THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NEW MEXICO FARM AND LIVESTOCK BUREAU®
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New Mexico Farm & Ranch
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NMF&LB President’s Column TRACTOR SEAT DAYDREAMING
BY CRAIG OGDEN
Three Main Issues
I attended the Council of Presidents Meeting in Washington, DC on July 9th and 10th. I would like to share some of the highlights of the presentations that may be of interest to you. The AFBF is continuing to push three of their main issues: 1. Rural Broadband 2. Farm Labor 3. The United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA). We have been hearing about increased broadband ever since President Trump spoke at the AFBF Annual meeting a year and a half ago. During his speech, he signed a statement of support for it, but we have yet to see or hear of any progress towards the effort. The topic of farm Ogden cont. on page 8
AFBF President’s Column BEYOND THE FENCEROWS
BY ZIPPY DUVALL
Another Year of Farm Labor Shortages
As we enter mid-summer, many of our favorite foods are ripe and ready for harvest. There’s fresh corn, fruits and vegetables, peas and beans, and more—all ready to be picked and enjoyed now or preserved for later. What may not be ready is a workforce that’s available when crops need picking. We are entering yet another harvest season with no solution to agriculture’s labor shortage. Every year, there are stories about farms that didn’t get workers in time to harvest crops when they were ready. I’m sure we will be hearing more of those stories this Duvall cont. on page 8 summer and fall.
NMF&LB CEO’s Column CHATTING WITH CHAD
BY CHAD SMITH
A New Direction for Communication
In an effort to increase communication with our members, NMF&LB has begun utilizing our website to a greater extent. At nmflb.org you will find stories on a variety of topics relevant to our members. These are often short stories that were previously underexposed since they didn’t have the broad appeal to warrant inclusion in the newsletter. Because these vignettes will be a more timely way to inform our members, we will be reducing the publication schedule of the Farm & Ranch. This will be the last monthly newsletter you receive as we transition to the new timetable. In the future, ag members (which you Smith cont. on page 13 On the cover: Cattle grazing in the Gila Forest. See page 10 for the cover story.
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New Mexico Farm & Ranch
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Less of this.
More of this.
There are some things a robot can’t do. Let’s be honest. Only a human can get to know you and your needs. That’s why, for eighty years, we’ve built relationships first and plans second. Talk to your Farm Bureau agent or visit ALvsAgent.com today. And start protecting your future the right way.
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New Mexico Farm & Ranch
August 2019
Funding the Future, NMF&LB Awards Scholarships By Dalene Hodnett, Director of Communications and Media Relations Did you know that the average age of a farmer or rancher in our state is 65? There are not a lot of young people entering the profession. Who can blame them, it’s hard to attract to a career without paid vacations, insurance or a 401K. New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau has a vested interest in encouraging the next generation of agricultural advocates and we are pleased to announce this year’s recipients of our $1,000 Memorial Scholarship. Wellington Woodward is a graduate of Silver City High School and will be studying welding. Wellington has been busy during his high school career. He was Captain of the chess club, member of the National honor Society, a member of the National Dance institute and he participated in the Science Olympiad. While undecided about his final destination, Wellington has been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Baylor University, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, New Mexico State University and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Kaitlyn Fox of Roswell is currently a student at New Mexico State University. She’s a pre-vet major with an eye on being a large animal vet specializing in artificial insemination and pregnancy evaluations. Kaitlyn was very active in Goddard FFA showing goats, dairy heifers and market swine. She was the chapter’s Greenhand Sentinel, Reporter and Secretary and her livestock team placed third in state. She also ran track and cross country, played basketball and was a member of the National Honor Society. Why vet school? “Experiences with showing and FFA have helped me come to my decision of wanting to be a veterinarian,” says Fox. “I believe that by being a veterinarian you can help in so many different ways, including helping ranchers and farmers come up with the best way to Page 4
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feed and shelter their animals.” Hailing from Logan High School is Kyle Knight. He plans to attend Oklahoma State University where he will study agricultural business. Kyle excelled in leadership, serving as the Class, FFA and National Honor Society President. “I plan to continue our family’s active role in promoting and protecting the industry,” says Knight. “As a rancher, I plan to raise a high quality calf crop each year that will benefit the industry. We must continue to be positive and proactive in sharing the importance of US agriculture and the products we provide. It is also important to stay active in our government and the people we elect.” We are proud to help sponsor these students. Scholarships are offered to member families every April and you can find details and application forms on our website.
