LMD July 2020

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

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

July 15, 2020 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 62 • No. 7

Second Class Citizens CLIFF GARDNER AS TOLD TO LEE PITTS

Don’t mess with something that ain’t bothering you.

L

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

ast December Frank Dubois really got my attention with a column titled “Permanent Land Grabs”. He wrote, “Both major political parties endorse a forever expanding federal estate. Last November the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources passed a bill to permanently and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The bill is titled ‘Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act’. The real kicker here is the language which states, “Shall be made available for expenditure, without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation.”

“What does that language mean?” According to Frank, “Under current law, dollars for federal land acquisition must compete annually with other federal programs. When Trump signs this bill into law, dollars for federal land acquisition will no longer have to compete - they will be on automatic pilot - $900 million each year MUST be spent on land acquisition.”

You can bet your boots that most of this land will be in your western backyard. You’d think that the feds already own too much land as they already own 640 million acres of America, out of a total 2.27 billion acres.

Four major federal land management agencies plus the Department of Defense manage about 27 percent of the U.S. land base and guess where most of that land is? Fed ownership ranges from 0.3 percent of the land in Connecticut and Iowa, to 80.1 percent of the land in Nevada. The feds own 70 percent of Alaska and 46 percent of 11 other western states. Com-

pare this with a puny 4 percent and less of federal land ownership in the rest of the states.

In our history our country has gone through phases of coveting land, and selling it at fire sale prices. During the 1800’s federal laws encouraged western settlement through federal land disposal. In the 20th century the feds emphasis shifted to holding on to its lands. Or should we say, OUR LANDS? The problem is it can’t begin to take proper care of the land it already owns with a $19.38 billion maintenance backlog. And now the feds will be forced to buy $900 million worth of new land every year. This at a time when the Congressional Budget Office says that by 2030 the federal yearly deficit will reach $1.7 trillion, which was the size of the entire federal budget in 1999.

It is with regret that I report that the US Senate passed the

land grab (S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act) on June 17, 2020 by a vote of 73 to 25. It appears the measure will be heard in the US House of Representatives in July and is expected to pass. At this point in time the belief is that the President will sign the bill… unless America speaks up.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger My “go to” guy on matters concerning our public lands is Cliff Gardner, a highly intelligent gentleman I’ve known for 30 years. Cliff has ranched in Ruby Valley, Nevada, was a Forest Service permittee and has spent a good chunk of his life in law libraries and reading lots of boring books. He has spent years in researching the inner workings of the BLM and Forest Service and he’s reached many conclusions public lands ranchers ARE NOT going to want to hear.

Cliff begins, “It was the intent of the founders of our nation, that such lands as were acquired by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,” (The treaty that brought an end to the Mexican-American War), “and the treaty for the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory (Louisiana Purchase), were to be held in trust by the federal government for purposes of disposal following statehood.”

According to Cliff, “It was recognized that the federal government was to hold and dispose of lands for the purpose of paying off the revolutionary war debt. With the exception of those lands which were included within the Northwest Territory, the Founders of our nation saw only one manner by which the federal government could gain title to lands within admitted states of the union. That was by the authority of Article 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 of our Constitution known as the “Enclave Clause”.

Shortly thereafter, however, opportunity arose whereby the U.S. was given the opportunity to purchase the Louisiana Territory. This purchase should not have complicated things to any great degree,” continues Cliff, “except for reason that the Supreme Court soon after declared that the power over continued on page two

Farm Bureau Warns Ranchers About Signing ‘Voluntary Agreements’ with BLM IDAHO FARM BUREAU FEDERATION

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.S. Bureau of Land Management officials are asking Idaho ranchers who water livestock on BLM land to sign voluntary agreements stating that they are limited agents of the federal government.

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation officials are advising ranchers to think long and hard before signing the agreement, cautioning them that doing so would allow the BLM to maintain water rights in their name and would prohibit the rancher from filing for in-stream stock watering rights on federal land in the future.

IFBF leaders say the issue rehashes some of the main points of a landmark 2007 water rights ruling known as the Joyce Livestock Decision.

In that decision, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled in favor of two Owyhee County ranchers in their battle with the BLM over who owns in-stream stock watering rights on federally administered land.

During the state’s Snake River Basin Adjudication process, southern Idaho ranchers and the BLM filed thousands of overlapping claims to in-stream stock watering rights on federal land.

All but two of the ranchers, Paul Nettleton and Tim Lowry, backed off or negotiated with the BLM when they realized fighting the federal agency in court would cost a lot of money.

Agreeing with Nettleton and Lowry, the state’s supreme court ruled that BLM didn’t own the rights because it doesn’t own cows and couldn’t put the water to beneficial use.

During the SRBA process, the water adjudication court ended up conveying 17,000 stock watering rights to the BLM prior to the Joyce ruling. However, since BLM cannot put the water to beneficial use, they are now in jeopardy of forfeiting these rights through non-use.

The Idaho Legislature passed a bill a few years ago that codifies the Idaho Supreme Court’s 2007 decision into state law, which paves the way for thousands of ranchers in Idaho to file competing claims for those in-stream stock watering rights on BLM land.

In an effort to keep those water rights, BLM is now encouraging permittees to sign agreements stating that they are agents of the federal government and that their livestock are putting the water to beneficial use for the agency.

In an email response to IFBF questions on continued on page four

by LEE PITTS

If Vets Were MD’s

I

think we take our large animal veterinarians for granted. Just think of how much worse it could be if veterinarians were more like medical doctors.

Let’s say a bow hunter accidentally shot your cow in the rump. OUCH! Instead of getting almost immediate attention from your vet, you’d phone a number and be placed on hold listening to ear-splitting music for 20 minutes to schedule an appointment, because vets would no longer make house calls.

“We hear you have a problem with a horse,” says the receptionist on the phone days later.

“No, it’s a cow and some idiot shot an arrow into her rump,” I reply.

“That must hurt. But sorry, the doc is not taking any new patients at this time.”

“We’re not new. He’s been our vet for 25 years.”

“Oh, in that case the soonest we can squeeze you in is in four weeks.”

“You’re kidding? My cow is supposed to walk around with an arrow in her butt for a month?”

“Yes, the DVM is extremely busy because he’s now playing golf twice a week.”

Then the day before your scheduled appointment you get this phone message: “We’re very excited to announce that the doc has been invited to play in a pro-am golf tournament tomorrow. Please call our office to reschedule your appointment.”

Finally, six weeks after your cow was shot you load her up and arrive 15 minutes early to fill out the 24 page questionnaire the receptionist hands you. It asks things like, “Has your cow ever had an “STD”.

You’re embarrassed to ask, so you whisper to the receptionist, “What is an STD?” “In her loudest possible voice she practically screams, “sexually transmitted disease.”

This causes everyone in the waiting room to regard you in a new light. You pervert! Another question asks, “Besides you and your spouse, who should we contact in case of an emergency?”

You write down your sis-

continued on page five

Page 2

Livestock Market Digest

July 15, 2020

SECOND CLASS

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newly acquired territories was different from that exercised within admitted states of the union, in that, the power exercised within acquired territories was “plenary and without limitation” - which by subsequent decisions has come to mean that persons made subject to Congress’ Article IV powers are not necessarily afforded their Constitutional rights and guarantees.”

Yes, you read that right. If you live in a state that was previously a territory you, my friends, are second class citizens!

Cliff continues, “That it became accepted by the courts, that citizens living within America’s territories could be denied recognition of their God given and unalienable rights was bad enough in itself, but then later, the Court went even further.”

Now the feds had two ways the federal government could obtain or hold lands within admitted States of the Union.

According to Cliff, “The first being the Enclave Clause of the Constitution, which authority was limited in its scope, while the second is by the authority of the Property Clause, or the now infamous Article IV of the Constitution, which authority has been declared to be plenary and without limitation.” That’s a quote you’ll here throughout this story. “Plenary and without limitation,” says Cliff, “Means that citizens are not necessarily afforded their Constitutional rights and protections as was intended by the founders of our nation.

“This is much of the dilemma that citizens living within western America now face. It may be true that citizens living in Nevada, as an example, may be protected by the Constitution and its guarantees when they are dealing with issues relating to private lands, but when dealing with issues involving our public lands, they are not.”

Cliff would be the first to say that states have the ability to pass laws regarding public lands absent of any federal legislation, but if, and when, Congress gets involved, the federal legislation overrides all conflicting state law.

“What this means,” says Cliff, “is that when it comes to our public lands, Congress can do just about anything it wants when passing legislation for the management thereof.

“A similar situation exists with regards to Nevada’s claim over such waters which lay within its borders,” says Cliff. “When Congress gets involved state laws can be modified or stricken at any time.”

Making A Mockery of America “This is the source of much of the confusion we now face,” says Cliff. “We may think, as citizens living within the United States, we are fully protected by the Constitution and its guarantees when we appear before a federal district judge, but we are not.

We may think we are living within an admitted State of the Union whereby the State acts as the underlying sovereign over all of the lands and waters which exist within our state’s borders, but in the Court’s mind, such is not the case.

“We may think we can protect certain of our rights by sighting state law when we ap-

continued from page one

pear before a federal judge, but we cannot.

“Fortunately, however,” continues Cliff, “these rulings do not constitute all of the law that has been rendered by the court regarding the management and control of our public lands. The Court has issued other decisions as well that run contrary to those we have mentioned.

Clearly the issue as to whether or not our federal government can lawfully control our nation’s public lands which lay within admitted States of the Union or not, is not settled law – not yet anyway.

“It has long been recognized that the BLM and Forest Service derive their authority from Article IV of the Constitution.

Herein lies the problem. The most serious question that is now before us relates to the fact that the Supreme Court has said, not once, not twice, but multiple times that when Congress acts in pursuant to Article IV, its powers are plenary and without limitations.”

“Persons made subject to Article IV Jurisdiction are deprived of the right of substantive due-process, the right of local self-government, and the right to be tried by one’s peers in the vicinage of one’s residence. Not only that, but the courts have said, when Congress legislates pursuant to its Article IV powers, conflicting state law and policy must yield.

“This makes everything we are supposed to believe in as Americans a mockery. We are not a free people living within a sovereign state, but instead, are treated as citizens of a territory made subject to tyrants.

“It is for this reason that so many of us have continually gotten the feeling that we are not being treated fairly or lawfully when we are forced to deal with the Forest Service, the BLM, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”

Rubbing salt in the wound, anyone who obeys state law that runs contrary to federal law is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not less than two years and a fine that could be as high as ten thousand dollars.

How Can It Be? According to Cliff, what we need to be asking is, “Are we to believe that the Constitution allows the federal government the authority to exercise a species of jurisdiction within admitted states which has been declared to be plenary and without limitations - which deprives citizens of their Constitutionally protected rights, when we all know that the primary purpose for writing the Constitution was for the protection of individual rights? Or should we believe otherwise?

“How can it be said that the federal government can claim ownership of up to 90 percent of the lands within an admitted State of the Union, when it was so clearly stated by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention that their greatest fear was that should the federal government ever acquire vast amounts of land within organized states of the Union, that it might awe the states into undo obedience and destroy their independence?

“How can it be said that the continued on page three

July 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

SECOND CLASS federal government can exercise a species of Jurisdiction within an admitted State of the Union, which allows the federal government to act both as a state government and the federal government, when the Supreme Court of the United States itself has declared that such a denial of a citizen’s right to be protected by the divisions of powers doctrine might be pronounced the very definition of tyranny?

