LivestockDigest

LivestockAUGUST 15, 2012 • www. aaalivestock . com Volume 54 • No. 8

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

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

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DigestRiding Herd

by Lee Pitts

Back in the day when myfellow cowpokes and Irode the range on ourrank stick horses, fan-ning Roy Rogers pistols

and living by the “CowboyCode”, life seemed much sim-pler. It was a more black andwhite world . . . there was rightand there was wrong.Our heroes were the TV cow-

boys like Roy Rogers and Hopa-long Cassidy. Roy had his ClubRules, Hopalong and the LoneRanger had their creeds, andGene Autry his Code of Honor.Needless to say, back then therewas no shortage of rules for myamigos and I to live by. Thesecanons of ethics were all verysimilar: Be neat, clean and cour-teous, don’t ride a horse on thesidewalk and eat your share ofbeans. Gene Autry told us that acowboy never takes unfair advan-tage, never betrays a trust, nevergoes back on his word and whenyou make a promise, keep it.Live by those words these

days and you’ll be shot down likea bad guy in the dusty streets athigh noon. It’s clear that the sen-timental old world view of ouryouth has no place in businesstoday, as this unbelievable storywill most assuredly attest.

You Gotta Be KiddingIn our December 15, 2010,

front page story, “The Bigger

left farmers and grain elevatorsholding an empty sack of what-could-have-beens. Instead ofchecks that reflected the highestcorn price in history they gotchecks that bounced higher thanIowa corn stalks at harvest time.Even the lucky ones who cashedtheir checks while there was stillsome money in the VeraSun

bank account were told thatunder state bankruptcy laws any-one who got paid during 90 daysprior to the bankruptcy had torepay 80 percent of what Vera-Sun had already paid them. Pay-ments made during those 90days are known as preferentialpayments because a debtor “pre-ferred” to pay one creditor overanother.” We wrote at the time, “such a

mess could never hit the cattlebusiness, right?”Don’t look now but it just did!When Eastern Livestock, the

largest cattle broker in the coun-try went bankrupt, it was esti-mated they owed more than$130 million to 743 sellers ofcattle in 30 states. Eastern’sbank, Fifth Third Bank frozeEastern’s accounts on Nov. 2,2010, after uncovering an allegedcheck kiting scheme and as

They Are” I wrote about a com-pany called VeraSun Energy. Itwas the largest ethanol companyin the U.S. and hundreds of corngrowers had contracted theircrop to them, anticipating aonce-in-a-lifetime bonanza dueto record corn prices. We wrote,“When VeraSun declared bank-ruptcy on October 31, 2008, it

Breaking The Code“If you find yourself in a hole, the first

thing to do is stop diggin’.”

continued on page four

www.LeePittsbooks.com

Forbidden Foods

Did you hear that theMayor of New Yorkhas proposed a ban onsodas larger than 16

ounces? For the health of hisconstituents he doesn’t wantthem drinking any more 32ounce sodas, but how dumbdoes he think the people arewho elected him? Givenenough time, even NewYorkers should be able to fig-ure out that if they want 32ounces of sugary soda allthey have to do is buy two 16ounce drinks. Duh!In California they have

banned fatty goose andduck liver on the groundsthe poultry were force fed. Iwish they’d have thought ofthat 50 years ago so Iwouldn’t have had to eatthe liver my mom force fedme. It tasted like gardensnail, marinated in cod liveroil and held together withlibrary paste, all nonfooditems I tasted as a youngchild. I go on record asbeing wholly in support of aban on all liver. Yuck!Massachusetts banned

junk food on school daysand Indiana has mandatedthat half of all items sold invending machines at schoolsbe healthy foods. I knowAmerican school kids aren’tdoing well on tests but,again, just how dumb dothey think they are? It won’tbe long before second gradesugar junkies are peddlingM and M’s out of theirbackpacks at highly inflatedstreet prices. (That’s whatI’d have done.) If they insiston putting carrot sticks andbroccoli in vendingmachines they shouldn’texpect the kids to spendtheir folk’s hard-earnedmoney on them. Mark mywords, there’s gonna be awhole bunch of produceand carrot juice rotting invending machines.Rare burgers have been

outlawed in California andNorth Carolina, so can aburger bun ban be farbehind? The sale of raw milkhas become a real hot issueand 20 states have outlawedunpasteurized milk becauseit can make people sick, butI think we’ve just become anation of softies. I’ve neverread of a single pioneer whodied from drinking raw

continued on page two

by RON ARNOLD, Washington Examiner

Professional foresters have known foryears that environmentalists are theforests’ worst pest. Green groups’ law-suits block federal forest health

improvements and catastrophic wildfire pre-vention measures, leading to destroyed com-munities, dead animals and forests and timberjobs exported to foreign suppliers.House Natural Resources Committee

Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., recentlyconvened an oversight hearing on the prob-lem, titled, “The Impact of Catastrophic For-est Fires and Litigation on People and Endan-gered Species.”A single panel of four nongovernment wit-

nesses laid out different perspectives on thehearing’s major premise: For decades, envi-ronmental groups have used the EndangeredSpecies Act, the Federal Land Policy andManagement Act, and the National Environ-mental Policy Act to file dozens of lawsuitsthat block timber fuels reduction and thinningprojects that would decrease the risk of wild-fires that decimate species' habitat.The issue doesn’t register on many people

because it’s too technical. What are timberfuels? How could thinning prevent wildfires?

Big Green lawsuits cause megafires,destroy endangered species

Any number of past surveys show that theAmerican psyche sees forests as either Dis-neyland or Chartres cathedral: clean, safe,well-managed playgrounds or temples for thefaithful.Timber fuels are anything in the forest that

gets dry or combustible — grass, brush, trees,dead or downed wood — or whatever. Thin-ning is the removal of these things throughsuch methods as logging, junkwood hauling,chipping and mulching, pile and controlledburn, livestock grazing to crop tall grasses inopen forests, et cetera. Such management ofthe woods keeps them clean and safe.However, the green faithful hate develop-

ment, including firefighting roads, tree cuttingin fire-prone stands, and water catchments toput out megafires. When imposed by lawsuitupon an actual forest, the Big Green Bibleproduces a Crispy Critters National Waste-land. Humor aside, such behavior should be afelony.Committee Chairman Hastings made this

point tellingly by placing a superscription overthe hearing’s briefing paper. It was a 2009quote from Kieran Suckling, executive direc-tor of the Tucson, Ariz.-based Center for Bio-

continued on page five

Page 2 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

much as $2.5 billion in fictitioussales to related entities. I vividlyrecall at the time a couple of mygood friends felt very lucky thattheir deals with Eastern werecompleted and everyone waspaid. “There but for good fortunewe could have been stuck too,”they thought. Now those same friends are

madder than a rained-on-roosterbecause the trustee for Eastern’sbankruptcy wants them to giveback most of the money theywere paid, despite the fact thatall they got out of the deal was asmall commission. John Rodgers, cofounder of

Western Video, the secondlargest video company in the

country, has been selling live-stock both as an auction ownerand repping cattle for his videofirm for nearly half a century. Asa former World Champion auc-tioneer he was weaned on amicrophone and raised in thedust of a sorting alley. Like thou-sands of transactions every year,Rodgers repped one load of cat-tle for a consignor on WesternVideo for future delivery andthose cattle were shipped andpaid for 88 days prior to East-ern’s bankruptcy filing. Eighty-eight days, remember that num-ber. Rodgers repped cattle underthe name The Stockman’s Mar-ket, they sold to Eastern, and thecheck was for $91,413.67.Rodgers made a commission of$2,100. The check was datedSeptember 30, 2010, and clearedthe bank on October 5, 2010.Everyone got paid, the cattlewere delivered and everyone washappy. End of story. Right?Not quite.

A Dear John LetterWhen Rodgers received and

read a letter dated June 26,2012, from the Indianapolis firmof Faegre Baker Daniels whorepresent Eastern’s bankruptcytrustee, he couldn’t believe whathe was reading. Remember thatwe told you to remember the 88day figure? Eastern’s bankruptcywas filed in December 6, 2010,and 90 days prior was September7, 2010. The time in between isknown as the “preference period”and Rodger’s transaction inquestion fell within that timeframe. By two days!We quote from the infamous

Dear John letter: “Because thepayments were made when East-ern was insolvent and otherwisemeet the criteria for establishinga preferential payment under thebankruptcy Code, the paymentscan be recovered by the Trusteeon behalf of Eastern’s bankrupt-cy estate.”“In the interest of avoiding

the costs and delays of litiga-tion,” the letter continued, “theTrustee has authorized us to set-tle the amount of the preferenceclaim against you in exchange forpayment by you in the amountof $82,272.30, representing 90percent of the total sum of thepayments your companyreceived. Upon your writtenacceptance “you shall be releasedby the Trustee and the Easternbankruptcy estate from all liabili-ty on account of any preferentialtransfers.”Keep in mind, Rodgers only

received $2,100 of the money.The letter goes on, “In the

absence of a consensual settle-ment, the Trustee will file a law-

suit against you. Accordingly, ifwe do not receive payment orhear from you by July 26, 2012,we may commence litigationagainst you for the full amountof the preference payments wehave identified. We will also seekinterest and costs of suit.”We’ve heard that there were

at least 400 such letters droppedlike bombs on unsuspecting mar-ket men, traders, feeders, etc.around cattle country.

Fair And SquareMy reaction would be, “Heck

no, I’m not giving you one thindime! Why should I have to givemoney back that didn’t even goto me? It was a straight up dealand everyone got paid.” Those ofus who were raised by the cow-boy codes and creeds of our TVidols would say everything was“fair and square.” This has to bea mistake.I’m afraid not.The Bankruptcy Code

assumes that anyone declaringbankruptcy is insolvent 90 daysbefore the actual bankruptcypetition is filed. Therefore, allpayments made by the companymade during that period are sus-pect. In one instance, the attor-neys are demanding $400,000and will forgive the other $1.6million, which is 20 percent. InRodgers’ case they are demand-ing 90 percent. Every case seemsto be different.According to the Livestock

Marketing Association’s brilliantattorney, Ernie Van Hooser,“The preferential payment clausewas included in the bankruptcycode to prevent people whoknew they were going bankruptfrom saying, “I like this personbetter than you so I’m going topay him and not you. The ideawas that this would even it up sothat everyone would get pro-ratashare of what was left.” But asVan Hooser points out, “Clearly

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Breaking the Code continued from page one

The trustee for Eastern's bankruptcywants them to give back most of

the money they were paid.

continued on page three

August 15, 2012 “America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper” Page 3

this was not the case with East-ern. They did not know theywere going bankrupt so theycouldn’t have made preferentialpayments. They had no plans todeclare bankruptcy. They wereforced into bankruptcy.”

A Rock And A Hard PlaceEastern Livestock’s revenue

tripled during the year previousto bankruptcy all because it wastrading with itself — kitingchecks so its money movementlooked like it was three times itstrue volume. Why didn’t anybank or regulatory agency catchon to that discrepancy? GIPSAreceived its first complaint abouta bad check for livestock sold toEastern on November 3. Thefirst time most cattlemen heardabout Eastern’s demise was onNovember 9, when the USDAissued a news release titled,“Bond Information for ProducersWho Sold Livestock to EasternLivestock Company LLC.”So how was Rodgers, or any-

one else, for that matter, sup-posed to know in September notto do business with Eastern?Fifth Third Bank had a $32.5million operating loan with East-ern, are you telling me they wereso lax in their oversight that theydid not know that Eastern was indanger of default? Shouldn’tFifth Third bank or the Packersand Stockyards have known theywere in trouble and alerted theindustry so they could avoiddoing business with Eastern?Rodgers makes a very impor-

tant point: “As marketing agents,how do they expect us to con-

duct business? How can we pos-sibly know whose checks toaccept when the banks and thePackers and Stockyards don’t tellus who is insolvent?”There is evidence that Eastern

was insolvent for a much longerperiod than the 90 days prior tobankruptcy. Theoretically thebank could have waited untilEastern’s busiest period of theyear to force it into bankruptcywhen they knew there would bemore assets to go after. (Atten-tion lawyers, we are theorizing,not accusing.)Rodgers hopes cattlemen real-

ize how lucky they are that theycan receive such fast payment.“We are head and shoulders,”says Rodgers, “above all othercommodity groups as far as get-ting paid promptly.” It can takeseveral months for producers ofother commodities, like citrusand walnuts, to get paid andRodgers wonders if part of that issimply a precaution against hav-ing to return money in the caseof preferential payments demanddue to a bankruptcy.Under the Bankruptcy Code,

a Trustee has two years from thedate the bankruptcy petition wasfiled in which to commence apreference reclamation action.So to be safe from preferentialpayment demands a marketingagent would have to keep thefunds for two years before payingthem out to a consignor to besafe and protect himself. But noone would put up with that.Besides, according to the Pack-ers and Stockyards Act it wouldbe highly illegal, as they demand

immediate payment. So the mar-keting agent is caught between arock and a hard place.

