LMD Feb 2018

Riding Herd

“The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it.”

by LEE PITTS

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

February 15, 2018 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 60 • No. 2

Danny Boy

BY LEE PITTS

Dirty Dan

Always drink upstream from the herd.

S

exual discrimination; a religious war; unaccountable government agents going rogue; another seemingly innocent man with his hands up being shot by law enforcement.

I could be recapping the topics on a typical nightly news show on television. Sadly, I’m not.

Women and oppressed minorities have nothing on the western public lands ranchers when it comes to oppression, persecution and ill-treatment.

The War On The West

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

It’s old news that the case against Cliven Bundy and his sons was thrown out of court and all charged dropped. The three along with others were jailed on a laundry list of charges after the paramilitary raid on the Bundy Ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada, in April, 2014. The federal judge dismissed the case because the prosecution withheld key information and ruled that the case could not be tried again due to the actions of the prosecution, which she called “outrageous” and “violated due process rights.”

The government and the fake news media wanted you to believe that this whole fiasco was just because Cliven Bundy owed

money for BLM fees. Sure, Bundy owed the money, but this was never really about grazing fees.

It was just another skirmish in the ongoing War On The West, orchestrated by federal bureaucrats who overstepped their constitutional and legal authority by a country mile.

Casualties on our side in this war have been high: the Coalition for Self Government says the animal unit months authorized by the BLM over the past 65 years declined from four-

teen and a half million to seven million and the decline in the number of permittees fell from 21,081 to 10,187. Pardon us for being a bit sensitive about this issue but the state where this newspaper is published, New Mexico, has seen their number of permittees fall by 65% over the same period.

If one ex-federal bureaucrat had his way there’d not be a single public lands rancher left and the West would have long ago waved a white flag.

One of the big reasons the judge threw out the Bundy case was because of the actions of one man whose name was already a dirty word in the lexicon of the West. He’s the arrogant BLM official you saw in the TV news of the Bunkerville standoff parading around shouting orders with his cap on backwards, facial hair that looked like he’d just come off the front lines in Afghanistan, in camo pants, sidearm at the ready by his side, wearing sunglasses that looked like something that a futuristic warrior in a violent video game would wear, sporting a bullet proof vest that said “POLICE” in big letters, and all the while communicating with snipers on a far hill.

Daniel Love is the poster boy continued on page two

Environmental Group May Have to Register as Foreign Agents

BY KEVIN MOONEY / WASHINGTON EXAMINER

T

he connection between Vladimir Putin’s government and U.S. environmental groups deserves more scrutiny.

U.S. environmental activists who are working to halt the production and use of fossil fuels could be required to register as foreign agents if Congress gets serious about enforcing an existing law.

There was some potential movement in that direction last October when Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced legislation that would put some teeth into the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law, which was first passed in 1938, calls for individuals and organizations to provide full disclosure when they are working to advance the public policy interests of a foreign government.

As the Washington Examiner has reported, Grassley’s proposed legislation would close off an exemption that has allowed lobbyists for foreign interests to avoid registration while providing the U.S. attorney general with additional authority to conduct investigations.

While the media remains largely focused on ongoing investigations into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, the connection between Vladimir Putin’s govern-

ment and U.S. environmental groups deserves more scrutiny.

Klein Ltd., a Bermuda-based shell corporation run by executives with strong ties to longtime Putin friend Leonid Reiman and Russian energy investment groups including Firebird New Russia Fund and Vimpelcom Ltd., reportedly funneled $23 million to the Sea Change Foundation, according to a detailed 2014 U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee report.

Klein’s legal counsel dismisses such charges as “completely false and irresponsible.” But in a letter addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, members of Congress document evidence pointing to a paperless money trail that flows from Russia into U.S. environmental groups through the Sea Change Foundation.

The implication is that the Russians have been pouring tens of millions of dollars into willing environmental advocacy groups in an effort to spread propaganda directed against fracking in the U.S. and the technology that makes it possible, according to evidence presented in the letter.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and his colleagues have called on continued on page four

Let’s Sue Someone.

H

i ladies, it’s me, the wife of the slob who usually writes this column.

He’s resting now, getting his beauty sleep and believe me, he needs all he can get.

Unbeknownst to him, I’m taking over the column this week because what I have to say is much more important than any gibberish he’d have written.

Are you keeping up on all the reports of evil athletes, actors, politicians and businessmen who’ve been harassing and discriminating against women? Do you know who you haven’t heard one peep from? The wives of farmers and ranchers that’s who, and yet there is not a group in America who’s been harassed or discriminated against more than us.

I consulted with an attorney who said we’d have a great discrimination case in court against our husbands but there’s one small problem. In his words, “You can’t get any blood out of a turnip.” The attorney said we’d need to go after “deeper pockets” and suggested a class action lawsuit. To win we’d have to prove guilt in just one of the following areas: • Hostile work environment- Have you ever been yelled at because some cows leaked through the gap in the fence you were supposed to be blocking?

Has your husband ever used foul language in your presence when you accidentally slammed the squeeze chute door on his hand or accidentally vaccinated him against lepto-vibrio? Do you work in a clean environment or are you constantly being bombarded by cow poop? Has he left you in a seedy motel room without feed or water while he went to “an important committee meeting” in a saloon?

Are you referred to as “hired help”or a “peon”? If so, you’re rights have been violated.

• Missed meals and potty breaks- While on a bull buying trip in your car you informed your husband you needed to pull over at the next rest stop for a biobreak did he tell you to just

continued on page four

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Livestock Market Digest

February 15, 2018

DANNY BOY for everything that is wrong with America’s bureaucracy these days. I don’t know if the federal government created the BLM special agent in charge of Utah and Nevada between 2012 and 2015, or if he was just naturally a wannabe warrior goon. Certainly his behavior was uncalled for. After all, the FBI had conducted a threat assessment and concluded that the Bundys were not dangerous.

Because of two special reports by the Inspector General’s Office (OIG) we now know the ends to which the BLM was willing to go in rubbing out the West. A 200 man army of government contractors and employees, including at least 20 FBI agents, were decked out in body armor and carrying automatic weapons, arrived in SWAT vans, black SUV’s and armored vehicles to gather up Bundy’s cattle.

If that’s all they were after they could have done the job with ten good cowboys. At the end of the day they failed miserably in their task to remove Bundy’s cattle from his BLM grazing allotment in the campaign called Operation Gold Butte. All those dead Bundy cattle dozed into a big trench to hide them from the media weren’t the only thing massacred that day; so too were the rights and Constitutional freedoms of the men who would spend two years in jail only to have all charges dropped, all because some pseudo-soldier wanted to play cowboy.

A Religious War

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The title of an article written by Jarrett Stepman, editor of The Daily Signal, backs up those westerners who believe in conspiracy theories: “The Case Against Western Ranchers Shows Why Americans Are Right to Fear Government,” wrote Stepman.” According to OIG, “The federal government, its officers and agents were excessively armed, used military tactics and acted outside their authority.”

Thanks to the courage of OIG lead investigator Larry Wooten, who wrote an 18-page whistleblower letter to the Department of Justice, we now know that it was Dan Love who urged on the persecution of the Bundy Ranch defendants. Wooten wrote in his letter about Love’s sexism, racism, and an explosive revelation that Love kept a ‘Kill Book’ chronicling the deaths of several individuals he believed resulted from his own actions.

According to Wooten, “The agents called Bundy and his supporters “deplorables,” “rednecks,” and “idiots” among many other worse names,” Wooten said. “They also insulted the Bundy family’s Mormon beliefs. Their behavior showed clear prejudice toward “the defendants, their supporters, and Mormons.” Wooten claimed that fellow agents put him through a religious test on several occasions. “You’re not a Mormon, are you?” they asked repeatedly.

Wooten, concluded in his letter, “the punitive and ego-driven

continued from page one

campaign against the ranchers was all an effort to command the most intrusive, oppressive, large scale, and militaristic trespass cattle impound possible.” Wooten wrote, “The ridiculousness of the conduct, unprofessional amateurish carnival atmosphere, openly made statements, and electronic communications tended to mitigate the defendant’s culpability and cast a shadow of a doubt of inexcusable bias, unprofessionalism, and embarrassment of our agency.”

The Missing Tapes After Operation Gold Butte Dan Love refused to be interviewed by investigators and wouldn’t turn over his government-issued laptops because he said they’d been lost. (He’d previously told colleagues that he planned to do this if he ever got caught.) Love wasn’t the only one withholding evidence.

The Justice Department refused to hand over audio recordings between Love and BLM sniper teams who were on the ground surveilling Bundy Ranch as far back as March in 2014. Prior to the first Bundy trial the BLM denied the use of snipers during “Operation Gold Butte” Incident command post communication director Toni Suminski, testified under oath in the first Bundy trial that, “Recordings of those transmissions were lost after the the hard drive running the recording software had mysteriously come un-plugged during the protest on April 12, 2014.” Suminski also admitted that she’d shredded garbage bags full of documents related to Operation Gold Butte.

According to the The Free Range Report, “United States Park Service sharp-shooter Alexandria Burke, who was on the mesa with other snipers during the protest tried to get a clear shot to “eliminate” Eric Parker who had taken a prone position to defend himself.”

Burkes later admitted while tearing-up on the wittiness stand that she embarrassed herself and law enforcement that day.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal called the entire Bunkerville affair “misconduct and excessive force by law enforcement,” and said it was all about “extended grudge matches by the federal government and its employees against people challenging their authority in general, and westerners pushing back over control of public lands in particular. We’re talking Blackhawk helicopters, machine guns, grenade launchers, battering rams, explosives, chemical sprays, body armor, night vision, rappelling gear, armored vehicles, and tanks. Clearly, we’re not in Mayberry anymore,” wrote the Review-Journal.

The Las Vegas paper quoted Arthur Rizer, former police officer and member of the military: “If we’re training cops as soldiers, giving them equipment like soldiers, dressing them up as soldiers, when are they going continued on page three

February 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

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DANNY BOY to pick up the mentality of soldiers? If you look at the police department, their creed is to protect and to serve. A soldier’s mission is to engage his enemy in close combat and kill him. Do we want police officers to have that mentality? Of course not.”

The special agent in charge of Operation Gold Butte, Dan Love, was already Public Enemy Number One in Utah amongst law enforcement. For years they’d complained about his unwillingness to work with local law enforcement. They called him “an arrogant and dishonest bully who had little regard for local authority and dodges accountability, derailing a collaborative approach to police work on the state’s federal lands.”

Before he left office last year, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz sought to strip federal land agencies of law enforcement authority. After all, why does the Bureau of Land Management need sniper teams?

Love’s Rap Sheet Dan Love’s record at the BLM had not exactly been sterling before Bunkerville. Here are some of his top hits: • While Love served as head of BLM law enforcement for Utah and Nevada he was stealing federal artifacts and distributing them to co-workers. According to the OIG, “He handed out valuable stones known as moqui marbles to colleagues and a contractor “like candy,” as one witness told OIG investigators.” The employee who stole them later told investigators he had “bad feeling” about taking them from the evidence room, but followed instructions

continued from page two

because Love was a law enforcement officer and “scary.”

• The OIG reported, “Supervisory Agent Love used his official position to provide preferential treatment to his family members while attending the Burning Man event and directed five on-duty BLM law enforcement officers to escort his family and provide security for them at the event.” According to the report, Love also, “violated Federal ethics rules when he used his influence with Burning Man officials to obtain three sold-out tickets and special passes for his father, girlfriend, and a family friend.

OIG investigators confirmed that Love’s girlfriend stayed overnight with him in his BLM assigned trailer, contrary to restrictions in the operations plan for the event.”

“He also violated Federal ethics regulations by having a subordinate employee make a hotel reservation for his guests.

On at least one occasion, he misused his BLM official vehicle when he transported his girlfriend while at the event.”

• The BLM’s OIG report revealed that, “Love had bullied and intimidated subordinates, and ordered the destruction of federal records. Love, on several occasions, ordered subordinates to delete emails which were part of an official document request related to an employment mat-

ter.”