“How can it be said that the federal government can exercise a species of jurisdiction, which has been declared to be plenary and without limitations, within territory that was acquired pursuant to the Treaty for the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory, and by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, one hundred and fifty years after a state, which was carved out of said territory was admitted to the Union, when it is so clearly stated within each of these treaties that “the inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States, AND ADMITTED TO THE ENJOYMENT OF ALL THE RIGHTS, ADVANTAGES AND IMMUNITIES OF CITIZEN’S OF THE UNITED STATES.” (Emphasis added.)

“How can it be, that the Court has long upheld the notion that such lands that lay beneath navigable rivers and streams pass to a respective state upon statehood, yet assume that the open and unappropriated uplands do not?

“Should we not be asking our representatives to look into these matters for the purpose of making their own determinations?” asks Cliff. “Should we not be asking them why it is, that they show so little concern that the federal government is now exercising a species of Jurisdiction within admitted states which deprives citizens their right to be protected by the Constitution?

“What is it going to take before people begin to object to being deprived of their Constitutional rights and guarantees? Have we become so apathetic that we no longer care that we are now being deprived of the greatest safeguard ever, against tyranny?” asks Cliff. “What would the Founders say, if they knew how easily

Page 3 continued from page two

we give up all they worked for?

“It is bad enough that it is now assumed that the federal government can buy any amount of land it wants within a State at any time it wants without obtaining the State’s consent, but to assume, in regards to such lands, that federal law can override state law is even more troublesome.

Such an assumption violates the right of the people to limited government.

It violates the separations of powers doctrine. It violates the people’s right to local self government. And since such power is plenary and without limitation, it strips the citizenry of every other right that is recognized by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution itself.

“Are we to accept the idea that it is constitutional for the federal government to buy up all the lands within a State without the State’s consent, thus destroying the State completely?”

Considering everything discussed so far, any thinking person must concede that under federal law Cliff says, “(a) there is no federal recognition of grazing rights on public lands; (b) that federal law overrides or preempts conflicting state law under the Supremacy Clause; (c) that the Constitution’s guarantees do not apply when citizens are made subject to Congress’ Article IV powers; (d) and, when Congress acts in pursuance of its Article IV powers, it is the federal government, not the State that acts as the underlying sovereign over all such waters which arise on federally claimed lands within a state’s borders; for that is how the court has ruled.”

According to Cliff, “The courts now assume that Congress’ authority over our public lands is without limitation - that individual rights no longer matter - and that the federal government acts as the underlying sovereign over such public lands that may lay within an admitted state’s borders.”

After years and years of research the conclusion that Cliff has come to is, “The only thing lacking for purposes of seeing that justice is done is for each state to gain control of its public lands as was intended by the founders of our nation.”

According to Cliff Gardner here are several Rights NOT AFFORDED citizens made subject to Article IV jurisdiction, including BLM and Forest Service permittees: • The right to be treated as a citizen of an admitted State of the Union rather than a citizen of a Territory are NOT protected.

• The right of citizens to have their rights recognized and protected as unalienable God given rights rather than as federally granted rights, can be taken from them at any time by a later act of Congress.

• They DO NOT have the right to be governed by the common law rather than administrative law.

• They DO NOT have the right to be protected by the 10th Amendment to the Constitution which states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

• They DO NOT have the right of citizens to be protected by the Guarantee Clause which guarantee the “the Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of Citizens in the Several States.”

• They DO NOT have the right of the Defendant to be protected by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution in their entirety.

• They DO NOT have the right to have municipal government exercised at the local level, rather than by the Nation as a whole.

• They DO NOT have the right of a Defendant to be judged by his peers in the vicinage where they live, but rather can be tried at the Federal District level where persons sitting in judgment may not be familiar with the customs and culture of the area involved.

• They DO NOT have the right of citizens to be protected by Article I, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 of the Constitution, which guarantees that the Federal Government acquire no land within admitted States of the Union except by purchase, and by the consent of the State’s Legislature.

• They DO NOT have the right of due process, as is defined by the common law.

• They DO NOT have the right to be tried by a court which acts as a constitutional court rather than a legislative court.

• They DO NOT have the right to be protected by the 6th Amendment to the Constitution, to be informed of the nature of charges so that a defendant can prepare an adequate defense.

• They have no ability to restrict the Federal land in the amount of lands it can control within admitted States of the Union.

• The right of citizens to be protected by the Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, where the powers of the Federal Government ARE LIMITED AND ENUMERATED.” (Emphasis ours.)

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Livestock Market Digest

July 15, 2020

Green New Deal Dress Rehearsal

BY PAUL DRIESSEN |CFACT.ORG

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ore than 1.4 million cases of Wuhan Coronavirus and 106,000 deaths in the United States alone have accompanied stayhome lockdowns, businesses bankruptcies, over 40 million unemployed workers, plummeting tax revenues and unprecedented debt. Ongoing rioting, vandalism, arson and looting are compounding problems for many cities and minority communities.

Yet where many see disaster, others see opportunity. Some want to use the crises to enact laws and welfare programs they could never get otherwise. More ambitious activists see the lockdown as a blueprint or dress rehearsal for a total energy, economic and lifestyle transformation to “save the planet.” If three months of Covid lockdowns can reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions, they argue, permanent fossil fuel bans are possible, essential and should be undertaken immediately.

Five years ago, former UN official Christiana Figueres said the real goal of climate actions was to “intentionally transform the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years” – and replace it with socialist-environmentalist global governance. More recently, she said post-Corona economic stimulus packages should be used to “kick-start” investments “in low-carbon infrastructure projects that will create jobs and put the world on a safer, fairer, more resilient path.” Others want to use climate change as a pretext for dictating how global wealth and resources will be redistributed.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff is on the same page. The Green New Deal “wasn’t originally a climate thing at all,” he said in May 2019. It was “a how-do-you-change-theentire-economy thing.” Presidential candidate Joe Biden and other leading Democrats have endorsed the GND. UN Secretary-General António Guterres believes “the pandemic could create an opportunity to rebuild the global economy along more sustainable lines.” His environment chief thinks COVID-19 presents “a chance to do capitalism differently.” The UN Green Climate Fund says it “offers an opportunity to direct finances towards bolstering climate action” and

“re-launch[ing] economies on low-emission, climate-resilient trajectories,” to control climate and weather and prevent massive extinctions.

In short, echoing former Obama science advisor John Holdren, they want the United States and other modern societies to de-develop and de-industrialize, establish low-consumption life styles that ensure “more equitable distribution of wealth,” and tell poor countries how much “ecologically feasible” development they will be permitted to pursue.

Perhaps most important, these “visionary” ruling elites will be in charge. They will define what is clean, green, renewable, sustainable, ecologically feasible, safer, fairer, more resilient.

They will demand less travel, trade and commerce – for the masses. They will live quite well, while telling today’s oilfield and factory workers their industries must disappear and they must be content with minimum-wage jobs installing, maintaining and dismantling wind turbines and solar panels made overseas.

Fans and implementers of Covid-19 lockdowns have been oblivious to the economic, societal and human devastation caused by the lockdowns: not just economic losses, depleted savings and ruined dreams, but millions of cases of depression, drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, obesity, stroke, heart attack, thousands of deaths from these causes, and suicide and murder attributable to the lockdowns.

Add to that millions of future or still uncounted deaths and disabilities from missed biopsies, skipped cancer screenings and chemotherapy, missed early treatments for stroke and heart-attack patients, and organ transplants simply not performed – because “non-essential” medicine was closed down, people lost their health insurance, or patients were afraid to go to clinics and emergency rooms.

Many hospitals, clinics and practices lost so much money that they may have to close their doors. The cumulative long-term impact from that on healthcare, life spans, and death tolls among obese, diabetic, elderly and severely ill patients could be enormous. These human costs will take years to manifest themselves and be calculated.

Indeed, the ultimate cost of the lockdown could be worse than

the virus.

We still do not have reliable data on Covid infections, cases and deaths – and don’t know whether deaths were due to Corona, or merely associated with the virus and primarily due to age or serious underlying health problems. We don’t even know how many vulnerable elderly people died from Covid complications inflicted on them by decisions by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other officials to force nursing homes to accept recovering Corona patients and keep Covid-infected staff working in those facilities.

All this is from lockdowns lasting several months. Suggestions that we “transform” our economy with expensive, unreliable, weather dependent energy – and endure energy, employment, healthcare and other deprivations in perpetuity – border on homicidal insanity. They would postpone or eliminate any economic recovery, result in unimaginable misery and death in now-developed countries – and condemn tens of millions of people in still impoverished nations to horrible suffering, disease, starvation and death.

As to saving the planet and ensuring “ecologically feasible” development, GND energy systems would be vastly more devastating to scenic areas, habitats and wildlife – and to human health and welfare – than any likely effects from manmade portions of future climate changes or weather events.

As Michael Moore’s new film, “Planet of the Humans,” dramatically demonstrates, wind, solar, battery and biofuel

technologies are the antithesis of clean, green, renewable and sustainable. Even worse, the ecological devastation it documents is happening in a world that is still 81 percent dependent on oil, natural gas and coal, four pecent on nuclear and seven percent on hydroelectric.

The impacts and species losses would be orders of magnitude greater if we were 100 percent dependent on pseudo-renewable energy sources.

Adopting UN-AOC energy prescriptions would require literally millions of 800-foot-tall wind turbines, billions of solar panels, billions of half-ton batteries, thousands of biofuel plantations and clear-cut forests, billions of battery-powered vehicles, and thousands of new and expanded mines to provide tens of billions of tons more metals and minerals. The ecological impacts would reach every corner of every continent. Hundreds of bird, bat, reptile and mammalian species would disappear.

Household, hospital, school, business and factory electricity costs would skyrocket. Jobs and industries would vanish.

Those prescriptions would also make the United States enormously dependent on China, not just for medical devices and pharmaceutical components – but for metals, raw materials and component parts needed in wind turbines, solar panels, backup power batteries, and defense, aerospace and high-technology applications.

And all that mining and manufacturing, in Asia and other distant lands, would require fossil fuels, at levels far beyond

BLM this issue, BLM officials said the agency is “encouraging permittees to sign the voluntary (agreements) to help ensure that they can continue to utilize the state-based stockwater rights obtained by the BLM for the term of their permit and any subsequent renewals.

A signed agreement helps protect the stockwater rights in the permittees’ allotments from a possible future forfeiture proceeding.”

BLM said the agreements “ensure regulatory certainty for permittees and ensure that all stockwater rights in an allotment remain available for the permittee.”

During the court case, the BLM argued that they must hold the water rights to ensure the current and future grazers on federal lands had access to the water.

In its ruling, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected that assertion and it also said the BLM’s argument reflected a serious misunderstanding of Idaho water law.

But now BLM is asking ranchers who graze cattle on federal allotments to sign voluntary agreements that say they are “acting as a limited agent of the United States for the purposes of establishing and maintaining water rights solely in the name of the United States on federal public lands….”

USE OF AN AGENT If a permittee signs this agreement, “He is saying, I am an agent of the federal govern-

anything seen in history, under minimal to nonexistent pollution, workplace safety and human rights laws, accompanied by prodigious emissions of carbon dioxide.

Fans and implementers of GND transformations are willfully oblivious of these realities.

They refuse to discuss them or allow others to discuss them – because to do so would destroy their phony “saving the planet” narrative and quest for total control over our lives, livelihoods, living standards and liberties.

