LMD May 2022

Riding Herd Saying things that need to be said.

May 15, 2022 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 64 • No. 5

The End Is Near LEE PITTS

I

know a couple who just bought a home and needed to furnish it with the basics, like furniture. Sorry, it won’t arrive for six months. Want to buy a new Case® tractor? At least one major dealer is urging its customers to get on the waiting list quick so you won’t be left out entirely. Need a new pickup, well the selection might be a little thin because the computer chips that run modern day vehicles are in short supply. I overheard a pharmacist tell a customer that she needed to change the prescription the Doctor ordered because the correct medicine is sitting in a container lost in the San Pedro Harbor. I could go on and on but you know very well that something is terribly wrong in America.

It Wasn’t Supposed To Be This Way

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman didn’t mention any of these problems when he sang the praises of globalization and wrote the Bible in 2005 for “one-worlders” called “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century.” In this new century, he said everything from refrigerators to rutabagas would be produced wherever labor was the cheapest. Since we in America didn’t have the cheapest labor we went out of the manufacturing business and Friedman said we were all gonna make our living serving each other. College graduates would wait on you at Olive Garden and illegals would change the sheets at La Quinta. When you called

a bank if you got to speak to a person at all he or she was probably in India and spoke an indecipherable form of English.

Friedman also failed to warn us that all that extra international travel would bring us a pan-

tunity. He never mentioned that slave labor in China would make your watch, that you might lose your job and certain vital industries would completely disappear in America.

Flatist Friedman criticized

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

demic from a lab in Wuhan that would cripple our country for two years and make us prisoners in our homes. But it wasn’t just people. We in agriculture already knew what a crippling disease from afar could do by watching what Mad Cows from England did to the beef business, or how crippling bird and swine flu could be.

Now The Chickens Are Coming Home To Roost.

Globalization Was Supposed to mean that people all over the world would have equal oppor-

anyone who resisted the inevitable future. Now we know that in Friedman’s world the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

And supply chains got stretched to the ends of the Earth. But toilet paper and new tractors weren’t the only thing gone missing.

The Missing Middle We’ve been here before folks; we’ve already seen this movie. International trade is nothing new. Just as technology ushered in this newest era of globalization so too did the

simple compass allow European exploration and subsequent international trade. Citizens of the world were agog over glorious globalization prior to the first World War but that international trade collapsed like a bombed-out house by the war’s end.

Cheap labor in China, India and elsewhere gave rise to global offshoring and outsourcing at the same time the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Treasury were creating money out of thin air to finance all this international expansion. As one writer stated, “Footloose capital sought out cheap labor and high-return investments worldwide.”

So the rich became billionaires and the middle class, well, they went missing. Add in a war, soaring inflation and comatose leaders and you get a populist backlash against globalization.

Even Deutsch Bank is predicting a “reversal of globalization.”

Add in the fact that manufacturing is now moving to shorter supply chains as a result of all those backed up boats in Long Beach and you have keen observers asking, “Is this the end continued on page 2

Four Hidden How Do Reasons Food You Manage America’s Decline? Prices are Crazy Right Now

BY KAREN SCHOEN / NEWSWITHVIEWS.COM

M

essaging has always been a favorite tool of the Globalists.

The problem is they concentrate so much on the message, there is usually nothing behind the message.

Most Globalist programs are thrown out for the public to use without testing, or control groups, sampling and feasibility studies. The modeling is done by computer using the Precautionary Principal aka Worst Case Scenario (WCS). The Worst-Case Scenario /WCS creates the most fear and requires the most drastic measures to solve the problem. Obviously, it is the preferred choice by the Globalists who like to create chaos.

Their solution is to focus on the item or issue that has the least influence over the problem guaranteeing failure and longevity of the project. i.e.: Transgender Appreciation Day… Only two million persons identify as Transgender. That is about .03 percent of the population. Yet 99.97 percent of the population must endure a new lifestyle. If we live in a democracy as they continue to say, how does the minority get do make rules for the majority?

Does anyone really care what a person does behind closed doors? I am not interested. I am interested in whether or not you are qualified continued on page 4

BY LAURA REILEY / WASHINGTON POST

T

he Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed this month that prices for nearly all food categories at the grocery store have risen at rates not seen since the early 1980s. But shoppers already know that the cost of food has surged alarmingly, from the produce aisle to the meat counter and the freezer section. Most consumers also know this is being driven by worker shortages, higher fuel costs and lingering supply-chain snarls from the pandemic. But other factors have emerged in recent weeks to push up that grocery bill. Here are four hidden reasons food prices have skyrocketed.The invasion of Ukraine The war in Ukraine is having a huge impact on the cost of food in the United States — particularly the price of corn. The Chicago Board of Trade corn futures topped $8 a bushel earlier this week, reaching its highest price in nearly a decade.

The reasons are complex. Earlier this month, in hopes of limiting the spike in gas prices since Russia’s invasion, the Biden administration announced it would allow high-ethanol gasoline to be sold this summer. High-ethanol gas is usually not allowed in summer months because continued on page 4

by LEE PITTS

Ud And Id

I

’ve always been curious as to how people ended up with their last names. I was taught that someone named Smith had a relative way back that was a blacksmith and a Taylor probably had a distant relative who was a tailor. If you’re a Forester, Fishman, Doorman, Carpenter, Boatman, Cook, Boardman or Bachman (chiropractor), you probably had a relative who was one. You can learn a lot about people by their last name. For example, you may not want to arm wrestle someone named Armstrong nor trade with someone named Crook.

Just how far back would you have to go in your family tree to find the human that gave you your last name? It’s universally accepted that the widespread use of last names began about the same time that farming became possible ten to twelve thousand years ago. The transition to an agrarian society meant the people had more fixed roles in a community and some way of identifying them was needed, so the guy who made the donuts became Baker, the one who made the beer was Brewer, the guy who built the carts to haul the crops became Cartwright and the lady who churned the butter became Butterman. (Nowadays it would be Butterwoman.)

Don’t get me wrong... some people had names before this, in fact, people had names 33 centuries before Christ was born! There is some disagreement in academic circles as to who was the first person with a moniker. Some historians say the first recorded name is Narmer who was an Egyptian Pharaoh, while another source claims that Kushhim was the first name. Kushhim was an accountant, by the way, and I think the word Kushhim in Egyptian means “cooks the books.”

There are still others who believe that the first recorded name was Urnina or Erectus (no comment). The first female name that was written down is Neithhotep, which judging by the listings in my phone book must have fallen out of favor somewhere along the way. While those may be the first instances of recorded names the academics who study such things say the first names that were probably uttered were Ug and Id. I don’t know how they’d know this if it wasn’t written down

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Livestock Market Digest

THE END

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of globalization and what does that mean for American agriculture?”

Is This The End? I’ve a second thought to eating beef from Brazil while wearing a shirt made in Vietnam and talking on a phone made in China. But what hath Friedman and his fellow one-worlders wrought? Just look around.

That’s why we are about to enter a period of deglobalization. But don’t just take our word for it.

“The old global order is dying because those who control the world financial system have used their power to co-opt political power worldwide. If you did not comply with their wishes you were impoverished as the financial elites took their jobs overseas. A new globalization is nothing more than the rise of ‘Governments of the People, by the People, for the People’ against governments of the rich, by the rich, for the rich.”

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Every year the “oneworlders” gather in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. Political, business, cultural and media leaders gather to plot their international agenda. Another Godfather of Globalization, Ray Dalio, said in Davos: “We may be at a point where globalization is ending and where provincialism and nationalism are taking hold. You will see more protectionism, perhaps the reversal of the trend in the ‘90s of trade agreement and globalization.”

■■

Since 1947 The Journal International Organization has been publishing scholarly articles. A recent one stated, “Trade, offshoring, and automation have steadily reduced the number of available jobs and the wages of industrial workers since at least the 1970s. The decline in manufacturing employment initiated the deterioration of social and economic conditions in affected communities, exacerbating inequalities between depressed rural areas and small cities and towns.”

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In an article for Reuters titled “Globalization in Retreat” Roger C. Altman said, “It is now clear that the global economic crisis will be deep and prolonged and that it will have far-reaching geopolitical consequences. The long movement toward market liberalization has stopped, and a new period of state intervention, reregulation, and creeping protectionism has begun.”

“Indeed, globalization itself is reversing. The long-standing wisdom that everyone wins in a single world market has been undermined. The increasing regionalization of economies and differences in rates of growth will create instability and challenge international security arrangements.”

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Jean Pisani-Ferry wrote a piece called “The End of Globalization as We Know It.” She wrote, “The old globalization is dying, but the new one has yet to be born. The old globalization was the political takeover of the world by the financial elites in their member nations and the glorification of their status (Communists in China, Oligarchs in the EU and Russia, and the controllers of the Banking/Financial markets in America).”

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In Market Watch, Rebecca Keller, wrote an article called, “This Era of Globalization Is Coming To An End.” She wrote, “Sixty years ago, Malcom

McLean, an American businessman and entrepreneur, launched the first container ship from a New Jersey port, forever changing how goods move around the world. By using a standard-sized container that could be transported from ship to rail or truck, McLean made shipping goods between two points far more efficient.

Rather than taking days or weeks to unload a ship, it now took hours. His experiment altered the way the world worked. The first container ship, Ideal X, set sail carrying just 58 trailer units in spring 1956; today, ships have become so large that the biggest can carry nearly 20,000 units.”

“The explosion of container shipping meant that goods and parts no longer had to be made in proximity to their users,” wrote Keller. “As location became less of a factor in production, the importance of other considerations such as labor costs rose. Supply chains also became longer and more complex. Now, the raw materials used to create a typical laptop may come from as many as six continents. The center console of a Honda Accord alone involves some two dozen suppliers.”

“This change, coupled with a strong pro-commerce environment, caused global trade to increase 10-fold between 1980 and 2007.” But according to Keller, “The era of globalization is coming to an end. Certainly, globalization has had its moment and could already be in decline, steadily replaced by its successor: a new age driven by advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing. These technologies stand to dramatically lower the costs of production as they become more prevalent throughout the manufacturing process.”

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May 15, 2022 Keller continued, “By automating the assembly process, which is largely manual for many industries, robots could someday cause assembly lines to move away from cheap labor pools, undoing one of the biggest shifts underpinning globalization and eliminating many of the benefits that came with longer supply chains. Progress in 3-D printing will only further degrade the effects of globalization. The shortening of supply chains in both distance and number of nodes will, in turn, reduce the volume of global trade as fewer countries and factories are involved in the production process.”

In other words, if you’re a farmer in Iowa with a down tractor just because of one simple part you won’t wait for a new part to arrive from China but will download a file for the part from John Deere and “print” it on your 3-D printer.

Says Keller, “Industrialized countries no longer have to rely on low-wage labor in far-off places, they will take advantage of new technologies and start producing low-end goods closer to home.”

