LMD Oct 2015

Riding Herd

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

by LEE PITTS

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

In Jeopardy

October 15, 2015 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 57 • No. 10

Is The Party Over?

By Lee Pitts

If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

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ongratulations . . . you’ve been a part of a grand and historical period in cow history. From Charles Goodnight to the cloning of cattle there has never been a time like this in the livestock business in America. According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange you have just enjoyed the highest market since Texas cowboys first took their herds up the trail and California vaqueros raised cattle for their hides and tallow. The Merc said that 2014 and 2015 were the best two years “BY FAR” in American history. According to Jim Robb of the Livestock Marketing Information Center, the best of the best was the fourth quarter of 2014. It literally didn’t get any better than that.

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

During these past two years many ranchers took a well deserved vacation from reality.

From a writer’s standpoint it was hard to get cattlemen interested in anything other than sale reports, Angus pedigrees, EDPs and the newest pickups.

And who can blame you? You’ve worked hard, reinvested a lot of hard-earned money and have deserved your good fortune.

You’ve done your job well. As I write this, according to the CME Group there have been 12 weeks in 2015 in which 70 percent of all fed steers and heifers graded USDA Choice or better. Prior to

this year there had not been a single year in which the 70 percent figure had been breached. Not one. So pat yourself on the back.

Just don’t get the idea that any of our nagging problems in the cattle business went away during this sweet dream of a market.

An Endangered Species Don’t kid yourself that the prices you’ve received the past two years were because we’ve recreated created a booming demand for beef. Here is some cowy smelling salts that will jolt you back to reality: In 1965 consumers in this country ate 74.7 pounds of beef and now it is

projected we’ll eat 55 pounds in 2015. Pork held its own during the same period, 51.5 pounds then to 49.7 pounds this year.

But here’s the real story . . . chicken consumption went from 36.9 pounds to a projected 105 pounds over the same 50-year period! Poultry producers literally kicked our rumps and our rounds.

Here’s another statistic that should get your attention: the USDA estimates there are now 729,000 remaining cow calf producers, stocker operators and

purebred producers in the USA. That’s down from a million in 2007 which represents a loss of

27 percent of our producers in just eight years! At that rate in 20 years you could hold a meeting of all beef producers in a oneroom schoolhouse. If we were a red headed woodpecker, a spotted owl or a fairy shrimp we’d be declared an endangered species.

Speaking of endangered species, has anyone spotted a farmer/feeder lately? They are getting harder to find than an honest Congressperson. There are now 1,987 feedlots left in this country with a capacity of over 1,000 head and they market 87 percent of all the fed cattle in the United States.

At the same time that many ranchers were buying new pickups and opening CDs for the first time in forever, the four largest meatpackers were merging, purging and shuttering plants to

bring their capacity more in line with the lowest population of cattle in this country in over 60 years. Now those four multinational meatpackers have solidi-

continued on page two

Bureau of Land Management set to close 600 miles of Colorado roads

BY MARJORIE HAUN, WATCHDOG ARENA

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espite a long process involving collaboration between local officials the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Western Colorado, the federal land agency is proceeding with the closure of roads that have been traveled for 50 or more years. The road closures comprise a portion of the BLM’s Resource Management Plan (RMP) for Mesa County, of which, 73 percent is controlled by the federal government and its agencies.

In a letter dated Sept. 9, from the BLM to the Board of Commissioners of Mesa County, the decision to close hundreds of miles of historic routes, despite protests from local government and citizens, was detailed. The letter, written on United States Department of the Interior letterhead, stated: After careful review of your protest letter, and for reasons more fully set forth in the Protest Resolution Report, I conclude that the BLM Colorado State Director and the Grand Junction Field Office Manager followed the applicable laws, regulations, and policies and considered all relevant resource information and public input in developing the Grand Junction [Proposed] RMP. There is no basis for changing the Grand Junction PRMP as a result of your protest. Therefore, your protest is denied in part. All valid protest issues

received on the PRMP/FEIS (final Environmental Impact Statement) have been addressed in the Directors Protest Resolution Report.

Mesa County Commissioners’ protests specifically dealt with the travel portion of the RMP, which initially threatened to close off some 2,000 miles of public roads, used by off-roaders, hunters, farmers, ranchers and, during wildfire season, firefighting crews.

With mounting pressure from officials, citizens, and a group calling itself Public Lands Access Association (PLAA), roads proposed for closure were whittled down to around 600 miles. According to Commissioner John Justman, 207 miles of roads will be addressed in the future, but 392 remaining miles of disputed routes will be closed to public access. Although the commissioners plan a further appeal to keep the roads open, it will likely be an uphill battle with an agency wielding great power over federally-managed land.

Albeit, to this point, cooperation with the BLM has been the approach by officials in Mesa County, they may have a strong legal basis for challenging the latest determination from the BLM to proceed with the RMP. In an interview with Watchdog Arena, Jody Green, a member of Public Lands Access Association and long-time activist working to preserve continued on page twelve

“I

t’s time for Jeopardy.

Standing in tonight for Alex is your guest host Clint Eastwood.

“Let’s meet tonight’s contestants, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly,” said Clint.

“First, we have an eco-weenie from Parasite, Massachusetts, a professor of Sustainabilty at Yale who graduated Magna Cum Loco from Harvard.

Meet Lying Fred Johnson.

Fred, it says here on this card that you like to play practical jokes on people. Fred, you ever come across somebody once in awhile you shouldn’t mess with? Well that’s me,” said Clint as Fred wet himself.

Clint continued, “Next we have an animal rights maniac transgender cat therapist from Berkeley, Miss Givings. Or is it Mister? A cat therapist huh?

I bet you could use A Fistful of Dollars or A Few Dollars More?” said Clint, plugging two of his many great movies.

“The final contestant in tonight’s Jeopardy contest is a genetically unemployable, semi-professional, part-time chef from Kneecap, Rhode Island, Miss Salmon Ella. It says here Salmon that you like to bake chocolate cookies in the nude. Well isn’t that precious!”

“The categories in Jeopardy are Corporate Criminals, Escape From Alcatraz, Harry Callahan, Walking The Dogma and Dig Them Chicks,” said Clint. Miss. Givings, why don’t you start.”

“Thanks Dirty Harry. I’ll take Dig Them Chicks for fifty dollars.”

“The answers are Leghorns, Rhode Islands Reds and Plymouth Rocks,” said Clint.

“What are professional baseball teams,” guessed Lying Fred.

“Wrong, moron. How about you Miss Givings? Care to take a wild guess? Do you feel lucky?”

“Who are professional wrestlers?” guessed Givings.

“You’re dumber than a refrigerator magnet. Care to take a wild stab Salmon Ella?

What are you waiting for? I swear, waiting for a woman to make up her mind, we may have a long wait. The correct question is What are breeds of continued on page twelve

www.LeePittsbooks.com

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Livestock Market Digest

October 15, 2015

Is The Party Over fied their control of 85 percent of the fed cattle market in this country. The last time the beef business got this monopolized the government broke up the “meat trust”. Don’t expect that to happen this time.

Back To Reality A big chunk of the ranchers we lost were public lands ranchers fed up with fighting the government bureaucracy. While wildfires rage out of control and BLM land is being denuded by their out-of-control horse herd, you can judge for yourself where public lands ranchers stand by looking at their ranches being offered for sale. While deeded ranches are selling like hotcakes to dot-com billionaires, those with a large BLM or Forest component practically beg for a buyer. Then there is the age-old war of attrition. The average age of the rancher in this country is now over 58 years and many of them are finding that their sons and daughters are choosing the big city and cash over cows.

Many ranch kids would rather have their share of the loot instead of the lifestyle. Even if a kid or two does want to stay on the ranch the government is still there to make their deathly demands. Many Colorado ranchers thought they’d found the secret by selling conservation easements on their property to pay future inheritance taxes only to find that the appraisals their easements were based on are being challenged or disallowed entirely. They let the Nature Conservancy co-manage the ranch in return for what?

Yes, you’ve done a phenomenal job in breeding cattle that grade Choice but that loses some of its luster when you realize that 62 percent of the beef being consumed in this country is in the form of hamburger, which doesn’t necessarily have to come from Choice Angus cattle. It just needs to be cheap. A Holstein, Corriente or Australian bullock will do, thank you very much!. A decade ago there were less than a few dozen grassfed cattle operations in the U.S. Now there are thousands. Commercial cattlemen thought they’d hit the target only to realize someone had moved it.

At the same time we were downsizing our cattle to make them more efficient and grade and yield better, the average size carcass is now 1,377 pounds, up 26 pounds from this time last year and on a steadily rising trajectory. As packers were killing up to 100,000 fewer cattle during some weeks compared to this time last year, they were trying to make up the difference by asking feedlots to put more weight on each animal. That doesn’t necessarily call for smaller framed cattle.

As beef prices fall gently back to earth from the stratosphere we seem to be just as confused as ever about what our customers want. We’re told that our target

continued from page one

Chicken consumption went from 36.9 pounds to a projected 105 pounds over the same 50-year period audience wants their beef local and sustainable at the same time the politicians, NCBA and WTO one-worlders are getting rid of country of origin labeling and allowing beef into this country from the far corners of the earth.

Giving Our Market Away Jim Robb expects fed cattle prices to remain below year ago levels for the rest of this year and that’s a safe bet because beef exports are down while beef imports are way up. According to Rob Cook of the Cattle Trade Center, for the first six months of 2015 we brought in 2.16 BILLION pounds of beef. That’s a whopping 33 percent increase over 2014! At the same time we were exporting 10 percent less beef. Put the two together and the cumulative loss of our share of the world market is 43 percent less than last year!

According to Cook . . . n U.S. beef imports from Australia are up 55 percent so far in 2015. n U.S. beef imports from New Zealand are up 16 percent. n U.S. beef imports from Canada are up 2.5 percent. n U.S. beef imports from Brazil are up 119 percent.

Mexico’s exports to the USA were up 39 percent; Uruguay’s up 69 percent; Japan’s up 108 percent; and Chile’s were up 145,000 percent! And no, that’s not a misprint.

But wait, there’s more foreign beef headed our way just over the horizon. As we near the end of this year Argentina will resume exports of fresh, chilled or frozen beef to this country after a 14-year hiatus because the World Trade Organization said it was safe to do so. That’s the same organization that said we couldn’t put country of origin labels on our beef. As industry observer Mike Schultz wrote, “Remember this, higher IMPORTS to the USA means LOWER USA PRICES for all PRODUCERS” (emphasis his). Shultz continued, “It’s pretty simple, so many who worked to kill COOL and bring in cheaper imported beef by the way of the multination meat packers like JBS from Brazil will actually get to pay for their ignorance now! Enjoy the ride to the bottom,” says Schultz.

And oh, by the way, there’s more where that came from.

Schultz reminds us that Brazil’s beef herd numbers 183 million head versus our 82 million and that the biggest beef packer,

continued on page three

October 15, 2015

Livestock Market Digest

Is The Party Over JBS, just so happens to also be a Brazilian product. “But don’t worry,” says Schultz, “the importers will take good care of you.”

R-CALF’s CEO Bill Bullard

says “Congress and the USDA are working hand-in-hand to put an end to the better economic times that U.S. cattle farmers and ranchers are now enjoying.

In addition to Argentina and Brazil, USDA now adds the southern Africa country, Namibia, to its list of countries where U.S. meatpackers can soon access cheaper beef.” According to Bullard, “Foot-and-mouth disease is endemic in Africa, including in many parts of Namibia itself and in Botswana, which shares Namibia’s eastern border. According to USDA’s proposal, Namibia has repeatedly failed to demonstrate

continued from page two gress’ effort to repeal COOL or to make it voluntary is a recipe for disaster for U.S. farmers and ranchers.”

Higher, Higher, Higher While many ranchers have been behaving as if they’re never going to see another poor day (witness those $3,000 replacement heifers and $10,000 range bulls), Kris Ringwall, Beef Specialist with the North Dakota State University, reminds us that our costs to produce those $1,500 calves have gone up even faster than the price did. Using data from the North Dakota Farm and Ranch Business Management Education Program and the Center for Farm Financial Management, Ringwall found,

Our costs to produce those $1,500 calves have gone up even faster than the price did that its food safety systems were adequate to ensure the safety of beef imports from that country.

Such repeated failures were identified in 2006, 2009 and again in 2013.”

Meanwhile, “Congress is working to repeal our country of origin labeling law so all this imported beef will be undifferentiated in our U.S. market. These actions are certain to drastically reduce cattle prices for U.S. farmers and ranchers,” said Bullard.

Bullard doesn’t pull his punches: “The combination of USDA’s efforts to allow risky beef from these foreign countries and Con-

Page 3

“In 2000, producers spent, on average, $342 per cow for total direct and overhead expenses.

