LMD April 2012

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

MARKET

Digest I

APRIL 15, 2012 • www. aaalivestock . com

Volume 54 • No. 4

Whose Country Is This?

by Lee Pitts

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

T

by LEE PITTS

Or So I Hear

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

here’s just something particularly galling about a secretive international tribunal telling a country, any country, what it can and cannot do. That’s especially true when a controversial trade organization tells us that we cannot inform the American consumer where her food came from.

According to every survey we’ve seen the vast majority of American consumers want labels on their food informing them of its origin. Some survey indicated that as many as 90 percent of American consumers want such country of origin (COOL) labels.

Additionally, every survey we’ve ever seen indicates that the vast majority American ranchers also want the beef they raise to be labeled as being produced in the good old U.S. of A. So when American grocers finally began putting COOL labels on cuts of beef, lamb, chicken, pork, and hamburger it seems everyone got what they wanted. Everyone that is except the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the beef packer’s lobby, the National Pork Producers and an organization that most Americans know little about, the World Trade Organization.

Unfortunately for the ranchers and consumers it is this latter group, the WTO, who will decide

Riding Herd

“When in doubt, let your horse do the thinking.” whether or not American consumers and ranchers will get their wish to have the meat they produce and consume labeled as to country of origin.

How and why we in America ever gave an organization located in Geneva, Switzerland, the right to tell us what we can and cannot do is a dirty little secret being kept by supposedly patriotic American politicians, lobbyists and multinational Americanbased corporations who don’t

want you to know any more about them than they do the food you eat.

I Pledge Allegiance To The WTO Opponents of country-of-origin-labeling say it is nothing more than a protectionist trade measure that we are using to discourage imports. And these critics might have a point if all the food in the world was the same and was produced under the

same rigid health and environmental standards. But clearly it is not. As proof we offer up milk from China that was contaminated with melamine, European and Canadian mad cows, four legged Mexican TB carriers and South American bovines with Foot and Mouth disease.

We’d like to point out amidst all the brouhaha that country of origin labeling does not stop one single animal from entering this country, nor does it prevent any country from selling us beef. Of these facts there can be no debate. What COOL does do is give the American consumer the ability to find out where the food she feeds her family came from.

The decision on whether or not to buy foreign or domestic beef lies solely with her, not some bureaucrats at a meeting in Cancun. That’s why we were devastated after years of watching COOL work its way through the bureaucratic and political morass continued on page two

National Forest document stirs scandal with road removal plans

by RON ARNOLD, Washington Times

hen Wayne Allard saw the new U.S. Forest Service guidebook for managing off-highway vehicle trails, he was astounded. As the American Motorcyclist Association’s lobbyist, he seethed over its derogatory and unfitting remarks, like “Managing trails for OHVs (off-highway vehicles) can be a lot like herding dragons.” And as a former U.S. senator from Colorado, he saw political danger in the report’s lame OHV humor — “They’re big, they can cause a lot of damage, and they sure can heat things up.”

The 316-page document with the unwieldy title — “A Comprehensive Framework for Off-Highway Vehicle Trail Management” — concluded with a similarly flip comment by author Kevin G. Meyer, a National Park Service trail specialist: this document, he wrote, had been developed “to help trail managers corral the OHV management dragon,” and “to help keep the beast at bay. Happy herding and happy trails!”

These jolly insults from an agency employee annoyed AMA’s Allard, but substantive problems in the Framework were truly chilling

W

to the OHV community and stirred a scandal.

The Forest Service pulled the document from its website, with no explanation of why, or of what will happen to it.

Two weeks ago, in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack — whose department oversees the Forest Service — Allard and six OHV colleagues complained bitterly about the scandal, saying that the document’s author inexplicably adopts the entire environmental analysis of a radical Montana group called Wildlands CPR. On its website, Wildlands CPR brags of its clout: “As a result of our on-going efforts . . . the Forest Service has removed 7,890 miles of roads and motorized trails.”

In the 1990s, a substantial anti-road movement emerged in America. A 1994 “Road Ripping Conference” in California spawned a network of small outfits. A little investigating revealed that the Wildlands group of today’s brouhaha was incorporated in Montana on August 5, 1996 — as the Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads.

am one of the 10 percent of adult Americans who don’t own a cell phone. It’s not that I think cell phones are the work of the devil, or that they aren’t handy, it’s just that I am far too busy listening to other people’s conversations to have one of my own.

I am not a people watcher but I am a member of the same genus and species: I am a people listener. A conversation pirate. A thief of other people’s words. I don’t know if I was born an enormous eavesdropper, or if I became an earjacker, a highjacker of other people’s dialogue, when I became a writer and was always in need of fresh material. I am sure of one thing though, I find other people’s conversations infinitely more interesting than my own.

Although I don’t own one, cell phones have been a blessing to me and have extended my writing career 20 years longer than it should have been. I don’t do my research in a library but in a restaurant booth where I can hardly write fast enough to record all the cell yells from people on their phones. You all know who I’m talking about, the folks who invite other people to lunch and then spend the entire time talking to someone else on their phone; talking louder and louder above the din of other cell phone addicts. They seem to be completely oblivious to their lunch guests, or the other diners.

Talk about obscene phone calls! I know it’s rude for me to listen in on other people’s conversations but the way I see it, if they want to blab at such decibels then I have a responsibility to listen. I should at least show them that courtesy.

You’d be surprised at the things I’ve heard. (Or maybe you wouldn’t.) There have been many occasions when I could have blackmailed husbands, embarrassed wives or tattled on kids with the information I overheard. And evidently I’m not the only person who listens in on other people’s continued on page seven

continued on page sixteen

www.LeePittsbooks.com

Livestock Market Digest

Page 2

April 15, 2012

Whose Country Is This? that after it was finally put in place the WTO said last November that it was illegal. Not according to American laws, but according to theirs.

I don’t remember the founding fathers ever mentioning the WTO, do you? I can’t find it anywhere in the Constitution or The Bill of Rights, nor do I recall ever getting a chance to vote on its leaders, or having a say in its proceedings. I can find no evidence that any of our founding fathers were members in good standing of the WTO. Such is the sad state of American politics these days that we held out little hope that anyone

continued from page one

export market. Those cattle aren’t all being sold to Japan and Korea.

The WTO was created in the first place by one-worlders who think there should be no geopolitical boundaries and that we are all just one big happy family. To hear them tell it, all this fuss over COOL is just a food fight amongst family members.

A party can appeal a WTO panel’s ruling and due to the marriage of big business and government these days in Washington, we had little hope of that happening when it came to COOL. But on the last day an appeal could be filed came word

...I don’t remember the founding fathers ever mentioning the WTO... in our government would challenge the WTO’s COOL ruling, so we were surprised and pleased when the office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that it was appealing the WTO ruling against the U.S. mandatory COOL law.

One Family’s Food Fight

Since 1916, we’ve been here for New Mexico’s ranchers and farmers. We don’t just offer financial services, we also get where you’re coming from. That’s why we can help you with loans, insurance and other services that fit your unique needs. At Farm Credit of New Mexico, we’re with you every step of the way.

C A L L 1 - 8 0 0 - 4 5 1 - 5 9 9 7 o r v i s i t W W W. F A R M C R E D I T N M . C O M ALBUQUERQUE

•

ROSWELL

•

LAS CRUCES

•

TUCUMCARI

•

CLOVIS

Livestock Market

Digest

Livestock Market Digest (ISSN 0024-5208) (USPS NO. 712320) is published monthly except semi-monthly in September by Rainy Day, Inc. at 2231 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104. Periodicals Postage Paid at Albuquerque, N.M.

POSTMASTER – Send change of address to: Livestock Market Digest, P.O. Box 7458, Albuquerque, N.M. 87194 Subscription Rates: $19.95 per year

Subscribe Today

For advertising, subscription and editorial inquiries write or call: Livestock Market Digest, P.O. Box 7458 Albuquerque, N.M. 87194 Telephone: 505/243-9515 Fax: 505/998-6236 www.aaalivestock.com EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING STAFF: CAREN COWAN, Publisher LEE PITTS, Executive Editor CHUCK STOCKS, Publisher Emeritus FALL MARKETING EDITION AD SALES: RON ARCHER, 505/865-6011 archerron@aol.com

NAME

FIELD EDITOR: ADDRESS

DELVIN HELDERMON 580/622-5754, 1094 Koller Rd. Sulphur, OK 73086

CITY

STATE

❏

ZIP

My check is enclosed for: One Year: $19.95 ❏ Two Years $29.95

Clip & mail to: Livestock Market Digest, P.O. Box 7458, Albuquerque, N.M. 87194

ADMINISTRATIVE and PRODUCTION STAFF: MARGUERITE VENSEL, Office Mgr. CAROL PENDLETON, Special Assistance CAMILLE PANSEWICZ, Graphic Artist

After COOL was put in place as a result of provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill, Canada then requested consultations with U.S. trade representatives in December of 2008 concerning their objections to it. Canada alleged at the time that the mandatory COOL was inconsistent with the United States’ obligations under the WTO Agreement.

Shortly thereafter, Mexico and Nicaragua announced they had problems with COOL, too, and requested to join the consultations. Then on November 19, 2009, a three-person WTO panel was formed and eventually came to the conclusion that yes, Canada and Mexico were right and that we had no right to implement COOL in the first place.

The WTO panel determined that the COOL measure “is a technical regulation and that it is inconsistent with the United States’ WTO obligations.” In particular, the panel found that as a result of COOL we gave less favorable treatment to imported Canadian and Mexican cattle and hogs than to like domestic products.

By the words “less favorable treatment” we can only assume that the WTO meant that because American consumers would theoretically prefer domestic product over a foreign one, that COOL created a premium for U.S. beef and pork and a discount for Canadian and Mexican meat. Which, if you’ll recall, was the exact point made

by COOL supporters to begin with. And the premiums recently being given to age and sourced domestic cattle seem to back that up, after all, those premiums are not all the result of our

of one. Now comes a two- to three-month WTO process where yet another panel will meet behind closed doors to consider the appeal. (WTO appeals have to be based on points of law, such as legal interpretation — they cannot reopen factual findings made by the panel.)

As a result of the appeal we found out that the WTO never said in the first place that the U.S. does not have the right under WTO rules to adopt mandatory COOL. No, what the three-person panel didn’t like was the way COOL “provided less favorable treatment to Canadian and Mexican livestock producers.” They also did not like that ‘the COOL statute is more trade restrictive than necessary.”

In other words, they did not like the fact that lo and behold, American consumers did actually prefer American beef and pork over imported beef.

Whose Side Are They On? As to be expected from an organization that seems to be more interested in looking out for the interests of big packers than they do American ranchers, the NCBA quickly expressed their disappointment that the U.S. would even dare to file an appeal. “We are very disappointed in this decision,” said NCBA vice president Bob McCann.

“Instead of working diligently to bring the United States into WTO compliance, our government has opted to engage in an appeal process, which jeopardizes our strong trade relationship with Canada and Mexico, the two largest importers of U.S. beef. An appeal is the wrong answer and a waste of valuable resources. This appeal will do nothing but escalate tension with our valuable trade partners and will prolong an issue that could be resolved quickly. We should be working toward a solution instead of creating a bigger problem. continued on page three

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

April 15, 2012

Whose Country Is This?

“NCBA will engage with Canada and Mexico in order to prevent any retaliatory action that could occur from this unfortunate decision made by the U.S. government.”

Concluded NCBA’s McCann, “Cattlemen deserve a government that fights for and protects our opportunities. We need a government that not only demands WTO compliance of our trade partners but one that ensures the United States is abiding by these same guidelines.”

That bears repeating; in the words of the NCBA, what we need is a government that “demands WTO compliance.”

One would think from such statements that the NCBA was getting its funding from the governments and stock raiser’s groups in Canada and Mexico, rather than the $50 million it gets each year from Beef Checkoff, funds paid overwhelmingly

by American ranchers. (That 50 million dollars represents 80 percent of NCBA’s total revenue.)

It should also be noted that the packers in the U.S. want their cheap imports to still be marked with a USDA inspection label to fool customers into thinking it’s a domestic product. The packers sure are getting a big bang for the buck they DON’T HAVE TO PAY to the checkoff.

Word Games As you’d expect, R-CALF, who worked extremely hard to get COOL implemented, had a different take on the WTO appeal than the NCBA. “We’re extremely thankful that our U.S. Trade Representative has chosen to defend our constitutionallypassed COOL law,” said R-CALF COOL Committee Chair, Mike Schultz. “But, we’re in a no-win situation regarding this frontal attack on our COOL law because our nation should not tolerate for an instant a foreign entity’s efforts to undermine our constitutionally-passed domestic laws in the first place.”

