News Update
May 16, 2012
Nominations Sought for the Kurt Bucholz Award
Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust is seeking nominations (www.wsgalt.org/#Application) for the Kurt Bucholz Award, which honors an individual who exemplifies the core beliefs of Dr. Bucholz during his lifetime of dedicated public service and commitment to conservation.
The award was created in memory of veterinarian Kurt Bucholz, a legislator and rancher from Saratoga, Wyo. His wife, Laura Bucholz, and the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust Board of Directors, established the award in Bucholz's name in 2008. The award is presented each year to an individual who represents his conservation values, especially the conservation of working ranches.
"The Bucholz Award emphasizes the role of private enterprise and initiative in the conservation of Wyoming's working landscapes," John Lunt, former Stock Growers Land Trust board member and 2009 award recipient, said. "This sets it apart from other such recognitions."
The Kurt Bucholz award is presented by the Stock Growers Ag Land Trust at its Annual Roundup Barbecue. Past award recipients are Dennis Sun, 2008; John Lunt, 2009; Joe Glode, 2010; and Jim Chant, 2011. Each year, renowned artist Jerry Palen volunteers his time and talent to create a bronze award depicting the Stock Growers Land Trust horse and rider logo. Individuals eligible for nomination will have achieved a lasting impact in one or more of the following ways:
• Ardent supporter of conserving Wyoming's working landscapes and one who recognizes the indispensible role of ranching in this endeavor.
• Astute and successful rancher and land steward who has been active in state and/or national natural resource issues, and a strong proponent of private enterprise and private solutions for conservation in Wyoming.
• A background of actions promoting the bedrock importance of water to Wyoming and the vital significance of protecting traditional water rights.
• A strong and abiding interest in hunting and wildlife and a personal commitment to habitat conservation.
Submissions are due by May 30. Please send nominations and letter of explanation to info@wsgalt.org.
Kansas Rancher Is America's Farmers Mom of the Year 2012
Debbie Lyons-Blythe, White City, Kan., is Monsanto's America's Farmers Mom of the Year 2012.
Lyons-Blythe was nominated by her children (Meghan, Allie, Trenton, Tyler and Eric), and also by her aunt, Mary Ferguson. Both nominations summarized in 300 words what makes Lyons-Blythe so special to her family, farm, community and the agricultural industry. She was selected as the Southwest Region's Farm Mom of the Year by a panel of judges from American Agri-Women and Monsanto. Her nomination was then posted to www.AmericasFarmers.com, along with those of the four other regional winners. Online voting determined Lyons-Blythe the national winner, just in time for Mother's Day.
"What an honor that my children and my aunt, who is also a busy rancher, would nominate me for America's Farmers Mom of the Year, especially this time of year when we are often working until 9:30 at night and focused full-time on getting cattle bred, fences fixed and cows to grass," says Lyons-Blythe. "I'm flying high with the support I've been given from people who matter the most to me. I love to say I raise kids and cows — and I really love both."
Lyons-Blythe says she is proud to accept the award in recognition of farm moms everywhere who work long hours for little recognition. "I'm humbled to be singled out, because there are so many farm moms who work each day to build a legacy for their children," she says. "I am thankful for everyone who supports farm wives and moms in general."
Debbie and her family run Blythe Angus, near White City, Kan., where her husband Duane's family homesteaded in 1890. They raise 250 registered Angus cows and sell registered bulls, along with a commercial heifer development program. They also have a diversified cropping operation, including hay, for the cow herd. Although all five of her children help on the ranch, it is Debbie who provides the daily labor. Duane works in town and she said she is "blessed" to have a husband supportive of her passion for ranching. A graduate of Kansas State University, Debbie serves on the board of directors for the Kansas Livestock Association and National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and is an active member of the American Angus Association. She authors an online blog, "Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch," with which she strives to give consumers a glimpse of life on a family farm. You can access her blog online at http://kansascattleranch.blogspot.com/.
For the full release, visit http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/americas-farmers-mom-of-the-year-2012.
The Fifth National Conference on Grazing Lands
Grazing lands get no respect. Often designated as "undeveloped" land, it is a term suggesting wastelands waiting for a worthy purpose.
"The Nation's grazing lands, also known as rangelands, are not just in a waiting room to become houses, malls or vineyards," says Bob Drake, Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI) chairman. "Grazing lands have many jobs: homes for livestock, sponges for rainfall, wildlife habitat, carbon reservoirs, hiking and bird-watching meccas, hunting and fishing grounds, and much, much more. Sustainably managing all these roles across 600 million acres of grazing lands in this nation is a huge balancing act, and it's also the topic of our conference," he summarizes.
GLCI will host its fifth national conference in Orlando, Fla., Dec. 9-12, 2012, at the Caribe Royale Hotel and Convention Center. GLCI conference organizers expect more than 1,200 ranchers, professors, land managers, researchers, public officials, ecologists and students to participate in the exchange of information on successful "cutting edge" grazing management technologies.
This year, Temple Grandin, noted animal behavior expert, author, speaker and professor, will be one of a number of featured presenters. Some of Grandin's books will be available for purchase and for a book signing that will follow her keynote address on Monday.
For the full release, visit www.glci.org/5NCGL.html.
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