By 2013, that average value was $564 per cow, an increase of 165 percent. And in 2014, that average value was $648 per cow, an increase of 189 percent.” Clearly calf output has not kept up with expenses,” says Ringwall.

“In 2000,” says Ringwall, the average weaned calf weight was 544 pounds. It was 541 pounds in 2013 and 547 pounds in 2014.

Pounds weaned per exposed cow was 492 in 2000, 479 in 2013 and 471 in 2014. This amounts to a cost per pound of weaned

calf per cow exposed of 69 cents in 2000, $1.18 in 2013 (up 171 percent), and $1.38 in 2014 (up 200 percent).”

The New Normal Much of the price rise that ranchers enjoyed the past two years was the result of competitive bidding at sale barns and video auctions. But don’t lose sight of the fact that such competitive bidding still does NOT happen further down the chain where higher concentrated cattle feeders sell to even more highly concentrated packers.

We were fortunate that packers had excess capacity and had to fight for cattle as our cow herd dwindled, but as things even up you can expect that relationship to switch back to more normal times. An R-CALF White Paper reminds us what that normal is: “Cash sales of only three percent of the fed cattle marketed in the Texas / Oklahoma / New Mexico fed cattle market established the base price for 97 percent of the cattle marketed in that region in 2014. Alarmingly, the cash sales of only 1.5 percent of the fed cattle established the base price for 98.5 percent of the cattle marketed in that region in the first three months of 2015. It does not take an economics degree to discern that this is not a competitive market nor does it take a law degree to identify this manifestation of abusive market power.”

“Cash cattle went from representing 52 percent of sales in 2005 to 21 percent in 2015. It’s got less and less each year as the

trend line downhill never wavered. Formula cattle went from 33 percent in 2005 to 54 percent so far this year. Forward contract cattle went from five percent in 2005 to 21 percent in 2015.

According to R-CALF, “The competitiveness of the U.S. live cattle industry is in peril. This is because the highly concentrated packing industry remains unrestrained in its ongoing effort to shift cattle from the competitive price discovery market, i.e., the cash or spot market, to various forms of marketing agreements, such as formula contracts and forward contracts. This national shift from the price-discovering cash market to marketing agreements results in large volumes of unpriced, captive supply cattle being committed to the packers, which enable the packers to strategically avoid or shun the competitive cash market.”

It all reminds this reporter of the transformation the hog industry went through just a few years ago when they lost 90 percent of their participants.

We got a reprieve from such talk for awhile and it sure was a pleasant respite. Consider this just a simple reminder about these nagging issues lest anyone get the idea that the cattle business has changed forever with the cow-calf man now in charge.

You’ve certainly deserved the good times, just don’t get the idea that they are the new normal. As it always has been, and always will be . . . the cure for high beef prices will be high beef prices.

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Livestock Market Digest

October 15, 2015

Colorado complaint claims humane society fundraising campaign is deceptive BY: MEGAN SCHRADER, HTTP://GAZETTE.COM/

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national dog fight has come to Colorado, or maybe it’s more like a hog fight.

An official complaint was lodged against the Humane Society of the United States with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office in July, alleging the nonprofit giant is running “a deceptive and fraudulent” fundraising campaign.

“Most people think that when they give money to the Humane Society of the United States it’s going to go back to the local humane society and it’s just not the case,” said Will Coggin, director of research with the Center for Consumer Freedom. “They’re not upfront with the public about what their real agenda is.”

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of HSUS, says the same thing about Coggin and the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom which is run by Richard Berman a Washington, D.C.based lobbyist who earned his reputation by representing big tobacco, the food and beverage industry and most recently the agricultural industry, including pork producers.

“Basically if you find the most disreputable causes and controversial industries, Berman is their front man,” Pacelle said. “He sets up different front groups because it makes them sound like they have a patina of legitimacy.

There’s a lot of people who don’t like what we do, a lot of people have an ax to grind, I don’t think it’s news for one of those industries to criticize us.”

Both groups have websites dedicated to exposing the “dark secrets” of the other.

Coggin doesn’t shy away from the nonprofit’s connection with Berman. Berman is the Center’s

executive director, the nonprofit pays his Berman and Company to manage it. Coggin is also paid

by Berman and Company.

The group’s 2013 tax return discloses almost $1.5 million in donations, with $757,379 to Berman and Company for management, advertising and research.

“In terms of our motivation, I think we are pretty up front about that,” Coggin said, acknowledging that the Center for Consumer Freedom is funded by the food and restaurant industry among many other donors.

Most recently, the center has launched ad campaigns going after Chipotle, the fast food chain that made waves for dropping pork products that contained antibiotics and went genetically modified organism free. Coggin said the center also was behind opposition to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s effort to ban big sodas.

The Humane Society’s primary work involves campaigns to end animal cruelty, notably by lobbying for laws that end certain practices in the agricultural industry – like gestation crates for pregnant swine (enter the hog industry). HSUS aired undercover video of pork swine confined to crates, giving them barely enough room to stand up and lie down for their entire lives. A law banning gestation crates was passed in Colorado with HSUS backing.

So is there anything to the Colorado complaint?

Pacelle says they are upfront about what the organization does – fight to end animal abuse.

The groups logo is the United States map made up of a variety of animal shapes.

The Humane Society TV ads airing across the nation right now include disclaimers that local humane societies are independent from HSUS and are

clear that the organization aims to stop animal abuse like seal hunts.

“Our ads if you see them, it will be immediately obvious that it’s just a group that’s about all animals,” Pacelle said.

But the Center for Consumer Freedom’s complaint looks at ads broadcast from 2009 to 2011 when HSUS raised hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Of the 28 different advertisements airing over 20,000 times, more than 85 percent of the animals in the advertisements are dogs, cats, puppies and kittens, with many shown inside cages or looking abused or neglected, creating the unequivocal perception to their targeted audience that contributions would be used to rescue, shelter and care for these pets,” the complaint says.

In 2014, the complaint calls out three ads specifically.

All three prominently feature dogs and cats being rescued from horrible conditions. They also show, less prominently, other animals like horses, chimpanzees and pigs.

The Secretary of State’s Office will investigate the complaint and has the authority to “deny, suspend, or revoke” the state registration of any charitable organization and to pass the investiga-

tion on to the Attorney General for possible criminal violations.

“The Humane Society of the United States does so much to help animals, from working to pass animal protection laws, to investigating animal cruelty cases and providing direct care for so many animals,” one ad says.

HSUS does provide direct care for animals through animal care centers in Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon and California. All five focus on horses, wildlife or exotic animals.

A spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region said they are frequently asked if donations to HSUS go to the local shelter. She says there is some confusion, but they do get some grants from HSUS. According to the 2013 tax returns for HSUS, the El Paso County shelter received an $1,865 grant to pay for the dental treatment of a malamute. There are hundreds of such local grants disclosed in the tax return to local shelters across the nation.

Coggin said those account for fewer than 1 percent of the $120 million HSUS discloses in its 2013 nonprofit tax return.

So what does HSUS spend its money on?

In 2015 HSUS spent about

$19,000 lobbying in Colorado, according to lobbyist disclosure forms with the Secretary of State’s Office. Lobbyists supported two bills, and one became law requiring a study into how to better manage Colorado’s black bear population and bear-human conflicts. The other failed and would have made failing to report animal abuse a misdemeanor.

According to the group’s 2013 tax document, it spent $57 million on “advocacy and public policy” and $22 million on “cruelty prevention program and direct care and service.”

“The Humane Society is a group that fights for animals,” Pacelle said. “The universe of animal issues is not captured by helping dogs at a local shelter.”

Pacelle said the group’s work is more strategic, like a two-year undercover investigation into dogs being sold at flea markets with the potential to shut down large-scale puppy mills and stop the influx of homeless animals at the source.

“You can’t rescue your way out of many of the problems for animals when so many of the abuses are legal,” Pacelle said.

“We wage a war for political or corporate or behavioral solutions

to those issues.”

The Best & Worst Parts of the Decision Not to List the Sage Grouse as Endangered The government made the right decision, but is putting the progress made with the sage grouse at risk with its other plans

BY BRIAN SEASHOLES, REASON FOUNDATION

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fter years of debate, yesterday the Interior Department announced that the sage grouse would not be listed under Endangered Species Act. The best parts of the decision: 1) The greater sage grouse was not proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act, which is good news for the bird and landowners.

The Endangered Species Act has a well-deserved reputation for putting severe restrictions on otherwise normal and legal forms of land and resource use, such as farming and energy development. When landowners are put under the restrictions, this often works against species conservation by creating strong incentives for landowners and others not to destroy and degrade wildlife habitat in hopes of getting or keeping the endangered species off of the land.

2) The Interior Department recognized that successful cooperative conservation efforts for the sage grouse have paid off.

Over the past decade states have led highly successful conservation efforts that are based on partnerships with environment groups, energy companies, landowners and others. These

partnerships have been based on incentives and an “all lands” approach that includes federal, state and private lands that have helped the sage grouse population increase over the past 10 years by .78 percent annually and grow to a total population of almost 425,000.

3) These successful conservation efforts by a wide range of federal, state, municipal and private actors will get some additional breathing room.

Several Western governors had expressed fear that the successful partnerships that took years to develop would be wiped out if the sage grouse was listed as endangered. Often the mere threat of the Endangered Species Act is enough to cause people to refrain from conserving species, as well as to take more direct action, such as habitat destruction and degradation. The decision should bring some certainty to the West.

With the good, however, comes the bad, and yesterday’s announcement had some bad points too: 1) Instead of listing the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government is implementing 15 amended plans that govern use of over 60 million acres of federal land and have some strict Endangered Species Act-like restrictions.

Over the long-term, these penalty-based plans may end up harming the sage grouse for

essentially the same reasons the Endangered

continued on page five

Livestock Market Digest

Page 5

Supreme Court scheduled to consider important Clean Water Act cases

BY REED HOPPER, PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

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homas Jefferson warned, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” That warning applies full force to the Clean Water Act. Under the Act, the government can “federalize” private property by declaring the property contains so-called waters of the United States. A formal declaration of this type is known as a Jurisdictional Determination (i.e. wetland delineation) that may limit or even prohibit the use of private property without federal approval, effectively giving Washington bureaucrats a veto power over local land and water use.

The scope of the Clean Water Act is hard to conceive and covers millions of land owners throughout the Nation. According to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, On [the government’s] view, the federally regulated “waters of the United States” include storm drains, roadside ditches, ripples of sand in the desert that may contain water once a year, and lands that are covered by floodwaters once every 100 years. Because they include the land containing storm sewers and desert washes, the statutory “waters of the United States” engulf entire cities and immense

Best & Worst

Species Act too often harms spe-

cies — the creation of strong

incentives for landowners and others to refrain from conserving species and even to destroy and degrade species habitat.

One of the strongest statements against the decision came from Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, who said in a statement, “I am deeply concerned with the decisions of the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, which constitute a significant overreach by the federal government on this issue. The state of Utah has implemented a successful sage-grouse conservation plan that has been rejected by the federal government, jeopardizing conservation of the species and reasonable economic growth in Utah. Today’s actions constitute the equivalent of a listing decision outside the normal process and fail to support an appropriate balance between conservation and other public uses of the land.”

2) By significantly restricting use of federal lands, the 15 amended plans may have the unintended consequences. Private lands, even though they constitute just 31 percent of the sage grouse’s habitat, are disproportionately important

arid wastelands. In fact, the entire land area of the United States lies in some drainage basin, and an endless network of visible channels furrows the entire surface, containing water ephemerally wherever the rain falls. {According to the government], [a]ny plot of land containing such a channel may potentially be regulated as a “water of the United States.”

Although the Supreme Court invalidated this broad, almost limitless, interpretation of federal power, in PLF’s 2006 Rapanos case, the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency continue to regulate private property beyond the limits set by the court. And, to add insult to injury, the lower courts have ruled for decades that a landowner does not have the right to challenge a Jurisdictional Determination in court even if the landowner can demonstrate the determination is in error.

This is a clear due process violation that, ironically, encourages illegal enforcement of the law.

To protect the right of landowners nationwide to contest government overreaching under the Clean Water Act, PLF is litigating two cases now pending in the Supreme Court of the United States. The cases are Kent Recycling v. Corps of Engineers and Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes.

Both cases raise the same issue: May a landowner immediately

continued from page four

because they contain over 80 percent of the moist habitat — springs, streams, ponds, and seasonal wetlands — that sage grouse, especially hens and chicks, depend on during the summer.

Thousands of private ranchers who live in the sage grouse’s vast range constitute the largest group of potential conservation allies for the sage grouse. The new plans limiting where livestock can graze, creating large buffer zones for sage grouse habitat, and adding monitoring by the Bureau of Land Management may make life difficult for these ranchers who have previously been working cooperatively with states. Successful conservation efforts need ranchers as allies, not enemies.

3) The sage grouse saga may not be over.

Environmental groups have strongly hinted they will sue the federal government to try to compel the listing of the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act, as well as try to make the 15 amended federal land use plans more onerous.

