LMD May 2015

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

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL MAY 15, 2014 • www. aaalivestock . com

MARKET

Digest Volume 56 • No. 5

Out of Control Lawyers, bankers, S and hoot owls sleep

by Lee Pitts

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

o, Cliven Bundy wasn’t exactly the best spokesperson for public lands ranchers, but that doesn’t change the fact that the BLM assumed roles that day they had no right to assume. There is no legislation that allows the BLM to stop vehicles in order to search people and their vehicles without a warrant or due process. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act makes it clear that the BLM first has to go through the local county sheriff for law enforcement activities. And who gave the BLM the right to designate a “First Amendment Area” where people could feel free to express their opinions? Isn’t the entire U.S. of A. supposed to be a “First Amendment Area”?

Bundy’s controversial statements about slavery don’t erase the fact that the BLM sent more than 200 federal agents to round up Cliven Bundy’s cattle, trained guns on his family, surrounded his home with snipers and helicopters, and arrested his son for taking pictures. By some estimates the BLM spent three times what Bundy owes the feds on the raid that quickly could have deescalated into another Waco or Ruby Ridge. After all, no one likes to have a gun trained on them. But no one should have been surprised or

with one eye open. shocked by this event. It’s what federal bureaucrats do these days. Just like the IRS going after conservative groups, the many tentacles of the federal government are ever creeping out of control.

You may think that the following examples of bad behavior have nothing to do with the beef business but trust me, they do.

Ruminate on these undemocratic and un-American activities and you will see there is a method to the government’s

madness. n Last summer an EPA swat team known officially as the Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force stormed several small mines in Chicken, Alaska, trying to find violators of the Clean Water Act. According to the Cole Report, an investigation into the federal raid demanded by Alaskan politicians, there was no need for criminal investigation of eight area mines in the first place, as Alaska State Troopers, the

BLM, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation told the EPA not to do it because there was no evidence the miners were breaking any laws.

“The EPA task force was an unnecessary escalation of enforcement in an area where compliance issues are usually handled by an inspector with a clipboard and some water-testing equipment,” read the Cole Report. During these raids members of the EPA swat team carried firearms, wore body armor and jackets that said “Police” on them. In the aftermath of the raid federal officials interfered with, and did not cooperate with the investigation into EPA’s illegal activities. They also, according to the investigation, gave “inaccurate and misleading” information to the media. The EPA hid 400 pages of documents pertaining to its continued on page two

How Fair is the Endangered Species Act to the American Land Owner?

BY LOCKE ANN MCIVOR, FORT DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL, SUL ROSS STATE UNIVERSITY

he fight between endangered species and property rights is such a wide topic that if I covered all of it, it would take years and it would not be this seven-page report but a huge book of the effects it has on everything. So I have narrowed it down to just a small glimpse at the fight between private property and endangered species. The real debate is what is more important, the lives of human beings, or the lives of a plant and or an animal.

The Business Dictionary definition of private property is, “Tangible and intangible things owned by individuals or firms over which their owners have exclusive and absolute legal rights, such as land, buildings, money, copyrights, patents, etc. Private property can be transferred only with its owner’s consent and by due process such as sale or gift” (Par1). It states in this definition that private property can only be transferred if it is with the owner’s consent. That means, in actuality, that what the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is doing is wrong and border line illegal.

Are you wondering if the Endangered Species Act has ever saved any animal from extinction? Well, after doing some continuous research, I have found that since 1973, when the act was put in place, no

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Riding Herd

species has ever been taken off the endangered list; although some have been downgraded to the threatened list. What it means to be threatened is that the species in the future could possibly become endangered. When the species is deemed threatened, it still has the same treatment as a species that is on the endangered list, so even though it is not endangered, it is still treated that way.

The Endangered species Act of 1973 has done some good in saving animals, but what are the consequences of this act? People are being put out of jobs due to the ESA. The ESA has the power to take a person’s land if they deem that there is an endangered species living on the property. Does it seem right to you that people’s livelihoods are being taken away from them just because they think some little insect is living on their property?

Is it ok for these animals that are being reintroduced in places to kill livestock and eat crops while the land owners receive either none or very little compensation?

The Endangered Species Act split up responsibilities of animals, plants, and marine life into three different departments. The Department of the Interior is setup to take care of internal affairs; and one category of internal affairs is endangered continued on page four

by LEE PITTS

Changes

“T

his is CCNN, the Climate Change News Network. And now with the evening news here is anchorwoman Misty Rain.”

“For our lead story this evening we’ll be going to two American cities in transition to illustrate the murderous potential of climate change.

First we’ll go to our reporter, Thermal Gusts, who is in Tucson, Arizona.”

“The streets of this southwestern city are quiet and empty tonight as its citizens ponder a fearful fate. Today it was 75 degrees in Tucson, three degrees hotter than yesterday. You don’t have to be a math wizard to see that at this rate if the temperature goes up three degrees every day in just 30 days the temperature will be 165 degrees, which is hot even for Tucson. Talk about your weapons of math destruction! This will be the end of civilization as we know it and residents here are hunkered down, making sure their air conditioners work and that they don’t. Now to my colleague, Chilly “The Iceman” Shivers who is also braving the elements tonight.”

“You’re exactly right Thermal, the situation is just as dire here in Rochester, New York, where it was 66 degrees today, 4 degrees cooler than yesterday. If this trend continues in a month from now people will be burning their furniture for heat, begging cows to belch and pass more greenhouse gas, and trading in their Prius cars for Ford F350’s.

Polar bears will prowl the city’s mean streets, you’ll be able to walk on ice to Greenland from the Big Apple, and snowbirds to Florida will have to defrost any oranges they pick before eating them. Speaking of Florida . . . we interrupt this broadcast with a breaking story.

“WARNING! In view of the changing weather anyone traveling to the Florida Keys should carry snow chains and long underwear.”

“Now we resume our regularly scheduled broadcast where “Changeup” Charley Chow has all the changing news in sports.” continued on page six

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May 15, 2014

Out of Control

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investigation and did not allow was they were looking for. federal officers involved with the They’ll give Miller’s things he planning and execution of the bought and collected back to raid to be questioned. And get bureaucrats in other countries this...no criminal charges or cita- and perhaps arrowheads that he tions have been issued to any of found back to Indian tribes. the miners that were presumably Many of Mr. Miller’s objects will never be judged guilty in returned to him advance of the and there’s a illegal raid. n In WalThe BLM first has chance some will end up in dron, Indiana, to go through the the collections the FBI raided local county sheriff of those who the house of 91take year-old Indiana for law enforcement helped them from him. man who, to most activities.

Which raises the appearances, had question: what’s led an exemplato stop these ry life. Married government for over 50 years, Donald Miller had enlist- thieves in the future from raided in the Army Reserve at a ing your house, without any eviyoung age and worked at the dence of wrongdoing, and taking Naval Avionics Center in Indi- the guns you inherited from your anapolis. This led to a special grandfather on the false premise assignment in Los Alamos, New they may have been obtained Mexico, where he worked on the illegally? n Then there is the 2011 fedManhattan Project, which developed the nuclear bombs that eral raid on Gibson Guitar ended World War II. Thereby because the feds say Gibson was saving the lives of countless U.S. obtaining wood that was illegal service men. to use. This despite the fact that Donald Miller has been an the wood was obtained via a avid collector since the age of Forest Stewardship Council-certen when he used to dig up Indi- tified supplier, and that the an arrowheads. The FBI stormed Madagascar wood was obtained his place with dozens of agents, without violating Madagascar set up special military-style tents law. Gibson Guitars CEO Henand a command post to gather ry Juszkiewicz said that his comup the 4,000 pany used the objects of same wood as its D o n a l d It is estimated that rivals: “Virtually Miller’s colevery other guitar lection. This is the FBI had over 100 company uses this the same colagents gather up this wood and this lection that wood is used personal property Miller proudly prominently by showed off to and and take it away furniture school groups architectural from Mr. Miller. and Scout industries, and to troops who my knowledge took regular none of them have tours. It is estimated that the been shut down or treated in FBI had over 100 agents gather this fashion.” In August 2012, up this personal property and Gibson settled the shakedown take it away from Mr. Miller. with the Department of Justice What crime had he committed? by agreeing to pay a penalty of Who knows. Instead of all those $300,000 and a $50,000 comfederal agents storming his place munity service payment to the they could have achieved the National Fish and Wildlife same results by merely knocking Foundation. on his door. After all, Special According to Investor BusiAgent Paul Bresson of the FBI ness Daily, one of Gibson’s top said Mr. Miller is “helping the competitors, C.F. Martin & Co., FBI in anyway possible” and the uses the same “East Indian FBI says Miller “is not consid- Rosewood” without any legal ered a criminal suspect.” repercussions. Why the differThe collection that took 80 ence in treatment? C.F. Martin years to put together was beauti- & Co. CEO gives to Democratic fully displayed in Mr. Miller’s candidates, while Gibson’s CEO home but now has been taken is a Republican donor. Accordfrom him because, in the words ing to Investor Business Daily, of FBI Special Agent in Charge claims by Juszkiewicz that his Robert Jones, “Mr. Miller may company was targeted are “eerily have knowingly or unknowingly similar” to the claims conservacollected artifacts relics and tive groups seeking tax-exempt objects which may have been a status have made about the violation of several treaties, fed- IRS.” eral, and state statues."

I could go on and on like this FBI special agent Andrew citing examples of out-of-control Northern said in Antique Week agencies of our federal governnewspaper, “We’re collecting ment who are taking away our and analyzing the items with a freedoms, shredding the U.S. goal of repatriation.” In other Constitution, trampling our words, the FBI is stealing property rights, and killing off a Miller’s property and hauling it comatose economy. I could talk away in large specialized FBI about a President who has made trucks even though they didn’t continued on page three specify ahead of time what it

May 15, 2014

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

Out of Control a mockery of the separation of powers provision in the Constitution. I could write page after page about power hungry bureaucrats using scams, deceit and fraud to promote Obama’s radical socialist agenda. And, sadly it’s about to get even worse thanks to the biggest rogue agency of all: the Environmental Protection Agency.

Contrary to popular opinion, Watergate wasn’t the worst sin Richard Nixon ever committed.

Creating the EPA by Executive Order in 1970 was. It’s purpose was to consolidate all of the government's environmental responsibilities under one agency. Even though the EPA is not even a Cabinet-level department, it has killed more jobs and driven more folks into bankruptcy and unemployment than any tech crash or stock market ever did. Its primary purpose hasn’t been to “save” the environment but to hurt and punish innocent Americans who won’t toe the party line. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., the EPA employs over 15,000 full-time employees while many more people do its dirty work on a contractual basis.

This is the same agency that wants to regulate cow flatulence to combat global warming, despite falling methane emission levels and cooling weather the past 15 years. And this is the same agency that has 27 labs around the country that ran unethical tests on people, the young, old and infirm alike, from 2010 to 2011 without even informing these people about the potential dangers of the pollutants they were testing. Yes, this is the same agency that

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The EPA wants control, and rule is an end run around conwants to shut down coal mining, the oil and gas business, mining, federal oversight, over all gressional intent and rulings by farming, ranching and any other ephemeral and intermittent the U.S. Supreme Court, alike. extractive industry because of streams and wetlands, keeping Congress and the courts have the dangers they pose to in mind that includes 60% of both said that the 50 states, not humans. Yet this same agency U.S. streams that only flow sea- EPA, have power to decide how exposed human guinea pigs to sonally, or after rain. They farming and other land uses should be doses of diesel restricted. EPA and other substances that In August 2012, Gibson settled the shakedown says its new rule clarifies were 50 times with the Department of Justice by agreeing to the scope of higher than pay a penalty of $300,000 and a $50,000 the Clean what the EPA Water Act, howclaims are safe community service payment to the National ever, EPA’s exposure levels.