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August 2019
Ogden cont. from page 2 labor, when it refers to H2A reform, gets kicked off track due to the immigration difficulties that are now occurring and the last topic, the USMCA, is still bogged down legislatively. It is imperative that we all contact our representatives to assist in getting something done concerning these areas. We were informed the AFBF now has a relationship with the Beef Checkoff. Funding is being provided for information purposes to be used in the Northeast US and the Pacific Coast. Hopefully, this endeavor will be successful and expand to our area. One of the speakers was the Honorable David Bernhardt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. He briefed us on the move from Washington, DC to the West. Their belief is the personnel will be better informed and more efficient in the move out West where the majority of the public lands are held. At the present time, it looks as though the majority of the staff will be assigned in Colorado. I have noticed many articles concerning the move lately, so it will be interesting to see the outcome. Also speaking was Jim Collins, CEO of Corteva Agriscience, and the Honorable Andrew Wheeler, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The state presidents from Texas, California and Nebraska, as well as the assistant to the president of North Carolina, spoke in regards to the state Farm Bureaus’ responses to natural disasters. The common theme was that it is best if a foundation is set up to handle donations and a policy is in place to distribute the funds. Nebraska had major flooding this year to which our state sent assistance. They received a lot of donations that were distributed quickly with no administration cost, all funds went directly to the ones affected. One of the other speakers on the next topic was the Honorable James Bridenstine, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). If you are like me, I was wondering what the heck are we going to hear from NASA that would relate to agriculture. In retrospect, he was one of the most interesting speakers. There are all types of data that is now being used by private industry that originally comes from NASA. Some of the data involves evaporation rates, ecostresses and water measuring information. It was an enlightening presentation and I hope you will enjoy it when he speaks at our Annual Meeting. See more information about the meeting on page 7 and I hope to see you there. Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly
Duvall cont. from page 2 Farmers and ranchers in every state tell me that the shortage of labor is the greatest limiting factor on their farms. What farmer in his right mind is going to invest in expanding the farm if he doesn’t even know if he can harvest what he already produces? It impacts plans for passing the farm on to the next generation. It impacts decisions about whether to continue farming. The bottom line: it affects how much of our food will be grown in our own country. I’ve often said that we are getting to a point where Americans have to decide if we’re going to import workers or import our food. The number of farm workers hired through the H-2A visa program for seasonal agricultural workers has more than doubled in the past five years. Even with the increase, last year’s 243,000 H-2A workers filled just a fraction of the more than 2.4 million farm jobs.So why don’t more farmers use the H-2A program? It’s expensive and inefficient. Don’t get me wrong: we’re glad to have an agricultural guestworker program. But we need that program to work much better than it does now. H-2A requires farmers to pay above-market wages on top of providing free housing and transportation to and from the farm. At that rate, it’s difficult for a farmer to make ends meet. Then there are the delays farmers often experience in getting workers. If it takes too long to process an H-2A application or if the farmer makes the slightest mistake on the paperwork, workers might not arrive in time—and every day of delay matters when crops are ripe. Finally, H-2A is a seasonal worker program, giving year-round producers almost no options. An even bigger issue is the undocumented workers who are filling the gaps. It has been estimated that anywhere from a third to half of farm workers are not authorized to be in the United States. However, most have lived in our country for years, working hard on our farms, raising families, obeying our laws and even paying taxes. They did not come here to depend on government programs. They have demonstrated that they came here to work and help support their families back home. That is a totally different