Brian Seasholes is director of the endangered species program at Reason Foundation and author of the report “Sage Grouse Conservation: The Proven Successful Approach.”

challenge a Jurisdictional Determination in court?

In Kent Recycling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that landowners do not have the right to challenge such determinations in court whereas the Eighth Circuit in Hawkes held just the opposite. In an unusual twist of fate, PLF represents the private parties in both cases.

Both cases have been petitioned to the High Court to resolve the conflict between the two circuits.

Because of the conflict, it is likely the Supreme Court will grant review in one or both cases.

Kent Recycling (14-493) is first up and will be considered for review by the court on September 28. Eleven days later, on October 9, the court will decide whether to hear the Hawkes (15290) case. So, within the next couple of weeks we should know whether the Supreme Court will address this important question of law.

Dem Reps Look to Boost Parks Service Funding said the NPS is “one of the best ideas our nation has ever had” and deserves recognition and support on its centennial anniversary.

“This bill will give our great public lands system the salute it deserves and make sure the National Park Service has what it needs to continue preserving the most beautiful parts of the United States into the future,” he said.

“This is an easy, nonpartisan effort and I look forward to working with my Republican colleagues to pass it.”

Grijalva had teased the bill last month when the Obama administration announced its support for legislation marking the NPS’s 100th anniversary.

“This administration and this Congress have the unique opportunity to shape the second century of the National Park Service as they preserve the legacy of some of our nation’s greatest treasures for generations to come,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said then.

BY DEVIN HENRY, HILL.COM

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group of Democrats are looking to inject millions of dollars into the National Parks Service (NPS) as a way to note the agency’s 100th anniversary.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona) and five other Democrats introduced in mid September, 2015 the National Park Service Centennial Act to give the Parks Service an infusion of cash for park repairs and upgrades nationwide.

The bill would require Congress spend $300 million on NPS infrastructure and facility upgrades and $100 million on expanded guest service and repair efforts.

It would create a fund worth up to $100 million for “signature projects” across the NPS that would “help prepare the National Parks for another century of conservation, preservation and enjoyment.”

The funding streams would run annually through 2018.

In a statement, Grijalva

Cargill to Convert Nebraska Meat Plant, Move Ground Beef Operations USAGNET

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argill is investing $111 million to convert its ground beef plant at Columbus, Neb., to a cooked meats facility and relocate ground beef production currently taking place there. The converted plant will give the company capabilities it currently does not possess to produce specific types of cooked meat products for

its customers.

The conversion will begin in early December 2015, with cooked meat production scheduled to start in mid-2016. Ground beef production currently taking place at Columbus will be relocated to existing processing facilities at Butler, Wis., and Forth Worth, Texas. continued on page seven

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October 15, 2015

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Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

October 15, 2015

Ranchers fight radical ESA lawsuit that would criminalize innocent mistakes

A

ssociations of farmers and ranchers in the Southwest have just moved to intervene to oppose an activist group’s lawsuit that seeks to radically expand prosecutions under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) list. The activist lawsuit aims to impose criminal liability for “takes” (i.e., harms) that happen by innocent mistake, such as by not recognizing the species, or not knowing it was listed, or causing harm in an entirely inadvertent and unintended way.

The activist lawsuit is WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Department of Justice, pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The organizations that filed a motion to intervene are: the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, and New Mexico Federal Lands Council. They are all represented by Pacific Legal

Foundation (PLF), the leading watchdog organization for limited government, property rights and a balanced approach to environmental regulations. Donor-supported PLF represents these organizations free of charge, as with all PLF clients.

The clear language of the ESA spares innocent people from prosecution by limiting criminal liability to offenders who “knowingly” harmed a listed species. Under what is officially known as the McKittrick Policy, the U.S. Department of Justice interprets the “knowingly” requirement in the term’s literal sense, so that criminal liability does not apply unless the defendant knew that her actions would cause “take” and the identity of the species affected.

WildEarth Guardians is suing to invalidate that DOJ interpretation and policy, and twist the ESA’s intent, by imposing criminal liability even when there is

no knowing commission of a wrong. The lawsuit is directed at harms to Mexican wolves in the Southwest, but its effects would extend nationwide, to “takes” of any of the more than 1,500 species on the ESA list.

Law-abiding Americans are at risk of being branded environmental offenders “This lawsuit is yet another disturbing example of overcriminalization,” said PLF Staff Attorney Jonathan Wood. “It threatens law-abiding Americans with imprisonment for innocent, ordinary acts, and it threatens the rule of law by seeking to have a statute rewritten by judicial edict. The plaintiffs are asking the courts to ignore that Congress only permits those who ‘knowingly’ take a species protected by the Endangered Species Act to be subject to severe criminal penalties.

“For western farmers and

ranchers, the immediate concern is that they could face criminal penalties for mistaking a protected wolf for a coyote, or for inadvertently and unintentionally harming any of the dozens of other ESA-listed species that call the Southwest home,” Wood noted. “But WildEarth Guardians’ lawsuit will affect more than farmers and cattlemen. Literally every American could face some level of potential risk, because activities that we take for granted—including driving, biking, or walking— could lead to criminal punishment if you somehow harm one of the more than 1500 species on the ESA list.”

“If this lawsuit is successful, there could be grave consequences for ranchers in New Mexico,” said Caren Cowan, Executive Director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association. “If a rancher attempts to protect her animals from what

she honestly and reasonably believes to be a predator that isn’t covered by the ESA, that rancher will be in danger of fines and imprisonment if she turns out to be mistaken in that belief.

This would be an unjust and oppressive punishment for innocent actions by ranchers who are simply trying to be responsible stewards and protect their livelihoods, in a good-faith and law-abiding way.”

“Without the protection afforded by the McKittrick Policy, New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers could lose everything they have,” said Chad Smith, CEO for New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau. “There are many situations that can lead to the accidental killing of an endangered species and this policy is the only thing that prevents a mistake from becoming jail time.”

The case is WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Department of Justice.

BMJ Investigation Questions Expert Advice Underpinning New US Dietary Guidelines

T

he expert report underpinning the latest dietary guidelines for Americans fails to reflect much relevant scientific literature in its reviews of crucial topics and therefore risks giving a misleading picture, an investigation by The BMJ has found.

Concern about the report has prompted the US Congress to schedule a hearing on the guidelines in October, when two cabinet secretaries are scheduled

to testify, writes journalist Nina Teicholz in an article published today.

The guidelines will affect the diet of tens of millions of American citizens, as well as food labelling, education and research priorities. In the past, most Western nations have adopted similar dietary advice. They are based on a report produced by an advisory committee — a group of 14 experts appointed to review the best

and most current science to make nutrition recommendations that both promote health and fight disease.

The previous committee in 2010 made an effort to bring greater scientific rigor to the process by using the Nutrition Evidence Library (NEL), set up by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), to help conduct reviews.

But the 2015 committee has

not used NEL methods for the majority of its analyses, notes Teicholz. Instead it relies heavily on systematic reviews from professional bodies, such as the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, who are supported by food and drug companies.

The committee members, who are not required to list their potential conflicts of interest, also conducted ‘ad hoc’ reviews of the literature, without any systematic criteria for how studies were identified, selected, or evaluated, she adds.

On saturated fats, for example, the committee did not conduct a formal review of the literature from the past five years, even though several prominent papers published since 2010 failed to confirm any association between saturated fats and heart disease.

Despite a great deal of conflicting evidence over the past five years, the committee’s report concludes that the evidence linking consumption of saturated fats to cardiovascular disease is “strong.”

On the effectiveness of low carbohydrate diets, again, the committee did not request a NEL systematic literature review from the past five years, writes Teicholz. Yet dozens of randomised controlled clinical trials published since 2000 show that low carbohydrate diets are at least equal to if not better than other nutritional approaches for controlling type 2 diabetes, achieving weight loss in the short term, and improving most heart disease risk factors.

“Given the growing toll taken by these conditions and the fail-

ure of existing strategies to make meaningful progress in fighting obesity and diabetes to date, one might expect the guideline committee to welcome any new, promising dietary strategies,” says Teicholz. Yet the committee largely sticks to the same advice it has given for decades — to eat less saturated fat (in meat and full-fat dairy products) and more plant foods for good health.

Abandoning established review methods “opens the door not only to potential bias but also for the possibility of influence from outside agendas and commercial interests, and all of these can be observed in the report,” she observes. The prevailing bias, she adds, appears to be one to preserve the nutrition recommendations of the past 35 years.

Nevertheless, the report is highly confident that its findings are supported by good science.

Committee chair, Barbara Millen told The BMJ: “On topics where there were existing comprehensive guidelines, we didn’t do them. We used those resources and that time to cover other questions,” she explained. “That’s why you have an expert committee . . . to bring expertise,” including “our own original analyses.”

On saturated fats, Millen said that her committee had “worked with the NEL and USDA assistance to identify the research literature.” And on low carbohydrate diets, she said that there was “not substantial evidence” to consider. “Many popular diets don’t have evidence. But can you continued on page seven

October 15, 2015

Livestock Market Digest

Page 7

Counties in Texas & Oklahoma Named Primary Natural Disaster Areas

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he U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 14 counties in Texas as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a recent drought.

Those counties are: Angelina, Lee, San Augustine, Burleson, McLennan, Shelby, Caldwell, Nacogdoches, Trinity, Guadalupe, Panola, Williamson, Harrison, Rusk.

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Texas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are: Bastrop, Gonzales, Sabine, Bell, Gregg, San Jacinto, Bexar, Hays, Smith, Bosque, Hill, Travis, Brazos, Houston, Tyler, Burnet, Jasper, Upshur, Cherokee, Limestone, Walker, Comal, Marion, Washington, Coryell, Milam, Wilson, Falls, Polk, Fayette, Robertson.

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Sept. 23, 2015, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers

in eligible parishes and counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 9 counties in Oklahoma as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by heavy rainfall, flooding, high winds and tornadoes that occurred from May 1, 2015, through June 30, 2015. Those counties are: Bryan, Le Flore, Marshall, Carter, Love, Muskogee, Choctaw, McCurtain, Sequoyah.

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Oklahoma also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are: Adair, Haskell, McIntosh, Stephens, Atoka, Jefferson, Murray, Wagoner, Cherokee, Johnston, Okmulgee, Garvin, Latimer,

Cargill to Convert “This project, especially the investment we’re making in Columbus, is significant and exciting, and it represents our longterm commitment to current and future Cargill customers, as well as to the community,” explained John Niemann, president of Wichita, Kansas-based Cargill Turkey and Cooked Meats.

“When completed, our Columbus plant will give us a variety of cooked meat processing capabilities we currently don’t have, and those new capabilities will provide our customers with more options to help them grow their businesses,” said Niemann.

Approximately $27 million will be carved out of the total funding package for investment in the company’s ground beef plants at Butler and Fort Worth, where additional new production lines will be installed. The new lines will increase overall capacity, improve efficiency and enhance the company’s capability to service Cargill foodservice

Pushmataha.

Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Texas also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are Bowie, Cooke, Fannin, Grayson, Lamar, Montague and Red River All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on Sept. 23, 2015, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program,

the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and FarmRaised Fish Program, and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibili-

continued from page five

customers.

“These changes will better position us to serve a variety of Cargill customers while enhancing our ability to provide them with products and support they value,” stated Chris Roberts, president of Cargill Value Added Protein, also based in Wichita.

“Our focus is on doing whatever is required to help grow our customers’ businesses by meeting consumers’ needs which, in turn, will help us grow our business. This is a win-win for our customers, Cargill and the community, and something we believe is important for us to do to maintain our competitive edge in the marketplace going forward,” said Roberts.

Both Niemann and Roberts point to the 150-year heritage Cargill has for nourishing people and communities as a motivational driver that contributes to the success of the company’s operations at Columbus, Butler and Fort Worth, as well as at

BJM Investigation achieve healthiness, the answer is yes.”

Regarding the committee’s conflicts of interest, she said that members were vetted by counsel to the

federal government.

Yet given the ever increasing toll of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and the failure of existing

strategies to make inroads in fighting these diseases, there is an urgent need to provide nutritional advice based on sound science, argues Teicholz.

“It may be time to ask our authorities to convene a fresh, truly independent panel of scientists free from potential conflicts to undertake a comprehensive review, in order to ensure that selection of the dietary guidelines committee becomes more transparent, and that the most rigorous scientific evidence is reliably used to produce the best possi-

its other protein operations in North America.

“From Cargill’s humble beginning in rural Iowa during 1865, the company has maintained a deeply seated sense of responsibility to help feed and nourish people, and we are serious about doing so in a transparent and sustainable way that helps everyone in the value chain thrive,” said Niemann.

Of the 250 positions currently at the Columbus facility, approximately 80 will be impacted when the conversion begins in December, and the company is working with those employees to provide information about opportunities to fill open positions at other Cargill facilities in the region.

