LMD Jan 2018

Riding Herd

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

by LEE PITTS

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

January 15, 2018 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 60 • No. 1

Watch Your Step

BY LEE PITTS

Y

ears ago I was at a bull test sale in Idaho and a friend of mine called and asked me to look at a bull for him. It had been a wet winter in the great Northwest and the pens were a little boggy, to say the least. I entered the Hereford pen where the bulls had gathered at the far end and as I started walking towards the bulls an old timer warned me, “You better watch your step.”

Paying him no mind I’d not gotten 20 feet from my embarkation point when I sunk two feet into the muck and the mire. When I tried to lift one boot out of the mud and manure I heard a great sucking sound. While I’d managed to raise my foot, the boot remained where it was planted.

Everyone was now watching as I tried to balance on one foot and remove my boot from the stinky gumbo, only to have the other boot get stuck. I had to be towed out and hosed down before the sale and the old man watched the whole process and just smiled.

Trickle Down Economics

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

That old man’s warning replayed in my head as I read a story of how the CME Group, previously known as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, had come to rancher’s rescue and

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’. had declared victory over cattle market volatility. The story, written by Tom Polansek and carried by Reuters read, “CME Group Inc plans no further moves to reduce volatility in its cattle futures market, after making a series of changes to rein in wild price swings that drove away hedgers,” a managing director said. “Generally the feedback we’re getting from the industry is it’s working, let’s leave it where it is.”

Reuters also quoted Brett Gottsch, managing partner for Gottsch Cattle Company who

said he felt the market still remained volatile. “I would say that our market’s not fixed,” Gottsch said.

Fixing The Futures Market A year ago at this time cattle feeders were spitting mad about how volatility in the market had caused the biggest fall in fed cattle prices in history. When the drastic fall in fat cattle prices trickled down to calf and yearling prices ranchers joined the call to rein in the futures market, yet again.

(I’ve been in this business for

45 years and when I started the BIG issue was getting rid of cattle futures trading.)

You may remember a story we wrote about “spoofing”, which also played a role in the price plunge. It uses a computer algorithm that was designed to unlawfully place and then quickly cancel orders in exchange-traded futures contracts in an attempt to manipulate prices. Of course, the CME says it never happened but tell that to the traders who made fortunes doing it.

Once again, the NCBA came to our rescue by sending a letter to Terry Duffy, President for the CME Group, and asked for changes that might fix high-frequency trading for the cattle futures market. Duffy even showed up at the NCBA convention in San Diego. He admitted, “The elephant in the room is volatility.” continued on page two

Mistrial Declared in Cliven Bundy Standoff Case

BY MAXINE BERNSTEIN/OREGONIAN.COM

O

n December 20 2017 the federal judge declared a mistrial in the prosecution of Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a co-defendant, citing the government’s “willful’’ failure to turn over multiple documents that could help the defense fight conspiracy and assault charges in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff.

“The court does regrettably believe a mistrial in this case is the most suitable and only remedy,’’ U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro declared, issuing her ruling from the bench before a packed courtroom.

The judge listed six documents or types of evidence that she said prosecutors willfully, not inadvertently, failed to turn over before trial: information about the presence of an FBI surveillance camera on a hill overlooking the Bundy Ranch, documents about Bureau of Land Management snipers outside the Bundy Ranch, an FBI log with entries about snipers on standby, maps, threat assessments that indicated the Bundys were not violent and the Bureau of Land Management was trying to provoke a conflict by antagonizing them, and nearly 500 pages of internal affairs documents

involving lead federal land special agent Dan Love.

The internal affairs material suggested that there was “no documented injury’’ to the endangered desert tortoises from cattle grazing on the federal public land outside the Bundy Ranch, the judge said.

Prosecutors belittled Ryan Bundy’s pretrial motion for information on the “mysterious’’ devices outside the family ranch in 2014 as “fantastical,’’ and a “fishing expedition,’’ the judge noted. The government willfully withheld a March 28, 2014 law enforcement operation order and an FBI report that showed there was an FBI camera trained on the Bundy home for surveillance.

The judge also found prosecutors withheld documents that identified U.S. Bureau of Land Management snipers outside the ranch, and noted “the government’s strong insistence at prior trials that there were no snipers,’’ Navarro said.

The judge also cited an FBI log with entries that said “snipers were inserted’’ and on standby outside the Bundy home, at least four threat assessments that indicated the Bundys continued on page four

Social Insecurity

N

ovember 17, 2017 was a BIG day in our lives.

It’s a day my wife and I have been working towards since we were teenagers.

It’s the day we signed up for Social Insecurity.

I’ve paid into Social Insecurity since I was 16 years old and now I’m... well, let’s just say I’m 462 years old in dog years. We debated on when to take it. The spry 62 year olds argue, “We want to get some before it goes broke.” Then there are those like me who waited until full retirement age who didn’t want to be limited on how much money we could make. Besides, I don’t know how many years I have until I take that trip in the long, black Cadillac with no back seat.

I already know I’m over the hill, I just don’t know many years I have until I’m under it. I gave serious consideration to waiting until I was 70 because then I could get three grand a month! But I wouldn’t know what to do with such riches so I took it at 66.

We had three options for signing up: we could do it online, on the phone or in person. I signed up for Medicare online and my wife did it over the phone and it was all a nightmare, so we decided to sign up with a real person. They tell you to bring your Social Insecurity card, marriage license and birth certificate which prompted a nationwide search for documents I haven’t laid my eyes on in 40 years. When we finally found my Social Insecurity card it was so old and delicate it was ready to instantaneously combust.

One of the signs you’re ready for Social Insecurity is you get lost trying to find the right building. The last time I saw this particular piece of ground it was a cow pasture. Another sign is while you’re waiting in line outside the building a guard comes out and offers you a chair.

Once inside we all sat in a classroom surrounded by kiosks with big numbers on them. When I looked around all I saw was a bunch of old and decrepit

continued on page thirteen

Page 2

Livestock Market Digest

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But Duffy also blamed cheap feed, heavier weights, a strong dollar, a slowing Chinese economy and food safety incidents.

At the same confab CattleFax CEO Randy Blach exonerated the futures market entirely when he told those attending the annual CattleFax outlook, “We’re in a time period when the markets went extremely volatile. With or without high-frequency trading, we would still be at the same price levels. It’s just how we get there.”

But to assuage rancher’s concerns the NCBA and the CME Group announced the formation of a working group to develop a game plan going forward to “fix” the futures market. In this instance the word “fix” can have multiple meanings. It can mean to improve something, or to influence the outcome by illegal or underhanded means. My dictionary also says it can mean, “a dishonest or underhanded arrangement.”

It is the latter definition we focus on now.

Giving Direction

CAREN COWAN.......... Publisher LEE PITTS.................... Executive Editor CHUCK STOCKS......... Publisher Emeritus RANDY SUMMERS...... Sales Rep LYNN MARIE RUSAW...Sales Rep

RANDY SUMMERS, 505/850-8544 email: rjsauctioneer@aol.com

LYNN MARIE RUSAW, 505/243-9515 email: AAALivestockMarketDigest@gmail.com

MARGUERITE VENSEL..Office Manager JESSICA DECKER..........Special Assistance CHRISTINE CARTER......Graphic Designer

After a year of meeting with the NCBA with great fanfare the CME announced their fix.

Terry Duffy said they’d change hours of operation, introduce a new messaging policy as of February 1, and said in the future they could introduce trading delays if need be. CME Group is also exploring the possibility of shorter trading hours to improve liquidity.

And this is where we get to the slippery, gooey muddy part.

As part of their solution Derek Sammann, CME’s global head of commodities, said the cash market “needed to become even more transparent.”

To achieve that the idea of an online auction for fat cattle was conceived at last year’s NCBA convention. Thus the Fed Cattle Exchange was born. The President of the CME mentioned this auction as part of their solution when he declared victory over volatility.

This auction was supposed to limit volatility by improving transparency in what packers would pay for the tiny trickle of cash cattle that aren’t sold on a formula basis. The idea supposedly was that the Wednesday Fed Cattle Exchange FCE sale would “give direction” to packers when they finally bought cattle in Friday’s waning hours.

The auction got off to a bumpy start and after only a few week’s sales had to be halted and sent to the shop for repairs. A new website was designed and when they started back up in order to attract consignments they announced they were waving the listing fees for a month, but they still only got one to two percent of the cattle offered each week.

The Results Speak For Themselves Anyone who owns a single hoof of cattle and has an IQ bigger than their belt size should know by now that the Big 4 packers are never going

continued from page one

to bid competitively in a transparent manner for anything.

Knowing that this day would come I closely tracked the results of the FCE auctions and I share the latest with you now.

Please keep in mind, the prices achieved are what the NCBA and CME want to base the entire cattle market on.

For my research I used the Livestock Weekly out of San Angelo, Texas, that is owned

by Robert Frank and superbly edited by Steve Kelton. It does a fabulous job of covering the weekly commercial cattle market. What follows is a week by week summary from the Livestock Weekly. The date listed is the publication date of each week’s paper. A couple weeks are missing because the Post Office failed to deliver my paper that week. My comments are in parentheses.

• August 3- “Wednesday’s Fed Cattle Exchange offered 1,063 head, about half as many as in recent weeks, and most of those stayed home. The sole sale was one Kansas lot at $116. (The market for fed cattle that week settled on Friday at $117-$117.50) • August 10- “Wednesday’s Fed Cattle Exchange offered 1,659 head and sold five lots, topping at $115.50 in Texas.”

(The going rate for fat cattle that week ended up on Friday at $117.50 to mostly $118.)

• August 17- “Wednesday’s FCE offered 1,184 head and couldn’t move a hoof. One Texas lot was PO’ed (passed out) at $112, and the remaining lots failed to draw any bids at that price.” (Final fed cattle price: $115. Are you starting to see a trend here?)

• August 24- “Wednesday’s FCE offered 1,067 head and drew bids on two lots. One was PO’d at $107 in Texas and the other at $107.25 in Kansas.”

