LMD March 21

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

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

March 15, 2021 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 63 • No. 3

The Nightmare Has Begun

BY LEE PITTS

T

he 30-30 lever action rifle is said to have killed more deer than any other firearm. The 3030 has been around for 125 years and is still one of the best hunting rifles and any gun enthusiast has at least one in their arsenal. Well, now there’s a new 30 X 30 we’re quite sure most of you have never heard of and speaking metaphorically, it turns the gun around and starts killing off ranchers, hunters, oil field workers, public lands sheepherders and anyone who owns chunks of private property.

You’ve read right here in the past about Agenda 21, The Wildlands Project, the Buffalo Commons and the Green New Deal but Joe Biden’s 30 X 30 could turn out to be the most effective weapon yet for ridding the world of people like you.

The Whitetail’s Revenge

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

Right after he was “elected”, and we’re using that word loosely and begrudgingly, you may recall seeing photos of President Biden at his desk on which were stacked dozens of black leather portfolios, each one containing an Executive Order (EO).

So far, Biden has signed more than any of the last three presidents, most of them reversing Executive Orders that President Trump put in place, like Trump’s withdrawing two million acres from the Bear’s Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Restoring those monuments was one of the first actions Biden took on his first day in office.

In that stack of portfolios on Biden’s desk was Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Aboard”. The Executive Order

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance. halted new oil and gas leases The Department of the Inon public lands and created a terior issued a “fact sheet” that White House Office of Environ- explains 30 X 30. It says that almental Justice. Under the guise though 60 percent of the land in of controlling our climate Biden the continental United States is also snuck in an enviro’s dream. in a natural state, we are losing He committed his administra- an entire football field worth of tion to protecting 30 percent this land every 30 seconds. As a of U.S. land and coastal seas by result, one-third of all U.S. wild2030 thereby protecting an esti- life is threatened with extincmated one million species that tion and that’s why Biden says supposedly might go extinct that 30 percent of the country’s otherwise. land base must be preserved in Previously, I thought the 30 the next ten years. According to X 30 program was just some to the U.S. Geological Survey, greenie pie-in-the-sky idea that 12% of the land in the U.S. is wasn’t going anywhere until I currently “permanently protectread an article written by Nor- ed” which means we have a long man James for the Liberty Mat- way to go to reach Biden’s 30 ters News Service in their pub- percent goal. lication American Stewards of Norman James wrote, “ProLiberty. ponents argue that preserving According to James, “While 30 percent of America’s land the EO’s language is fuzzy, and oceans is necessary to re“conserving” apparently means verse climate change. Howpreserving these areas in a nat- ever, the science and data do ural or undisturbed state.” And not justify these extreme policy cows aren’t part of this undis- measures.” James says, “ 30 X turbed state.

30 is an unconstitutional policy

Mexico’s Decision to Ban Glyphosate Has Rocked the Agribusiness World

BY TIMOTHY A. WISE / COMMONDREAMS.ORG

M

exican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador quietly rocked the agribusiness world with his New Year’s Eve decree to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate and the cultivation of genetically modified corn. His administration sent an even stronger aftershock two weeks later, clarifying that the government would also phase out GM corn imports in three years and the ban would include not just corn for human consumption but yellow corn destined primarily for livestock.

Under NAFTA, the United States has seen a 400% increase in corn exports to Mexico, the vast majority genetically modified yellow dent corn.

The bold policy moves fulfill a campaign promise by Mexico’s populist president, whose agricultural policies have begun to favor Mexican producers, particularly small-scale farmers, and protect consumers alarmed by the rise of obesity and chronic diseases associated with high-fat, high-sugar processed foods.

In banning glyphosate, the decree cites the precautionary principle and the growing body of scientific research showing the dangers of the chemical, the active ingredient in Bayer/

by LEE PITTS

shift, moving us from a nation founded on private property principles to one controlled by the administrative state.”

To My Dear Cali-phony-a,

Enough Is Enough

ave you lost your ever-loving mind?

I used to be proud to tell people I am a fifth generation Californian but now I try to hide the fact because you’ve turned California Dreamin’ into a nightmare. Or a bad joke. Your roads are terrible and your schools are worse. Common decency and courtesy?

Forget it. There’s human feces on the sidewalks of San Francisco where the median price for a crappy home is a million and a half, and the typical driver on our freeways is texting with one hand, drinking a five dollar cup of Starbuck’s with another and flipping you off with yet another. That doesn’t leave many other hands to drive the car.

I know what part of the problem is. You went from an economy that was largely based on agriculture and oil to one ruled by bits and bytes. Needless to say, each attract their own kind of people. Your central valley is still the biggest agriculture phenomenon in the world but the WOOFY’s (well off older folks) who live on the coast who either work for the government or are retired from it, or are professors who teach communism at universities, are trying to shut off the farmer’s water so that they’ll have enough to fill their hot tubs and swimming pools, to water their lawns and succulent gardens and to save the fairy shrimp.

You kicked the cows off the land because they supposedly drank too much water and then planted wine grapes and marijuana farms in their place that are sucking our aquifers dry. Self-driving cars can’t come too soon because a large percentage of your drivers are either drunk on wine or stoned on grass.

You shut down the offshore oil wells because they’re unsightly. I guess you think huge windmills and solar arrays are pretty to look at as you cruise by in your Smart cars, not once wondering where the power that charged your batteries came from. Many of you snobs in California who have bumper stickers on your Priuses and Teslas saying, “Tear down the

Environmental groups disagree about how much nature is enough to “heal” our planet from all the damage mankind has done to it. One prominent biologist, E.O. Wilson, introduced his idea of “half Earth” in a book he wrote and in it he claimed we needed to protect half the planet from any kind of human intervention.

A couple years ago several large green groups, including the National Geographic Society, published a statement calling for 30 percent of the planet to be sustainably managed by 2030 and 50 percent to be sustainably managed by 2050. Although the words “sustainable” and “conserve” are vague, we’re quite confident in saying that the enviro’s definition of “conserve and protect” means NO MORE energy development, forest management, livestock grazing, mineral exploration, development or recreational use.

The 30 x 30 program supposedly has three core objectives: “to conserve species threatened by development, to protect ecosystems that offer services like storing carbon, and to restore degraded habitats.” But let’s cut to the chase, its primary objective is to herd all Americans into continued on page two

Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. The government had stopped imports of glyphosate since late 2019, citing the World Health Organization’s warning that the chemical is a “probable carcinogen.”

The prohibitions on genetically modified corn, which appear toward the end of the decree, have more profound implications. The immediate ban on permits for cultivation of GM corn formalizes current restrictions, ordered by Mexican courts in 2013 when a citizen lawsuit challenged government permitting of experimental GM corn planting by Monsanto and other multinational seed companies on the grounds of the contamination threat they posed to Mexico’s rich store of native corn varieties. The import ban cites the same environmental threats but goes further, advancing the López Obrador administration’s goals of promoting greater food self-sufficiency in key crops. As the decree states: “[W]ith the objective of achieving self-sufficiency and food sovereignty, our country must be oriented towards establishing sustainable and culturally adequate agricultural production, through the use of agroecological practices and inputs that are safe for human health, the country’s biocultural diversity and the environment, as well as congruent with the agricultural traditions of Mexico.”

Chronicle of a decree foretold Such policies should come as no surprise. In his campaign, López Obrador committed to such measures. Unprecedented support from continued on page four

H

continued on page four

Page 2

Livestock Market Digest

March 15, 2021

NIGHTMARE huge population centers where Middleton, also a Berkeley wildthey can be more easily man- life ecologist, “Consider the Euaged and if the citizens insist on ropeans who first colonized the eating beef we can always buy U.S. They favored places that it from Brazil and let them cut were productive and had good down and destroy even more of soil, forests, healthy grasslands, the Amazon Rain Forest. and so forth, and that weight of See the hypocrisy here? historical preference for areas The main money behind this that are richer means by and “half earth” movement comes large our public lands have not from a Swiss philanthropist, ended up being where most of Hansjörg Wyss. If the name the biodiversity is in our counsounds familiar its probably be- try.” cause RANGE Magazine has He’s right, most of the endandone a fabulous job in outing gered and threatened species this Swiss billionaire entrepre- that exist today are on private neur, businessman, and philan- property and they’re there bethropist who is the greenie’s cause of the good job ranchers equivalent to George Soros. have done in preserving habitat.

Both seem hellbent on turning But 30 X 30 isn’t really about America into a socialist state. endangered species or even cliWyss is the founder and was mate change, it’s just a disguise president of Synthes USA until for more socialism. he sold the company in 2012.

According to Gibbens, He lives in Wyoming and his “Around 70 percent of land in hobby seems to be spending the U.S. is owned by individuhis money on environmental als or companies. About twoprotection and social justice. thirds of species listed on the His contributions led to the U.S. endangered species list are establishment of the Wyss In- found on privately owned lands, stitute for Biologically Inspired and around half of the country’s Engineering at Harvard in 2009 forests considered usable for and he also created the Wyss carbon storage sit on private Foundation, which aims to property. Meeting the 30 X 30 conserve natural environments target will require improving in the Western United States, conservation on land that’s now Africa, South America and Aus- in private hands.” tralia. As of 2017, Wyss had a “We need private landowners, net worth of US $5.6 billion and livestock producers, and tribes,” he has already donated a billion says Brashares. “Let’s identify a dollars to launch the Wyss Cam- geography and let that lead us paign for Nature, an initiative to the table and see what levers devoted to achieving the 30 X we can pull.”

30 program.

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Do The Math

The environmental “experts” “To appreciate what 30 X 30 disagree on exactly how much really means,” wrote Norman additional land our government James, “let’s start by examining needs to set aside during the land ownership in the United next ten years but the figures States. According to the Con- range from 440 million acres to gressional Research Service, at least 660 million acres. The Feder percent of all federal land. latter number is 20 million more Sarah Gibbens writing for acres than our entire federal National Geographic, says the government currently manages.

U.S. could achieve 30 X 30 by Or should we say “mismanagthe tripling of its public lands. es”? The National Park Service She wrote, “The U.S. is current- currently has a two billion-dolly conserving around 26 percent lar land acquisition backlog and of its coastal waters but only a wish list of more than 11,000 about 12 percent of its land tracts of land it would like to in a largely natural state. That purchase comprising a total of means, only 12 percent of total 1.6 million acres. The Park SerU.S. area has sufficient protec- vice, Forest Service, Fish and tions to meet the 30 X 30 con- Wildlife Service, and Bureau servation goal. To reach the 30 X of Land Management already 30 target will require conserving have a combined backlog of an additional area twice the size maintenance projects estimated of Texas, more than 440 million to cost over $19 billion. acres, within the next 10 years.”

As westerners know, public Other green groups imme- land is not evenly distributed diately joined the chorus. “The across the United States. “For conservation crisis is as import- example, wrote James, “only ant as the climate crisis,” says 0.3 percent of the land in ConTom Cors of the Nature Con- necticut and Iowa is federally servancy. He describes the deci- managed, compared to over 80 sion to tackle 30 X 30 as both percent of the land in Nevada. “daunting and heartening.”

