LivestockDigest

LivestockFEBRUARY 15, 2012 • www. aaalivestock . com Volume 54 • No. 2

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

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

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MARKET

DigestRiding Herd

by Lee Pitts

One of the many benefitsof being a syndicatedcolumnist is that severalof the rural weekly news-papers that carry my col-

umn send me their newspapers.So instead of getting my newsfrom The New York Times andWall Street Journal, I get minefrom papers like the Hico News-Review, Las Cruces Sun Times,Bonesteel Enterprise and the RuralMessenger. Instead of readingabout crooks on Wall Street Iread about petty criminals inplaces like Kingfisher, Oklaho-ma, and Nance County, Nebras-ka. Lately those papers report ascary trend in rural America: thestealing of cattle is on the rise.Although there’s no federal

agency that keeps track of suchthievery, it seems that bovinetheft in rural America today is onpar with Wild West days whenrustlers built great fortunes,some of which still exist, withnothing more than a long rope,running iron or a red-hot cinchring. And the foolish courage touse them, of course.

Crooks in Cowboy HatsThe reports of rustling written

up in small weekly newspaperstell the story:

� In two weeks in January tenhead went missing in PittsburgCounty, Oklahoma; 8 head werestolen in Big Horn County,

lar beasts the crooks got awaywith! Then there were these theftsthat took rustling up a notch:

� 150 head cattle weighingaround 700 pounds have beenstolen in the Ruby Valley, Elko,Nevada, since June 1, 2011.

� In Jasper County, Missouri,100 head were snatched duringsix-weeks and in the first eightmonths of last year 150 cattlewere stolen in the immediatevicinity.

� In Texas some 4,500 cattle

were reported missing in lessthan a year!

� As in the Old West, some-times it’s one of our own who’sdoing the stealing. One Coloradorancher was out trying to rid hisranch of prairie dogs who werestealing his grass when he spot-ted evidence that neighbors werestealing his cows, too. When hecalled in the law they found 67head worth $68,000, belongingto nine different people.

� In Montana and Nevadaauthorities broke up a multi-state cattle-rustling ring that hadstolen at least 61 head in Ore-gon, Nevada and Washington.

� Idaho State Brand Inspec-tor Larry Hayhurst says that theincidence of cattle gone missingunder suspicious circumstancesin Idaho during just threemonths (250) exceeded the pre-vious year’s total. Two hundredcattle were stolen in a four-coun-ty area of western Idaho alone.

� Authorities in Montana haverecovered more than 7,300 stolen

Wyoming, since the summer2011; and five head of cattlewere rustled in Elko County,Nevada, during the same period.Around Van Castle, Wyoming,in the last three months 14 cattlewere stolen. Whereas ranchers usually can

count on a one percent loss fromtheft, these days the total is closerto four and five percent. So farwe’ve only talked about the workof petty crooks, although it wasn’tpetty if it was your thousand dol-

Riding For The Bar Code“A fool and his

money are soon elected.”

continued on page four

www.LeePittsbooks.com

One For TheRecords

Recently I heard a cou-ple talking-heads onTV bemoaning thepopular sentiment

that today’s kids graduatefrom high school, and evencollege, without ever beingtaught how to balance acheckbook or build a budg-et. I don’t know whatschool they went to but Ican assure you that theywere never Future Farmersin high school. The FFA turned me into

a serial entrepreneur for therest of my life and I’mproud to say that I’ve start-ed, or been a part of start-ing, eight businesses. Every-thing from a stationerystore to an auction newspa-per, and everyone of themwas profitable from dayone. I even got to pursuemy lifelong dream of ranch-ing despite the fact that onemagazine said it was highon the list of businessesmost likely to go broke,right after vendingmachines and bookstores.I didn’t have an MBA

from MIT like my brother,and I never took a businesscourse in college. My pro-fessors were Professor Oinkand Mr. Moo, and Ilearned how to keeprecords in the blue FFArecord books we wererequired to keep. I stillhave mine and they tell thetale of a business man intraining. I was busier thanParis Hilton’s publicist andI did anything to make abuck; from shearing sheepto growing orchids. That’sright, call me a sissy but Iprofitably raised flowers fora florist who made corsagesout of them for high schooldances. Although I was waytoo busy to ever attend aprom, my orchids went toevery one. And they were alot more popular than Iever was.I started my first record

book in 1966 when I was 14and my initial FFA projectwas two commercial ewelambs, inappropriatelynamed Amos and Andy.My second project was a450-pound show steernamed Abe who cost$157.50 to buy and lost

continued on page two

Wildlife managers are running out ofoptions when it comes to helpingMexican gray wolves overcome hur-dles that have thwarted reintroduc-

tion into their historic range in the Southwest.Harassment and rubber bullets haven’t

worked, so they’re trying something new — afood therapy that has the potential to make thewolves queasy enough to never want anythingto do with cattle again.As in people, the memories associated with

eating a bad meal are rooted in the brain stem,triggered any time associated sights and smellspulse their way through the nervous system.Wildlife managers are trying to tap into that

physiological response in the wolves, hopingthat feeding them beef laced with an odorlessand tasteless medication will make them illenough to kill their appetite for livestock.Cattle depredations throughout southwest-

ern New Mexico and southeastern Arizonahave served as an Achilles’ heel for the federalgovernment’s efforts to return the wolves.Conditioned taste aversion — the technical

term for what amounts to a simple reaction —

Can Bad Meal Deter Wolves? Managers To Link Sickness, Cattle

by SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, The Associated Press

is not a magic bullet for boosting the recoveryof the Mexican wolf, but some biologists see itas one of few options remaining for getting theprogram back on track after nearly 14 years ofstumbling.“Just the very fact that the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service is trying something new oughtto send the message that they really are serious-ly concerned about the ranchers’ concerns,”said Dan Moriarty, a professor and chairman ofthe psychological sciences department at theUniversity of San Diego.After four decades and tens of millions of

dollars, the federal government was recentlyable to remove the animals from the endan-gered species list in several states.The case is much different in the Southwest,

where the population of the Mexican wolf — asubspecies of the gray wolf — continues to beabout 50 despite more than a decade of work.Biologists had hoped to have more than 100wolves in the wild by 2006.About 90 wolves and some dependent pups

continued on page three

Page 2 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

or missing cattle worth nearly $8million during the past threeyears. “What you see as far as fig-ures from livestock departmentsis a drop in the bucket fromwhat’s been going on,” said KimBaker, president of the MontanaCattlemen’s Association.Brand boards and agencies

put the value of cattle deemedlost, stolen, strayed, or in ques-tionable ownership in recentyears in the tens of millions ofdollars, and that’s just the tip ofthe iceberg. Most cattle crooksget away with their crimes, as it’sestimated that less than 10 per-cent of stolen animals are recov-ered, and we’re lucky it’s thathigh due to the vigilance ofbrand inspectors and existenceof auction markets.

Adding Insult to InjuryNeedless to say, we’re not

talking about unsophisticatedcrooks armed with a rubber gunand wearing a woman’s stockingfor a mask. In many cases theseare professionals who knowwhich end of the cow gets upfirst. In the words of one brandinspector, “They’re pretty slickand bolder than your averagebandit.” For example, Sheriff JimArnott reported that 19 calvesfrom the countryside nearRepublic, Missouri, were stolenright along with the trailer thecrook used to haul them away.We’re not just talking about

live animals or one species either.Six thousand lambs were stolenfrom a feedlot in Texas, and1,000 hogs have been stolen fromfarms in Iowa and Minnesota.Yes, pig rustlers! What some folkswill do to make a living!Sometimes the animals they

steal aren’t even born yet. AnOhio woman has been chargedwith taking $110,000 worth ofbull semen from a nitrogen tankat a genetics company where sheonce worked. And not all of theanimal thieves are smarter thanyour average Border Collie. Withmillions of unwanted horses justbegging for a home due to thelack of horse processing facili-ties, someone is stealing horsesin northeastern Illinois. Just waittill they want to get rid of themand see how hard it is!We don’t want to make light

of a very serious and costly mat-ter. Most ranchers have spentyears buying the best bulls andbreeding up the quality of theircattle and to stand over a steam-ing pile of guts, all that’s leftafter someone killed your cowand gutted its carcass as if theywere on safari, only adds insultto injury. And it can take theprofit right out of the cow busi-ness in a hurry.

A Rural Crime WaveIt’s easy to see why the rise of

rustling in on a serious uptick.We’re in a slumping economywith many folks out of work, theprice of beef in the grocery storeis relatively high compared toprevious years, and some peopleare just flat out hungry. With theadvent of video surveillance and

crazy convenience store clerkswho are now packing pistols, thecrooks have evidently decided it’smuch easier to steal a Gooseneckload of cattle than to hold up astore or a bank. And the rewardscan be much higher. You mightget $200 and a free case of beerfrom a convenience store, whileyou could net $20,000 from atrailer full of cattle with no onewatching or shooting back atyou. “Any time the price of cattlegoes up,” says Tyler Peterson,deputy brand inspector for Ida-ho, “especially like what they’redoing now, the bad guys comeout of the woodwork.” Instead of packing iron to pull

their heist, modern day rustlerssometimes arm themselves withnothing more than a sack ofalfalfa cubes, while the moreserious career crooks take alonga good cow dog, horse, a fewpanels, bolt cutters and a GPS toplan their getaway. And beforeyou know it the crooks have$6,000 of your net worth in theback of their trailer. And did wemention that the rustlers arebolder than, well, bolder thanbandits. There’s just no otherway to say it. In Alabama rustlerscame back to the same ranchand the same pasture on threeseparate occasions!The GPS isn’t the only tech-

nological device the crooks areusing. A lot of the stolen beef isfinding its way on to the Inter-net: For sale on Craigslist, “Halfa beef, cheap.” Or, “Cow forsale. Cash only. Can also findyou a bull. What kind do youwant?”

Social Security For CowsBack country roads are under-

patrolled anyway and the ruralthefts are coming at a bad time,as local law enforcement agen-cies are cutting back on man-power due to budget restraints.But never fear, the federal gov-ernment has an answer for us.Yes, the feds response is to

de-emphasize the brand as anidentification device. They wantcowboys to ride for the bar code,not the brand.At first the USDA failed to

convince anyone other than tagmanufacturers and their fellowbureaucrats, of the need for their“voluntary” tracking program,that was supposedly so they’d beable to trace back cattle in caseof a disease outbreak like footand mouth disease (FMD). Butthis isn’t really about cattle dis-eases. When the USDA firststarted talking about mandatoryID they used FMD as the bestexample of why we need a biggovernment ID program. Thefeds said that the possible intro-duction and spread of FMDalone was enough to justifymandatory ID. But in its newestproposed rule FMD isn’t evenmentioned. What happened, didthe USDA wipe it out?After USDA’s first attempt at

ID failed they went back to thedrawing board and came up with

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Riding For The Bar Code? continued from page one

continued on page three

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

a strikingly similar program thatwill require cattle have a trackingdevice if they are shipped or soldacross state lines. We wonder,how does a cow-calf operatorknow when he works his calves ifthey will be sold and shippedacross state lines in the future?And if he doesn’t want to ear taghis cattle with a federallyapproved ear tag isn’t he severelyrestricting the market into whichhis calves can be sold? Isn’t thegovernment therefore guilty ofseverely restraining and restrict-ing trade like the World TradeOrganization said we’re doing inthe case of COOL (country oforigin labeling).Then there is this: the feds

keep insisting that the ID pro-gram they’ve been pushing eversince a mad cow raised its uglyhead nine years ago is for diseasecontrol purposes only. So whyleave it up to the state whetherthey want to make their ranchersID their cattle or not? Don’t cat-tle within a state get sick too?And cattle moving across statelines already need certificates ofhealth, can’t they use them totrace back diseases? State brandinspectors already document themovement 27,000,000 cattle ayear and we’ve had no major dis-ease outbreaks and continue tobe able to trace back sick ani-mals when needed. So why insti-tute a costly program that willdrive more small ranchers out ofbusiness and slow down com-merce? This is nothing more than an

answer in search of a problemAll this nonsense has been a

smokescreen for cunninglyimplementing a federally con-trolled mandatory ID programthat the USDA has wanted allalong, so that they can chargefees, expand the bureaucracyand collect fines. Just becausecomputers now make such adatabase possible they see thatas reason enough for doing so. Brands have been used in this

country with great effectivenessever since Hernando Cortés setfoot in the New World in 1541.Now a bunch of soft-shoedbureaucrats in Washington, DCthink they can improve on thebrand with a high-cost ear tagthat will become your cow’sSocial Security number. Unlessit rips out, or a bandit cuts partof an ear off, of course. The fed’sfinal rule de-emphasizing thebrand as an ID tool is expectedto be released sometime thissummer. Consider it the federalgovernment’s way of stimulatingbusiness . . . for the cattlerustlers!