Fish and Wildlife Foundation. ‘clarification’ is “When justifyachieved by cating a jobegorically classikilling regulafying most tion, EPA argues exposure to particulate account for 94% of Arizona’s water features and even dry land matter is deadly,” said U.S. Sen- streams, according to the EPA, as waters of the United States. ator David Vitter, “but when and 88% of those in New Mexi- It’s time to ditch this rule,” said Stallman. they are conducting experi- co.

If the law stands, Farm Under the rule, the EPA and ments, they say human exposure U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bureau says ordinary field work, studies are not harmful.”

Pardon my English, but as far will have to evaluate the environ- fence construction or even as the EPA is concerned, you mental impact of ANY activity planting could require a federal ain’t seen nothing yet. The EPA that could impair one of these permit. The result will be a wave proposed a rule, published April waterways. Kevin Kelly, Presi- of new regulation or outright 21 in the Federal Register, that dent of the National Association prohibitions on routine farming is 111,000 words long and called of Home Builders says, “The practices and other land uses.

“Congress, not federal agen“Waters of the U.S.” The rule EPA was told to make changes would give the federal govern- to the rule so that everyone cies, writes the laws of the land,” ment regulatory authority over understands exactly when a Stallman said. “When Congress millions of acres of wetlands, 2 builder needs a federal wetlands wrote the Clean Water Act, it million miles of streams and permit before turning the first clearly intended for the law to intermittent, ephemeral streams shovel of dirt. Instead, EPA has apply to navigable waters. Is a and mud puddles. Although The added just about everything into small ditch navigable? Is a stock Clean Water Act gave the EPA its jurisdiction by expanding the pond navigable? Under this rule authority to regulate U.S. definition of a ‘tributary’, even it will be more difficult for priwaters, we doubt those passing ditches and man-made canals, or vate landowners to farm and the law meant to include any other feature that a regula- ranch, build homes or make streams that may run only once tor determines to have a bed, changes to the land, even if the every ten years, or ponds of bank and high-water mark. It’s a changes that landowners prowater that only collect after a waste of taxpayer money to treat pose would benefit the environrare downpour. But that is a rainwater ditch with the same ment.”

Ron Arnold, a writer who has exactly what the EPA is propos- scrutiny as we would the exposed the EPA in many well ing to do. It could be the biggest Delaware Bay.” American Farm Bureau Pres- written books and articles, calls grab for power in environmental ident Bob Stallman says, “This the EPA, “thoroughly, hopelesshistory.

ly rotten to the core.” With that in mind it becomes very easy to envision a scenario in which an EPA swat team overruns your ranch with guns drawn because you donated to a conservative cause, or are a member of your county cattleman’s organization.

Might you be subject to a “sue and settle” suit because one of your cows ALLEGEDLY plopped in a compressed footprint that held rain after a brief storm?

If this proposed rule becomes law it’s only a matter of time before the same government EPA thugs who conducted the raid in Chicken, Alaska, descend on a cluster of feedlots in the Texas panhandle. They’ll point their government guns at innocent people and corral anyone who protests in a “free speech area.” Then they’ll demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and penalties because a steer peed in a puddle. Pay up or else they’ll make you go bankrupt fighting your case in court.

We wonder, would such a prospect change your present behavior? Might it curtail your contributions to Republican causes, for example?

Ah, there it is . . . the real reason for these actions by “jack booted thugs and career bureaucrats. Just by writing this story am I now the target of an IRS audit or the theft of my possessions? That, my friends, is sad to say, the point we have sunk to in this country. That decent, honest, hardworking folks, not willing to go along with a radical socialist agenda, must now be afraid, very afraid, of their own government.

Livestock Market Digest

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May 15, 2014

Fair species. The Department of the Interior is mainly supposed to be in charge of the endangered animals.

They help deem which animals are considered threatened or endangered. The Department of Commerce is in charge of many things, but one thing you may not know about the Department of Commerce is that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a branch of it. That means that the Department of Commerce is the one that deems when a marine species is threatened or endangered.

The Department of Agriculture is in charge of saying if a plant is threatened or endangered.

The Endangered Species Act has several ways to make people cooperate even if they do not wish to do so.

One such way is a citizen’s suit, which is where they can sue someone for supposedly endangering a species. Another way is by saying that that by not letting them use the land is a crime and you could be charged, and could possibly serve time in prison. If someone happens to accidently kill something that is protected, he can also be charged with a fine. So, if anyone is ever in a situation that involves an endangered species, they should be careful

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because he can be charged with all kinds of things.

One example of a successful project is the reintroduction of the Desert Bighorn Sheep into Texas, which began in 1954. The Bighorn Sheep had been almost wiped out due to over hunting and diseases from domestic sheep. By the early 1960s, the last of Texas’ native Bighorn Sheep were gone. Most efforts at restocking the sheep were failures and were abandoned. The Sierra Diablo Wildlife Management Area (SDWMA) is where they began to raise pens of Bighorn Sheep so that they could later be released into the wild. In June 1973, in Culberson and Hudspeth counties, they released a pen of penraised sheep consisting of four rams and three ewes; this herd grew to about one-hundred head. The SDWMA kept releasing the sheep until May 1997, when the facility was shut down because of an ongoing disease problem. There was also another heard released in Brewster County; at a facility was called The Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area (EMWMA). The herd was a result from releasing ten rams and ten ewes on February 4, 1987. All of these sheep were pen-

raised bighorns from the SDWMA that was shut down. Since then, the sheep have increased in number.

The sheep were also released in other places such as Culberson County; the two herds released there were called The Van Horn Mountains herd, and The Baylor Mountains herd. The release of these sheep were different because they were not pen raised. The sheep released here were trapped in the wild from Nevada and then transported to Texas and released (Texas Parks and Wildlife Par 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). As of 2010, the population of the Desert Bighorn Sheep was 1,115 sheep: 364 Rams, 569 Ewes, and 182 Lambs reside in the area where they were released (Texas Bighorn Society Par 10). During the 2008-2009 hunting season, fifteen Desert Bighorn Sheep hunting permits were distributed. This means that the Desert Bighorn Sheep have successfully been reintroduced and have now been declassified to threatened instead of endangered (Texas Parks and Wildlife Par 10).

The ESA has reintroduced many animals all across the United States.

In many ways this has helped these animals, but in some areas it has made things worse. In many parts of the country they have begun to release predators in areas in which they no longer existed. These predators were killed off, not because people wanted to be cruel, but because they were problematic for the land owner or people in general.

Predators such as bears, wolves, and mountain lions are being released into the wild again. This would be great if not for the fact that these animals were removed from areas for a reason. Most of the time, the reason was that the animals were killing livestock or in some cases people. So in order to stop this from happening, the animals were exterminated from the area.

In places that these predators have been released, the animals have been pen raised and then released into the wild. Most nondomesticated animals that have been raised in a pen by humans loose all their fear for humans.

These animals are comfortable around a human being, which means if they are released into the wild and a person happens to come across one, they may not be able to scare it away or defend themselves.

What this means for ranchers with livestock is that if they see one of these animals they can try to scare it away, but it will just keep coming back and killing their livestock.

Then why not kill the animal in question? Well, this could be done but at the cost of a large fine or maybe even some jail time.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has put out a set of compensation guidelines to help ranchers and farmers with any loss from the reintroduction of species. The process to get compensation for killed livestock due to the animal the reintroduction program is a little bit complicated. In the guidelines, it states that in order to protect the evidence the body of the animal is not to be moved from the place where it was killed. The rancher is supposed to keep it like that until an agency

expert can come and determine if it was due to one of the animals that was released. If it is determined that the cause of the animal’s death was due to the reintroduction program, then the farmer or rancher will get a payment for the animal, but note that the prices that they have set for livestock is lower than the price that the animal could have sold for at market price. Now how is that fair when the farmer or rancher isn’t even getting back the full value of the livestock? If someone has an animal that was injured due to an animal that was released, he may or may not get compensation for the livestock. It is up to the people who are working on the project (The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Page1-3). Most of the time the agencies don’t want to pay the land owner, so they try the best they can to prove you wrong.

At one point in time, the Mexican Gray Wolf roamed from Arizona to Texas, but as humans moved in, the wolves started to cause problems. The wolves would attack livestock and in some cases humans; therefore the wolves were dangerous. In an effort to eradicate this problem, the Mexican Gray Wolf was eliminated from the United States and Mexico by the 1970s.

Then in 1976, three years after the Endangered Species Act was enacted, the Mexican Gray Wolf was put on the endangered species list as a subspecies of the gray wolf. The wolf was already fully extinct in the Southwestern United States and there were few reports of the wolves in Mexico; this was the only reason it continued to exist in the wild.

Then in 1977, and 1982, a recovery of the Mexican wolf was put into action. The United States and Mexico agreed to work together in order to start a breeding program by trapping the wolves from Mexico. They wanted to breed the wolves in order to save the population from extinction and then later reintroduce them to the wild. In 1979, they established a team to map out an area where they could set up the recovery for the wolves. The recovery plan was approved in 1982.

As the program to recover the wolves grew and the project became a success in the 1980s, it was then time to find a place where they could reintroduce the wolf into its natural habitat. In 1996, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was finished. They wanted to release the wolves in the Apache and Gila National Forests in Eastern Arizona and Western New Mexico, which was once home to the wolves before their extinction.

In March 1997, the Secretary of the Interior okayed the release of wolves into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. They then enforced the non-essential experimental population designation for Mexican wolves, which made it a lot easier to help with conflicts, such as the killing of livestock or the endangering. The Final Rule was then set in place which, provided regulations on how the reintroduced population would be managed by the agencies. It also covered the public’s rights and talked about human safety and protection of people’s property from Mexican wolves. It gave guidelines releasing wolves on pri-

vate, tribal, and public lands. On March 29, 1998, captive raised wolves were released into the wild for the first time in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Par 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

Well, isn’t it a good thing for the wolves to once again thrive in this area. Not really, the wolves will now cause major issues for the people living in these areas and for their livestock. The wolves were raised in captivity, so they are less afraid of humans since they were raised by them. There was an article in Range Magazine about how the ranchers are continuously losing livestock due to the wolves, yet nothing is being done about it. The people running the recovery plan have made a new regulation called the three strikes rule. In the three strikes rule, if a wolf has killed more than three livestock in one year, it is taken into captivity for one year. It is later released back into the wild in the same exact place as before. If the wolf kills two livestock in one year, and then kills another in January of the next year, that only counts as one. Every year the wolves’ killings are reset (Range Magazine Page 38-40). Even though it is said that it is more likely for a dog than a wolf to attack someone, the citizens of Reserve, New Mexico might disagree. The wolves that were released in this area have been stalking kids on their way to school; the city has even built cages at bus stops in which the kids may wait, so they are not hassled by the wolves (Warren Par 1, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18).

Caren Cowan explained the process of trying to get compensation for animals killed by wolves.

Since most ranchers own a lot of land in order to run a healthy operation, they don’t normally see their animals every day, so they might not know when one goes missing.

The organization that is suppose to give out the compensation is the Defenders of Wildlife, but if people take the money then they are obligated to support the wolf recovery project (Cowan). I talked to two ranchers in the area where the wolves were released. First I talked to Jim Gearhart who is the Ranch Manager of the HRY Ranch in Grant County, New Mexico. Mr. Gearhart said that it was very hard to get the compensation because the agencies do not want to pay, so they try to blame it on other animals, like coyotes (Gearhart). After talking to Mr. Gearhart, he referred me to Alan Tackman who is a rancher and attorney in Catron County. He told me about the compensation and how to get it. He said that a person has to call the agency and wait for an agent to come and look at the animal. Since there are other animals around such as bears, lions, and coyotes most of the time the animal is half eaten and it is hard to tell what killed it.

The best way to tell is by measuring the spots where the bite marks are.

The wolves’ bite marks are bigger than a coyote’s, but smaller than a bear’s. If there is hemorrhaging where the bite was made, then the animal means it was bitten when it was still alive. It is said that for every continued on page five

May 15, 2014

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

Fair one cow that is found killed by a wolf, there are eight more cows that have not been found and killed by wolves.