As for NCBA’s role in the process, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard had this to say: “Several powerful corporate industry groups are actually supporting the WTO’s efforts to undermine our U.S. COOL law, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the American Meat Institute (AMI).

These groups don’t want U.S. consumers to know if they are buying beef produced exclusively in the United States or if their beef was produced in Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, or any one of the more than a dozen countries where U.S. corporations source their beef.”

Like us, R-CALF’s Bullard had a problem with the WTO panel’ word game in which they said, that yes, the United States has a right to implement a COOL program but that we implemented it in the wrong way. (They don’t say what is the right way.)

continued from page two

“This is nothing more than semantics,” said Bullard, “and the WTO is far too coy to have attacked our domestic law in any other way than it did. The fact is that the WTO accomplished its objective by ruling on the one hand that COOL was too rigid and treated foreign product less favorably than domestic product, but on the other hand, it ruled that COOL was too flexible and therefore nullified the COOL law’s objective.”

Our government is sure sending mixed messages to cattlemen these days. On one hand the USDA wants to be able to track our livestock from birth to the grocery store so that they supposedly can protect the consumer from foreign diseases, while on the other hand they don’t want supermarkets to tell their customers what country the meat they are selling came from.

Is all this making sense to anyone?

“Nonsensical and Baseless” In theory, members of the WTO gain access to each other’s markets on even terms. This

means that no two nations can have sweetheart trade pacts without granting the same terms to every other nation, or at least every other nation in WTO. Granted, that’s a great concept and a worthy goal. But since the WTO was founded in 1995 it has proven that’s not at all what they are about. Some analysts have called the WTO, “The most powerful legislative and judicial body in the world.” What makes the WTO so powerful is that its rules can be enforced through trade sanctions. If, for example, the U.S. loses its appeal over COOL and then does not change or eliminate COOL, then we can be fined, or have trade sanctions imposed against us. In some cases WTO can even exact their pound of flesh by punishing industries not even remotely related to the one in question.

This gives the WTO more power than any other international body, even eclipsing national governments like our own.

One look at their history shows the WTO has invariably chosen the agenda of multinational corporations above the interests of local communities, the environment, and working folks. Like the United Nations

Page 3

and the World Bank (who they work hand-in-glove with) the WTO has undermined democracy around the world by promoting the concept of a one-world government. And they do so in secret. While the WTO says that transparency is one of their goals, they often meet behind locked doors, especially after 50,000 people showed up at their meeting in Seattle in 1999 after watching the WTO prove to be just a cheerleader for multinational corporations. Those protesters successfully shut down that WTO meeting but rather than make reforms, the WTO instead just made their meetings and deliberations even more secretive.

It’s hard to find a fan of the

WTO. The left sees the WTO as lobbyist for big business, while the right says they should get out of the way and let companies and countries do business on a deal-by-deal basis. Fortunately for all of us, the WTO hasn’t exactly been a raging success.

So stay tuned, a decision on the appeal to WTO’s ruling on COOL is expected within the next 60 days. In anticipation of that event R-CALF’s Mike Schultz says, “The WTO’s antiCOOL ruling is nonsensical and baseless and we are confident the United States will prevail in this unenviable appeal.”

Nonsensical and baseless, you say?

That’s the very definition of the World Trade Organization.

San Angelo Packing Co., Inc. Competitive market for all breeds of cattle.

Available to receive 24/7. Prompt and courteous service 1809 NORTH BELL ST., SAN ANGELO, TEXAS 76903 P.O. BOX 1469, SAN ANGELO, TEXAS 76902

A DIRECT MARKET FOR THE PRODUCER A BUYER OF QUALITY SLAUGHTER COWS & BULLS

800/588-6328 • 800/LUV-MEAT

Livestock Market Digest

Page 4

Private university in Arizona plans new veterinary school

by JENNIFER FIALA, For The VIN News Service

esidents in Arizona seeking to become veterinarians soon will have an instate option for earning their DVM degrees.

Midwestern University’s Board of Trustees voted recently to move forward with plans to create a veterinary medical college with an inaugural class of 100 students to be admitted in fall 2014.

“This is fantastic news for both Midwestern University and the state of Arizona,” said Gov. Janice K. Brewer in a statement

R

released by the university. “The establishment of this college will produce good jobs and help ensure that Arizona develops homegrown veterinarians to meet our most pressing animal health care needs.”

The four-year program will be developed on Midwestern’s Glendale campus, about a 15minute drive from downtown Phoenix. Tuition has not been set but likely will be similar to that of other veterinary medical programs, university officials said.

Median tuitions for U.S. veterinary medical programs was $18,316 for in-state students and $38,788 for out-of-state students

during the 2010-11 academic year.

It’s unclear whether the Midwestern program will include a veterinary teaching hospital, which can cost tens of millions of dollars to build. All but one of the 28 veterinary medical programs in the United States have a teaching hospital, which until recently was necessary for accreditation.

Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., has the only accredited veterinary medical program in the United States that’s successfully bypassed the teaching hospital condition.

OTECO Wheel Track Fillers • Fills ruts properly and with the correct material • Completely fills ruts with a single pass • 10 cu. yard (28,000 lb.) total capacity • One-man operation • Off season uses include filling ruts in roads and transporting grain

MADE IN WYOMING, USA

BY COWBOYS

THE ONLY SOLUTION All else is just another problem

(307) 322-3373 or (307) 331-1996 • www.otecomfg.com

ELM ESCALON LIVESTOCK MARKET, INC.

Call For More Information ck!

On Consigning Your Sto

MIGUEL A. MACHADO, President Office: 209/838-7011 Mobile 209/595-2014 JOE VIEIRA, Representative Mobile 209/531-4156 THOMAS BERT, 209/605-3866

FARMINGTON

www.escalonlivestockmarkets.com

TO SACRAMENTO

STOCKTON

HWY 4

J17 M A

RIPO SA RD

MONDAY: Feeder Cattle WEDNESDAY: Dairy FRIDAY: Pigs, Goats and Baby Calves BUTCHER COWS EVERY SALE DAY

SALE SITE

VALLEY HOME

HWY 99 OAKDALE

HWY 120 SALE MANTECA HEADQUARTERS

N

MODESTO

TO FRESNO

ESCALON

~ Consignments Welcome ~

Facility located at: ESCALON LIVESTOCK MARKET, INC. 25525 E. LONE TREE RD., ESCALON, CA 95320

April 15, 2012 Rather than having its students rotating through an oncampus hospital, Western U has adopted a “distributive model,” which involves a partnership between the university and 300 or so private practices. It’s in those private practices that thirdand four-year students are expected to learn their clinical competencies.

In Utah and Arizona, proponents of creating in-state programs cited a desire to address shortages of veterinarians in rural areas, especially those who treat livestock.

Another way that fledgling programs can avoid building a teaching hospital is by entering into a 2+2 arrangement with a university that has an established veterinary medical program. such arrangement One involves Utah State University, which recently accepted 20 students to attend its new veterinary medical program this fall.

The inaugural class will complete two years of course work at Utah State before moving to Washington State University for clinical training.

In Utah and Arizona, proponents of creating in-state programs cited a desire to address shortages of veterinarians in rural areas, especially those who treat livestock.

Midwestern University President and CEO Kathleen Goeppinger could not be reached today for comment but stated in a news release that developing a veterinary college is in line with the university’s mission to meet area health care needs.

Established in Illinois, Midwestern is the state’s largest notfor-profit health care university.

The institution, with campuses in Illinois and Arizona, offers medical, dental, pharmacy, optometry and nine health sciences degrees.

“The rural and agricultural areas of our state have shown a significant demand for more well-qualified veterinarians and have voiced strong support for this new college,” Goeppinger said of Arizona in the news

release.

In the days surrounding Midwestern’s announcement, Arizona farmers and ranchers have taken their plight to the media, explaining to local newspapers and broadcasters that veterinarians are in short supply in their areas.

The Midwestern program, however, cannot guarantee that its veterinary students will practice food-animal medicine or settle in underserved areas of the state. The vast majority of all veterinary graduates in the United States enter small-animal practice, usually in urban areas.

It’s a fact that Goeppinger acknowledged almost a year ago, in an interview with the VIN News Service. “We have to train for all kinds of veterinary medicine, but we can do a number of things. (For example), we can recruit students from rural areas who want to go back home,” she said.

What attracts students to small-animal medicine rather than large-animal practice is varied and multifaceted. Many believe that treating pets often comes with better working conditions and a bigger paycheck, especially in metropolitan areas.

Given that new veterinarians graduate, on average, with more than $142,000 in student loan debt, earning a sizable income is a requirement for paying those loans back.

To justify the need for veterinary education in Arizona, Goeppinger cites projections from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) that there will be a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians over the next 20 years.

That estimate and others like it are a source of controversy, with the topic of supply and demand in the veterinary profession likely to top debates during AAVMC’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Anecdotal reports and recent statistics reveal that the job market for veterinarians in all practice sectors is tighter and more depressed than it’s been in recent history. What’s more, government officials and others are beginning to recognize that an area may be underserved because it’s unable to support a veterinarian.

Cattleman’s Weekend Draws Big Crowds ood weather brought out big crowds for the 21st annual Cattleman’s Weekend, held at Prescott Livestock Auction in Chino Valley, on Friday and Saturday, March 16-17. The event slipped in just under the wire, as a major storm dumped a foot or more of snow in some areas around Prescott Saturday night and Sunday.

Though numbers were down in the bull sales, prices in all sales were up from last year.

G

2012 Cattleman’s Weekend Sale Results 14th ANNUAL ARIZONA RANCH REMUDA SALE • 24 Broke Ranch Horses: Avg. $3,149 • 2 Halter Colts: Avg. $1,200

38TH ANNUAL ARIZONA HEREFORD/ANGUS BULL SALE • 13 Angus Bulls: Avg. $2,947 • 6 Hereford Bulls: Avg. $2,117 • Champion Hereford 24th ANNUAL PRESCOTT ALL BREED BULL SALE 51 Total Lots Avg. $1,803 20th ANNUAL REPLACEMENT HEIFER SALE • High Selling Heifers – 55 Angus cross heifers from Bar H Ranch, Ash Fork, AZ, $1,010 per head.

• High Selling Pairs – 2 Angus cross pairs from Richard Koga, Phoenix, AZ, $1,500 per pair.

• High Selling Bred Cows – 4 Limousin cross cows from Thompson Ranch, Winslow, AZ, $1,240 per head.

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

April 15, 2012

Number of Consumers Requesting Ongoing Information about Food and Agriculture from CFI Surpasses 100,000 ore than 100,000 consumers have requested ongoing information about food and agriculture through the Center for Food Integrity’s (CFI) successful

M

Farmers Feed US program. The database includes email addresses for consumers in 12 states who have “opted-in” for additional information while registering in Farmers Feed US sweep-

Government-subsidized green light bulb carries big price tag he U.S. government last year announced a $10 million award, dubbed the “L Prize,” for any manufacturer that could create a “green” but affordable light bulb. Now the winning bulb is on the market, says the Washington Post.

■ The price is $50.

■ Retailers said the bulb, made by Philips, is likely to be too pricey to have broad appeal.

■ Similar LED bulbs are less than half the cost.

How the expensive bulb won a $10 million government prize meant to foster energy-efficient affordability is one of the curiosities that arise as the country undergoes a massive, mandated turnover from traditional incandescent lamps to more energyefficient ones.

■ Energy legislation signed by President George W. Bush in 2007 introduced a ban on inefficient incandescent light bulbs, covering traditional 100-watt bulbs this year.

■ Sales of traditional 75-watt incandescents will be prohibited next year, and 60-watt incandescents will go after that.

■ When replacing a bulb, consumers must now go out and buy

T

energy-efficient incandescent, compact fluorescent and LED bulbs.

The L Prize was meant to ease this transition by enticing manufacturers to create affordable bulbs to replace the most common type, the traditional 60-watt.

A Philips spokesman declined to talk in detail about the bulb or its price because the product has yet to be formally launched. It is expected to hit stores within weeks and is available online.

But the spokesman said the L Prize bulb costs more because, as the contest required, it is even more energy-efficient, running on 10 watts instead of 12.5 watts. It is also brighter, renders colors better and lasts longer.

Still, the contest set price goals. According to the L Prize guidelines, manufacturers were “strongly encouraged to offer products at prices that prove cost-effective and attractive to buyers, and therefore more successful in the market.” The target retail price, including rebates from utilities, was to be $22 in the first year, $15 in the second year and $8 in the third year.