Twice The PriceAccording to Van Hooser, the

preferential payment demandhas been part of the bankruptcycode for years but six or seven

years ago he says it was tweakedand more emphasis put on pur-suing these claims. As withalmost every law being writtenthese days, someone will find away to exploit it for their owngood. Initially years ago the pref-erence statutes may have beenwritten with good intentions, butas Rodgers says, “It was changeddue to pressure from the bigbanks and their lobbyists.After studying the issue it’s

hard not to agree with Rodgers.Says Rodgers, “If they can

make us pay twice for the sameset of cattle, indeed, our politicalsystem really is broken beyondrepair. It’s a pay-to-play systemin Washington, and Congress-men and Senators are literallypaid off by the bankers. Banksfinanced their campaigns andthe bankruptcy laws were virtual-ly written by the bankers. Andit’s not just one party, it’s boththe Democrats and Republicans.

That’s one problem with ourmarketing sector, we have noway to gather up large sums ofmoney to pay off politicians.There’s nothing in place to paythem off.”At this point Rodgers and the

other hundreds like him mustmake a decision. They can pay

the amount out of their ownpocket that the bankruptcytrustee is demanding; they cantry to settle with the Indianapolisattorneys for a lesser amount; orthey can hire an attorney to gointo battle with the bankruptcytrustee over the preferenceclaim. They will have to hire theirown attorneys out of their ownpocket and go to Indiana to doit, since that’s where the bank-ruptcy was filed. The one thingthey cannot do is ignore the pref-erence demand. As Rodgerssays, “If you do some judge willissue a Summary Judgment ofdefault against you and you haveno choice but to pay it.”You can see why when Ernie

Van Hooser tries to make sinceof this mess he says, “It makesmy head hurt.” And Ernie’s alawyer!One of the things I think we

can all agree on is that the gov-ernment is partly to blame

because of their lax oversight,after all, it was the government’sjob to regulate and enforce thePackers and Stockyards rules toprevent things like this from hap-pening. It happened on theirwatch. They’re also to blame forhaving a law on the books thatcan be manipulated in the banksfavor. We wonder then, as wedid two years ago, why the gov-ernment covered the huge lossesof Goldman Sachs, GeneralMotors and countless banks, andnot the losses they are now try-ing relieve the banks of, andhand off to unsuspecting andinnocent market men?One thing you can rest

assured of is that Rodgers andothers like him will never goback on their customers to tryand recover the funds. “I will notlet the banks go after a consign-or. That’s our job to standbetween them. We can’t allowour customers to be in jeopardy.”Rodgers hasn’t even told theconsignor of that one load of cat-tle that he’s being asked to paytwice for. And he won’t. “Thereis absolutely no way in the worldI’d let the banks go after one ofmy customers.”So, cattlemen, next time you

say that the commission you payan auction market, video sale ormarketing agent is too highremember who is willing to standbetween you and the bankers.Between you and the govern-ment. Between you and thecourts. As this story aptly illus-trates, the money you pay alicensed, bonded and fullyresponsible marketing firm is thecheapest insurance against luna-cy you’ll ever buy.

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Breaking the Code continued from page two

The Bankruptcy Code assumes that anyone declaring bankruptcy is insolvent 90 days before the

actual petition is filed.

Access to private property isguaranteed across federal landsby the Alaska National InterestLands Conservation Act (ANIL-CA). Although the privatelandowner is required to file anapplication explaining the loca-tion of such access, that applica-tion cannot be denied underANILCA. According to the Sen-ate Committee reports regardingANILCA, Congress intended toeliminate the federal govern-ment’s discretion in allowingadequate and feasible access toinholdings by “direct[ing] theSecretary to grant the owner ofan inholding such rights as are

necessary to assure adequateaccess to the inholding, and isintended to assure a permanentright of access to the concernedland across, through, or overthese Federal lands by suchState or private owners or occu-piers and their successors ininterest.”The problem with the applica-

tion system however is that theBLM routinely, and many times,intentionally and unreasonablydelays processing such applica-tions, thereby denying access tothe private property during theprocessing. It is more commonthan not to have an application

for access delayed years, all thewhile denying access to privateproperty. How can a privatelandowner enjoy and use hisproperty if he cannot get to it?So starts the story for Mr.

VanDenBerg. He cannot accesshis private property and the fed-eral government refuses toprocess his application for rea-sonable access. But that is not allof the story.In complete frustration at the

bureaucratic delays and denials,Mr. VanDenBerg decided to usean existing road to get to hisproperty. This road, noted as anexisting road on the 2005 SanJuan National Forest map andknown as County Road 33A, hasbeen in existence since 1886.The road was clearly visible onthe ground as well as noted onthe federal government’s maps.Mr. VanDenBerg cut dead falltimber from the roadway andmoved it out of the way.Although he followed the tracksof the road and he did not getout of the roadway that has

existed for over 125 years, theBLM charged him with civil tres-pass charges in federal districtcourt. Not wanting to expend the

money on a huge and expensivetrial, Mr. VanDenBerg decidedto settle with the BLM. The set-tlement agreement states thatMr. VanDenBerg does not admitto ANY of the claims or asser-tions put forward by the govern-ment and that he is simply reim-bursing the federal governmentfor the reclamation of the deadtrees he cut. Although he did notwant to settle with the federalgovernment, he recognized that

the federal government is repre-sented by the largest law firm inthe world, the U.S. JusticeDepartment, and that he wouldbe buried in litigation costs. Hethought a settlement agreementwould end the matter and thatthe BLM would process hisapplication so that he could havethe access to his private propertythat he was promised by Con-gress.But before the ink on the

agreement was barely dry, theU.S. Attorneys Office issued a“press release” that incorrectlylabels Mr. VanDenBerg as a“trespasser” and claiming hisattempt to access his own privateproperty is “unauthorized.” Therelease also states that Mr. Van-DenBerg’s actions occurred in a

Page 4 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

milk. I suppose it won’t be longbefore states try to outlaw icecream and milk shakes but if youthink that ban will work you mustbe on medical marijuana. Speak-ing of which, the day is probablynot too far off that if you want toconsume dairy products you’ll

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Riding Herd CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

The Power of the Bureaucracy and the Press to Stop Access to Private Propertyby KAREN BUDD-FALEN, Cheyenne, Wyoming

What started as an attempt to get access across Bureau ofLand Management (BLM) land in western Colorado forone patented mining claim owner has turned into a fullscale war by the federal government to make an example

out of a private landowner to “deter [actions regarding access to pri-vate property] in the future.” Private landowner Andrew VanDen-Berg is at the center of the controversy, including now being vilifiedby a press release issued by the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office(part of the U.S. Justice Department).

continued on page five

have to carry a “medical milk”card.In the Wall Street Journal they

mentioned that some states arebanning high alcohol content beerand a liquor named Absinthe,which I, and most Americans Ipresume, have never heard of.Now that it’s banned I’m sureeveryone will be drinking it.I suppose it might be different

if they’d have outlawed foods Ialways hated, like the watery liq-uid that comes out of a ketchupbottle first and ruins your Frenchfries. I also wouldn’t mind a banon creamed tuna on toast,cucumbers, red cabbage, carp,peas, asparagus, arugula, marzi-pan, lima beans, sheep innards,beets and eggs. Especially eggs.More specifically hard boiledones. To this day just the smellof one makes me sick. (So guesswhat my wife loves to eat?)I was what my mother called

a “picky eater” and since my old-er brother liked corned beef andcabbage I had to eat it too, butI’ve always thought that cornedbeef is a waste of a good cow. Iwas sure glad when he left home.My Grandma, bless her heart,always tried to feed me Fig New-tons which is the only cookie I’veever disliked.Seriously, I have a real prob-

lem with these food bans. InAmerica, the land of the free,you’re telling me that the govern-ment is going to now tell us whatfood we can and cannot eat?Where does it end? Will peopleone day have to be 18 or older toorder a fast food burger or apeanut butter and jelly sand-wich? Here’s an idea: instead,why don’t they ban all the chem-ical spices in our food and leaveour beef and milk alone?They can ban all the liver they

want but when the food policecome after my beef, chili beans,root beer, wheat toast, Mexicanfood and potatoes in all forms, Iwill take up arms and fight themto the death. I think we can allagree to “ban” together if theycome after our boysenberry cob-bler with homemade ice cream.As I’m sure Patrick Henry

meant to say, “Give me spuds, orgive me death.”

August 15, 2012 “America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper” Page 5

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logical Diversity.Suckling said: “When we

stop the same timber salethree or four times running,the timber planners want totear their hair out. They feellike their careers are beingmocked and destroyed — andthey are. So, they becomemore willing to play by ourrules and at least get some-thing done. Psychologicalwarfare is a very underappre-ciated aspect of environmen-tal campaigning.”It’s not just wretched hid-

den agendas that thwart forestmanagers and fire fighters.The law itself, piled high withold environmental agendaitems, is wildfire’s best friend.Rick Dice, president of theNational Wildfire SuppressionAssociation, told the hearingpanel, “Our environmentallaws individually provideimportant safeguards. But col-lectively, they overlap in con-tradictory ways that make itnearly impossible for the fed-eral land managers, localelected officials, partnershipgroups and private firefighting

companies to navigatethrough the legal paperwork.”American environmental law

has only STOP buttons. Thereare no GO buttons that canforce a development throughspecial interest litigation.Witness Alison Berry, an

energy and economics expertat Montana’s Sonoran Insti-tute, said as much. She rec-ommended that the ForestService “overhaul the publicland laws that are draggingdown federal land manage-ment. Reform should bedirected at making nationalforests less vulnerable toseemingly endless litigation.”Hastings and his staff post-

ed a video of this crucial hear-ing on the committee’s web-site, which everyone shouldwatch. In the meantime, howdo we put STOP buttons onthe environmentalists’ psycho-logical warfare against devel-opment, and give GO buttonsto rational management ofour nation’s forests?

Examiner Columnist Ron Arnold is execu-tive vice president of the Center for theDefense of Free Enterprise.

Big Green Lawsuits continued from page one

The wildfires in New Mexi-co, Colorado and through-out the West are pushingthe country’s firefighters to

the brink and threaten unprece-dented environmental damage.Experts suggest that gradualglobal warming will increase thefrequency of such events, furthernecessitating the search for solu-tions and preventative measures,says H. Sterling Burnett, a seniorfellow with the National Centerfor Policy Analysis.Burnett emphasizes the gov-

ernment’s complicit role in inad-vertently worsening the effects ofthese fires. Specifically, publiclands and national forests havebeen subject to “letting naturetake its course” policies that leavethem vulnerable to fires and exac-erbate the effects of such events.

� The U.S. Forest Serviceestimates that more than 190million acres of public land are atrisk of catastrophic fires, includ-ing 60 percent of our nationalforests.

� This is partially a function ofthe rapid growth in forest density,both among trees and brush veg-etation, which legally cannot bechecked by human intervention.

� Timber harvests, for exam-ple, have plunged more than 75percent from a peak of 12 billionboard feet per year to less than 4billion board feet per year.

� This results in increasingcompactness of trees: large pon-derosa pines, which grew instands of 20 to 55 trees per acre,now grow in densities of 300 to900 trees per acre.

Burnett argues that the nega-tive impacts of these policies,which largely prohibit preventa-tive measures, can be seen in thedamage reports of the mostrecent fires.

� Twenty years ago, a wildfireexceeding 100,000 acres wasdeemed to be catastrophic, buttoday, such large-scale fires arethe rule rather than the exception.

� In 1998, for instance, therewere 81,043 wildfires, burning1,329,704 acres.

� Recent years have seen acomparable number of firesresult in dramatically greater

losses: in 2011, 74,126 fires left8,711,367 acres in cinders.This significant increase in

acres lost per fire could beaddressed if preventative meas-ures were permitted.

� Burnett advocatesallowance for intentional anddirect mechanical thinning ofvegetation and logging to reduceforest density.

� He would also make provi-sion for “controlled” burns as anadditional measure for reducingthe incidence of wild forest fires.

Source: H. Sterling Burnett, “Harvesting Trees WillPrevent Fires,” New York Times, July 11, 2012.

