Livestock “The greatest homage we can pay to truth is to use it.” – JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL JUNE 15, 2011 •
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Digest I Volume 53 • No. 6
Cowboy Makeover by Lee Pitts
he American rancher had to be forced into the chair at the beauty salon with a wild rag stuffed in his mouth and a pair of hobbles on his ankles so he couldn’t run away, but the career bureaucrats and professional meeting-goers were finally successful in completing the makeover. It was expensive and they had to be real sneaky about it, but those performing the makeover have finally managed to change two of the most iconic figures in our nation’s colorful history, the cowboy and the cattleman, into “stakeholders” and “producers.” There’s just one BIG problem with this makeover: the American consumer doesn’t want to buy her beef from a “stakeholder,” or even a “producer.” No, according to market researcher Mary Love Quinlan, they want their beef from a “rancher,” or even better yet, from a “farmer.” Ms. Quinlan found that women make up to 93 percent of food purchases and they don’t like words such as “feed additive” on the package. They hate hormones and the title “cattle feeder” turns them off. In fact, they don’t like industrialized agriculture very much at all. So why is the NCBA trying to change today’s rancher into exactly that kind of “stakeholder” that the consumer doesn’t want to do business with?
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“Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.” Makeup and Mirrors We warned you about the merger of the NCA with the checkoff and all the bad things that could happen as a result (those things are now happening) so let us now warn you about a group called the US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). This group is composed of 33 organizations such as the National Corn Growers Association, American Farm Bureau, NCBA, National Milk,
the Soybean Association, Grains Council Poultry & Egg, several state soybean associations, the National Pork Producers Council and other checkoff groups. Although these organizations say they have different viewpoints on some issues, they have this in common: they’re all cheerleaders for the kind of industrialized agriculture the consumer doesn’t trust. As critics of factory farms, genetically modified seeds, hot-
house hogs, downer cows and hormone fed steers appear on the daytime TV shows and book bestseller lists, those pushing industrialized ag realized that they’re losing the public relations war. In other words, they need a makeover. How ironic then that the group that changed ranchers into stakeholders and producers, chose the trusted words “farmer” and “rancher” when they went looking for their own new name. But instead of looking for alternatives to hormones, GMO’s, 10,00-head dairies, lake-size manure lagoons and other things the consumer doesn’t want her food associated with, the USFRA wants to continue to do all those things while hiding behind the good name and image of the American farmer and rancher. Members of USFRA say they want to build trust in our current continued on page two
Now the real work begins — Reform of excessive litigation pay-outs by KAREN BUDD-FALEN
he American public has been asking for legislative reform of a system that pays taxpayer dollars to environmental “nonprofit” attorneys who charge $650 per hour to bring cases for statutory procedural violations, and we finally have it. On May 25, 2011, H.R. 1996, the Governmental Litigation Savings Act of 2011, was introduced to stop the deficit bleeding and level the playing field for all who seek to sue or need a permit from the federal government. But the simple introduction of this bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is not enough and we need your help. This bill has 18 sponsors, but needs many more and we need to get Congress to hold hearings to learn the true extent of the abuse. This is a call to action and a request for your help. The Governmental Litigation Savings Act of 2011 (“GLSA”) has five major sections. First, this Act eliminates the false distinction in net worth between a “for profit” organization and a “nonprofit public interest” organization. Currently, under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), a for profit entity or person with a net worth over $7,000,000 is ineligible to recover attorney fees for litigation against the federal government. However, an entity that
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has been determined to be “nonprofit” is not bound by this restriction. Thus, even though tax documents show a great many environmental and animal rights groups are worth far in excess of $7,000,000, these groups can “recover” attorney fees for suing the federal government. In other words, these “non-profit” groups get paid by the American taxpayers to sue the federal government which results in families losing their homes and businesses. Under the existing EAJA, groups like the Sierra Club, who reported its worth as $56,527,055 in 2007 can receive tax payer money to sue the federal government, but a company with the same net worth cannot. Similarly, if the compensation package for the President of the Natural Resources Defense Council is $432,959.00, do they really need the American citizens funding their litigation agains against the American government? Second, the GLSA places a cap on both the hourly fees that attorneys can charge and on the amount of money that can be awarded to an individual group in a year. Under the GLSA, the hourly fees charged by attorneys is capped at $175 per hour and that cap can only continued on page three
by LEE PITTS
Inspired
’ve always wanted to deliver a commencement address, no, not to college or even high school graduates because there is nothing I could tell them that they don’t already think they know. I’d like to address someone more on my intellectual level, like a class of graduating sixth graders. Here’s what I’d say to them. I promise to make this short if you’ll just put down your cell phones and stop tweeting, texting and Facebooking long enough to listen. I really have only one thing to tell you that I wish someone would have told me when I was your age and it is simply this: find something to be inspired by. Every day. The world doesn’t need any more greed, egotistical celebrities or even ambition. No, what the world is sadly lacking today is inspiration. It is the number one cause of greatness and is the secret to a rewarding and happy life. My advice to you: Find those things in life that make you tingle all over. Perhaps I inspire too easily and I can’t really describe the feeling, but you know what I’m talking about. It’s whatever turns you on or gets you going in the morning. And I’m not talking about caffeine, drugs, nicotine or alcohol. That’s adrenalin, not inspiration. Whatever you do while under their influence you can do ten times better without them. There is inspiration all around us and you may find your daily dose in a song, photo, painting, beautiful flower, newborn foal, a great bronc ride or a graduation speech. Whatever it is that makes you want to tackle the world, do great things and live a life of goodness. I’m not about to suggest what you should be inspired by because, thankfully, it’s different for everyone. For example, I was inspired to be a writer by a sportswriter named Jim Murray and a columnist named Erma Bombeck. But you probably have never heard of either continued on page seven
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Livestock Market Digest
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June 15, 2011
Cowboy Makeover food system and to be successful and have a bigger impact they all needed to band together. They view themselves as “natural partners in effort to promote “new” vision of American agriculture.” And that’s how checkoff dollars from a rancher producing grass fed or natural beef in Montana could end up being used to defend and promote factory farm hothouse pigs, hormone fed beef and milk inducing hormones for dairy cattle.
Sound Familiar? One of the first warning flags that got our attention about USFRA is their structure and the way they constructed their Board of Directors. The minimum buy-
continued from page one
SuperGroup Executive members of USFRA are Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau; Phil Bradshaw, Soybean Checkoff; Bart Schott, National Corn Growers Association; Dale Norton, Pork Checkoff; Gene Gregory, United Egg; Forrest Roberts, CEO of the NCBA. Roberts will also chair USFRA’s Communications Advisory Committee. What chance does a rancher’s organization like R-CALF or the Organization for Competitive Markets stand in having their message heard when you have the political muscle of big farm groups, commodity checkoff dollars, huge agribusiness firms and
The minimum buy-in is $50,000 and any firm that pays $500,000 automatically becomes an ex-officio member of the Board.
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in is $50,000 and any firm that pays $500,000 automatically becomes an ex-officio member of the Board. That’s what passes for democracy these days, you buy your way in, just like they do in Washington, D.C. How very American of them. If it all sounds familiar that’s because that’s how the NCBA constructed itself and does business. The beef checkoff so far has contributed $250,000 to USFRA. Because the beef checkoff is a government program (according to the Supreme Court) you’d think that our government would not condone any effort to promote one type of ranching system over another. But the USDA has given their stamp of approval to USFRA just as long as the checkoff money is used for projects and not membership dues. We’d sure like to see where the NCBA got the money to buy their seat on the Board? As of this writing only two businesses have ponied up the cash to join, Farm Credit and The Fertilizer Institute, but USFRA hopes to sign up big corporations like Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, DuPont and Monsanto. USFRA currently has $10 million in the bank and hopes to spend $20 million in its first year. They also hope to have an annual budget of $30 million, most of it coming from agri-businesses and checkoffs. USFRA plans to start presenting their message by midJuly and we already have a good idea of what that message will be and the image they’ll portray of today’s rancher. “No longer,” says visionary ag columnist Alan Guebert, “will it resemble a Land Grant alumnus ordering GM seed or livestock antibiotics on an iPhone. Instead, tomorrow’s farmer will look more like Walter Cronkite than Walter Mitty: weathered, wise, trustworthy. In short, more golden fields, golden sunsets and golden hair and less silver hog barns, silver-sided food factories and silver semis hauling ethanol.”
the minions who do their dirty work, all rolled into one SuperGroup? It’s all part of that “speaking with one voice” thing that the NCBA was founded upon. The only problem is whose voice the supergroup will be speaking with. From watching the NCBA we already know that answer: it’s whoever ponies up the most money. Even if it is your money that was taxed away from you by the USDA in the form of the checkoff. How did we ever get so far away from the initial concept of the beef checkoff? To avoid confrontation USFRA has decided to take two issues off their agenda: biofuels and the Farm Bill. Instead, they will focus on “presenting a more realistic and positive portrayal of modern American agriculture to the public.” It’s a good thing they took those two issues off their agenda because, as we all know, checkoff dollars are not supposed to be used for lobbying or to promote political agendas. (Wink, wink.) According to Guebert, “the groups want the face of the small farmer and horse-riding rancher to be the public face of agriculture — not confinement hog barns, 100,000-head cattle feedlots; not manure lagoons, eroded fields, hypoxic rivers, lakes and oceans, not GM seed, not subtherapeutic antibiotics. In other words, the big money behind USFRA wants to preserve and build upon the exact thing the public doesn’t want: modern food production practices it views as questionable, worrisome and even unnecessary.” In announcing the firm of Ketchum as their public relations firm USFRA said, “Reflecting the new world of Facebook, Twitter and 24/7 tweeting, Ketchum is partnered with Zócalo Group, its full service word of mouth and social media agency, and Maslansky Luntz + Partners, a research-driven communicacontinued on page six
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Real Work Begins be adjusted for inflation. Under the current Act, attorney fees are capped at $125 per hour, but that hourly fee can be “adjusted” to a significantly higher amount. For example, in cases involving radical environmental “non-prof-
continued from page one
reporting of all taxpayer moneys paid out in attorneys fees, including those money paid in confidential settlement agreements or consent decrees. In approximately 10.5 percent of the cases polled, the amount of
Shouldn’t the public know how much of its money is being funneled to radical groups through attorneys fees payments? it” attorneys in California, attorney fees as high as $650 per hour have been paid although the statute caps the fee at $125 per hour. Originally Congress passed EAJA to put litigants back in the same place as they were prior to the litigation against the federal government. However, radical environmental groups can legitimately argue that prior to the ligation, they were paying their nonprofit attorneys $650 per hour. Additionally, the GLSA caps the total attorneys fees reimbursement to $200,000 for a single action and allows no more than three awards in a calendar year. That should stop the litigation gravy train for groups like the Center for Biological Diversity who was involved in 770 federal court cases between 1999 and the May, 2011 according to research using the PACER data base. Importantly this reimbursement cap does not apply to individuals who have suffered a direct and personal monetary interest at the hands of an overreaching bureaucracy. Third, the GLSA requires
money paid to environmental groups for attorneys fees is not disclosed to the public. Shouldn’t the public know how much of its money is being funneled to radical groups through attorneys fees payments? Fourth, the GLSA requires federal agencies to reduce the awards made for “pro bono” work and does not allow attorneys fees to be paid in cases where the litigator either acts in bad faith or tries to delay the litigation just to rack up attorneys fees. Finally, this Act requires that the federal government account for the taxpayer money it spends on attorneys fees and that a searchable data base be created to allow the American citizens to have the ability to search how much money is being paid and to whom. The American taxpayer has a right to know how and to which groups and individuals their money is being spent. However, accounting of the money spent on attorney fees has not occurred since 1995. Is it any wonder that this country is broke?
