By Henry Uche 2024 , a leap year, began with elevated expectations from industry stakeholders, especially insurance consumers and policyholders, from the regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), and the operators within Nigeria’s insurance sector. Just as Nigerians anticipated President Tinubu’s government would elevate the economy from austerity to prosperity, those within the insurance value chain hoped the immediate past Commissioner of Insurance, Mr. Sunday Olorundare Thomas, would ignite the long-awaited 10-year strategic transformation roadmap designed to revitalise the sector’s operations. In 2023, Mr. Thomas unveiled the ambitious roadmap, which is set to span from 2024 to 2033, with the goal of transforming the industry through a carefully structured approach. The roadmap aimed to increase insurance penetration in Nigeria, projecting a rise from the current rate of less than 1 percent to 2.1 percent by 2033. This growth is expected to significantly elevate Nigeria’s global insurance market standing. Thomas explained that the sector’s transformation would revolve around seven strategic thrusts, each designed to achieve specific goals. These included the transformation of the regulatory environment to promote industry growth, the transition to a risk-based capital model, and the expansion of insurance awareness and adoption. The plan also aimed to broaden insurance product offerings, enhance distribution channels, drive digital innovation, develop the talent pool, and contribute to Nigeria’s broader economic transformation and sustainability agenda. Despite these promising strategies, Mr. Thomas pointed out that the insurance sector’s steady growth, averaging 15.1 percent annually in premium income, remained insufficient when compared to Nigeria’s economic potential. The sector had yet to fully capitalize on the N17 trillion assets of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). He stressed the importance of maximizing this growing fund, urging stakeholders to support efforts to revitalize the economy and mitigate risks for businesses and individuals. In 2024, industry stakeholders had high hopes for transformative initiatives, radical awareness campaigns, strategic partnerships with fintech and insurtech, data-driven premium models, and enhanced cooperation among operators. They anticipated clear policies, rigorous enforcement, tailored products, and robust risk mitigation strategies to reshape the sector. However, those aspirations faced an abrupt shift. On Friday, April 19, 2024, President Tinubu ended Mr. Sunday Thomas’s tenure and appointed Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin as the new Commissioner for Insurance. Omosehin, the former Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), now carried the immense responsibility of stepping into Thomas’s shoes, a role demanding both expertise and the support of influential industry figures. Upon assuming office, Omosehin took a methodical approach to engage key insurance stakeholders, seeking their support in order to tackle the significant challenges ahead. He met with various industry leaders, including the NIA’s management team, led by Chairman Kunle Ahmed, and representatives from the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), and the Nigerian Actuarial Society. His outreach underscored the importance of collaboration to achieve mutual success. In the spirit of building partnerships, Omosehin also visited key government agencies to align on strategic priorities for the sector. On May 14, 2024, he hosted the Constitutional Committee on “Mobilisation and Diversification” of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, with discussions focused on diversifying Nigeria’s economy through collaboration. Additionally, on June 11, 2024, Omosehin met with the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to discuss enforcement of compulsory third-party motor insurance. The Commissioner emphasized the need for greater compliance, with fewer than 25 percent of vehicles on the road having valid insurance. Furthermore, Omosehin continued to build strategic relationships with other stakeholders. On July 11, 2024, he welcomed the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), led by CEO Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, to strengthen regulatory partnerships. In the same month, NAICOM introduced two key initiatives: the Complaint Management Portal, aimed at efficiently resolving insurance-related issues, and the new agents’ licensing portal, designed to simplify and expedite the registration and renewal of insurance agents. Throughout the year, Omosehin maintained his focus on improving collaboration. NAICOM engaged in discussions with the Lagos State Fire Service to enforce Public Building Insurance, as well as the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to promote data protection policies across the sector. On August 30, 2024, Omosehin reached out to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to further insurance penetration across Nigeria’s 36 states. In addition, Omosehin took proactive steps to support Nigeria’s aviation sector by meeting with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, focusing on local content development and risk management. The Commissioner also met with representatives from the Nigerian Factoring Working Group to explore opportunities for collaboration between the insurance industry and stakeholders involved in factoring. On August 28, 2024, NAICOM visited the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to discuss deepening insurance penetration and leveraging both conventional and social insurance systems. The two agencies agreed to set up a joint committee to drive this collaboration and contribute to the sector’s growth. In October, Omosehin held discussions with the Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, on initiatives such as creating a verification portal for marine insurance policies. In summary, the year 2024 has marked a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s insurance sector. With Mr. Omosehin at the helm, NAICOM is laying the groundwork for a more robust, collaborative, and digitally savvy insurance landscape, which could very well transform the industry and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economic development.By Sani Abdullahi When the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) was established 36 years ago in response to the pervasive menace of road traffic crashes in the country at the time, the founding fathers who were well known human rights activists and advocates of civility in law enforcement never saw any need to make provisions for use of arms by FRSC personnel in the enabling laws. Instead, they preferred a civil approach in the enforcement of traffic rules and regulations by which they believed that drivers would be civil enough to be persuaded by the efficacy of education, which the marshals would give them and their convictions about the rightness of the marshals’ actions