LMD Sept 2010 by Livestock Publishers

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Volume 52 • No. 10

Pipeline Payola by Lee Pitts hen I first heard of the following events I was reminded of the story about the old and ugly philosopher who asked a beautiful socialite at a cocktail party if she would sleep with him for five million dollars. She said she would. “Would she sleep with him for one million dollars?” he then asked. Again the socialite said she would, albeit with her eyes closed. Then the old man asked if she would sleep with him for five dollars. The socialite was outraged and asked, “What do you think I am, a whore?” To which the philosopher replied, “We’ve already established that fact. Now I’m just trying to establish your price.” Some readers may find the socialite and the philosopher story a little disgusting but, I assure you, it is not nearly as disgusting as what you are about to read.

Doing A Deal With The Devil

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

The El Paso Corporation owns North America’s largest interstate natural gas pipeline system. Their 42,000 miles of pipe transport more than a quarter of the natural gas consumed in the country each day. They are also amongst the top ten independent domestic producers of natural gas, with over a trillion cubic feet of proven reserves.

“Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.” They are big business personified. El Paso had been trying for some time to get approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build their Ruby Pipeline, a 675-mile conveyance of 42-inch pipe that one day will transport natural gas from Wyoming to Oregon. As is customary these days, two environmental groups, Western Watersheds Project (WWP) and Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), filed lawsuits challenging the federal government’s approval of the right

of ways they gave El Paso on federal land. Rather than duke it out in court, El Paso negotiated a secret deal in which they’d give Western Watersheds $15 million and the Oregon Natural Desert Association $7 million if they would drop their lawsuits. Mobsters call such payments hush money, payola, or extortion. Big business these days call it “the cost of doing business.” Here’s the bad news: the primary goal of both Western Watersheds and the Oregon Natural Desert Association is

the elimination of the public lands rancher in this country. Western Watersheds in the past has appealed the renewal of thousands of grazing permits across the West, has challenged the current grazing fee in federal court and has petitioned the Obama administration to eliminate the grazing program because of their “concern” over the deficit. And the El Paso Corporation jumped feet first right into bed with them. We don’t even know the extent of the damage because El Paso and the green groups won’t let anyone see the agreement. Jim Cleary, President of the El Paso Western Pipeline Group said, he would work with the two green groups and “seek with reasonable diligence” a release from the confidentiality clause in the agreement that prohibits either party from disclosing details about the dirty deal. He also said, “We are committed to working with all parties — ranchers, environmental continued on page two

Branded beef company urges GIPSA caution by STEVE SUTHER, Director, Industry Information Certified Angus Beef LLC

Editor’s Note: Of all the press that has come out on this issue, pro and con, this is perhaps the best overview of the situation. Livestock producers have until November 22, 2010 to review the regulations and submit comments. The regulations can be found at http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/GIPSA/ takeholders in the U.S. livestock industry gathered in late August in Fort Collins, Colorado, to debate market access at a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)Justice Department workshop on competition. Afterward, as many questions as answers remained. Was anything settled? Do all problems boil down to people leaving rural America because of corporate concentration? Does the Obama Administration have a mandate to “fix that problem” through government intervention? A crowd of more than 1,500 seemed divided

Riding Herd

about whether new rules from the USDA Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) should be put in place — rules which aim to “enhance fairness” and may affect value-based marketing of cattle. Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) President John Stika testified because the non-profit subsidiary of the American Angus Association® has in interest in seeing that markets reward producers for quality as defined by consumers. Contracts paid on carcass merit are called “alternative marketing agreements” (AMAs) because they are outside of the cash market for commodity cattle. Such contracts were criticized by some as unfair, but they simply pay premiums and discounts for actual beef value rather than estimates from live appearances. The market has been moving in that direction since the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand was born in 1978, and an estimated half of all finished cattle now sell on AMAs. In supcontinued on page four

by LEE PITTS

Caught In A Crack (Best Of) ome misinformed people think that anything that wears hair, horns or hooves is stupid. Hence the sayings, “he’s dumb as an ox,” or “silly as a filly.” Cows are thought of as being especially stupid. “Ain’t nothing dumber than a cow, except the man that owns them,” is an often heard expression. But I think cows are a lot smarter than people give them credit for, as the story of Stucky will illustrate. Notice I said that cows weren’t stupid. That doesn’t mean they aren’t creatures of habit. Often they use the same place on a ranch for the same purpose year after year, such as a birthing spot or as a sort of nursery area for calves. Old timers called these places where the cows congregate at calving “cow stomps.” Our cow stomp is on the side of a hill that provides a sheltered and protected hiding place for newborn babies. I had never thought of our nursery as a particularly dangerous place but that was before the “drouth cracks” started opening. For seven long years the ground unfolded and left gaping holes as if the earth was trying to catch the rain that never fell. It was the drouth without end. A very depressing time. These drouth cracks were a couple feet deep and several yards long and they subdivided the nursery where the cows calved. I don’t know what possessed me to check out the nursery that afternoon. After all, I had already ridden through the cows once that day on my wonder horse Gentleman. Perhaps it was the buzzards circling overhead. I figured either a cow had given birth, or died trying. The nursery was on the side of the hill tucked away where I couldn’t see it from the road, so I got out of the truck and hiked down the steep hill to the cow stomp. Upon seeing me the rest of the cows gathered up their

continued on page six

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September 15, 2010

Pipeline Payola groups, legislators, community leaders, and other stakeholders — to ensure the Ruby Pipeline is a benchmark for the industry and future energy infrastructure development.” We can only hope not!

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Whether they knew it or not, El Paso was stepping in a big public relations cow pie because the money given to the green groups could one day be used to retire cattle grazing permits on public land. So, here we have an El Paso Corporation, what the greenies would call a “natural resources extractor,” giving millions to one of rancher’s worst enemies. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Remember, we were supposed to ban together with our fellow natural resource extractors to fight off the radical greenies. If these folks are our friends, who needs enemies? Make no mistake, the Western Watershed project is the rancher’s worst nightmare. It is headed by none other than Jon Marvel, otherwise known as “The Greenfather.” Which seems appropriate since we are talking about payola. There are various stories as to why Jon Marvel hates cows so much, one has it that some cows pooped on his property once. Oh my! But instead of just cleaning his shoes Marvel filed several lawsuits with religious zeal to rid this country of cows. Interesting don’t you think that this “environmentalist” who hates ranchers because of the “damage they do to the environment, like fertilizing the land, is willing to do business with an oil and gas company at the same that a huge oil spill was ruining destroying our southern coastline? According to the Western Legacy Alliance, the $22 million can be used to lobby Congress to change federal law to allow for the elimination of BLM grazing permits. Currently, the Supreme Court has agreed that BLM lands are to be used for grazing and that the permanent elimination of livestock is prohibited by federal statutes. In the past another green group, The Grand Canyon Trust, purchased federal grazing permits with the idea of curtailing grazing only to find out later it was illegal. According to the Western Legacy Alliance, “the $22 million in the first five years can be used to “purchase” permits and allotments on lands connected to the pipeline corridor; in the second five years, the money can be used to purchase any lands within the “sagebrush steppe” habitat.” Western Legacy Alliance asks, “How can buying grazing permits in New Mexico or Arizona, be used as environmental mitigation for a pipeline in Wyoming, Utah northern Nevada and Oregon? Even though the Western Watersheds FERC appeal was based on an alleged harm to the environment, Ruby Pipeline’s settlement

continued from page one

with WWP did not change a single thing in terms of on-theground mitigation and none of the $22 million will be spent on improvements on-the-ground to mitigation for the ground disturbance from the pipeline. The El Paso funded demise of the Western federal lands ranchers will certainly hasten the death of multiple use of public lands.” Regarding the agreement, Richard Wheatley, a spokesman for the El Paso Corporation said, “It’s something we didn’t have to do. We chose to do it. The bottom line is we think it’s a preferable approach than being involved in litigation.” May we suggest, Mr. Wheatley, the bottom line is that you were more concerned with El Paso’s bottom line than you were with standards of ethical or moral conduct. And Wall Street wonders why the general public holds big business in such low esteem these days?

Greenwash You can’t argue with success because El Paso’s payola got the two green groups off their back and the pipeline behemoth has already started construction on the $3 billion Ruby Pipeline. You will hear from El Paso and others denying that the money they gave the green groups will be used to retire public lands from grazing but that kind of talk is referred to as “greenwash.” We prefer to call it by its real name . . . little white lies. Or in this case, little green lies. Jim Cleary, President of El Paso Western Pipeline Group said the purpose of the $22 million “is not to put ranchers out of business.” But El Paso should have gotten together with their new friends and got their story straight. Both green groups have said that they intend to use the cash to lobby Congress to change the Taylor Grazing Act to allow retirement of grazing permits and then to use some of the money to do exactly that. Jon Marvel was simply ecstatic over the deal. He said, “The money can also be used to purchase private property or conservation easements, but our priority is grazing permits. It’s time to end public lands grazing.” The Elko Daily of Elko, Nevada, quoted him as saying, “It’s unprecedented to have the support of industry to work for the retirement of public grazing permits.” Western Watersheds issued a press release that called the deal “historic,” in supporting the elimination of “disastrous” public lands grazing. This extortion attempt worked so well we can envision Western Watersheds and other green groups rolling in payola with which to retire grazing permits. At the same time this deal was going down a group of dozens of multibillionaires, many continued on page three

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September 15, 2010 of the world’s richest men in the world, got together and announced they’d be giving their hundreds of billions to charity when they die. If just a portion of that cash ends up in the hands of green groups, which it will, they could easily pay to retire grazing from all the public lands in these United States.

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em . . . If you aren’t repulsed and irritated by now, we are about to unleash the real stink bomb of this whole pipeline payola fiasco. It’s one thing for a gas corporation to make a deal with greenies intent on ridding the world of cattlemen, but quite another when your own kind make the same type of deal with the devil. Instead of fighting the agreement or exposing it for what it really is, the Public Lands Council felt they might as well get into the extortion business, too, and so they entered into an agreement with El Paso Corporation in which they’ll get $15 million to look the other way while the green groups attack public lands ranchers. Keep in mind that the stated mission of the Public Lands Council (PLC) is to serve and protect ranchers who operate on 120 million acres of public lands. It was formed in 1968 as an outgrowth of the old NCA and still has NCBA involvement. According to the Public Lands Council, “The PLC, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Ruby Pipeline, reached an agreement in principle which seeks to ensure that the nearly 100-year relationship between the livestock industry and El Paso Corp. continues far into the

future. While details of the agreement are still being finalized, it establishes a significant endowment with the mission to “protect, enhance and preserve the public lands grazing industry.” The concept was formally adopted earlier today after a unanimous vote by the board of directors of the Public Lands Council, whose board members represent 13 western states, NCBA, the American Sheep Industry Association, and the Association of National Grasslands.” Is there nothing so low that the NCBA won’t stoop to get their hands on money? Said Skye Krebs, President of the Public Lands Council, “While we are concerned about the potential impacts of Ruby’s recent settlement agreement with the Western Watersheds Project and the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), we are satisfied that this endowment provides us a tool with which to mitigate many of our concerns. As the organization which has represented public lands ranchers in the West for over four decades, we are confident that our industry will benefit from this endowment for many years to come.” Krebs continued, “The $15 million endowment, $7.5 million to be contributed later this year and $750,000 to be added into the endowment annually for the following 10 years, will be governed by one representative from the PLC and one representative from El Paso Corp. While the principal amount will not be used, the endowment’s earnings will go toward meeting PLC’s mission to serve the public lands livestock

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industry. Specific projects may include scientific research, education, range monitoring, fire restoration, media, and community outreach for the benefit of the public lands grazing industry. It is important to note that funds from the endowment will not be used for litigation.” In other words, El Paso wants anyone they pay off to stay bought off. I suppose that is what qualifies as business ethics these days. The obvious question is what’s to stop other groups from extorting companies like El Paso? In fact, that’s exactly what has happened. The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit in a federal court in San Francisco to block the project because it says the Ruby Pipeline will cross more than 1,000 rivers and streams, harming species such as the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Warner Creek sucker, Lost River sucker and Colorado pike minnow. And after the El Paso deal was announced the Sierra Club filed an appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals over the pipeline. We don’t know how much either group is holding out for. Let the bargaining begin. Why make an honest buck when payola and extortion is so easy? And evidently legal, too! After they did the deal PLC’s President Krebs said in a statement that could be interpreted a couple different ways, “We feel grazing has been taken care of.” We don’t know if grazing has been taken care of as much as the PLC has been taken care of. It is becoming a recurring theme lately (with the exposure of the

NCBA misusing checkoff funds) that certain groups seem to be more concerned about their own survival than they do about the ranchers they are supposed to represent. Conceivably one day we could have a national cattlemen’s organization without any cattlemen. The group could thrive on checkoff funds from foreign beef and payola from deals like this one. One day ex-ranchers who sit on such boards may look back and say, “The patient died but the Doctor is doing very well, thank you very much.”