With the introduction of this bill, our work is just beginning. Out of 435 members of the United States House of Representatives, only 18 have cosponsored this bill with Wyoming’s representative Cynthia Lummis. The cosponsors are Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-1); Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA-5); Rep. Mike Simpson (ID-2); Rep. Jason Chaffetz (UT-3); Rep. Don Young (AK); Rep. Scott Tipton (CO-3); Rep. Jeff Denham (CA19); Rep. Michael Conaway (TX-11); Rep. Denny Rehberg (MT); Rep. Mike Coffman (CO6); Rep. Trent Franks (AZ-2);
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Like so many other laws in this country, the original idea of the federal government reimbursing individuals and small businesses who have to fight against overreaching bureaucracy is noble. But like many original ideas, over the years EAJA and the payment of attorney fees out of the Judgment Fund on Endangered Species Act and other litigation has been distorted beyond recognition. It is time to bring this Country back to its roots, cut the deficit spending and put American citizens back to work. I hope you will work to support the Governmental Litigation Savings Act.
Please urge Mr. Smith and your Congressional members to hold hearings on this bill. Rep. Devin Nunes (CA-21); Rep. Kristi Noem (SD); Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-5); Rep. John Duncan, Jr. (TN-2); Rep. Steve Pearce(NM-2); Rep. Wally Herger (CA-2); Rep. Jeff Flake (AZ-6); and Rep. Greg Walden (OR-2). Please contact your Congressman and request that they cosponsor H.R. 1996. This bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith Texas Chairman. It is important that this bill be aired in open public hearings so that America can voice its opinion on the spending of American tax dollars on litigation. Please urge Mr. Smith and your Congressional members to hold hearings on this bill.
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June 15, 2011
Don’t mess with Texas by BETH HENARY WATSON, The Weekly Standard
Editor’s Note: This listing will have drastic impact on the oil and gas industry as well as the range livestock industry in southeastern New Mexico. three-inch lizard scuttled into the spotlight in December after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed moving it onto the Endangered Species List. The dunes sagebrush lizard’s habitat covers just eight counties on the Texas-New Mexico border, right in the heart of the Permian Basin, a major oil-producing region. Particularly in Texas, industry leaders and local businesses see the action as hostile — another Obama administration environmental policy targeting their successful, energysparked economy. “This is a lizard versus families,” says Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business, the state’s largest business interest group. “Nothing is more important than a job.” Setting 1980s Dallas stereotypes aside, oil and gas production is between 12 and 15 percent of the Texas economy. It’s
more than 70 percent of the economy in the vast and sparsely populated Permian Basin. The 17-county basin produces nearly 20 percent of all domestic crude oil. Of the eight counties in the lizard’s habitat, four are in Texas. All those are among the top ten oil-yielding counties in the state.
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face-disrupting economic activity and perhaps maintenance of existing wells and windmills could be hampered. Steve Pruett, president and CFO of Midland-based Legacy Reserves LP, explains that stifling exploration threatens the most jobs. He hires subcontrac-
. . . oil and gas production is between 12 and 15 percent of the Texas economy In its proposal to list the lizard as endangered, U.S. Fish and Wildlife argues that several activities fragment the creature’s habitat. Together these constitute a clean sweep of the region’s economic drivers: oil and gas (particularly exploration), wind turbine erection, and agriculture. The dunes sagebrush lizard resides only in areas with sandy dunes covered by low-lying shinnery oak trees. A public comment period closed May 9, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife will decide by midDecember whether to put the lizard on the Endangered Species List. An “endangered” finding triggers an assessment period to define the lizard’s range and identify protection strategies. At that time, new sur-
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tors to operate his rigs, the towering structures used to drill wells. Legacy runs just one rig in the lizard’s presumptive habitat, but 131 other rigs are active, each of which drills two wells a month and employs about 150 people. “We wouldn’t be contracting as many wells to be drilled,” Pruett says. “Not to mention the general loss of confidence of our investors. We would have less production and less cash to pay out.” According to Permian Basin Petroleum Association president Ben Shepperd, wells produce at diminishing rates, making new exploration vital to retaining blue-collar workers like roughnecks and roustabouts. He cites a study that found a majority of jobs even in the cities of Midland and Odessa depend on oil and gas production. “If oil and gas were to stop out here, these West Texas towns would just dry up and blow away,” Shepperd says. Excluding giants like Chevron, the average Permian Basin Petroleum Association member employs about 10 people. Texas opponents of listing the lizard dispute the thoroughness of U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s sci-
ence and say they will work cooperatively to rehabilitate the population. Conservation agreements — another way to restore species populations — are already in place in New Mexico. With the agreements, private landowners, businesses, and the government follow a prearranged plan, although Sheppard says signing on can cost an oil business as much as $20,000 per well. Texas land commissioner Jerry Patterson told an industry rally in Midland in late April that the state’s landowners and businesses need a chance to work out agreements with the fish and wildlife service. The state cur-
“The EPA was having a press conference before they had all the facts.” rently enforces mitigation for turtle populations near drilling along the Gulf Coast, an arrangement that followed a court battle. “We can plant a lot of shinnery oak if we need to,” Patterson said. “It’s not the lizard or us. It’s both of us.” Even if Texas, with New Mexico’s help, is able to avoid endangered species classification for the dunes sagebrush lizard, a proposed listing for another species in the Permian Basin, the lesser prairie chicken, lurks in the future. Hammond, with the business association, says the effort to list the lizard as endangered is but one grievance his group has with the Obama administration, which he says is engaged in a “job-killing enterprise” against Texas. Texas’s showdown with the Environmental Protection Agency over air permitting is the
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foundry ran under a flexible permit issued by the state environmental agency. The flexible permits emphasized results over an entire organization, while EPA concerns itself with individual sources of emissions. Jim Keffer, president of EBAA Iron, Inc., says his staff has contacted EPA for guidance but keeps getting put off. The business, which opened in 1964, may be operating illegally. Keffer runs the iron foundry full time, but he also serves as the state representative for his area and chairs the Texas House Energy Resources Committee. “Everywhere you look, every time you turn around, the federal government is trying to stop exploration, to stop the use of fossil fuels,” Keffer says. “We’re trying to work on self-reliance. We’re trying to explore and bring to the country the resources that Texas has been blessed with.” While the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s mission requires it to consider economic impacts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and EPA don’t have to. Keffer points out EPA’s December emergency order to a Fort Worth company under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The agency acted in response to alleged contamination of two drinking water wells, even though the state’s gas regulatory agency had been on the scene. More than a mile separates the shallow wells from Range Resources’ natural gas wells. The company says it has spent $1.5 million defending itself against the EPA order. “The EPA was having a press conference before they had all the facts,” Keffer says. “If you sit back and take in all that’s happened, it’s easy to look at a conspiracy theory.” The Texas Public Policy Foundation, a free-market think tank, held a briefing last month on 10 proposed and adopted rules it says constitute an “Approaching EPA Avalanche.” The organization is most concerned with EPA’s order that states regulate continued on page eleven
“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”
June 15, 2011
Congress Should Free Public Land for Locals by SENATOR JOHN BARRASSO and CONNGRESSMAN KEVIN MCCARTHY, Roll Call
“Our ability to enjoy our national resources has been constrained by Congress’ failure to take action on recommendations to open up millions of acres of public land for increased use and recreation.” ver the past three decades, our ability to enjoy our national resources has been constrained by Congress’ failure to take action on recommendations to open up millions of acres of public land for increased use and recreation. Most public lands across the country are managed for “multiple use,” which means that ranching, grazing, recreation, tourism and energy exploration can occur there. These decisions are almost always made at the local level because those who live, work and recreate in and around public lands know best how to manage them. There are some areas across the United States that have characteristics deserving of special preservation. In order to protect these specific areas, Congress has designated them “wilderness areas,” and most activities are restricted or eliminated. However, there are tens of millions of acres across the United States that do not have these special characteristics but are essentially being treated as if they did. Let us explain. In 1976, Congress promised to make a choice about which public lands should have special preservation, directing the Bureau of Land Management to conduct a study to determine
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which lands were suitable for wilderness designations and which were not. The BLM recommended 6.7 million acres as not suitable. However, because Congress has not acted on these recommendations, they continue to be treated essentially as if they were wilderness areas. Separately, in 1979 the U.S. Forest Service inventoried their Inventoried Roadless Areas and determined that 36 million acres were not suitable for wilderness; however, public access and use remain severely restricted. Congress’ lax approach to these recommendations means that millions of acres of public land across our country remain in limbo; off-limits to multiple use and set apart from the local planning process. That’s why we introduced the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act. Our legislation would end the cycle of indefinite wilderness review and bring nearly 43 million acres of public lands out of purgatory. Specifically, the BLM and Forest Service lands specified above would be released from de facto wilderness management and opened up for multiple use. Our legislation does not direct what type of activities must occur on these lands. Rather, it would return management of these lands to the local Americans who live on and around them and provide them the flexibility to manage them for a multitude of activities. In Wyoming, land that remains locked up by Washing-
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ton is being ravaged by mountain pine beetles. The infestation has devastated the area, weakening the recreational and environmental value of the land. Since this land remains on Washington’s “do not touch” list, local land managers aren’t able to take steps necessary to address the problem. In California, more than 3 million acres, including tens of thousands in the 22nd district, remain under lock and key unnecessarily. This means many rural and outlying communities that depend on tourism and recreation cannot maximize the potential of the public lands in their area. It also makes it harder for our firefighters to battle wildfires, which can devastate tens of thousands of acres of forest land and release thousands of tons of pollution into the air. Our bill will face strong opposition from environmental extremists and their friends in the administration. But the bottom line is that this legislation is just common sense. It simply acts on the recommendations of the agencies that manage these lands and allows the American people to take advantage of their own land. It’s long past time for Congress to act. Land that isn’t Congressionally recognized as “wilderness,” as well as deemed unsuitable for a wilderness designation by the very agencies that manage them, should be opened up for public use and enjoyment. Washington promised to make this choice more than 30 years
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ago. The Code of the West says, “When you make a promise, keep it.” Washington might not have read the Code of the West, but we have, and we’re going to hold Washington to its promises. This land is the people’s land. It does
not belong to the bureaucrats in Washington. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is the Senate Republican Conference vice chairman and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is the House Majority Whip.