Source: Peter Whoriskey, “Government-Subsidized Green Light Bulb Carries Costly Price Tag,” Washington Post, March 8, 2012.

e l t t a C m o t Cus s t i t a g n i Feed Finest!

Johnny Trotter, President / General Mgr. Res: 806/364-1172 • Mob.: 806/346-2508 Email: jtrotter@bar-g.com Kevin Bunch, Assistant Manager Mike Blair, Comptroller Mike Anthony, Shipping/Receiving

PO BOX 1797 HEREFORD, TX 79045

806/357-2241

stakes (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania). The list is currently being used on a national level to distribute CFI’s monthly Best Food Facts (www.BestFoodFacts.org) newsletter and by organizations at the state level to communicate with consumers

Page 5

who live in their state.

“We look forward to engaging with consumers in the database who are actively seeking more information about food and farming,” says Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity, which coordinated the Farmers Feed US program with statebased organizations. “Whether that’s communications from CFI, or state-based groups, it’s a great resource to reach a portion of the population who is highly-interested in food production.”

According to Arnot, CFI is currently recruiting partners for “On America’s Table” a regular e-newsletter to be distributed to the entire database. “CFI will continue to use ongoing, twoway communications to engage with consumers and build trust in today’s food system,” Arnot said. Those interested in more information about “On America’s Table” can contact Mark Crouser at Mark.Crouser@foodintegrity.org.

Marana Stockyards & Livestock Market Inc. 14901 W Kirby Hughes Rd P.O. Box 280 Marana, AZ 85653

Marana Stockyards specializes in marketing Arizona calves, yearlings and replacement cows and bulls.

Our family owned and operated facility with ring scales is built with your cattle in mind for easy sorting with less stress.

Also available: ROUNDUP Internet Cattle Sales Call Clay for more information.

SALE DATES: APRIL 5,12,19 and a Special Stocker/ Feeder Sale on the 26th, 1,500 head consigned.

Check the web page for upcoming special sales. maranastockyards.com Clay 520/444-7650

roundupcattle.com Jose 520/444-1087

Bar-G FEEDYARD 125,000-Head Capacity 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HEREFORD, TEXAS FINANCING AVAILABLE

Livestock Market Digest

Page 6

Trumps Trump the Antis US SPORTSMEN’S ALLIANCE

ave you noted the growing trend in America? Citizens who go legally hunting and find success are finding themselves in the crosshairs of the animal rights lobby including groups such as PETA, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), or other “public opinion police� groups.

You have to ask yourself “when did someone put PETA or HSUS in charge of what you do on vacation?� Read on.

When TV personality Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump, went hunting in Africa, they found success.

H

Included among their memory makers were photos of them with a killed elephant and crocodile. They also reportedly killed a kudu and a waterbuck. It’s important to note that none of these species are endangered, and when taken by hunters the local residents obtain an instant source of food and a major economic boost. Hunting actually ensures that villagers value animals such as elephants which often do terrible damage to crops. Donald Trump, Jr. stated that the animals provided needed food in many Africa villages.

When videos of the successful hunters appeared on YouTube, it seems that PETA and other

groups made many attempts to discredit the hunters — and hunting. Even more bizarre is that one article that reported on the Trump brothers’ hunt switched gears and began reporting on rhino poaching and international black market trafficking of rhino horns. The Trumps did not hunt rhinos. This was a blatant attempt to confuse the public and reflects very poor journalism standards.

Again, this begs the question, of what concern is it to PETA what you do on your own vacation? These were just private citizens on vacation, legally hunting.

A similar firestorm erupted last year when Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons also went hunting in Africa and legally killed an elephant.

And more recently when Cali-

April 15, 2012 fornia Fish and Game Commission president Daniel Richards legally and successfully went mountain lion hunting in Idaho, HSUS tried numerous sensationalized efforts to have him removed from his position. The HSUS move and demands were highly suspect after numerous reports surfaced that HSUS had in fact given money to California’s Fish and Game Department in an effort to develop close ties there. Appearing at a public hearing to speak in favor of removing Richards were HSUS, Audubon, Sierra Club, and other groups.

With the facts out, it continues to be clear that donations to HSUS, PETA and other animal rights groups are used less and less to help dogs and cats and more and more to push the

groups’ radical animal rights agendas. Worse, these campaigns reveal a bigger agenda by the animal rights lobby to co-opt the mainstream media into reporting these stories of legal hunting trips in a fashion that suggests to the American people that those involved have done something wrong or illegal.

Instead the media should be reporting on the incredible positive impact that hunting has on conservation, the economy, and bringing families together. That’s a story sportsmen need to tell more often, too.

Windmills vs. Birds ome 77 organizations — led by the American Bird Conservancy, CornellLaboratory of Ornithology, Endangered Species Coalition and numerous chapters of the Audubon Society — are petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to toughen the rules for the siting, permitting and operation of large-scale wind projects.

It’s about time, says Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. ■Over the past two decades, the federal government has prosecuted hundreds of cases against oil and gas producers and electricity producers for violating some of America’s oldest wildlife-protection laws: the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Eagle Protection Act. ■But the Obama administration — like the Bush administration before it — has never prosecuted the wind industry despite myriad examples of widespread, unpermitted bird kills by turbines. ■A violation of either law can result in a fine of up to $250,000 and imprisonment for two years.

The renewed focus on bird kills is coming at a bad time for the wind industry, which is being hammered by low natural gas prices and a Congress unwilling to extend the 2.2 cents per-kilowatt-hour production tax credit that has fueled the industry’s growth in recent years. ■Last June, the Los Angeles Times reported that about 70 golden eagles are being killed per year by the wind turbines east of Oakland, Calif. ■A 2008 study funded by the Alameda County Community Development Agency estimated that about 2,400 raptors, as well as about 7,500 other birds, nearly all of which are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act — are being killed every year by the turbines at Altamont.

Eric Glitzenstein, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who wrote the petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says, “It’s absolutely clear that there’s been a mandate from the top� echelons of the federal government not to prosecute the wind industry for violating wildlife laws.

S

Company s e l a S

" *##", *(+'"." '&)" *# '*1 0*'/(" (&-. '*1",-

"#",") " 0 &' '" &) 2*/, ,"

,"" %&++&)$

*1 &).") ) " &$% ",#*,( ) "

'' .** */. 2 , &'",- */)! '" ""!",-

*, #,"" ,* %/," *). .

*,

*/).2 * ! /&).",

111 -1&% ,. - '"- *(

1&% ,. '"- *(+ )2

Source: Robert Bryce, “Windmills vs. Birds,�

Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2012.

April 15, 2012

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

How to lower gasoline prices s the economy slowly makes headway on its anemic recovery, Americans continue to face a substantial burden on their household budgets in the form of escalating gas prices. Prices for crude oil, which contribute substantially to growth in the price of gasoline, have risen sharply during the years of the Obama administration, and many predict they will continue to rise into the near future, says Diana FurchtgottRoth, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute.

■ On January 20, 2009, when Mr. Obama was inaugurated, the average price of gasoline was $1.84 per gallon, but it has since risen to $3.28 per gallon.

■ Simultaneously, the price of crude oil has risen from $39 per barrel in early 2009 to $107 per barrel.

■ Significant gains in domestic oil production have mitigated this price increase: Domestic production averaged 8,184 thousand barrels per day in November 2011, which is up from 6,895 thousand barrels per day average in 2005.

■ Rising prices damage household budgets, with the average household in North Dakota taking on the largest oil burden of $396 per month.

Low energy prices are crucial to economic recovery, as they

A

Riding Herd

simultaneously lower the costs of doing business and alleviate budgetary demands on households. According to the late David Salzman, president of LightSpin Technologies, gasoline will be the primary source of energy for at least the next two decades. Therefore, the Obama administration should adopt policies that will lower prices.

■ Aprove the XL Keystone Pipeline — this will ease transportation from Canada, North Dakota, and Ohio to the Gulf and allow refineries to operate at higher capacities.

■ Allow additional oil exploration — states should be given greater autonomy in adopting policies regarding oil exploration off their coasts, such as California and Alaska.

■ Speed up permitting.

■ Add flexibility to boutique fuel requirements.

■ End the ethanol mandate — ethanol is bad for the environment, historically expensive and damaging to several staple food industries.

■ Do not impose oil taxes — President Obama’s proposed oil tax ($50 billion during the next decade) will undermine American oil’s ability to compete.

Source: Diana Furchtgott-Roth, “How to Lower Gasoline Prices,” Manhattan Institute, March 2012.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

conversations because the word of the year is “halfalogue”, which is that half of a conversation you hear involuntarily.

Unlike me, my wife is very quiet, which is just one of her many attributes. She can go to a dinner party and not say two words. But she’s a great listener and often after dining out we’ll have our own conversation about what the people in the next booth were discussing. Sometimes it’s hard to just sit there when people are getting their facts wrong, or contemplating bad lifestyle decisions. Often I just want to blurt out, “Can you be a little more specific? Has your husband cheated on you before and exactly what disease did he give you?”

Or, “Look, you’re broke. And you eat too much. I’m just saying, instead of spending $10,000 on a tummy tuck next time you shouldn’t order the whole fried chicken, two desserts and ‘the works’ on your baked potato.”

Cell phones have benefitted me in many ways. Like sheepherders and lonely cowboys, I have the irritating habit of talking to myself. But now when I talk to myself instead of people thinking I’m a mentally disturbed homeless person, they think I’m talking on my cell phone. Which I don’t have. But they don’t know that. With handless headsets and phones now no larger than a pack of Tic Tacs, it’s easy to convince people you’re actually talking to someone. When I talk to myself and see people looking at me funny, or trying to find the cell phone on my person, I’ll just say real loud, “Sorry Bob, I’m starting to lose you. I’ll call you later when I get in a better area.” Yeah right.

Or if I see someone I don’t like and don’t want to talk to, I’ll just say, “Hello, Joe.” Then I turn to the person I don’t want to talk to and say, “I’d love to visit but it’s really important I take this call.” Then I look for a restaurant so I can complete the fake call so that everyone can hear me and see how I’m so technologically savvy that I have a cell phone that no one can see.

Gee, I must have the latest model!

Thanks to Bluetooth I have all the benefits and status of owning a cell phone without ever having to charge a battery or pay a bill to ATT, Vonage or Verizon.

Page 7

SPECIAL CATTLEMEN’S FEEDER SALES HOSTED BY THE AMADOR-EL DORADOSACRAMENTO COUNTY CATTLEMEN’S ASSOC.

!

SATURDAY, MAY 12 & JUNE 2

0)) %".+* )3 +*/-+) 4 *31'%-%5

2% commission rate with 1/2% donated back to your local association.

ALSO FEATURING CONSIGNMENTS FROM THESE LOCAL CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS: SAN JOAQUIN-STANISLAUS, CALAVERAS, CONTRA COSTA-ALAMEDA, FRESNO-KINGS, TUOLUMNE, MADERA, SANTA CLARA, SONOMA, TAHOE and YOLO. HI

S PECIAL F EEDER S ALE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

+2 3%-.#0-& ,'1'(/% %$.(. *%/

S PECIAL F EEDER S ALE WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2012

S PECIAL F EEDER S ALE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012

HI

S PECIAL F ALL P AIR & B RED C OW S ALE

Cowley

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012

Farm & Feedlot Company • 5,000-Head Capacity • Backgrounding and Finishing • Feeding silage, alfalfa hay, corn and barley • Hedging on Request

View and bid live at

www.cattleusa.com

Cattlemen’s LIVESTOCK MARKET

AUCTION YARD

Call now to consign to the

12495 Stockton Blvd. Galt, CA 95632 209-745-1515 OFFICE • 209-745-1582 FAX 209-745-2701 MKT RPT www.clmgalt.com

WVM Sale April 11 in Visalia, CA

Three generations serving you

JOE GATES ............... 707-694-3063 JUSTIN TRICK ..........916-240-4601 ABEL JIMENEZ .........209-495-0995 Se habla español.

JAKE PARNELL ........916-662-1298 GEORGE GOOKIN ..........209-482-1648 MARK FISCHER .......209-768-6522 REX WHITTLE ..........209-996-6994

IVAN, BRAD & JEREMY COWLEY 546 N. Venice Main St., Venice, Utah 84701 435/896-5260 cowleyfarm@hotmail.com

The Best of the Bunch FROM THE PHOTO of his hand-tooled cover to the very last story, Lee’s newest book, A Handmade Life, is pure Pitts.

In the tradition of Dirt Roads and God’s Country, Lee’s latest will entertain and inspire.

Destined to be a classic.