(Fat cattle price for the week: $110.)

• August 31- “Wednesday’s FCE offered 1,777 head and sold two lots in Kansas at $105, another there at 105.25. Asking prices of $105 drew no live bids in Nebraska and at least one bid at that price drew a PO in Texas.” (The fed price for the week was $107.)

• September 14- “Wednesday’s FCE offered 1,063 head and sold a Kansas lot at $104.75. Numerous lots failed to receive bids at $105, and additional $104.75 bids in Kansas and Texas were PO’d.” (Fed price: $105.)

• Sept. 21- “Wednesday’s FCE offered 1,450 head and topped at $106.75 on one lot each from Texas and Kansas, followed by a $106.50 sale in Kansas and one lot of heavy steers there at $106.” (Fat cattle price: $106) • Sept 28- “Wednesday’s FCE was a Mexican standoff; Nary a hoof traded out of 1,342 head consigned. There were a plethora of two bit bids, but sellers balked at prices up to $107.50 and two Texas lost started at $108 got the cold continued on page three

January 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Page 3

WATCH YOUR STEP shoulder from packers. (Going rate for the week:$108.)

• Oct 12- “FCE offered 1,444 head and they all stayed home. Starting prices of $111 or better received no bids and bids up to 110.75 were rejected by would-be sellers. (Fat cattle settled at $109.)

• October 19- “FCE offered 919 head and sold 230 of them in Kansas at $109. (Let’s see, the FCE sold 230 head and the Texas Cattle Feeders reported the same week there were 11,088 head on area show lists and 60,268 formula cattle traded.)

• Oct 26- “FCE offered just shy of 900 head in six lots, two each in Texas, Kansas and Nebraska. The only lot to draw a bid was a group of Kansas heifers that was finally PO’d at $111. (Final price for the week: $111.)

• November 2- “FCE offered 1,515 head, mostly in Kansas and a few in Texas.

Nothing sold, packers bidding up to $120.25 but getting no takers. Asking prices ranged to $123 with one Kansas consignor holding out for $126.” (Fridays price: $117. Even when packers could have bought cheaper cattle they didn’t participate.)

• Nov 9- “FCE confirmed the $124 market, selling four lots for that price, two in Texas and two in Kansas. Three Nebraska lots failed to draw bids.”

Nov 16- “FCE offered fewer than 1,000 head and sold three lots at $119.25, one each in Kansas, Nebraska and Texas and one at $119 in Kansas. Four Nebraska lots failed to attract bids at $119.” (The market settled at $124. Why didn’t the packers buy the cattle at $119 if the market was $124? Were they inferior, if so, are we going to base the market on inferior cattle?)

• Nov 30- “FCE offered 967 head and sold not a hoof.

Would be sellers turned down the bids of $117 and $118 circulating in the country.” (Market price: $118.)

• Dec 7- “FCE offered five lots totaling 653 head. Packers rejected starting prices of $118 and $120 and consignors rejected bids of $117.25 and $117.50.” (Market price $121.)

NCBA’s and CME’s enthusiasm for the Fed Cattle Exchange as an answer to volatility in the futures market raises a few questions. Obviously by looking at the results of the FCE sales there is a downward bias to the market. And why is the sale on Wednesday? Packers usually don’t bid on cattle now until Friday. Was the idea to depress Friday’s price by establishing a Wednesday price on a few hundred inferior cattle? Next thing you know, the CME and their packer buddies at the NCBA will want to use the Fed Cattle Exchange results for the price used in formulas and on the board.

Oops! I spoke to soon.

continued from page two

That Big Sucking Sound In a press release that was largely ignored by the trade, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced, “In recent years, participation in the cash slaughter cattle market has declined significantly. This occurred as the supply chain moved to using more formulas and forward contracts to market cattle more efficiently. This has consequently reduced opportunities for price discovery in the negotiated market. In an effort to enhance the depth of Live Cattle Reporting we will begin including cattle purchased through the Fed Cattle Exchange. Based on the weekly sales activity since launching

in May of this year, approximately 1,800 head of cattle per week have been offered through the Exchange at price levels in line with the current weekly reported markets. The addition of these transactions,” said the USDA, “will increase the reported weekly volume of negotiated purchases from 1.5 to 2%.”

So, in an effort to fix the futures market the NCBA and the CME have now created an auction where as little as 230 head of inferior cattle can now help determine the price for the other 70,000! Was this their intention in the first place?

The USDA continued, “The cattle industry requested that

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service consider including these transactions in our Livestock Mandatory Reporting cattle reports as negotiated purchases.”

What? Wait one minute!

Who in the industry requested that we use these lower prices?

Was the AMS referring to the NCBA? If so, the NCBA and their packer-backer buddies just built yet another downward bias into the cattle market that will directly determine the price you receive for your calves and yearlings.

Remember... don’t forget to send in your dues to the NCBA this year!

The NCBA and CME have

announced recently their intention to keep working together and we assume that means the CME will continue being a major financial supporter of the NCBA. As for the Fed Cattle Exchange? I suppose you could call it an auction but you can see by the actual results that it is more a weekly lesson in futility. If a weekly sale barn, video sale, or purebred breeder EVER had a sale where zero to three lots sold it would be what we in the profession call a WRECK! Friends, a you can tell, the BS is pretty deep out there and I think we’d all be well advised to heed that old man’s advice to, “Watch Your Step.”

Page 4

RIDING HERD individuals with silver in their hair and gold in their teeth. “These folks are really old,” I told my wife.

“Probably younger than we are,” she sighed.

When our number was called my wife woke me from my catnap and we sat next to a piece of bullet proof glass with a hole in it to talk into. The woman on the other side said real loud, “CAN YOU HEAR ME MR. PITTS?” Only Miss Smarty Pants didn’t say Pitts but instead put a T in front of itts.

I corrected her three times because everyone could hear and it was getting embarrassing. From then on Smarty Pants just called me Mr. Methuselah.

After going to all that work looking for our personal papers Smarty Pants never asked to see them, instead she asked us a bunch of tough questions to prove our identity. The one about my mom’s maiden name stumped me as did the one, “Where were you married?”

I answered, “On the grass in the backyard of my mother-inlaw’s house.”

Smarty Pants frowned and shook her head.

Livestock Market Digest

continued from page one

She also asked for our cell phone number and when I told her we didn’t have one she looked at us like we were aliens or dinosaurs. She announced on the PA, “Hey guys, the folks in window 7 don’t have a cell phone.” Everyone in the joint let out a big guffaw.

We ended up with more money than we anticipated so we decided to celebrate and dine out but it was ten in the morning and too soon for the early bird geezer’s special. Totally out of character, we splurged anyway. We told our waiter about the big day and he brought us a piece of free cake with a big candle in it to celebrate and said, “If you need help blowing it out just let me know and I’ll get help.”

Afterwards we went home and took a long nap.

Sure enough, a week later I got a letter from Social Insecurity filled with errors that said based on that information I was ineligible.

I knew all along the whole Ponzi scheme was too good to be true. wwwLeePittsbooks.com

LATE BREAKING! All charges Against Bundys Dismissed!

MISTRIAL DECLARED likely wouldn’t use violence and that the Bureau of Land Management was antagonizing the family, and an internal affairs document on the Love that said there were no documented injuries to desert tortoises by cattle grazing on the federal land.

Prosecutors ordered to share reports on any camera, armed officers’ surveillance outside Bundy ranch Lead prosecutor Steven Myhre called defense requests for more discovery evidence a “tactic for delay.’’ But the judge found merit in them.

The mistrial dealt a significant setback to federal prosecutors, yet they may be able to retry the defendants. Both sides were instructed to submit legal briefs by December 29, 2017 on whether the government should be allowed to pursue a new trial.

The judge indicated she’d likely make a future ruling on whether the case should be a mistrial with prejudice, meaning no future trial would be held.

The Bundys and their supporters called the ruling a partial victory. They had sought a full dismissal of the case, and will continue to do so.

Defense lawyers are expected to challenge any effort to retry Cliven Bundy, Ammon Bundy, his older brother Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne, arguing that it was the government’s failure to share relevant evidence before trial that caused the mistrial and they shouldn’t be allowed to try it again under the double jeopardy law.

“To have an actual order from the court or for her to say those things does bring a lot of vindication to us,’’ said Ammon Bundy, after he emerged after the morning hearing.”They came on us and provoked us, and we acted appropriately.’’

The development in the high-profile, long-anticipated case disturbed public land and environmental advocates, who worry that the identified government lapses may bolster the defendants and their loyalists in their rejection of federal authority and intensify their fervor against federal control of public lands.

“Any federal stumbling in this prosecution still doesn’t relieve the fact the Bundys have been breaking the law by grazing their cattle unlawfully on public land, and their cows are still out there every day endangering protected species,’’ said Taylor McKinnon, a public lands campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We want that problem fixed.’’

McKinnon and Kieran Suckling, the center’s executive director, gathered on the steps of the Nevada courthouse to protest the Bundys. The two also were counter-protesters in 2016 at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon, where Ammon and Ryan Bundy and Payne led an armed occupation.

Outcome of latest Bundy trial will have repercussions for national lands debate

Advertise to Cattleman in the Livestock Market Digest!

January 15, 2018

The trial of Cliven Bundy, sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne begins Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Las Vegas in the April 2014 standoff with federal rangers who were trying to impound the elder Bundy’s cattle.

The two are concerned that if the Bundys aren’t held accountable for their actions, it will give further credence to their “militant participation in a broader move to seize public lands and hand them over to

continued from page one

states.’’

The judge’s ruling marked at least the third time the Bundy family has thwarted a federal agency action: On April 12, 2014, at the Toquap Wash near Bunkerville, federal rangers retreated from carrying out a court-ordered cattle impoundment when they were met by hundreds of supporters of Cliven Bundy and his family; in October 2016, a jury acquitted Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five others of federal conspiracy charges in the takeover of the Malheur refuge; and now.