Catastrophic Wildfires“wilderness.” All of those state-ments had been disputed by Mr.VanDenBerg. Even the settle-ment agreement itself noted thatthese statements are only allega-tions by the United States, yettheir press release states them asfact. When asked about the falseand misleading statements in thepress release (in addition to not-ing that Mr. VanDenBerg deniedall of the allegations in the settle-ment agreement), the U.S. Attor-ney noted in an e-mail to Mr.VanDenBerg’s attorney, “While Irealize that you and your clientwere disappointed in the pressrelease, . . . it is routine for thisoffice to issue press releases onthese kinds of settlements, espe-cially in cases where the conductis of the kind that we hope todeter in the future.” The attitude taken by the fed-

eral government reminds me ofthe EPA Administrator whoresigned in April of 2012 afterhis admission that the EPAenforcement is “like how theRomans used to conquer littlevillages in the Mediterranean.They’d go into a little Turkishtown somewhere, they’d find thefirst five guys they saw, and theywould crucify them. And thenyou know that town was reallyeasy to manage for the next fewyears.” He then said the sameapproach could prod companies(and individuals) to obey envi-ronmental laws: “You makeexamples out of people who arenot complying with the law.” Inspecifically reviewing the EPA’stactic, often the “violations ofthe environmental laws” werenot based upon statute or regula-tion, but based upon an interpre-

tation by EPA personnel. Thesame holds true in these accesscases. Congress guaranteed theright of access to private proper-ty across federal land. However,the intent of Congress is beingcompletely ignored because indi-vidual landowners do not havethe time and money to enter intocostly legal battles against themassive bureaucracy to enforcetheir right of access to their pri-vate property. Exposing theseinfringements upon individualrights to the public and to Con-gress is a way to have these gov-ernmental agencies and the indi-viduals within the agencies stoptheir unlawful coercion, intimi-dation, and strong arm tacticsagainst individual citizens whohave limited resources to defendthemselves against these injus-tices. Mr. VanDenBerg has contin-

ually tried to gain accessapproval to his private propertythat he has owned since 2007;the BLM refused to grant himadequate access and he still hasno access to his private property.Even though the BLM and Mr.VanDenBerg settled their legaldispute with neither party prov-ing their case and Mr. VanDen-Berg specifically stating that hedid not admit liability for anyfact or legal conclusion, the U.S.Attorneys office still issued apress release to make an exampleout him like the Romans did toconquer Turkish towns. Giventhe magnitude of the number ofprivate individuals harmed bythese illegal types of actions, it isno wonder that the federal gov-ernment is mistrusted by somany injured individuals.

Private Property continued from page four

Page 6 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

Stray livestock wanderingbetween Chihuahua, Mexi-co, and Texas continue topresent animal health con-

cerns along the Rio Grande Riverin far West Texas according toTexas Animal Health Commis-sion (TAHC) and United StatesAgriculture (USDA) officials. Atotal of 96 head of cattle (72adults and 24 calves) originatingfrom Mexico were recently cap-tured and transported to govern-ment pens for inspection and test-ing. Luckily, all of the animalstested negative for both bovinetuberculosis and brucellosis, dis-eases found commonly in Mexico.According to Dr. Grant

Wease, field veterinarian forUSDA/APHIS Veterinary Serv-ices in El Paso, the primary pur-pose of this gather was to pre-vent the introduction of livestockdiseases into the state of Texasand the U.S. “We have had indi-cations that some cattle werebeing taken off the river and sold

through various livestock mar-kets in Texas and New Mexico,and that is an illegal entry of ani-mals in the U.S.” Dr. Wease alsostated that, “So far a total of 310head of cattle and 140 head ofequine have been captured thisyear along the Texas/ Mexicoborder.”According to the Texas and

Southwestern Cattle RaisersAssociation (TSCRA) brandinspectors, all fire brands foundon the cattle appeared to be ofMexican origin. There were 20head of cattle that had no brandsat all. “It took a cooperativeeffort between TAHC, USDA,local authorities, and cattleindustry partners to make thisgather possible,” said Dr. DeeEllis, Texas’ State Veterinarian.Dr. Ellis also added, “Because ofongoing border security prob-lems and the illegal movement oflivestock, Texas and the U.S.continue to be at high risk fordisease introduction.” Citizens

Section 1503 of the Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act (“the stimulus”)granted billions of dollars

to the Department of Energy forthe purpose of funding projectsin renewable energy. This fund-ing, President Obama thenclaimed, would result in hun-dreds of thousands of “green-col-lar” jobs that would serve as thefoundation for economic recov-ery, says Investor’s Business Daily.Three years later, it seems

that this money has been alto-gether wasted, and that therenewable energy revolution hasfailed to materialize. This is evi-denced first by the shoddy per-formance of these billion-dollargrants in creating jobs.

� Through the broad stimuluspackage, the Obama administra-tion awarded $9 billion to theDepartment of Energy for thecreation of these green jobs.

� According to a report by theNational Renewable EnergyLaboratory, a part of the U.S.Department of Energy, thatfunding created only 910 directjobs between 2009 and 2011.

� Using this figure, Americantaxpayers paid approximately$9.8 million per job.

� If we allow for the broadclassification of “indirect jobs,”the figure increases to 5,510 jobscreated at a cost of $1.63 millionper job.Near the end of this adminis-

tration’s first year in office, VicePresident Joe Biden promised

722,000 green jobs would begenerated by the stimulus. Theresults, it seems, have fallen farshort of this promise.Meanwhile, the current admin-

istration has done all it can tostrangle job growth in the oil sec-tor of the economy. By killing theKeystone XL pipeline to deliveroil to American refineries fromthe oil sands of Alberta, Canada,President Obama demonstrated asevere bias against proven jobgrowth, favoring instead the inef-fective vehicles employed by hisstimulus package.

� Mark Ayers, past head ofthe AFL-CIO Building and Con-struction Trades Department,told the Huffington Post lastNovember that “the KeystonePipeline represents the prospectfor 20,000 immediate jobs.”

� Further, these positionswould be complemented byapproximately 500,000 indirectjobs, made available by the eco-nomic multiplier effect of theproject.

� Importantly, the Keystonepipeline required no governmentsupport (that is, no tax dollarslost).While campaigning four years

ago, then-Senator Obama prom-ised that $150 billion in govern-ment spending on renewableenergy projects would create 5million green-collar jobs over 10years. This seems altogetheruntrue.

Source: “Obama’s Green-Jobs Fraud Exposed,”Investor’s Business Daily, June 21, 2012.

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If there are any heroes in the Abandoned / Neg-lected / Abused horse quagmire, it is the BLMWild Horse Program. The “Unintended Conse-quences” of Wild Horse Annie’s dreams have

taken the pendulum of reasonable “wild horse”management . . .to the extreme.No one who personally contributes their money

or time toward the care of these animals doubtsthat, but many have been caught in a trap of theirown making. One of the most obvious contributorsto the demise and destruction of the status and val-ue of The Horse, wild or tame (remember they areboth domestic animals), are the animal rightsgroups. Their leader is the Humane Society of theUnited States. They are stumbling through thenightmare of this continuing horse-abuse land-scape of their own creation, lurching like a 35-tonmoney-sucking tick.The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is

routinely bashed and criticized by both those whofavor horse slaughter, and those who don’t. TheBLM, by law, is allowed to run a limited number ofhorses on federal lands. The horse slaughter advo-cates have always accepted this premise. Most ofthe animal rights, anti-slaughter advocates do notunderstand why overrunning the range with horsesis bad for both man and beast. The animal rightsgroups and their supporters have declared it “ille-gal, immoral, and abusive” to sell unadoptable wildhorses to slaughter plants. But they are of no help

when the BLM has to thin the range herd.The HSUS, whose revenue in 2010 was $148

million, does not offer to feed, treat, care for orhouse the unwanted horses. The politicians whosupport HSUS (and I assume are supported by),take no responsibility either; like Rick Santorum,(PA), Senator Landrieu (LA) and Governor Mar-tinez of New Mexico. What’s worse is they offer nohelp and impede those who are trying.So, the BLM pays ranchers to keep the unwant-

ed horses in feedlots or pastures for the rest oftheir lives. Horsemen watching the BLM knowthat what has transpired, was never Wild HorseAnnie’s dream. To see the carnage that has hap-pened to The Horse in our country due to HSUSand their allies, would make her sorely grievous. Ihave deliberately connected the wild horse prob-lem with the privately-owned horse abuse crisis,because their plights are entwined and laid at thefeet of the same people. But my admiration goes out to those who con-

tinue to try and hold back the tidal wave of “unin-tended consequences”; the horse rescues, localhumane societies, ranchers, farmers, deputies, vets,knowledgeable politicians and the good horsemenand women workin’ for the BLM. They are like thethousands and thousands of workers still boggeddown in the aftermath of Katrina. They work whiletheir foes continue to pour buckets of water overthe levee, blind to the legacy they have created.

Praise where praise is due

“All-In” for the first annualAmerican Akaushi Asso-ciation Convention,

November 9-11, Bastrop, Texas,best describes the feelings,excitement and today’s industryrecognition achieved by Akaushienthusiasts throughout the U.S. This first ever gathering of

Akaushi breeders, feeders, pack-ers, retailers, restaurants, andconsumers, is one of the mostanticipated in the Beef industrytaking place at the Hyatt LostPines Resort and Spa. The “All-In” aspect of how industry rela-tions have combined to providenew and greater profitabilitythrough Akaushi, will be thehighlight of this three-day event. Akaushi is one of the many

breed’s imported for the Ameri-

can Beef industry, but that’swhere much of the similaritystops for this unique beef breedoriginating in Japan. Through anucleus of eight cows and threebulls first arriving in the USA in1994, Akaushi have flourishedand are now produced in all cli-mates of the U.S. The American Akaushi,

known as “Nature’s HealthyBeef”, are recognized in theindustry and by consumersbecause of the rare, inherent ole-ic acid and the higher ratio ofmonounsaturated to saturatedfat in the beef. Data confirmsthat these results offer con-sumers a proven healthier Beefselection for their diet, while pro-viding Akaushi breeders moreopportunities for higher profits.

The “All-In” American AkaushiAssociation Convention will bringbreeders, allied partners and con-sumers together for the first timein an event offering information,fellowship and fun with great fam-ily-style atmosphere. Bubba Bain, executive direc-

tor American Akaushi Associa-tion says, “there’s something foreveryone including a trade show,speakers, panel discussion, “funauction”, golf tournament, Tasteof Akaushi, Country Church andHeartBrand Beef ranch tour.Our story and our breed has theBeef industry talking. We areextremely excited about this firstconvention.”

Visit www.americanakaushiassociation.comfor the complete convention schedule and reg-istration, or call the American Akaushi Associa-tion at 830/540-3912.

Green jobs fraud exposed

Stray Mexican Cattle captured in Texasare encouraged to contact locallaw enforcement or animalhealth officials to report anyunusual activity regarding live-stock or poultry near the border.With limited resources, the

TAHC and USDA work togeth-er with state, federal and locallaw enforcement officials to con-tinually monitor border areas toprevent the introduction of for-eign livestock or poultry diseasesfrom entering Texas. It is antici-pated that more cattle will becaptured in Texas in the futureas the animals continue to movefreely across the Rio Grande incertain locations.

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First Annual “All-In” American Akaushi Association Convention

August 15, 2012 “America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper” Page 7

While most Americanscelebrated Independ-ence Day by tossinghamburgers on the

grill, cheese on the fixings tableand leather baseballs to eachother, animal rights and radicalenvironmental activists celebrat-ed by demanding all three pas-times be banned for the planet(or the children). Of course, theyreally mean “for the cows,” butthat might only motivate PETA’sIngrid Newkirk and her legion oflettuce ladies.To counter these dubious

claims, The Center for Con-sumer Freedom (CCF) wentinto the heart of cattle country,writing in the Fargo Forum. WhyNorth Dakota? Not long ago,the Forum offered a platform toanimal-rights nutrition gadflyNeal Barnard — you mightremember him as the formerPETA science advisor who calledcheese “dairy crack.”

The executive director ofCCF called out the animal-rightscrowd for latching on to a flawedstudy: A 2006 U.N. study citedby Singer — an oft-cited prophetof the environmental movement— claimed to calculate that ani-mal agriculture worldwide isresponsible for 18 percent ofgreenhouse gas emissions. Morethan even transportation.The only problem? One of the

report’s authors has since walkedit back, acknowledging method-ological flaws. “We factored ineverything for meat emissions,and we didn’t do the same thingwith transport,” he said. In otherwords, it is an apples-and-oranges comparison.But those aren’t the only con-

venient omissions. When you canfind a shill for a semi-vegan dietrulebook (who has a fondness fora two-egg breakfast, no less) writ-ing in the New York Times thatmodern production methods for

meat and dairy are evil, it’simportant to learn the real effectsof modern agricultural practices:

� Washington State Universi-ty professor Dr. Jude Capper,who studies agriculture and envi-ronmental issues, quantifies justhow much agriculture today hasimproved on farming from just afew decades ago.