“As we move into a brave new world of automated manufacturing, 3-D printing and artificial intelligence, such changes are inevitable. And just as we look back and mark the invention of the cotton gin or the assembly line as turning points in history, so, too, will our descendants look back on today’s inventions as the start of a new era,” concludes Keller.

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Dr. T. X. Hammes of the U. S. National Defense University, says that an increasing number of manufacturers have already started bringing their factories back to the United States. The U.S. lost manufacturing jobs every year from 1998 to 2009 — a total of 8 million jobs. But in the last six years, it regained about 1 million of them.

“The bottom line,” says Hammes, “is that more and more products will be produced locally which will steadily reduce the need for international trade in manufactured goods.

The changes in manufacturing and services may be only the first step in de-globalization.”

But What About Us What does all this mean for agriculture? “Globalization has been closely associated with the rise of so-called productivist agriculture,” says Hammes. “This refers to an increasing predominance of larger, well-capitalized corporate farms. The nutrition transition, implicated in the rapid rise of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases worldwide, is rooted in the processes of globalization. Globalization affects the nature of the food supply chain, thereby altering the quantity, type, cost, and desirability of foods available for consumption.”

“However, indoor farming has begun to undercut this trade by providing locally produced, fresher, organic products. Depending on the product, such farms can produce 11 to 15 crop cycles per year. A facility in Tokyo produces 30,000 heads of lettuce per day and plans a second plant to produce 500,000 head of lettuce daily within 5 years. Now that the concept has been proven, Japanese firms are putting 211 unused factories

into food production.

“A firm in the United States is planning to establish 75 indoor factory farms. Similar urban farms are being built across Europe and Russia. These indoor farms do not require herbicides or pesticides, use 97 percent less water, waste 50 percent less food, use 40 percent less power, reduce fertilizer use, reduce shipping costs, and are not subject to weather irregularities. Scaled-up, these processes will seriously reduce the market for long-range shipping of high value agricultural products.”

“All of the factors listed above are being reinforced by social pressures to ‘buy local’ to reduce the environmental impact of production. Local production both creates jobs near the consumer and dramatically reduces transportation energy and packaging waste. Indoor farming can almost eliminate the environmental impact of farming on land and waterways.

The localization of energy production and return of high value agriculture to developed nations will further reduce global trade,” says Hammes.

Other factors are slowing globalization. “First,” says Hammes, “protectionism is growing. While the assumption that global trade is good may still exist among American policymakers and economists, it is rapidly fading among the general population. In 2002, Pew Research found that 78 percent of Americans supported global trade. By 2008, the percentage had fallen to 53 percent.

In 2014, when Pew changed the questions from whether trade was good for the nation to whether trade improved the livelihood of Americans, favorable ratings plunged. Only 17 percent of Americans thought trade leads to higher wages, only 20 percent believed it created new jobs.”

Whether you like or hate deglobalization depends on what you produce. If you’re in the cotton business which exports 40 percent of yearly production, you aren’t going to like it. Neither will a swine producer or a dairyman. Lamb producers will love it. If you’re a cattleman it will probably be a push. If you average out imports and exports of beef over an extended period they largely cancel out each other. And there’s still a possible scenario of what I call “globalization light”, or “globalization 2.0” where countries form trading blocs based on their needs and aversion to communists.

China, Russia and Venezuela might be one trading bloc while the U.S. Canada and Mexico might form another.

No, Mr Friedman, the world isn’t flat. We’ve known that ever since Christopher Columbus landed in the “new world.” It’s still the same old place where countries spy on each other, try to debase each other’s currency, cheat on trade agreements and go to war.

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May 15, 2022

Livestock Market Digest

Rounds, Hoeven Backed Bill Reduces Burden of Long-Term Easements On Landowners

O

n April 4, 2022, U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (RSD) and John Hoeven (RND) signed on as original cosponsors of the Landowner Easement Rights Act, which aims to reduce permanent easements that limit the use of certain land to protect its conservation values.

“The Landowner Easement Rights Act protects the private property rights of South Dakotans,” Senator Rounds said. “By ending the practice of permanent, non-transparent easements, this bill will make certain the power is with our farmers, ranchers and other landowners across the state, not federal bureaucrats.”

If enacted, S. 3989 would prohibit the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) from entering into a conservation easement with a term of more than 50 years and would provide the owners of existing easements with the option to renegotiate, renew or buy out the easement, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“Following our efforts to provide regulatory relief for landowners under the FWS easement process, this legislation would help further reduce the burden that longterm easements have on our producers,” said Senator

Hoeven. “Our bill provides greater flexibility and empowers farmers, ranchers and other landowners to make the best use of their property.”

Additionally, S. 3989 would set forth requirements for the renegotiation of a conservation easement at the request of a landowner who is subject to a conservation easement that has been in effect for longer than 50 years, or was put into effect before 1977 without the creation of an official corresponding map, according to the text of the bill. The Department of the Interior would be required to notify such landowners of their right to submit a request.

continued from page 1

because, needless to say, first hand witnesses are difficult to find.

Another common way of acquiring a last name was to be someone’s son. For instance Steven’s son became Stevenson, ditto Williamson, Robertson, Robinson, Wilson, Peterson, Richardson, Jackson, Johnson, Hanson, Donaldson, Benson and Gibson. Christianson might have been the son of a preacher. I think John Stetson’s name was pulled out of a hat.

A lot of people have names that are colors like Green, Black, Gray, Brown and White. Perhaps that was a distant relative’s favorite color? Just as last names were needed to identify the various occupations in town they were also needed

to distinguish folks within the agricultural community. I personally know people whose last names are Farmer, Corn, Hog, Rice, Berry, Bean, Hamm, Lamb, Land, Beeman, Miller, Lemon, Field, Gardener, Bloom, Burger, Akers, and even a Duroc. Surely Mr. Chapman the pharmacist can trace his lineage back to a cowboy.

I don’t think it’s fair that some people have great names like Champion, Wise, Young, Rich and Angel while other people (like me) are saddled with last names that should have been changed long ago. How would you like to go through life with a name like Gasman, Balderman, Hick, Hood, Gross or Crum? I also know some good folks whose last name is Crye and Baller and I’ve nev-

er seen any of them cry their eyes out at the drop of a hat as their name would suggest.

My interest in last names can be traced back to my own pitiful one. Do you have any idea how hard it is to go through life as a Pitts? (Just ask my poor wife.) Believe me, I’ve heard more than my share of Right Guard and stone fruit jokes. Making matters worse, I know for a fact that my family survived by pitting apricots in California’s fruit sheds. Thankfully, I am the last of my strain and future generations of unborn Pitts’s will be forever grateful.

Don’t get me started on my real first name which is proof that my parents hated me from the very beginning. www.LeePittsbooks.com

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S. 3989 was introduced by Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and is the identical bill to H.R. 7021, introduced on March 9 by U.S. Representatives Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) in their chamber.

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for the job. As a small business owner, I was only interested if you could add value to my corporation with first-rate products, quality workmanship, merit, values and morality. I had my candidates read to me, write paragraphs, follow directions and do math. These should be the qualifications, not skin color.

Choosing by color creates a mediocre atmosphere with mediocre products. Our government and media are perfect examples of this guaranteed failure.

The SEC was just directed to lend money on the ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) score – not excellence, or worse yet, can they repay the loan aka exit plan.

Destroying the fossil fuel industry is another example of the lies spread by Globalist criminals who benefit from its failure. Thousands of products are made with fossil fuel. The industry now burns clean. This industry touches everything we consume. What will happen to those much-needed products? Glass, phones, computers, transportation clothing, food, air conditioning, appliances and plastics will all be eliminated in order to “save the planet.” How come no one ever mentions that?

Removing CO2 the gas NEEDED FOR FOOD and buying land to remain fallow, guarantees food shortages plus

a vast number of products and services no longer available.

These criminals have dumbed-down and scared the population to think they can control Mother Nature. By their concept people should just go outside and tell GAIA (the planet) to stop the tornados if we give up plastic straws. Why are they determined to eliminate fossil fuel – because they don’t own the companies that produce coal and gas. Energy companies in communist countries are owned by the government and that is the goal of the Globalists. They must own everything, all forms of production, distribution and consumption of all goods and services. So, they must bankrupt these companies and have them beg for money. Then the globalists will give money with lots of strings. Once completed, this agenda will tell all (except the globalists) how to live, what to eat, wear, drive, monitor, work and distribute healthcare, amount of energy, and allowable food. Right now, Europe is freezing because of policies the Globalist lies have created.

Renewables are not ready for prime time. When renewables are used to fly a jet, I will listen.

The major Globalist goal is to depopulate the planet.

So, the manufactured crisis is food shortages. We don’t have enough food they cry. Of course, not as long as they buy farmland to keep fallow. Listen to the speeches of these “World

May 15, 2022

Globalists.” Those who control the energy, control the country.

Those who control the food and health can control the people.

This crowd of Globalists aim to control everything. Listen as they tell you exactly how the Western economy will be destroyed.

Macron a run for his life in the Money, Power and Control is recent election. Viktor Orban all they care about. We must be (Nationalist – Hungry) just won able to name the enemy. Don’t a major victory. view them as Americans, they Globalists don’t care if the are not. Don’t try to make sense program and solution actually of anything they do or say. They work. Their success comes from are only trying to confuse you. the loss of your success, the Look to see what they are doing destruction of another industry, like passing bills late at night to loss of morality, value, comfort take away our rights. We have But…there is always a but… and luxury. They are constantly allowed them to think they are It seems more and more that telling others to sacrifice while the global elite. We thought the Putin vs Ukraine has put they lose nothing. Globalists they cared about America, ina dent in the global operation. force meaningless regulations stead they want to destroy the The more people understand on the opposition to insure fail- middle class and America. They what globalism will bring them: ure. Then they use government hate Americans. They hate the Training for lifelong labor, doing regulations to prop up their US Constitution. They will not more for less, mandates, lock- choice of endeavor, invest and be happy until they have everydowns, being able to choose make millions. They are happi- thing you own and you work for only what the government al- er when things don’t work. Then them. How do you control 330 lows. There is HOPE. We see they can ask for more money, million people? You lie.

“We’ve got to ride this global rallies and elections bringing more time, another committee, more nationalist candidates to more hearings…the issue is nev- warming issue. Even if the thethe forefront. Although Trump er the issue, the issue is always ory of global warming is wrong, and Putin are very different, the revolution aka transforma- we will be doing the right thing they both believe in their re- tion. So, win or lose on the pro- in terms of economic and enspective country. Putin wants gram, who cares. They will just vironmental policy.” – Timothy Russia to expand back to the create chaos so the people will Wirth, President of the UN days of the Union of Soviet So- be upset, frightened and need Foundation “No matter if the science of cialist Republic (USSR). Trump more government. Everything is wants America first and doesn’t connected. Nothing is random. global warming is all phony… care about expansion, but… There are no coincidences. Ev- climate change provides the they both want their country erything has a plan. All plans are greatest opportunity to bring to succeed. The citizens want based on lies. the next time you about justice and equality in the their country to come first as hear a globalist tell you to sacri- world.” – Christine Stewart, former Canadian Minister of the well. This message is being seen fice, say “After you.”