The company is optimistic that each affected employee will choose to take an open position with the company at another of those locations. The impacted employees are also being offered support if relocation is required.

Source: USDA-Farm Service Agency

Watch anD bID lIve every WeDnesDay:

cattleUsa.cOm

call NOW tO cONsigNTHD tO UpcOmiNg Western vIDeo Market © sales: October 29, cottonwood, calif.

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Special Feeder Sales at Galt Join Us Wednesdays – Oct. 28 • Nov. 11 • Dec. 2 • Dec. 16 Central California 47th annual

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Galt, California Friday, November 6

9 a.m.......... Grading of 2015 ‘World of bulls’ Consignments 2 p.m.......... annual CLm Fall Cow-Calf Pair and bred Cow Sale 5 p.m.......... annual CLm Fall Female Sale Social

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Noon........... 47th annual ‘World of bulls’ Sale at noon this year

2015 CoNSiGNorS oF aNGuS, hereFord, red aNGuS, SimaNGuS CharoLaiS, Lim-FLex, GeLbvieh aNd baLaNCer buLLS aS oF oCt. 1

continued from page six

ble nutrition policy,” she concludes.

Dr Fiona Godlee, The BMJ’s Editor in Chief adds: “These guidelines are hugely influential, affecting diets and health around the world. The least we would expect is that they be based on the best available science. Instead the committee has abandoned standard methodology, leaving us with the same dietary advice as before — low fat, high carbs.

Growing evidence suggests that this advice is driving rather than solving the current epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The committee’s conflicts of interest are also a concern. We urgently need an independent review of the evidence and new thinking about diet and its role in public health.”

ty requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at disaster. fsa.usda.gov.

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Page 8

Livestock Market Digest

Livestock Market Digest To place real estate advertisements contact RANDY SUMMERS at 505/243-9515 or RON ARCHER at 505/865-6011

October 15, 2015

U.S. dairy industry looks to Idaho farmers for leadership

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wo Idaho Dairy Products Commission and United Dairymen of Idaho board members have been tapped for national dairy industry leadership positions. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed Kim Korn to serve a three-year term on the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, and Dan Gilbert was elected to the United Dairy Industry Association’s board of directors.

Korn, owner of Korn Dairy in Terreton, replaces fellow United Dairymen of Idaho and Idaho Dairy Products Commission board member Dave Veenhouwer from Veenhouwer Family Dairy in Jerome on the 38-member panel. Steve Ballard, owner of Ballard Family Dairy & Cheese in Gooding and a col-

league of Korn’s on both Idaho dairy groups’ boards, was appointed last year to the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and has two more years to serve. Formed in 1984, under the authority of the Department of Agriculture, the NDB carries out coordinated promotion and research programs to help build demand and expand domestic and international markets for dairy products.

The United Dairy Industry Association has granted Idaho a fifth seat on its board of directors, and Gilbert, owner of Dan-de Holsteins in Blackfoot, was elected to fill it. He joins fellow United Dairymen of Idaho board members Tom Dorsey of Dorsey Farms in Caldwell, John Brubaker from Knott Run Dairy in Buhl, Brian Esplin from Di-

amond Three Dairy in Shelley, and Arie Roeloffs from Southfield Dairy in Wendell on the 43-member UDIA board. The United Dairy Industry Association is a federation of state and regional dairy farmer-funded promotion organizations providing marketing programs that are developed and implemented in coordination with its members.

United Dairymen of Idaho CEO, Karianne Fallow, said Gem State residents should applaud the national leadership efforts of Idaho’s dairy farmers.

“Dairy is Idaho’s number-one ag sector, and we’re the third-largest dairy-producing state in the country, “she said. “Dairy farmers across the country and around the globe look to Idaho for leadership, and we take this governance role very seriously.”

We must trust ranchers and farmers

BY SENATOR JAMES LANKFORD

(OKLAHOMA), STWNEWSPRESS.COM

SOCORRO PLAZA REALTY Polvadera New Mexico... looking for a charming home in the country? This home has a Great Room for entertaining family and friends. A modern kitchen compliments this home and a large dining area.

This property also has a one bedroom guest house with a fireplace. Also there is a pool for summer fun and mature cottonwood trees and elm trees make this property complete. This property has 9.7 acres with pre 1907 water rights and this is negotiable and not part of the listing price of $350,000.00. Call today for more information on the Rio Grande Valley Gem.

I

t’s always surprising to me how often bureaucrats in Washington, DC, who spend most of their life on concrete, want to control everyday Americans thousands of miles away who spend most of their life on dirt.

They think they know better than hard-working Americans, and nowhere is this philosophy more evident than in the agricultural industry.

Over the last few years, fed-

Qualifying Broker

505-507-2915 cell 505-838-0095 fax

#5 Plaza PO Box 1903 Socorro, NM 87801 bakercityrealty__1x2.5 4/6/15 11:45 AM Page 1 www.socorroplazarealty.com dbrown@socorroplazarealty.com

Nevada Farms & raNch PrOPerTY

Joe Stubblefield & Associates 13830 Western St., Amarillo, TX 806/622-3482 • cell 806/674-2062 joes3@suddenlink.net Michael Perez Associates Nara Visa, NM • 575/403-7970

www.bottarirealty.com

Fallon-Cortese Land

NEW MEXICO

575-226-0671 or 575-226-0672 fax

Buena Vista Realty

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

www.ranchesnm.com 575/622-5867 575/420-1237

As Low As 3% OPWKCAP 2.9%

INTEREST RATES AS LOW AS 3% Payments Scheduled on 25 Years

P.O. Box 447 Fort Sumner, NM 88119 575.355.2855 office 575.355.7611 fax 575.760.3818 cell nick@ranchseller.com www.ranchseller.com

Properties & Equities, Inc. R.G. DAVIS, BROKER • 530/347-9455 JEFF DAVIS, REALTOR • 530/604-3655 TONYA REDIMONTI, REALTOR • 530/521-6054

530/347-9455 19855 S. Main St., Cottonwood, CA 96022 homeranchproperties.net

Bar M Real Estate

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AG LAND LOANS

775/752-3040

continued on page nine

On the Plaza

P.O. Box 1903, Socorro, NM 87801

Paul Bottari, Broker

trol the economy.

Donald Brown

Don Brown, Qualifying Broker dbrown@socorroplazarealty.com

Bottari Realty

water, but this unprecedented attempt to gain even more federal power will burden farmers, ranchers, businesses, private property owners, and state and local governments.

Virtually every river, stream, and creek in the nation could be under the regulation of the Clean Water Act if the EPA gets away with this power grab. As we all know well in Oklahoma, if you control the water, you con-

Socorro Plaza Realty

Call 505/507-2915 • Fax: 575/838-0095

521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130

eral government overreach has reached new highs. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the U.S. rule is a perfect example. With this proposal, puddles and potholes could be subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act, whether they be on private or public land. This new EPA action is not a result of a new law or act of Congress, this is simply the President “reinterpreting” a decades old law in a way that no president ever has before.

We all want clean drinking

Ranch Sales & Appraisals

Filling Your Real Estate Needs in Oregon Andrew Bryan, Principal/Broker Office 541-523-5871 Cell 208-484-5835 andrew@bakercityrealty.com www.bakercityrealty.com

October 15, 2015

Livestock Market Digest

Page 9

We Must Trust In the past two months, we have cut the funding from EPA to implement the Waters of the U.S. proposal and a wide variety of effective private lawsuits have been filed against the out-of-control EPA. I have also personally talked with the administrator of the EPA about the Waters of the U.S. rule and scheduled multiple hearings to determine where the EPA perceives they have the authority to change this rule.

There are a multitude of groups that advise and oversee farming in America, but the most basic truth is farmers and ranchers know how to care for their land, especially if it is family-owned land. American farmers and ranchers are the most safe and productive leaders in the world on their crop selection, their land and their care for the environment.

Washington, DC should trust farmers and localities to best utilize technologies and strategies on their land that work for them.

One of the priorities during my time in Congress has been to reduce burdensome regulatory barriers and outside influence on the private sector, especially on the agricultural industry. For example, when I served in the House of Representatives, I introduced the Farmers Freedom Act, a bill that exempts farm vehicles from certain operating requirements which govern the operation of vehicles, like commercial driver’s license, drug testing, medical certificates, and hours of service. I also co-sponsored the Preserving America’s Family Farms Act, a bill that would have prohibited the Secretary of Labor from reissuing or issuing regulations

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES • 125 acres, Henderson County, TX. Excellent grass & water. Square in shape, fronts a good, paved county road. $3500 Per acre.

• 275 acres, Recreation, hunting and fishing. Nice apartment, 25 miles from Dallas Court House. $3950 Per acre.

• 270 acre, Mitchell County, Texas 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.

Joe Priest Real Estate

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continued from page eight

that limit family members who are involved in farming.

My current Senate Subcommittee has jurisdiction over federal regulations, and we’ve held five Congressional hearings and roundtables to discuss reforms of the federal regulatory process.

In March, I launched a national #CutRedTape Initiative, a new online tool for American families and businesses to share their stories about how federal regulations impact them on a daily basis. So far, this initiative has received

more than 160 submissions on regulations from a variety of federal agencies, including the EPA, USDA, Department of Education, and many others.

Farmers and ranchers, or those regularly in the field, should be trusted to farm and manage their own property, but they also should be included in the process of developing any regulations or laws that govern their land. This summer, I introduced the Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2015, a bill that would require the federal

North Eastern Nevada Farm This 583-acre farm is located on the outskirts of the Montello in the Pilot Valley. All of the land has underground water rights for irrigation and one new pivot has just been installed and the set-up is in for a 2nd pivot. There are 3 wells in now which will serve 2 pivots. 4 pivots will fit the property. No home with the sale but several good homesites on the property and other private residential properties are available near or adjacent to subject. The power costs are very reasonable.

For more information call Paul Bottari, Broker 775-752-0952 or check it out on BottariRealty.com.

Featured Property

7351 Quay Road AI

Large ranch home over 3000 square feet over looking Ute Lake on just under 40 acres.

Paul Stout, Qualifying Broker 575 760-5461

Missouri Land Sales

361 Acres - Absolutely the Ultimate Hunting/Retreat being offered this close to Springfield/Branson, Missouri. Many options for this property - hunting, recreational, church camp, jeeping, horseback riding facility, or just your own personal retreat. A-1 built 60x100 all steel insulated with 2-16’ elec. overhead doors. Inside is a fabulous 900sq ft. 2 BR, 1 BA living quarters. Open fields, heavy woods, timber, rolling hills, bluffs, springs, creeks, a cave and breath taking views. Only 60+ miles south of Springfield, minutes to Bull Shoals Lake.

3879 State Road 209 Broadview, NM 88112

575 456-2000

www.bigmesarealty.com

See all my listings at: paulmcgilliard.murney.com

PAUL McGILLIARD

Cell: 417/839-5096 1-800/743-0336 MURNEY ASSOC., REALTORS SPRINGFIELD, MO 65804

GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY CLOSE TO SPRINGFIELD. El Rancho Truck Plaza. MLS #1402704; Midwest Truck Stop MLS #1402703; Greenfield Trading Post MLS # 1402700. Owner retiring. Go to murney.com, enter MLS #, CHECK THEM OUT!!!

174 M/L Acres. Cattle, horses, hunting retreat. Live water year round - spring crawdad creek. 30+ ac open, more land could be opened with brush hogging. Good fencing, 2 miles from S&H fish pay fishing ponds. 8 miles east of Ava on Hwy. 76. MLS# 60029427

Ken Ahler Real Estate Co., Inc

300 Paseo Peralta, Suite 211, Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-989-7573 • Cell: 505-490-0220 Toll Free: 888-989-7573 www. SantaFeLand.com email: Kahler@newmexico.com

Office:

Hwy 344 – Edgewood, NM – Just off Hwy 344 in San Pedro Mtn foothills is 1,941 deeded acres of tree covered scenic land perfect for small rancher or investor. 9 legal lots 100+ acres each, Gated entrance, 2 Water wells & power on site. Motivated seller will finance. $650 per ac.

Apache Mesa Ranch – 5,144 acre rim rock ranch located on Hwy 84 southwest of Las Vegas, NM. 3,500+- deeded plus 1,644 acres of BLM & NM State grazing lease lands, rim rocks, mesas & grassy meadows. HQ w/bunk house, plus foreman’s home, horse barns & corrals & plenty of scenery.

Price is $2,698,900

government to allow Americans to participate in the regulatory process earlier and more often.

The more I analyze and work on regulatory reform, the more I find the need for our federal government to get out of the way.

ANTON CHICO RANCH: 3,057 deeded acres located within the Anton Chico Land Grant south of I-25 between Santa Fe, NM and Las Vegas, NM in San Miguel County.