situation from the one that is playing out on our southern border today, and it’s important that we not confuse the two. We need to get serious about legislation that allows our experienced, reliable and hardworking farm laborers to remain in the U.S. without fear of deportation. America’s farmers and ranchers need Congress to step up to the plate and fix these problems. We have been working and waiting for a solution for decades now. We truly cannot wait much longer before, I believe, we will pay a steep price as a nation—a deep erosion of our agricultural productivity. There are already signs that farmers are cutting production due to the labor shortage, which means more of what we eat will have to come from countries with far less stringent food safety and environmental standards. These are tough issues for lawmakers, I know. These issues are more politically charged nowadays than ever. But we need Congress to get past the politics and show real leadership. When I was elected American Farm Bureau president over three years ago, there were just a handful of issues that I felt, “If we can fix this, it will have a huge impact for America’s farmers and ranchers.” Agricultural labor is one of those issues. Actually, whether we fix it or not, it will have a huge impact. I just hope and pray we can work together and enact solutions to achieve the right impact for American agriculture and food security. Page 6
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2019 Annual Meeting People, Purpose & Passion NEW MEXICO FARM & LIVESTOCK BUREAU
Hotel Information
Sheraton Uptown, 2600 Louisiana Blvd., Albuquerque Make reservations by calling 1-800-325-3535 and referencing NMF&LB, or go to https://tinyurl.com/NMFLBAnnMeet19Hotel Rooms start at $119.00 before October 22nd
Thursday, November 21 10:00 am Women’s Leadership Program Business Meeting 11:30 am Lunch 12:00 pm Salena Zito, Keynote Speaker Washington Examiner Reporter 1:00 pm County Caucuses Regions 1, 3, 5 1:45 pm Annual Business Session 2:30 pm Board of Directors’ Reorganization Meeting 3:00 pm Adoption of Policy Resolution 6:00 - 8:00 pm Reception 7:30 pm County Presidents’ Meeting Friday, November 22 8:00 am (Breakout Sessions) Animal Disease - Dr. Zimmerman FSA Farm Bill 8:00 am YF&R Sweet 20 Discussion Meet
8:45 am (Breakout Sessions) Traceability - Dr. Zimmerman NRCS Farm Bill 9:45 am Break and opening of Collegiate Farm Bureau Silent Auction 10:00 am (Breakout Sessions) USFS Produced Water 10:45 am (Breakout Sessions) BLM Hemp - Jeff Anderson 11:30 am Discussion Meet Final Four 12:15 pm Luncheon Governor Lujan-Grisham (invited) Discussion Meet Winner Teacher of the Year Media Person of the Year
1:30 pm Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator (invited) 2:45 pm General Session Emergency Preparedness 2:45 pm Collegiate Discussion Meet 3:45 pm General Session Succession Planning – FBFS 6:00 pm Annual Awards Banquet Raise the Steaks Recognition of Outgoing & Incoming Board Members Volunteer of the Year Farm Family of the Year Ride for the Brand Entertainment to follow Saturday, November 23 8:00 am Breakfast Clinton Griffiths, Keynote Speaker AgDay Anchor/Producer
NMF&LB 2019 Annual Meeting Registration Form
Name:______________________________________________________________________ Address:____________________________________________________________________ Email address:_______________________________________________________________ County:____________________________________Phone:___________________________ #___Early Registration $165 after October 22nd - $215 (One person - all inclusive) #___Child Registration $50 after October 22nd - $65 (age 6-12, under 6 free) #___Student $100 (age 13-Collegiate FB Member) after October 22nd - $125
#___Daily Registration $125 ______Thursday _____Friday #___Additional Thursday Reception tickets $75 #___Additional Friday Dinner tickets $75 #___Additional Lunch tickets $50 ______Thursday _____Friday #___Additional Saturday Breakfast tickets $35
Mail to: NMF&LB 2220 N. Telshor PageLas 7 • Cruces, New Mexico Farm & Ranch NM 88011
Total Due:_______________Check #:_____________ Questions? Call Theresa Widner at 575-532-4703 or email her at August 2019 theresaw@nmflb.org
Support the Calf Scramble, Support a future fair participant
40 kids, 20 calves, $500 on the line NMF&LB needs your help as we present the 2019 Calf Scrambles. Hosted at both the Southern and Eastern Regional Fairs, the scramble provides $500 scholarships for participants to purchase a show animal for the following year. Local sponsorships are greatly appreciated. For more information call Benjie Segovia at 575-635-8454 or email him at benjies@nmflb.org. We appreciate your support.