The Globalist/Communist/ Environment in each election as nationalist are Is America worth saving? Are candidates in America are on Fascist/Democrats/Rinos the winning ticket. This is being the enemy. All they do is regur- you an American or a Globalist? seen in other countries as well gitate the same old policies and You can’t be both. as Marine LaPen gave globalist talking points with new names.

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HIDDEN REASONS of air pollution. But while the decision may ease some of the pain at the pump, it also contributes to rising food prices.

That’s because corn is used to manufacture the ethanol.

That corn would ordinarily be used for consumer goods and, crucially, animal feed. Because feed accounts for 60 percent of the costs associated with raising livestock, experts expect prices to rise for beef, pork and poultry, and even for some farmed fish.

Skyrocketing fertilizer prices linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine are likely to contribute to higher meat prices in another way. Fertilizer is a significant, and sometimes the sole, source of the carbon dioxide used in the pre-slaughter stunning of animals, said Grady Ferguson, a research analyst for Gro Intelligence. Take that away and slaughter facilities need to find a different mechanism to humanely prepare animals.

But all this pressure could ultimately ease; many American farmers, who had planned to avoid corn this year to shield themselves from high fertilizer prices, may pivot back to reap the benefits of those high corn prices. “Everything is in flux,” said Lon Swanson, an agribusiness consultant for Wells Fargo.

The avian flu

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Livestock Market Digest

The worst avian flu outbreak in the United States since 2015 is causing a major spike in the price of chicken and turkey and an even more noticeable surge in egg prices. Two months into the outbreak, growers have “depopulated,” or killed, 29 million affected birds, around three quarters of them egg-laying hens, said Courtney Schmidt, a sector analyst in Wells Fargo’s Food and Agribusiness Industry Advisory group who focuses on protein and dairy. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s price for eggs has tripled since November and turkey breast prices are

continued from page 1

at a record high, she said.

April and May are peak months for avian flu because migration patterns take wild birds over parts of the country dense with poultry farms, their droppings infecting domesticated flocks. Iowa, which is on one of these migratory “flyways,” has been hit the hardest. And egg-producing farms tend to suffer more than those that raise poultry for meat because they are often much larger operations, packing many more birds into tighter quarters.

Schmidt said farmers learned hard lessons in the last major outbreak, instituting new biosecurity measures, but “this has been a little worse than I expected, and I don’t see it recovering quickly. We’re looking at elevated prices through the end of the year.”

California’s ongoing drought The federal government operates a system of dams, reservoirs and canals in California that the state relies on for agriculture and drinking water. Water agencies contract with the federal government for certain amounts of water each year. The federal government fulfills the contracts based on how much water is available. This year, as the state’s megadrought drags into its third year, the government said it had no water to give farmers. As a result, many farmers plan to scale back plantings this year — or expect to plant nothing.

Already, rice growers in the northern part of the Central Valley, where a quarter of the United States’ food is grown, have said they plan to leave their fields fallow, according to the California Rice Commission. California is the nation’s second largest rice-producing state, specializing in mediumand short-grain “sticky rice.”

With less water and higher fertilizer, and labor and seed

prices, many growers are making the calculation that, even with consumers paying higher prices, they can’t make a profit, said Curt Covington, an executive at AgAmerica Lending.

The solution, he said, can’t just be passing the costs on to consumers, who eventually balk at high prices. “It’s a balancing act,” he said. “You can ask for a higher price, but at some point, consumers trade down or trade away. And when they trade away, you have fruit sitting in that cooler.”

Border truck jams Produce coming from Mexico, stalled at the border for days, has gotten more expensive at a time of year when the United States still relies heavily on imports. This month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) increased inspections of commercial vehicles crossing into the state, largely to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies. He later withdrew the additional requirements — but the delays they caused continue to reverberate.The increased transit and inspection time at the U.S.-Mexico border caused significant delays to arrivals of produce such as avocados, limes and tomatoes (all, coincidentally, items in high demand in the weeks running up to Cinco de Mayo). Because of these delays, prices for avocados at major wholesale markets have surged to $78 per case, which is $30 per case more than this time last year, said David Rossi, fresh produce analyst at Gro Intelligence. “While it’s too soon to understand the exact fallout of the latest trade snarl between the U.S. and Mexico, prices can be expected to remain elevated for the next two to four weeks,” Rossi said.

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May 15, 2022

Livestock Market Digest

Page 5

Mixed-Species Grazing: A Potential Opportunity to Improve Rangeland Productivity and Increase Profits

BY KAYLA HINTZE, COURTNEY BIR, DERRELL PEEL / OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Controlling Woody Plants is Important

E

astern red cedar trees are taking over grazing land in the southern and central Great Plains.

When rangeland has high level of woody plants, stocking rates must be decreased to meet the cattle’s nutritional needs.

Having less cattle on the same amount of land means the operation will become less profitable. Improved range management is even more important as the population grows because producers are challenged to increase livestock production on the same amount of land. Not only is rangeland management important because of a growing human population to feed, but less natural rangeland management is occurring.

Why is Controlling Woody Plants a Problem Now? Historically, the Great Plains were populated with bison, elk, pronghorn and deer, which all grazed different vegetation, keeping woody plants from taking over1. When only cattle are grazed on pastures, there is no longer the mix of grazing preferences. Not only are the animal species on rangeland different, but wildfires are typically extinguished, Lack of naturally occurring intense and frequent wildfires no longer control woody plants1.

Woody Plants may be Impacting Profitability Eastern red cedar trees can cause significant amounts of loss to livestock production by limiting the amount of forage growth by shading grass. Water that would otherwise be used for the growth of forage for grazing is used by woody plants.

Woody plants also reduce access to forage. In order to maintain profitability of cattle operations on rangeland, red cedar growth must be managed. Oklahoma State University is currently conducting a study on the use of patch burning and mixed-species grazing to improve rangeland productivity. The preliminary analysis in this fact sheet is derived from this ongoing study, more complete analysis will be available in coming years.

Red Cedar and Woody Plant Management There are many ways red cedar encroachment is managed, including grazing management, herbicide use, prescribed fire, manual removal and mixed-species grazing. The most commonly used method differs between size of operation and location.

Each of these management practices has varying levels of effectiveness and costs. An example of grazing management is the use of cross-fencing and rotational grazing to encourage the use of different parts of a pasture. We will now describe in greater detail the management practices compared in our research.

Herbicides are frequently used to manage rangeland, but this choice is expensive and often not effective. A commonly

used herbicide for rangeland management is Grazon® P+D which costs about $25 per acre and must be repeated frequently2. The herbicide may be aerially sprayed or ground sprayed depending on the red cedar cover.

Prescribed fires are commonly used as a red cedar management control method.

Well planned and managed prescribed burning is an economical and effective method of range management. However, the use of prescribed burning may be limited in some locations and is dependent on land ownership. Land owners may also face additional costs related to prescribed fires if their land is disjointed or far apart.

Mixed-species grazing is a less commonly used control method, but may be more economical than other methods.

Mixed-species grazing may become more common as the goat and sheep market continues to expand and producers look for other ways to improve their land. Mixed-species grazing offers an opportunity for reducing red cedar control costs while possibly increasing profitability of the grazing operation.

Mixed-species grazing combined with prescribed burning may provide red cedar control and economic benefits that exceed either practice individually. Figure one shows that after 50 years of red cedar invasion rangeland will be in a cedar forest state and livestock productivity will be decreased to only 25% of maximum livestock production. With proper rangeland management, this encroachment can be slowed, halted or even reversed. The ideal state of rangeland at maximum production is a grassland state.

Using Goats for Mixedspecies Grazing Mixed-species grazing can include a variety of animal species combinations such as sheep, goats and even deer. Goats and cattle are the most often chosen combination because of the great spread of dietary differences. In short, goats and cattle eat different things, which allows for greater stocker rates and more woody plant control.

The use of mixed-species grazing combined with patch burning may be even more effective than other control methods because browsers such as goats prefer to consume woody plants such as red cedar, whereas cattle prefer to consume grasses.

Goats may increase profits because they can be sold for additional revenue and, depending on the level of woody species encroachment, will be able to improve rangeland productivity and potentially increase stocking rate of cattle. Because goats and cattle have different intake preferences, goats can usually be grazed alongside cattle without having to decrease cattle stocking rate. In general, goats consume more woody plants than cattle and can increase rangeland carrying capacity in woody areas by 70 percent due to the difference in forage preferences3. In general, two goats can be added per head of cattle without decreasing cattle stocking rate4. Therefore, in an operation with 20 cows, 40 goats can

be added while maintaining the same number of cattle.

Assumptions Used for Analysis Both breeding goats and stocker goats can be utilized in a mixed-species grazing operation. Both options are considered here. Please note that you may make different decisions regarding purchase time, weaning length, etc. that may impact the profitability of these two choices for your operation.

Breeding goats are most often used for mixed-species grazing because kids can be sold each year for additional profit, without having to re-purchase all of the animals. Goats are considered seasonal breeders or short day breeders, so they breed best in the spring and fall – not the summer. Goats have a gestation period of 150 days; therefore if bred in October, they will kid in March and the kids can be sold in June. This assumes a weaning period of 60 days. Other operations may choose to wean at 90 days which could change the profitability of the breeding goats. Does generally have kid crops of 150% to 180%, meaning that, even when retaining does as replacements and accounting for death loss, kids sold should be greater than the number of does bred. The sale price of goats varies throughout the year, with a high price in February through April and low prices in August and September.

While producers would like to capture the high market prices in late winter and early spring, goats are seasonal breeders and producing kids to sell at the seasonal peak price is often not realistic. For this analysis, it was assumed kids would be sold in June, at a price of about $2 per pound based on historical prices. It is important to note that the sale price can differ from year to year.

A graph showing the effects of livestock production compared to years of red cedar invasion.

Additional Costs of Mixed-Species Grazing with Goats There are additional costs related to the use of mixed-species grazing. Initially, a herd of goats will need to be purchased, including a sufficient number of does and one buck for every 25

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to 35 does. In general, the rule of thumb is one buck for every 35 does. The original purchase of goats will be a significant upfront cost, but if doe kids are retained as replacements, this will be a one-time cost.

The mixed-species grazing operation will be most effective if patch burning is utilized as well. There will be additional costs related to the use of patch burning, but if a producer is already performing prescribed fires, this cost may not change.

A large cost related to introducing a goat operation is the cost of building a new fence which can hold goats. The fence cost used in this study was about $3 per foot for 4-by-4-foot woven wire fence. The total cost to fence the 180 acre pasture in this study was around $33,000.

A 4-by-4-foot woven wire fence is a very effective fence for containing goats, but other fences such as electric wire can be used and may also be effective. Fence cost on a per-acre basis decreases with increased pasture size.

