GRVCA gets latest in ag updates at annual meeting

The 2025 Green River Valley Cattlemen’s Association (GRVCA) opened its annual meeting on March 1 with the appearance of U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY). He was followed by speakers who provided updates in vet medicine, marketing, winter chill, hay analysis, current legislation and the Pinedale FFA.

Senator’s remarks

Barrasso reviewed the current list of President Donald J. Trump’s secretarial appointees, including former North Dakota Governor and new U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, whom he said “is terrific for ag.”

He also cited Elon Musk for cutting federal and civil government agencies and employees.

Barrasso told the group he has received e-mails about certain employee terminations that affect the livestock industry.

“Things are being shaken up in Washington, D.C. right now,” he said. “If you see someone has been terminated, let us know. Overall, better days are just ahead.”

The U.S. farm bill is extended until October, and under the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, some benefit programs’ budgets will be cut or reduced, he explained.

Barrasso discussed the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs Resource Management Plan and talked about his personal experience witnessing last summer’s huge wildfires.

“There needs to be strings attached,” he said. “We can’t just do the same old thing and be fine.”

He invited people to visit Washington, D.C. and meet with him, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis and House Rep. Harriet Hageman (both R-WY). 

Barrasso then fielded questions from the audience before GRVCA President Kristy Wardell introduced a variety of speakers and Vice President Walden Campbell kept an eye on the clock.

Market forecast

First up was University of Wyoming (UW) Extension Livestock Production and Marketing Specialist Rob Ziegler with a beef market outlook, thoroughly covering past and present cattle futures, inventory, markets and trends. 

Drought, employment, inflation, tariffs and interest rates will be factors in hay, alfalfa and corn production and prices but they currently look favorable.

“The long-term trend is going up overall,” he said. “If feed prices rise, though, it might slow down a little.”

“It may be a good time to think about a drought contingency plan and have a little extra hay on hand,” he added, noting hay prices generally rise for the first cutting and rose to $250 a ton in 2023.

On Feb. 14, good alfalfa hay prices averaged $140 a ton. 

These factors can also affect producers’ pricing and planning, although consumer demand remains constant, with Americans’ per capita beef consumption around 60 pounds for 2024, he said.

Ziegler noted, in January, 39 percent of cattle on feed were heifers, indicating producers are not currently rebuilding their herds. From 2019-23, heifer slaughter averaged 823,000 a year and in 2024, this number rose to 833,000. In 2024, steers averaged 931 pounds and heifers 848 pounds.

“The beef industry can give itself a pat on the back,” he said.

Heifer program

Alongside the Green River Valley Cowbelles/Cattlewomen (GRVC), GRVCA is sponsoring the second year of special replacement heifer categories at the Sublette County Fair, GRVCA’s Audra Rouge reported.

This complements the Sublette County Fair’s market steer special contests and encourages local youth to continue another year with a heifer and her first calf.

In 2024, donors included GRVC, GRVCA, Pinedale FFA Alumni and Farm Credit Services of America. Last year, Matazi Landers took the top heifer award at the fair, while Shane Rogers was second and Mesa Landers was third, with a total cash payout of $1,500.

This year’s contest will take place on the Wednesday of fair week with payouts of $1,830 and buckles for the top replacement heifers and the top first-calf heifers. Marsha Barlow requested a special buckle for the top interviewee.

This year, nine first-calf heifers and nine replacement heifers are tagged for the summer contests, Rouge reported.

Hay analysis

UW Extension Educator Dagan Montgomery reviewed the value of cattle hay analyses and seasonal cattle feeding needs. 

Having hay analyzed can determine which supplements cattle might need to digest added nutrients.

“Certain minerals can antagonize other minerals when their concentration is too high,” he said.

Cold weather, especially with the recent wind chill, means bred cows need more nutrition, he said.

For example, feeding extra to a 1,200-pound mature, average-coat, bred cow in 23 degree Fahrenheit weather should start ahead of calving and 90 days after. This comes to 24.2 pounds of hay a day.

Montgomery asked area hay growers to participate in the Sublette Hay Quality Survey. Producers can submit their hay analyses, species and irrigation details confidentially to the Sublette County Extension Office to expand the database, he said.

Legislation

Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) Executive Vice President Jim Magagna provided legislative updates current as of the morning of March 1.

“The Wyoming Legislature started with about 500 bills, which is more than I’ve seen in years,” he said. “Bills have fallen by the wayside by incredible numbers. The list of bills that went nowhere is the longest I’ve seen in 26 years. Right now, there are more than 150 bills still in process.”

This legislative session was meant to address the state’s supplemental budget between two budget years but went in many directions.

WSGA supported House Bill 0275 “as amended,” referring to legislation to rectify the many people protesting the snowmobile-wolf-killing incident in Sublette County last year.

It would “prohibit the torture or mutilation of wildlife, including predators, after being reduced to possession. The immediate killing of such wildlife would make a second violation a felony and includes loss of hunting privileges,” according to Magagna’s 2025 Bill Review and Status.

“I recieved up to 260 e-mails from people globally complaining about how Wyoming treats animals,” Magagna said. “If you run over a predator intentionally, you have the obligation to put it down. If you have possession of them, you have to kill them.”

The bill called for the first offense to be a misdemeanor with maximum $1,000 fines and six months in jail. A second offense would be a felony with maximum $10,000 fines and five years in jail. 

“Until the last day of this session, we don’t know where it will stand,” Magagna said. “I can’t imagine anyone foolish enough to do that a second time.”

If the bill doesn’t survive this session, it could become an interim topic with a lot of public pressure towards snowmobiling over animals in Wyoming, he said. 

“The issue is not going to disappear,” Magagna concluded.

Bull health

Chad Pelensky of the Uinta Veterinary Hospital advised producers to have all bulls undergo bull breeding soundness exams (BSE) annually to determine which are sub-fertile and costing them lost revenue.

A BSE is much more than a semen test, and should include evaluation of the feet, eyes, scrotum, sheath, injuries and other conditions making it unlikely a bull can breed successfully. Sub-fertile bulls will usually breed a cow late – after her second cycle. Their sperm might not have the same speed and forward motility needed to impregnate, he added.

His next message was about pinkeye, a painful central corneal ulcer that turns off buyers and causes feeder cattle to lose weight. If cattle are injected with one pinkeye vaccine, it could battle with endotoxins in scours and respiratory medicines, for example, at the same time and can really knock an animal down. 

As for New World screwworm, Pelensky related how the livestock flesh-eating parasite was thwarted by releasing irradiated sterile male flies.

Cattle Drive Video Market

Producer Jeff Barry introduced himself as an entrepreneurial cattle buyer with the new Cattle Drive Video Market and private treaty sales. 

He cited a 1.5 percent commission and $100 per-head down payment on sold cattle. The entity sold 103,000 head as of the meeting.

Barry said he is not trying to take other buyers’ customers away. 

“I want a customer who needs a change. You might not like my price, but I will call you back,” he said. “Sublette County cattle are very desirable.”

“Sublette County is in a really good location – we sold as many going west as we did going east,” he concluded.

Joy Ufford is a corresponding writer for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.