If It Works, Get Rid Of ItIn a letter to the feds

R-CALF protested, “In one fellswoop, the Obama Administra-tion is poised to clinch the prizethat eluded the Bush Adminis-tration for four years – that prizeis the denigration of the UnitedStates cattle industry’s iconic,centuries-old, hot-iron brand. Itis apparent the prize’s sponsor,the World Trade Organization,has successfully persuaded theObama Administration to deni-grate America’s hot-iron brand

to not only make room for theinternationally numbered eartag, but also to elevate that tagto an exclusive category. Soexclusive is the category that itbumped out America’s centuries-old brand to get there.”When the feds do issue their

rule it won’t be the first time, northe last, that they went back ontheir word. “You and your agencyoutright lied to us,” said R-CALFin the letter the feds. “R-CALFUSA relied exclusively on yourword when it ceased its opposi-tion to your agency’s developmentof a mandatory, national animalidentification system. Your wordincluded a written promise thathot-iron brands would remain onthe list of official identificationdevices. Specifically, in February2010 you, through your agency,wrote: “USDA will maintain a listof official identification devices,which can be updated or expand-ed based on the needs of theStates and Tribal Nations. Thereare many official identificationoptions available, such asBRANDING, (emphasis ours)metal tags, RFID, just to name afew. (APHIS Factsheet, February2010)“Relegating the hot-iron

brand to a secondary position

behind the international ear taghas nothing to do with animalhealth, and everything to do withcapitulating to a global agendaunder the auspices of the WorldTrade Organization, Codex Ali-mentarius, and the WorldOrganization for Animal Health.No 15-character alphanumericidentification code can everreplace a “Lazy J,” “Hanging R”or “Flying 45,” said Bill Bullardof R-CALF. “The government isgiving in to international pres-sure to adopt a one-size-fits-allsystem that replaces the Ameri-can tradition of branding. Ourability to control and eradicatedisease has earned us the envy ofthe world – and now the USDAproposes to throw out an integralpart of our program.”For 500 years branding has

been the simplest and most-effi-cient way to identify a cow. Andit still is. A cowboy can immedi-ately see when a cow is on thewrong side of the fence, brandinspectors use them every day toidentify stolen cattle, and abrand is the only type of animalID that has ever held up in courtfor a conviction of rustling.Because brands are a proven

and effective means of conduct-ing disease trace back it’s only

natural the dysfunctional fedswant to get rid of them andreplace them with an untestedand expensive ID system basedon bar codes and ear tags thatany rustler can remove in a mat-ter of minutes. Thanks to thefeds stupidity, in the future whenranchers gather their herds andcount their cattle they won’tknow how many of their cattlewere stolen, or killed by wolves.

Which brings up yet another fed-eral program dreamed up bybureaucrats in a vacuum ofknowledge and common sense.As cattle thieves ponder the

new federal ID rules, which de-emphasize the biggest deterrentto theft, the brand, they must bechomping at the bit, laughing atsuch federal foolishness, andplanning for major businessexpansion.

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Deter Wolves continued from page one

have been removed, in some cases lethally, from the wild sincethe program began because of livestock problems. In the lastyear, monthly reports show wildlife managers investigated fourdozen depredations in Arizona and New Mexico. They deter-mined that wolves were involved in half of the cases.Biologists working at a captive breeding center at the Sevil-

leta National Wildlife Refuge in south-central New Mexicotreated six wolves last April and two more in October. The ani-mals were fed baits made up of beef, cow hide and an odorless,tasteless deworming medication that makes the wolves queasy.Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Susan Dicks said the ini-

tial tests appear to be successful, with the wolves not wantinganything to do with the beef baits after their first serving.“We’re learning as we go, but so far we have seen some

good aversions produced,” Dicks said. “Again, it’s impossibleto say yet whether this translates to a livestock animal runningaround on the hoof.”

Page 4 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

Solar stocks plunged aroundthe world on January 20,2012 after Germany, thelargest market for panels,

said it will make quicker cuts tosubsidized rates and phase outsupport for the industry by 2017.Chinese manufacturers listed

in New York fell for a secondday, with Trina Solar Ltd. and JASolar Holdings Co. skidding 17percent over the two-day period.GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.,which makes the raw material formost panels, fell the most sinceNovember in Hong Kong. InEurope, Meyer Burger Technolo-gy AG, Solarworld AG and SMASolar Technology AG dropped atleast 5.3 percent each.German Environment Minis-

ter Norbert Roettgen said thathe planned to reduce feed-in tar-iffs providing above-marketprices for solar power everymonth instead of twice a year ashe does now. He said he’s work-ing to curb an “unacceptable”surge in installations last year.“It was clear that Roettgen

would accelerate feed-in tariffdigressions which would removethe bloom from the rose,” JessePichel, an analyst for JefferiesGroup Inc. “This will remove theability for the German market tomaterially upside estimates.”The decision indicated minis-

ters are speeding up efforts torestrain the boom in installationsafter developers added 7.5gigawatts of panels last year, sur-passing the 3 gigawatts thatRoettgen said would be accept-able.

Government ConcernEconomy Minister Philipp

Roesler has said spiraling costslinked to solar subsidies are athreat to the economy. Roettgen

on Jan. 18 indicated concernthat the funds are benefitingChinese companies.“The increase in installations in

the past few years has gone farbeyond what we had targeted inour legislation,” Roettgen saidrecently. He said the subsidy over-haul would be handled “quickly.”Gordon Johnson, the Axiom

Capital Management Inc. ana-lyst who recently removed his“sell” recommendation on FirstSolar Inc. for the first time since2008, cut his guidance again,giving five other solar companiesa “sell” rating too.“That was short,” he said in a

note to clients. “We believe asevere cut in global demand isnear.”The higher frequency in cuts

will do away with the year-endrushes of the past and may helpbring installation “closer toward”the government’s target, Solar-world Chief Executive OfficerFrank Asbeck said by phone.

Meyer Burger, SMAIn Zurich, Meyer Burger skid-

ded 6.6 percent to 17.80 francs,the largest drop since December1 by Europe’s biggest maker ofsolar-panel manufacturing equip-ment.In Frankfurt trading, SMA,

Germany’s largest solar compa-ny, fell 5.3 percent, the most in aweek. Solarworld, the country’sleading panel maker, dropped6.5 percent, the biggest drop inalmost two months.Worldwide, photovoltaic panels

installations rose more than 50percent to a record 28 gigawattslast year, Bloomberg New EnergyFinance estimates. Germanyadded 3 gigawatts in Decemberalone as developers rushed to takeadvantage of subsidized rates

before the cuts take affect.A surge in output from Chi-

nese manufacturers such as Sun-tech Power Holdings Ltd. led to acrash in prices, squeezing marginsfor German and U.S. producers.Solar-equipment makers in

the U.S. are pursuing a tradecomplaint through the U.S.Commerce Department aimedat curbing what they say is Chi-nese dumping of goods abroad.Solarworld is seeking to teamwith European peers to initiateanti-dumping proceedings inEurope.

‘Solar Junk Rally’“We continue to believe the

recent solar junk rally has notpriced in the risk of potentialanti-dumping and countervailingduties as well as further feed-intariffs cuts in Europe, Italy isnext,” Pichel said in a note toinvestors.A slowdown in the German

and Italian markets, whichaccounted for about half ofworldwide installations last year,is bound to hurt the industry.Germany targets 2.5 to 3.5gigawatts a year and seeks tophase out subsidies by 2017,Roettgen said.The minister will propose

aggressive cuts to fend off the“very real possibility” of a cap oninstallations, Pichel said.The country was expected to

cut tariffs by 15 percent in July,following a 15 percent reductionthat took effect Jan. 1. Underthe current law, lower rates areimposed automatically by above-target installations.

Source: Bloomberg BusinessweekWritten with assistance from Stuart Biggs inTokyo, Christopher Martin and Ehren Goossensin New York, Corinne Gretler in Zurich, StefanNicola in Berlin and Ben Sills in Madrid . Editors:Reed Landberg, Randall Hackley.

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$13.50 when I sold him at thefair, despite having well over 300hours invested. (One wonderswhy I ever bought anotherbovine.) I know all this becausewe were required to use a doubleentry accounting system that Istill use today. In the front of thebook was a “Calendar of Eventsand Operations”, a journal of mydaily activities in which I wroteabout earth shattering eventslike, “Abe’s stools are loose.”I started in the FFA with

nothing but a loan from a nicebanker and according to the“Non-Depreciable Property”pages in my books I went from$35.55 after my first year to over$2,700, with an additional$3,500 in the bank when Ireceived my American Farmerdegree. My classmates went fromteasing me to begging for loans.Back then I made plenty of

mistakes in business but they allserved to make me a better busi-nessman later in life. For the lifeof me I don’t know why I agreedto plant 20 avocado trees on ourone acre of ground and to takecare of them, even though I’d belong gone before there’d be anycrop. But there it was, right therein the Business Agreement sec-tion of my record book. I was

hoodwinked by my mom whichtaught me that henceforth I’d bea lot more careful who I part-nered up with.I learned the most from my

rabbit project that grew fromfour bunnies to 350 faster thanyou can say “nymphomaniacs.” Iquickly learned that a good busi-nessman controls his inventory,balances supply with demand,and if you aren’t making moneyraising one rabbit in all likeli-hood you probably aren’t goingto make any raising 500.Not that there wasn’t some

demand for my New ZealandWhites. I happened to live in anarea that had a large populationof dust bowl immigrants fromMissouri and Oklahoma andthey grew up eating rabbit. Andthey still had a hankering for it!One of my steady customers wasa shirttail relative who thoughthe deserved a discount justbecause he was related to me.“How much for one rabbit?” heinitially asked.“Three fifty,” I replied, “cut

and wrapped.”“No, no, that’s way too much.

I deserve a discount. I want arabbit at your cost.”“Okay, if you insist,” I replied.

“That will be five dollars.”

Riding Herd CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

Solar Stocks Plunge as GermanyVows to Quicken Subsidy Cuts

An all time record totalwas achieved at theJunior Livestock Auc-tion at the National

Western Stock Show in Den-ver in mid January. The previ-ous high total was $592,707which was set in 2006 for the100th Anniversary of StockShow. This year, 98 animalswere sold for a record$611,200, nearly a $20,000increase from the previousrecord. The money invested sup-

ports the youth that raised theanimal as they plan for theirfuture needs for college edu-cation. In addition, a portionof the proceeds support theNational Western ScholarshipTrust, which funds scholar-ships in agriculture and ruralmedicine at colleges through-out Colorado and Wyoming.Last year, 74 studentsreceived funds to aid theireducation. The data from thisyear’s Jr. Livestock Auctionare below:

� Total bid dollars came to$611,200, smashing the previ-

ous total of $592,707.� The Grand Champion

Steer sold for the secondhighest dollar amount of alltime! Ames Construction, ledby Butch Ames, invested$106,000, honoring the 106thNational Western StockShow!

� TransWest Truck andTrailer bought the reservegrand champion steer for$45,000, up from $33,000.

� The grand champion hogsold for $25,000 to AnadarkoPetroleum, nearly double lastyear’s total. $15,500 was paidfor the reserve champion hogby Colorado Business Bank.

� The grand championlamb went for $24,000 toCarter Energy Corporation.The reserve champion lambwent to Greenberg Traurig,LLC for $21,000.