In fact, 15 states, mainly in the Northeast and Midwest, each Pulling Your Lever have less than 500,000 acres of According to Gibbens, “Even federal land. On the other hand, the 12 percent we think is being the 11 states in the western protected and conserved isn’t U.S., along with Alaska, contain managed in a way that meets more than 560 million acres of the 30 X 30 standard, in part federal land. In those states, the because resources are regularly average percentage of federal extracted from it. Fossil fuels land is nearly 46 percent. Notaextracted from federal lands bly, this does not include Tribal and U.S. waters contribute land, which comprises a signifinearly a quarter of the country’s cant percentage of the land base carbon dioxide emissions. But a of most western states.

“In reality, most of the land drilling ban alone is not enough to convert land into a biodiver- dedicated to achieving the 30 X 30 goal necessarily will be sity haven.”

Justin Brashares, a wildlife the federal land found in the ecologist at the University of 11 western states and Alaska.

California, Berkeley, says “If Forcing rural communities and the federal government says ‘we businesses that depend on the banned oil and gas, now it’s con- use of public lands and national served,’ a lot of the conservation forests to bear the brunt of the community will be unsatisfied.” program would be inequitable.

To understand why, says Arthur There is no other alternative,

March 15, 2021

Livestock Market Digest continued from page one

however.

Forever Is A Long Time “Is this incredibly disruptive How does the government program really necessary?” asks plan on obtaining all this land James. “The Department of In- to be “conserved”? After all, terior’s “fact sheet” emphasiz- the Land and Water Conseres that we are losing a football vation Fund has just $900 milfield worth of undisturbed land lion a year to buy land and that every 30 seconds. That sounds doesn’t buy much in today’s like a lot of land. Let’s do the market. According to the Namath. ture Conservancy’s Tom Cors, “A football field is slightly “The number we celebrated last larger than an acre. So, losing year, $900 million, is a 1978 a football field of land every number. Adjusted for inflation, 30 seconds amounts to losing “We should have been going for roughly 2 acres per minute, or $3.4 billion.” Perhaps Biden will about 3,000 acres per day. That buy the land with all the monequals 1.1 million acres per year, ey cascading out of government or 11 million acres per decade. printing presses these days.

Eleven million acres is just 0.5 The biggest gun in the govpercent of all land in the U.S., ernment’s arsenal in the attack and 1.7 percent of the land on the west will be conservation already owned by the federal easements. They would allow government. Does that justify landowners to keep their proppermanently preserving some erty and receive tax breaks or 680 million acres of land, con- payments in exchange for giving centrated in the western states? up development rights. You can “The “fact sheet” also states expect to see The Nature Conthat only 12% of the land in servancy playing a major role. the U.S. is already “permanent- Then when the next generation ly protected.” That amounts to of ranchers either can’t make over 270 million acres of land. it on the land due to environIt is 25 times the amount of mental constraints, or have no land that purportedly will be desire to continue fighting the lost over the next 10 years. The feds, The Nature Conservancy bottom line is that 30 X 30 is will buy the land for a pittance an excuse to end the productive and flip it to the federal governuse of our public lands and na- ment at full retail. It’s no accitional forests and to set aside dent The Nature Conservancy massive tracts of land for non- is known as “The Government’s use. This is not how Congress Realtor.” Meanwhile the land has required our public lands will be locked up forever and and national forests to be ad- that’s a very long time. ministered.

There are consequences for “This extremely uneven dis- losing elections, even if they tribution of federal land and its were stolen. After a four year associated resources has creat- hiatus The War on the West has ed numerous issues, including, resumed with a vengeance and most critically, achieving a fair it wasn’t just an election that balance between our national was stolen. So too were the fuinterests and those of the states tures of ranchers, oilfield workand localities, where federal ers, lumbermen and rural westland is often integral to the local erners. economy.”

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Oldest Texas Electricity Co-op Goes Bust After Getting Hit with $2 Billion Bill

T

he largest and oldest power cooperative in Texas is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing February’s winter storm that left millions of state residents without power.

Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, which serves 16 distribution member co-ops that cater to more than 1.5 million Texans, said Monday that it accumulated $2.1 billion in bills during the severe cold that hit Texas between February 13 and 19.

As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state over Valentine’s Day weekend, much of Texas’ power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems. Tens of millions huddled in frigid homes that slowly grew colder or fled for safety. With gas-fueled power plants offline, wells frozen, a nuclear power plant shut down and iced-over wind turbines, the state experienced a severe electricity shortage, and wholesale prices for electricity spiked as high at $9,000 per megawatt-hour.

The high prices, which are supposed to act as an incentive for power producers to create electricity, failed to lead to an increase in available power, since much of the state’s production capacity was frozen over.

Prior to the freeze, Brazos was “a financially robust, stable company with a clear vision for its future and a strong “A” to “A+” credit rating,” higher than most electric coops, it said in a press release on March 1, 2021.

Then came a $2.1 billion bill Brazos said it received “excessively high invoices” from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas for collateral and for purported cost of electric service. The invoices, totaling $2.1 billion, were required to be paid within days. That’s because as

a cooperative, Brazos’ costs are passed through to its members and retail consumers served by its members.

Brazos decided that “it cannot and will not foist this catastrophic financial event on its members and those consumers,” the co-op said.

“Let me emphasize that this action by Brazos Electric was necessary to protect its member cooperatives and their more than 1.5 million retail members from unaffordable electric bills as we continue to provide electric service throughout the court-supervised process,” Clifton Karnei, executive vice president and general manager of Brazos, said in a statement.

Brazos’ bankruptcy filing is likely to be the first of many stemming from the winter storm, according to energy analysts. Most Texans are on fixedprice plans, according to the state’s public utility commission, in which a customer pays a predetermined set amount for

each bit of electricity they use.

That leaves the retailer exposed to fluctuations in the wholesale price of energy.

“We will probably see a whole bunch of electric providers go out of business, particularly those that offer fixedrate plans to people,” Joshua Rhodes, a research associate at the University of Texas at Austin, recently told CBS News. “If you’re selling it for 10 cents a kilowatt-hour and paying $9 per kilowatt-hour, it doesn’t take long to mess up your balance sheet.”

The power provider Just Energy has said that it could go out of business after losing as much as $250 million in the blackouts, according to CBS 11 in Dallas.

Electricity provider Griddy sued — again Brazos’ bankruptcy comes as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he is suing electricicontinued on page four

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Livestock Market Digest

HERD

continued from page one

MEXICO

dams”, have no idea that with- on your own property that you rural voters were critical to his out hydroelectric power you’d pay huge property taxes on if landslide 2019 electoral victory, run out of “gas” at the most in- you find a certain snail there, with his new Movement for Naconvenient times. And has any- and my friend had to get a per- tional Renewal (Morena) claimone figured out yet what you’re mit that cost $137 just to cut ing majorities in both houses of gonna do with all the old used- down a DEAD tree on his own Congress.

Still, industry and U.S. up batteries and solar panels, or property! Another acquaintance are you just gonna store them is in a tizzy because his pine government officials seemed alongside your spent radioac- trees have grown so high they’re shocked that their lobbying had tive nuclear fuel rods? blocking his solar panels but the failed to stop López Obrador I feel like I’m living in a loo- county won’t let him cut down from acting. The pressure camney bin or never-never land his own trees. You have the paign was intense, as Carey Giland it didn’t use to be this way. highest taxes in the country and lam explained in a February 16 When California was an eco- high-earning people are leaving Guardian expose on efforts by nomic juggernaut you used to the state in droves so what did Bayer/Monsanto, industry lobhave common sense leaders. politicians in Sacramento do? byist CropLife, and U.S. govRonald Regan was your gover- You passed a law to tax ex-Cal- ernment officials to deter the nor, for gosh sakes! But uncon- ifornian’s income if they live in glyphosate ban. According to trolled illegal immigration and another state but spend 60 days email correspondence obtained the growth of tech has turned of the year here. And your most by the Center for Biological you into an insane asylum. You recent scheme to pay $600 to Diversity through Freedom of liberals adopted a hands-off everyone in the state INCLUD- Information Act requests, offipolicy in your forests and then ING illegal aliens would bank- cials in the Trump Administrawonder why you have an annu- rupt you... if you weren’t already. tion’s Environmental Protection al conflagration season where They say that trends start in Agency, U.S. Department of entire towns are burned to the California and are followed in Agriculture and office of the ground and the smoke doesn’t the other states. If that’s the U.S. Trade Representative were clear until November. Califor- case to my fellow Californians in touch with Bayer represennians are such hypocrites. You might I suggest moving to an- tatives and warned Mexican officials that restrictions could think cow farts are contributing other country. Like Texas. be in violation of the revised to your precious global warmSincerely, North American Free Trade ing theory but the smoke that An Ashamed Californian Agreement, now rebranded by darkens our sky from forest fires the Trump Administration as doesn’t? wwwLeePittsbooks.com the U.S. Mexico Canada AgreeI can’t even keep up with all ment (USMCA). the rules and regulations you’re According to the emails, passing. You can’t build a home CropLife president Chris Novak last March sent a letter to Robert Lighthizer, USTR’s ambassador, arguing that Mexico’s OLDEST TEXAS CO-OP continued from page two actions would be “incompatible with Mexico’s obligations under ty provider Griddy for passing along massive bills to its customUSMCA.” In May, Lighthizer ers during February’s winter storm. The lawsuit accuses Griddy followed through, writing to of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks Graciela Márquez Colín, Mexrefunds for customers. ico’s minister of economy, warnGriddy charges $10 a month to give people a way to pay ing that GMO crop and glywholesale prices for electricity instead of a fixed rate. But when phosate matters threatened to temperatures plummeted well below freezing last month, wholeundermine “the strength of our sale prices spiked and Griddy customers were left with sky-high bilateral relationship.” An earlielectricity bills. The retailer is facing at least one class-action er communication argued that suit from a Texas resident who got hit with a $9,300 bill.

Mexico’s actions on glyphosate, ERCOT shifted about 10,000 Griddy customers to other which Mexico had ceased imutilities on Friday. Griddy said that ERCOT “took our memporting, were “without a clear bers and have effectively shut down Griddy.” scientific justification.”

“We have always been transparent and customer-centric at Nothing could be further every step. We wanted to continue the fight for our members to from the truth, according to get relief and that hasn’t changed,” Griddy said.

Victor Suárez, Mexico’s UnLast week, the city of Denton sued ERCOT over $207 mildersecretary of Agriculture for lion in electricity bills it incurred during the blackouts.

Food and Competitiveness.

“There is rigorous scientific eviCBS News’ Irina Ivanova contributed to this report. dence of the toxicity of this herbicide,” he told me, citing the WHO findings and an extensive literature review carried out by Mexico’s biosafety commission Cibiogem.

And even though most imported U.S. corn is used for aniPlayi ng G mal feed, not direct human conod? T T sumption, a study carried out

by María Elena Álvarez-Buylla, now head of CONACYT, the government’s leading scientific body, documented the presence of GM corn sequences in C many of Mexico’s most common foods. Some 90% of tortillas and 82% of other common corn-based foods contained GM corn. Mexico needs to be especially cautious, according to Suárez, because corn is so widely consumed, with Mexicans on average eating one pound of corn a day, one of the highest consumption levels in the world.

