American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) stallion Blue Valentine will be inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in Amarillo, Texas.
The Blue Valentine bloodline has a huge following amongst AQHA members and has for decades, said Chip Merritt.
Blue Valentine, also known as “Blue” by the Merritt Family, was a 1956 blue roan stallion by the famous match racing stallion Red Man (1935) and out of Beauty’s Dream (1938), rodeo horse and money earner.
Known not only for his stout, sturdy, functional confirmation, but also his calm, easy going, demeanor, Blue Valentine created a name for himself that has lasted into the 21st century.
Blue Valentine was bred by Kenny Gunter in Benson, Arizona. Ken’s longtime friend, Dell Haverty, loved his bloodlines and purchased Blue as a yearling.
“The story’s a little fuzzy, but Dell acquired Blue Valentine from Ken Gunther when he was a year-old. Then he started riding him, started roping on him, and campaigned on him. I have come across some information where they even match raced Blue Valentine down there.,” explained Chip.
“I can’t see where he was beaten. It could have happened, but I cannot find information where he was beaten in any of those match races.”
Dell went on to win the all-around and calf roping in Scottsdale, Arizona, off Blue as a three-year old and campaigned him across the country. After heading north, Dell married Connie Hayes, daughter of Buster Hayes of Wyoming.
Dell sold half interest in Blue to Buster and Lourie Hayes, and they continued to promote and campaign Blue at rodeos including Calgary, San Francisco, Pendleton, and Cheyenne Frontier Days.
As fate would have it, King Merritt, Chip’s grandfather, produced a steer roping in Encampment, Wyoming, in the late 40’s with a whopping $1,000 entry fee.
Hyde Merritt, who had married Buster’s other daughter, Dede, located a son of Joe Hancock named Texas Blue Bonnet, and convinced the Hayes Brothers to buy him.
They began breeding Texas Blue Bonnet, built up their broodmare herd, and then bred Blue Valentine back to those mares.
Today, the Merritt’s (Chip, Kathy, Corey, Brady, and Madison) still breed and sell horses that are descendants of this cross, just as they did in the beginning.
King Merritt not only owned the first AQHA registered stud in Wyoming, but he also was the first AQHA director from the cowboy state.
“I’ve always felt like the mare has more than 50 percent to do with offspring from a mating,” Chip said “I really think that is a reason or part of the reason why Blue Valentine’s legacy has lasted so long. Because they had such a tremendous start at the beginning with the mares that were bred to Blue Valentine.”
“I would trail the mares out to the pasture with Blue, unsaddle him, and turn him loose with the mares,” Chip said. “Then when we had to gather that bunch, we’d go catch him out in the pasture. I’d saddle him, ride him, and run the mares in with him.”
Originally located between Laramie and Cheyenne, the Merritt’s ranched and were the cattle contractors for Cheyenne Frontier Days for years. Blue could often be found at Frontier Park and continued to impress everyone with his calm demeanor.
“One year I was in junior high, my dad and mom were gone somewhere, and I was left to take care of about 500 yearlings in the middle of winter. I just jumped on Blue and rode him about five miles up to the pasture,” Chip said.
“There was a little sled up there and I hooked on the sled, dragged 10 bales out, fed the cattle, came out, got 10 more, and then rode Blue home. I remember him just busting through the snowdrift.”
Dell Haverty won the all-around and tie down roping on Blue in Scottsdale. Not only could they team rope, match race, and tie down on Blue, but he also was a phenomenal tripping horse.
“My father Hyde always told me that he felt like Blue started out of the box flat and ran as hard as any horse he’d ever ridden,” Chip said.
“I got to trip steers on him when I was a senior in high school. It was just an amazing experience to do that and to ride him and rope on him. He was an amazing horse. It was a blessing to be able to be around him and to ride and rope off Blue.”
“Twenty-six years ago, there weren’t many people with Blue Valentine programs. There were several that had started programs with horses they had bought from my granddad, and then a few others from my dad. But it just blossomed after we started having a sale. People have fallen in love with Blue Valentine horses.” explained Chip.
In 1983, Hyde Merritt, Chip’s father, passed away suddenly in an accident.
“What’s kept the Blue Valentine name alive is all of our customers loving those horses, keeping them and just talking about them,” Chip said.