� Capper finds that the dairyindustry was able to reduce itscarbon footprint by 44 percentfrom 1944 to 2007 despite nowproducing more milk. How?Advances in management, ani-mal nutrition and genetics.That should be news to

activists who say we need to go“organic” to avoid “the absolutedestruction of everything.” Ofcourse, those activists also saythat they “go on feelings,” whichillustrates that their claims haveminimal scientific support. Per-haps that’s the real “inconvenienttruth” of this particular debate.

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HumaneWatch.org, a project of thenonprofit Center for Consumer Free-dom (CCF), has petitioned KansasAttorney General Derek Schmidt to

investigate the deceptive fundraising prac-tices of the animal rights group HumaneSociety of the United States (HSUS).HumaneWatch.org released a full reporttoday exposing HSUS’s misleading telemar-keting, direct mail, and television appeals.The new analysis reveals that the animalrights group’s fundraising activities might bemore than just dishonest, speculating thatthese tactics could violate some charitablesolicitation or consumer protection laws inthe Sunflower State.The new report delves into years of

HSUS’s direct mail, telemarketing, and televi-sion appeals, which actively perpetuate themisperception that HSUS’s primary focus isto care for abandoned and abused cats and

dogs. However, a look through the group’s taxreturns reveals just 1 percent of its multi-mil-lion dollar budget goes to local hands-on shel-ters and rescues. That’s a surprise to many ofHSUS’s own donors. Recent public polling byORC International determined that 71 per-cent of Americans mistakenly believe thatHSUS is a pet shelter umbrella group, and 68percent wrongly think that HSUS spendsmost of its money on pet shelters. “HSUS is a factory fundraising machine,

sucking valuable dollars out of local commu-nities with its advertisements that misleaddonors into believing a majority of its budgetbenefits local cats and dogs,” said J. JustinWilson, CCF’s Senior Research Analyst.“HumaneWatch’s new report clearly demon-strates that HSUS is fully aware of its decep-tive fundraising tactics.”The report documents multiple occur-

rences of HSUS misrepresenting its work,

including an appeal for donations in 2010that begs donors to “please send your bestnew membership gift of $8, $12, $15 or asmuch as you can give to protect and saveprecious puppies’ and kittens’ lives.” Howev-er, HSUS doesn’t run a single pet shelter andlocal shelters aren’t seeing much of HSUS’sdonations, with several local organizationsgoing so far as to change their names inorder to prevent donor confusion.“The truth is HSUS knows what opens

Americans’ wallets and it’s not photos ofHSUS’s sad-looking lawyers and lobbyists,”continued Wilson. “If HSUS wants to spendits donations funding its PETA-like agenda,it shouldn’t be doing it on the backs ofAmerica’s needy pet shelters and by mislead-ing Americans.”

You can view the report here: http://www.humanewatch.org/images/uploads/DeceptiveFundraisingPracticesofHSUS.pdf

Watchdog Group Calls on Kansas AG to Investigate the Deceptive Fundraising of HSUS

Beef exports show no major fallout from BSE

With the April 24announcement of thefourth BSE case in theU.S., May was the first

month in which any BSE-relateddecline could be detected inexport statistics. May beefexports did not reveal a majorimpact, though global totalswere likely affected to somedegree by the market closure inSaudi Arabia and negative mediacoverage in some Asian markets. “All things considered, we are

pleased with the manner inwhich beef exports have weath-ered the most recent BSE case,”Seng said. “With the exceptionof Saudi Arabia, we have not suf-fered any significant setbacks interms of market access. Andthough we expected consumerinterest to slow temporarily inmarkets such as Korea, the Mayexport results were actually quitestrong.” Seng explained that while

year-to-date exports to Koreawere down 24 percent in volume(58,143 metric tons) and 17 per-cent in value ($273.1 million),May results were higher (+5 per-cent in volume, +13 percent invalue) in both categories. Hesaid the main factors impactingU.S. beef exports to Korea in2012 are an oversupply ofdomestic beef and a slumpingKorean currency, noting thatAustralia’s beef exports to Koreahave also declined by about one-third compared to last year. In several major markets, beef

export volume has slowed mod-erately compared to the first fivemonths of last year but increasesin export value were stillachieved. Examples include:

� Japan, where volume wasdown 6 percent to 56,297 metrictons but value was 13 percenthigher at $370.7 million. In May,Japan was the largest destinationfor U.S. beef with the highest

export volume (16,166 metrictons) in 10 months. Export valuewas up 28 percent from May2011 to $105.3 million. Regula-tory officials in Japan continue toexamine the 20-month cattle agelimit on beef imported from theUnited States, Canada and theEuropean Union, but have so farenacted no change in the policy.

� In Canada, the only $1 bil-lion market for U.S. beef in2011, export volume was down 7percent to 64,260 metric tonsbut value was up 10 percent to$404.5 million.

� In the Middle East, exportvolume was down 7 percent to60,106 metric tons while valuewas up 10 percent to $138.1 mil-lion. Although Saudi Arabia wasthe only country in this region toclose to U.S. beef due to the BSEcase, confusion regarding possiblerestrictions (which never material-ized) in some other markets mayhave affected May results.

Forty years ago, a multina-tional group of businessleaders, politicians andintellectuals known as the

Club of Rome made the case forarresting the rate of economicgrowth. In their keynote publica-tion, The Limits to Growth, theyargued that ever-increasing con-sumption and depletion of theworld’s finite resources wouldinevitably lead to overextensionand eventual catastrophe, saysBjørn Lomborg, director ofCopenhagen Consensus Centerand adjunct professor at Copen-hagen Business School.From the point of view of the

club’s members, the exponentialgrowth of the human populationwould exhaust natural resources,leading to crisis and subsequentunparalleled human misery. Ifthe loss of natural resources did-n’t do humanity in, it would bepollution, and if not pollution,then the inability of the agricul-tural industry to meet increasingdemand.This alarmism, however, was

clearly unfounded. For starters,much of the predictions of theclub’s tome have failed to cometo pass. But more importantly,their fears for the loss of basichuman commodities failed toaccount for human ingenuityand innovation. These forcesconstantly create new pathwaysto production and new means forthe extraction and use ofresources.

� Before 2012, they conclud-ed, the world would exhaust sup-plies of aluminum, copper, gold,lead, mercury, natural gas, oil,silver, tin, tungsten and zinc —12 of the 19 resources theyexamined.

� These predictions reliedupon contemporary estimates ofknown and recoverable reservesaround the world, and allowedfor only marginal improvementsin efficiency that would lowerrates of consumption.

� That these materials are all inrelatively abundant supply to thisday speaks to human progress inthe last 40 years in discoveringnew deposits and using scarceresources more intelligently.The experience of mercury in

particular is instructive, aschanges in its use over the past40 years demonstrate the need-lessness of the alarmism promul-gated by the club.

� In The Limits to Growth,the authors argued that knownreserves of mercury would lastonly 13 more years, or 41 yearsallowing for a magical quintu-pling of reserves.

� Supporting this prediction,they pointed out that the price ofmercury had gone up 500 per-cent in the previous 20 years — atestament to its increasingscarcity.

� Since then, technologicalinnovations have replaced mer-cury in batteries, dental fillingsand thermometers.

� Mercury consumption hassince collapsed by 98 percent,and the price had fallen by 90percent in 2000.

Source: Bjørn Lomborg, “EnvironmentalAlarmism, Then and Now,” Foreign Affairs,July/August 2012.

Environmental alarmism then and now

Despite these issues, however,May export volume (12,766 met-ric tons) to the region was thelargest since January.

� In Southeast Asia, exportvolume (25,964 metric tons) wasdown 12 percent while value($112.3 million) was 13 percenthigher. This trend was made pos-sible by a surge in export value tothe two largest markets, Vietnam(+21 percent to $82.6 million)and the Philippines (+31 percentto $18.9 million).Two regions in which U.S.

beef exports are surging in bothvolume and value are Russia andCentral and South America.Though export activity to Russiahas slowed in recent weeks, Janu-ary-May exports were 24 percentahead of last year’s record pacein volume (32,307 metric tons)and 83 percent higher in value($138.8 million). Bolstered byterrific growth in Chile, exportsto Central and South Americawere up 42 percent in volume(14,715 metric tons) and 83 per-cent in value ($53.8 million).

HumaneWatch.org ReleasesNew Report Detailing HSUS’s

Misleading DonationSolicitation Practices

Page 8 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

essence and you need to knowwhat help is available. Still, Lincoln County Exten-

sion Agent Pete Gnatkowski saidthe credit for the “tremendous”response to the Little Bear Firebelongs not to any one person ororganization. “[Lincoln County] still has

enough people with what youwould call an ag or rural back-ground that they are able to takecare of themselves and others,”he explained. Gnatkowski added that the

people who needed help werethose who have a few acres and afew head of livestock, namelyhorses, with no way to movethem or any place to go. (Suchanimals were received at the

Capitan Fairgrounds.) Severalanimal shelters in the areaopened their doors to receivepets from people who had toevacuate their homes.Pets weren’t an issue in the

sparsely populated area threat-ened by the Whitewater-BaldyFire in Catron and Grant coun-ties, according to Catron CountyExtension Agent Tracy Drum-mond. “It was strictly range animals

we dealt with,” he said. “We wereable to drift the cattle out of theway of the fire.”New Mexico Livestock Board

inspector Don Hatfield helpedwith both livestock and law-enforcement issues amid the Lit-tle Bear Fire, according to

NMLB executive director MylesCulbertson.“Being right there on the

ground, Don was one of the firstpoints of contact,” Culbertsonsaid. “He has an excellent rela-tionship with local law enforce-ment, so we were plugged in onthat side right away.”The primary way agencies and

industry organizations stay“plugged in” with one anotherwhen big fires break out aroundNew Mexico is to start the dayoff with a conference call. Theyshare information in order tohelp support local efforts and fillin any gaps. New MexicoDepartment of Agriculture(NMDA) hosts the call, andamong those dialing in are coun-

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FEATURING THE . . .

Anita Hand, Datil,with the evening

torch bearer.

Jean Barton, California notonly enjoyed the Hawaii

meeting, but provided thepictorial record of the

event.

It was a family vacation for Susie Krentz (standingleft), her mother, LouiseKimble, (standingright), and Michelleand Bill Kimble,Douglas/Apache, AZ.

The Big IslandDraws Cattlewomen Across The West

The California Crew.

John & JudyAhmann,California

Theladiesof Oregon.

Special thanks to Jean Barton, Jessica Sanchez,& Alicia Sanchez for photographs.

BY KATIE GOETZ, New Mexico Department of Agriculture

This fire season has beenfull of superlatives in NewMexico and across theWest. The WhitewaterBaldy Fire in Catron and

Grant counties went down as thelargest blaze in the state’srecorded history, charring morethan 465 square miles of theGila National Forest. At a littlemore than 69 square miles, theLittle Bear Fire in the LincolnNational Forest was small bycomparison, but the more than250 homes and businesses lost tothat blaze make it the mostdestructive in state history.Perhaps the least-told story of

this fire season: A handful offarmers in the Dexter area com-bined to donate around 25 tonsof hay — nothing to sneeze at,especially considering the highprice of hay lately — to the Lin-coln County Fairgrounds inCapitan, which at one point dur-ing the Little Bear Fire providedshelter, feed, and water to asmany as 130 head of livestock.Randall Norris, Doug Whit-

ney, Berry Land & Cattle, andBogle Limited Company donat-ed the hay. “They didn’t donate old hay or

bad hay or stuff they couldn’tsell,” said Gary Krantz, whorounded up the donations. “Itwas number-one hay.”Across the Rio Grande, mem-

bers of New Mexico CattleGrowers’ Association pooled$1,100 to buy hay for livestockevacuated from the Whitewater-Baldy Fire. NMCGA ExecutiveDirector Caren Cowan said herorganization put some otherdonations toward starting anemergency fund for the future.Both gifts are examples of

something you hear time andagain when talking with leadersacross New Mexico agriculture: inan emergency, the self-sufficiencyand neighborliness of rural NewMexicans really shines through.“The agriculture community

in New Mexico is a close bunchof folks who really care for eachother individually and their com-munities collectively,” said NewMexico Secretary of AgricultureJeff Witte. “The response, dona-tion, and assistance in an emer-gency situation are examples ofthe best coming out in folks.”When an emergency situation

creates problems for New Mexi-co’s livestock owners, their firstpoints of contact are often thecounty extension agent and live-stock inspector. Both understandthe transportation and feedissues that come with large ani-mals, and both are well-connect-ed within the community and ata state level — an importantdetail when time is of the

FIRE! Preparedness Pays

Worst Case HitsMontana . . .