While the glyphosate restrictions are based on concerns about human health and the environment, the phaseout of GM corn is justified additionally on the basis of the threat of contamination of Mexico’s native corn varieties and the traditional intercropped milpa. The final article in the decree states the purpose is to contribute “to food security and sovereignty” and to offer “a special measure of protection to native corn.”

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15, 2016

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58 • No.

1

Getti Hamm ng ered

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March 15, 2021 continued from page one

The ban on GM corn cultivation has been a longstanding demand ever since the previous administration of Enrique Peña Nieto granted permission to Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta and a host of other multinational seed companies to begin experimental planting in northern Mexico. Such permits were halted in 2013 by a Mexico court injunction based on a claim from 53 farmer, consumer and environmental organizations—the self-denominated Demanda Colectiva—that GM corn cultivation threatened to contaminate native varieties of corn through inadvertent cross-pollination.

“It is difficult to imagine a worse place to grow GM corn than Mexico,” said Adelita San Vicente, the lead spokesperson for the plaintiffs who is now working in López Obrador’s environment ministry, when I interviewed her in 2014 for my book, Eating Tomorrow (which includes a chapter on the GM corn issue). Such contamination was well-documented and the courts issued the injunction citing the potential for permanent damage to the environment.

As Judge Walter Arrellano Hobelsberger wrote in a 2014 decision, “The use and enjoyment of biodiversity is the right of present and future generations.”

Mexico’s self-sufficiency campaign Mexico’s farmer and environmental organizations were quick to praise the decree, though many warned that it is only a first step and implementation will be key. “These are important steps in moving toward ecological production that preserves biodiversity and agrobiodiversity forged by small-scale farmers over millennia,” wrote Greenpeace Mexico and the coalition “Without Corn There is No Country.”

Malin Jonsson of Semillas de Vida (Seeds of Life), one of the plaintiffs in the court case, told me, “This is a first step toward eliminating glyphosate, withdrawing permits for GM maize cultivation and eliminating the consumption of GM maize. To end consumption we have to stop importing GM maize from the United States by increasing Mexico’s maize production.”

Mexico imports about 30% of its corn each year, overwhelmingly from the United States. Almost all of that is yellow corn for animal feed and industrial uses.

López Obrador’s commitment to reducing and, by 2024, eliminating such imports reflects his administration’s plan to ramp up Mexican production as part of the campaign to increase self-sufficiency in corn and other key food crops—wheat, rice, beans, and dairy. Mexican farmers have long complained that since NAFTA was enacted in 1994 ultra-cheap U.S. corn has driven down prices for Mexican farmers. The proposed import restrictions would help López Obrador’s “Mexico First” agricultural policies while bringing needed development to rural areas.

Will Biden Administration block action?

Industry organizations on both sides of the border have complained bitterly about the proposed bans. “The import of genetically modified grain from

the U.S. is essential for many products in the agrifood chain,” said Laura Tamayo, spokeswoman for Mexico’s National Farm Council (CNA), who is also a regional corporate director for Bayer. Bayer’s agrochemical unit Monsanto makes weedkiller Roundup and the GMO corn designed to be used with the pesticide.

“This decree is completely divorced from reality,” said José Cacho, president of Mexico’s corn industry chamber CANAMI, the 25-company group that includes top corn millers like Gruma, cereal maker Kellogg, and commodity trader Cargill.

Juan Cortina, president of CNA, said his members might sue the government over the bans. “I think there will need to be legal challenges brought by all the people who use glyphosate and genetically-modified corn,” he told Reuters, adding that he also expects U.S. exporters to appeal to provisions of the USMCA trade pact to have the measures declared illegal.

Industry sources also warned that Mexico would never be able to meet its corn needs without U.S. exports and that U.S. farmers would be harmed by the presumed loss of the Mexican export market. Others quickly pointed out that Mexico was not banning U.S. exports, just GM corn exports.

U.S. farmers are perfectly capable of producing non-GM corn at comparable prices, according to seed industry sources, so the ruling could encourage the development of a premium market in the United States for nonGMO corn, something U.S. consumers have been demanding for years.

Such pressures may present an early test for President Joe Biden and his nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for February 25. Tai won high marks for helping get stricter labor and environmental provisions into the agreement that replaced NAFTA. Will she and the Biden administration respect Mexico’s sovereign right to enact policies designed to protect the Mexican public and the environment while promoting Mexican rural development?

Victor Suárez certainly hopes so. “Our rationale is based on the precautionary principle in the face of environmental risks as well as the right of the Mexican government to take action in favor of the public good, in important areas such as public health and the environment,” he told me.

“We are a sovereign nation with a democratic government,” he continued, “which came to power with the support of the majority of citizens, one that places compliance with our constitution and respect for human rights above all private interests.”

Timothy A. Wise is a senior advisor at IATP, where his work focuses on agribusiness, family farmers and the future of food, based on his recent book, Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Future of Food (The New Press). He was a senior advisor with the Small Planet Institute, where he directed the Land and Food Rights Program from 2016-2020. He is also a senior research fellow at Tufts University’s Global Development and Environment Institute, where he founded and directed its Globalization and Sustainable Development Program.

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March 15, 2021

Allotments & Antiquities Items Not Addressed

by Trump I have previously discussed the many accomplishments of the Trump administration. This month we’ll look at two more items left unaddressed.

Livestock Grazing

W

ould you like an example of how career bureaucrats can outsmart political appointees and hornswoggle them into doing nothing? Then read on, brother, read on.

In September of 2017 the BLM announced a new livestock grazing initiative they claimed provided “an unprecedented level of flexibility” to allotment holders. The BLM said they would identify 6 to 12 ranchers to issue “Outcome-Based Grazing Authorizations”. Instead of emphasizing process and prescription the new authorizations would instead place emphasis on ecological outcomes “allowing livestock operators more flexibility to make adjustments in response to changing conditions such as drought or wildland fire.” BLM said the new program would allow, “ranching operations that are both economically and environmentally sustainable.”

In 2018 the BLM announced it had 11 demonstration projects in six states for its outcome-based grazing authorizations. Five in Nevada, two in Oregon, and one each in Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. BLM said these authorizations would allow “grazing permit holders greater flexibility in the management of permitted livestock.”

I must confess that I’ve considered this to be a ruse all along. I viewed it as a tactic by the BLM to appear to be doing something on livestock grazing, but without actually changing anything of substance to the program. Wholesale changes were being made to oil and gas regulations, hunting regulations and access to federal lands regulations. Changes that affected all parties involved. When it came to livestock grazing however, BLM was only proposing a demonstration project that affected 11 out of 21,000 allotments. That comes out to be 0.05 percent of BLM allotments. This was just a delay tactic and it worked, as you will see below.

In January of 2020 BLM published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement concerning proposed revisions to the agency’s grazing regulations. “Administration of sustainable livestock grazing on public lands is a key part of the Bureau of Land Management’s multiple-use mission. We continue to seek ways to improve and streamline the grazing permit process to achieve greater efficiencies and service to permittees,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management Casey B. Hammond. “This rulemaking effort is designed to strengthen and improve our administration of

Livestock Market Digest grazing permits across the West, and we welcome public and stakeholder ideas and perspectives.”

According to BLM the proposed revisions would “update, modernize and streamline the grazing regulations” and “improve existing land-use planning and grazing permitting procedures”. The BLM held scoping meetings in four different Western states and comments were due by March 6.

Individual ranchers, ranching organizations, state agencies and other interested parties spent hundreds of hours preparing for the scoping meetings and submitting written comments. I can assure you these were “outcome-based” comments. Positive results were expected. So what was the outcome of all this effort? Zero, zip, nada. BLM had ten months to issue draft regulations and then final regulations, a tight schedule for sure.

But to go three hundred days and not even issue draft regulations? Clearly, revising the range code was not a priority. The feint, dodge, delay, paralysis by analysis or whatever you want to call it of “Outcome-Based Grazing Authorizations” had served its purpose. No new range code, the Biden administration will quietly discontinue the demonstration projects, and BLM will get to keep their coveted Babbitt-era range code.

A monumental failure The initial discoveries of prehistoric ruins and archaeological sites were made by ranchers in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona during the 1880s. These discoveries eventually led to museums and professional and amateur archaeologists excavating these sites, sometimes destroying the ruins during the process. It is often stated there was no legislative authority to protect these areas and no requirement of a permit to excavate. This is only partially correct. The General Land Office was authorized to withdraw lands for their protection. An example would be Frijoles Canyon in northern New Mexico.

By July 1900 the General Land Office had withdrawn a large area around Frijoles Canyon from entry, sale, settlement, or other disposal pending a determination of the advisability of setting the region apart as a national park. Another example would be Chaco Canyon.

On April 4, 1905 the Interior Department withdrew lands in Chaco Canyon that included the section of land containing Pueblo Bonito, Chettro Kettle and Pueblo del Arroyo. Interestingly, in the Pueblo del Arroyo, one Richard Wetherill had filed a homestead claim in 1890.

Special Agent Frank Grygla of the General Land Office was sent to investigate the conflict between Wetherill’s claim and the withdrawal. According to a Park Service historian, he found that Wetherill had constructed buildings worth five thousand dollars on his land, was raising sixty acres of corn, five of wheat, two of vegetables, and reportedly had five thousand sheep, two hundred horses, and four hundred chickens. Furthermore, Wetherill informed Grygla he would relinquish his rights to the three major ruins on his homestead to the Government.

Under these circumstances, the General Land Office concluded that a cancellation of Wetherill’s claim for fraudulent entry would be “difficult and probably un-

just,” and that there was some evidence that instead of excavating the ruins at this time Wetherill was protecting them.

Nevertheless, in 1906 Congress passed the Antiquities Act. This law authorizes the President to declare, by public proclamation, historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest situated on federal lands as national monuments. The act also authorizes the President to reserve parcels of land surrounding the objects of historic or scientific interest, but requires that the amount of land reserved be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Well, we all know how that last section has been abused. Most recently President Obama proclaimed twenty-six national monuments totaling 88.3 million acres. In addition, he added 465.2 million acres to existing national monuments.

The kicker here is the word “scientific” Can you imagine an acre of land anywhere that is not of scientific interest to someone? Furthermore, there is no requirement for public input prior to a monument being designated. Whether or not the public has a chance to comment is completely at the discretion of the President. There is also no requirement to weigh the environmental consequences of such designation. NEPA doesn’t kick in until after the monument is designated.

One person, the President, can designate however many acres he wants without limitation, without public input and without considering the environmental impact of his action.

Certainly this is a law in need of revision. However, during the first two years of the Trump administration, when Republicans controlled the Executive and both Houses of Congress, nothing was done.

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

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

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Page 5

Massachusetts Climate Official Resigns After Admitting Plans to “Break Your Will”

BY CRAIG RUCKER |CFACT

Massachusetts Undersecretary for Climate Change David Ismay has resigned after candidly admitting that climate regulators intend to “break your will” to force you to change the way you heat your home and travel.

Here’s what Ismay said: “So let me say that again, 60 percent of our emissions that need to be reduced come from you, the person across the street, the senior on fixed income, right … there is no bad guy left, at least in Massachusetts to point the finger at, to turn the screws on, and you know, to break their will, so they stop emitting.

That’s you. We have to break your will. Right, I can’t even say that publicly.”