Reaction to El Paso’s Payola ■ “Winston Churchill once said there are people that will feed a crocodile, hoping to be eaten last. Now we know there are mineral companies that would knowingly give money to radical groups to harm ranchers, as long as their project isn’t delayed.” — Doug Cooper, Natrona, Wyo. rancher and writer, in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup ■ Regarding PLC’s deal, Senator Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora said, “There was a lot of criticism and some praise,” Rhoads told the Elko Daily Free Press. “The leadership thought they got all they could get.” ■ “El Paso didn’t make a deal with a conservation group. They made a deal with the devil.” — Dave Eliason, of Tremonton, President of the Utah Cattlemen’s Association ■ Regarding the confidentiality of the agreement between El Paso and the two green groups: “What’s in the agreement that you don’t want us to see?” — Cache County Commissioner,

Page 3 Lynn Lemon ■ “We want the pipeline. It is the right thing to do, but the counties do not support it if El Paso caves in to extortion. What happens here will be precedent setting.” — Grant Gerber, attorney from Elko, Nevada ■ Jeff Williams, a member of Elko County’s Natural Resources Management Advisory Commission, said Elko County has shown a great amount of “western hospitality” to El Paso Corp., but should have also taught them “country ethics. I want the gas line to go through, but wouldn’t want to put up with someone who is a friend one day and stabs you in the back the next day,” he said. ■ “We feel very slapped in the face,” said Elko County Planner, Randy Brown. “I want to know what’s going on.” ■ “You guys went into bed with the worst there is.” — Commissioner John Ellison told El Paso Corp. representatives ■ “Western Watersheds wants to change the West back into sagebrush. Getting a secret agreement with El Paso is not upfront and has a serious socioeconomic impact on our county.” Kent Connelly, a commissioner from Lincoln County, Wyo. ■ “When everybody is not at the table . . . the public process has been violated. This agreement could be the fall of the Western U.S. economy.” — Elko County Commissioner Sherie Eklund-Brown ■ “This is exactly why the New Mexico Federal Lands Council is not a member of the Public Lands Council.” — Bebo Lee, President, New Mexico Federal Lands Council

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September 15, 2010

Conventional Beef Is Sustainable Beef by GENI WREN, Editor, Bovine Veterinarian Magazine

or the last 10 to 15 years it seems the world has jumped on the “sustainable” bandwagon, but you seldom hear how different people define sustainable. For the beef industry, some consumers would say sustainable means a small family farm raising grassfed cattle with no inputs. They might say a large feedlot using technologies such as implants is not sustainable. But does sustainable mean small, organic or grass-fed? Not necessarily. A new website, www.sustainablebeef.org, explores what the word “sustainable” can mean in all types of cattle operations, large or small. It also discusses the eco-friendliness of beef production using technology vs.

using none. These technologies include products such as implants to promote efficient growth. For example, the site says a recently completed economic analysis of the impact of these technologies on U.S. beef production using 2007 cattle prices and input costs showed that if the use of growth-enhancing technologies were discontinued, there would be: ■ 18 percent less beef produced ■ 11 percent increase in retail beef prices ■ 8.5 percent decrease in percapita consumption of beef An Iowa State University study shows that beef animals finished in a conventional feedyard using grain-based rations and growthenhancing technologies are three times more land efficient than organic or grass-fed beef animals.

Conventional feedyard-production technologies make the most efficient use of total farmland resources. This is particularly important as we consider: ■ The world population is estimated to reach 9 billion by the middle of the 21st century. ■ The global demand for food will double by 2050 and there will continue to be increased percapita demand for beef and other high-quality animal protein.

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■ Worldwide, we have a limited land area on which to produce food, feed and fiber. ■ It is critical that we continue to conserve natural and biodiverse natural habitats. I am in no way bashing “artisan” beef or beef produced in smaller, more niche-markets. We are absolutely blessed in this country to be able to have the numerous choices that are currently available, whether they

continued from page one

port of that evolution, Stika suggested the Administration continue oversight to “see that any persons who have been excluded from value-based marketing opportunities may soon take advantage of that ability to be paid for cattle according to consumer desires.” However, he warned that the good intentions in seeking greater fairness can backfire. “We urge that great care be given to ensure that no one who has worked to add value to their herd in an effort to meet consumer demands find fewer marketing opportunities — even if that development is unintended,” Stika said. Pull-through demand from consumers has functioned successfully because of increasingly available value-based marketing opportunities, he said, noting Cattle-Fax research that quantifies current consumer support of premium brands at $500 million per year. Angus producers “planned ahead for the value-based future we have today, by investing in genetic evaluation and establishing this brand more than 30 years ago,” Stika said. Since then, value-based opportunities have only expanded, and CAB licensees will sell more than three-quarter of a billion pounds of

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conventional, natural, grass-fed, organic or even breed-specific. What I do want to promote is this new resource for fact-based information on beef production that uses safe, scientifically sound technology to produce an efficient food source. The most important facts are that U.S. beef — no matter the type — is safe and wholesome and that all types of cattle producers care about the environment, their cattle and the sustainability of providing a food source for generations to come.

branded product this year worldwide, returning at least $25 million to cattlemen through AMAs such as grids. “We recognize a stated intent in the proposed [GIPSA] rules to level the playing field,” Stika said. “We urge that any low spots be raised to enhance access to consumer-focused marketing, rather than knock down the high spots of opportunity currently available to any enterprising beef producer.” Granting that the new rules would not dictate a reduction in value-based marketing, Stika said that still could be the end result. “Unintended consequences of rule changes could actually harm the interest of fairness in the beef market,” he said. “If a proliferation of newly required paperwork makes it less profitable for packers to offer AMAs, then producers will not be paid premiums based on true value. Anything that diminishes today’s value edge for quality could diminish what Angus and other quality-focused producers have accomplished, and reduce the value-added edge their cattle have earned in the marketplace.” Cautioning that “it does little good to enhance fairness on one hand while potentially restricting it on the other,” Stika called for “greater consensus on both the direct effects and potential side-effects resulting from efforts to comply with any change.”

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Picking Up the Pieces — WESTERN CLIMATE INITIATIVE RELEASES CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM DESIGN by DUSTIN TILL

n July 27, 2010, the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) released the Final Design for its regional cap-and-trade program. Formed in 2007, the WCI is a partnership between seven states and four Canadian provinces aimed at reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions. The WCI and other regional greenhouse gas reduction programs have recently taken on renewed prominence in light of Congress’ stalled efforts to establish a comprehensive federal emission trading program. However, the sustained economic downturn has withered statelevel support for the WCI and cast doubt over the extent to which the program will be implemented by WCI’s January 2012 deadline. Some member states have expressly withdrawn support for the program, while others have indicated that they will not have regulations in place necessary to meet the January 1, 2012, implementation deadline. Nonetheless, the Final Design represents the clearest and most detailed articulation of an alternative to comprehensive federal climate change regulation. The Final Design calls for a program that will apply to all major economic sectors in the participating states, including electrical generation, manufacturing, and transportation, beginning on January 1, 2012. The

Final Design coalesces a series of WCI design recommendations published in over the past two years, and is intended to guide participating state and provincial governments as they develop the regulations necessary to implement the program.

I. Background on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Trading Programs The lack of a comprehensive federal program addressing greenhouse gas emissions has spurred the development of regional alternatives. Currently, 23 states and four Canadian providences are participating in some capacity in the three regional programs — the WCI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord (MGGRA). These programs currently account for over half of the United States’ GDP and over 37 percent of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. As the prospects of a comprehensive federal climate legislation appear increasingly unlikely, the WCI, RGGI, and MGGRA are actively exploring options for linking the regional programs and establishing an expansive emissions trading market. The WCI was formed in 2007 with the goal of reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Currently, seven states and four

Canadian provinces are participating members of the WCI, while a number of other jurisdictions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have joined as observers. The WCI’s cap-andtrade program is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2012. The cap-and-trade program will apply to all economic sectors, including emissions from electricity generation, industrial sources, transportation, and residential and industrial fuel combustion. RGGI, which caps emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants in ten Eastern and MidAtlantic states, is currently the only greenhouse gas cap-andtrade program operating in the United States. RGGI has been conducting emission allowance auctions since 2008. MGGRA is in the nascent stages of development, having released draft program design recommendations last year.

II. WCI’s Final Program Design The Final Design does not establish an enforceable cap-andtrade program. Instead, it is intended to guide member jurisdictions as they develop the regulations needed to implement the regional program. The Final Design sets minimum requirements for participating in the

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babies and headed for other hills. One solitary red cow stayed put. The grass had been ground into the dirt from her furious pacing and at first I could not see the problem. It was obvious she had calved but there was no sign of a little one. On closer inspection I saw four tiny feet sticking up out of a drouth crack. The newborn baby was lying on its back in a crack and all its mother could do was bawl. The calf was wedged so tight in the crack I had a hard time setting her free. I had no idea how long the calf had been lying there but she’d been licked off and had milk foam around her mouth so it couldn’t have been too long. I could just imagine the newborn getting up to suck on wobbly feet, losing her balance and rolling into the crevice. I have always been of the opinion that you never name something you might eat, but in this special case we decided to name the calf that almost became a drouth victim. I wanted to name her Lucky but my wife suggested we call her

September 15, 2010

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

Climate continued from page five

Stucky. Surprisingly, Stucky showed no signs of aberrant behavior. . . such as sleeping on her back. But the cows showed they were capable of rational thought. During the duration of the drouth the cows never came back to the nursery as long as they were nursing their calves. Once the calves were weaned and shipped the cows would return to munch on the grass between the cracks. But, sensing the danger, they wouldn’t calve there. Finally, after seven long years the drouth broke with three inches of rain in a single night. Miraculously, the earth went back together again. That next autumn when it came time for the cows to calve they returned to the nursery as if they had never left. It was good to see the newborn calves frolic once more in the nursery without the worry of falling into a drouth crack. Oh, by the way, we don’t call it the “nursery” anymore. “Stucky’s Landing” seems much more appropriate, don’t you think?

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WCI market, but member jurisdictions are permitted to adopt more stringent standards. The Final Design covers seven principal topics, detailed below. A. Program Coverage: The WCI cap-and-trade program will cover the six major greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, nitrogen trifluoride, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons). Sources in the participating states that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents annually will be subject to regulation beginning in 2012, or the first year its emissions exceed that threshold. Electricity sources subject to the cap will include facilities located within a member state or province, or the first purchaser or recipient of power produced outside the WCI’s jurisdiction. Fuel suppliers will be incorporated into the program beginning in 2015.

“The sustained economic downturn has withered statelevel support for the WCI and cast doubt over the extent to which the program will be implemented by WCI’s January 2012 deadline.” B. Requirements for Covered Sources: The Final Design outlines the compliance requirements for sources that are subject to regulation under the program. Covered sources will be required to turn in emission allowance certificates for each metric ton of greenhouse gases that they emit at least once every three years. To ensure compliance, covered sources will be required to quantify, monitor, and verify their emissions, and comply with stringent record keeping requirements. The programs greenhouse gas reporting program is detailed in the WCI’s Final Essential Requirements for Mandatory Reporting (July 2009). C. Compliance Instruments: Beginning in 2012, each partner jurisdiction will establish a cap equal to anticipated 2012 emissions, so emissions reductions will not be required during the program’s first year. WCI previously published guidance on how each partner jurisdiction’s annual allowance budget will be established. Annual allowance budgets will be calculated based on a linear decline based on the 2020 emission reduction goals. The Final Design sets out a number of approaches for recognizing and incentivizing early emission reductions (reductions between 2008 and 2011). In general, all early reduction allowances must be voluntary, additional, real, verifiable, continued on page seven

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

September 15, 2010 permanent, and enforceable. D. Distributing Allowances: The Final Design largely leaves the issue of allowance distribution to the discretion of member jurisdictions. Member jurisdictions can choose to allocate emission allowances for free or via an auction, or a combination of both. However, all emission allowance auctions must be conducted on a common auction platform.

enforcing a state or regional program to regulate greenhouse gas emissions without express legislative authorization. In May, Utah officials announced the state would not be in a position to implement a cap-and-trade program in 2012. Dianne Nielson, the energy advisor to Governor Gary Herbert, indicated that Utah would remain a WCI member, but

“Some member states have expressly withdrawn support for the program, while others have indicated that they will not have regulations in place necessary to meet the implementation deadline.” E. Program Administration: Participating jurisdictions will retain primary responsibility for implementing the cap-and-trade program, including establishing emission and compliance tracking systems, compliance accounts for covered sources, and enforceable certification requirements. State and provincial regulations will also include enforcement mechanisms, including provisions for penalizing facilities that exceed their emission budget. F. Offsets: The WCI includes a fairly robust offset program. Offsets may account for up to 49 percent of emission reductions (not 49 percent of emissions). Each member jurisdiction will be required to establish regulations governing the registration, validation, monitoring, quantification, reporting, verification, certification, and issuance of offset credits. The WCI’s detailed recommendations for the design of offset programs were published in July 2010. The WCI, along with RGGI and MGGRA, also recently published a white paper recommending standardized concepts that would allow for linking the regional programs’ offset programs. G. Linkage to Other Programs: Finally, the Final Design provides recommendations on the issue of how participating jurisdictions can link their cap-and-trade programs with other participating jurisdictions, as well as jurisdictions outside the WCI including RGGI and MGGRA states.