+++30+++
Performance Horse Blue Valentine Bloodline Becomes More Popular
Biggest Threat To Grasslands
“Many invaders are working to destroy native Flint Hills pastures.”
The list is long including red cedar, hedge, buckbrush, locust, Old World bluestem, thistles, multiflora rose, Johnsongrass, and more.
However, depending on opinion and experiences, the most serious native grassland intruder at the present time is sericea lespedeza based on personal experience.
Ability to thrive under a variety of conditions and its tendency to crowd out more palatable forages are among the reasons sericea has been declared a noxious weed in Kansas and other states.
Sericea was introduced into the United States in the 1930s but was not considered a problem until the 1980s.
Its initial perceived value for livestock feed, erosion control, hay, wildlife cover and food, and seed production was generally accepted.
From original plantings, sericea has spread by animals and movement of hay contaminated with seed to native prairies,
Normal management practices such as grazing, burning, mowing, and herbicides do not adequately control sericea.
The best approach to control sericea is early detection, isolation of infested areas, and control of individual plants with approved herbicides.
Once established, an integrated approach to control is necessary to minimize the damage with the primary goal to reduce seed production every year.
It is difficult to give grasses a competitive edge over sericea with grazing because cattle will select grasses and leave the sericea.
Spring burning removes the dead growth of sericea but has no negative effect on established plants. Fire increases seed germination, thus promoting the establishment of new plants. However, burning can improve the effectiveness of herbicides if applied to regrowth the same year.
Mowing will reduce the vigor of sericea if cut close to the ground multiple times each year. However, mowing will not kill sericea and may damage desirable grasses. In addition, a large sericea seed bank will remain in the soil.
Its highly competitive and invasive nature, together with low palatability, makes sericea undesirable on rangeland. A combination of management practices offers the most effective control of sericea.
Personally, following every recommended control method is very expensive requiring continued efforts which remain largely ineffective.
Reminded of Jeremiah 4:8: “Invaders have pounced to leave the land in wrack and ruin” Yet optimism prevails in Nahum 1:15: “Messengers come running to pastures with glad news: ‘The invaders have been wiped out and we are safe.’”
+++ALLELUIA+++
XVIII–35–
Local no more
When he was Speaker of the House in Washington (1977-’87), the late and magnificent Tip O’Neill often said “All politics is local.”
Not anymore.
A couple of days before the August primary elections, the Hutchinson Tribune reported that local Republican candidates for the state Senate and House of Representatives had received more than $75,000 in campaign contributions from Washington, D.C. area political action committees.
Nearby in Sedgwick County, the Wichita Eagle said that $90,000 came to a candidate for Sedgwick County Commission from two out-state political action committees ‒ one based in Texas, the other in Wisconsin.
The candidates said they had not had asked for the money. It just came.
The Sedgwick candidate, Wichita City Councilman Greg Ferris, had raised about $37,000. He was surprised when Rural Economic Development PAC, based in Wisconsin, gave him $65,000. Another $25,000 came through a mysterious political action committee (“Great America Coalition”) in Washington, D.C., including $5,000 from a Wichita developer who said his Wisconsin contribution was in error.
The motive for the Sedgwick contributions is unclear, but there are ties to a front group advocating tax breaks and subsidies for big wind and solar energy projects. A Sedgwick County moratorium on large-scale wind and solar power is about to come up for review.
It may not matter. Ferris lost the election.
In Reno County, “Make Liberty Win”, a conservative PAC based in Alexandria, Va., gave more than $38,000 to Michael Murphy’s Republican campaign for the state Senate. Murphy’s primary opponent, Bob Fee, received $23,000 from Americans for Prosperity, a prominent conservative organization also headquartered in Alexandria and led by Charles Koch of Wichita. (Murphy won the primary.)
Make Liberty Win also gave nearly $13,000 to Tyson Thrall, a GOP candidate for the 102nd Kansas House district. Americans for Prosperity gave $1,450 to his opponent, Kyler Sweely. (Sweely won.)
In Missouri, pro-Israel groups spent more than $8 million supporting Wesley Bell’s successful primary campaign to unseat Rep. Cori Bush in a St. Louis-area Democratic primary election. Bush, a member of the progressive group of lawmakers known as “the Squad,” had been an outspoken critic of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack and repeatedly called for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Solicited or not, it’s unlikely that gifts from national cause lobbies were limited to these local candidates. Money talks. Sooner or later, the donors come knocking.