Mr. Tackman has tried many ways to prevent the wolves from killing his cattle. He has moved them to a different pasture farther from the wolves and hired a range rider, which is a person who follows the animals around in case a predator arrives. So far, he said none of these have precisions have been and the only thing that is working is moving the cattle to a different ranch outside of the wolf territory.

In the last fourteen years, Mr. Tackman has spent twenty to thirty thousand dollars fighting the wolves (Tackman). These wolves are ruining people’s lives and people have no idea. They just see the cute and fuzzy little wolves that the environmental agencies show us.

Right now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is requesting approval to release wolves in Texas.

One of the areas included in this is Jeff Davis and Brewster counties.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is trying to shut this down because they have seen what it has done to the Arizona and New Mexico areas (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Regional Office and Mexican Wolf Recovery Program Page 29-30).

Another reason to reconsider is by bringing the wolves back into this area is all the work it took to bring the Desert Bighorn Sheep back to this region may go to waste. Are really going to bring in a major predator? One of the wolves’ major food sources is the bighorn. Another is the Pronghorn antelope which is also on the endangered species list (Par 5). Do we really want to eradicate the sheep now that we have just reintroduced them? Do we want our children to have to wait in cages to go to school? Think about this and decide if it is smart to bring these cute little wolves back into this area?

Anytime the subject of endangered species and property rights is discussed, the question always boils down to who is more important, human beings or animals? Is an animal’s livelihood more important than a person’s life? In some cases we have not only endangered species, but also ourselves. After speaking to Caren Cowan, who is the executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, I have learned some frightening things about the wolves in New Mexico. She said that people have been so afraid or stressed out by the wolves, that they have moved away from the area. The wolves that had been released were raised by humans so these wolves seek out the people. People have given accounts of wolves sitting in their yards and corrals, and then finding their horses or pets dead. Many children of the area have developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because they have been stalked by a wolf or seen a wolf kill their pets.

There was a reason that our ancestors killed the wolves in the first place. It is not because we are a cruel species, but because they were causing harm to us and the other animals for which we care for (Cowan).

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We have learned from our past mistakes and are now trying to make it right, by reintroducing the Bighorn Sheep. However predatory animals are different in the way that they were endangering us. In turn, we were only protecting ourselves.

Whether it is a lizard shutting down an entire West Texas oil field, a little insect shutting down apple production, or a wolf ruining a ranching operation, we have to ask if a lizard, insect, or wolf is more important than a person’s livelihood? The American land owner’s help in many ways, they provide us with the leather on our shoes, the gas in our cars, and the food in or mouths, if we allow the Endangered Species Act to destroy the livelihoods of these people by the reintroduction of predators, what will happen to our society?

Work Cited

About the Department Of Commerce. United States Department of Commerce. N.p.n.d. Web. About NOAA. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Department of Administration United States Commerce. N.p. n.d. Web. Coffman, Michael S. “Taking Liberty”. Range Magazine. Fall 2005. 30-35. Print

Conservation. United States Department of Agriculture. N.p. December 31, 2013. Web. Cowan, Caren. Personal Interview. 9 April. 2014.

Desert Bighorn Sheep. Texas Parks and Wildlife. N.p. n.d. Web. Endangered Species Act. National Wildlife Federation. N.p. n.d. Web.

Endangered Species Act by the Numbers. National Wildlife Federation. N.p. February 1, 2006. Print Gearhart, Jim. Personal Interview.8 April. 2014.

Harris, John D, and Brown, Paul L. “Wildlife: destruction, conservation and biodiversity”. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2009. 328-329. Print

History Of the Interior. U.S. Department of the Interior. N.p. n.d. Web.

Southwestern Gray Wolf Management Plan FAQ. Texas Parks and Wildlife. N.p. n.d. Web.

Male, Timothy D. “A Green Olive Branch on Endangered Species.” Wall Street Journal 17 Jan 2014.

A13. Print.

Stroup, Richard. The Endangered Species Act: Making Innocent Species the Enemy.

Shaw, Jane S., ed. N.p. n.d. Print.

Mexican Gray Wolf. Pima County. N.p.n.d. Web. Mexican Wolf Recovery Planning. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. N.p. April 2, 2014. Web. Michael, Jeffrey A. The Endangered Species Act and Private Landowner Incentive. N.p.n.d Print.

Private Property. Business Dictionary. N.p. n.d. Web.

Pronghorn. National Wildlife Federation. N.p. n.d.

Web. Rodriguez, Shari L. Peterson, M. Nils Cubbage, Frederick W. Sills, Erin O. Bondell, Howard D. “Private Landowner Interest in Market-Based Incentive Programs for Endangered Species Habitat Conservation”. Wildlife Society Bulletin 36(3). Sep2012. 469476. Print.

Schneberger, Laura. “Bad Wolf! Now Go to Your Room”. Range Magazine. Winter 2006: 38- 40.

Print.

Summary of the Endangered Species Act. United States Environmental Protection Agency. N.p. n.d.

Web. Tackman, Alan. Personal Interview. 9 April. 2014.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwestern Regional Office, Mexican Wolf Recovery Program. Environmental Assessment For The Implementation Of Wolf (Canis Lupus) ManA Southwestern Gray agement Plan For Portions Of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas Preliminary Draft Version 2. Albuquerque, NM: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2012.

Print.

Vitter, David. “Abuse of Endangered Species Act threatens American’s private property rights”. Fox News. December 28, 2013. Web. Warren, Lydia. Cages Built to Protect Kids from Wolves at New Mexico Bus Stops Under Fire for ‘Demonizing’ the Endangered Animals. Daily Mail.

N.p. October 30, 2013. Web.

Livestock Market Digest

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May 15, 2014

Angus Seeks Applicants for the Next Junior Breed Ambassador Submit an application by June 15 to be considered for the NJAA ambassador position he National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) is now accepting applications for the Angus Ambassador competition. An elite representative for the Angus breed, the ambassador serves a one-year term as spokesperson for the NJAA’s nearly 6,000 members.

Applications must be postmarked by June 15.

“In the Angus business, we are fortunate to have an extremely dedicated and talented group of junior members,” says Jaclyn Upperman, American Angus Association®’s director of junior activities. “The

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selected ambassador is given a chance to interact with other Angus producers, seek out industry mentors and build upon their passion for raising cattle.”

The current Angus Ambassador, Maci Lienemann, says the experience is a solid reassurance of her future in the beef cattle industry. Lienemann is a sophomore studying animal science at the University of Nebraska and hopes to serve the industry through cattle breeding and genetics.

“Being in the ambassador position has been a tremendous opportunity to jump start my career in this industry,” Lienemann says. “Meeting producers, different people within the Association, and countless other individuals and influential organizations will truly be vital someday, especially in genetics with the American Angus Association leading the way.”

Throughout her year as the Angus Ambassador, Lienemann has traveled to a number of industry events throughout the United States and Canada, giving her a complete look at the cattle business from both a domestic and international perspective.

“The Angus Ambassador position has been a great opportunity not only for me, but I think for the entire junior program,” Lienemann says. “When I attend Angus events, I have the privilege to represent the junior membership and show that we want to be involved, and try to bridge the gap between the junior and adult association. I think it will be a positive return in the end for both organizations.”

On July 24, the Association will select a new NJAA member to serve as the Angus Ambassador. While serving in the position, the Ambassador will travel

to the Angus Means Business National Convention and Trade Show in Kansas City, Mo.; a Certified Angus Beef® Building Blocks Seminar in Wooster, Ohio; the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattle Industry Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas; the Beef Improvement Federation Annual Research Symposium and Convention; and the Guiding Outstanding Angus Leaders Conference in Canada.

Additonal travel options vary on the selected ambassador’s location, schedule and availability.

Ambassador applicants must be Association members, ages 17-20 as of Jan. 1, of good standing and who own purebred cattle. To apply, send a cover letter, resume and two essay responses. More information on the application process can be found online.

All applications must be postmarked by June 15 and sent to the Association’s Junior Activities Department, 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506.

Once the applications are reviewed, five finalists will be invited to the Association headquarters on July 24 to participate in the final round of competition, which includes an interview and formal presentation with a panel of judges. The new Angus Ambassador will be chosen at the conclusion of the day.

“I strongly encourage any junior who is passionate about the breed and the beef industry as a whole to apply,” Lienemann says. “Even being selected as a finalist is a beneficial experience, as you are able to tour the Association headquarters, meet with staff and present to a panel of influential industry leaders.”

Why a Cowboy Should Never Wear Rustler Jeans

BY ED ASHURST hance and I were riding in the Klaus Pasture checking on first calf heifers and looking for arrowheads, not necessarily in that order. An old-timer told me that the best way to take care of first calf heifers was to put low birth weight bulls on them and go back two years later and count how many were alive. The program I had come up with was designed around that piece of advice.

We had found a heifer with two front feet exposed, as well as what looked like a nose, and fell into pursuit. Chance missed and I didn’t.

But by the time I threw my loop, she wasn’t going very fast. Upon getting the Hereford down on her side and secured with several nylon strings, the type that real cowboys

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tie wild cattle with, we went to work. Our veterinary skills had been learned on the range. Our work wasn’t pretty but it was fast and thorough, and before long the heifer and her calf had been separated.

We were now free to ride around and try and find another pregnant heifer in need of a physician, but first I needed to relieve myself and found a small mesquite bush to hide behind. It was about the fifth of April and the mesquites were just starting to put on leaves.

The cow was lying down on the opposite side of the small bush and had her head turned the other way.

Truthfully, I had doubts she would ever get up.

About the time I was pulling my chaps and pants up I heard a commotion. My neck is permanently

stiff because I’ve been bucked off on my head too many times, so I was slow turning around to see what the noise was about. The heifer was standing and staring at me through the scant limbs of the mesquite that was four foot high.

Because of the absence of very many leaves, I was exposed to her eyes that were burning red. She was trembling; no doubt mad from the rough cowboy-doctoring techniques that we had administered. I couldn’t get my stiff neck turned real well, but out of the corner of

Riding Herd “In the NBA the Miami Heat continue on a hot streak and the Oklahoma Thunder are making lots of noise. The burning question on everyone’s mind is if the Phoenix Suns are for real. Now, over to the sultry Wanda Washout for today’s financial news.”

“Former Vice President Al Gore went on a book tour to promote his new book An Inconvenient Correction which warns of a coming man-made ice age. He also has a real good deal on millions of unused carbon credits if you’re interested. In the stock market Frigidaire® has gone cold while stocks in wood chips are on fire. The Dow and NASDAQ fell like a Maine thermometer as President Obama took his family for an extended Hawaii vacation because things were getting too hot for him in Washington, D.C. Before he left he told his staff to no longer refer to global warming but to use the words “climate change” instead. “That way we’re covered either way,” the President said. He also drew a line in the sand of an Oahu beach and said if the temperature

my eye, I knew the small mesquite was the only thing between me and having a cow in my shorts.

I quickly turned and got my pants up in spite of the fact my heavy pig hide chaps were hindering this endeavor. It was time to pull my zipper up, but it was turned backwards into that small cavity that lies in the bottom of the fly in Rustler Jeans. The small brass tab that your fingers hold onto is smaller on Rustler zippers than any continued on page ten

continued from page one

dropped below that “there would be repercussions and a high price to pay.”

“Now it’s time for Frosty Foghorn and the WETHER Report.”

“Well folks, that’s the worst spell of WEATHER we’ve ever had at CCNN. And there’s more on the way. Looking at our seven-day forecast we predict that it will be dark at night and scattered lightness in the early morning hours. The forecast is for extreme weather and there could be rain, drouth, hail, dust devils, cyclones, blizzards, east winds, west winds, blazing heat, snow and windy conditions depending on where you live. That’s the weather folks and now back to Misty Rain.”

“Thanks Frosty for that terrifying report. And so we bid you good evening from CCNN, the Climate Change News Network, where the forecast is always for change.

The only thing that will not change is our commitment to you to scare everyone into thinking the weather is somehow different than it has always been.