Your scholarship donation is an investment in future agriculturists Page 8
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A Prayer for Safety By Erica Johnson Valdez
It’s 6 am and the sun has just started to break over the Pyramid Mountains. My husband and I drop off our 13 year-old daughter and a friend of hers (10 years-old) to trail cattle to the bottom of a canyon about a mile and a half away. We’ve already been trotting for about 30 minutes and we’re far from the trucks and completely out of cell phone service. I say a little prayer as I follow my husband up over the top of a rim and lose sight of the girls. This has become the norm, silently saying prayers and nervously waiting until the drive comes together and I see that everyone is alright. He drops me off one canyon over from the girls and he heads to the north fence. As I’m putting cattle together and starting them down my canyon I keep topping out to see if I can see the girls. It wasn’t always like this, I used to never worry about not seeing them for a couple of hours because I was confident in their abilities and knew they knew where to go, but as the ever present danger of drug smugglers and illegal traffic increases I find myself more and more worried. As the morning goes on, I continue to climb to the top of each peak hoping for a glimpse of the girls and scanning the horizon for anything that looks suspicious. Three hours later the drive has come together and for the first time, I take a deep breath when I hear the girls giggling and telling stories, long before I ever see them. Today was a short day and the gather came together quickly. We start back up the canyon toward the trucks and I’m reminded how blessed I am to live this amazing life and share this with my amazing family. The girls are telling me a story about a rattlesnake they saw and how they got chased by a cow that was “crazy.” I silently say another prayer for keeping my family safe today. This is just a glimpse into my life and what life is like trying to earn a living and raise a family on the southern NM border. Lawmakers and politicians don’t understand the danger and can’t understand why we continue to stay here. There’s no use explaining something to someone that doesn’t really WANT to understand. I’m going to keep telling my story and eventually the truth will come out. In the mean time, there are real people, real families, real mothers, just like me, raising families, making a living, helping neighbors and paying taxes on land our government won’t protect. Erica’s ranch is 25 miles north of the US/Mexico border.
It is time to start making plans for the 2020 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Austin,TX, January 17-22, 2020. New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau will be staying at the JW Marriott where rooms will be $254 a night. A limited number of rooms are available on a first come first serve basis. Conference registration is $100 for Farm Bureau members. For more information visit annualconvention.fb.org If you are interested in attending please contact Theresa at theresaw@nmflb.org as soon as possible. Page 9
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Legacies and Livelihoods at Risk; How the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program is Threatening Extinction for Gila Ranchers By Dalene Hodnett, Director of Communications and Media Relations In August 2018 Audrey Hulsey McQueen bought a ranch on the Rainy Mesa in Catron County and stocked it with 300 preg checked cows. On December 1st she had her first confirmed wolf kill and so far she’s only branded 120 calves. Out of those missing 180 calves there have been 17 confirmed wolf kills but Audrey says beyond the typical 2% mortality, “most of those missing calves were either aborted from stress or are wolf kills that haven’t been found yet.” Additionally, her daughter’s horse was attacked by wolves and eventually died because of the injuries, and a bull she had just purchased was killed instantly when it was chased off of a bluff by another pack. “It’s more than the financial toll that comes from a 50% loss of your calf crop, it’s the emotional toll it takes on us, being constantly surrounded by death,” says Audrey. “Especially for my children, they don’t want to go to the ranch anymore because they know we’ll find more dead calves.” This is the reality of ranching in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA). Comprised of 4.4 million acres, the recovery area encompasses the Gila National Forest in New Mexico and the Apache National Forest in Arizona. Since the recovery program began in 1998, ranchers have faced a bureaucratic nightmare that is threatening their livelihoods and legacies. Patti Swapp, who ranches outside of Luna, is also concerned about how the wolves are affecting her son and his future. “This ranch has been in our family since 1883 when my husband’s grandfather first came to the area,” says Swapp. “My son would be the fourth generation ranching here, but with this kind of loss, it’s a losing proposition to stay on the land. We’re short 16 calves this year, out of 200, but you sometimes can’t prove it’s the wolves because they’ll eat the whole calf. Especially if it is a new born, the calf will just be gone, and you’re left with a tight-bagged mama cow who is looking for her calf.” And that’s if you’re lucky. After a pack conTo the left, a calf found by McQueen. Below, a shelter for local children to protect them from wolves as they wait for the bus.