Depending on the current state of the cattle fence, fencing may only need to be improved, or a new fence may need to be built.

The cost of fencing may vary greatly based on your current farm setup.

The goats will also require medical care, feed and labor, especially during kidding. Medical care needed can vary greatly between goat herds, but the cost for vaccinations will be around $2 per head per year. It was assumed each breeding goat will require three hours of human labor each year at a cost of $10 per hour5.

A livestock guardian dog should be purchased to mitigate the losses due to predation of both kids and adult goats. The livestock guardian dog will have some monthly maintenance costs such as dog food and medical care. The current cost to purchase a livestock guardian dog is $1,000 and annual costs maintenance costs are about $500. Budgets for meat goat and stocker goat production are available on the OSU budget page.

Additional Revenue of Mixed-Species Grazing with Goats Mixed-species grazing operations allow for increased profits, due to the additional revenue from the goat operation, as well as improved rangeland. When using a breeding goat operation, kids born each year can be sold to increase profits of the

overall operation. Goats have a kidding rate ranging from 150% to 180%, therefore, a significant number of kids can be sold each year, and kids can be retained as replacements or to grow the goat herd. Goats not only provide additional revenue but can increase profit from the cattle herd by improving the condition and productivity of rangeland.

As the goats improve rangeland, the cattle stocking rate can be increased or producers may be able to decrease supplemental feed provided to cattle. If red cedar encroachment is not managed, encroachment will continue to the point where the land is no longer profitable.

Managing rangeland is important to maintain profitable livestock production and potentially increase profits. Preliminary analysis show mixed-species grazing can both increase profitability of the enterprise, as well as manage the state of rangeland more effectively than other control methods. Early research results show that the mean net present value of the breeding operation with prescribed fire is about $16,000 greater than traditional management. Net present value is a way to compare the profitability of two operations while accounting for time.

Analysis of the stocker scenario was not promising. Due to the cost of buying goats every year, the stocker goat scenario was not profitable. However, this may not be the case for all operations or all years. In order to control red cedar, it was assumed the producer would be purchasing stocker goats in the spring/summer. Unfortunately, this also coincides with high goat prices. Two scenarios were considered: 1) selling the stocker goats in September or 2) selling the stocker goats in November, the time of year when goat prices are low. Operators may be able to purchase and sell stocker goats at more favorable times to increase profitability, but they may be giving up some woody plant control the goats provide given the assumptions.

It appears that mixed-species grazing can be a profitable and effective method for control of woody plant encroachment if breeding goats are used, given the assumptions of this analysis. As research on this topic continues, more definitive results will determine the efficacy of mixed-species grazing for woody plant control.

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Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

U.S. Solar Expansion Stalled By Rural Land-Use Protests

BY NICHOLA GROOM / REUTERS.COM

T

he Solar Star project in California is among the largest solar energy facilities in the world, boasting 1.7 million panels spread over 3,000 acres north of Los Angeles. Its gargantuan scale points to an uncomfortable fact for the industry: a natural gas power plant 100 miles south produces the same amount of energy on just 122 acres.

This dynamic encapsulates the industry’s biggest obstacle to growth: Solar farms require huge amounts of land, and there’s a fast-growing movement, fueled by politicized social-media campaigns, to prevent solar developers from permitting new sites in rural America.

That’s a major problem for the transition away from fossil fuels to combat climate change.

Solar currently makes up three percent of U.S. electricity supply and could reach 45 percent by 2050 to meet the Biden administration’s goals to eliminate or offset emissions by 2050, according to the Department of Energy. To get there, the U.S. solar industry needs a land area twice the size of Massachusetts, according to DOE. And not any land will do, either. It needs to be flat, dry, sunny, and near transmission infrastructure that will transport its power to market.

As solar developers propose new, often sprawling projects in places like Kansas, Maine, Texas, Virginia and elsewhere, local governments and activist groups are seeking to block them and often succeeding. They cite reasons ranging from aesthetics that would harm property values to fears about health and safety, and loss of arable land, farm culture, or wildlife habitat.

“This is increasingly one of the top barriers that we’re going to face,” said Steve Kalland, executive director of the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, a research center that supports clean energy development nationwide. “If we can’t get projects sited and deployed, then we’re going to have real problems on our hands.”

In most cases, the opposition to these projects is being organized on Facebook, where the number of pages devoted to blocking solar development has exploded in recent years.

The pages air a mix of legitimate concerns, such as the loss of scenic vistas, tree removal, and soil erosion, with misinformation about climate change and alleged health hazards from solar electricity. The false claims include arguments that climate change is a hoax to groundless assertions that solar farms leach carcinogen cadmium into the soil and nearby waterways when it rains, or that they rarely produce electricity.

Reuters identified 45 groups or pages on Facebook dedicated to opposing large solar projects, with names such as “No Solar in Our Backyards!” and “Stop Solar Farms.” Only nine existed prior to 2020, and nearly half were created in 2021. The groups together boast nearly 20,000 members.

“For every single large-scale solar project, you’re seeing very well-organized opposition on social media,” said Matthew Sahd, a solar market analyst for energy research firm Wood Mackenzie. “It’s very impressive what these local communities are able to organize.”

Beth Snider, of Virginia’s Page County Citizens for Responsible Solar, said she believes solar developers are using the climate change issue to justify profit-making businesses that hurt the environment in other ways.

“The solar companies don’t care about the environment - the farmland, and the rural communities they will destroy to get these projects,” she said.

“They are all about the money.”

Construction of the first large solar projects, including Solar Star, completed in 2015, drew little opposition. They were sited mostly in remote areas such as the California desert. Now, tensions are rising as the sector plans bigger projects and reaches into more populated rural areas unfamiliar with solar.

The industry is expanding rapidly with government and corporate backing, and seeking permits or zoning revisions from county and town boards that oversee land use in residential neighborhoods and farmlands.

Often, they are in politically conservative regions where citizens are less concerned about climate change and more supportive of fossil-fuel industries and jobs.

Their protests are persuasive. More than 1.7 gigawatts of proposed solar capacity was

canceled during the permitting stage in 2021, according to an analysis by Wood Mackenzie conducted for Reuters. That’s equivalent to a tenth of the 17 gigawatts of utility-scale solar capacity installed in the United States last year. Wood Mackenzie did not track the data on permitting prior to 2021.

Those figures do not account for the potential projects that have been preempted by locally imposed limitations or moratoria on solar applications.

An analysis by Columbia Law School last year found 103 localities nationwide that have adopted policies to block or restrict renewable energy development – a list the report said is not exhaustive.

The American Clean Power Association, an industry trade group, said in a statement that the protests present a major challenge to the solar industry and threaten its role in addressing climate damage.

“Community concerns have made it harder for some developers to scale solar projects at the rate that science dictates that we need to,” said David Murray, ACP’s director of solar policy.

Site acquisition is at the top of the U.S. solar industry’s list of threats to growth. In a poll of 44 developers last year by clean energy marketplace LevelTen Energy, 52 percent said permitting challenges were among the top three barriers to achieving the nation’s solar energy goals and nearly 20 percent called out land availability. Other challenges included access to transmission lines and supply-chain disruptions.

“It’s pretty obvious that, if there’s a climate urgency, we’re not behaving that way,” said Armond Cohen, executive director of environmental group Clean Air Task Force. “There’s this assumption that there’s so much solar and wind available at such low cost, it’s obviously going to get built... maybe it will, but something pretty serious is going to have to change.”

ONLINE OFFENSE Carrie Brandon’s home sits near the proposed site of a 2,000-plus-acre solar farm that renewable-energy behemoth NextEra (NEE.N) hopes to build at the border of Kansas’ Douglas and Johnson counties. When she heard about the planned 320-megawatt project, Brandon leapt into action to stop it. She hired a consultant, sent petitions to neighbors and produced a YouTube channel and Facebook site under the

May 15, 2022 name Kansans for Responsible Solar.

“That’s not what we signed up for,” Brandon said, noting that she and her husband built their dream home on 40 acres in Douglas County in 2018.

Brandon says she does not oppose green energy but believes solar projects belong in places such as former industrial sites or on rooftops. She worries about her property value but said her primary concern is the health and safety of people residing nearby. She said she worries that herbicides on the site, used to prevent vegetation from growing on panels, could contaminate ponds and groundwater. She also said solar panels raise the risk of fires and health problems from exposure to electromagnetic fields.

“It’s not about looking at it,” she said. “It’s about the health impacts.”

Researchers have found no evidence to support increased fire risk or health concerns from solar panels.

Brandon found an ally in Kansas State Senator Mike Thompson, a Republican who has been criticized for spreading misinformation about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and the science behind climate change.

“Why are we investing in all of these renewable sources of energy? A lot of people will say it’s because we’ve got to combat climate change. And that is one of the biggest scams out there,” Thompson, a former TV weatherman who chairs the Senate’s utilities committee, said in a video on one of Brandon’s sites.

The impact of Brandon’s group is being tested as Johnson County crafts zoning rules for large solar facilities that could determine the fate of the NextEra project. Planning officials initially drafted what would have been among the most restrictive rules for solar facilities in the nation - limiting leasing terms to a maximum 20 years and capping acreage at 1,000 acres - but were directed by a county board to reconsider their proposal.

NextEra’s project is designed to last 30 years, and the company has already leased more than 2,000 acres of land.

The Virginia solar protest group led by Beth Snider, in Page County, also uses Facebook to organize against solar development. Their focus is a 500-acre project in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley by Urban Grid, a unit of Canada’s Brookfield Renewable (BEPC.N), one of the world’s top renewable energy asset owners. Snider, who lives near the proposed site, worries it will mar the landscape.

Posts by her group’s more than 500 members include wide-ranging criticisms of all kinds of renewable energy. One post included photos of solar panels in Arizona covered in snow and not producing electricity. Another cited a post from the climate change skeptic blog NoTricksZone saying that EV owners in Germany can barely afford to charge their vehicles because of surging electricity prices there.

The group brought an overflow crowd earlier this year to a planning meeting. After 33 people testified against the project - none in favor - the four-member panel voted unanimously to recommend rejection of the project by the county Board of

Supervisors, which has a year to take up the application.

In central Texas, meanwhile, school district and county officials in at least four counties this year have dealt blows to solar development by refusing the requests of developers for tax breaks intended to ensure the projects are economical.

The projects would have generated millions in tax revenue over decades. Local officials, however, were convinced by arguments made by local residents on Facebook and in public meetings that the projects would undermine the region’s rural culture and create few jobs.

“They call themselves solar ‘farms,’ which is irritating to me,” Ron Pack, a landowner in Erath County, Texas, said in an interview. “They give the indication that it’s all bunny rabbits and butterflies over there. And it’s not. It’s 2,400 acres of total destruction.”

Pack, whose property is adjacent to where NextEra is planning a 225-megawatt solar plant, worries about soil erosion under the panels polluting the water of the nearby Bosque River.

Solar developers must often clear land of trees and other vegetation before they install their equipment to ensure the panels have unobstructed access to sunlight, which has in some cases led to erosion during heavy rains.