AMontana wildfiredestroying almost249,000 acres in lessthan two weeks has

killed almost half of a cattleproducer’s 800-plus herdand seriously burned more.Ranchers are assessing

the damage to their opera-tions following the wildfirein southeastern Montanabut the total damage won’tbe known for a few months.KPAX in Missoula reportedCecil Kolka lost an estimat-ed 400 cows and calves thatwere unable to escape theblaze. Kolka anticipates fur-ther losses as he continuesto find dead animals in hispastures and some livestockaren’t expected to survivesevere burns.The Associated Press

reported some of Kolka’scattle were burned so badlytheir hides were peeling.Some surviving cattle havebeen shot in mercy killings,others are limping on burnthooves.

August 15, 2012 “America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper” Page 9

ty extension agents, livestockinspectors, Cattle Growers, andNew Mexico Farm & LivestockBureau leadership. The groupthinks through the entire chain:Who has livestock in harm’s way?Can they move those animals, ordo we need to identify someonewho can help? Where will thoselivestock be taken, and where’sthe feed coming from?Those and other agricultural

questions are on Kelly Hamil-ton’s mind in an emergency situ-ation. He directs NMDA’sOffice of Agricultural Biosecuri-ty; as part of that position,Hamilton oversees the agricul-tural and natural resources pieceof what’s known as the Emer-gency Support Function (ESF)

system. Hamilton describes theESF system as a series of “indus-try-specific state plans” to helpbust up an emergency situationinto a bunch of smaller, moremanageable pieces. In otherwords, public health experts areleft to deal with only publichealth issues, while hazardousmaterials experts are left to dealwith only hazardous materialsissues and so on. “Prior to 9/11, you’d just have

a mass response of people andequipment,” Hamilton said.“Now it’s much more specific —you don’t have someone tryingto operate in an ag setting ifthat’s not their area of expertise.”Several people across New

Mexico agriculture say the

response to emergencies is farbeyond what it was 10 years ago.“We have spent years training

agency personnel and our indus-try partners to respond to situa-tions such as these fires,” Agri-culture Secretary Witte added.“When we experience the coop-eration and coordination, it trulyhelps protect our livestock indus-try.”As smoothly as things went

this fire season, as with anything,there’s always room for improve-ment. Hamilton said that check-lists are being developed, includ-ing an animal check-in form tokeep ownership straight whenmultiple people are moving evac-uated livestock to a single loca-tion.

“[The check-in form] willshow this is the animal comingin, this is the owner . . . this is theanimal going out with its owner.” Another communications

piece in development is a publicservice announcement advisinglivestock owners to develop aplan for their animals in case of awildfire or other emergency.That PSA gets down to suchbasics as making sure your truckand trailer are gassed up androad-ready — or identifyingsomeone who has a truck andtrailer if you don’t. “Last year during the Wallow

Fire, [Cattle Growers was] ableto identify a core group of peo-ple who were able to haul cattleif need be,” executive director

Jessica and Alicia Sanchez,

Belen, N.M., madethe most of a few

days away from RedDoc Farm.

ANCWPresidentBarbaraJackson (r) takes amoment with her husbandTim. In Barbara’s spare timethe pair operates AnimalHealth Express in Tucson,Ariz.

The Arizonabunch.

Keokee Wood(r) explains thehorse-breakingprocess at famedParker Ranch on KonaIsland which boasts anundercover breaking pen with

four pens.

Mary Jo Rideout anddad Carl Stevenson,

Red Rock, Ariz.,enjoyed the trip.

N early 200 Cattlewomen and CowBelles journeyed

from some 12 western states on the mainland to

Kona, Hawaii, in late May, 2012, galvanizing forces to de-

liver the good news about beef and the families who grow it.

In addition to educational and business meetings the group,

including many husbands, dads, and brothers, visited the

Big Island’s ranches and sampled local cuisine.

New Mexico had a strongcontingent.

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Energy Efficiency and Climate Policy: The Rebound Dilemma

Much of today’s energypolicy assumes that reg-ulations mandatinggreater energy efficien-

cy will reduce energy use. Thatisn’t always the case and energyefficiency improvements are sel-dom as large as promised byengineering calculations becauseof “rebounds,” says Robert J.Michaels, a senior fellow at theInstitute for Energy Research.For example, people who

install lighting that is 50 percentmore efficient frequently leavethe lights on longer, negatingsome of the energy savings fromgreater efficiency. This is calledan energy efficiency rebound,and such occurrences have beendocumented empirically onnumerous occasions. Further,the rebound effect is even broad-er than many recognize.There are four basic types of

rebound that might result fromimproved energy efficiency:

� Direct rebounds are adjust-ments in the production or con-sumption of a good whose ener-gy efficiency has increased (e.g.,improved vehicle fuel economythat lowers the per-mile cost ofdriving may motivate drivers totravel more miles).

� Indirect rebounds arechanges in the production or useof goods related in use to theactivity being improved in effi-ciency (e.g., increased fuel econo-my that leads to more driving alsoindirectly increases the demandfor tires, requiring more energyuse by tire manufacturers).

� Economy-wide reboundsare the impacts of an efficiencyimprovement summed over allaffected economic activities(e.g., if drivers are traveling moreoften, hotels will require addi-tional energy to meet increaseddemand for rooms and services).

� Embedded energy inputsare those that expend energy inthe process of creating moreenergy-efficient goods (e.g.,higher efficiency building insula-tion that lowers annual energyuse requires energy inputs toinstall the material).Given the pervasiveness of

various rebound effects, it shouldnot be surprising that backfireshave been documented, in whichthe resulting increase in energyconsumption outpaced the origi-nal gains from efficiency. Inthese cases, the net impact onenergy use is altogether negative.

Cowan said. “One of the things Ilearned this year is that we’ve gotto develop that in each quadrantof the state.”Cowan envisions having a file

of who’s ready, willing, and ableto help if given a couple hours’notice. The file would be com-plete with how each person couldlend a hand — whether that’shauling cattle or donating hay.“Ag is self-sufficient,” she said.

“People cowboy up to help them-selves and each other — but it’snice to know we have a networklike this in place when we need it.”

Page 10 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

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BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

There has been an increasein the production and useof sexed semen in beef cat-tle. “The major bull studs

such as ABS Global, Select Siresand Accelerated Genetics firstused dairy bulls for sexed semen.A dairy bull, in general, has veryhigh fertility and high quality ofsemen that can be more readilyprocessed and sorted for sexedsemen. The dairy breeds are veryfertile,” says Carl Rugg (BovineElite).Dairymen started using sexed

semen, partly because of highfertility that allowed this, andpartly because dairies do a lotmore AI breeding than do beefproducers. “Well over 70 percentof dairy cows are bred AI, whilewe might have 10 percent in thebeef industry. It was logical for

sexed semen to be used first inthe dairy business,” he explains.“A few years ago we started

seeing placement of beef bullsfor sexed semen production.Each of the major bull studs hasa handful of beef bulls they offerfor sexed semen availability.These are bulls with high fertilityand high quality semen that canmake it through the sex-sortingprocess. Not every bull’s semencan do this. We’ve seen Angus,Simmental, Hereford and a fewCharolais being offered for sexedsemen,” says Rugg. There arealso a few bulls chosen for sexedsemen in the club calf business.“The cost of producing the

straw of sexed semen might be$25 to $40 so the bull studs arepricing that semen fairly high tocover their expense of process-ing. The breeders who want touse it are paying a premium for

it. They might also be usingsome in-vitro fertilization, whichadds to the expense. They aretaking these high-end steps,however, to produce a high-endproduct,” he says.Sorted semen from Genex

(GenChoice, from Sexing Tech-nologies, the company that holdsthe patent to the sorting process)at this point has a lower concep-tion rate than regular AI. “Weget about 8 to 10 percent reduc-tion in conception using sexedsemen, but the flip side is thatwe get very good results on thesex,” says Willie Altenburg(Genex). “We call it GenChoice 90

because we guarantee more than90 percent of the calves will bethe desired sex. That’s a mini-mum; we usually get a better sexratio than that. We bred a lot ofcows last year to a bull with sort-

ed semen for bull calves and end-ed up with only one heifer. Shewas the only heifer from thatparticular sire,” he explains.Morgan Johnsrud (Genex)

says that only a few commercialbreeders are using sexed semenat this point. “When we get thecost of production down, it willmake it more attractive. Sexedsemen can simplify crossbreed-ing systems. Many ranchers arenot taking advantage of heterosisbecause of the logistics of main-taining a crossbreeding programwith natural service,” he says.“With sexed semen you can

now maintain your Angus baseherd, for instance, using femalesemen on your heifers. Then youalways have some good replace-ments coming on. You could usesexed male semen on thecowherd, with a terminal sire toproduce good crossbred steers to

sell,” says Johnsrud.“Sexed semen allows you to

do several things,” saysAltenburg. “If you are breedingheifers you can use heifer semento reduce dystocia (since heifercalves tend to be smaller at birththan bull calves), and then keepreplacements out of your heifersbecause hopefully they will beyour best genetics. If you are inthe bull business you can pro-duce males and sell $4,000 bullsinstead of $1,500 heifers,” hesays.“We are doing some trials

right now with Dr. Dave Patter-son at the University of Missourion timing of insemination withsexed semen — on fixed timeprotocols to see if there are dif-ferences. We did some fall-calv-ing herds recently but don’t have

Sexed Semen Options in the Beef Industry

continued on page eleven

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by CAREY GILLAM, Reuters

Texas cattle rancher GaryPrice knows what it is liketo worry about water. With2,500 acres of rough range

land situated about an hoursouth of Dallas, Price relies onrain-fed soils to provide thehearty grass forage he needs tofatten his cattle. When the ani-mals are sold at grocery meatcounters, every pound of fleshspells potential profit for Price’sfamily.“Ranching is really mostly

about water and grass. So you’vegot to look at ways to controlwater,” Price said in an interviewat his 77 Ranch, where tempera-

tures over 100 degrees drive hiscattle into the shade every dayand have spurred swarms of hun-gry grasshoppers.A recent stretch of devastat-

ing drought in Texas and fears ofongoing water scarcity acrossmany parts of the United Statesare pushing Price and others inranching and farming into newfrontiers of water conservation.In Price’s case, that means

teaming up with a corporatepartner, water-thirsty Miller-Coors Brewing Co. The second-largest U.S. brewer has beenhelping him build fences for newgrazing rotations and plantnative prairie grasses that growthick, retain rainwater and limitrunoff.Corporate America’s con-

cerns about water availability arenot new, but of late they aregrowing. More than 40 interna-tional corporate leaders met inJune in Rio De Janeiro to reaf-firm the need for concertedaction to address a growingwater crisis.Across the globe, water con-

sumption has tripled in the last50 years, and at least 36 U.S.states are anticipating someareas of water shortages by 2013,according to the EnvironmentalProtection Agency. Farmingalone consumes 70 percent of allfresh water used around theworld.With that in mind, public and

private interests working onwater conservation have startedpushing partnerships with farm-ers and ranchers to protect waterquantity and quality. The work isstarting in Texas but is intendedto spread nationwide.

Invest in farming practicesIn May, the U.S. Department

of Agriculture said it would fund$2.8 million for improved landand water management practices

like those on Price’s land, provid-ing incentives to farmers in anarea of Texas that targets152,309 acres.“It is not going to be one

organization or one company orone government that is going tosolve this problem. It is going totake all of us collectively,” saidKim Marotta, MillerCoors direc-tor of sustainability.MillerCoors acted after an

internal assessment showed thatthree of its eight U.S. breweries,including one in Fort Worth,Texas, faced potential watershortages. The company is work-ing on water conservation at itsbreweries, but also is identifyinglarge agricultural water usersnear its breweries and asking topartner with them on conserva-tion.“We’re just starting that

work,” Marotta said. “You haveto start farm-by-farm.”The moves come as water

gains stature as an critical asset,a must-have resource that every-one from farmers to investmentfund managers need to control.At MillerCoors, for example, ittakes about 4 gallons of water tomake 1 gallon of beer.The Texas efforts follow the

2011 drought that cost stateagriculture more than $7 billionin losses. Last year was the driestyear in state history. While someparts of Texas have sincereceived rain, the droughtappears to be spreading to theU.S. Midwest and to parts of thesouthern Plains again as scorch-ing heat and cloudless skies burnup crops and pasture.“You have to do more with

less,” said Ken Klaveness, execu-tive director of Trinity Waters, anon-profit conservation groupfocused on the 512-mile-longTrinity River, which supports

continued on page sixteen

August 15, 2012 “America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper” Page 11

the ultrasound results yet. Rightnow the recommendation is thatsexed semen only be used withheat detection (which makes itless attractive to producers).We’d like to be able to do it withfixed time insemination, so weare doing these trials with somelarge ranches to see if there areways we can adjust the timingand increase our conceptionrate,” explains Altenburg.