Those emails had been requested by Congressman Jason Chaffetz, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The OIG report also said,

tiquities sting. It seems that Dr. James Redd, a well-liked and trusted physician in Blanding, Utah, committed suicide after Love directed a raid on his home and a brutal, day-long interrogation of him. In a taped message to his family Dr. Redd said that “with all the trumped-up charges and socalled evidence the government claimed to have against him and his family, “there will be one less charge to contend with.” The single charge against Dr. Redd was a felony charge related to a small Indian bead he found on the ground and kept. As lead officer in the operation, Dan Love claimed the 1/4 inch bead was worth $1,000, and Dr. Redd’s possession of it broke laws governing the trade of Native American antiquities. (The bead’s real value was $75.) A day after Love’s marauders raided Dr. Redd’s home and engaged him in a brutal interview, Dr. Redd got in his Jeep and suffocated himself.

For his work on this case Agent Dan Love was awarded BLM Special Agent of the Year in 2009. By 2014 Love had been promoted to BLM head of law enforcement for Utah and Nevada, much to the chagrin of western ranchers.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal called the entire Bunkerville affair “misconduct and excessive force by law enforcement” “BLM officials under directions from Love were to “scrub” any messages that could harm him or any in which he used demeaning or derogatory language.”

• Rand Stover, second in command to Love during Operation Gold Butte, was part of a scheme to broaden the scope of hiring practices of Love’s department so that Love’s friend, Mark Jucca, could be hired over more qualified applicants for a job with the BLM. • “Love allegedly attempted to influence the outcome of an investigation by coaching a witness in advance of an interview with OIG investigators. Dan Love called a BLM employee and essentially gave the BLM employee talking points for any questions that may come up during his interview with OIG.” • Love was the agent in charge of Operation Cerberus, a federal Native American an-

No Love Lost Love’s attorneys fought off subpoenas for Love to testify in the Bundy trial because

they claimed he had developed PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from the Bunkerville engagement.

For a long time it was hidden by prosecutors from the Judge and jurors in the Bundy trial that Dan Love had been fired by the BLM on charges of corruption. In a decidedly low key announcement BLM spokeswoman Megan Crandall told the Associated Press that Love “no longer worked for the agency.”

The day after U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro declared the Bundy trial a mistrial, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for an investigation into the matter. But even though the two OIG reports concluded that our boy Danny “acted with incredible bias and likely broke the law,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah declined to file criminal charges against him. All while the rancher Cliven Bundy and his forgotten co-defendants sat in a jail cell for two years awaiting trial for crimes they didn’t commit.

As for Love, he’s probably comfortable on disability these days, or a well-padded government pension. But may we suggest if he truly wanted to serve his country and be a real soldier perhaps he should enlist in the Army or Marines where he could wear all the military stuff and go to a real war like Afghanistan. We’re pretty sure he won’t do this though because over there the enemy shoots back.

And there’d always be the possibility of Love getting shot in the back as he retreated in a friendly fire incident by a revenge-seeking son of the west.

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Livestock Market Digest

RIDING HERD “hold it”? That’s criminal abuse! If you are not given an hour for lunch and at least two breaks lasting 15 minutes you need to be suing someone.

• Pregnancy discrimination- Did you get six months maternity leave prior to having your last child and were you also given six months after the baby’s birth? Or, instead were you given one of those backward papoose thingies with your baby strapped to the front of your body and put back on a horse or tractor one week after popping out the kid? If so, you should be squalling louder than Meryl Streep about having been abused.

• Working off the clock- I know what you’re thinking, what clock?

Since you don’t punch a clock to begin with proving this could be difficult.

Unpaid overtime compensation is also included under this heading and would include any work before 7:30 or after 4:30. Were you paid triple time last Christmas when you fed the cows in a blizzard? Also, you should be getting at least minimum wage for keeping the house and raising the kids while also performing your daily chores.

• Disability discrimination- Remember when your husband asked you to hold a post while he pounded

AGENTS the U.S. Treasury Department to conduct an investigation into the allegations of Russian collusion with U.S. environmental groups. In response to a media inquiry I sent last year asking about the allegations, a U.S. Treasury spokesman said in an email message, “We respond as appropriate to Congressional inquiries, but wouldn’t comment publicly on an investigation.”

The motivation for Russian interference here is clear. As the congressional letter notes, American ingenuity in the oil and gas industry have significant geopolitical ramifications. Thanks to innovative extraction technologies such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, the U.S. now has access to vast reserves of oil and gas previously held to be unrecoverable. The unexpected energy resource bonanza has dramatically shifted the dynamics of the economic and geopolitical landscape in America’s favor.

The U.S. is the top producer of natural gas in the world. In 2016, U.S. natural gas imports set a record low even though consumption has increased. In 3 of the first 5 months of 2017, U.S. natural gas exports were greater than imports — the growing trend points to the U.S. becoming a net exporter. This new commitment to natural gas means less expensive energy bills for consumers as well as economic, environmental, and national security benefits for the country as a whole. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that the fracking boom has created 2.7 million jobs, with an estimated additional 3.5 million projected by 2035.

From a foreign policy perspective, the U.S. can now export liquefied natural gas to parts of Europe that have been dependent on Putin’s government for their gas.

This weakens Putin and puts the U.S. in a stronger position to exert influence. Up until now, periodic disputes with Russia have resulted in economic bullying tactics from Moscow that include wintertime threats to close pipelines supplying oil and natural gas. Those days may be over now that American natural gas development is poised to impact Russia and its Gazprom oil company.

continued from page one

it with a sledge hammer and he missed badly but you weren’t given sufficient time to recover from your broken arm?

That’s disability discrimination. So was that time you were fixing fence and you had to ride in the Bobcat bucket with the wire and the posts and your hubby hit a rock and bounced you out of the bucket and then ran over the top of you but you weren’t even given the rest of the day off.

• Wrongful termination- Most women I know would love to be fired by their husbands.

Comrade sisters, if you’ve been abused you may be eligible for what’s left after the male attorneys take their $290 billion cut out of a $300 billion class action lawsuit. You’re going to need the money because having done all this free work means you’ll have no Social Security or an IRA to fall back on when, after 43 years of wedded bliss, your husband trades you in for a newer model.

I hear my hubby stumbling about so that’s all for now. Let’s keep this just between us ladies for now. And remember, WE SHALL OVERCOME! Someday. (Maybe). wwwLeePittsbooks.com

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However, an international campaign known as “Keep It in the Ground” has been pushing an anti-fossil fuel agenda that advances Russia’s geopolitical interests at the expense of the U.S. and America’s allies. The campaign claims support from more than 400 organizations across the globe, with a sizable percentage operating inside the U.S. The campaign is opposed not just to the extraction of fossil fuels, but to any fossil fuel-related project including pipelines, rail transportation, refineries, and energy exploration.

These groups include Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, 350.org, the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, the Rainforest Action Network, Earthworks, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, to name just a few. Some of the larger environmental advocacy groups in the U.S., such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters, don’t appear on the list of 400, yet do support the same anti-fossil policy aims and draw from the same pool of financial supporters.

The common denominator here between many of these groups is the San Francisco-based Sea Change Foundation, which has been identified as the incubator for Russian funding of environmental groups. Another key player is the Energy Foundation, which is also based in San Francisco and appears to be an offshoot of the Sea Change Foundation.

If Grassley succeeds in bolstering the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a good starting point for an investigation would be with the “Keep It in the Ground” campaign members and with other environmental groups that support the campaign’s agenda.

While these groups are free to advocate for their preferred policies, they should not be permitted to posture as grassroots activists if they are in fact doing the bidding of foreign interests, to the detriment of average Americans who benefit from affordable and reliable sources of energy.

Kevin Mooney (@KevinMooneyDC) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an investigative reporter in Washington, D.C. who writes for several national publications.

February 15, 2018

A Dangerous Disconnect: New Research IDs Food and Ag Trust Gaps

W

hile food companies, federal regulatory agencies and farmers are held responsible for ensuring the health and safety of food, not all are trusted to get the job done, according to new research from The Center for Food Integrity (CFI). The findings illustrate a dangerous trust deficit that breeds increased public skepticism and highlights the need for increased consumer engagement by the food system.

If you’re held responsible and trusted for ensuring safe and healthy food, you are seen as a credible source, said Charlie Arnot, CEO of CFI. However, if you’re held responsible but not trusted, that’s a dangerous disconnect that can’t be ignored.

Federal regulatory agencies are held most responsible for ensuring safe food, following by food companies and farmers, according to the survey. However, when it comes to trust, federal regulatory agencies rank eighth and food companies rank last on a list of 11 choices.

The potential fallout is serious and we’re already witnessing consequences in the food system as public interest in food production and processing grows,” said Arnot. “A lack of trust can result in increased pressure for additional oversight and regulations, rejection of products or information, and consumers seeking alternate, and perhaps unreliable, information sources.”

Farmers fared better, ranking third in both responsibility and trust on the issue of ensuring safe food. CFI’s annual research, now in its 10th year, has consistently shown that consumers trust farmers. Arnot cautioned farmers against viewing the results as permission to disengage. The good standing of farmers presents a golden opportunity for farmers to share their stories, invite consumer questions and help build trust.

Rankings for responsibility and trust regarding ensuring healthy food were similar.

Segmenting by influencer audiences, including moms, millennials, foodies and early adopters, CFI’s research surveyed U.S. consumers on more than 50 topics including most important issues, trusted sources, purchasing behaviors, pressures impacting food choices, and attitudes on farming and food manufacturing.

Research results reveal additional trust gaps when it comes to the environment, animal care and food manufacturing.

Eighty percent moderately or strongly agree that they are more concerned about global warming/climate change than they were a year ago. However, only 30 percent strongly agree that farmers are taking good care of the environment.

While 55 percent strongly agree that

if farm animals are treated decently and humanely, they have no problem consuming meat milk and eggs, only 25 percent believe U.S. meat is derived from humanely treated animals.

Two out of three consumers (64 percent) hold a positive impression of agriculture, while below half (44 percent) hold a positive impression of food manufacturing. A majority, around two in three, want to know more about both.

“I am often asked why consumers have a certain, often inaccurate, impression of the food system,” said Roxi Beck, director at CFI. Beck works closely with farmers and food companies, providing practical advice and step-by-step training to increase transparency and engagement and help close the trust gap.

“My response is simple: because farmers and food companies haven’t engaged consumers in a way that addresses their underlying concerns,” she said. “The food system is making great strides toward transparency and responsiveness, which is tremendous, but there is more work to be done. It starts with identifying the drivers of concern, versus providing factual information to address the questions asked.”

Each year of CFI’s decade-long research builds on the last. When combined, it leaves no doubt that effective engagement to earn trust goes beyond simply providing consumers with information.

“Consumers want to know that farmers and food companies share their values, so simply providing facts or information isn’t enough,” Beck said. “Meaningful engagement can be a game-changer. For example, I’ve guided dozens of on-site tours of farms and food companies and the ‘ah-ha’ moments are often dramatic when consumers see and hear for themselves how food is produced. This is because they’ve made a personal connection with the individual expert, which allows the conversation to move forward.”

Transparency is a powerful trust-building tool, she said, and can be achieved in many ways, -ranging from photos and videos to blogs that invite questions. Today’s trust gaps can be closed and CFI is committed to helping the food system do just that.’

For more information, contact CFI at learnmore@foodintegrity.org.

The Center for Food Integrity is a notfor-profit organization that helps today’s food system earn consumer trust. Our members and project partners, who represent the diversity of the food system, are committed to providing accurate information and working together to address important issues in food and agriculture. The Center does not lobby or advocate for individual companies or brands. For more information, visit www.foodintegrity.org.

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February 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Truth Decay

A Threat to Policymaking and Democracy

BY JENNIFER KAVANAGH, MICHAEL D. RICH WWW.RAND.ORG

T

he line between fact and fiction in American public life is becoming blurred. RAND has begun studying the causes and consequences of this “Truth Decay” phenomenon and how it affects democracy and political and civil discourse in the United States. Where basic facts and well-supported analyses of these facts were once generally accepted — such as the benefit of using vaccines to protect health — disagreement about even objective facts and well-supported analyses has swelled in recent years.

