored by $2,200. The Gelbvieh average on five bulls was $1,960.
Pinenut Livestock Supply. MCA appreciates the support The Angus Best of Breed award was presented to
Setter Cattle Company of The Beefmaster bull sold for $1,550 from Silver State
of our loyal buyers and the
Jackson, Calif., for lot No. Beefmasters and was purchased by Dean Mann from
allied industry members
43. This bull sold for $3,300 Washoe Valley.
such as Pinenut that help
make this sale a success. to Dink Morton from Big Also during the awards dinner, two other awards
Without the dedication Pine, Calif. This bull was were handed out. Traditionally, the Nevada Cattlemen’s
of NCA members, events also the Highest Selling Association donates $350 to the Churchill County FFA for
such as the Fallon Bull Sale Angus. The Angus average its help with the sale. This money is used as a scholarship
would not be possible. on 50 bulls was $2,133. by the FFA and given to an outstanding senior. This year,
The highest selling bull Phil Allen and Son of Colt Capurro was selected as the scholarship recipient.
was an Angus from Setter Antimony, Utah, was Colt was present to receive his check during the Churchill
Cattle Company. Dink awarded the Hereford Best County Cowbelles Dinner Dance.
Morton purchased Lot of Breed with lot No. 80 Members of the Fallon Bull Sale committee appreciate
No. 43 from Setter Cattle selling for $2,300 to Flying the time and effort that the FFA students put in each year.
Company for $3,300. We T Ranch, from Crescent Without their help the sale could not run as efficiently.
appreciate the dedication Valley. The Hereford A special presentation was made to Barbara Byington,
of both Dink Morton and average on 15 bulls was wife of the late Dallas Byington. Dallas served for over 30
Setter Cattle Company $1,693. The highest selling years on the Fallon Bull Sale committee. His efforts and
for being dedicated buyers Hereford was Lot No. 81 dedication to the sale were critical in the first years of the
and consignors for years. of Phil Allen and Son and
bull sale, and his continued service helped to make the bull
The Nevada Cattlemen’s Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange sold for $2,600 to Louis
sale what it is today.
Association and the Fallon Bidding was fast and furious for some of the bulls being Scatena from Yerington.
auctioned off. A plaque was presented to Barbara in appreciation for
Bull Sale committee thank The Balancer Best of
Breed Award went to Steve her husband’s dedication to the Fallon Bull Sale and the
you for your support. Nevada Cattlemen’s Association.
Along with the dedicated group of buyers and Smith of Lehi, Utah, with lot No. 3 that sold for $2,000
to Steve Mussi of Fallon. The high selling Balancer was This year’s raffle heifer donated by Demar Dahl was
consignors that participate in the sale each year, there are won by Ed Amador, and the second place prize donated
several sponsors who help make the sale possible year after lot No. 2 from Steven Smith, and was purchased by Steve
by Hoof Beat Gates and Corrals in Fallon was won by
year, and they include Pinenut Livestock, (awards for Best Mussi for $2,200. The Balancer average on three bulls was
$2,000. Anne Fagundes. The proceeds from this joint raffle benefit
of Breeds, and Top Overall Range Bull); Walco (ear tags
for the sale); and the Fallon Convention Center (grant for Gillemott Sunset Ranch of Washoe Valley was awarded the Churchill County FFA and NCA.
advertising). the Red Angus Best of Breed Award with lot No. 96 Lastly, thank you to the crew at Fallon Livestock
Along with these sponsors we would also like to selling at $2,500 to Stix Cattle Company. This was also the Exchange, the Churchill FFA, and the bull sale committee
thank our new sponsors, Hoof Beat Gates and Corrals high selling Red Angus bull. The Red Angus average on members, who all helped make the Fallon Bull Sale a huge
for donating the panels for our raffle, and Bonanza Inn 12 bulls was $1,404. success. Without the committed members of these groups
The high selling Gelbvieh bull Lot No. 118 owned our sale would not be possible.
SPRING 2010 Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange 19

The Fallon Livestock Exchange is a

major animal marketer in Nevada
BY STEPHANIE CARROLL
Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
The Fallon Livestock Exchange is
one of two major animal marketers in
Nevada, selling an average 600 to 650
per week.
“We provide a service to all the area
farmers and ranchers, so they have a
place to market their livestock,” said
manager and auctioneer Monte Bruck.
Bruck, who is from Oregon, was
“born and raised” in livestock sales
livestock they wanted,” Bruck said.
In addition to weekly sales, Bruck
said the exchange hosts several calf,
yearling, horse and special bull sales
throughout the year, including the
Northwest Beefmaster Association in
March and the Nevada Cattlemen’s
Association feeder sale in December,
which is jointly sponsored by the
livestock yard.
“We try to group large numbers of
cattle together because it gives the

“We’re the newest and most modern

sale yard anywhere in the Northwest”
Monte Bruck ~ Manager/Auctioneer
Fallon Livestock Exchange
Steve Ranson/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange
This 23-month old bull was sold during the annual Fallon All Breeds Bull Sale held at the
and used to auction and sell five times Nevada Livestock Exchange.
a week at another livestock yard. buyer more opportunities to buy large
He’s been the manager at the Fallon numbers when we have a special,” on to the buyers, the more it helps the stadium seating and a restaurant,
Livestock Exchange for seven years. Bruck said, adding he has seen producers,” Bruck said. Squeezy’s Cafe, which offers “the
individual buyers purchase up to 900 There is a commission but no best prime rib dinner in town” every
cattle at one time. consignment fee, Bruck said. He Thursday night.
The Livestock Exchange also hosts added animals are fed and watered. “We’re the newest and most modern
the Nevada Cattleman’s Association “We feed good locally grown alfalfa sale yard anywhere in the Northwest,”
annual Fallon All Breeds Bull and here, and we have fresh deep well Bruck said.
Heifer Sale. This sale has been in water in every pin,” Bruck said. The Fallon Livestock Exchange is
Fallon for nearly half a century and Bruck said the Fallon Livestock located at 2055 Trento Lane, (775)
is accompanied by Future Farmers of Exchange also offers nice facilities 867-2020. The weekly sale is at 11 a.m.
America fundraisers and the Churchill with heating, air conditioning, 250 on Tuesdays.
County Cowbelles annual dinner and
dance.
Autumn is a busy time for the
business because it’s when a majority
Home of:
of ranchers bring their cows in from
the range and thin their herds. Bruck
said the bull sale is important because
ranchers need to include new blood
lines into their herds when the cattle
are turned out to graze on the range.
He said ranchers typically use bulls to
expand their herds the old fashioned
Kim Lamb/Nevada Ranch & Farm Exchange way whereas dairymen use artificial
Monte Bruck is general manager of the
Nevada Livestock Exchange.
insemination to impregnate their Safe, Fun, Educational Horsemanship
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To sell animals at the exchange, Wild Willy’s Horse Camp
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have the opportunity to sell or buy as animals, including a brief description, * Kids ages 6 and up, including teens
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