Ismay made the statement during a video conference with Vermont “Climate Council” members. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker tried to control the damage, saying, “First of all, no one who works in our administration should ever say or think anything like that — ever,” the governor said. “Secondly, Secretary Theoharides is going to have a conversation with him about that.”

Paul Diego Craney of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which posted the video, told the Boston Herald that the clip provides a “sneak peek into the minds of regulators.” It is “frightening to think an official so high up in the Baker administration is bragging to an out-of-state group about the economic pain he wants to inflict on the very people whom he’s supposed to work for.”

Eight Massachusetts legislators, seven Republicans and one Democrat, wrote to Governor Baker demanding he fire Ismay immediately.

Here is Ismay’s letter of resignation: Dear Secretary Theoharides, It is with great regret that I submit my resignation, effectively immediately, from the position of Undersecretary for Climate Change in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

As Undersecretary for Climate Change, I have worked diligently to ensure the health and welfare of residents across Massachusetts in the face of the global climate crisis. Serving the people of Massachusetts as part of the Baker-Polito Administration has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of the equitable climate solutions we achieved together.

I would like to apologize, again, for my comments at last month’s Vermont Climate Council meeting. My inability to clearly communicate during that discussion reflected poorly on the Governor, on you, and on our hardworking staff. Although my comments were interpreted by some as placing the burden of climate change on hardworking families and vulnerable populations, my intent was the opposite. In the entirety of my remarks, and as I have elsewhere, I was urging caution in order to minimize such impacts out of a sincere concern that overly aggressive emissions targets may have unintended and harmful consequences on those we most need to protect.

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you, the Governor, and the people of the Commonwealth.

Sincerely, David K. Ismay

Jauer Dependable Genetics 44th Annual Bred Female & Bull Sale Results

J

auer Dependable Genetics had a successful production sale on January 30th in Hinton, Iowa. Buyers came from 12 states to purchase cattle.

Sale Results

■■ 233 head, gross – $631,630 ■■ 35 spring bred cows, avg. – $2,754 ■■ 12 fall bred cows, avg. – $2,825 ■■ 34 two year old bulls, avg. – $5,899 ■■ 152 commercial heifers, avg. – $1,979 High sellers

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Two year old bull – lot 67, Jauer 203 Emblazon 2607 9011

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$13,500 sold to Robert Ellsworth in South Dakota

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Two year old bull – lot 59, Jauer 5197 Juneau 7212 9128

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$10,600 sold to Randy Clough in Iowa

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$10,000 sold to Derek Martin in Kansas

Two year old bull – lot 52, Jauer Hesston 7005 915 Commercial heifer – lot 175, Jauer Vondrak 421 9943

■■ $2,810 sold to Seth Schroeder in Iowa Volume Buyers ■■

5 bred cows – Kyle Grygiel – Watertown, SD

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2 fall pairs – Craig Heiman – Baileyville, KS

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Spring bred cow – lot 1, Jauer Mountain Pass 0140 555

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$4,900 sold to Hidden Prairie Ranch in South Dakota

11 bulls – Robert Ellsworth – Fort Thompson, SD

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Fall bred cow w/calf – Lot 24, Jauer 2512 Storm 3611 6799

15 commercial heifers – Caleb Arnold – Juniata, NE

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$3,700 sold to Brandon Arnold in Georgia

Cattle sold into 12 states

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IA, CO, GA, IL, KS, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, OH & SD

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Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

Wild and Wooly in Wyoming Traveling nearly 100 miles off the grid to meet the First Lady of Western sheep ranching

left, was what must have been a sheep camp, just as foretold.

It was the first sign of human life I’d seen in an hour and a ield trip? Why not? half.

It’s a great way to The “camp” consisted of a gain a fresh per- large maze of ancient corrals spective, meet and chutes, which were burstamazing people, and highlight ing over with a fluffy beige sea the compelling human stories of bleating sheep. Bordering behind MSLF’s legal cases. the corral was a hodgepodge of That’s the way I pitched it to pickups, 18-wheelers, trailers, my boss, MSLF President Cris- and campers of mixed vintage, ten Wohlgemuth, who readily including three or four that agreed. “Don’t come back with- looked ancient, like something out a good story,” she said. Lit- gypsies used in old Europe. tle did I know just how great a Dogs were everywhere, dashstory I was about to encounter. ing back and forth in or around High on my list of must-meet the corrals, standing watch on clients was 91-year-old Mickey the periphery, tethered near the Thoman of Sweetwater Coun- campers and sheep trailers, eyety, Wyoming, a Cowboy Hall ing me warily. of Fame member who is also No welcoming committee a plaintiff in one of our most emerged when I got out of the important grizzly cases. Mick- car. Such pleasantries are a luxey and her three daughters are ury when you’ve got a task this strong Western women who big to do and only a few days have taken on all challengers, to do it. This is no dude ranch. including grizzly bears, governAnd if you’re not there to work you’re just in the way.

Each animal in the sea of sheep must be counted, evaluated, inspected, branded (with color-coded paint markings), sorted, and, in some cases, shipped out after a summer spent with great Pyrenees watchdogs on nearby federal grazing allotments. Some sheep would be heading to California later that morning for a few months of fattening-up before eventually landing in the supermarket for families to enjoy.

Others would be held back, to be bred and shorn of their wool in the spring. The job of The family’s sheep dogs are hard workers, loading up the Califoralways eager to help. nia-bound semis was in full frenzy when I arrived. ment bureaucrats, and profesThe Thoman women of Westsional green extremists, in a bid ern lore didn’t disappoint. There to save their family ranch and were men at camp, including preserve a vanishing way of life. two Peruvian herders and MickWhen I called daughter ey’s college-bound grandson, Mary Thoman to invite myself Rex. A male brand inspector for a visit, she explained that was standing by. And the semi the fall sheep camp was coming loaders and drivers were male. up. That would be a great way But there’s no doubt that to see her mom and the rest of the family in action. That’s what landed me one morning last fall in the teeming metropolis of Farson, Wyoming, bustling hub of Sweetwater County, trying to get my bearings. The Thoman sheep camp was out there somewhere. But where?

Don’t bother with GPS, I was told. Google Maps won’t help out here. Head toward Lander from Farson on Highway 28. Go about 35 miles, maybe 40. Go another 30 miles or so down a dirt road. Eventually, a mountain will rear up on the left. When the road takes a big dip, look to your right and you should see it.

I took a leap of faith, powered-down my phone, and did what I was told. And sure enough, after 60 or 70 miles of travel—some of it over paved road, the rest over a meandering dusty washboard that made my teeth chatter and shook my rental car to the core—there, as a mountain appeared on my

BY SEAN PAIGE/ THE LITIGATOR, MOUNTAIN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION

F

Mickey and her daughters, Mary, Kristy, and Laurie, run the show, with an able assist from granddaughter Taylor, age 11, who is already being groomed to take the reins someday.

During a lunchtime lull in the action, when a hearty buffet is served from the bed of a pickup truck, the hospitality and warmth for which ranchers are known is on full display.

Ranchers aren’t big talkers; they’re doers. But the family saga I began to piece together, from snapshots and snippets of discussion, is truly epic in scope.

Mickey and her husband and ranching partner Bill Thoman Sr. began ranching on a smallscale in the 1950s, shortly after marrying. The family business grew, along with the family.

The couple had 7 children in all, two of whom died tragically; Catherine while swimming with her horse in a river (the family searched the banks for five days before she was found) and William Jr. in a rollover accident while hauling hay. Bill Sr. himself was killed tragically in 1998, likely at the hands of a drunk driver. This family has held together through immense hardship and tragedy.

Time and again, the family fought through adversity, including wildfires and floods, to keep the ranch going. Some of what they endured is the norm for almost any rancher: market swings, natural calamities, the danger of decimating disease outbreaks, problems attracting dependable help. But the trials of the Thomans didn’t end there. It’s when Big Government and grizzly bears took aim at the already-besieged family that the story really got infuriating.

Their government troubles began when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations forced the family off 1,000 acres of prime private grazing ground to make way for a reservoir project, using the power of eminent domain.

The family vigorously fought the taking for years, including in court, but the feds eventually prevailed, paying the family a relative pittance for some of the best river bottom acreage in the region.

The dam project came back to haunt the family repeatedly over the years, first when a dam break flooded what was left of the property the feds didn’t take, and then again when the feds returned to condemn another 1,000 acres of family ranchland,

March 15, 2021 this time for use as a wildlife refuge. The suits in Washington justified the new land taking, saying it was mitigation for the habitat loss caused by the reservoir project.

In two grotesque land grabs, the U.S. Government took from the Thomans 2,000 acres of prime private grazing ground, which made the family more reliant on federal grazing allotments to keep their operations going. And that’s where federally protected grizzly bears lumber into the story.

All began peacefully enough when the Thomans started grazing their stock on national forest allotments along the Upper Green River. The land was lush and the sheep came off the mountain happy, healthy, and well-fed, helping them bring top dollar on the market. But signs of trouble appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as formerly absent grizzly bears reentered the area.

The grizzly has been listed as a federally protected species since the 1970s, but the population initially appeared confined to just the area around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, roughly 100 miles away. It’s not surprising that the range of these territorial apex predators expanded over time.

But the suddenness with which their presence began to be felt made locals suspect that something more than natural forces were at play.

Federal biologists might be speeding the process along, locals came to think, by releasing problem grizzlies trapped and removed from the Yellowstone area into the Upper Green.

Federal officials vigorously denied that such dumping took place, just as they dismissed and denied warnings from ranchers of a grizzly bear invasion. But by the late 1990s there was no denying the crisis, as the number of predation cases, bear sightings, and dangerous bear to human encounters began to mount.

Rather than admit this was a grizzly problem, federal officials and their allies in Big Green environmental groups began portraying it as a rancher problem, casting blame on the prey rather than the predators. The bizarre hoops they made the Thomans jump through in order to keep their flocks and employees safe from increasingly aggressive bears descended into farce..

Eventually, a grizzly attacked

An aerial view of the sheep camp and the beautiful Wyoming hill country.

The Thoman family hard at work at their sheep camp in western Wyoming

one of the family’s employees.

Forest officials used the attack to paint the Thomans as the villains, bringing even more restrictions on their use of the allotment. After fighting the usual good fight for as long as possible, the heavy toll the battle was taking on family finances and morale compelled them to give up those grazing rights and seek greener pastures elsewhere.

Selling the national forest grazing rights was one of the most painful decisions she’s ever made, Mary Thoman told me. It goes against the grain of the family’s principles, and the tough, never-say-die attitude that Mickey and Bill Sr. instilled in their kids from an early age. But Mickey and family still have one trump card left to play in their hand—the legal assistance made possible by MSLF’s donors and supporters, which gives ranchers a fighting chance against aggressive grizzlies, unhelpful (if not hostile) federal land managers, and the Big Green Lawsuit Machine that’s determined to push livestock producers off the public lands.

The Bureau of Land Management allotment the family currently uses for summer grazing might reduce the problem of predation, but the high desert environment hardly counts as pasture and it definitely isn’t as valuable as the allotment they were pressured into surrendering. That means the sheep shipped in November weighed about 20 pounds less, on average, than they would if fed on the lusher forest allotments where the grizzlies are now king.