would make them to willingly obey traffic rules and regulations without resistance. That civil approach they preferred was devoid of any coercive instruments in traffic management and safety administration and, although novel in the history of law enforcement in Nigeria, it was nevertheless given a try by the then military government, which bought into the ideas as canvassed by the founding fathers, championed by the founding chairman of the FRSC board, Nobel laurent, Professor Wole Soyinka. That was why the original FRSC enabling laws, known as Decree 45 of 1988, made no provisions for either the use of firearms by the FRSC or gave thought to any defensive mechanisms that marshals could rely upon whenever faced with adverse situations by drivers and members of the public. Relying on the use of education and public enlightenment as instruments of authority and potent tools in attitudinal change, therefore, continued to remain the guiding principle in managing drivers and public reactions to the corps’ operational activities over the years. It, however, did not take long after the commencement of full enforcement of the laws by the corps in 1989 following the full year of public enlightenment in 1988 when it became obvious that drivers were not going to exhibit civil traits in their reactions to the demands for enforcement as earlier thought. Thus, cases of knockdowns of patrolmen, violent attacks, destruction of their patrol vehicles and damage to buildings as well as use of various tactics to intimidate, harass and ridicule the personnel operating with civil convictions became daily occurrences, with recorded cases of loss of lives as patrol activities intensified nationwide. As the situation degenerated across the country, with threats of further violence on the personnel becoming obvious, the Federal Military Government was left with no opinion but to change its mind against the civil approach five years later when it approved firearms for the corps in the amendment to the original Decree 45 in 1992. Accordingly, provisions for arms for the corps were made in the 1992 amendment decree, otherwise referred to as Decree 35 of 1992. In giving impetus to the new approach, Major General Haldu Anthony Hananiya, who took over the mantle of leadership of the FRSC from the pioneer Corps Marshal, Dr. Olu Agunloye, in 1994, did not hide his preference for the military face of the corps. For instance, he introduced some semblances of military orientation, including the wearing of uniform by all categories of staff, sending some senior officers as well as marshals on arms training at some military institutions, while making parade and other traditional practices associated with paramilitary organizations fully entrenched in the system. Meanwhile, the corps’ uniform that used to be round collars to symbolize civility was changed to the normal collar type commonly worn by every paramilitary agency in the country even as the Eagle was superimposed on the Owl which was standing conspicuously on the corps’ logo to give a more distinct outlook for the FRSC. It must, however, be noted that despite all the arrangements made by General Hananiya throughout his first tenure, and even when he returned in his second sojourn, arms were actually never introduced into the operational strategies of the corps as at 2007 when he finally left, against the extant provisions in the FRSC laws. The status quo on the provision of arms for the corps remained till the emergence of civil democratic rule in 1999 when the military decrees were abrogated and re-enacted by the National Assembly with the FRSC enabling laws becoming the Establishment Act 2007. Even then, the provisions for arms for the corps were retained under Section 19 of the act. Evidently, from the 1992 amendment decree, which first introduced arms bearing to the FRSC, to the current 2007 Establishment Act, and despite the relevant training and reorientation programmes organized by the corps under successive corps marshals in the face of incivility to the personnel as well as damage caused to the facilities of the organization by various antagonists, the corps has continued to operate without recourse to arms or plans on how to react defensively to violence by drivers and members of the public. According to result of survey covering 2016, which was recently released, FRSC personnel have been enduring various provocations from drivers and misguided members of the public. These, according to the survey, included 1,266 violent attacks, 132 assault cases, 35 cases of abduction, 21 armed attacks and 82 mob attacks. Others were 107 knockdowns, 23 cases of harassment, 20 kidnappings and 46 killings even as the personnel continued to bear the brunt. This is against the fact that law enforcement anywhere in the world involves use of some coercive instruments, bearing in mind that majority of the offenders, even in the most advanced and civilized societies hardly submit themselves willingly all the times to law enforcement officers, unless there is evident fear of sanctions and threats of consequences of their act of violence against the enforcers. Moreover, no state will sit back to allow sustained acts of violence, intimidation and humiliation to its men in uniform, knowing that uniform, by its social values represents the presence of the state wherever the personnel appear on them. Consequently, personnel on uniform must always be respected and protected by the citizenry. It was with that spirit in mind that provisions to arm the FRSC personnel against the organization’s original civil outlook were made 32 years ago as reflected in the abrogated Decrees and the FRSC Establishment Act 2007 which is being amended by the National Assembly with proposals for the setting up of special armed squads for the Corps. In reality, the sustained aggression, violence and unprovoked intimidation by the civil populace against the personnel of the FRSC carrying out their legitimate duties of creating safer road environment is most condemnable and uncivilized. That’s why the consensus among some security analysts in the country is that, the once glamorized civility of the FRSC which made its personnel so vulnerable to various attacks and incapable of defending themselves is no longer tenable under the present circumstances, and must therefore, give way to a new orientation that can enhance the Corps’ capacity to carryout its statutory responsibilities most effectively without threats of attack. This, they said, is the panacea for guaranteeing greater safety and security on the nation’s highways. • Abdullahi is the Deputy Corps Commander in charge of Strategy in the Corps Marshal’s office.
Rutgers is in flux heading into its bowl game. The Scarlet Knights (7-5, 4-5) learned on Sunday that they will participate in the Rate Bowl , where they will face Kansas State (8-4, 5-4) at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Scheduled for December 26th, the contest is coming up quick, leaving Rutgers with little time to figure out its most pressing staff situation.
Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AMZN – Free Report ) by 100.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,978 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,001 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $1,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 20,897.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 39,135,449 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $72,921,080,000 after purchasing an additional 38,949,065 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 785,811,114 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $141,744,609,000 after purchasing an additional 14,724,687 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the 1st quarter worth about $2,239,757,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 64.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,359,677 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $5,295,899,000 after purchasing an additional 11,524,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,982,857 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $15,689,968,000 after purchasing an additional 6,810,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth AMZN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.20. Insider Activity at Amazon.com In other Amazon.com news, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,996,362 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.85, for a total value of $625,790,203.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 917,416,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,602,535,437.60. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 2,190 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $427,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 62,420 shares in the company, valued at $12,171,900. The trade was a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,026,683 shares of company stock valued at $1,252,148,795. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Amazon.com Trading Up 1.0 % AMZN opened at $207.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 44.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.14. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.81 and a 12 month high of $215.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Amazon.com ( NASDAQ:AMZN – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.28 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year. Amazon.com Company Profile ( Free Report ) Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content. Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Amazon.com Stock Average Calculator The Latest 13F Filings Are In: See Where Big Money Is Flowing How to Find Undervalued Stocks 3 Penny Stocks Ready to Break Out in 2025 High Flyers: 3 Natural Gas Stocks for March 2022 FMC, Mosaic, Nutrien: Top Agricultural Stocks With Big Potential Receive News & Ratings for Amazon.com Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Amazon.com and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Bendigo man four times over limit crashed into fence, car that then hit house
This article is part of " CXO AI Playbook " — straight talk from business leaders on how they're testing and using AI. The future of software-development jobs is changing rapidly as more companies adopt AI tools that can accelerate the coding process and close experience gaps between junior- and senior-level developers. Increased AI adoption could be part of the tech industry's " white-collar recession ," which has seen slumps in hiring and recruitment over the past year. Yet integrating AI into workflows can offer developers the tools to focus on creative problem-solving and building new features. Advertisement On November 14, Business Insider convened a roundtable of software developers as part of our " CXO AI Playbook " series to learn how artificial intelligence was changing their jobs and careers. The conversation was moderated by Julia Hood and Jean Paik from BI's Special Projects team. These developers discussed the shifts in their day-to-day tasks, which skills people would need to stay competitive in the industry, and how they navigate the expectations of stakeholders who want to stay on the cutting edge of this new technology. Panelists said AI has boosted their productivity by helping them write and debug code , which has freed up their time for higher-order problems, such as designing software and devising integration strategies. However, they emphasized that some of the basics of software engineering — learning programming languages, scaling models, and handling large-scale data — would remain important . Advertisement The roundtable participants also said developers could provide critical insight into challenges around AI ethics and governance . The roundtable participants were: Pooya Amini, software engineer, Meta. Greg Jennings, head of engineering for AI, Anaconda. Shruti Kapoor, lead member of technical staff, Slack. Aditi Mithal, software-development engineer, Amazon Q. Igor Ostrovsky, cofounder, Augment. Neeraj Verma, head of applied AI, Nice. Kesha Williams, head of enterprise architecture and engineering, Slalom. The following discussion was edited for length and clarity. Julia Hood: What has changed in your role since the popularization of gen AI? Advertisement Neeraj Verma: I think the expectations that are out there in the market for developers on the use of AI are actually almost a bigger impact than the AI itself. You hear about how generative AI is sort of solving this blank-paper syndrome. Humans have this concept that if you give them a blank paper and tell them to go write something, they'll be confused forever. And generative AI is helping overcome that. The expectation from executives now is that developers are going to be significantly faster but that some of the creative work the developers are doing is going to be taken away — which we're not necessarily seeing. We're seeing it as more of a boilerplate creation mechanism for efficiency gains. Aditi Mithal: I joined Amazon two years ago, and I've seen how my productivity has changed. I don't have to focus on doing repetitive tasks. I can just ask Amazon Q chat to do that for me, and I can focus on more-complex problems that can actually impact our stakeholders and our clients. I can focus on higher-order problems instead of more-repetitive tasks for which the code is already out there internally. Shruti Kapoor: One of the big things I've noticed with writing code is how open companies have become to AI tools like Cursor and Copilot and how integrated they've become into the software-development cycle. It's no longer considered a no-no to use AI tools like ChatGPT. I think two years ago when ChatGPT came out, it was a big concern that you should not be putting your code out there. But now companies have kind of embraced that within the software-development cycle. Advertisement Pooya Amini: Looking back at smartphones and Google Maps, it's hard to remember how the world looked like before these technologies. It's a similar situation with gen AI — I can't remember how I was solving the problem without it. I can focus more on actual work. Now I use AI as a kind of assisted tool. My main focus at work is on requirement gathering, like software design. When it comes to the coding, it's going to be very quick. Previously, it could take weeks. Now it's a matter of maybe one or two days, so then I can actually focus on other stuff as AI is solving the rest for me. Kesha Williams: In my role, it's been trying to help my team rethink their roles and not see AI as a threat but more as a partner that can help boost productivity, and encouraging my team to make use of some of the new embedded AI and gen-AI tools. Really helping my team upskill and putting learning paths in place so that people can embrace AI and not be afraid of it. More of the junior-level developers are really afraid about AI replacing them. Hood: Are there new career tracks opening up now that weren't here before? Advertisement Verma : At Nice, we have something like 3,000 developers, and over the last, I think, 24 months, 650 of them have shifted into AI-specific roles, which was sort of unheard of before. Even out of those 650, we've got about a hundred who are experts at things like prompt engineering. Over 20% of our developers are not just developers being supported by AI but developers using AI to write features. Kapoor: I think one of the biggest things I've noticed in the last two to three years is the rise of a job title called " AI engineer ," which did not exist before, and it's kind of in between an ML engineer and a traditional software engineer. I'm starting to see more and more companies where AI engineer is one of the top-paying jobs available for software engineers. One of the cool things about this job is that you don't need an ML-engineering background, which means it's accessible to a lot more people. Greg Jennings: For developers who are relatively new or code-literate knowledge workers, I think they can now use code to solve problems where previously they might not have. We have designers internally that are now creating full-blown interactive UIs using AI to describe what they want and then providing that to engineers. They've never been able to do that before, and it greatly accelerates the cycle. For more-experienced developers, I think there are a huge number of things that we still have to sort out: the architectures of these solutions, how we're actually going to implement them in practice. The nature of testing is going to have to change a lot as we start to include these applications in places where they're more mission-critical. Advertisement Amini: On the other side, looking at threats that can come out of AI, new technologies and new positions can emerge as well. We don't currently have clear regulations in terms of ownership or the issues related to gen AI, so I imagine there will be more positions in terms of ethics. Mithal: I