LMD October 2018

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Riding Herd

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

by LEE PITTS

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

October 15, 2018 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 60 • No. 10

Nice Little Doggy BY LEE PITTS

B

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

y the time you read this we ought to be right in the middle of celebrating Wolf Awareness Week. I don’t know about you but I’m about as excited about the big celebration as a week-old calf being torn limb from limb by a pack of the killing machines. According to the Defenders of Wildlife, Wolf Awareness Week, (the third week in October) “is a time we set aside in particular to celebrate these important animals, highlight the threats to their survival, and spread the word about what you can do to help wolves stay protected and help humans learn to live alongside them.” I’m sure condo-dwelling New Yorkers, Congresspersons in DC and actors and rock singers on the beach in Malibu are all excited about Wolf Awareness Week because, well, let’s face it, it’s much easier “to live alongside wolves” when the only ones are on the pages of National Geographic. Naturally, the celebration of Wolf Awareness Week is somewhat more muted in Idaho where a mother worries her kids might get attacked by a pack of wolves while waiting for the school bus, or in Washington state where it would be a lot easier for a rancher I know to learn to live alongside wolves if only they’d quit killing a fifth of his baby calves. Just in case you haven’t purchased your gifts yet to give to

The best way to describe a cowboy Is mud, blood, guts, and glory.

your loved ones in celebration of Wolf Awareness Week might we suggest a hoodie with a wolf on it from the Shadowland Foundation who receives 30% of each zip hoodie sold. All the proceeds, of course, “help care for the Shadowland Foundation wolf pack.” Or for only $50 you could receive from the Defenders of Wildlife your very own wolf adoption kit which includes the cutest little cuddly wolf plush toy that any child would love. It looks very much like the family dog. Ah, and therein lies the problem.

One Big Happy Family Until recently scientists thought that dogs descended from gray wolves. Now, the prevalent theory is that while dogs and wolves once shared a common ancestor, the dog did not directly descend from gray wolves. The dog/wolf common ancestor was definitely not the prehistoric wolf that went extinct at the same time mammoths and saber-toothed tigers did, and no one really knows what kind of animal gave rise to all dozens of dog breeds we have today. What we do know is

that dogs have been man’s best friend for the last 10,000 years and these “friends” looked very much like wolves. This phenotype commonality between wolves and dogs easily explains why dog-crazy urban dwellers feel such an affinity for wolves and want them “saved” at all costs. No matter how many calves get eaten. There is probably no other resident of the animal kingdom that brings forth such emotion as the wolf and any writer who dares say anything negative about wolves is subject to anonymous death threats. Believe me, I know firsthand. America is a nation of dog lovers who look upon wolves as only one friendly pat and a Milk Bone removed from the poodle or the pomeranian at the end of their leash. Dog lovers think they’re all part of the same big happy family and there’s nothing ranchers can do that will continued on page two

Texas Beef Checkoff Facing Legal Challenge BY TIFFANY DOWELL

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n addition to an ongoing legal challenge in Montana, state beef checkoff programs in 13 more states are now facing legal challenge. Ranchers-Cattleman Action Legal Fund (“R-CALF”) seeks to expand the injunction it obtained in Montana to also include checkoff programs in Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The current beef checkoff litigation began in Montana where R-Calf filed suit against the United States Department of Agriculture in 2016. In summary, the plaintiffs argued that because the USDA required them to pay money to the Montana Beef Council to support speech contrary to their beliefs, this violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment. In particular, plaintiffs are upset that the Montana Beef Council promotions and advertisements do not distinguish between US and foreign beef. During this litigation, the plaintiffs obtained an injunction from a Montana federal judge, requiring that all of the $1 per head collected when cattle are sold be sent to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board, rather than

the prior practice of $.50 going to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the other $.50 going to the Montana Beef Council. Pursuant to the injunction, which is in place throughout the pendency of the litigation, if producers wish to have $.50 of their assessment send to the Montana Beef Council, they must complete a form requesting for that to be done. The injunction was upheld on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In August, plaintiffs filed a motion to expand this injunction far beyond the state of Montana, seeking similar injunctions be imposed on beef checkoff programs in thirteen additional states. [Read Motion here.] R-CALF claims that the checkoff program “has weakened the US cattle industry” and that this litigation seeks to prevent producers in the additional thirteen states from funding private speech with which they disagree and they believe harms their financial interests. A critical issue in this case will be whether the promotions funded by the qualified state beef councils, like the Montana Beef Council, constitute private speech. This is an issue that the United States Supreme Court has addressed several times, reaching differing continued on page four

Signs Of A Stroke

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ne of the signs you’re getting old is the AARP and the American Heart Association will send you pamphlets warning about the signs of a heart attack or stroke. Trust me, it’s not junk mail. Nor is it anything to laugh at, although I’m often seen rolling on the floor these days it’s not from laughter but because I fell and can’t get up. Here are some signs I had: • I can’t remember words. That might not be a problem for a hot house hog janitor but I’m a writer and words are my meal ticket. Sometimes it’s simple words like when I called to my wife, “What’s that color that’s real dark?” She correctly replied, “Black.” • I couldn’t walk. After breakfast on Thanksgiving morning I got up, or at least I tried to. I took one step and did a face plant on the floor. My entire left side went to sleep and wouldn’t wake up. I now walk with a cane or walker, bounce off walls and do things contortionists in Vegas can’t duplicate. To the untrained eye it looks like I’ve had waaaaay too much to drink. I wish. • I’m grounded. My wife won’t let me drive or go anywhere. Now I know what those turtles on top of fence posts in Nebraska feel like. I think I could drive but my wife is afraid I’ll kill someone or harm our reputation if any of the townspeople see me trying to walk a white line. • I’m suddenly stupid. I always took pride in my smarts. I was a straight A student and finished college in three years. My wife insists that my intelligence was the main reason she married me. (It couldn’t have been my looks or my last name.) Now I can’t even remember yesterday and a column that used to take me three hours to write now takes three days. I feel dumber than a Southdown sheep and suspect my IQ is a negative number. • I shake worse than a cat trying to pass a peach pit and jerk so hard I give myself whiplash. Once at the supper table my arm involuntarily

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