President’s Message

by Loren Patterson NMCGA President-Elect PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Randell Major President Magdalena

Loren Patterson, President-Elect Corona

Dustin Johnson NW Vice President Farmington

Cliff Copeland NE Vice President Nara Visa

Jeff Decker SE Vice President Lovington

Ty Bays SW Vice President Silver City

Roy Farr Vice President at Large Datil

Shacey Sullivan Secretary/Treasurer Peralta

Tom Sidwell Immediate Past President Quay

Pat Boone Past President Elida

Caren Cowan Executive Director Albuquerque

President-Elect Legislative Report

“D uplicative” was the word of the month in the Roundhouse. New Mexico has so many laws, trusts and funds on the books that even the law makers cannot remember what they created just one or two years ago. Representative Rebecca Dow (District 38) showed me a two-page list of funds created in 2019 and a three-page list ones proposed for 2020. Many of the funds proposed were “duplicative” to existing ones.

House Bill 223 and its Senate mirror (SB 102/273) The Agriculture & Natural Resources Trust Act were perfect examples of this. The Fiscal Impact Report of HB 223 listed no less than nine existing acts, funds and programs that accomplished the same goals. What was of greatest concern, besides the $150 million dollar price tag, was that it put control of the money under the umbrella of new administrative department answering to the Executive Branch. Every citizen should be aware of the draining of local over-site of programs and funds to Santa Fe bureaucracies.

Speaking about Fiscal Impact, nothing would have had a greater impact to our rural communities than the proposed “Gas Tax” (HB 173). The Bill would have imposed a thirty-cent per gallon tax on gasoline and diesel fuels. One third of the tax would go to the Road Fund, one third to the Clean Infrastructure Fund and one third to a Low-Income Rebate Fund. Many of the members would agree that a little money headed to the Road Fund would benefit everyone in the state, but the creation of a low income rebate and paying for clean infrastructure would just create yet another reoccurring burden for taxpayers.

I have never been more proud to see the line of our members stand before the House Appropriations & Finance Committee and testify in opposition. Everyone in the room witnessed the difference between the teaching of civics and social indoctrination occurring in many of our schools.

Seeing Red? The contentious Red Flag Bills (SB 5, HB 7) were a beast of their own. The implication of, “guilty until proven innocent”, and “fight the accusation on your own dime”, is a direct violation of constitutional rights. The Sheriffs showed up in force, as well as the National Rifle Association. The political maneuvering of these bills through the committees guaranteed that these laws will be litigated in the courts for years to come.

I want to say what a blessing it was to have Joe Culbertson take ownership of these bills. The long hours of debates and hearings would have hindered the rest of our legislative team from addressing membership concerns. Be sure and thank Joe for his continued dedication and service to Cattle Growers. Caren, Michelle, Crystal, and Dawn are true assets to the association and me. Thank You!

A special thanks to Kayce, Kelsie Kaye and Joe Foster for giving me the support, love and dedication to be gone a month. Kayce and Kelsie came up to visit one weekend and Kelsie has decided she wants to grow up to work in the Roundhouse, She’s got her eye on an office on the fourth floor. Aim high Baby Girl!

Senator Pat Woods gave me some great insight on the leadership aspect of being President-Elect, just minutes later I was able to witness an example of that as four of our past President-Elects stepped up to speak to the House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Committee. What a relief to have a seasoned crew show up!

I’m very thankful for the moisture and hope everyone has had a taste. See you at the Bull Sales!

Loren Patterson

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Politics of Fear

As if we haven’t already been subjected to more than enough “ghost stories” from Congress, they have begun to create fear in Americans and perhaps around the world regarding the coronavirus virus. Their frenzy is not to help people it is to make people fearful about a perception that the federal administration readiness to mount a defense against this virus that has been deadly for some.

This is reverberated through the ABC, CBS and NBC and their 24-hour a day news networks. There has been one suggestion that everyone have at least two weeks of food in their homes in case the virus strikes. Then someone says not so fast, we aren’t near there yet.

It is my humble opinion that unless there is extensive travel in the community most rural folks have less to worry about than those in highly populated areas. And besides, when you have to drive 20 to 100 miles or more to buy groceries, you have two weeks of food or more on hand as a daily routine.

Please read this excerpt from a recent article in The Atlantic.

Bad News / Good News

You may get coronavirus… but most cases are not life-threatening, According to The Atlantic magazine. Severe illness caused by viruses such as H5N1 also means that infected people can be identified and isolated, or that they died quickly, according to The Atlantic. They do not walk around feeling just a little under the weather, seeding the virus. The new coronavirus (known technically as SARS-CoV-2) that has been spreading around the world can cause a respiratory illness that can be severe. The disease (known as COVID-19) seems to have a fatality rate of less than two percent—(as of late February) exponentially lower than most outbreaks that make global news. The virus has raised alarm not despite that low fatality rate, but because of it.

Coronaviruses are similar to influenza viruses in that they both contain single strands of RNA. Four coronaviruses commonly infect humans, causing colds. These are believed to have evolved in humans to maximize their own spread—which means sickening, but not killing, people. By contrast, the two prior novel coronavirus outbreaks—SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome, named for where the first outbreak occurred)—were picked up from

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animals, as was H5N1. These diseases were highly fatal to humans. If there were mild or asymptomatic cases, they were extremely few. Had there been more of them, the disease would have spread widely. Ultimately, SARS and MERS each killed fewer than 1,000 people.