III. The Question of Implementation While the Final Design represents a significant step towards the WCI’s January 1, 2012, start date, significant hurdles remain at the state level. Indeed, a number of states have either withdrawn their support for the program, or anticipate delayed implementation. In February 2010, Arizona governor Jan Brewer issued an executive order providing that the state would not implement the WCI’s capand-trade program and clarifying that any state-level rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions would require clear statutory authority. Governor Brewer subsequently signed legislation (H.B. 2442) which prohibits state agencies from adopting or

would shift its focus to “complementary policies” including energy efficiency and renewable energy. Washington, Oregon, and Montana have not yet passed the legislation needed to fully implement the WCI’s cap-and-trade program. See New Oregon Climate Change Laws Expand Emission Performance Standards, Renewable Portfolio Standards, GHG Reporting, and Energy Efficiency, Marten Law Environmental News (Aug. 26, 2009). Washington Governor Christine Gregoire, however, has issued an executive order instructing state agencies to continue to participate in developing the WCI. Presently, California and New Mexico are the only states that appear to be on track to meet the WCI’s January 1, 2012, start date. The California Air Resource Board (CARB) is currently developing the regulations needed to establish an emission trading program pursuant to California’s bellwether climate change legislation — A.B. 32. CARB released its draft cap-andtrade regulations last fall. Under A.B. 32, CARB must adopt its final regulations by January 1, 2011. However, contentious gubernatorial election politics threaten to derail California’s efforts. Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor, has indicated that her first act as governor would be to suspend work under A.B. 32. Furthermore, a public referendum will appear on the November ballot asking voters to suspend implementation of A.B. 32 until California’s unemployment rate has sunk below 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters. The state’s unemployment rate is currently hovering at 12 percent. In May, New Mexico published draft rules for implementing a greenhouse gas cap-andtrade program. The program would initially apply to sources that emit over 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. The draft rules condition the state’s implementation of the program on having sufficient emission allowances available within the WCI to make the program efficient and cost effective. For additional information concerning WCI’s cap-and-trade final design or other climate change matters, please contact Dustin Till or any other member of Marten Law’s Climate Change practice.

Digest Events To advertise your upcoming events here, please call: 505/243-8342

September 2010 10-11. . 61st Annual Field Day & Sale, Lasater Ranch, Matheson CO 15 . . . . . Annual Bull’s Eye Breeders Sale, Oakdale Producers Livestock Market, CA 26 . . . . . 13th Annual Cattlemen’s Select Range Bull Sale, Visalia Livestock Market, CA

October 2010 2 . . . . . 21st Tri-County Breeders’ Choice Bull Sale, Templeton Livestock Market, CA 2 . . . . . . ISA Cattle Co., Inc. Sale, San Angelo TX

25 . . . . . Summerour Ranch Fall Sale, Dalhart, TX 26 . . . . . 31st Annual Strang Herefords and Black Angus Sale, Meeker, CO

November 2010 18 . . . . . Largent & Sons, Desert Mart Sale, Kaycee, WY 21 . . . . . 12th Annual Ft. Robinson Bison & Reg. Longhorn Sale, Crawford Livestock Market, NE

December 2010 6 . . . . . . Jacobsen Ranch Salers Production Sale, Western Livestock Auction, Great Falls, MT

Page 7

January 2011 25-29. . Red Bluff All Breeds Bull & Gelding Sale, CA

February 2011 12 . . . . . Bradley 3 Ranch Bull Sale, Estelline TX 25 . . . . . 20th Annual Pot of Gold Bull Sale, Olathe, CO 21 . . . . . Weaver Ranch Annual Sale, Ft. Collins, CO

March 2011 16 . . . . . Wagonhammer Ranches Production Sale, Albion, NE 18-19. . Cattlemen’s Weekend, Prescott Livestock Auction, Prescott, AZ 20 . . . . . 16th Annual Bull & Heifer Sale, Hales Angus Farm, Canyon, TX

April 2011 2 . . . . . . 27th Annual DeBruycker Charolais Sale, Dutton, MT 10 . . . . . Redd Ranches High Altitude Bull Sale, Paradox, CO

Livestock Market Digest

Page 8

A Dozen Marketing Tips MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION CAN ADD VALUE TO YOUR 2010 CALF CROP. HERE’S A CHECKLIST TO CONSIDER. by KINDRA GORDON, Hereford World, www.hereford.org, August 2010

he key to successful marketing is often remembering the basics — and capitalizing on the details to earn extra value for calves. That said, for beef producers to earn a higher price for calves in 2010, Jason Ahola, an animal science professor with Colorado State University, offers the following list of management options to consider.

For starters Ahola says the simple ways to improve the marketability of calves should not be overlooked. Calves should be: 1) dehorned or polled; 2) castrated at a young age; 3) uniform in age, color and type; and 4) healthy. “Each of these options have been separately documented to return a premium from $1-5-plus per hundredweight (cwt.),” he says. Additionally, Ahola says the feedlot industry wants a few key traits that can be easily accomplished and may result in a higher

Provide historical performance data — Information about feedlot gain, feed efficiency, sickness rate and carcass performance of previous years’ calves can yield substantial premiums.

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selling price. He says, “Certain pieces of information related to probable calf performance (growth, health and/or carcass) are of great value to feedlots since the odds that calves will perform better than average are recognized at the time of purchase. Ultimately, this information can help increase the chances that a feeder will make a profit on your calves and ideally getting them to pay more for them up-front.” Consider these 12 options to add to your marketing efforts:

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Use BVD PI testing — Calf crops tested for the absence of any calves persistently infected (PI) with Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) can help reduce losses due to sickness or death, and feeders are starting to show interest in paying premiums for such calves.

Wean and background calves — Calves weaned for 30 to 45 days and trained to feed bunks and waterers are desirable to feedlots, because health problems will likely be decreased and feed intake

September 15, 2010 will be strong at arrival. Premiums of $2-5-plus/cwt. are often available.

Sell heavier calves — Because of increased costof-gain in the feedlot, the market wants calves ready for the feedlot to be heavier than in the past, Ahola says. Cow-calf producers might consider modifying their operations so that they can wean and grow their calves on highforage diets prior to selling them to a feedlot.

Offer truckload lots — Nearly everyone involved in the U.S. beef industry (feedlots, buyers, truckers, etc.) would rather deal with truckload lots (50,000-60,000 lb. of cattle) instead of small groups. Premiums of $2-10/cwt. can be acquired if several small calf crops from similar genetic and management backgrounds can be combined and sold together, possibly even via video or private treaty, says Ahola.

Participate in preconditioning programs — Several private- and statesponsored programs enable the documentation of vaccinations given, and possible premiums of $1-6-plus/cwt. are available.

Age and source verification — Recording birth dates of the first and last calves born during a calving season and verifying the dates via a third party make the calves eligible for export to Japan if harvested at 20 months or younger. Premiums of $1-3/ cwt. are available ($5-15/head), suggests Ahola.

Natural verification — Third-party documentation stating no antibiotics or growth promotants were administered can result in a $1.50-2-plus/cwt. premium ($811/head), he adds.

Organic verification — Third-party documentation that organic rules have been followed (“natural” plus use of organic feeds, no pesticides/ herbicides, etc.) can also garner premiums in specific markets.

Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC) program — Documentation that cattle have not been implanted can make them eligible for export to the European Union (EU) and, again, can qualify for premiums with the right program.

Breed-based branded programs — Cattle that fit live animal specifications (either hide color or documentation of genetic background) can be eligible to supply numerous product lines. Hide color premiums of $1-3plus/cwt. have been documented in calves, as well, says Ahola.

Contract calves — In the future Ahola also suggests looking at contracting your calves. He says during almost every summer for the past five years, prices for calves to be delivered in the fall have been much higher if they were offered for sale during the summer (e.g. August) versus fall (e.g. October/ November). continued on page nine

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ge and source verification are quickly becoming “essential” in today’s cattle market. Travis Chrisman, who works as a representative for ABS in southwest Nebraska, has seen that demand firsthand. He says, “Buyers want age and source verification, and producers recognize that is essential to be eligible for premiums.” To help facilitate that market demand, ABS has placed emphasis on helping its customers tap market opportunities, including 1) providing age and source verification documentation to qualify for export eligibility, 2) assisting with promotion of calves through private listings to feedlots, 3) aligning with Big Blue Sale Barn, an Internet-based video auction, and 4) offering heifer marketing outlets. ABS is USDA-approved to provide age and source verification services for cow-calf producers, grow yards and feedlots. The process must begin at the farm or ranch of origin and includes an on-site audit where a short list of questions must be answered to determine if the calves are eligible for age and source verification. If the calves qualify, they will receive a program compliant tag and paperwork with documentation that will remain with

them to the packing plant. When producers are ready to market their calves, ABS can promote them through a private listing to a network of more than 120 feedlots. Or, ABS marketing specialists are also available to video the cattle, consign them to Internet-based Big Blue Sale Barn and manage the weigh-up and shipping process. Big Blue Sale Barn holds an Internet video auction every other week and specializes in age- and sourceverified cattle suitable for branded beef and export programs. Chrisman says the marketing aid offered by ABS has been especially helpful to smaller producers in his territory. “We are focused on helping producers add value through genetics, tapping the natural market or qualifying for export markets. So, for producers who sell calves off the cow at weaning or may background, this offers additional opportunities for them to connect with buyers and garner a profit.” ABS also assists customers in marketing high-quality, ABSbred commercial replacement females through private treaty sales and special ABS heifer sales conducted through Big Blue Sale Barn or in cooperation with progressive auction markets.

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YouTube ‘protecting’ our youth

Page 9

C A TT L E

C IA T IO N

W MEXICO NE

By DENNY BANISTER / Missouri Farm Bureau Federation

hen I heard one of our Farm Bureau members created a video for YouTube showing their hog operation, I hurried online to watch it. In spite of the ‘secretly taped videos of livestock abuse’ we see on television, I know the vast majority of farmers do not abuse their animals and I was anxious to see a positive story on livestock production. So I went to YouTube and entered the title of the video, “Truth about Modern Pork Production,” and bingo — there it was ready to be clicked on to watch, but when I clicked on it instead of opening the video it made me verify I was 18 years old or older — if I were younger I could not watch it. I thought it strange the video could contain anything objectionable for young viewers, so I verified I was over 18 (in spades) and started the video. Just as I thought, there was no reason the video could not be viewed by all ages — it would receive a G rating in movie theaters, so why the age verification? There were links to other videos alongside the selection I viewed, and several of them were not only detrimental to farmers, but showed unspeakable violence and cruelty — and guess what? When I clicked on them, they opened without

making me verify I was 18 or older. I could watch all the animal abuse and brutality I wanted without any age requirement. Reading the comments section on the farmer’s YouTube page, she responded to the strange requirement of age verification for viewing her video. She said she contacted YouTube to see why her video was flagged as offensive, but was only told that “. . . members of the YouTube community deemed my video as having inappropriate content.” Hmmm, a positive, truthful story depicting how animals are treated in a modern hog operation is considered inappropriate, but videos showing cruel mistreatment of animals are considered appropriate. Something’s rotten in Denmark — and it’s not much better on YouTube. One other thing I noticed — the links alongside the positive story about livestock production included some that were very negative to the industry. The links alongside the stories negative to livestock production, however, were all negative to livestock production — there were no links at the time to “Truth about Modern Pork Production” or any other positive stories about livestock production. Doesn’t it make you feel good to know our youth are being protected from hearing both sides of the story?

Marketing Tips continued from page eight

Because of severe volatility in several commodity markets (grains, fuel, beef, etc.), feedlots want to “lock in” calf prices in advance of receiving the cattle. “This is a great opportunity to get upwards of $10/cwt. more for your calves ($50/head) by selling them during the summer on a video sale,” Ahola suggests. Be creative with your marketing “Few of the programs or options listed above will generate a premium unless your calves are offered for sale to buyers willing to pay premiums for having these beneficial traits,” Ahola emphasizes. He says the bottom line during 2010 is taking time to plan ahead, implement valueadded management choices and then find the market outlets willing to pay a premium.

Public employee pension reform is urgently needed to prevent the state’s slide into insolvency. And, the expansion of exports through a vigorous trade policy would especially benefit California given the state’s position as a gateway to the world’s fastest growing economies. It highlights that 12.3 percent of the state’s workers are unemployed and that small businesses are suffocating under excessive regulations, high taxes and lawsuit abuse. To address this, the Chamber’s plan outlines steps to make the Golden State’s economy more competitive and fiscally sound. These include: ■ Controlling soaring taxes and fees, since California already has the highest state sales tax in the nation, the fourth-highest personal income tax rate and the ninth-highest corporate rate. ■ Weeding out excessive regulations, including not-in-mybackyard (NIMBY) roadblocks that even stand in the way of “green” energy projects. ■ Reforming the legal system so that it punishes actual wrongdoing, without punishing businesses that are playing by the rules; a recent survey by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform ranks California the fifthworst legal system in the country. ■ Make Sacramento live within its means by controlling runaway spending, which has led to a projected $19.1 billion deficit this year alone; mandatory spending programs, mandatory budget allocations, public employee pension systems, and a steeply progressive tax system must all be reexamined and reformed. To spur job creation, the state needs a new direction. Federal

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A Golden State Action Plan he U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Golden State Action Plan,” highlights California’s spiraling deficit, rising taxes and growing regulations, and offers a state economic growth plan. The report calls for the removal of roadblocks to private investments in California’s transportation, energy, water and broadband infrastructure, and is asking that the state’s failing public schools be overhauled.

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and state policies must be dramatically changed in order to revitalize California’s economy before other states and other nations steal away more businesses, investors and jobs, says Chamber president Tom Donohue. Source: J.P. Fielder, ‘A Golden State Action Plan,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Aug. 24, 2010.