On the NextEra project website, the company says: “No form of energy is free from environmental impact; however, solar energy has among the lowest impacts as it emits no air or water pollution.”

NEW FRONT IN THE CULTURE WARS The protests reflect declining support for renewables nationwide.

A Pew Research Center poll this year showed 69 percent of U.S. adults favored developing alternatives to fossil fuels, down from 79 percent two years ago.

The drop came almost entirely from respondents on the political right, with just 43 percent of Republicans or those who lean Republican saying they support alternative energy development compared with 65 percent in 2020.

Joshua Fergen, a sociologist who has studied rural attitudes toward renewable energy development, said solar power has transformed into a subject of the U.S. culture war - a politically divisive issue along the lines of vaccine mandates, police reform or abortion.

“You can’t divorce what you see on these anti-renewable Facebook groups from the larger political context,” he said.

Residents of liberal-leaning areas, however, have also organized against large-scale solar installations.

Alameda County, a San Francisco Bay area Democratic stronghold, for example, is considering more restrictive solar policies after residents sued over the approval of a 100-megawatt project in a rural valley over concerns about the visual and environmental impact.

UTILITIES SQUEEZED Local pushback could delay plans by utilities to retire aging coal plants and replace them continued on page 8

May 15, 2022

Livestock Market Digest

REAL ESTATE GUIDE

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Rural Properties around Portales, NM 1242 NM 480 - Nice home on 59.7 acres, grass 427 SRANCH Rrd P 1/2 Large nice home, lots of barns 694.9 ACRE IN-ROOSEVELT CO NM 1931 S Rrd B24+ has ac total new 5 1694 Spipe Rrdcorners 4, Great home, barns, cattle pens, location wire, steel post, etc, pipe corrals, POND, nice ranch house with 2 good 2344 S Rrd K east of Dora, NM, great - Near wind farms water wells, some CRP time remains $665,000 All properties excellent homes & can have horses, etc.

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UNIQUE COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITY IN MT. GROVE! Three addresses including large retail building (105 W., 9600 SF built in 1995) (107 W. 11th, 13000 SG built in 2000); single family home (1103 N Main, 874 SF with 378 SQ unfinished basement built in 1940s) This is the last commercial corner of this size in the city and on MO95 (1.45 acres) so it is perfect for a bigger user who needs access and visibility. Nearby national/ regional businesses including Dollar Tree, Legacy Bank, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Fresenius Dialysis. It is also suitable for any retail business who wants additional income from warehouse and house. The warehouse has a drive-in garage door; and the big building has a dock for second story loading. This has been part of a family-owned business for decades and is currently operating as an antique/collectible store with high quality items. Owner’s inventory is for sale separately in private negotiations. Shown by appointment only after business hours. MLS#60199328

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COWBOY DRAW Joe Priest Real Estate RANCH Excellent small cattle ranch located in southeastern New 18,000 acres only 7 miles away. REDUCED ASKING PRICE - $3,125,000

BEAVER CREEK RANCH: about 82,000 acres - with 2,700 deeded acres plus contiguous USFS & BLM

permits for of 450 pair; 580+- acres pasture, and meadowcounty from Beaverline.

Creek water rights and Mexico approximately 50 miles northwest Roswell onirrigated the alfalfa, Chaves/Lincoln 7,455 total one irrigation well. 3 homes, 2 hay barns, 4 feedlots each w/ 250 ton barns, 2 large reservoirs, can run up to 500-600 cowsfederal YEAR ROUND. PRICE - $5,400,000. for 151 animal units acres with 2,600 deeded with the balance BLMREDUCED leaseASKING acres.

Permitted joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com BEARunits CREEK on RANCH: Approx. 1,278 acresnonrenewable winter range ground andbasis. recreationalWatered property. Located on Bear yearlong with an additional 30 animal a temporary with two Creek and accessed from South Cow Creek Valley Road. Should be great hunting for deer, wild turkey, wild pigs, quail &Two ownerlarger states goodopen trout fishing in Bear Creek.

Deeded accessthe easement thru neighbor wells and several miles of water pipeline. draws run through ranch that ranches. provide No improvements & very private inside the ranch.

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270 RATES AC Pine Timber &3% INTEREST RATES AS LOW INTEREST AS LOW ASAS 4.5% Payments Scheduled on2525 Years Payments Scheduled on Years Hunting, Anderson Co., TX Co. Rd. Frontage, Small Lakes $7,250 Per Acre

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

ranch. Investors dream; excellent cash flow. Rock formation being crushed and sold; wind turbans, some minerals. Irrigation water developed, crop & cattle, modest improvements. Just off I-20. Price reduced to $1.25 million.

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

Bar M Real Estate

O’NEILL LAND, llc

in state lease. Excellent grass and water. Two plus miles of the Chico Creek meandering through the center of the property.

Additional wells and dirt tanks. Nice historic head quarters privately located with shade trees and excellent views of the property. Shipping pens in central portion of property. $2,837,318

home. Owns both sides of river in places. Horse/cow/chicken/ vegetable garden/greenhouse/orchard set up. Country living at it’s finest, in town, but in a world of your own. Very special on river. Appointment only. $650,000.

O’NEILL Buena Vista Realty LAND, llc P.O. Box 145, Cimarron, NM 87714 • 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 land@swranches.com • www.swranches.com

Qualifying Broker: A.H. (Jack) Merrick 575-760-7521 NTRACT CO www.buenavista-nm.com

CIMARRON PASTURE, 6.26± deeded acres. $139,000. Sold separately, 3.1116± acres irrigated off 1870 Maxwell-Clutton Ditch. $45,000.

Water meter, well. 3 phase power. Next to Cimarron River.

PENDING

MAXWELL ESCAPE, 440 Elm Tree Rd. Nice 2-story home plus park model home, horse barn, many other buildings, shade trees, private, 34.2 irrigable acres, 45± total deeded acres. $575,000

SOLD

BAR LAZY 7 RANCH, Colfax County, Moreno Valley 594.38 +/- deeded acres, accessed off blacktop between Eagle Nest and Angel Fire. Historic headquarters. Currently used as summer grazing, pond and trees accessed off county road on rear of property as well. Presented “ASIS” New Survey, $4,000,000 UTE PARK RIVER PLACE 6.83 +/ACRES, 450 +/- feet of the Cimarron

River and more than that of Ute Creek are the south and east boundaries of this unique one of a kind water property. 2 bedroom 1 bathroom cabin, year round access off Hwy 64. $599,000 CIMARRON BUSINESS, Frontage opportunity, house, big shop and office buildings, easy view off Hwy 64. Formerly known as “The Porch.” $295,000 CAPULIN FAMILY COMPOUND, Union County, NM. 40.88 +/- deeded acres with stunning 3,000 sqft plus main home with attached apartment over large garage. Pinon/juniper, two wells, short gravel drive off blacktop. $725,000 COLFAX TAVERN & DINER, Colfax County, NM. Aka “COLD BEER”, turn key legendry regional icon and destination, with anchor staff/team willing to stay on. Prime business on front range. $1,500,000

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■ PRICE REDUCED! CEDARVALE, NM – 7,113 acre ranch (5,152 ac. +/- Deeded – 1,961 ac. +/- State Lease) well fenced & watered w/ good pens, new barn.

Livestock Digest ■ REVUELTO CREEK Market RANCH – Quay Co., NM – 2,920 ac. -/+ (2,800 Deeded, 40 ac. -/+ NM State Lease, 80 ac. -/+ Private Lease).

■ NEW LISTING! ELK CANYON RANCH #2 - Harding Co., NM – 3,880 ac. -/+, older home, cattle pens, hunting/cattle ranch. Please call for details!

■ COLFAX COUNTY NM GET-AWAY – 1,482.90 ac.+/- grassland (1,193.59 ac. +/Deeded, 289.31 ac. State Lease), great location near all types of mountain recreation.

■ RIMROCK RANCH - BUEYEROS, NM 14,993.49 total acres +/- (12,157.49 deeded acres +/-, 2,836 +/- New Mexico State Lease).

Live water with five miles of scenic Ute Creek. Elk, deer and antelope to go along with a good cattle ranch! SIGNIFICANT PRICE REDUCTION! ■ SARGENT CANYON RANCH (Chaves/Otero Co.) – 18,460 +/- ac. - 200 +/- deeded, 2,580 +/- State, 11,200 +/- BLM, 4,480 +/- Forest permitted for 380 AUs year-round, well watered, good headquarters, very nice updated home, excellent pens & out buildings. Scenic ranch!

521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130 ■ PRICE REDUCED! “RARE FIND” LAJUNTA, 575-226-0671 or 575-226-0672 fax CO – Otero Co, CO, 400 +/- acres. 3.5 mi. east of LaJunta, justBuena 65 miles Pueblo, CO! Vistafrom Realty Home, barns, pens, fenced, good access, close Qualifying Broker: to town.

A.H. (Jack) Merrick 575-760-7521 ■ TEXAS PANHANDLE - Let’s look at this www.buenavista-nm.com 6,000 hd. permitted feedyard w/953 ac. +/-, a recently remodeled owner’s home, 2 residences for employee housing, addtl. home on 6 ac., 5 pivot sprinkler irr. circles, truck scale, cattle scale, excellent perimeter fencing, located on pavement & all weather road, currently in full • 83 acre wood home with barns, operation.

■ SUPER OPPORTUNITY! of the best meadows and woods.One Fronts State steak houses in the nation just out of Amarillo & Rd.at$545,000 Canyon Umbarger, TX., state-of-the-art bldg., turn-key w/complete facilities.

■ EAST EDGE OF FT. SUMNER, NM – a 900 • 160yard acrew/immaculate Ranger Eastland hd. grow 7.32 ac.Co, +/-, a beautiful home, & other improvements w/a long $560,000 line of equipment included, on pvmt.

■ QUAY CO, NM. – 142 ac. +/-, 120.5 ac. +/CRP, very site-built homeCounty, & barn, located • 270niceacre Mitchell Texason all weather road.

TATE GUIDE

alty

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with solar projects to appease climate-conscious investors and regulators.

The Northern Indiana Public Service Co (NIPSCO), for instance, plans to retire more than 2 gigawatts of coal and gas-fired generation by 2028, replacing it with wind and solar.

But one of the solar projects it had planned to start operating this year, a 200-megawatt facility in Boone County, was rejected last year by two separate local boards after residents organized against it, decrying the loss of farmland and rural culture, as well as the impact on views and local property values.

NIPSCO told Reuters that it continues trying to make the project work and remains confident about its broader clean-energy transition plan.

The difficulty finding workable solar project sites has led developers to pump up their bids for available land. Solar developers have been offering around $1,000 an acre for suitable land nationwide, far more than the $200 or so an acre landowners would get from a tenant farmer, according to Nathan Fabrick, executive vice president of solar for National Land Realty, a real estate brokerage that specializes in rural land.