ORDER FORM

QUANTITY

Four Book Special

PRICE

TOTAL

$49.95

BOOKS ORDERED SEPARATELY A Handmade Life

$14.95

These Things I Wish

$14.95

A Collection of Characters

$12.95

Essays from God’s Country

$12.95

Back Door People

$11.95

People Who Live at the End of Dirt Roads

$12.95

Shipping & Handling

$3.00

(Per Item if ordered separately)

Tax (If California resident only)

TOTAL

x 8.25%

GRAND TOTAL Name__________________________________________________________________________________ Mailing Address ________________________________________________________________________ City _________________________________________________ State _________ Zip________________

h t t p : / / a a a l i ve s t o ck . c o m / i n d ex . p h p / l e e - p i t t s

4-BOOK SPECIAL! Choose any four of Lee’s boks and pay only $49.95, and that e! includes Priority Postag ial ent pot a to up ads all It ! $20 r ove of saving

FOR BOOKS ORDERED SEPARATELY PLEASE PAY $3.00 EACH FOR POSTAGE AND HANDLING. MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: LEE PITTS, AND MAIL TO: P.O. BOX 616, MORRO BAY, CA 93443

Livestock Market Digest

Page 8

Seed for Cattlemen and Ranchers • Grass Seed Available • Distributor of Teff Seeds • We ship!

• The seed grows rapidly and makes excellent horse hay

ROUND WATER TROUGHS ➤ ➤ ➤

Plate Steel Construction Plate Steel Floors Pipeline Compatible

Hankins Seed AND SALES BOX 98 • BONANZA, OR 97623 LAVERNE@HANKINSSEED.COM

CALL ANYTIME 541/545-6649

BRIAN BOOHER 915/859-6843 • El Paso, Texas CELL. 915/539-7781

To place your ad, contact Caren at 505/243-9515, ext. 21 or caren@aaalivestock.com

April 15, 2012

REBUIDING THE COWHERD

The RED Way

by JOHN FORD, Executive Director SGBI, Kingsville, Texas

any industry members were confident that the rebuilding of the nation’s cowherd begin in would earnest during 2011. At the onset of last year, numerous indicators pointed to a reversal in the shrinking cowherd trend.

However, by the late spring of 2011 it was evident that factors remained in place limiting needed herd expansion. Will 2012 be different? Are conditions favorable for cattlemen to retain heifers and purchase replacements? Will the expansion process begin this year? Those are hard questions to answer, but it is safe to say sooner or later rebuilding must and will occur.

Commercial cattlemen have numerous breed and breed combinations to consider when

M

building or rebuilding the cowherd. Publications, websites, and countless other outlets tout the attributes of the various breeds and breed combinations available today. Often attempts are made to tie hide color to profitability. However, knowledgeable cattlemen understand that heterosis, not color, influences profitability. Years of research have continually shown that maximum hybrid vigor is obtained when mating animals of breeds that are completely unrelated, such as a British and/or Continental Breed with a breed containing Bos indicus bloodlines. Cattlemen looking for females that supply added heterosis with exceptional maternal traits do not need to look any farther than Santa Gertrudis.

Not only does the Santa Gertrudis breed include Bos indicus in its genetic package, the breed was the first composite, a

CO-OWNED WITH CORPORRON ACRES

02 //002 1 8222/0 DO 182/ A RDO KKRR RII CCAR

SIRE: KR A5/175 t DAM: KR 7/118 t REG # 1229032

KIIING KKING N G 555 55/ 55///00 SIRE: T1L t DAM: KR 15X t REG # 244750

RED ANGUS X SANTA GERTRUDIS

7//00 01 KRR 47/

SIRE: LEACHMAN LADIES MAN t DAM: KR 9/581 t REG # 1229775

standardized and very predictable blend of Shorthorn and Brahman genetics.

Santa Gertrudis genetics ensure that cattle will thrive in a wide variety of climates, from the hot and humid Southeast, to the arid drought prone Southwest. There is no better way for a commercial cattleman to capture or increase hybrid vigor than through the use of Santa Gertrudis genetics.

There is no better foundation for the formation of a profitable commercial cow herd than the Santa Gertrudis F1 Female.

The Santa Gertrudis F1 female is extremely versatile and can be incorporated into a wide variety of breeding programs.

She is known for her productivity and longevity. Santa Gertrudis influenced females are fertile, gentle, and most importantly consistent producers of a calf that is viable and competitive in the beef industry. The Santa Gertrudis influenced female will calve easily producing a calf that gains quickly and is an extraordinary feeder. University conducted test verify that Santa Gertrudis influenced calves are efficient feeders that produce high quality lean carcasses. Recently, 1,000 head of Santa Gertrudis steers were evaluated in the National Steer Feedout. The average daily gain was 3.49 lbs. with an average Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (tenderness) measurement of 6.25 lbs., a figure well under the 7 lbs. that consumers consider as tender. Economic data collected

by Texas A&M Agricultural Extension Service over a 10-year period found that order buyers at selected South Texas sale barns had a preference for Santa Gertrudis crossbred steers. In some instances Santa Gertrudis influenced calves brought $11/cwt. more than like quality cattle representing eight other breeds and breed combinations.

Livestock economists and industry leaders state that rebuilding of the cowherd is necessary in order to meet demand.

Santa Gertrudis influenced cattle combine all the traits needed for performance and profitability.

Santa Gertrudis genetics . . . added heterosis . . . exceptional maternal traits . . . Rebuild With REDS.

YYOO G I 11556 5 62 62 SIRE: COTTON BRANCH BIG BEAR t DA M: HARRIS FARMS 729 t REG

# 1222255

RED DOC FARM April 14, 2012 55 Bulls Sell at the Ranch

WWW WW WW. W. KI K IING N G -RRA RA N CCHH .COM .

Dr. Roland & Elia Sanchez 703 S. Christopher Rd. Belen, NM 87002 505/864-7781 Office • 505/864-2898 reddocfarm@aol.com

April 15, 2012

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper�

GOOD MAMAS, GOOD BABIES:

Santa Gertrudis K

by CALLIE GNATKOWSKI GIBSON

nown as America’s original beef breed, Santa Gertrudis cattle were bred to thrive in harsh conditions.

The breed was developed on the King Ranch in south Texas, and combines the hardiness of Brahman cattle and the muscling and maternal strength of the Shorthorn breed into cattle that are gentle, productive and efficient.

The breed — 5/8 Shorthorn and 3/8 Brahman — was first recognized as a distinct breed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1940, according to the Santa Gertrudis Breeders International (SGBI). Today, the breed can be found on operations across the country. By incorporating Santa Gertrudis genetics into their operations, producers are seeing increased weaning weights profitability, and it is hard to argue with that kind of results.

back to Red Doc Farms, although they also sell bulls and heifers to individuals looking for breeding stock. Burns has also sold bulls through Red Doc Farms’ annual spring sale.

Showing cattle is another aspect of the family’s operation.

Over the years, Kenny has shown cattle in Mercedes, Houston, and Athens, Texas, and at the New Mexico State Fair. Going forward, he says he’ll probably focus on shows closer to home.

The Burns are active in the Santa

Gertrudis Breeders United (SGBI), and their grandchildren, Matthew and Briana, showed Santa Gertrudis cattle through the Junior Association for several years.

to Northern New Mexico Santa Gertrudis cattle have been part of the Montano family’s operation for many years.

Manuel Montano bought his first Santa Gertrudis from Greer Garson at the Forked Lightning Ranch, and although he raised

several different breeds of cattle on his Las Vegas ranch, he liked the Santa Gertrudis the best.

When he passed away, his daughter Cherry and nephew, Stacey, inherited both the ranch and his love of the breed.

Today, Cherry Montano raises Santa Gertrudis on the ME Slash Ranch near Taos with help from her son, BJ Rosales.

The breed’s gentle nature is very important to Cherry, who focuses on raising show cattle. “I just love them,� she said. “A gentle temperament is one of the best things about the breed.

Cherry’s children, BJ and Niome, showed cattle through 4H and the National Junior Santa Gertrudis Association growing

From the plains Santa Gertrudis genetics have been a part of the Burns Ranch, north of Mountainair, since 2002. “We were looking for a bull, and had a friend with a Santa Gertrudis bull, and it kind of snowballed from there,� said Kenny Burns. “A couple of years later, we bought some registered heifers from the Sanchez family of Red Doc Farms in Belen.�

Today, Kenny and his wife Letha, with help from their sons Travis and Steven, run registered Santa Gertrudis and a few crossbred cattle. The family has been in the cattle business for a long time, and the ranch remains a family business. “Our sons help us a lot, we couldn’t do it without them,� Kenny said.

The results he saw after using that first bull impressed Kenny, and convinced him to stay with the breed. “They added a lot of muscling to the calves, and our weaning weights increased between 80 and 100 pounds.

They really grow fast and put pounds on.�

Hardiness is one strength of the breed. “They can take all kinds of weather conditions. The past couple of years have been pretty tough as far as moisture, but the cattle have enough Brahman in them that they are doing well.�

He also cites their calving ease. “We have been very pleased with the cattle, they’ve been really good for us. They have nice small calves, and are easy calving.�

Kenny also likes the breed’s disposition. “The bulls are very easy going,� he noted. “I’m not saying that they won’t fight, but in the past we have had some black bulls that would just stand and fight and tear up fences. I got tired of that.�

The majority of calves are sold

Page 9

The Santa Gertrudis Crossbred Commercial Female is known for her outstanding maternal traits and ability to wean a heavy, healthy calf in the most challenging of environmental conditions.

Santa Gertrudis Genetics Added Heterosis, Exceptional Maternal Traits...

Rebuild with Reds.

SANTA GERTRUDIS BREEDERS INTERNATIONAL

1 0 #09 ,*/(47*--& 5&9"4 t š Ÿ Ź t 4(#*Ŋ4"/5"(&3536%*4 $0.

continued on page ten

BRIGGS RANCHES P.O. Box 1417 Victoria, Texas 77902 361/573-7141 Traylor Division Bloomington, Texas 361/897-1337 San Roque Division Catarina, Texas 830/999-3236 San Carlos Division Rio Grande City, Texas

Livestock Market Digest

Page 10

Good Mamas, Good Babies up, and Niome is a past National Santa Gertrudis Junior Princess.

Cherry has remained very active in 4-H, helping kids with their cattle projects. “I think 4-H is such a wonderful program for kids to get involved in. I help all that I can and if I can sell some of my calves at the same time, that’s a good thing. Santa Gertrudis is a wonderful breed, and the Junior Association is so good for the kids.”

Cherry has successfully developed a good market for her heifer calves as show heifers. She currently has two heifers for 4Hers, and is helping the kids get the heifers ready to take home.

“The kids come to my house to work with the calves, I don’t turn them over until I am sure the kids won’t get hurt.”

Her bull calves are sold to Red Doc Farms, where they are

continued from page nine

put through a weight gain test. If they perform well enough, they are sold in the Sanchez family’s annual bull sale. In past years, she has sold bulls locally to commercial producers.

“Santa Gertrudis add size, height, and also seem to pass their gentle disposition on to their calves,” she noted. “Santa Gertrudis calves tend to be a lot heavier than other breeds. If I do take calves to market, I also benefit in that way.”

A Santa Gertrudis / Angus heifer that she bought back from a bull customer will be going to this year’s national show through the Santa Gertrudis Breeders International’s (SGBI’s) Star Five Program, set up to include cattle that are at least 50 percent Santa Gertrudis.

Maternal strength and hardiness are also important traits,

SILER Santa Gertrudis Cattle DAVID AND AVANELL SILER P.O. Box 3 Doole, Texas 76836 325/483-5449

Cherry explained. “The cattle are wonderful mothers. My cattle run at a high altitude. While I have heard people say that they won’t do well up here, that they’ll get brisket disease, I have never had any problems.”

While Cherry enjoys helping area 4-Hers with their cattle, she is looking forward to helping the next generation of her family get their start with Santa Gertrudis.

“My grandkids will be coming up and ready to show soon. They will be my showmen.”

A New Generation of Leaders In June, Briana Montano was elected President of the National Junior Santa Gertrudis Association, the first New Mexico junior to hold the position. “It has been a great experience,” she said. “It is a huge honor for a small affiliate like New Mexico.”

Briana, who grew up on her family’s Santa Gertrudis operation, the O/X Ranch run by her parents Stacey and Debbie Montano 15 miles south of Las Vegas, represents District 5 — New Mexico north to Ohio and Missouri — on the 15-member NJSGA Board of Directors. A business major at the University of New Mexico, she makes the trip home to Las Vegas as often as possible and plans to pursue a career in agriculture.