That’s a major loss of revenue in Mary Thoman tells me that she felt fortunate to sell any product at all last fall, given the shortage of U.S. processing facilities. And the market for wool is also off, leaving the product they sheered from the sheep last April in storage and unsold, even as a new sheering season looms.

Spending a few days tagging along with the Thomans at sheep camp left me humbled by their work ethic, amazed at the versatility of skills and talents these women-ranchers have mastered, and grateful to be working for an organization that helps worthy clients like them.

The Thomans are still fighting the good fight, often against long odds. Our time together confirmed for me that the spirit of the “Old West” is alive and well in the “New West,” as evidenced by the resilience, resourcefulness, and self-reliance of this indomitable American ranch family.

▫

Sean Paige is the Director of Communications for Mountain States Legal Foundation.

March 15, 2021

Livestock Market Digest

REAL ESTATE GUIDE

www.scottlandcompany.com

Ben G. Scott – Broker Krystal M. Nelson – NM QB 800-933-9698 5:00 a.m./10:00 p.m.

RANCH & FARM REAL ESTATE

We need listings on all types of ag properties large or small!

■ SUPER OPPORTUNITY!Market – One of the best steak Livestock Digest houses in the nation just out of Amarillo & Canyon at Umbarger, TX., state-of-the- art bldg., turn-key w/complete facilities in full operation at this time.

■ ALAMOSA CREEK RANCH – Roosevelt Co., NM – 14,982 +/- acres (10,982 ac. +/- deeded, 4,000 ac. +/- State Lease). Good cow ranch in Eastern NM excellent access via US 60 frontage between Clovis and Fort Sumner. Alamosa creek crosses through the heart of the gently rolling grassland.

■ DRY CIMARRON – Union Co., NM – 1571 ac.+/- of grassland on the dry Cimarron River, located on pvmt. near Kenton, OK just under the Black Mesa.

■ COWEN ROAD FARM – Sedan, NM – two circles in CRP until 2023, one circle sown back to native grasses, all weather road.

■ QUAIL HAVEN–along w/deer, turkey, antelope & other wildlife – Borden Co., TX., 1,672.8 +/- ac., well located near Gail/Snyder, Texas on pvmt. & all-weather road, well improved.

■ QUAY CO., NM – 775 ac. +/- (455 ac. +/- deeded, 320 ac. +/- state lease), nice home, barns, pens, 14 old irrigations wells (not in use) & a complete line of farm 521 West Second St. •onPortales, equipment included w/the sale, pvmt. NM 88130 575-226-0671 or 575-226-0672 fax ■ EAST EDGE OF FT. SUMNER, NM – a 900 hd. grow yard w/immaculate 7.32 ac. +/-, a beautiful home, & Buena Vista Realty other improvements w/a long line of equipment included, Qualifying Broker: on pvmt.

A.H. (Jack) Merrick ■ PRICE REDUCED! OTERO CO.,575-760-7521 NM – 120 scenic ac. +/- on the www.buenavista-nm.com Rio Penasco is surrounded by Lincoln National Forest lands covered in Pines & opening up to a grass covered meadow along 3,300 feet +/- of the Rio Penasco. This property is an ideal location to build a legacy mountain getaway home.

■ PRICE REDUCED! PECOS RIVER RANCH – a scenic, 83 willacre 968 +/-• ac., sell wood in tractshome of 418 with ac. & barns, 550 ac., live water ranch that lies along both sides of the Pecos River meadows and woods.

Fronts State between Santa Rosa & Ft. Sumner, NM. Wildlife, water & cattle Rd. make$545,000 an excellent pairing for the buyer who is looking for top tier assets in a rugged New Mexico Ranch.

■ SWEETWATER CREEK – Wheeler Co., TX – 640 acres RangerbyEastland Co, of scenic• 160 ranchacre land traversed seasonal Sweetwater Creek just a few miles west of New Mobeetie, TX. 200 $560,000 feet of elevation change. MINERALS INCLUDED! ■ FT. SUMNER, NM – APPLE JACK RANCH – 7.616 ac. +/-, an irrigated orchard, canal & well water, city water for • 270 acre Mitchell County, Texas improvements, neat fruit stand & a 2 bdrm. home.

TATE GUIDE

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mitt, TX 79027 Scott - Broker lifying Broker am/10:00pm company.com

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uadalupe Co., eded & 519 anch on both g flow daily) mner; wildlife, buyer looking New Mexico

980 ac. +/past, land lays e of Hwy. 54. on Co., NM – and w/statey remodeled in very good n pvmt. . +/- heavily listing r livestockagent w/ 75-825-1291. ences etc., on ta-nm.com e front gate. ic ac. +/- on d by Lincoln in Pines & ed meadow Penasco. This uild a legacy

4 ac. irr., on exico, adjoins l.

POTENTIAL xline Special,

+/- w/water & a beautiful 3 bathrooms, etal shop.

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

Page 7

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

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

Selling residential, farm, COLETTA RAY ranch, commercial and Pioneer Realty relocating properties.

1304 Pile Street, Clovis, NM 88101

COLETTA RAY 575-799-9600 Direct Pioneer Realty 575.935.9680 Office 1304 Pile Street, Clovis, NM 88101 575.935.9680 Fax 575-799-9600 Direct coletta@plateautel.net 575.935.9680 Office www.clovisrealestatesales.com 575.935.9680 Fax coletta@plateautel.net www.clovisrealestatesales.com

230 SOCORRO ACRE GAME & RETREAT PLAZA REALTY that is a dream.

Lakes, woods, the Plaza meadows,Ongame galore, 35 miles Donald Brown out ofQualifying Dallas, Kaufman Broker County.

505-507-2915 cell @10,000 PA 505-838-0095 fax 116–Plaza 133 ACRES 24 Miles out of PO Box 1903 Socorro, NM 87801 $13,000 Dallas, ready to develop. www.socorroplazarealty.com dbrown@socorroplazarealty.com per acre 313 ACRES NORTH OF DALLAS AG LAND LOANS AGMAJOR LAND LOANS ON HIGHWAYS 121 & AsLow LowAsAs 3% As 4.5% 2.9% 69 – OPWKCAP Nice horse barn with living OPWKCAP 2.9% INTEREST RATESAS AS LOW AS 3% INTEREST RATES LOW 4.5% quarters. Scheduled $11,500 onon25AS Payments Scheduled 25 Years Payments Years 234 SHOW RANCH – 8,000.

Imaculate home, cattle show barn, Joe Stubblefield & Associates 2313830 milesWestern from Dallas $2.8MTX St., Amarillo,

UNDERCT CONTRA

806/622-3482 • cell 806/674-2062 joes3@suddenlink.net Michael Perez Associates Nara Visa, NM • 575/403-7970

Joe Priest Real Estate

1-800/671-4548

521 West Second St., Portales, NM 88130

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

Rural Properties around Portales, NM 1242 NM 480 - Nice home on 59.7 acres, grass 427 S Rrd P 1/2 - Large nice home, lots of barns 24+ ac 1694 S Rrd 4, Great home, barns, cattle pens, location 2344 S Rrd K east of Dora, NM, great - Near wind farms All properties excellent homes & can have horses, etc.

See these and other properties at www.buenavista-nm.com

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

AG LAND LOANS As Low As 3.5% OPWKCAP 3.5%

INTEREST RATES AS LOW AS 3.5% Payments Scheduled on 25 Years

Joe Stubblefield & Associates 13830 Western St., Amarillo, TX 806/622-3482 • cell 806/674-2062 joes3@suddenlink.net Michael Perez Associates Nara Visa, NM • 575-403-7970

521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130

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

Buena Vista Realty

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

Bottari Realty Paul Bottari, Broker

775/752-3040 Nevada Farms & raNch PrOPerTY www.bottarirealty.com

521 West Se

575-226-0

B

A.H. (J ww

Advertise to Cattlemen and Ranchers!

AS PROV R

Call

505-243-9515

14298 N.

for more information

ranch. Investors dream; excellent cash flow. Rock formation being crushed and sold; wind turbans, some minerals. Irrigation water developed, crop & cattle, modest improvements. Just off I-20. Price reduced to $1.25 million.

10 ACRES OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY. Incredible highway visibility & access from either East or Call Buena Vista Realty atPlaza 575-226-0671 or the listingSprings. agent West directions on Hwy. 60, 3 miles East of El Rancho Truck & 4 miles West of Willow Lorisite.

Bohm 575-760-9847, MelodyisSandberg Natural gas may be available on LOCATION PLUS! Thisorproperty well suited 575-825-1291. for many types pictures MLS www.buenavista-nm.com of businesses. (Restaurant, Retail,Many Motel,good Business of anyon kind)!

A or Must See Property. MLS#11402703

CALDWELL RANCH First time offering of the Caldwell Ranch comprised • 840 Immaculate, Hunt Co, TX. 40 tanks, and tracts of native grass rangeland separated by lands belongofRanch. a twoPastures, noncontiguous lakes. Beautiful home, barns, ingandtootherother ownership. approximately 20 miles northwest of the small CALIFORNIA RANCH PROPERTY improvements.

Some LocatedNORTHERN minerals, game of galore.

All for $1.35 community Elida, New Mexico in northeast Chaves County. The two tracts are DUANE & DIXIE McGARVA RANCH: approx. 985 acres Likely, CA. with about 600+ acre gravity flood million. privateflies.

542 AU BLM permit. Aboutto 425 acres so of the irrigated areislevelgood to flood by approximately 2.5 miles apartirrigated as pastures the PLUS crow Access both tracts excellent pastures with balance good flood irrigated pastures. NO PUMPING COST! Dryland is perfect for expansion to pivot irrigated alfalfa if desired. Plus BLM permit for 540 AU is fenced into 4 fields on about maintained Chaves County Roadways. north referred 18,000 acres only 7 The miles away.

REDUCEDtract, ASKING PRICE - $3,125,000 to as the Cothern Joe Priest Real Estate BEAVER CREEK RANCH: about acres - withacres 2,700 deeded acres plus USFS &fenced BLM Place, is comprised of approximately 2,500 ±82,000 deeded that is contiguous partially permits for 450 pair; 580+- acres irrigated alfalfa, pasture, and meadow from Beaver Creek water rights and one irrigation well. 3 homes, 2 hay barns, 4 feedlots each w/ 250 ton barns, 2 large reservoirs, can run up to with1-800/671-4548 one well. The south tract, referred to REDUCED as theASKING Rippee Place, is comprised of 500-600 cows YEAR ROUND. PRICE - $5,400,000. joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com BEAR CREEK Approx.

1,278 acresLease winter rangefenced ground and recreational property. Located on Bear approximately 4,700 deeded acres andRANCH: 640 State into three pastures, Creek and accessed from South Cow Creek Valley Road. Should be great hunting for deer, wild turkey, wild pigs, quail & owner states good trout fishing in Bear Creek. Deeded access easement thru neighbor ranches. watered by two wells and pipelines.

Excellent year around cow country. Grazing No improvements & very private inside the ranch.

Now only $700 per acre - $894,600 capacity is estimated to be 130 AUYL. Priced at $370 per deeded acre. Can be BILL WRIGHT, SHASTA LAND SERVICES, INC. purchased as one unit or separately.