Going into this trial against the Bundy patriarch and his sons, prosecutors also faced heightened pressure after being largely unsuccessful earlier this year in two trials of more minor figures in the Bunkerville standoff. Except for guilty verdicts against two of six lesser players, the trials ended with acquittals or hung juries.

The senior Bundy, his two sons and Payne were accused of rallying supporters to stop federal agents from impounding the Bundy family cattle for trespassing on public land near Bunkerville, about 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas, after Cliven Bundy failed to pay grazing fees and fines for two decades.

Navarro released the jury on what would have been the start of a third week of testimony in a trial that was expected to last four months. Only three government witnesses had been called before the jury in nine days of testimony, with many breaks, delays and interruptions due to sealed hearings before the judge.

The judge thanked the 12 jurors and four alternate jurors for their service. As they filed out of the courtroom, Ryan Bundy expressed his own gratitude.

“I would just like to personally thank you for being here. I appreciate your time and your service,’’ Ryan Bundy said.

The Bundy brothers and Payne emerged from the courthouse together, their arms linked, along with Cliven Bundy’s wife Carol Bundy and Jeanette Finicum, wife of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, killed by police in Oregon on Jan. 26, 2016, after he sped off from a police stop leaving the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge that he, the Bundys and supporters had occupied.

The Bundy brothers said that the judge’s ruling confirmed what they knew and don’t believe the case can go forward.

Cliven Bundy’s lawyer Bret Whipple said he’s submitting an emergency motion to request Cliven Bundy’s release without any conditions. Cliven Bundy won’t leave until he has no conditions restricting him.

Of the judge’s mistrial decision, Whipple said of his client, “I don’t think he was surprised. I think at the end of the day we always anticipated this would be the end of result.’’

Whipple said he was somewhat disappointed the case didn’t get to a jury, leaving no finality.

But Whipple said he was struck by the judge’s findings that each of the discovery violations were willful by prosecutors, and as a lawyer, he said he was disappointed in the prosecution’s actions.

“The judge said what she said for a reason, and there’s significance to her words,’’ Whipple said. “We believe also built in her statements was the fact that it was prejudicial, that it was malicious or reoccurring, and this will be the end of the Bundy trial.’’

January 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Page 5

Agro-Defense a ‘Real National Security Problem’ JACQUI FATKA 1 FEEDSTUFFS.COM

B

iological threats, whether naturally occurring like the avian influenza outbreak of 2015 or intentionally introduced, could pose great harm to the nation’s food supply and economy. In mid-December the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing as an opportunity to take stock of how far the U.S. has come since the early 2000s, when the issue of agriculture security was first visited, and to discuss where to go from here.

Former Senator. Joe Lieberman, who now serves at cochair of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, noted that, in evaluating the challenges in agro-defense and developing recommendations over the last year, it became evident that agro-defense is a “real national security problem.”

“If you’re an enemy and you wanted to strike us, nuclear weapons get the most attention,” Lieberman said. However, if you want to create a real sense of terror and deal damage to the economy, attacking the U.S. agricultural system with a pathogen would be devastating.

Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts (R

Kansas) said he assured those who testified that every member of the committee is aware of the threats posed to the U.S. In summary at the end of the meeting, he said although progress has been made in areas, the nation still has a lack of vaccines, lack of coordination, lack of response capability, lack of funding, lack of awareness and lack of intelligence capability.

Dr. Doug Meckes, state veterinarian and director of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services’ Veterinary Division, provided details on revisiting the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 (HSPD9). Released in January 2004, HSPD-9 “established a national policy to defend the agriculture system against terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.”

Meckes reported that 13 years later, progress has been made on addressing some of those gaps, not the least of which is the “star in the crown” with the creation of a national bio-defense center that will be established in Kansas.

At the top of the list of gaps in the current bio-defense system is the absence of needed vaccines as part of a national

veterinary stockpile containing sufficient amounts of animal vaccine, antiviral or therapeutic products to appropriately respond to the most damaging animal diseases affecting human health and the economy and that will be capable of deployment within 24 hours.

“We have not yet achieved this goal. Our animal agriculture industry remains as vulnerable to foreign animal diseases today as it was 13 years ago; particularly concerning is foot and mouth disease (FMD),” Meckes said.

He noted that many agricultural groups, animal science organizations and veterinarians support the inclusion of a new Animal Disease & Disaster Prevention Program in the 2018 farm bill. Additionally, a proposal for establishing and funding a robust U.S. FMD vaccine bank in the 2018 farm bill is considered a top priority by many in the animal agriculture industry.

Lieberman explained that animal agriculture is central to the health and well-being of the American people and the U.S. economy. His panel wanted to better understand the continued risks at the nexus between animal agriculture and national

AG Sessions Orders Examination of Bundy Case After Mistrial Government failed to turn over evidence

BY VALERIE RICHARDSON / M.WASHINGTONTIMES.COM

A

ttorney General Jeff Sessions stepped into the Bundy prosecution after December’s mistrial, ordering a third-party examination of the case in light of the latest government snafu.

“The attorney general takes this issue very seriously and has personally directed that an expert in the [Justice Department’s] discovery obligations be deployed to examine the case and advise as to the next steps,” said Ian D. Prior, the department’s principal deputy director of public affairs, in a late Wednesday statement.

The decision to intervene came after Chief U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial over the government’s “willful failure to disclose information” to the defense, saying it would have been “impossible” for the four co-defendants to receive a fair trial.

“Failure to turn over such evidence violates due process,” Judge Navarro said in the courtroom, the Arizona Republic reported. “A fair trial at this point is impossible.”

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and Ryan Payne of Montana have been charged with 15 felony counts stemming from the 2014 armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management at the Bundy ranch

near Bunkerville.

The examination represents the first direct public intervention by the attorney general in the Nevada case, which began last year under then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre, who oversees the prosecution, said he welcomed

the input from D.C. “We respect the ruling of the court and take very seriously our discovery obligations,” Mr. Myhre said in a statement. “The office welcomes the assistance of the attorney general as we continue to evaluate the case in continued on page eight

security, but one of the most unsettling effects of the report was that nobody in the government could pinpoint how much money was being spent on agro-defense. “If nobody can tell how much is being spent, you can’t

figure out if you’re spending it wisely,” he said.

Lieberman also voiced support for creating a prevention animal health fund, much like the one the 2008 farm bill established for plant health.

Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

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

2017 – A Year To Forget

“A

sk not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” – President John F. Kennedy, 1962.

The U.S. at that time has been remembered as a “royal” time. It was the age of Camelot.

His wife a queen, he was the Golden Boy. Change was coming. The first Catholic President, pictures of him and Lincoln on the wall, Baby Boomers in a flowery cloud singing songs of “Peace on Earth.”

Kennedy reduced income tax from 90% to 60%. The economy was responding.

Congress had a common enemy…the Soviet Union.

Martin Luther King was calling for integration without violence. Granted, it was soon to blow up in his face, but people respected the right to disagree. Even if we held different views we didn’t hate each other because we had another opinion.

Fifty years plus have passed. The last time we were civil to each other and united in our Americanism, was 9/11.

Since then we have become a country full of hate and ugliness. It’s so PERSONAL. Martin Luther King’s dream of diversity has become so twisted by the government that we are more segregated than ever. Our “leaders”; the politicians, media, and the entertainment puppets swamp us in an ocean of hatred and malice, of blame and blatant lies…like a band of back-stabbers whose intent is to vilify and slander.

Imagine having a job that required getting up every day and digging through the scum of

the bucket you live in, looking for something that will hurt someone. It’s no wonder our country is warped.

We are in the process of starting a new year.

Mind you, the slut mongers, muckrakers and mud slingers are dragging their scum buckets across the line, too. If you are so perverted by your own propaganda that you are incapable of listening to another idea, you’re blind in one eye.

Words hurt. They hurt even deeper when they are said to deliberately hurt someone. But the poison goes two ways, because the vitriolic accuser blackens his own soul.

Once again, this riot of hate is PERSONAL. No tv commentator, Washington DC or New York City manipulator or tainted politician will tell the truth or apologize for their lies. All you can do is feel sorry for them.

So what can ONE person do? Since it is PERSONAL, start there. 80 % of Americans are Christians. Many wear a cross around their neck. The 2nd ‘Greatest Commandment’ is, “You shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” If it means anything to you, give it a try. Give it a hand, offer help, call a loner, forgive an old grudge and make it a habit to thank God you live in America.

In my later life I have become a practitioner of the verse, “Forgiveness and mercy to all who offend.” The more it sinks in, the better I sleep.

Imagine having a job that required getting up every day and digging through the scum of the bucket…

www.baxterblack.com

January 15, 2018

Ag Applauds USDA Withdrawl of ‘NonScientific’ Organic Rule

T

he USDA’s announcement in mid-December to withdraw a proposed organic rule for livestock and poultry was met with applause from agriculture.

“With USDA’s wise decision to withdraw this rule, organic livestock and poultry producers can rest assured that they will not be forced out of business by another costly and burdensome regulation,” said U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Kansas, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

“Having fought this unwanted and unneeded regulation from the beginning, I’m pleased to see the Trump administration listening to my concerns, along with the concerns of organic livestock and poultry producers across the country. Together, we warned USDA of the unintended consequences of this rule, but our concerns fell on deaf ears in the previous administration. The rule was finalized two days before leaving office, despite its serious potential to force organic livestock and poultry producers out of business, increase prices paid by consumers for organic food, and increase animal disease and mortality. By withdrawing this rule, the Trump administration is again demonstrating its commitment to de-regulate rural America.”

The Obama-era regulation — the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule — would have incorporated into the National Organic Program welfare standards that were not based on science and that were outside the scope of the Organic Food Production Act of 1990. The act limited consideration of livestock as organic to feeding and medication practices.

“We’d like to thank Secretary Perdue and the Trump administration for listening to our concerns with the rule and recognizing the serious challenges it would have presented our producers,” said National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Ken Maschhoff, a pork producer from Carlyle, Illinois.