In addition, a growing number of Americans view the U.S. government, media, and academia with new skepticism. These developments drive wedges between policymakers and neighbors alike. This research brief describes RAND’s findings about the causes and consequences of Truth Decay and offers a research agenda for addressing the challenges this phenomenon creates, with the intent of improving policymaking and political discourse. Truth Decay presents a vital threat to American democracy, and RAND invites other researchers, policymakers, journalists, and educators to join in responding to that threat.

Defining Truth Decay Heightened disagreement about facts and analytical interpretations of data There have always been differences of opinion within the American electorate. But disagreements about objective facts and topics for which data are reasonably definitive have become increasingly common.

Examples include the benefits of vaccines and the safety of genetically modified foods.

The Blurred Line Between Opinion and Fact Changes in media content and the media business model have contributed to the jumbling of fact, fiction, and opinion.

Examples include journalistic content that fails to distinguish between opinion and fact, news programs that rely on commentary rather than factual reporting without clearly labelling them, and social media platforms that allow anyone to become a source of information.

Increased Volume and Influence of Opinion and Personal Experience Across the Communications Landscape The growth in the volume of subjective content relative to factual information increases the likelihood that audiences will encounter speculation or downright falsehoods. That makes it more difficult to identify key pieces of factual information.

Diminished Trust in Formerly Respected Institutions as Sources of Factual Information Polling data from across the country show a significant drop, and continuing decline, in public trust in such institutions as the government and the media.

Amid confusion about what is fact and what is falsehood, where people should turn for objective, factual information also becomes unclear.

Is This New, or Déjà Vu? 1880s–1890s The Gilded Age, known for “yellow journalism” that trafficked in exaggeration, scandal-mongering, and sensationalism.

1920s–1930s The Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, featuring the advent of radio and “jazz journalism,” in which tabloids published sensationalized stories of sex and violence.

1960s–1970s The Vietnam War, with “New Journalism” that conveyed writers’ subjective impressions, and widespread adoption of television news as a primary information source.

In all three of these periods, new forms and styles of communication coupled with social, political, and economic unrest contributed to the emergence of at least two of Truth Decay’s key trends: the blurred line between fact and opinion and the increased relative volume of opinion over fact. RAND researchers also found some evidence of declining trust in institutions as sources of factual information in two of these historical periods.

But the current era of Truth Decay stands alone in at least

one key way. Researchers found no evidence of fundamental disagreements over objective facts in any of the three historical periods. The present period stands alone in possessing all four trends. New technologies, social media, 24-hour news coverage, and political polarization accentuate the effects of the four trends in the present period, as well.

The good news: Past periods similar to Truth Decay all drew to a close. RAND researchers found that each of the previous Truth Decay periods ended when institutions, such as the government, increased transparency and Americans attached more value to objective facts within political and civil discourse. Further investigation of these eras may lead to lessons on how to rein in some aspects of the current version of Truth Decay.

What Causes Truth Decay?

Drivers RAND researchers have identified four main drivers of Truth Decay, conditions that contribute to the phenomenon.

Characteristics of human information processing, such as cognitive biases Cognitive biases reflect mental patterns that can lead people to form beliefs or make decisions that do not reflect an objective and thorough assessment of the facts. For instance, people tend to seek out information that confirms preexisting beliefs and reject information that challenges those beliefs.

Changes in the information system, such as the rise of 24hour news coverage, social media, and dissemination of disinformation and misleading or

biased information The volume of information overall has increased dramatically — especially content based on opinion, personal experience, and even falsehood. At the same time, social media and search algorithms can create self-reinforcing feeds of information by winnowing out competing perspectives. Together, these changes drown out facts, data, and analysis.

Competing demands on the educational system that challenge its ability to keep pace with information system changes The growing number of demands and fiscal constraints on the educational system have reduced the emphasis on civic education, media literacy, and critical thinking. Without proper training, many students do not learn how to identify disinformation and misleading information, and are susceptible to disseminating it themselves.

Polarization in politics, society, and the economy Segregation across the American electorate along economic, political, and social lines contributes to the development of insular and isolated communities, each with its own narrative, worldview, and, increasingly, even “facts.”

Agents People, organizations, or foreign entities can also intentionally or unintentionally amplify the effects of Truth Decay drivers for their own political or economic gain. RAND researchers identified four groups of possible agents: • Academia and research organizations make valuable contributions to knowledge, but can exacerbate Truth Decay when

Page 5

errors or bias affect findings.

• Media organizations can promote facts, but can intensify Truth Decay when commentary or opinion displaces fact.

• Foreign actors contribute to Truth Decay when spreading mis- and disinformation to achieve their own objectives.

• Domestic political actors (e.g., elected and appointed officials, lobbyists) aggravate Truth Decay when deploying misleading information to advance political agendas.

What Are Truth Decay’s Consequences?

Truth Decay inflicts substantial damage on America’s civic and political institutions and its societal and democratic foundations. Researchers identified four of the most damaging effects: • erosion of civil discourse • political paralysis at the federal and state level • individual disengagement from political and civic life • uncertainty in national policy Unchecked, Truth Decay causes a vicious circle of mistrust among citizens. It can lead them to narrow their sources of information, cluster with people who agree with them, avoid meaningful discussions about core issues, and feel alienated from local and national policy debates. Politics drifts into dysfunction when debate lacks a shared factual basis.

In governance, that can lead to delayed decisions, deferred economic investment, and reduced diplomatic credibility.

Where to Go From Here?

Research alone cannot resolve continued on page six

Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

February 15, 2018

Bovine Respiratory Disease in Cow-Calf Herds

BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

FOR PROGRESSIVE CATTLEMAN

O

ften called pneumonia or shipping fever, bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is costly for the livestock industry, especially in feedlot cattle, but also a concern in cow-calf herds.

Producers seek better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat BRD.

Prevention Dr. Andi Lear, food animal

TRUTH the complex problem of Truth Decay. Research can, however, provide a framework and factual foundations upon which to design, implement, and evaluate responses. RAND calls on other research organizations, policymakers, educators, journalists, and interested individuals to join in shining a light on Truth Decay — and finding solutions. RAND researchers have mapped out four streams of inquiry, and identified questions that need to be answered.

Historical Research • How, where, and when else has Truth Decay manifested at home and abroad?

• What lessons can be learned from past Truth Decay eras?

Data and Trends • How can changes in information consumption, civic and media literacy, civil discourse, polarization, and national policy uncertainty be measured?

• What patterns in Truth Decay’s four trends can be measured and tracked over time?

Mechanisms and Processes

field services, University of Tennessee, says minimizing stress is very important, along with a good vaccination program. Using appropriate vaccine protocols to prevent BRD, blackleg, etc., in calves is crucial, along with trying to minimize stress when working them.

“Take care of castration, dehorning, pouring for parasites, etc., prior to weaning. Never wean on diesel fuel – meaning don’t wean, vaccinate and haul calves away in a truck on the continued from page five

• How do the drivers and agents of Truth Decay interact to cause this phenomenon?

• How is information weaponized?

• How does technology affect information dissemination and consumption?

• How and why has institutional trust declined? How can it be rebuilt or maintained?

Solutions and Responses • What types of civic education and training in critical thinking for students and adults might address Truth Decay?

• What policy, regulatory, or technological changes might slow the flow of disinformation, encourage civil discourse, or reduce polarization to improve democratic processes?

• How can transparency and accountability be promoted in the research field and the media to guard against conflict of interests?

Truth Decay poses a threat to the health and future of U.S. democracy. Reining it in will require concentrated and interdisciplinary effort. RAND is issuing these initial findings and this research agenda as a launch point for those endeavors.

same day. Make sure calves have been exposed to vaccine and have some immunity prior to getting on a truck,” says Lear.

If you do all stressful procedures while they are still on the cow, it’s not nearly as stressful because Mom is there to comfort them after they come out of the chute. “Cold-turkey weaning on top of vaccinating can result in more sickness,” she explains.

Dr. Chris Chase, department of veterinary and biomedical sciences, South Dakota State University, says to prevent pneumonia in young calves, we need to immunize the cow so the cow can provide good colostrum, with adequate antibodies for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, BVD and bovine respiratory syncytial virus.

“Vaccinating at preg-check time or closer to calving with inactivated vaccines that have a little more antigen may be better in terms of improving colostrum than using MLV vaccines,” says Chase. Once calves are born, make sure they get colostrum on time.

“Most cow-calf producers don’t use intranasal vaccines on baby calves because, unless they have a major problem with pneumonia in very young calves, they can wait and give calves their first vaccinations at branding age,” he says.

With a pneumonia problem, accurate diagnosis is important to find out if it is caused by viruses like bovine respiratory syncytial virus, bacteria like mannheimia or some other pathogen to determine the best approach for prevention. Don’t just shoot in the dark.

“If we know there’s a problem with mannheimia, we can vaccinate for that at branding. Otherwise, there is no sense in giving calves that vaccine at that age,” he says.

The important thing is to have the cows well vaccinated.

This is crucial for two reasons.

The cow can then produce antibodies in its colostrum and also has good immunity itself and won’t be susceptible to transmission from a calf if you vaccinate calves while they are still on the cow.

“We’ve seen cases where people vaccinated calves that were suckling poorly vaccinated cows, and the cows got sick. Any time you vaccinate calves prior to weaning, there will be some exposure for their mothers, even though there isn’t much shedding from the calves.

We documented one case in North Dakota where the cows had poor vaccination history; the producer gave the calves MLV vaccine at weaning, and then the calves went through a fence and got back with the cows. About 25 percent of those cows aborted from IBR [infectious bovine rhinotracheitis] from the vaccine given to their calves,” Chase says.

When cattle are stressed, it’s not a good time to vaccinate.

With high-risk calves, some people use intranasal vaccines, and some use an immune-boosting product. “But it’s better to wait until they are over the stress, eating and drinking well, and then vaccinate.

Dehydration is another risk factor, especially in transported cattle. Cattle are four times more likely to suffer respiratory disease if they are dehydrated,” he explains.

In baby calves stressed and dehydrated from scours, we also see higher incidence of BRD. “This is why having adequate colostrum is important, to give young calves some protection.

We also know that when a calf is chilled at birth, ability to absorb colostrum is diminished.

Then, if the calf gets diarrhea and becomes dehydrated, it is more vulnerable to pneumonia as well,” he says.

Keep young calves from getting chilled with shelter (out of the wind), adequate bedding in cold weather, etc. This doesn’t mean an enclosed barn with inadequate ventilation. The air is then saturated with ammonia and pathogens. The ammonia is irritating to airways and lungs.

Treatment “The important thing when calves get sick is to be able to recognize it early,” says Lear.

“This is sometimes challenging because prey animals like cattle tend to look alert when they see someone and may not show as many signs of being sick.” If you can observe them before they see you, there’s more chance you’ll be able to notice if one is dull and droopy or hanging back from the herd.

“If you see one or two with droopy ears, lethargy, snotty nose, etc., immediate treatment is important. The choice of antibiotic is something you should discuss with your veterinarian, however,” she says. You’ll need an accurate diagnosis (to know if pneumonia is viral or bacterial and what type of bacteria might be involved).

Antibiotics will not treat a viral infection, but the calf will need good supportive treatment and possibly an antibiotic to head off secondary bacterial infection.

“The best way to deal with viral pneumonia is try to prevent it with low-stress handling and vaccination, and good supportive care if a calf does get sick.

Antibiotics can help take care of any secondary bacterial infection that often follows the viral infection,” Lear says. The viral pneumonia weakens the calf’s immune system, and the animal is more vulnerable to opportunistic secondary bacterial infection.

Keep the calf warm and dry, eating and drinking, and discuss treatment with your veterinari-

an. The calf will probably need antibiotics and possibly an anti-inflammatory. If anti-inflammatory medication helps the calf feel better enough to eat and drink, this is a big help.

“There is a huge interaction between the gut and respiratory system,” Chase says. If the gut is healthy, and the calf is eating and drinking, the immune system is stronger; the calf is more able to handle challenges to the respiratory system. Some studies have shown beneficial results using probiotics since gut health and respiratory health go together.

