ranching

Across the country inflation rates are at all time highs, which are affecting many industries. Here in Wyoming, ranchers and farmers are also feeling the costs.The current average price of diesel in Wyoming is $5.69, which is more than a $2 increase since this time last year. With the haying season approaching, ranchers need diesel to fuel their equipment. They also need it to go out and check and move cows.

A federal bill is proposing to change how cattle are sold to meatpackers, and although some Wyoming ranchers say the system is currently broken, they are skeptical that the bill could change the process.

Applications to drill eight high capacity water wells in Laramie County continue to move forward, even though, last fall, a control area advisory board recommended they be rejected. Since then, the case's hearing examiner submitted an 85-page proposed order to the state engineer recommending the water wells be approved.

A Wyoming court case involving public land access may soon head to federal court. Landowners there want damages from four Missouri men who went over a corner where four pieces of land meet: two private, two public. They didn’t touch the private land, but landowners argue they still went over it and, therefore, trespassed.

Across the West, women are changing the ways land and livestock are managed. Ashley Ahearn saddled up for the Mountain West News Bureau to chronicle their big dreams – and daily challenges. This is the third story of a three-part series.

Across the West, women are changing the ways land and livestock are managed. Ashley Ahearn saddled up for the Mountain West News Bureau to chronicle their big dreams – and daily challenges. This is the second story of a three-part series.

Across the West, women are changing the ways land and livestock are managed. Ashley Ahearn saddled up for the Mountain West News Bureau to chronicle their big dreams – and daily challenges. This is the first story of a three-part series.

The Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame is taking nominations through the end of February. Wyoming Public Radio's Melodie Edwards sat down with Scotty Ratliff, a former legislator and a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, to hear why he decided to start a list of Wyoming's most famous and skilled cowboys.

The University of Wyoming is part of a $19 million project looking at how grazing practices affect soil health and rancher well being. The project brings together researchers from 11 different nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, private research institutes and public universities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Currently, four companies–Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef–control 85 percent of the market. Last year saw the best year ever for beef sales, but for every dollar spent on meat at the grocery, only about $0.37 made it into the pockets of ranchers.