Riding Herd “The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it.” – JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL
February 15, 2019 • www.aaalivestock.com
Volume 61 • No. 2
The Almighty Dollar BY LEE PITTS
No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.
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NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING
t pains me to think about all the hard work that countless beef producers have devoted to beef promotion and the checkoff in order to increase demand for beef. Sadly, I think all those good people were unknowingly working for JBS, Tyson and Cargill. As initially conceived the checkoff was a brilliant concept and we at the Digest supported its passage. After three tries cattlemen eventually approved the beef checkoff. The reason it took three votes was because many cattlemen had reservations, one of those being that such a large amount of money might attract bureaucrats and organizations like bees to honey. Sadly, those concerns came to fruition when the National Cattlemen’s Association (NCA) was suffering financial distress and went looking for cash to stop the bleeding in Denver. They found their salvation in the beef checkoff. I don’t mean to belittle all the hard work producers have put in on checkoff related activities over the years but the way events have transpired, we might have been better off without a checkoff because it has enabled the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to push a global agenda that doesn’t care whether the beef on American’s plates comes from Bakersfield or Brazil. As for increasing demand, beef consumption has been in a downward decline that mimics the lifespan of the NCBA. And what good does it do if any new demand for beef in America is satisfied by imports from Humpybong, Australia, or Bananal, Brazil?
Winston Churchill I feel like I’m beating a dead horse or barking at a knothole after awhile. What’s the point of exposing the inner workings of where your beef dollars go if there are fewer and fewer of you to read about it. It is an undeniable fact that since the start of the checkoff we’ve lost over half the cattlemen in this country which begs the question... have we been committing occupational suicide one dollar at a time?
Save Us From Our Rescuers Every year the Operating Committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board Approves their Plan of Work for the following year. This past September they released their budget for 2019 and how the $40 plus million they collect will be divided up, subject to the USDA’s approval of course. Because as we all know thanks to NCBA’s pleadings before the Supreme Court,
the checkoff is, after all, a government program and therefore not subject to first amendment rights. To apply for money from the beef checkoff a proposal for funding, otherwise known as an Authorization Request, must be submitted to the Beef Board. For 2019 the CBB received 14 Authorization Requests submitted by only seven contractors. Those requests totaled 45 million dollars and the Beef Board came up with a 43.9 million dollar budget. So let’s see just where your beef bucks are projected to end up this year. • The NCBA had five of their proposals approved by the Beef Board for a total of $27.4 million. So right off the bat the NCBA got 62% of the Beef Board’s total budget. • The U.S. Meat Export Federation got one proposal approved for $8.3 million but it
was only as a subcontractor to the NCBA. So, if we add the $8.3 million to the other $27.4 million the NCBA controls we get to $35.7 million or 81% of the checkoff! • Gathering up the crumbs were the North American Meat Institute (four proposals for $1.9 million), Cattlemen’s Beef Board (one proposal for $1.7 million), American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture (one proposal for $700,000), Meat Import Council of America (one proposal for $417,000) and the National Livestock Producers Association (one proposal for $60,000). By the way, the North American Meat Institute represents the interests of U.S. packers and processors of beef, pork, lamb, veal and turkey. So if you add their checkoff dollars to that of the NCBA’s you come up with 86% of the Beef Board’s bucks going to entities that don’t support country of origin labeling and have proven to be bigger cheerleaders for the packers than they have for ranchers. Just to rub salt in the wound, the packers who are the biggest beneficiaries of the checkoff, aren’t required to contribute one thin dime to the beef checkoff. Also included in the Beef continued on page two
Proposed New WOTUS Rule Narrows Federal Jurisdiction WWW.NATLAWREVIEW.COM
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n December 11, 2018, the Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Environmental Protection Agency jointly proposed a new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) definition. The two agencies intend for the proposal to replace the Clean Water Rule that was issued by the Obama Administration in 2015. The 2015 rule automatically confers federal jurisdiction over several categories of waters, including traditional navigable waters, interstate waters, territorial seas, impoundments of jurisdictional waters, tributaries, and adjacent water. It also lists five specific types of “similarly situated” waters that are subject to a caseby-case analysis to determine whether there is a “significant nexus” that would provide jurisdiction. The 2015 rule also contains exclusions from jurisdiction for some water features, including certain ditches, groundwater, erosional control features, and stormwater control features. The Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Environmental Protection Agency intend for the 2018 proposed rule to further clarify jurisdictional questions, eliminate caseby-case determinations, and narrow Clean Water Act jurisdiction to align with Justice Scalia’s opinion in Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006).
What’s a WOTUS? The agencies have advanced a WOTUS definition that encompasses “relatively permanent flowing and standing waterbodies that are traditional navigable waters in their own right or that have a specific connection to traditional navigable waters, as well as wetlands abutting or having a direct hydrologic surface connection to those waters.” Specifically, the newly proposed rule outlines six categories of waters that would be considered waters of the United States, including: 1. traditional navigable waters 2. impoundments 3. tributaries 4. certain ditches 5. certain lakes and ponds 6. adjacent wetlands Notably, the proposed rule also expressly excludes certain waters from the definition of WOTUS: 1.waters not otherwise expressly included in the above categories of jurisdictional waters 2. groundwater 3. ephemeral surface features and diffuse stormwater run-off 4. ditches that do not fall into the category of jurisdictional ditches 5. prior converted cropland continued on page five
by LEE PITTS
Unreal Estate
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ears ago I gave serious thought to getting my real estate license after I’d found a buyer for a large ranch and didn’t get one thin dime out of the deal, thank you very much. Several of my road agent buddies got their licenses and every now and then you hear about one of them getting a commission check for more money than I make in a year. It’s natural fit because I don’t know of anyone who visits more ranches or meets more prospective buyers than the guys who travel for livestock publications working ring at cattle auctions. My good Texas buddy E.C. has had his broker’s license for years and from the outside looking in seems a profitable endeavor. I don’t know anyone who knows more rich people than E.C. He goes hunting with Baseball Hall of Famers and used to work all the big Keeneland sales in Kentucky where multi-million dollar horses sell to billionaire Arab sheiks. Recently retired from working ring, E.C. is the Godfather of all ring men. One day he’d be selling pricey art in Santa Fe, the next week he might be helping sell collectible cars in Scottsdale and the next he’s traveling all across the country selling real estate at auction. I don’t know any ring man who has more mileage on his odometer than E.C. so in our last conversation I asked when he was going to slow down. E.C. replied, “Funny you should ask. Margie and I just had a meeting with our financial adviser and after looking at our finances he estimated that at the current rate my offspring are producing costly grandkids I should be able to retire on the morning of the day I die.” Being a ranch real realtor is not all big commission checks. First of all you have to look prosperous because no one likes to do business with an unsuccessful realtor. At the very least ranch realtors need a current year Suburban or Expedition and many have their own airplane or helicopter. Then there’s the Luchesse boots, silver and gold buckle set, the latest iPhone and a sil-
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Page 2
Livestock Market Digest
February 15, 2019
ALMIGHTY DOLLAR Board’s budget was $800,000 paid to the the USDA for their oversight, which should tell you why the USDA has always been such big supporters of the checkoff programs they collect money from.
What’s Not To Like? Those professors with lots of letters after their names talk a lot in business school about “situational awareness.” It means constantly analyzing where you and your product stand in the market. Fortunately for us there is one man who is very aware of beef’s situational awareness. He’s Bill Bullard, CEO, of R-CALF USA. In a recent op ed piece Bullard wrote, “A recent news release posted on a website bearing the Beef
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in domestic beef production was substantially offset by the dramatic increase in imports, which by the beginning of 2015 had effectively eliminated the competitive forces that were driving cattle prices upward. “Expectedly, cattle prices collapsed under the weight of near-record imports and in the ensuing years (2016-2018), a combination of increased domestic production and continued high import levels caused total beef supplies to eventually exceed 2012 levels. So, yes, beef supplies did increase while consumers continued paying higher prices for beef, causing beef demand to increase by an impressive 15%. “Cattle prices, however, continue to suffer from the on-
Ever since Obama got rid of COOL there has been no way for consumers to know where the beef they eat comes from. Checkoff Logo and titled, “Beef Demand... It’s Been A Very Good Year,” states that “2018 retail beef demand is 15% higher than in January 2012. “This is touted by the beef industry as great news for the cattle industry,” says Bullard. “If that is true, then cattle prices should have increased over the same period. After all, according to the beef industry, increasing beef demand means good prices for retail beef, which will, like water, trickle down to reward every sector of the beef supply chain, including the live cattle producer. “But that did not happen. Instead, fed cattle price fell nearly 5% during the same period that beef demand increased 15%,” wrote Bullard. “This is an inverse relationship - exactly opposite of what a competitive market would dictate. This indicates something is terribly wrong with the structure of the cattle industry’s markets. The 2012 average 5-area fed cattle price of $122.96 per cwt should have increased in 2018 rather than decrease to a $117 per cwt price (through November).” These increases in the retail price of beef were increasing at the same time that beef supplies were increasing, both from domestic producers and imported beef. It stands to reason then that beef demand has definitely increased, which is, after all, the purpose and goal of the beef checkoff. So what’s not to like? “What is less known,” says Bullard, “is that while domestic beef production declined by more than 2.2 billion pounds from 2012 through 2015, fueling the historic cattle price rally of 2013 through 2014, the beef industry tried to stop that rally by dramatically increasing imports of beef and cattle in 2014 and 2015. And stop it they did. When these near record imports were added to domestic production, the decline
going pressure of undifferentiated imports, which are direct substitutes for domestic supplies. These imports,” says Bullard, “effectively increase the total beef supply in the U.S; but even so, retail beef prices remain strong. In fact, the spread between the price cattle producers receive for their cattle and what consumers are willing to pay for beef is now the widest in history. In 2012, that spread was $2.39 per pound. In 2018, it was $5.91 per pound. “This informs us that someone along the beef supply chain is now receiving a substantial share of the revenues from beef sales that used to flow to cattle producers. In other words, there is now a dam somewhere across the cattle or beef supply chains that is preventing revenues from trickling down to cattle producers, as would be the case in a competitive market.” Bullard summarizes, “The important point for cattle producers reading this is that the someone who has captured more than their competitive share from the value of beef - Is Not You!”