No wonder the UN-AOC-environmentalist crowd went ballistic over Moore’s film. YouTube yanked the movie from its viewing platform, and “mainstream” media, social media, search engines and information sites are now engaging in blatant censorship on climate, energy and environmental issues.

An increasingly activist, liberal media complex also wants to dictate and control what people see, hear, say and think on race relations, medicine and virtually every other political topic. From the NY Times and Washington Post, to Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube and Wikipedia, platforms that should be forums for robust debate instead are used to dictate what is true or false, permissible or banned.

US, EU and UN green new deals are just one component of the battle for our future. Corona lockdowns should serve as a bitter taste of what could come – not as a dress rehearsal or blueprint for it.

Paul Driessen is senior policy advisor for CFACT and author of Cracking Big Green and Eco-Imperialism: Green Power

continued from page one

ment and as such, my cattle are putting this water to beneficial use for the BLM so they can hold stockwater rights in their name,” said IFBF Director of Governmental Affairs Russ Hendricks. “There is no other way the BLM can have a stockwater right unless they have an agent who is putting the water to beneficial use for them.”

Speaking at an IFBF water rights conference in 2015, Justice Dan Eismann, who wrote the court’s decision, said, “People did not come West to be agents of the federal government, so that was easily rejected.”

He also said that “water rights on federal land are appurtenant to the person who is watering the stock.”

Hendricks said Congress has made it clear that stock owners are authorized to seek and receive stockwater rights on federally administered land.

By signing the BLM agreement, “The rancher would then have no opportunity to file for those stockwater rights in his name because the BLM would already have them,” Hendricks said.

If a permittee does not sign the agreement, Hendricks said, the BLM could potentially forfeit a water right that was decreed to them during the SRBA because they are not putting it to beneficial use. Meanwhile, the rancher would be free to file for that water right in their name with the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

“Under the Joyce Livestock decision by the Idaho Supreme

Court, if the permittees own and manage the livestock, they should own the water rights,” said Paul Arrington, executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association. “They are the ones putting the water to beneficial use.”

He said that permittees’ deferred claims are valid water rights recognized under Idaho water law and therefore, even if BLM’s adjudicated water rights are forfeited, the permittees still have a valid, underlying water right that they are entitled to file upon.

“A water right is based on beneficial use – you have to actually use the water,” Arrington said. “The water cannot be claimed by anyone who has not actually used that water.”

“Our advice at this point is to think long and hard about it before signing,” Hendricks said. “The down side of signing the agreement is you are eliminating any possibility of obtaining that stock water right in your name in the future as long as the agreement is in force.”

Lowry, one of the ranchers who prevailed in the Joyce Livestock Decision, said BLM’s recent attempt to get ranchers to sign these voluntary agreements “looks like a back-door scam. It looks like they are trying to stampede people into signing up by essentially using scare tactics.”

“I don’t like it at all,” he said. “It rubbed me the wrong bloody way.”

Updates can be found at https://www.idahofb.org/stockwater2020.

July 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

Page 5

The Biggest Climate Change Lie of All: ‘Ocean Acidification’

BY ANTHONY WATTS / GUEST ESSAY FROM THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE

T

hroughout the history of claims about global warming, aka “climate change,” we’ve been served some real whoppers. Of course there’s Michael Mann’s “hockey stick” of temperatures, which was coddled together from bad data, bad computer code, and even “hiding the decline” by truncating data that didn’t agree with the warming narrative and splicing different data on top of it that did.

Then there’s Al Gore’s claims of polar bears disappearing when in fact their numbers are increasing, and the melting ice cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, which was supposedly a victim of climate change but turned out to be a result of deforestation. And who can forget the “children won’t know what snow is” claim by British climatologist David Viner which was so laughably over-the-top and wrong that it was finally shoved down the memory hole by the newspaper that published it.

All these climate claims have been shredded for the abuse of science that they are.

But it turns out that the biggest whopper of them all is still being used today by the media and some scientists to push a doomsday scenario: the dreadful-sounding “ocean acidification.” The phrase conjures up images of sea life dissolving in acidic seawater.

It’s completely untrue. The ocean is not acidic at all, and not even close. In fact, the phrase “ocean acidification” is a complete lie. Media outlets and

science claim the ocean is “acidifying” because of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

They claim ocean acidification is dissolving the shells of marine creatures.

While media claims run wild about dissolving sea creatures in an “acidic” ocean, real world data shows the ocean is far from acidic.

Have a look at this figure showing where seawater currently is on the pH scale. The reality shown in the figure is that with an average pH of 8.1, the oceans are a long way from turning acidic. Using the word “acidic” instead of more neutral phrasing in media reports sounds scarier for the cause of climate alarmism.

Ph scale is at https://www. epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain scroll down a bit to find it Figure 1: Comparison of the pH of common substances.

Data source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.

The acidity or alkalinity of sea water is described by its pH level. Water is acidic at a pH less than 7 and alkaline if pH is greater than 7. Seawater is naturally alkaline at 8.2.

Although climate models suggest the ocean’s surface pH has dropped from pH 8.2 to 8.1 since 1750, that change was never actually measured. The pH drop is merely a modeled conjecture that is, unfortunately, constantly repeated as fact.

The concept of pH was first introduced in 1909, and the pH concept was not modernized in chemistry until the 1920s.

Despite our sophisticated global fleet of 3,800 Argo floats that measure ocean temperature and salinity, only 10 per-

Great American Outdoors Act: What it means for forest roads

T

he “Great American Outdoors Act” passed the U.S. Senate on June 17 and is expected to be approved by the U.S. House in July. It does two things. First, it provides $9.5 billion over 5 years to address infrastructure needs on public lands and waters, especially those in the National Park System. Second, it provides permanent funding (at $900 million annually) for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports new government land acquisitions and easements.

The Great American Outdoors Act has been described as “the most significant conservation legislation enacted by Congress in at least half a century.” Detractors have described it as a “land grab,” allowing public agencies to acquire more land when it can’t manage those it already owns.

However you might feel about it, it’s worth mentioning that the Great American Outdoors Act provides new funding for National Forest System roads.

Forest roads enable millions of Americans to enjoy public lands, and they facilitate firefighting and search and rescue operations. But many of these roads are no longer usable and we often see failing culverts and bridges that need fixing. Forest roads are also essential to active forest management, but deteriorating road conditions are often a detriment to urgently-needed forest health projects on National Forests.

The extensive National Forest System road network used to be funded and maintained by timber dollars. Yet today the Forest Service’s maintenance backlog for forest roads currently exceeds $3 billion, while the agency receives $18 million per year to maintain 370,000 miles of road. The Great American Outdoors Act provides a boost- up to $40 million annually- to help address this backlog.

The Great American Outdoors Act is a first step toward reversing the disinvestment in National Forest System roads.

As essential American infrastructure, additional funding is also being proposed in major infrastructure legislation in Congress.

We will continue to keep you informed on developments.

cent also measure ocean carbon dioxide chemistry, and just 40 floats measure ocean pH, suggesting the researchers don’t think it is a really big problem.

Measured trends in ocean pH only began in the 1990s, which is far too short a time to allow a robust analysis.

A new white paper from the CO2 Coalition, “Ocean Health—Is There an ‘Acidification’ Problem?,” outlines the issue in scientific detail. The principal researcher for the paper is biologist Jim Steele, a member of the CO2 Coalition and recently retired director of San Francisco State University’s Sierra Nevada field campus, a position he held for more than 25 years.

Steele reports a scientific consensus that even if atmospheric CO2 concentrations

were to rise from today’s 0.04 percent to 0.10 percent (over about 250 years at current rates), ocean pH would fall only to 7.8, still well above neutral for all ocean surface waters, and stabilize there.

The paper reveals that the term “ocean acidification” was invented to scare citizens into opposing the use of fossil fuels, which power 80 percent of the U.S. and world economies. It also shows that carbon dioxide is a vital part of ocean health and the ocean food web, because additional CO2 input allows marine life to thrive. The foundation of the ocean food web is phytoplankton, which includes organisms such as microscopic plants and bacteria.

These organisms require CO2 to make their food through photosynthesis.

RIDING HERD ter-in-law’s name who’s a kindergarten teacher, although you doubt that she’s going to be much help in removing the arrow from the rump of your cow.

You wait in the waiting room reading four year old cow magazines and watching The View on TV. Your name is finally called and so you unload your cow to be looked at by a veterinarians’s assistant (VA) who takes the cow’s blood pressure, temperature, weighs her and offers a preliminary prognosis. “Your cow appears to have an arrow in her rump.” Then she asks all sorts of questions, including, “Does your cow have insurance?”

“She does but I don’t.”

“In that case we’ll only require a $500 office visit charge. Does the cow have a living will.”

“Well yes, she’s shown a really strong will to keep on living despite her lack of medical care.”

Then the VA says, “The veterinarian will be right in.”

An hour later you finally see the vet, Dr. Mallard (a real quack). He looks at your cow and says, “We’ll need to send your cow to several specialists. First to a gastroenterologist who’ll run a camera up her tailpipe to see if there’s

CO2 Coalition chair Patrick Moore, a noted ecologist and a former top-ranking Greenpeace official, said, “This paper details the powerful cycle that takes surface carbon down to the depths for lengthy periods, before upwelling to enrich surface life again. Shells and marine species thrive in widely varying pH levels, making the so-called acidification crisis yet another cynical example of propaganda masquerading as science. As with fears of polar bear extinction, frequencies of hurricanes, length of droughts, and ‘accelerating’ sea-level rise, the specter of ‘ocean acidification’ has no basis in the scientific data.”

Anthony Watts is a Senior Fellow at The Heartland Institute and the founder and publisher of Watts Up With That, the world’s most viewed site on global warming and climate change.

continued from page one

internal damage. Here are several unreadable prescriptions and lab orders for several tests including fecal, blood and urine. We’ll need these to confirm that your cow has arrow-in-the-butt syndrome. Also, here are instructions to the imaging center, that I own part of, for an MRI, CAT scan, x-rays and end-oscopy. At some point you’re cow is going to require the services of another member of my golf foursome, Dr. Sawbones, who owns Shark’s Surgeon group.

He’s an extremely average surgeon but happens to be my brother-in-law.”

Your cow eventually dies on the operating table despite several attempts to revive her with the cowboy defibrillator, a hotshot. On the cow’s death certificate where it says, “Cause of death,” instead of signing his name, Dr. Sawbones writes, “a negative patient outcome was the result of the cow dying of COVID 19.”

For the next two years you receive bills in the mail for things like “laboratory outreach” and “tallow works retrieval”. The final blow arrives from your cow’s insurance company that informs you that none of the charges will be covered because it was an “elective surgery.” www.LeePittsbooks.com

Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

Land

The property-grabbing feds get mandatory funding

W

hat did our Founding Fathers think of private property? Let’s take a look.

“Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty.”

--- John Adams “A right to property is founded in our natural wants, in the means with which we are endowed to satisfy these wants, and the right to what we acquire by those means without violating the similar rights of other sensible beings.”

--- Thomas Jefferson “No other rights are safe where property is not safe.”

--- Daniel Webster “Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.”

--- Samuel Adams What does our current political leadership think of private property? Let’s call them the Floundering Fathers. Why? Because when it comes to private property, they think we have too much of it.

The most recent example is the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Great American Outdoors Act by a vote of 73-25. Prior to that they had to invoke cloture (end debate), which they did and they had to waive their own Budget Act resolution, which they did.