The Pecos River forms the southern boundary with the Santa Fe National Forest on the property’s northern boundary. Rolling terrain with a scattering of cedar, juniper and piñon trees. Partitioned into 4 pastures with one well, pipeline and surface tanks. No structural improvements. Access is primitive and there are no utilities extended to the property. Priced to sell at $700,000.00.

HIGH CHAPARRAL RANCH: 21,595 total acres of well-balanced high desert rangeland supporting 300 AUYL along with a thriving mule deer population. Livestock and domestic water provided by 12 wells. Significant improvements to include a 4,000 square feet owner’s residence, guest house and bunkhouse. This is one of a kind. Offered for sale in cooperation with Schrimsher Ranch Real Estate. Price: $4,000,000.00 TOLAND RANCH: Small ranch property located near Cedarvale, NM in Torrance County. Just 15 minutes from the Cibola National Forest and the Gallinas Mountains.

Comprised of 1,440 deeded acres situated in two noncontiguous tracts separated by State Highway 42. The north tract is fenced with one water well equipped with an electric submersible pump. A portion of the south tract is not fenced and there is no developed source of water, but several earthen tanks. Excellent grassland. Price: $432,000.00 Scott McNally Qualifying Broker Bar M Real Estate www.ranchesnm.com • Office: 575-622-5867 • Cell: 575-420-1237

V A ISTA N E U B REALTY 521 West Second St. Portales, NM 88130 575-226-0671 www.buenavista-nm.com

80 acre irrigated farm - Small 1060 sq. ft home rented out. 2 pivots 1/8 mile watering alfalfa and wheat from 2 wells on pavement 3 miles east of Portales - excellent location, perimeter trees windbreak on west. $267,000 160 acre Mini - Stock Farm, this place was absolutely made perfect with new plumbing, electrical, roofing, fencing etc. - then the lure of a perfect job lured them away. Great gramma grass turf, Savory grazing fenced, new shed for equipment or hay. Only 1 mile off pavement, small community on school bus & mail route. Talk about quiet and peaceful with wonderful small town nearby.

See our website at www.buenavista-nm.com for pictures and call office for more details.

Scott Land co.

Ranch & Farm Real Estate

Ken Ahler-GRI, E-Pro, RSPS

Trigg Ranches – 720 deeded acres lies near La Cueva Canyon Ranch on Apache Mesa 10 miles south of Romeroville. Off the grid in tall pines! 720 acres price is $288,900 & smaller 200 acre parcel available next door for $124,000! Owners will finance...

Ledoux, NM – Perimeter fenced 60 acre terraced dry land farm has overhead electric, sub-irrigated pasture and all weather county road access! Located ½ mile north of Ledoux. Price reduced $228,000 obo and owner will finance.

Anton Chico – Historic 65 acre irrigated farm w/109 acre feet of ditch rights. Adobe home, bunkhouse, storage shed, shop + irrigation. Priced reduced to $598,900 & Owner will finance Sombrero Ranch near Tremintina, NM - 1,442 deeded qualified buyer! acres, 3 pastures, 1 solar well, 1 windmill & 1 submersible well.

Traditionally carries 30+ mother cows year round. Located 44 Dilia Loop Road – Fenced 20+ acre parcel is planted in alfalfa & miles east of Las Vegas on Hwy 104. Price is $575,000 Owner grass, has 4 irrigated sections plus ditch rights and Pecos River frontage. Excellent farming opportunity for organic vegetable will finance. gardens, alfalfa or sweet grass. Priced at $225,000 La Cueva Canyon Ranch – 1,435 private acres w/240 acres of BLM lease land. Located SW of Las Vegas off Hwy 84 on Upper Anton Chico – This parcel has outstanding alfalfa Apache Mesa. This parcel has tall pines, canyon springs, stock production for a small parcel, 7.5 acres are irrigated with under tanks, new fence on NE corner. Off the grid & pristine. Price: ground pipes, perimeter fenced, easy farm to work and water.

Now $82,500 $607,000 & Owners will finance.

I have Buyers, I need listings...

Farmers and Ranchers should have the freedom to make decisions about their land, their crop, their livestock and their family.

This is a basic right and it is a basic responsibility of government to protect it.

1301 Front Street, Dimmitt, TX 79027 Ben G. Scott – Broker Krystal M. Nelson, CO/NM Qualifying Broker 800-933-9698 day/eve. www.scottlandcompany.com www.texascrp.com

SWEETWATER TX. AREA - fully operational railroad TUCUMCARI, NM – Horse Motel known coast-tospur & grain elevator in top condition w/lease income! coast and in all parts in between - 4 ac. +/- on the edge of town. Nice metal frame horse stables w/ WE NEED LISTINGS on agricultural properties of pipe-rail pens. Nice brick home, 3 bdrm., 2 bath. all kinds – we have sold & closed many of our ranch Excellent opp.! listings in New Mexico & we are diligently seeking new listings anywhere in NM, CO, TX or OK. We currently WALKER CANYON RANCH – Motley Co. TX., - Buy are 12 strong at Scott Land Company, LLC, & work & one pasture or all (pastures run in size fr. 7-900 ac. each up to 3,300 ac. w/lake) pick the size of ranch advertise profusely in all of these states. that you want w/a total of 10,432 ac. +/-, ranchland w/a WE HAVE JUST LISTED a choice ranch in Union large, permitted dam providing a huge, beautiful lake Co., NM w/ “state-of-the-art” improvements, working w/water backed up in a number of smaller canyons facilities, fencing, water & location & a nice little ranch for boating, fishing & other recreation together w/good w/2,400 ac. +/- deeded & 80 ac. +/- State Lease. hunting on the ranch. On pvmt.!

Please call for details!

HIGH RAINFALL! ADA OK. AREA -3,120 ac. +/- of CONCHAS LAKE AREA – well improved 11 section choice grassland w/houses, barns & steel pens, lays ranch +/-, mostly deeded w/small amt. of BLM & in 3 tracts, will divide!

State, homes, barns, pens, watered by subs & mills at shallow depth just off pvmt., on co. road.

Look at our websites www.scottlandcompany.com STATE OF THE ART – Clayton, NM area, 1,600 & www.texascrp.com to view the way in which we deeded ac. +/-, plus 80 ac. +/- State lease, home, barn will present your property or to contact our office with & pens in excellent condition, all weather CR road. any interest you may have in purchasing any of the properties we currently are offering for sale.

HARDING CO., NM – starter ranch, 1,875 deeded ac. +/-, 901.9 ac. +/- CRP, well watered w/subs, mills Give us a call at 1-800-933-9698 & pipeline, 3 bdrm./2 bath brick home, garage, shop/ 5 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. to discuss in detail livestock, metal barn & pens, 7 miles fr. town, co. road. your real estate needs whether buying or selling.

E

Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

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Bradley 3 Ranch Ltd.

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Fall Herdbuilder Bull Sale November 6, 2015

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October 15, 2015

Why the Land & Water Conservation Fund Needs to be Reformed

BY SHAWN REGAN, THEHILL.COM CONTRIBUTOR

T

he federal government’s primary source of funding for land acquisitions — the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) — is set to expire on Sept. 30. As the clock runs out, many groups are pressing Congress to permanently reauthorize and fully fund the program, with no reforms or questions asked.

Some have called the LWCF “the most popular parks program you’ve never heard of.” It devotes up to $900 million each year from offshore oil and gas revenues for conservation and recreation purposes at both the federal and state level. In its current form, however, federal LWCF funds can only be used for acquiring more public lands.

They cannot be used for the care and maintenance of existing federal lands.

In other words, the LWCF allows the federal government to purchase more land, but it does not provide any means of taking care of those lands — or the critical needs that exist on the hundreds of millions of acres the federal government already owns.

The federal government controls more than 635 million acres of land in the United States, including 62 percent of Idaho, 67 percent of Utah and more than 80 percent of Nevada. Since the LWCF was enacted in 1965, the government has spent more than $10 billion acquiring 5 million acres of land, mostly in the West.

But the federal government

cannot take care of the lands it already owns. The National Park Service alone faces an $11.5 billion backlog in deferred maintenance projects, according to recent data from the agency.

Overall, the maintenance backlog for the Interior Department — which also includes the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service — is estimatedbetween $13.2 billion and $19.3 billion.

Across the entire federal estate, billions of dollars are needed for wastewater system repairs, campground and trail maintenance, building repairs, and the transportation infrastructure necessary for people to access and enjoy public lands. Yellowstone and Yosemite, two of the most iconic national parks, each face more than half-billion dollars in unmet maintenance needs.

The LWCF reauthorization presents an opportunity to address many of the critical needs on existing federal lands and prevent further increases in the government’s deferred maintenance backlog. As conservationists, we should insist that conservation does not mean simply acquiring more land; it means ensuring resources are available to adequately care for the land.

Conservationists should also recognize there are tradeoffs.

Funding devoted to land acquisition means less funding is available for land conservation, especially in today’s budget climate.

Some say Congress should just increase appropriations to federal land agencies instead of

Header or Heeler

I

f you saw a team roper with his hand behind his back, could you tell if he was a header or a heeler? I have done an extensive study on this very problem with a grant funded by the Pro Rodeo Ex-Wives Collection Agency and the TRA (Team Ropers Anonymous) Halfway House.

Here are the results of my findings: Headers are more likely to have their hair styled rather than cut. Heelers get their hair cut biannually and usually need a shave.

A header owns a fairly new truck and trailer with a coordinated paint job. A heeler still buys recaps and the paint job on his trailer matches the primer on his brother-in-law’s BBQ grill.

A header will often have two horses, his favorite and one in training. A heeler will have one horse, in training and FOR SALE! A header may own his own arena. The heeler usually owes last week’s stock charge!

The header carefully positions his horse in the box, checks for steer alertness, and nods at precisely the moment everything is perfect!

The heeler is jerked awake when the head gate bangs!

The tack box of a header contains an extra set of reins, leather punch, fly spray, snaps, saddle

reforming the LWCF. But here’s the problem: Congress does not prioritize mundane maintenance projects on public lands, and it never has. Politicians would rather create new parks than fix a leaky wastewater system. LWCF reauthorization presents an opportunity to create a dedicated funding source to address the backlog of critical maintenance projects on existing public lands.

Others argue that reformers would be raiding the conservation fund. But prioritizing the care and maintenance of existing lands is the opposite of raiding — it’s the definition of conservation.

Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands in March, Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, said that the deferred maintenance backlog is a higher priority than adding new federal lands. But when it comes to the LWCF, Jarvis has no such choice in the matter. If the funds are to be used by the National Park Service, they can only be used for land acquisition.

The National Park Service will celebrate its 100-year anniversary next year with billions of dollars in unmet maintenance needs. It’s time for conservationists to step up and put forth practical reforms that address these challenges — not just simply add more lands.

Regan is a research fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), a nonprofit research institute in Bozeman, Mont., and a former ranger for the National Park Service. PERC’s latest report, “Back to the Future of Our National Parks,” explores creative solutions for the agency’s second century.

Baxter BLACK ON THE EDGE OF COMMON SENSE www.baxterblack.com

blanket, talcum, horn wraps, assorted brushes and combs, a second tie down, various sizes of leather straps, cotton rolls, leg brace solution, hoof care tools, dikes, two pair each of bell boots and splint boots, a jar of silver polish and a can of assorted brake light bulbs.

A heeler’s tack box will have a warm bottle of Combiotic, some Bute paste, an inner tube, a hatchet, some 14 gauge wire, a nest of baler twine, an 18 piece Taiwanese socket set, a runnin’ iron, beer opener and one skid boot!

The header will discuss the lineage of his horse, “He’s out of an Easy Jet mare and full cousin to Chester.”

A heeler will discuss the lineage of his tack, “I used to ride broncs with this saddle. It’s an Association Tree but I bolted on this horn and wrapped it with duct tape. Derrick Begay gimme this halter.”

A header will blame his horse, himself, his rope, his wrap, his saddle, his timing, his tech-

nique, his dally, his loop, the steer, the wind or overtraining.

The heeler blames the header!

October 15, 2015

Livestock Market Digest

Page 11

ASU study finds weather extremes harmful to grasslands Food production may diminish as a result

F

luctuations in extreme weather events, such as heavy rains and droughts, are affecting ecosystems in unexpected ways — creating “winners and losers” among plant species that humans depend upon for food.

Arizona State University (ASU) investigators conducted a six-year experiment on the effects of climatic variability on desert grassland. The study revealed that when unpredictable weather patterns create alternating wet and dry years, ecosystem productivity declines — mostly because grasses di-

minish, which allows shrubs to flourish.

“We found that not all species could respond effectively to extreme weather events including both dry and wet conditions,” said Osvaldo Sala, professor with ASU School of Life Sciences. “Grasses don’t fare as well as shrubs, which is really important to know because cattle ranchers depend on grasslands to graze their herds.

Humans could see a reduction in the production of food — mostly cattle for meat — as the provision of ecosystem services like this one change.”