NPPC raised a number of problems with the regulation, including animal and public health concerns and the fact that animal production practices have nothing to do with the basic concept of “organic.” NPPC also cited the complexity the standards would have added to the organic certification process, creating significant barriers to existing and new organic producers.

In withdrawing the rule, the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined the regulation exceeded the agency’s authority — something NPPC pointed out in comments on the rule — and that it would have had a greater economic impact on farmers than originally estimated.

The withdraw notice, which was published in the Federal Register in late December, is subject to a public comment period.

January 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Page 7

Breeders Win Big During 2nd Annual Gelbvieh Carcass Contest

R

esults of the Second Annual American Gelbvieh Foundation (AGF) Steer Challenge and Scale and Rail Sire-Identified Carcass Contest were announced during the 47th Annual American Gelbvieh Association National Convention awards banquet on Saturday, December 9, 2017. Breeders from Iowa and Nebraska took home top honors with prize payouts totaling $6,950.

The AGF continues to help advance the Gelbvieh breed through its support of research and development. For this reason, the AGF launched the Steer Challenge and Scale and Rail Sire-Identified Carcass Contest in 2016. These two projects together provide the information and funds necessary to generate datasets to advance Gelbvieh and Balancer® carcass merit.

The AGF Steer Challenge was a competition amongst individual Gelbvieh and Balancer-influenced steers in which the judging criteria focused on average daily gain in the feedyard, carcass value and overall top value animal, which combined average daily gain and carcass value. The Steer Challenge gives an opportunity for participants to donate a steer to the AGF. All proceeds from the donation go toward research and development within the Gelbvieh breed. The AGF Sire-Identified Carcass Contest judges steers, which were in a group of three or more animals from the

same contemporary group, on these same qualities and also awarded a top-performing pen.

In its second year, ten ranches participated with a total of 103 head on feed at Roode Feedyard in Fairbury, Nebraska. All steers were harvested and values were calculated in July 2017.

Flying H Genetics, Arapahoe, Nebraska, placed high in both the AGF Steer Challenge and Balancer division of the Scale and Rail Contest and took home a total of $3,725 in prize payouts. Flying H Genetics’ winning steer, a Red Angus-sired Balancer, in the AGF Steer Challenge swept the division taking home top average daily gain, top carcass value, and top value animal.

The same steer also took home top accolades in the Balancer division of the Scale and Rail Contest including highest average daily gain at 5.93 pounds per day, top carcass value at $1,179 with a 1,118 pound hot carcass weight and a 17.10 square inch ribeye. This steer also took home top value Balancer animal with a value of $1,185, USDA Yield Grade 3 and a quality grade of USDA Choice.

Flying H Genetics also owned the champion pen of Balancer steers with an average value of $1,119, average USDA Yield Grade 3 and quality grade of USDA Choice. Flying H Genetics owned the steer that took second place for average daily gain in the Balancer division.

National Western to Unveil Vision for New World Headquarters

T

he National Western Stock Show is building a new home for the countless supporters of this longtime fixture of the American West.

Mayor Michael B. Hancock and Pete Coors were among the speakers at the Tuesday, December 12 event, marking the milestone transformation of the National Western Stock Show’s home into a year-round institution.

The 100,000-square-foot Western Stock Show Association Legacy Building was a focal point of the new National Western Center—a transformation of the aging facilities on the banks of the South Platte River into a year-round attraction.

The Legacy Building was one of four major new facilities the Western Stock Show Association is building. It will serve as a centerpiece of the nearly billion-dollar urban renewal project to reinvigorate and expand the National Western into a yearround destination for education, entertainment and agricultural innovation. The others include The Yards (a complete redesign of the stockyards into a flexible, multi-use attraction), the Equestrian Center, and the Livestock Center.

“The Legacy Building will be a home to all members of the National Western family,” said Pete Coors, chairman and chief customer relations officer of the Molson Coors Brewing Company, as well as chairman of the $100 million Honoring the Leg-

acy Campaign supporting these four new facilities.

Denver’s Tryba Architects designed the Legacy Building, whose features will include: • Sweeping terraces with views of the National Western Center grounds • A permanent home and public display areas for the National Western’s incomparable art collection • A greatly expanded National Western Club with seating for up to 700 people • The Heritage Center to display and share National Western archives and history • A rotating exhibit space of more than 8,000 square feet • Office and conference space for the Western Stock Show Association.

“This is going to be a watering hole, a gallery space, and a place to do business for friends, cowboys and art lovers alike,” said Paul Andrews, the Western Stock Show Association’s president and CEO. Pat Grant, chairman of the Western Stock Show Association board, added that “The Legacy Building provides a focal point for the National Western unlike any in its 111-year history.”

“This is a great plan for a place that’s going to be as functional as it is beautiful,” Grant said. “The Legacy Building embodies the National Western’s commitment to the future of the Stock Show and the educational and innovative opportunities that surround it.”

This Red Angus-sired Balancer steer had an average daily gain of 5.75 pounds per day.

Eagle Pass Ranch, Highmore, South Dakota, owned the steer which took second place for top carcass in the Balancer division with a carcass value of $1,124, hot carcass weight of 1,049 pounds, and a 13.5 square inch ribeye. This same steer also placed second for top value animal with a total value of $1,129, USDA Yield Grade 3 and quality grade of USDA Choice. This steer was sired by EGL Barrett B050. Eagle Pass Ranch also owned the reserve champion pen of Balancer steers with an average value of $1,083, average USDA Yield Grade of 3, and average quality grade of USDA Choice.

In the Gelbvieh division, CKS

Gelbvieh, Collins, Iowa, was a notable winner owning the steer for top average daily gain, top carcass and top value steer as well as champion pen and taking home $2,175 in prize payouts.

CKS Gelbvieh’s top carcass steer had a carcass value of $1,151, a hot carcass weight of 1,089 pounds, and a ribeye area of 14 square inches. This steer also had a USDA Yield Grade 3, and quality grade of USDA Choice.

This steer’s total value was the highest in the Gelbvieh division at $1,156 and was sired by BNC At Ease A357. CKS Gelbvieh also owned the champion pen of Gelbvieh steers with the average value of the pen being $1,126, average, USDA Yield Grade 4.0, and average quality grade of USDA Choice.

CKS Gelbvieh also owned

the steer that took second place for top carcass in the Gelbvieh division with a carcass value of $1,125, hot carcass weight of 1,067 pounds, and a 17 square inch ribeye. This same steer also placed second for top value animal with a total value of $1,130, USDA Yield Grade 3 and quality grade of USDA Choice. This steer was sired by DCH Hille X102.

Blackhawk Cattle Co., Oregon, Illinois, owned the reserve champion pen of Gelbvieh steers with an average value of $1,105, average USDA Yield Grade 3, and average quality grade of USDA Choice+.

To view full results, including all close-out data, please visit the projects page under the Foundation section of www.gelbvieh.org.

Page 8

Livestock Market Digest

January 15, 2018

USDA NAHMS report on Cattle and Calves Death Loss

U

SDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) has released Death Loss in U.S. Cattle & Calves Due to Predator and Non-predator Causes 2015, a comprehensive report on producer-reported causes of death in cattle and calves in all 50 states.

Since 1995, NAHMS has teamed with USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Wildlife Services to produce reports on cattle death loss in the United States every 5 years. This report provides analyses of cattle and calves losses in 2015. In addition, death losses by operation type (beef, dairy, mixed, and other) are provided and, when possible, losses in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 were included for comparison.

Losses for adult cattle and for calves are reported separately and are categorized as predator and nonpredator related.

In addition, producer-reported methods used to mitigate losses due to predators, and the cost of those methods, are reported.

Here are a few highlights from the NAHMS Death Loss in U.S. Cattle and Calves Due to Predator and Nonpredator Causes 2015 report:

• In 2015, total U.S. inventory of adult cattle (over 500 pounds) was 78 million head, and total calf crop was 34 million head (NASS data).

• About one-third of cattle operations had deaths in adult cattle.

• About 40 percent of cattle

operations had deaths in calves.

• The estimated cost of death loss in cattle and calves in 2015 was $3.87 billion.

• Nonpredator causes accounted for almost 98 percent of all deaths in adult cattle and almost 89 percent of all deaths in calves.

• The percentage of calf deaths attributed to predators increased steadily from 3.5 percent in 1995 to 11.1 percent in 2015.

• Respiratory problems accounted for the highest percentage of deaths in cattle due to nonpredators (23.9 percent), followed by unknown causes (14.0

percent), and old age (11.8 percent).

• Respiratory problems also accounted for the highest percentage of deaths in calves due to nonpredators (26.9 percent).

• Coyotes accounted for the highest percentage of cattle deaths due to predators (40.5 percent).

• Coyotes accounted for the highest percentage of calf deaths due to predators (53.1 percent).

To read the report, visit the folowing link to download the PDF: https://www.aphis.usda. gov/animal_health/nahms/general/downloads/cattle_calves_ deathloss_2015.pdf

More Beef Cow, Heifer Slaughter Signal Slowing Beef Herd Expansion

BY RITA JANE GABBETT / MEATINGPLACE.COM

T

he beef cow inventory has been in expansion mode since 2015, with inventories on Jan. 1, 2015, 2016 and 2017 increasing at rate of 0.7-percent, 2.9-percent, and 3.5-percent respectively.

However, the pace of beef cow and heifer slaughter suggests that the rate of expansion may have slowed in 2017, USDA predicted in its latest Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report.

Beef cow slaughter through October 2017 was 11 percent higher than the same period in 2016. Preliminary federally inspected beef cow slaughter in November has also been fairly strong and higher than November last year.

Heifer slaughter has also seen a 12-percent increase through October 2017, while steer slaughter has only increased by about 3 percent.

Slaughter weights declining While cattle on feed and placements on feed continue to climb, feedlots appear to be moving cattle as they are ready for market. Marketings

SESSIONS light of the court’s ruling.”

No deadline was given for the attorney general’s examination, but Judge Navarro set a Jan. 8 hearing on defense motions to dismiss the case. The next trial is tentatively scheduled to begin Feb. 26.