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Cowboy Makeover tion strategy firm that specializes in “language and message development.” How very sad that the American rancher and cowboy, whose image and reputation have sold everything from cigarettes to war bonds, now has to hire a firm to develop its “language.”
The Way Big Business Does Business Randy Stevenson of OCM remembers another time when big business sat down to pow wow. It was back in the early 1900s when the Big Four meatpackers conspired to control
continued from page two
meat prices. Back then they changed the face of American agriculture and had to be broken up by the government. Supposedly, the rules written back then prohibited meatpackers from being in the same room talking about industry matters, but it’s very easy to see them doing this at future USFRA meetings. “Meatpackers have had a history of collusion,” says Stevenson. “They have changed tactics and methods when they have been caught. The collusion is not restricted to that of market division or of price setting. Much effort has, in more recent years,
June 15, 2011 turned to organizational power used to influence the regulatory regimen. The modern version of collusive power is the big and influential organization that influences politicians and helps to make sure that the rules written for regulating anticompetitive behavior don’t bother them.”
How very sad that the American rancher and cowboy, whose image and reputation have sold everything from cigarettes to war bonds, now has to hire a firm to develop its “language.” No doubt, USFRA will say their money will not be used for such diabolical purposes, but then, who ever thought that the NCBA would be the primary beneficiary of checkoff dollars when ranchers voted it in? Or that there’d even be such a thing as the NCBA?
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NCBA, representing less than four percent of cattle producers, continues as the primary beef checkoff contractor and has a prominent seat at the table when ag policy is discussed. They have opposed cattle producer’s interests at every turn. They fought against cattle producers that
All this image enhancement is going on amidst a war that has been taking place between the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the Federation of State Beef Councils and the NCBA. According to R-CALF, “There is an intense, lopsided, but classic power struggle being waged right now within the Beef Checkoff Program. This is the classic power structure between those who have all the money — the NCBA and its state affiliates — and those who pay all the money — the hundreds of thousands of checkoffpaying cattle producers throughout the United States.” (That would be “stakeholders for you NCBA members.) “Hinging on the outcome is whether the Beef Checkoff Program will be continually fraught with corruption, favoritism, and abuse, or whether the credibility of the program will be restored.” “The beef checkoff has been in place for some 25 years,” says Fred Stokes, of the Organization for Competitive Markets, “with more than $1.6 billion collected and spent. Just how effective has the program been in “promoting, improving, maintaining and developing markets for cattle, beef, and beef products? Not very!” answers Fred. “During this period we have lost market share, downsized the domestic cow herd, drastically reduced the producer’s share of the retail beef dollar and put nearly 500,000 beef cattle operations out of business. “So was the Beef Checkoff a bad idea?” Stokes asks. “I say it was a good idea that simply got hijacked! While producers have been compelled to pay the sum of $80 million per year, the overwhelming benefit has accrued to organizations controlled by opposing big meat packing and retailer interests,” according to Stokes. “An examination of NCBA’s tax form 990 reveals that 80 percent of its total revenue is derived from the beef checkoff, with only six percent coming from membership dues.” In other words says Stokes, “the
supported country-of-origin labeling; against cattle producers seeking mandatory price reporting; against cattle producers that opposed the National Animal Identification System (NAIS); against cattle producers that supported captive supply reform in a major class-action lawsuit; against cattle producers that tried to prevent the premature reintroduction of imported cattle from disease-affected countries; against cattle producers that attempted to ban packer ownership of livestock in both the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills.” Most recently they have fought against ranchers who support the pending GIPSA rules that would go a long way in reducing the packer’s power to manipulate prices. All this is not to suggest that there have not been BIG beneficiaries of the beef checkoff. There certainly have been, like Dee Likes of the Kansas Livestock Association who the Comstock Report said received $311,000 for one year’s work. Another employee was paid over $225,000 and yet another over $150,000. “KLA’s CEO, Dee Likes, makes more money than Governor Brownback running the 14 billion dollar state of Kansas,” said the Comstock Report. “Likes can certainly give lessons on how to rob the checkoff train.” Such revelations have started people talking about what one editor called “the nuclear option.” That would be to hold a referendum and vote the checkoff down. But the USDA and NCBA will never let that happen. Instead the USDA will stand quietly by while the rancher’s pockets are picked and his name is used to sell an ag production system that he may neither condone, nor participate in. In introducing Ketchum as USFRA’s PR firm, a company partner Linda Eatherton, said, “With over 50 years of service to food and agricultural organizations, our firm was literally built for this assignment. Working side by side with USFRA members, stakeholders and allies, we know we can help people rethink the role of American agriculture in feeding hundreds of millions of Americans every day.” So there you have it in black and white. In the words of your newest spokesperson you are either an ally or a stakeholder. Which one, we wonder, are you?
“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”
June 15, 2011
Calendar of
EVENTS
July 2011 21-23 – New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau Summer Meeting, Inn of the Mountain Gods, Ruidoso
September 2011 9-25 – New Mexico State Fair, Albuquerque
June 2011 15 – Deadline for advertising copy July New Mexico Stockman, 2011 N.M. Directory of Agriculture 16-18 – Western Limousin Exposition, Klamath Falls OR 26-28 – NMCGA, New Mexico CowBelles, New Mexico Wool Growers Mid-Year Meeting – NMSU Short Course, Buffalo Thunder Resort, Pajaque, NM 26-28 – NMWGI Annual Meeting, Buffalo Thunder Resort
Riding Herd
October 2011 1 – Isa Cattle Co, Inc. Bull Sale, San Angelo, TX 25 – Strang Herefords 32nd Annual Bull Sale, Meeker, CO
505/243-9515, ext. 30 michael@aaalivestock.com Michael brings with him four generations of the range livestock industry and a keen awareness of the issues facing ranchers and rural economies today.
1-4 – Joint Stockmen's Convention, Albuquerque NM
continued from page one
songs were written by the brokenhearted and many great works were inspired by hunger. That onearmed surfer girl who had her arm ripped off by a shark would never have inspired people like me if she still had that arm. My favorite picture in my house was done by a quadriplegic friend who drew it by holding a pencil in his mouth. What good excuse could I possibly have? I’ll be honest: We aren’t leaving you this world in the best shape. The American culture seems to be on the downward side of greatness. We’ve heavily mortgaged your future and it’s going to require inspired leadership on your part to keep the American Dream alive. Thankfully, history has provided a good road map. Study the lives of Washington and Lincoln, the words of Thomas Jefferson and the goodness of Sister Theresa. Read the Gettysburg Address, watch Ronald Reagan “tear down that wall” and listen to Martin Luther King deliver his “I have a dream speech.” Want to have a succesful and happy life? Find something to be inspired by every day and live your life so that you’ll inspire others long after you are gone.
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one of them. That’s okay. There’s plenty more where they came from. But I would suggest that there is plenty to be inspired by in the written word. So read a lot. Your parents will hate me for saying this but don’t listen to people who tell you what you should do, or be, 20 years from now. A lawyer uncle might encourage you to join the bar or a techno-savvy cousin will say that computers are the way to make a lot of money. Pay no attention to them if such jobs don’t inspire you. Follow your passions in life. Don’t become a dentist or a construction worker just because three generations of your family did. Don’t be trapped into a life you don’t want to live. Here’s something else your parents won’t tell you. All that stuff about everyone being equal is a bunch of bologna. Some of you were born with a head-start in life while others of you have had a tougher road. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. You’re the lucky ones because physical challenges and poverty can provide great inspiration. The best love
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Livestock Market Digest
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June 15, 2011
AgriLabs $5,000 Grants to a Beef and a Dairy Veterinarian n collaboration with the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP), AgriLabs is offering an award to two veterinarians — one beef and one dairy — to encourage
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and fund recent graduates in their post-graduate continuing education efforts. Named as a tribute to Bruce Wren, D.V.M., each award will provide $5,000 for professional-development
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experience in individual animal and herd production medicine, helping them bring value to their producer-clients for years to come.”