Can You Hear The Silence? So who is it that’s making the big bucks on beef. If it’s not the cow calf person, is it the stocker operator or the feedlot owner? If that were the case the number of feedlots in this country would not have fallen 90%. If it was the feedlot sector making all the money Cargill, a very astute multinational corporation, would not have sold their feedlots while keeping their packing plants. Bullard says that, “For several years now the beef packers have been capturing unprecedented margins. This is because cattle prices remained unresponsive to increasing beef demand. In fact, retail beef prices have remained at or near the same levels they were four years continued on page three
February 15, 2019
Livestock Market Digest
Page 3
ALMIGHT DOLLAR
You’re End of the Boat Is Sinking The packers and their backers at the NCBA would have you believe we’re all in the same boat working together to build beef demand so that we can all profit. The fact is we are all competitors, even at the cow calf level ranchers compete against each other for leases and bid against each other aggressively at bull sales. But the real competition occurs between the cow calf, stocker, feedlot and packer segments. It’s a constant battle as to how the consumer’s beef dollar will be divided up. We may be all in the same boat but that boat is what’s called an “eight” at the Olympics, with eight people doing all the rowing while one guy in the front of the boat, the coxswain, screams at them through a megaphone to row faster. In our case, it’s
the ranchers and dairymen doing all of the rowing while the one doing the yelling, the packer, passes the finish line first while barely breaking a sweat. For decades the cow calf and stocker operator’s portion of the consumer’s dollar has been shrinking while in 2018 the packers made obscene profits after only owning the cattle for a few days. The rancher has only received a satisfactory return on investment twice in my career. The first was when R CALF almost single handedly got the border closed to Canadian cattle during the BSE crises. The second period was when R CALF and others got country of origin labeling for beef (COOL). When the Obama Administration repealed COOL in 2015 prices for cattle fell faster and further than ever before in history.
And get this: After farmers and ranchers suffered retaliatory measures due to tariffs put on Chinese steel, the Trump administration announced billions of dollars would be paid to farmers and ranchers to ease their financial strain. One of those receiving five million dollars in assistance was none other than the Brazilian-owned packer JBS. According to Bullard, “All of the 1.8 million pounds of pork that JBS now plans to sell for about $5 million to the USDA under the trade-related assistance program could well be derived solely from hogs imported from Canada.” There is one thing that Trump could do immediately to help struggling ranchers and that would be to reinstate COOL that would end the costly con game of passing foreign produced meat off on the
The Big Heist Ever since Obama got rid of COOL there has been no way for consumers to know where the beef they eat comes from. That’s because, according to Bullard, “Under NAFTA the Trump Administration’s proposed NAFTA replacement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA, all the beef and pork derived from imported live cattle and hogs from Canada and Mexico that are slaughtered in the United States is deemed to be a product of the United States. This means the beef and pork from cattle and hogs that spent their entire lives in Canada and Mexico and then trucked into the Unites States for immediate slaughter is yet considered by the USDA as a product produced by the American farmer.”
ELM
FARMINGTON
ago, when fed cattle prices were around $160 per cwt and lighter feeder cattle prices were well over $200 per cwt.” Says Bullard, “Why cattle producers and their conventional trade associations would remain complacent, indeed silent, while this inexplicable circumstance exists is mindboggling. But, then, perhaps the entire beef industry, along with the beef industry’s favorite media outlets, have thoroughly conditioned America’s cattle producers to follow their lead by exclusively focusing on increasing beef demand.” Which begs the question, what good does increased demand beef do for ranchers if they don’t get their fair share of any profits? All those dedicated individuals who have donated so many years to the beef checkoff building demand for beef may just as well been working directly for the packer. I know they don’t want to hear that, and will criticize me for saying so, but the facts show that is irrefutably the case.
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American consumer as American made. According to Bullard this is not likely to happen because, “Unfortunately, the meatpacking lobby, particularly the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), which represent the interests of monolithic international meatpackers, has clearly courted favors from President Trump to keep consumers in the dark and the corporate subsidies flowing.” Bill Bullard says, “It is time for some serious, critical thinking about the structure of the cattle market by cattle producers . . . before it is too late.” It’s our opinion that it became too late that day in San Antonio way back in 1996 when the the cattle industry stood aside and let the NCBA rob the checkoff bank.
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Livestock Market Digest
February 15, 2019
Life Along the Border: As told by those who live there BY CHRISTINE STEELE SILVER CITY DAILY PRESS
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he Antelope Wells Port of Entry at the border of Mexico and the U.S. is a remote outpost far from any city or town. Hachita, the nearest town, is 45 miles of straight, flat blacktop — and not much else — away. It has a gas station, store and community center, and a population of about 49. The nearest larger cities are Silver City, population about 10,000; Lordsburg, about 2,500; and Deming, about 14,000. Lordsburg and Deming are each an hour and a half away. Silver is more than two hours. Janos, Mexico, population about 2,500, is closer, at about an hour away. Once not much more than a gate for cowboys and cattle to pass through to ranches on either side of the border, it is now a remote and little-used Port of Entry, two hours from the next nearest, in Palomas, Mexico, to the east (an hour and a half on the U.S. side to Columbus, N.M.), and Douglas, Ariz., and Agua Prieta, Mexico, to the west. But lately, the Antelope Wells Port of Entry is seeing a lot more traffic. Since the beginning of the federal fiscal year on Oct. 1, the Border Patrol has reported that 26 large groups of 100 people or more, mostly Central American families, have been trafficked up to the border near this remote corner of New Mexico and told by smugglers where to cross the border and turn themselves in. This month, in one week
alone, from Jan. 16 to Jan. 24, the Border Patrol reported in a series of news releases that more that 668 people arriving in three separate large groups of 100plus people turned themselves in at the Antelope Wells Port of Entry. A group of 247 people arrived at just after midnight on Jan. 16. The following day, a group of 115 people arrived at 9:30 p.m. and on Jan. 24, a group of 306 people arrived, again at just after midnight. The Antelope Wells Port of Entry closes at 4 p.m. It reopens at 7 a.m. “The message we want to get out there is the criminal organizations are taking advantage of the situation because they are charging them to be smuggled into the U.S. and taking their money, and leaving them at the border and they are not crossing so they are not risking anything,” said Agent Fidel Baca, with the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector Public Affairs Office. “That port of entry closes at 4 p.m. This border was being hit because it is not manned 24 hours. When they come in after midnight, the Port of Entry is closed.” Some of those turning themselves in have requested medical attention and they have to be taken to area hospitals. The closest are Mimbres Memorial in Deming, an hour and a half way, and Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, two hours away. The Border Patrol also uses hospitals in El Paso and Tucson, Agent Baca said. The arrival of hundreds of people turning themselves in at
Brandy Johnson holding onto a barbed wire fence post that separates her husband family’s ranch from Mexico. Beyond the fence in the distance in Mexico is a road that traffickers use to drive up to the barbed wire fence, remove the metal ties holding the barbed wire to the post, push the wire down and drive over it into the U.S. Johnson said a bollard style fence, with tall posts, would prevent such traffic. (Press Staff Photo by Christine Steele) this remote Port of Entry in the middle of the night not only taxes the Border Patrol, as there are not dozens of agents stationed there staffing the Port, but it also has another purpose, agents say. It is used as a distraction to traffic drugs into the U.S. While the few agents available are attending to the issues of those arriving, smugglers are trafficking drugs into the country. The Border Patrol posted a video of a large group of people climbing over the low Normandy barrier fence on the border in that remote area and into the U.S. While that was happening on Jan. 16, the Border Patrol reported that just west of there, with the help of Border Patrol air support, they apprehended drug mules and seized 265 pounds of marijuana. “That’s what we see pretty often,” Agent Baca said. “They send in a group as a distraction. They tend to exploit those times. But doing the job out there, we know to expect that.”
WOTUS
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When asked if agents were feeling stressed or overwhelmed or if morale was down during the government shutdown, Baca said he didn’t want to comment on that. “This is what we signed up to do,” he said. “It’s our job and we are proud to do it.” He did say the El Paso Sector did receive 40 additional agents from the northern border with Canada who were deployed to the southern border to be spread out to different stations throughout the sector during the government shutdown. But border residents said it didn’t seem that way to them. It was more like a skeleton crew, they said.
Solutions A better border fence would help, residents of this region say. As would more Border Patrol agents — and local law enforcement.