� The grand championgoat went to the DenverMetro Chamber of Com-merce for $26,000 and thereserve champion goat wentto Larry and Susan Hamil for$12,000.

National Western Stock Show Sets All Time Record for Jr. Livestock Auction

To place your ad, contact Caren at505/243-9515, ext. 21 or caren@aaalivestock.com

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

Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ)responded to Agriculture SecretaryTom Vilsack’s release of the FinalProgrammatic Environmental ImpactStatement (PEIS) for the U.S.

Forest Service’s new forest planningrule, policy that will determine howthe agency manages the country’snational forests and grasslands:“The Obama Administration’s new

forest planning rule increases costly,burdensome regulations and under-mines the multiple-use mission of theForest Service. Rural Arizonans knowfirst-hand the unfortunate truth: thesetypes of policies stifle our local economiesand lead to unhealthy and overgrownforests, which leave my constituents vulnera-ble to catastrophic wildfires.Our forest and natural resources are a

way of life in Arizona. I urge the Administra-tion to reconsider these new overly restric-tive regulations. A new plan that emphasizesactive forest management will improve pub-

lic safety, help the environment, and stimu-late the economy of rural Arizona.”Last February, Congressman Gosar

joined 58 other Congressmen, who repre-sent over 75 percent of our country’s federal

forest and grass lands, in sending a letter toSecretary Tom Vilsack raising concernsabout the proposed new planning rules’ de-emphasis on active forest management. TheAdministration’s new regulations repre-sent excessive layers of bureaucracy thatwill cost jobs, hinder proper forest man-agement, increase litigation and add bur-densome costs for Americans.The National Forest System consists

of 155 National Forests and 20 Grass-lands, totaling 192 million acres in 44States, Puerto Rico, and the VirginIslands. Arizona’s First CongressionalDistrict is home to over nine million acres

of those lands. That acreage includes all orparts of Apache-Sitgreaves, Coconino,Kaibab, Prescott, and Tonto NationalForests

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20th Annual Commercial Heifer Sale21st Annual Cattleman’s Trade Show, and More!

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Rabies program could be victim of its success

Express-News Editorial Board,www.mysanantonio.com

This year’s month-longdrop of 1.8 million oraldoses of rabies vac-cines could be the last

large operation due tobudget cuts and the pro-gram’s success. Next year’sdrop of the rabies-fightingdrug could be greatlyreduced to include only anarrow band of land alongthe Texas-Mexico border,Express-News medical writerDon Finley reported.During the last 17 years,

the program has beenresponsible for droppingmillions of doses of oralrabies vaccines in littlepackets smelling of fish tocoyotes and foxes acrossTexas. It has proven quitesuccessful and promptedthe federal government in2004 to declare the caninestrain of rabies eliminatedfrom the state, the Express-News reported.State health officials had

hoped to start focusing onskunk rabies next afterrecording more than 500cases of skunk rabies duringthe first 10 months of 2011,but sadly, that effort is nowunlikely.The state’s financial woes

have impacted the program.During the last legislativesession, budget writers cutthe vaccination program by25 percent to $3 million,which means the area cov-ered by the vaccine dropshad to be reduced andexpansion of the program isunlikely.Federal funding for

wildlife rabies programs alsohas been reduced.It’s easy to forget what

prompted these programswhen things are going welland they have achievedtheir intended results. It hasbeen almost two decadessince the high profile deathof a 14-year-old Edinburgteenager who is suspectedof having been infected withdeadly rabies virus by a pup-py he had been given thatdied a few days after it wasborn.State officials must bear

in mind that although therabies problems have beeneliminated on this side ofthe border, they persist onthe other side of the border.The Express-News noted thattwo rabid dogs have beenreported recently near Lare-do in the Mexican state ofNuevo Léon.The state cannot afford to

drop its defenses in the fightagainst this horrible virus,which is almost always fatalin humans unless it is diag-nosed and treated quickly.

Gosar Decries the Obama Administration’s New Federal Forest Regulations

“The Obama Administration’s new forest planning rule increases

costly, burdensome regulations and undermines the multiple-use

mission of the Forest Service.

Page 6 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

Agroup of ranchers and onecounty said Monday thatthey are suing the U.S.Forest Service over its

decision to limit grazing on his-toric land grant areas in northernNew Mexico.The group of Hispanic ranch-

ers and Rio Arriba County offi-cials contend the agency is tryingto push them from land that hasbeen ranched by their familiesfor centuries. They say at stake isa piece of Hispanic culture andthe economic viability of severalnorthern New Mexico communi-ties that depend on access tosurrounding lands for everythingfrom grazing to fire wood.“Without the ability to access

and utilize natural resources, ourcommunities are drying up.We’re not economically sustain-

able. We’re losing our customsand our culture,” said DavidSanchez of the Northern NewMexico Stockman’s Association.The lawsuit centers on a 2010

decision by El Rito DistrictRanger Diana Trujillo to cutgrazing by nearly one-fifth on theJarita Mesa and Alamosa grazingallotments, which are part of anarea recognized by the federalgovernment for special treat-ment aimed at benefiting landgrant heirs.Forest Service spokesman

Mark Chavez said the agencyhad not seen the lawsuit and thathe would not be able to com-ment on the pending litigation.The feud over the federal gov-

ernment’s management of landgrants established at the end ofthe Mexican-American War

through the Treaty of GuadalupeHidalgo has been decades in themaking.The ranchers’ lawsuit chroni-

cles a history in which they saythe property rights of Hispanicshave been ignored and an insti-tutional bias has been allowed tocontinue despite the Forest Ser-vice’s obligation to accommo-date the heirs’ dependency onthe land.They point to a 1972 Forest

Service policy that emerged fol-lowing the raid of the TierraAmarilla Courthouse in 1967over unresolved land grantissues. The policy noted the rela-tionship Hispanic residents ofnorthern New Mexico had withthe land and declared their cul-ture a resource that must be rec-ognized when setting agencyobjectives and policies.After two years of study, the

Forest Service released an envi-ronmental assessment of grazingalternatives on the Jarita Mesaand Alamosa allotments. Onewould have let ranchers maintaintheir existing herds.Instead, Trujillo ordered that

grazing be reduced by 18 per-cent. She argued that currentgrazing levels were unsustain-able.The Forest Service explained

in a March 2011 letter to U.S.Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-NM,

that management practices bythe ranchers had contributed tooveruse of meadows in the twoallotments and that fences wereeither poorly maintained or indisrepair.The agency also said the allot-

ments had been operating belowtheir permitted numbers of live-stock for over a decade. Even

with fewer cattle, the agencyargued the allotments wouldn’tbe able to recover.The ranchers maintain Trujil-

lo’s decision was retribution forthem speaking out against theForest Service’s managementpractices and for requesting thatshe be transferred.They have repeatedly voiced

their concerns at public meetingsand have written letters to NewMexico’s congressional delega-tion about declining grazingopportunities and access to his-toric land grant areas.The lawsuit accuses Trujillo of

“engaging in a continuing andongoing campaign of retaliation,misusing her position to harassand punish plaintiffs for theirconstitutionally protected con-duct.”In addition to violating their

First Amendment rights, the

Forest Service has violated itsown policies and federal environ-mental laws, the ranchers con-tended.County officials said they are

concerned about the loss of graz-ing fees, half of which arereturned by the federal govern-ment to help fund local schooldistricts and other public works.

County Commissioner FelipeMartinez also said ranchers helpsustain the local economy bypurchasing fuel, groceries andother equipment for their cattleoperations.“It all trickles down,” he said.

“For us, it’s also about preservingthe custom and culture, the lan-guage, the religion, everythingthat helps to identify us as whowe are.”Attorney Ted Trujillo, who is

representing the plaintiffs, saidthe lawsuit is the culmination ofa long history of managementdisputes surrounding northernNew Mexico’s land grants.“I think it’s going to take a lot

of education all the way around,”he said, “but hopefully we canengage in some public policy dis-cussions that would make a dif-ference for the people of NewMexico.”

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FEATURING THE . . .

by BILL MEARS, CNN Supreme Court Producer

Astate law mandating“humane treatment” ofdowned livestock headedfor the slaughterhouse

was unanimously overturnedrecently by the Supreme Court.At issue was whether federal

regulations dealing with inspec-tion of domesticated animalsabout to be killed, processed,and sold for human consump-tion preempted — or nullified— California Penal Code 599f.Several justices had earlier

noted the good intentionsbehind the state action, but allnow agreed that it went too farinto the traditional federal arena.

U.S. Supreme Court ruleson health care challenge/ GPS tracking“The Federal Meat Inspec-

tion Act regulates slaughter-houses’ handling and treatmentof non-ambulatory pigs fromthe moment of their deliverythrough the end of the meatproduction process,” wrote Jus-tice Elena Kagan. “California’s(law) endeavors to regulate thesame thing, at the same time, inthe same place — except byimposing different require-ments. The FMIA expresslypreempts such a state law.”That state law became effec-

tive in 2009, following shockingundercover video released bythe Humane Society. Slaugh-terhouse workers in SanBernardino County outside LosAngeles were shown dragging,prodding and bulldozing weak,“non-ambulatory” cows intoslaughter pens. Water fromhoses was used on some cattlelying on their sides, to forcethem to their feet.Penal Code 599f would

require meat processors toimmediately remove downedanimals and “humanely” eutha-nize them. And the sale, pur-chase or shipment of such ani-mals would be criminallyprohibited.The long-standing Federal

Meat Inspection Act alsorequires animals lying down tobe removed, but gives discre-tion to federal inspectors todetermine whether the livestockcan recover sufficiently andbecome fit for slaughter andhuman consumption. That lawexpressly prohibits any stateregulation “in addition to or dif-ferent from” the federalrequirements. It includes cattle,pigs, sheep and goats.The Supreme Court has long

ruled that interstate commerceis under federal jurisdiction,trumping any state efforts toregulate it.

The current case wasbrought by a meat trade groupon behalf of pig farmers in Cal-ifornia. The Obama administra-tion sided with pork producers,a move criticized by a numberof animal rights groups.A federal appeals court in

San Francisco last year hadruled in favor of the state law,labeling as “hogwash” an earlierjudge’s decision that favoredthe industry.The law’s enforcement has

been put on hold pending theSupreme Court’s decision, nowin legal support of the industry.Animal defenders blasted

the high court’s ruling, andurged the federal governmentto step up its enforcement andmonitoring of slaughterhouses.“This is a deeply troubling

decision, preventing a widerange of actions by the states toprotect animals and consumersfrom reckless practices by themeat industry, including themishandling and slaughter ofanimals too sick or injured towalk,” said Wayne Pacelle, pres-ident of the Humane Society ofthe United States. “The fact is,Congress and the USDA havebeen in the grip of the agribusi-ness lobby for decades, andthat’s why our federal animalhandling and food safety lawsare so anemic. California tried

Livestock industry wins Supreme Court appeal

Federal lawsuit targeting Forest Servicealleges bias against Hispanic ranchers

“Without the ability to access and utilize natural resources, our communities are

drying up. We’re not economically sustainable.We’re losing our customs and our culture.”

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

Recently weekly ethanol production uses 14 million bushels of corn

According to Energy Infor-mation Administration,recent weekly ethanolproduction averaged

941,000 barrels per day (b/d) or39.52 million gallons daily.That is down 3,000 barrels fromthe previous week.

The 4-week average forethanol production stood at953,000 b/d for an annualizedrate of 14.6 billion gallons.

Stocks of ethanol stood at19.5 million barrels, the highestsince early June 2010.

Gasoline demand for theweek averaged 335.8 milliongallons daily, the lowest weeklydemand since September 2001.As a percentage of daily gaso-line demand, daily ethanol pro-duction was 11.77 percent.

Ethanol producers wereusing 14.268 million bushels ofcorn to produce ethanol and105,909 metric tons of live-stock feed, 95,551 metric tonsof which were distillers grains.The rest is comprised of corngluten feed and corn glutenmeal.

Additionally, ethanol pro-ducers were providing 4.33 mil-lion pounds of corn oil daily.