Create Your Award The grant process allows applicants to determine how best they want to use the $5,000 grant from AgriLabs and judging will be based on three primary criteria: 1) The applicants’ professional-development plan, which describes the skills/knowledge they would like to improve to become a more valuable resource for their producer-clients. 2) How the $5,000 will be utilized to fulfill the professionaldevelopment plan. 3) Letters of reference from three individuals (including at least one producer and one veterinarian) who have first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s practice experience and educational interest. “What is especially exciting about the AgriLabs Dr. Wren awards are the variety of the plans, programs and educational goals that applicants have submitted as a means of improving their skills and becoming more effective in bovine medicine,” says Riddell. “The professional development plans funded by the $5,000
To Apply A full description of AgriLabs Dr. Bruce Wren Continuing Education Awards and a link to the application forms are available at www.AgriLabs.com/ scholarships. The application may be completed online and all materials postmarked on or before July 15, 2011. The awards are open to AABP members in good standing; are actively involved in practice; and who graduated with a DVM/VMD degree between June 1, 2001, and June 1, 2010. The professional-development opportunity described in the application can apply to either individual animal medicine (e.g., diagnosis, treatment, surgery, case management, pain management, patient welfare) or herd production medicine (e.g., records analysis, disease prevention, production enhancement, benchmarking, biosecurity, food safety).
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training so these practitioners may better serve their producerclients. Completed applications are due July 15, 2011, and the presentations will be made at the annual AABP Awards Banquet. “The gap between the number of veterinarians available to serve dairy and beef producers, and the actual need is increasing at an alarming rate,” says Steve Schram, AgriLabs President and CEO. “The grants will encourage these veterinarians to remain in large animal medicine by providing a significant resource for selfdirected professional development.”
grants from AgriLabs have included participation in technical and business-oriented short courses, advanced educational training, and mentoring opportunities with an exemplary veterinarian. While each applicant’s background, experience and future direction will differ, the AgriLabs awards will benefit participating veterinarians, their producers and the industry at large.”
O N
T H E
E D G E
O F
C O M M O N
S E N S E
A Confusing Spring ’m sitting here reading the newspaper about farms in Missouri and Louisiana being deliberately flooded to prevent inundation of towns on the Mississippi River. Alabama and Tennessee have been ripped with tornados, there’s snow on the ground in Wyoming, it’s too wet to plow some places, Texas is burning up and, at my place in Arizona, we haven’t seen rain since October! I guess it’s just another run-of-the-mill Springtime in the Land Outside the City Limits. Farmers have a right to be confused. Is it good times? Or bad? Looks like the price of dairy products is stabilizing, but alfalfa hay costs more than a salad at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The price of gas is $4 a gallon but it’s 30 percent ethanol made from seven dollar and 50 cents corn! Am I making money? Or losing it? Your pasture is droughted out. Should you sell off a hundred cow-calf pairs for enough to clear your debt, remodel the house, and buy a new pickup? OR . . . ship them 150 miles away to lease pasture for $16 per month per pair for six months, then ship them back just in time to start feeding them hay this fall? Even horse traders are in a quandary. Unwanted horses are now up to $80 a head, from $40 last year, which is great, but down from $500 five years ago. Should he be happy or sad? It seems like we in agriculture are sitting on a bubble. There is good demand for what we
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sell but all around us we see things that make us squirm. The economy in general continues to lag. The federal government, as well as many state governments seem to resemble Nero fiddling while Rome burns. They manipulate figures like magicians doing card tricks. The Wizard of Oz rolls and thunders and people yawn. Government, through the Farm Bill, the EPA and the media, has always been able to maintain a ‘cheap food policy.’ Politicians can get vicious when their constituents complain about the high price of food. They take retribution by threatening cuts to the Ag Extension Service, county fairs, Vo-Ag in rural schools and Food Animal Medicine studies in Vet Schools. We are at the top of their lists when belt tightening begins. At this moment they are looking greedily at that rare opportunity, a resilient productive agriculture, to pillage. All it would take will be an expression of indignant outrage from Nero, the Magicians, the Wizard, or their entitlement cronies, accusing farmers of making a . . . Heaven Forbid . . . a Profit! But there has never been any confusion of our status as farmers, in the eyes of the ruling class; the politiks, barons, dictators and pundits . . . we are peasants. And as such must never be allowed to have the power over a commodity as essential as food. So enjoy your success while you can, my friends. They are already sharpening their legislative knives.
June 15, 2011
“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”
Ruling makes it harder to regulate large animal operations’ discharges Court says the EPA cannot require a permit just because the potential to discharge exists by RONA KOBELL, www.bayjournal.com
new ruling by the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit may make it harder for the EPA to track and regulate pollution from animal farms. The court ruled that the Clean Water Act did not give the EPA the authority to require the farms, known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), to obtain discharge permits on the presumption they would discharge pollution to the waters of the state. Since 2008, the EPA has required all animal farms that qualified as CAFOs to get permits whether they discharged pollution to public water or not. The EPA claimed a farm’s potential to discharge pollution was all that was needed to require a permit. The court disagreed. It declared that the farms only needed permits if they actually discharged — a violation of the Clean Water Act. The likelihood that they would discharge was not enough to trigger the permitting process, which farmers find cumbersome and expensive.
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New York and Pennsylvania. But the National Pork Producers Council, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, called the decision a “major victory” for farmers, who felt the paperwork was burdensome and were attempting not to discharge in their operations. “I don’t know if it changes the fact that farmers won’t apply for permits, I don’t think they were going to anyway,” said Michael Formica, the pork producers’ chief environmental counsel. “Having a permit does not improve the environment. If you have a permit, you’re not allowed to discharge. If you don’t have one, you’re not allowed to discharge.” The real disadvantage to applying for permits, Formica said, is that paperwork errors are common, and environmental groups can seek the plans through a public information request, comb through them, and mount legal and enforce-
ment challenges — a process he calls “legalized extortion.” The American Farm Bureau Federation, another plaintiff in the lawsuit, said it was still trying to determine the ruling’s significance.
“Having a permit does not improve the environment.” “We feel this is an extremely significant decision, and we’re still analyzing the details of what it’s going to mean,” said Don Parrish, the federation’s senior director of regulatory relations. EPS Region 3 officials collaborated with those at the agency’s headquarters to issue this statement on the ruling: “Region 3’s practice regarding CAFO permitting or compliance
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matters has been based on the “duty to apply” for permits (that is, the need for permit coverage) on actual discharges from operations, rather than planned or projected discharges. Thus we believe there is no significant impact on the work we do in this sector that is done in close cooperation with state permitting agencies.” The agency did not say if it would appeal, but said it is “currently reviewing” the decision and its potential implications. The EPA has been sparring in the courts with both environmental groups and the farm lobby for the better part of a decade over the definition of a CAFO and how the Clean Water Act should be enforced when it comes to
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animal feeding operations. In 2003, the agency defined a CAFO as an operation that raised more than 125,000 chickens, 1,000 cattle or 2,500 swine. That applied to very few farms in the Bay watershed. But the definition went a step further. The EPA in 2008 put out a new set of regulations that required Chesapeake Bay farmers to apply for federal CAFO permits if they discharged, no matter the size. It also said that if the farm didn’t discharge now, but might in the future, it needed a CAFO permit. The Waterkeeper Alliance attempted to persuade the EPA continued on page ten
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The likelihood that they would discharge was not enough to trigger the permitting process . . . The EPA’s assumption that a farm with no record of discharges would violate the law in the future was, in the judges’ words, “an attempt by the EPA to create from whole cloth new liability provisions. The CWA simply does not authorize this type of supplementation to its comprehensive liability scheme.” The permits help the agency track and regulate potential polluters. The court shifted the burden of figuring out who had the potential to discharge, or was discharging, back to the government. Few farms actually propose discharges directly to public water. However, discharges may happen if the land is such that a discharge is inevitable. That is particularly true on the Delmarva Peninsula, where the water table is low and the land is ditched. One heavy rainstorm can move chicken manure into a stream that leads to the Chesapeake Bay. The ruling is only binding for now in the Fifth Circuit, which covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. So, it’s unclear what the court’s decision will mean for the areas of the watershed where animal farming dominates, such as the Delmarva Peninsula, the Shenandoah Valley and parts of
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Large Animal Ruling to make their language even more precise. Instead of saying the farms proposed to discharge, it wanted the agency to presume that the farms would discharge because of their topography and the fact that many chicken farms keep uncovered manure on the farms. Manure is rich in both phosphorus and nitrogen, and when it runs into streams it can cause algae blooms and low-oxygen zones that stress fish and other marine life. The EPA declined to make the change. The new definition greatly changed the number of chicken farms designated as CAFOs in
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Maryland, which did not have a CAFO law three years ago. In 2008, just 12 farms in the state fit the definition. Now, the Maryland Department of the Environment estimates that 426 farms in the state will fall under the CAFO designation. The new rules mean more paperwork for farmers and increased costs, because farmers now need a certified nutrient management plan. Virginia and Pennsylvania already had CAFO laws, so farmers there didn’t experience major changes. The pork and poultry producers were in court in Louisiana
challenging the 2008 law. They lost part of the case; they were also trying to forbid the EPA from regulating dust emissions from animal operations. The companies will still need permits for the release of dust through their ventilation fans. Scott Edwards, senior attorney for the Waterkeeper Alliance, said the ruling “doesn’t change much on the ground.” It doesn’t give the industry permission to pollute, and farmers who have already gone through the CAFO permitting process may choose to keep their permits current anyway because, if they have a discharge, the regulators may go easier on them.
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June 15, 2011 “If a farmer discharges with no permit, he’s in violation of the Clean Water Act. If he discharges with a permit, he is in
. . . environmental groups can seek the plans through a public information request, comb through them, and mount legal and enforcement challenges — a process he calls “legalized extortion.” violation of both the permit and the Clean Water Act,” Edwards said. “The on-the-ground impact of this decision, as it relates to how much this industry gets to pollute, is unchanged. This industry is not allowed to pollute.” The real problem, he says, is that no one is standing out in the rain to determine if a farm is discharging — and as a result, no one is enforcing the law. Moreover, he says, the paperwork farms had to file when they became CAFOs gave the EPA useful information about pollutants and more control over the operations. The agency will have to work harder now to learn about the operations without those mandatory applications. States can also choose to enforce their own clean water laws or CAFO laws and override the federal statute if their environmental protections are stronger. Such was the case in Michigan, where the courts decided to uphold Michigan’s
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vides a floor that they can’t go below, but the states can always be more strict,” said Timothy Lundgren, a Grand Rapids attorney who represents farmers and food processors in the state. “In Michigan, the courts have said, ‘we’re going to uphold Michigan’s law, because it’s broader.’’’ Lundgren said the proposed discharge standard never struck him as particularly fair, because “we don’t treat other industries that way.” Edwards applauds Michigan for sticking to its tougher rule. But, he worries the 5th Circuit Court’s decision means the industry will simply move to the states that refuse to get tough in the absence of an across-theboard federal standard. “Michigan got tough . . . the states can follow suit if they want, but they’ll need the political will to do that,” Edwards said. “It’s created this incentive for this industry to shop around for states where they can get away with murder.”