feel like a Ph.D. is not a requirement anymore to be a software developer. If you have some foundational ML, NLP knowledge, you can target some of these ML-engineer or AI-engineer roles, which gives you a great opportunity to be in the market. Williams: I'm seeing new career paths in specialized fields around ML and LLM operations. For my developers, they're able to focus more on strategy and system design and creative problem-solving, and it seems to help them move faster into architecture. System design, system architecture, and integration strategies — they have more time to do that because of AI. Jean Paik: What skills will developers need to stay competitive? Advertisement Verma: I think a developer operating an AI system requires product-level understanding of what you're trying to build at a high level. And I think a lot of developers struggle with prompt engineering from that perspective. Having the skills to clearly articulate what you want to an LLM is a very important skill. Williams: Developers need to understand machine-learning concepts and how AI models work, not necessarily how to build and train these models from scratch but how to use them effectively. As we're starting to use Amazon Q, I've realized that our developers are now becoming prompt engineers because you have to get that prompt right in order to get the best results from your gen-AI system. Jennings: Understanding how to communicate with these models is very different. I almost think that it imparts a need for engineers to have a little bit more of a product lens, where a deeper understanding of the actual business problem they're trying to solve is necessary to get the most out of it. Developing evaluations that you can use to optimize those prompts, so going from prompt engineering to actually tuning the prompts in a more-automated way, is going to emerge as a more common approach. Igor Ostrovsky: Prompt engineering is really important. That's how you interact with AI systems, but this is something that's evolving very quickly . Software development will change in five years much more rapidly than anything we've seen before. How you architect, develop, test, and maintain software — that will all change, and how exactly you interact with AI will also evolve. I think prompt engineering is more of a sign that some developers have the desire to learn and are eager to figure out how to interact with artificial intelligence, but it won't necessarily be how you interact with AI in three years or five years. Software developers will need this desire to adapt and learn and have the ability to solve hard problems. Advertisement Mithal: As a software developer, some of the basics won't change. You need to understand how to scale models, build scalable solutions, and handle large-scale data. When you're training an AI model, you need data to support it. Kapoor: Knowledge of a programming language would be helpful, specifically Python or even JavaScript. Knowledge of ML or some familiarity with ML will be really helpful. Another thing is that we need to make sure our applications are a lot more fault-tolerant. That is also a skill that front-end or back-end engineers who want to transition to an AI-engineering role need to be aware of. One of the biggest problems with prompts is that the answers can be very unpredictable and can lead to a lot of different outputs, even for the same prompt. So being able to make your application fault-tolerant is one of the biggest skills we need to apply in AI engineering. Hood: What are the concerns and obstacles you have as AI gains momentum? How do you manage the expectations of nontech stakeholders in the organization who want to stay on the leading edge? Advertisement Ostrovsky: Part of the issue is that interacting with ChatGPT or cloud AI is so easy and natural that it can be surprising how hard it is actually to control AI behavior, where you need AI to understand constraints, have access to the right information at the right time, and understand the task. When setting expectations with stakeholders, it is important they understand that we're working with this very advanced technology and they are realistic about the risk profile of the project. Mithal: One is helping them understand the trade-offs. It could be security versus innovation or speed versus accuracy. The second is metrics. Is it actually improving the efficiency? How much is the acceptance rate for our given product? Communicating all those to the stakeholders gives them an idea of whether the product they're using is making an impact or if it's actually helping the team become more productive. Williams: Some of the challenges I'm seeing are mainly around ethical AI concerns, data privacy , and costly and resource-intensive models that go against budget and infrastructure constraints. On the vendor or stakeholder side, it's really more about educating our nontechnical stakeholders about the capabilities of AI and the limitations and trying to set realistic expectations. Advertisement We try to help our teams understand for their specific business area how AI can be applied. So how can we use AI in marketing or HR or legal, and giving them real-world use cases. Verma: Gen AI is really important, and it's so easy to use ChatGPT, but what we find is that gen AI makes a good developer better and a worse developer worse. Good developers understand how to write good code and how good code integrates into projects. ChatGPT is just another tool to help write some of the code that fits into the project. That's the big challenge that we try to make sure our executives understand, that not everybody can use this in the most effective manner. Jennings: There are some practical governance concerns that have emerged. One is understanding the tolerance for bad responses in certain contexts. Some problems, you may be more willing to accept a bad response because you structure the interface in such a way that there's a human in the loop. If you're attempting to not have a human in the loop, that could be problematic depending on what you want the model to do. Just getting better muscle for the organization to have a good intuition about where these models can potentially fail and in what ways. In addition to that, understanding what training data went into that model, especially as models are used more as agents and have privileged access to different applications and data sources that might be pretty sensitive. Advertisement Kapoor: I think one of the biggest challenges that can happen is how companies use the data that comes back from LLM models and how they're going to use it within the application. Removing the human component scares me a lot. Verma: It's automation versus augmentation. There are a lot of cases where augmentation is the big gain. I think automation is a very small, closed case — there are very few things I think LLMs are ready in the world right now to automate.Preview: Shrewsbury Town vs. Lincoln City - prediction, team news, lineups
J&K students lead nation in showcasing innovative projectsDenbighshire’s cabinet member for finance said the council should be proud of its achievements, despite multiple ‘red marks’ in a performance objective report. The corporate plan performance report details the council’s successes, areas for improvement, and failures against its corporate plan. At a cabinet meeting this week, members were presented with a quarterly report documenting Denbighshire’s objectives between April and September for strategic equality and its seven governance areas. The governance areas include corporate planning, financial planning, performance management, risk management, workforce planning, assets, and procurement. The council’s progress in the report was marked green, amber, and red, according to how successful it had been. Numerous areas were highlighted in red, including housing list waiting times, the number of homes for the disabled awaiting improvements, and several markers for homelessness. Other areas marked in red included those involving repair work to damaged roads, children in poverty, and net carbon zero targets. The report also acknowledged Denbighshire’s failings around the launch of its new recycling and bin collection scheme. But speaking at a cabinet meeting this week, cabinet member for finance Cllr Gwyneth Ellis preferred to focus on the areas the council had had success. Positives in the report included the council reducing its reliance on bed and breakfasts for those waiting for housing. Other areas of success included the council being the highest performing housing stock-holding council in Wales, according to the Welsh Government’s Social Landlords’ Tenant Satisfaction Survey. The report also highlighted ‘excellent community benefits’ from two large procurements as well as other areas of success. Cllr Ellis commented: “It is very easy to feel sad in the current (financial) climate with the council having to find massive savings and having to accept that services will inevitably suffer as a result. “So it is easy to look at this report and see the reds and the amber, but in my opinion, it is much more important to look at the green.” She added: “I think it is incredible that we as a council are still able to do so much well even when facing exceptional challenges, and that is an indication of the hard work and perseverance of our staff in my opinion. I think it is important to acknowledge that when we see a report like this.” Denbighshire increased council tax by 9.34% last year whilst cutting services, despite receiving the highest local government settlement in North Wales. Last time around, council leaders pointed to an increase in costs and pressures due to inflation. The authority’s medium-term financial plan forecasts cost pressures ranging from £12m to £26m in the red in 2025/26 with a mid-range of £18m. Consequently the council has modelled for a council tax rise ranging between a 6% and 12% increase. Cabinet unanimously confirmed the report for approval.