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

May 15, 2014

Page 7

Minnie Lou Bradley 2014 Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery inductee

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fficials of the Kentucky State Fair Board have announced that the 2014 Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Gallery inductee is Minnie Lou Bradley of Childress County, Texas. For those involved in animal agriculture, this selection is a very high honor. It is bestowed by the Saddle and Sirloin award committee based on service to and impact on the livestock industry.

The portrait gallery is the livestock

industry’s hall of fame and is housed at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

Minnie Lou Bradley is a rancher, a progressive land steward, a purebred Angus master breeder, and a renowned livestock industry leader.

Mrs. Bradley and her husband Bill purchased 3,300 acres in the Texas Panhandle in 1955 and began the Bradley 3 Ranch. Today the expanded 10,000 acre Bradley

Shale Boom Sends U.S. Crude Supply to Highest Since 1930s

BY MARK SHENK, BLOOMBERG.COM

he U.S. is stockpiling the most crude since the Great Depression, thanks to the shale boom that has boosted production to the most in 26 years.

Inventories rose 3.52 million barrels last week to 397.7 million, the highest level since 1931, according to Energy Information Administration data going back to 1920. Crude output climbed 59,000 barrels a day to 8.36 million, the most since January 1988, as the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, unlocked supplies from shale formations in the central U.S., including the Bakken in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford in Texas.

The burgeoning supply has sparked arguments over whether a 1975 law that prevents most U.S. crude exports should be repealed. It also may reduce the impetus for a quick approval of the Keystone XL pipeline moving Canadian crude to the U.S. Average weekly imports are down 3.7 percent so far this year, compared with the same period in 2013.

“This paints a secure supply picture for the U.S.,” said Stephen Schork, president of Schork Group Inc., a consulting group in Villanova, Pennsylvania. “This will add to the political debate about exports and Keystone. Whatever issues arise, it’s important to remember you would rather deal with the problems of a supply glut rather than a dearth.”

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Keystone XL President Barack Obama’s administration said on April 18 that it will postpone a ruling on Keystone XL. The State Department said it wouldn’t make a recommendation until questions are resolved about the way the pipeline’s northern route through Nebraska was approved. The southern portion of the project began moving crude in January to the Texas Gulf Coast from Cushing, Oklahoma.

Inventories along the Gulf Coast, known as PADD 3, rose 2.44 million barrels to 209.6 million last week, the most in EIA data going back to 1990.

Much of that inventory is light, sweet crude, or oil with low density and sulfur content, from the shale fields. Many refineries along the Gulf Coast are designed to run most efficiently on cheaper heavy, sour barrels imported from Mexico and Venezuela.

“The problem is that we have a glut of light, sweet crude when what

we need is sour,” Schork said. “There have to find a way to swap the barrels we’ve got in hand or exporting them, so we can take full advantage of the rise in output.”

Energy Independence Harold Hamm, the chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc. (CLR), who became a billionaire drilling in North Dakota, told U.S. lawmakers Jan. 30 that the country, which EIA data show supplied 86 percent of its own energy last year, can drill its way to full independence by 2020. Hamm is leading an effort to get Congress to allow crude exports for the first time since the 1970s.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the senior Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a Jan. 7 speech that she also supports changing the export rules.

The federal Jones Act restricts domestic seaborne trade to vessels owned, flagged and built in the U.S. and crewed by citizens. Thirteen tankers can haul crude domestically out of a global fleet of about 2,400, according to the U.S. Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration. The Jones Act is a 94-year-old law.

WTI Slips West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery slipped 31 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $101.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures ended trading at $104.37 a barrel on April 21, the second-highest level of 2014.

The U.S. inventory level was the highest in EIA weekly data begun in 1982 and monthly governmentdata going back to 1920. Reports before 1976 were based on data from the Bureau of Mines, according to the EIA, and stockpiles of Alaskan crude oil in transit were included starting in 1981.

Imports decreased 475,000 barrels a day to 7.8 million in the seven days ended April 18. Arrivals have averaged 7.46 million barrels in 2014, according to EIA figures, down from 7.74 million for the first 16 weeks of 2013.

“Imports remain strong,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “We’ve yet to waive off imports but may be nearing a breaking point because of swollen supplies along the Gulf Coast. When that occurs, there will be a major rebalancing of global markets.”

3 Ranch continues under the management of her daughter Mary Lou and son-in-law James Henderson.

Beginning in 1997, Mrs. Bradley embarked on a land improvement program that began with brush and weed control and water management. Eventually, analysis of herd grazing habits using GPS information was implemented. The program of adding water sources, rotation grazing and brush and weed reduction has resulted in significant ranch resiliency in the face of recent record droughts. Her ranch has been recognized as a model of stewardship by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and by Dow Agri Services, among others.

Mrs. Bradley has been honored as a Master Breeder by Oklahoma State University and is one the nation’s Top 50 U.S. Beef Industry Leaders, according to Beef Magazine. Her Bradley 3 Ranch’s DNA identification program, begun in 1994, has made their Angus bulls highly sought after by commercial producers looking for superior

Minnie Lou Bradley (c) with two of her acquired daughters, Caren and Connie Cowan, and dogs Dash & Marlin Cowan

genetics with proven carcass merit.

In 2013 the ranch was recognized by the Beef Improvement Federation’s Seedstock Producer of the Year Award.

Her lifelong habit of leadership began at an early age. In 1949, Mrs. Bradley was the first woman to major in Animal Husbandry at Oklahoma A&M, and she went on to earn her degree. She was the first woman to win the High Individual Overall award at the National Collegiate Livestock Judging Contest. She served as

DigestClassifieds

American Angus Association Board member (1997 to 2003) and went on to be the AAA Vice President in 2004. She then became the first-ever female President of the association in 2005.

The Saddle & Sirloin portrait presentation will take place on November 16 at the 41st annual North American International Livestock Exposition. The expo, which is held annually at the Kentucky Exposition Center, is scheduled for November 9 through 21 in 2014.

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Livestock Market Digest

Page 8

They Hang Horse Thieves hat is the mentality of a thief? Is it a complete lack of the concept that “it belongs to someone else?” Or is it envy that someone else has something you would like? Is it resentment against the victim? Do they think it can be justified by explaining to themselves “Nobody is using it? It must be junk? I need it more than they do? They can buy

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another one? I need the money for drugs, to pay my rent, to get a new car?”

Stealing comes in different forms. To some it is a business, or a lifestyle, a sport, an obsession or a hobby. Seems like every farm has a boneyard that includes pieces of farm implements, pipe, boards, tubing, fence, telephone poles, rolls of wire, old water tanks, railroad ties, scrap iron,

tire rims and, at least one old vehicle. A boneyard is a usedparts store!

Recently I had the Sheriff’s office come and inspect an ongoing thievery in my old bone yard.

It’s difficult to get into with a vehicle but that hasn’t stopped them. Over a period of months they’ve taken metal pipe, iron canisters, solar panels, engine blocks, wheel rims and other rustables. They used a 4-wheeler usually but they’ve also left truck tracks in gaining access. They have cut through heavy chain, stout locks, pulled out posts and cut fences to get in.

When I noticed they had hooked up to an overhead 600 gallon iron gasoline tank and tried to drag it, I called the Sheriff.

But my boneyard theft pales in contrast to what goes on in heavily farmed parts of the coun-

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Real Estate New Mexico Ranches for Sale

To place your Real Estate Guide listings, contact RANDY SUMMERS at 505/243-9515

May 15, 2014 tims must have a wish down deep to just catch them in the act and shoot’em like any other predator.

In certain countries they cut the hands off of thieves. In our own Old Wild West they hung horse thieves. As for me, I think I’d enjoy putting a load of buckshot in their hip pocket. It wouldn’t be legal, or the Christian way, but it would sure be fair, and I think I could live with it.

try. California suffers mightily.

Stealing is a business. They use scouts, spotters, truck drivers, buyers and, I’m sure lawyers.

Machinery, iron, copper wire, plastic pipe and products like avocados are high on the list.

Victims in California’s Central Valley have organized, involving local law enforcement, neighborhood watch, and private security.

It has helped recover some of their losses. But the violated vic-

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Missouri Land Sales 675 Ac. Excellent Cattle Ranch, Grass Runway, Land Your Own Plane: Major Price Reduction. 3-br, 2-ba home down 1 mile private lane. New 40x42 shop, 40x60 livestock barn, over 450 ac. in grass.

(Owner runs over 150 cow/calves, 2 springs, 20 ponds, 2 lakes, consisting of 3.5 and 2 ac. Both stocked with fish. Excellent fencing. A must farm to see. MSL #1112191

See all my listings at: paulmcgilliard.murney.com

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113 acres SOLD / 214 acres REMAINING: “Snooze Ya Loose.” Cattle/horse ranch. Over 150 acres in grass. 3/4 mile State Hwy. frontage. Live water, 60x80 multi-function barn. 2-br, 1-ba rock home. Priced to sell at $1,620 per acre. MLS #1204641 GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY CLOSE TO SPRINGFIELD. El Rancho Truck Plaza. MLS #1402704; Midwest Truck Stop MLS #1402703; Greenfield Trading Post MLS # 1402700. Owner retiring. Go to murney.com, enter MLS #, CHECK THEM OUT!!!

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“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

May 15, 2014

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

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1198 State Road 275 Broadview 5.5 acres over 2560 sq ft brick home. 3 bed 2 bath large walk in closets. Grady School bus comes to front door. Fantastic views. $155,000.

! !

Page 9

INTEREST RATES A S L OW A S 3% Pay m en t s Sch ed u l ed o n 25 Year s

J o e Stu b b l ef i el d & A s s o c i at es 13830 Wes ter n St ., A m ar i l l o , TX 806/622-3482 • c el l 806/674-2062 joes3@suddenlink.net Mi c h ael Per ez A s s o c i at es Nar a Vi s a, NM • 575/403-7970

SOCORRO COUNTY HORSE FARM In the Rio Grande Valley.

Custom-built home with 100 acres of irrigated land. House has approximately 3,700 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, and 2 baths. One hour from Albuquerque Int’l Airport.

Close to 5 racetracks: Sunland, Ruidoso, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Farmington.

1100 ACRE RANCH in San Antonio, NM $335,000. BLM allotment

Fallon-Cortese Land

NEW MEXICO % "

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Livestock Market Digest

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O’NEILL LAND, LLC P.O. Box 145, Cimarron, NM 87714 • 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 land@swranches.com • www.swranches.com Good inventory in the Miami, Springer, Maxwell and Cimarron area. Great year-round climate suitable for horses. Give yourself and your horses a break and come on up to the Cimarron Country.

Miami Horse Training Facility. Ideal horse training facility w/large 4 bedroom 3 bathroom approx 3,593 sq ft home, 248.32± deeded acres, 208 irrigation shares, 30' X 60' metal sided shop/ bunkhouse, 8 stall barn w/tack room, 7 stall barn w/storage, 10 stall open sided barn w/10 ft alley, 2 stall loafing shed, 14 11' x 24' Run-In Shelters, 135' Round Pen, Priefert six horse panel walker. Many more features & improvements. All you need for a serious horse operation in serious horse country of Miami New Mexico. Additional 150 acres available on south side of road. Miami is at the perfect year round horse training elevation of 6,200. Far enough south to have mostly mild winters. Convenient to I-25. $1,550,000.

REDUCED! Miami Horse Heaven. Very private approx. 4,800 sq. ft. double-walled adobe 4 bed., 3 bath home w/many custom features, 77.5± deeded acres & 77.25± water shares, large 7 stall horse barn, large insulated metal shop, large haybarn/equipment shed, all for

$1,375,000, plus an additional 160+/- deeded acres w/142 water shares avail. $560,000 (subject to purchase of 77.5± deeded acre parcel.)

Krause Ranch. 939.37 +/- deeded acres. 88 Springer Ditch Company water shares. Mostly west of I;25, exit 414. Big views. $725,000.

Miami Mountain View. 80± deeded acres w/80 water shares & house. $540,000.

Miami. 10± deeded acres, awesome home, total remodel, awesome views $295,000.