sumes a calf, they’ll often run the cow until she’s stressed down and then eat 20 pounds off her hind end. Jess Carey, Catron County Wildlife Investigator calls this “killing by consumption.” “The cow is not dead as they’re eating her, so she suffers until she dies.” And there’s been a lot of death of cows and calves lately. In fact, according to Carey, in 2017 there were 19 confirmed wolf depredations, in 2018 the number grew to 74 and already in the first seven months of this year the confirmed kills were at 94 including 2 bulls, 51 cows, 38 calves and 3 horses. Nelson Shirley, a rancher near Luna points out that Wyoming pays for six calves for every one that is a confirmed kill knowing that for every one you do find, there are six that you can’t. Shirley has had as many Page 10
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calves confirmed dead from wolf kills in the first 5 months of this year than he did in all of 2018. Laura Schneberger, along with her husband and son, run a ranch that has was established in the 1880’s. They’ve lost over half of their calf crop and are still missing seven cows making it their worst calf crop ever. “We had a male wolf move into our pastures in the winter, who later paired up with a female, but we were never told they were in the area,” says Laura. Although the United States Fish and Wildlife Service can track the location of collared wolves, they don’t often share location information with ranchers. And ranchers who do have telemetry equipment are frustrated because the collars are turned off at night to “save the batteries.” Carey emphasizes that the negative effects of Mexican Gray Wolves are much broader than most realize. “Wolves continually pursuing, biting and killing cattle produces chronic stress in the herd. Chronic wolf-caused stress in A highway sign in Catron County. cattle leads to loss of body condition, cows birthing weak calves, premature birth of calves, open cows not breeding back, and loss of weight gain for surviving calves.” Since rate of gain is how ranchers make their money when selling calves, their bottom line is negatively affected just through the presence of wolves. Cows aborting their calves because of a stressful experience with wolves is why Ned Jackson, manager of a ranch north of Luna, has gone to year-round breeding. “That way if she aborts we can breed her back. It’s very labor intensive because we have calves being born year-round, but at least we haven’t missed a whole year with an open cow.” So far this year, Jackson has lost 7 cows and a horse that were confirmed wolf kills and counts 6 calves that were suspected wolf kills. Why the significant increase in wolf depredation? In a July 24th presentation (archived webcast available here https:// tinyurl.com/NMGameCommission7-24-19 beginning at the 43:00 minute mark) Stewart Liley, New Mexico Game and Fish Department’s Wildlife Division Chief, stated that there are currently 131 wolves within the boundaries of the BRWRA. But ask any area rancher and they’ll tell you that number is low, by about 40%. Some estimate there are at least 85-95 wolves in Catron County alone. They believe the discrepancy comes from the number of collared wolves versus those born in the wild. Since the first release in 1998, the USFWS has placed 126 wolves in the BRWRA. Because early wolves were straight from captivity in 51 breeding facilities across the nation, they had a high mortality rate, sometimes as much as 70%. The service has had much better luck recently with cross fostering pups into the dens of females who have recently whelped. Because these cross fostered pups are tagged, they know which of those survive. What they don’t know, according to Liley, is how many wild born pups survive, so currently they count a whole litter as one survivor. This means that while the captive born population is “exponentially growing at 14%” a year, they do not have an accurate count of the wild born wolves. That lack of accuracy in accounting for the population is what is so frustrating for many ranchers. USFWS Field coordinator John Oakleaf has reported that there are four uncollared wolf packs that surfaced in 2018. Ranchers wonder how many more uncollared wolves are out there that aren’t being counted? An accurate count is vital since it is a part of the recovery criteria set by the USFWS. According to the 2017 Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, the wolf will be considered for delisting when a minimum of two populations meet all abundance and genetic criteria as follows: In the United States 1. a) The population average over an 8-year period is greater than or equal to 320 wolves (e.g., annual wolf abundance of 200, 240, 288, 344, 412, 380, 355, and 342 averages 320 wolves); 2. b) The population must exceed 320 wolves each of the last 3 years of the 8-year period; 3. c) The annual population growth rate averaged over the 8-year period is stable or increasing (e.g., annual averages of 1.2, 1.2, 1.2, 1.2, 1.2, 0.9, 0.9, and 1.0 averages 1.1); Page 11