Expect water for ‘Vegas battle’ to be contentious
Ft. Davis
★
law on CAFOs. That law says farms that propose to discharge must file for permits. “The Clean Water Act pro-
rucial hearings to help determine whether billions of gallons of water will be pumped out of aquifers beneath Utah and northern Nevada to fill the thirsty taps of arid Las Vegas are still months away. But a prehearing in mid May shows the legal battle over the proposed controversial 285-milelong pipeline project with a price tag as high as $3.5 billion promises to be a lengthy and contentious one. The Southern Nevada Water Authority alone plans testimony from more than two dozen witnesses over about three weeks’ time to present its case in support of winning the necessary water rights for the project — something it once had in hand but lost a year ago when the Nevada Supreme Court sent the matter back to the state water engineer for the new round of hearings beginning in September. If the authority secures approval of all the rights it is seeking, the pipeline could end up carrying as much as 65 billion gallons of water from the north to the south on an annual basis. Daily flows would total up to 178
C
million gallons under that scenario — enough to cover an area the size of nearly 500 football fields with a new foot of water each day. That’s assuming the conflicting interests in the north and south can agree on the length of a day — something the Nevada Division of Water Resources’ chief hearing officer wasn’t taking for granted at the preconference meeting in a mock courtroom at the National Judicial College on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. “You are all lawyers,” Susan Joseph-Taylor said. “You are going to argue what a day means.” They did, for about 10 minutes, before agreeing that a “day” in the context of giving adequate notice on the filing of certain evidence didn’t necessarily mean 24 hours. Rather, they decided that a party would serve such notice before the close of business on the previous day. The 65 billion gallons of water — 200,000 acre feet — would be enough to support 400,000 households a year. However, SNWA officials believe it’s more realistic to expect approval of about 120,000 acre feet. An acre foot is the amount of water it takes to cover an acre one foot deep.
“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”
June 15, 2011
Initiative calls for removal of trade barriers in addressing global hunger and food security he Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) has published the second of five issue briefs outlining policies to sustainably increase the rate of agricultural productivity and address hunger and food security in anticipation of a global population surge to over 9 billion people by 2050. The issue brief, “Removing Barriers to Global and Regional Trade in Agriculture,” highlights the critical importance of improving food and agricultural trade flows in the coming decades to counter the impact on agricultural supply resulting from changing weather patterns, urban population shifts, and limitations of water, land and inputs, among other factors. “Today the balance between agricultural supply and demand is dangerously close, which increases market volatility and the potential for localized or regional events to have global impact on food security. To sustainably meet future demand we must address counterproductive trade policies including export restrictions, high tariffs and restrictive quotas on food imports, and restrictive import measures on equipment and modern technology that would improve agriculture productivity worldwide,” said Charles “Joe” O’Mara, a GHI consultative partner who served as the Counsel for International Affairs and Chief Negotiator for Agriculture under U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture Madigan and Espy, and was responsible for negotiating the agriculture provisions of the Uruguay Round World Trade Organization negotiations. “The urgency of hunger issues
T
and food insecurity today is perhaps greater than ever, and these already notable challenges are exacerbated by barriers and export restrictions that reduce trade in foodstuffs,” said Susan Sechler, Managing Director of TransFarm Africa, a GHI consultative partner. “Uninhibited trade flows allow agricultural surpluses to reach areas of critical need that are just a border away in some cases. On the other hand, trade restrictions amplify price volatility, leading to hoarding and even higher prices. Trade barriers have the greatest consequence on the nearly one billion people worldwide that are struggling with hunger and malnutrition, and short-term, stopgap policies cause years or decades of damage to developing nations.” The policy issue brief also proposes recommendations for eliminating trade barriers and calls for a more active leadership role by the U.S. Government in finalizing and expediting multilateral, bilateral, and regional trade agreements. Encouraging and strengthening trade agreements will result in increased market access and the more efficient production of agricultural goods, thereby greatly improving global food security. GHI’s first issue brief addressing the importance of agricultural research was released on April 21, 2011. Subsequent GHI issue briefs will address development assistance, science-based technologies, and private investment. The issue brief released today and more information about GHI can be found at http://www.globalharvestinitiative.org.
Don’t Mess with Texas greenhouse gas emissions from major sources. The Lone Star State alone refused to comply, although at least 20 others are also suing the agency over greenhouse gas regulations. TPPF scholar Kathleen Hartnett White, a former state environmental director, says the rules also require “Rolls Royce” emissions control technologies on industrial boilers and certain cement kilns. Unions claim the boiler rule alone could send 700,000 U.S. jobs to countries less concerned about air quality. EPA is also considering tightening standards on “coarse particulate matter,” White says, and the proposed rule would drop the exemp-
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Digest
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tion for rural dust, a fact of life in West Texas. Remediation techniques for rural dust suggested by EPA include watering dirt roads and notill days for farmers. Because of the makeup of its economy, including the nation’s largest petrochemical complex, in Houston, Texas will be disproportionately affected by most air quality regulations. White says it doesn’t matter if Washington is deliberately picking on her state, though the administration’s actions speak to a strong desire to make alternatives to fossil fuels more appealing. “We are a bad example,” White says. “We are not what the administration would like to see.”
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Livestock Market Digest
Page 12
June 15, 2011
A Letter . . . There Are No Cool Heads in Portal
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egardless of which side of the political spectrum you reside, Portal, Ariz. is a beautiful place. Located in the mouth of Cave Creek on the eastern slope of the Chiracahua Mountains, it is not much more than a hole in a road, which continues west to the town of Paradise, and eventually ascends to the top of the mountain at a campground located at a spot called Rustler Park. The small populace of Portal is partially made up of retirees, wealthy enough to own a piece of the pricey land; not a few who could be described as liberal academics. A short distance up the canyon is The Southwest Research Station of The Museum of Natural History. This area, and the Chiracahua range as a whole, is the best example of neo-tropical bird habitat in the United States. It is the home of: the greater and lesser long-nosed bat, the famous trogon, the so-called “endangered” spotted owl, and hundreds of other rare species. It is bird watcher’s paradise. It is burning down. In early May what is now being called Horseshoe Fire #2 was started by illegal aliens in the area of Burro Springs near the headwaters of Horseshoe Canyon. Border Patrol agents tracked four aliens to the very start of the fire. The first Forest Service fire fighters to arrive at the site observed the same tracks. Horseshoe Fire #1 was started near the same spot almost exactly a year ago, also ignited by illegal aliens. In the last three years alone no less than 11 fires have been started by illegal aliens in the Chiracahua Mountains and the adjacent Peloncillo Mountains. No less than 120 thousand acres have burned. The cost to the American taxpayers to fight these fires is nearing $70 million. The U.S. Forest Service itself admitted that Horseshoe Fire #1 cost in excess of $10 million to fight. The Three Triangle Ranch has a forest grazing permit in Horseshoe Canyon. In the summer of 2010 the Three Triangle manager was told by the Forest Service that his permit numbers were going to be cut to less than 200 head of cattle in a pasture that previously ran in excess of 400. At this writing Horseshoe Fire #2 is still burning out of control, consuming everything in its path, but in the first stages its primary fuel was grass, amply available due to under grazing on the Horseshoe allotment. The wind, blowing southwest to northeast, carried the fire at an astounding speed down Horseshoe Canyon and over a ridge into Sulphar Canyon (another under grazed allotment). From the mouth of Sulphar Canyon it skirted around the foot of the mountains by Sanford Hill going north to the very edge of Portal itself. Three Triangle Ranch cows saved the town of Portal. The Forest Service will claim that a fire break made by their bulldozers should get the credit, but in reality, as the fire reached the edge of town it burned into a corner of a large cow pasture, one of the few that had been heavily grazed, and it simply ran
out of fuel. In 1994 there was a fire in the area near Rustler Park that became known as the Rattlesnake Fire. Prior to this fire, Forest Service employees had collected seeds from this area, and nurtured thousands of seedlings ready to plant. After the Rattlesnake Fire the Forest Service proposed a sale of burned timber to finance the planting of these seedlings in the area destroyed by the fire. The fight was on. The local environmental community, with the help of The Southwest Center for Biological Diversity and other eco-terrorists groups, sued the Federal Government to stop the timber sale. The court ruled in favor of the environmental community, but the Forest Service appealed and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals eventually overturned the original decision of the lower court, and ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service. Not long before this, the Forest Service had proposed a small 10 acre timber sale near the same area which immediately set off a firestorm of protest from the same group of enviros. Within a matter of a few days they were able to inspire thousands of letters of protest against the proposed timber sale. The word was put out that the Forest Service was clear cutting the entire Chiracahua range, when in reality the sale was not to exceed 10 acres. Hundreds of these protest letters were written on university letterhead paper and signed by many PhDs from all over the United States. In frustration the Forest Service cancelled the timber sale thinking it not worth the fight. The results of this mismanagement and hatred of loggers and cowboys has produced an unnatural forest that is virtually choking on its own excess of downed timber, undergrowth and unharvested grass, that is at best a time bomb waiting to be set off by a bolt of lightening or in this case, the match of a drug smuggler. continued on page thirteen
“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”
June 15, 2011