Miami WOW. Big home in Santa Fe Style great for family on 3 acres. $249,000.

Miami Tangle Foot. 10.02± deeded acres w/water shares & meter. $118,000.

Maxwell. 19.5± deeded acres, water, outbuildings, great horse set up. $234,000.

Canadian River. 39.088± deeded acres, w/nice ranch home & river. $279,000. CONTRACT PENDING

O’NEILL AGRICULTURAL, LLC “Offers computer-generated color custom mapping service on digital USGS base maps.

Hang a map in your office that looks like your ranch, w/water lines, pastures & roads etc. Put your ranch on one piece of paper.”

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Livestock Market Digest

Page 10

Holy Crap & Other Religious Overtures

BY BARRY DENTON

M

y grandfather was a great philosopher and taught me many things of great use in my life. This quaint Irishman that I grew up around was neither quiet nor quaint. He was small, wiry, hard as nails, and always had an opinion.

Besides that he was short, had a bald head, pointy ears, and a pointy nose. He never went with the crowd and valued freedom above all else.

One thing about it is you always got an honest opinion whether you wanted one or not. He was great fun as he was a leprechaun that could make smoke come out of his ears and pull a fifty cent piece out of yours.

I remember the day well when I was five years old, my grandfather was shoeing a horse and I was handing him his tools. At the same time I handed him a rasp the horse jerked and he dropped it handle first on my big toe. It really hurt so I started to cry. My grandfather told me not to cry when I got hurt, but to get mad instead.

While he was trying to get me to think about something besides my aching toe he taught me how to get mad when something hurt me. The first thing he said was you need to learn some swear words. The first

Rustler Jeans other brand, and my big stubby fingers couldn’t get around it inside the cavity in my blue jeans fly. I struggled. And then she charged with a trembling bellow crashing into, and almost through, the scantily leafed-out mesquite. My reflexes caused me to involuntarily step forward, and in doing so, I stepped on the tail of one of those nylon piggin’ strings hanging from my chaps.

This mishap made me stumble, creating a domino effect, which resulted in me losing my hold on my pants that fell down around my ankles along with the heavy pig hide chaps. I lurched forward onto my knees; my hands trying desperately to hang on to my Rustler Jeans. My forehead and good 100%

thing he taught me was “Son of a B….h”. He would say the phrase and then he would have me repeat it. Each time I repeated it I had to use more gusto. Finally after about the tenth time I was growling it. He told me to remember that next time I got hurt and I would feel better much quicker by swearing than by crying.

The only warning he gave me was not to let the women hear me say it. He said women had a tendency to capture and cure you of it.

I asked him why I couldn’t say it around women and he explained that women were not part of the secret club.

Of course, I asked him what the secret club was. He said that he had discussed this matter with God and it was only for men and boys. My grandfather continued to explain that he had gotten a pass from God for men and boys that are working with livestock.

Now, I was glad that I belonged to the secret club that had a pass on swearing. I was also glad that my grandfather knew God well enough to negotiate a contract with him.

He also stressed to me that it could only be used in extreme situations such as when a twelve hundred pound horse was standing on your foot or a mad mother cow was continued from page six

beaver cowboy hat plowed a furrow in the sand. I was comforted knowing my shorts at least had been pulled up.

Chance laughed, but he was still mad because he had missed the heifer and I had not.

Why would a man who has money in the bank be so miserly that he would buy Rustler Jeans that have a zipper tab that is hard to get a hold of? Rustler! Why the very name implies something negative or even shady; makes you think of someone who lives somewhere like Wikieup or Tombstone.

But then again all the men I know from those zip codes are top hands, and they never wear anything but Levis!

mowing you down.

Cheese and rice was another catch phrase I learned to use early on. Needless to say I was quite proud of my new found secret club.

About a month went by and the new formula was working quite well.

When I got upset about something I started getting mad instead of crying. I liked it a whole lot better and my grandmother was quite astonished at the sudden change.

All you serious Christian cowboys and girls, don’t get me wrong here. I’m not condoning swearing. I am merely pointing out that God probably has a sense of humor about it. If he did not have a sense of humor he would not have created cowboys or horseshoers. They themselves are a very funny lot.

Think about some big time preachers that you know of. Say you had the Pope at your fall works and he was mounted on some colt that was pretty good, but bucked once in awhile. The Pope is out there roping a few calves one morning and dragging them to the fire.

The Pope has been sitting chilly and getting by on that colt pretty

May 15, 2014 well. Both of them are even starting to relax a little. When he gets to the seventh one that morning the calf doubles back and gets the rope under that colts tail. Of course, off they go bucking across the flat.

The Pope is now pulling leather with one hand, but his other is froze to the dallies. Certainly a good cowboy would have gotten rid of his dallies on the first jump, but the Pope is pretty green as there are not many cattle at the Vatican anymore.

Pretty soon that old colt is bogging his head so low that he ejects the Pope, but his dallies come loose and wrap around his arm. When he hits the hard rocky ground and the cactus, just what is he saying? Does it dawn on him to say prayers or is he temporarily in the state of anti prayer as most cowboys would be?

Here is another true scenario for you to think about. I’m just substituting Billy Graham for the guy that this really happened to. Say you are at a thoroughbred farm putting training plates on yearlings for the first time and you have Billy Graham helping you.

Now Billy doesn’t shoe a lot of

horses so you have him handing you tools that first day. Remember that thoroughbred yearlings are normally about sixteen hands tall and pretty waspy when they first bring them out of the pasture. I have had them kick the nippers out of my hand with a back foot when I’ve been working on a front foot. I’ve also had them kick my hat off. They are long legged and quicker than anything you have ever seen. I’m working on a hind foot and ol’ Billy is in front of me handing me tools.

In the blink of an eye that colt jerks his foot away from me, throws me forward, and nails Billy in the private area. He is unable to speak for a long time, but what words and phrases are going through his mind in regard to the colt? Is he cursing or forgiving?

I have every respect for the Pope and Mr. Graham and they are truly fine examples of human beings.

However, my contention is, have they ever been subjected to livestock on a daily basis? Do they know about the pact with God and the secret club? Hopefully this holy crap has brought you some answers in

Weeds take advantage during drought conditions Cooperative Extension presents weed-control education. ith this year’s drought, opportunistic weeds are expected to pose major challenges to those managing parks and recreational areas, federal lands, ranches, farms and landscapes. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with other partners, has set the dates for two of its annual weed management educational events, with presentations planned to help Nevadans deal with this year’s weed challenges with the latest information available.

“Invasive weeds can out-compete native vegetation, crops and livestock forage. They can also pose fire hazards, lead to erosion and water quality issues, and impact wildlife habitat,” said Natural Resources Specialist Kent McAdoo with University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, who is coordinating the first educational event, the Weed Extravaganza. “It’s important that everyone has the latest information to identi-

W

fy and control these weeds to minimize damage to our lands, wildlife, crops and economy.”

Weed Warrior Basic Training: Reno, Carson City, Gardnerville and Winnemucca, Nev., May 21 – 22 University of Nevada Cooperative Extension will offer an introductory-level weed-management training, the Weed Warriors Basic Training, 1 to 5 p.m., May 21 and 8 a.m. to noon, May 22 at the Washoe County Cooperative Extension office, 4955 Energy Way in Reno. The workshops will also be available via videoconference at Cooperative Extension offices in Carson City, Gardnerville and Winnemucca.

This eight-hour, two-day training introduces participants to the principles of Integrated Weed Management and focuses on identifying and managing noxious weeds of local importance. There are more than 30 volunteer-staffed Cooperative Weed Management Areas in Nevada, and Cooperative

Extension’s Weed Warrior Program provides the training for many of their volunteers.

At the May 21-22 training, more than 30 species will be discussed, with a focus on 12 high‐priority invasive weeds. Topics will include weed law, identification, biology and control. The fee for the two half-day sessions is $50 and includes program supplies, a binder of weed identification and control information, and refreshments. Preregistration by May 2 is required, and certified pesticide applicators can earn eight continuing education credits for attending.

The workshop is supported by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the Truckee Meadows Weed Coordinating Group.

Contact Melody Hefner at hefnerm@unce.unr.edu or 775/3364881 for more information or to register.

Persons in need of special accommodations or assistance should call at least three days prior to attending any of these weed management educational events.

Saginaw Rancher Re-Elected TSCRA President; Group Installs New Directors he Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) installed new officers during the closing session of the 137th Annual Cattle Raisers Convention in Fort Worth.

Pete Bonds, Saginaw, was elected president; Richard Thorpe, Winters, first vice president; Robert McKnight, Fort Davis, second vice president; and Eldon White, Fort Worth, executive vice president.

“The continued determination and commitment of cattle raisers is needed as our industry looks to the future,” said Bonds. “It is an honor to serve as president of TSCRA and I look forward to working with our members to ensure the strength and stability of the Texas cattle industry.”

Bonds operates the Bonds Ranch headquartered in Saginaw. He became a TSCRA director in 1992 and was elected second vice president in 2011.

Thorpe is owner and operator of Mesa T Ranch, headquartered in Winters. Thorpe became a TSCRA

T

director in March 2006.

The newest TSCRA officer is Robert McKnight.

McKnight raises registered and commercial Herefords and crossbred cattle on ranch land in Jeff Davis, Brewster, Presidio, Reeves and Crane counties. He became a TSCRA director in 1989.

New directors were also elected at convention. New directors are Kevin Busher, Winters; Brooks Hodges, Guthrie; James Palmer, Roaring Springs; Claudia Wright, Richmond.

New executive committee members include Crawford Edwards, Fort Worth; Jay Evans, Austin; Coleman Locke, Hungerford; and James L. Donnell, Fowlerton.

Barrett Clark, Breckenridge; Steve Lewis, San Antonio; Evalyn Moore, Richmond; and Les Nunn, Pauls Valley, Okla.; and Tom Roach III, Amarillo, were elected as honorary directors.

All members with honorary titles serve as ex officio members of the board.

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

May 15, 2014

My Cowboy Heroes

The Wise Prospector ne day, high in the Sierras, an old prospector came across a large gold nugget in a stream. It was as big as your fist! He also found a much smaller, but still very respectable sized nugget next to it. He immediately packed his burro and headed for town with his new treasures. Hard work and perseverance had paid off!

As he approached town, after a long three-day hike from the high country, the prospector spotted a local shifty character, a fast talker who never seemed to be at work, but always talked big plans. The man approached the prospector with a quick buck on his mind, as it was well known around the area that when the prospector came to town, he usually had gold with him.

“Sir, can you spare some gold dust? You see, I haven’t eaten in days and my wife and children, why, they’re hungry too!” begged

O

Henderson recognized at HLSR Intercollegiate Meats Judging Contest Awards Breakfast t the recent Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) Intercollegiate Meats Judging Contest Awards Breakfast James Henderson and John Bellinger were honored for their years of service with the contest.

The HLSR has named its traveling trophy for the senior division the “James Henderson Award.” The A-division trophy (Junior College) was named for John Bellinger in 2012.

Henderson and Bellinger were instrumental in starting the HLSR Intercollegiate Meats Contest at HLSR thirtyfive years ago. Henderson served as its Superintendent for thirty-two years. This collegiate contest led the way for the HLSR 4-H and FFA contests to become established as well.

Since the inception of the Intercollegiate Meats Contest thousands of students have competed in the contest. Many of these students have become active in the livestock and meats industry and utilize their judging experience in their careers today.

James Henderson is an owner of Bradley 3 Ranch, Memphis and Clarendon,TX and works as the Ranch’s Operations and Genetic Manager.

John Bellinger owns Food Safety Net Laboratories and AgriWest exporters both based in San Antonio, TX.

A

the slacker.

Without batting an eye, the prospector pulled the smaller nugget out and offered it to the him. However, in the process, the swindler got a good look at the much larger nugget in the man’s pack. Greed took over!

The man excitedly talked about what he could do if he only had a stake. Why, with a nugget as big as that one, he’d be on easy street the rest of his life. He could make a fortune. His wife would wear the finest clothes. His children could get the best education. He would hob-nob with the important folk in town! He laid it on real thick.