Fences The Johnson family has been farming and ranching along the border for more than 100 years. Russell Johnson, a third-generation rancher, tends to the ranch, while his wife, Brandy, takes care of the couple’s two young children and runs their home. Not much separates their ranch from Mexico. Of the five miles of their ranch that runs along the border, three miles is separated by a barbed wire fence. Three strands strung along steel posts, held in place with metal ties, twisted to keep the barbed wire to the post. It’s nothing for the traffickers to untwist the metal tie, have someone stand on the barbed wire, and drive a vehicle over the fence and into the United States. From a distance, it doesn’t look like there is a break in the fence when the barbed wire springs back up, so the breaks go undetected. These drive-throughs typically happen during the Border Patrol’s shift change, in the early morning pre-dawn hours. The area is supposed to manned 247, with one agent taking over from the next, but that doesn’t always happen. Along the other two miles,
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6. artificially irrigated areas 7. artificial lakes and ponds constructed in upland that are not otherwise covered by the category of jurisdictional lakes and ponds 8. water-filled depressions constructed in upland for construction or mining 9. stormwater control features 10. wastewater recycling features constructed in upland 11. waste treatment systems
Other Proposed Updates The 2018 proposed rule differs from the 2015 rule in several other significant ways, as well. It eliminates case-by-case determinations of significant nexus and excludes “ephemeral streams” and “ephemeral features.” from the “tributaries” category. The proposal also limits the 2015 rule’s “adjacent waters” to “adjacent wetlands,” and further limits “adjacent wetlands” to those that abut a jurisdictional water or have a direct hydrological surface water connection. Whereas the 2015 rule generally includes ditches in the definition of “waters of the
there is a barrier of low steel posts or Normandy barriers — a criss-cross of square steel X’s named for the barricades on beaches of Normandy during D-Day. Designed to stop vehicle traffic, the smugglers have figured how to get over those, building ramps to drive up and over onto the U.S. side, or backing a flatbed car-hauler up to it and driving a vehicle off into the U.S. Border residents here say a taller bollard-style fence like the one in Naco, Ariz., and along other parts of the border, would help prevent vehicle traffic from getting through, while still allowing wildlife to pass. Law enforcement Hachita happens to be in Grant County, but is surrounded by Hidalgo County on one side and Luna on the other. It is also an hour and a half from where the Grant County Sheriff’s Office is located in Silver City. There is no resident deputy, like in the communities of Cliff and out in the Mimbres Valley, both about 30 to 45 minutes from Silver City. Newly elected Grant County Sheriff Frank Gomez said he would like to be able to provide more resources to Hachita, but with so many needs closer to Silver City, it won’t likely be much. While this remote area is getting lots of attention from local, regional and national media because of the recent large number of people arriving at Antelope Wells, what it is not getting is resources. The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office has a staff of seven deputies — one patrol sergeant, four certified deputies and two uncertified who just started at the police academy, said County Manager Tisha Green. That means they have a total of four certified deputies to cover 3,446 square miles. “We have the least amount of deputies of any county in the area and the largest area,” Green said. Hidalgo County also has 86 miles of border — 17 miles have Normandy barriers and the recontinued on page five
United States” unless expressly excluded, the proposal generally excludes ditches unless the “tributary” criteria are met and the ditch either alters or relocates a tributary or is constructed on an adjacent wetland. The proposal also refines or modifies a number of exclusions from the 2015 rule. For example, it offers several refinements to the preamble language related to the exclusion for water-filled depressions created in upland as a result of certain activities, like mining. The 2018 proposed rule also clarifies the exceptions for stormwater control measures, wastewater recycling structures, and waste treatment systems.
What Happens Next? The agencies are taking comment on the proposal for sixty days after publication in the Federal Register. The agencies also scheduled an informational webcast for January 10, 2019, and a public hearing in Kansas City, Kansas on January 23, 2019, however both the webcast and public hearing are postponed due to the government shutdown. The agencies will notify the public of the revised date for the public hearing, the start of the public comment period, public webcast, and other outreach activities after appropriations have passed.
February 15, 2019
Livestock Market Digest
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California set to seize 1,100 miles of coastline BY CHRISS STREET WWW.AMERICANTHINKER
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he California Coastal Commission is set to empower local government to take thousands of properties through eminent domain along 1,100 miles of coastline to prepare for sea level rise. Despite California being battered by 4-8 inches of torrential rain and flooding from an El Niño weather cycle, E&E News reported that the State of California in late January will authorize eminent domain authority for local jurisdictions to implement a “managed retreat” policy that will allow taking and demolishing coastal homes and businesses. The California Coastal Commission circulated an 87page “ Draft Residential Adaptation Guidance” in March regarding how communities could proactively address sea level rise impacts through Local Coastal Programs (LCPs). Although the CCC draft did not adopt specific retreat guidance, the California Special Districts magazine expects that the CCC will predict a sea level rise of 2.5-5.5 feet and the elimination of 31-67 percent of Southern California beaches by the year 2100. CCC retreat guidance is expected to also entail dismantling and relocating of dozens of wastewater treatment and power plants; 250 miles of highway; 1,500 miles of roads; and 110 miles of railways, ac-
cording to the latest California Special Districts magazine. The CCC does not have the direct power to condemn properties, but under the California Coastal Act, it can task the local cities and counties with coastal zone land use rules for maintaining minimum beach width. The CCC has enormous practical power, since directive language must be recorded in property deeds and disclosed to future buyers. CCC proposed guidance for the first time would prioritize local entities condemning and taking private homes and businesses to protect shoreline wildlife from “ coastal squeeze” caused by retaining walls and other fixed development preventing “landward migration of the beach that would have otherwise occurred.” Nossaman’s Eminent Domain and Valuation Group, which provides lawyers for valuation disputes between public agencies, landowners, and businesses, stated that California eminent domain “regulatory taking” requires paying owners fair compensation based on: (1) the economic impact of the regulation on the claimant; (2) the extent to which the regulation has interfered with the claimant’s reasonable, distinct investment-backed expectations; and (3) the character of the government action. But Nossaman warned that CCC issuing retreat guidance has the potential to negatively
LIFE ALONG THE BORDER maining 69 miles is barbed wire. With so few deputies, the county can’t even provide round-the-clock protection for its citizens. Currently, deputies are on duty from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. “We need at least 10 fulltime deputies in order for us to have 24-hour coverage,” Green said. “We need money to fully fund a position.” Lordsburg, the hub of Hidalgo County, doesn’t have a large gross receipts tax base, which funds county government. There are no major department or grocery stores like Walmart, or large employers. Starting pay for a Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputy is $17.50 an hour or $36,400 a year. With full benefits, it costs Hidalgo County $60,394 to fund a deputy. Hidalgo County, like other border counties, does receive a federal Stonegarden Grant, which is meant to increase border security, Green said, but it is split three ways. The county gets a third and the New Mexico State Police and Lordsburg police each get a third. The county’s share is $246,000, but that money can’t be used to fund a new position. It is used for overtime for current deputies and pays for fuel and vehicle maintenance. Green said the county used to receive a Safe Borders grant, with which they could fund two deputy positions, which brought their staff to nine, but they have not received that grant in two years. Green said $250,000 would provide funding for four more full-time deputies — for a year.
In December, Green sent a plea asking for additional resources for Hidalgo County to Sen. Martin Heinrich’s and Sen. Tom Udall’s offices. She sent the letter again on Jan. 2 and included former state senator and now Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, who is from Grant County, and represented Grant, Catron and Socorro counties, and new Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. She received a phone call from the aides to Sens. Heinrich and Udall, and has a meeting with Udall’s office later this week. She has also met with Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small and Rep. Rebecca Dow. “I was also contacted by the chief of police for the New Mexico State Police,” Green said. “He did reach out and they are sending more of their State Police officers down south.” She has not heard from the Governor’s Office. “But throughout out all of this, I have received some wonderful contacts to reach out to,” she said. Hidalgo County is holding a special meeting today, Green said, to ask their commissioners to approve hiring two new certified officers and allocate the money from the general fund to do that. “I just want the assistance on hiring those officers,” Green said. “Our citizens need the help. I know there has to be some type of funding to help us fund positions. We are a poor county.” Amanda Adame Keeler, a fourth-generation rancher who lives and ranches near
impact coastal property values due to “precondemnation damages” associated with the risk that properties could be taken through eminent domain any time over the next 80 years. Many coastal homeowners have scoffed at the idea that California’s cities that suffer from huge indebtedness and underfunded pension liabilities will have the financial capability to pay the big bucks to take many coastal properties under eminent domain. But Nossaman expects that the California Coastal Commission’s guidance will allow local jurisdictions to fund the cost of using eminent domain to manage their retreat by “buying the homes and then renting them out until they’re damaged.” The supposedly settled science that climate change is melting the poles and causing massive sea level rise has come under severe scientific scrutiny over the last few years. The doomsday models of climate change scientists are having a difficult time explaining why the European Alps are currently experiencing the heaviest snowfall in 100 years, the Arctic polar bear population is increasing, and the Greenland ice sheet just grew to its sixth highest surface mass on record. California’s politics has been dominated by what the Public Policy Institute of California coined as the coastal-inland divide, with the coastal elites voting Democratic and the inland continued from page four
Hachita, said the money the ranches pay in taxes doesn’t get funneled back to Hidalgo County. “We get less than what Santa Fe gets because of the population,” she said. “The resources we get are smaller than anyone else because of our population.” Bigger solutions At the national level, residents here say the country needs more people addressing the immigration issue, and doing so more quickly. “We need a change in the human policy,” Amanda said. “Something to fast track these visas. We want people here. We are not against immigration. I’m against them coming in here and disappearing into the system.” Brandy Johnson agreed. She said the process for people coming to apply for asylum needs to be quicker. More immigration judges are needed to address the flow of people coming in. “And if they are not supposed to be here for asylum purposes, then send them home immediately,” she said. They both said that giving asylum-seekers a court date and releasing them and expecting them to show up for their court date was not realistic. Amanda said the issue is not about politics and is not a Democrat or Republican issue, but one of security. “I was not a big Trump fan, but for the first time in 20 years or so we felt like someone actually heard us down here at the border.”
lower-middle-class areas voting Republican. It will be interesting to see how coastal progressive elites respond to having their beach-
RIDING HERD ver belly hat with nary a sweat or manure stain. They must spend fortunes in advertising that keep livestock publications alive to advertise themselves and their listings. Then there’s the cost of going to the big convention every year in hopes of impressing other ranch realtors in order to get “co-listings.” I decided that not only did I not have the attire, the pocketbook or the looks to be a ranch realtor, I just didn’t have the right demeanor. Sure, being a ranch realtor is great on the day they sell a ranch but how about the other 364 days a year when they are working for free, chasing false prospects or going down dead ends? I don’t know if I could handle the housing bubbles, and boom and bust cycles that real estate goes through, especially in my home state of California where currently the asking price for a homeless person’s refrigerator carton in San Francisco is a quarter million dollars. I also don’t circulate in groups of people who’d buy a “hunting property” with a price tag larger than my ten digit phone number.