Politics these days is about labels, not party affiliation. Campaigns have become battles among special interests with Republicans and Democrats dressed up for the brand. The cause lobbies are there for the power and the spoils.
This explains why, for example, 70 percent of Kansans favor Medicaid expansion but a Republican-dominant legislature keeps saying No. Cause lobbies keep us in the backwater with such health care stalwarts as Mississippi and Alabama.
Or why the legislature sidetracked billions in aid to cities and counties with a bogus billion-dollar “tax reform” and, on the same day, offered at least $4 billion in new stadiums to lure the Chiefs and Royals across the river into Kansas.
It is why impactful legislation at Topeka comes from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative cause lobby in Alexandria, Va.. ALEC’s president, Ty Masterson, is also president of the Kansas Senate.
Property taxes and health care become an afterthought when sports stars
come calling, or when special interests dump money into local elections.
Pet Peeves (Best Of)
America has gone to the dogs. 28% of the people in this country don’t like cats. Only 4% don’t like dogs.
I don’t like cats for the following reasons:
(1) They rub up against your leg and leave cat hairs all over the bottoms of your Wranglers®.
(2) Their favorite place to sleep is near the fan belt of your car.
I love dogs, but there are some things they do that irritate me, such as…
(1) Dogs like to pee on tires. In that respect they are like truck drivers. I got a new car once with white wall tires and there was something about those tires that attracted dogs. I drove to a cattle sale once, and 42 dogs had a convention at my front left tire. So much for white walls.
(2) Dogs chase cars and I don’t know why. What are they ever going to do with one if they catch it?
(3) Dogs love to jump on car doors. If the banker drives up to count the cows there is not a dog alive that won’t jump up on the banker’s car door and scratch the paint making your banker so mad he or she won’t renew your loan. Why is it that dogs never jump on the car door of a salesman or an in-law?
(4) Ranch dogs eat stuff they shouldn’t. Enough said. You know what I mean.
(5) I don’t like dogs that always have to ride up front in the truck. I had the pleasure of riding once with a small dog that belonged to the driver of the small truck. I called the dog Entomologist. You might think that was a strange name for a dog but I assure you it was not. That dog collected rare insects. On top of that, the dog insisted on riding next to the window so I had to ride next to the smelly male driver. We made a cute couple driving down the road seated cheek to cheek.
(6) Dog’s shed… usually in your favorite chair.
(7) When you are wearing work clothes dogs won’t jump up on you. Put on a pair of clean pants and they feel compelled to monogram them with a couple muddy paw prints.
(8) I don’t like house dogs very much. I was raised in a family that didn’t allow our much loved dogs in the house. They were forced to sleep in the pump house. We had a good reason. Do you remember Dick and Jane and their dog Spot? He got that name for what he did to Dick and Jane’s white carpet.
(9) A dog’s bite is worse than his bark. That can lead to lawsuits and rabies. I did know one cowboy who has a dog that is trained to only bite people peddling religion door to door. I asked for a pup but there is a long waiting list.
When you really stop and think about it there is really not one good reason why the dog should be man’s best friend instead of a parakeet, turtle, horse, goldfish or even a cat. All you have to do with a goldfish is give it fresh water before it runs out, and Goldfish don’t drink that much. I had a turtle once that made a fine pet. It fell in love with my dad’s hard hat and the only time I saw the turtle was when it came courting.
I stayed with a family up in Montana that had a pet pig. I was told that it made a wonderful pet but at night the pig kept trying to get in bed with me. Later I was told it was the pig’s bed when they didn’t have company.
Parakeets make fine pets and they answer the age old question about what to do with newspapers when you are finished reading them. It goes on the bottom of the bird cage. But please turn my face over. I have been defecated on by many a bird and I suppose that’s my biggest pet peeve.
USDA Offers Disaster Assistance to Agricultural Producers in Kansas Impacted by Drought
Aug. 28, 2024 – Agricultural operations in Kansas have been significantly impacted by recent drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has
technical and financial assistance available to help farmers and livestock producers recover
from these adverse weather events. Impacted producers should contact their local USDA
Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in
their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.