The case, which involves 19 defendants spread over three tiers, has been riddled with setbacks for the prosecution, including a previous mistrial, hung juries and acquittals on lesser figures in the April 2014 armed confrontation with BLM agents.

Judge Navarro said the prosecutors had willfully failed to disclose key evidence in the case, including FBI records

of fed cattle during October were 6 percent above the same period in 2016. As marketing remained relatively high, the percentage of cattle on feed more than 120 days was below 2016.

The November 2017 Livestock Slaughter report shows that average dressed weights were 826 pounds, down 17 pounds from October 2016.

Carcass weights for both steers and heifers were below year-earlier in October, and preliminary data points to a similar situation in November.

Fourth-quarter 2017 production was lowered from last month due to lighter carcass weight and a slower pace of slaughter through yearend.

Average dressed weights for cattle remain well below the same period in 2016. In addition to the lighter carcass weights for both steers and heifers, their composition of the slaughter mix has likely influenced average dressed weights.

The proportion of heifers and cows slaughtered relative to total slaughter has increased relative to last year, and heifers and cows are typically smaller and yield lower carcass weight than steers. continued from page five

about surveillance and government snipers at the Bundy ranch, activity logs, law enforcement threat assessments showing the Bundy family posed no threat of violence, and internal reports about BLM agent misconduct.

She dismissed the jury after seven weeks in the latest trial involving the second of the three tiers of co-defendants.

All four in the latest trial are considered leaders of the confrontation with the BLM, which began after agents tried to impound the ranch’s cattle following Cliven Bundy’s refusal for years to pay grazing fees in a protest over federal land management.

January 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Page 9

Livestock Market Digest

REAL ESTATE GUIDE

Selling residential, farm, ranch, commercial and relocating properties.

COLETTA RAY

Pioneer Realty 1304 Pile Street, Clovis, NM 88101

575-799-9600 Direct 575.935.9680 Office 575.935.9680 Fax coletta@plateautel.net www.clovisrealestatesales.com

HeAdquArters West Ltd.

For advertising information contact Lynn Marie ‘LM’ Rusaw at 505-243-9515 or email AAALivestockMarketDigest@gmail.com

ST. JOHN’S OFFICE: TRAEGEN KNIGHT

P.O. Box 1980 St. John’s, AZ 85936 www.headquarterswest.com 928/524-3740 Fax 928/563-7004 Cell 602/228-3494 info@headquarterswest.com

O’NEILL LAND, llc

Filling your real estate needs in Arizona

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 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 TRAINING FACILITY, Colfax County, Reduced $398,000 NM. Ideal horse training facility, 4 bedroom 3 bathroom approx. 3,593 sq-ft home, 332.32 +/- deeded acres, MIAMI 20 ACRES, Colfax County, NM. 20 +/208 shares of irrigation, all the facilities you need to deeded acres, 20 water shares, quality 2,715 sq summer your cutting horse operation out of the heat ft adobe home, barn, grounds and trees. Private and far enough south to have somewhat mild winters. setting. This is a must see. Reduced to $375,000 Approximately 6,200 ft elevation. $1,790,000 FRENCH TRACT 80, Colfax County, NM irrigated MAXWELL FARM IMPROVED, Colfax County, NM. 280 farm w/home & good outbuildings, $350,000 +/- deeded acres, 160 Class A irrigation shares, 2 center pivots, nice sale barn, 100 hd feedlot. Depredation Elk Tags COLMOR PLACE, Mora County, NM 354 +/- deeded available. Owner financing available to qualified buyer. acres, I25 frontage, house, pens, expansive views.

Ocate Creek runs through property. $249,000 Significantly reduced to $550,000

Missouri Land Sales

See all my listings at: paulmcgilliard.murney.com

• NEW LISTING! 167 Acres, Cattle/Horses/Hunting Estate 5000 sq ft inspired Frank Lloyd Wright designed home. 3 bed, 2 1/2 baths, full w/o Paul McGilliard finished basement, John Deere room, bonus room. This estate is set Cell: 417/839-5096 up for intensive grazing, 3 wells, 3 springs, 4 ponds, automatic waters.

1-800/743-0336 Secluded, but easy access, only 22 miles east of Springfield, off Hwy Murney Assoc., Realtors 60. MLS# 60081327 Springfield, MO 65804 • NEW LISTING! 80 Acres - 60 Acres Hayable, Live Water, Location, Location! Only 8 miles west of Norwood, 3 miles east of Mansfield, 1/4 mile off Hwy 60. Well maintained 3 bed, 1 1/2 bath, 1432 sq. ft. brick/vinyl home, nestled under the trees.

Full basement (partially finished), John Deere Room. This is your farm! MLS#60059808 • 10 ACRES - MAJOR PRICE REDUCTION Location, location, location. Only 4+ miles south of Mountain Grove, you will find a a secluded 10 acres at the end of Hopper Lane with 1,550 sq. ft. home, nestled under the trees. Numerous outbuildings, with an exceptionally well built 18 x 30 shop. The present owners have lived there 46 years. MLS# 60056419.

Fallon-Cortese Land

NEW MEXICO P.O. Box 447 Fort Sumner, NM 88119 575.355.2855 office 575.355.7611 fax 575.760.3818 cell nick@ranchseller.com www.ranchseller.com

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

Bottari Realty

• 100 acres Brick home. 4 barns, 4 tanks, cattle pens. $565,000.

Paul Bottari, Broker

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

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

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

SOLD

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

Joe Priest Real Estate

1-800/671-4548

joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com

775/752-3040 521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130

575-226-0671 or 575-226-0672 fax

Buena Vista Realty

Qualifying Broker: A.H. (Jack) Merrick 575-760-7521 www.buenavista-nm.com

SOCORRO PLAZA REALTY On the Plaza

Donald Brown

Qualifying Broker

505-507-2915 cell 505-838-0095 fax

116 Plaza PO Box 1903 Socorro, NM 87801 www.socorroplazarealty.com dbrown@socorroplazarealty.com

Scott Land co.

Ranch & Farm Real Estate

DOUBLE L RANCH – Central NM, 10 miles west of Carrizozo, NM. 12,000 total acres; 175 AUYL, BLM Section 3 grazing permit; Water provided by 3 wells and buried pipeline.

Improvements include house and pens. PRICE REDUCED: $1,150,000 (to include 73 brangus type 5-6 yr old cows & 6 bulls) LITTLE COWBOY RANCH – Small cattle ranch located in southeastern NM approximately 50 miles northwest of Roswell on the Chaves/Lincoln County line. 7,455 total acres with 2,600 deeded. 150 AU capacity and it will run them all. Two wells; one electric submersible, one solar well with some pipeline. Fenced as one large pasture and one smaller trap.

Excellent grass cover. Price: $1,200,000 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

www.bottarirealty.com

Bar M Real Estate

SCOTT MCNALLY www.ranchesnm.com 575/622-5867 575/420-1237 Ranch Sales & Appraisals

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

WE NEED LISTINGS ON ALL TYPES OF AG PROPERTIES LARGE OR SMALL! ■ RANCHO AL OESTE DE LA MONTANA – located on the West face of Tucumcari Mountain – Tucumcari, NM, 560 ac. +/- deeded land w/80 ac. +/- NM State Lease, outstanding views & location greatly enhances the beauty of the 3 bdrm., 2 bath home w/large unattached garage & large barn.

X-T RANCH – Southeastern NM cattle ranch 40 miles northwest of Roswell, NM on the Chaves/Lincoln County line. Good grass ranch with gently rolling grass covered hills. 8,000 total acres, 200 AUYL grazing capacity. Partitioned into four pastures watered by 2 wells with pipelines. Call for brochure. Price: $1,750,000

Nevada Farms & raNch PrOPerTY

■ NORTH FACE OF TUCUMCARI MOUNTAIN – 502 ac. +/- investment/hunting/recreation, three tower leases provides excellent income.

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

■ ARROYO LARGO – 22,850 ac. +/- located in Lincoln, Chaves & DeBaca Counties, NM, well improved w/two homes, working pens & fences, well-watered by wells & pipelines, open rolling country w/numerous draws & arroyos provide for year-round cow/calf operation or seasonal yearling operation.

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

■ FRONTIER RANCH – 6,423.45 ac. +/- in two tracts of 3,735 ac. & 2,688.45 ac., all deeded, approx. 7 mi. apart offered as one ranch, broker will assist w/contracts on either or both of the tracts,

good country for year-round cow/calf operation or summer yearling grazing, located in close proximity to the Grey Fox Ranch for addtl. acreage.

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

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

■ 24 MI. FROM TEXAS/NM STATE LINE – Box Canyon Ranch – Quay Co., NM – well improved & watered, 2,400 ac. +/-deeded, 80 ac. +/- State Lease, excellent access from I-40.

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

■ CANYON VIEW RANCH – 1,533 deeded ac. +/just out of Clayton, NM, beautiful, good country, well watered, volcanic rock mining operation offers addtl. income, on pvmt.

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

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

Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

January 15, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS KADDATZ

Auctioneering and Farm Equipment Sales New and used tractors, equipment, and parts. Salvage yard, combines, tractors, hay equipment and all types of equipment parts.

ORDER PARTS ONLINE.

www.kaddatzequipment.com • 254/582-3000

Bulls, Cows, Pairs, Bred Heifers and Replacement Heifers for Sale www.RanchWorldAds.com To advertise call 505/243-9515

Bundy Mistrial A mistrial, a Heinrich maneuver, and a monument misstep

g•u•i•d•e angus

Bradley 3 Ranch Ltd. www.bradley3ranch.com

Annual Bull Sale: February 10, 2018

at the Ranch NE of Estelline, TX Ranch-Raised ANGUS Bulls for Ranchers Since 1955

M.L. Bradley 806/888-1062 Fax: 806/888-1010 • Cell: 940/585-6471

BEEFMASTER

HEREFORD

Registered Polled Herefords Bulls & Heifers

Cañones Route P.O. Abiquiu, N.M. 87510

FOR SALE AT THE FARM

MANUEL SALAZAR P.O. Box 867 Española, N.M. 87532

575/638-5434

RED ANGUS

A SOURCE FOR PROVEN SUPERIOR RED ANGUS GENETICS 14298 N. Atkins Rd., Lodi, CA 95240

209/727-3335

RED ANGUS

BRANGUS CORRIENTE

R.L. Robbs 520/384-3654 4995 Arzberger Rd. Willcox, Arizona 85643 Willcox, AZ

For Advertising Contact:

Lynn Marie Rusaw Office:

505-243-9515 Email:

AAALivestockMarketDigest @gmail.com

C

hief United States District Judge for Nevada, Gloria Maria Navarro, has declared a mistrial in the charges against the Bundy family and one accomplice. What started as a simple case of failure to pay grazing fees has, thanks to the disturbing actions by the feds, turned into a national showcase of federal abuse of power.

