Just a Dumb Ranchers Wonderings
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Snowy Drought
It is an interesting mix of stories in the Billings Gazette today. First we have a <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/12/28/build/local/30-snow.inc">story about the blizzard </a>we are currently experiencing and how highways all over eastern Montana are closed because of it and then we have a series of stories(<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/12/28/build/state/30-drought1.inc">here</a>, <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/12/28/build/state/70-drought2.inc">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/12/28/build/state/70-drought3.inc">here</a>) on the continuing drought…
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Herd Identification
As you probable could guess I follow the <acronym title="Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy">BSE</acronym> investigation very closely since I am in the cattle industry. Well I am beginning to see <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A33163-2003Dec26?language=printer">more and more articles </a>citing the trouble they are having identifying the birth herd of the cow with <acronym title="Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy">BSE</acronym>. Even a presidential candidate…
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Earthquake
The <a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20031227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_earthquake">reports</a> of this Iranian earthquake are unbelievable to me. They have no idea how many have been killed but estimate it at 20,000 and believe that could as much as double. There aren't that many people in my hometown and if it gets to 40,000 dead that is half the population of the…
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Snow
Montana weather is always changing and you never know what it is going to do. Yesterday morning I looked at the weather from the <a href="http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Billings/index.shtml">NWS</a> and they said we were expected to get 17" of snow starting right away. I had planned on starting to feed the big bunch of cows hay this morning…
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Resource Development
I read <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/12/25/build/wyoming/35-well-gift.inc">this story</a> with avid interest since it deals with the Coal Bed Methane (CBM) development that is being argued right now in southern Montana. There has been a lot of argument whether the water that is pumped out of these wells is too high in salinity and a contaminate to surface water.…
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Christmas
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the…
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Jesus vs Santa
Santa lives at the North Pole … <br />nJESUS is everywhere. <br />n<br />nSanta rides in a sleigh … <br />nJESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water. <br />n<br />nSanta comes but once a year … <br />nJESUS is an ever present help.<br />n<!–more–><br />nSanta fills your stockings with goodies … <br…
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Downsizing Christmas
TO: Public Release<br />nRE: Organizational Changes at the North Pole<br />n<br />nThe recent announcement that Donner and Blitzen have elected to take the early reindeer retirement package has triggered a good deal of concern about whether they will be replaced, and about other restructuring decisions at the North Pole. Streamlining was necessary due to the…
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BSE Update
I know I have talked quite a bit about this now but you have to understand that it affects my lively hood so I am very concerned (i.e. scared) about it. <a href="http://www.billingsgazette.com//index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/12/24/build/nation/20-madcowfuror.inc">This article</a> in the Gazette is a very good one.<br />n<br />n<i>The message is that this incident does not pose a health risk…
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Protein Shortage Looms
It appears to me that South Korea has a real problem on its hands. They have <a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&e=2&u=/ap/20031224/ap_on_re_as/mad_cow_asia">banned beef from the U.S.</a> due to <acronym title="Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy">BSE</acronym> and an <a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031223/sc_nm/food_korea_disease_dc_1">Avian Flu outbreak </a>has them slaughtering their poultry flocks at a fast and furious rate. It sure sounds like protein is going to get…