The Great American Outdoors Act basically contained two provisions. One would permanently fund the Land & Water Conservation Fund to the tune of $900 million per year (the primary use of this fund is for land acquisition). The second provision establishes the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund. You see, the feds can’t take care of the lands they already own, so this new fund would authorize up to $9.5 billion over the next

five years to catch-up on back logged maintenance projects on federal land.

One of the few Senators to talk sense on this legislation was Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) who said, “This Act is an expensive, shortsighted mistake. It spends money we don’t have to buy more federal land when the federal government is already failing to take care of the land it already owns.” Senator Lee had several amendments he wanted to present.

One would have required state approval of any lands acquired with these federal funds.

Another would require the federal agency acquiring lands with these funds to first dispose of lands of equal or greater value within the state. Another would have required an annual report to Congress on costs of acquisition, maintenance and administration of any lands acquired by these funds. However, the Republican leadership denied him the opportunity to offer these amendments.

One of the primary proponents of this legislation was Senator Corey Gardner (R-Colo.) who referred to the Land and Water Conservation Fund as one of the “crown jewels” of conservation. Someone should remind Senator Gardner that we live in a republic, not a monarchy, and that the “crown” has demonstrated a total lack of ability to appropriately manage the lands they already control.

The proponents of this legislation even resorted to using the coronavirus pandemic as justification for supporting the proposals. Here are remarks by Senator Martin Heinrich (DNM) during debate on the bill.

Mr. HEINRICH. Senator, if you would yield for a moment. To the Senator from Montana, I notice a very similar dynamic emerging from Montana as it was from New Mexico of being very thoughtful about a response to the virus but also making sure that people

could get out and just get that time for their physical well-being and their mental well-being even in the height of the pandemic. In doing that responsibly--and I think it certainly impressed upon everyone I talked to just how important these places have always been. Maybe sometimes we took them for granted, but I think the last 3 months have helped us not take the great American outdoors for granted.

Mr. HEINRICH. I think part of what has made this legislation so timely is what we have all been through in the last 3 months.

Many of us were cooped up in our homes for weeks at a time, and it really drove home for all of us how incredibly important the time that we get to spend outside is.

According to Senator Heinrich, the sicker our population the more value there is to federal lands. If that is correct, then so would be the opposite. As our population heals, the value of these lands would decline.

That, however, was not discussed during the debate.

The facts are the feds own 29percent of the land in the U.S. The states own 9 percent.

Think of it this way: If you were to walk from coast to coast every third step would be on government land. The DC Deep thinkers say that is not enough.

They demand a mandatory expenditure $900 million a year to acquire more land. When will it stop? When every other step is on government land? Or will it get to the point where you have to very carefully tippy-toe around to stay on private property?

Water Several years ago Idaho underwent the Snake River Adjudication where southern Idaho ranchers and the BLM filed thousands of overlapping claims to in-stream stock watering rights on federal land. The water court ended up conveying 17,000 stock watering rights to the BLM. Two ranchers, Paul Nettleton and Tim Lowry, challenged these allocations in court, and the Idaho Supreme Court issued a decision saying that BLM didn’t own the rights because it doesn’t own livestock and therefore couldn’t put the water to beneficial use. So you’d think BLM would comply by relinquishing the water rights back to the state and allowing the ranchers to file on the water. If you thought that, you had better think again. Instead, the Idaho Farm Bureau reports the BLM “is now encouraging permittees to sign agreements stating that they are agents of the federal government and that their livestock are putting the water to beneficial use for the agency.”

That’s pretty sneaky. The Idaho Farm Bureau is advising ranchers to think long and hard before signing any such agreement and Paul Arrington, executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association says that under the supreme court’s opinion, “if the permittees own and manage the livestock, they should own the water rights” because “They are the ones putting the water to beneficial use.” Furthermore, Justice Dan Eismann, who wrote the court’s decision, said, “People did not come West to be agents of the federal government.” Ain’t that the truth.

Now the appetite of the feds is laid bare. They hunger after land and thirst for water. And you and I, my friends, get to

July 15, 2020 pay for their gluttonous feeding habits.

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

Dairy Supply Chains Will Need to Adjust as Consumer Behavior Changes

C

OVID-19 is dramatically affecting consumer habits and dairy supply chains as food service demand plummets and grocery sales surge. Consumers struggling with job losses and economic uncertainty quickly returned to buying basic dairy products like fluid milk, commodity cheese and butter.

A new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange indicates that consumer behavior will be different for the next 12 to 18 months than it was pre-pandemic, and as that behavior takes root, dairy supply chains will need to adjust from farm to fork.

“The dairy industry is coping with some new realities, largely driven by the decrease in food service demand and restaurant sales,” said Tanner Ehmke, manager of CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange. “The challenge for dairy supply chains will be adapting to focus on meeting demand trends based on evolving consumer behavior as we navigate through an uneven reopening.”

As consumers heeded the stay-at-home advisories, they increased purchases of products that in recent years had fallen out of favor. Processed cheese sales increased by nearly 20 percent during the eight weeks ending May 31. White milk sales gained more than 10 percent during the same period.

Cereal is also doing well with sales up almost 15 percent.

Even as restrictions have begun lifting, polling has shown widespread reluctance among consumers about immediately returning to normal activities like restaurant dining and business travel. In late April, a Business Insider poll found just 9 percent of Americans believed they would resume their routine exactly as it was before the lockdowns, with only 16 percent saying they would resume “almost all” of their activities.

At a minimum, it will take some time for sit-down restaurant traffic to look anything like it did before the pandemic.

Forecasts from Open Table suggest that the U.S. could lose up to 25 percent of its restaurants.

Any structural reduction in restaurant sales has potential product mix implications for dairy processors and converters. For instance, firms that specialize in making or packaging products for food service accounts will need to retool, making different types of cheese or filling different-sized sour cream containers for at-home consumption.

Much of the price volatility experienced over the past 90 days has more to do with massive supply chain disruptions than major changes to aggregate demand and supply. Perishability played a big role in the upheaval. As demand spun toward retail, food service operators disposed of fresh products that now have to be replenished for reopening.

Some buyers are asking if suppliers can develop and provide extended shelf life alternatives. Movement in that direction would presumably help on the supply side, giving manufacturers and dairy farmers more supply cushion.

A world with more extended shelf life manufacturing options might mean less dumping of milk than took place in April. Business models may also be readjusted from just in time inventory practices to having more inventory stored in warehouses.

Grocers are also cutting down on product selection to enhance operational efficiency. Published reports say that the popular Wegman’s supermarket chain, for example, has cut its offerings from about 52,000 products to 30,000 products.

Data from Nielsen shows that for the four weeks ending June 13, supermarkets carried nearly 7 percent fewer dairy items than the year prior. For dairy companies and other food marketers, that could mean fewer line extensions, fewer opportunities to differentiate, fewer chances to test new concepts.

As the economy reopens, potential changes in consumer habits, the level of social distancing that remains in place, and the level of disposable income will again reshape dairy supply chains long term.

Read the report, “Dairy Supply Chains Adapt as Consumers React to COVID-19,” at https://www.cobank.com/knowledge-exchange/dairy/dairy-supply-chains-adapt-as-consumers-react-to-covid-19

Advertise to Cattlemen and Ranchers!

Call 505/243-9515 for more information.

July 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

Page 7

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■ ELK RIDGE RANCH – Capulin, NM area, 100hd. +/- herd of Elk seen on property from timeto-time, 5,520 ac. +/- w/nice home, barns & pens, watered by wells & live water, no outside access through the property. Brochure being prepared!

■ PRICE REDUCED! WEST HAYDEN RANCH – Union/Harding Counties, NM – 9,670.76 ac. +/(8,350.76 ac. +/-Deeded, 1,000 lease/purchase acres, 320 ac. +/- NM State Lease) of really good ranch land, well watered by a large spring, mills & subs, on pvmt., home, barns & 2 sets of pens.

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RIBERA,340 CR B41E 32.6 acres with 3bd/2ba home on Pecos River, Hay Barn and outbuildings. Just over 20 acres in alfalfa and grass hay production. $695,000

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New Mexico Properties ForForSale...

New Mexico Properties Sale...

Bar M BarEstate M Real RealEstate

CONTACT CONTACT

THE100 100 RANCH – Ifare you are looking forRanch a quality cattle ranchfrom then downtown the Ranch iscattle just what need.

100 include Ranch is THE RANCH – If you looking for a–quality cattle Property ranch suitable for100 a registered operation.

Improvements Roswell, NM you along andThesouth of U.S. POQUITA MESA RANCH a scenic, well improved with The stunning views of Sacramento and Jicarilla Mountains.

Located approximately $2,500,000 for then the 100 Ranch is justcattle what you need.

100 Ranch is the two sets of pens, shop, and hay barn. Price: Highway 70/380.

Improvements include a Call custom located approximately 35 ranch miles north of Roswell, NMnearby mileswell northwest of cattle Carrizozo, Mexico on the Chupadera Mesa.

The ranch is comprised of 15,931 deeded acres, 30,680 a brochure or view on my website: www.ranchesnm.com a30 scenic, improved ranchNew with stunning views of the infederal Chaves DeBaca Counties between Highway designed rockcapacity home, guest Barn, nearby Sacramento and Jicarilla Mountains.

Located approxBLM& lease acres and 9,208 NM State lease acres. 285 The maximum grazing of the ranchhouse, is listed atQuonset 1,200 A.U.Y.L. BLACKWATER DRAW RANCH – Nice well ranch and Highway 20.

It isofaCarrizozo, first offering of a start ranchup costs. barns,Watered and awith good set ofandpipe pens.improved Partitioned into imately 30 miles northwest Mexico onno the The ranch is fully operational, readytime toNew turn out with six wells an extensive pipeline system. property located just 15Access minutes downtown NMwith Chupadera ranchthe of 15,931 Amplehas big Mesa. game The hunting onis comprised the ranchownership to includedeeded elk, antelope and oryx. to from the public landRoswell, is limited that been under same andmule man-deer,two larger pastures and two smaller pastures.

Acreage alongincludes and south U.S.vehicles Highwayand 70/380.

Improvements acres, 30,680 lease acresThe and 9,208 State approximately 7,000 acres of private landranch gatedNM locked. The price all ofranch equipment.

TheState 100include Ranch includes 2,185 deeded acres and 320Quonset NM Lease agement forfederal four BLM generations. isandcomprised a customwith designed rock home, guest house, Barn, LLC. lease acres.

The maximum grazing capacity of Ittheisranch is listed has had just two owners since the 1940s. one of a kind.

Co-listed Mossy Oak Properties NM Ranch & Luxury, The Blackwater Draw Ranch is adjacent to of over 32,000 deeded acres and a small amount of acres. barns, and a good set of pipe pens. Partitioned into two largerthe atPrice: 1,200$11,000,000 A.U.Y.L. The ranch is fully operational, ready turnwebsite: out www.ranchesnm.com Call for a brochure or view ontomy Cochise Ranch, the two may be combined federal BLM lease land.

Grazing Capacity is owner pastures and two smaller pastures.

Acreage includesvery 2,185easily. with no start up costs. Watered six wells and just an extensive COCHISE RANCH Ranchwith property located west of Roswell, NM along toState U.S.Lease 70/380 to Ruidoso, deeded acresand andadjacent 320 NM acres.

The Blackwater controlled with an –big honest grazing $1,450,000 Call for aHighway brochure or view on my pipeline system.