“Sir, if you would only let me borrow THAT nugget, I would surely repay you when I could. I would invest it and make us both a nice profit!” The sly man begged—on and on he went.

The old man knew in his heart it was all a lie, however, something inside told him to give it up. Incredibly, the ol’ prospector reached out and handed over the treasure. “You seem to be very needy of this, perhaps it will solve your woes,” was all he said. Then he turned around and headed back towards the hills.

The slacker could not believe his good fortune! He’d really pulled one over on that ‘ol prospector. Now, he would have it all! He happily raced for town to throw around the weight of his new found fortune.

A few weeks went by . . .

Back at the stream, while panning for nuggets on a sunny after-

noon high in the Sierras, the prospector spotted the town man coming towards him. He was shocked. Either he had come to beg for more nuggets—or perhaps, just perhaps, the man was actually here to pay him back like he promised.

Either way, he waited to see what would come about.

“I am so glad to have finally found you. I have been looking for you for days,” puffed the exhausted man.

“What may I help you with?” asked the prospector.

“I come for treasure,” the man sheepishly admitted.

“But I have not found any other nuggets since I last saw you,” said the prospector, “I already gave you all I had.”

“I have come for something far greater than a gold nugget,” said the man.

Puzzled, the ‘ol prospector queried, “Well then, what is it you want?”

“You see, it’s like this. When I talked you into giving me all that gold, I thought I would never see an unhappy day again, the rest my life.

I thought it would buy me prestige and happiness. I showed it around town. Folks wanted to be around me, buy me drinks. Some asked for money, others tried to con me out of it. It brought me much attention, both good and bad. But I was not happy. Well, maybe I was happy for a while, but it faded. I was constantly worrying and in fear of losing it.

“But you—you gave up your

A Fitting Monument

BY MIKE MOUTOUX n the dry land stands the monument of a dreamer It is a testament to hope; to years of yearning Standing tall above the grasses, rocks and scrub oak Below a cloudless sky and sun so brightly burning No babbling brooks sing here, just silent sand arroyos Few linger here at all; fewer still would stake a claim Only fools and dreamers could love this barren land It does not suffer fools; dreamers love it just the same ‘Twas the Homestead Act that brought him here to dream and sweat It was the solitude and grass that made it feel right But there were months when precious rains were non-existent Each cloudless day brought another worried weary night All that changed when the Aermotor windmill was delivered The well was dug, the tower raised; each rod and gear in place The wind blew as always, but now it turned a shiny fan And both the cowman’s heart and his dreams begin to race The cowman would talk about that day for years to come How the blades spun, the rods squeaked, how he paced and paced And then water, precious water, poured from pipe to trough Giving hope a thing a man could actually taste Within weeks trails appeared around the water trough As thirsty critters, one by one, found the water there of course Not just cows, but antelope and fox and deer drank there The tower, a beacon, led them to their water source The story of the dreamer is old but not forgotten The tower still stands although its working years are spent A testament to his hope and years of yearning For a dreamer and cowman, a most fitting monument.

The Aermotor company sold its first windmills in 1888; they still make them today.

It is not uncommon to see their mills in our part of the country. Many of the Forest Service towers were manufactured by the same company.

most prized possession and then came back to the mountains to work again while I stayed in town, living the so-called high-life. Why did you give me the nugget? I beg of you—give me a truthful answer.”

The prospector thought about it and said, “Because you seemed like you needed it more than me and something inside told me to do so.

It seemed to be of great importance for you to be a rich man. It made me feel good to see you so happy.

In the mean time, I have what I need.

“And, I figured with a little hard work and perseverance, I’d get another one. But that is not so important because I love what I do.

For me, the search is as much fun as the find. I know that money in the bank does not ultimately determine how happy I am. I am happy every day just living the life I love.”

“That is exactly the kind of treasure I now seek,” said the man. “I want to know how to be the kind of person who can be happy giving away his things to those who need them more than he does. I want to be happy no matter the size of my

Page 11 bank account. I want to be happy in my every day pursuits, not depending upon some future ‘prize’ to ‘hopefully’ bring me happiness. I want to be the kind of person who does not need the approval and admiration of others to find happiness in himself. I want to find the kind of happiness that could not be bought with that large gold nugget.

I would gladly trade all the gold in the world to find this kind of treasure. After all, I sure as heck did not find happiness in the gold alone.”

The wise ol’ prospector smiled and said, “Finding that kind of treasure is easy. Why it’s much easier than finding a big gold nugget.

To find what you are looking for, to be happy, rich or poor, high or low, in good times or bad—you must first find God—and that is easy because He is everywhere. Then follow His instructions—you will hear them from within if you listen closely. The rest, why it’ll just fall into place.”

This is an old fable, retold in my own words with my own spin on it.

I hope you enjoyed it as I felt compelled to share it with you here.

Livestock Market Digest

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May 15, 2014

Supervisors piqued by feds handling of Mexican wolf County at meetings, not allowed to provide input

BY SHAR PORIER / HERALD/REVIEW

n a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Cochise County (Arizona) Board of Supervisors made its frustrations known with the process that was used to quantify a protected habitat for the Mexican wolf in Cochise County and suggested that a change occur or legal actions may be taken.

Supervisors Ann English and Pat Call approved the letter that chastises FWS for violations of the county’s Cooperating Agency status in the development of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) during Tuesday’s meeting.

Supervisor Richard Searle was absent.

County Administrator Mike Ortega said the county had been

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stymied by FWS when it came to offering valid and necessary information on determining a habitat for a Mexican wolf recovery plan.

As a cooperating agency, the county was supposed to have some input in the EIS process.

Yet, county staff were shut down at the meetings held to determine the scope and range of the Mexican wolf habitat.

“The feds just cut us out,” said Ortega.

English stated, “People need to understand this is not an emotional outburst. We have information on this plan that FWS does not.”

The letter states, “As a cooperating agency to the Mexican Wolf EIS, Cochise County has expended a tremendous amount of time and money to provide personnel, expertise, comments, and travel funds to attend Mexican Wolf EIS Interdisciplinary Planning Team (IPT) meetings and Mexican wolf public hearings.”

County staff have reviewed and commented on relevant Federal Register documents, reviewed and commented on draft Mexican Wolf Experimental Population EIS chapters and researched numerous scientific documents, the letter continues.

“To date, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and the meetings have been one-way downloads of wolf propaganda by FWS personnel with virtually no opportunity for the County to provide effective input into the NEPA process,” it charges.

A number of meetings held last year and this year allowed no time for the cooperating agencies to offer information or other insights into the establishment of a wolf recovery zone in the county. FWS personnel told the cooperating agencies at the table that they had already decided what to to do in regard to Mexican wolf manage-

ment.

According to the letter, Sherry Barrett, FWS employee in charge of the recovery program, told cooperating agencies that the meetings were meant to be informational only, not a two-way discussion.

When the supervisors signed the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperating status, they believed that their investment would result in recognition that the county has jurisdiction by law and special expertise to actively participate in the NEPA process at the earliest possible time, participate in the scoping process, assume responsibility for developing information and prepare environmental analyses.

“The FWS has unilaterally rewritten alternatives, chastised stakeholders for attempting to submit their own alternatives, discouraged and ignored input from cooperating agencies and unilater-

ally made decisions on major federal actions that have significant adverse effects on the environment, outside of the NEPA process,” emphasizes the letter.

The letter calls the EIS process “fatally flawed” and claims that the FWS abrogated its duty to use the best scientific data available.

The county further alleges FWS made decisions outside the NEPA process by extending the Mexican wolf habitat to the Mexican border and decided to forgo determining if there was adequate prey for the wolves to eat.

The letter requests the FWS take a step back and reassess the introduction of the Mexican wolf to the United States and asks for a dialogue with FWS staff in Washington, D.C., out of earshot of the Albuquerque Office FWS personnel who “are too emotionally vested in Mexican wolf politics to be asked to perform a lawful NEPA analysis.”

Commissioners issued a cease, desist letter to the US Forest Service Commissioners claims Forest Service is fencing off water resources for ranchers

BY JANESSA MAXILOM / ALAMOGORDO NEWS

tero County (New Mexico) Commissioners issued a cease and desist illegal fencing activities letter to the U.S. Forest Servicerecently.

During an emergency meeting in early May, District 3 Commissioner Ronny Rardin said Otero County Sheriff Benny House recently made the county aware of US. Forest Service (USFS) potentially illegal fencing activities.

House said ranchers in the mountains have had issues with the Forest Service fences blocking their cattle from reaching areas that contain water.

He said he reached out to the commission on behalf of the ranchers because he was concerned with the legality of the situation.

Looking into the situation the commission decided that current USFS fencing appears to be encroachment on private property.

After deciding the fencing

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could be deemed as illegal fencing the county issued a statement to Lincoln National Forest Supervisor Travis Moseley, “It has come to the Otero County Commission’s attention that your personnel are actively interfering with our citizens’ private property rights. We understand from Sheriff House and our constituents that your personnel are building enclosure fences around water sources and ‘riparian areas.’”

The letter goes on to state that the USFS does not possess a water right that would allow their behavior and that such water rights are the property of the person that is grazing cattle.

The letter also stated that it is illegal for the USFS to attempt to exclude cattle from access to water.

“This amounts to nothing short of criminal trespass by your personnel, potential animal cruelty and several other violations of state criminal or civil law,” the commission stated in the letter.

“Otero County respectfully demands that the USFS immediately cease and desist from all such activities. We respectfully

P.O. Box 7458 Albuquerque, NM 87194 505/243-9515 • Fax 505/998-6236 caren@aaalivestock.com www.aaalivestock.com

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encourage USFS to take a step back and respect private property rights and state law which the USFS has thus far failed to consider.”

Moseley attended the meeting and responded by saying he focuses on land management and sustainability.

“My focus tends to be — and I ask my rangers to be focused on — land management,” Moseley said.

“When it comes to livestock grazing it’s about water availability, it’s good distribution, it’s proper utilization and it’s those things that we look to for long term sustainability of those resources. That’s paramount.”

Moseley said the reason the fences were placed is to manage riparian areas for very specific objectives and one reason is to maintain a healthy hydrological system.

LNF Sacramento District Ranger James Duran said the fencing has been done to preserve the Agua Chiquita riparian area.

Duran said the Forest Service is also currently focused on taking measures to protect the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse.

“Fish and Wildlife Services are

preparing to list the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse,” Duran said. “With the meadow mouse listing, what we’ve been told is they do plan to move forward in June of 2014 to list that as an endangered species. Once a species is listed as an endangered species it’s protected. Federally protected. We have to abide by that.”

Duran said USFS is trying to get ahead of the situation and to protect riparian areas where the mice are known to reside.

“I think we’re doing a pretty decent job of managing them and these fences that we’re putting into them will only allow for management to be more sustainable and more affective,” Duran said.

He said he felt it would be a good idea to get the Fish and Wildlife Service involved in the conversation so they could inform everyone about the importance of protecting the specie.

Duran said he would personally reach out to Fish and Wildlife to set aside time for them to educate the county and its citizens about the animal.

“I guess we need to put the cattle on the endangered species list

so you guys can work diligently to protect them,” Rardin said. “When you say it’s about the mouse it’s so obvious to me the environmental movement is to stop and get the cattle off the land.”

Rardin said the issue was about water rights and that citizens of the state had rights to the water sources the Forest Service has fenced up.

Duran and Moseley explained that USFS is simply carrying out mandated orders to preserve the land.

“What we need to do is stop the action right now and bring all the players to the table and I mean all the players, not just you guys,” District 2 Commissioner Susan Flores said. “It’s not coming from you. You’re being told what to do.

We need to have a public hearing.”

Moseley said the way private property and water rights are interpreted is something that needs to be looked into.

Moseley maintained that all the fences that were built were on federal land the Forest Service manages. He added that he was willing to collaborate with the commission to find common ground and get the situation resolved.