All-Women’s RanchRodeo is exploding withthe creation of theRanch Cowgirls RodeoAssociation (RCRA),

that will hold its first rodeo sea-son in 2012. RCRA is lookingforward to lady cowhands fromall over the country joining up toshow their amazing cow andpony skills.The RCRA formed because of

the ever-growing desire for cow-girls to have ranch rodeo compe-titions where cowgirls’ skills andlifestyle are showcased in aforum that is fair, professional,accountable and organized.RCRA also provides support andassistance to cowgirls and their

families in times of need. RCRAis dedicated to un-biased compe-titions and decisions, as well asexciting performances, accordingto the group’s mission statement. RCRA is not only about

rodeos, but will be pursuing phil-anthropic endeavors as well.Women have always been amajor part of all ranch workswhether it was as a mother,house-wife, cow hand, horse-breaker, feed hand, or all of theabove. In recent decades,women’s rodeo abilities havecome more forefront in therodeo sports world, according tofounders. The group will be thefirst All-Women’s Ranch Rodeoorganization that has a full board

of non-contestants, as well as thefirst All-Women’s Ranch Rodeoorganization that will have afund for cowgirls’ and their fami-lies in need.Ranch Cowgirls Rodeo Asso-

ciation has a Facebook page aswell as a website, http://www.ranchcowgirlsrodeoassocia-tion.com. Ranch Cowgirls Rodeo Asso-

ciation board members, Kath-leen Hill, Channing, Texas; WillDurrett, Wildorado, Texas; MaryDavis, Cimarron, N.M.; SteveLewis, Amarillo, Texas; and ColiHunt, Texico, N.M. are ready tostart off the first ever RCRArodeo season with an April 22rodeo in Clovis, N.M.

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to protect its citizens and theanimals at slaughterhousesfrom acute and extreme abus-es, but its effort was cannibal-ized by the federal govern-ment.”Pork producers in their

legal brief estimated thatabout 3 percent of swine arenon-ambulatory when theyarrive at the slaughterhouse.Most of the downed beasts,they say, are merely overheat-ed, fatigued or stubborn, andmost are soon back on theirfeet. Animal rights activistschallenge that assertion.The meat industry argued

being forced to immediatelyeuthanize all downed animalswould hurt its ability todetect and fight one particu-larly virulent disease: foot-and-mouth, which is highlycontagious. The industry saysfederal inspection is pre-ferred, since pre-slaughterinspections of sick animalsare required. The state lawwould mandate immediatekilling and disposal of thelying-down livestock.California — backed by

animal rights groups — alsocontended the two laws werecompatible, allowing localconditions to be addressedand ensuring that moral andhumane conditions would bepart of meat processing rules.The case is National Meat

Association v. Harris (10-224).

All-Womens Ranch Rodeo Association Kicks Off

Page 8 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

environment and now we needto learn how to produce cattlethat eat less grain. Already we’reseeing a move in that direction,”Peel said.Alternative feed and forage

including by-product feeds like‘cotton trash’, orange/citrus peeland pulp, corn distiller’s grain, soyhulls, cottonseed and corn stalksare all viable products being test-ed for cattle feed and may one

day replace conventional grains.“Grain prices aren’t going to

get any cheaper and productioncosts are going to continue to gethigher, so in order to survive theindustry will need to embracenew ways of doing things. Butdemand and a healthy market forbeef is going to continue and as Ihave been saying to producers,patience and the ability to survivethe current challenges will pay offin the long run,” Bevers said.New strategies for cattlemen

could include concentrating onstocker cattle as they slowly addback beef cows to the heard overthe next few years, and the mar-ket for feeder cattle is up, anoth-er area ranchers may be lookingat in an effort to survive the cur-rent challenges.“I remain optimistic that recov-

ery will happen. The only tragicvariable would be another stretchof severe drought. If we don’t seerain this spring, we will probablysee additional culling of herds bylate spring and early summer, andthis would be a development thatwould complicate any hope for asubstantial recovery any timesoon,” Peel said.

by LOGAN HAWKES,Southwestfarmpress.com

Historically tough times— that’s how some live-stock experts are sum-ming up the 2011Southwest livestock

industry. One of the worstdroughts on record has forcedmany livestock producers to cullherds, turn to out-of-state foragesources, and in many casesscramble for adequate water sup-plies just to keep their herdsalive.And in spite of rain in late

December and January in Texas,Oklahoma, and New Mexico, theforecast is calling for extendeddry conditions and a long road torecovery, even if substantial rain-fall comes this summer season.“The drought is the last in a

series of events that have hurtthe industry,” says Dr. DerrellPeel, Oklahoma State UniversityExtension Livestock MarketingSpecialist. “The timing of thedrought couldn’t have beenworse. But we didn’t get into thispredicament overnight, andwe’re not going to get out of itquickly either.”Peel says he expects recovery

to take 4 to 5 years before herdscan be significantly reestablished,and says a more patient approachwill be necessary before theindustry can experience expan-sion and return to pre-droughtconditions. But he says somepositive improvement could hap-pen as early as later this year andnext year depending on a num-ber of developments, includingsubstantial rainfall.“It is not just a question of

adding back beef cows. Thereare not enough females to sup-

port repopulation in one year.Ranchers won’t run out offemales, but prices will get highenough to encourage producersto wait to buy them. And one ofthe greatest challenges we facewill be redeveloping forageacreage and inventories. This isnot going to happen overnight,”he adds. “Producers should con-sider a more patient recoverystrategy of rebuilding cow herdsover a two- to four-year period.This may be beneficial to pro-mote optimal recovery and heal-ing of pastures. It also will fit cat-tle market conditions better.”Early estimates indicate Texas

may have lost as much as 20 per-cent of its beef cattle as a resultof last year’s drought, and Peelsays Oklahoma losses could runthat high and possibly morecounting yearlings and stockercows. “As an industry we have

painted ourselves into a corner,”says Texas AgriLife Extensionagriculture economist Stan Bev-ers. “We are battered andbruised by a terrible drought andmost livestock producers havereacted as you would expect,selling off cows or moving them— often great distances — togreener pastures, and buyingout-of-state hay and forage.”

No overnight recoveryBevers agrees that substantial

recovery is not going to happenovernight, especially consideringassessment of losses is an ongo-ing process.“How bad is it? No one knows

for certain. We estimate some120,000 cows won’t be marketedin Texas this year as a result ofdrought-related problems. Herdswere culled, many cows moved

out-of-state, including somestocker cattle, and only time willtell how great the impact on theoverall industry,” Bevers added.He says the drought-imposed

setback represents a new develop-

ment in an industry that has beenlosing ground for some time.“In 1976 for example, Texas

had about 44 million cows. But by2011 that number had fallen toabout 31 million, so the droughtaccelerated a trend for smallerinventories, and did so at a timewhen demand was steady andmarkets were up,” Bevers said.Both economists say they

remain optimistic that theSouthwest cattle industry willrecover and that patience andinnovation will be key for grow-ers to survive. Robust strategiesneed to be developed and adegree of re-education will berequired for the growth of theindustry in years to come.Bevers said this year’s drought

made it tough to generate prof-its. However, ranchers have beenthrough droughts before, hesays, and the difference now isthe additional rising input costsand market volatility. He sayscoming out of this drought “willrequire a new level of under-standing and pencil pushing.”“For a number of years we

have been teaching how to growthe industry in a grain-based

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I am/our organization is committed to protecting the open spaces, private property, private businesses & ensuring theresponsible use of public lands. Please list me/my organization as a member of the Western Legacy Alliance.

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What They are Saying About Us…• The $206,098,920 Endangered Species Act Settlement Agreements — Is all that paperwork worth it?

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Working to Protect the Rich Tapestry of the WestShorthorn Summer 2012Internship Available

The American Shorthorn Association (ASA) and theAmerican Junior Shorthorn Association (AJSA)seek individuals interested in a full-time paid sum-mer internship. ASA will be selecting two (2) indi-viduals for the 2012 summer internships. This is an

outstanding opportunity to attain training and work expe-rience in an association atmosphere. The intern will assistwith programs of the ASA and AJSA activities, such as theplanning and execution of the National Junior ShorthornShow & Youth Conference, including but not limited topress releases, creative design work, media contact, corre-spondence with planning committees, and data and entryinput and organization.Applicants should be a sophomore, junior, or senior in

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The long road to recovery forSouthwest cattle industry

“The timing of the drought couldn’t have been worse. But we didn’t get into this predicament overnight, and we’re not going to get out of it quickly either.”

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

Though wind and solar ener-gy have received enormousgovernment subsidies foryears, each remains rela-

tively insignificant in terms of itscontribution to aggregate energyproduction. The low marketshare of these forms of energyspeaks to the fact that the neces-sary technology for efficientimplementation does not yetexist, and that advocates areessentially swimming against themarket current, says BenjaminZycher, a visiting scholar at theAmerican Enterprise Institute.

� Renewable electricity gener-ation from all nonhydroelectricsources was only 3.6 percent oftotal U.S. generation in 2010.

� Despite this small energyshare, nonhydroelectric produc-tion received 53.5 percent of allfederal financial support for theelectric power.

� Wind power alone, provid-ing 2.3 percent of generation,received 42 percent of such sup-port.Wind and solar renewable

energy have failed to take offdespite government supportbecause they face substantialmarket impediments.First, their energy production

is relatively concentrated andrequires as a result large amountsof land per unit of energy.

� A wind farm with a theoret-ical generation capacity of 1,000megawatts (MW) and a gener-

ous generation capacity of 35percent would require 144,000-192,000 acres.

� The land requirement prob-lem for solar thermal facilities isof sufficient importance becausemost analyses assume a maxi-mum generation capacity of 50-100 MW, which, conservatively,would require approximately1,250 acres.

� In contrast, a 1,000 MWgas-fired plant requires about 10-15 acres; conventional coal, nat-ural gas, and nuclear plants havecapacity factors of 85-90 per-cent.Wind and solar energy also

face a broader geographic chal-lenge.Because they’re located pri-

marily in the Midwest and theSouthwest, respectively, they arefar from the coasts where mostelectricity is consumed. This cre-ates significant transmissioncosts. One survey of 40 transmis-sion studies for wind projectsconducted from 2001 to 2008finds a median transmission costof $15 per megawatt hour.These forms of energy face

additional market obstacles aswell, such as challenges to indus-try-wide economies of scale andinconsistent production. Forthese reasons, the total markethas not embraced wind and solar.

Source: Benjamin Zycher, “Wind and SolarPower, Part I: Uncooperative Reality,” Ameri-can Enterprise Institute, January 17, 2012.

“Since when did the term ‘environmental-ist’ take on such a negative connotation?”This quote is from a letter-to-the-editorof a major metropolitan newspaper.

“Sure,” it continues, “. . . there are extremists whomake the evening news, but they are very much theminority . . .”Maybe the first thing we should do is define

“environmentalist.” It was not even listed as a wordin my 1961 Webster Dictionary.According to the internet I found three defini-

tions:1) advocate for environmentalism2) one concerned about environmental quality

especially of the human environment with respectto control of pollution3) a person who protects the natural world from

pollution and other threatsIt seems anyone can call themselves an “envi-

ronmentalist.” It just depends on how you definepollution, the natural world and quality. Since thedefinition is so vague I suggest we have a means ofevaluating one’s EnviroCred. Criteria would bebased on 1) personal sacrifice, 2) realistic goals,and 3) actual reduction of pollution.If you give up your job, leave your family and tie

yourself to a tree, that might mark you a C+ Envi-ronmentalist. You get your picture in the paper butexpect someone else to pay for it. Say a person sellshis house, takes all his savings and tries to buy thetree to protect it, that would be a B+ Environmental-ist. Great personal sacrifice, but no guarantee you

can force the owner to do something against his will.Compare that to someone who already owns

the tree and refuses to cut it down, that would bethe greatest sacrifice, an A+ Environmentalist.It is a matter of putting your money where your

mouth is. Not the government’s money, but yourpersonal commitment. It’s easy to be generouswith somebody else’s money.Those of us in agriculture are frequent targets

for D-rated Enviros who decide that loach min-nows are endangered. They are willing to sacrificeyour land, your property rights, your labor, heritageand income to attain their goal. These Enviros arethe most despicable. They are ready and willing tocondemn somebody else’s property to build wet-lands, roads, or army training grounds for “thegreater good,” as long as it is not “in their back-yard!” Often, those who are most passionate aboutan issue and prey on rural communities, know theleast about it! We see these self-important politi-cians, protestors, media pundits and celebritiespounding the table and orating, with all Enviro-Cred of a monkey behind the wheel of a Maserati!The label ‘environmentalist’ has been grossly

abused. Maybe to be called one, a license based onyour EnviroCred should be required. One thatembodies some personal investment, some knowl-edge, and one that is environment-specific. Then,in response to the letter to the editor, commonsense and credibility would allow the title, environ-mentalist, to be seen in a positive light. Which itshould be, of course.