front homes taken through eminent domain, to be then profitably rented out for big bucks by their local government.
continued from page one
I tend to be the despondent type anyway and would be slitting my wrists if I went a month without selling a ranch. I have an acquaintance in our town who has an office, advertises heavily and is well liked but in 2017 he sold exactly one listing. He reminds me of the old Ace Reid cartoon which pictures a skeleton in a cowboy hat named J.M. Defunct, a ranch realtor who says, “If I don’t sell sumpin’ soon I’m gonna starve plum to death.” I suppose the real reason I never got my realtor’s license is I was afraid I’d have to change the way I write and learn an entirely new language where a ranch two hours from the nearest town is a “secluded hideaway”; where gale force winds become “gentle breezes in the afternoon”; a shack without electricity or running water has “old world charm”; a mud flat becomes “a meadow glade”; a ranch home overlooking a dump is “a property with a view”; and a house 50 feet from the railroad track is “close to transportation.” wwwLeePittsbooks.com
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Livestock Market Digest
February 15, 2019
Gene Editing vs. Gene Modifying- No, They’re Not the Same BY ERIC PFEIFFER / WWW.HOOSIERAGTODAY.COM
A
s gene editing technology, or CRISPR, continues to advance, its perception in the public eye will be critical to its success in agriculture. Eric Williams is a partner and patent attorney at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis. He also holds a doctorate in pharmacy. He was the keynote speaker at the Midwest Pork Conference held in early
December and told attendees that farmers need to start learning about this technology sooner rather than later. “I don’t think the science is slowing down any and I think that things are accelerating where gene edited products, or gene editing of animals, is going to become so commonplace that farmers need to know, and producers need to know, what’s going on, so they can adapt their practices.” He worries that the percep-
tion of gene editing will fall in line with that of GMO’s. While GMO’s have been tested and proven to be safe, there are still those who reject the idea and are quite vocal about it. Many of those people believe gene editing is the same as genetically modifying, which is not the case. Williams says it is the animal or plants own genome that is being edited, not other foreign DNA being introduced. “The analogy I like to use is Microsoft Word because when
you misspell a word time and time again in a document, you can do a global find and replace. So, in other words, the document finds all the misspellings of a particular word and replaces them with the correct spelling. CRISPR technology is exactly like that. You tell the body where the misspelling is in your genetic code and then it replaces it with the correct spelling of the genetic code.” He says that it’s important to know that using gene editing is just getting us to a better place
for animals and consumers sooner. “I like to think of CRISPR as an advanced breeding technique because really what you’re doing is science has identified the genes that are responsible for a particular trait and you’re just able to accelerate the development of that trait in the final product. So, those things would have happened over hundreds of years of natural breeding but using the technologies of gene editing you’re able to get there a lot faster.”
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rab your boots and spurs and don’t forget your cowboy hat as New Mexico author, Connie Perez, gives young readers a glimpse of ranch life through colorful illustrations and western adventures in her new book, Home on the Rocking R Ranch. Perez’s admirers are many and age doesn’t appear to be a mitigating factor as reflected by those who have been enchanted by the author’s grace, grit and authenticity in her daring foray into illustrating and writing her first children’s book. Kids from 3 to 12 and adults up to 80 are enjoying Home on the Rocking R Ranch! Perez’s children’s picture book introduces readers to the day-to-day activities of life over the course of a year on a working cattle ranch in northeastern New Mexico, from the birth of calves to their transport to market. Featuring Connie’s illustrations, Home on the Rocking R Ranch is the story of the adventures of Rusty, Rosie, and their dog Raspberry. Colorful,
fun, and educational (Connie is, after all, a retired elementary school teacher), it’s the first in the Rocking R Book series. Book 2, Kuper Visits the Rocking R Ranch is coming soon! This full series introduces young readers to life on an authentic working ranch, as told by real working ranchers! Rusty, Rosie and Raspberry help every step of the way as readers discover the ins and outs of caring for the many cattle, sheep and horses that live on Rocking R Ranch—from feeding the animals, to branding, then celebrating after the cattle go to market. “What child doesn’t dream of being a cowboy or cowgirl? People young and old will want a copy to enjoy and share with their families” says ranch owner, mother, and grandmother, Matalina Smith. Connie had no plans to be an illustrator or to write a book. When a neighbor suggested she pick up a paintbrush, she briefly hesitated and, in short sequence, this amazing children’s book series was born! Connie Perez, a native New Mexican, is a ranch wife, mother and grandmother. Readers are lucky to be the recipient of Connie’s talents. Home on the Rocking R Ranch is the first in the series, and will be followed by Kuper Visits the Rocking R Ranch. The series is published by Rocking R Books and is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and through wholesale book distributors, Baker & Taylor. Connie’s book is also available in Clovis at Traci’s Greenhouse, in Santa Fe at Yippee Yi Yo and Detours at La Fonda Hotel, as well as Collected Works Bookstore & Coffee House, and will be available soon at select ML Leddy’s stores in San Angelo, and beyond. Connie Perez is happy to share her book with all and is available for book talks and readings. She may be reached directly at 575-403-7987 if you’d like to schedule a book signing, or appearance or for special bulk ordering. For additional information, please visit her website at https://rockingrbooks.com.
February 15, 2019
Livestock Market Digest
Page 7
California’s Brown Slams Rural Voters for Not Wanting Higher Taxes
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ppearing as part of a stunt special “Meet the Press” episode focused exclusively on climate change, California Governor Jerry Brown dismissed rural voters in his state that did not appreciate being hit with higher fuel taxes that targeted them disproportionately. “You won your gas tax fight,” noted host Chuck Todd, “but rural Californians didn’t like it.” And well they shouldn’t have, since the new gas tax is especially hard on those who don’t have ready access to public transit. It’s no big deal to hike gas prices for residents who live in major metropolitan areas; they can take the bus or the trolley if they don’t want to fill up their cars. But for rural Califor-
nians who have no choice but to drive their own vehicles – Californians who are often working on a much tighter budget to begin with – it’s a punishing form of liberalism. But Brown didn’t care about any of that. He simply dismissed rural voters as being out-of-touch simpletons who would need to eventually get with the program. “No, they don’t,” Brown agreed. “They don’t like a lot of things. They voted against housing bonds, they voted for the Republican Cox who didn’t even make 40 percent. There is the same divide in California as in America. The red is different than the blue, and it is associated definitely with rural areas.”
He went on to praise liberal California voters for understanding they needed to pay higher taxes as a way of “helping their community.” Brown said that Americans needed to take an adversarial approach to climate change in much the same way the country was galvanized after Pearl Harbor. “I would point to the fact that it took Roosevelt many, many years to get America willing to go into World War II and fight the Nazis,” he said. “We have an enemy and perhaps very much devastating in a similar way and we have to fight climate change and the president has got to lead on that.” Putting aside the absurdity of Brown’s
syntax, the idea that there is any similarity between Nazis killing Jews by the thousands and a warming climate is ridiculous and offensive. Sadly, this is neither the first nor the last time we expect to hear this kind of idiotic comparison. After all, this is a party that delights in telling voters that Trump is a would-be Hitler himself, so it should come as no surprise to hear them use this rhetoric in relation to global warming. Nor is it surprising to hear them denigrate rural Americans; for California elitists like Brown, the space in between L.A. and Nevada might as well be empty. Just like the space between California and New York. All that matters are the coasts and the cities.
Court Rule Penalizes Taxpayers Who Lose Public-Interest Lawsuits ARIZONA CAPITOL TIMES GUEST OPINION BY TIMOTHY SANDEFUR, VICE PRESIDENT FOR LITIGATION AT THE GOLDWATER INSTITUTE.
E
ver since the NAACP’s victorious courtroom campaign against segregated schools, public-interest litigation has been a respected method of addressing social and political wrongs. Whether it be taxpayers challenging the legality of government expenditures, same-sex couples suing for the right to marry, or voters arguing against restrictions on access to the polling place, public-interest litigation plays a critical role in our constitutional system. But thanks to a harsh, hastily written rule imposed by the Arizona Supreme Court, citizens who ask judges to decide such public-interest lawsuits face the risk of crippling monetary penalties that unfairly punish them for exercising their legal rights. That rule — Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 68 — mandates that when a defendant in a lawsuit offers to settle out of court, and the plaintiff disregards the offer, the plaintiff must pay twice the defendant’s legal costs, including hefty expert witness costs, if he ends up losing the case. The rule was intended to encourage people to compromise whenever possible in cases involving traffic accidents, breaches of contract, or other arguments over money or property. But it also applies to public-interest lawsuits against the government, in which citizens simply ask courts to decide important legal questions. And the results can be harsh. Just ask Mark Stuart, a Scottsdale taxpayer who sued the city over its agreement to subsidize a private golf club with $1.5 million in taxpayer funds. Stuart thought that violated the state Constitution, which forbids government from giving public dollars to private companies, so he asked a court to block the deal. He didn’t seek money damages—just a court order vindicating his constitutional rights. The city’s attorneys sent him a “settlement offer” – drop the case, and call it a day. Stuart refused — but he didn’t write out an objection as Rule 68 requires. So when he lost his case, the court enforced the double-costs penalty, ordering him to pay the city more than $68,000. Such severe sanctions are likely to frighten taxpayers away from challenging possibly illegal government activity, and that’s bad for Arizona in the long run. Courts should encourage private disputes to settle out of court, but public-interest cases challeng-
ing government actions benefit everyone by resolving important legal controversies. And settling such cases is often counter-productive, since it leaves those questions unanswered and might encourage government to act illegally in the future. That’s why federal courts use a different rule. They don’t impose costly attorney fee awards on civil rights plaintiffs who lose their cases, unless the lawsuit was “frivolous.” As the Supreme Court said in 1978, “assessing
attorney’s fees against plaintiffs simply because they do not finally prevail would substantially add to the risks inhering in most litigation,” which would “undercut the efforts of Congress to promote the vigorous enforcement” of the law. The court noted that when the government violates the law, it should be punished — but when citizens sue and lose, they’ve done nothing wrong and don’t deserve punishment except in frivolous cases.