COVID-19 is already reported to have killed more than twice that number. With its potent mix of characteristics, this virus is unlike most that capture popular attention: It is deadly, but not too deadly. It makes people sick, but not in predictable, uniquely identifiable ways.

The world has responded with unprecedented speed and mobilization of resources. Containment is the first step in responding to any outbreak. In the case of COVID-19, the possibility (however implausible) of preventing a pandemic seemed to play out in a matter of days. Starting in January, China began cordoning off progressively larger areas, radiating outward from the city of Wuhan and eventually encapsulating some 100 million people. People were barred from leaving home, and lectured by drones if they were caught outside. Nonetheless, the virus has now been found in 24 countries.

Despite the apparent ineffectiveness of outbreak is a new seasonal disease—a fifth “endemic” coronavirus. With the other four, people are not known to develop long-lasting immunity. If this one follows suit, and if the disease continues to be as severe as it is now, “cold and flu season” could become “cold and flu and COVID-19 season.” (To read the full story, visit the blog at www.triplealivestock.com .) Then there is That Climate Change Fear…

As I have said in the past, the climate changes pretty much every second, everywhere. Sometimes the temperature goes up, sometimes it goes down. I think back to the biggest climate change fear I have ever suffered.

I was working for the International Brangus Breeders Association in San Antonio, Texas. I was flying to the Panhandle to write a story and take photos on one of the big ranches up there.

When I went to the airport in early afternoon, the temperature was a nice 75 degrees with bright sun. To get to Amarillo, I had to change planes in Dallas. In the hour and a little plus it took us to get to Dallas, the temperature there had dropped to below 40 degrees with a high, gusty wind such measures—relative to their inordinate social and economic cost, at least—the crackdown continues to escalate.

Under political pressure to “stop” the virus, in late February the Chinese government announced that officials in Hubei province would be going door-to-door, testing people for fevers and looking for signs of illness, then sending all potential cases to quarantine camps. But even with the ideal containment, the virus’s spread may have been inevitable.

Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch predicts that within the coming year, some 40 to 70 percent of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. But, he clarifies emphatically, this does not mean that all will have severe illnesses. “It’s likely that many will have mild disease, or may be asymptomatic,” he said. As with influenza, which is often life-threatening to people with chronic health conditions and of older age, most cases pass without medical care. (Overall, about 14 percent of people with influenza have no symptoms.)

Lipsitch is far from alone in his belief that this virus will continue to spread widely. The emerging consensus among epidemiologists is that the most likely outcome of this

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out of the west at between 40 and 60 miles an hour.

Needless to say the landing was more than hairy. Now that Southwest has changed out its planes my finger prints on the seat in front of me are probably gone. We got into the terminal for me to learn that all flights to Amarillo were canceled until further notice. I had no choice but to turnaround and fly back to San Antonio, a prospect I wasn’t looking forward to.

I got back into San Antonio about four hours after I had left. The temperature had

dropped 40 degrees, down to 30. The trip back to my abode taught me my first lesson on black ice.

That was climate change. The climate has changed since time began. We do go through hot, dry, cold and windy spells. A lot of that comes from seasonal changes. Sometimes the swings are big ones, other times not so much.

On another Brangus trip I was in Missouri when it got so hot that folks in major cities in the mid-West were literally dying due to the heat. You cannot imagine how hard it

March 2020

• Finished out 2020 Legislature • Sent out legislative calls to action • Manned a booth at Ag Fest • Participated in sponsoring & serving at Roundhouse Feed • Region Meetings Planning • Mid-Year Meeting Planning • Agri Future Conference Planning • Attended NCBA Convention, San Antonio TX • Participated in NMSU WRRI Water Conference Planning • Participated in Ag Resilency Land & Water Conference Call • Worked with Congressional Candidates • Assisted members on BLM issues • Worked on BLM on scoping comments • Worked on new NEPA regulation comments • Attended NMDGF & NMDOT meeting on wildlife corridor planning • Worked on WOTUS litigation • Worked on Gila Nat’l Forest litigation • Began work on Water Quality Control Commission Tri-Annual Review • Worked on Senators Udall & Heinrich Wild & Scenic Rivers bill • Promoted Intertribal Ag Council Navajo Region Summit

Bring the Herd

is to take quality cattle pictures when it 100 degrees with 80 plus percent humidity in Missouri. There was definitely climate change that summer… and that was in the late 1970s.

Elections, Elections, Elections

Get registered to vote in the primary you want to vote in. Make sure that all your friends are registered. Get to know the candidates and select the ones that share your view. GET OUT AND VOTE ON JUNE 2, 2020. You have about 90 days to elect candidates that will turn New Mexico around!!!

Legislative Wrap

Out of time out of space… please visit the blog at www.aaalivestock.com for full details.

That’s all she wrote …

At about 3:00 p.m. on Friday, February 28, 2020, I learned from a long-time New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association member that the Executive Committee had voted to relieve of my duties as the Executive Director of the Association. I won’t lie – after faithfully serving the Association for the past 22 years and eight months, the news came as shock and hurt.

However, the average longevity of association-hired leadership generally runs for two to five years so I have overstayed my welcome by a long shot. I have been blessed to work with hundreds if not thousands of wonderful people over time. As you may know, I purchased the New Mexico Stockman and the Livestock Market Digest in July 2009. I will continue to publish the magazine and will continue to have a monthly column to share my wit and wisdom with you.

I truly value the friendships and relationships that I have developed which I will continue to hold close to my heart.

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