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4. d) Gene diversity available from the captive population has been incorporated into the United States population through scheduled releases of a sufficient number of wolves to result in 22 released Mexican wolves surviving to breeding age in the United States population. “Surviving to breeding age” means a pup that lives 2 years to the age of breeding or an adult or subadult that lives for a year following its release. “Scheduled releases” means captive releases and translocations that achieve genetic representation, as described in Rationale for Recovery Criteria. But it’s not just a successful recovery in the United States that the USFWS requires. Because Mexico was part of the original range for the wolf, population targets for that country have to be achieved as well. In Mexico 1. a) The population average over an 8-year period is greater than or equal to 200 wolves; 2. b) The population must exceed 200 wolves each of the last 3 years of the 8-year period; 3. c) The annual population growth rate averaged over the 8-year period is stable or increasing; 4. d) Gene diversity available from the captive population has been incorporated into the Mexico population through scheduled releases of a sufficient number of wolves that results in 37 released Mexican wolves surviving to breeding age in the Mexico population. In his presentation to the State Game Commission Liley stated that those numbers will be harder to achieve due to higher mortality of the wolves and Cartel activity that precludes getting an accurate count through helicopter surveys. Attaining population targets in both countries seems impossible. How will ranchers survive with a business model that is not financially sustainable? Some suggest increasing the amount ranchers are reimbursed for confirmed kills. The United States Department of Agriculture explains that the “Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) authorized the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) to provide benefits to eligible livestock owners or contract growers for livestock deaths…caused by…attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law, including wolves.” LIP payments for owners are based on national payment rates that are 75 percent of the market value of a calf is worth approximately $471, a cow $916 and a bull $1,200. But the “livestock owner or contract grower must provide evidence acceptable to FSA that the eligible cause of loss not only occurred but directly caused loss or death.” That’s why Bill Green, Catron County Manager, praises the foresight of Catron County Commissioners when they hired Jess Carey in 2006. “They knew this was going to get out of hand and that local ranchers need a way to document wolf depredations,” says Green. Sierra County also anticipated problems with the wolf reintroduction program so in 1994 the County Commissioners adopted an ordinance which prohibited the release of any predatory species – wolves, bears or mountain lions in the county. To Sheriff Hamilton’s knowledge, the USFWS has honored the ordinance. “We have been tenacious in our communications with the Fish and Wildlife Service,” says HamA Mexican Gray Wolf caught on a game camera. Photo ilton. “We wanted them to know that we were ready, able provided by Laura Schneberger. and willing to enforce local ordinances and that the federal government was not going to usurp the county’s authority.” So after the rancher finds a dead cow or calf, and the kill has been confirmed, the paperwork is filed. Then the rancher waits. And waits. Many ranchers are still waiting for reimbursements for kills in 2018. The Coexistence Council also pays for wolf kills and at a higher rate - $875 for a calf, $1,400 per cow and $3,500 for a bull. Unfortunately, their repayment rate is even slower. McQueen estimates that the program owes her and her father a combined $100,000. If a pregnant cow is killed, neither program reimburses ranchers for the calf she was carrying, nor do they pay for the expected eight calves that the cow would have produced over her lifetime. All of this lost revenue is having an effect on Catron County, the epicenter of the wolf problem in New Mexico. Anita Hand, Catron County Commissioner and NMF&LB State Page 12
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Board member says “A large part of the county’s tax-base is made up of the ranching industry and if the ranching industry is curtailed or destroyed by the wolf program then we won’t have adequate funding to provide basic road and law enforcement services. Every year as the wolf population grows, the confirmed livestock kills by wolves increases. At what point will the ranchers’ livelihood be taken into account and changes be enacted to protect their basic rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?” There doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. By the time the population increases to criteria levels, ranchers will be out of business, and elk herds will be decimated. That’s when wolves will be forced to disperse even further for food sources. Since they have been known to travel over 76 miles in a 24-hour period, they’ll then become a problem for all of New Mexico, not just the Gila. In his report, Liley cited a collared wolf in Mexico whose telemetry showed that it traveled north through Juarez, to Las Cruces, and then up the Rio Grande corridor. And since the current recovery area stretches from I-40 south and from Arizona to Texas, the whole state will be part of the recovery program. “Maybe when it’s not so concentrated in our area people will pay attention,” says one rancher. “Maybe when it’s not just our problem it will be different.” Below left, McQueen gathers four dead calves. Below right, the pen in Luna where a wolf killed a horse just 15 yards from the local gas station.