No other state inflicts the kind of severe sanctions imposed by Rule 68. Most follow the federal model, and Michigan specifically allows judges “in the interest of justice, [to] refuse” to impose such penalties, meaning judges can decide in each case whether the lawsuit was so baseless that the plaintiff should be penalized — or whether the plaintiff, though wrong on the law, still made legitimate legal arguments. The Goldwater Institute filed a petition last week ask-
ing the Arizona Supreme Court to amend Rule 68 to follow the federal or Michigan standards. In lawsuits that seek only a legal ruling, courts shouldn’t inflict severe penalties on people who bring legitimate complaints to court — and trial judges should be given the power to decide for themselves whether a monetary sanction serves the interests of justice. That strikes a wiser balance between the need to settle disputes — and the need to resolve them.
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Page 8
Livestock Market Digest
February 15, 2019
Baxter BLACK ON THE EDGE OF COMMON SENSE
Senate Chicanery L ast month I wrote of the skullduggery applied by both political parties in trying to pass a 680-page federal lands package in the waning moments of the last Congress. Up stepped our hero, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) who just wanted to add two words to the legislation. Alaska and Wyoming are by statute exempt from the Antiquities Act that has been so abused by recent Presidents. Senator Lee wanted to add “and Utah” to that statute. The leadership said no to his amendment, and Senator Lee said no when they tried to pass the bill by unanimous consent. There was talk they would include the federal lands package in the budget resolution, but as we all know, the last Congress adjourned without passing a budget. That meant the bill would have to be reintroduced in the new Congress, and I began thinking of ways to delay or amend the bill in Committee. The bill was reintroduced as S. 47. I then went to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s website to see what the schedule for hearings or markup might be for the bill. In the introductory statement by Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska) was this jewel, “The lands package was placed directly on the Senate calendar yesterday through the Rule 14 process for expedited consideration. Murkowski and Cantwell, along with committee members Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., reached agreement with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., late last year to consider the package early in the new Congress.” That’s right sports fans. The bill will completely bypass the Committee (where Senator Lee is a subcommittee chairman) and is directly placed on the Senate Calendar for the leadership to call it up for a vote at any time. I can only surmise the fight over the budget is the only reasons it hasn’t been called up already. Remember S. 47 would create 12 new Wilderness areas in New Mexico, 10 of which are in Dona Ana County and one of the largest designations comes within 5 miles of our border with Mexico. Keeping that in mind, look what happened a week or so ago: Four humanitarian volunteers were convicted by Judge Bernardo Velasco of placing food and water in the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness area in Arizona. Now with all the Arizona lands bordering Mexico, why would these humanitarians pick this particular place to provide food and water? Because that’s the corridor the illegal immigrants are using to enter the United States. Why? Because 803,418 acres of this 860,000 acre wildlife refuge have been designated as Wilderness. No motorized vehicles or mechanical equipment is allowed in Wilderness Areas. Which means? The Border Patrol cannot by law patrol these areas except on foot or horseback. Naturally, that is where the human and drug traffickers have the best chance at a successful entry. The Cartels in Mexico understand this. The humanitarians in the U.S understand this. However, NM’s two US Senators apparently don’t. S. 47 is on the fast track, so the key question now is what is President Trump’s position on legislating these virtual sanctuaries for illegal immigrants, where federal, state and local law enforcement are prevented from fulfilling their duties? If the President is willing to shut down the entire government over the crisis we face on the border and his strong belief in national security, would he then turn around and sign legislation that hamstrings the Border Patrol and other law enforcement entities from pro-
tecting the health and safety of our citizens? I understand there is bipartisan support for this 680-page bill. However, President Trump should advise Congress that 9 of those Wilderness areas in Dona Ana County should be stricken from the legislation or he will veto. Let the proposed Wilderness Area in the Organ Mountains stand. There is a lot of local support for that part of the legislation and those areas pose little if any impact on border security issues. Nevertheless, he should insist the other nine areas be removed or he will not sign the legislation. Signing the legislation as is would be totally inconsistent with his current efforts to shore up border security and protect our sovereignty and safety. Brian Steed, Deputy Director for Policy and Programs at the BLM, had previously testified on the southern NM portions of this bill that “we believe it is not the appropriate time to permanently encumber Federal borderlands with restrictive designations.” We agree and genuinely hope that President Trump does also.
Straight Lines Dr. Jerry Schickedanz with the Linebery Policy Center at NMSU has written an interesting paper titled A Common-sense Criterion in the Evaluation Of Wilderness. Here are some quotes from that paper: “Straight lines are contrary to nature— they are the product of humans. There are few examples of straight lines occurring in nature. Nature has a pattern, but it generally does not revolve around straight lines. Straight lines are generally from the handiwork of humans. Examples of human-made straight lines occurring in the landscape include fences, towers, corrals, pipelines, dams, dirt tanks, transmission lines, vegetation changes due to ripping the ground for pipelines, and roads.” “Humans like straight lines; however, in the natural setting that is the basis for wilderness, they should not be allowed. The straight line should become a primary reason for disallowing wilderness recommendations or including these areas to be classified as lands with wilderness characteristics.” “The straight line detracts from the area’s naturalness and demonstrates that the presence of humans is not substantially unnoticeable.” Now mull that over. It makes ultimate sense and should be adopted by all federal land management agencies.
The Bundy case Thought it was over? The Nevada judge threw the case out because of “flagrant misconduct” by the prosecutor. However, the assistant U.S. attorney for Nevada has just announced their effort to appeal the decision has been approved by the Solicitor General and would be filed by February 6th. The Bundy’s attorney has accused the feds of “circling the wagons” and says, “It’s all about protecting their own” The Solicitor General who approved the appeal is Noel Francisco, who was placed in that position by Donald Trump. It doesn’t matter who the President is, this demonstrates once again that government attorneys will protect government attorneys, and the Constitution and the public be damned. 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
www.baxterblack.com
The Emperor’s New Clothes, California Style
T
he television paralyzed watchers as the horrendous flames burned California to ashes. The governor in command puffed and pounded, claiming that he and his ENVIRO-DENY-ERS took NO BLAME, NO BLAME, NO BLAME! Hans Christian Anderson couldn’t say it better. I was watching “The Emperor with No Clothes.” That was last fall. But decades before, the first kindlings were being stirred in Washington, (sorry George), D.C. The invasion of the Endangered Species Act and the poisoning of the relationship with the ranchers, timbers and miners…was blown into flames. I remember standing in the door of a ranch house in Eagleville, California. I was workin’ cows and just happened to be there. A young woman knocked on the door. She introduced herself and adjusted her clipboard…she was the new BLM agent assigned to make sure the rancher was obeying the new range regulations. I asked her background; University of Wisconsin, majoring in environmental studies. “Ever been here?” I asked, “Run cows? Dug a water tank? Run pipelines? Done any fence work or controlled burning? Fought any fires…?” She just looked at me blankly. I could see the future and it all came true. Decades went by, BLM animal units continued to be slashed, water access was deleted. The timber business was so savaged that roads, entire mills, tons of trucking, lumber, jobs, communities and lives were starved out. Without clear cutting and access, cattle grazing was decreased. With no grazing, the forest floor filled with detritus trash, continually accumulating mountain ranges of incendiary scenery. River water, essential for farming and ranching, was zilched to “protect” endangered species like the spotted owl and the short-nosed sucker. Countless able, experienced rangers left the service in frustration. But it was too late; the politico-enviros took over. They thundered out of Washington D.C. and took over the West! The Forest Service, the BLM, the Department of Interior and Enviro-deny-ers led us directly into the state of devastation in which our county now burns. Have we learned anything about management of our range and forest in 50 years? Most of our increasing urban population continues to relate our beautiful West to their Sierra Club calendar. That includes those in office. Where does the blame fall? For over 50 years we have used World Wide Famine, Global Cooling, Greenhouse gasses, Global Warming and Climate Change as the Evil Dragon. But they dwarf our comprehension. Civilization can alter many natural conditions; smog, changing rivers, building roads, forest management…a current example is the millions of acres of rangeland being ravaged by feral horses because the spineless politicians won’t let the BLM do their job. But watching the GOV of California deny blame for years of our forest mismanagement influenced by airheads instead of common sense, is just blowin’ smoke. Unfortunately, I doubt he will ever admit fault, but will continue to wear his Emperor’s robe, and none of his eunuchs will tell him his fly is down. www.baxterblack.com
Texas Tech Develops New Agricultural Water Management Certificate Program
T
exas Tech University agricultural experts have expressed the growing need for training students in the latest irrigation technologies to enhance the efficiency of water use. In response, the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources (CASNR) will offer an undergraduate agricultural water management certificate to provide courses on efficient and profitable management of water for agricultural purposes, with emphasis on irrigation technologies. “The undergraduate agricultural water management certificate is equally available to degree-seeking undergraduates and non-degree-seeking working adults,” said Chuck West, the Thornton Distinguished Chair in the Department of Plant and Soil Science and administrator of the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC). “All courses take place on campus, and require enrolling in the university, even if just for one course.” The certificate program was conceived by the TAWC, a water-management outreach project housed within CASNR, to bolster education of the agricultural workforce. Starting this spring, the certificate program will
consist of a series of courses, totaling 15 hours, that cover aspects of water management and conservation. A new course called the Irrigation Management Seminar will be offered every fall semester and is designed to meet the workforce needs of key stakeholders in agriculture such as producers, equipment providers, consultants and government agencies. The certificate curriculum will provide students with information related to managing water for growing crops and other plants for horticultural and turf uses. The irrigation course will provide technical background on soil and plant sciences, the mechanics of irrigation equipment, use of programs to control and schedule irrigation and exposure to economic and regulatory aspects that guide irrigation use. West said that while the certificate provides documentation of continuing education for those already in the workforce, it also allows traditional students the opportunity to further emphasize an area in the same department as their major as distinct from a minor, which can only be done in a department outside that of their major.
