Region VI: Water Arrives and Feral Horses Continue to Plague the West

By J.J. Goicoechea DVM, Region VI Policy Vice President

The Colorado River might originate in Region V, but the effects of a long-term drought are felt by most states in Region VI. While some progress on an agreement was made to lessen the draw on the over-tasked river, in the end, an agreement couldn’t be reached between states dependent on the River. Stock water is a very small, almost miniscule amount of the overall water usage of the Colorado River, but even so, this topic continues to draw the attention of anti-agriculture advocates, who wish to remove more and more historical water use from agriculturists’ hands. Producers across this region remain focused on potential changes to water laws and decrees that could make production even more difficult if they occur.

Perhaps the arid nature of the West is why it has become the focal point of “green, renewable energy” projects. Large polygons have been drawn on public land maps in Arizona and Nevada that are to be the future solar power generation centers. Producers need to be engaged early in the scoping process of these large, proposed projects to protect their preference grazing rights. NCBA continues to fight for multiple use on the western rangelands, and the elimination of livestock grazing to stand up reflective panels is not in line with our policy or in the best interest of the beef industry.

Anyone who has attended a Region VI meeting is aware of the issue of wild and feral horses in our region. While some progress in a few areas of select states was made over the last year in terms of population management, there are still an estimated four times the number of horses on western lands compared to what it can ecologically stand. What does this mean for producers not only in Region VI, but across the country? Overtaxed rangelands are going to remain less productive into the foreseeable future due to overpopulation by horses. This is going to continue to put pressure on livestock producers who graze federal and state lands in Region VI. With the need to find alternative forage, some of these livestock will be moving to other regions of the country.

The relocation of breeding herds is only a small representation of animals that will need to move to other regions. The horses themselves have reached the point of eating themselves out of house and home this winter. Historic storms from November to midFebruary have left many ranchers across the West buried in drifted and hard-crusted snow. There are hundreds, if not more, horses starving to death on western rangelands due to the inability to migrate in deep snow and the lack of forage from multiple years of extreme drought and feet of snow covering any browse they may have had access to. The federal agencies will need to make an attempt to lower the populations on western rangelands, predominantly in Region VI, again this next year through the use of emergency gathers. These horses will end up in places like Oklahoma and Missouri, placing additional stresses on the beef industry as we seek to rebuild from the last two years of sell offs due to drought.

On the topic of drought, Region VI, for the most part has been blessed with abundant moisture so far (as referenced above) this past fall and winter. From the monsoonal flow that started last summer in Arizona, to the atmospheric river events of early winter that buried California, Nevada and Utah in much needed and appreciated snow, the region has seen a promising start to next year’s water and grass. The needed moisture has not come without a cost, however. The continued increased input costs of more than $300/ton for cow hay and $5/gallon diesel has left many producers with little reserve to draw on and hard choices are being made to liquidate more cattle as this winter continues. Several western states have asked for flexibility from the Farm Services Agency (FSA) in the hopes of give some relief to those producers in need.

Our furthest western state, Hawaii, has continued to see drought affect its producers for the last two years. While some agencies are seeking flexibility for programs to assist producers in times of drought or other natural disasters, Hawaiian producers have not been able to access traditional forage assistance programs such as Livestock Forage Program (LFP). We will continue to work with our Hawaiian partners and seek to find a legislative fix so they can get help in times of continued drought, such as what has been recently witnessed.

From the far-left side of the map to the right side of Region VI, there are no shortage of strange issues. Perhaps New Mexico owns the honor of this year’s “Are You Kidding Me?” Award. Many of our members are probably aware of the aerial gunning and euthanasia of cattle that is occurring in New Mexico. The United States Forest Service will continue its operation to “lethally dispatch as many feral cattle as we are able to during this operation,” which will have concluded by the time members read this article. Resource protection including forage and water are part of the rationale behind the need to remove these “feral” animals from the Gila Wilderness within the Gila National Forest. Resource protection should be a priority of us all, but so should ensuring animals are truly “feral” and not estray. In addition, resource protection cannot only lie at the feet of domestic livestock and producers. If we need a refresher on resource damage, it is referenced above in the form of other “feral” livestock that now has a protected label on it. NCBA has and will continue to engage with New Mexico producers on the Gila Forest issue, we are hopeful some commonsense will be applied soon.

In order to not be all gloom and doom, California has seen the return of water to stock ponds and green grass in the pastures. The markets are responding to a lower national inventory and the optimism of what is ahead. Remaining calf and yearling offerings have been selling at five-year highs in some markets in the region. Additionally, bull sales are seeing high, if not record, prices in some areas. All of this is occurring while some representatives of auction yards and producers continue to pocket dollars earned while bashing the very policies that enable this to happen. NCBA is no stranger to attacks across Region VI, and we will continue to defend the Beef Checkoff, the need for traceability, and work to ensure the federal government offers assistance as needed and doesn’t overstep when it desires.