“We get so many calls from landowners that are interested,” he said.

It’s a harder sell to communities as a whole, which often see little economic upside to offset the downsides of large installations, which often create only one or two full-time jobs.

The solar industry in some places has worked to make projects more palatable to the public. New Jersey, for instance, became a major market for solar despite the state’s dense development, primarily by putting projects on landfills or other disturbed land. And Minnesota has voluntary standards that encourage establishing pollinator-friendly vegetation at solar sites to reduce environmental opposition. Such projects help dissuade local concerns about solar farms, according to the DOE. The Land & Liberty Coalition - a pro-solar group backed by donors associated with the political left, such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and MacArthur Foundation - is also trying to improve the solar industry’s chances by appealing to libertarian values. The coalition argues, for instance, that private landowners should be allowed to strike deals with developers without obstruction.

“Nobody ought to tell you, within reason of course, what you can and can’t do with your land,” said Tyler Duvelius, a spokesperson for the coalition.

The group has set up satellite offices in several states where battles over solar are raging, including Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin, he said.

Landowners like Robert and Donna Knoche agree with the Land & Liberty Coalition’s arguments. The couple has an agreement with NextEra for its Johnson County project in Kansas to lease hundreds of acres that have been in the family for generations, and they are hoping their neighbors don’t ruin their opportunity to make some money from it.

“Our six children, none of them are farmers,” Robert Knoche, 94, said in an interview. “They’d probably get along better with NextEra than they would farming it.”

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The View FROM THE BACK SIDE

Communist Style America

BY BARRY DENTON (The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association or this publication.)

I

n this area there is lots of United States Forest Service land and many of my neighbors continue to graze cattle on it.

I sold my Forest Service leases in 2005 but am kept abreast of what is going on.

I know one of my neighbors has been ranching the same country for over 100 years. One thing about it, you can’t ranch on the same piece of ground and be successful for over 100 years without being a good conservationist and using the land wisely.

It seems the latest scheme the USFS has developed to get cattle off of their leases, is to change the rules in how they determine how many cattle each lease is good for. When you sign up for a grazing lease, they give you a basic handbook and it outlines their rules that they suggest you follow. They add and change rules constantly, so they are always sending you updates.

Basically, you will need a

Biden’s Actions are Causing Rising Prices BY: CONNER NICKLAS, BUDDFALEN LAW OFFICES

I

n March 2021, the national average price for a gallon of gas was $2.898. This March, that same gallon costs $4.322.

Similarly, the average price for a pound ground beef in March 2021 was $4.21; this year, it costs $5.24. Other important products such as chicken, natural gas for heating homes, and wheat and corn products have also all seen dramatic cost increases. In fact, inflation has surged to a 40 year high of 8.5 percent. Simply put, the price to survive for an average American has skyrocketed.

What is worse is that we currently have a presidential administration whose policies and actions are a direct cause of these price increases.

And although President Biden recently said in a speech that he is doing “everything” within his power to bring down the price of gas and food and to fix the supply chain, his actions suggest otherwise. Consider the following examples: First, oil and gas development continues to be under attack. Last year the Biden Administration put a “pause” on all new oil and gas drilling leases.

According to a study from the University of Wyoming, the federal lease moratorium restrict-

May 15, 2022 staff to keep up with their rule changes. If you care to discuss these changes with someone besides a flunky at the USFS then you must start at the bottom government office and work your way up.

You cannot just talk to someone with authority at your whim.

You can never go and see who you need to see, without jumping through hoops. Their obvious intention is to wear you out before they ever answer you.

Last week I attended a function where the USFS Southwestern Region Director Robert Trujillo spoke to enlighten people on the Forest Service’s new policy on determining cattle grazing numbers during a drought. First, he spoke of his family ranching in New Mexico since 1580, and stated he loved the thought of grazing on public lands. However, when asked some specifics about current grazing restrictions he refused to answer questions and left.

Isn’t the last word in USFS “service”? I’d say for the last 30 years they consider themselves prima donnas and never acknowledge the word “service”.

They have even forgotten that they are paid by the same people that they are refusing to help.

What a waste of time that guy was. You would think he would have bent over backwards to address concerns of lessees grazing on USFS land.

Instead, he was like a scared rabbit and ran off. Evidently this attitude of avoidance must be in their government employee handbook. Of course, faint

hearted government employees would rather follow it than take a stand against it.

In another instance my wife had to visit the local Social Security office in our small town.

When she walked in, she was asked by a security guard if she had any weapons or ammunition, then her purse was searched in each compartment, and she was patted down to make sure.

Then she was told to make sure her phone was turned off and told that she had to wear a mask. One thing about it when she got home, I told my wife that she should quit dressing like a gangster. Now consider that most people that go into that office are older citizens and harmless.

Explain something to me.

How do you get up in the morning, travel to your workplace, and enjoy patting down harmless old ladies for a living? What kind of a dullard would hire on to do that job? How do you look at yourself in the mirror when you are carrying out such a disservice to your fellow citizens?

It’s wrong folks, this sounds more like Communist Russia than the freedom loving United States. Just think, if the federal government agencies actually tried to help its citizens in a friendly and courteous manner, they wouldn’t have to worry about little old ladies gunning them down. Let’s Go Brandon!

ed or prevented access to 2.9 billion barrels of potentially recoverable oil reserves on federal lands and the associated $12.9 billion in tax revenue.

Then, on Good Friday, the Department of the Interior announced that it would be ending the moratorium on new onshore mineral leases. However, the conditions surrounding the lifted restriction make the announcement a hollow gesture.

First, the proposed lease sales will only cover 144,000 acres of land on 173 parcels. These 144,000 acres are a fraction of what was originally proposed for lease prior to Biden’s moratorium. Second, the Administration is proposing to increase the royalty rate oil companies will have to pay the federal government from the traditional 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent. This would amount to a 50 percent increase. Couple this increased royalty rate to the many restrictions and red tape required to drill on federal land, it appears that the Biden Administration is attempting to essentially continue the leasing moratorium by making federal minerals unmarketable.

Second, pipelines have also been discriminated against by the Biden Administration. On his first day in office, President Biden dealt the final deathblow to the Keystone XL Pipeline by revoking its cross-border presidential permit granted by President Trump. Had the pipeline been constructed, it would have delivered up to 900,000 barrels of oil daily into the American system. That additional 900,000 barrels of oil daily would have more than covered the oil deficit created by the recent Russian-Ukrainian War.

President Biden has now announced that the Army Corps of Engineers will be reviewing whether it will revoke Clean Water Act Nationwide Permit 12. Nationwide Permit 12 allows pipeline companies to construct or repair their pipelines under a much more simplified and affordable process. Without this permit, pipeline companies could spend years trying to apply for individual Clean Water Act permits.

Third, the Administration has avoided taking actions that could reduce the food supply shortages felt by many Americans. Earlier this month the Secretary of Agriculture announced that his Department would not take farmland out of conservation programs to boost grain production during the Russian war in Ukraine. To date, nearly 16 million acres of farmland are enrolled in these conservation programs. However, the Administration explained that allowing farming on those lands, even temporarily, would cause a “detrimental impact on producers’ efforts to mitigate climate change…”

While these are tangible attacks from the Administration against the industries who keep Americans fed, clothed, and supplied with energy, what often goes unseen are the dozens of projects across the country that have never been attempted. These policies not only shut down existing projects, they hamper any incentive to explore for new energy sources, build new infrastructure, and produce more food. Now, every day Americans suffer the consequences of higher food and energy costs.

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May 15, 2022

Collector 's o r n Who Pays e BY JIM OLSON r

S

Livestock Market Digest

Shipping?

hipping is expensive! Very expensive! With inflation going crazy and the cost of everything (especially fuel), skyrocketing like it has been, the carriers are passing along inflated costs to the user.

Packages that maybe cost $40 to ship a year ago might be almost double that today, especially if going very far. There’s no doubt about it—the cost of shipping is affecting prices.

Peter Sand, chief analyst at the freight rate benchmarking platform, Xeneta, was recently quoted in an article as saying, “… the higher cost of logistics is not a transitory phenomenon. The element of shipping, in overall prices, small as it may be, is much bigger than ever before.” He went on to say he expects increases to persist through 2023.

And an article in Wall Street Journal said, “The average price world-wide to ship a 40-foot container has more than quadrupled from a year ago.” This is partly due to inflation and partly due to residual effects from the Government mandated shutdowns during 2020 and 2021. It seems as if higher shipping cost are here to stay. But who actually pays for shipping?

In all cases, no matter how it is advertised, it is always the consumer who pays shipping. What!? You might say. But seller XYZ on eBay offers free shipping! (Yes, and so do hundreds of others.) Sign up for Amazon Prime and get free shipping.

Shop certain eBay sellers and get free shipping. Thousands of websites also offer free shipping. So there!

I’ve said it once, and I will say it again—in all cases, no matter how it is advertised, the consumer is the one who pays for shipping. Sometimes they might pay it a little differently than others, but they always pay. Because no matter how you slice it—it gets figured into the cost of getting the item to your door.

When a seller is selling an item, they generally have a specific number in mind which it needs to sell for. When calculating what they will actually take for it, things like commissions, shipping, etc. are figured into the bottom line—and added up. In the free shipping scenario, the buyer is just quoted one price (which includes everything). But trust me, shipping and other expenses are added in—and the buyer is paying them.

But what about with my Prime membership?—Trust me, it’s been added in.

But what about…?—Trust me, it’s been added in.

In other scenarios, a seller might offer an item at a lower price, but then add shipping and handling on top. Even 99.9 percent of Facebook auctions have it figured in. Either they say they are going to add, $_____ for shipping, or they will tell you it’s a reserve auction (usually both). Because even on there, the seller has a number in mind they need to get and they won’t let it go for less. Otherwise, why would you see so many inexpensive items being sold “with reserve?” It’s because they have a number in mind the item needs to at least sell for. This number either includes shipping, or they say $_____ will be added for shipping.

What a buyer really needs to look at is the bottom line.

How much did this item cost me delivered. For example, if you were to pay $200 for an item and they advertised free shipping, it might be about the same as paying $180 for it and they add shipping and handling on top. The problem is really just in the psychology. The one buyer who paid $200 doesn’t think a thing about high shipping. But the other guy is likely to gripe about being charged $20 for shipping and handling— even though they each paid the same!

So the next time you think, man that guy is making a killing on shipping, just remember: bubble wrap isn’t free, boxes aren’t free, labor isn’t free, paper isn’t free, and then the Post Office, UPS or FedEx is charging more and more because of their increased fuel costs, the higher cost of vehicles, higher labor costs and a million other little hidden costs which add up.

Also don’t forget about the little things—like if you want the package insured—just in case it doesn’t arrive in the condition it should have. And sellers have costs most people don’t think of, like the cost of a new computer to process your order every few years, rent, payroll taxes, liability insurance and on and on.