UPI provided credit access to poor, fuelled growth: Study
Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics Market to See Rapid Expansion Over the Next Decade 2024-2032 12-25-2024 03:35 PM CET | Health & Medicine Press release from: Cognate Insights Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics Market Latest Market Overview The global Parkinson's disease therapeutics market is poised for significant growth in 2024, with a projected market size of USD 6.5 billion. The market is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% from 2024 to 2032. This growth is attributed to the increasing prevalence of Parkinson's disease worldwide, advancements in drug development, and a greater understanding of the disease's pathology. Parkinson's disease (PD) remains one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, particularly among the aging population, which further propels the demand for effective therapies and treatments. The Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics Market has experienced steady growth in recent years and is expected to continue expanding at a strong pace from 2024 to 2032. This analysis offers a comprehensive overview, providing valuable insights into key trends and developments within the Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics industry. These findings equip business leaders with the necessary knowledge to devise more effective strategies and enhance profitability. Furthermore, the report serves as a useful resource for new and emerging businesses, helping them make informed decisions as they navigate the market and seek growth opportunities. Major Players of Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics Market are: AbbVie Inc. (USA): USD 58 billion revenue (2023) Roche Holding AG (Switzerland): USD 63 billion revenue (2023) Lundbeck A/S (Denmark): USD 6.8 billion revenue (2023) Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (USA): USD 91.5 million revenue (2023) Amgen Inc. (USA): USD 26 billion revenue (2023) Get Latest PDF Sample Report @ https://www.cognateinsights.com/request-sample/parkinsons-disease-therapeutics-market-research Our Report covers global as well as regional markets and provides an in-depth analysis of the overall growth prospects of the market. Global market trend analysis including historical data, estimates to 2024, and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast to 2032 is given based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market segments involving economic and non-economic factors. Furthermore, it reveals the comprehensive competitive landscape of the global market, the current and future market prospects of the industry, and the growth opportunities and drivers as well as challenges and constraints in emerging and emerging markets. Global Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics Market Landscape and Future Pathways: North America: United States Canada Europe: Germany France U.K. Italy Russia Asia-Pacific: China Japan South Korea India Australia China Taiwan Indonesia Thailand Malaysia Latin America: Mexico Brazil Argentina Korea Colombia Middle East & Africa: Turkey Saudi Arabia UAE Korea Speak to Our Analyst for A Discussion on The Above Findings, And Ask for A Discount on The Report @ https://www.cognateinsights.com/check-discount/parkinsons-disease-therapeutics-market-research Key drivers and challenges influencing the Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics market: Regional Analysis: The report involves examining the Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics market at a regional or national level. Report analyses regional factors such as government incentives, infrastructure development, economic conditions, and consumer behaviour to identify variations and opportunities within different markets. Market Projections: Report covers the gathered data and analysis to make future projections and forecasts for the Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics market. This may include estimating market growth rates, predicting market demand, and identifying emerging trends. Company Analysis: Report covers individual Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics manufacturers, suppliers, and other relevant industry players. This analysis includes studying their financial performance, market positioning, product portfolios, partnerships, and strategies. Consumer Analysis: Report covers data on consumer behaviour, preferences, and attitudes towards Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics This may involve surveys, interviews, and analysis of consumer reviews and feedback from different by Application. Technology Analysis: Report covers specific technologies relevant to Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics. It assesses the current state, advancements, and potential future developments in Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics areas. Reason to Buy this Report: -Analysis of the impact of technological advancements on the market and the emerging trends shaping the industry in the coming years. -Examination of the regulatory and policy changes affecting the market and the implications of these changes for market participants. -Overview of the competitive landscape in the Parkinson_s Disease Therapeutics market, including profiles of the key players, their market share, and strategies for growth. -Identification of the major challenges facing the market, such as supply chain disruptions, environmental concerns, and changing consumer preferences, and analysis of how these challenges will affect market growth. -Evaluation of the potential of new products and applications in the market, and analysis of the investment opportunities for market participants. For In-Depth Competitive Analysis - Purchase this Report now at @ https://www.cognateinsights.com/purchase-report/parkinsons-disease-therapeutics-market-research Contact Us: Cognate Insights Web: www.cognateinsights.com Email: info@cognateinsights.com Phone: +91 8424946476 About Us: We are leaders in market analytics, business research, and consulting services for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, financial & government institutions. Since we understand the criticality of data and insights, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. To be at our client's disposal whenever they need help on market research and consulting services. We also aim to be their business partners when it comes to making critical business decisions around new market entry, M&A, competitive Intelligence and strategy. This release was published on openPR.Jefferson keeps seeing double as Vikings aim to stay focused on overall offensive productionWith so many blenders on the market, selecting the right one is a process that requires careful consideration. Not all blenders are made alike, and as such, elements such as size, speed, and wattage are important to think about. Vitamix is a brand that needs no introduction, with legions of celebrities among their fans. Kourtney Kardashian is one of them – Poosh, her