February 15, 2019
Livestock Market Digest
Page 9
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RANCH PROPERTY 31 years in the ranch business see www.ranch-lands.com for videos & brochures ALL 3 RANCHES HAVE EXCELLENT LOW COST WATER!
DUANE & DIXIE McGARVA RANCH: approx. 985 acres Likely, CA. with about 600+ acre gravity flood irrigated pastures PLUS private 542 AU BLM permit. About 425 acres so of the irrigated are level to flood excellent pastures with balance good flood irrigated pastures. NO PUMPING COST! Dryland perfect for expansion to pivot irrigated alfalfa – access to very low cost Surprise Valley Electric. Corrals & livestock scales. The private BLM permit is fenced into 4 fields on about 18,000 acres just about 7 miles away. $3,495,000 Call Bill Wright. 530-941-8100 BEAVER CREEK RANCH: about 82,000 acres - with 2,700 deeded acres plus contiguous USFS & BLM permits for 450 pair; 580+- acres irrigated alfalfa, pasture, and meadow from Beaver Creek water rights and one irrigation well. 3 homes, 2 hay barns, 4 feedlots each w/ 250 ton barns, 2 large reservoirs, can run up to 500-600 cows YEAR ROUND. Reduced Asking Price $5,400,000. Call for Info ROUND HOUSE RANCH: approx. 291 acres just outside Redding, CA. Adjudicated Water Rights from Oak Run Creek – about 45 acres flood irrigated with water rights and springs plus 4 ponds. Like new Headquarters tucked in next to a pond and beautiful view overlooking the irrigated fields. Reduced Asking Price $1,995,000 Call Bill Wright 530-941-8100
BILL WRIGHT, SHASTA LAND SERVICES, INC. 530-941-8100 • DRE# 00963490 • www.ranch-lands.com
SCOTT MCNALLY Nevada Farms CALIFORNIA NORTHERN RANCH www.ranchesnm.com
31 years& in the ranch business - see www.ranch-lands.com for v 575/622-5867 raNch PrOPerTY 575/420-1237
ALL 3 RANCHES HAVE EXCELLENT Ranch Sales & Appraisals LOW COST W www.bottarirealty.com
DUANE & DIXIE McGARVA RANCH: approx. 985 acres Likely, CA. with about 600+ acre PLUS private 542 AU BLM permit. About 425 acres so of the irrigated are level to flood excelle flood irrigated pastures. NO PUMPING COST! Dryland perfect for expansion to pivot irrigate cost Surprise Valley Electric. Corrals & livestock scales. The private BLM permit is fenced into just about 7 miles away. $3,495,000 Call Bill Wright.As 530-941-8100 As LowAsAs 3% Low 4.5%
AG LOANS AGLAND LAND LOANS OPWKCAP 2.9%
2.9%acres plus contiguous BEAVER CREEK RANCH: about 82,000 acres - OPWKCAP with 2,700 deeded Selling residential, farm, INTEREST RATES AS LOW AS 3% pair; 580+- acres irrigated alfalfa, pasture, and meadow from Beaver Creek rights and on INTEREST RATES AS LOW ASwater 4.5% ranch, commercial and Payments Scheduled 25 Years Payments Years barns, 4 feedlots each w/ 250 ton barns, 2 large reservoirs,Scheduled can run uponon to25 500-600 cows YEAR R relocating properties. $5,400,000. Call for Info COLETTA RAY ROUND HOUSE approx. 291 acres just outside Redding, CA. Adjudicated Water Rig Pioneer RANCH: Realty 1304 Pileflood Street, Clovis,with NMwater 88101 45 acres irrigated rights and springs plus 4 ponds. Like new Headquarters tucke Joe Stubblefield & Associates 575-799-9600 Direct fields. Reduced Asking view overlooking the irrigated Price $1,995,000 Call Bill Wright 53013830 Western St., Amarillo, TX 575.935.9680 Office 806/622-3482 • cell 806/674-2062 575.935.9680 Fax joes3@suddenlink.net coletta@plateautel.net Michael Perez Associates www.clovisrealestatesales.com 530-941-8100 • DRE# 00963490 • www.ranch-land
BILL WRIGHT, SHASTA LAND SERVICE Nara Visa, NM • 575/403-7970
O’NEILL LAND, llc P.O. Box 145, Cimarron, NM 87714 • 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 land@swranches.com • www.swranches.com
WAGONMOUND RANCH, Mora/Harding Counties, NM. 4,927 +/- deeded acres, 1,336.80 +/- state lease acres, 2,617 +/- Kiowa National Grassland Lease Acres. 8,880.80 +/- Total Acres. Substantial holding with good mix of grazing land and broken country off rim onto Canadian River. Fenced into four main pastures with shipping and headquarter pasture and additional four pastures in the Kiowa lease. Modern well, storage tank and piped water system supplementing existing dirt tanks located on deeded. Located approximately 17 miles east of Wagon Mound on pavement then county road. Nice headquarters and good access to above rim. Wildlife include antelope, mule deer and some elk. $2,710,000
RATON MILLION DOLLAR VIEW, Colfax County, NM. 97.68 +/- deeded acres, 2 parcels, excellent home, big shop, wildlife, a true million dollar view at end of private road. $489,000. House & 1 parcel $375,000
521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130
575-226-0671 or 575-226-0672 fax
Buena Vista Realty
SOLD
MIAMI 80 ACRES, Colfax County, NM. 80 +/- deeded acres, 80 water shares, expansive views, house, shop, roping arena, barns and outbuildings. Reduced $485,000
COLD BEER VIEW, Colfax County, NM 83.22 +/- deeded acre, 3,174 sq ft, 5 bedroom, 3 ½ bathrm, 2 car garage home situated on top of the hill with amazing 360 degree views. MIAMI HORSE HEAVEN, Colfax County, NM. Very Reduced $398,000 $349,000 private approx. 4,800 sq ft double walled adobe MIAMI 20 ACRES, Colfax County, NM. 20 +/- deed4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with many custom ed acres, 20 water shares, quality 2,715 sq ft adobe features, 77.50 +/- deeded acres with water rights home, barn, grounds and trees. Private setting. This is and large 7 stall barn, insulated metal shop with own a must see. Reduced to $265,000 septic. Would suit indoor growing operation, large hay FRENCH TRACT 80, Irrigated farm with gated pipe, barn/equipment shed. $1,375,000. house, stone shop, many out buildings privacy. MAXWELL FARM IMPROVED, Colfax County, Reduced to $292,000 $282,000 NM. 280 +/- deeded acres, 160 Class A irrigation shares, 2 center pivots, nice sale barn, 100 hd feed- MAXWELL SMALL HOLDING, home with horse lot. Depredation Elk Tags available. Owner financing improvements, fenced, water rights and 19+/available to qualified buyer. Significantly reduced to deeded acres. Handy to I25 on quiet country road. $232,000. $550,000
CONTRACT P E N D IN G
Qualifying Broker: A.H. (Jack) Merrick 575-760-7521 www.buenavista-nm.com
521 West Second St., Portales, NM 88130
575-226-0671 www.buenavista-nm.com
1509 Davis Rd, very nice home, lots of garage and barn space - 3 miles east 1242 NM 480, fantastic ranch home on 58 acres overlooking Portales 1809 S Rrd 8, south of town - beautiful 3 bdrm on 10 acres - great home 2344 S Rrd K, 3 bdrm 2 bath farm home with hand house, 7 steel grain bins, corrals, shop bldg - Select what you want and we will adjust price. Good location, on good road - mail route, school bus for Dora See these and other properties at www.buenavista-nm.com
Missouri Land Sales
UNDER CONTRACT
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 pipeCall Buena Vista Realty at 575-226-0671 or the listing agent $1,150,000 line. Improvements include house and pens. Price Reduced: Lori Bohm 575-760-9847, or Melody Sandberg 575-825-1291.
Many–good pictures on MLS www.buenavista-nm.com X T RANCH Southeastern NM or 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 $825,000
See all my listings at: paulmcgilliard.murney.com
Paul McGilliard • MAJOR PRICE REDUCTION! 564 ACRE GASCONADE Cell: 417/839-5096 RIVER FARM. 360 Acres of lush grass/hay/tillable bottom ground 1-800/743-0336 make up this highly productive livestock/hunting property.Well Murney Assoc., Realtors maintained older 4 Bed, 3 Ba home. Only 45 miles east of Springfield, MO 65804 Springfield, Mo. MLS#60115449 • 11.2 ACRES GREAT RETREAT IN THE WOODS, or permanent residence if you love seclusion! Winter view of the North Fork River. Would be a great corporate retreat, or a large family, could sleep 15+. Property sells fully furnished. MLS#60109625 • 80 ACRES - 60 Acres hayable, live water only 50 miles east of Springfield, 1/4 mile off of Hwy 60. 3 Bed, 1 1/2 Ba, 1432 sq. ft. home, nestled under the trees. Full basement (partially finished), John Deer Room. MLS#60059808.