Cattle shows are a big part of the NJSGA, and this part of the year is the heart of the NJSGA show season, Briana said. Junior members are participating in a variety of shows leading up to the Association’s National Show, scheduled for June 17-23, 2012 in Gonzales, Louisiana. During the week-long event, juniors will participate in contests including livestock judging, speech, sales talk, herdsman, showmanship and a cattlemen’s contest where contestants must try to identify 50 tools used in the agricultural

April 15, 2012 and beef industry in a certain amount of time. “It’s always an interesting contest because cattle production and the tools used vary greatly from state to state.

The show is definitely the highlight of the week.”

The NJSGA does two things that are unique to the association during the show, she explained. Juniors who win their class receive a show heifer donated by a participating Santa Gertrudis producer. Those heifers then compete in a special class at the next year’s National show. In addition, about $40,000 in scholarships are awarded every year to junior members.

Last year, Montano received a $10,000 scholarship.

Another NJSGA program is the GOALS conference (Gert Ongoing Advanced Leadership Summit), which is held in a different part of the country every two years. “We are all from small towns, and the conference gives us a chance to experience a new city as well as learn leadership skills,” she said. More information on the association and its activities can be found online at www.santagertrudis.org.

“Our association is more than just a cattle association, it truly builds the morals, values, and character of the people involved,” Briana explained. “We are just one great big family, with members from South Carolina to Mississippi to New Mexico. We all have one thing in common — our Gert cattle — and are truly there to help each other.”

“I remember my first show, when my heifer got away from me and drug me clear across the show ring,” she continued. “One of the Junior Association Board of Directors helped me up, caught my calf, and helped me get things back under control. I remember thinking then that these people really do care.”

Support from the Santa Gertrudis Breeders International (SGBI) is the backbone of the NJSGA. “The adult association takes enormous pride in and puts a great amount of emphasis on junior members,” Briana pointed out. “Their help allows us to learn not just to produce beef, but to produce human beings that are ready to go out and make an impact on the world.”

Scientists cast more doubt about global warming panic n September, Nobel Prizewinning physicist Ivar Giaever made waves when he publicly resigned from the American Physical Society (APS).

In an explanatory letter, Giaever focused on the APS’s inexplicable belief that the existence of global warming was “incontrovertible.”

I

in maneuvering complex governmental tax and regulatory structures thrive in those environments while competitors flounder.

■ Nonprofit foundations can pull enormous private support for crusades against a nonexistent global force.

So long as private interests

Why would certain communities of scientists continue to insist on global warming’s existence?

In so doing, Giaever joined a growing sect of scientists that has doubts about climate change, says an editorial signed by 16 scientists in the Wall Street Journal.

■ Strikingly, data over the course of the last decade shows no evidence that the globe is gradually warming.

■ Further beyond that, in the 22 years since the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warming has consistently been below projections.

The immediate question then becomes apparent: if there is little data to support the global warming claim, why would certain communities of scientists continue to insist on its existence? The answer is that, though there is little evidence to suggest global warming’s impact, many concentrated parties continue to benefit from a public that believes in it: ■ Academic research teams garner public funding to find effective solutions to the global warming “problem.”

■ Businesses that specialize

exist that benefit from this deception, and so long as scientists exist who will perpetuate its continuation with little data, this false alarmism will continue.

Furthermore, the costs of this ruse are not isolated to small private interests, but are diffused among the nation at large. Politicians, who are pressured by the aforementioned private interests, demand costly policy solutions to a non-problem. However, a recent study of a wide variety of policy options by Yale economist William Nordhaus showed that nearly the highest benefit-to-cost ratio is achieved for a policy that allows 50 more years of economic growth unimpeded by greenhouse gas controls. This speaks to the lack of compelling data for the existence of global warming or its negative effects on the daily lives of humans.

Source: Claude Allegre et al., “No Need to Panic about Global Warming,” Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2012.

April 15, 2012

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

Page 11

NMSU to host Indian Livestock Days May 15-16 in Albuquerque attle producers, including Native Americans, are facing many challenges because of the ongoing drought. Helpful information will be available to producers during the annual New Mexico Indian Livestock Days conference, 7 a.m to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, May 15 and 16, at the Route 66 Casino and Hotel west of Albuquerque on Interstate 40.

New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service agricultural agents and specialists, as well as private industry experts, have designed sessions addressing many issues that producers are facing.

“In addition, there will be a full day of outdoor activities, which has been brought back after the success of last year,” said Kathy Landers, McKinley County Extension agricultural agent. “While the outdoor activities are going on, we will also have indoor session provided by our home economists.”

The drought is a very real

C

threat to the survival of livestock operations, and that fact has shaped the conference agenda this year.

Among first day’s sessions, Manny Encinias, Extension beef cattle specialist, will talk about supplemental feeds to use during the drought; Gary Sides, cattle nutritionist from Pfizer, will discuss trends going on in the cattle industry.

Representatives from USDA agencies, such as the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the National Agricultural Statistics Service, will discuss programs that are available to help producers during the drought.

“One of the sessions on Tuesday that I’m looking forward to is a report on the Horses For Heroes and Cowboy Up programs,” Landers said. “These are for wounded warriors who have lost a limb from recent war action and who have come home to New Mexico and are establishing their own ranches. We will hear from a panel of the men

on how they are progressing.”

Another important issue that will be discussed is the wolf recovery program. Adam Ringia of Laguna Pueblo will talk about how the government arranged for Native Americans to do wolf releases. “He’s going to speak on how Native Americans have a voice on this issue and how they need to express it,” Landers said.

Also during the opening day, Karen Budd-Falen of BuddFalen Law Offices will give an industry update. “She made a presentation at the New Mexico Joint Stockman’s Convention and was well received. I think our producers will learn a lot from this session,” Landers said.

Other sessions on the first day will include a presentation about the cattle market by Jerry Hawkes, NMSU Extension economics specialist, and an update on the sheep industry by Ron Cole, American Sheep Industry wool education consultant. John Wenzel, NMSU Extension veterinarian will discuss reproduc-

Lucas says a Farm Bill is possible this year, if . . . he chairman of the House Agriculture Committee sees an opportunity to move multi-year farm legislation through the House by mid-summer that provides an equitable safety net for ag producers and does not make conservation compliance a prerequisite to purchasing federally-subsidized crop insurance.

Oklahoma Republican Frank Lucas said that while he doesn’t know exactly how much money his committee will have to cut from farm, conservation and nutrition programs that account for the bulk of farm bill spending, he suspects the amount will be larger than the $23 billion recommended by Capitol Hill ag leaders last fall during the failed

T

Retailer to add meat at 100 stores arget Corp. announced plans to remodel more than 100 of its general merchandise stores to include a fresh food section, the Minneapolis-based company announced. The remodeling process typically dedicates about 10,000 square feet of the store to fresh packaged meat, produce and baked goods, as well as dry and frozen products.

Target says these stores will be the first of three remodeling cycles this year.

Nearly 900 stores currently have the expanded food section and Target plans to remodel a total of 230 stores in 2012.

T

super committee process.

“My friends on the left don’t want to spend any money on rural America and my friends on the right just don’t want to spend any money on anybody for ANY reason!” he exclaimed, underscoring how difficult it will be to secure 218 votes for a farm bill on the House floor.

The Chairman indicated he’d begin working on a one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill this summer, on a parallel track, if it became apparent that enacting new legislation wasn’t possible.

“I want a farm bill” this year, he declared, but “I just don’t know whether the environment I’m working in up here — budget, the political mix, the presidential campaigns — I don’t know whether the circumstances are going to let me have one.

“But Debbie, Pat, Collin and I

are going to move heaven and earth, if we can, to get it done,” he said, referring to Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow, DMich, ranking member Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and the ranking member on his committee, Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.

He urged environmental groups to drop their demand that farmers be required to adopt soil and water stewardship practices in order to collect crop insurance indemnities. “I would ask my friends who are very enthusiastic about the environmental perspective to work with us this time; we only have a limited amount of money. We’ve got to continue to make production agriculture work in this country.” On other ag policy issues, Lucas said it was too early to make a prediction about whether the next farm bill would contain a Livestock Title.

tive diseases and trichomoniasis.

Jon Boren, NMSU Extension director, will give an update on NMSU’s Extension program and the research being done at the university’s agricultural science centers.

The conference’s second day will open at the conference facility with a presentation by several young ranchers, followed by two tracks of outdoor sessions. Horse sense and cattle handling will be the morning options. After lunch Tom Sidwell of JX Ranch’s natural beef program will present a rancher’s insights. Additional outdoor sessions will focus on water for livestock and carcass evaluation.

“I’m excited about the carcass evaluation session,” Landers said. “John Wenzel will have cuts of beef from a cow on which he intentionally performed incorrect vaccination injections. He will show the producers what happens to the meat if they give the injection in the wrong area or give too much vaccine.”

Meanwhile, NMSU home

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Lifetime Products ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ TANK COATINGS, ★ ★ ROOF COATINGS ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Available for ★ ★ metal, composition ★ ★ shingles or tar roofs. ★ ★ ★ Long lasting and easy ★ ★ ★ to apply. ★ ★ ★ We also manufacture ★ ★ ★ tank coatings for ★ ★ concrete, rock, ★ ★ ★ steel, galvanized ★ ★ ★ and mobile tanks. ★ ★ ★ ★ Call for our free ★ ★ catalog. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ VIRDEN PERMA BILT CO. ★ ★ ★ 806/352-2761 ★ ★ ★ www.virdenproducts.com ★ ★ ★ ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

V IRDEN PERMA-BILT

continued on page twelve

ARM FOR THE BEST: Set Your Sights On RIFLEMAN Genetics!

The Rifleman 7355

Ordway

25 Registered Santa Gertrudis Bulls Off Gain Test

COMMERCIAL FEEDLOT

SOME SIRED BY RIFLEMAN

Cattle Feeders LLC Capacity 55,000 Cattle & Feed Financing Available TYLER KARNEY, MANAGER 19424 HWY. 96, ORDWAY, CO. 81063 • 719/267-3551

A Good Selection of Open Heifers Available Private Treaty At The Ranch

Dan Wendt DAN & JANE WENDT • SGBI Herd 621 5473 FM 457, Bay City, TX 77414 dwendt@1skyconnect.net • wendtranch.net Home/Ofc.: 979/245-5100 • Cell: 979/244-6774

Livestock Market Digest

Page 12

April 15, 2012

The high cost of renewable electricity mandates n the absence of federal action to set carbon emission standards, many states have created renewable portfolio standards (RPS) on their own, whereby an agreed-upon fraction of their electricity production is supplied by renewable sources, says Robert Bryce, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute.

However, RPSs contain substantial hidden costs that adopting states often fail to take into account. Indeed, the economic burden that they impose likely harms job growth as consumers and businesses alike are saddled with higher rates.

■ Thus far, 29 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have adopted RPSs. ■ However, because electricity produced from renewable sources tends to be more expensive than energy from traditional sources, RPSs tend to raise rates.

■ In 2010, the average price of residential electricity in RPS states was 31.9 percent higher than it was in non-RPS states.

■ A Heritage Foundation

I

study estimated that by 2035, a national RPS mandate would raise residential electricity rates by 36 percent above the baseline price and industrial rates by 60 percent above the baseline price.

These higher rates can be seen among the states, where residents of states that have adopted RPSs are forced to pay above-market electricity rates in order to comply with the state mandate.

■ Of the 10 states with the highest electricity prices, eight have RPS mandates including all of the top five.

■ California, which has the tenth-highest rate, recently raised its RPS standard from 20 percent to 33 percent of energy from renewables by 2020.

■ Of the 10 states with the lowest electricity prices, only two have RPS mandates.

■ Coal-dependent states witness an even starker contrast: electricity rates in the coal-dependent RPS states increased by an average of 54.2 percent between 2001 and 2010, more than twice the increase seen in the coal-

dependent non-RPS states.

This demonstrates that RPSs place substantial downward pressure on state economies, as poor families and businesses are forced to pay higher electricity rates. In this context, it is crucial for states to recognize the importance of energy prices in economic activity and the effects that RPSs can have on an already-fragile economy.

Source: Robert Bryce, “The High Cost of Renewable Electricity Mandates,” Manhattan Institute, February 2012.

Excellent Facility & Feeding Program OWNED BY FRIONA AREA CATTLEMEN

Real Estate GUIDE W-R RANCH

Bottari Realty

29,767 ACRES 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF ROSWELL, N.M.