Ample game estimated hunting on the ranch tocapacity include Price: NM. Comprised of 6,607 deeded acres and 80 acres of NM State Lease Water is provided three solar wells Draw acres.

Ranch is adjacent to the by Cochise Ranch, the and two pipelines. may be elk, mule deer, antelope andcows oryx. yearlong.

Access to the public landisiswell website: of approximately ranch www.ranchesnm.com Fenced into several 700 pastures and small trapsThe suitable for a registered cattle operation.

Improvements include two sets of or combined very easily. Price: $1,350,000 Call for a brochure pens, limited with approximately 7,000 acres of private land gated and improved withbarn. an Price: excellent water distribution system. shop, and hay $2,500,000 Call for a brochure or view onon mymywebsite: www.ranchesnm.com view website: www.ranchesnm.com CALDWELL RANCH – First time offering of a locked. The price includes all ranch vehicles and equipment.

Water originates had from 6two wells equipped with submersBLACKWATER Nice the well improved property ranch locatedproperty just 15 minutes from Roswell, NM The 100 Ranch hasDRAW just RANCH owners–since 1940s.

It is ranch quality located in downtown northeastern PECAN ORCHARD – 10.2guest acres with over 230 Chaves ible solar pumps, andOak windmills.

This ranch&include is KELLEY along of U.S. 70/380.

Improvements a custom designed rock home, house, Quonset Barn, one ofpumps, aand kind.south Co-listed withHighway Mossy Properties NM Ranch County, New Mexico approximately 20 miles northmature producing pecan trees located just west of Roswell, and aPrice: good set of pipe pens.

Partitioned into larger and two smaller pastures. Acreage includes 2,185 deeded abarns, cowman’s dream designed cowmen and ready $11,000,000 Callby for a brochure or two view on topastures Luxury, LLC. NM. Artesian water rights with one well irrigation west of theto small community of supplies Elida.

Configured in acres and 320 NM State Lease acres.

The Blackwater Draw & Ranch is adjacent the Cochise Ranch, the two may be combined my website: www.ranchesnm.com go.

Co-listed with Mossy Oak Properties NM Ranch watertracts throughofa a newly sprinkler systemacres to the and orchard. totalinstalled of 7,200 deeded 640 very easily. Price: $1,350,000 Call for a brochure or view on mytwo website: www.ranchesnm.com Luxury, LLC. Price: $13,200,000 Calljust for west a brochure or Improvements include a large 5,400 square foot two story coloCOCHISE RANCH – Ranch property located of ofproducing state lease.

Watered by three wellsofand pipeKELLEY PECAN ORCHARD – 10.2 acres with over 230 acres mature pecan trees just west Roswell, nial style residence that has been located featured in Southern Living view onNM myalong website: www.ranchesnm.com Roswell, and adjacent to U.S. Highway 70/380 to NM. Artesian water rights with one well supplies irrigationlines. water through a newly installed sprinkler system to the Grazing capacity is estimated to be 130 AUYL. Magazine. This property is one of a kind. Call for an appointment Ruidoso, NM. Comprised of 6,607 deeded acres and 80 acres orchard. Improvements include aRANCH large 5,400 square foot two storyaatlook colonial style residence that has$975,000 been featured Price: Call for ain to take or for a color brochure.

Priced $370 per deeded acre.

BLACKWATER DRAW – Nice well of NM State Lease acres. Water is provided by three solar wells Southern Living Magazine. Thislocated property just is one15 of aminutes kind. Call brochure for an appointment take a www.ranchesnm.com look or for a color brochure. or view on mytowebsite: improved and pipelines.ranch Fenced property into several pastures and small traps Price: $975,000 Call for a brochure or view on my website: www.ranchesnm.com Scott McNally, Qualifying Broker

Scott McNally, McNally, Qualifying Broker Bar M Real Estate, LLC Scott Qualifying Broker P.O. Box 428, Roswell, NM 88202 Roswell, NM NM 88202 Roswell, 88202 Office: 575-622-5867 Cell: 575-420-1237 Office: 575-622-5867 575-622-5867 Cell: 575-420-1237 575-420-1237 www.ranchesnm.com Office: •• Cell:

www.ranchesnm.com www.ranchesnm.com

O’NEILL O’NEILL LAND, LAND, llc llc P.O. Box 145, Cimarron, NM 87714 • 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 P.O. Box 145, Cimarron, NM 87714 ••575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 land@swranches.com www.swranches.com

land@swranches.com • www.swranches.com

WAGON MOUND RANCH, WAGON MOUND RANCH, Mora/ Mora/Harding Counties, Harding Counties, NM. 8,880.80NM. +/8,880.80 Total Acres, a with subTotal Acres, a+/substantial holding stantial with mix of good mixholding of grazing landgood and broken country off rimand into broken Canadiancountry River. grazing land Hasrim modern system located off into water Canadian River.

Has 17 miles water east ofsystem Wagon located Mound off modern 17 pavement 3 miles Mound on county miles eastthen of Wagon off road. Two bedroom historic house, pavement then 3 miles oninclude county once a stage stop.

Wildlife road.

Twomule bedroom historic antelope, deer and somehouse, elk. once a stage$2,440,000 stop. Wildlife include $2,710,000 antelope, mule deer and some FRENCH TRACT FARM, 491.55 +/elk. $2,390,000 deeded acres, Colfax County, NM two RATON pivots, someMILLION gated pipe, DOLLAR 371 irriColfaxinCounty, NM. 97.68 VIEW, gation shares AVID, House, barn, +/acres 2 parcels closedeeded to exit 419 offinI25 on HWYwith 58.

All in onehome, contiguous parcel with excellent big shop, wildlife, all sides. $700,000 aaccess trueon million dollar view at the end of aMILLION private road. $489,000.

RATON DOLLAR VIEW, Also withNM. the97.68 house+/and one Colfaxlisted County, deedparcel forin$375,000 ed acres 2 parcels with excellent MIAMI 20 ACRES, Colfax County,

UNDER CONTRACT

NM big quality 2,715 asqft home, shop, wildlife, true adobe million home, fruit trees dollar viewbarn, at thegrounds, end of a private road. and mature pri$489,000.

Also trees. listed Extremely with the house vate REDUCED and onesetting. parcel for $375,000$353,000.

This is20 a must see.

Also County, listed with MIAMI ACRES, Colfax NM same house with 10 +/deeded quality 2,715 sqft adobe home, barn, acres forfruit $308,000 grounds, trees and mature trees.

Extremely private setting.

REDUCED MAXWELL 19.50 ACRES, Colfax $355,000. must see.extensive Also listed County, This NMis aquality with same house withbedroom, 10 +/- deeded remodeled two one acres for $310,000 bathroom home with water rights, MAXWELL 19.50 ACRES, in Colfax outbuildings for livestock NE County, NM quality extensive remodNM. Great south facing porch for eled two bedroom, onecooling bathroomoff home sipping iced tea at with waterftrights, outbuildings live6,000 elevation.

Wouldfor make stock in NE NM. Great south facingwinter porch summer forgreat sipping iced teagetaway cooling and off at 6,000 ski base. $270,000 ft elevation. Would make great summer MORAand COUNTY 160 +/-$270,000 ACRES, getaway winter ski base.

SOLD

CONTRACT P E N D IN G

SOLD

MORA COUNTYsouth 160 +/-east ACRES, miles 12 miles of 12 Wagon south east ofremote, Wagon Mound, remote, Mound, excellent solarexcelwell lent solarmix well mix of sub good of good sub irrigated andirrigated range. and range.

Small$154,000 cabin. $154,000 Small cabin.

Page 8

Livestock Market Digest

July 15, 2020

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals: Victory for Landowners

BY KATRINA HUFFSTUTLER

I

t’s a tale older than time: landowner vs. municipality in a long-fought battle for rights. But in one modern day version, the story didn’t end at city hall or the county courthouse. Anthony Fazzino and David Stratta’s case against the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District went all the way to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals — one step below the Supreme Court.

And the decision there has far-reaching, positive implications for landowners and cattle raisers across the state.

Jim Bradbury, a Fort Worthbased attorney who represents Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and specializes in environmental litigation and eminent domain matters, says it all began when the conservation district granted the City of Bryan a permit for a new well.

Normally, he explains, with new wells, the permit holder must have acreage that equates with or related to the volume allowed. But when the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District granted the city’s

permit, they allowed for 3,000 gallons per minute on a threeacre site.

“With that large volume permit, you know it’s going to be pumping water out from underneath adjacent landowners’ property — like Fazzino’s,” Bradbury says.

Fazzino attempted to challenge the permit, but after going through an administrative proceeding, was told he did not have standing to do so. His next best option was to file for his own well, an offset well.

“If you’re familiar with oil and gas, you know the story,” Bradbury says. “If you don’t want your neighbor to drain you, you just put in a well yourself.”

The district — working closely with the city — however, had other ideas. Fazzino was told he couldn’t get a permit for the same 3,000 gallons per minute the city did unless he owned 649 acres.

Still, his permit was denied .“He told them, ‘But you’re giving the city that with only three acres of land.’ He knew it wasn’t fair,” Bradbury says.

David Stratta, a landowner and member of the Brazos Val-

ley Groundwater Conservation District’s board of directors, was sympathetic, though, and suggested the district discuss the matter at their meeting that night. His fellow directors declined. Stratta then came up with Plan B. He signed up as a member of the public to bring it up at the meeting that way.

The board precluded him from doing that, too. Finally, he says he’d like to put it on the agenda for the next meeting. Again, he was denied.

Left with no other choice, suit was filed in federal court in Waco but was dismissed entirely by the district judge. The judge concluded the groundwater district is the equivalent of a state agency, like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and cannot be sued.

He also concluded the matters of the state law at issue were so uncertain that, as a federal judge, he should abstain and decline to answer state law questions. Lastly, he concluded there was no First Amendment violation when Stratta was prevented from addressing it with the board.

The case was appealed and made it all the way to the Fifth

Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Once there, the case was assigned a three-judge panel who would consider the parties’ briefs along with amicus briefs from multiple organizations, including Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. These briefs don’t help argue either party’s case, but rather provide background information on policy implications for the judges to take under advisement.

On May 29, the panel announced their decision: Local groundwater conservation districts are not the equivalent of a stage agencies and therefore are not immune to lawsuits for takings and Constitutional violations.

“From a policy standpoint, this is a good thing,” Bradbury says.

“Because it tells them you need to take property rights more seriously than you have. You can’t just do what you want and say we’re immune.”

The law in Texas is firm that landowners own the groundwater underneath their property and have a right to protect their fair share of the right to produce that groundwater.

They ruled that Stratta’s

First Amendment rights were not violated. Because he serves as a board member, the Open Meetings Act governed and those rules apply, not the First Amendment.

Bradbury says while the ruling was a victory for Fazzino, he’s not done.

“The court is saying he has a right to proceed on those two claims. They’re saying he should be able to take depositions, have a trial, carry that out, and ultimately the trial judge can decide that. The Fifth Circuit has put a box around that judge to say, ‘Don’t you kick this out, the law is certain, and you need to stand in there, hear the evidence, and decide it.’”

And that’s good news for all landowners.

“It’s huge,” Bradbury says.

“Now we have a federal court looking at constitutional rights and equal protection and saying you can’t treat a city and the Mister Fazzinos of the world differently. You cannot let a city pump 3,000 gallons per minute out of a three-acre property and then tell some other landowner you have to buy a section if you want that much water.