BLM to review its planning process BILLINGS GAZETTE STAFF

fter using the same basic planning approach for 38 years, the Bureau of Land Management has announc ed it will review how it develops its Resource Management Plans.

“As I’ve met with elected leaders and citizens from across the West on BLM issues, I’ve consistently heard two things: first, the BLM needs to more effectively address landscape-level management challenges; and second, planning takes too long.” BLM Director Neil Kornze said in a statement.

The decision was hailed by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership as a way to “modernize this approach and remedy its shortcomings.

“For example, tracts of intact and undeveloped lands, commonly known as backcountry, are key BLM resources that aren’t adequately recognized

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and managed through existing agency planning guidance,” said Henri Bisson, former BLM deputy director for operations and BLM Alaska state director.

Based on an initial review, the BLM intends to target changes to, in part, create a planning process that is responsive to change, allowing BLM to keep plans current through amendments; and to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete RMPs. “The main challenges the BLM face are incompatible development and land use, as well as the need for well-funded restoration,” said Ken Mayer, former director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The BLM is seeking comments on how it can achieve the goal of a more effective, efficient and durable planning process. Individuals can learn more at www.blm.gov/plan2 and can provide feedback at blm_wo_plan2@blm.gov.

May 15, 2014

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

Quality Beef by the Numbers o say the last two years in the cattle business have been interesting is an understatement. We have gone from record losses to record profits. Last fall, everywhere I went, people said “There is no way to make money feeding cattle at these prices.” The prevailing thought was “SELL THEM. Don’t pass go, take the money, don’t hesitate, SELL THEM NOW!” Conventional coffee shop, off-thecuff wisdom is seldom based on fact. As I write this update, we have data on three pens of QB cattle.

Below is a summary of some important numbers from those pens.

Second, the variation within the pens was very significant.

There are gross sale differences of $1,052.31, $1,005.80 and $602.71. There are profit differences top to bottom of $788.74, $602.09 and $459.25 in their respective pens.

Knowing and having the data to make good decisions has value. Identifying the cattle in the top third and the bottom third of both of these pens has tremendous potential. Implementing this information into your genetic selection process means more long term profits for your operation. Tying this data to individual cows and sires becomes a must do task. Taking the time to gather the cattle records to do this will be the biggest financial return on your time you will ever receive.

As I analyze the data, several things jump out at me.

First, in all pens the most profitable cattle graded prime.

Quality grade was the main profit driver for all three pens.

I have visited all the QB participant operations. The one thing I will state without reservation is that everyone’s cattle are already at or near the top in the industry. I cannot think of a bet-

GUEST POST BY MIKE KASTEN, QB PROGRAM DIRECTOR, STEAKGENOMICS.BLOGSPOT.COM

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Which State Taxes Provide the Best Return on Investment? s your state spending your tax dollars wisely? A new study from WalletHub sought to measure the quality and efficiency of state government services compared to state and local tax rates in order to determine which residents received the most “bang for their buck” for their tax dollars, reports the Fiscal Times.

The study looked at six categories – infrastructure, education, health, safety, economy and pollution – and evaluated the quality and efficiency of government services in those sectors.

The report found that Arkansas residents are the worst off, in terms of the taxes that they pay compared to the services that they receive. Wyoming taxpayers, on the other hand, ranked at the top of the

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list for their return on investment.

Behind Wyoming, the states with the highest return on investment were Alaska, South Dakota, Washington, North Dakota, Colorado, Florida, Texas, Utah and Massachusetts.

Rounding out the bottom of the list, behind Arkansas, were Mississippi, Louisiana, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, California, Alabama and Kentucky.

California has the second highest average annual state and local taxes, adding up to $9,509. It received the seventh worst return on investment ranking.

Source: Marine Cole, “10 Worst States for Your Tax Dollars,” Fiscal Times, April 25, 2014. “States with the Best & Worst Taxpayer ROI,” WalletHub, April 2014.

ter time to find out how your cattle will perform in the feed-yard and in the packing plant.

We have seen record profits the last five years in the row crop industry. What have the producers done with the profits? If you are in this category, what have you done with your profits? It has been my observation; row crop producers have invested the profits in new equipment, new technologies and better management practices. Certainly a good decision, so they are prepared when prices aren't so good. I will submit to you that now is the time for beef producers to do the same. We have several good years ahead of us. Discovering how your cattle perform and grade should be a top priority.

Determining which cows are paying the bills and which ones are sending you a bill should be a top priority. This knowledge will serve you well now, when prices are high and even more when prices go down or costs go up.

To those in the “no way you can make money” crowd, please study the data above. Look at the value differences within these groups of cattle. It’s an easy conclusion to come to, that your target should be fast efficient gaining cattle that grade prime. First, you have to find out how many cattle you have that are already hitting that target and the correlating sires and dams. Second, determine the ones that are not performing and let someone else own them. You will be rewarded for the effort.

We currently have 14,000 cows enrolled in the QB program. We have harvested three pens of cattle and as of this writing there are seven more pens in the feed-yard. Everyone with fall calves should be thinking about continued on page fourteen

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Angus Names Director of Events & Education Jaclyn Upperman to lead the American Angus Association’s member outreach efforts he American Angus Association® announces Jaclyn Upperman as the breed organization’s new director of events and education. Upperman will manage the Association’s event schedule and further develop educational programs for its more than 25,000 members.

“For a kid who grew up in the Angus community, my role with the Association is the definition of the perfect career,” Upperman says. “I am beyond thrilled to serve our members by bringing them top-notch events, valuable educational programs and so much more.”

A Pennsylvania native, Upperman was an active member of the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) and was a representative on the NJAA Board of Directors from 2009 to 2011. She joined the American Angus Association in July 2013 as the director of junior activities.

“During her past year of service to the junior program, Jaclyn has shown great dedication and commitment to our breed and its entire membership,” says Bryce Schumann, Association chief executive officer. “She is well equipped to bring fresh ideas and energy to both the youth and adult programs.”

Upperman will be responsible for managing, organizing and implementing the Association’s

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educational activities, livestock exhibitions and junior programs.

Upperman will work with members to coordinate events, including the annual Beef Leaders Institute, Cattlemen’s Boot Camps and the National Junior Angus Show, as well as provide assistance in planning the first-ever Angus Means Business National Convention and Trade Show, scheduled for Nov. 4-6 in Kansas City, Mo. Together with Ashley Mitchell, assistant director of events and education, the department targets activities for both youth and adults alike, which is a change in the organization’s previous departmental structure. Combining the junior and adult activities planning will allow staff to streamline processes, provide faster responses, and overall, better serve members across the country.

Upperman also oversees the Association’s award programs, including the Angus Heritage Foundation, Historic Herd and Century Awards. In addition, Upperman is responsible for coordinating more than 15 nationwide Roll of Victory Shows throughout the year.

Prior to joining the Angus team, Upperman was employed by the American Chianina Association as the director of activities and junior programs.

Contact Upperman with any questions relating to the upcoming National Junior Angus Show in Indianapolis or other Angus activities held throughout the year.

Livestock Market Digest

Page 14

May 15, 2014

Expansion in the beef industry is alive and well

BY DENNIS SMITH, WWW.AGRIVIEW.COM

arch slaughter data released recently provided some key information for the cattle market moving forward.

With the March data, we now have slaughter information for the first quarter of this year. The information confirmed, for the first time, that widespread expansion has started in the beef industry.

Total slaughter during the first quarter was down 5.2 percent compared with the first quarter of 2013. Total beef production during the quarter declined by 4.9 percent. It appears that cattle have been pulled ahead by feedlot operators. The sharply discounted board has encouraged this behavior and the result is that average cattle weights have been running just slightly above year ago weights. The removal of the

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feed additive Zilmax also is a factor in keeping cattle weights under control.

Heavy cattle weights can be a major factor in total beef production. For example, in late 2011 and early 2012, we witnessed a similar reduction in cattle slaughter; however, because average weights were running heavy versus the previous year, total beef production did not drop off nearly as much as slaughter numbers.

Clearly that was not the case in the first quarter of this year.

Looking closer at the quarterly slaughter data, one can get a feel for expansion. During the first quarter steer slaughter declined by 2.7 percent compared with the first quarter of 2013; however, heifer slaughter declined by 7 percent and beef cow slaughter during the first quarter declined by nearly 9 percent. Two thirds of the decline in beef production during the first quarter was the direct result of heifer slaughter

declining by 7 percent. This is very strong evidence that expansion is underway in the beef industry.

Fundamentally it’s difficult to imagine such aggressive expansion in the face of continued drought in key cow states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska; however, the slaughter data indicates this is indeed occurring. No doubt the weather pattern moving forward will dictate whether such expansion continues. If the southern Plains do start receiving good rains, and expansion continues in the beef industry, it will be very bullish toward live cattle prices.

Placements of cattle into the feed yards will drop off rather dramatically. This will restrict the supply of fed cattle available for market from 4 to 6 months down the road. Cattle prices, wholesale beef prices and feeder cattle prices would all move higher under this scenario. Given a good

growing season with adequate rainfall in cattle grazing land but also in the Midwest, providing for a large corn crop, it’s quite conceivable that cattle prices could move sharply higher from current levels.

There is another theory, which is referred to as a rising tide lifts all boats. As beef production drops hard and beef prices move higher to sharply higher, pork prices and poultry prices also start to move higher.

This has already started with record high wholesale beef prices in the first quarter followed by record high pork prices in tandem with record high chicken prices. Under current circumstances, however, pork production is being restricted by the difficult and deadly porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv).

In addition, for several reasons, the poultry industry has been slow to respond to market forces by increasing broiler production.

Thus, poultry prices are moving higher to sharply higher as well.

What happens is the rising tide lifts all meat prices to new and record high levels.

The months ahead would appear to be a very good time to be in the livestock business.

Profitability, at some point will cause expansion that will cause prices to peak; however, this will take time and in the meantime, higher prices for cattle, beef, feeders, hogs, pork and poultry should be expected.

Information contained herein is based on what is believed to be the most reliable resources available at the time of publication. Trading commodity futures or options involves risk, and past performance does not indicate future results.

Dennis Smith has been a commodity broker for 26 years and works extensively with livestock and grain producers. Smith publishes a highly respected and widely followed daily livestock wire, which is part of his brokerage services.

California drought drives exodus of cattle ranchers to eastern states Ranchers herd their stock away from dying grasslands as beef prices reach record highs and industry faces uncertain future THEGUARDIAN.COM

or decades, ranchers from the East have brought their livestock to California, where mild winters and lush natural pastures created prime conditions for fattening beef cattle.

No more. In the midst of the worst California drought in decades, the grass is stunted and some creeks are dry. Ranchers in the Golden State are loading tens of thousands of heifers and steers onto trucks and hauling them eastward to Nevada, Texas, Nebraska and beyond.

“If there’s no water and no feed, you move the cows,” said Gaylord Wright, 65, owner of California Fats and Feeders Inc. “You move them or they die.”

The exact headcount for live-

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stock on this cattle drive is not known. But a Reuters review of state agriculture department records filed when livestock cross state borders indicates that up to 100,000 California cattle have left the state in the past four months alone.

California has shipped out cattle before, but the current migration is far bigger and includes more of the state’s breeding stock, which give birth to new calves and keep operations running year after year, said Jack Cowley, a rancher and past president of the California Beef Cattle Improvement Association. That could be doing outsized damage to the nation’s 18th-largest cattle herd, since California ranchers will have difficulty rebuilding once the drought breaks, said cattle ranchers and area livestock auctioneers.

“We spend a lifetime building the herd the way we want,” said Cowley. Two weeks ago, he sold 18% of his breeding herd, or 200 cattle, to an operation in Nevada

because he did not have enough water. He expects he will need to sell another 200 cattle. “Now”, Cowley said, “we’ve lost all that.”

Beef prices already are at record highs, and increased transportation costs and rising uncertainty about where – and how many – future cattle will be raised and processed are adding upward pressure, industry analysts say.