The findings were published today in the online early edition of the journal Proceedings of

the National Academy of Sciences.

“Interestingly, the effect of precipitation variability was amplified over the six years the experiment lasted and we still don’t know its end point,” said Laureano Gherardi, a School of Life Sciences postdoctoral research associate and co-author of the paper. “Therefore, the effect of the expected climatic variance may be even larger and the ecosystem may shift into a different state,” he added.

The researchers created 50 study plots in the Chihuahuan desert in New Mexico, at the Jornada Long Term Ecological Research site. They increased precipitation variability on

each plot to mimic the projected increased in the frequency of weather extremes such as drought and unusually wet conditions. Over a six-year period, the plots were alternately irrigated or subjected to dry conditions.

“Shrubs did rather well under these conditions because of their growing response to annual precipitation, but the grasses declined as a result of their limited response to wet years,” said Sala, also a distinguished sustainability scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. “A desert grassland ecosystem could fairly quickly change into a different state, such as shrubland. This

would have serious consequences for humans, considering that a large portion of land around the world is grassland.”

Sala added that some of the more dramatic changes to the grasslands did not occur until later in the study, proving how important long-term studies are, as well as the difficulty of making long-term predictions based on short-term experimentation.

This study was supported by National Science Foundation grants DEB-1235828 and DEB 09-17668.

The School of Life Sciences is an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU.

Federal land management to blame for out-of-control fires, say critics

BY HOLLIE MCKAY, FOXNEWS.COM

W

ildfires are continuing to plague drought-stricken California and federal funding to fight them has dried up like parched El Dorado County farmland, leading critics to say the real problem lies nearly 3,000 miles away, in Washington.

For the year, more than 6 million acres – an area the size of New Jersey – have been burned, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. For the first time, the U.S. Forest Service will spend more than half its budget, some $1.2 billion, on fighting fires on the vast acreage it manages from the nation’s capital.

There is a better way, according to some experts, who believe more private ownership of land would divert the responsibility and cost from taxpayers.

“The federal government has shown itself to be a poor steward of its massive land holdings,” said Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at public policy think tank the CATO Institute.

“The issues with Western lands are far too complex and sensitive for far-away politicians and bureaucrats in Washington to be able to solve.”

“If private owners fail they go bankrupt. If Forest Service managers fail, at worst they are transferred to another forest.” – Robert Smith, Competitive Enterprise Institute With 190 million acres of land under its control, the Forest Service is ill-equipped to manage land to prevent fires or protect property once blazes break out, said Robert Smith, distinguished fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment.

“Private owners cannot afford to let their forests die of disease, insect infestations or wildfire,” Smith said. “They are on the job

24 hours a day, unlike 9-5 government bureaucrats. If private owners fail they go bankrupt. If Forest Service managers fail, at worst they are transferred to another forest.”

In total, the U.S. government owns about 640 million acres of land, predominantly in the drought-riddled western states.

Some 85 percent of Nevada; 70 percent of Alaska and roughly half of Arizona, California and Utah are federal lands.

While the drought is having a damaging effect on much of the land, it is the Forest Service’s national forests and grasslands that are most affected by wildfires.

Smith in part blames the influence of radical environmentalists for blocking the Forest Service from managing woodlands by removing old or dead trees most vulnerable to fire. Critics also say the government’s refusal to open up roadways through forestland makes fighting fires unnecessarily difficult.

Environmentalists groups and the government claim the increase in fires is due to global warming, caused by the use of fossil fuels. The Forest Service contends that the threat has made the average wildfire season is now 78 days longer than it was four decades ago.

But whether it is global warming or the sum total of decades of mismanagement, all experts seem to agree forest fires are getting worse – and costing more.

“We can’t avoid wildfires and wildfire has always been part of the western landscape,” Ray Rasker, executive director of Headwaters Economics, a nonpartisan development and land management research group focused on the West, told FoxNews.com. “Right now, the Forest Service spends so much money fighting wildfires – with 90 percent of it going to defend homes – it has to borrow from

other accounts. And every year, it gets worse.”

Twenty years ago, firefighting made up just 16 percent of the U.S. Forest Service’s annual budget. This past fiscal year, an unprecedented 52 percent of funds went to fighting fires and, if left unchecked, the figure will rise to two-thirds by 2025.

The agency says it has no choice but to take funds from other programs and services, such as forest restoration and management, which would actually help prevent fires as well as aid protection and recovery from them. While other disasters – such as tornadoes and hurricanes – can leverage emergency funding, the Forest Service must stay within current budget allocations and take money from elsewhere in the agency to fund firefighting. “[The Forest Service is] not in a position to do the restoration

and resiliency work that’s important and necessary, not just to keep our forests healthy, but also to reduce the risk of these intense, enormous fires that we are now fighting,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, whose department oversees the Forest Service.

In some cases, fighting fires may be not only futile, but unwise, according to Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. He said some fires serve a valid purpose and should be left to burn.

“We need to be stopping fires from spreading toward human assets like homes, and steering fires into backcountry wild lands that we want to burn in order to reduce fuel loads or restore fire-dependent species habitat,” he said. “Most of the small fires that we are able to put out are

ones that we need to work with.”

But Ingalsbee is dubious of claims that turning land over to the private sector would result in better management.

“Much more aggressive fire suppression occurs on public lands, in fact, to prevent wildfires from spreading onto private lands which are unprepared and unsustainable given wildfire,” he said.

Janine Blaeloch, director of the Seattle-based Western Land Project, which seeks to protect the environment the interest of the public in land ownership, agrees.

“Private ownership is always going to lead to maximum exploitation of resources for profit,” she said. “If you value preservation of functioning ecosystems and wildlife habitat, only public land will provide that in any significant way.”

Joining Forces to Save Our Animals • October 31 - November 1

Page 12

Riding Herd chickens? Go ahead Salmon, pick another category.

“I think I’ll take Corporate Criminals for $50.”

“The answer is, The cause of the biggest environmental disaster in recent history.”

“What are cows?” guessed Lying Fred.

“What is global warming,” chimed in Miss Givings.”

“El biggo mistakeo.” said Clint, “How about you Salmon Ella? Cat got your tongue? What, are you waiting for, a guaranteed answer?

If you’re waiting for a guarantee, buy a toaster. You’re all wrong.

The question is, Who is the Environmental Protection Agency.”

After a terrible first round of Jeopardy, Clint said, “If you’re waiting for your scores, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. I know what you’re thinking, I don’t really know if Lying Fred and Miss Givings are tied at minus $3,000 or minus $4,000.

Salmon Ella, because you did not attempt one question you remain at zero. You’re all pathetic. Let’s play Double Jeopardy. The categories are Hooked On The Poppy, Edible Bugs, Socially Responsible Food, Fat And Stupid, And

Bureau access into federally-managed lands, said, “It’s ludicrous, what they’re doing. They’re not following state or federal law.” Mr.

Green then cited Colorado Revised Statute (CRS) 43.

According to CRS 43-2-201, closures of roads or public highways by any governing body other than “a municipality or county” are illegal. That clause prohibits federal officers from closing any route. According to Colorado law, only the county has the right to do what the BLM has done and is attempting to do in Mesa County.

But federal law may also prohibit the BLM’s road closures as well. Revised Statute(RS) 2477 was devised by the United States Congress in 1866 to govern roads, routes and rights-ofway in western states. RS 2477 placed all decisions regarding roads on public lands within the jurisdictions of counties and states. Although the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), repealed RS 2477, the language within the new act served to “grandfather” in RS 2477. It currently reads: Section 509 FLPMA (a) nothing in this title shall have the effect of terminating any right of way or right to use heretofore issued, granted, or permitted. However, with the consent of the holder thereof, the Secretary concerned may cancel such a right of way.”

According to state and federal law, there may be good standing for a legal challenge to the BLM’s plan to close off hundreds of miles of public roads. PLAA President Brandon Siegfried, who also granted an interview to Watchdog Arena, said Utah is one of the

Livestock Market Digest continued from page one

Freaks, Geeks And Pipsqueaks.

Salmon, since you are ahead, sort of, you go first.”

“I’ll take Socially Responsible Food for $100.”

“I’ll bet you would,” said Clint.

“The answer is, The Most Nutrient Dense Food?”

“What is tofu on a stick?” guessed Miss Givings.

“What is arugula?” said Lying Fred” Again Salmon didn’t utter a peep. “Wrong and wrong,” said Clint. “The answer is, What is beef? I’m telling ya’, there are two kinds of people in this world, those with loaded guns and those who do the digging. You all had better grab a shovel cause I’m gettin’ tired of all of ya.”

It went on like this until the final bell. “I am told that for the first time in the long history of Jeopardy,” said Clint, “this is the first time no contestant has a positive score. What a bunch of cuckoos. And Salmon Ella, you’re the first contestant to never even ring in. Make my day and get off the stage before I Hang you High or Turn You Every Which Way But Loose,” said the Outlaw Josey Wales. continued from page one

few states to mount an RS 2477 challenge against the BLM. In Utah the state will join counties in these legal challenges, and, according to Siegfried, there are currently 12,000 miles of public routes under dispute in that state.

Siegfried and PLAA have been instrumental in working with county sheriffs, local officials, and citizens to reopen roads on public land that were purportedly illegally closed by the BLM. Of the BLM’s willingness to follow state and federal law, Siegfried said, “The BLM is playing by their own rule book, so they will use their arbitrary rules to determine whether or not public roads should be closed.”

Siegfried then expressed doubts about the fairness of the BLM appeals process which, thus far, the Mesa County Commissioners have pursued, saying, “You’re making an appeal based on criteria set by your opposition.” Siegfried also asserted, “The BLM may list some roads which have been closed to motorized vehicles as “open” even though horses or hikers are the only traffic allowed.”

The BLM, not unlike other federal agencies, are directed by the Executive Branch, and Congress has little oversight until something really bad happens. Of the potential for legal action against the BLM, Mesa County Commissioner John Justman said, “We are discussing our options. We need to see where our appeal goes.”

This article was written by a contributor of Watchdog Arena, Franklin Center’s network of writers, bloggers, and citizen journalists.

October 15, 2015

The birds the word, the West is on fire and the only real solution

The bird

W

ould she or wouldn’t she? Everyone was waiting to see if Interior Secretary Jewell would place the sage grouse on the endangered list. Interior had a court-ordered September 30 deadline to make a decision.

At stake was the future of 173 million federal acres.

On the 21st Interior said they would have a big announcement the next day and on the 21st I predicted that the bird would not be listed; that loud hosannas would be shouted about the collaboration process undertaken by the feds, the states and private individuals; the Endangered Species Act would be praised; and that some of the more radical elements in the environmental community would challenge the decision in court.

How did I know they wouldn’t list? I drew that conclusion because a listing would have resulted in a legislative delisting by the Congress and given a huge boost to efforts to amend the ESA. The enviros wanted neither of those outcomes, so a no listing was pretty easy to predict. Let’s see what did happen.

Secretary Jewell announced the “not warranted” decision, based largely on the amendments to 98 different federal land use plans in 10 states and the over 4 million private acres that were put in conservation easements (and USDA’s outlook that this will increase to 8 million private acres restored or preserved by 2018). And as predicted, she lauds the collaboration and defends the ESA. “This is truly a historic effort – one that represents extraordinary collaboration across the American West,” said Jewell. “It demonstrates that the Endangered Species Act is an effective and flexible tool and a critical catalyst for conservation – ensuring that future generations can enjoy the diversity of wildlife that we do today.”

While endorsed by the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, as predicted, the more radical elements in that community were not happy.

A spokesman for the Wild Earth Guardians says, “Working on a comprehensive plan between multiple states is absolutely the right idea, but the level of protections they are applying in some of the grouse’s priority habitat area is too weak to maintain sage grouse there,” and informs us, “The land management plan is getting heavy scrutiny from our legal team.”

It’s hard to believe, but our friends at the Western Watersheds Project actually think the

problem is livestock grazing.

One spokesman says the Secretary “seemed determined to put a happy face on the future of the American West” but failed to “block spring cattle grazing.”

The organization’s deputy director said, “It’s obvious from Interior’s propaganda that they have not accurately identified the threat that livestock pose.”

And she continued, “Simply throwing money at the problem through the Sage Grouse Initiative is like putting an expensive bandage on a gaping chest wound. The failure here was to staunch the flow and limit livestock’s destructive impacts by significantly altering grazing management.”

The industry itself seems to be divided between those who are heaving a sigh of relief the bird wasn’t listed and their national organizations. “The administration came to the logical decision not to list the sage grouse, but went ahead and forced through their land use plans, which are just as concerning as a listing,” Public Lands Council President Brenda Richards said. “Wildfire and development are the primary threats to the sage grouse and their habitat, yet this administration is systematically wiping out multiple-use and ranching through regulatory overreach,” said NCBA Federal lands Committee Chairman Robbie LeValley. “It’s clear that these plans are more about managing away from productive uses, rather than actually protecting the bird.”