Biosecurity Important Tool in Fighting Vesicular Stomatitis

H

orse owners should review basic biosecurity practices to guard against the potential spread of vesicular stomatitis to their animals, Oklahoma State University experts said.

Vesicular stomatitis is a contagious, viral disease that – while rarely life threatening – can have a significant financial impact on an individual horse owner and

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the state’s equine industry, said Dr. Barry Whitworth, OSU Extension veterinarian.

The first case in the United States in 2020 was diagnosed in early April in New Mexico, much earlier than normal as the viral disease typically occurs during the summer and into fall, and some years not at all.

“Vesicular stomatitis is a reportable disease; state and fed-

ation

public

eral animal health authorities will be contacted by a horse owner’s local veterinarian and the state veterinarian will quarantine an affected farm or ranch if a case is confirmed through testing,” Whitworth said.

Oklahoma law requires that horses and other susceptible animal species must be confined to a quarantined location for at least 14 days from the onset of the last case on the property. Equestrian event organizers also may choose to cancel horse shows, rodeos and similar events in the surrounding area.

Interstate movement of horses also may be restricted.

Symptoms include blister-like lesions on the tongue, mouth lining, nose or lips of an affected horse. Excessive salivation, difficulty in eating and swelling of the coronary band also may be seen. In some cases, the lesions develop on a horse’s udder or sheath. Whitworth said a horse manager should contact his or her veterinarian immediately if such symptoms are observed.

The disease can be passed from horse to horse by contact with saliva or fluid from ruptured blisters.

“Insect control programs should be implemented as insects are the primary manner in which the virus is spread,” said Kris Hiney, OSU Extension equine specialist. “Physical contact between animals, or contact with buckets, equipment, housing, trailers, feed, bedding, shared water troughs or other items used by an infected horse

also can provide a ready means of spread.”

OSU recommendations include the following to help prevent the occurrence of vesicular stomatitis: • Healthy horses are more disease resistant, so provide good nutrition, regular exercise, deworming and routine vaccinations.

• Isolate new horses for at least 21 days before introducing them into a herd or stable.

• Implement an effective insect-control program as certain types of flies and midges can transmit the disease. Remove manure promptly and eliminate potential breeding grounds for insects such as standing water and muddy areas.

• Use individual rather than communal feeders, waterers and equipment.

• Clean and disinfect feed bunks, waterers, horse trailers and other equipment regularly.

• Be sure farriers and other equine professionals who come into direct contact with the horse exercise due caution so as not to spread the disease from one horse or facility to the next.

For facilities where vesicular stomatitis has been confirmed, horses with lesions should be isolated from others. Healthy animals should always be handled first and ill animals handled last. Handlers should then shower, change clothing and disinfect equipment to prevent exposing others. Anyone handling infected horses should implement proper biosafety meth-

ods including wearing latex gloves and washing hands after handling animals with lesions.

“If you’re sponsoring an equine event during an outbreak, require a recent health certificate on every horse entering the location and consider having a veterinarian visually inspect all horses at check-in,” Hiney said. “Work with the veterinarian to establish isolation and response procedures that can be implemented quickly if a suspected case is identified at the site.”

Vesicular stomatitis can be transmitted from infected horses to humans. The disease in humans tends to cause severe flu-like symptoms such as headache, fever, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. Whitworth and Hiney said anyone who experiences flu-like symptoms after working with an infected horse should contact a physician immediately.

For more information about vesicular stomatitis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Equine Disease Communication Center have resources online. A video segment featuring Whitworth sharing insights about the equine disease is available online through OState TV. OSU Extension is one of two state agencies administered by the university’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and is a key part of OSU’s state and federally mandated teaching, research and Extension land-grant mission.

Latino Workers’ Group Hails Improved Conditions at U.S. Meat Plants

BY KATE GIBSON / MEATINGPLACE.COM

P

rogress is being made in working conditions at U.S. meatpacking plants operating amid a pandemic, according to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the civil rights and volunteer-based organization.

“Our single focus here and now is worker safety for the tens and thousands of Latinos who are still going

to meatpacking plants every day,” Domingo Garcia, national president of LULAC, said in a news release.

“We are meeting with the CEOs of these companies and going into the plants to see for ourselves the changes they’re making to fight the coronavirus.”

In talking to food producers, LULAC is calling for monthly testing of workers for COVID-19, personal continued on page nine

July 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

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

Littered With Progress

T

he other day on the internet, I saw an old commercial of a semi truck that had these words painted on the side: JONNY KAT, KITTY LITTER. For some reason that had a profound affect on me. Imagine a semi full of kitty litter!

40,000 pounds of scented, colored, and packaged cat box contents!

That has to say something about our affluent society, about the shape of our civilization. Some of our past inventions are quite practical and ingenious. The self-seal-

ing, puncture proof tire, mercury lights, insecticide ear tags, microwave ovens, the Salk vaccine, four wheel drive, frozen orange juice and boxed beef. Pistachio tree roots are susceptible to certain kinds of root rot. But peach tree roots are more resistant. So the pistachio growers graft pistachio trunks onto peach tree roots.

Clever.

Consider how much artificial insemination has done to improve the quality of our livestock production. Genetic engineering is space age technology.

But sometimes when we strive to achieve we go off the deep end. Take the cell phone.

When they first appeared on the scene they were expen-

Page 9 sive, heavy and required two hands to operate. Now you can get a disposable one with a camera that adds, subtracts, calculates square roots, tells you the time in Singapore, wakes you up, plays you a tune, gives you the weather and news, takes your pulse, calendars all your events and reminds you of them all, and controls all appliances in your house! What I’d like to find is a cell phone that gives me more hours in a day!

And speaking of rotting edges affluence, how about aerosol cheese spread? I thought plastic wrapped, individual cheese slices were pretty decadent but you can also foam it onto your crackers like shaving cream.

Yep, we’ve surrounded ourselves with creations that have gone a step beyond their original purpose; fender skirts, square headlights and veterinarians with PhD’s. Some might even include Pekingese, Chihuahua or Appaloosa in that group but I know how sensitive animal breeders are so I certainly wouldn’t include them. Obviously our adventures into the extreme or entertaining are useful. We learn and perfect by doing.

Well, my digital ballpoint pen is playing “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” so I guess it’s time to brush my teeth and hit the sack. I hope the batteries are still charged in my computerized flosser.

44 Farms International Beef Cattle Academy Application Now Open

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he 44 Farms International Beef Cattle Academy is accepting applications for its 2020-2021 online certification program. Applications for this comprehensive certificate program, through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, open June 20 and are due August 15.

“We’ve developed the strongest course offerings paired with industry-leading experts, and we anticipate our third program year to build on the success of the previous two years,” says Reinaldo Cooke, program coordinator and associate professor at Texas A&M University. “Students can quickly apply class learnings to their operation or business – that’s an instant return on investment.”

Prospective students should apply as soon as possible. An ideal student candidate is eager to learn and is passionate about driving the industry forward.

Class size for the prestigious academy is limited to offer an exclusive and customized learning experience. The academy’s online learning format allows anyone from across the globe to participate.

Firsthand experience Students currently enrolled in 2019-2020 offered these perspectives for future attendees:

LATINO

• “Because the classes are set – Kazakhstan student • Nutritional management to provide participants with the full value of this educational opup to be flexible, it’s really ideand requirements al for students who work during What to expect • Reproductive physiology portunity without sacrificing the opportunity for a first-rate expethe day. I spend most of my The 44 Farms International and management rience.” day on the farm, so being able Beef Cattle Academy consists • Breeding and genetics to participate at my own pace of eight courses at 30 learning • Immunology and herd Scholarships available makes it much more valuable hours per course. management are health on herClasses blog, “Buzzard’s Beat.”

She con- children 12 and under. and worthwhile.” -Kazakhstan taught online with pre-record• Safety of beef products New for the 2020-2021 proAttendeegram, registration is noware open at nects with to readers student Carcassstories and beef quality scholarships available ed lectures. In addition the by •sharing raising cattle starting a online ranch coursework, www.cattleu.net.

An Early Bird DiscountThe • “For me and my opera- pre-recorded about for interested individuals. lectures, there is andFollowing with her husband, their young rate of $85scholarship is good through April 30.will tion, International Beef Cat- a weekly interactive the academy typically concludes opportunities session for raising tle Academy has been a real the student and with an will optional residency peri-registration help extend instructor.

The Frobose daughter, and more. keynote Regular priceparticipation starting Mayin1the game-changer. The materials one-on-one sessions odasand in academy to a broader audience, the firstare daycustomof Cattle U, wellgraduation as conductceremony will be $135 per person. and classes have opened my ized based on individual student College Station, Texas. covering up to 70% of tuition he High Plains Journal is once again a breakout session on advocacy methods Cattle U Trade Show space is currently mind for so many opportunities needs, says Ky Pohler, program “The ability to participate costs. hosting a two-day learning opporfor today’s cattlemen. available, quickly.

Exhibitors and new approaches in our busi- coordinator and assistant pro- virtually also provides peace but filling The up next academy begins in tunity, Cattle Ustudent & Trade Show, July Another confirmed willtimes be of have the opportunity save and 20 percent ness.” – South American of speaker mind amid global Septemberto2020 continues fessor at Texas A&M University.

• 29 “Itand is very concerns,” through 2021.

Apply include: 30 atinteresting the Unitedthat WirelessCourse Arena,topics Dave Nichols, owner health of Nichols Farms insaysonPohler. booth space ratesAugust until April 30 as well. toyou can watch allKansas. of these class“With two years of experience in about day at animalscience.tamu.edu/ • Cattle welfare and behavior Dodge City, southwest Iowa. The Nichols family To inquire how your company can es online, access all the material conducting the academy online, ibca/ or email ibca@tamu.edu • Forage and utiThe event will feature keynote ses- production markets bulls, semen and embryos exhibit at this premier educational event and then be face to face with the lization our team knows what it takes for more information. throughout the world.

Dave Nichols will for cattle producers, contact Zac Stuckey sions and breakouts aimed at cow-calf, speaker to ask anything about feeder producers.

Sessions speak to the importance of using every at 316/516-3670 or zstuckey@hpj.com. thosestocker things and you learned.”

– Kazakhstan student practical, actionable, infor- tool available to today’s cattle producers will provide For more event information and to see • mation “My favorite wasanimal health, in order to make the best herds the general schedule at a glance, visit on topicscourse such as: the one over nutrition, butnutrition, all of www.cattleu.net. genetics, marketing, reproduc- even better. the courses were very valuable. tion, forage and range management, The two-day program will feature I was able to learn even more s a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Census response rate needs a boost. We’re andmy more. keynote speakers each day, breakout thanfinance I did from college classdoing whatever we can to help reach out to the ag industry, especially those in rural comOne of the first confirmed speakers is sessions, a trade show, and a special es.” – Romanian student munities that have not been reached.

• Brandi “It is one thing to read about Buzzard Frobose, a Kansas rancher, social event planned exclusively for The deadline to complete the census has been extended to Oct. 31. We remind everyone in the beef blogger production, when you andbut communications profes- Cattle U attendees July to 29 the at the Dodge agriculture community to respond census either online, over the phone, by mail or in perput things into practice, you are City Roundup Arena prior to the Roundup sional who was named National son.

Door-to-door operations were temporarily suspended in March but have now resumed across going to have questions related the state.

Visit https://2020census.gov/ to respond to the census.

Rodeo performance.

