LMD June 2020

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

– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

June 15, 2020 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 62 • No. 6

Begging For Bones

BY LEE PITTS

Don’t squat with your spurs on.

N

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

early 40 years ago we were the first, if not the only livestock periodical, to warn ranchers about the packers desire to turn the cattle industry into something akin to the chicken industry. We called it “The Chicken Model” where packers would make contracts with ranchers and feedlot operators and the final price would be set by a complicated formula benefitting the packer.

We were told time and again that this could never happen in the cattle industry because chickens could be raised in a minimum of space, whereas cattle required huge expanses of land. Others liked the idea and told us that a contract cattle system would result in more efficiency and security for ranchers.

Some even suggested the chicken model would result in greater profits and that it did... for the packers and the retailers. Mostly we were told the cattle industry would never look anything like the poultry industry because ranchers would never let that happen, and yet by 2004, 30% of the cattle produced in this country were sold on a formula.

By 2019, 66% or two out of every three head of fat cattle were formula cattle. As price discovery in the cattle market was disappearing, so too were ranchers and we lost over half the the ranchers in this country as we became more “chickenized”.

There has been no trickle down economics as the packers got bigger and more powerful.

While wholesale prices for beef rose 38% in April, the price of rounds and chucks was up 40%, and retail prices for beef were up 20-25%, yet the prices for feeders and stockers were falling 30%! During the past few

months while packers were making anywhere from $600 to $1,500 per head, feedyards and ranchers were losing $400 each on every head they produced.

Just a few short years ago ranchers were getting up to $1,600 per head for a 600 pound steer... today they are getting half of that. The packers were partially successful in turning the cattle industry into a clone of the chicken industry. The dominoes were starting to fall into place for the packers and then packers did what packers always do... they got even more greedy.

While cattlemen were fighting to remain independent they only had to look at the pork industry to see what could happen to them. According to Successful Farming Magazine as quoted by Alan Guebert, 40 multinational companies now own 4,290,700 sows in this country, that’s two out of every three in

America and fifteen of those 40 pig producers are fully integrated with a packer. And the biggest pork packer, Smithfield, was sold to the communist Chinese! Today the pork industry has been totally chickenized and in the process 90% of pork producers went out of business.

The ONLY reason the cattle industry couldn’t be totally chickenized is because we had something the poultry pluckers did not: auction markets and video auctions where we still had some semblance of price discovery.

Going Viral It seemed like only weeks ago that Cattle Fax, as part of the 2020 NCBA Convention, was predicting, “Beef demand is strong and with U.S. cattle numbers plateauing, prices are likely to be stronger in the year ahead as consumers at home

and abroad support industry profitability.”

And then the cattle industry caught the flu. Now the Livestock Marketing Information Center says that prices to the rancher in the first quarter were down 15-17% and as this issue went to press prices were down 25% in the second quarter.

The LMIC predicts that prices for cattle to the rancher will be down again in the third and fourth quarters as well. They see some recovery possible in 2021, “but nothing significant.”

I don’t know about you but I’m getting sick of all this talk during the Covid crises that “we’re all in this together.” HA! The bureaucrats in DC are still getting their paychecks, they haven’t dumped any milk down the drain, euthanized any hogs or committed suicide because they lost the family ranch. While retailers and packers were getting rich and beef was flying off the shelves at the highest prices in recorded history, cow calf producers were seeing their world cave in. Consider this: since January the price of boxed beef that packers sell to retailers has gone up 100%, while cattle prices went down 30%!

How is this even possible?

On Fire! continued on page two

Study Shows Utah Shorted $100s of Millions in Payment in Lieu of Taxes Payments

P

ayments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) are federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to the existence of nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

The original law is Public Law 94-565, dated October 20, 1976. This law was rewritten and amended by Public Law 97-258 on September 13, 1982 and codified at Chapter 69, Title 31 of the United States Code. The law recognizes the financial impact of the inability of local governments to collect property taxes on federally owned land.

PILT payments help local governments carry out such vital services as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads, and search-and-rescue operations. The payments are made annually for tax-exempt Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (all bureaus of the Department of the Interior [DOI]), and the U.S. Forest Service (part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) and for Federal water projects and some military installations.

PILT payments are one of the ways the Federal Government can fulfill its role of being a good

neighbor to local communities.

Utah Federal Land Valuation Study A study was contracted as directed by HB 357, a bill sponsored by State Representative Ken Ivory and passed unanimously by both the Utah House and Senate in 2018. The results were produced by a state-of-the-art land valuation model designed by Geomancer. Geomancer (now part of AEON AI) presented results of their Utah federal land valuation study to the Federalism Commission of the Utah legislature on May 22, 2020.