lifestyle brand, shared a photo of her with a Vitamix, one of the best blenders on the market, which she used to make an organic smoothie. Fortunately, we not only found the model she uses, but it is also on sale. The Vitamix 5200 Blender (available on Amazon) is typically $428.00, but it's now on for $349.95 (as part of the most noteworthy Vitamix deals currently live for Black Friday). H&G's appliance editor, Lydia Hayman, warns these deals are selling out fast, and she's not sure how long they'll last, so why wait to follow Kardashian's lead? This black and grey Vitamix is just as sleek as it is powerful, with a 64 oz. container and stainless-steel blades. A bonus? It self-cleans – just add dish soap and water and blend for 30 to 60 seconds. A post shared by Poosh (@poosh) A photo posted by on With a speed dial that gives options from 1-10, this Vitamix model is ideal for anything from soups and smoothies to sauces and salsas. The 64 oz container also allows for large batches, making this a great option for families or those who host. Additionally, the blender also has the ability to heat up food with its blades, using friction-based technology to warm items like soup in six minutes. It's no surprise that Hayman counts it among the best Black Friday homes deals of the year. 'Tall, sleek, and slim enough to deserve in kitchens with spacious kitchen islands ,' Hayman comments. 'The distinctive angled sides ensure a smooth, even blend while enhancing its ability to heat soup and self-clean efficiently. It’s the perfect choice for kitchen islands, but its height isn't suited to counters with low-hanging wall cabinets.' If your kitchen falls into the latter, then fear not. We've rounded up some other H&G Vitamix favorites, all of which happen to be on sale right now. Act fast. Voted our best blender overall With five presets and the ability to make soup as well as smoothies, this powerful and versatile blender was a fast favorite. It has over ten speeds and is universally beloved. It's an expensive choice, so it's definitely worth making the most of any discounts available. Powerful & self-cleaning The Vitamix Professional series is the original blender that earned Vitamix its formidable reputation. Boasting a phenomenal 1640 watts of power and five preset programs for easy blending. It also has self-cleaning features, so you can simply add a drop of dish soap and warm water and watch your blender clean itself in 30 seconds to a minute. Great for families The variable speed control and pulse features of this blender can whip up every texture, perfect for catering to a whole host of family needs. Due to this blender's self-detect technology, the base will adjust the settings according to whichever container you choose. Design expertise in your inbox – from inspiring decorating ideas and beautiful celebrity homes to practical gardening advice and shopping round-ups.
India News | 3 Dead, 9 Injured in Road Accident in Karnataka's Kalaburagi
Johnson had five rebounds and three steals for the Falcons (3-5). Derrick Butler scored 15 points while going 4 of 15 from the floor, including 2 for 7 from 3-point range, and 5 for 5 from the line and added five rebounds. Campbell had 12 points and shot 1 of 9 from the field and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. The Aggies (3-4) were led by Jaden Harris, who posted 18 points and nine rebounds. New Mexico State also got 10 points and seven rebounds from Robert Carpenter. Christian Cook finished with nine points and four assists. Campbell scored a team-high 12 points for Bowling Green in the second half, including their game-winner. NEXT UP Up next for Bowling Green is a Saturday matchup with Morgan State at home, and New Mexico State hosts Abilene Christian on Wednesday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Dec, 2024) National and international veterinary experts, along with progressive farmers, have underscored the urgent need to establish a Livestock Breeders Forum and initiate research to protect the country's indigenous animal breeds. They highlighted the importance of adopting sustainable artificial insemination techniques and modern technologies to genetically improve animal breeds, thereby boosting milk and meat production and forming alliances to enhance . Addressing the closing session of the two-day Livestock Breeders Forum organized by University (SAU) Tandojam in collaboration with the Higher Commission, Minister for Syed Sardar Ali Shah stated that there remains significant potential for support in the livestock sector. He suggested exploring partnerships with neighboring countries to acquire animal breeds and recommended that grants for improving livestock quality be provided directly to farmers. Opposing agricultural taxation without sufficient facilities, the minister called such policies inappropriate. He also praised University for its proactive efforts and pledged to advocate for increased support the . Secretary of Universities and Boards, Muhammad Abbas Baloch, emphasized the importance of initiatives like this forum to address critical issues and urged institutions to facilitate direct connections for farmers. SAU Vice Chancellor Dr. Fateh Marri highlighted the economic potential of and livestock, asserting that these sectors could outperform industries in driving economic growth. He stated that a 6% annual increase in productivity in and livestock could reduce poverty by 50% over the next decade. Dr. Marri called for a shift in research focus toward improving quality and productivity rather than just increasing the number of animals. Secretary of , Moeenuddin Siddiqui, recommended fostering breeds through research and exploring livestock export opportunities, particularly to countries such as . He advocated forming a collaborative involving the , academia, research institutions, and farmers to strengthen the livestock sector. Speaking virtually the , Professor Emeritus Dr. Mushtaq Ahmed Memon highlighted the reliance on modern in global livestock advancements and urged veterinary professionals and experts to seize the numerous opportunities available in the field. Chairman of SIDA, Qabool Muhammad Khatian, acknowledged the substantial work underway in 's livestock sector and stressed the need for institutions to enhance research aimed at improving local breeds. Progressive farmer Nazoo Dharejo proposed extending such programs to rural areas to maximize their benefits for small-scale farmers. Minister for Social Welfare Mir Tariq Ali Talpur, addressing the second session, recognized the significant role of livestock in addressing economic challenges in underprivileged areas. He encouraged universities, the livestock sector, and progressive farmers to provide guidance to locals, especially , who play a vital role in the livestock economy. The forum included technical discussions led by prominent experts such as Dr. Syed Ghiyasuddin Shah Rashdi, farmer leader Ghulam Akbar Dars, Syed Zarar Haider Shah, and Dr. Parshotam Khatri. Contributions leading researchers, including Dr. Jan Muhammad Mari, Dr. Chandra