Dehydration makes pneumonia worse. “Immune cells must be able to move from point A to point B in the body; if they can’t get there because there’s not enough fluid, you have a serious problem.” Every bodily function depends on adequate fluid in and around the cells. Keeping the animal eating and drinking is crucial.

Treatment for respiratory disease may include medication to reduce pain, fever and inflammation. If the animal can keep eating and drinking because it feels better, it can fight off disease better. “There are some types of oral aspirin and also a drug called Meloxicam that can be used in cattle as an anti-inflammatory,” says Chase.

“We’ve learned a lot about the benefits of anti-inflammatories. When an animal hasn’t eaten for a while and suddenly loads up, flora in the gut changes.” Sometimes they produce harmful compounds, and if their cell walls are gram-negative and a lot of those microbes die, they may release toxins that cause inflammation in the gut.

“If that inflammation spills over into the rest of the body to cause inflammatory response, this has an effect on the lungs.

The advantage of oral products like Meloxicam or aspirin (versus Banamine, which is injected) is that you are actually getting it into the area where it is needed if there is gut inflammation.”

Banamine can be helpful, however, in lung tissue.

“When dealing with bacterial pneumonia, we use antibiotics,” says Chase. “Many producers today use Draxxin or one of the other broad-spectrum antibiotics. It is crucial to identify the pathogen so you have an idea what it would be sensitive to, and pick the right antibiotic,” he says. You should be working with your veterinarian on diagnosis. For viral pneumonia, the best strategy is just supportive treatment – keeping the calf warm and dry, and hydrated.

“If we just pump antibiotics into sick calves, they may not do very well,” he says. Antibiotics may adversely affect the gut microbes, and the calf may need probiotics or even ruminal transplant (in an older calf) to get things back on track again

February 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Page 7

Consumers Love Meat, Want to Ban Slaughterhouses

BY LISA M. KEEFE / MEATINGPLACE.COM

W

hile more than 90 percent of U.S. consumers eat meat at least occasionally, nearly half (47 percent) of respondents in a recent survey agreed with the statement, “I support a ban on slaughterhouses.”

In the monthly Food Demand Survey (FooDS), conducted by Oklahoma State University, the survey asked those who agreed if they were aware that slaughterhouses are necessary to the consumption of meat; of those, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) said they were.

This contradictory set of responses echoes a survey conducted late last year by the Sentience Insti-

tute, in which 42 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “I support a ban on slaughterhouses”.

“The number frankly seemed outrageous, given that more than 90 percent of Americans eat meat regularly and it is rather difficult to do so without slaughtering houses,” said the FooDS authors, Prof.

Bailey Norwood and Susan Murray. They set about to recreate the survey to see if they got the same results.

The startling outcome “provides a teachable moment on the use of survey responses,” the FooDS authors said. “However useful they are, people will state attitudes in surveys that run contrary to their behaviors in the real world. That said, surveys can sometimes tell us more about what consumers want

in their social and political institutions than their individual behaviors.”

Demand steadies Elsewhere, consumer demand for various meat products seems to have returned to a more expected trend, after dropping across the board in November and then increasing across the board in December.

Compared with one month ago, consumers in January were willing to pay less for chicken breast and hamburger — and pasta — while willingness-to-pay for steak and pork chop remain essentially flat. Deli ham and chicken wings — and rice and beans — were the winners, with willingness-to-pay up nearly 14 percent for deli ham.

Accidentally Killing Birds Is Not A Crime, Says Administration LAUREL WAMSLEY / NPRTWITTER

T

he Trump administration says it will no longer criminally prosecute companies that accidentally kill migratory birds. The decision reverses a rule made in the last weeks of the Obama administration.

A legal memo from the Department of the Interior posted in late December declares that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act applies only to purposeful actions that kill migratory birds, and not to energy companies and other businesses that kill birds incidentally.

“Interpreting the MBTA to apply to incidental or accidental actions hangs the sword of Damocles over a host of otherwise lawful and productive actions, threatening up to six months in jail and a $15,000 penalty for each and every bird injured or killed,” the memo says.

The memo is written by Daniel Jorjani, Interior’s principal deputy solicitor, a longtime adviser to libertarian billionaire Charles Koch.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) estimates more than 30 million birds die each year in collisions with power lines and communications towers, and hundreds of thousands more in oil pits and wind turbines.

In its final weeks, the Obama administration issued a legal opinion stating that the law does include the incidental killing of birds, but in February, the Trump administration suspended that opinion pending review.

The National Audubon Society said the Trump administration’s interpretation guts the treaty and runs counter to decades of legal precedent and conservation principles. “The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is one of the most important conservation laws we have,” the group says.

The law protects more than 1,000 bird species, according to the society, because it requires industries to take certain steps to protect them, like covering tar pits and marking transmission lines.

“We just don’t want to lose any incentive for the industry to come to the table and work through this with us,” David O’Neill, the society’s chief conservation officer, told The Washington Post. “And the solutions are out there.”

At least one industry group praised the administration’s decision.

“Over the last few years, the management of ‘take’ under MBTA has been riddled with flawed decisions that have

created massive uncertainty,” Tim Charters, senior director of government affairs for the National Ocean Industries Association, told the Post. “This common-sense approach ensures that lawful activities are not held hostage to unnecessary threats of criminalization.”

BP pleaded guilty to violating the act with its actions related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. As part of its settlement, the oil company agreed to pay $100 million to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, money that was used for wetlands restoration and conservation well beyond the Gulf region where the spill occurred.

Renewable energy projects have also been found in violation. In 2013, Duke Energy pleaded guilty to violating the act in connection with the deaths of two golden eagles at its wind projects in Wyoming, in what the Justice Department said was the “first ever criminal enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for unpermitted avian takings at wind projects.”

The utility company was sentenced to pay fines, restitution and community service totaling $1 million. It was also placed on probation for five years. It is required to implement an environmental compliance plan

Idaho ‘Ag-Gag’ Law Gagged

BY TOM JOHNSTON / MEATINGPLACE.COM

A

federal appeals court judge struck down provisions of Idaho’s “ag-gag” law meant to criminalize videotape recording at agricultural facilities, saying the law suppresses free speech in early January 2018.

The decision is a victory for the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), which sued Idaho in 2014, and could set a legal precedent. The group currently has similar lawsuits pending in Iowa and North Carolina. Other states with ag-gag laws on the books include Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri.

Like the Idaho law, Utah’s also has been struck down in federal court.

“The Ninth Circuit’s decision sends a strong message to Idaho and other states with ag-gag laws that they cannot trample civil liberties for the

benefit of an industry,” said Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells.

Idaho enacted its law in 2014 after Mercy for Animals released video footage showing alleged abuses at an Idaho dairy farm. ALDF sued and won the following year. Idaho appealed, arguing that lying to gain access to a farm or slaughterhouse and then secretly recording its operations constitutes action, not protected free speech.

But the appeals court sided with ALDF’s argument that Idaho’s trespass laws already protect farmers. The court called the ag-gag law overly broad and said it was “in large part, targeted at speech and investigative journalists.”

The court concluded that “Idaho is singling out for suppression one mode of speech — audio and video recordings of agricultural operations — to keep controversy and suspect practices out of the public eye.”

aimed at preventing bird deaths at the company’s four commercial wind projects in the state.

Collin O’Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, told the Post that neither administration had gotten it right: The interpretation was too broad before, and now it is

too narrow.

“We’re seeing the whipsaw from one extreme to the other,” he told the newspaper, saying that in terms of Interior’s energy policies, “one year in, there’s been no balance. If the choice is between energy and conservation, energy always wins.”

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Page 8

Livestock Market Digest

February 15, 2018

Cattle ‘Ponzi Scheme’ Loses $1.5 Million, Lands Rustler in Jail

BY WYATT BECHTEL/DROVERS.COM

A

California man has been arrested after allegedly defrauding more than a million dollars from prospective cattle buyers in a scheme that spanned four states.

Justin Tyler Greer, 36, was arrested December 28 in Tarzan, Texas, after being suspected of investment fraud, embezzlement and cattle theft.

There are seven victims who are out $1.5 million in losses. The investigation began in June 2017 when the victims claimed to be coming up hundreds of head short. Cattle owned by investors were illegally sold and moved to Colorado and Wyoming.

“This is 21st Century cattle rustling and embezzlement at the highest level,” says Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

Greer was extradited back to Tulare County, California, on December 31. Tulare County Sherriff’s Agricultural Crimes Unit tracked down Greer with the aid of Texas Rangers and U.S. Marshals. Local authorities in Texas also helped with the arrest, along with assistance from the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger Unit.

“Given the complexity of this case, I am proud of the amount of progress they made to get this case to this point,” Sheriff Boudreaux says. “And I very much appreciate the assistance of other law enforcement agencies throughout the Western United States.”

In addition to working as a cattle broker, Greer managed cattle owned by ranchers in California, Wyoming and Colorado.

Authorities describe the cattle as being backgrounded and then ran as stockers before being sold when they reached a marketable weight. Greer allegedly failed to meet financial obligations in April and May, raising flags for his customers.

Audits were issued by two victims to determine if cattle were stolen as they were coming up hundreds of head short.

“When people began saying, ‘where are our cattle and they couldn’t produce the cattle where is our money from the bills or profits we should have made,’ nothing could be provided so that’s when investigators got involved,” Sheriff Boudreaux says.

Authorities have recovered 900 cattle in Wyoming, but it is believed that thousands more are unaccounted for.

The cattle in Wyoming were on pasture illegally, says Sheriff Boudreaux. They were found with the help of California Bureau of Livestock Identification Brand Unit and criminal investigators with the State of Wyoming Livestock Board.

Recovered cattle are pictured in Pinedale, Wyoming, with suspect Justin Tyler Greer’s identification on the ear tags.

The U.S. Forest Service is investigating the case of the cattle in Wyoming in a parallel criminal investigation because cattle were being grazed without the proper permits.

Greer also had partners who invested in cattle they thought were for sale, except Greer didn’t own them or the cattle never existed.

“This is a classic example of someone robbing Peter to pay Paul,” says Tulare County District Attorney investigator Jeff

Gilbert. “This is basically a Ponzi scheme.”

Authorities say Greer was doing business at a number of financial institutions with multiple accounts. More than 25 search warrants were served to look at accounts, office locations, residences and electronic devices. Hundreds of documents were looked at to see what transactions had been made because so many cattle were changing hands.

While the Western way of life is a still alive and you should be able to trust a man’s word with a cowboy handshake, Sheriff Boudreaux says, in this particular case it did not ring true.

“When that trust is broken, it shocks the consciousness of the community and the industry,” Sheriff Boudreaux says.

“We, at the Sheriff’s Office, take it very seriously when one man steals another man’s cattle and commits fraud.”

Thirteen counts of grand theft have been alleged against Greer, with three separate counts for investment fraud. The state felonies could result in a maximum of 26 years in prison.

The lack of grazing permits on U.S. Forest Service land in Wyoming could have additional penalties or jail time.

Greer is currently being held in jail at a pre-trial facility in Tulare County with bail set at $1.9 million. The case is still under investigation and there could be others involved, according to authorities.

Police are asking people with any information regarding this case to contact the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 733-6218 or anonymously through the TipNow Program at (559) 725-4194 or tcso@tipnow.com.

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Maximize Gain by Vaccinating Earlier

BY JODY WADE FOR

Early vaccinations

PROGRESSIVE CATTLEMAN

It was unheard of to vaccinate calves at an early age nearly 30 years ago, but that’s no longer the case. Research has shown by vaccinating calves at branding time or turnout, you can help ensure they’re less susceptible to becoming infected with pathogens and can have a more rapid immune response to the various pathogens that cause bovine respiratory disease (BRD.) A recent study found only about one in four animals in feedlots are vaccinated for the more common bacterial agents associated with respiratory diseases. BRD is the No. 1 health and economic issue facing the beef industry today.

And as part of a well-managed preconditioning program, BRD prevention will help generate the best bottom line in an environment that demands prudent risk management practices from all angles of production.

BRD attacks the animal’s respiratory system through bovine viral diarrhea virus, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, parainfluenza 3, bovine respiratory syncytial virus and Mannheimia haemolytica.