USDA Disaster Assistance
Livestock producers who suffered grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on
privately owned or cash leased land may be eligible for the 2024 Livestock Forage Disaster
Program (LFP). To participate in LFP producers must own, cash or share lease, or contract grow eligible livestock, provide pasture or grazing land to eligible livestock on the beginning date of the qualifying drought, certify that they suffered a grazing loss due to drought, and submit an acreage report to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) for all grazing land for which a grazing loss is being claimed. FSA maintains a list of counties eligible for LFP and makes updates each Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish
Program (ELAP) provides eligible producers with compensation for above normal costs of
hauling water and feed to livestock as well as transporting livestock to forage or other grazing acres. For ELAP, producers are required to complete a notice of loss and a payment application to their local FSA office no later than the annual program application deadline, Jan. 30, 2025, for 2024 calendar year losses.
Additionally, eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers may be eligible for cost-share
assistance through the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) to replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes or vines. TAP complements the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) or crop insurance coverage, which covers the crop but not the plants or trees in all cases. For TAP, a program application must be filed within 90 days of the disaster event or the date when the loss of the trees, bushes or vines is apparent.
“Once you are able to evaluate the impact on your operation, be sure to contact your local FSA county office to timely report all crop, livestock and farm infrastructure damages and losses,” said Dennis McKinney, State Executive Director for FSA in Kansas. “To expedite FSA disaster assistance, you will likely need to provide documents, such as farm records, herd inventory, receipts and pictures of damages or losses.”
FSA also offers a variety of direct and guaranteed farm loans, including operating and
emergency farm loans, to producers unable to secure commercial financing. Producers in
counties with a primary or contiguous disaster designation may be eligible for low
interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses. Loans can help producers replace essential property, purchase inputs like livestock, equipment, feed and seed, cover family living expenses or refinance farm-related debts and other needs.
Additionally, FSA offers several loan servicing options available for borrowers who are unable to make scheduled payments on their farm loan programs debt to the agency because of reasons beyond their control.
Risk Management
Producers who have risk protection through Federal Crop Insurance or FSA’s NAP should
report crop damage to their crop insurance agent or FSA office. If they have crop insurance, producers should provide a notice of loss to their agent within 72 hours of initial discovery of damage and follow up in writing within 15 days.
For NAP covered crops, a Notice of Loss (CCC-576) must be filed within 15 days of the loss
becoming apparent, except for hand-harvested crops, which should be reported within 72
hours.
“Crop insurance and other USDA risk management options are offered to help producers
manage risk because we never know what nature has in store for the future,” said Collin Olsen, Director of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) Regional Office that covers Kansas. “The Approved Insurance Providers, loss adjusters and agents are experienced and well-trained in handling these types of events.”
Conservation
FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Emergency Forest Restoration
Program (EFRP) can assist landowners and forest stewards with financial and technical
assistance to implement emergency water conservation measures, restore fencing, remove
debris, replace damaged irrigation system, land leveling and more.
Outside of the primary nesting season, emergency and non-emergency haying and grazing
of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres may be authorized to provide relief to livestock producers in areas affected by a severe drought or similar natural disasters. Producers interested in haying or grazing of CRP acres should contact their county FSA office to determine eligibility.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can help farmers make their operation more resilient in the face of drought in future years. Through conservation planning and practices that will improve soil health and water conservation, farmers can reduce future crop loss due to drought and enhance resiliency to changing climatic conditions. Financial help for implementing conservation practices may be available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
Long-term damage from drought can include forage production loss in pastures and fields and increased wind erosion on crop fields not protected with soil health practices. Producers can visit their local USDA Service Center to learn more about these impacts, potential recovery
tactics and how to take steps to make their land more resilient to drought in the future.
“The Natural Resources Conservation Service can be a very valuable partner to help
landowners with their recovery and resiliency efforts,” said David Doctorian, NRCS State
Conservationist in Kansas. “Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make
assessments of the damages and develop approaches that focus on effective recovery of the land.”
More Information
Additional USDA disaster assistance information can be found on farmers.gov, including USDA resources specifically for producers impacted by drought. Those resources include the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet, Loan Assistance Tool, and Natural Disasters and Crop Insurance fact sheet. Additionally, FarmRaise offers an FSA educational hub with an ELAP decision tool as well as farm loan resource videos. For FSA and NRCS programs, producers should contact their local USDA Service Center. For assistance with a crop insurance claim, producers and landowners should contact their crop insurance agent.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuringaccess to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