Kumar, Dr. Aqeel Ahmed Memon, Dr. Ghulam Bilal, Dr. Mubarak , Dr. Seema Baloch, Dr. Saeed Ahmed Soomro, and others, enriched the sessions with valuable insights and findings. Key recommendations arising the forum included adopting advanced genetic technologies and artificial reproduction programs to enhance local breeds, improve disease resistance, and increase productivity. Suggestions emphasized increasing genetic diversity, minimizing inbreeding, and expanding breeding services to goats, donkeys, and horses. Measures to prevent the premature slaughter of calves through collaboration with district administrations, departments, and educational institutions were also proposed. The experts recommended promoting the local production of soybeans to meet livestock protein needs and called for strengthening embryo transfer laboratories and genomic facilities to develop high-quality breeds. Subsidies for sex-selected semen and embryo transfer technologies were suggested to ensure wider adoption of these advancements. Participants also urged the to invest in research, farmer training, and awareness programs while formalizing the sector through livestock keeper registration. The forum concluded with a strong commitment to leveraging innovation, collaboration, and policy support to unlock the immense potential of 's livestock as a of economic growth.Buddy Cheff’s family has been raising cattle on a spectacular piece of the Montana landscape for five generations — about as long as the fictional Dutton clan, who are the center of the hit show “Yellowstone.” But Cheff isn’t the head of a politically powerful — and brutally ruthless — family with a spread the size of Rhode Island. He’s a 36-year-old father and husband who runs a small herd of about 100 cattle on his 600-acre ranch south of Ronan, Montana. Since taking over from his father nearly a decade ago, Cheff said he has “loved every second” of running his family’s ranch. But he “worries,” he said, about his future in rapidly changing western Montana. In part, that rapid change is a result of the show “Yellowstone” itself, Cheff said. The contentious dynamic depicted on Paramount Network’s series “Yellowstone” — between ranchers who are trying to maintain their way of life and out-of-staters who want to develop their agricultural land into new housing — is a real struggle. And it has been hastened by the spotlight the popular show has shined on Montana, Cheff said. “Everybody has seen ‘Yellowstone,’” he said. “They want the Montana lifestyle.” And more than 50,000 of them have come to get it since the show debuted in 2018. Their arrival has the in Montana’s cities and towns. It also has increased the cost of agricultural land — and made it more difficult for ranchers to access the wide-open spaces their cattle require. “I try to budget all the time and think about purchasing more ground,” Cheff said. But that’s a daunting prospect, as Montana’s population has grown, bringing in newcomers and driving up the cost of land. “We’ve had a lot of turnover on some of my neighbors in the area, small properties, and I think that increases the prices,” Cheff said. “Everybody buys it for a high price, and they ask a little more, which is understandable. “But it definitely hurts the local guys when they’re looking to grow or (for) more grazing or whatever. It’s harder. Those prices are just out of reach for us.” The romantic view of ranching portrayed in “Yellowstone” has contributed to a reordering of Montana’s ranching landscape for the state’s actual ranchers. While Cheff is committed to making it work in the Flathead, some of his fellow ranchers have set out for greener — or at least cheaper — pastures in eastern Montana, said Monty Lesh, a Miles City real estate and rancher who also serves as the Montana Stockgrowers Association’s Southeast District Director. “In the last five years, we’ve seen more interest from people from western Montana that are experiencing a lot of population growth,” Lesh said. “And they’re considering moving to this area because they can sell out up there for a lot of money and come down here and buy something else.” But that intrastate migration has started to decline, according to Lesh, in part because the cycle of new arrivals ramping up land prices has spread to more areas of the state. “That swap used to be fairly attractive,” Lesh said. “It’s not as attractive today because the land values here have increased from what they were like five years ago.” Those rising land prices in eastern Montana have combined with other economic forces that have undermined ranchers’ bottom lines. “The challenge has been the cost to operate,” Lesh said. “I mean, it’s been twofold. We had a rapid rise in interest rates, and most of agriculture is very capital-intensive — you know, uses a lot of capital and leverage to operate and expand. And then the other thing is just general operating expenses: fuel, insurance, labor, parts. Everything is significantly higher than it was four or five years ago.” But while the economics of agriculture have changed in eastern Montana, Lesh said one constant has remained: People are trying to make a living off the land, despite the challenges. “In our area here, the people that we deal with, 99% of them are farmers and ranchers,” Lesh said. “We don’t see a very large number of investor types buying properties. There are a few, but they are farmers and ranchers, maybe in other states, and they’re just diversifying their holdings by buying land in Montana. But it still stays in production. “They don’t come in and sell all the cows and want to raise elk or deer or whatever — recreation,” Lesh said. “They’re experiencing that a lot in central Montana and western Montana.” Some of the forces of change being felt by Montana ranchers have been gathering since well before “Yellowstone” aired its first episode. Gilles Stockton, 78, has seen a lot change in the half-century he’s raising cattle and sheep near the Fergus County town of Grass Range. He takes a long — and expansive — view of ranching, informed by his experience working in livestock policy development in Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. Stockton said the “biggest change” to U.S. ranching occurred in the 1980s as a result of deregulation during the Reagan administration that led to consolidation and that squeezed profit margins for ranchers. But in recent years, he’s seen ranches consolidate, and he’s seen them change hands. “My newest neighbor,” he said, “sold out from the Flathead region and bought the land right next to me. They’re fine people. They’re farmers and ranchers. ... They sort of ran away from the problems there in western Montana.” But Stockton, a district director with the Montana Cattleman’s Association, isn’t as enthused about everyone who has moved in. To the north of his ranch, the has amassed 138,000 acres of land and leased another 337,000 as it seeks to create one of the nation’s largest nature reserves and a home for free-ranging buffalo. To the south, Stockton’s neighbors are the Texas-based billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks, who