Rodeo tickets are Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s 2019 to your specific operation. HavThe census is a simple 10-question form that,for upon completion, determines how more than available as an add-on to registration Advocate of the Frobose writes ing the opportunity to Year. ask your $800 billion in federal funds will be distributed in communities across the nation, including over questions experts aboutto herindustry family and theirisKansas ranch $19 for adults 13 and older and $10.25 for $7 billion per year in New Mexico.

The funding supports roads, schools, healthcare, public safety incredibly valuable, and my faand essential service programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and National vorite thing about the course.”

School Lunch Program. Research suggests that every New Mexico citizen unaccounted for results in a loss of approximately $3,745 every year.

For more information, visit https://www.icountnm.gov/home/.

Cattle U Comes to Dodge City, Kansas July 29 & 30

T

2020 Census Deadline Extended ▫

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continued from page eight

protection equipment, line speedto-labor adjustment and compensation for infected workers undergoing care and assistance to families of workers who’ve died from complications from the coronavirus.

LULAC has so far met with JBS in Greeley, Colorado, and Tyson Foods in Springdale, Arkansas, both of which have made “significant strides,” according to the group, which has 1,000 councils across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. Discussions are also underway with Cargill in Minnetonka, Minn.

Garcia and his organization are also calling for legislation and federal funding to help meat producers make costly design and operational changes to protect the nation’s food supply and food workers.

As of June 25, there had been at least 25,700 reported positive cases tied to meatpacking facilities in at least 243 plants in 33 states, according to the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. There have been at least 95 reported worker deaths at 39 plants in 24 states, the center reported.

MAY 2020

35

Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

July 15, 2020

Tester & Grassley: Threat of Meat Shortages Growing

BY JON TESTER AND CHUCK GRASSLEY, USA TODAY OPINION CONTRIBUTORS

A

s two farmers from rural America who moonlight as U.S. senators, we know that many folks who live in urban centers may be unfamiliar with how meat goes from farms and ranches in Montana and Iowa to grocery stores in New York or Los Angeles.

But it requires only a brief look under the hood of the beef supply chain to diagnose the grave crisis currently facing American farmers and ranchers, and the growing threat of shortages for every American family who buys meat at the grocery store.

Beef begins its journey through the supply chain at one of our nation’s cow-calf oper-

ators, who raise cattle for the first nine months of the animal’s life before transferring them to a feeder for fattening. When a cow is ready to harvest, they are taken to a processing facility — or meat packing plant — where they are slaughtered and packaged before the beef is shipped to grocery stores or exported.

Corporate giants control market But in recent decades, the packing industry has become dangerously consolidated. Currently, only four large corporations control 80 percent of America’s meat processing capacity, running massive processing plants and industrial feed lots.

These corporate giants use their market share to drive down cash, or “spot,” prices for cattle

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and then use those depressed prices to set formulas to buy cows from independent farmers, ranchers and feeders for dirt cheap, all while raising meat prices at the grocery store.

And this problem started long before the pandemic, which has exposed the dangers of this consolidated industry by infecting thousands of plant employees, shutting down a quarter of our nation’s meat processing capacity, making it more difficult for families to find meat at the grocery store, and jeopardizing our nation’s food supply chain.

The consequences are real.

In the past 20 years, American families have seen meat prices more than double while prices ranchers are getting for their cattle have risen less than half that. You don’t need to be an economist to know that when you have only a few corporations determining prices and the price at the farm gate is going down but the price of packaged beef is

going up, you’re not dealing with a capitalistic system.

Small cattle producers may be lost Now the pandemic has brought the industry to a crisis point. If the federal government doesn’t act fast to help stabilize the market, America’s small and independent cattle producers will go extinct. That means more industry consolidation, higher prices at the grocery store, economic destruction in rural America, and a vertical food supply chain even more easily crippled by a single accident or disaster.

What do you think? Shape your opinion with a digest of takes on current events.

That’s why we’ve introduced legislation to mandate the large packers purchase 50 percent of their cattle with “spot” pricing, which will make it harder for corporations to manipulate and depress cattle prices, and give cattle producers more oppor-

tunity to receive fair returns for their product.

This won’t solve the problem entirely, but it will help to provide badly needed relief to folks who are being squeezed by imbalanced markets and corporate greed.

These cow-calf operators and small and medium-sized feeders are the backbone of our nation’s food supply and the lifeblood of our economies in rural America.

As farmers ourselves, we know producers don’t want more regulation and they certainly don’t want a bailout. All they want is the market to work, and everything from the cost of meat at the supermarkets in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York to the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers in Manhattan, Montana and Brooklyn, Iowa depend on the Senate taking swift action to make sure it does.

Senator Jon Tester is a Democrat from Montana; Senator Chuck Grassley is a Republican from Iowa.

Nevada Extension Offers Online Session to Help Ag Producers Manage Stress

A

mid COVID-19 and the economic crisis it has caused, the nation’s farmers and ranchers, like many of us, are experiencing high levels of stress and other mental health challenges. University of Nevada, Reno Extension has convened a panel of experts and will host a free online session Tuesday, July 7, 10-11:30 a.m.

PST, specifically to provide information to agricultural producers to help them manage any such struggles they may be experiencing. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussions. The session, titled “Stress and Mental Wellness Check,” will feature: Lorann Stallones is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Colorado State University, where she works to improve the health and safety of people engaged in agricul-

ture through understanding risk factors associated with stress and suicidal behavior. She began her studies of health and safety among farmers and their families in upstate New York, continued that work at the University of Kentucky, and came to Colorado State University in 1990.

Alison Brennan is an assistant professor and Extension mental health specialist at Montana State University. Brennan’s research includes evaluation of behavioral health interventions and rural development projects.

Kenneth Coll is former dean of the College of Education and former acting dean of the School of Social Work, at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is currently on special assignment. His work includes offering guidance and resources for those who may be experienc-

ing mental health or substance abuse issues. Coll’s career and research have focused on educational psychology and counseling.

Brenda Freeman is a professor of counseling and educational psychology in the College of Education and Extension specialist at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her work includes providing guidance and resources for those experiencing stress or mental health issues.

Freeman has over 30 years of experience in the field of counseling.

The session is part of an online series, “Agriculture: Living Beyond a Pandemic,” being organized and presented by Lindsay Chichester, Extension educator in Douglas County, Nevada. The sessions are offered via Facebook Live, with Chichester opening each one with an introduction about the topic, followed by brief presentations by the speakers. Then, the majority of each session is driven by questions from participants.

Known as “Dr. Lindsay” to many in the country’s agriculture industry and on social media, Chichester grew up on a cattle and sheep ranch in northern California, and then earned a master’s degree in animal science and a doctorate in agricultural sciences.

“Even in the best of times, ranchers and farmers often lead a pretty stressful life,” she said.

“And, often they are very humble, independent and proud, and may be isolated from people who can help them manage their stress or mental health struggles. We just wanted to provide a connection, information and resources for them, as they continue to provide the food for our country during this unprecedented time. We also encourage anyone who may need help or just wants more information to join us.”

For the link for the July 7 session, and details on future sessions, go to https://extension. unr.edu/program.aspx?ID=186.

For more information, email Chichester at lchichester@unr. edu or call 775-782-9960 (leave a message and she will call you back).

July 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

The View

The Autonymous Zone?

BY BARRY DENTON

P

erhaps Rod Serling’s imagination was predicting the future when he created his 1950’s and 60’s television series entitled, “The Twilight Zone”? It was a very successful show because of its odd mix of drama, horror, superstition, and comedy.

After you watched a bizarre episode, you would inevitably ask yourself, “could this really happen?” Giving what’s going on in America in 2020, I believe anything is possible, especially if it is bad for the country.

For instance, the crazy folks in this country have been released to act ridiculous and destroy property under the guise of oppression. Where are our elected leaders? It looks to me like they are quaking under their desks.

Jenny A. Durkan the former United States Attorney and now the sworn Mayor of Seattle did nothing to stop Black Lives

Matter and ANTIFA from taking over downtown Seattle. The Capitol Hill Free Zone established by its leader Raz Simone has thrown hundreds of residents out of their homes and businesses. The mayor has done nothing to protect those citizens and has allowed the protestors to remain.

I thought one of the first responsibilities of a mayor was to protect its citizens via law enforcement? I did not realize that mayors only had to protect certain citizens and not the others.

On top of it all, it’s traditional for the Governor of the state to send in the National Guard if further protection is needed.

None of this was done to protect the citizens of Seattle. Why there isn’t physical action taken by the residents and business owners of downtown Seattle is beyond me.

Just think, these groups were just laying in wait for some injustice to take place in America, so they could do this. It’s hard for

me to believe that some members of our society cannot wait for an excuse to destroy the lives of others, but that element continues to grow. This is what happens when you take God and history out of the education system. History repeats itself, like it or not.

Remember, just a few years ago in the Pacific Northwest a small group of ranchers peacefully took up occupation of The Malheur Wildlife Refuge as they were protesting the Bureau of Land Management and its treatment of ranchers. The ranchers hurt no one and did not destroy any property, yet federal marshalls gunned down Lavoy Finicum while holding his hands in the air with no weapons. Where is the outrage for that?

Oh I forgot, I guess he was not a “minority.” Remember, previously to that in Nevada federal marshalls raided the Bundy Ranch, because they were behind in paying their grazing fees.

Yet, if you are BLM in Seattle destroying countless lives and properties, you can’t find a federal marshall. A little bit of a double standard here folks? On the other hand, do we really want to buy into the race baiting? I think 95 percent of Americans never even stop and think about it under normal circumstances. It really is absurd in this day and age.

The next thing that I hear

Page 11

about, which concerns many of us in the livestock business, is that Black Lives Matter (BLM) has formed a rural division to wreak havoc on families and businesses in small towns.

Now get this, Major League Baseball pledges a million dollars to this group to support this type of behavior. Who wants to go to a baseball game now? If you remember correctly part of the charm and popularity of baseball, is that it was made up of lots of country boys like Mickey Mantle, Satchel Paige, and Nolan Ryan, just to name a few.

Remember, back in February we were having a national crisis because of the Wuhan virus? The United States voluntarily shut down its record setting economy.

The shutdown affected almost everyone in some way or another. It even affected the mail.

Now the virus has subsided, but Democrat governors are enjoying the power grab and are keeping their states locked down as long as possible. However, many of these same governors are endorsing the riots, protests, and violence going on in their respective states. Dr. Anthony Fauci the top alleged expert on the virus is stating that the flu will return in September and everyone should keep taking precautions, such as wearing masks and social distancing. However, riots and protests are not included in the

precautionary measures according to Democrat governors. This is just too ridiculous.

I know all you livestockers have had to keep working in spite of the virus and insanity. No matter what, we have to continue on with our jobs. You have a much bigger calling when livestock depend on you. My hat is off to all of you that keep our great farms and ranches rolling.

In our little town of Prescott, AZ, home of the World’s Oldest Rodeo, BLM rolled into town on buses for a protest on the town square. At the same time hundreds of armed citizens swarmed in to protect the businesses around the square. BLM had a peaceful protest in our town, probably not at all what they wanted.

I guess the protest drew out a few old hippies that were missing the race riots of the 60’s and 70’s to sing KumByYah. The young people that joined in thought all of this was brand new because they never learned any history in school. The bottom line is that nothing happened, thanks to active citizens and our sheriff’s office. Next time you see one of these potential riots coming to your town, show up and start thanking the corporate sponsors such as Amazon, the National Football League, Major League Baseball, WalMart, et al.