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Page 10 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

Twenty-seven miles straight north ofthe San Bernardino National WildlifeRefuge, five miles north of Highway 80on Price Canyon Road there is a BorderPatrol camp. While three shifts of agentswork out of this camp Mexican outlawspack dope on a nightly basis a merestones throw away from the FEMA sur-plus camp trailers that house these Bor-der Patrol employees. I live where PriceCanyon Road leaves the highway, and Iview Border Patrol vehicles going to andfro fifteen times an hour —24/7. Off dutyagents drive into town in governmentvehicles to get supplies, and none ofthem that you ask will tell you they catchmore than one in four illegal aliens; manyestimates are one in ten.In the last several years Mexican cartel

employees have started numerous forestfires in Cochise County costing theAmerican taxpayer hundreds of millionsto fight. In the summer of 2011 theHorseshoe Fire #2 burned the entireChiracuhua Mountain range down andthat fire alone cost the U.S. Treasury fiftymillion to put out. Since that fire theNational Forest Service, who refuses toacknowledge the fires were started byoutlaw Mexicans, have installed largemetal gates on all major roads enteringforest lands in the Chiracuhua range.On Tex Canyon Road a mile or so

above the Krentz Ranch the new gate is afew steps away from a large sign installedby the federal government warning allwho see it that drug smugglers and crimi-nal aliens are known to be in the area.The heavy metal gate that cost taxpayers$2,500 to build has one purpose: to denyaccess to you and me on what is sup-posed to be public land. Mexican outlawsare free to roam, but you and I will soonbe locked out. Why do Mexican outlawshave more freedom that I have?A Border Patrol supervisor from the

camp on Price Canyon Road recentlytold a neighboring rancher that he wasgoing to have to take some mandatorytime off. “Why?” The rancher asked. Theagent replied he had exceeded the maxi-mum overtime limit and if he didn’t standdown for several weeks he would be mak-ing too much money. “How much do youmake,” the rancher asked? “Oh, I’ll pulldown about $134 thousand this year” wasthe agents reply.In the last decade job growth in the

private sector has increased 1 percent,compared to 15 percent in government.When this recession started a coupleyears ago the U.S. Department of Trans-portation had one employee making$170,000 a year, today there are 1690.Employees in the Department ofDefense making over $150,000 a year hasincreased in numbers from 1168 to10,100 in a couple years. Since Obama

has been elected President, federalemployees making over $100,000 havedoubled in number. Per capita, individu-als who are employed by the federal gov-ernment make over twice as much asthose employed in the private sector. TheBorder Patrol itself has 21,000 plusagents. I wonder how many of thesewould vote for a candidate who trulywanted to seal the border?In the last few months I have inter-

viewed numerous business people andlaw enforcement personnel from severalagencies. I ask them how many business-es in border towns like Douglas are legit-imate and how many are mere fronts formoney laundering and other illegal activi-ties relative to cartel smuggling. The low-est estimate given me was 20 percentwho are involved to some degree withillegal border trade. The highest estimatewas 80 percent, with most people I talkedto saying it’s somewhere between 35 per-cent and 50 percent. No one I ques-tioned denies a large underground econo-my that benefits not only Mexicans butmany U.S. citizens, some of whom haveties to Washington, D.C. The drug tradein Mexico is estimated to be a trillion-dollar industry. No one knows for surehow big it is, but everyone agrees that itis so awash with cash that it makes theGDP of many nations in the world palein comparison.I am acquainted with a plain clothes

NARC detective (who is not employedby a federal agency). In a conversation afew months ago he told me a story how inthe mid-nineties he and other officersafter making a large narcotics bustacquired enough evidence to arrest threeU.S. Customs agents for taking bribesand in the course of the investigation onthese agent’s treasonous acts they puttogether a cut and dried case that shouldhave convicted them. They couldn’t evenget an indictment. He explained that theU.S. Customs agency itself didn’t wantthe bad publicity. The judge was apathet-ic and the district attorney was lazy —nobody cared. At the end of this story helooked at me with disgust and said,”Right today I know of ten agents workingat the port of entry between Douglas andAgua Prieta that are taking bribes, andthere is nothing I can do about it.”The idea that a fence from San Diego

to Brownsville will fix the border problemis a fantasy. The border isn’t sealedbecause too many people are gettingimmensely wealthy doing business underthe radar and many of them are Ameri-cans. For Washington politicians there istoo much power at stake to actually findreal solutions.We don’t need a fence; we need a

change in the rules of engagement.About ten years ago about a dozen

Cochise County ranchers, includingmyself had a meeting with CongressmanTom Tancredo. Mr. Tancredo is a truepioneer in trying to expose truth aboutborder violence and the flood of illegalactivity on the border. He told us that onany give day it was impossible to findover two or three individuals in the capi-tol building who would be willing to dis-cuss border issues. Everyone in Washing-ton, Mr. Tancredo said, considers theproblem on the border political suicide.The impotent gangster, Philipe

Calderon, who is nothing but a puppet ina regime completely out of control, getsan invite from Obama himself to addressa joint session of Congress. His speech,which Obama hoped he could use toembarrass conservatives in general andArizona in particular, was considered asmashing success by all on the left. Con-gressman Altmire, Holden, and Barrowwere there along with Giffords, Pelosi,Reed, Grijalva and McCain, standing —cheering. We bomb Qadafi without adeclaration of war and ignore the plagueof human atrocities committed daily inPhilipe Calderon’s country.

In an article in the New American Fri-day January 13, 2012 written by BrianKoenig some enlightening statistics aboutthe U.S. citizen and immigration serviceare revealed. The article states that overhalf of USCIS officials say that Obamaputs more focus on promoting immigra-tion that on national security. Twenty-fourpercent of USCIS officials say that theyare pressured by their superiors toapprove applications that should havebeen rejected. The article goes on to saythat five veteran employees were eitherdemoted or given a choice to relocatebecause they were too tough on individu-als applying for immigration benefits.“People are afraid,” said one veteranemployee. “Integrity only carries a personso far because they’ve got to pay the rent.”I personally have had a dozen or more

Border Patrol agents tell me their superi-or officers purposely cause them to beunsuccessful. Border Patrol agents whoare aggressive are given desk jobs andincompetence is rewarded. There are sev-eral agents in prison for simply doingtheir jobs. Agent Brian Terry lost his lifebecause of the Obama administration’srefusal to call the situation what it is:dangerous. Bean bags should never havebeen an option.In the last few weeks there has been

considerable uproar over SB 1867. Thisbill was coauthored by none other thanArizona’s own Manchurian candidate,John McCain. It gives, among otherthings, the President the right to send theU.S. Army to your house and arrest youif he (in this case, Obama) deems you area threat to National Security. No dueprocess, no phone call, no attorney, notrial, only the Gulag. Of course Obamapromises to never misuse the language ofthe bill which he and McCain think wethe people have misinterpreted.Perhaps at this time the contents of

this bill seem benign, but I believe in thenot too distant future this is going tochange. The situation in Mexico contin-ues to deteriorate, and in spite of whatObama says the effects of cartel presencewithin our borders increases daily. TheUnited States government will eventually

be forced to acknowledge we are in a war,if not with Mexico, at least with the Mex-ican drug cartels. Experts say that thecartels now control seventy percent ofMexico, so war with Mexico or war withMexican drug cartels are for all practicalpurposes one and the same.If and when the U.S. government

(which means Obama or whoever is onthe throne) realizes war has come hometo roost, the language is SB 1867 couldtake on a more relevant tone. Could it atthat time seem more acceptable for apresident to arrest someone who has thereputation of being dangerous?This puts a whole new light on Joe

Biden’s comment that the Taliban isn’tthe real enemy.Under Obama, respect for the consti-

tution and the rule of law have beenreplaced by post millennial politicalactivism. Patriotism has become a dirtyword. The Obama agenda is not, nor hasit ever been, solution driven. This is mostevident in the President’s refusal toacknowledge the well documented rela-tionship the Mexican drug cartels havewith Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror-

ist groups who want to destroy America.Since Obama became President we’ve

had no federal budget, colossal debt,embarrassing foreign policy, no energypolicy, higher gas prices, no Keystonepipeline, higher unemployment, increasedclass warfare, embarrassing governmentsubsidies to companies doomed to bank-ruptcy, praise from the White Housetoward Wall Street occupiers and openhatred for Tea Party activists, violenceand increased anarchy on the Mexicanborder, increased anger, frustration , con-fusion, depression, hysteria, and disgustfrom the American public which leads tomore executive power, more departmen-tal czars, increased regulation, federalintervention, and eventually we will havemartial law.As Rahm Emmanuel said, “You never

want a good crisis to go to waste.”By now you are probably thinking,

“This guy is paranoid.” I have contem-plated this and have decided that para-noia rests on a higher plane than deliber-ate naivety and cultivated stupidity. Onedoesn’t have to participate in the currentdumbing down of America.Connect the dots and fill in the

spaces. The border isn’t getting sealedbecause too many people are getting richand powerful perpetuating the red hoteconomy that drug and human traffickingfuels. Anarchy, cruelty and killing are justunfortunate byproducts of the crisis thatObama and Holder and Napolitanorefuse to recognize.In a recent conversation I had with

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever,who is an honorable man, I remarked tohim, “Larry, several people have told methat the cartel is going to kill me becauseof the articles I’ve written. What do youthink?” He replied, “Yes, there are peoplewho would kill you if given the opportuni-ty” He paused momentarily, staring atme, and then continued, “But who youreally need to worry about is the U.S.government. They have ways of punishingpeople like you.”That begs another question, “Who are

you afraid of?” The possibilities are end-less.

The Truth Hurtsby ED ASHURST, Apache, Arizona, January 26, 2012

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.”

— ALBERT E INSTE IN —

On three occasions in the last twelve months I have toured the border east ofDouglas with various dignitaries including authors, Tea Party leaders, filmmakers and three congressman: Jason Altmire and Tim Holden from Penn-sylvania, and John Barrow from the state of Georgia. If you stand at theinternational boundary where it traverses the southern edge of the SanBernardino National Wildlife Refuge you can look east and west and see a

stretch of road right next to the border fence and get a panoramic view at the least fif-teen miles in length. At no time on any of these three trips did we encounter, or see, asingle border patrol vehicle or agent. Why isn’t the Border Patrol on the border?

The border isn’t getting sealed because too many people are getting rich and powerful

perpetuating the red hot economy that drug and human trafficking fuels.

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

Germany will press theEuropean Union tointroduce a label onmeat saying it camefrom humanely raised

farm animals, German agricul-ture minister Ilse Aigner said onrecently.The move would be part of a

new German government pro-gram to improve farm animalwelfare, she said.“Transparency changes buy-

ing behaviour and then the pro-

duction processes and manufac-turing processes,” she said at theopening of the Green Weekfood trade fair in Berlin.An EU-wide label on meat to

show consumers that the animalwas reared humanely should beintroduced, she said.“This will make it possible for

consumers to recognise prod-ucts which were produced usinga very high level of animal wel-fare,” she said.It would not be practical for

Germany to make such a movealone, she said.Farm animal welfare is part

of a charter for agriculture andconsumers setting out a series ofmedium- and long-term goalsfor German farm policyannounced by Aigner.The charter said the amount

of space farm animals receiveand their freedom of movementwere key factors for animal wel-fare.Practices such as castrating

piglets without painkillers wasnot compatible with animal wel-fare, it said.The actual definition of

humanely-reared still needs con-siderable research, said a report

from a ministry working grouppreparing the charter.Consumers must be ready to

pay more for meat with suchlabels, German farmer’s associa-tion DBV said.“Consumers will have to

change their understanding ofprices,” said Heinrich Graf vonBassewitz, DBV spokesman fororganic farming.“Consumers who complain

about so-called factory farminghave pushed forward this formof agriculture though their pur-chases of cheap foods and theirextreme price-consciousness.”