The national cattle herd is at a 63-year low because high grain prices and drought during the past several years have encouraged producers to send animals to slaughter early and to reduce herd sizes.

There are some signs of change. In places where the drought has eased, or where ranchers are willing to gamble that rain will fall, some producers have

started holding back breeding heifers and female calves from the slaughterhouses, according to government data released on Friday.

But they are buying California cows, too.

The California exodus also underscores a little-noticed development in the US beef industry: the evolution of an increasingly mobile livestock herd, which must travel ever-greater distances to feedlots and slaughterhouses as the industry consolidates.

The last major slaughterhouse near the California-Mexico border, National Beef Packing Co’s plant in Brawley, California, plans to close on 23 May. The drop in available cattle sparked the move, National Beef said, and some ranchers in southern

Quality Beef placing those cattle this summer or early fall.

Breeding season is a good time to compile your cow list.

Calving is over for some and some are just starting. Now is the time to compile calving lists

California say they will need to cross state lines in order to reach the next-closest packing house.

The Brawley plant could process 1,900 head of cattle a day, or about 2% of US slaughter capacity, according to industry analysts. But with feedlots closing in the region, the plant couldn’t be assured of a steady supply of livestock.

“The fact is, this migration cycle is going to bring about even more consolidation,” said Curt Covington, senior vice-president for the Ag and Rural Banking Division at Bank of the West.

“Unless you see Noah come out to California with a boat, you’re not going to see these cattle come back here any time soon," Covington added. continued from page thirteen

and calving data. Email me for a copy of all the data collection forms QB offers. I suggest duplicating the forms. If you do not have the resources to duplicate, I’m happy to mail you more copies.

On a closing note, I want to propose something for you to think about – If the same person keeps coming back to buy your cattle every year, DO THEY KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR CATTLE THAN YOU DO?

Cattle and beer: A lesson in regulatory overreach NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER

hen the Food and Drug Administration imposes needlessly burdensome and costly regulations on American businesses, a lot of people just shrug. Better to be safe than sorry, right? A bunch of beer brewers has shown why this is a wrong assumption.

Beer is made from grains, and for centuries brewers have fed their brewed grain to livestock.

Farmers are the secondary beneficiary of the brewing process (beer fans are the first). Breweries either sell or give their used grains to farmers and ranchers, who then feed the grain to cattle.

Though there is no known health risk, the FDA had proposed making brewers submit their grain to a “hazard analysis” before it could be fed

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to livestock. The cost of both beer and beef would rise — with no public benefit. Brewers from New Hampshire and all over the country contacted the FDA and their members of Congress. The FDA acknowledged that the proposal would increases costs without increasing safety, and a deputy commissioner wrote on the FDA website: “That, of course, would not make common sense.” The agency backed down.

Had it not been for the microbrewing boom of the last 20 years, this rule might have taken effect. If the impact would have fallen only on big corporations like Anheuser-Busch, one could easily see the left and the media portaying the conflict as one of big business vs. public safety.

That usually is the narrative when it comes to government regulations. It is not always true. It shouldn’t take a bunch of beer drinkers to point that out.

May 15, 2014

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

Page 15

Mexico removes import restrictions on U.S. beef SOURCE: BEEF CHECKOFF PROGRAM

he Mexican government is in the process of making regulatory changes that allow for import of U.S. beef and beef products derived from cattle of any age.

This important development lifts the 30-month cattle age limit for U.S. beef and effectively removes the last of Mexico’s BSE-related restrictions.

“This is an issue that U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has been working on for a number of years, and resolving it has been a lengthy process,” said Chad Russell, U.S. Meat Export Federation regional director for Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic, contractor to the beef checkoff.

“We received excellent support on this issue from FAS officials at the U.S. embassy in Mexico, who always made sure that it was front-

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and-center whenever U.S.-Mexico trade issues were being discussed at high levels. Though it took some time, these efforts have now paid off.”

The changes to Mexico’s import regulations were to take effect April 30, though shipments of over-30month beef cannot begin until the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) updates its Export Library.

USMEF expects this process to be completed within the next few days. This will also allow the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) export verification (EV) program for Mexico, in which approximately 170 U.S. establishments are currently enrolled, to be terminated.

According to information provided to USMEF, Mexico will accept either the new FSIS letter certificate or an existing letterhead certificate, along with the corresponding FSIS form, for product currently in the pipeline and for

new shipments made over the next few weeks.

So exporters will have some time – likely until late June – to make the transition to the new letterhead certificate and other documentation requirements.

“This should have a positive impact on our ability to export more beef to this large and important market, particularly in the current environment,” Russell explained.

“We’re experiencing a period of very high beef prices and constraints on supply, in what has always been a rather price-sensitive market. So we feel that having new supply options available will help us maintain a strong presence in the market and grow our export volume to Mexico.”

Despite concerns over rising beef prices and tight supplies, the Mexican market has been performing well. U.S. beef/beef variety exports have been above year-ago volumes in each of the past nine

months, and 2014 exports (through February) were up 26 percent in volume (37,638 metric tons) and 40 percent in value ($182.9 million) from the same period in 2013.

The U.S. holds about 90 percent of Mexico’s imported beef market, with the remainder captured mostly by Canada. Canada's market share has edged higher in recent months, likely due to increased affordability as Canada’s beef production has been recovering and the Canadian dollar has weakened.

But with the exception of livers, Canada's exports to Mexico are still limited to beef derived from cattle less than 30 months of age.

“Mexico’s domestic beef supplies have been shrinking due to the prolonged drought, and there are not a lot of other foreign suppliers serving the market,” Russell said.

“But that doesn’t necessarily make it easy for the United States to grow our exports to Mexico. We need a reliable supply of beef cuts

“The Terminator” – The Latest in Cattle Fly Control n 2012, the ultimate fly control system for cattle called “The Terminator” was released for sale by its inventor, Roger Larson of L&S Farm Supply. Larson has been raising cattle and farming for 45 years and he still runs a successful 400 acre beef operation.

Roger also has five (5) other patents relating to products used in storing tires, bicycles, garments, boats, wheelchairs, plants and a variety of merchandise that major retailers like Target, Macy’s, WalMart and REI are using. He is extremely proud of the fact that all of the products his companies sell are totally produced in the U.S.A. This innovative piece of equipment was field-tested for three years on a cattle operation in east central Minnesota with truly remarkable results. The study consisted of 100 head of Angus cattle and yielded results that astounded the designers and the farmer beyond anticipated expectations.

The weaning weights averaged 55 pounds heavier over the previous fall weights when the bull calves were sold off. Bymostly eliminating the fly and pest problems the cattle faced on a daily basis, they expended significantly less energy maintaining comfort levels adding dollars to their marketable weight.

These weights were significant enough that they elicited curiosity from the local stockyard, as they were some of the best spring calves that had been through that year! In addition, dairy herds will produce more milk and cows will breed back better because they are in better condition (not fighting flies and ticks, etc.).

A farmer or rancher with a 100 cow herd will save thousands of dollars compared to using the usually methods – insecticide blocks, spraying from the back of a pick-up truck or dust bags, etc. One unit will effectively handle up to 100 – 150 head of cattle.

This patented design is the perfect solution for any farm or ranch.

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The Terminator’s heavy-duty construction and powder-coat finish will withstand rubbing, kicking and leaning and the thick rubber tray will resist deterioration from exposure to the elements. Forklift openings designed right into the body allow a tractor or skid-loader to move the equipment to any pasture. The Terminator is solar-powered so it never needs an electrical outlet. The Terminator is built with heavy gauge steel and durable powder coating for years of trouble-free service.

The on-board electronics will sense each cow as it visits the mineral tray. The motion of the animal triggers a light misting of insecticide which is applied evenly across the back and neck of the animal.

The Terminator is also fitted with 3

outriggers which allow the misting of other cattle in the immediate vicinity that may be congregating to use the mineral tray.

The Terminator is complete with a comprehensive assembly and operations manual, and two people with minimal tools can assemble the unit in less than one hour. Each Terminator comes with a single bottle of concentrated insecticide that mixes with water to yield hundreds of gallons of effective control. A farm or ranch with 100 head of cattle can expect to control flies and other pest insects

for approximately $60 each grazing season.

The Terminator is an absolute must for any cattle rancher or farmer. It will eliminate flies and ticks PERIOD! Start reducing your overhead costs, increase your profits today. Multiple unit discounts are available.

For more information and a price quote, please contact the Manufacturer’s Representative, John Vrabec, who coversthe New Mexico and Arizona markets. Telephone: 505/301-2102. E-Mail: jvrabecoffice@earthlink.net.

that are affordable for everyday Mexican consumers, and that's where elimination of these import restrictions is really going to be helpful.”

Page 16

Livestock Market Digest

May 15, 2014

The Regulatory State DAILY POLICY DIGEST

t cost Americans a whopping $1.863 trillion to comply with federal regulations in 2013, more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of Canada, according to a new report from Clyde Wayne Crews, vice president for policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Federal spending and deficits dominate the debate in Washington, but the costs of federal regulations reach hundreds of billions of dollars each year. And just as corporate taxes are passed on to consumers, so are regulatory compliance costs passed on to consumers and workers in the form of higher prices and lower wages.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual report on the state of federal regulations highlights the significant impact of the regulatory state on the U.S. economy: n The ratio of new regulations (issued by agencies) to new laws (passed by Congress) was at 51 in 2013. That is 51 new rules for every new law, equivalent to a new rule every 2.5 hours. n Regulatory costs equate to $14,974 per household – 23 per-

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cent of the average household income. n The Federal Register last year had 79,311 pages, the fourth highest in history. The years with the highest number of pages in the Federal Register were 2010 and 2011, both under President Obama. n The Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, Interior, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency are responsible for 49.3 percent of all federal rules. n Small businesses pay a disproportionate amount in regulatory costs compared to large firms. Businesses with less than 20 employees pay an average $10,585 in regulatory costs per employee, compared to $7,755 for businesses with 500 or more employees. n U.S. regulatory costs exceed the GDPs of both Canada and Australia.

If U.S. federal regulation were a country, it would be the 10th largest economy in the world, ranked between India and Italy.

Source: Clyde Wayne Crews, “Ten Thousand Commandments 2014,” Competitive Enterprise Institute, April 29, 2014.

Executive Order Closing Restaurants, Killing Jobs resident Obama’s executive order raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors is already hurting employees and businesses, writes Byron York, chief political correspondent at the Washington Examiner.

In February, Obama raised the hourly wages of employees who work for federal contractors to $10.10. “This will make a difference for folks,” the president said. But as restaurants on military bases begin to close and ask for release from their contracts, is this the difference that President Obama and wage increase supporters were expecting?

Three McDonald’s restaurants and another fast food outlet at naval bases announced plans to close at the end of March, and other chains have requested to be released from their service contracts with the Army and the Air Force.

According to sources, these closures are a result of the wage increases, which become mandatory in January 2015.

Federal contractors face high costs on military installations: n They are required to pay workers a “health and welfare” payment, which has been raised from $2.56 per hour last year to

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For advertising, subscription and e ditorial inquiries write or call: Livestock Market Digest P.O. Box 7458, Albuquerque, N.M. 87194 Telephone: 505/243-9515

$3.81 per hour. n The health and welfare payment previously was not required for fast food businesses, but the Obama administration made it mandatory for them in the fall of 2013. n That $3.81, plus the $2.85 wage increase, means that employers will have to pay $6.66 more per hour for each employee. n These additional payments are on top of other mandates from the Obama administration, including paid holidays and vacation time.

Can’t these businesses raise their prices in order to cover these new costs? No. Military contracting law prohibits businesses from raising prices above the level that prevails in the community.

According to Russell Beland, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for military manpower and personnel, the Navy estimates that 390 fast food restaurants will close due to the new costs, meaning a loss of 5,750 jobs.

Additional closures on Army and Air Force bases could mean a loss of 10,000 more jobs.

Source: Byron York, “Obama’s Work Edicts Could Kill Businesses on Military Bases,” Washington Examiner, April 28, 2014.