530-941-8100 • • www.ranch-lands.com

y limits of Roswell, NM. Six total acres ved with a 2, 200 square foot residence,

Bar M Real Estate

joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com

31 years in the ranch business - see www.ranch-lands.com for videos & brochures

DRE# 00963490

Scott McNally, Qualifying Broker ch that has been owned and operated s southeast of Corona, NM in Lincoln Bar M Real Estate, LLC M Lease Acres and 2,240 NM State Box 145, Cimarron, NM 8771488202 • 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 P.O. Box 428,P.O.Roswell, NM land@swranches.com • www.swranches.com UYL. Water provided by five wells and corrals. The ranch had a good summerOffice: 575-622-5867 CHICO CREEK RANCH, Colfax Cell: County, NM. 575-420-1237 NEW LISTING. CIMARRON ON THE RIVER, Colfax County, NM. 7.338 +/6,404.26 +/- Total Acres, Located approximately 10 miles east of deeded acres with 4.040 acre-feet per annum out of the for a brochure or view on my website. Website: www.ranchesnm.com Springer New Mexico. 3,692.60 +/- deeded acres with balance Maxwell-Clutton Ditch. Custom country-chic 2,094 +/- sq ft

R CT

Page 7

O’NEILL LAND, llc

in state lease. Excellent grass and water. Two plus miles of the Chico Creek meandering through the center of the property.

Additional wells and dirt tanks. Nice historic head quarters privately located with shade trees and excellent views of the property. Shipping pens in central portion of property. $2,837,318

home. Owns both sides of river in places. Horse/cow/chicken/ vegetable garden/greenhouse/orchard set up. Country living at it’s finest, in town, but in a world of your own. Very special on river. Appointment only. $650,000.

RATON MILLION DOLLAR VIEW, Colfax County, NM. 97.68

GREENFIELD TRADING POST. Available for sale at the corner of Hwy. 160 (Grand) & H Hwy. Newer tile floors, ADA bathrooms, outside storage tanks, 4 double side gas pumps. Owner reports a brisk business with sales around $1M last year. Store features a bait room for fishing at nearby Stockton Lake. Property has roll up garage door for easy storage of equipment and inventory. Vendor for popular Hunt Pizza with small eat-in area. Multiple coolers, coffee makers & shelving are included in sale. 2080 sf in store, 1120 sf for storage of inventory. This is an unbranded station. MLS# 60140876

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

WAGON MOUND PLACE, Mora County, NM 8.202 +/- deeded acres on western edge of I25/Wagon Mound has two homes, abundant water with one well, two springs and pond. Other outbuildings and many trees would suit many purposes. $190,000.

CONTRACT PENDING

RATON MILLION DOLLAR VIEW, Colfax County, NM. 97.68 +/- deeded acres in 2 parcels with excellent home, big shop, wildlife, a true million dollar view at the end of a private road. $489,000.

MIAMI 20 ACRES, Colfax County, NM quality 2,715 sqft adobe home, barn, grounds, fruit trees and mature trees. Extremely private setting. REDUCED $320,000. This is a must see.

CONTRACT PENDING

CIMARRON HIDDEN PLACE, Colfax County, NM. 1.66± deeded acres with a 2,304 sq ft home updated with recent remodels including large open kitchen vaulted tin ceiling, three bedrooms and two bathrooms, edge of town amazing views. $290,000 COLMOR-OCATE CREEK, Colfax and Mora County, NM 853 +/- deeded acres split by I25 and Ocate Creek.

Suit cattle operation, with some wildlife drawn to water holes in creek. $617,000 EAGLE NEST ESCAPE, Colfax County, NM. 78.42± deeded acres in off HWY 64 overlooking Eagle Nest Lake, private pond, two elk tags, 3 bedroom home with and large shop garage able to store your RV and big toys.

Improvements almost half a mile off highway. Truly an escape. $850,000

E

E

Page 8

Livestock Market Digest

The View FROM THE BACK SIDE

1984 OR 545 OR 17%

BY BARRY DENTON (The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of this publication.)

T

he day I have to submit this article will be President’s Day in America. That is an abomination of George Washington’s birthday, that we have celebrated for well over 200 years now. How in the world the United States Congress got to lumping all the presidents into one day is beyond me?

We have had a slew of mediocre Presidents that are not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as George Washington. Mr. Washington set precedence by the manner in which he conducted himself. After serving two terms as President he voluntarily stepped down and went home even when the people wanted him to stay. In doing so he set a precedence of a President serving only two terms, which was never challenged until the imperious Franklin Roosevelt.

Washington with his calm demeanor and wise outlook guided the rough and rowdy First Continental Congress through its rocky roads. Everyone respected Washington and took comfort in the fact that he would become our new nation’s first leader. George Washington was no great orator, but what he did say carried much weight and came from the heart.

In 1862 in celebration of Washington’s birth the United States Senate started reading his farewell address, a practice that is still carried on to this day.

Stop and think about it, at the age of 22 he served as an officer in the British Army helping defeat the French in the French and Indian War. Twenty years later found him defeating that same British army known as the most formidable fighting force in the world during the American Revolution.

He was known among the British military as “The Fox” as he was so elusive to them with his ragtag army.

I could go on for several pages about Mr. Washington’s admirable exploits. Every American and every citizen of the world that knows freedom owes a debt to this man known as, “The Father Of our Country” and that he truly is. Why our celebration is now called, “President’s Day” is beyond me?

George Orwell had quite an imagination I thought as I read, “1984” back in the 1970’s. Instead, he turns out to be a prophet of great magnitude and I feel like I’m living the book.

Believe me, I do not want to be here for this. Can you believe this crap?

Now we just completed a rigged election and we have an alleged new president that has signed an unprecedented fifty two executive orders in a couple of weeks, as of this writing.

Each one of those orders is restricting your life and telling you how to live. Who does this ingrate think he is?

The makings of a dictator are what I’m seeing. One of the first executive orders was to cease all drilling of oil on federal lands. Don’t the federal lands belong to the taxpayers and not Joe Biden?

Wake up New Mexico this means you! That’s right because New Mexico has more oil drilling on federal land than any other state. You already have had to deal with your looney Governor Grisham shutting down the state for the last year under the guise of COVID, now you have the federal government destroying the rest of your income. Yet, isn’t it interesting that teachers and school officials that are out of work at the same time as you are still getting paid during this alleged crisis?

I thought it was incredible that the New Mexico Governor’s political operatives got a 17% pay raise while state workers got a 1% pay raise. To make matters worse, all of this is while the state’s predicted shortfall for 2021 will be approximately two billion dollars. That was before drilling was ceased. These people running your state government have no conscience.

How does one make a living in New Mexico without working for a government paycheck? Yet, they tell all their citizens how they have to live during a crisis, that they the government have created. How Orwellian is this going to get? These government officials are just thinking they are more important every day. Don’t worry, gun control is the next item on the agenda.

People, it is time to wake up, things on the farm or ranch are not going to get any easier in the near future. Did you notice that another of the alleged president’s executive orders doomed farm subsidies? Why are we tolerating all this corruptness?

Stop and think about it. Basically, 545 government employees are controlling 330 million people. This does not make any sense. Yes, we are a nation of law and order, I get that, but what happens when a small group of people start abusing those very things? It’s not the citizens that run up trillions of dollars in deficits. The citizens do not write the tax codes. The citizens don’t propose the federal budget. The citizens do not control monetary policy. The citizens do not appropriate billions of tax dollars to other countries. All this is controlled by the 545 humans at the top of our government.

1984, 545, or 17% are all numbers that we should be scared of. It’s a shame when good citizens do nothing.

▫

March 15, 2021

Liability on the Ranch

BY TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW S. MURR

R

aising cattle is a business and way of life that is filled with risk and uncertainty. From the weather to cattle prices, there are a lot of things we just can’t control about our chosen profession.

We have all become so accustomed to this lack of control that we often don’t give much thought to the most unpredictable thing of all—the livestock themselves. If you’ve ever been charged by a 1,500 lb. bull or found yourself between an angry cow and her calf, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven’t, you will have to take my word for it, it’s not a fun place to be.

Working with livestock, especially large livestock like cattle, is inherently a risky business.

That’s why the Texas Legislature passed the Farm Animal Liability Act back in 2011. Simply put, the act is designed to protect livestock producers, among others, from liability for property damage, injury or death that results from the fundamental risks associated with farm animal activities.

Many of you have probably seen signs to this effect at livestock shows, rodeos, equestrian centers, and other venues throughout Texas. You see signs at these locations because the 2011 Farm Animal Liability Act primarily addresses those

The Livestock Market Digest and its staff regret the error of omission of the author of the View from the Backside column in the February 2021 edition.

That column by Barry Denton runs monthly in the Livestock Market Digest.

who are “participating in a farm animal activity,” such as rodeo competitors. However, many of us also read the statute to apply to ranchers and ranch hands and the activities associated with ranching.

Unfortunately, the legal language in that area is a little unclear and was challenged in court soon after it became law. In 2013, a ranch hand was trampled to death by a bull. The ranch hand was an employee of the ranch for eight years and knew the job’s dangers well, yet his family sued the rancher for wrongful death. The rancher in turn argued that he was not liable based on the Farm Animal Liability Act. That case wound its way through the courts and eventually came to be heard in the Texas Supreme Court. In June 2020, the Texas Supreme Court issued a 6-2 opinion that the Farm Animal Activity Act does not apply to ranchers and ranch hands.

As a result of the ruling, if you do not have worker’s compensation insurance and one of your ranch employees are injured by your livestock, you can be held liable. In fact, I’ve already personally seen television advertisements from law firms encouraging personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits that specifically identify agriculture as a target industry.

This is a tremendous legal risk for cattle producers that we must fix, and as a rancher, attorney, and member of the Texas House of Representatives, I have a plan to do precisely that.

In November, I filed House Bill 365 to amend the Farm Animal Liability Act. The proposed changes in this bill will make it clear that the liability limitations apply to ranchers and their employees.

Passing this legislation will be

one of my top priorities for the 2021 Texas Legislative Session, but there is a long road ahead.

Short of putting my fellow legislators in the pens with me working cattle and marking calves, I am working hard to educate them on just how important it is to protect our state’s livestock producers from unnecessary lawsuits and risk.

The leaders and staff of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association have been instrumental in the process, but we need your help, too. Please tell your State Representative and State Senator that you support H.B. 365 to better protect livestock producers from legal liability. They must hear directly from you, their constituent, and understand how damaging it could be to the cattle industry and food supply if we continue to allow ranchers to be sued for their livestock’s unpredictable actions.

Ranching is a hard way of life, but one that is absolutely essential. Many of the risks and challenges faced by cattle producers every day are out of our control, but we can control legal liability. Many family livestock operations simply cannot weather an unexpected lawsuit and continue to feed America at the same time. I hope you will join me in supporting H.B. 365 and helping producers get back to the business of raising our food.

Representative Andrew Murr was first elected in 2014 to represent District 53 in the Texas House of Representatives. The district includes Bandera, Crockett, Edwards, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, Medina, Menard, Real, Schleicher and Sutton Counties. An eighth-generation Texan, Representative Murr lives on the family ranch near Junction and raises cattle. He is a proud member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

▫

Advertise to Cattlemen and Ranchers!