BRD can be transferred through fluids (e.g., nose-tonose contact, shared water and feed) or through the air. Respiratory viruses and pathogens can suppress the calf’s immune

T

he industry is turning to earlier vaccinations for common maladies to give calves a better start and heavier weaning weights.

When you think about prevention of disease in your cattle herd, there are a number of factors to consider when setting your calves up for success in the early stages of their lives.

It starts with preconditioning A well-planned preconditioning program helps build a solid foundation for the future performance of a calf. A proper preconditioning program should involve quality forage or supplemental feed and nutrients, castration, dehorning, weaning, constant access to clean and fresh water, and introducing cattle to the feedbunk.

It should also include a vaccination program that protects calves against respiratory, digestive and other disease challenges, and an anthelmintic program designed to control the types of internal and external parasites that may compromise the calf’s health status and ability to convert feed to gain efficiently.

system, making it more susceptible to secondary bacterial infections.

Waiting to vaccinate calves until weaning could be costly.

It can leave calves unprotected during the summer months, when they are susceptible to summer pneumonia. Studies have shown calves impacted with respiratory disease prior to weaning are, on average, 36 pounds lighter at weaning than their herdmates.

With today’s cattle prices, it’s important for producers to maximize gain in order to sell heavier calves.

Vaccinating early can also help reduce calf stress. Calves are challenged with many stressors during weaning including castration, transportation, disease challenges, commingling, dietary changes and more.

Adding vaccination at this time can increase stress levels in calves, so it’s recommended to focus on giving vaccines at lowstress times, like during spring turnout when calves go back out to pasture with their mothers. This will give their immune system the opportunity to work at optimum levels.

Moreover, research studies have demonstrated calves as young as 5 to 6 weeks old can be effectively immunized against bovine viral diarrhea virus. Bovine viral diarrhea virus

Type 1b is the most prevalent strain in the U.S., so make sure the vaccine you choose offers solid protection against it.

Good management practices While vaccination can aid in preventing disease, it cannot replace good management practices. How we manage our animals is the key to success: Provide animals with a comfortable, clean pen or pasture space and ensure they’re receiving the proper nutrition and have access to plenty of clean water.

It’s also important to pay attention to cattle-handling techniques to keep the cattle calm and stress-free as possible.

When administering vaccines, be sure to read the label and give the correct dosage. Last, it’s vital to keep good records of cattle vaccinations and other animal health applications.

Consult your veterinarian Work with your local veterinarian to develop a vaccination and overall animal health plan best suited for your particular environment. Along with BRD and bovine viral diarrhea virus protection, the plan should incorporate a parasite control program, which includes a dewormer that provides persistent control of the particular parasites known to infest the herd and pastures.

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February 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Page 9

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TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES • New 40 acre Nice older brick home, 3/3/2, 4 barns, excellent grass. Kaufman Co., Texas. 35 miles from Dallas Court House.

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• 165 acres Nice spanish style house, nice barn, 3 tanks, city water. Sold at $750,000.

• 270 acre Mitchell County, Texas ranch. Investors dream; excellent cash flow.

Rock formation being crushed and sold; wind turbans, some minerals. Irrigation water developed, crop & cattle, modest improvements. Just off I-20. Price reduced to $1.6 million.

SOLD

• 40 acre, 2 homes, nice barn, corral, 30 miles out of Dallas. $415,000.

Joe Priest Real Estate

1-800/671-4548

joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com

Call Buena Vista Realty at 575-226-0671 or the listing agent Lori Bohm 575-760-9847, or Melody Sandberg 575-825-1291.

Many good pictures on MLS or www.buenavista-nm.com

TURKEY TRACK RANCH – First time offering of one of the largest ranches in the southwest, comprised of over 253,000 acres to include 37,000 deeded acres. Some mineral included. Price Reduced: $17,500,000 BLACK DOG RANCH – Central NM, near Corona in Lincoln County. Comprised of 314 deeded acres with nice new of remodeled improvements. Good elk, mule deer and turkey hunting. Comes with elk tags.

Price: $565,000 DOUBLE L RANCH – Central NM, 10 miles west of Carrizozo, NM. 12,000 total acres; 175 AUYL, BLM Section 3 grazing permit; Water provided by 3 wells and buried pipeline. Improvements include house and pens. Price Reduced: $1,150,000 X T RANCH – Southeastern NM cattle ranch 40 miles northwest of Roswell, NM on the Chaves/Lincoln County line. Good grass ranch with gently rolling grass covered hills. 8,000 total acres, 200 AUYL grazing capacity. Partitioned into four pastures watered by 2 wells with pipelines. Call for brochure. Price: $1,750,000 SOUTH BROWN LAKE RANCH – Nicely improved cattle ranch located northwest of Roswell, NM. 5,735 total acres to include 960 acres deeded. 164 A.U. yearlong grazing capacity. Modern residence, bunkhouse, shop and feed barn. Three wells and buried pipeline. Excellent grass country. Price: $1,300,000 L-X RANCH – Southeastern NM just ten minutes from Roswell, NM with paved gated and locked access.

3,761 total acres divided into several pastures and traps. Nice improvements to include a site built adobe residence. One well with extensive pipeline system. Well suited for a registered cattle operation.

Price: $900,000

Andrew Bryan, Owner/Broker Office 541-523-5871 Cell 208-484-5835 andrew@bakercityrealty.com www.bakercityrealty.com Beautiful, secluded Eastern Oregon living in Granite, Oregon! This newer log home sits on 18.50 acres and features 2 bed/2 full bath. The open living space is complete with a laundry room and internet access. Enjoy the peace and quiet on the covered deck, or sit around the fire pit. Property includes a RV parking and an outbuilding used as a shop. Escape from it all in your slice of heaven!

521 West Second St., Portales, NM 88130

575-226-0671 www.buenavista-nm.com

1509 Davis Road - East of Portales - Thinking of moving closer to town? Check out this nice 3 bdrm 2 bath home with 2540 sq. ft on 1/2 acre - great sunroom, attached garage plus large workshop garage. This place is just so nice and country but only 3 miles from downtown Portales - Small barn is horse ready - see pictures on website.

349 S. Roosevelt Rd Y - West of Portales - Approx 80 acres was in past CRP- it has submersible pump in well and concrete pipeline w/12” risers - currently in grass - some fencing good, some needs work. There are structures on property being included and sold “as is” Sweat equity can make a nice place, priced right.

Scott Land co.

Ranch & Farm Real Estate

1301 Front Street, Dimmitt, TX 79027 Ben G. Scott – Broker Krystal M Nelson –CO/NM QB#15892 800-933-9698 day/eve. www.scottlandcompany.com

WE NEED LISTINGS ON ALL TYPES OF AG PROPERTIES LARGE OR SMALL! ■ GUADALUPE CO., NM – There are multiple owners of the Frontier Ranch consisting of their individual, undivided ownership of 6,423.45 ac. +/w/undivided ownership ranging from 38 ac. +/- & greater. You may buy undivided interest in this ranch at your discretion, improvements are average for the area, this is good country suitable a year-round cow/ calf or summer yearling grazing, located in close proximity to the Grey Fox Ranch for addtl. acreage.

■ GREY FOX RANCH – Guadalupe Co., NM – 2,919.85 ac. +/- of deeded land, all native grass, located in close proximity to the Frontier Ranch for addtl. grazing.

■ GREAT STARTER RANCH – Quay Co., NM – well improved & watered, 2,400 ac. +/-deeded, 80 ac. +/- State Lease, excellent access from I-40.

■ RANCHO AL OESTE DE LA MONTANA – located on the West face of Tucumcari Mountain – Tucumcari, NM, 560 ac. +/- deeded land w/80 ac. +/- NM State Lease, outstanding views & location greatly enhances the beauty of the 3 bdrm., 2 bath home w/large unattached garage & large barn.

■ OTERO CO., NM – 120 scenic ac. +/- on the Rio Penasco is surrounded by Lincoln National Forest lands covered in Pines & opening up to a grass covered meadow along 3,300 feet +/- of the Rio Penasco. This property is an ideal location to build a legacy mountain getaway home.

■ ARROYO LARGO – 22,850 ac. +/- located in Lincoln, Chaves & DeBaca Counties, NM, well improved w/two homes, working pens & fences, well-watered by wells & pipelines, open rolling

country w/numerous draws & arroyos provide for year-round cow/calf operation or seasonal yearling operation.

■ MALPAIS OF NM – Lincoln/Socorro Counties, 37.65 sections +/- (13,322 ac. +/- Deeded, 8,457 ac. +/- BLM Lease, 2,320 ac. +/- State Lease) good, useable improvements & water, some irrigation w/2 pivot sprinklers, on pvmt., all-weather road.

■ SOUTH CONCHAS RANCH – San Miguel Co., NM - 9,135 ac. +/- (6,670 +/- deeded, 320 +/BLM, 40 +/- State Lease, 2,106 +/- “FREE USE”) well improved, just off pvmt. on co. road., two neighboring ranches may be added for additional acreage!

■ ALFALFA & LIVESTOCK – Tucumcari, NM 255.474 ac. +/-, state-of-the-art huge hay barn & shop (immaculate), steel pens, Arch Hurley Water Rights, two nearly new sprinklers, alfalfa established.

■ MINE CANYON ROAD (paved) – Quay Co., NM – 1,063 ac. +/- native grass, well watered w/a good set of pens, located between Ute Lake & Hwy. 54.

■ WOOD FARM & RANCH – Quay Co., NM – 480 ac. +/-, w/292 ac. classified as cropland fully allotted to wheat & milo, 365.9 ac. of Arch Hurley Water Rights, nice combination farming/cattle operation, presently in grass for grazing.

■ EXCELLENT OWNER FINANCING! ABERCROMBIE RANCH – Huerfano Co., CO - 7,491 ac. +/- of choice grassland, excellent winter protection for lvstk. & commercial Elk hunting, watered by wells, pipeline, Sandy Creek & the Cucharas River, on pvmt.

Please view our website for details on these properties, choice TX, NM & CO ranches (large & small), choice ranches in the high rainfall areas of OK, irr./dryland/CRP & commercial properties. We need your listings on any types of ag properties in TX., NM, OK & CO.

Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

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February 15, 2018

nimal and plant breeders are trying out a set of powerful new tools which have the potential to revolutionize agricultural practices and provide consumers with more healthy and safe food options.

Their new toolbox is called gene editing, and the instruments in it have strange-looking names: endonucleases, for example, which are enzymes breeders can use to sever selected DNA proteins on an organism’s chromosomes, allowing the breeder to make changes at the DNA break points, and thus alter the organism’s genetic makeup.

“We use the term ‘gene editing’ rather loosely” in the world of science, said Bernice Slutsky, senior vice president for the American Seed Trade Association. At its core, gene editing is “plant breeding innovation,” she said. Plant breeders have always used a range of tools – a toolbox of different disciplines.” With the new techniques, they are “doing the same things that breeders have always done, but very precisely,” she said.

The precision Slutsky describes did not suddenly burst forth full-blown but is what researchers have built in recent decades. Some milestones include: Development of a technique called polymerase chain reaction in the 1980s. It allows researchers to duplicate a fragment of DNA proteins thousands or millions of times, providing a quick and cheap supply of specimens for their research.

Another key gene editing tool, zinc-finger nucleases, emerged more than a decade ago. ZFN are enzymes that target sequences of genes on chromosomes where genetic amendments are sought. This is similar to the newer gene editing processes but is considered more laborious and often less successful.

What’s more, in the past two decades or so, scientists have laid the table, so to speak, for gene editing by locating and cataloging – called sequencing – the entire genomes of a multitude of plants and animals. That makes virtually every gene potentially available for breeders to find and amend or delete. Full sequencing has been done for cattle, chickens and pigs. In addition, the sequenced genomes of almost 200 different plant species have been published, according to Todd Michael, who’s been tracking plant sequencing as director of informatics for the J. Craig Venter Institute in California.

With such advances in place, two processes developed in recent years are accelerating breeders’ ability to genetically alter crops and animals and apply the brakes to harmful organisms.

Both can precisely improve a plant or animal without incorporating DNA from another species. One process is a mouthful called Clustered Regularly Inter-

spaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR, and the other is a similarly large swallow called Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALEN).