❙ ❙

5,315 Deeded Acres 23,525 State Lease Acres 927 BLM Acres 500 Animal Units Year Long

CHARLES BENNETT

❙

❙

Good water; windmill and submergible tanks Good fences; 4-strand barbwire

Call for Price

Paul Bottari, Broker • 775/752-3040 www.bottarirealty.com

NEVADA FARMS & RANCH PROPERTY Farm near Wells, NV: 90 acres in hay; 2 homes; shop and storage three miles from town. $450,000

Farms & Ranches

Agrilands

United Country / Vista Nueva, Inc. 575/356-5616 • www.vista-nueva.com

REAL ESTATE

541/473-3100

Feed & Cattle Financing Available

JACK HORTON www.agrilandsrealestate.com

CAPACITY 35,000

New Mexico Ranches For Sale

Located in the Heart of Cattle Feeding Country

Best Priced Ranch in the West ~ $4,700 per animal unit. 10,300-acre southeastern New Mexico cattle ranch with 169 animal unit capacity. All new or remodeled improvements. Excellent water system. Backhoe tractor, feed truck and lease back option.

10 Miles South of Friona on Hwy. 214

1/800-725-3433 • 806/265-3281 Feller Hughs, Manager Paco Feed Yard, Ltd. • Box 956, Friona, TX 79035

1. Online registration and payment can be done online at http://indianlivestock.nmsu.edu, or submitted by mail to McKinley CES, Star Rt. 2, Box 59, Gallup, NM 87301. Make money orders payable to McKinley CES; no personal checks will be accepted.

Route 66 Casino Hotel registration may be made at 1-866/3527822. Deadline for special room rate is May 1. Ask for the Livestock 2012 group rate of $69.

TO PLACE YOUR LISTINGS call CAREN COWAN at 505/243-9515, ext. 21, or email caren@aaalivestock.com

❙

Commercial Cattle Feeders

economists will present indoor sessions on food safety, MyPlate nutritional food servings, diabetes education and food preservation.

“Across the northern part of the state, the home economists are getting requests for canning classes. So they will be speaking on that during the food preservation session,” Landers said.

The registration fee is $65 for both days or $35 for individual days, including lunch.

Registration deadline is May

continued from page eleven

THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST

❙

PACOFEEDYARD,LTD.

Indian Livestock Days

Southwestern New Mexico Ranch ~ 19,683 total acres comprised of 13,283 deeded and 6,400 acres assured N.M. state lease. Scenic rugged canyons, ridges, and mountainous area balanced by wide draws and open grassland areas.

Oak, juniper, cottonwood, and willow cloaked canyons and hills.

Numerous springs and water wells. Land owner elk permits, deer, lion, javalina, and quail. Two hour drive from El Paso. Price reduced to $300 deeded acre.

PRESENTS

Central New Mexico Mountain Ranch ~ 640 deeded acres a 7,000' elevation within the Gallinas Mtns. adjacent to National forest at Corona. Cozy 2-bedroom residence, metal shop, hay barn, corrals, and strong water well. Land owner elk permits, deer, bear, lion, and turkey. $650,000.

See these properties, other listings and YouTube videos at www.nm-ranches.com Keith L. Schrimsher O: 575/622-2343 • srre@dfn.com C: 575/520-1989 www.nm-ranches.com

Place your Real Estate ad in the 2012 FME (Including the DIGEST 25) 5 0 5 / 2 4 3 - 9 5 1 5

•

✴ Special Real Estate section ✴ Full-color, high-gloss magazine with internet visibility ✴ Appears on the internet for 12 full months after publication ✴ www.aaalivestock is the top-ranking website in the Yahoo and MSN search engines

w w w . a a a l i v e s t o c k . c o m

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES • 735 acres Paris, Texas, excellent pasture, paved road frontage, huge lake, mansion home. $2,750,000.

• 274 acres in the shadow of Dallas. Secluded lakes, trees, excellent grass. Hunting & fishing, dream home sites. $3,550/ac. Can add 300 more acres, only 30 miles out of Dallas.

• 1,700-acre classic NE TX cattle & hunting ranch. $2,750/ac. Some mineral production.

• 256 Acre Texas Jewel – Deep sandy soil, highrolling hills, scattered good quality trees, & excellent improved grasses. Water line on 2 sides rd., frontage on 2 sides, fenced into 5 pastures, 5 spring fed tanks and lakes, deer, hogs & ducks. Near Tyler & Athens. Price $1,920,000.

Make us an offer!

• 146 horse, hunting cattle ranch N. of Clarksville, TX. Red River Co. nice brick home, 2 barns, pipe fences, good deer, hogs, ducks, hunting. PRICE REDUCED to $375,000.

• 535 ac. Limestone, Fallas, & Robertson counties, 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 reduced to $1,750 per ac.

• 10 Wooded Acres with a 6-bedroom, 3.5 bath and a 2-car garage and shop for $199,000.

• 134 acres Wortham, Texas, $1,750/ac. Hunting and cattle. Fronts FM Hwy.

Joe Priest Real Estate 1205 N. Hwy 175, Seagoville, TX 75159

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

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

April 15, 2012

The Politics of health Care Rationing he Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will face two tests this year: judicial challenge from the Supreme Court and legislative challenge pending the results of the November election. Regardless of the outcome of these two obstacles, the PPACA as currently written will substantially alter health care, says Chidem Kurdas, a financial journalist and economist.

At its core, the mammoth act puts forth three basic principles that it seeks to progress: ■ The institutionalization of the individual mandate, thereby spreading coverage to millions more Americans ■ New entitlements via expanded Medicaid, subsidies and certain coverage requirements.

■ Control over the growth of medical costs.

These broad goals target many of the woes of the health care industry, yet studies are increasingly showing that they are incompatible. Specifically, the requirements imposed by the individual mandate and new entitlements will compromise the government’s ability to control cost growth.

■ Though the individual mandate, if found constitutional, will not be implemented until 2014, much of the expanded entitlements have already been put in place.

■ As a result, according to a Kaiser Foundation study, family premiums went up by 9 percent from 2010 to 2011, compared to

T

a significantly lower 3 percent increase from 2009 to 2010.

■ Costs will be higher in those states that will see the largest swathes of their populations becoming newly insured — 2014 Medicaid expenditures will be 22 percent higher in Illinois and 13.5 percent higher in Texas, according to estimates by Jagadeesh Gokhale of the Cato Institute.

The states, meanwhile, are given little control over their future expenditures on Medicaid. The PPACA will significantly increase the financial burdens of funding the program because of new federal requirements, and while the states have been given some latitude in adopting certain policies, the majority of the decision-making remains with the federal government.

Another concern is that the standards for what is covered and what is not will be influenced by political motivations.

Page 13

New Mexico/ West Texas Ranches Properties and Equities, Inc.

Campo Bonito, LLC

Cottonwood, California • 1850-acre winter ranch, barn with custom living quarters, stalls, 200x400 roping arena, creek, reservoirs, $2.2 mil.

• 160-acre ranch set in foothills, custom home, large reservoir, custom kennels, views, $795,000.

• 409-acre ranch, 1 mi Cottonwood Creek, valley oaks, 40 acres irrigated pasture, $1,750,000.

• 5-acre custom lots, views, horse property, $149,000.

RANCH SALES P.O. Box 1077 • Ft. Davis, Texas 79734

NEED RANCH LEASES & PASTURE FOR 2012 & 2013 DAVID P. DEAN Ranch: 432/426-3779 • Mob.: 432/634-0441 www.availableranches.com

Red Bluff, California • 80 acres Class II soil, orchard suitable, income $545,000.

• 100 acres Class II, in hay, orchard suitable, $795,000.

MR.COWMAN! Come to Our Country!

Modoc County, California • 785 ac, 400 ac pivot, 30 ac wheel line, 46 ac flood irrigated, add’l grazing ground, 2 large hay barns, home. $1,250,000

WORKING COW and HORSE RANCHES CUT OVER TIMBER LAND, LAKES and STREAMS

R.G. Davis, Broker, 530/949-1985 Jeff Davis, Realtor, 530/604-3655 Tonya Redamonti, Realtor, 530/521-6054

Write or call for free publication:

19855 S. Main St., Cottonwood, CA 96022 530/347-9455 homeranchpropertiesandequities.com

CASCADE REAL ESTATE 10886 Hwy. 62 • Eagle Point, OR 97524

1-800/343-4165 E-mail: deuprees@yahoo.com

Source: Chidem Kurdas, “The Politics of Health Care Rationing,” Freeman Online, March 2012.

RANCH & FARM REAL ESTATE

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

CHECK OUR WEBSITES FOR OTHER PROPERTIES

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

WESTERN STREET VISTA NORTH: Potter Co, Texas, 10 ac. located 4-1/2 miles north of Loop 335 at the north end of Western Street, with 2- to 3-bedroom, 1-3/4 bath home with horsebarn and pens, domestic well, septic system.

VALLEY VIEW RANCH: Lipscomb Co., Texas, 177 ac. with extraordinary 5,404± sq. ft. home overlooking the property with beautiful views of live creek, trees, wildlife (deer, quail, and turkey), covered horse training facilities, stables, excellent cattle working facilities and pens, commercial dog kennels, employee housing.

We can divide (10 ac. with main residence or 167± ac. with other improvements)!

KNIPE LAND 41,000± acre Oregon Ranch Includes BLM permit. 2,600± acre irrigated.

Several reservoirs. Timber setting. $10,000,000 50,000± acre Idaho Ranch Includes BLM & state leases, fronts Snake River, close-in to Boise. $8,000,000 King River Valley Farm Prime, turn-key, dairy-grade alfalfa farm.

1,800± acres near Winnemuca, Nevada. $7,979,000.

Cove Creek Ranch 6,545± acre cattle ranch and dryland farm in Weiser, Idaho. $6,500,000 100,000± acres Imnaha River 6± miles of river, salmon run. Ranch runs 550 AU’s. Trophy fishing, and big game hunting. 100,000+ acres including permits, Oregon. $4,700,000 Willows Ranch 1,277± acre ranch 2.5± hrs from Portland, Oregon. Irrigated farmland, dryland farm, and rangeland. $3,950,000 Weiser River Ranches 1,140± acres $3,850,000. 484± acres $2,699,000. Great fishing and big game hunting on the river.

Deschutes River Corridor 17,000± acre Oregon cattle ranch. Waterfalls and stocked ponds. Hunting preserve.

Excellent fishing. $3,650,000 Joseph Plains Ranch 530± acre hunting and recreational haven.

Turnkey lodge between the Salmon and Snake River Canyons. $3,100,000

We Have Cash Buyers for Quality Farms Professional Farm-Ranch Management

JOHN KNIPE / RANCH BROKER 208/345-3163 WWW.KNIPELAND.COM

HWY 1055/303 RANCH: 8-section ranch with new set of pens, concrete bunks, truck/cattle scale and commodity barn, mobile home, watered by subs, mill and pipeline, hour from Lubbock, Texas, mule deer and quail.

JOE STUBBLEFIELD & ASSOCIATES 13830 Western St., Amarillo, TX • 806/622-3482 Cell 806/674-2062 • joe3@suddenlink.net Michael Perez Assocs Nara Visa, NM • 575/403-7970

NANCY A. BELT, BROKER Cell 520/221-0807 • Office 520/455-0633 Jesse Aldridge 520/251-2735 • Tom Hardesty 520/909-0233 Rye Hart 775/964-1002 • Tobe Haught 505/264-3368

Missouri Land Sales

See all my listings at:

www.paulmcgilliard.murney.com ■ 675 Ac. Grass Runway, Land your own plane: Major Price Reduction. 3-br, 2ba home down 1 mile private lane. New 40x42 shop, PAUL McGILLIARD 40x60 livestock barn, over 450 ac. in grass. (Owner runs over 150 Cell: 417/839-5096 cow/calves, 2 springs, 20 ponds, 2 lakes, consisting of 3.5 and 2 ac. Both 1-800/743-0336 stocked with fish. Excellent fencing. A must farm to see. MSL #1112191 ASSOC., REALTORS MURNEY ■ PRICE REDUCED! 160 ACRES M/L: Hunters Dream. Farm/ SPRINGFIELD, MO 65804 Recreational or ideal for a retreat. Secluded but easy access off State Hwy. 76, 65+ miles east. Abundant deer and turkey, 40% open, 60% timber (large pines), spring, 2-br, 1-ba home/cabin. Needs to be completed.