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Commanding Excellence:

Beefmasters T

om Lasater, founder of the Beefmaster breed, was one of those rare individuals who knew from childhood what profession he was going to pursue. He was fond of saying that ranching is his avocation as well as his vocation. Tom Lasater’s philosophies of cattle raising encompasses all aspects of the business from range ecology to merchandising. Perhaps his philosophy can be labeled ‘creative radicalism.’ “A good manager must be in love with results. A sound breeding program, oriented toward results, should be based on the Five Commandments of Livestock Breeding.” The First Commandment is to select only for the SIX ESSENTIALS; Disposition, Fertility, Weight, Conformation, Milk Production and Hardiness. The Second Commandment is to strive for reproductive efficiency. The Third Commandment is to performance test in a constant environment. The Fourth Commandment is to employ direct selection, which means selecting for the specific traits sought and not for a combination the breeder hopes will produce the desired results. The Fifth Commandment is to utilize the adaptive powers of

nature. Tom Lasater’s policy was to ask the impossible of nature. Beginning in the early 1930s, Lasater, developed Beefmasters from a systematic crossing of Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman cattle. His purpose was to develop cattle that were more productive than existing breeds; cattle that would produce and make money during economically hard times in the harsh environment of South Texas. While brownish-red is the most common color, the breed has no color standards. Beefmasters were recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a

pure breed in 1954. Since the early 1970s, when the breed began rapid expansion from its South Texas birthplace, Beefmasters have survived several wrecks in the cattle market without adversely affecting their growth and demand. From 1974 to 1998, membership in Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) grew from 300 to nearly 7,000. BBU, which was founded in 1961, is the fifth largest beef breed registry in the United States in membership and sixth in registrations. Responding to change and tough challenges are part of the Beefmaster heritage. Today, like yesterday, Beefmasters and the cattlemen and cattlewomen who raise them are ready.

The Six Essentials: Disposition: Selecting for disposition is simple. At weaning time, any difference in individuals is readily apparent in cattle raised under identical conditions. The bulk of animals with poor dispositions can be spotted at that time and culled. Thereafter, disposition is judged continually with any noticeably excitable or high-strung animals being periodically eliminated

September 15, 2010 from the herd. Fertility: The importance of fertility in the cattle business is obvious, and yet today’s ranchmen have failed to produce cattle that are fertile. Selection for reproductive efficiency consists of a short breeding season; males and females bred at 12 1/2 months to 14 1/2 months and a calf from every cow every year regardless. Reproductive efficiency also involves accomplishing the foregoing while keeping 80 - 90 percent of each heifer crop in order to intensify culling of the cow herd. Weight: The vast majority of cattle are marketed on a weighed basis. The importance of weight is universally recognized. In selecting bulls for weight two factors are involved: (1) weaning weight and (2) post-weaning gain. The weaning weight reflects the milking ability of the mother; the post-weaning gain indicates the individual's own capability. Conformation: In selecting for conformation, what is really under consideration is carcass conformation. As Tom Lasater said, “the ideal conformation is exemplified by that animal whose carcass will yield the most pounds of tender, lean beef per pound of live weight.” Fortunately, selection for this characteristic is not difficult because, given the chance, nature correlates

many of the desirable traits in beef cattle such as body length, weaning weight, fertility, feedlot performance and cutability. Hardiness: “Hardiness is exemplified by those individuals which carry on their relentless production assignment year after year with minimum assistance.” Every environment tests cattle in some fashion whether it is the cold, heat, drought, too much rain, parasites, rough terrain, predators, low quality feed or any other of the many problems that affect the rancher. Cattle should be raised in the environment in which they are to be used. Given that prerequisite, they should be able to adapt to the particular disadvantages of their geographic location. If they do not, obviously they will be unable to breed at 13 months or to wean a heavy, long-age calf nine months old or older every year. Milk Production: Selection for milk production is a simple matter of evaluating the cow’s milking abilities as reflected in her calf’s weaning weight. In the case of bulls, herd sires are selected from bulls with top weaning weights thereby perpetuating the blood from heavymilking females. Heifers are culled on weight at weaning; cows weaning light-weight calves are also eliminated.

We’re Golden — 2010 BBU Convention he prospects for golden opportunities at the 2010 Golden Anniversary BBU Convention are shining brightly! All that glitters may be gold October 28 through October 30, 2010 at Michael Gaughgan’s South Point Hotel — Casino — Spa where the Western States Beefmaster Breeders Association (WSBBA) will be hosting this year’s convention along with the 2010 President’s Council Sale. The slogan goes “What Happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, but we’re planning on proving that wrong by offering educational information, new friendships, and memories of great food and fun to take away with you at the conclusion of this event. Don’t wait! Book your rooms. Visit our website at http:// www.beefmasters.org/ to make your reservations at South Point. This will take you directly to the Beefmaster group site for room

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reservations. Rooms will be available to us at the rate of $60 per night Sunday through Thursday, and $115 per night Friday and Saturday. You can also call the South Point reservation line at 866/791-7626 and use the Beefmaster group code BEE1027. The cut-off date for the rates listed above is October 7, 2010. South Point has donated a number of “free stays” that will be given away at random during the convention events to registrants who have booked their rooms either through the BBU web site, or by using the group code when calling for their reservations, and who have paid their convention registration early. Watch for more details about these “free stays”.

MARKET If you’re moving or changing your mailing address, please send your name, old address, AND new address to: LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST, P.O. Box 7458, Albuquerque, NM 87194, or fax to: 505/998-6236

September 15, 2010

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

Page 11

Beef exports grow amid herd contraction DROVERS NEWS SOURCE

ow slaughter continues at a high rate, keeping U.S. beef production from expanding, while 2010 beef exports are up 13 percent over last year, according to the USDA’s August Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report. The July 1, 2010 Cattle report indicates that feeder cattle prices and the current series of profitable months of feeding cattle have not been enough to motivate beef cow herd expansion. As a result, cow slaughter continues at a high rate, setting the stage for further declines in cow inventories. While cattle cycles can be defined as total inventories of cattle and calves from trough to trough — as used here — or from peak to peak, the cattle cycle behavior that persists is largely due to dynamics in the beef cattle sector, since dairy cows have not exhibited cyclical behavior since about 1947. Other ways to look at cattle cycles are by cow inventories or by beef cow inventories. Each cycle consists of an expansion phase, a consolidation phase, and a liquidation phase. Historically, and prior to the current cycle, the shortest expansion phase, of three years, occurred from 1980 to 1982 when inventories increased by four percent from their low point. This expansion was followed by a liquidation that lasted eight years from 1983 to 1990, during which, inventories declined by 17 percent. The next cattle cycle peaked in 1996, increasing eight percent from its

1990 low — a 6-year expansion. This was followed by an 8-year, drought-extended liquidation that saw inventories decline by eight percent and left a 2004 cattle inventory about a million head lower than the January 1, 1990 trough. The shortest liquidation phase in historical terms occurred during the cattle cycle that began in 1959, peaked in 1965, and bottomed in 1967 — a 2-year liquidation. The expansion phase of the current cattle cycle began in 2005 and peaked in 2007, due in part to a short-lived upturn in dairy cow inventories. With the July 1, 2010 inventory report, U.S. inventories of cattle and calves are four years into liquidation. If one looks solely at January 1 beef cow inventories, the decline that began in 1996 has been continuous except during 2005 and 2006. Declines in both July 1, 2010 beef cow inventories (down 1 percent) and beef heifer inventories (down 2 percent) suggest that a further decline is likely in store for January 1, 2011 beef cow inventories. A number of factors drive inventory dynamics. Weather patterns, especially drought, can shift inventories into or extend liquidation of the cow herd. Profit margins can also affect retention or liquidation decisions. Current cow prices appear to be sending significant numbers of cows to slaughter, reducing the total cow inventory from its already low levels. Increased demand for corn and other grains in international markets will also continue to play a role in feed grain price dynamics. Prices for energy and other

America’s municipal debt racket ew Jersey officials recently celebrated the selection of the new stadium in the Meadowlands sports complex as the site of the 2014 Super Bowl. Absent from the festivities was any sense of the burden the complex has become for taxpayers, says Steven Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Nearly 40 years ago the Garden State borrowed $302 million to begin constructing the Meadowlands. The goal was to pay off the bonds in 25 years. Although the project initially went according to plan, politicians couldn’t resist continually refinancing the bonds, siphoning revenues from the complex into the state budget, and using the good credit rating of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition authority to borrow for other, unsuccessful building schemes, says Malanga: Today, the authority that runs the Meadowlands is in hock for $830 million, which it can’t pay back. The state, facing its own cavernous budget deficits, has had to assume interest payments — about $100 million this year on bonds that still stretch for

decades. This tale of woe has become familiar in the world of municipal finance. Governments have loaded up on debt, stretched out repayment times, and used slick maneuvers to avoid constitutional borrowing limits. While the country’s economic troubles have helped expose some of these practices, a sharp decline in tax revenues has prompted more abuse as politicians use long-term debt to kick short-term fiscal problems down the road, says Malanga. Taxpayers are only slowly realizing that their states and municipalities face long-term obligations that will be increasingly hard to meet. Rick Bookstaber, a senior policy adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission, recently warned that the muni market has all the characteristics of a crisis that might unfold with “a widespread cascade in defaults.” If that painful scenario materializes, it will be because we have too long ignored how some politicians have become addicted to debt, says Malanga. Source: Steven Malanga, “The authority that runs the new Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey is $830 million in hock,” Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2010.

inputs will likely increase, raising breakeven costs at all levels of the cattle and beef industries. These factors, combined with the much longer production cycle for beef cattle compared with other livestock species, enables producers of other species to more quickly respond to changes in demand for final meat and poultry products. With current Cattle report estimates of the calf crop in 2010 below 2009 by more than 400,000 head, or one percent, competition for feeder cattle in 2011 is expected to be severe.

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This competition could intensify if heifers are retained for replacements, further reducing feeder cattle supplies. Under such a scenario, feeder cattle prices would be well-positioned for significant support at higher levels. July 1, 2010 dairy replacement heifer inventories were up by three percent. Given that the number of heifers for dairy replacement as a share of the cow herd was record high for July, can be anticipated continued dairy cow slaughter at relatively high levels.

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Livestock Market Digest

Page 12

BSE and foot-and-mouth disease give beef producers plenty to chew on Japan ANDY SHARP, Japan Today

“Any of us would kill a cow, rather than not have beef.” hile it’s unlikely that too many people nowadays would put Samuel Johnson’s words into practice, steak lovers around the world can relate to the 18th century author’s passion for beef. You certainly won’t be left chewing your cud on the streets of Tokyo. In a nation known for its voracious appetite for fish,

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meat eaters have forced a sea change: in 2006, for the first time ever, the Japanese consumed more meat than seafood. As any Tokyo resident knows, every neighborhood is filled with joints offering gyudon, yakiniku, sukiyaki, beef stew, hamburgers (or the bunless “hambagu”), kebabs and steak — both Western and the much-revered wagyu. In addition to domestic producers and massive beef-exporting nations like Australia and the U.S., smaller exporters such as Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Vanuatu are staking their claim to the multi-billion dollar Japanese beef market. Yet look beyond the red-meat frenzy, and you see signs of trouble. In 2003, the discovery of U.S. beef infected with BSE (aka mad cow disease) led Japan to place a blanket ban on American imports. Domestically, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Miyazaki in April forced local officials to declare a state of emergency, and led to a cull of

nearly 300,000 cattle and pigs. Throw international trade frictions into the mix, and the Japanese beef scene leaves plenty to digest. Historically speaking, the biggest impact on meat consumption in Japan came with the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century. Emperor Tenmu (631-686), in line with Buddhist teachings, outlawed the eating of four-legged animals in 675. Backed by legislation, this practice became widespread over the next few centuries, and except for a few foreign enclaves, remained in place until the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1868. While the newly installed Emperor Meiji was known to regularly dine on beef and mutton, most people still wouldn’t eat cattle, as the beasts were used primarily as draft animals for rice production — making them sacred cows of a sort. Mechanized rice harvesting took root in the 1950s, leaving cattle out of work and, perhaps

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September 15, 2010 inevitably, fattened up for eating. At the same time, stringent import restrictions on agricultural products, including beef, kept much foreign meat out of the country and helped maintain relatively low consumption levels. The average Japanese ate just 4.2 kg of beef per year between 1962 and 1991, compared with 32.39 kg of fish. That all changed when the market was liberalized in the mid-1980s. In June 1988, Australia, the U.S. and Japan signed the Japanese Beef Market Agreement, which Access replaced quotas with tariffs and led to a huge rise in imported beef. According to finance min-

istry statistics, imports jumped from 11,864 metric tons in 1976 to 106,556 tons in 1988 and 348,299 tons in 2000. Per capita consumption, meanwhile, skyrocketed to a peak of 10.2 kg in 2002.

Australia is dominant market player By 2001, Australia and the U.S. had an identical share of the Japanese market — both countries imported 285,000 tons of beef during the fiscal year. Yet since the ban on U.S. beef took effect in 2003, the Australians have become the world’s domicontinued on page thirteen

What Women Want by JOHN MADAY, Managing Editor, Drovers Journal

omen still account for about 93 percent of food purchases in the United States, Mary Lou Quinlan says. And the good news is they feel a strong emotional connection to beef that just needs to be reinforced with some positive messages. Quinlan is CEO of a New York City market-research firm called “Just Ask a Woman,” that specializes in measuring women’s attitudes. Intervet/ Schering-Plough Animal Health recently contracted with the firm to conduct a study into the perceptions and attitudes of women toward beef and the beef-production system, and to develop positive communications messages. Toward those goals, Just Ask a Woman conducted indepth interviews with over 100 women from the East Coast and Midwest and uncovered some interesting trends. Quinlan and Tracy Chapman, co-director of brand insights for the firm, presented some of their findings at Intervet/Schering-Plough’s Cattle Feeders Summit in July. Quinlan says women feel confused and frustrated by the mixed messages they receive about food, and they don’t like others trying to make them feel guilty about what they serve to their families. “Women want to feel in control of their family’s dinner table,” she says. “They don’t like feeling it is being hijacked.” They just want the facts and don’t want to feel forced to anyone else’s agenda. Women value having the freedom to choose from a variety of meat products in various price ranges, and select the products that work for them and their families. Many women, Quinlan says, are confused about terms such as “organic” or “sustainable” as they apply to beef. They are unclear about the differences between these products and skeptical over whether their higher prices relate to value. A message that resonates with women, she says, is that most of our beef comes from family farms, many of which have been

in the same families for generations. These family farmers have improved their practices over the years and care about their animals and the beef they produce, which they feed to their own children. “There is a tradition to beef that they would like to have reinforced,” she says.