(Reporting by Hans-Edzard Busemann, additional reporting by Michael Hogan; editing by Jason Neely)

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Public pension “Air Time” —

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USA Today reports that 21states currently allow gov-ernment workers to takeadvantage of an obscure

perk known as “air time.” Itallows public employees to essen-tially purchase credit for extrayears of work that are appliedtoward their pension benefits.Here’s an example provided byUSA Today, says Andrew G. Big-gs, a resident scholar at theAmerican Enterprise Institute.

� A Michigan State Policeanalyst makes $56,000 each year.

� He retires after 27 years ofservice, but before doing so, hepays $30,365 (an amount deter-mined by the pension’s actuaries)to purchase five years of workcredit.

� This credit gives him retire-ment benefits equivalent to a 32-year worker instead of his actual27 years.

� This will add around $6,825to the worker’s annual pension,boosting lifetime benefits byaround $170,000.Government officials and the

pension actuaries alike respondto the charge that this is an over-ly generous payout by emphasiz-ing the careful calculation of theair time price. Essentially, actuar-ies estimate the total payout peryear over the course of the work-er’s lifetime, and discount thepayout with a given interest rate,usually around 8 percent.Yet it is not the calculation

itself that makes this perkextraordinary, but the assump-tions beneath it. By discountingfuture payments at a given inter-est rate, state governments areessentially offering a guaranteedreturn on a worker’s investmentat that rate.Now, returning to the use of 8

percent, it becomes clear whythis option is obscenely beneficialfor the worker, as a comparableoption is unavailable anywhereelse.

� Guaranteed U.S. Treasurysecurities currently pay less than3 percent.

� Annuities issued to federalgovernment employees by theThrift Savings Plan have anunderlying interest rate ofaround 2.25 percent.

� In the private sector, guar-anteeing an 8 percent return on amixed stock/bond portfolio over25 years would cost around 133percent of the portfolio’s originalvalue.Furthermore, this 8 percent

rate is also used to calculate neces-sary worker contributions for pen-sion plans in general, meaning thatmany workers receive an 8 percentreturn on all contributions.

Source: Andrew G. Biggs, “Public Pension ‘AirTime’ Is an Absurdly Generous Perk,” The Amer-ican, January 13, 2012.

Germany to seek EU animal welfare label on meatMINISTER CALLS FOR EU ACTION * Work still needed on definition* Farmers group says consumers will pay more

To place your ad here, call Caren Cowan at 505/243-9515,

ext. 21, or email caren@aaalivestock.com

Page 12 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

The Food and DrugAdministration (FDA)announced last week thatit would close hearings onthe potential risks of “sub-

therapeutic” antibiotic use infood animals. This announce-ment means the FDA will nolonger regulate the use of theantibiotics penicillin and tetracy-cline in feeds for livestock.Though some object to the poli-cy change, FDA announcementactually comes at the recommen-dation of leading animal scien-tists.In the U.S., many livestock

producers give their animals low-levels of antibiotics to preventdisease and promote growth.Some argue that this practice hasled to increased antibiotic-resis-tant human diseases. When theFDA opened hearings on theissue in 1977, scientists lackedinformation on whether giving

livestock antibiotics for “growthpromotion” could lead to antibi-otic-resistant bacterial infectionsin humans. Since then, animalscientists have shown that antibi-otics can be used safely to pro-mote growth and health in live-stock.According to the FDA notice,

published in the Federal Regis-ter, “FDA’s thinking on this issuehas evolved over the last threedecades, and FDA now generallyconsiders disease control andprevention claims to be judicioususes (in other words, therapeuticuses), especially when the drug isadministered at the directionand under the oversight of alicensed veterinarian.”This statement reflects the

conclusions of many animal sci-entists working in animal agricul-ture and clinical research. InNovember 2011, after a scientif-ic symposium on antibiotic use

in animals, the National Institutefor Animal Agriculture (NIAA)concluded that “estimated farm-to-fork risk from on-farm antibi-otic use is extremely low.”Dr. Rodney Preston, a retired

animal scientist and member ofthe Federation of Animal Sci-ence Societies’ Committee onFood Safety, agreed with theNIAA conclusion. Preston saidrisk of antibiotic use in animalsleading to antibiotic-resistanthuman diseases is “minimal.”Dr. Scott Hurd, an associate

professor in veterinary diagnos-tics and production animal med-icine at Iowa State University,called the FDA announcement“a good plan.” Hurd gave hisopinion on the part of the FDAannouncement calling for thelivestock industry to begin “vol-untary reforms.”

Source: American Society of Animal Science

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Dudley Butler, administra-tor of USDA’s GrainInspection, Packers andStockyards Administra-

tion (GIPSA), has tendered hisresignation, effective Jan. 26,Agri-Pulse learned recently.Butler oversaw the develop-

ment of a controversial proposalto reform livestock and poultrymarketing practices that becameknown as the GIPSA rule. Itaimed to give Butler’s agencyexpanded authority under the1921 Packers and StockyardsAct to protect livestock and con-tract chicken producers fromunfair, fraudulent or retaliatorypractices.The proposal was cheered by

farm activists but heavily criti-cized by major livestock organi-

zations, including the NationalCattlemen’s Beef Association,National Pork Producers Coun-cil and National Chicken Coun-cil, who claimed it went beyondthe wishes of Congress in 2008Farm Bill.In the end, many of the mar-

keting reforms that matteredmost to competition advocateswere stripped from the final rule.Butler’s involvement in the

rulemaking was slammed byRepublicans on Capitol Hill. Hisprevious experience as a triallawyer who litigated cases underthe P&S Act amounted to a con-flict of interest in the minds ofmany of his detractors.Agriculture Secretary Tom

Vilsack stood by his GIPSAAdministrator throughout thecontroversy, and in a statementissued recently, thanked Butlerfor his “outstanding service.”

Animal scientists emphasize importance of antibiotic use in livestock

GIPSA’s Butler resigns

In mid January U.S. Secretaryof Agriculture Tom Vilsackannounced a package of dis-aster assistance to help farm-ers, land owners, communi-

ties and others recover andrebuild after a year in which awave of natural disasters sweptacross all regions of the UnitedStates. The funding, totaling$308 million, provides financialand technical assistance to help

rebuild and repair land damagedon account of flooding, drought,tornadoes and other natural dis-asters in 33 states and PuertoRico. Funding is provided by theNatural Resources ConservationService’s (NRCS) EmergencyWatershed Protection Program(EWP) as well as the Farm Serv-ice Agency’s Emergency Conser-vation Program (ECP) andEmergency Forest Restoration

Program (EFRP).“Landowners, individuals and

communities have enduredincredible hardships because ofthe intensity and volume of natu-ral disasters that have impactedtheir livelihoods,” said Vilsack.“America’s farmers and ruralcommunities are vitally impor-tant to our nation’s economy,producing the food, feed, fiberand fuel that continue to help us

grow. This funding will help torebuild communities, whilestates can use the funds to carryout emergency recovery meas-ures. At the same time, thisassistance keeps farmers on thefarm, ranchers on the ranch, andlandowners on their land, help-ing to keep American agricultureprofitable.”The Emergency Watershed

Protection (EWP) will con-tribute $215.7 million to providefinancial and technical assistanceto address public safety andrestoration efforts on private,public and tribal lands. Whenfunding is allocated to a project,NRCS contracts the heavy con-struction work to local contrac-tors, spurring creation of jobs.Typical projects funded underEWP include removing debrisfrom waterways, protecting erod-ed stream banks, reseeding dam-aged areas, and in some cases,purchasing floodplain easementson eligible land. A list of statesand their fiscal year 2012 EWPProgram allocations can beviewed at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/nation-al/programs/landscape/ewpp.The Emergency Conservation

Program (ECP) program willcontribute $80 million to produc-ers to help remove debris fromfarmland, restore livestock fencesand conservation structures, pro-vide water for livestock duringperiods of severe drought, andgrade and shape farmland dam-aged by a natural disaster. FSAcounty committees determineeligibility based on on-siteinspections of damaged land andconsidering the type and extentof damage. For land to be eligi-ble, the natural disaster must cre-ate new conservation problems.The Emergency Forest

Restoration Program (EFRP)program will provide $12 millionin payments to eligible owners ofnonindustrial private forest(NIPF) land in order to carry

out emergency measures torestore land damaged by a natu-ral disaster.A list of states and their fiscal

year 2012 ECP and EFRP allo-cations can be viewedathttp://www.fsa.usda.gov/Inter-net/FSA_File/20120108_ecp_efrp_table.pdf.USDA works with state and

local governments and privatelandowners to conserve and pro-tect our nation’s naturalresources — helping preserve ourland and clean our air and water.During the past two years,USDA's conservation agencies— NRCS, FSA and the U.S.Forest Service — have deliveredtechnical assistance and imple-mented restoration practices onpublic and private lands. At thesame time, USDA is working tobetter target conservation invest-ments to embrace locally drivenconservation and entering part-nerships that focus on large,landscape-scale conservation.A strong farm safety net is

important to sustain the successof American agriculture. To helpkeep American agriculture prof-itable, USDA immediatelyresponds to disasters across thecountry, ranging from recordfloods, droughts and tropicalstorms, with direct support, dis-aster assistance, technical assis-tance, and access to credit. Forexample, USDA’s crop insuranceprogram insures 264 millionacres, 1.14 million policies, and$110 billion worth of liability onabout 500,000 farms.Over the past 3 years, USDA

has paid out about $17.2 billionin crop insurance indemnities tomore than 325,000 farmers wholost crops due to natural disas-ters. And in response to tighterfinancial markets, USDA hasexpanded the availability of farmcredit, helping struggling farmersrefinance loans. In the past threeyears, USDA provided 103,000loans to family farmers totaling$14.6 billion. Over 50 percent ofthe loans went to beginning andsocially disadvantaged farmersand ranchers.