MLS #1106771. Old price: $229,900; NEW PRICE $199,900 ■ 483 Ac., 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., 1-ba stone home. Secluded yes, but easy access to Forsyth-Branson, Ozark and Springfield. Property joins National Forest. MLS#1108090

Call Someone Who Specializes in Ranches & Farms in Arizona MARANA BRANCH

SCOTT THACKER, Assoc. Broker • PO Box 90806 • Tucson, AZ 85752 Ph: 520/444-7069 • Email: ScottThacker@Mail.com ww.AZRanchReaIEstate.com • www.SWRanch.com Rancho Cerro Prieto – Stanfield Ariz.: Twosection ranch, priced right. Arizona State Lease.

Owner/Agent. Possible owner carry with low down!

Asking $25,000 (7 Irrigated Acres near the entrance to the ranch may be added for an additional $32,000) Sentinel Ranch – Gila Bend Ariz: 55-head yearlong, possibility of increases in wet winters. BLM and State, No Deeded.

Artex Ranch – Gila Bend, Ariz.: 84-head yearlong on State & BLM. “Ephemeral Use” potential.

Owner has a history of 400-600 head of cows for periods of cooler, wet weather.

Feed Store Business Opportunity: Picture Rocks, Ariz.: Family feed store business with $16,000 inventory. Asking $175,000 Cactus Ridge Ranch: San Manuel, Ariz.: 48-head year-long. Very nice bunkhouse on the state. 7 acres deeded. Ranch might be a candidate for FSA. Asking $325,000

IN ESCROW

SOLD!

Ranches are SELLING! king loo many qualified buyers e hav We if you’re us l cal ase Ple s. che for ran considering SELLING!

REDUCED & ADJUSTED! – Broken Arrow Ranches: Western Arizona: 2 contiguous ranches (North Clem & Saddle Mountain). Historically strong steer ranches w/large ephemeral increases during the winter. 450 head year-long or 900 steers seasonally. 71 Deeded Acres plus BLM & State Leases. Nice Manufactured Home. Owner May Split! Asking $599,000 Beloat Ranch: Rainbow Valley AZ, 300 head BLM & State Lease. Ranch located in the Western AZ desert, basic housing on State Land, well developed and maintained. No deeded. Asking $615,000 Split Rock Ranch: Paradise Ariz.: 6,000 acres deeded, 200 hd., State, BLM, forest, Increased AG production could be developed. Asking $3,631,800

All properties are listed by Arizona Ranch Real Estate, Cathy McClure, Designated Broker

Arizona Ranch REAL ESTATE

Committed To Always Working Hard For You! RANCHES / FARMS *NEW* 332 Head Ranch, Greenlee County, AZ, Near Double Circle Ranch. 23 Deeded acres, with two homes, barn and outbuildings.

58 Sections USFS grazing permit. Good vehicular access to the ranch otherwise this is a horseback ranch. Scenic, great outfitters prospect. $850,000 411 Head Double Circle Ranch, Eagle Creek, AZ USFS Allotment, 13 ac of deeded, 4-BR, 2-story rock home, barn, corrals, & outfitters camp. HQ centrally located in a secluded draw. Well improved with 16 large pastures, 36+ miles of new fencing, 30 miles of new pipeline with several major solar pumping systems, additional water storage & numerous drinkers. $1.5M Turnkey w/220 head of Longhorn Steers, Horses & Equip. Terms 52 Head Ranch, San Simon, AZ – Great Guest Ranch Prospect Pristine, & private, only 12 miles from I-10. Bighorn sheep, ruins, pictographs. 1480 acres of deeded, 52 head, BLM lease, historic rock house, new cabin, springs, wells. $1,500,000 Terms.

250-400+ Head Cattle Ranch Sheldon, AZ – 1,450 deeded acres, ±30 sections BLM, 150+ acres irrigated farm land. Nice HQ includes two rock homes, good set of steel shipping & horse corrals, barn.

SOLD

*NEW* 150 Head VF Ranch, NW of Willcox, AZ – At the base of the Winchester Mountains. ±950 deeded acres, 9,648 State Grazing Lease. Small 1 bedroom home, corrals, well, and electric at headquarters. Great country.

Good mix of browse and grass. $1,100,000. *PENDING* 130 Head Sundown Ranch, southeast of Sonoita, AZ – 984 Deeded Ac, 2700 Ac USFS Grazing Lease. Vintage ranch home, bunk house, excellent working corrals, beautiful rolling grasslands with oaks. $988,000.

www.stockmensrealty.com

320 Ac Farm, Kansas Settlement, AZ – This working farm has 2-120 acre Zimmatic Pivots, a nice site built home, large workshop & hay barn. 5 irrigation wells, 2 domestic wells. The property is fenced & cross fenced. Great setup for pasturing cattle., $975,000, Terms. 35% down at 6% for 10 years or submit.

Wickenburg, AZ – 216 Head Cattle Ranch.

Scenic, lush high desert vegetation. 103 deeded acres, State, BLM & 3,100 acres private lease. Well watered w/tanks, springs & wells.

Abundant feed, numerous corrals & great steel shipping pens. $850,000. ±60 Head Cattle Ranch Bisbee/McNeal, AZ – AZ grazing leases HQ on 966 acres of private land including log home, bunk house, corrals, hay barn, well, arena, tack house & storage sheds. $600,000. Purchase HQ on 244 acres & lease for $500,000.

Young, AZ, 72 Acre Farm – Under the Mogollon Rim, a must see, w/small town charm, mountain views. 1,000 gpm well, home, 1800s museum, 2 BR cabin, shop, & barn. Excellent for horse farm, bed & breakfast, land or water development. ±62 acres & well for $1,700,000; home & other improvements. $424,500, Seller Financing. *REDUCED* Santa Teresa Mtns, Fort Thomas, AZ – 200 acre Plus 17 head BLM allotment, private retreat, two wells. Very remote & extremely scenic w/sycamores, cottonwoods & beautiful rock formations. $285,000, Terms.

Greenlee County, AZ, 139 Head Ranch – Year-long USFS permit w/two room line camp, barn & corrals at HQ. Remote horseback ranch w/limited vehicular access. Sheldon, AZ.

SOLD

We have buyers looking for 300 to 700 head outfits. If you are thinking of selling your Ranch, NOW would be an excellent time. Ranch Sales have picked up for all size ranches and we would appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about listing your ranch.

NEW MEXICO PROPERTIES Listed Cooperatively with Action Realty, Cliff, N.M., Dale Spurgeon, Broker

300± Head Cattle Ranch, Virden, NM ±4010 deeded acres, ±27 sec BLM, 4.5 sec NM State Lease. HQ includes 2 BR, 1 bath, site built home on 10 irrigated acres. Well watered ranch.

SOLD SOLD

112 Head Mountain Ranch, Collins Park, NM – New log cabin w/new well & storage,septic, & solar package; tack/bunk house; excellent working corrals, USFS YL permit & 115 deeded acres w/tall pines & meadows. *NEW* Franklin, NM, 28 Acre Farm – 19 Acres of water rights from Franklin I.D., 5 BR, 3 bath Mfg. home, corrals. $150,000 Terms.

HORSE PROPERTIES *REDUCED PRICE – INCREASED ACREAGE* San Pedro River north of Benson, AZ – +⁄345 acre Professional Horse Breeding Facility, 55 acres of irrigated pasture, 900 gpm well. 2 homes; barn w/office, apt., tack room, feed room, & storage area; 12 stall barn; 7 stall mare motel; lab/vet room; lighted riding arena; insulated workshop; & hay storage area. $2.4M. Reduced to $2.175M. Terms Available.

175 Ac Gentlemen’s Farm/Ranch, Arivaca, AZ. 3200 s.f. Custom home, with ±34 irrigated acres, pistachio grove, horse barn/shop, hay barn, & rental apartment. $1.4M. Willcox, AZ 40 Acres – Great views in every direction, power to the property. $85,000. *REDUCED* Irrigated Farm, St. David, AZ 15+ acre parcel, new 3 BR, 2 Bath custom home overlooking pond, irrigated farm fields, 120 pecan trees; Indoor swimming pool; guest house; studio; root cellar; workshop; machine & hay sheds. $790,000 $650,000.

“Thinking of Buying or Selling? Call! ‘Cause we’ll get ‘er done!”

RANCHES • LAND • FARMS

Livestock Market Digest

Page 14

US appeals court allows wolf hunts

by MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press, Seattle Times

federal appeals court in mid March rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that want to block wolf hunts that have killed more than 500 of the predators across the Northern Rockies in recent months.

The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring.

Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals.

Wildlife advocates claimed in

A

their lawsuit that Congress violated the separation of powers by interfering with the courts.

But in an opinion authored by Judge Mary Schroeder, the court said Congress was within its rights, and that lawmakers had appropriately amended the Endangered Species Act to deal with Northern Rockies wolves.

That amendment marked the first time Congress has forcibly removed a species’ endangered status. It was tacked onto a federal budget bill by Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson and Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

“This case has made it clear that those who persist in trying to manage wildlife through the courts, in spite of all scientific evi-

Kaf Kandi: 450 to 650 lbs.

SweetPro 16: 650-1,000 lbs.

First calf heifers, stockers on grass and purebred operations.

FiberMate 18: 900 to 1,400 lbs.

No Cow block for average conditions. Molasses!

FiberMate 20: 1,000 to 1,450 lbs.

SWEETPRO NON-MOLASSES Low consumption and tough conditions BLOCKS CONTAIN: Magnum: Slows consumption • Fermentation Feed in harsh conditions.

Ingredients rich in Yeast • Prebiotic Oligosaccharides Fresh Start: Perfect for Backgrounding!

“Profit Blocks” For Every Stage of Growth

• Digestive Enzymes • Protein Isolates • Chelated Trace Minerals • 25% Increased Feed Efficiency

SCI-AGRA, INC. • Arizona & New Mexico • www.SweetPro.com Labor Savings and Gary Wilson • 602/319-2538 • 928/422-4172 Increased Brook Beerman • 575/703-4872 Animal Health!

t DigesClassifieds To place your Digest Classified ad here, contact CAREN COWAN at caren@aaalivestock.com or by phone at 505/243-9515, ext. 21

Auction Schools COME TRAIN WITH THE CHAMPIONS. Join the financially rewarding world of auctioneering. World Wide College of Auctioneering. Free catalog. 1-800/423-5242, www.worldwidecollegeofauctioneering.com.

BE AN AUCTIONEER – Missouri Auction School, world’s largest since 1905. Free CD and catalog. Call toll-free 1-800/8351955, ext. 5. www.auctionschool.com.

LEARN AUCTIONEERING for the 2000s!

Nashville Auction School “Free Catalog” 800/543-7061, learntoauction.com, 112 W. Lauderdale St., Tullahoma, TN 37388.

Equipment POWDER RIVER LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT. Best prices with delivery available. CONLIN SUPPLY CO. INC., Oakdale, CA. 209/847-8977.

SALT CREEK HYDRAULIC CHUTE with scale and Honda hydraulic pump $10,000, 530/681-5046.

NEW HOLLAND pull type bale wagons: 1033, 104 bales, $5,100; 1034, 104 bales, unloads both ways, $4,400; 1044, 120 bales, $3,700; 1063, 160 bales, $10,800; 1010, 56 bales, $1,200. Also have self propelled wagons. Delivery available. 785/ 336-6103, www.roederimp.com.

Equipment KADDATZ Auctioneering and Farm Equipment Sales

New and used tractors, equipment, and parts.

Salvage yard, combines, tractors, hay equipment and all types of equipment parts.

ORDER PARTS ONLINE.

dence that this species has recovered, no longer have a defensible position,” Simpson said.

Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued to restore protections, said a Supreme Court appeal was possible but no decision had been made.

“We’re very disappointed and very saddened,” Robinson said.

“Hundreds of wolves have been hunted and trapped and snared, and they are essential to their ecosystem.”

He called the congressional budget bill rider that lifted protections “undemocratic” and said that it set a precedent for future political meddling with imperiled wildlife.

Wolves once thrived across North America but were exterminated across most of the continental U.S. by the 1930s, through government sponsored poisoning and bounty programs.

They were put on the endangered list in 1974. Over the last two decades, state and federal agencies have spent more than $100 million on wolf restoration

BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG PROBLEMS? Don’t risk having to do it over again with ineffective products. Rozol Prairie Dog Bait is a restricted-use pesticide approved for use by state certified applicators on blacktailed prairie dogs in CO, KS, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX and WY. Made with food-grade winter wheat, a preferred food source, to ensure quick rodent acceptance and control. No pre-baiting required. Proven in university trials on over 11,000 burrows to provide over 94% control in a single application. For use in-burrow only. It is the responsibility of the user to read and follow all label directions. Protect your range and pastureland from damage with Rozol.

For info call: 888-331-7900 or visit www.rodent-control.com

programs across the country.