Words matter Quinlan says the study revealed opportunities to protect beef’s image with American women by changing some of the terminology we use — to “tell the story on her terms.” The term “feed additive,” for example, raises doubts, while the term “feed supplement” is more acceptable, especially when backed by assurances that feed supplements are extensively tested and regulated to protect animal health and food safety. Women prefer the term “farmer” over “cattle feeder” or “rancher,” she says. “Women want to marry a rancher, but buy their food from a farmer.” Rather than portray “organic” or “natural” beef as the enemy, or promote the price advantage of “conventional” beef, we should focus on freedom of choice, stressing that shoppers can select from a variety of lean, healthy and safe beef products with different attributes and price points. Finally, Quinlan says, we could benefit by dropping the term “conventional beef” in describing products from mainstream production systems. Instead, she suggests the term “traditional beef,” which communicates the idea that the beef results from established production practices proven over time to provide animal health, food safety, wholesomeness and value. Quinlan goes on to identify three “emotional pillars” of traditional beef. ■ Trust — Farm families care about their animals and beef quality. ■ Safety — Oversight from the USDA and FDA assures that today’s beef is safer than ever. ■ Freedom of choice — Shoppers want control over their food-purchase decisions. These pillars, she says, add up to beef you can count on.

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

September 15, 2010

BSE and foot-and-mouth nant player. The U.S., however, is fighting back. In an attempt to restore consumer confidence in American meat, Tokyo and Washington implemented a Beef Export Verification program in 2006 to certify that U.S. exports meet Japan’s BSE-related requirements. The program restricts imports to certain cuts of beef, but more importantly, it only permits the U.S. to export beef from cows aged 20 months or less — young cattle being considered less susceptible to BSE. “Although the ban has been lifted, current restrictions are having a significant effect on trade,” a U.S. Embassy official tells Metropolis. “U.S. beef exports to Japan prior to these measures were over four times the current level . . . The age restriction poses the single greatest hurdle facing U.S. beef exports to Japan. However, there is a very strong demand for U.S. beef in Japan, so we maintain a positive outlook with the assumption that Japan will address these restrictions.” And, indeed, there are signs

continued from page twelve

that the curbs may soon be relaxed. According to recent reports, Japan and the U.S. will likely resume talks on the issue as early as September. Washington will almost certainly push for a softening of the age rule, and government sources point to a possible increase of the minimum age to 30 months. When the mad cow scare took a big bite out of US beef imports, many restaurants and supermarkets embraced the Aussie alternative. “We only use Australian beef,” says Satoshi Ueda, operating partner of the Outback Steakhouse chain in Japan. “We used to use U.S. beef, but switched to Australian after the BSE outbreak because consumers were concerned.” Ueda hints, however, that this policy is not permanent: “We are considering using U.S. beef again in the future. U.S. beef has more marbling and tenderness, whereas Australian beef is a redder meat that is a little tougher. Some customers prefer U.S. beef, and some prefer Australian.”

Atsushi Kugue, PR manager of the Japanese arm of Meat & Livestock Australia, sees beef from Down Under playing a vital role in Japan. “Australia was already a major supplier of imported beef to the Japanese market when BSE was discovered in the U.S.,” he says. “Australia helped fill the gap left by the United States’ absence. Japan needed safe beef, and Australia did its best to meet demand.” Australia supplies beef to all segments of the Japanese market, including retail shops, restaurants and schools. In fact, a majority of beef served at gyudon and other fast food chains is Australian, and perhaps most significantly, more than 90 percent of the beef used at that quintessential American icon — McDonald’s — comes from Down Under. So, does the recent foot-andmouth crisis offer the same opportunity for growth as BSE did a decade earlier? “Any disease outbreak such as FMD is of concern to the whole beef industry — whether it be domestic or imported,” Kugue says. “Aussie beef is not a direct substitute for Japanese domestic

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beef. Consumers regard Australian and Japanese domestic beef as two very different products, and business has continued as usual.” To many Japanese, the rise of imported beef is a moot issue, because nothing but the famed domestic product will do. Many restaurants, like Sazanka at the Hotel Okura Tokyo, refuse to serve any meat from overseas. “We decided to use Japanese beef because of customer demands, as we were the first teppanyaki restaurant to open in a hotel [in Japan],” says Kazuhiko Kobayashi, Okura’s food and beverage manager. “Wagyu has intense marbling and is incredibly juicy.” Despite being significantly more expensive than imported meat, Japanese beef is a must for many foodies in Japan, and the word “wagyu” itself has entered the English lexicon. But consumption of Japanese beef has remained flat over the last decade, with annual production

hovering around the 350,000-ton mark. “Beef consumption is affected more by economic circumstances than meats such as pork or chicken,” says Yuichi Imasaki of the Meat and Egg Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. “While domestic production may have dropped because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Miyazaki, consumption of beef as a whole has fallen due to the downturn.” To be sure, the epidemic has devastated beef farmers in Kyushu. But Imasaki prefers to look at the bigger picture. “The foot-and-mouth outbreak was only in Miyazaki and hasn’t spread across the country,” he says. “Not so many cattle have been culled — only about 68,000 head. That’s only two percent of the national population. There hasn’t been a direct impact.” This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp).

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Livestock Market Digest

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ecent research conducted at New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC) is helping scientists tease apart the nature versus nurture puzzle by showing that a cow’s geographic experience affects its grazing behavior and diet choices in the harsh desert rangeland pastures of southern New Mexico. The study will also help livestock producers make management decisions that are both profitable and sustainable in desert rangelands. Using GPS technology to track and monitor the animals, Derek Bailey and Milt Thomas, professors in the College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences’ (ACES) Animal and Range Sciences department, compared the grazing distribution patterns and quality of forage selected by three groups of Brangus cows at the CDRRC: ■ “native” — those living their entire lives in the Chihuahuan Desert; ■ “tourist” — cows born and raised in the desert, moved to the subtropical environment of Leona, Texas, for the previous three years and then returned to the CDRRC; and ■ “naive” — cows born and raised in Leona, Texas, with no desert experience before coming to the CDRRC.

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“In the extensive rangeland pastures of New Mexico and the West, there are many areas far from water, up steep slopes or at higher elevations that are grazed lightly or not at all, while other areas near water or on gentle slopes are often overgrazed,” said Bailey, who is also director of the CDRRC, which is operated by NMSU’s Agricultural Experiment Station. “If we can find animals that are more willing to walk farther from water and use pastures on steeper slopes and at higher elevations, we can make grazing in those areas more sustainable, and ranchers will be able to graze more livestock in them. This approach is cheaper than adding water or building fences to extend grazing areas,” Bailey said. “CDRRC pastures are very large, some over 9,000 acres. The GPS collars allow us to watch where the cattle go and see how well they forage, how far they can walk for water and how well they can cover the landscape. We can determine their adaptability and how sustainable the grazing from these particular animals is,” he said. “We know from the CDRRC’s multigenerational Brangus breeding program that, in general, Brangus cattle, which are threeeighths Brahman and five-eighths Angus, are well adapted to harsh desert rangelands,” Bailey said. “But this study documented that native Brangus cows, those living their entire lives in the desert, had advantages over the other two groups. “Native cows spent more time away from water, periods ranging from 24 to 48 hours, while naive and tourist cows spent 24 hours or less away from water. Also, native cows grazed and used areas farther away from water than either naive cows or tourist cows. “On the other hand, naive cows, with no prior desert experience, used less area and stayed closer to water than tourist and native cows,” Bailey said. The researchers found that cows with extensive desert experience — both native and tourist — chose a more nutritious diet during drought conditions than naive cows, which had no previous desert experience. These results show that a cow’s experience does affect its ability to adapt to and thrive in the extensive rangeland pastures of the desert Southwest and that spending time away from the desert can affect an animal's behavior and adaptability when it is returned to the desert rangeland. And that information can be important for livestock producers making herd-stocking choices and decisions about sustainable rangeland management. “We can recommend that ranchers using desert rangelands stock at levels allowing them to

keep a core herd of cows adapted to this environment in drought conditions so those cows can produce their own replacements. If ranchers purchase new animals, we suggest they choose animals developed with forages and environments similar to a rancher’s location,” Bailey said. Thomas, who is professor of animal science and the ACES’ 2010-2011 Gerald R. Thomas chair, focuses on molecular genetics and breeding. Since 1997, he has headed the CDRRC’s multigenerational Brangus breeding program, which began in the 1960s. “Today, because we can analyze DNA, we can tell if an allele (one part of a gene pair) comes from the Brahman parent or from the Angus parent; therefore we can know that the phenotype (a trait or characteristic) of an individual brangus is a certain way because of what it inherited from either the Angus or the Brahman,” Thomas said. “Teasing apart the nature versus nurture puzzle is a challenging part of science and one of the areas that Derek and I work at almost every day,” Thomas said. “When we look at traits like grazing distribution and diet selection, we really want to know how much of each trait is due to genetics and how much is due to learning. When we know the difference between the two, we can make better recommendations to producers.” “It’s very important in rangeland management to understand how the animals can adapt or produce in certain environments,” Thomas said. “The cattle’s ability to understand the range itself is a part of the longterm selection process. Since we’ve been selecting the multigenerational Brangus cattle for many years over many generations now, the cows have figured out what’s good to eat in the desert in different seasons. “It’s really amazing. In some seasons when the grass is dead, you would think there’s nothing good to eat, but the Brangus cows just seem to know how to go out and find what’s good to eat, and they eat a lot of stuff other than grass: forbs, like clover, sunflowers and milkweed; leaves off of shrubs; beans off of mesquite plants. They really have honed their foraging skills way beyond just eating grass,” he said. “Our studies moving cattle from one environment to another are documenting that animals from an environment, that have been there for a long time, are going to have a knowledge advantage over animals that aren’t from there. It’s kind of like home-court advantage,” Thomas said. “And that’s key information for livestock producers in the Chihuahuan Desert who are raising cattle here: Now we know there is great value in animals that are from this environment.”

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

September 15, 2010

American Agri-Women show begins airing arm women are making a difference from coast to coast. RFD-TV will air a tv show produced by American Agri-Women (AAW) for farm women on Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. EST, beginning August 31. The show will repeat each week on Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. The American Agri-Women Show is a series by, for, and about farm and ranch women. In this half-hour series, AAW brings a weekly topic of concern to farm, ranch and agribusiness women and shares information about how to manage risk in agricultural operations. Each show features expert advice on that week’s topic and includes a visit with a farm woman who is addressing that issue in her farm-

ing operation. Farm women from Oregon to North Carolina are featured on the show. AAW President Chris Wilson said, “It’s been our goal to bring programming to farm and ranch women throughout the country. We are very grateful to RFD-TV President Patrick Gottsch for making this dream a reality, and we are excited to be part of this great network.” Topics include marketing your commodities; evaluating new enterprises, such as agritourism; promoting agriculture; agricultural labor issues; educating students and policymakers about agriculture; managing risk through crop insurance; business planning; accessing farm credit; and resources for women in agri-

culture. The series is sponsored by the Risk Management Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The host is award winning farm broadcaster and AAW member Kathy Patton Strunk. Launched in December of 2000 and now beginning its 10th year of broadcasting, RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television channel dedicated to serving the needs and interests of rural America with programming focused on agriculture, equine and rural lifestyle, along with traditional country music and entertainment. The channel is now distributed into more than 40 million homes worldwide by DBS and cable systems including DISH Network (231), DIRECTV (345), Comcast, Ver-

Junior fed beef challenge winners he cattle feeding industry’s bright future was evident as youth from throughout Cattle Feeding Country came to Canyon for the 2010 Texas Cattle Feeders Association (TCFA) Junior Fed Beef Challenge. In the Senior Division, Dana Schumacher, Gainesville won Overall Champion honors and a $2,000 college scholarship. Levi Trubenbach of Muenster was named Overall Reserve Champion and will receive a $1,500 college scholarship. Trubenbach was also named Top Rookie in the Senior Division. Khaki Scrivner, Turkey took home First Runner-Up honors and will receive a $1,000 college scholarship. In the Junior Division, Clayton Schumacher,

Dalhart took top honors as the Overall Champion and was also named Top Rookie of the Junior Division. The Team Challenge Contest was won by Jack Odom and Zachary Odom, Collingsworth County 4-H. The Odoms will split a $1,000 college scholarship. The TCFA Junior Fed Beef Challenge allows FFA and 4-H students to gain practical, real industry knowledge and experience in commercial cattle feeding. Students from throughout Cattle Feeding Country compete in cattle performance, written exam, record book and presentation before a panel of judges. Students compete for approximately $13,000 in scholarships, cash and prizes.