All the synchronization proto-cols have different time frames(such as between 60 and 66hours). The study is looking atwhether they are breeding cowsa little too early or a little too latewith the sexed semen — to fig-ure out when the optimum timewould be to breed them.“Genex is also working with

Oregon State University to lookat some of these things,” saysJohnsrud. “We know there is aslightly lower conception ratewith sexed semen at this point,versus conventional semen. Earlyon it was used just in dairy andmuch of the information on con-ception rate is from the dairyindustry. So we are looking atthe economics of using sexedsemen in a timed AI synchro-nization protocol with cows thatare out on commercial ranches.This way it will be a true pictureof the economics of utilizingsexed semen,” he says.For this study they are using

male semen, to produce steers,and the rancher retains owner-ship. “We will follow those cattleall the way to the rail and get allthe data to evaluate the econom-ic advantages of utilizing sexedsemen — looking at the costs ofproduction. We are not quitethrough the first full year of thatproject so we don’t have any realdata yet. It’s a 2-year concep-tion-rate data trial, in a truecommercial ranch setting,” heexplains.Another tool that Genex has

is a calculator they developed inconjunction with Sexing Tech-nologies. “We can plug in thenumbers and calculate a returnon investment, utilizing sexedsemen. This is called GenChoiceDecision Aid,” says Johnsrud.Lance Ellsworth (Cattle

Visions) works with a number ofpurebred breeders who are usingsexed heifer semen. “East of theMississippi, where bulls typicallydon’t sell for as high as they doin the West, female lines becomemore important. Sexed heifer

semen will probably become use-ful to the high-end purebred pro-ducers who have an opportunityto market females for more mon-ey than bull calves are worth,” hesays.

The Semen SortingTechnologyThere are several bull studs

(including Select Sires, Genex,Accelerated Genetics and ABSGlobal) that now offer sexedsemen from beef bulls. The sex-ing service is provided to the bullstuds by independent companiessuch as Sexing Technologies.“Even though the sorting

process is the same, the compa-nies and researchers involved inthe sorting are trying to identifyfactors related to sorting thatimpair sperm quality. They aremaking changes, to try to haveless sperm damaged in the sort-ing process. But we are still in asituation where in any ejaculate,25 percent ends up sorted X, 25percent ends up sorted Y, and

the other 50 percent is damagedor can’t be sorted. So we are stilllosing half the ejaculate to beginwith,” says John Hall, PhD(Extension Beef Specialist, Uni-versity of Idaho, Superintendentof the Nancy M. CummingsResearch, Extension and Educa-tion Center).The industry standard now for

sexed semen is 2.1 million cellsper straw. The industry standardfor non-sexed semen is about 10to 20 million cells per straw.Research looking at the effects ofdose has shown that once youget above 2 million cells, yougenerally don’t get muchincrease in pregnancy rate. “There are some bulls in

which an increase in the spermnumbers really helps their preg-nancy rates, and in other bulls itdoesn’t. To increase the dosage--from the small amount of spermyou get from a normal ejaculate— doesn’t always make muchdifference,” he says. The way the process is done is

based on the fact that the Xchromosome has 3.8 percentmore DNA than the Y. Themachines can read that differ-ence in DNA content. Semen isstained with a fluorescent dyeand then passed through amachine (flow cytometer) thatcan sort the sperm as it goes byin a stream of single droplets.The female producing spermwith the X chromosome shinesbrighter than the Y because theX chromosomes are 3.8 percent

larger and have absorbed moredye. A laser in the sortingmachine determines the genderof the sperm based on theamount of light it emits. The flow cytometer uses

focused laser light to illuminatecells as they pass by the laserbeam one at a time in a fluidstream, traveling 60 miles perhour or faster; up to 8000 spermper second are sorted andprocessed. This seems fast, but ittakes about 3 to 4 times longerto process sexed semen than toprocess conventional semen forshipping or freezing.The X-bearing sperm are sort-

ed off in one direction, the Y-bearing sperm in another, andanything of undetermined sexpasses straight through as waste.The sorted sperm are then frozenin .25 cc straws to be used forAI. An ejaculate yields fewerstraws of sexed semen than con-ventional semen.

One advantage to the sortingprocess (which also helps makethe sexed semen more successfulin low dosage than regularsperm) is that damaged or deadsperm are sorted off. A normalejaculate always has a certainamount of dead, dying or dam-aged sperm cells, so when it’ssorted by the sexing process,these are eliminated making theremaining sperm more viable.The highly purified groups of

sorted semen are then frozen forfuture use in AI, to enhance AIprograms or embryo transfer.For many years the drawback inusing sexed semen was the diffi-culty in getting enough sortedsperm from an ejaculate to makeit practical. Studies at ColoradoState University helped make itfeasible. Their theory was thatsince it only takes one sperm tofertilize an egg, why use 20 mil-lion (the recommended amountfor optimum reproduction)?

They began experimenting withlow dose insemination for AI,and it worked — especially if thecow was at the optimum point inher heat period. Today,advanced reproductive tech-niques like in vitro fertilization(where the egg is fertilized in thelab and then used in embryotransfer) make sexed semen evenmore practical, since only a tinyamount of sperm is needed forfertilizing a large number ofeggs. Sexed semen works well(with highest success rates) in awell-managed AI or ET programin which timing of inseminationis optimum for proper fertiliza-tion of the egg, but probablyworks best in an IVF program.Some variability has also beennoted with different bulls; semenfrom various bulls goes throughthe sorting machines differently,so some bulls are better candi-dates for sexed semen than oth-ers.

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Each of the major bull studs has

a handful of beef bulls they offer for sexed semenavailability.

The industry standard now forsexed semen is 2.1 million

cells.

Benefits of Using Sexed Semen

This can be a handy tool to increase heifernumbers or steer numbers. In the beefindustry, it is handy to be able to select thegender of calves if you want to keep replace-

ment females from certain cows/bulls, or havesteers from a terminal cross.In any given herd, the option of sex determi-

nation could be useful for reducing calving dif-ficulty in first calvers (since heifer calves aretypically smaller at birth than bull calves), or forproducing a higher number of good females tochoose from as replacements if you want toexpand your herd size without buying outsidecattle. If you can keep a closed herd, not havingto depend on bringing in any other females, youcan cut down on some of the health problemsthat may be inadvertently introduced, and inmany cases you also have better knowledge ofthe genetics in your own herd. If you want yourbest cows to have heifers, this can give youfaster genetic progress in improving your cowherd, enabling you to keep more good femalesand cull more deeply.

A producer may want heifers from the top 10to 15 percent of their cows, and steers from therest of the herd. When the market is good forreplacement females, breeders may opt for moreheifers, and when the market is better for steersthey may choose to produce mostly male calves.Seedstock producers may select bloodlines formaternal qualities for brood cows and othersbloodlines they are hoping to use for marketingbulls. This technology gives producers thechoice, and also enables them to develop an ear-ly strategy for a potential future market.In female sales, for instance, some breeders

are finding their bred cows and heifers worthmore when bred with sexed semen. Bred heifersguaranteed to have heifer calves (and less calv-ing problems) may bring a premium. Other buy-ers may want females that will produce onlymale calves. Seedstock producers marketing penlots of bred females or pairs may find an advan-tage in being able to offer cattle guaranteed tohave one sex or the other, or may find a premi-um in offering exceptional female bloodlines ina 3-way package — a cow with heifer calf at sideand bred back to have another good heifer calf.

Page 12 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

In various school districtsacross the country, adminis-trators remain unsure aboutthe optimal policy regarding

school transitions from elemen-tary to middle school. Some areincreasingly moving toward sepa-rate K-5 and 6-8 schools, whileothers embrace a K-8 systemthat sidesteps the middle schooltransition altogether, say MartinWest, an assistant professor ofeducation at the Harvard Gradu-ate School of Education, andGuido Schwerdt, a researcher atthe Ifo Institute for EconomicResearch in Munich, Germany.Studies on this subject

attempt to compare the varioussystems — transitions from ele-mentary school to middle schoolare typically marked by a slumpin student achievement, but lessattention has been paid to thesestudents’ progress in later years,specifically in transitioning tohigh school. To this end, Westand Schwerdt recently trackedthe progress of students in Flori-

da and found that the middleschool transition is substantial.

� Math achievement falls by0.12 standard deviations andreading achievement falls by0.09 standard deviations fortransitions at grade 6.

� This equates to a dropbetween 3.5 and 7 months ofexpected learning over the courseof a 10 month school year.

� Furthermore, this drop per-sists for all three years of middleschool with students whoentered in sixth grade scoring0.23 standard deviations in mathand 0.14 standard deviations inreading worse than would havebeen expected had they attendeda K-8 school.

� Additionally, these studentsdo not perform significantly bet-ter than their K-8 peers uponentering high school, undermin-ing the argument that makingthe middle school transition bet-ter prepares them for the highschool transition.

� Finally, entering a middle

school in sixth grade was foundto increase the probability of ear-ly dropout by 1.4 percentagepoints (or 18 percent).These results held true both

for urban and rural school com-parisons.In attempting to identify fac-

tors that contribute to this dis-parity, researchers analyzed dataregarding school policies, fund-ing and grade sizes, but foundthat none of these variables weresignificant.They did, however, identify

that the general school “atmos-phere” differed significantlybetween traditional middleschools and K-8 schools. Specifi-cally, students benefitted frombeing the oldest students in aschool that included very youngchildren, as this presented themwith leadership opportunitiesthat contributed to studentachievement.

Source: Martin West and Guido Schwerdt, “TheMiddle School Plunge,” Education Next,Spring 2012.

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The Middle School Plunge

Inherent in the growth of the world’s population is theneed to produce more staple food items and energy.However, restrictions imposed by the need to preservethe natural environment require further efforts in thisarea to focus on producing more with marginally less

space. This lends credence to the expansion of energy densi-ty. The lessons of density can be seen in farmland acreage,says Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at the Center for EnergyPolicy and the Environment at the Manhattan Institute.

� Across the entire world, there are currently 3.7 billionacres under cultivation.

� Indur Goklany, a policy analyst for the U.S. Departmentof the Interior, estimates that if agriculture had remained atits early-1960s level of productivity, feeding the world’s pop-ulation in 1998 would have required nearly 8 billion acres offarmland.

� This additional 4.3 billion acres is only slightly smallerthan South America, which underlines the point that withouttechnological advances augmenting farm density, much ofthe natural environment would have to have been developedto produce more food. The need to improve food and energydensity, especially with growing demand from developingcountries such as China and India, undermines the argu-ments of many environmentalists, who impose substantialburdens on producers.

� Organic farming, which has been advocated by theGreen Left as an alternative to mass production farming, pro-duces substantially less food per acre.

� Various recent studies have found that land devoted toorganic farming produces 50 percent less wheat, 55 percentless asparagus and lettuce, and 23 percent less corn than con-ventionally farmed land of the same acreage does.

� Sales of organic products, which more than doubled tosome $51 billion between 2003 and 2008, further constrainfood production, contributing to 2011’s higher prices that,according to the Food Price Index, are 60 percent higherthan 2007.The lessons of density are also instructional in the produc-

tion of energy. President Obama stated in his recent State ofthe Union speech that America can end its dependence onforeign oil through the use of biofuels. However, this energysource consumes enormous amounts of edible foods — 15percent of global corn production and 5 percent of all thegrain grown in the world.Meanwhile, traditional natural gas and nuclear energy

have far greater energy densities that interfere comparably lit-tle with the environment.

Source: Robert Bryce, “Get Dense,” City Journal, Winter 2012.