SOLD
Scott Land co. Ranch & Farm Real Estate
1301 Front Street, Dimmitt, TX 79027 Ben G. Scott - Broker Krystal M. Nelson - NM Qualifying Broker 800-933-9698 • 5:00am/10:00pm www.scottlandcompany.com
WE NEED LISTINGS ON ALL TYPES OF AG PROPERTIES LARGE OR SMALL!
■ PRICE REDUCED! 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/water rights for 2 pivot sprinklers, on pvmt. & all-weather road. ■ JUST IMAGINE a ranch w/a virtually brand new custom built home, state-of-the-art barns & pens, a complete line of farm & ranch equipment, a registered red angus herd of cows, mineral income w/potential for commercial water sales, a secluded, beautiful area w/bluffs & meadows around every turn in the road, an excellent supply of stock water from subs & windmills, deep year round dirt tanks, The North Fork of the Brazos River & give us a call to discuss this 6,376.92 acre ranch in Kent Co., Texas on pvmt. & on all weather roads. ■ COTTONWOOD SPRINGS RANCH – Grant Co., NM – 13,568 +/- ac. (1,629 Deeded +/-, 5,839 +/- State, 3,400 +/- BLM, 2,700 +/- Forest Leases) well improved w/home, shop, hay barn, pens & livestock scale, watered by wells, pipelines & earthen dams. ■ SOUTH CONCHAS RANCH – San Miguel Co., NM – 10,685 ac. +/- (6,670 +/- deeded, 320 +/- BLM, 40 +/- State Lease, 2,106 +/- “FREE USE”) well improved, just off pvmt. on co. road., 1,550 +/- State Lease in process of being added to the ranch.
Page 10
Livestock Market Digest
February 15, 2019
Pardoned Ranchers Who Inspired Oregon Occupation Win Back Grazing Permits BLM reissues permits to Dwight and Steve Hammond BY VALERIE RICHARDSON THE WASHINGTON TIMES
D
wight and Steven Hammond’s journey from ranchers to convicted domestic terrorists back to ranchers concluded in late January 2019 when the federal government reissued permits allowing the father and son to graze cattle again on public land.
A Bureau of Land Management spokesman confirmed that the agency had reinstated grazing permits for Hammond Ranches in Harney County, Oregon, who received full pardons from President Trump in July 2019. The Hammonds were sentenced to five-year mandatory minimum sentences in 2015 under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act for two prescribed burns that spread to public land, a sentence that
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stoked outrage in the rural West. “This is the culmination of years of effort on behalf of this industry to restore a family’s livelihood,” said their statement. “We speak on behalf of the livestock producers nationwide in saying thank you to Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and his team who worked to correct the hardships this family faced.” The Hammonds drew international attention in 2016 when Ammon and Ryan Bundy led a 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon, to protest the harsh sentences. One protester, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, was shot and killed by authorities during the incident. Federal prosecutors argued that the Hammonds set the 2001 fire to cover up evidence of an illegal deer hunt. Dwight Hammond served three months in prison and Steven Hammond served a year, but they were re-
Bradley 3 Ranch Ltd.
by Jim Olson
70+ Charolais Bulls 200+ Angus Bulls
— BULL SALE — FEBRUARY 9, 2019
Garcia Spurs?
At The Ranch NE Of Estelline, Texas
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M. L.: 940/585-6471 James: 940/585-6171.
Ranch-Raised Bulls For Ranchers Since 1955
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A SOURCE FOR PROVEN SUPERIOR RED ANGUS GENETICS 14298 N. Atkins Rd., Lodi, CA 95240
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BRANGUS
R.L. Robbs 520/384-3654 4995 Arzberger Rd. Willcox, Arizona 85643 Willcox, AZ
shrugging their shoulders and saying, ‘Well, this stuff happens,’ and when a family tries to protect their private property in a similar manner and they’re put in prison on terrorism charges, it tends to build that narrative of mistrust,” he concluded. Dwight Hammond, who was 76 when he was pardoned, had served about three years in prison, and Steven Hammond, 49, had served about four years, according to the White House. They had also paid $400,000 in restitution. After the pardon, Defenders of Wildlife president Jamie Rappaport Clark said: “we hope that it is not seen as an encouragement to those who might use violence to seize federal property and threaten federal employees in the West.” “They are looking forward to digging into the specifics of the reinstatement and, finally, getting back to the business of ranching,” said the statement.
Collectors Corner
g•u•i•d•e
HEREFORD
sentenced to five-year terms after prosecutors won an appeal. U.S. District Court Judge Michael R. Hogan said such a sentence “would shock the conscience,” while supporters accused the Justice Department of making an example of the Hammonds, who had feuded for years with federal land managers. “The reason these guys were in this legal fight was over a backburn, which is a fairly normal farming and ranching practice,” a spokesman said. “They had two backburns on their private land in an effort to protect their private property. Those fires jumped the line over to federal land and burned 100 acres.” He said the BLM and Forest Service have also set managed burns that flared out of control and onto private land, but “there are no legal consequences.” “For the ranching community, when they see that playing out and the government sort of
CORRIENTE
eople say to me all the time that they, “have a really collectible pair of ‘Garcia’ spurs!” Or, they will come into our store and ask, “Got any ‘Garcia’ spurs?” There are a lot of folks who think that any spurs with “Garcia” on them are highly collectible and worth big bucks. And they might be—if they are made by the right Garcia. Generally speaking, there are three different “Garcia” shops whose spurs you most likely will see. First there was Guadalupe “G.S.” Garcia (1864—1933) who was in business from about 1884 (although his company did not start producing bits and spurs until the late 1890s) through the time of his death in 1933 (his sons, Walter and Leslie took over the daily operations of the business by about the mid 1920s however). The sons kept their fathers business open until about 1938 in Elko, NV.. Another branch was opened in Salinas, CA. during the late 1930s and remained in business until 1966. This was the business known as G.S Garcia Saddlery and after the sons took over, Garcia Saddlery. Then there is Leslie “Les” Garcia (1901–1987) who took over his father’s business along with his brothers in about the early 1920s. As mentioned above, “Garcia Saddlery” continued until 1938 in Elko. The brothers opened another shop in Salinas, CA in the mid- 1930s and that store stayed open until 1966. Along the way, Les opened his own shop, Garcia Bit and Spur Manufacturing Company, which was in business from about 1957 until 1978 in Reno, NV. So Les Garcia was involved in the family business, Garcia Saddlery, and also his own, Garcia Bit and Spur Manufacturing Co. at different times. Finally there was Eduardo Garcia who was born in Mexico (circa 1923) and passed away in 2009. He started marketing spurs with his name on them in the 1980s. He remained in business until about the time of his death. His spurs are known as “E. Garcias.” Eduardo is no relation to the former Garcias. There are several other “Garcia” marked spurs out there that were not made by the businesses of the three men listed above. It should also be noted that J.M. Capriolla Co. bought Les Garcia’s business in 1978 and they still make spurs to this day under the Garcia name. What many folk do not realize however, is there is a huge price difference a knowledgeable collector will pay depending upon which Garcia shop produced the
spurs. The first one, G.S. Garcia is the most notable of the bunch by far. He is the one all others get confused with. G.S. Garcia’s business employed the very best bit and spur makers (and anything else for the horseman) of his day. These craftsmen built items in Garcia’s shop and marked them with the business name. However, there was not an abundance of spurs made during his tenure with the G.S. Garcia mark on them. This group of spurs would have been produced from about the turn of the last century thru the early 1920s. Couple this with the fact that some of the primo, early bit and spur makers from those days were the ones making the spurs for G.S., and you see why those spurs are highly sought after today. Then we have Les Garcia, who was one of the middle sons of G.S. and Saturnina Garcia. It has been said he was the most talented metalsmith of the Garcia siblings. He learned the trade from some of the master craftsmen working for his father and really took to it. After he retired from the family business and went into business for himself, he produced many fine spurs (and other goods). But he also had spurs made at his direction by Mexican silversmiths he contracted with. While Les’s name is generally associated with quality items, for the most part, they are not as rare, as old, or as well made as items made in his father’s shop in the early 1900s. Henceforth they do not (should not) demand as high of a price as the G.S. Garcia items. Eduardo Garcia of San Ysidro, California, imported spurs from Old Mexico with his hallmark (E. Garcia) on them. They were made from the 1980s to 2000s, so they are not old or antique (as you sometimes see them advertised). There are several shops in Mexico which make spurs. If you make a deal with them, they will put your makers mark or shop mark on them and produce how ever many you want. This is done by many businesses to this day. For the most part, they are fairly quality items. In Eduardo’s defense, he always imported the better quality stuff. Eduardo’s main talent was that he was a good promoter. That and the fact many folks confused his name with that of the famous Garcia family mentioned above did not hurt sales. Eduardo is gone now so there will not be any more “E. Garcia” spurs produced (at least by him), so that should help the collectibility of his spurs over time. But still, his items do have a good following, which is fine, however folks should be collecting his items with continued on page eleven
February 15, 2019
Livestock Market Digest
The View FROM THE BACK SIDE
Build the Wall & are the Cowboys Winning? BY BARRY DENTON
(The views expressed in this column are strictly those of the author and not of this publication.)