have long drawn the for reducing public access to their vast landholdings in the West. Count Stockton among those who resent how the Wilks brothers have handled their massive, 200,000-acre since buying it. “They’ve essentially locked up the land and manage it for elk hunting for themselves and their rich buddies,” Stockton said. “Well, the overpopulation of their elk spills over into my land. But immediately after hunting season starts, all the elk retreat to the N Bar Ranch, and nobody, nobody can have access to them. “And the Wilks Brothers have got a number of smaller copycats surrounding,” Stockton continued. “So this, you might say, prime hunting region that runs from Grass Range to the Snowy Mountains is pretty much all now locked up by out-of-state, wealthy people.” Efforts to reach a representative of Wilks Ranch for comment were unsuccessful, but the Wilks Ranch touts its network of ranch holdings as “a top-of-the line cattle operation.” While Stockton said the hired hands who now work the N Bar “get along fine” with the neighbors, the owners have “iced out all the locals,” undermining the tradition and community that has long defined his part of the world. Stockton, who is “pretty much retired” himself, said he’s not sure if ranching can survive the change he’s seeing around Grass Range. “Without major policy change, I think it’s going to be a continual movement towards outsiders buying this country for recreational purposes,” Stockton said. “I know a lot of the existing ranchers are going to survive by leasing the grass from these out-of-staters. So they’ll be able to continue, sort of dwindling over time.” Jake Korell has been in the real estate industry for 56 years, but he said the demand for Montana’s agricultural land from out-of-staters doesn’t “make much sense,” even to him. “These prices are just hard to comprehend, for me, that people will pay that kind of money for this grassland out here,” said. “I don’t get it, but it’s selling.” And the typical Montana rancher has a hard time competing in a market like that, Korell said. In one case, he said, he had some graze land priced at $1,200 an acre. He said two neighbors made offers below the asking price, at a cost they could make back running cattle. “And the seller said, ‘I’m not selling for that price,’” Korell said. “So there you go. Yeah, they’re interested, but they’re priced out. And those are users. ... They’re having a hard time expanding, because to expand, it costs too much money. If it costs you a million dollars to add on to run another 40, 30 cows ... Does that work? No, it doesn’t work.” But it does work for ultra-wealthy, out-of-state, cash buyers who are looking to “park their money in dirt,” instead of in a bank — and who also get a piece of prime recreation land out of the deal, he said. “Now, somebody back East that’s got a $300, $400 million portfolio, that’s peanuts,” Korell said of ranches that are out of reach to locals. “‘And it’s got elk and bear and antelope and that’s stuff that I like to hunt. Hell, I’ll buy it. What the hell.’ That’s the type of buyer that buys those.” John Fahlgren said he sees the same thing in Valley County, where he is a county commissioner and rancher and where many ranch buyers aren’t relying on the property to produce any income. “They have the money to buy it outright and then rent it out, hold on to it, or maybe use it to come and hunt on it and that sort of thing,” said , a district director with the Montana Cattleman’s Association. “So (there’s) a lot of pressure on the price of land because of some of that outside-of-the-area money that comes in to join the glory of the ‘Yellowstone’ reality, so to speak.” Wally Congdon’s family has deep roots in Montana’s ranching community — and a lot of experience trying to adjust to the pressures that community has faced. Three decades ago, his family gave up land along the Clark Fork River’s Alberton Gorge and near Arlee, north of Missoula, and moved to Dell, in a remote area of southwestern Montana. So he knows firsthand what it’s like to try to outrun the forces of change. “What we didn’t count on when we did that was who our neighbors became,” Congdon said of his family’s move to Dell. “Paul Allen, Joachim Kepin, Peggy Rockefeller, Hewlett Packard, Remington Arms, British Petroleum. Want me to keep going?” Congdon has since pulled up stakes again, moving his operation back closer to the Clark Fork and Missoula. But he hasn’t been able to escape the specter of development. One of his hay meadows, he said, was recently “graded, bulldozed and leveled.” “It is no longer a meadow,” he said. “It’s all houses.” Congdon, a district director with the Montana Cattleman’s Association, laments all the pressure placed “on the customs, culture, history and heritage of the West, of agriculture.” For it to survive, he said, “We have to kind of rethink the economics of what that is and do it.” That may mean ranchers rely more heavily on public lands for grazing, pursue more sustainable practices and graze fewer cattle per acre, Congdon said. But some of those changes may already be underway as producers try to adapt to the state’s rapidly shifting landscape and shrinking herd. More than 2.6 million cows roamed Montana in 2017. This year, the count was down by nearly a fifth, to some 2.1 million head. Joel Schumacher, a Montana State University , said the drought conditions in 2021 and 2022 were the cause of this drop. With less precipitation, he said, there was “very little grass for forage and very low hay production, which meant the hay that was available was quite expensive.” “One of the main tools that farmers had was simply to sell down the size of their herd to match the amount of forage that they had available,” Schumacher said. “So that’s really what you saw.” With fewer cows available for sale, their price has shot up — and those strong prices, Schumacher said, “may be limiting how quickly herds are being rebuilt.” Nick Courville, who works a day job as an animal nutrition consultant and who operates a small ranch in Charlo, Montana, is among the producers who have taken advantage of strong cattle prices. This fall, he sold half his herd because there’s a “cash incentive right now” to do so, said Courville, who chairs the Montana Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmer and Rancher Committee. He’d like to build his herd back up, Courville said, but that’s hard, in part because of what he calls the “‘Yellowstone effect.’” While Courville says there are “far-fetched” elements to the show, he argues that it “put some light on some actual, real problems that we have.” “The battle between neighbors, I think, sometimes could be real,” he said. “The battle for land and people owning that agricultural landscape. The pretty views that we have, the clean water that comes with it, the beautiful tall grass that’s waving in the wind. “I mean, they want to buy it because they like that. And then they put a house on every 40 that we used to run cows on.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!