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Research studies have report-ed up to 25 percent improve-ment in pounds of calf weanedper cow exposed to a bull, whencrossbred cows produce cross-bred calves. Crossbred calvesdemonstrate increased weaningweights and yearling weightswhen compared with calves of a

single breed. Maternal heterosis,seen in the crossbred cow,increases her performance andthat of her calves. She reachespuberty earlier, rebreeds quickerafter calving, has greater survivalrate in her calves, stays in theherd longer, and produces morepounds of calf during her life-time. Now some producers arelooking at the possible advan-tages of utilizing paternal hetero-sis, and benefiting from improve-ment in reproductivecharacteristics of the bull. Scott Greiner, Extension Beef

Cattle Specialist, Virginia Tech,says there has probably been lessresearch done on paternal het-erosis than on individual andmaternal heterosis. “The studiesthat have been done have shownsome advantages, namely interms of fertility, and possibly alittle improvement in number ofcows settled, and pregnancy rate— and cows settled earlier in thebreeding season,” he says.Anecdotally, hybrid bulls are

thought to have a little moreenthusiasm to go out and cover alot of territory and breed a lot ofcows. “This can be seen as anadvantage when a producer isrunning cattle in large pastureswith more cows per bull, in thelarger range operations — asopposed to smaller cow-calfherds in our part of the country,”he says.“As I visit with producers

here, and we look at theresearch, the hybrid bull allowsfor some practical crossbreeding(and heterosis) to occur in smallherds. It simplifies a crossbreed-ing system. The traditional rota-tional system or terminal sire sys-tem is not applicable for a lot ofour small herds,” says Greiner. Asmall producer may have onlyone breeding pasture and onebull. It becomes impossible ortoo complicated to facilitate thetraditional crossbreeding system.“By using a hybrid bull, such

as Sim-Angus or Balancers,

which are mostly half bloods,some hybrid vigor can be intro-duced into the herd. By keepingthose replacement heifers, somematernal heterosis can be added,in a relatively simple and practi-cal fashion, without having widefluctuations in breed composi-tion from one generation to the

next.” The producer can keep thedesired breed mix the same.“From a practical standpoint

in our area of the country, this isthe most applicable reason foruse of a hybrid bull, as opposedto just the fertility — though thiscan certainly be an addedbonus,” says Greiner.“Observing and measuring the

difference between hybrid andpurebred bulls in terms of fertili-ty in a real world setting wouldbe pretty hard to measure in ourtype of production system. Some

of these things will vary fromindividual to individual bull aswell. The basic fundamentals ofproper care and nutrition, utiliz-ing a breeding soundness exam,along with putting a bull with theright number of cows, shouldapply to hybrids as well as pure-breds. If all this is done properly,in most of our production set-tings, it would be pretty hard tomeasure the advantage of ahybrid bull — when it comes toreproductive capacity. The muchmore widely recognized advan-tage is the ability to introducesome hybrid vigor and heterosisin a simple and practical fashion— in one generation,” he says.“Today in our industry there is

unquestionably renewed interestin hybrid vigor and crossbreed-ing, particularly on the maternalside. I think that from an indus-try standpoint, the last severalyears has seen an evolution that’scome to fruition, in that we nowhave the tools and the science todo accurate genetic selectionwith hybrid bulls. We didn’t havethis capability before. Basically

we’ve now put purebred andhybrids on the same playing fieldwhen it comes to selection,” hesays. We’ve taken some of theguesswork out of it, for selectinga good hybrid bull.This in itself has helped gen-

erate more interest in usinghybrid bulls than what we’veseen before. People are now con-sidering them seedstock; thisterm no longer refers only topurebreds.“Just as importantly, seed-

stock breeders have embracedthat concept, as well. They oftenproduce hybrids for some oftheir customers. I think the qual-ity and the genetic merit of theaverage hybrid bull today is quitea lot better than it was a fewyears ago.” Early on, about thebest you could get was a cross-bred bull that was not necessarilyfrom a planned mating. Seed-stock producers were generallynot producing crossbreds.In some programs, it might

have been the late calvers or thecows that weren’t producing thebest calves that got mated to theGelbvieh or the Simmental. Butthis isn’t true anymore. Breederstoday are flushing their bestcows to make hybrids, and bullbuyers can have faith in the qual-ity of bulls they are getting. Thishas opened the door to a lot ofnew interest. Commercial cattle-men are taking a look at whatthese hybrids can offer their ownbreeding programs. There aremany options to choose from, in

the various types of hybrids andcomposites being created today— with various percentages ofcontinental and British breeding.“What I stress with our pro-

ducers is that it still boils downto having a plan. You need toselect the right genetics in thosehybrid bulls — to move yourherd forward and contribute toyour overall genetic plan. If youuse the tools available to helpyou do this, it can be beneficial.Crossbreeding must be donecorrectly. There are advantages,and you can capture heterosisand use it to your advantage, butat the same time we need to dothat in a planned fashion, withsome goals and some selectionpressure,” he says. Why do some-thing half way when you canmaximize it?“One thought that comes up a

lot is that crossbreds are betterthan purebreds. But not allcrossbreds are better. You stillhave to select the parents! Butthe interest and use of hybridshas grown astronomically here inVirginia.”

News With A View &A Whole Lot More . . .

THE most effective advertising medium in ranching today!

To plan your advertising, contact Caren Cowan at:caren@aaalivestock.com or 505/243-9515, ext. 21

On the web at www.nmagriculture.org

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Livestock Market Digest!

If you have livestock, a product or service that stockmen and their families need, they will find outabout it quickly if you advertise in the Digest. Digest

readers know value when they see it and they respondrapidly to a good offer.

Before you plan your advertising budget, think hardabout how to stretch your dollars and where they are spentthe most efficiently. Are you paying more to reach fewerqualified potential customers than you would receive in the Digest? The Digest’s circulation is concentrated in themost important livestock producing states: Nebraska,Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho, California,Oregon, Washington and Texas.

The Digest caters to the most active readers in thelivestock world — who ARE the buyers and sellers oflivestock, the ones who show up and speak up. It is the ONLY place to get Lee Pitts’ perspective on the world and how we are going to thrive into the future.

Advantages of Using Crossbred and Composite Bulls

Recent findings from“The 4-H Study ofPositive Youth Devel-opment” from theInstitute of Applied

Research at Tufts Universityindicate that young people in4-H are three times more like-ly to contribute to their com-munities than youth not par-ticipating in 4-H.Notably, the Tufts research

discovered that the structuredlearning, encouragement andadult mentoring that youngpeople receive through theirparticipation in 4-H plays avital role in helping themactively contribute to theircommunities.In fact, 4-Hers all across

the nation are empowered totake on the leading issues oftheir towns, counties andstates and make a lasting dif-ference with their peers. 4-Hprepares young people to stepup to the challenges in theircommunity and the world.Using research-based pro-gramming, that infuses high-quality positive youth develop-ment principles, 4-H youthget the hands-on, real-worldexperience they need tobecome leaders and to make

positive differences in theircommunities.The research from the Tufts

University study also indicatedthat youth in 4-H thrivethrough the health and sci-ence education and careerpreparation experiences theyreceive through 4-H program-ming. Compared to non-4-Hyouth, 4-Hers are more likelyto spend more hours exercis-ing or being physically active.4-H youth also have highereducational achievement andhigher motivation for futureeducation — reporting bettergrades, higher levels of aca-demic competence, and anelevated level of engagementat school.The 4-H Study of Positive

Youth Development is a longi-tudinal study that began in2001, through the support ofNational 4-H Council. Youthare measured in “waves”across time which comparedthose that participate in 4-Hto those that do not. Thestudy is currently in wave sev-en. The 6,885 adolescents sur-veyed are racially and geo-graphically diverserepresenting 45 states acrossthe nation.

4-Hers more likely to contribute to communities

Hybrid bulls are thought to have a little more enthusiasm to go out

and breed a lot of cows.

We now have the tools and the science to do accurate genetic

selection with hybrid bulls

by HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

Heterosis (hybrid vigor) has proven its value in many agricultur-al sectors — whether production of hybrid corn, hogs or beef.There are three (3) kinds of heterosis; individual (the calf),maternal, and paternal. Of the three, paternal heterosis has

had the least attention.

Page 14 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

Scientific Certification Sys-tems (SCS), a leading veri-fier of forest carbon offsets,has expanded the scope of

its carbon offset verification serv-ices in response to escalatingdemand created by the launch ofCalifornia’s Cap and Trade pro-gram. The company is nowaccredited to verify landfill gasoffsets under the Climate ActionReserve protocol and the Veri-fied Carbon Standard (VCS),and is pursuing accreditationrelated to the verification of proj-ects that destroy ozone depletingsubstances (ODS) and livestockmethane.“We are committed to serving

the burgeoning compliance off-set market in California,” saidDr. Robert J. Hrubes, Senior

Vice President of SCS. “Thisexpansion of scope will allowSCS to verify and validate proj-ects immediately.”SCS recently verified the

Berkeley County Landfill offsetproject in South Carolina andthe Morehead Landfill project inKentucky, both of which captureand destroy the powerful green-house gas methane. These proj-ects will generate ClimateReserve Tonnes (CRTs), the offi-cial carbon credit used by theClimate Action Reserve, whichrepresent metric tons of carbondioxide emissions preventedfrom entering the atmosphere.SCS has verified all of the cur-rently registered forest carbonoffset projects under the ClimateAction Reserve Protocol and is a

leading verifier of voluntary off-sets under the Verified CarbonStandard and American CarbonRegistry.Upon completing the accredi-

tation process for livestock proj-ects and ozone depleting sub-stances, SCS will offerverification for the the CaliforniaAir Resources Board’s Compli-ance Offset Program. Livestockoffsets involve the capture ofmethane emitted from thebreakdown of manure, while off-sets related to ODS involve dis-posal of refrigerants, which areamong the most powerful green-house gases.SCS program staffing is

undergoing expansion to meetthe increased demand for carbonoffset verification services, in the

US and around the world.Scientific Certification Sys-

tems (SCS) has been a globalleader in third-party environmen-tal and sustainability certifica-tion, auditing, testing and stan-dards development for morethan 25 years. SCS programsspan a wide cross-section of sec-tors, recognizing exemplary per-formance in natural resourcemanagement, green building,product manufacturing, foodand agriculture, retailing andmore. SCS is a Certified B Cor-poration(TM), reflecting its com-mitment to socially and environ-mentally responsible businesspractices.SCS is currently accredited to

ISO 14065 for GHG Validationand Verification by the American

National Standards Institute(ANSI) and offers verificationunder the Verified Carbon Stan-dard (VCS) and the ClimateAction Reserve (CAR). SCS alsooffers validation and verificationservices for the Climate, Com-munity and Biodiversity (CCB)standards. To date, SCS has veri-fied over 42,000 acres of forestunder the Climate ActionReserve Forest Project Protocols.

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• 256 Acre Texas Jewel – Deep sandy soil, high-rolling hills, scattered good quality trees, & ex-cellent improved grasses. Water line on 2 sidesrd., frontage on 2 sides, fenced into 5 pastures,5 spring fed tanks and lakes, deer, hogs &ducks. Near Tyler & Athens. Price $1,920,000.Make us an offer!

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

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� NEW LISTING, 327 ACRES: Cattle/horse ranch. Over 225 acres ingrass. 3/4 mile State Hwy. frontage. Live water, 60x80 multi-function barn. 2-bedroom, 1-bath rock home. Priced to sell at $1,620 per acre. MLS #1204641

� 483 Ac., Hunter Mania: Nature at her best. Don’t miss out on this one. Live water (two creeks). 70+ acresopen in bottom hayfields and upland grazing. Lots of timber (marketable and young) for the best hunting andfishing (Table Rock, Taney Como and Bull Shoals Lake) Really cute 3-bd., 1-ba stone home. Secluded yes, buteasy access to Forsyth-Branson, Ozark and Springfield. Property joins National Forest. MLS#1108090

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SCS Expands GHG Offset Verifications to Include Landfills, Livestock and Ozone Depleting SubstancesNew Services Synced to Impending California Cap and Trade Program

THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST

Real Estate Guide

August 15, 2012 “America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper” Page 15

courtesy of CERTIFIED ANGUS BEEF

Cinch up that seatbelt. Thiscattle market madness isonly going to get more dra-matic.

