Wyo Ag Shines

       After attending the Wyoming Stock Growers 2008 Environmental Stewardship Tour north of Daniel last week, one has to really believe in the bright future of Wyoming agriculture. The Pape Ranches were the winners of this meaningful award and the Pape family proved to everyone who spent the day on the ranch what great stewards of the land they truly are.
    We have all heard, or realize, ranching north of Pinedale is not always easy. No one who’s sober has ever used the term “banana belt” to describe the Daniel area or the five-and-a-half months out of the year they spend feeding hay. The Pape family and others have proved it to be possible, economical and environmentally sound. I’m not going to say it is easy for them, but they do it and they do it right.
    After listening to Norm, David and Fred, as well as visiting with other members of the family, they are a typical ag-based Wyoming family. It’s too bad 100 such awards couldn’t be given to the numerous deserving families each year. This state certainly has many ag producers worthy of recognition.
    Changing subjects, findings in a recent independent poll compiled by Rasmussen Reports on voter ratings of Congress is troubling. This national survey asked voters if they approve of what Congress is doing.
    Earlier Rasmussen surveys found half of all voters believe America’s best days are in the past, but another survey found 64 percent of voters also believe the world would be a better place if more countries were similar to the United States. That tells me they still believe in the U.S., but don’t have much confidence in America.
    This month’s survey said only nine percent of the voters polled believe Congress is doing a good or excellent job. I figure the nine percent must have been talking about Wyoming’s congressional delegation.
    The survey report went on to say Congress has not received higher than a 15 percent approval rating since the beginning of 2008. So far this year the ratings have dropped each month. It was especially poor for voters not affiliated with either party. Just three percent of those voters gave Congress positive ratings. More Democratic voters approved of Congress than Republican voters and that makes sense with the Democratic majority. Only 13 percent of the Democratic voters and eight percent of the Republican voters gave Congress a positive rating. That is much lower than the President’s ratings.
    On another issue, please don’t forget the two Grazing Management Workshops with Roy Roath from Colorado State University. One will be held in the Medicine Bow area on Aug. 4; RSVP to Todd Heward at the Medicine Bow Conservation District at 307-378-2221. The other workshop will be held in the Bates Hole area on Aug. 5; please contact Deena McDaniels at the Natrona County Conservation District at 307-234-4022.
    The Bates Hole/Shirley Basin Sage-Grouse Local Working Group and the Natrona County Conservation District sponsor these workshops. They’re of no cost to you, and you get a free lunch.
    Maybe Congress would be more popular if they bought us lunch.                                                                                          Dennis