Vilsack Announces Disaster Assistance to Producers and Communities in 33 States and Puerto Rico

February 15, 2012 “America’s Favorite Livestock Newspaper” Page 13

January 2012 marked theconclusion of a long trek toimportant protection forAfrican antelopes living in

the United States according toTaylor Jones, WildEarthGuardians and Lee Hall, Friendsof Animals . Three African ante-lope species living in U.S. zoosand on Texas ranches finallyhave the same protections underthe Endangered Species Act astheir wild counterparts in Africa. The publication of a new rule

by the Fish and Wildlife Serviceis the culmination of more than adecade of effort by Friends ofAnimals to protect scimitar-horned oryx, addax, and damagazelles. The U.S. Fish &

Wildlife Service (FWS) will nowprotect all members of thesethree species as “endangered”including those bred in the U.S.and sold for sport-hunting. These antelope communities

are critically endangered in theirhome territories in northernAfrica, according to the Interna-tional Union for Conservation ofNature’s Red List of ThreatenedSpecies. The addax and damagazelles are nearly wiped out,and scimitar-horned oryx wouldbe virtually extinct, if not forFriends of Animals’ work in pro-tecting them and augmentingtheir numbers in Senegal. Yetmore of these antelopes live onTexas hunting ranches, wherethey are bred and hunted, thanin the wild in Africa. As early as 1991, the scimitar-

horned oryx, dama gazelle, andaddax were proposed for ESAprotection. Friends of Animalswent to the desert of Senegal,Africa, to help the rare antelopesregain footing in their own habi-tat. In addition, Friends of Ani-mals, with the EnvironmentalLaw Clinic at the University ofDenver’s Sturm College of Law,sued the federal government tolist the these antelopes as“endangered” under U.S. law. InSeptember 2005, the FWS didlist the three species as “endan-gered,” noting that desertifica-tion, human encroachment,ranching, regional military activi-ty, and hunting imperil theseantelopes. Yet on the same date, the

FWS published an exception tothe rule removing take and trans-port prohibitions from the veryanimals that the United Stateshas the strongest power to pro-tect — those kept by U.S. enter-

prises. For live antelopes,embryos, gametes, and “sport-hunted trophies” of these threespecies on U.S. soil, the blanketexemption authorized killing,commercial transport, and inter-state or foreign commerce. All three groups of antelope

are protected under the Conven-tion on International Trade inEndangered Species of WildFauna and Flora, prohibitinginternational transport of listedanimals (dead, alive, or parts).Shooting these antelopes inAfrica and bringing trophies intothe U.S. would be illegal. Yetunder the exemption, killingthem in the U.S. was legal.Lee Hall, Vice President of

Legal Affairs for Friends of Ani-mals, lauded the new rule, say-ing, “At last these antelopes arefree from being handled andkilled for kicks. This protectsthree communities of NorthAfrican antelopes from beingtransplanted to or bred intoexploitive captivity, and stalkedbecause of their remarkablygraceful horns.”With the blanket exemption

in place, a lucrative industry inhunting “popular exotics” andsupplying feed, fencing, and taxi-dermy has continued to operate.FWS accepted arguments thathunting is good for antelopebecause it provides an incentivefor maintaining their popula-tions. Hall continued, “The publica-

tion of this rule ends the prepos-terous legal fiction that cannedhunting ranches protect andpropagate endangered specieswhen in reality they are pimpingmembers of species just barelyhanging onto life on Earth ineffect, exploiting the ‘endan-gered’ classification for profit.”

Advocates Strike Back A court case brought by

Friends of Animals andWildEarth Guardians in 2009challenged the loophole andsecured a court order findingthat the exemption violated Sec-tion 10 of the ESA by lettingcanned hunting ranches “harm,harass, pursue, hunt, shoot,wound, kill, trap, capture, or col-lect” members of endangeredspecies. District Judge Henry H.Kennedy, Jr. called blanketexemptions “anathema” to theESA, and in June 2009 remand-ed the rule to the FWS for theappropriate change. Change has

now come.“This success is a step forward

for all endangered species,” saidTaylor Jones, EndangeredSpecies Advocate for WildEarthGuardians. “The ESA is a power-ful law, but it cannot work as itwas meant to if exemptions arefreely granted for any specieshunters might want to hang ontheir wall.”

The pro-hunting Safari Club,represented by house attorneyAnna Seidman, wants to setaside the new rule and givetourists the legal prerogative topay $3,500 or more to kill the2,000-plus captive antelopes stillalive on U.S. ranches.Friends of Animals’ Lee Hall

counters: “While the EndangeredSpecies Act does allow, for

example, some movement of list-ed animals for science-relatedreasons or to enhance the propa-gation or survival of the animalscontingent on a public feedbackprocess for each good-faithapplication it is not meant toauthorize sport-hunting.”“Hunting these antelopes is

no way to save them or treatthem with dignity; nor is it a dig-nified interpretation of theEndangered Species Act,” Hallstated.

Editor’s Note: The “advocates” for theantelopes in the US have now removed anyincentive for American ranchers to maintainhealthy captive stocks of these antelopes,which are endangered in Africa.

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Animal Advocates Gain FormalProtection for African Antelopes

The “advocates” for the antelopes in the US have now removed any incentive

for American ranchers to maintain healthy captive stocks of these antelopes,

which are endangered in Africa.

Page 14 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

Livestock Marketing Associ-ation has announced thatBoehringer IngelheimVetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) is

the Platinum Level sponsor forLMA’s 2012 World LivestockAuctioneer Championship(WLAC).LMA President David Mace-

do said the Platinum Level “isthe highest level of sponsorshipfor the WLAC, now in its 49thyear, and widely considered theWorld Series and Super Bowl ofthe livestock auctioneering pro-fession.“We are very pleased to be

working with a worldwide leaderin cattle vaccine products, acompany that shares our mem-bers’ concerns about livestockhealth.”LMA is North America’s

largest membership organizationdedicated to supporting, repre-senting and communicating withand for the entire livestock mar-keting sector. LMA representssome 800 livestock auction mar-kets, livestock dealer/brokers andrelated businesses.BIVI Brand Manager Monica

Porter said, “We realized that thelivestock auction market ownerhas a key role in the value thatproducers capture for the cattlethey sell and has a significantinfluence on the health protocolsthat producers follow. “We want to partner with

LMA members to help educatecattle producers on ways toimprove their end productthrough flexible health programs,like our Range Ready Quality

Feeder Calf program. Healthiercalves pay producers back withrepeat buyers.”The Range Ready Quality

Feeder Calf program, Portersaid, “is a preconditioned calfprogram that offers the conven-ience of online enrollment, aswell as flexible protocols to fitthe management styles of pro-ducers throughout the country. “Upon completion of the pro-

tocol, producers are provided acertificate electronically thatshows what products were givenand when, so buyers can haveconfidence in the health pro-gram behind the cattle they arepurchasing.”Discussing BIVI’s future work

with LMA, Porter said, “The val-ue of being able to talk directlyto livestock market owners andgetting feedback on what worksin different geographical areas isinvaluable to our program andplanning. We appreciate the

partnership we are building withLMA members and the WLACcontestants.”BIVI is the U.S. animal health

division of Boehringer IngelheimCorporation, a family-owned com-pany founded in 1885 in Ingel-heim, Germany. BIVI recentlyexpanded its vaccine manufactur-ing facility in St. Joseph, Mo., andcontinues to dedicate itself toresearch and development ofinnovative vaccine products forcattle producers.The 2012 WLAC will be held

June 16 at Turlock LivestockAuction Yard, Inc., Turlock,Calif. Thirty-three contestantswill compete at an actual live-stock sale and three titlists willbe selected – world, reserve andrunner-up champion. The winners receive thou-

sands of dollars in cash andprizes. The Championship willbe broadcast live atwww.LMAAuctions.com

RED ANGUS

angus

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BRANGUS

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To list your herd, call CAREN COWAN

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Mark Goes, Odell, Neb.,was named the 2012American GelbviehAssociation (AGA)

Member of the Year. The AGAMember of the Year award ispresented annually to an out-standing member who gives theirtime, talent, and dedication tofurther the improvement of theirstate and national association.This year’s honoree has selflesslygiven his time and talent on eachlevel, exemplifying the qualitiesand attributes of the award. Mark has been very active in

the Gelbvieh breed and the live-stock industry. He has been amember of the Gelbvieh Associ-ation in Nebraska (GAIN) since1987 and the American Gelb-vieh Association since 1988 asowner of M&P Gelbvieh, whichhe owns with his wife Patti anddaughter Tricia. Mark has served on the Board

of Directors for each association,lending his time and input toshape the direction of both associ-ations. He has been a director forseven of the past eight years withGAIN, where he worked to createthe GAIN field representativeposition. Currently, Mark serveson the AGA Board of Directors,and was recently elected as the28th president of the AmericanGelbvieh Association. Additional-ly, he has chaired numerous AGAcommittees including productivi-ty, finance and national show andhas written six published articlesin Gelbvieh World. As a champion for youth,

Mark and Patti have been juniorGAIN sponsors for the last tenyears. Moreover, Mark hasplayed an instrumental role indeveloping and carrying out theAmerican Gelbvieh Junior Asso-ciation (AGJA) live carcass eval-uation contest. His effortsbrought the contest from a con-cept to a reality. Recently, Mark

and Patti served on the AGJATwister Classic host committeewhich planned and carried out avery successful national show formore than 150 AGJA exhibitorsand their families. M&P Gelbvieh has built a

reputation of raising high-qualityand showring-competitive cattle.M&P Gelbvieh has exhibitedcattle at the National WesternStock Show (NWSS) for tenyears and taken home many pur-ple ribbons. In 2005, PMGPegasus 01P, a bull bred andraised by M&P Gelbvieh, wasnamed champion of the Breed-er’s Choice Gelbvieh Bull Futu-rity. They have also exhibitedcattle many times at the Ameri-can Royal, and in 2010 showedthe reserve grand champion Bal-ancer® female.Outside of M&P Gelbvieh,

Mark is an instructor of livestockproduction at the Beatrice cam-pus of Southeast CommunityCollege located in southeastNebraska. In 1999, Mark wasresponsible for adding a regis-tered Gelbvieh and Balancerherd to the beef program atSCC. Southeast CommunityCollege has hosted multiple Gel-bvieh tours with a variety ofguests including representativesfrom the Canadian GelbviehAssociation. As an instructor,Mark has been a mentor to SCCstudents by helping them toexhibit and market Gelbvieh andBalancer cattle at state sales aswell as the NWSS and theNational Gelbvieh Sale.The American Gelbvieh Asso-

ciation was honored to recognizeMark as the 2012 Member of theYear during the AGA “BlazingNew Trails” annual conventionheld January 4-7 in Denver, Colo.His countless hours of time anddedication to Gelbvieh organiza-tions set a remarkable examplefor all AGA members to follow.

Each year, there are severalscholarships sponsored byThe Shorthorn Foundationas well as the American

Shorthorn Association (ASA)available to American JuniorShorthorn Association (AJSA)members. The ASA and theFoundation find offering collegesupport to the youth of the asso-ciation greatly important as theyare the future of the industry andthe Shorthorn breed.AJSA members are eligible to

apply for one of six different col-lege scholarships:

� Mike Dugdale MemorialScholarship: The $1,000 Dug-dale Scholarship is awarded to acollegiate upperclassman who isan active AJSA member with asincere interest in bettering thebeef cattle industry after college.

� John C. “Jack” RagsdaleScholarship: The $1,000 JackRagsdale Scholarship is awardedto a high school senior or collegefreshman who is an active AJSAmember with a sincere interestin learning how to evaluate live-stock and an appreciation for thepurebred livestock industry.

� Don Longley MemorialScholarships: Applicants mayalso apply for Lyle & KatharynDeWitt Memorial Scholarship.There are four $1,000 LongleyMemorial Scholarships awardedeach year. The scholarships aresponsored by The ShorthornFoundation and awarded to highschool seniors or college fresh-men based upon Shorthorninvolvement, grades, need, andparticipation in other activities.

� Lyle & Katharyn DeWitt

Memorial Scholarship: Appli-cants may also apply for Don Lon-gley Memorial Scholarships. Theone $1,000 Lyle and KatharynDeWitt Memorial Scholarship issponsored by The ShorthornFoundation and awarded to highschool seniors or college fresh-men based upon Shorthorninvolvement, grades, need, andparticipation in other activities

� Jesse M. & Jennie S.Duckett Memorial Scholar-ship: The one $1,000 Jesse M. &Jennie S. Duckett MemorialScholarship is sponsored by TheShorthorn Foundation andawarded to high school seniorsor college freshmen based uponthe applicants’ involvement inAgriculture, educational back-ground, ACT scores, and highschool and/or college GPA.

� Charles B. “Chuck”Leemon Memorial Scholarship:Applicants may also apply for anyother scholarship offered. New thisyear is the one $2,500 Charles B.“Chuck” Leemon MemorialScholarship. The scholarship issponsored by the family of ChuckLeemon in cooperation with TheShorthorn Foundation and award-ed to a college student basedupon the applicants’ involvement,future goals and career plans inAgriculture, college GPA, andcharacter references.

Applications for the scholarships are availableat www.shorthorn.org or by contacting theASA at 877/272-0686 or bert@shorthorn.org.Please send completed applications to TheAmerican Shorthorn Association, Attn: Schol-arship Application, 8288 Hascall Street, Oma-ha, NE 68124 by May 1, 2012. All scholarshiprecipients will be announced during the 2012Shorthorn Junior National Show & Youth Con-ference, in Grand Island, Neb., June 29, 2012.