So, how do these genome-amending systems work?

Some have described CRISPR-Cas to be like editing text in a word processing application.

With a specific goal in mind, the CRISPR-Cas system performs a specific search within DNA – an organism’s complete set of instructions – to delete, edit or replace target genetic sequences.

Proteins, or genes, “in the nucleus of any organism provide all the information it uses to operate and grow,” explained Jennifer Doudna, professor of molecular and cell biology and chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, speaking at a conference on CRISPR in California.

“You can think of it like a text that includes instructions and a construction manual.” Gene editing is “a way of modifying that document … you can cut and paste” the proteins in the nucleus, she said.

Speaking more technically, both CRISPR and TALEN use enzymes that sever the double-strands of an organism’s genes at targeted locations, making what is called double-strand breaks (DSBs), and often making several such cuts.

Then, DSBs are repaired by sending replacement genes to the severed site, using a sequence of genes as a template that includes the modification the breeder wants to make. Also, in both systems, other insertions or deletions of proteins are made at the break site as the broken ends are rejoined.

In the CRISPR process (also called CRISPR-Cas9), the activating enzyme is a Cas9 nuclease, and the template of replacement genes is guided to its target in a single strand of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Similarly, TALEN uses a nuclease to make double breaks, but employs a pair of double-stranded DNA binding proteins rather than a single RNA strand.

Luckily for plant and animal breeders, and perhaps all of agriculture, “there are lots of applications of gene editing,” Slutsky points out. They are used to insert genes or knock them out, tag their location on a chromosome, correct genetic defects, etc. Thus, scientists hope to use them to benefit human health, first of all, but also to edit the genes of animals, plants, bacteria, fungi, and other organisms.

They want to improve livestock breeds and crop varieties, but also eliminate diseases, wipe out pathogens, rein in harmful insects, and more.

Significantly, unlike other traditional gene-editing methods, employing CRISPR or TALEN is cheap, quick and relatively easy for breeders to use. That leads Doudna to call the new gene editing processes “a democratizing

tool,” because breeders in poor countries and in less-endowed labs worldwide – not just those in more lushly-funded corporate and university labs – will have broad access to gene editing.

What’s more, in October, DuPont Pioneer, a leading global crop genetics company, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which holds the initial CRISPR patent, granted agricultural researchers at all university and other nonprofit entities free access to use the CRISPR-Cas9 patent.

With such access and potential for quick results, not surprisingly, CRISPR has swept through labs around the world.

Slutsky says she travels a lot internationally to work on matters involving crop genetics, “and I probably spend 50 percent of my time in countries who are talking about (using CRISPR) … in South America, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Europe – countries that we would not necessarily consider biotech friendly, who ban GMO plantings. (But) they don’t want these technologies to pass them by.”

The University of California-affiliated Innovative Genomics Institute has been collecting reports of successful genetic editing by scientists worldwide.

Megan Hochstrasser, IGI science communications manager, is curator for the list and she says, “the tally is over 200 right now and only includes those organisms edited using CRISPR enzymes,” not other gene editing processes.

IGI’s list includes “all organisms … vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and microbes,” Hochstrasser reports, and “it seems that the microbes section is growing the most rapidly. Some of the microbes are pathogenic,” and she thinks that “makes sense, since scientists need to understand how pathogens function in order to combat them.”

Efforts to employ CRISPR to fight pathogens have perhaps most often been aimed at microbes that harm people: one that causes malaria, for example, and a parasite that causes Chagas disease. But researchers are also using CRISPR to build in defenses against rice blast fungus, corn smut, and the cotton bollworm, Hochstrasser noted.

Note, too, that the new processes aren’t likely to be the world’s last best answer in breeding techniques. A steam-powered car called the Stanley Rocket, for example, broke the world land speed record at 127.7 miles per hour more than a century ago (1906). Sure, that was jaw-dropping at the time, and even kind of impressive now. But, as with race cars, improvements will continue in gene-editing technique as well.

Here is one of perhaps many on the way. CRISPR actually continued on page eleven

GENE EDITING often overperforms in the cell nucleus, making an excessive number of cuts, including some in the wrong places, scientists report. But now, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have found a way to improve CRISPR-Cas9 technology, making genetic revisions much more likely to be exactly as desired.

Their new method uses a molecular glue, keeping the Cas9 enzyme and RNA strand together as a complete repair kit at the DNA cut.

Meanwhile, a bioengineer at the Broad Institute has been working with a family of enzymes, named Cpf1, that work much like Cas9, and scientists in other labs around the world are looking for enzymes that can be most quickly and accurately aimed at the chromosomes of living things.

Although actual commercial use of gene-edited products awaits decisions by the U.S. and foreign governments about regulating them, a lively market has already emerged to sell the enzymes, engineered strands of RNA and other molecular bits for gene editing. Online, a market exists similar to what smartphone users find in the Google Play Store when shopping for an app.

GeneCopoeia, for example, has been marketing biotech research tools and products for nearly 20 years. The Maryland-based company has partnered with a China-based FulenGen Co. and offers an array of CRISPR and TALEN tools “to help you every step of the way in your genome editing workflow.”

Meanwhile, Integrated DNA Technologies, with locations in Iowa and several sites abroad, has a similar display of products and services online.

Considering the decline in public spending on agricultural research in recent decades, will enough funding be available to sponsor cutting-edge gene-editing agricultural research?

Speakers at a Farm Foundation conference on ag research and innovation last fall said they expect it will.

First of all, the cost of using CRISPR and TALEN is low because of the speed of making the edits. Besides that, said Gregory Graff, an associate professor in agricultural economics at Colorado State University, with the “patent access granted to small companies and public agencies, it opens up potential for new products from small players,” and “it renders those products viable in the marketplace.”

What’s more, said Graff, who tracks research startups in the U.S., America is not capital short: “There is more money out there than there are places to invest.”

Bill Buckner, president of the Noble Research Institute in Oklahoma, agreed. “Venture capital folks don’t know how or where to invest,” leaving a lot of cash that could be available for genetic editing sorts of research.

He noted, for example, a study by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship that projects $29 trillion in wealth will be trans-

Livestock Market Digest continued from page ten

ferred between American generations from 2010 to 2040, and said “a lot of (the dollars) will be in the Midwest.”

Some of the university research will likely be conducted in collaboration with commercial firms. For example, researchers at the University of Missouri, Kansas State University and Genus plc successfully bred pigs that are not harmed by the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus, a disease that costs North American farmers more than $660 million annually.

“Once inside the pigs, PRRS needs some help to spread; it gets that help from a protein called CD163,” said Randall Prather, distinguished professor of animal sciences in the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources in a December 2015 release. “We were able to breed a litter of pigs that do not produce this protein, and as a result, the virus doesn’t spread. When we exposed the pigs to PRRS, they did not get sick and continued to gain weight normally.”

Researchers working in Prather’s laboratory also created the first miniature pigs that have the alpha 1,3 galactosyltransferase gene knocked out. This groundbreaking work has the potential to prove very useful for xenotransplantation: the transfer of pig organs into humans, Prather notes on his web site.

“We also created pigs with a mutation in the gene that is responsible for causing cystic fibrosis (CF). Now there is a pig model that mimics the symptom of CF so that physicians have something to invasively experiment on and develop treatments and therapies. This is especially important since the same mutation in mice does not result in a phenotype that is similar to humans.”

More recently, scientists at the University of Missouri worked with pigs to research stem cells and made a discovery that could significantly decrease the costs associated with in vitro fertilization in humans.

Nevertheless, gene editing will have to jump a huge policy hurdle before results of such plant and animal breeding show up on farms, in fields and in food stores.

A number of scientists, consumer and food safety advocates, and others fear the results of editing genes that are all naturally within a cell’s nucleus the same way they do transgenic engineering, which alters plants and animals genetically by inserting genes from unrelated organisms . They want to see the U.S. and governments worldwide lump gene editing in with transgenic genetic alterations and regulate it as just another type of genetically modified organism , or GMO . That would almost surely ensure years of testing and approval for each product, as has been done for transgenic products, dramatically running up the costs to produce gene edited products commercially.

At the California CRISPR

Page 11

MCA Calls for Protection of Those Found Not Guilty of Animal Abuse

BY RACHAEL LONG ~ SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN

T

he Missouri Cattlemen Association (MCA) is pushing for changes to several laws in 2018, including regulations that would protect those who are exonerated of animal-abuse charges.

If a person is charged with abuse and is found to be not guilty, that person is required to pay all the fees associated with his or her trial as well as costs associated with holding the animals when or if they’re seized.

Executive vice president of the association Mike Deering said these laws can cause a lot of financial damage to innocent and hardworking men and women.

“This [legislation] does nothing to protect the scumbags who do abuse animals,” Deering said. “This is simply to protect those who are innocent.”

Missouri State Representative Sonya Anderson is leading the charge on the animal-abuse legislation, which ensures owners who are found not guilty are not liable for the costs associated with holding the animals. The proposal also ensures the immediate return of the owner’s animals.

Situations of abuse are highly uncommon among farmers, local beef producer Butch Meier said. Meier, former president of the association and one of 500 who attended a recent MCA conference, added most farmers never will neglect their animals and they usually are interested in making the most wholesome product to put into the public. Abuse, he said, is a deterrent to creating that wholesome product.

“We have zero tolerance for that nonsense,” Deering said. “But if you go through the legal process and you are wrongfully accused and you are found to be innocent, the nightmare is not over for the farmer, or the rancher, or the animal owner.”

Deering said abuse is sometimes reported by people who don’t work with cattle or livestock, often because those people don’t know what abuse in those animals actually looks like.

But there are those professionals whose job it is to recognize abuse when they see it, and Deering said the training of these professionals is an area of concern for the association.

“It’s not as black and white as maybe we

conference, where scientists were focused on the advantages and potential of gene edit-

would want it to be, and that’s why it’s important for those experts to certify those materials and help us answer that question [of what abuse looks like],” Deering said.

The abuse issue is one of four areas the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association is focusing on this year. Others deal with protecting property rights, taxes and integrity.

One major conference takeaway for Deering was about the importance of bridging the gap between public knowledge and the work of farmers, cattlemen and other members of the association. He added it’s important for people to know where their food comes from and how much the agriculture industry does for the economy.

Missouri is one of the nation’s leading producers of beef.

“When you look at [the fact that] $88 billion go into this economy from Missouri agriculture, no other industry comes close,” Deering said.

“And what we have failed to do as an industry is figure out how we explain to folks that without agriculture, without the backbone of the economy, the urban schools suffer, the rural schools suffer, the whole state suffers.”

One of the ways to bridge that gap, Deering said, is through education.

Samantha Lowman is a member of the association and a professor in the Department of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University. She knows just how big a role education plays in bridging the gap.

She’s also the adviser to SEMO Collegiate Cattlemen’s group, and the organization was able to attend the conference this weekend.

One of the main ways students and association members can advocate for legislation, Lowman said, is through a program called Cowboys at the Capitol. The program meets in Jefferson City, Missouri, every week to lobby on behalf of farmers and cattlemen at the state level. Meier said those who attend show up at the Capitol building with cowboy hats and western attire, and they often are asked for advice or testimonials.

“It’s our chance as producers to represent our region and represent our industry and our business at the legislative level and talk to government officials about what our concerns are,” Lowman said. “It gives us a voice as producers.”

ing, for example, Dana Perls, a spokesperson for Friends of the Earth, declared: “Let’s actually

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Page 12

Livestock Market Digest

February 15, 2018

Changes = Economic Realities in the Beef Cattle Industry

BY STAN SMITH, OSU EXTENSION PA, FAIRFIELD COUNTY (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE OHIO FARMER ON-LINE)

A

s always, there are seemingly lots of changes on the horizon for cattlemen.

Some changes involve management decisions and will be made by choice. Others will soon be required to simply continue to have market access. As we move into 2018 the OSU Extension Beef Team has made plans to focus programming on the practices cattlemen will need to embrace in order to insurethey maintain access to every available market.