I get a kick out of the occasional buyer who says, “just throw it in a flat rate box and ship it. That only costs $13.95 (or whatever the number might be). But then they forget about the cost of labor, shipping supplies and all the other little things mentioned above. And generally, when you tell them, okay you take the risk if it is sent without insurance, they back off on wanting it sent without.

In closing, it looks like higher shipping costs are here to stay. And remember, professional buyers look at the bottom line, not each individual cost. It doesn’t matter if you think one area is too high or not, what matters is the total cost it took to get the item delivered to your door. Because in the end, the consumer (buyer) is always the one paying for it.

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Page 9

National Ranching Heritage Center Will Host Summer Stampede Western Art & Gear Show June 4 A superior showcase of Western artists and craftsmen

W

estern art and gear collectors will have an opportunity to purchase new art pieces and meet the contributing artists and craftsmen Saturday, June 4 at Summer Stampede Western Art and Gear Show from 6 to 11 p.m. at the National Ranching Heritage Center (NRHC) in Lubbock, Texas.

Sponsored by Capital Farm Credit and benefitting the NRHC, the event will include nearly 100 art and gear pieces contributed by more than 30 Western artists and craftsmen.

The art sale is followed by dinner and dancing on the patio to the Western swing music of

the criteria of relating to ranching since the mission of the NRHC is to preserve and interpret the history of ranching in North America. Although the NRHC only sells art once a year in June, Western art is on exhibit in the museum galleries throughout the year. “Western art and museum artifacts complement each other,” White said.

Artists and craftsmen scheduled to exhibit their work include Baru Forell, Ben Tolley, Bev Pettit, Billy Albin, Billy Klapper, Brian Asher, Bruce Greene, Buddy Knight, Cotton Elliott, Edgar Sotelo, Emily McCartney, Garland Weeks, Gary Dunshee, Graeme Quesinberry, Herman Walker, Jerry Lindley, Julie Oriet, Justin Asher, Mary Ross Buch-

These are only a few of the art pieces available at this year’s Summer Stampede Western Art and Gear Show ...

holz,

Michael Tittor, Mike Capron, Mikel Donahue, Peter Robbins, Rosie Sandifer, Russell Yates, Shawn Cameron, T.D. Kelsey, Teal Blake, Tyler Crow, Wayne Baize and Xiang Zhang.

For discounted room rates at the Overton Hotel, call (806) 776-7000 and ask for Ranching Heritage Summer Stampede room block.

For more info on Summer Stampede, visit summerstampede.com

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(above right) “Boots O’Neal – 6666 Cowboy” charcoal and graphite drawing by artist Mary Ross Buchholz. (left) “On the Hook” bronze sculpture by sculptor T.D. Kelsey. (below) “Oregon Cowgirl” by western lifestyle photographer Emily McCartney.

Landon Dodd and the Dancehall Drifters.

“Summer Stampede has always been family friendly,” said Dr. Scott White, NRHC director of collections, exhibits and research. “Those attending the show will have an opportunity to view the art, purchase pieces at a listed price and take the artwork home when they leave.”

Limited tickets are available for Summer Stampede and advanced purchase is required.

Tickets can be purchased online at summerstampede.com or by calling (806) 742-0498. Tickets cost $75 for Ranching Heritage Association members, $100 for the general public and $1,500 for a table for 8 under the tent.

The ticket deadline is Friday, May 27, or until sold out.

White explained that after the first hour of the sale, the remaining pieces will be available to buyers from remote locations by accessing summerstampede. com. The website will provide photos of sale items prior to the show but will not be activated for purchase until an hour after onsite sales begin. Online sales will be available for two weeks following the in-person sale.

“The pieces for sale are not just paintings and sculptures, although both will be in the show,” White explained. “Silversmiths, spur and bit makers, knife makers and other traditional cowboy artists will also exhibit and sell items.”

Summer Stampede is relatively new among Western art shows and takes a lower commission than most galleries. White said sales have been equivalent to other long-established shows and “we were able to prove ourselves immediately right out of the blocks.”

Every art piece must meet

Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

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Agua, Agua … not everywhere

BY FRANK DUBOIS

Worst drought in 1200 years A UCLA study says our megadrought is the worst in 1200 years. They define a megadrought as a drought that lasts two decades or longer. The study found we are in the driest period since 800, surpassing the 1500s megadrought.

We have to look no farther than the Colorado River Basin and the seven states that signed the 100-year-old Colorado River Compact (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, California). Water managers from those states divvied up what they thought would be 15 million acre feet they could annually divert from the river. Since 2000 however, the river has only delivered an average of 12 million acre feet.

The result has been a huge draw down of water from Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Those two reservoirs, which were full back then, now stand at one-third and one-fourth of capacity. The question now is how are they going to allocate with 3 million acre feet less? Somebody is gonna get hurt.

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The American Farm Bureau Federation, along with 21 other ag organizations have requested that EPA withdraw their proposed Waters of the United States regulation, citing jurisdictional issues and lack of stakeholder involvement. The Farm Bureau says, “We need rules that are clear and can be interpreted by farmers without spending thousands of dollars on legal fees. We had that with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. The proposed new rule threatens to take us back to vague and complicated regula-

Many Protected Areas Do Not Benefit Wildlife, Study Says

BY VICTORIA GILL / SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT, BBC NEWS

S

cientists examined the impact of 1,500 protected areas in 68 countries, focusing their analysis on wetlands and waterbirds. They found that, in terms of how wildlife fared, success varied hugely around the world and depended a great deal on how an area was managed. The study was published in Nature. Its authors say that habitats need to be managed effectively in ways that provide a boost for nature.

“There need to be rules in place and restoration,” said lead researcher Dr Hannah Wauchope, from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter. “We

May 15, 2022 tions that will keep farmers from growing the nation’s food while protecting the environment.”

Some of the concerns expressed in the letter are: It will profoundly affect everyday farming and ranching activities through increased permitting requirements; Unclear rules could lead to potentially unlimited jurisdiction, including the unconstitutionally vague significant nexus test; The expansion of federal jurisdiction exceeds limitations set by Congress; The proposed rule exceeds the scope of the federal government’s authority What this all boils down to is power. He who controls the water also controls the land. Will it be individuals and the states or will all this power be wielded by the feds.

Political Science The White House has announced a new initiative they call the Rural Partners Network.

Its purpose is to “transform how the federal government partners with and delivers economic opportunity for rural communities across the United States” and “bring the federal government to rural America.” They will accomplish this by putting USDA field staff in 25 different communities as a start. The White House says Congress has made billions of dollars available by first passing the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This gives you the opportunity to observe how the DC Deep Thinkers think.

The Congress has passed questionable laws and funded them with billions of dollars. but, these ignorant rubes in rural areas are just too dumb to know how to get it.

You fix that, they say, by placing new federal employees in the rural communities to assist. However, the programs are so mangled and wide spread that the field employees need help. I guess just being in rural communities and brushing up against rural citizens makes the new federal employees incapa-

can’t just draw a line around an area and say, ‘you can’t build a car park here’.” Dr Wauchope explained that the study used population trends of wetland birds as a measure of the success of a protected area, which can be anything from an area of outstanding natural beauty to a carefully managed nature reserve.

She and her colleagues also compared sites before and after they were officially protected, and compared the trends of similar bird populations inside and outside protected areas. “In the majority of places we looked, wildlife populations were still stable or were increasing, but they weren’t doing any better than in unprotected areas,” she told BBC News.

“That’s disappointing, but not surprising. There seems to be this disconnect between people talking about how much land is protected and whether those areas are actually doing anything positive.”

Missing the target According to the UN, one million species of plants and animals are now under threat.

Next month, world leaders will

ble of understanding the programs (can’t they wear a mask, get vaccinated or something to protect themselves from this pandemic of rural ignorance?).

You fix that by hiring new federal employees in DC who, of course, will be geniuses and know where every single federal dollar is located, and help shovel that dinero to rural areas.

You begin to see a pattern here: a. create a problem through misguided legislation or regulation b. fix the problem with a new approach which always involves more money and personnel c. when the fix doesn’t work you...well you get the picture.

You spend more and hire more with your eye on the election. You want to be reelected so you can – that’s right – spend more and hire more.

It is apparently working as the spend more-hire more types control the White House and the House of Representatives, and they are tied for control of the Senate.

The opposition is made up of those who also want to spend and hire more, just not as much as the first group.

There you have the political system as designed by the DC Deep Thinkers as interpreted by a crippled old cowboy.

They put on their hog and pony show, commit fiscal cruelty, and so far, they are getting away with it.

One final thing. Remember that Obama was a community organizer. That is basically what these federal field employees will be. Be nice to the new federale in your community. They might be President someday.

Until next time, be a nuisance to the devil and don’t forget to check that cinch.

Frank DuBois was the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003, is the author of a blog: The Westerner (www.thewesterner. blogspot.com) and is the founder of The DuBois Rodeo Scholarship and The DuBois Western Heritage Foundation

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gather in China to set the agenda of global conservation efforts for the next decade. Many countries are now aligning themselves with a target of protecting 30 percent of the Earth’s surface by 2030. But this, the scientists say, will not guarantee the preservation of biodiversity. They say that targets need to be set for the quality of protected areas, not just the quantity. Measuring success could include doing species population counts or setting goals for increasing the diversity of plant and animal species in an area.

Co-author Prof Julia Jones, from Bangor University, stressed that “drawing lines on a map does nothing for nature”.

She said: “An obsession with reaching a certain area-based target - such as 30 percent by 2030 - without a focus on improving the condition of existing protected areas will achieve little,” she added. “When world leaders gather in China later this year to set targets for the next decade, I really hope to see a focus on effectiveness of protected areas, rather than simply how much surface area is devoted to them.”

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May 15, 2022

Livestock Market Digest

CFJ Urges SCOTUS to Interpret Clean Water Act to Avoid Violating 5th Amendment The Committee for Justice—along with the Atlantic Legal Foundation and Conservatives for Property Rights—have filed a Supreme Court amicus brief in support of Michael and Chantell Sackett, who have been prevented by the Environmental Protection Agency from building a home on a small residential lot in Idaho for the last 15 years. The EPA insists that the Sacketts first obtain a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, because there’s an alleged “wetland” on their property that has a hypothetical “nexus” to a local lake.

The brief in Sackett v.

EPA was authored by Lawrence Ebner of the Atlantic Legal Foundation and Nancie Marzulla of Marzulla Law. The case will be argued before the Court this fall.

Committee for Justice president Curt Levey issued the following statement: The Committee for Justice decided to get involved in this case because fighting the frequent overreach of federal regulatory agencies and enforcing the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition on the taking of private property without just compensation are both central to CFJ’s mission of preserving the Constitution’s limits on federal power and its protection of individual liberty.

This case affords the Supreme Court an important opportunity to interpret the CWA’s

operative phrase—“the waters of the United States”—in a way that reins in the federal government’s virtually limitless view of its jurisdiction over “wetlands” on private property. As Justice Alito observed in a related case, “Any piece of land that is wet at least part of the year is in danger of being classified by EPA employees as wetlands covered by the Act.” Our amicus brief joins the Sacketts in urging the Court to definitively adopt the plurality’s view in an earlier Supreme Court case (Rapanos v. U.S.).