Baxter BLACK O N

T H E

E D G E

ometimes you have to choose between personal principles and sympathetic understanding. For example, as a public personality, I have deliberately chosen to decline invitations to do political fund raisers. Although I have strong opinions, I leave those national issues to pundits with thicker skin. Once I had a request to make a commercial for a lady running for office. I explained politely for the reasons stated, that I wasn’t comfortable doing politics. “Fine,” she said, “Here’s what I want you to say. . .” It was my mother-in-law. Of course I made the commercial! I have had occasion to decline paying jobs to be on programs where I would have had to be in the company of individuals whose amblings, behavior, or writings, I find obnoxious. Why put myself through the stress. Last month I received a package in the mail from a publishing company. They had sent me a children’s book to look over, maybe to write a blurb or mention in my column, web site or radio program. As a rule I don’t often have the time to read all

O F

C O M M O N

Principles

S E N S E

the books or listen to all the CDs I receive. I may skim them quickly but I rarely get a blurb or a forward written. I thought I recognized the author’s name or the book idea. I vaguely remembered a phone call, but it was a nice kid’s book that was well illustrated. The short story was about a young girl finding an abandoned horse becoming concerned, and eventually getting it in a horse-rescue facility. It was well done, an honest heart-felt story that didn’t get mushy and was realistic about the problem of abandoned horses. It was better than I expected. Then I looked at the last page. It listed organizations to contact for more information about horse neglect, rescue and therapy. Staring up at me like an obscene gesture in a passing car window was listed the Humane Society of the United States. I wrote back to the publisher expressing my regret that I would not be able to pass along or recommend the book because of their association with HSUS. A group that has such a poisoned reputation in the horse world among so many veterinarians, horse raisers, trainers, cow-

boys, auction operators, trail riders, packers, breeders, performance and show people, not to mention many horse-related associations. In large part because they bear a chunk of the responsibility for the tragedy of animal suffering and abandonment that has befallen the magnificent equine. They were at the front of the ill-fated closure of horse slaughter plants which severely diminished the value of all horses. HSUS is the Rod Blagojevich of the horse world. I admit I didn’t ponder long on my decision, because of my familiarity with HSUS. I do feel sympathy for the author and artist. They mean well and are genuine in their concern for the problem. But they are simply innocent of the HSUS that continues to be exposed for its lessthan-honest portrayal of itself as a benign fundraiser that cares for abandoned or abused horses. The publisher fell in with bad companions and will be judged thereby. For info on the underside of HSUS find consumerfree dom.com. www.baxterblack.com

Page 15

izon FiOS TV (247), Mediacom, Charter, Bresnan, Brighthouse, Time Warner, Cox, SKY, Freesat and more than 600 independent rural cable systems. American Agri-Women (AAW) is the national coalition of farm, ranch and agribusiness women, with 59 affiliate state and commodity organizations nationwide. Visit us on the web at americanagriwomen.org. We are @Women4Ag on twitter.

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FIVE STATE Box 266, Clayton, NM 88415 SALE BARN: 505/374-2505 Kenny Dellinger, Manager, 575/207-7761 Watts Line: 1-800/438-5764

LIVESTOCK AUCTION

Active buyers on all classes of cattle. Stocker demand within excellent wheat pasture and grass demand. Supporters of vaccination program of your choice. Four active packer buyers, supported by area feedlots on these feeder cattle. Receiving station available. Sheep Sale 2nd to last Wednesday every month!

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Irish Blacks Early Maturity & Consistency at the Highest Level

e have ultra sounded, DNA gene tested and slaughtered hundreds of 1/2 blood and 3/4 blood calves sired by our purebred bulls. We ultrasound a combination of 200 young bulls and heifers each year. The results on the 200 head in 2007 was IDENTICAL to the 200 head in 2006. The average was 11 1/2 months with the bulls averaging 942 pounds. It is important to note that the 400 head were sired by SEVEN different herd sires. The ultra sound index for excellence in carcass quality gene traits are: Back fat of .25 inches is rated excellent. Our 400 head averaged .16 of an inch! The REA (rib eye area) should score 1.1 square inches per 100 pounds of body weight. Example = a 1,000 pound animal would score 11 square inches of REA to rate superior. Our 400 head (2 year period) averaged 1.37 for 13.7 square inches of REA! That much-sought marbling score that every beef breed is trying to reach is 3.5. Again, our 400 head averaged 3.87! Here again it is important to note the importance of transmitting the gene traits for CONSISTENCY. The variation between the high score and the low score for each of these essential gene traits was only 1% to 2%, which can be classified as a rarity in today’s beef cattle breeding programs. Transmitting superior CONSISTENCY is the direct result of the genetic power of a dominant small highly concentrated gene pool. Our consistent early maturity gene trait is placing Irish Black sired calves on the market two to four months earlier than the bulk of the calves sired by bulls of other beef breeds. This is a substantial savings on feed and labor costs.

For further information view (www.irishblacks.com) Phone: Maurice W. Boney • 970/587-2252 or Guy Gould • 970/483-5148

Livestock Market Digest

Page 16

2010 Sets Record For Cost Of Government he average American worker had to toil through the first 231 days of 2010 — more than 63 percent of the year — to pay off the costs of their state, local and federal governments. This leaves just under

four and half months for Americans to provide for themselves and their families before the growing tab of the cost of government comes due again, says Mattie Corrao, government affairs manager for Americans

for Tax Reform. Every year, the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation and its Center for Fiscal Accountability calculate the day on which average Americans have paid off their share of the costs of feder-

g•u•i•d•e

September 15, 2010 al, state and local spending and regulations. This year the day fell on August 19, a full eight days later than last year’s date. It is the latest Cost of Government Day ever recorded, says Corrao. “The fact that Cost of Government Day falls in the later part of August is alarming enough. It is even more harrowing that the 2010 Cost of Government Day constitutes a 34day jump from Cost of Government Day just two short years ago, when it fell on July 16,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “This illustrates the ballooning growth of government, and should be of serious concern

to taxpayers who are footing the ever-expanding bill.” Federal spending, always the largest component of the cost of government, consumed 104 days of the average American’s life this year. The cost of sustaining state and local governments has likewise grown — taxpayers must work 52 days to pay off this burden, four days longer than in 2009. The growing insolvency of state budgets, coupled with exploding wages and benefits for government workers, continues to push the costs of state and continued on page seventeen

Environmental Sustainability of Beef Production Has Improved All Breeds

BRANGUS DEES BROTHERS BRANGUS Yuma, Arizona High-Quality Brangus Breeding Stock Available

PerformanceTested Bulls

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SPRING AND FALL

HEREFORD

A SOURCE FOR PROVEN SUPERIOR RED ANGUS GENETICS 14298 N. Atkins Rd., Lodi, CA 95240

Jeff Schmidt

•

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Oct. 25, 2010 angus JOHNNY SUMMEROUR

Bell Key Angus Dennis Boehlke 208/467-2747 Cell. 208/989-1612

A few Choice Bulls Available at Private Treaty.

NAMPA, IDAHO

4438 FM 3212 Dalhart, TX 79022 Telephone: 806/384-2110 Cell: 806/333-5910

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SCHUSTER CLAY SCHUSTER 509/773-5089 Home 541/980-7464 Cell

Foundation Herd of the Beefmaster Breed

The Lasater Ranch, Matheson, CO 80830 719/541-BULL (2855) • (F) 719/541-2888 lasater@rmi.net • www.lasaterranch.com

Running Creek Ranch 2-year-old Bulls Proven Genetics, Range Ready WE SELL OVER 250 HEAD ANNUALLY.

BRANGUS

JOE FREUND 303/840-1850 (H) 303/341-9311 JOEY FREUND 303/841-7901

• RED, BLACK POLLED LIMOUSIN • LIM-FLEX • LIMOUSIN PRIVATE TREATY

4995 Arzberger Rd. Willcox, Arizona 85643 Willcox, AZ

HERD ESTABLISHED 1953

ERIC HERR 208/365-8583 ericph1@frontiernet.net KEVIN NESBITT 208/365-8069 SWEET, IDAHO 83670

Call: 979/245-5100 • Fax 979/244-4383 5473 FM 457, Bay City, Texas 77414 dwendt@1skyconnect.net

Santa Gertrudis Breeders International

ELIZA BETH, COLOR ADO 80107

LIMOUSIN

520/384-3654

PAT KELLEY 303/840-1848

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Dan Wendt S

BEEFMASTERS

SANTA GERTRUDIS

LASATER

“THE PEDIGREE IS IN THE NAME”

To list your herd here, please contact Debbie Cisneros: 505/332-3675, or email: debbie@aaalivestock.com

GOLDENDALE, WA 99620

LIMOUSIN BEEFMASTER

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P.O. Box 1257 Kingsville, Texas 78364 361/592-9357 361/592-8572 fax

www.santagertrudis.ws Shorthorn AMERICAN SHORTHORN ASSOCIATION 877/274-0686 8288 HASKELL ST., OMAHA, NE 68124 W W W. S HORTHOR N. OR G I NFO@ S HORTHOR N. OR G

dvances in productivity over the past 30 years have reduced the carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of U.S. beef production, according to a new study presented in July 2010 by a Washington State University (WSU) researcher. In “Comparing the environmental impact of the US beef industry in 1977 to 2007,” assistant professor of animal science Jude L. Capper revealed that improvements in nutrition, management, growth rate and slaughter weights, have significantly reduced the environmental impact of modern beef production and improved its sustainability.

RED ANGUS

Challenging misconceptions “These findings challenge the common misconception that historical methods of livestock production are more environmentally sustainable than modern beef production,” said Capper in her presentation today at the American Society of Animal Science meeting in Denver. “It’s important to note that all food production has an environmental impact, but significant improvements in efficiency have clearly reduced the greenhouse gas emissions and overall environmental impact of beef production,” said Capper. “Contrary to the negative image often associated with modern farming, fulfilling the U.S. population’s requirement for high-quality,

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nutrient-rich protein while improving environmental stewardship can only be achieved by using contemporary agricultural technologies and practices.”

Fewer animals slaughtered In 2007, there were 13 percent fewer animals slaughtered than in 1977 (33.8 million vs. 38.7 million), but those animals produced 13 percent more beef (26.3 billion lbs. of beef versus 23.3 billion lbs. in 1977). By producing more beef with fewer resources, Capper found that the total carbon footprint for beef production was reduced by 18 percent from 1977 to 2007. “As the global and national population increases, consumer demand for beef is going to continue to increase,” Capper says. “The vital role of improved productivity and efficiency in reducing environmental impact must be conveyed to government, food retailers and consumers.” When compared to beef production in 1977, each pound of beef produced in modern systems used: ■ 10 percent less feed energy ■ 20 percent less feedstuffs ■ 30 percent less land ■ 14 percent less water ■ 9 percent less fossil fuel energy ■ 18 percent decrease in total carbon emissions (methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide) The study used a whole-system environmental model that integrated all resource inputs and waste outputs within the beef production system, from crop production to beef arriving at the slaughterhouse. This project was supported by the Beef Checkoff Program through a research grant from state beef councils in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Washington. Advances in productivity over the past 30 years have reduced the carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of U.S. beef production. A summary of the study can be found at: http://www.explorebeef.org/CMDocs/ExploreBeef/Environmental%20Sustainability%20of% 20Beef%20Production%20Has%20Improved% 20Considerably%20Over%20Last%2030%20Y ears.pdf

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

September 15, 2010

Food (Safety) Fight by RICHARD RAYMOND

www.meatingplace.com (The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.) r at least that is the conreached by clusion researchers who conducted a study of retail beef products comparing the levels of bacterial contamination in grassfed and conventionally raised beef. That really is not a big news story to me, but some of the test results are perplexing, to say the least. The researchers had their study reported in “Foodborne

Cost of Government

Pathogens and Disease.” A review of the study was just recently reported on July 20, 2010, in CIDRAP News (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy) at the University of Minnesota. Investigators participating in the study were from Purdue University in Indiana and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. The report says the researchers found no significant differences in total coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli or Enterococcus species in grass-fed vs. conventionally raised beef products. That will not be surprising to many despite the marketing claims often made that grass-fed

continued from page sixteen

local governments higher. These costs are supported by increasingly onerous tax regimes as state lawmakers refuse to cut spending to ease the burden of government, says Corrao: Across the nation, state taxes were raised by a net of $23.9 billion in FY2010. In addition, although excise taxes on cigarettes and other less visible products were popular last year, states became bolder this year, with 12 states increasing income taxes by more than $10.7 billion in total. Source: Mattie Corrao, “2010 Sets Record for Cost of Government,” Heartland Institute, August 17, 2010.

beef is safer. What may be surprising to most is that two-thirds of the samples were from solid cuts of beef, such as intact steaks, and only one-third were from ground beef and that there was no difference in coliform levels between the two products. For E coli, the contamination rates were 44 percent for both sample sets. The ground beef samples that were from grass-fed cattle actually had a higher level of E coli than the conventionally raised product. Enterococcus species were isolated from 62 percent of the conventional samples and 44 percent of the grass fed samples, a difference the authors say did not reach significance (P=.07) No E coli 0157:H7 was found in any products. Outlets where the samples were obtained included retail stores, farm stores and farmers’ markets. Samples were washed according to standard protocols, and the rinsate was then tested for pathogens. None of the products were labeled as being Organic. The samples were small, only 50 apiece for grass-fed and conventionally raised, but the percentages sure seem high to me.

Artists n New Mexico, Sue’s poetry and art products are available in Pleasanton at the Running Horse Gallery on Highway 180. They are open 10 to 5 on Fri-Sat-Sun. You can preview some of Sue’s poetry at CowboyPoetry.com or contact her via email or telephone. She will have a website soon with additional paintings offering a choice of framed/unframed prints, note cards, framed/unframed poetry prints, mouse pads, coffee cups with picture/verse, and, of course, CD’s and books.

SUE JONES COWBOY COMPANY CREATIONS P.O. Box 593, Camp Verde, AZ 86322 928/567-3785 cowboycompany@gilanet.com

Page 17

And even though no 0157 was found, the amount of evidence of contamination occurring somewhere along the process is problematic. And the fact that it was so high in solid cuts is especially bothersome to a guy who likes his steaks on the rare side and his prime rib penetrated with garlic cloves. Grass fed steers may be more likely to be slaughtered in smaller facilities, with slower line

speeds, but that is not always going to be the case. And cross contamination can occur in the transportation process, in the processing facility or in the retail shops. My conclusion is that grassfed, and sold in the local farmers’ markets, does not infer that I do not need to safely handle and appropriately cook my beef, solid cut or fresh raw ground. What is yours?