The pendulum swings back and forth, with technique and practice going from one extreme to the other, and common sense often being overlooked. Our natural resources should be managed in a case by case manner with decisions being made by people with proven experience, (including permit holders), instead of being held hostage to the latest fad propagated by some PhD with no practical and hands on experience. The current method of managing fires is to let them burn from road to road or natural barrier to natural barrier. Fires, that twenty years ago would have been aggressively fought even in remote areas with destruction kept to a minimum, are now being allowed to burn over a greater expanse. The result is a forest habitat that is being nuked, with everything in its path being destroyed. Old growth timber on the Coronado National Forest is virtually gone as the result of fires. The enviros want to blame the loggers for this, but it is simply not true. As I write this on Sunday morning May 15, 2011, I sit on the porch and look north about 10 miles and observe Horseshoe Fire #2 still burning out of control. The first stage of the fire burned eastward from Burro Spring, carried by a strong wind, but now after several days of relative calm the fire has burned westward climbing to very highest peak in the Chircahua range. I watch the fire from where I sit and can see that it is now around the corner of the mountaintop burning on the west face of the mountain. It has also burned around to the east side of the very top of the mountain. This east side where one fork of the fire is actually located is the very headwaters of Cave Creek itself. It’s what a cowboy would call downhill and shady from where it is at the moment to the Southwest Research Station and a short distance on down the creek to Portal. Cave Creek comes into Portal from a different angle than the first stage of the fire which I mentioned in a previous paragraph. The town of Portal is not out of danger yet. I’ve been in this area from top to bottom gathering cattle and can tell you first hand that it is choked with down timber, brush and grass, the result of decades of so called protection by our federal government. The people in Portal and the surrounding area need to hope that the wind doesn’t start blowing again west to east like it has all spring or the second stage of this fire could be worse than the first. As of the morning of, Saturday the 14th of May, the fire had burned in excess of 20,000 acres of some of the Southwest’s best wildlife habitat, not to mention millions of dollars of potential timber sales and grazable forage and on Sunday morning the 15th there is no end in sight. Nobody around here is happy with the fire, not even the Mexi-
can outlaws who habitually pack their dope and other contraband over a trail that goes by Burro Springs and on north to multiple drop off spots, scattered from Portal all the way to San Simon or Bowie. Many residents in the area have quality radios and can listen to outlaw scouts who drive up and down Highway 80 between Portal and Douglas and relay information via radio to their narcotic packing counterparts. They transmit messages that contain the whereabouts of Border Patrol agents or anyone else who might interfere with the smuggling of their product. This last week these outlaw scouts were heard cursing the fire that they started, which now transcends the entire eastern slope of the Chiracahua range. They are being forced to send their contraband west to the Silver Creek area (the home of Roger Barnett) and on north across the western slope of the mountains. While all this goes on I’m sure our politicians will make hay lay-
ing the blame on each other and their respective political parties. The result of all this will be more bureaucratic quagmire completely void of common sense or solution, and the fire continues to burn the trogon and spotted owl out of house and home. The fire still looms uphill from Portal whose residents are still in danger of losing everything, and dozens of federal employees sit down at their base camp six miles east of Portal on Highway 80 staring up to the top of the mountain hoping the wind will stay calm. All weather forecasts call for the wind to return on Monday the 16th. While all this goes on, Janet Napolitano and our Campaigner in Chief assure us that our southern border is safer than ever. Try telling this to a trogon or spotted owl or perhaps a homo sapien living in Portal. They’re not playing it cool any longer and they won’t believe you. — Ed Ashurst, Apache, Ariz.
Editor’s Note: As of June 2, over 80,500 acres had burned and the fire was only 75 percent contained.
Superior Farms closes Iowa lamb plant by LISA M. KEEFE
ot quite seven months after announcing the purchase of Iowa Lamb Corp. in Hawarden, Iowa, Superior Farms has shut down the processing operation there due to a shortage of available livestock, Superior Farms spokeswoman Angela Gentry told Meatingplace. She added that at this point, Superior Farms considers the shutdown temporary. The plant had been running at about half capacity, due to a shortage of lambs. “We are not losing that asset,” Gentry said. “We are keeping the property and equipment and our intention is to open it back up as soon as we have the livestock.” The move eliminated another 49 jobs at the plant, which is located in a town of about 2,400. This, after Superior Farms cut 32 jobs at the facility in February, moving processing to a facility in Denver. The company plans to keep a half-dozen people working in Hawarden, buying lambs from local ranchers which then will be shipped to Superior Farms’ facility in Denver.
Page 13 THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST
Real Estate GUIDE TO PLACE YOUR LISTINGS HERE, PLEASE CALL MICHAEL WRIGHT AT 505/243-9515, EXT. 30, OR EMAIL MICHAEL@AAALIVESTOCK.COM Missouri Land Sales
See all my listings at:
paulmcgilliard.murney.com ■ Horse Training / Boarding Facility: New, state-of-the-art, 220x60 horse facility with 20 stalls, back to back, offset with bull pen at end of the barn.Two large pipe outside paddocks. 3-4 BR, 3 BA, 2,000+ sq. ft. home. All on 18+ acres. Just 5 miles north of I-44 Bois D’Arc exit. MLS #1017424. Call Paul for your private showing. Cell: 417/839-5096 ■ 675 Ac. Grass Runway, Land your own plane: Major Price Reduction. 3 BR, 2 BA 1-800/743-0336 home down 1 mi. private land. New 40x42 shop, 40x60 livestock barn, over 450 ac. in MURNEY ASSOC., REALTORS grass. (Owner runs over 150 cow/calves, 2 springs, 20 ponds, 2 lakes, consisting of 3.5 & 2 ac. Both stocked with fish. Excellent fencing. A must farm to see. MLS #1010371 SPRINGFIELD, MO 65804 ■ 483 Ac., Hunter Mania: Nature at her best. Don’t miss out on this one. Live water (two creeks). 70+ acres open in bottom hayfields and upland grazing. Lots of timber (marketable and young) for the best hunting and fishing (Table Rock, Taney Como and Bull Shoals Lake) Really cute 3-bd., 1-ba stone home. Secluded yes, but easy access to ForsythBranson, Ozark and Springfield. Property joins Nat’l. Forest. MLS#908571
PAUL McGILLIARD
FALL MARKETING EDITION “Digest 25” Top 10 Reasons To Advertise Deadline is August 1, 2011 . . . Reserve your space today, for placement and free directory listing — a $ 40 value with display ad. This issue will appear on the www.aaalivestock.com for 12 full months
• The Who’s Who in today’s Livestock Industry from the Midwest to the West • Featuring the Top 25 Leaders in the business • The LEE PITTS publication • Livestock Market Digest’s Annual Directory by category! • Special real estate section
Contact your advertising representative, MICHAEL WRIGHT at: michael@aaalivestock.com or call 505/243-9515, ext. 30.
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New Mexico: 461-ac. farm just east of Deming. Very clean and well maintained turnkey operation. Texas: 7,670 ac. east of El Paso. Quality mule deer and exceptional quail. Texas: 7,360 ac. Brewster Co. Remote hunting ranch with beautiful vistas.
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Check our website for other properties. PARMER CO., TEXAS – 400-cow dairy, on 80 ac., double 12 parallel parlor, on Hwy. 60, all weather road, 3-bedroom/3-bath, 16x80 newermodel manufactured home, near Friona. Cows and rolling stock included. LEA CO., NEW MEXICO – 1,400-cow dairy on 136 acres, side-by-side, double 20 parlor, beautiful 5-bedroom/4-bath home, on pavement. CASTRO CO., TEXAS – on pavement, 1,808± acres, permitted for 7,200 cows (4,000 milking), precon. pens with permit, sprinklers, irr. wells, employee housing, barns. HEART OF THE PLAINS – 8-section ranch with new set of pens, concrete bunks, truck/cattle scale and commodity barn, mobile home, watered by subs, mill and pipeline, on pavement, hour from Lubbock, Texas, mule deer and quail.
Livestock Market Digest
Page 14
June 15, 2011
THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST
Real Estate GUIDE TO PLACE YOUR LISTINGS HERE, PLEASE CALL MICHAEL WRIGHT AT 505/243-9515, EXT. 30, OR EMAIL MICHAEL@AAALIVESTOCK.COM
NEVADA RANCHES and FARMS Z Bar Ranch, Clover Valley Ranch: One of those ranches at the foot of the Mountains that everyone would love to own is now available. This ranch consists of 2,833 deeded acres of which approx. 650 acres are irrigated. Creek water to run one pivot and several wheel-lines plus flood water. An irrigation well supplies another pivot and a 50-acre grain field. The ranch has good improvements including 3 homes, two shops, two calving barns, and corrals with hydraulic chute. Price: $3,200,000. Tent Mountain Ranch, Starr Valley, Nevada: 3,435 deeded acres at the foot of the majestic East Humboldt Range the Northern extension of the Ruby Mountains. Several perennial Streams flow through the ranch and wildlife are an daily part of the scenery. The owners run a Guest Ranch and Guide service out of the ranch. There are multiple fenced pastures for grazing all with free water. Improvements are good with a large home approx. 5,000. sq.ft, plus a second modular home and Mountain Cabin. Barn with water, hay barn, and other storage. Access onto paved road. Price: $4,500,000. Waddy Creek Ranch: Located in a remote valley, two creeks provide water for approx. 138 acres of historic meadow. This property has quaking aspen groves and is quite beautiful. Access is on a County Road. There is a BLM grazing permit attached to the ranch for 71 head. Price: Reduced to $400,000. Indian Creek Ranch: White Pine County, Nevada. This is a great property for a hunter as it is surrounded by Public lands and has Out West Realty Network Affiliate
plentiful mule deer, antelope and elk. There is a large spring arising on high ground that could provide pressure for hydro-power, or gravity flow domestic or irrigation water. Approx. 200 acres in three separate parcels. Piñon pine and Utah juniper plus some Cottonwood, willows and quaking aspen. Very scenic. Approx. ½ mile off county-maintained road. Price $395,000. Mason Mountain Ranch: Great summer ranch with 3,700 deeded acres plus small BLM permit. Located approx. 75 miles north of Elko. Runs approx. 89 acres of meadow irrigated with water stored in reservoir/fishing hole which also acts as Red Band Trout Hatchery. Home and outbuildings for a good cow camp. Phone but no power. Price: $1,595,000. Steptoe Valley Farm: Nice alfalfa and grass hay farm in beautiful country! Approx. 1,000 acres with around 700 acres of water rights. Six wells pump water to five center pivots and a field flooded or ready for wheel-line hookup. Nice manufactured home for a residence. $3,000,000. Elko Co. Spring Sheep Range: This should be a great investment property ideal for a 1031 Exchange! Deeded Sheep Base in Elko Co.: 10,705 deeded acres plus a 29 percent public BLM permit in the mountains just northeast of Elko. Fifty percent of the mineral rights included. Good summer spring and summer range for sheep or cattle. Annual lease income, plus inexpensive Ag taxes. Price: $1,391,650.