But a Nevada rancher spoke at the Denver press conference and told an audience that included four Western governors and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell he supported the process and the land use plans. He said his daughter had watched him tie streamers on barbed wire to keep the bird from flying into fences and that her best friend was a U.S. Geological Survey biologist named Katelyn. He explained that his 11-year-old daughter helped him overcome his own distrust of government while working on the ranch to save the bird. “In this little girl’s life, government is her partner,” he said.

That last quote will haunt me for a long time.

But at least your humble servant was spot on in my predictions.

Fires and management

The West is still burning and

discussions on federal management continue. Most recent is

a powerful editorial by the folks at Capital Press.

They beautifully take care of those who say the increase in the number and size of fires is caused by the drought. The editors explain that for the years 2005 to 2014, an average of 6 million acres has burned annually and that most of those 10 years predate the four-year drought in California or the other Western states. The problem, they say, is “poor management of federal land, which has allowed forests to become overgrown and bulging with fuel for fires.”

And they have a solution.

“They need to be logged, either through thinning or through commercial timber sales. And more livestock grazing is needed to reduce the amount of vegetation that piles up as fuel for the next wildfire.”

That begs the question, though, of how that shift in policy would be brought about.

Many will say a new administration can amend the regulations and policies to reasonably allow the prescriptions to take place, but I believe such a shift would be insufficient.

I’ve personally been involved in such “shifts” and they don’t last.

While I was at Interior we changed the grazing regulations to allow the BLM to focus its resources on the problem allotments and grant more flexibility to the well-managed allotments. That was thrown out by the courts.

I initiated changes in the BLM water manual to allow ranchers to hold the water rights if they funded the project. That is no longer policy.

We brought back the District Advisory Boards for local input into management. That was wiped out by Babbit’s Rangeland Reform.

I’ve watched these “shifts” back and forth now for forty years, and the end result has been destroyed rural economies, devastated school districts and all too often, families torn apart.

No, we don’t need a shift in policy. We need a permanent change, and that means the majority of these lands should be removed from federal ownership. Only then will the West receive the relief it so deserves.

Till 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

October 15, 2015

Livestock Market Digest

Page 13

Noble Foundation celebrates 70th anniversary

O

ne man can change the world. Lloyd Noble did – twice – and his vision continues to benefit agriculture 70 years later.

In the 1920s and ‘30s, Lloyd Noble helped revolutionize the oil and gas drilling industry. He used his financial success to benefit agriculture in the Southern Great Plains. The Dust Bowl had ravaged Oklahoma’s once-productive land, and the loss of the agricultural foundation eroded the economy and threatened the long-term viability of the region.

Noble became a founding father of today’s land stewardship movement, focusing his energy and resources on strengthening land management and soil conservation. He realized Oklahoma’s (and the nation’s) future prosperity hinged on caring for the soil and improving agriculture, so he established The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation on Sept. 19, 1945, with the mission to advance agriculture through education, research, and

direct interaction with farmers, ranchers and land managers.

Noble also understood that communities could be strengthened through targeted giving, so from even the earliest days, he made philanthropy an essential activity of the Noble Foundation.

Through almost seven decades, the generational stewards of the Noble Foundation – its board of trustees, which remains largely comprised of Noble’s descendants – have continued to pursue his vision. Today, the Noble Foundation is the largest independent, nonprofit agricultural research institution in the United States.

“Mr. Noble was a man of tremendous vision,” said Bill Buckner, president and CEO of the Noble Foundation. “He desired a way to give back, and he achieved a way to better the world through research, engaging agricultural producers and land managers, and targeted philanthropy. He was a truly remarkable individual, and we are proud to be a part of

this living legacy.”

On Sept. 19, 2015, the Noble Foundation will mark its 70th anniversary and launch a year of activities for employees and the public. The Noble Foundation employees kicked off the 70th anniversary celebration today with an organization-wide reception.

In November, the Noble Foundation’s Profiles and Perspectives Community Enrichment Series will host a special agricultural speaker as part of the anniversary. Chris Koch was born missing both arms and legs, but he has not let it stop him from farming in southern Alberta, Canada. His presentation “If I can…” will take place on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.

Throughout the year, the Noble Foundation will release a series of special stories and videos that highlight the organization’s seven decades of contributions to agriculture, research, education and philanthropy. The organization will also host a special

social media campaign, sending out more than 1,000 blue cow figurines (the cow representing agriculture, the blue color representing the Noble Foundation) to demonstrate the lives touched by the organization.

Participants in the national campaign will post photos of their blue cow traveling the country with them and tell their personal story of how the Noble Foundation has impacted them.

The public can join in the blue cow social media campaign. The first 300 participants who like or follow one of the organization’s social media networks will receive a blue cow. Participants must find a network they have not already followed then post a message on that network with the #BlueCow and the phrase, “I want a blue cow!” The Noble Foundation’s social media networks include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To wrap up the 70th year, the Noble Foundation will host a reception and art show focused on

Red River bill advances out of committee

A

bill to protect private property along the Red River was approved by the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee recently, moving the legislation one step closer toward full consideration by the House of Representatives. The “Red River Private Property Protection Act,” H.R. 2130, introduced by U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, seeks to settle all federal ownership claims by providing legal certainty to landowners along the Red River.

“I’m very pleased that the Natural Resources Committee agreed to consider my bill and passed it out of the committee today. This is an important step

toward our ultimate goal of getting this bill signed into law,” Thornberry said. “I will continue working with my colleagues in the House and Senator Cornyn, who has introduced similar legislation in the Senate, to resolve this issue once and for all.”

Many landowners and other public officials are alarmed that Bureau of Land Management (BLM) actions might result in disputed claims of ownership.

Since concern first arose in December 2013, Thornberry’s office has held multiple meetings, phone calls, and other correspondence with landowners, as well as local and state officials, to coordinate action. Thornberry’s bill reflects the input they

received by listening to landowners, the Texas General Land Office, and many others.

The legislation will provide legal certainty to property owners along the Red River by: n Commissioning a survey of the entire 116-mile stretch of contested area along the Red River using the gradient boundary survey method developed and backed by the Supreme Court to find the proper boundary between private and federally owned land. n Ordering that the survey be conducted within two years by Licensed State Land Surveyors and approved by the Texas General Land Office in consultation with The Commissioners of the

Andy Rest Joins NALF Team

T

he North American Limousin Foundation is pleased to announce the hiring of Andy Rest, Billings, Mont., as a regional manager.

Rest will cover a territory of the Midwest and western U.S., including Oklahoma and Missouri, Kansas on special assignment, as well as western Canada.

Rest is a native of Illinois and holds a degree in agriculture journalism from Colorado State University. After graduation he became a member of the team that began the Limousin World publication, where he worked for 18 years. In 2002 he accepted a position as a regional manager for the American Angus Association.

Since 2014 he has owned his own business, Rest

Livestock Services, providing sales service at leading cattle and horse sales in Montana, Wyoming and Canada. In addition he provided marketing assistance for the American International Charolais Association in the western United States.

“We are pleased to welcome Andy back to the North American Limousin Foundation and the Limousin World publication. His marketing experience and industry knowledge make him a great asset to members and stakeholders of the Limousin breed,” said Mark Anderson, North American Limousin Foundation executive director.

Rest will begin duties October 1. He can be reached at 406/670-5678, mobile; or by email at Andy@NALF.org.

Land Office in Oklahoma. n Allowing landowners who hold the proper right, title, and/ or interest in the contested area to appeal the determination of the survey to an administrative law judge. Landowners are also able to file for a modified Color-of-Title Act land patent request for public land that has been held in good faith and in peaceful adverse possession for $1.25 per acre. n Preventing any contested land from being included in the Resource Management Plan outside of the provisions in the bill.

celebrating farm life and the land during summer 2016 at the Goddard Center in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Details and instructions on how to enter will be released in January 2016.

“We will proudly celebrate the many people and accomplishments of the Noble Foundation throughout the next 12 months,” Buckner said. “But our view is always on tomorrow. We will use this year to also highlight where the Noble Foundation is going.

We will continue Mr. Noble’s charge to benefit agriculture and strengthen communities long into the future using both proven practices as well as new approaches, discoveries and innovations. Our quest never ends.”

Page 14

Livestock Market Digest

October 15, 2015

Palouse, Washington farmer who killed wolf offered $100 deal by Whitman County, WA prosecutor

BY RICH LANDERS, THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

A

Palouse farmer who chased down and killed a wolf in a crop field on October 12, 2014, has been given what wolf advocates are calling a sweet deal by Whitman County prosecutor Denis Tracy.

According to the Capital Press, Jonathan Rasmussen, 38, has been charged with killing a state endangered species, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The farmer won’t face criminal prosecution for shooting a gray wolf if he pays $100 and commits no further game violations for the next six months, Tracy announced.

The rifle used to kill the wolf — a Remington Model 700 in .300 Weatherby equipped with

a Leupold scope — was seized

by Washington Fish and Wildlife(WDFW) officers at the time of the incident. It’s not clear whether the property will be returned to Rasmussen.

“I recognize that the shooting of a wolf generates strong emotions in some people, and depending on the person, those emotions run either in support of such an act or opposed to such an act,” Tracy said in a written statement.

State Fish and Wildlife police turned the evidence in the case over to the county prosecutor on November 19, 2014. The original WDFW report said the man, with his wife in the vehicle, chased the wolf in a vehicle and shot it in a farm field about 15 miles southwest of Pullman.

Rasmussen called 911 to relay a report to wildlife officials that he had killed a wolf.

19 Cases of WNV Found in Texas Horses

A

recent slew of sample submissions indicative of West Nile virus (WNV) have upped the total number of positive cases in Texas to 19. The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) confirmed the WNV cases via serological test.

As of Sept. 18, 2015, TVMDL can confirm a horse in the following counties tested positive for WNV. Houston County; Atascosa County; Jefferson County (2 cases); Roberts County; Sterling County; Parker County; Randall County; Liberty County; Scurry County; Hutchinson County; Taylor County; Nolan County; Trinity County; Robertson County; Midland County; Orange County; Harris County; Victoria County.

The affected horses range in age from a yearling to more than 10 years old. As with earlier reported positive cases, the majority of the affected horses were not previously vaccinated against WNV. The main method of WNV transmission is through mosquito bites. The virus abruptly attacks the central nervous system. In the U.S., clinical signs for WNV develop in only 10-39 percent of infected horses. The death rate among U.S. horses ranges from 30 to 40 percent for West Nile disease.

Of horses that recover from the disease, up to 40 percent may exhibit neurological signs for six months or more after the initial diagnosis.

Horse to human transmission is not a concern; however,

mosquito control for livestock and humans is important. The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) have information related to WNV and mosquito control available for free download.

Though the TVMDL Serology Section has received numerous requests for Eastern Equine Encephalitis testing, the number of positive cases remains at 7 for 2015. EEE is a viral disease that also normally cycles between wild birds and mosquitoes. As the virus infection rate increases in birds it is more likely to be transmitted by an infected mosquito that bites horses and humans. The virus abruptly attacks the central nervous system. As with WNV, EEE cannot be transmitted from horse to horse, or from a horse to a human. Horses and humans are considered “deadend” hosts, meaning if infected they cannot transmit the virus back to feeding mosquitoes.

Symptoms for other neurologic diseases can present similarly; diagnostic testing is the only method to definitively determine infection. In order to have a complete diagnostic picture, TVMDL also recommends veterinarians request additional tests including: equine herpesvirus-1, western equine encephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis.

For more information on TVMDL’s equine neurologic testing, visit tvmdl.tamu.edu, or contact the agency headquarters at 1.888.646.5623.

Source: TVDML

Tracy said he’s heard from wolf advocates urging stiff prosecution while others in the public backed Rasmussen for protecting public safety as well as his animals.

However, Fish and Wildlife police said the wolf had not been reported as threatening people, pets or livestock. The case report released to reporters said: “He at no point indicated that he thought he or his family was in imminent danger or that the animals at the horse barn were in immediate danger of being attacked. (He) stated that he thought if the wolf was allowed to live it would kill ani-

mals in the future.”

In an interview with the Capital Press, Tracy said the public interest and public passion in the case didn’t influence his decision, but it was one reason the case took 11 months to resolve.

“Their impact was to cause me to be very careful,” he told the reporter. “I thought about this case and how to resolve it for quite sometime.”

Tracy said he concluded that giving Rasmussen the option of paying what Tracy estimated were the administrative costs for handing the case was justified for several reasons, but that it was not a case of yielding to

local sentiment.

Mitch Friedman of Conservation Northwest said the case proves that gray wolf recovery in Washington is not ready to be put in the hands of local governments.