You may think you’ve been ona rollercoaster ride, but DerrellPeel, Oklahoma State University(OSU) ag economist, shareddata at a recent field day thatcould wow the most seasonedthrill seeker.“We have record level prices

pretty much anywhere you lookin this industry and they’re goingto get higher,” Peel said, address-ing nearly 75 stocker operatorsearlier this month.The “Backgrounding for Qual-

ity” seminar at White BrothersCattle Co., near Chickasha,Okla., was co-sponsored byOSU, Pfizer Animal Health andCertified Angus Beef LLC(CAB).Peel said being a market ana-

lyst used to be much easier.“Beef demand wasn’t changingmuch, international trade wasn’tall that important and corn wasalways $2 a bushel, so all youhad to do was figure out the cat-

tle inventory and you had a pret-ty good bet on what was going tohappen in cattle markets.” Not anymore.“What’s driving prices today is

not something that’s happenedovernight,” he said. The industryhas liquidated cattle 14 of thelast 16 years. In January, USDAnumbers showed fewer than 91million head of U.S. cattle, thelowest inventory since 1952.That makes supply a key driv-

er, not just in 2012, but for thenext four to six years, he said.Replacement heifer retention

has increased since 2009. “But ithasn’t translated into net growthin the herd because we’ve hadvery large cow slaughter,” hesaid.Drought drove that last year

and still remains a wild cardmoving forward.Perhaps surprisingly, these

lower animal numbers have notshown up in the form of signifi-cantly smaller beef production,until now. “You’re eating your way into

smaller inventories,” Peel said,noting that liquidation meansmore harvested animals. “That

Sweden has a reputation asthe prototypical cradle-to-grave socialist Europeannation, and the political left

has long yearned for America tobe more like the Scandinaviannation. But it now seems that thisdepiction of the European nationis unfair and misleading, as thecountry has implemented a seriesof reforms that have moved it sig-nificantly toward the right, saysInvestor’s Business Daily.The turnaround has been driv-

en in no small part by the elec-tion of Fredrik Reinfeldt asprime minister in 2006.

� Reinfeldt took office inOctober 2006, and by January of2007 his government had beguntax-cutting.

� It also began cuts in welfarespending as part of a generalmove toward austerity, attempt-ing to make cuts in its extensivegovernment debt.

� Finally, it has made a con-certed effort to deregulate theeconomy in order to encourageentrepreneurialism and businessinvestment.This move to the right has

yielded significant benefits for acountry that was once the quin-tessentially Left nation of Europe.

� Sweden fell into recession in2008 and 2009, but it’s pulledstrongly out of the decline, post-ing gross domestic product(GDP) gains of 6.1 percent in2010 and 3.9 percent last year,when it ranked at the top inEurope’s list of fastest-growingeconomies.

� This compares to America’sanemic growth over that same

period — 3 percent in 2010 and1.7 percent in 2011.

� Additionally, while theUnited States continues to strug-gle with its jobs problem (unem-ployment currently sits at 8.1percent), Sweden’s jobless ratehas fallen to 7.5 percent.

� Though still higher than thegovernment would like, 7.5 per-cent is far below the euro zoneaverage of 10.2 percent and sig-nificantly lower than the rates inSpain (21.7 percent), Portugal(12.9 percent) and the UnitedKingdom (8 percent).

� Furthermore, Sweden’s gov-

ernment debt as a share of GDPhas dipped below 45 percent forthe first time in decades and nowis situated at a much-preferable38.4 percent.Sweden’s Finance Minister

Anders Borg has emphasizedthat all of this was accomplishedwithout the massive stimulusspending that was instituted inother countries. Rather, it wasthrough measures of austeritythat Sweden weathered much ofthe recessionary storm.

Source: “Sweden’s Reputation as A WelfareState Is In Trouble,” Investor’s Business Daily,May 11, 2012.

Take your marketing program to the top!

Contact

Randy SummersADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Office: 505/243-9515Cell: 505/850-8544randy@aaalivestock.com

Advertise in the

Sweden’s reputation as a welfare state is in trouble

The grass IS greener for backgrounderssupports production in the shortrun, but at some point you sim-ply can’t maintain that. We havereached that point.”Beef production was already

declining during the last quarterof 2011, and the 2012 projection

cuts that an additional 3 percentto 4 percent.“We certainly have more con-

cerns about what that’s going todo on the demand side,” he said,noting fears about how highprices can go before that turnsaway consumers.“We’re at record-level prices

and they’re only going to gohigher,” Peel said. As heifers areretained, supplies will get tighter,putting a squeeze on through2013 and maybe even 2014.“That’s going to be very

important from a beef demandstandpoint in terms of how [con-sumers] will be able to respondwith this additional pressure we’llsee on prices,” he said.USDA Choice boxed beef has

never traded above $2 per pound

(lb.), but in recent months it’sgotten close (see chart). What’s athorn to purchasers is a brightspot for any producers marketingon a value-based grid.“For the last three years,

we’ve had a pretty weak Choice-

Select spread,” Peel said. “Thisyear it’s returning to a bit morenormal spread.”Hamburger purchases are

partially to blame, as consumershave shifted away from priciersteaks, or middle meats, to endmeats.“For the most part they didn’t

stop eating beef,” he said.Exports are picking up any

slack, and setting records. Japan,Mexico, Canada and Korea arethe major players, taking nearlyequal shares of U.S. beef.But even record prices can’t

prop up profits when inputprices are also on the same sky-high track.“Most of the beef industry we

know and think about was builton cheap feed, cheap corn,” Peel

said. “We don’t have that rightnow.”Or any time soon, he added,

thanks to increased competition.“The beauty of the market is

that it never says you can’t havesomething. It just prices it so youcan decide that you can get bywithout it,” he says.That’s why the beef industry is

better poised to deal withrecord-high corn prices.“I don’t see a big future for

stocker chickens,” he joked.“There are some folks promotingpasture poultry, and all that doesis make the coyotes smile.”For 40 years, the industry

built up the idea of cheap gainson grain.“Now it’s not the cheapest

game in town so we need tothink about how to do things dif-ferently,” Peel said. That, com-bined with high demand for for-age, equals unparalleledopportunity for backgrounders.“Pretty much anything you

have to sell today sells prettywell,” he said. Marketing hasgotten easier. Quality manage-ment is now the primary con-cern.“You need to spend more of

your attention than ever beforeon managing production,” hesaid. “Manage health, managenutrition and manage cost tobenefit from this market environ-ment we’re in.”

The first three years of theObama presidency haveseen a marked increasein regulation of the econ-

omy. These new rules, whichlargely burden employers,threaten job growth in analready-anemic economy, andthey have continued despitePresident Obama’s recogni-tion in January 2011 that regu-lations had gotten out of hand,say JamesGattuso and DianeKatz of the Heritage Founda-tion.In assessing regulatory pat-

terns and burdens, Gattusoand Katz focus on “major” reg-ulations — those estimated tohave an economic impact of$100 million or more.

� Despite the president'spromise of restraint for 2011,the torrent of new rules andregulations from Washingtoncontinued throughout the yearwith 32 new major regulations.

� These new rules increaseregulatory costs by almost $10billion annually along withanother $6.6 billion in one-time implementation costs.

� Many of these regula-tions are associated with grad-ual implementation of thePatient Protection and Afford-able Care Act and the newDodd-Frank financial regula-tion law.President Obama in his

recent State of the UnionSpeech stated that he had

approved fewer regulations inhis first three years than Presi-dent Bush had in his. Thisdeceptive statement takesadvantage of a large numberof small regulations underPresident Bush to make itappear that his regulatory bur-den was greater than Presi-dent Obama’s.

� To support this façade,President Obama cites thenumber of rulemaking pro-ceedings during Bush’s firstthree years (10,674), whichwas in fact less than his own(10,215).

� However, during thethree years of the Obamaadministration, a total of 106new major regulations havebeen imposed at a cost ofmore than $46 billion annual-ly, and nearly $11 billion inone-time implementationcosts.

� This dwarfs PresidentBush’s major regulations dur-ing his first three years, whichamounted to a mere 28 newmajor regulations costing only$8.1 billion annually.Reliance on the total num-

ber of regulations disguisesthe fact that President Oba-ma’s regulatory regime has sig-nificantly burdened the econo-my.

Source: James Gattuso and Diane Katz,“Red Tape Rising: Obama-Era Regulation atthe Three-Year Mark,” Heritage Founda-tion, March 13, 2012.

Red tape rising:Obama-era regulation

after three years

Record prices can't prop up profits are on the same sky-high track.

Page 16 Livestock Market Digest August 15, 2012

by MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI, Capital Press

Afederal appeals court hasthrown out a $4.4 millionlegal judgment thatdeceased rancher and

Sagebrush Rebellion icon WayneHage had previously won fromthe federal government.The U.S. Court of Appeals for

the Federal Circuit has reversedan earlier court decision thatordered the U.S. Forest Serviceto compensate Hage for infring-ing on his property rights.

The descendants of Hage wona legal victory in the case in2008, two years after his deathand 17 years after the lawsuitwas initially filed. The judge ruled that the

agency deprived Hage of hiswater rights by building fencesthat prevented him from access-ing streams in the ToiyabeNational Forest in Nevada.Hage owned easements that

allowed him to transport thewater over federal land throughditches, which he claimed theForest Service prevented him

from maintaining.The lawsuit also sought com-

pensation for the fences, roadsand improvements to watersources that Hage built on feder-al land before his grazing permitwas revoked.After years of litigation, a fed-

eral judge agreed with the com-plaint’s arguments and awardedHage’s estate roughly $2.9 mil-lion for his water rights and $1.5million for the value of improve-ments.The government challenged

that ruling, which a three-judge

appellate panel has now reversedon several grounds.Hage could have applied for a

special permit to maintain theditches that conveyed his water,so the claim that the governmentprevented him from doing soisn’t “ripe” for federal court, themost recent ruling said.Building fences around

streams also isn’t a physical tak-ing of property, because Hagehasn’t demonstrated that hecould put the stream water tobeneficial use, the appeals courtsaid.Water rights only allow the

owner to use water that he canput to beneficial use, but theHage family hasn’t shown “therewas insufficient water for theircattle on the allotments or thatthey could have put more waterto use,” the ruling said.The appellate court also over-

turned the award for rangelandimprovements, ruling that Hagecould have sought compensationdirectly from the agency insteadof in federal court.Aside from vacating the finan-

cial award to Hage’s family, themost recent ruling has causeduncertainty about legal princi-ples in such conflicts, said BrianHodges, an attorney for the

Pacific Legal Foundation prop-erty rights group who monitoredthe case.“The decision raises more

questions than it answers,”Hodges said.For example, the appellate

judges did not resolve the keyissue of whether the governmenteven had the right to regulateHage’s ditches, he said. Hage claimed the Forest

Service did not because his waterrights predated the agency’sauthority over the land.“It’s unsatisfying the court

assumed the federal regulationswere valid without first deter-mining whether water rightsholders like Hage have a rightthat is superior to the regula-tions,” Hodges said.The Hage estate can still ask

for reconsideration from abroader “en banc” panel ofappellate judges, or request theU.S. Supreme Court to reviewthe case, he said.Hage's battle with the Forest

Service is one of the sparks thatstarted the “Sagebrush Rebel-lion” of popular resistance tochanges in federal land policy,Hodges said.“This case exemplifies the

abuses the Western ranchers andnatural resource industries suf-fered at the hands of the federalgovernment,” he said

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Appeals court tosses out Hage judgment

water needs for over 40 per-cent of Texans.“If you want your business

to be here 15 to 20 years fromnow, you need to be proac-tive,” Klaveness said.Projects with farmers can

range from planting of grasseswith deeper root systems thathold water and reduce erosionto installing high-tech moni-toring stations in pastures.

Farmers, ranchers changing techniquesFarmers are being asked to

change irrigation techniquesand equipment and plant amix of different crops. Ranch-ers are asked to alter the waysthey rotate their cattle graz-ing.MillerCoors is also working

with 800 barley farmers inIdaho to alter their irrigationpractices in ways that use lesswater. MillerCoors will notdisclose how much it is spend-ing, but Marotta said theeffort was a high priority.The company has worked

with Trinity Waters andgroups like the Sand CountyFoundation, a Wisconsin-based non-profit that workswith landholders to improvenatural habitats.Though he has long

worked on ways to preservewater on his ranch, Price sayscreating a 40-acre wetlandand planting more nativegrasses in recent years withthe outside funding hashelped make him better pre-

pared for the Texas droughts.Three of Price’s pastures

now sport large metal con-traptions containing comput-ers that monitor rainfall andrunoff through varying typesof grass. Though results arenot yet in, the hope is that sci-entists monitoring the resultswill be able to determinewhich grasses are most effec-tive and approximately howmuch water they help preventfrom running off.Price also has new fencing

and a showcase variety of thewater-trapping native prairiegrasses. The grasses grow sothick and lush even withscarce rainfall that his pas-tures have a marked distinc-tion from those of his nearbyneighbors who have cultivatedmore typical bermuda grasses.By preventing erosion and

runoff when it does rain, andholding more moisture in thesoil, Price is improving hisability to feed his cattle with-out costly supplemental hay.He is also reducing sedimentcontamination of nearbystreams.Klaveness said many other

landowners are moving tomake similar improvementson their lands, including morethan 100 who have applied forgovernment grants for thework.“We have over 200,000

acres of landowner interest weare getting ready to mobilize,”he said. “The water we have isfinite. We can’t make more.”

Water Worries continued from page eleven