Bottari Realty
PAUL D. BOTTARI, BROKER
www.bottarirealty.com • paul@bottarirealty.com • Ofc.: 775/752-3040 • Res: 775/752-3809 • Fax: 775/752-3021
26.47 Acre farm for sale off Shalem Colony Road on Coral Road. Borders the Rio Grande river. 13.55 acres EBID water rights/full ground water rights. $380,000. WAHOO RANCH: Approximately 40,976 acres: ± 11,600 deeded, 6,984 BLM, 912 state, 40 uncontrolled and 21,440 forest. Beautiful cattle ranch located on the east slope of the Black Range Mountains north of Winston, N.M., on State Road 52. Three hours from either Albuquerque or El Paso.The ranch is bounded on the east by the Alamosa Creek Valley and on the west by the Wahoo Mountains ranging in elevation from 6,000' to 8,796'. There are 3 houses/2 cabins, 2 sets of working corrals (1 with scales) and numerous shops and outbuildings. It is very well watered with many wells, springs, dirt tanks and pipelines. The topography and vegetation is a combination of grass covered hills (primarily gramma grasses), with many cedar, piñon and live oak covered canyons as well as the forested Wahoo Mountains. There are plentiful elk and deer as well as antelope, turkey, bear, mountain lion and javelina (47 elk tags in 2010). Absolutely one of the nicest combination cattle/hunting ranches to be found in the Southwest. Price reduced to $5,500,000.
SOLD
MAHONEY PARK: Just 10 miles southeast of Deming, N.M. The property consists of approx. 800 acres Deeded, 560 acres State Lease, and 900 acres BLM. This historic property is located high up in the Florida Mountains and features a park like setting, covered in deep grasses with plentiful oak and juniper covered canyons. The cattle allotment would be approx. 30 head (AUYL). Wildlife includes deer, ibex, javalina, quail and dove. This rare jewel would make a great little ranch with views and a home site second to none. Priced at $600,000. SAN JUAN RANCH: Located 15 miles south of Deming, N.M. east of Highway 11 (Columbus Highway) on CR-11. Approximately 24,064 acres consisting of approximately 2684 acres Deeded, 3240 State Lease, 13,460 BLM, and 4,680 uncontrolled. The cattle allotment would be approx. 183 head (AUYL). There are 6 solar powered stock wells with metal storage tanks and approximately 6-1/2 miles pipeline. The ranch has a very diverse landscape consisting of high mountain peaks, deep juniper & oak covered canyons, mountain foothills and desert grasslands. There is plentiful wildlife including deer, ibex, javalina, quail and dove. A truly great buy at $600,000. 212 ACRE FARM BETWEEN LAS CRUCES, N.M. AND EL PASO, TEXAS: Hwy. 28 frontage with 132 acres irrigated, 80 acres sandhills, full EBID (surface water) plus a supplemental irrigation well, cement ditches and large equipment warehouse. Priced at $1,696,000. 50.47-ACRE FARM: Located on Afton Road south of La Mesa, NM. Paved road frontage, full EBID (surface water) plus a supplemental irrigation well with cement ditches. Priced at $609,600. OTHER FARMS FOR SALE: In Doña Ana County. All located near Las Cruces, N.M. 8, 11, and 27.5 acres. $15,000/acre to $17,000/acre. All have EBID (surface water rights from the Rio Grande River) and several have supplemental irrigation wells. If you are interested in farm land in Doña Ana County, or ranches in Southwest New Mexico, give me a call.
DAN DELANEY R E A L E S TAT E , L L C www.zianet.com/nmlandman
FOR SALE IRRIGATED FARM NEAR SEDAN, N.M. 960 total acres, 770 irrigated acres, brick home, large barns, grain bins, etc. Good livestock operation. Favorable financing and terms available to qualified buyers. CALL JORDAN OR NICK FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Farmers & Stockmens Bank P.O. Box 431, Clayton, N.M. 88415 • 575/374-8301
New Mexico Ranches for Sale Flying Y Ranch ~ Sitting on the east flank of Cooks Range under the eye of Cooks Peak is the 19,863 acre Flying Y Ranch. One ownership for over 50 years. This holding contains 13,283 deeded acres and 6,400 New Mexico State lease acres. An extraordinary blend of high desert grasslands balanced with scenic hills and mountains and room for 400 animal units. Water provided by 8 wells and numerous springs. Wildlife includes elk, deer, bear, lion, javalina & quail. Located northeast of Deming. $5,049,000. Davis Gila Farm ~ Located in the heart of the Gila River Basin at Gila, N.M. Nestled at the confluence of the Gila River and Bear Creek is a very private end of the road irrigated stock farm and wildlife sanctuary. 100 acres with 84 water right acres, improved pastures, stock pens, and equipment shed all neat and tidy. $1,375,000! Stockton Ranch ~ Located north of Deming in the high desert is a solid 400 animal unit cattle ranch with a 350 animal unit BLM grazing allotment. Great improvements developed for function and service; steel pens, excellent water distribution and a comfortable territorial adobe residence. $2,000,000. MJM Ranch ~ 169 animal unit BLM ranch located near Roswell. 1,525 deeded acres, remodeled residence, new shop and cake bins, powder river cattle system. RO system for the entire ranch. You need to see this one. $800,000 Los Chaparrales Ranch ~ This river ranch located along the lower reach of the Mimbres north of Deming has the river’s most pristine river bosque complemented with beautiful views of Cook Peak and nearby mountains. 1,389 deeded acres includes water rights, old adobe residence and horse pens. Price reduced $1,500,000. Lea County Ranch ~ located north of Jal is the Matkins Ranch and room for 150 mother cows. This is a no frills ranch in the mist of the oil patch but a proven producer of 700 lb. calves, and oil field surface fees. 1,840 deeded with 11,800 acres lease. $700,000. Zia Mesa Farm ~ North of Ft. Sumner is 162 acres with 122 water rights. Nice, neat and tidy farm with center pivot sprinkler, Enclosed Morgan barn – a 1,900 sq. ft. Griffin home. $400,000. State Lease Ranch ~ Nothing fancy, just a simple cattle ranch with 7,733 lease acres. Excellent water distribution, stock pens, and three pastures. Easily accessed off highway north of Deming. $55/acre!
318 W. Amador Ave., Las Cruces, N.M. 88005 (O) 575/647-5041 • (C) 575/644-0776 nmlandman@zianet.com KEITH L. SCHRIMSHER • O: 575/622-2343 • C: 575/520-1989 srre@dfn.com • www.nm-ranches.com
June 15, 2011
THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST
Real Estate
GUIDE Place your Real Estate ad in the 2011 FME (Including the DIGEST 25)
✴ Special Real Estate section ✴ Full-color, high-gloss magazine with internet visibility ✴ Appears on the internet for 12 full months after publication ✴ www.aaalivestock is the top-ranking website in the Yahoo and MSN search engines
“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”
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“EAGER SELLERS” P BAR RANCH: Rates at 1,350 AU’s including 900 mother cows outside year round – WINTER RANGE – 11,750 deeded acres plus BLM, 300 irrigated – background lot for calves – 3 homes – good improvements – CAN SPLIT – $6,000,000. LYMAN RANCH: Rated at approximately 225 hd. year long – MEADOW RANCH – 850± deeded with 670± irrigated – FREE WATER – several interior pastures for easy management of cattle – over 1-1/2 MILE RIVER THRU RANCH – would make great stocker operation for about 800 hd. – modest improvements including great shipping facilities and scales – asking $1,530,000 Rae at 208/761-9553. LINSON CREEK: 400/500 HD. WINTER (11/5 – 5/1) with less than 1/2-ton on normal years – 1,938 deeded plus BLM – great stock water – UPLAND GAME BIRDS, MULE DEER, ELK, FISHING – Washington/ Payette Counties, ID – modest improvements – $1,475,000 with SELLER FINANCE. LANDRETH: Malheur County, OR – 780 deeded acres with 180± irrigated – 1/2-MILE RIVER – quality improvements – upland game birds, water fowl, mule deer, bass ponds – PRICE REDUCED – $980,000. FARM/FEEDLOT: 500± deeded acres with 280 irrigated row crop – CAFO at 850-1,000 hd. – good improvements – great stocker and/or dairy hfrs. – $1,580,000. QUARTER CIRCLE DIAMOND: Gilliam County, OR – 6,148 deeded acres with 1,078 dry farm – in addition running 125 mother cows year long – includes 40% interest in potential power generation – siting for 17 TURBINES – mule deer, elk, chukar, quail – $1,750,000 Rae at 208/761-9553 Jack at 541/473-3100.