“The prosecutor seemed to base his decision on a perception that the defense could argue that this wolf, the first seen in Whitman County in almost a century, was a public danger solely on the basis of it having existed,” Friedman told Northwest Sportsman. “Mr. Tracy therefore is now the poster child for the case for retaining federal listing. ”

October 15, 2015

Livestock Market Digest

The View FROM THE BACK SIDE

The Politics of Cow

BY BARRY DENTON

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of this publication.

T

he election cycle seems like it begins very early these days. It is headline news and we are still over one year away from the actual election. If I remember correctly the first primary is in February.

The first thing that comes to mind is how many of these candidates from either party own cattle? How many know what it is like to get up at 4:00 a.m. in the winter, ride a cold backed horse four miles over frozen ground to a water hole, find some wood, build a fire, so you can stay warm while chopping ice for cattle?

If you asked any of the candidates that question at the next debate, they would ask you why you were talking about things that have not happened in over one hundred years. Little do they know. Traditionally ranch-

ers and cowboys do not change much.

The candidates would want to know why you didn’t drive to the water hole in a nice warm pickup. They do not understand that there are no roads to the water hole.

Cowboying has always been dangerous work. If you do not think so then look at what it costs to insure the cowboy working for you. If your employee is horseback the premium goes way up. Cowboys used to be a dime a dozen, now they are a rare breed and have become more valuable.

So continues the saga of the rancher trying to make a buck.

In the last four years which politician has helped the cowman the most? Any? Not that I know of.

We can all moan and groan about our elected officials, but what do we do to change it in our favor? Normally we vote for the guy that we think is the least damaging to our way of life.

I do not know what good that does us as it is the city folk that determine elections. I would

venture to say that we need to change the entire process.

The first thing I would do is require politicians to wear jump suits like NASCAR drivers. No more coat and ties. The politicians could sew on a patch for each corporation or millionaire that gives them money. Then the public would know exactly who they were voting for. If there wasn’t a New Mexico (or your state) Agriculture patch on a particular candidate then why vote for him or her? The way it is now, we do not have a clue who is supporting whom. It only seems fair to me.

Can you imagine a politician actually having to disclose something? Most will never answer a direct question. Remember these are the folks making rules for you to live by. Why do we need those fools making rules for good honest hard working folks?

It is time we made a few rules for our misguided elected officials.

Let’s talk about a rule that really sticks in my craw that was made by alleged cattlemen.

I am talking about the “Beef Checkoff” designed by National Cattleman’s Beef Association (NCBA). Every time we sell a bovine at auction we have to pay a dollar to this program whether we endorse it or not. In my book this is extortion.

How is this any different than the mob getting a portion of your sales if your store is in a

Page 15

mob neighborhood? I would say that it is even worse as you do not get a choice on paying in.

At least with the mob you can refuse them. You may get your legs broken, but at least you have the option. I guess the upside is that the NCBA won’t break your legs.

When you start your day tomorrow I want you to look around your ranch and point to the good things that the NCBA has done for you. Make a list and mail it to me. Next month we can compare lists. Do not mail it “postage due” even though your stamp money has gone to NCBA. We should change the entire election process and get the money out of it. I was recently speaking with a former gubernatorial candidate that lost in the primary. This particular candidate was determined to save the country from lobbyists while running. The candidate came to our small town and railed against big business and lobbyists.

The candidate explained how evil lobbyists were and how corrupt our system was because of it. When I asked the candidate what job they had since losing the primary, the candidate had become a lobbyist. No, I am not kidding, a true story.

I think we cowmen need to run a candidate that comes off as anti cow. Let them spread the word of how bad cattle are and then as soon as they get elected

Health officials baffled by rise of ‘rabbit fever’ across US West FROM REUTERS

U

.S. health officials said in early September 2015 that they were puzzled by a surge in the number of people who have contracted a rare bacterial disease usually found in rabbits that has already killed a Wyoming man and sickened dozens of people in Colorado, South Dakota and Nebraska this year.

The unusually high number of cases of tularemia, sometimes called rabbit fever, have been concentrated in northeastern Wyoming and in neighboring parts of South Dakota and Nebraska and farther south in the Colorado Front Range, where there have been reported die-offs of animals like rabbits and voles that can carry the infectious disease, Wyoming health officials said.

While tularemia, whose symptoms can include fever, sore throat and muscle aches, is often present in the environment, it rarely sickens more than a few people a year in Wyoming, a handful in Colorado and just a few in South Dakota, health officials said.

That compares to 41 confirmed human cases so far this year in Colorado, 14 in Wyoming – the highest number in the quarter century that reliable records have been compiled – and at least 19 in South Dakota, the most since 34 people

acquired the ailment in 1984, state epidemiologists said.

“This is quite unusual,” South Dakota epidemiologist Lon Kightlinger said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying cases in those states and Nebraska to identify common factors, Wyoming State epidemiologist Tracy Murphy said.

The disease is treatable with antibiotics but can be deadly. It killed an elderly Wyoming man

earlier this year after causing a severe infection of his central nervous system, Murphy said.

Tularemia can be transmitted to people through handling of sick animals, including pets like cats and dogs that have come in contact with infected rabbits or rodents, as well as bites from ticks, deer flies or horse flies.

Infections also are linked to activities such as lawn mowing, in which people inhale bacteria from contaminated dust, or handling animal carcasses,

health officials said.

They are warning people in the four states to avoid contact with ailing or dead rabbits or rodents, especially without wearing rubber gloves and masks, and advised testing of pets showing any symptoms.

Animals that tested positive for tularemia near Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming led the National Park Service to post signs urging visitors to stay on marked trails and avoid contact with animals.

they will immediately advocate for us. We are going to have to be as dishonest as the other side to get anything done. I suggest we find an errant cattle trader that is just getting out of jail for our next candidate.

I keep reading about these disruptive nuts that belong to “Black Lives Matter”. It never dawned on me that they were talking about black people. That would be a good line for the Angus folks. Maybe more like “Black Cows Matter” this would be true, as most of what sells the best today are black cattle.

Next time that you are hauling a few cattle to the sale to pay a few extra bills I want you to ask yourself these questions.

Why does my congressman have a better health plan and pension than me? Why am I forced to pay for it? Why is not the term “career politician” an oxymoron?

Remember, it is not the working person or cattle that cause the problems in this country.

Page 16

Livestock Market Digest

October 15, 2015

Fall Herdbuilder Bull Sale

Orion Beef Group

November 6, 2015

Reputation Red Angus and Hybreds

Weschenfelder Development Center • Shepherd, MT • 1:00 pm The Home of Herd Bulls in Volume NEED CALVING EASE? LOOK NO FARTHER

ID

Reg #

4247B

1681728 164 51

HB

GM

CED

WW

YW

MILK ME

15 -6.5 53

BW

87

26 -5

HPG CEM

10

9

STAY

12

MARB

YG

CW

REA

FAT

0.22 -0.07 12 0.70 0.04

DENIRO X BRUTE FORCE X ENTERPRISE • 104 MPPA DAM FROM THE PHENOTYPIC BLACKBIRD COW FAMILY!

4194B

1682181 192 54

12 -6.6 51

87

19 1

12

1

19

0.86 -0.07 13 0.37 0.00

REDEMPTION X PACKER X ROMEO • GREAT CALVING EASE BULL FROM THE HERD BULL PRODUCING DINA COW FAMILY!

4217B

1681752 118 52

10 -5.5 55

88

27 2

9

6

10

0.64 0.08 14 0.31 0.05

DENIRO X VENTURE X TIGER • THE DENIRO SONS HAVE FEED EFFICIENCY BUILT IN AND ARE READY TO GO!

BIG TIME BIRTH TO GROWTH LEADERS WITH SO MUCH MORE Beckton Epic R397

Siring Some of the Stoutest Cattle Available Today

ID

Reg #

4140B

1682012 153 53

HB

GM

CED

BW

WW

YW

12 -6.0 62 111

MILK ME

19 6

HPG CEM

11

1

STAY

14

MARB

YG

CW

REA

FAT

0.48 0.08 28 0.18 0.01

REDEMPTION X WIDESPREAD X CODY • GREAT CALVING EASE TO GROWTH GENETICS IN THE SUPER STUD!

4041B

1682244 154 52

11 -5.0 62 110

23 3

10

6

REDEMPTION X PACKER X RIBEYE • THIS BULL HAILS FROM THE FAMOUS CRYSTAL COW FAMILY!

4168B

1682064 167 54

11 -3.9 76 126

18 4

9

2

14

0.38 0.17 29 -0.01 0.02

16

0.74 0.02 39 0.27 -0.02

REDEMPTION X MEATPACKER X NEW CHAPTER • IMPRESSIVE PERSONAL PERFORMANCE IN THIS BULL - 92BR, 116WR, 109YR

4220B

1681993 122 51

8

-1.8 80 130

29 5

10

2

12

0.60 0.45 44 -0.29 0.07

CONQUEROR X NEW CHAPTER X NO EQUAL • INCREDIBLE CALVING EASE TO GROWTH SPREAD!

TOP OF THE BREED HERDBUILDER BULLS ID

Reg #

4652B

1687285 235 53

HB

GM

CED

WW

YW

MILK ME

14 -8.0 46

BW

66

14 0

HPG CEM

10

6

STAY

23

MARB

YG

CW

1.13 0.07 -3

REA

FAT

0.45 0.09

TAKEOVER X BERRY CHERRY X B571 • THE 5TH HIGHEST NON PARENT HERDBUILDER INDEX BULL IN THE BREED!

4428B

1708842 225 52

6

-2.9 65 102

21 -2

17

5

22

0.93 0.21 27 0.32 0.08

EPIC X PACKER X VACATION • RANKS IN THE TOP 1% OF THE BREED FOR HERDBUILDER INDEX AND HAD A 136 IMF RATIO!

4423B

LSF Conqueror 0026X

Significant Calving Ease to Growth Spread Leader

1708840 218 52

6

-2.1 69 111

18 -2

17

3

22

0.84 0.09 33 0.69 0.07

EPIC X PACKER X VACATION • ONE OF THE TOP PROSPECTS FOR HERDBUILDER INDEX WITH A OVER A 1250 LB AYW AND A 13 INCH RIBEYE!

4476B

1708897 203 53

2

-1.3 81 128

18 2

18

4

21

0.72 0.05 44 0.89 0.06

EPIC X PACKER X JEWELMAKER • THIS STUD IS LOADED FOR GROWTH, MATERNAL AND CARCASS WITH A 105 MPPA DAM!

NEED MORE MARBLING - HAVE A LOOK AT THESE STUDS ID

Reg #

4256B

1681708 206 54

HB

GM

CED

8

WW

YW

MILK ME

-5.7 54

BW

82

18 2

HPG CEM

13

8

STAY

20

MARB

YG

CW

REA

FAT

1.42 0.16 10 -0.20 0.02

PREMIER X P707 X MISSION STATEMENT • FROM THE FAMED ABIGRACE COW FAMILY WITH OUT OF THIS WORLD MARBLING NUMBERS!

4425B

1708794 107 54

-1

0.5 73 114

24 3

10

8

10

1.33 0.08 39 0.40 0.02

EXPECTATION X JEWELMAKER X CHEYENNE • ONE OF THE TOP EXPECTATION SONS TO EVER SELL FROM OUR PROGRAM!

4280B

1681900 115 54

5

-3.1 68 112

20 6

12

8

9

1.19 0.16 32 0.23 0.04

CONQUEROR X EXPECTATION X TOP BRASS • IF YOU NEED MARBLING IN YOUR PROGRAM, THIS IS THE STUD FOR YOU!

4251B

1681743 119 53

5

-0.4 74 113

21 4

14

2

11

1.19 0.09 36 0.41 0.03

STRATEGY X EXPECTATION X PACKER • THE DAM BOASTS A 104 MPPA FROM THE HERD BULL PRODUCING DINA COW FAMILY!

Brown JYJ Redemption Y1334

Leader for Calving Ease, Growth and Stayability

Selling

210 Coming Two Year Old Bulls

180 Coming Two Year Old Red Angus Bulls 30 Coming Two Year Old Red Hybred Bulls 30 Sons of Beckton Epic R397, 10 Sons of Brown JYJ Redemption, 12 Sons of HXC Conquest, 12 Sons of LSF Conqueror, 10 Sons of VGW Password, 15 Sons of Trax Rushmore (SM), 6 Sons of Hook’s Yukon (SM), 5 Sons of Beefmaker (SM)

Lot 1 LSF TBJ Takedown 4857B - a full brother to the $105,000 LSF TBJ Takeback that sold in the 2015 Spring Herdbuilder Sale! He Sells!

Call today for a catalog or dvd! www.ludvigsonstockfarms.com Ryan Ludvigson Billings, Montana (406)534-4263 office • (515)450-3124 mobile rl_ludvigson@hotmail.com

Park Ludvigson Cushing, Iowa (712)384-2200 office • (712)229-3431 mobile parkludvigson@hotmail.com