Call

505-243-9515

for more information

March 15, 2021

Livestock Market Digest

House Votes to Set Aside 3 Million Western Acres in ‘Massive Land Grab’

BY VALERIE RICHARDSON THE WASHINGTON TIMES

T

he House voted in late February to cordon off nearly three million acres of Western land in the name of environmental protection, overriding Republicans who called it a “massive land grab” that will kill jobs, increase wildfire danger and reduce access to public lands.

The Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act, approved by a vote of 227 to 200, combined eight Dem-

ocrat-sponsored bills to create another 1.49 million aces of federal wilderness, including more than 1,000 river miles, and withdraw 1.2 million acres from new oil and mining claims.

The package affecting four states—Arizona, California, Colorado and Washington—will ensure that “iconic landscapes like the Grand Canyon and Colorado’s Thompson Divide are permanently protected from the irreversible threats posed by extraction,” said the House Natural Resources Committee.

“Protecting our environment is not a matter of choice or political preference,” said Representative Raul Grijalva, who chairs the committee. “It’s the only path forward for our country and our way of life.”

The bill dovetails with President Biden’s so-called 30x30 pledge aimed at conserving 30 percent of U.S. land—an area twice the size of Texas—and 30 percent of coastal seas by 2030.

Included in the package was Grijalva’s Grand Canyon Protection Act, which bans fu-

Colorado Governor Betrays Cattle Ranchers with ‘MeatOut Day’ Declaration

BY WESLEY J. SMITH / NATIONAL REVIEW

C

olorado is a cattle state. The industry brings in billions of dollars a year to Colorado’s economy and is responsible for about 170,000 jobs.

But so what? Left-wing governor Jared Polis puts his ideology in front of the welfare of his constituents by declaring March 20 “MeatOut Day” in Colorado, urging state residents to go vegetarian. From the Newslinez story: This year, Colorado Governor Jared Polis is declaring March 20 “MeatOut Day” as a way to promote meatless diets to his constituents. Started in 1985 by animal-rights group Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), the MeatOut initiative was created to educate consumers about the benefits of a healthful, plant-based diet. Polis signed a proclamation in support of MeatOut, joining governors and mayors in 40 additional states and cities who have signed similar proclamations in recent years.

The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association responded with a call for making March 20, “Meat In Day:” Colorado Cattlemen’s Association is promoting “Meat In Day” on March 20, 2021. On this day, CCA encourages Colorado to meet in a restaurant and order your favorite meat dish, meet your family and friends for a meal featuring meat!

The goal of this day is to not only promote the benefits of meat consumption to Colorado, but to also patronize our local businesses, restaurants, etc. that have been deeply affected by the economic struggles of the pandemic. CCA is working with multiple groups to promote meat products through discounts, specials, and more! As we approach this day, we will be posting a full listing of businesses and restaurants to show your support to on this day.

Take to social media with hashtags #BetterWithBeef and #MeatIn to promote your business and to showcase how you will be celebrating “Meat In” day!

▫

ture mining claims around the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona without touching existing claims.

Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter, called the bill “critical to ensuring that the lands, water, wildlife, and people of the region are protected from the harmful and toxic effects of uranium mining.”

The package passed over the opposition of Republicans who argued that the federal government already struggles to manage its vast acreage—nearly half of Western lands are federally owned—citing the National Park Service’s $12 billion maintenance backlog.

Representative Tom McClintock, California Republican, said in a floor speech that the bill would declare an area the size of Delaware “a wilderness area, off limits to forest management, timber harvesting, and even many forms of public recreation.”

“An untended forest is like an untended garden,” Mr. Mc-

Page 9 Clintock said.” It will grow until it chokes itself to death and succumbs to disease, pestilence and ultimately catastrophic wildfire. These restrictions have abandoned our forests to neglect and produced the paradox of a severe national lumber shortage while the government sits on vast timber reserves.”

He warned that the restrictions would “create water shortages in some of the most water-abundant regions of our country.”

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S.D. College, Processor Team to Offer Instructional Program

BY SUSAN KELLY / MEATINGPLACE.COM

W

estern Dakota Technical College announced a new partnership with Wall Meat Processing to implement a meat processing instructional program at the school.

The collaboration was approved by the WDT board of trustees during its February meeting. The goal is to begin courses in 2022.

Wall Meat, based in Wall, S.D., provides custom meat cutting for ranchers in the western South Dakota area.

“There is a current shortage of people skilled in professional meat cutting and processing not only in western South Dakota, but throughout this region and the state. There is great demand for high-quality ‘ranch to table’ protein sources,” Ann Bolman, Western Dakota Tech president, said in a press release. “This partnership will result in high-need, great paying careers for graduates and will also help meet the demand for more meat cutters and value-added meat processing. Increasing the availability of meat processing professionals and shops also gives ranchers and producers another market for selling their product, making better pricing available for both producers and consumers.”

WDT is exploring offering a three-semester diploma option and a four-semester AAS degree option.

Wall Meat owner Ken Charfauros, who approached the college about offering the program, will help develop the curriculum for the specific meat cutting and processing courses to ensure the courses meet industry standards. Charfauros will assist in teaching the courses. Wall Meat will provide the industry-quality laboratory space at its facilities needed for the meat cutting and processing “hands-on” courses.

Charfauros knows first-hand the great need for more professionally trained meat cutters and processors.

“People looking to have their own meat processed have had to travel as far away as Gordon, Neb., and often have to wait several months,” Charfauros said. “It is important to learn academically what your industry is all about and that is what we will do. It is good to learn as much as you can in your initial training as opposed to 15 years down the road.”

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Beyond Meat’s Bumpy Ride Likely to Continue

BY LISA M. KEEFE MEATINGPLACE.COM

I

n late February Beyond Meat Co. reported significantly wider net losses for fiscal 2020, compared to the year earlier, despite healthy growth in revenues — and pressure on margins will remain a factor in 2021, one analyst said.

For the full year, ended Dec. 31, Beyond Meat reported net revenues of $406.8 million, an increase of 36.6 percent yearover-year. However, the company had a net loss of $52.8 million, or $0.85 per common share, for the year. Excluding expenses attributable to COVID-19, adjusted net loss was $37.1 million, or $0.60 per common share, the company said in a news release.

Net losses in 2019, by comparison, were $12.4 million on revenues of $279.9 million.

Despite the splash Beyond had made earlier in the day with its announcement of global strategic pacts with McDonald’s and Yum! Brands, equity analyst Bobby Burleson, with Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets, said in a note to investors, “margin concerns are likely to weigh given increasingly competition … and lingering elevated costs from a sustained investment phase across the organization.”

The announcement of Beyond’s relationships with the two QSR giants is a “clear positive but scant on detail and unlikely to affect 2021 meaningfully, according to management,” he wrote.

Beyond’s financial performance thus far has been uneven across the company’s various segments, Burleson noted.

While U.S. retail, Beyond’s largest revenue segment, grew 104% year over year, coming in second in rate of growth to the much smaller international retail channel, food service sales both in the U.S. and internationally “fared more poorly.”

Burleson revised his estimates for the company’s 2021 performance, pegging EBITDA for the first quarter at a loss of $3.4 million on revenues of $114.5 million. For the full year, he expects EBITDA to be positive, at $2.2 million on revenues of $605 million.

Noted Chief Financial Officer Mark Nelson in the company’s earnings conference call with analysts, “We continue to lay vital building blocks for our future growth by proceeding with investments in additional production capacity, research and development efforts, marketing capabilities, international expansion and our corporate infrastructure.

“While these decisions certainly impact our profitability and margins in the near term, they represent clear indications of our commitment to continuing to lead the accelerating global plant-based meat movement,” Nelson said.

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Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

Five Oregon Counties to Vote on Leaving State, Escaping to ‘Greater Idaho’

BY VALERIE RICHARDSON / THE WASHINGTON TIMES

F

ive Oregon counties will ask voters in the next election whether they want to detach from the deep-blue state and join neighboring redstate Idaho.

Move Oregon’s Border, also known as Greater Idaho, confirmed that the initiative to move swaths of largely rural eastern and southern Oregon into Idaho qualified for the May 18 special election ballot in five counties: Baker, Grant, Lake, Malheur and Sherman.

In Baker County, organizers far exceeded the 496 signatures required by submitting 746, with the clerk reporting that 630 were accepted. The county population is about 16,000.

“Oregon is a powder keg because counties that belong in a red-state like Idaho are ruled by Portlanders,” said Mike McCarter, president of Move Oregon’s Border, in a statement.

He cited the impact of Goernor Kate Brown’s novel coronavirus restrictions; ongoing Antifa unrest in Portland; a state task force’s unsuccessful effort to prioritize “Black, Indigenous

and people of color” for novel coronavirus vaccines, and what he described as the state legislature’s bias in favor of Portland over rural communities.

“This state protects Antifa arsonists, not normal Oregonians, it prioritizes one race above another for vaccines and program money and in the school curriculum, and it prioritizes Willamette Valley above rural Oregon,” Mr. McCarter said.

So far, the Move Oregon’s Borders movement is batting .500. In November, voters in two counties approved measures requiring county commissioners to hold meetings about relocating the state border. Two other counties defeated the measure.

“Divisions in Oregon are getting dangerous, so we see the relocation of the border as a way to keep the peace. It’s not divisive,” Mr. McCarter said. “Oregon and Idaho are already divided by a state line. The problem is that the location of the state line was decided 161 years ago and is now outdated. Its current location doesn’t match the cultural divide in Oregon.”

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Opponents have said disgruntled rural Oregonians should just move to Idaho, but Mr. McCarter said it isn’t that simple.

“We love our communities.

We’re tied into them,” he said.

“It’s just the state government that we can’t stand.”

Oregon Democrats control the governorship, all state constitutional offices and both houses of the state legislature.

Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney said that the Greater Idaho campaign concerns him, saying, “I hope we’d never look at that.”

“I don’t think we would, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t act like it wouldn’t happen, because if we act like it, then maybe we’ll really sit down and really think real hard about this rural-urban divide,” said Mr. Courtney, a Democrat, in a December 7 interview on KATUTV. Move Oregon’s Border has a high bar to clear: Any state line reconfiguration would require the approval of the relevant state legislatures as well as Congress. The group is also reaching out to northern California counties.

Organizers suffered a setback in January when Facebook removed a group page, which had 12,000 followers, as well as those of Mr. McCarter and another administrator. Move Oregon’s Borders still has a presence on Twitter, MeWe, Parler, Gab and Telegram.

“We don’t know why because Facebook won’t show us the six posts it claims violated their standards,” said the press release.

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March 15, 2021

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

Best and Worst of Times It is the best of times.

C

alving at its finest. The calling of those chosen to tend God’s creatures. To take part in simple miracles. To alter the balance of life on earth by one small addition.

It is the worst of times.

Calving in the midst of a winter when one needs a depth finder to see the top of the market. When it is less worrisome to lose oneself in the task of daily responsibilities easing the burden of birth, than thinking about the price of next fall’s over-crowded weaner crop.

A dilemma, some would say.

But does knowing the decreased value of beef make a cowman think less of that heifer in trouble or that new calf layin’ in the straw? Does her dollar price somehow affect her value as a creation? As a work of art planned, worked on and created by a cowman, a cow and God? Does the price of a first calf heifer affect a cowman’s responsibility to her well-being? Does his effort, concentration and skill decrease when she’s calving as the market price decreases?

Does he try harder to get a live calf if she’s worth more at the sale?

