2017 Crop Values Summary
State-level estimates for 2017 crop values are now available, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Crop Values includes average prices and values of production for major field crops and many specialty crops.
All prices in the report are marketing year average (MYA) prices which do not include allowances or adjustments for commodities under government loan at the end of the marketing year, commodities forfeited to the Commodity Credit Corporation, loan deficiency payments, direct and counter cyclical payments, or disaster payments.
For a full copy of the report please visit www.nass.usda.gov.
For state specific questions please contact: Arizona – Dave DeWalt 1-800-645-7286 Colorado – William R. Meyer 1-800-392-3202 Montana – Eric Sommer 1-800-835-2612 New Mexico – Longino Bustillos 1-800-530-8810 Utah – John Hilton 1-800-747-8522 Wyoming – Rhonda Brandt 1-800-392-3202
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See wild swans before public viewing event
Each spring, thousands of wild tundra swans rest and refuel on Utah’s marshes as they return to their Arctic breeding grounds. The swans have begun arriving in Utah and can provide stunning photos and video footage.
Inserting tracking tags into 2,000 June suckers
What: Some of the best work to help Utah Lake’s endangered June sucker population is actually happening 120 miles to the north, in the city of Logan. That’s where the biologists at the DWR’s Fisheries Experiment Station use a special water-recirculation facility to grow the fish quickly in warmer water. Next week, about 2,000 of those fish will be injected with tiny, coded tracking tags. Then, in another six to eight weeks, they will take a road trip to Utah Lake, where they will be stocked to supplement local populations. As they swim up the lake’s tributaries in May and June, their tracking tags will be scanned and recorded. This technology gives biologists accurate data about fish survival and attempts at reproduction. Reporters and photographers are invited to visit the Fisheries Experiment Station, observe the tagging process and learn more about the ongoing work to conserve this endangered native species.
Catching and spawning walleye at Willard Bay
What: One of Utah’s largest fish-production projects of the year will begin the first week of March. DWR biologists and many volunteers will spend more than a month at Willard Bay, catching hundreds of walleye and collecting millions of eggs. The eggs will be fertilized and subjected to a specialized high-pressure treatment. If all goes well, many of the resulting fish will be sterile and unable to reproduce in the wild. The DWR wants more sterile walleye because their numbers are easy to control. The fish that aren’t completely sterile will be stocked in lakes and reservoirs that already contain fertile walleye. Reporters and photographers are invited to join the biologists working at Willard Bay. You’ll get a close look at some impressive fish and learn more about why and how the DWR is producing sterile, predatory fish in large numbers. For additional details, see https://wildlife.utah.gov/blog/2016/stocking-sterile-fish.
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Stephanie Chatterton-Richards announces publication of ‘Butterscotch Pudding’
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Stephanie Chatterton-Richards marks her publishing debut with the release of “Butterscotch Pudding” (published by Balboa Press), a book that hopes to inspire readers to recognize the importance of loving themselves and others by honoring the individuality and unique choices they make.
“Working with children for over 25 years, I've been inspired by how ready to learn, love, and be open to new ideas they are. I've observed how so many people choose to live in judgement and the contrast: when people are aware of our differences and honor those differences, peace and love abide,” Chatterton-Richards shares.
“Butterscotch Pudding” offers a view on valuing each person’s unique perspective in life, and allowing people to be exactly who they are. According to the author, the book will appeal to readers because its message is so relative and important to fostering self-esteem, self-love and harmonious relationships.
Chatterton-Richards hopes that the book can be utilized to bring awareness to the importance of self-love in all ways. It appeals to the LGBTQ community, teen suicide prevention, self-esteem movement, anti-bullying campaigns, and all-around self-love and acceptance.
“Butterscotch Pudding”
By Stephanie Chatterton-Richards
Softcover | 8.5x8.5 in | 28 pages | ISBN 9781504393508
E-Book | 28 pages | ISBN 9781504393515
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Stephanie Chatterton-Richards was born and raised in Utah and is happy to call it home with her supportive husband, Dale. Proud to be the mother of four and stepmother of five children, Chatterton-Richards is no stranger to working with children. Former ballet teacher, Chatterton-Richards taught at various dance studios for over 25 years, including her own. Teaching through stories has been a passion for her all her life and she brings that passion into the theatrical productions she directs and choreographs. She is excited to bring these stories to life and share them with readers young and old across the world.
See bald eagles at Ouray National Wildlife Refuge
Bald eagles migrate into Utah during the winter to find food and escape colder conditions farther north. The birds are large and social, and can be fun to watch and photograph. Tomorrow, the DWR will hold its final bald eagle viewing event for the month of February.
Improving habitat for mule deer herds
Habitat-improvement projects don’t stop in the winter months. In southern Utah, range crews are using bullhogs to improve thousands of acres of mule deer habitat near Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Bullhogs are heavy machines that tear out and shred pinyon pine and Utah juniper trees, leaving room for the widespread growth of sagebrush, grasses and flowering plants. On this project, eight bullhogs are operating at the same time to remove overgrown pinyon-juniper vegetation. In a couple of years — long after the loud, messy machinery is gone — this project area will offer better habitat for mule deer and many other species. The DWR is just one partner in this multi-phase Watershed Restoration Initiative project.
River restoration benefits sportfish and native fish
operators pull chunks out of the riverbank and drop boulders and logs throughout the water. How could this possibly help the fish? Although it looks destructive, this work is exactly what the fish need. The project is limiting erosion, stabilizing the banks, slowing down the water and creating pools where fish can spawn. As a partner in Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative, the DWR is working to restore sections of the Sevier River and Beaver River in southern Utah.