Chief Judge Navarro found that in six different instances the federal prosecutor had failed to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense, which is required under the so-called Brady rule. How much was not turned over? Oh, just 3,300 pages.

Initially, prosecutors said there was no surveillance of the Bundy family prior to the raid on their cattle. They lied. Then prosecutors said the cameras just provided a live feed. They lied about that too. The prosecutors originally claimed there were no federal snipers. Again, they were found to be lying.

The prosecutors fought to keep the Bundys in jail because they were a threat to society.

Some of the documents they failed to disclose were FBI threat assessments of the Bundy’s which found just the opposite. Imagine being kept in federal confinement for two years under false pretenses.

And just prior to Judge Navarro declaring a mistrial, a bombshell memo from a BLM law enforcement officer to the Dept. of Justice was made public. In the memo, BLM Special Agent Larry C. Wooten stated, “I routinely observed, and the investigation revealed a widespread pattern of bad judgement, lack of discipline, incredible bias, unprofessionalism and misconduct, as well as likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff at the BLM’s Office of Law Enforcement and Security.”

Wooten further stated these

issues, “…made a mockery of our position of special trust and confidence, portrayed extreme unprofessional bias, adversely affected our agency’s mission and likely the trial regarding Cliven Bundy…” and “put our agency and specific law enforcement supervisors in potential legal, civil and administrative jeopardy.”

Some of the actions taken by certain BLM officers are simply too crude to include in this publication. However, Wooten did report: • Conduct that was, “discriminatory, harassing and showed clear prejudice against the defendants, their supporters and Mormons.”

• Uncovered comments where BLM agents “bragged about roughing up Dave Bundy” and “grinding his face into the ground.”

• That BLM employees, “didn’t properly turn in the required discovery material (likely exculpatory evidence)” • That one BLM Supervisor, “instigated the unprofessional monitoring of jail calls between defendants and their wives, without prosecutor or FBI consent.”

• That former BLM Special Agent-In-Charge Dan Love purposely ignored federal and state recommendations, “in order to command the most intrusive, oppressive, large scale and militaristic trespass cattle impound possible.”

BLM Agent Wooten also say his investigation found, “excessive use of force, civil rights and policy violations.” Further, Wooten says, “there was an improper cover-up in virtually every matter that a particular BLM SAC participated in, or oversaw.”

This has turned into a textbook case of federal abuse and incompetence, all because a federal land management agency refuses to allow themselves to be treated like other landowners within a state. In New Mexico and most other western states, the landowner reports that estrays are trespassing on their property and the appropriate state agency takes steps to remove the trespassing livestock. Usually a clean and efficient operation conducted by state employees under state law.

That procedure, though, can’t

be used to justify larger federal budgets, additional employees or an increase in the federal arsenal, so the feds refuse to utilize this tried and true method.

I’m reminded that in his opening statement to the jury, the Acting U.S. Attorney said this case was not just about grazing fees, it was really about upholding the rule of law. Five weeks or so later, the case is still about the rule of law, only now it is the feds who are the accused transgressors.

By the time you read this, we should know whether Navarro declares it a mistrial with prejudice, or without prejudice. If she dismisses it with prejudice, the defendants cannot be brought up on those charges again. Let’s hope the rule of law prevails.

Another Heinrich Maneuver As one of its last items of business this year, the U.S. Senate passed S.432, the Cerros Del Norte Conservation Act, which would establish two wilderness areas within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

It may have been the last order of business of the Senate but it was one of the first orders of business of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which passed the bill on May 3. Weirdly, the Committee didn’t invite the views of the Trump administration, and instead inserted the testimony of an Obama administration official which had been given two years prior.

This seems to fit in with the typical legislative methods employed by Senators Udall and Heinrich. Remember the Sabinoso Wildernesss? That was the wilderness pushed by Udall that had no public access, It only passed because it was part of an Omnibus bill.

Then they brought us the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness and transferred the Valles Caldera as part of a national defense bill.

The action on this new wilderness bill shouldn’t surprise us.

Monument Misstep In a recent interview, Interior Secretary Zinke shared some interesting information concerning the monument review and the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.

“The president tasked me to get the local voice,” Zinke said, and, “Overwhelmingly, the communities were comfortable with the monuments.”

That tells us the millions of dollars the environmental foundations spent in funding the NM Wilderness Alliance, the Friends of the Organs, the green chamber of commerce, etc., and their multi-year spending on television ads, newspaper ads, radio spots and other marketing venues, was money well spent. I mean, it fooled Zinke, now didn’t it.

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

January 15, 2018

Don’t Worry About Meatless Protein’s Impact for Now: CoBank

BY CHRIS SCOTT/MEATINGPLACE.COM

T

he alternative meat movement is expected to become a top food trend in the coming years, but real meat companies don’t need to worry for now, according to a new study from CoBank.

The Greenwood Village, Colo.-based cooperative bank that services agribusinesses said the effects of meatless meat development are not expected to be significant on current livestock and poultry demand. In fact, the road to commercial viability and consumer acceptance of protein products derived from plants, insects and cultured meats is unlikely to have a “marked effect” on traditional animal protein through the next decade, CoBank economist Trevor Amen said.

Market introduction of cultured (lab-grown) meat products, for example, is expected to take another three to five years – appearing first in restaurants and specialty stores. It will take another three to five years beyond that for supermarkets to offer these products, Amen said.

Cultured meat products currently are prohibitively expensive and will require a regulatory framework before entering the market, CoBank added.

And while the alternative protein category will grow in the coming years, it will be overshadowed by the current retail market size of $49 billion in annual sales for all meat and poultry categories, the CoBank report said.

Ex-Poultry Worker Ordered to Pay $200,000 for GNP Contamination

BY CHRIS SCOTT/MEATINGPLACE.COM

A

former worker at a GNP Co. facility in Cold Spring, Minn., was ordered to pay restitution after admitting she dumped dirt and sand into a poultry processing line in the summer of 2016, according to local media reports.

Faye Slye was convicted and sentenced last week on two felony counts of causing damage in the first degree and ordered to pay more than $200,000 to cover the cost of a recall caused by her actions, the St. Cloud Times reported. The contamination led to a recall involving nearly 56,000 pounds of chicken destined for foodservice and institutional outlets.

Slye also will serve 90 days in the Stearns County Jail in three segments of 30 days each and will be on probation for five years, the report added.

Slye – who admitted that she collected the dirt and sand from the facility’s parking lot –also received a similar jail sentence for the second felony count, which will be served concurrently.

U.S. Cattle on Feed Up 8 Percent From a Year Ago

BY MEATINGPLACE EDITORS

C

attle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States, for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head, totaled 11.5 million head on Dec. 1 -- an increase of 8 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Placements in feedlots during November totaled 2.10 million head, 14 percent above 2016.

Net placements were 2.03 million head. During November, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 610,000 head, 600699 pounds were 545,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 455,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 294,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 75,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 120,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during November totaled 1.84 million head, 3 percent above 2016.

Marketings were the highest for November since the series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totaled 71,000 head during November, 3 percent above 2016.

Livestock Market Digest

PLF Announces Appeal to Illegal Jaguar Rule

BY CHRISTINA M. MARTIN ATTORNEY / PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

I

n mid-December the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) filed notice of appeal the district court decision upholding the jaguar critical habitat rule, on behalf of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, New Mexico Federal Lands Council and New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau.

The designation of critical habitat for jaguar in New Mexico unnecessarily ties thousands of acres of land in red tape.

The rule makes it harder for ranchers to get grazing permits, build corrals, stock ponds, or additional fences. The designation also increases fire risks in fire prone areas like Coronado National Forrest.

The problem with the designation of critical habitat in New Mexico is that the habitat is not critical to the species. Even the federal government admits that the United States is of only “marginal” value to the species, compared to the wet, tropical climates they prefer south of the border. Only a few jaguars have been identified in the United States, compared to the thousands spotted in Mexico. In fact, the nearest breeding jaguar population is

130 miles south of the United States, and the federal government does not expect that any breeding populations will ever migrate here.

Nevertheless, the U.S. District Court for New Mexico upheld the designation, because a panel of experts said that the Southwest United States could benefit the jaguar population’s genetic diversity, because some male jaguars have been known to roam there. The problem is that Congress explicitly limited the types of areas that could be tied up with the red tape that accompanies a critical habitat designation. This rule fails that requirement because New Mexico is not “essential” to conserving the jaguar.

On top of that, the federal government never bothered to figure out what is necessary to conserve the jaguar. How can the government decide what is essential to protecting a species when it refuses to make even a basic evaluation of what it will take to conserve the species?

We will be raising these questions in the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, asking the court to protect ranchers by holding the federal government accountable to the limits of the law.

Page 11

Page 12

Livestock Market Digest

The View FROM THE BACK SIDE

Musings

BY BARRY DENTON

E

very time I ride up TR’s Hill at our ranch I have to take the time to sit and reflect for a few minutes. First off TR was one of my great horses that I buried up here in a place of honor.

The hill is one of the high spots on the ranch that has a 360 degree view. If you look to the north you can see the San Francisco Peaks, Mount Union is to the south, Granite Mountain is to the east, and Tonto Mountain is to the west.