Secretarial Memorandum to Chief of the Forest Service PURPOSE: ESTABLISH VISION, PRIORITIES, AND DIRECTION ON: • Increasing the productivity of National Forests and Grasslands • Valuing our Nation’s grazing heritage and the National Grasslands • Increasing access to our National Forests • Expediting environmental reviews to support active management As Secretary of Agriculture, it is my duty to ensure our National Forests and Grasslands are on a path to health and productivity so they can continue to meet the needs of citizens and communities, both now and into the future.

It is the first priority of the Forest Service to serve the American people and work in ways that exemplify the values of Shared Stewardship.

We need modern systems and approaches and less complicated regulations to serve our customers and improve our delivery of the goods and services that the American people want and need from the Nation’s Forest System.

The 193 million acres of public lands managed by the Forest Service provide important resources and recreational opportunities to the people of this great Nation. These lands are critical for the prosperity of rural communities, sustaining jobs and livelihoods in grazing, mining, oil and gas development, recreation and forestry — sectors that support our American way of life. These lands also furnish food and water that all life depends on.

While I am proud of the progress to promote active management, reduce hazardous fuels, work across boundaries and increase the resiliency of our Nation’s forests and grasslands, I believe more can be

done. Today, I am announcing a blueprint for reforms to further provide relief from burdensome regulations, improve customer service, and boost the productivity of our National Forests and Grasslands.

Increasing the productivity of National Forests and Grasslands The American people rely on our National Forests and Grasslands for a variety of products and services that sustain jobs and livelihoods in rural communities, feed America, and supply the clean water that sustains life. I am directing the Forest Service to focus resources on activities that support the productive use of these lands to deliver goods and services efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of our citizens. The Forest Service will: • streamline processes and identify new opportunities to increase America’s energy dominance and reduce reliance on foreign countries for critical minerals; • modernize management practices and reduce regulatory burdens to promote active management on Forest Service lands to support and protect rural communities, critical watersheds, and species habitat; and • expedite broadband development on Forest Service lands to increase internet connectivity in rural America.

Valuing our Nation’s grazing heritage and the National Grasslands The Forest Service manages 3.8 million acres of National Grasslands across 12 Western States. These lands are managed for a variety of sustainable multiple-use goods and services for the American people. The National Grasslands are a conservation success story; abandoned and infertile af-

ter the Dust Bowl in the early 20th century, they now support a thriving agricultural industry and provide important wildlife habitat. They are a symbol of pride for many Americans.

The National Grasslands play a vital role in the fabric of rural communities, supporting thousands of jobs, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy, and producing food for America and the entire world. They are managed sustainably with the help of ranching families, who pride themselves as conservationists, ensuring that these lands will remain productive for generations to come. To this end, the Forest Service will: • establish in forest plans that grazing and support for grazing on the National Grasslands is essential for their management within the framework of their governing statutes; • streamline renewal of range permits and range improvements on the National Forests and Grasslands; and • enhance flexibility for Forest Service employees to work with ranching families and communities.

Increasing access to National Forest System Lands It is imperative for the Forest Service to manage the National Forests and Grasslands for the benefit of the American people. These lands provide a multitude of public benefits, including diverse recreational opportunities, access to worldclass hunting and fishing, and forest products that support America’s traditions and way of life. Accordingly, the Forest Service will: • increase access to Forest Service lands by streamlining the permit process for recreational activities and embrac-

ing new technologies and recreation opportunities; • open public access to National Forest System lands with currently limited access where feasible in cooperation with States, counties, and partners; and • improve customer service by modernizing and simplifying forest products permitting and the Forest Service land exchange process.

Expediting environmental reviews to support active management Management activities on National Forest System lands require compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other applicable laws and regulations. Under this administration, the Forest Service has worked to streamline the corresponding processes while conserving public lands and ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources. I am directing the agency to further emphasize this effort through

greater accountability for efficient decision making, succinct and understandable documentation of compliance, and focused and effective public engagement. The Forest Service will: • set time and page limits on the completion of environmental documents, including categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements; • streamline policy to ensure environmental reviews focus on analysis that is required by law and regulation; • work across the government to initiate the development of policies for alternative procedures to streamline consultation processes and environmental reviews; and expedite compliance with State Historic Preservation Offices for vegetation management and facility and infrastructure improvements.

Issued June 12, 2020 by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue - https:// www.fs.usda.gov/news/releases/secretarial-memorandum-chief-forest-service

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Livestock Market Digest

July 15, 2020

A Plane Packed with Hundreds of Dogs Landed in Canada… 38 were Dead Puppies

BY KIM KAVIN / WASHINGTON POST

T

he Ukrainian International Airlines plane arrived in Toronto after what is usually a routine 10-hour flight.

It was a typical commercial aircraft, but airport workers found a shocking scene on board.

Inside were 500 crated puppies, according to Canadian authorities. Many were dehydrated, weak and vomiting. Thirty-eight of them were dead in their crates.

The gruesome discovery on June 13 set off an investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. And it cast a spotlight on a growing international market for dogs that advocates and lawmakers say needs more restrictions — not only for the sake of imported dogs, but to protect the health of people and animals in North America.

“The number of dogs imported into the U.S. has skyrocketed in the past few years, and we are screening less than one percent of them,” U.S. Representative Ralph Abraham (R-LA), a veterinarian who last month co-sponsored a bipartisan bill called the Healthy Dog Importation Act, said in an email. “We need to do more to protect these animals and those already in the country.”

Much about the Ukrainian flight remains unknown, including whether Canadian author-

ities were aware so many puppies were headed to Toronto.

The government, which says it has “rigorous standards” for animal imports, has released little information, citing the pending investigation. Ukraine International Airlines said in a statement Friday that it regretted the “tragic loss of animal life” and is working with local authorities to make “any changes necessary to prevent such a situation from occurring again.”

Animal advocates said flying 500 dogs on a single plane is unusual, if not unprecedented.

Dogs need water and other care when being crated on the tarmac and during flights, said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of the Humane Society International in Canada.

“You’re relying on the staff of the airport and the airline to do that care,” she said. “If those animals are transported in those numbers, it would be physically impossible to provide that kind of care.”

The puppies flown from Ukraine were French bulldogs, according to several Canadian news reports. The dogs are one of several brachycephalic, or snub-nosed, breeds so vulnerable to respiratory problems that some U.S. airlines refuse to transport them.

Despite their health problems, French bulldogs are among the most sought-after breeds in North America, ranking fourth

on the American Kennel Club’s most recent list of popular purebreds and fifth on the Canadian Kennel Club’s list. Their popularity means “Frenchies” command high prices. On the sales website Puppyspot, French bulldog puppies are priced from $4,500 to $8,000. One U.S. nonprofit rescue has offered the dogs with adoption fees as high as $1,850, according to a Washington Post investigation.

The potential profits incentivize sellers and brokers to skimp on animal welfare, animal advocates and government officials say. The National Post reported that temperatures were approaching 90 degrees when the puppies were loaded onto the plane in Ukraine and that some of the puppies’ crates were shrink-wrapped, which could cause suffocation.

How many French bulldogs, or dogs overall, are imported to Canada annually is unknown, Aldworth said. In the United States, more than 1 million dogs are imported each year, according to a 2019 report from the Department of Agriculture. The vast majority are assumed to be pets traveling with their owners, the report said; the USDA issued only about 2,900 permits for dogs destined to be resold to consumers. Some observers question that conclusion, including the American Kennel Club, which says it believes many are “actually destined for transfer.”

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Because a growing number of larger U.S. dog breeders are shutting and smaller-scale hobby breeders are retiring, some of “our breeding has been outsourced to other countries,” said Patti Strand, founder of the Oregon-based National Animal Interest Alliance, which advocates for breeders and other animal businesses.

Some shipments have involved well over 40 dogs, often puppies too young to fly legally, according to a 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blog post that described surveillance of illegal puppy imports at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Importers seek to skirt regulations by claiming the dogs are older or are “rescues” not intended for resale, because “the potential profit is exponential,” the post said.

French and English bulldogs are particularly common, it said.

In a 2019 report on puppy smuggling, the U.K. charity Dogs Trust said many dogs originate in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria and are transported to other European countries without appropriate rest breaks, food or water. In her 2018 book “Designer Dogs,” Madeline Bernstein, president of the animal welfare group spcaLA, described a shipment of French bulldogs that landed in Los Angeles from Ukraine. The animals were “underage, not vaccinated against rabies, and in urgent need of care. The paperwork did not match the puppies in the container,” she wrote.

Such incidents are evidence of a widespread problem, advocates say.

“The importation laws for pets have not kept pace with globalization anywhere in North America,” Strand said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that dogs entering the United States for resale be at least 6 months old and vaccinated for rabies and other diseases.

But those criteria are not always met. In 2019, the CDC announced a temporary ban on

dogs from Egypt following the imports of three rabid dogs, including one brought in by a Kansas City-area rescue group. And the minimum age requirements can eat into a puppy’s most valuable weeks for marketing and sale, Aldworth said.

“It’s only effective to administer rabies vaccines to puppies 3 months of age or older, so … that puppy should be 4 months old when it’s transported,” she said. “That’s when you start to see forged paperwork, saying things like the animal is older than it actually is.”

Humane Society International has been calling for a ban in Canada on imports of all commercially bred dogs for resale.

The approach would not stop international rescue imports, which the group sometimes organizes, Aldworth said.

“Governments and NGOs are trying so hard to eliminate puppy mills here in Canada,” she said. “There is no reason to allow importation of dogs from the same kinds of facilities elsewhere.”

In the United States, Abraham’s legislation would target commercial and rescue importers alike, putting the focus on stopping disease no matter who is bringing in dogs. It would require importers to submit dogs’ immunization records and allow U.S. customs agents to “more closely scrutinize importers from countries known to harbor traffickers,” he said.

“Incidents like these are not only inhumane, but also a grave risk to public health,” Abraham said of the flight to Toronto.

The bill is supported by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Kennel Club and Strand’s group.

She said a primary objective is ensuring that one U.S. agency takes the lead in overseeing dog imports and tracking their movement once they arrive.

“I think this legislation is going to lead to a public conversation,” Strand said. “Once the public becomes aware of what’s routinely going on, everyone will demand change.”

McDonald’s Drops Beyond Burger; Starbucks Adds Impossible Sausage

M

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cDonald’s has pulled a plantbased burger from its menus in Canada after a trial run.

The fast-food chain offered the burger dubbed the P.L.T. (plant, lettuce, tomato) at dozens of restaurants in southwestern Ontario between Sept. 30 last year and April 6, making no public announcement but deleting mention of the burger from its website, CBC News reported on Thursday.

The fast-food chain confirmed in an email to Meatingplace that its extended test ended in April.

“Menu innovation is at the heart of our business and a key part of building a better McDonald’s. We’re providing the learning from our guests and our execution in

restaurants back to the global team to help inform future plant-based menu decisions in Canada, and around the world,” the company stated.

Beyond Meat did not immediately return a request for comment.

Before launching the trial last fall, McDonald’s had held off on putting a plantbased meat substitute on its menu.

Meanwhile, Starbucks this week announced the launch of an Impossible Breakfast Sandwich as part of its summer menu. The breakfast sandwich has plant-based sausage, a cage-free fried egg and cheddar cheese, served on ciabatta bread.

Burger King and White Castle also have announced partnerships with Beyond rival Impossible Foods.