T HE L I V E S T O C K M A R K E T D I G E S T

Real Estate

GUIDE TO PLACE YOUR LISTINGS HERE, PLEASE CALL DEBBIE CISNEROS AT 505/332-3675, OR EMAIL DEBBIE@AAALIVESTOCK.COM

AFFORDABLE RANCHES IN SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO BERRY LUCAS • 575/361-7980

Digest

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“Summer Breezes” TimCox.com 505/632-8080

Equipment

DANE STUHAAN (CA) 559/688-7695 • Cell (NE): 559/731-7695

Kaddatz Auctioneering & Farm Equipment Sales New and used tractors, equipment, parts and salvage yard. www.kaddatzequipment.com • 254/582-3000

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Livestock Market Digest

Page 18

September 15, 2010

THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST

R.G. DAVIS, BROKER Cell: 530/949-1985

Properties

and Equities

19855 S. Main St., P.O. Box 1020 Cottonwood, CA 96022 Office: 530/347-9455 Fax: 530/347-4640 homeranchr@sbcglobal.net

CALIFORNIA RANCHES Lassen County: 11,725 acres, all deeded. 970 acres irrigated, flood and 4 pivots. Alfalfa, grain, grass. BLM permits, 500 cows, organic hay. Lots of potential for more farm ground. Priced at $5,375,000. Tehama County: 1,850 acres, winter range. Large barn, 1 bedroom apt., horse stalls, tie stalls, tack room, shop. Deluxe 400x200 ft. roping arena. All new fences and steel corrals. Hunting and fishing. Priced at $2,200,000. Tehama County: 556 acres, winter range, two small houses, corrals, chute, small barn. Good hunting and fishing. Price reduced — $775,000.

KEVIN C. REED Ranchers Serving Ranchers Texas and New Mexico

LEE, LEE & PUCKITT ASSOCIATES INC.

RANCH SALES & APPRAISALS Office: 325/655-6989 Cell: 915/491-9053

1002 Koenigheim, San Angelo, TX 76903 • www.llptexasranchland.com • llp@wcc.net

Tehama County: 80 acres, winter range and a custom built apprx. 3,000 sq. ft. beautiful home. Large barn, tack room, shop roping arena, round-pen — a real crown jewel. Many amenities. A roper’s dream. Priced at $1,400,000.

PREMIER RANCH FOR SALE “Advertising with Livestock Market Digest and New Mexico Stockman for the past couple years has been a very positive experience. We have worked directly with Debbie Cisneros and she goes above and beyond! Both publications offer a great circulation and a great website presence which helps us market more effectively for our clients. By advertising with them we get the results we desire.” (800) 772-7284 * (541) 772-0000 *

www.orop.com

THE RANCH FINDER presents . . .

Escondida Land & Cattle Co. A great ranch located in the foothills of the Capitan Mountain of Lincoln County, N.M., near Arabela, just eight miles above the Hondo Valley from Tinnie. 45 miles west of Roswell, and 25 miles east of Ruidoso, Escondida Ranch consists of 9931 deeded acres plus 6,551 U.S. Forest Service Lease w/an additional 490 New Mexico State Lease acres, 27 being sections of rolling foothills and open valleys of grama grass pastures at an altitude of 5,000 ft. A four-season cattle ranch w/an established grazing capacity of 500 animal units or 750 yearlings on a six-month grazing rotation system. This grazing program is also tied in with 130 acres of water rights applied to sprinkler irrigated grass pastures, w/irrigation wells capable of pumping up to a 900 gallon-per-minute at less than a 100' depth. Escondida Ranch is improved with a full service modern headquarters complex w/new barns, corrals and shipping pens w/scales. This area of Lincoln County is noted for its big game habitat and the ranch is annually issued eleven elk permits along w/topline mule-deer, black bear, mountain lion and barbary sheep hunting, and lots of turkey. A turn-key offering — everything goes.

Bailey Family Ranch, LLC. A year long cow/calf grazing unit located six miles north of Cuero in Guadalupe County, N.M., just off I-40, and 20 miles east of Santa Rosa — a trade center for this area and east 45 miles to Tucumcari, the Hub City for this quadrant in New Mexico. The Bailey Ranch consists of 7,587 deeded acres along with 1,160 New Mexico State Lease for a total of 8,747 grazing acres. This 14-section cow/calf or yearling ranch is located in some of the better grazing country in eastern New Mexico. Under normal range conditions this area receives 1416 inches of moisture a year and can support up to a 200-day growing season, at an elevation of around 4,300 ft. This ranch has an ideal habitat for deer, antelope and game birds. The design of the ranch is divided into six pastures and one trap 160+ acres of free grazing on vacant land, supported by six windmills and five surface tanks. In a fenced design seven miles long and two wide, north to south, Walker Road is an all weather county road running north along the west boundary. A basic headquarter complex with full services, a good tenant house, two-car garage and livestock working and shipping pens.

The Ranch Finder – Ronald H. Mayer P. O. Box 2391, Roswell, NM 88202 575/623-5658 • www.ranchfinder.com

12,000 acres, Terrell County, Texas. Southwest of Sheffield, southeast of Fort Stockton. Excellent hunting ranch, mainly deer (whitetail and mule) and turkey. New hunter’s lodge and walk-in freezer. Surface rights only; no minerals. Principals only. $400/acre, cash.

Real Estate Guide TO PLACE YOUR LISTINGS HERE, CONTACT DEBBIE AT 505/332-3675 OR DEBBIE@AAALIVESTOCK.COM

INTEREST RATES AS LOW AS 3%. PAYMENTS SCHEDULED ON 25 YEARS

billkalil@juno.com • 432/683-0990 • 432/349-8448 JOE STUBBLEFIELD & ASSOCIATES 13830 Western St., Amarillo, TX 806/622-3482 • cell 806/674-2062 Drew Perez Assocs. Nara Visa, NM • 806/392-1788

“EAGER SELLERS” 1,350 -1,400 AU’s YEAR ROUND – WINTER RANGE – 11,750 DEEDED PLUS BLM and STATE LEASES - ONE CONTIGUOUS BLOCK - LOW OVERHEAD – GOOD IMPROVEMENTS – 10 MINUTES TO TOWN and SCHOOLS -$6,000,000 – CAN CUT TO 1,000 HD AND REDUCE PRICE! – P BAR 225 – 250 AU’s - 850 DEEDED (650 irrigated) – 1-1/2 MILE RIVER - NICE MEADOWS – MODEST IMPROVEMENTS WITH GREAT WORKING FACILITIES – CLOSE TO TOWN and SCHOOLS - $1,800,000 – WANT OFFER – CAN ADD CUSTOM HOME AND 80 ACRES – GREAT STOCKER OPERATION – LYMAN – RAE @ 208/761-9553 LIFESTYLE RANCH 55 MILES TO BOISE – 2,213 DEEDED ACRES PLUS STATE AND BLM – DROP DEAD PRIVATE – 2 MILES MAJOR STREAM – BEHIND LOCKED GATE – COMFORTABLE IMPROVEMENTS – ELK, DEER, TURKEY, CHUKAR, HUNS, QUAIL, WATERFOWL - BEAR, LION AND VARMINT – TROUT and BASS PONDS - $1,400,000 – WANT OFFER – TURKEY CREEK LIFESTYLE – 320 DEEDED ACRES (105 irrigated) COMFORTABLE IMPROVEMENTS – SPECTACULAR VIEWS – BORDERS FEDERAL LANDS – ELK, DEER, TURKEY – ONLY MINUTES TO SOME OF THE FINEST YEAR LONG FISHING IN THE NORTHWEST – STEELHEAD, STURGEN, TROUT, BASS, CRAPPY AND MORE - $690,000 – WANT OFFER – POSY – RAE @ 208/761-9553 LIFESTYLE/INCOME – POSSIBLY THE FINEST WILDLIFE VARIETY/QUANITY AVAILABLE – 1,160 DEEDED ACRES (180 irrigated) – 2-1/2 MILES RIVER – 2 BASS PONDS – PLENTIFUL QUAIL, CHUKAR, DOVE, PHEASANT, WATERFOWL, DEER and AND VARMINTS - EXCELLENT IMPROVEMENTS – COW/CALF AND/OR STOCKER OPERATION FOR INCOME /TAX ADVANTAGE - $1,900,000 – LANDRETH

AGRILANDS Real Estate www.agrilandsrealestate.com Vale, Oregon • 541/473-3100 • jack@fmtcblue.com

5-acre Horse Set-up: Location-location, only 2+ miles north of Mountain Grove on Girlstown Rd. New fencing, 20x40 new 3-stall horse barn/shop/1-car garage, 1,300 sq. ft. , 3-br., 2ba. manufactured home, wrap around deck ( 2 sides), nestled down your private drive. MLS #1010102 675 Acres Grass Runway, Land your own plane: Major Price Reduction. 3 BR, 2 BA home down 1 mile private land. New 40x42 shop, 40x60 livestock barn, over 450 acres in grass. (Owner runs over 150 cow/calves, 2 springs, 20 ponds, 2 lakes, consisting of 3.5 & 2 acres. Both stocked with fish. Excellent fencing. A must farm to see. MLS #1010371 483 Acres, Hunter Mania: Nature at her best. Don’t miss out on this one. Live water (two creeks). 70+ acres open in bottom hayfields and upland grazing. Lots of timber (marketable and young) for the best hunting and fishing (Table Rock, Taney Como and Bull Shoals Lake) Really cute 3-bd., 1ba stone home. Secluded yes, but easy access to Forsyth-Branson, Ozark and Springfield. Property joins Nat’l. Forest. MLS#908571 See all my listings at: paulmcgilliard.murney.com

PAUL McGILLIARD Cell: 417/839-5096 • 1-800/743-0336

MURNEY ASSOC., REALTORS SPRINGFIELD, MO 65804

Idaho-Oregon Call 208/345-3163 for catalog.

KNIPE LAND CO. RANCHES FARMS COMMERCIAL Established 1944

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

September 15, 2010

Page 19

THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST

Real Estate GUIDE TO PLACE YOUR LISTINGS HERE, CONTACT DEBBIE CISNEROS AT 505/332-3675 OR DEBBIE@AAALIVESTOCK.COM TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES • 503 Ac. So. Navarro Co., Texas. It’s got it all. $1,950/ac. • 532-acre CATTLE and HUNTING, N.E. Texas ranch, elaborate home, one-mile highway frontage. OWNER FINANCE at $2,150/ac. • 274 ac. in the shadow of Dallas. Secluded lakes, trees, excellent grass. Hunting and fishing, dream home sites. $3,850/ac. • 535-ac. Limestone, Fallas and Robertson Co., fronts on Hwy. 14 and has rail frontage, water line, to ranch, fenced into 5 pastures, 2 sets, cattle pens, loamy soil, good quality trees, hogs and deer, hunting. Priced at $2,300/ac. • 1,700-acre classic N.E. Texas cattle and hunting ranch. $2,750/ac. Some mineral production. • 146 ac. – Horse, hunting are cattle ranch N. of Clarksville, TX. Red River Co. Nice brick house, 2 barns, pipe fences, good deer, hogs, ducks, hunting. Price at $395,000. • 256 ac. – E. Texas jewel. Deep, sandy soil, high, rolling hills, scattered good-quality trees. Excellent improved grasses, water line on 2 sides. Road frontage on 2 sides, fenced into 5 pastures. Five spring-fed tanks and lakes, deer, hogs, ducks. Near Tyler and Athens. Price $1,920,000.

Joe Priest Real Estate

Associated Professionals, Inc. 1205 West Pierce Street Carlsbad, NM 88220 Business 575/885-9722 Cellular: 575/706-4533 Fax: 575/885-1358 marbachhay@live.com

Jake Marbach, Broker Farm, Ranch, Residential EACH AGENCY IS INDIVIDUALLY OWNED AND OPERATED

NEVADA RANCHES and FARMS

MASON MOUNTAIN RANCH Nothern Elko County ranch with 3700 deeded acres and a small BLM permit. Great summer pasture with free water from springs, creeks and seeps. No power but land line phone. The ranch received 1 landowner Elk Tag this year. The irrigation reservior on Mason Creek is stocked with Red Band trout. Several useful buildings including home with gravity flow water and propane lights, water heater and refrigerator. The ranch should run 300 pair for the season. Price: $1,575,000.

Bottari Realty Out West Realty Network Affiliate

1205 N. Hwy 175, Seagoville, TX 75159

972/287-4548 • 214/676-6973 1-800/671-4548 www.joepriest.com joepriestre@earthlink.com

PAUL D. BOTTARI, BROKER www.bottarirealty.com • paul@bottarirealty.com

Home and 10 acres. Could be a great horse boarding operation. Additional acreage available. $193,500.

BARBARA IRWIN, Assoc. Broker • 575/356-6607 • 575/760-8491 300 N. Chicago, Portales, NM 88130

Ben G. Scott, Krystal M. Nelson, Brokers 1301 Front St., Dimmitt, TX 79027 • 1-800/933-9698 day/night www.scottlandcompany.com

RANCH & FARM REAL ESTATE

Ofc.: 775/752-3040

—— TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO ——

Res: 775/752-3809 • Fax: 775/752-3021

This ad is just a small sample of the properties that we currently have for sale. Please check our website: scottlandcompany.com and give us a call! We need your listings both large and small, all types of ag properties (ESPECIALLY CRP).