Needless to say, I live in a small high desert valley complete with oak brush, sage, and cactus. Also, from TR’s Hill I can see a herd of about 30 mule deer grazing among the horses.

The mule deer are a great source of entertainment as they think they have a pretty good deal. The mule deer drink, eat, lick salt, and sleep with the pasture horses. No hunting has ever been allowed on the ranch, so the deer feel pretty comfortable.

There is a good sized hawk that just landed at the top of a giant live oak, adjacent to me. The hawk is my shadow many times when I am riding across the ranch. It’s not that he likes me so much, but the rodents we might scare up as I ride through the tall grass. Every once in awhile he will swoop down and grab one!

We are so used to each other that I fail to mention the hawk to guests that might be riding with me.

Pretty soon, they think it is quite unusual being stalked by a hawk. On the other side of TR’s Hill is a pasture full of cattle who have their own routine which they have worked out in perfect organization. We have Longhorns mixed with English type cattle because of our local abundance of mountain lion.

One thing about Longhorns is that they are like policemen and are very dutiful in protecting the herd. Many times I have seen the longhorns running full out after a coyote or other predator. They take their job seriously. I can look a long way from the top of this hill on a clear day and I can only see one structure off in the distance that does not belong to this ranch. Neighbors are great to have especially at some distance.

Sitting still on a ranch does not happen very often, but today was my day. I had read the headlines before I started out this morning, but really had not thought about them since.

The first one that I read was that as a direct result of a smear campaign, Alabama had elected its first democrat senator in over 20 years. The bottom line is that the smear worked. The next thing that I read was about the New York Senator Kirsten Gillinbrand claiming that our President had made a lewd remark about her and tried to illustrate it by twisting his words.

Funny how the Senator is alright taking his campaign donations,

January 15, 2018 but can’t stand it when he tells his side of the negotiation.

Finally, I read about the famous fashion photographer Bruce Weber of Vogue fame who is accused of sexually harassing a 28 year old model from one of his shoots. Keep in mind that the 28 year old model is a man and that 71 year old Mr. Weber is gay. Since when can’t a 28 year old male fight off a 71 year old male? Have you ever heard of headlines that are more ridiculous? This is what the media thinks is important in America today.

Let’s analyze this for a moment. We have military actions going on continuously across the globe that make a difference in many people’s lives. Our stock market and economy are soaring to new heights just on the promise of upcoming tax cuts that will help everyone. We are finally getting ISIS under control and reducing their ability to attack more everyday which makes the entire world safer.

Over government regulation is starting to disappear. Funny, how the FAKE NEWS, does not report any positive breakthroughs that our President makes. I think we all understand how the media works against the citizens instead of being a watch dog for us.

Over the past several years I have been moderately involved with politics, Arizona government, and local issues. I have tried to help livestock and ranch-

ers causes that were unjust. I was able to do much of this behind the scenes which suited me just fine. One thing that I have learned is that you have to be involved to some degree or this crazy world will just swallow you up. Many people know of my interest in politics and have approached me to run for some public office. I have always flatly refused because what good is a man that has spent his life outdoors going to do in an office?

Besides, our best people are not involved with politics. They are usually doing something that is related to actual work.

Yes, the best people are the ones that earn a living. I know lots of politicians on both sides of the aisle, maybe hundreds of them, but I can count on my hands the ones that I like or trust. Truly, some of our worst citizens hold public office.

That is quite a statement for an optimist, but it is truthful.

Do I think we can get good people elected to office once again? Yes, I do, but it will take lots of good hardworking people to change it.

After all those thoughts I realize that I am still sitting on my horse and looking down on my peaceful ranch where we work hard, make a living, treat people right, and try to live in harmony with those animals and humans around us. Now if we can just get the rest of the world to do the same? HAPPY NEW YEAR and thanks for following my articles!

Apply for Angus Foundation Scholarships Angus Foundation scholarship applications are now available online.

T

oday’s college costs are astronomical—it’s a known fact. The Angus Foundation seeks to help Angus youth offset some of those steep costs by awarding undergraduate and graduate level scholarships.

“Angus youth are the future of our Association and the industry,” said Milford Jenkins, Angus Foundation president.

“We want to help them get a head start in any way that we can, and awarding scholarships is one way to do that.”

Undergraduate and graduate student scholarship applications are available online at angusfoundation.org and are due May 1. Applicants must have, at one time, been a National Junior Angus Association member

Take your marketing program to the top!

Advertise in

Contact:

Lynn Marie ‘LM’ Rusaw

Advertising Representative & Marketing Specialist Office: 505-243-9515 Cell: 505-577-7584 AAALivestockMarketDigest@gmail.com

and must currently be an active Junior, Regular or Life member of the American Angus Association®. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior or enrolled at a junior college, fouryear college/university or other accredited institution and have a minimum 2.0 GPA. Eligibility requirements and application guidelines are included. Applicants will want to strictly adhere to the guidelines and provide the information requested when submitting their application to the Angus Foundation.

Applicants are required to submit the following for consideration: the 2018 application form; three letters of recommendation; copy of current high school/college/university transcript; and applicant’s Association member code.

In 2017, the Angus Foundation awarded more than $213,000 in scholarships to more than 115 undergraduate and graduate students. When combined with other endowed and non-endowed scholarship funds administered by the Angus Foundation, nearly $300,000 was invested in more than 130 students pursuing their higher education.

For more information, please contact Jenkins at 816-3835100 or mjenkins@angusfoundation.org.

January 15, 2018

Livestock Market Digest

Page 13

Company Develops Wild Horse Feeding Stations with Help from NMSU

R

och Hart is a third-generation New Mexican with a deep, genuine appreciation for the land and its expansive mountains, desert and scrub, and the petroglyphs that adorn far reaches of the private, 20,000-acre ranch he manages.

Hart recognizes that preservation is the key to maintaining New Mexico’s land heritage.

As a retired police officer, former plant manager, tour guide operator and photographer, Hart maintains that he became a rancher almost by accident. It is through this position that he’s used entrepreneurial thinking to identify a problem at his workplace, in this case a 20,000 acre ranch, and develop a solution for a costly situation.

There’s a wild horse problem in New Mexico, as well as all of the arid west, and the general public is in the dark about the issue. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Land Management spends an astonishing $80 million dollars per year on the capture and care of overpopulated wild horses, also known as feral horses. Hart worries that the public won’t react until the more inhumane options of mass roundups and euthanasia become visible and routine.

His company, Wildlife Protection Management (WPM), developed an innovative, scalable and humane option. It is a feed-

ing station for wild horses that is equipped with the capability for remote injection of contraceptives. This patent-pending method is conducted with remote delivery. After the horse has placed itself in the proper position, an operator nearly 300 miles away is able to dispatch the injection via video surveillance and controls.

Hart is a graduate of Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University’s AgSprint program, a five-month accelerator for innovation in agriculture, funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and New Mexico Gas Company.

Wild horses are merely startled, not hurt, and return almost immediately to graze at the feed station. In addition to the contraceptive, and in anticipation of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, the system has the capability to deliver a microchip so that horses can be monitored for health and behavior. The system has been proven to fire at least two darts at once, which could include a combination of contraceptive, RFID chip and/or vaccination.

“The system has produced a ‘wow’ effect,” Hart said. “This is really game-changing and will form a new industry. No one in the world has tried to do this yet.”

Hart anticipates the next

prototype, enhanced with solar power and other features, to be ready in April. Experts are supportive of WPM’s innovation prototype and its vast possibilities.

“The remote capability of the WPM device is an amazing tool in that it saves time and manpower. The ability to deliver vaccine or birth control in this method is far more humane than having to chase these feral horses, for capture and vaccination or individually darting from a distance,” said Dr. Ralph Zimmerman, New Mexico State Veterinarian. “To have the ability to maintain the needs of the horses (or other potential target species with minimal fear and stress to these animals is huge. The system could also be used to sedate adoptable animals for handling and adoption, providing another non-lethal method of population control. Obviously, in this case you could schedule appropriate staffing for safe horse handling.”

The innovation is also a species-specific target, which means that the technology used to humanely control wild horse populations can also be adapted to feral dogs, feral pigs, deer, and other wild animals.

Wildlife Protection Management is in the process of raising funds for another round of efficacy testing, focused in part on RFID delivery—a vital step toward attracting additional feder-

al grants and private investment.

The company launched a crowdfunding campaign this month,

and they aim to raise $50,000 to continue testing the humane and cost-saving solution.

Berry Angus & Lopez Angus

USDA to change beef grading standards

T

he U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced that it is updating the voluntary U.S. Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef. USDA quality grades are used by companies to provide information to purchasers about meat’s tenderness, juiciness, and flavor and are a major factor in determining the value of beef and live cattle.

This update to the standards will provide companies using the USDA grading program with additional options – dentition or age documentation – to establish the maturity of animals and ensure that cattle 30 months old, or less, are included in the youngest maturity group recognized as “beef” (A maturity). Skeletal and muscular evidence will still be used to determine maturity for those animals over 30 months of age.

This change for voluntary beef grading activities will be implemented on Monday, Dec. 18, 2017. Companies using the USDA voluntary grading program must do the following prior to Monday, Dec. 18, 2017: 1) Provide documentation to the AMS Supervisor and Graders describing how carcasses over

30 months of age (MOA) are identified and segregated within the plant. AMS will review these procedures either during routine QSA audits or during supervisory visits. a. Plants with a Quality Systems Assessment (QSA) program (e.g., for Export Verification) will provide the applicable section from their quality manual which details this process. b. Plants without a QSA program will document their process through a Standard Operating Procedure or similar document.

2) Ensure the AMS Supervisor and Graders are aware of how carcasses over 30 MOA are identified/marked. The carcasses must be identified in a manner that allows the AMS Grader to easily see the identification when presented for grading.

After Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, companies may only offer carcasses for initial quality and/or yield grading. No carcasses shall be presented for grading that were held as regrades from the previous week. These requirements are included in QAD 500 – Beef, Bullock, and Bull Grading Methods and Procedures.