Under their test “only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their own right ... are … covered by the Act.” In contrast, the alternative, vague “significant nexus” test is at odds with the text and intent of the CWA. The central argument in our brief is that, not only does the “significant nexus” test defy common sense and the rules of statutory interpretation, but it also must be rejected based on the canon of constitutional avoidance. Under this basic principle of statutory interpretation, any ambiguity in a statute must be interpreted to avoid unconstitutionality.

Specifically, the canon requires rejection because the “significant nexus” test, unlike the surface connection test, will often raise serious Fifth Amendment problems by allowing the government to effectively take private property without just compensation.

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Page 11

U.S. Considers Major Midyear Cutback of Colorado River Deliveries

BY TONY DAVIS / ARIZONA DAILY STAR

I

n what would be an unprecedented move, the U.S. Interior Department (DOI) is considering an action that would create a possible, immediate cutback in Colorado River water supplies to Arizona, California and Nevada: holding back nearly a half million acre-feet of water it had planned to release this year from Lake Powell to Lake Mead.

In a letter in early April to all seven Colorado River Basin states’ top water officials, Assistant Interior Secretary Tanya Trujillo wrote that such a possible cutback would be aimed at keeping Powell from falling below the elevation at which electricity couldn’t be generated at Glen Canyon Dam. Trujillo warned of possible major risks to the dam’s operations and infrastructure if Powell falls below the “minimum power pool” level of 3,490 feet.

If that happened, it would raise concerns about the dam’s ability to deliver water to the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, wrote Trujillo, Interior’s assistant secretary of water and science.

“In such circumstances, Glen Canyon Dam facilities face unprecedented reliability challenges, water users in the basin face increased uncertainty, downstream resources could be impacted, the Western electrical grid would experience uncertain risk and instability and water supplies to the West and Southwestern United States would be subject to increased operational uncertainty,” Trujillo wrote.

Her letter asked water officials in the seven states to comment on a “potential” 480,000-acre-foot cut by April 22. The cut would be effective in “water year” 2022, which runs from October 2021 through September 2022.

Trujillo also warned that without a change in river flows, which would require a break in the recent arid conditions, it may not be possible to avoid operating Lake Powell below 3,490 feet.

A midyear delivery cut of this scale would remove about 6.5 percent of the 7.48 million acre feet the lower basin was to receive this year from Powell.

But that cut would still further slash elevations at already depleted Lake Mead, triggering major concerns among water users about the certainty and reliability of future deliveries, said Kathryn Sorensen, a research fellow at Arizona State University’s Kyl Center for Water Policy.

“The letter points to how dire conditions are on the Colorado River and, I think, the big picture is that communities have a responsibility to make sure there is water at the tap. If they haven’t already put contingencies in place to be able to deliver alternative water supplies, we need to do it now,” Sorenson said.

Today, the river basin faces the 22nd year of what some scientists call this region’s worst drought in 1,200 years.

The Lower Basin states, including Arizona, had already

cut back more than 500,000 acre feet in deliveries this year, following a 2019 drought contingency plan. That’s the equivalent of enough water to serve two million households if they consume water at Tucson’s rates.

Hardest hit was the Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile canal stretching from the river to Tucson, with cuts particularly smacking farmers in Pinal County northwest of Tucson.

But as reservoirs keep falling due to drought and climate change, Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) was already considering releasing more water from upstream reservoirs in the Upper Basin states of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, to prop up Powell. A plan for such releases is to be finished this spring.

But in March, Lake Powell for the first time dropped below 3,525 feet, the level acting as a buffer against the possibility of it falling to 3,490 feet at which the dam’s turbines could no longer operate. In early April, Powell stood at 3,522.9 feet, nearly 40 feet below its April 2021 elevation and more than 75 feet below that of two years ago.

The BOR has forecast a nearly one in four chance of Powell falling below 3,490 from 2023 through 2026.

Now, Interior officials are concerned that more actions are needed to reduce the risk of power generation being curtailed, Trujillo wrote. Below the 3,490 feet elevation, water releases to the Lower Basin would have to be delivered through “outlet tubes,” massive steel structures lying at the foot of the dam.

“Glen Canyon Dam was not envisioned to operate solely through the outlet works for an extended period of time, and operating at this low lake level increases risks to water delivery and potential impacts to downstream resources and infrastructure,” Trujillo wrote.

“In addition, should Lake Powell decline further below 3,490 feet, we have confirmed that essential drinking water infrastructure supplying the City of Page, Arizona and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation could not function,” Trujillo said. Page, population about 7,530, adjoins Lake Powell.

In a statement, the Arizona Department of Water Resources said that ADWR Director

Tom Buschatzke “is evaluating the actions contained in the letter. He recognizes that the increased operational uncertainties present serious risks with substantial potential impacts to the resources and stakeholders reliant upon the river and the infrastructure on the river.”

The Southern Nevada Water Authority said in a statement that, “Conditions on the Colorado River are serious, and we are committed to working with the Bureau of Reclamation and our partners on the river in accordance with the operating guidelines to identify and develop responsive strategies as requested by April 22.”

The statement referred to guidelines for operating the river’s reservoirs, including Powell and Mead, that the seven states and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation approved back in 2007.

But if the region’s arid conditions persist beyond this year, “I think there will be immense pressure to find another solution” beyond the cuts currently proposed, said Sarah Porter, the Kyl Center’s director.

“No one has adequately studied what happens if Glen Canyon Dam isn’t producing power. I don’t think we’ve adequately looked into the capacity of the grid to provide redundant power supply,” Porter said.

As for Lake Mead, Porter noted that it’s important to realize that as the lake falls, its rate of decline accelerates “due to the lake’s inverse pyramid shape.”

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Page 12

Livestock Market Digest

American Energy with Sham Federal Oil and Gas

BY WILLIAM PERRY PENDLEY / BRIETBART

I

n a city known for its duplicity, cynicism, and toxic partisanship, the Biden administration’s announcement on April 15 about the “resumption” of federal oil and gas leasing was among the most duplicitous, cynical, and toxically partisan announcement ever. It was slipped out the door, not just on a Friday–the day reserved for news an administration wishes dead before the following Monday–but on Good Friday, the holiest Friday in Christendom.

The announcement was the federal government’s response to a federal court order to resume leasing exactly ten months

earlier. The federal government, specifically the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees 245 million acres of surface and 700 million acres of mineral estate, is required by an Act of Congress, the Mineral Leasing Act, to conduct quarterly sales of oil and gas leases on lands not otherwise off limits to that activity. President Biden ended those sales his first week in office, but on June 14, 2021, a federal district court in Louisiana ruled that “pause” illegal.

The Biden administration both appealed and asserted it was taking steps to comply with the judge’s ruling but slow walked the latter. Thus, days ago, the West, home of most BLM lands, entered its sixth quarter without a lease sale.

That was not all. Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline, initiated adoption of draconian regulations making energy production more costly and warred against the ability of oil and gas operators to obtain financing.

Energy prices began climbing.

In response, Biden went hat-

in-hand to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela asking that they, not we in the West, increase their production. Twice, Biden tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Nonetheless, energy prices kept rising and Americans blamed Biden.

Thus, came Good Friday’s announcement, which reversed a Biden campaign promise to end oil and gas leasing on federal lands. Progressives outraged

by Biden’s decision either have not read the fine print or are in on the mischief, for Biden eliminated 80 percent of the land available for leasing and increased the cost of operating those leases by 50 percent.

Without saying so, Biden is achieving what radical environmentalists demand when they insist that we “leave” fossil fuels “in the ground.”

We have been here before during the Carter administration, when radical environmentalists—who Robert Zubrin called Merchants of Despair and who Reagan called Luddites— ran the U.S. govern-

May 15, 2022 ment’s energy policy. Federal agencies chose what lands were available for energy exploration, instead of those who will invest hundreds of millions even billions of dollars to find new sources of oil and gas selecting the lands most likely to contain new sources of oil and gas.

Federal agencies also limited available tracts to increase the price paid the government for their use and sought to maximize bonus bids and royalties.

The federal government failure to find new energy rather than short-term federal revenues exacerbated the catastrophic 1979 Oil Crisis, which revealed Carter as helpless.

Because Reagan sought energy independence, he opened the entire Outer Continental Shelf to exploration via “area-wide leasing” during which all but the most environmentally sensitive tracts were available to permit operators, not career bureaucrats, to select the most perspective tracts. Reagan did the same onshore, opening lands that had been locked up

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for years and even decades.

That Biden seeks to return to Carter’s scarce and highpriced energy policies is clear from his spokesperson on the issue, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who indicts not just Reagan but also Congress itself. “For too long,” she said in a statement, “the federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the wants of extractive industries above local communities, the natural environment, the impact on our air and water, the needs of Tribal Nations, and, moreover, other uses of our shared public lands.”

This is nonsense. Congress set the terms under which federal lands are leased and energy discovered, developed, and delivered to the consumer, which means in accordance with the strictest environmental laws in the world to protect “the natural environment [and] our air and water.” Wyoming, for example, has benefitted mightily from oil and gas development for decades, and those of us from Wyoming remain proud of its pristine beauty and can still brag that “Wyoming is what the West was.” As to the “wants” of “local communities,” ask the people of Douglas in Wyoming’s Converse County who hope for hundreds and even thousands of new “oil patch” jobs what they want. Had Haaland held a lease sale, she would know that governors have the ability request removal of tracts they consider sensitive— requests that we readily granted in the Trump administration.

Secretary Haaland, the first Native American to serve as secretary, presumes to speak for “the needs of Tribal Nations,” but when she attacks oil and gas development, she does not represent the Utes of Colorado and Utah, the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota, the Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho of Wyoming, or even individual Navajos living on allotted lands in New Mexico.

Nor, when she advances scarcity and high energy prices does she show concern for many Native Americans who, in the worst inflation in 40 years, must choose between food and fuel.

On behalf of the Biden administration, Haaland plans “to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans’ resources for the benefit of all current and future generations.” That is not her decision. Indeed, despite her attempts to change the law while in Congress representing Santa Fe and Albuquerque, Congress has spoken. Moreover, because of the rarity of energy deposits, “the highest and best use of Americans’ resources” is development, in compliance with federal environmental laws and multiple use principles, of the vast stores of oil and gas beneath the surface.

How much, we in the West wonder, must Biden hate us that he would prefer to obtain oil and gas supplies from our enemies abroad than from westerners who can produce not just energy in abundance but also high paying American jobs that can revived rural economies through energy royalties, taxes, and other revenues? He must loathe us because he placed our lands off limits and priced them out of reach.

William Perry Pendley, a Wyoming attorney, served in senior positions in the Reagan and Trump administrations and for three decades represented pro bono clients including at the Supreme Court of the United States.

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