WAHOO RANCH – Approx. 41,376 acres: 12,000 deeded, 6,984 BLM, 912 state, 40 Under uncontrolled and 21,440 forest. Beautiful cattle ranch located on the east slope of A gr eement the Black Range Mountains north of Winston, N.M., on State Road 52 — three hours from either Albuquerque or El Paso.The ranch is bounded on the east by the Alamosa Creek Valley and on the west by the Wahoo Mountains ranging in elevation from 6,000' to 8,796'. There are 3 houses/cabins, 2 sets of working corrals (one with scales) and numerous shops and outbuildings. It is very well watered with many wells, springs, dirt tanks and pipelines. The topography and vegetation is a combination of grass covered hills (primarily gramma grasses), with many cedar, piñon and live oak covered canyons as well as the forested Wahoo Mtns. There are plentiful elk and deer as well as antelope, turkey, bear, mountain lion and javelina (46 elk tags in 2009). Absolutely one of the nicest combination cattle/hunting ranches to be found in the Southwest. Price reduced to $6,000,000. SAN JUAN RANCH – Located 10 miles south of Deming off Hwy. 11 (Columbus Hwy) approximately 26,484 total acres consisting of 3,484± deeded, 3,800± state lease, 14,360± BLM and 4,840± Uncontrolled. The allotment is for 216 head (AUYL). Nine solar powered stock wells and metal storage tanks and approx. 6½ miles pipeline. The ranch begins on the north end at the beautiful Mahoney Park high up in the Florida mountains and runs 5½ miles down the mountains to their south end. It continues another 7½ miles south across their foothills and onto the flats. The ranch has a very diverse landscape with plentiful wildlife including quail, dove, rabbits, deer and ibex. Lots of potential and a good buy at $1,000,000. 46 ACRE FARM LOCATED IN SAN MIGUEL – Full EBID irrigation and supplemental well. Bounded by Highway 28 on the east, County Road B-041 on the south and County Road B-010 on the west. Priced at $14,000/acre – $644,000. 212 ACRE FARM BETWEEN LAS CRUCES, NM AND EL PASO, TX – Hwy. 28 frontage with 132 acres irrigated, 80 acres sandhills, full EBID (surface water) plus a supplemental irrigation well, cement ditches and large equipment warehouse. Reasonably priced at $1,868,000. 50.47-AC. FARM - Located on Afton Road south of La Mesa, N.M. Paved road frontage, full EBID (surface water) plus a supplemental irrigation well with cement ditches. Priced at $13,000/acre – $660,400. BEAUTIFUL 143.81 ACRE NORTH VALLEY FARM located in Las Cruces, N.M. next to the Rio Grande River. Great views of the Organ Mountains. Cement ditches, 2 irrigation wells & EBID. 2 older houses and shed sold “as is”. Priced at $13,212/acre - $1,900,000. Will consider dividing. OTHER FARMS FOR SALE – In Doña Ana County. All located near Las Cruces, N.M. 8, 11, and 27.5 acres. $15,000/acre to $17,000/acre. All have EBID (surface water rights from the Rio Grande River) and several have supplemental irrigation wells. If you are interested in farm land in Doña Ana County, give me a call. ±37-ACRE FARM – west of Anthony, NM. Located 20 minutes from Sunland Park Race Track on Haasville Road (paved) just north of Gadsden High School and west of Highway 28. EBID, irrigation well and cement ditches. Beautiful farm with many possibilities. Call for aerial and location maps. Sign on property. Priced at $13,900/acre ($514,300).

DAN DELANEY R E A L E S TAT E , L L C www.zianet.com/nmlandman

5 miles west of Dora. 1365 NM 114. Unique, beautiful grassland. 640 acres, 97 acres in CRP. Paved frontage. 3/2/2 brick home. $395,000.

318 W. Amador Ave. Las Cruces, N.M. 88005 (O) 575/647-5041 (C) 575/644-0776 nmlandman@zianet.com

SUNSHINE BELT OF N.M. – Approx. 30 sections mostly deeded some BLM and State, employee housing and two sets of steel pens, county maintained, all weather road. Mild climate year round. TOM GREEN CO., TX DAIRY – capable of milking 1,500 in a parallel double 16 rapid exit parlor, nice home, 171 acres, additional adj. land available, pavement & all weather road, near San Angelo. QUAY CO., NM – 880 acres, 3 pivots, alfalfa, homes, barns and pens, pavement. REEVES COUNTY – 3,177 acres, strong water, 750 acres organic alfalfa, 20,000 head feedyard, feedmill.

GREAT NEVADA RANCH!

GREAT PRICE!

10,000 acres deeded, including 4,000 ac. irrigated grass meadow, alfalfa production. Numerous water rights to surface and underground water, USFS permit in excellent mountain country for 976 head in summer months, 7298 AUM’s BLM for spring and fall. Can run 1,000 head during drought conditions and an additional 2,000 on wet years. Priced to sell at 3.5 million.

DON BOWMAN, LLC Don Bowman, Broker 775/745-1734 Joe Dahl Sales 775/427-6287

Livestock Market Digest

Page 20

aising the right kind of Herefords for the commercial man. Summerour Ranch cattle have been on the top or in the top three at the Ft. Worth commercial sale and the San Antonio range bull sale for years.

K&B ADVANCER 7791 Owned with Heard Ranch Sire: HH Advance 438D • Dam: K&B starlet 013 1ET [DOD]

Herefords Since 1929

SELLING SERVICEABLE AGE BULLS & BRED HEIFERS

OCTOBER 30 • AT THE RANCH Visitors Always Welcome Cattle for Sale

CROSSROADS OF COW COUNTRY

RANCHES FOR SALE NEW MEXICO RANCHES FOR SALE SOUTHEAST N.M. RANCH: 13,397 deeded acres plus 7,393 acres of New Mexico State Lease. The terrain is fairly level to gently sloping and sometimes undulating. Soils range from sandy loam to sandy, with some sand hill country. Over the years, the owners have continued to improve this property with many miles of new fencing, additional water facilities and substantial brush clearing. The headquarter improvements are well maintained and the property shows pride of ownership. Improvements consist of an attractive owner’s home, guest house, barns, shop, horse pens, shipping pens, roping arena and other outbuildings. This working cattle ranch is set up and ready to operate. The property is priced at $2,500,000, or approximately $186 per deeded acre. LINCOLN COUNTY, N.M. RANCH: 50,300 deeded ac. The terrain is a combination of productive spring fed meadows, low mountains/foothills and gently rolling plains country. The rougher portions of the ranch have good protection with mixed canopies of oak, juniper, piñon and scattered ponderosa pine. The gently rolling country has an open appearance. The ranch is improved by two sets of headquarters, outbuildings and several large sets of working/shipping pens. This outstanding ranch is well watered by live spring/creek water, earthen ponds, numerous wells and an extensive waterline network. This scenic property is realistically priced at $340 per ac. EAST-CENTRAL NEW MEXICO CATTLE RANCH: 60,400 deeded acres with approximately 6,000 acres of leased and free use land. The ranch is located near Santa Rosa and historical stocking rates indicate a carrying capacity of 1,200–1,300 animal units. The ranch has a rolling to hilly terrain with a small amount of canyon country. The property is watered by natural lakes, submersible wells, windmills and an extensive waterline network. Improvements include a nearly new Spanish style hacienda, two camps and several good sets of livestock pens. The price on this ranch has just been reduced from $285 to $240 per acre. The seller is motivated to get this property marketed in the near future.

by CHRIS CLAYTON, DTN (AG POLICY BLOG)

oday, Sept. 2, 2010, this order is handed down, in the U.S. Court of Public Opinion, that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), and all officers, board members, volunteers and paid staff, shall cease and desist the nonsense of cross-country e-mailed salvos.” And no casting stones on the judge at this point. Time to cut it out and play nice boys.

“T

Apparently there was a “Kumbaya” moment at the end of the USDA-Department of Justice meeting recently in Fort Collins, Colo. Since then, NCBA and R-CALF have each attacked the other for, well, being who they are. Given the body of work that came out of the day-long USDADOJ event, each party could have taken some time to analyze statements made and raise some fact-based counter arguments to

We continue to specialize in large working cattle ranches priced to sell based on today’s economic conditions. These ranches are poised to have substantial appreciation when the market turns.

NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO RIVER RANCH: 10,005 deeded acres along with 1,320 acres of leased land. This unique, highly improved ranch features approximately 6-7 miles of Canadian River Canyon Country. Numerous structural improvements include over 30 miles of high game fence, landing strip, 15,000 square foot office/airplane hanger, along with numerous other structural improvements. The structural improvements offer a huge depreciation schedule, and everything is in place for the sportsman. $495 per deeded acre.

TEXAS RANCHES FOR SALE BORDEN COUNTY, TEXAS: 15,920.5± acres located west of Gail. Approximately 7 miles of Colorado River through the center of the ranch and spring fed Gold Creek heads on the property. Predominately rolling to sloping mesquite flats extending to rougher portions of the property on top of the Caprock. Well watered by the river, spring fed creek and other springs, windmills and electric wells. 1,400± acres in cultivation. Substantial highway frontage. Good cattle ranch in good condition. Whitetail deer, blue and bobwhite quail. Considerable oil production through much of the ranch and no minerals offered. All owned wind rights included. Long-term ownership — first time on market. Priced to sell. $495/ac. GARZA COUNTY, TEXAS: 960-acre ranch located approximately 50 miles east of Lubbock. Very scenic ranch with lots of water. McDonald Creek essentially runs through the center of the property. This creek has a history of running year around. Lake Creek also meanders through the west-half of the ranch. Terrain ranges from level to rough and broken. Lots of large mesquite and hackberry trees. Also, areas of scattered shinnery oak. Excellent deer, quail and turkey hunting. $850/ac. KENT COUNTY, TEXAS: 7,146.32± acres located south of Spur. Rolling to broken topography with good mix of mesquite cover and hackberry trees. Very well watered by electric wells, windmills and several nice ponds. Good fences and pipe pens and electricity is

—— O F F E R E D E X C L U S I V E L Y B Y ——

Time For NCBA And R-CALF To Cease And Desist

Statement of fact

39th ANNUAL FALL SALE

4438 F.M. 3212 • Dalhart, TX 79022 Johnny Summerour • 806/384-2110 • 806/333-5910 mobile

September 15, 2010

on the property. This is an excellent ranch in a highly desirable location. Excellent cattle country, quail habitat and big whitetail deer. Access by maintained county roads a short distance from paved highway. Some CRP. MINERALS AND 100% WIND RIGHTS! Can be sold in two tracts. Long-term ownership — first time on market. Priced to sell. $775/ac. KENT COUNTY, TEXAS: 3,650.57± acre ranch southwest of Spur on Hwy. 1081. Very scenic cattle ranch w/excellent hunting opportunities located on the Salt Fork of the Brazos River. This ranch has a diverse terrain ranging from rough breaks to level mesquite flats. The Salt Fork of the Brazos, Red Mud Creek and Little Red Mud Creek all cross through this ranch. The Brazos River will typically run or stand water year around. Grass turf is good. Under the same family ownership for over 50 years. $795/ac. STONEWALL COUNTY, TEXAS: 7,435.87± acres located northeast of Aspermont. Approximately seven miles of year-round live water through the ranch in Croton Creek. Two other nice seasonal creeks run through the ranch draining to Croton Creek. Additional water by springs and several nice ponds. Varied topography ranging from rough, broken cedar breaks and canyons, mesquite flats, productive creek bottoms and two cleared fields. This ranch is well off the beaten path and access is by over 10 miles of dirt county roads. Some scattered oil production on the ranch and no minerals offered. Long-term ownership — first time on market. Priced to sell. $695/ac.

DESCRIPTIVE BROCHURES AVAILABLE ON ALL RANCHES.

Chas. S. Middleton and Son

Chas. S. Middleton and Son • www.chassmiddleton.com • 1507 13th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79401 • 806/763-5331

bolster their perspectives. Or, and this is really crazy, each group could have even pointed out that someone not specifically aligned with their ideology actually offered some valid views. Instead, R-CALF issues a statement criticizing a letter from five Republican senators to USDA a week earlier, calling the senators’ opinions “unbecoming of Congress.” Granted, there are many things that occur in Washington that are unbecoming of Congress, but five senior senators on the Senate Agriculture Committee expressing their opinions about potential bias to USDA doesn’t qualify. R-CALF then issued a letter wanting some of the journalists from beef-oriented publications fired from their positions. It should be noted that since this opinion has been handed down after R-CALF’s original attack on the trade publications that R-CALF officials cannot go back and add names to that original list. NCBA then counter attacked R-CALF by authoring the “You’ve got friends in low places letter” to the industry by noting R-CALF membership attended a meeting last Thursday that also included the participation of Food & Water Watch. Here it should be noted that Food & Water Watch has been at every USDA-DOJ event discussing the role and scope over the size of agriculture. Yes, Food & Water Watch uses the term “factory farms” and is a strong critic of large, centralized agriculture. That’s what they do, so it would not seem out of the realm of possibility that a consumer group opposed to the largest farms and packer consolidation would team up with a ranching organization opposed to packer concentration. There were several other organizations represented at the evening event, including the Western Organization of Resource Councils, the National Farmers Union and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, none of which champion good tidings and friendship to large meatpackers. Well, NCBA’s return fire brought even more return fire from R-CALF. The release stated NCBA’s attack was merely to “deflect attention away from the fact that (NCBA) stands accused of cheating and misusing government-mandated Beef Checkoff Program dollars.” And so if the Court of Public Opinion has missed some attack or counter-attack along the way it would neither be shocking nor surprising.

Order So it is hereby ordered that the rest of us would like to see these two organizations stick to statements of fact and offering legitimate points-of-view on competition and the proposed USDA GIPSA livestock rule and avoiding spending their separate hardearned membership dollars concentrating on complaining about the allegations from the other side.