For years we’ve talked about the need for producers to be willing to implement practices such as pre-weaning, dehorning, a vaccination program, and having calves castrated and healed in order to add value to their calf crop. Today, we are hearing with more and more frequency these practices may no longer gain a premium, but will soon be required by the marketplace in order to simply avoid discounts. Fact is, the feeder calf market now commonly experiences an 8 to 12 cent discount on small groups of calves that haven’t been through a weaning

and conditioning program.

Last year beef trade with China was opened for the first time in years, however, it comes with the requirement that the beef originate from cattle that are age and source verified. The voluntary tagging and tracking systems we’ve talked about for at least the last 15 years have now become a key that allows cattlemen access to that market.

Pork producers have for years been required to maintain their Pork Quality Assurance certification in order to access markets. Now, Wendy’s has announced that beginning next year they will require any beef they purchase to originate from cattlemen who have a current Beef Quality Assurance certification. Following the lead set by the pork industry over the past several years, and also now Wendy’s as it relates to the beef cattle industry, one must assume that Wendy’s is likely only the first of several who will soon require their producers be current with their BQA certification.

Another piece of the equation that relates directly to sustained profitability in the beef cattle industry is the continued growth in demand for beef product resulting from branded,

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high quality programs. As one example, despite earlier this decade experiencing the highest beef prices the world has ever seen, 2017 marks the 13th consecutive year of growth for the Certified Angus Beef brand.

While reputation fed, carcass merit cattle have long been rewarded in the local market place, it’s not hard to imagine that documented genetic merit cattle being delivered to the marketplace may soon become the next step in the progression for meeting consumer demand for high quality beef that originates from branded programs.

As this winter progresses into spring, programming efforts of the Ohio State University Extension Beef Team will focus on maintaining market access while

delivering the kind of cattle that are in demand. This includes a renewed effort to get Ohio’s cattlemen BQA certified, teaching the value of weaning programs that can help insure calf health, and the longer range value of breeding and management programs that result in high quality beef at the time of harvest.

The action plan is to offer pre-recorded presentations to County Extension Educators to utilize for programs at the convenience of those in the county.

The hope is that this format will reach more total cattlemen than the fixed time webinar format of recent years.

The first of these pre-recorded presentations will be available in early February. In total there will be two approximately

45 minute presentations that follow the theme of “Gaining Greater Market Access for Ohio Feeder Calves.”

After these initial presentations have been offered, they will be followed up by offering Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) trainings within local Extension meetings hosted by Extension educators, as well as being offered at auction markets and/or cattle collection points.

If you’re interested in these presentations, participating in BQA certification, and retaining a front row seat to the quickly changing economic realities of the beef cattle industry, contact your County Extension office and ask about the dates, times and locations these programs will be offered in your county.

Key Drivers of Cow Herd Profitability

BY PROGRESSIVE CATTLEMAN EDITOR CASSIDY WOOLSEY

I

t’s safe to say most ranchers didn’t get into the cattle business because they are passionate about crunching numbers. Rather, one would wager it had more to do with raising livestock and being stewards of the land.

“We do best the things we are passionate about,” said Clay Mathis of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. “Accounting is not our first love in ranching, but it is that important to our business as it is in any other.”

At the Range Beef Cow Symposium in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in late November, Mathis looked into what defines good versus great management. His theory: Good managers make decisions to collectively keep costs low relative to the value of weaned calves they produce. Great managers, however, find leverage in the production system that will have long-standing benefit to the operation.

Showcasing benchmark data from the standardized performance analysis (SPA) database, Mathis looked into the key performance and financial measures affecting profit in cow-calf operations. He noted that besides 2014 and 2015, when everyone should have been making money, there are a few operations that consistently turn a profit, even in low-price years.

To find where to make change, Mathis said, “We have to find what the biggest pieces of the pie are.” He noted that labor, purchased feed and depreciation are the areas where the profitable producers are paying particular attention. He added, “We could always find about a 350-dollar difference in net income per cow between the top and the bottom quartile cow-calf operations in the data set.”

A closer look at expenses Depreciation – As mentioned earlier, ’14 and ’15 were money-making years, but what about those that had to buy replacements during that time? Depreciation doesn’t just accumulate on equipment, but cattle as well. Mathis recounted that a bred replacement heifer brought about $2,500 in 2015. If she is depreciated over five years, and has a salvage value of $750, a producer’s depreciation on that female is $350 a year, for five years.

“I am not saying it was terrible to buy heifers during that time, you probably needed them,” Mathis said. “But that depreciation is real and it’s big. Be sure you know how much it’s really costing you to have them.”

Labor – Looking down the road, Mathis figured labor will continue to be an issue for ranchers. To get attendees thinking about how they could survive with less labor, he used this scenario: If a 1,000-cow operation has four employees with salary, benefits, housing and utilities, that equates to roughly $50,000 a year for each employee or $200,000 in total labor. But

what if this operation only had three employees?

That would mean labor costs would go down $50,000 for this operation. In this scenario, if the ranch has $200 per cow in labor costs, it would reduce those costs by about $50. Less labor isn’t always good, but if producers can think about changing their system in a way where they need less labor, they improve profit, Mathis said.

“As we go into the future and have less skilled labor for the type of work we want our cowboys to be able to do, we have a challenge. Do you have fewer people that you pay more to keep on the ranch or do you continue to work in the same way that you always have? It’s a question everyone will have to answer,” he said.

Maximizing resources To maximize profitability of the operation, Mathis encouraged producers to get to where they can calculate a unit cost of production. It’s really the only way to determine what is being optimized well, he said. Because it’s not about the most valuable calves and it’s not about the lowest cost – it’s about how a producer uses the resources on their ranch to yield greater profit by merging them together.

“Ranching is mostly a fixed-cost business. I believe successful managers understand how important it is to minimize fixed costs per unit, no different than Coca-Cola Bottling Company would be looking at ‘Hey, if we’re going to put out another bottle of Coke, we could spread fixed costs a little more.’ So it’s the same concept, we are just looking at cows as the unit of production,” Mathis said.

Let’s look at an example.

If a 100-cow operation had a total revenue of $105,000 and total expenses of $100,000 with fixed costs at 60 percent, that would mean fixed costs would be $600 per cow and variable costs would be $400 per cow. The net income per cow is $50. But what if the producer added one more cow? How much would the net income be?

Mathis explained that if 100 cows netted that operation $5,000 in income, 101 cows would net $5,650 in income. Mathis explained that since the fixed costs of the operation do not change with the number of cows, the contribution of the additional cow to net income is revenue minus variable costs, which is: $1,050 revenue - $400 variable cost = $650. When you subtract variable cost per cow from revenue per cow, you get what is called “contribution margin.”

Mathis said if producers understand their operation’s contribution margin, and the relationship between fixed costs, variable costs and revenue per cow, it would aid in better decision-making. He has found the most profitable producers have built production and marketing systems that minimize labor, feed and depreciation, and keep a watchful eye on maintaining cow numbers over which fixed costs are spread.

February 15, 2018

Riding Herd

by LEE PITTS

Fake News.

• Did you hear the American Angus Association has just bought out all the other breed associations in a multi-billion dollar all-cash deal? Henceforth ALL the other beef breeds will NOT be referred to as Hereford, Simmental, Beefmaster, Brangus, Charolais, etc., but will instead be called “other breeds”. Henceforth if you want to raise beef cattle they must be at least 50% Angus and if you use anything other than an Angus bull you must have a VBD (Veterinary Breed Directive) from your buried-in-bookwork veterinarian.

• Johns Hopkins announced that after the completion of a multi-generational study they have discovered that a vegetarian diet will stunt both your physical and mental growth.

Not eating meat, especially beef, could cause acne, diarrhea, rash, hives, peeling skin, wheezing, tightness in the chest or throat, unusual horse-ness, swelling of the mouth, face, lips, tongue, or throat, chest pain, fast heartbeat, dizziness, passing out, very bad headache, coughing up blood, upset stomach or throwing up, weakness on one side of the body, trouble speaking or thinking, change in balance, drooping on one side of the face, blurred eyesight, ringing in ears, loss of memory and reduced IQ. The researchers also found that vegetarians don’t live one day longer than someone who ate ten pounds of beef per day... it just felt like it. In fact, the researchers found that many vegetarians died from depression and sheer boredom.

• As you may know, the Bautista brothers who own JBS and are now in jail for bribing Brazilian politicians and other crimes. That didn’t stop them from signing a billion dollar deal with Brazilian prison officials to use Braizlian prisoners in their packing plants as slave labor.

From their plush prison home on the grounds of the Club Med Prison in Sao Palo, the Bautistas said they have also obtained a multi-billion dollar loan from the Brazilian government to implement their new scheme. The Bautistas hope to implement a similar plan in the United States and Australia and a cer-

Livestock Market Digest tain Senator from Kansas has called their plan “brilliant” and is now sheperding the JBS plan through Congress. It’s been put on a fast track and we could see full implementation by next year.

• The People for the Ethical Treatments of Animals (PETA) has announced that it will no longer use nude Hollywood stars to promote their animal rights agenda after pressure from feminists who complained that the clothing-optional campaign was sexist and demeaning to women. At least that’s what PETA officials are saying. A deeply embedded Cowbelle from Arizona however found that PETA really stopped their campaign because they couldn’t find any more vegetarian women who looked all

that appealing with their clothes off due to pasty and scaly skin, emaciated torsos, and sunken eyeballs. Washed up, 300 yearold actress Betty White volunteered to take her clothes off for the animals but PETA officials grimaced at the thought.

• The beef business is all a-Twitter about a female beef industry executive who was caught having an affair with a male sheep industry big shot.

The husband of the female beef industry exec came home and caught them in the act. Later he told CNN that maybe he could have forgiven his wife for having an affair, but with a sheepherder? “Never.”

• The MegaBall lottery announced today that there was only one ticket that won the

Page 13 first-ever billion dollar lottery.

The winners were Lee and Diane Pitts. The winners chose the immediate check option rather than a yearly payout and they will take home two hundred million from the billion dollar lotto after taxes. When asked what they plan to do with all that money Lee said that he wanted to buy a nice cow ranch where it doesn’t snow that would run 300 pair all year long without having to put up one bale of hay.

He also plans on buying a new pickup, a decent cow dog, and a horse that won’t run away or back to the barn after it bucks him off. They plan on ranching until what’s left of the money runs out. wwwLeePittsbooks.com

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February 15, 2018

Flagrant Misconduct by Prosecutors, Congress to Investigate and Questions about the DOI Reorganization With Prejudice Federal Judge Gloria Navarro has dismissed all charges against the Bundys, citing “outrageous” abuses and “flagrant misconduct” by the prosecutors. Judge Navarro was most concerned about the following pieces of evidence withheld from the defense: • Records about surveillance at the Bundy ranch • Records about the presence of government snipers • FBI logs about activity at the ranch in the days leading up to the standoff • Law enforcement assessments dating to 2012 that found the Bundys posed no threat • And internal affairs reports about misconduct by BLM agents Judge Navarro declared “a universal sense of justice has

been violated” and dismissed all charges against the Bundys “with prejudice”, meaning those charges cannot be brought aga in.

Congressional investigation This case raises many questions, and I’m pleased to see that Congressmen Bishop and Westerman have initiated an inquiry, with the Committees

Baxter BLACK ON THE EDGE OF COMMON SENSE www.baxterblack.com

Advice Column Dear Baxter, As a fellow veterinarian, I am hoping you can help me.

My wife Nancy has two cow dogs that will readily obey commands to sit and stay until they get near a cow. Then they chase the critter and can’t hear a word we say. It’s very obvious to me that they go deaf near livestock.

So, what’s your diagnosis? I’ve considered cow dander allergies, pour on irritation and ear infections to name a few. If possible, send a note or RX. Signed Anxious in Tie Siding, Dr. L.W. Dear L.W. I am pleased to inform you that your wife’s two cow dogs are suffering from a malady that is common in Blue Heelers. It also occurs in species further down the food chain such as backyard horses, bird dogs and teenagers.

Your suggested diagnosis associates their problems to the nearness of cattle. However, research at the NASA Cow Dog behavioral Institute in Homer City, PA indicated a relationship more closely related to the proximity of the dominant figure. i.e., the greater the distance between master and dog, the less your influence.