The Northern Rockies is now home to more than 1,700 wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and expanding populations in portions of eastern Oregon and Washington. That figure is up slightly from 2010, although Wyoming and Idaho saw slight declines.

There are more than 4,500 of the animals in the upper Great Lakes and a struggling population of several dozen wolves in the Desert Southwest.

Wolf hunting is allowed in Montana and Idaho and could resume in Wyoming this fall.

States in the Great Lakes also are considering hunts.

In parts of Montana, ranchers and local officials frustrated with continuing attacks on livestock have proposed bounties for hunters that kill wolves. Montana wildlife officials said they will consider ways to expand hunting after 166 wolves were killed this season, short of the state’s 220-wolf quota.

Idaho allows trapping. Its 10month wolf season runs until June and has claimed 353 wolves so far.

Prior lawsuits resulted first in the animals’ reintroduction to the Northern Rockies and then

SPECIAL CATTLEMEN’S FEEDER SALES HOSTED BY THE AMADOR-EL DORADOSACRAMENTO COUNTY CATTLEMEN’S ASSOC. SATURDAY, MAY 12 & JUNE 2 2% commission rate with 1/2% donated back to your local association.

ALSO FEATURING CONSIGNMENTS FROM THESE LOCAL CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATIONS: SAN JOAQUIN-STANISLAUS, CALAVERAS, CONTRA COSTA-ALAMEDA, FRESNO-KINGS, TUOLUMNE, MADERA, SANTA CLARA, SONOMA, TAHOE and YOLO. HI

S PECIAL F EEDER S ALE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

S PECIAL F EEDER S ALE WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2012

S PECIAL F EEDER S ALE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012

HI

www.kaddatzequipment.com • 254/582-3000

Rodent Control

April 15, 2012

S PECIAL F ALL P AIR & B RED C OW S ALE FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012

later kept them on the endangered list for a decade after the species reached recovery goal of 300 wolves in three states.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is monitoring the hunts.

But agency officials have said they have no plans to intervene because the states have pledged to manage wolves responsibly.

Federal officials have pledged to step in to restore endangered species protections if wolf numbers drop to less than 100 animals in either Montana or Idaho.

Even without hunting, wolves are shot regularly in the region in response to livestock attacks.

Since their reintroduction, more than 1,600 wolves have been shot by government wildlife agents or ranchers.

Wool economic focus orld fiber consumption is facing considerable uncertainty in 2012 due to the twin effects of the predicted slowdown in the world economy and a reaction to the high fiber prices in 2011. As a result, total fiber consumption will barely grow in 2012. In contrast, world fiber production is expected to grow strongly in 2012 due to a strong increase in world cotton production. The combination of weak fiber consumption and an increase in production will keep pressure on world fiber prices.

World fiber prices have pulled back from the peaks seen in 2011. The most significant decline has been in cotton prices.

Since the peak in March-April 2011, cotton prices have declined by 56 percent, while prices for polyester staple and for acrylic have declined by 17 percent and 22 percent, respectively. This decline reflects weak consumption growth while production and supply has increased.

Wool prices have mostly performed better, mainly due to the supply squeeze. Medium (21 micron) wool prices have fallen by 9 percent since the peak in June 2011 with crossbred (28 micron) wool prices also falling by 9 percent. The exception to this performance are prices for superfine (18 micron) wool, which have fallen by 24 percent.

Unlike other wool types that are in tight supply, the superfine wool production has increased in 2011-2012, putting pressure on prices.

Wool prices could be sustained at around current levels given the tight supply while prices for other fibers could weaken a little in 2012.

W

Source: Landmark, AU

View and bid live at

www.cattleusa.com

Cattlemen’s LIVESTOCK MARKET Call now to consign to the

WVM Sale April 11 in Visalia, CA

JAKE PARNELL ........916-662-1298 GEORGE GOOKIN ..........209-482-1648 MARK FISCHER .......209-768-6522 REX WHITTLE ..........209-996-6994

AUCTION YARD 12495 Stockton Blvd. Galt, CA 95632 209-745-1515 OFFICE • 209-745-1582 FAX 209-745-2701 MKT RPT www.clmgalt.com

JOE GATES ............... 707-694-3063 JUSTIN TRICK ..........916-240-4601 ABEL JIMENEZ .........209-495-0995 Se habla español.

To place your ad call 505/243-9515 or fax your ad to 505/9986236

“America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper”

April 15, 2012

Page 15

www.baxterblack.com

The Veterinarian’s Husband ormally when I get a letter or e-mail from someone who has “seen themselves” in my column, I write back, apologize, swear I’ll try to do better, and promise as a penance, to bathe their Pekingese. This does not include animal rights loonies, the Association for Political Correctness, or the ACLU drum bangers.

So imagine my surprise when I received a card from a woman veterinarian who had married a rancher. It was in response to my column about lady vets marrying cowboys. A perfect match I had pointed out; while she’s out earning their bread, he feeds her horses, cleans the stalls, drinks beer and team ropes every afternoon with his buddies.

Brenda explained her case.

Her rancher/husband/cowboy’s expectations were dashed “the cobbler’s children have no shoe polish,” she malaproped.

She has a busy practice, aka: a job-in-town, which is a prerequisite to a successful cowboy marriage. She gets home after a day’s work and he’s been plotting

N

Baxter ON THE EDGE OF COMMON SENSE

all the veterinary services needed on his own stock.

“Honey,” he says, “One of our cows doesn’t seem right. She’s honkin’ like a goose, her eyes are buggin’ out, and she just stands around the water trough.”

“She’ll be fine,” she says, “probably just an allergy, I’ve got another call in Belen in thirty minutes! I haven’t got time now.”

“Sweetie, my good ropin’ horse is off his feed and he’s favoring his left leg when I take my dallies, could you…”

“George, I have to take little George to the dentist and then to soccer, maybe tomorrow, or the next…”

Brenda says his stuff always comes last. Plus, his help is regularly enlisted on house calls where Hubby winds up having to restrain, rope, capture, hold up, hold down, wrestle, twitch and/or ear down all manner of

Circle D Corporation • Flatbed T Trailers railers • Low Profile Equipment T Trailers railer railers • Flatbeds For Ton Flatbeds F or Pickups Pickups & 1 T on Trucks Trucks

Trailers • Livestock Trailers railers • Horse & Stock Combo Trailers Trail • Multipurpose Trailers Trailers

BLACK uncooperative beasts, from little girls’ obstinate backyard horses to llama wrangling.

Ah, the life of a veterinarian’s husband isn’t all just peaches and cream. He often has to fix his own dinner, which he really doesn’t mind. But he approaches the refrigerator with trepidation since that evening when he thawed out a piece of steak and fried it for himself. She had told him not to wait for her because she’d be late.

Next morning she was hunting through the freezer for a sample she had labeled, “possible tissue damage from Hypoderma lineatum, send to lab.”

“Honey,” she said, “did you see a . . .” then glimpsed in the trash can and saw her writing on a big baggie.

“What?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” she said, “I’m pretty sure it was a necrotizing cattle grub anyway.”

“American Made Since 1987” Hillsboro, KS 67063

800-526-0939 • www .circle-dtrailers.com www.circle-dtrailers.com

Celebrating 30 years in the Salers business!

Please join us for opening day of our annual private treaty production sale Saturday, March 10, 2012.

Selling 150 high-altitude, low-maintenance, feed-efficient bulls and females with excellent dispositions!

Gary or Gail Volk 970/835-3944 Ph/Fax Sarah Morris 970/216-2977 cowgal@tds.net • www.figure4cattleco.com

g•u•i•d•e To list your herd, call CAREN COWAN at call 505/243-9515, ext. 21, or email caren@aaalivestock.com

BRANGUS

RED ANGUS

angus

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

A few Choice Bulls Available at Private Treaty. NAMPA, IDAHO

Bradley 3 Ranch Ltd.

R.L. Robbs 520/384-3654 4995 Arzberger Rd. Willcox, Arizona 85643

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

209/727-3335

HEREFORD

SANTA GERTRUDIS

SCHUSTER

DanWendt

HEREFORDS

www.bradley3ranch.com

“SINCE 1938”

HERD ESTABLISHED 1953

S

SELLING RANGE BULLS IN VOLUME (TOP REPLACEMENT HEIFERS)

See our ad in the April issue!

CLAY SCHUSTER • shuster@gorge.net 509/773-6051 Home • 541/980-7464 Cell GOLDENDALE, WA 99620

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

Ranch-Raised ANGUS Bulls for Ranchers Since 1955

M.L. Bradley 806/888-1062 Fax: 806/888-1010 • Cell: 940/585-6471

S

Santa Gertrudis Cattle Polled and Horned

S

at the Ranch NE of Estelline, TX

Washington’s Oldest Source of Herefords

S

200+ Angus Bulls Sell February 2013

Livestock Market Digest

Page 16

“Meatless Monday” moves into rural schools CATTLE HEALTHLINE RSS by Dan Goehl, DVM, Beef Today

was shocked and disappointed to open my son’s homework folder recently and find propaganda promoting “Meatless Monday”.

Once I was past the initial shock I began to reflect on what the implications are in a broader sense. Many including myself have given much lip service in the recent months/years regarding the fact that there are organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that would like to end

I

animal agriculture.

Most of us listen but most likely are not too concerned that anything like this could happen in our neighborhood. Not in rural northeast MO. Not one of the top cow states in the nation where the majority of the population can tie their financial existence directly to agriculture.

Unfortunately it is happening in these places.

Our school district was apologetic and I believe it was an oversight from those who did not know the facts or consequences.

I commend them for working with us and sending home information the following week discussing the benefits of animal

protein in your diet.

The fact that they were uneducated rests on the shoulders of all of us in the beef industry for not educating them by being proactive instead of reactive after the fact. The truly frightening thing is how did it come to be our school district was given the information to start with and what happens when a similar letter is sent home to children in St. Charles county? People there may not be as offended and may take to heart the false information presented to them.

I agree that anything in excess can be harmful but this can be said of water. I would like to thank all those who called and

April 15, 2012 expressed their concern both to me and officials in the school district but I would also like this to be a call to action for us to be more proactive in promoting the facts behind a healthy diet.

Know the facts and promote the production efficiency that our industry displays. Take time to educate yourself so you can educate others when asked on an airplane or in the feed store. Know where/who to get the information from. I for one don’t want to run from the data and science but want to stand behind it to defend what I and the people I work with everyday do to help feed the world a healthy food product.

Dan Goehl, DVM, and his wife own and operate Canton Veterinary Clinic in Canton, MO, where Dan works primarily with stocker and cow/calf beef operations.

Road Removal continued from page one

The name changed to Wildlands CPR in 2006, according to its Internal Revenue Service Form 990. The group’s newsletter is called The Road RIPort.

And their “road-ripping” recommendations are now in a federal document for trail managers.

Allard and the OHV groups asked Vilsak, “Why does the U.S. Forest Service cite such a radical and extreme group for an official federal report that should be fact based and neutral?”

Kevin Meyer, the author of the tract, is not surprised by all the controversy. “To begin with, the Framework is not a regulatory document, it’s a management aid,” he said. “I used a published Wildlands CPR document, ‘Best Management Practices for OffRoad Vehicle Use on Forestlands,’ which I found in a web search. I thought it useful for managers in planning, implementing and monitoring OHV trails.”

But what will the Forest Service do with the road-ripping advice? And what about that “herding dragons” remark? Meyer didn’t address the road-ripping query, but said, “It’s the disagreement surrounding OHV trails that’s like herding dragons, not the users.”

Friends say that Meyer is a boots-on-trail builder prone to “poetic” language, a nationally recognized trail specialist, and — ironically — a passionate advocate for sustainable OHV trails in Alaska’s permafrost, where OHV use is important for a subsistence culture.

What about the document and the Forest Service website?

Meyer said that the Forest Service will review the Framework and post the result in the future.

Don Amador, a highly respected OHV advocate, said, “It’s clear that picking Meyer to write this Framework was gross incompetence by the Forest Service, not malice aforethought.

They shouldn’t have wasted taxpayer money hiring a Park Service scientist in Alaska to write a Forest Service management manual almost completely for the ‘Lower 48.’ And certainly not one who gives credibility to road ripping. Let’s do it over and let’s do it right.”

Examiner Columnist Ron Arnold is executive vice president of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise.

Radale Tiner Joins the American Angus Association® New regional manger for New Mexico and Texas he American Angus Association welcomes Radale Tiner of Hempstead, Texas, as the new regional manager for New Mexico and Texas. As a regional manager, Tiner becomes one of the most valuable resources for a beef producer with Angus or Angus-influenced genetics.

T