These questions are best answered, not philosophically or hypothetically, but in reality. At 3:00 a.m. when you hook the chains to newborn feet and start to pull, does cost cross your mind? When you rub the calf down and push him under her flank do you see dollar signs?

When you gaze over the turn out field and cows grazing contentedly while calves chase each other around’em, do you get a good feeling? Smile maybe and relax for a moment, thankful all is well. Or are you too occupied with their price to appreciate what you’re seeing?

The dilemma I’m presenting really isn’t much of a problem for most cow people I know. The calving barn is a long way in time and miles and thought from the auction ring.

After all, we tend to our flocks in bad weather, hard times, illness, chapped hands, achin’ backs, mad patients and yes, bad markets.

I think when we lay down in the straw or mud behind a heifer needin’ help, the price per pound is the farthest thing from our mind. So, in spite of all the well meaning (and correct) consultants who keep reminding us that what we do is a business, it is also, beyond any doubt, a way of life. www.baxterblack.com

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March 15, 2021

Livestock Market Digest

Biden’s Department of Energy Blocked Texas from Increasing Power Ahead of Killer Storm

BY ADAN SALAZAR / INFOWARS.COM

A

week before, Texas begged for help and asked for DOE to lift federal regulations barring state’s energy output.

Going into effect on February 14, 2021, Emergency Order 202-21-1 shows the Energy Dept. was aware of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide disaster declaration and that ERCOT was readying gas utilities in preparation for a demand surge. api-assets.infowars.com/2021/02/ercot-3525.jpg The order shows Acting Energy Secretary David Huizenga did not waive environmental restrictions to allow for maximum energy output, instead ordering ERCOT An Emergency to utilize all resources in order to stay within acceptable emissions Order from the standards – including purchasing energy from Biden administration’s outside the state. api-assets.infowars.

Department of Energy com/2021/02/all-entities.jpg shows Texas energy grid “ERCOT anticipates that this Order may reoperator ERCOT was sult in exceedance of emissions of sulfur diinstructed to stay within oxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, and carbon green energy standards monoxide emissions, as well as wastewater reby purchasing energy lease limits,” the order states. “To minimize adverse environmental imfrom outside the state at pacts, this Order limits operation of dispatched a higher cost, throttling units to the times and within the parameters power output throughout determined by ERCOT for reliability purposes.” the state ahead of a api-assets.infowars. com/2021/02/ercot-ancatastrophic polar vortex.” ticipates.jpg Moreover, the order instructed an “incremental amount of restricted capacity” to be sold to ERCOT at “a price no lower than $1,500/MWh,” an increase of over 6,000 percent over February 2020 prices of $18.20. https://api-assets.infowars.com/2021/02/higher-cost.jpg The Dallas Business Journal reported, “Electricity on the Texas grid has averaged about $1,137.33 per megawatt hour so far in February, up from $18.20 per megawatt hour in February 2020, according to data from the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas. That’s a jump of more than 6,000 percent.”

The EO shows the Biden administration basically ordered ERCOT to throttle its energy output by forcing it to comply with environmental green energy standards, while knowing full well Texans could freeze to death in their homes with zero electricity as temperatures plunged into the single digits.

“

Page 11

Scholarships Offered For Youths Deadline April 1

International Red Brangus Breeders Association (IRBBA) Scholarships

International Brangus Auxiliary Scholarships

The International Red Brangus Breeders Association (IRBBA) is pleased to announce the release of the 2021 Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship applications are due April 1, 2021 and are available to students from their senior year in high school up until the age of 23. Applicants must have direct involvement with the Brangus breed. Applicants and/or family must be members of the IRBBA, International Brangus Breeders, International Junior Brangus Breeders Association, or International Junior Red Brangus Breeders Association.

The International Brangus Auxiliary (IBA) promotes the Brangus breed and promotes higher education for our junior members through scholarships available to all International Junior Brangus Breeders Association (IJBBA) members.

Applicants and winners represent a competitive cross section of young Brangus breeders throughout the United States. Since 1979, the IBA has awarded $478,000 to deserving IJBBA members.

To be eligible for a scholarship, the applicant must have been an IJBBA member for at least one year and participate in the scholarship application process. All IJBBA members who are high school seniors, college students, or students at a technical college are encouraged to apply. The forms can be downloaded directly at juniorbrangus.com.

The deadline is April 1, 2021. For any ques-

NAMI Takes Prop 12 Fight to Supreme Court

BY TOM JOHNSTON MEATINGPLACE.COM

T

he North American Meat Institute (NAMI) on Friday filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court of the United States to review a federal appellate court ruling that denied the organization’s challenge to California’s Proposition 12 law.

NAMI opposes the law — which requires meat producers selling their products in California to comply with its animal housing standards — arguing it is unconstitutional and will hurt the nation’s food value chain by significantly increasing costs for producers and consumers.

“Prop 12 hurts the family on a budget by causing higher prices for pork, veal and eggs, and unfairly punishes livestock producers outside of California by forcing them to spend millions just to access California markets,” NAMI President and CEO Julie Anna Potts said in a

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statement. “If this unconstitutional law is allowed to stand, California will dictate farming practices across the nation.”

The question presented in the case is whether the U.S. Constitution permits California to extend its police power beyond its territorial borders by banning the sale of wholesome pork and veal products sold into California unless out-ofstate farmers restructure their facilities to meet animal-confinement standards dictated by California.

In its brief, NAMI urged the Court to grant review because the “Ninth Circuit’s decision conflicts with the decisions of other federal courts of appeals on the question whether the Constitution limits a State’s ability to extend its police power beyond its territorial borders through a trade barrier dictating production standards in other

G A ▫

Read the full EO at: www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/02/f82/DOE%20 202%28c%29%20Emergency%20Order%20-%20ERCOT%2002.14.2021.pdf

tions or concerns about the scholarship application process, please contact the IBA scholarship chairperson, Ginger Pritchard, at 405-878-6189 or by email vpritchard57@gmail.com.

States and countries.” Allowing Prop 12 to stand, the organization argues further, “insulates in-state farmers from out-ofstate competition, while imposing crushing burdens on out-ofstate farmers and producers who have no political voice to shape the regulations that California has unilaterally determined to foist upon their operations outside of California.”

In the Ninth Circuit, NAMI’s lawsuit was supported by amicus curiae briefs filed by the United States on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by 20 sovereign States, and by the National Association of Manufacturers, Chamber of Commerce, and Food Marketing Institute.

The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation also are fighting Prop 12 in the courts.

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Page 12

Livestock Market Digest

10th Circuit Rules Against Colorado in ‘Waters of the US’ Dispute

BY KELSEY JUKAM WWW.COURTHOUSENEWS.COM

T

he federal government should not be blocked from implementing in Colorado a Trump-era regulation defining what waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, a 10th Circuit panel ruled in early March.

In April 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers defined what constitutes “waters of the United States” in a regulation called the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. The definition clarifies which waters are protected by the Clean Wa-

Tyson Chicken Price-Fixing Settlement Includes $99M for Consumers

BY CHRIS SCOTT MEATINPLACE.COM

T

yson Foods Inc. will pay $99 million to consumer members of the class of plaintiffs that accused the processor of fixing prices for broilers along with other poultry companies, according to court documents filed this week.

In January, Tyson announced it agreed to pay a total of $221.5 million to settle all of the price-fixing allegations that were originally filed in 2016.

Tyson reached a preliminary agreement covering compensation for the End-User Consumer Plaintiffs (EUCPs) and funds to cover their litigation fees and expenses, according to the filing released this week. The EUCPs, in turn, will release Tyson from “any and all” claims, including those covering the period between 1/1/9 – 12/31/20.

The company previously announced a settlement with the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs (DPPs) – the retailers that also sued poultry companies over alleged price-fixing for chicken products – although details on that agreement have yet to be formally released.

A federal judge in Chicago last month issued preliminary approval for Tyson to pay $80 million to cover a settlement with wholesalers. That could leave $42.5 million available for Tyson’s retail customers participating in the lawsuit based on the various settlement figures confirmed so far.

The latest settlement ruling also calls for Fieldale Farms Corp. to provide $1.7 million, George’s Farms Inc. to pay $1.9 million and Peco Foods Inc. to pay $1.9 million to settle claims against those poultry companies filed by the EUCPs, according to court documents.

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ter Act and require permits for the discharge of pollution.

The rule narrowed the definition of protected waters to a “smaller number of Colorado waters than at any time since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972,” according to the state’s complaint, filed in May 2020. The state claimed the rule was unlawful, arbitrary and capricious, suffered from procedural flaws and violated the National Environmental Protection Act. Three days before the rule took effect, U.S. District Judge William J. Martinez, a Barack Obama appointee, granted the state its request for a preliminary injunction, which required federal agencies to continue to administer the Clean Water Act under the prior regulations.

A key point of Martinez’s ruling was the Section 404 permit process, which pertains to the Army Corps of Engineers’ authority under the Clean Water Act to issue permits for the release of dredged or fill material into “navigable waters.”

According to Martinez’s ruling, the state was working to amend a statute to set up its

own Section 404-type permitting program but that effort was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In other words, regardless of cause, the record shows that violations of Section 404 consistently happen, requiring enforcement action,” Martinez wrote. “At least some of that enforcement burden (i.e., filling in Disputed Waters) will now fall in Colorado’s lap. That share of the enforcement burden is not at all minimal or speculative.

Colorado asserts, and the Agencies do not dispute, that about half of state waters protected by the Current Rule will be unprotected by the New Rule.”

“For these reasons, the Court finds that Colorado is poised to suffer an injury in fact that is fairly traceable to the New Rule, and would be redressed by a favorable ruling in this case.

Moreover, that injury is certainly impending and would be irreparable,” Martinez added.

The federal agencies, along with 14 national trade associations, appealed, and on Tuesday the 10th Circuit panel ruled in their favor, finding that Colorado did not prove it would suf-

March 15, 2021 fer “irreparable injury” without a preliminary injunction and that the lower court abused its discretion when it granted the state such relief.

“The record evidence raises, at most, the mere possibility of the potential for a small increase in Colorado’s enforcement burden at some point in the future,” Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Bobby Baldock wrote in the panel’s ruling Tuesday.

The panel was also unpersuaded by the state’s alternative theories that the rule would result in a “permitting gap” — resulting in the delay or cancellation of development and infrastructure permits — and cause irreparable and significant environmental harm.

“On this record, it is pure speculation whether the NWPR’s reduction in federal jurisdiction would result in an increase, rather than a decrease or no change, in the number of dredge and fill violations committed in Colorado,” Baldock wrote. “When predictions are so uncertain, an injury is not cognizable — let alone sufficient to warrant the extraordinary remedy of preliminary injunctive

relief. Because Colorado has failed to show the NWPR poses an actual and imminent risk of environmental harm within the State, we decline its invitation to affirm the district court’s order based on this alternative claim of irreparable injury.”

U.S. Circuit Judges Carolyn B. McHugh, an Obama appointee, and Allison Eid, a Trump appointee, joined Baldock, a Reagan appointee, on the panel.

“We are disappointed with the court’s ruling,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. “We will review it closely in the coming days and determine how best to protect Colorado’s water. We hope that the new administration will take a more sensible approach to this critical issue.”

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