J
ust looking around after what happened during the 2018 mid term elections in Arizona and New Mexico. Traditionally, New Mexico leaned left and Arizona leaned right. I really thought that New Mexico was headed right eight years ago when they elected Republican Susanna Martinez as Governor and then elected her again four years later. From the decisions she made I thought she was a very moderate governor and leaned a little left. However, New Mexico has now elected a new Democrat Governor Michele Grisham. In Arizona we maintained our Republican Governor Doug Ducey, but elected an open-
ly bi-sexual Democrat federal Senator Krysten Sinema that replaced the leftist Republican Senator John McCain. One thing that astounded me was that you had a choice of what you could take your oath of office on. I thought you had to be sworn in to office on the Bible, but apparently you can be sworn in on anything. Our new Arizona senator was sworn in on the United States Constitution. That did not make much sense to me as why would you want to be sworn in on an inanimate object. Truthfully, you are not swearing to anyone after you just took an oath to uphold the Constitution. Beats me, politics get stranger every day. How do these recent election results help the cowboy, rancher, or farmer? I really think we are in for it once again. The lefties tend to think we
agricultural people are pretty stupid and just a menace to their way of life, even though we provide them with food each day. Isn’t that biting the hand that feeds you? Stop and think about it. They tend to saddle us with foolish environmental rules and want to reintroduce the wolf and so on. Really, they want to bring back a predator that we have spent over 200 years trying to get rid of and can’t have a cow grazing in the same area that a turtle lives in? The reality is that wolves kill lots of livestock, and an old cow has never got up in the morning on a mission to kill a turtle. It just makes you wonder who dreams up these ridiculous theories, obviously scientists on the lefty’s payroll. Anyone with common sense realizes that there are species that are eliminated everyday from the earth, but they are also replenished with new species. I hope I am wrong about all this, but my gut tells me to brace myself. Arizona and New Mexico cowboys and cowgirls, we are in for it. Do not think for a minute here that I am one sided. Our right leaning Republican Governor of Arizona, Mr. Ducey just signed a bill slapping a $32 vehicle flat tax on all privately owned vehicles in the state. He just ran for re-election and it’s funny how there was no men-
Page 11
tion of this during the campaign. I believe this was his first act as the re-elected governor. I hope the vehicle flat tax mania does not bleed over to New Mexico and other western states. Yes, I double checked to see if he was still a Republican. Of course, a little earlier in the year of 2018 our Republican Governor and our Republican Legislature voted to give all school teachers and administrators a 20 percent pay raise when they had no money available to do this. This is how we are going to pay for the raises. Just how many farm and ranch vehicles do you have on your place? Spending money that you do not have is right out of the Democrat handbook. Is there ANY difference between the two political parties? I am beginning to have my doubts. The politician is the enemy of the hard working, law abiding citizen these days. They are out to control your life and drain your bank account. There does seem to be one exception to the rule in our President Mr. Trump. Isn’t it funny how a New York City billionaire can recognize the cares and needs of the average working person? Not only does he recognize it, but he acts to make our lives better. The United States Mexico Canada Agreement may not yet be perfect for American beef
producers, but they are working on it. From what we have seen of the rest of the agreement it looks like a big boon to agriculture in general. American support for the border wall is at an all time high even though the left is working hard to stall it. It has been proven in many places that it is highly effective and makes the border patrols life much easier. I know the ranchers that I have talked to love the areas on their ranches where there is already a border wall. When I talk to other border ranchers that have no wall, their troubles continue to increase. Let’s all remember rancher Robert Krentz that was killed by illegals in 2010 on his Douglas, Arizona, area ranch as he got them water to drink. I remember our Republican Senator John McCain and other politicians going to the funeral because it looked good, holding press conferences, and then doing absolutely nothing about this dire situation. Of course, the wall will slow down the illegal drug trade as well. It’s time for Democrats in the 116th Congress to get off their high horse and vote for border wall funding. From where I see it, the biggest champion we have is not the Republicans or the Democrats, it is President Trump. The wall ought to be dedicated to rancher Robert Krentz.
People Strongly Against GMOs Had Shakier Understanding of Food Science, Study Finds JONATHAN AHL / HARVEST PUBLIC MEDIA
P
eople who most intensely oppose genetically modified food think they know a lot about food science, but they actually know the least, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in January in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. GMOs are widely considered safe by scientists, but opponents have said they want more science on the potential harm so that subjective arguments aren’t part of the equation. However, previous surveys have shown that providing more scientific facts about GMOs to people doesn’t change their minds. The survey, conducted by four universities, asked 2,000 people in Europe and the United States how much they knew
about genetically modified food, what their opinion was and how intense it was. Then it went on to ask a series of trueor-false questions about science, ranging from basic issues like whether the core of the Earth is hot or cold to questions on genetics, like “Does a non-genetically modified tomato have genes?” The results showed the more strongly people reported being opposed to GMOs, the lower their test score. “A lot of people are upset by genetically modified food,” said Sydney Scott, a marketing professor at Washington University in St. Louis, one of the schools that ran the study. “We have to get people to recognize gaps in their knowledge before we try to teach them new things and have a meaningful discussion,” she added.
Opponents of genetically modified food are not putting much stock in the study. “The real flawed science is that the Food and Drug Administration is not rigorously testing genetically modified food,” said Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director for the anti-GMO Organic Consumers Association. She said her organization wants to see a “thorough scientific review of genetically modified food using up-to-date testing practices.” Scott said Baden-Mayer has a point and reinforced that the study was about the correlation of scientific knowledge and consumer behavior, not just the science of GMOs. But, she said, consumers often are less likely to learn the facts when it’s something they feel very pas-
sionate about, “especially if they feel like it’s challenging their moral values.” “So people might feel extremely about genetically modified food because it’s very unnatural in a way they find almost morally upsetting,” Scott said. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Toronto and the University of Pennsylvania also participated in the study, which was primarily paid for by grants from the National Science Foundation. They plan to follow up with more studies on how the findings may play into other controversial science issues including vaccinations, nuclear power and homeopathic medicine. This story comes to us from Harvest Public Media, a reporting collaboration focused on food and agriculture.
GARCIA SPURS the full knowledge of what they are—and not confusing them with the famous G.S. Garcia items. So how do you tell which spurs are which? Who made them? And how old are they? Most spurs, with the exception of some of the real early G.S. Garcias, are hallmarked. Here is generally accepted information on the maker’s marks used. “G.S. GARCIA, ELKO, NEV.” was the mark used while the shop was run by G.S. (circa 1894—early 1920s). It is reported that the earliest mark had a backwards “N” in Nev., this was supposedly changed around 1910 to a correct “N”. It is generally accepted that the reverse N indicates they were made prior to 1910 (although some sources claim it was the opposite and that mark was used circa 1910-20). Also, once G.S. turned the business over to his sons during the early 1920s,
continued from page ten
the name was changed from G.S. Garcia to Garcia Saddlery Co.. So collectors generally hunt for the early “G.S. Garcia, Elko, Nev.” marked spurs. “GARCIA SADDLERY COMPANY, SALINAS CALIF.” was used by the sons after moving the business to Salinas in the mid-1930s. This hallmark would have been in effect from about 1935 through 1965. In 1957, Les retired from Garcia Saddlery and started his own business in Reno, Nevada (Garcia Bit and Spur Manufacturing Co.). Les Garcia’s work is marked with “LES GARCIA, RENO,” or “GARCIA,” or “GARCIA, RENO.” Les was in business until 1978. “E GARCIA” was the hallmark used by Eduardo Garcia on spurs he sold from about the late 1980s through 2009. “GARCIA, ELKO, NV” is still used on spurs sold by Capriolla’s out of Elko, NV. They
bought the Garcia Bit and Spur business from Les in 1978. Since 1985, their spurs also contain a serial # which can be used in dating them. One last thing needs to be mentioned about collectible Garcia spurs—FRAUD! Since the older, G.S. Garcia marked spurs are so valuable, of course there are unscrupulous folk out there who try to pass something of lesser value off as the real thing. I have seen numerous fraudulent hallmarks added, newer spurs aged to look older and false information used in order to try and convince unsuspecting buyers they are looking at a highly collectible pair of “old Garcia” spurs. So do your homework and get educated about collecting. Always remember, it is best to deal with reputable and honest dealers and auction houses who properly represent what they sell (and will stand behind it if
they got it wrong). Especially when a collector is in the “education” stage. The more you are
around the real thing, the more of an expert you’ll become. Enjoy the hunt!
Angus. America’s Breed. Radale Tiner,
Regional Manager
New Mexico Texas
A reliable business partner is difficult to come by. Contact Radale Tiner to locate Angus genetics, select marketing options tailored to your needs, and to access American Angus Association® programs and services. Put the business breed to work for you.
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Page 12
Livestock Market Digest
February 15, 2019
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Cattle may be viewed Friday, Feb. 22, 2019
• Most with EPDs • Registered and Commercial • Fertility Tested • These bulls have been bred and raised under Southwest range conditions. • Most bulls rock-footed • Trich-tested to go anywhere
at Roswell Livestock Auction
This sale offers you some of the highest quality Brangus in the Southwest! The “good doing” kind. BUY DIRECT FROM BRANGUS BREEDERS! NO HIGH-PRICED COMMISSION MEN TO RUN THE PRICE UP!
Females— 500 to 700 • Registered Open Heifers • Registered Bred Heifers and Bred Cows • Bred Cows and Pairs – 3- to 7-yrs.-old • Bred Heifers – Coming 2-yr.-olds • Open Yearling Heifers FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Years Raising Bulls
Total:
40 years 15 years 35 years 35 years 30 years 45 years 207 years
Years as IBBA Director 12 years w/Patti 5 years 3 years 6 years 3 years 6 years 35 years
Gayland Townsend Steven Townsend Troy Floyd Bill Morrison Joe Lack Larry Parker
580/443-5777, Mob. 580/380-1606 Mob. 580/380-1968 575/734-7005, Mob. 575/626-4062 575/482-3254, Mob. 575/760-7263 575/267-1016 520/508-3505, Mob. 520/845-2411
TO RECEIVE A CATALOG CONTACT: Bill Morrison: 575/482-3254 • C: 575/760-7263 To Consign Top Females Contact: Gayland Townsend: 580/443-5777 • C: 580/380-1606