The technical name for the syndrome is called Progressive Dumb Dog Detachment Amnesia or PDA. There are some social scientists who believe PDA is a result of a broken home, a puppyhood trauma or sucking hind tit.

Others, with only a Master’s Degree prefer to think it is a biological defect like damaged chromosomes, lack of a braun or too much Co-op dog food.

Extensive studies have been done to discover a method to change the PDA dog’s behavior such as necking him to a mule, using remote control pontoons, or letting him drag a hundred foot of log chain. Although these techniques can alter his direction, they often interfere with his mobility in the corral.

Probably the most state of the art information has come from a paper presented at the prestigious PDA Symposium and BBQ in Alcova, Wyoming by one, R. Guerricabeitia, sheepherder. It is his contention that there is nothing wrong with the dog’s hearing, his breeding or his training. The PDA is evolving into a thinking being and has simply chosen to ignore you.

My advice: Live with it or leave him home. www.baxterblack.com

staffs to be briefed by the BLM. Perhaps this is just a first step, but I’m not convinced asking BLM to assess its own actions, identify problems and propose solutions, will provide the public or Congress with sufficient information to fully analyze what happened and why. Until we have a complete picture of who did what and when, any proposed changes in policy or procedure would suffer.

Here are some things Congress should be pursuing.

• There should be an inventory of BLM law enforcement assets. First of course, would be the number and type of personnel, and an examination of their authority, including the statutory authority for their classification. Also, an inventory of the number and type of weapons, the number and type of vehicles, the number of aircraft, including drones (owned or leased), the amount and types of ammo, the number of attack dogs or other tools and equipment in BLM›s possession. At some point, this type of inventory should be made of all the land management agencies in the Interior Dept. and the Forest Service

• A complete list of the personnel and their agency which were involved in the Bundy ranch operations (to include NPS, FBI and all federal agencies).

• A complete list of assets that were deployed for the Bundy operation by all agencies.

• A thorough review of all memos, emails, phone logs, notes, etc. to determine what factors and alternatives were considered prior to undertaking the operation • A thorough review of all memos, emails, phone logs, notes, etc. to determine who made the final decision to undertake the operation as a law enforcement effort and who made the decision to continue the operation by bringing in the FBI after the Clark County Sheriff withdrew his officers • A thorough review of all memos, emails, phone logs, notes, etc. to determine who, and on what basis, made the decision to stand down.

• A thorough review of all post-operation memos, emails, phone logs, notes, etc. to determine who was responsible for providing agency documents to the U.S. Attorney›s office, and any issues related to the prosecution of the case.

• A complete explanation of the authority and role played

by BLM management and line officers and the same for the DOI Office of Law Enforcement and Security (OLES), and how those dynamics played out prior to and during the operation.

• An explanation and analysis of why BLM refuses to comply

with state law on trespass the way other landowners do, so that the confiscation and disposal of trespassing livestock is accomplished by state officials, based on state law and procedures.

Again, for the public to have meaningful input, we must first have a complete understanding of all that occurred during the operation. Only then could we make reasonable recommendations for change.

Zinke reorganization Secretary Of Interior Zinke has proposed a massive reorganization of the department.

He says Interior will no longer draw its boundaries based on state and regional lines, but will draw them based on “ecosystems, watersheds and science.” The plan includes dividing management of millions of federal acres into 13 multistate regions, and would in many cases split states in to multiple sections.

At first blush this looks suspiciously similar to the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) launched by the Obama administration. Some will say the Obama LCCs were the first step, and now Zinke proposes to implement the same management scheme in a fashion not even dared by the Obama administration. Indeed, Marcia McNutt, who served as former President Obama’s first USGS director, said the idea was floated during her tenure to better align regional bureaus. “It’s not a new idea, and it’s not a bad idea,” she said.

We will be evaluating all this as more information becomes available. One should not, however, limit their evaluation through the lens of “what is the most scientific way to manage resources.” That has to be overlaid with our form of government. Will this proposed reorganization increase or diminish the role of states in resource management? Will it increase or diminish the role of the feds in resource management? How will this affect the role of Congress in authorizing, oversight and appropriations?

Surely there is a more “scientific” way to pass a budget than what we are currently witnessing, but it is a small price to pay to maintain our representative republic.

Our Founding Fathers designed a multitiered system to protect our liberty by restraining government. Their efforts had nothing to do with “scientific” management or efficiency. That is the lens through which we should evaluate this and other proposals.

Until next time, be a nuisance to the devil and don’t forget to check that cinch.

Frank DuBois was the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003, is the author of a blog: The Westerner (www.thewesterner. blogspot.com) and is the founder of The DuBois Rodeo Scholarship and The DuBois Western Heritage Foundation

February 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

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EBVs Take the Risk Out of Breeding Choices

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n Buffalo Center, Iowa, Meinders Stock Farm is building a reputation built on genetic and performance data.

“The difference between an average animal and a really good animal is HUGE,” says Zach Meinders. “You have to have a handle on the numbers.

That and genetic progress go hand and hand.”

Meinders and his brother Jake started raising livestock after graduating from South Dakota State University. At age 27, he is focused on the future.

“I think most young people have their eye on getting to the top and staying on top,” says Meinders. And that requires raising the best stock they can.

Meinders Stock Farm raises corn, soybeans, cattle, sheep and hogs. They purchased their first purebred cows and ewes in 2010, and have grown the herd to around 100 of each. The beef seedstock herd includes Angus, SimAngus, Charolaise and Leachman Stabilizer hybrids.

The sheep flock is primarily Polypay, with lesser numbers of Katahdin and Romanov. This is Meinders’ third year in the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP).

“We knew when we started our beef seedstock operation we had to focus on Expected Progeny Differences (EPD) to move

the genetics as rapidly as we could,” says Meinders. “When we purchased our first ewes from the University of Wisconsin and attended the Center of the Nation Sale in Spencer, we knew we had to look into using Expected Breeding Values (EBV) on our sheep. It was obvious that’s the way the sheep industry is going.”

“Producers who are breeding based only on weaning weights or phenotype are missing out,” continues Meinders. “That hardly tells any of the story.

Either one can be influenced by the environment or feeding practices. We won’t buy a ram without EBVs. It’s just too risky.”

“In today’s agricultural industries, producers should be doing as much as possible to minimize risk,” says NSIP Program Director Rusty Burgett. “If you don’t know the genetic potential of your breeding sheep, you are taking a huge risk if they will be profitable or not. Using EBVs from NSIP gives you the information you need to make sound breeding decisions of sheep you can be confident will be productive and profitable.”

While genetic progress in their sheep flock happens at a much slower rate than their beef seedstock herd, due to the beef industry’s decades of EPD em-

phasis and strides in developing genomic testing, Meinders says it is easy to see improvement, especially in lambing rates and growth.

Progress is also slowed by concentrating on maternal breeds and maternal traits compared to beef’s emphasis on carcass traits. “When you’re talking about milk or lambing numbers, you don’t really learn about a ram until his daughters are two to three years old, where we’re breeding yearling and two-yearold bulls based on genomic numbers. The dairy industry turns around even faster.”

The size of the national beef herd also affects the rate of genetic progress. A larger database makes for better accuracies, and makes it easier to identify outliers that may show up infrequently in a small herd or flock.

“That is certainly a hurdle we’ve had to overcome in the sheep genetic analysis; having a robust dataset for higher accuracy,” says Burgett. “We’ve made huge strides in the past few years getting more animals in the system. We now have more than 300,000 animals in the NSIP databases with records. That means higher accuracies and ultimately a powerful tool that can help sheep producers across the U.S.”

For those intimidated by calculating the numbers, Meinders says the system of Indexes helps immensely, especially when the focus is on multiple traits.

When buying bulls, they look to Leachman’s $Profit Index, which takes economically relevant traits and enables sorting for the top animals.

Meinders also uses NSIP’s Indexes to help find the top animals.

“An index like the US Maternal index was fine-tuned to select ewes that will maximize productivity and ultimately profitability,” explains Burgett.

“It balances reproductive performance with growth and maternal ability to favor ewes that will have multiple lambs that will grow and raise them all. Other indexes will select animals for both lamb and fiber production like the US Range index or to maximize lamb growth and carcass cutability like the Carcass Plus index. Each one selects animals for a specific purpose, but all have the end goal of increasing returns to the producer.”

“We still look at the individual numbers to see how a potential ram will fit in our flock,” says Meinders. “Every piece of performance data in multiple areas needs to be in line for us to make significant improvement. And, of course, they have

Cattle Groups Sue USDA Over Meat Labeling

BY DIEGO FLAMMINI NEWS REPORTER, FARMS.COM

T

wo U.S. cattle organizations have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for participating in the undercutting of cattle producers.

Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) and Cattle Producers of Washington (CPoW) allege the USDA knowingly helps meatpackers label imported beef products as domestic products, which reduces the income of domestic cattle producers.

By not labelling imported beef products, the USDA is in violation of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, says Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF. “The Tariff Act of 1930 (which is part of the Federal Meat Inspection Act) requires pretty much all imported articles to labeled

as from their country of origin, unless they undergo substantial transformation in the United States,” Bullard told Farms.com. “It’s our position that beef products are to be labeled all the way to the consumer, but that’s not what the USDA is doing.”

Once a beef product enters the country, the USDA considers it a domestic product after it undergoes any transformation.

“That (transformation) includes unwrapping and re-wrapping the product,” Bullard said. “Then the meatpacker is authorized to put a ‘Product of U.S.A.’ label on it.”

These measures impact revenue streams for U.S. cattle producers.

Consumers would rather purchase locally produced beef but aren’t necessarily afforded the ability to do so due to the USDA’s actions, Bullard said.

“When we had (imported) beef labeled

Oklahoma Beef Council Former Accountant Sentenced

BY LISA M. KEEFE MEATINGPLACE.COM

A

former accountant for the Oklahoma Beef Council has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, having pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $3 million from the group between 2009 and 2016, according to a report on NewsOK.com, the website of The Oklahoman newspaper.

Melissa Day Morton forged $2.68 million worth of organization checks, prosecutors said. Morton

has been ordered to repay all those funds, of which $2.3 million would return to the council.

Oklahoma Beef Council executives told the judge they believe Morton “is a con woman,” the report said.

In a statement emailed to Meatingplace, Angie Meyer, chairman of the council, said, “While there is no sentence that would truly rectify the harm these crimes have done to our organization and to our producers, we are satisfied knowing we have done ev-

erything in our power to cooperate with federal authorities to seek justice.”

Morton has already paid $237,874 in restitution, NewsOK.com quoted records as showing. She was an employee of the organization from 1995 until July 2016.

The Oklahoma Beef Council also has filed a lawsuit against its former auditors, Arledge and Associates, seeking to recover all damages for failure to operate “in accordance with reasonable and applicable auditing standards.”

in the marketplace from May 2013 to the end of 2015, cattle producers received the highest nominal prices in the history of their industry,” he said. “And beef demand remained very strong. When COOL was repealed, we saw our cattle prices fall and we are now struggling to maintain levels from five or six years ago.”

The provisions allowing any meat transformation to be labelled as American were in place before the Country of Origin Labeling law (COOL) came into effect in the U.S. When Congress implemented COOL in 2002, imported meat had to retain its country of origin label through retail sale.

But once lawmakers repealed COOL in 2016, the USDA reverted back to its old ways, Bullard said.

to also be structurally sound.

But the Indexes simplify the process.”

That’s especially true in an operation that focuses on the benefits of crossbreeding. Their Stabilizer cattle are a four-breed composite, much like their Polypay sheep. “We are strong believers in hybrid vigor and heterosis. You can retain 75 percent of heterosis without a complicated breeding system. But you can’t do it without looking at EPDs or EBVs.” Meinders says he expects soon both sheep seedstock and commercial producers will only buy animals with EBVs. “The NSIP sales are getting stronger and more new members are coming on board. It’s easy to see it’s the fastest way to make progress. Again, there is a huge difference between the really good animals and the average ones. Both purebred and commercial producers won’t be willing to take the risk of not buying the best they can.”

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February 15, 2018