Capulin Ranch, Separ, N.M.: 21,640 acres total, 7,785 deeded acres and 13,835 leased acres. 350 auyl operation has 8 pastures, 2 traps, 10 wells and drinkers, forage is in excellent condition. Good populations of mule deer, antelope, big cats, javalina and quail. HQ home is southwest style with pool. Also find a 2 bedroom Guest home, an equipment garage, 2 rail cars, working pens and digital scales all in working order. Priced at $4,000,000 La Cueva Ranch, Las Vegas, N.M.: 3,519 deeded acres on Apache Mesa 20 minutes from Las Vegas, N.M. Caves, rimrock views, canyons, grassy mesa tops and tall pines. Smaller parcels available too. Wild west views. Priced at $$1,779,107 Trigg Ranch Parcels, Las Vegas, N.M.: 720 acre and 360 acre pastures located on Apache Mesa at $612,000 and $216,000 respectively. 180 acre parcel located on Hwy 84 has stunning views, several building sites on this parcel. Go to www.SantaFeLand.com for more info. Ken Ahler Real Estate Co., Inc.
www.aaalivestock.com
AGRILANDS Real Estate www.agrilandsrealestate.com Vale, Oregon • 541/473-3100 • jack@fmtcblue.com
www.SantaFeLand.com 1435 S. St. Francis Drive, Suite 210 • Santa Fe, N.M. 87505 O: 505/989-7573 • Toll Free: 888/989-7573 • M: 505/490-0220 E-mail: kahler@newmexico.com
INTEREST RATES AS LOW AS 3%. PAYMENTS SCHEDULED ON 25 YEARS
JOE STUBBLEFIELD & ASSOCIATES 13830 Western St., Amarillo, TX 806/622-3482 • cell 806/674-2062 Michael Perez Assocs. Nara Visa, NM • 575/403-7970
SOUTHEAST COLORADO RANCH: 12,383 deeded acres, 640 acres of Colorado State Lease, together with a five month permit to run 183 animal units on adjoining Comanche National Grasslands. This ranch has been operated as a 500 animal unit cow/calf ranch and has been under the same family ownership for approximately 60 years. The terrain varies from open plains grama grass country to rocky side slopes and scenic high elevated mesa tops. The property has adequate improvements, is very well fenced, and extremely well watered. This is a quality cattle ranch, but also offers the added benefit of hunting. This well maintained ranch is offered at $425 per deeded acre.
RANCH SALES & APPRAISALS SERVING THE RANCHING INDUSTRY SINCE 1920
Chas. S. Middleton and Son 1507 13th ST. • LUBBOCK, TEXAS 79401
(806) 763-5331 TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES • Magnificent 90 Hunting – Cattle/Horse Ranch 50 miles E. of Dallas, 35 miles W. of Tyler, White pipe fence along FM Hwy. 3,700 sq. ft. elaborate home, flowing waterway, lake. Has it all. • 532-acre CATTLE & HUNTING, NE TX ranch, elaborate home, one-mile highway frontage. OWNER FINANCE at $2,150/ac. • 274 acres in the shadow of Dallas. Secluded lakes, trees, excellent grass. Hunting & fishing, dream home sites. $3,850/ac. • 1,700-acre classic NE TX cattle & hunting ranch. $2,750/ac. Some mineral production. • Texas Jewel, 7,000 ac. – 1,000 per ac., run cow to 10 ac. • 256 Acre Texas Jewel – Deep sandy soil, highrolling hills, scattered good quality trees, & excellent improved grasses. Water line on 2 sides rd., frontage on 2 sides, fenced into 5 pastures, 5 spring fed tanks and lakes, deer, hogs & ducks. Near Tyler & Athens. Price $1,920,000. • 146 horse, hunting cattle ranch N. of Clarksville, TX. Red River Co. nice brick home, 2 barns, pipe fences, good deer, hogs, ducks, hunting priced at $395,000. • 535 ac. Limestone, Fallas, & Robertson counties, fronts on Hwy. 14 and has rail frontage water line, to ranch, fenced into 5 pastures, 2 sets, cattle pens, loamy soil, good quality trees, hogs, & deer hunting. Priced at $2,300 per ac.
Joe Priest Real Estate 1205 N. Hwy 175, Seagoville, TX 75159
972/287-4548 • 214/676-6973 1-800/671-4548 www.joepriest.com joepriestre@earthlink.com
EAST-CENTRAL NEW MEXICO CATTLE RANCH: 60,400 deeded acres with approximately 6,000 acres of leased and free use land. The ranch is located near Santa Rosa and historical stocking rates indicate a carrying capacity of 1,200 – 1,300 animal units. The ranch has a rolling to hilly terrain with a small amount of canyon country. The property is watered by natural lakes, submersible wells, windmills and an extensive waterline network. Improvements include a nearly new Spanish style hacienda, two camps and several good sets of livestock pens. This working cattle ranch is very realistically priced at $240 per deeded acre.
Descriptive brochures available on all ranches.
Chas. S. Middleton and Son
www.chassmiddleton.com • 1507 13th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79401 • 806/763-5331
Livestock Market Digest
Page 16
irish blacks Polled Purebred Cattle www.irishblacks.com
We are the only breed of the major beef breeds that transmits all of gene traits rated at the highest level. All of the recorded purebred animals of the breed trace back to the first imported purebred Friesian bull and five of his daughters. Our gene pool is very small and highly concentrated transmitting extreme dominance when out crossed with other breeds. 100 HIGH PERFORMANCE BULLS FOR SALE, coming two year olds. For the past 25 years we have been selling one two-year-old bull per 70 to 75 females to be bred. We also have BRED FEMALES FOR SALE, PLUS EMBRYOS and SEMEN
Scott 8' Portable Tubs with 18' Alley Ready for Transport in Minutes
SCOTT • 10' & 12' Stationary Tubs • 18' Adjustable Alleys • Continuous Fence • Heavy-Duty Feed Bunks • Complete Line of Heavy-Duty Livestock Equipment
Announcing New Mexico Section SRM Summer Tour July 22, 2011
MAURICE W. BONEY, Founder of the Breed 1971 25377 WCR 17, Johnstown, CO 80534 mwboneyirishblacks@gmail.com 970/587-2252
THE KEY TO PROFIT = EARLY MATURITY & CONSISTENCY
MANUFACTURERS GORDON, NEBRASKA 1-800/435-0532
SCOTT SIDEROLL IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. www.scottmanufacturers.com
he New Mexico Section of the Society for Range Management has issued an open invitation to its July 22 summer range tour of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Corona Range & Livestock Research Center (CRLRC). The tour fee of $30 includes lunch; proceeds will go towards the NM SRM Range Scholarship Fund awarded annually to both an upper and lower level Range Science student at NMSU. The tour will feature long term and current research including: ■ Juniper biomass study site. Discuss harvest study, use of juniper as biofuel, problems and opportunities. ■ Juniper sapling control plots integrating herbicide, VLSA
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Best Wishes For The Future!
BRAND FOR SALE
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Quarter Circle 9 Spear
Thanks Debbie . . .
he Livestock Market Digest has been fortunate to have Debra Cisneros as our sales representative for the past several years. The time has come for Debbie to concentrate on her health and her new life in Colorado where she moved last fall.
$2,800 OBO Call: 575/461-7888, or Email: klpayton@msn.com
The staff and management at the Livestock Market Digest appreciates all the hard work Debbie has put in the publication and the industry . . . Caren Cowan, Marguerite Vensel, Kristy Hinds, Becky Matthews, Camille Pansewicz, Carol Pendleton, and Chris Martinez
Western Legacy Alliance Research Spurs Congressional Action on Exposing Taxpayer Funded Lawsuit Racket of Radical Environmentalists I am/our organization is committed to protecting the open spaces, private property, private businesses and ensuring the responsible use of public lands. Please list me/my organization as a member of the Western Legacy Alliance. I have included my membership dues and my $____________ additional contribution. Individual Membership $25
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Corporate Membership $1,000
Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Address: ____________________________________________ City: __________________________ State: ___________
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RECEIPT OF CONTRIBUTION TO THE WLA: The Western Legacy Alliance thanks you for your contribution! Amount: $
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June 15, 2011
monitoring, and targeted grazing. ■ Wildlife – Livestock interactions utilizing GPS tracking collars investigating the woodland structures providing optimal habitat for both cattle and mule deer ■ PJ woodland hydrology exclosures examining soil water dynamics in relation to woodland control ■ Integrated PJ Control sites involving both herbicide and prescribed fire treatments The CRLRC is a 27,886-acre working ranch laboratory located near the geographical center of the state of New Mexico, just east of the village of Corona. Land within the research center is characterized by rolling hills alternating with undulat-ing to flat areas with the elevation rang-
ing from 5,720 to 6700 feet. A transitional area runs the length of the ranch with the southern half predominately piñon juniper woodland and the northern half described as a short grass prairie. The research center is operated by NMSU’s Animal & Range Sciences Department. Research programs, as well as graduate student studies are a major part of the research centers activities and are incorporated into the normal production cycle of the cattle and sheep commercial operations, a registered Angus seedstock herd, a native mule deer population and an introduced herd of pronghorn antelope. For tour details and information on NM SRM membership please contact NM SRM President Elect Les Owen (575/646-2642 or lowen@ nmda.nmsu.edu) or visit nmsrm.nmsu.edu.
Cow’s blood saves life of crash victim in world’s first procedure by DAVID GARDNER, www.dailymail.co.uk
octors have saved the life of a woman car crash victim with the first ever use of cow’s blood. Tamara Coakley, 33, rejected a life-saving conventional blood transfusion because of her Jehovah’s Witness faith despite being close to death. But in a world’s first procedure, a synthetic blood substitute made from cow plasma was used to revive the patient just as her heart was failing through severe blood loss. The success of the procedure could help combat the worldwide blood supply shortage. Mrs Coakley’s religion per-
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mits the use of blood substitutes and doctors in Melbourne, Australia, flew in ten unites of the haemoglobin-based experimental plasma — called HBOC-2-1 — from the United States where it is being developed by the military. The cow’s blood product was painstakingly administered over two days to Mrs. Coakley, who had been in a medically-induced coma following a horrific car collision last October. After a few close calls, including a bout of pneumonia, the patient’s haemoglobin levels more than doubled. Mrs Coakley was overwhelmed by the lengths doctors went to save her life and respect her personal choices.
The Livestock Market Digest is proud to add Michael Wright to our team! e are proud to announce that Michael Wright will be replacing Debbie Cisneros and continuing the excellent service Livestock Market Digest advertisers have come to expect.
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Michael was reared on a commercial F1 and purebred Brahman operation in the bootheel of New Mexico. He brings with him four generations of the range livestock industry and a keen awareness of the issues facing ranchers and rural economies today. Michael is based in Corvallis, Oregon, but will be working out of the Albuquerque office as well. Please welcome Michael to the crew and help him along when you can! You may contact him at 505/243-9515, extension 30 or michael@aaalivestock.com.