1st Annual Bull Sale March 24 Selling 35 coming 2-year-old Registered Angus bulls PAP tested at 8,200 feet

IBBA Releases December 2017 Genetic Evaluation

T

he International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) has announced the release of December 2017 Genomic-Enhanced Expected Progeny Differences (GEEPDs).

In this round of genetic evaluation, over 1.4 million animals were considered. Of those, GEEPDs were produced for 13,010 Brangus®, Red BrangusTM, Ultrared, and Ultrablack® animals that have either high- or

low-density genomic profiles in the database.

Members are encouraged to look at their individual profiles on IBBA’s member portal, at int-brangus.org, to see if any animals in their herd have qualified for GE-EPDs. Animals with a GE-EPD are identified on the website with the double helix DNA logo beside the EPD. Additionally, percentile ranks are posted to provide standings for individual traits of animals.

These ranks are available on IBBA’s website, at http://www. gobrangus.com/breed-averages-and-percentile-ranks/.

Members can find confidence in their efforts knowing these evaluations improve the predictions of offspring performance when making selection and mating decisions for the future. Increases in the number of genotyped animals continues to improve the predictive power of the genetic evaluation.

PROVEN

GENETICS

MA Final Choice 2351 | PAP: 39 MA Altitude 3114 | PAP: 38 MA Consensus 2101 | PAP: 39 SAV Resource 1441

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6612 Patrick Berry

Home (575)445-2944

Page 14

Livestock Market Digest

January 15, 2018

Outbreak of Cattle Fever Tick in South Texas gets Boost From Unexpected Ally Native nematode may help control fever ticks in South Texas.

BY LOGAN HAWKES 3 SOUTHWESTFARMPRESS.COM

T

he fight against the spread of cattle fever ticks in Texas has a new tool in its arsenal, thanks to the research of a USDA entomologist and his research team in Deep South Texas. The tool looks at utilizing nematodes that serve as predators on the deadly ticks that has cattlemen and veterinarians alike hopeful that the spread of ticks in recent years may again come under control.

In the distant past, cattle fever ticks nearly destroyed the Texas cattle industry and threatened the U.S. industry. But intense eradication efforts and a permanent cattle fever tick quarantine zone along a large portion of the Texas-Mexico border helped to control that threat for years and have provided an effective prevention strategy that has worked well for decades – until a few years ago.

In 2004, a major uptick in

the number of two types of ticks in South Texas caught animal health officials by surprise after many years of outstanding control and abatement efforts.

During those years of successful tick control and manage-

Because nilgai range far and wide, the uncontrolled propagation of the antelopes quickly exploded across a large area. ment in the South Texas borderlands, were sporadic instances occurred where Rhipicephalus annulatus and R. microplus, the ticks known to carry deadly Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina, better known as cattle fever, were discovered not only on stray cows crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico but also on cattle on ranches in close proximity to the Texas border.

But those instances were largely kept to a minimum, and any

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But beginning about four years ago, large numbers of

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the ticks began cropping up in Cameron County, the southernmost point of Texas, and before long it was discovered that the uncontrolled emergence and spread of the ticks were related to the exploding population of wild nilgai, an imported exotic breed of antelope first introduced in South Texas at the King Ranch in the 1920s. Because nilgai range far and wide, the uncontrolled propagation of the antelopes quickly exploded across a large area.

A rather large animal—in some cases the size of horses— the nilgai roamed freely across parts of South Texas and across the border in Mexico, carrying the ticks and the diseases they harbor back and forth across the border. As their numbers continued to grow, the exotic antelopes began moving deeper into adjoining counties in South Texas.

DEADLY CONSEQUENCES Officials say the fight against the influx of ticks from Mexico has been challenging. The federal Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program (CFTEP) was established to eliminate bovine babesiosis from the U.S. cattle population as far back at the early 1900s. The program is a joint state-federal initiative because the disease is a severe and most often fatal threat to the cattle it infects.

The disease, once contracted

by cattle, is generally characterized by extensive loss of red blood cells due to the breakdown of a cellular membrane that leads to anemia, jaundice, most often followed by death.

Infected cattle may exhibit neurological disturbances characterized by incoordination, seizures, muscle tremors, hyper excitability, aggressiveness, blindness, head pressing, and coma, leading to mortality.

In addition, the two tick species responsible for carrying the disease are capable of causing blood loss, significant damage to hides, and an overall decrease in the condition of livestock.

Since 1907, the CFTEP has patrolled the southern borderlands to prevent infected strays from wandering across the river from Mexico. To this day mounted tick riders continue to patrol the border in search of strays that may be carriers of the ticks. The permanent quarantine zone is a thin tract of property located along the U.S./ Mexico border that stretches across eight South Texas counties, and has been in existence now for 110 years, which has helped to control tick populations.

But no one expected the exotic nilgai would prove too fast and fleet and extremely elusive and capable of avoiding contact with the diligent tick riders and ranchers who keep an eye out for the animals within the designated quarantine zone.

The over-population of nilgai has become so problematic since 2014 that USDA and State of Texas animal control officers have declared an open season on the animals in an attempt to counter their rapidly growing population. But in spite of those efforts, cattle fever ticks have been detected in Texas cattle herds in a wider area in recent years, in some cases farther north into the interior of South Texas where they have not been reported at all in modern times.

But the work of John Gols-

by, a USDA entomologist who specializes in livestock arthropod pest research, is offering some hope that may help control spread of the ticks and the threat of the disease they can carry.

RESEARCH EFFORTS It’s not Golsby’s first pest circus. The entomologist was part of a team of USDA scientists that released two insect species as part of a biocontrol program in recent years to kill giant reeds, known as “carrizo cane” or “Spanish reed,” that invaded the banks of the Rio Grande and threatened to clog streams and irrigation channels, weaken river banks, stifle native vegetation, affect flood control, suck up water that could otherwise be used as irrigation for agriculture, and reduce wildlife habitat.

The team discovered that by introducing the arundo gall wasp (Tetramesa romana) that targets the main stem of the weed, and the arundo scale (Rhizaspidiotus donacis), which attacks the plant’s roots, the undesirable reed, which can grow 3 to 7 inches a day, could be greatly reduced and managed.

Now Golsby is spending his days releasing a worm that loves to feed on ticks internally.

“It’s a native, locally occurring parasitic nematode worm,” said Golsby. “I think we can say that this nilgai aspect is the most critical problem for the eradication program right now.”

While the elusive animals shy away from most populated areas and are difficult to locate in the South Texas brush country except by aerial scouting, animal biologists report the antelopes are noted for gathering in specific areas which they use regularly to release their bodily fluids, in other words, a latrine.

This has made it possible for Golsby and his research team to install automatic spray devices in select areas where the nilgai are known to congregate in the early evening. The spray devices are activated by movement of the animals. The spray serves as a carrier of the nematodes that make contact with the animals and then attack ticks that may be riding on them.

Researchers say three such spray machines have been placed on a ranch just north of Brownsville to help determine their effectiveness.

FARM BILL POSSIBILITIES U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., D-Texas, whose district includes the Brownsville area, recently visited Golsby to inspect the spray operation. The lawmaker has been actively soliciting federal support for the outbreak of fever ticks in South Texas and says he is working to include continued on page fifteen

January 15, 2018

OUTBREAK continued from page fourteen

Livestock Market Digest

GAO Recommends Improvements to Checkoff Oversight

BY SUSAN KELLY/ MEATINGPLACE.COM

T additional funding for more machines and eradication efforts in the new farm bill.

“The cattle industry has been trying to come to grips with how to control this epidemic,” Vela said this week. “As we work toward the next farm bill, we hope to address the fever tick issue in South Texas.”

Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) inspectors and USDA biologists say the ticks have not only spread to cattle but also to wildlife in South Texas, including whitetail deer. Cattle specialists have said they fear the ticks and the diseases they carry will continue to migrate deeper into Texas and eventually to other U.S. states if eradication efforts are not increased, and that “could be devastating to the industry with estimated losses well over $1 billion.”

TAHC and the Texas Parks & Wildlife crews have been limiting shipment of cattle and wildlife breeding stock outside the permanent and temporary quarantine zones that were established over the last three years to help prevent the movement of animals that do not pass rigid inspection. Even hunters are not allowed to move deer carcasses out of the area during hunting season without first having them inspected for ticks.

It has been estimated as many as 30,000 nilgai roam across South Texas currently, that in spite of efforts to help control population numbers.

Golsby and other USDA officials say they are hopeful that early results of nematode research prove to be a positive development in helping to reduce tick populations in South Texas and add to conventional efforts to stop the migration of the pest deeper into surrounding areas.

Already heightened conventional efforts, like quarantines and inspections and aggressive dipping and other treatment methods have helped to curtail the spread of the problem. Just this week, a temporary fever tick quarantine in Jim Wells County, north of the area where the outbreak is most intense, was released as a result of positive results from their containment efforts. And with the additional aid of new methods like Golsby’s nematode research project, animal health officials are optimistic the outbreak will eventually be contained and, hopefully, the ticks eradicated.

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he U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has made several recommendations to USDA for improving oversight of commodity checkoff programs, including better review of subcontracts and display of key documents on program websites.

There are 22 federal agricultural research and promotion programs, funded by a fraction of the sale of each unit of a commodity. In 2016, check-off funds totaled over $885 million.

GAO reviewed eight of the programs, finding that USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has improved its oversight since the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) made recommendations in a 2012 report. AMS has developed and implemented standard operating procedures and begun to conduct internal reviews of its oversight functions.

However, GAO also found that AMS does not consistently review subcontracts, which impairs its ability to prevent misuse of funds, and that only

four of the eight checkoff programs shared all key documents, including budget summaries and evaluations of effectiveness, with stakeholders on program websites.

In addition to recommending better subcontract oversight and transparency on websites, GAO also suggested that AMS establish a mechanism for tracking checkoff board management review, follow steps to improve annual audits, and develop criteria for assessing whether standard operating procedures are met.

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Livestock Market Digest

January 15, 2018