Smith cont. from page 2 are if you’re reading this issue) will receive four issues a year, January, April, July and October. Non ag members will continue to receive the April and October issues as they have for the past seven years. We are excited about this move to an immediate information model. Please visit nmflb.org often for the most up-to-date news. Additionally, if there are stories in your area that we should cover please let us know, we’re always excited to highlight local agriculture. Speaking of highlighting agriculture, we’re happy to host the 2019 NMF&LB Annual Meeting, November 21-23, in Albuquerque. We’ve got a great line-up of speakers including Clinton Griffiths, anchor and executive producer for AgWeb’s AgDay. Clinton was raised on a ranch near Deming and was extensively involved in showing cattle in FFA and 4-H. We’ll also hear from Salena Zito, national political reporter for the Washington Examiner and author of The Great Revolt; Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics. How NASA research is benefitting agriculture will be the topic of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine’s discussion on Friday, in addition to several presentations on hemp, ag water issues, and how to navigate the new Farm Bill. Of course, we’ll have a discussion meet featuring the 20 best FFA talkers from around the state, and we’ll recognize our Media and Teacher of the Year winners. For the banquet we’ll honor our Volunteer and Farm Family of the Year, as well as reveal our Ride for the Brand awardee. Don’t forget your item for the Collegiate Farm Bureau silent auction, and of course your checkbook! Please note on the registration form (page 7), we have moved the policy resolution meeting from our traditional Saturday morning to Thursday at 3:00. It’s going to be a great meeting and we’re looking forward to seeing you there. Page 13
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Non-profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Las Cruces, N.M. Permit No.2093
2220 N. Telshor Las Cruces, NM 88011 ELECTRONIC SERVICE REQUESTED
NEW MEXICO FARM & LIVESTOCK BUREAU Since 1917 . . . a Leader in New Mexico
ISSN 0028-6192 2220 N. TELSHOR BLVD. • LAS CRUCES, NM 88011 575.532.4700 • FAX: 575.532.4710 PUBLISHER: New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau New Mexico Farm & Ranch is published monthly. Yearly subscription is $24.00. New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau members receive a complimentary subscription with yearly dues. U.S. Postage PAID, bulk rate, PERMIT #31, Las Cruces, NM 88001. FORWARDING/ RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED, ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED. OFFICERS Craig Ogden President, Loving Larry Reagan 1st Vice President, Ft. Sumner Boe Lopez 2nd Vice President, Springer Chad Smith Chief Executive Officer Page 14
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New Mexico Farm & Ranch
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Burl Brown, Des Moines Bud Deerman, La Mesa Crystal Diamond, Elephant Butte Jim Ellett, Hope Duane Frost, Claunch Travis Harris, San Antonio Don Hartman, Deming Gary Hathorn, Flora Vista Leon Hemann, McDonald John Jackson, Lake Arthur Deena Kinman, Elida Donald Martinez, El Rito Steve Myrick, Clovis Tommy Ortiz, Las Vegas Stewart Rooks, Gila Troy Sauble, Maxwell Casey Spradley, Cuba Tom Wilton, Ft. Sumner Anita Hand, Chair Women’s Leadership Committee Andy Ellett, Chair Young Farmer & Rancher Committee REGIONAL DIRECTORS Tanner Anderson Benjie Segovia
Valerie Huerta Director of Organization Matthew Gonzales Director of Government Affairs Brenda Logan Director, Northern Region Ag in the Classroom Traci Curry Director, Southern Region Ag in the Classroom Francisco Hatay Marketing Coordinator Dalene Hodnett Director of Communications and Media Relations Cecilia Diaz-Johnson Bookkeeper Theresa Widner Director of Membership Services Eva Hernandez Executive Administrative Assistant
August 2019