Goes Receives Gelbvieh Association Member of Year

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. to help sponsor for June’s World Livestock Auctioneer Championship

Over $10,000 in scholarships availablefor Junior Shorthorn Breeders

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

Labor Department To Re-propose parental exemption in child labor regs

The U.S. Department ofLabor’s Wage and HourDivision has announcedthat it will re-propose the

portion of its regulation on childlabor in agriculture interpretingthe “parental exemption.” Thedecision to re-propose is in parta response to requests from thepublic and members of Congressthat the agency allow an oppor-tunity for more input on thisaspect of the rule. Following thepresident’s historic executiveorder on regulation, issued inJanuary 2011, this re-proposalreflects the department’s carefulattention to public commentsand its conclusion that it isappropriate to provide the publicwith further opportunities to par-ticipate in the regulatory process. The parental exemption allows

children of any age who areemployed by their parent, or aperson standing in the place of aparent, to perform any job on afarm owned or operated by theirparent or such person standing inthe place of a parent. Congresscreated the parental exemptionin 1966 when it expanded pro-tections for children employed inagriculture and prohibited theiremployment in jobs the Depart-ment of Labor declared particu-larly hazardous for childrenunder the age of 16 to perform.The department recognizes the

unique attributes of farm familiesand rural communities. The re-proposal process will seek com-ments and inputs as to how thedepartment can comply with statu-tory requirements to protect chil-dren, while respecting rural tradi-tions. The re-proposed portion ofthe rule is expected to be pub-lished for public comment by earlysummer. The department will con-tinue to review the commentsreceived regarding the remainingportions of the proposed rule forinclusion in a final rule.Until the revised exemption is

final, the Wage and Hour Divi-sion will apply the parentalexemption to situations in whichthe parent or person standing inthe place of a parent is a partowner of the farm, a partner in apartnership or an officer of a cor-poration that owns the farm ifthe ownership interest in thepartnership or corporation is sub-stantial. This approach is consis-tent with guidance the Wage andHour Division has provided tothe public on its website for thepast several years.

If you have any additional questions orconcerns, feel free to contact mckinney.

julia.n@dol.gov or 202/693-4600.

Wesley Grau, Grady, wasappointed to the Cat-tlemen’s Beef Promo-tion and Research

Board, the national board thatadministers the Beef Checkoffprogram, by U.S. Secretary ofAgriculture Tom Vilsack in lateDecember.

This will be the second three-year term for the Grady rancher,who was elected Chairman ofthe Board in August, 2011. “The Beef Checkoff, which

funds beef promotion andresearch and fuels the market forour product, is crucial to ourindustry,” said Rex Wilson, NewMexico Cattle Growers Associa-tion President, Carrizozo. “Weare fortunate to have Wesleyhelping direct those funds. He isa rancher and farmer, under-stands both the commercial andregistered sides of the cattlebusiness, and has experience onthe political front. We couldn’thave a better person represent-ing our interests.”Grau and his family raise

Charolais cattle in eastern NewMexico. He is an active memberand past president of the NMC-GA, and was named Cattlemanof the Year by the Association in2009. He is a former member ofthe New Mexico House of Rep-resentatives, past president ofthe New Mexico Beef CattlePerformance Association, mem-ber of the American Internation-al Charolais Association andNCBA, and past president of theNew Mexico Wheat Growers’Association. He and his wifehave three children and fivegrandchildren. The Beef Checkoff Program

was established as part of the1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff

assesses $1 per head on the saleof live domestic and importedcattle, in addition to a compara-ble assessment on imported beefand beef products. States retainup to 50 cents on the dollar andforward the other 50 cents perhead to the Cattlemen’s BeefPromotion and Research Board,which administers the nationalcheckoff program, subject toUSDA approval. Recent appointees to the 103-

member board representing cat-tle producers include: Leo C.Sutterfield, Jr., Ark.; Phyllis K.Snyder, Colo.; Sarah K. Childs,Fla.; Kimberly Brackett, Idaho;Stacy M. McClintock and PerryL. Owens, Kan.; Daniel C.Smith, Ky.; Leon Kreisler, Mo.;Lyle V. Peterson and Linda M.Nielsen, Mont.; Douglas A.Temme and Sherry A. Vinton,Neb.; Wesley L. Grau, N.M.;Patrick L. Becker, N.Dak.; TerryL. Wyatt and Barbara A.Jacques, Okla.; Joyce A. Bupp,Pa.; Gerald R. Sharp, S.D.; TedA. Greidanus, Southwest Unit;Richard A. Winter, Paul H.Looney, Jr., G. Hughes Abell,Lavina G. Sartwell, and ThomasR. Alger, Texas; and Frank H.Maxey, Jr., Va.Newly appointed members

representing importers are:Andrew N. Burtt, Va.; StephenK. Edwards, Va.; Cristobal J.Hutton, Ill.; and Joakim A.Holzner, Colo.

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

Joe Priest Real Estate1205 N. Hwy 175, Seagoville, TX 75159

972/287-4548 • 214/676-69731-800/671-4548www.joepriest.com

joepriestre@earthlink.com

• 735 acres Paris, Texas, excellent pasture,paved road frontage, huge lake, mansionhome. $2,750,000.

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

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

• 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.

• 535 ac. Limestone, Fallas, & Robertson coun-ties, fronts on Hwy. 14 and has rail frontagewater line, to ranch, fenced into 5 pastures, 2sets, cattle pens, loamy soil, good quality trees,hogs, and deer hunting. Priced reduced to$1,750 per ac.

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

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

Equipment

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

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Rodent Control

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New and used tractors, equipment, and parts. Salvage yard, combines, tractors, hay equipment andall types of equipment parts.ORDER PARTS ONLINE.

BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIEDOG PROBLEMS? Don’t risk having to do itover again with ineffectiveproducts. Rozol Prairie Dog Bait is a restricted-usepesticide approved for useby state certified applicatorson blacktailed prairie dogs

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

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VALLEY VIEW RANCH: Lipscomb Co., Texas, 177 ac. with extraordinary 5,404±sq. ft. home overlooking the property with beautiful views of live creek, trees,wildlife (deer, quail, and turkey), covered horse training facilities, stables, excellentcattle working facilities and pens, commercial dog kennels, employee housing. We can divide (10 ac. with main residence or 167± ac. with other improvements)!

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

RANCH & FARM REAL ESTATE

· 6,520 Deeded Acres · 14,988 State Lease Acres· 8,640 BLM Acres · 650 Animal Units Year Long· 1/ 2 sand country, 1/ 2 hard country· Good water; windmills & submergible tanks· Extensive pipeline system· Modest improvements for living quarters

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CALL FOR PRICE

Grau Reappointed to Cattlemen’s Beef Board THE LIVESTOCK MARKET DIGEST

RealEstateGuide

TO PLACE YOUR REAL ESTATE LISTINGS call CAREN COWAN at 505/243-9515, ext. 21, or email

caren@aaalivestock.com

Page 16 Livestock Market Digest February 15, 2012

ask, ‘how do we work together toachieve it’” in a way that doesn’thandicap farmers’ ability to growfood.Rubinstein also encouraged

farmers and ranchers to supportlegislation that would regulate

how EPA settles lawsuits filedagainst it. Often environmentalgroups sue the agency toadvance their agenda and EPAsettles the lawsuits in a mannerthat establishes the regulatorycontrol the groups wanted.Farmers can find coalition part-ners in other groups that feel asstrongly as they do about privateproperty rights, he suggested.There also is value in publiciz-

ing excessive regulations, Rubin-stein said, such as EPA’s plan toregulate spilled milk under theSpill Prevention, Control andCountermeasures program. Theagency backed off when the planwas brought to the attention ofthe general public.“Sunshine is a great disinfec-

tant when it comes to govern-ment actions,” he said.

by AMERICAN FARM Bureau Federation

Farmers need to committheir time, energy, moneyand best thinking if theywant to stop the prolifera-tion of federal regulations

that threaten their businesses, aU.S. Chamber of Commerceofficial said recently at theAmerican Farm Bureau Federa-tion 93rd Annual Meeting.“Thisisn’t academic folks,” said ReedRubinstein, senior counsel forthe Chamber of Commerce.“When the federal government

exercises its authority, it cansend you to jail. We are all oneregulation away from being outof business.”Most of the“hyper regulation”

currently affecting farmers stemsfrom expansion of environmentallaw, he said, but new health careregulations and financial reformwill add to their regulatory bur-den in the next five to 10 years.Increasingly, the Environmen-

tal Protection Agency is empha-sizing ecological sustainability ofagriculture in its regulatory pro-grams, based on what it says arepublic concerns, Rubinstein said.

“Translation: ‘You need some-body to tell you how to run yourbusiness because you’re notdoing it in the right way,” hesaid. “But who’s going to decidewhat ‘sustainable’ means?”EPA also is having internal

discussions about moving awayfrom place-based regulationssupported by science to a holisticapproach, which includes con-cern for social issues in writingregulations, he said.Farmers need to get engaged

in these issues, Rubinstein said,and comment on proposed regula-tions at every level of government.

Hyper regulation is also astate and local issue, he empha-sized. Farmers need to be willingto serve on federal and localadvisory panels that draft andreview regulations, and file law-suits if necessary.

“If you’re not in there punch-ing, you don’t have a chance,” hesaid.In addition to responding,

farmers and ranchers need to beproactive in addressing issues, hesaid. “We all want clean water,clean air,” he said. “We need to

This sale offers you some of the highest quality Brangus in the Southwest! The “good doing” kind.

BUY DIRECT FROM BRANGUS BREEDERS! NO HIGH-PRICED COMMISSION

MEN TO RUN THE PRICE UP!

AT ROSWELL LIVESTOCK AUCTIONROSWELL, N.M. • 575/622-5580

Cattle may be viewed Friday, Feb. 24, 2012at Roswell Livestock Auction

Gayland Townsend . . . 580/443-5777, MOB. 580/380-1606 Troy Floyd . . . . . . . . . . . . 575/734-7005Bill Morrison . . . . . . . . . . 575/482-3254, MOB. 575/760-7263Joe Lack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575/267-1016Larry Parker . . . . . . . . . . . 520/845-2315, MOB. 520/845-2411

TO RECEIVE A CATALOG CONTACT: Bill Morrison: 575/482-3254 • C: 575/760-7263

To Consign Top Females Contact: Gayland Townsend: 580/443-5777 • C: 580/380-1606

Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 10 a.m.

Brangus and Angus Plus Bulls• Most with EPDs• Registered and Commercial• Fertility- , TB-, and Brucellosis-tested• These bulls have been bred and raised under Southwest range conditions.• Most bulls rock-footed• Trich-tested to go anywhere

Females. . .• Registered Open Heifers • Registered Bred Heifers and Bred Cows• Bred Cows and Pairs: 3- to 7-yrs.-old• Bred Heifers: Coming 2-yr.-olds• Open Yearling Heifers

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

Roswell Brangus Bull

& Female Sale21st Annual

Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 10 a.m.ASI plans wool handling/classing schools

Are you interested inattending an informa-tional wool course? Ifso, let the American

Sheep Industry Association(ASI) know your interest.ASI offers two different

schools: a four-day wool-certified classing school anda two-day wool handlingschool. Both classes arecomprised of classroomlearning in addition to timespent handling wool.The certified classing

school is designed for sheepproducers with wool-focused genetics in theirflock. Technical informationon wool production, genet-ics, nutritional influences aswell as an opportunity toskirt and class a wide varietyof fleeces is covered.The more general wool

handling school providesmore general informationabout wool marketing andpreparation with a broad-based view of the woolindustry.For more information

regarding these classes or toshow interest in one of thecourses, contact ASI at303/771-3500 or email Maryat: mary@sheepusa.org.

Farmers warned:We’re all one regulation away from jail or bankruptcy

“We need to ask, ‘how do we work together to achieve it’” in a way that doesn’t

handicap farmers’ ability to grow food.

To place your ad here, call Caren Cowan at 505/243-9515,

ext. 21, or email caren@aaalivestock.com