Summary of Key Results The Federal Land Valuation Study appraised three categories of federal lands: Category 1 32 million acres of federal lands were assessed at the lowest taxable value, which is a category called unimproved recreational use; Category 2 218,000 acres of undeveloped BLM and Forest Service land within municipal boundaries were assessed at the lowest taxable value according to each city’s current zoning or general plan; and continued on page four

by LEE PITTS

Freedom Stew

F

ar too often we forget how lucky we are to live in America. When our life’s lottery ticket was punched we definitely hit the jackpot.

Every so often it’s good to remind ourselves what it is that makes our country so special.

The recipe that made America great calls for one giant melting pot that has been well oiled by freedom.

The main ingredient is that someone in your family came here from someplace else. They came so they wouldn’t have to goose step in some May Day parade, hide their faces behind a veil, live on their knees or wouldn’t have to crack the heels of their boots together and “sieg heil” anyone ever again. They live here so they wouldn’t have to live in fear of being imprisoned for having a contrary opinion. They came to America so they could dare to dream their own dreams and live their own lives, not one dictated by a despot, tyrant, potentate or dictator.

In this melting pot slowly stir in American Indians and their culture of spirituality, respect for their elders and love of the land.

Then add thousands of Chinese who left a homeland that would have hung them for trying to leave.

The Chinese came anyway even though they were despised and would’ve been hung on the nearest tree for doing anything wrong.

They came to build a railroad, the Central Pacific, from Sacramento over and through the mighty Sierra’s to Promontory Point and now their descendants are graduating with honors from Stanford and building tech companies worth billions of dollars.

Our recipe calls for a big glass full of Irish. If the Chinese built the western part of the rails it was the Irish who laid the eastern ones.

The Irish left a worn out land that offered them only poverty and starvation, to a new country that suited them well. After the bare knuckled brawlers helped build the railroads they built our towns and cities too. Today you can still walk into neighborhood pubs in America, hear a bit

continued on page four

Page 2

Livestock Market Digest

June 15, 2020

BEGGING

Colin Robson

For more than 100 years, Farm Credit of New Mexico has been farmer and rancher owned. Over that time, we’ve helped countless family businesses prosper and grow. Unlike other financial institutions, we’re not a bank. We’re member-driven. What can we do for you?

farmcreditnm.com 1-800-451-5997

For advertising, subscription and editorial inquiries write or call: Livestock Market Digest P.O. Box 7458 Albuquerque, N.M. 87194

Livestock Market Digest (1SSN 0024-5208) (USPS NO. 712320) is published monthly except semi-monthly in September in Albuquerque, N.M. 87104 by Livestock Market Digest, Inc. Periodicals Postage Paid at Albuquerque, N.M. POSTMASTER-Send change of address to: Livestock Market Digest, P.O. Box 7458, Albuquerque, N.M. 87194

Telephone: 505/243-9515 Fax: 505/349-3060 www.aaalivestock.com EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING STAFF: CAREN COWAN..........Publisher LEE PITTS....................Executive Editor CHUCK STOCKS.........Publisher Emeritus RANDY SUMMERS......Sales Rep FALL MARKETING EDITION AD SALES:

Subscribe Today

RANDY SUMMERS, 505/850-8544 email: rjsauctioneer@aol.com FIELD EDITOR:

NAME

DELVIN HELDERMON, 580/622-5754 1094 Koller Rd, Sulpher, OK ADMINISTRATIVE and PRODUCTION STAFF:

ADDRESS

MARGUERITE VENSEL..Office Manager

CITY

STATE

My check is enclosed for:

ZIP

One Year: $25.00 Two Years: $35 Single copy: $10.00 Clip & mail to: Livestock Market Digest, P.O. Box 7458, Albuquerque, N.M. 87194

JESSICA DECKER..........Special Assistance CHRISTINE CARTER......Graphic Designer

You may remember that last August there was a fire at a Tyson Fresh Meats facility in Kansas that closed down the giant beef processing plant until December. Up until then the packers knew their noose on the cattle business was tightening but this fire proved just how much more power they’d got their rope around. They had accidentally created a shortage and prices for their beef immediately spiked upwards.

And them along came Covid 19. In just one month seven huge beef and pork slaughter plants closed down. In the process they had created a huge shortage of beef at a time when there was a backlog of over a million head of fat cattle that were ripe and ready for harvest. In April beef processing was at 60% capacity. At the same time due to the fact that most of the cattle being processed were “formula” cattle, the fed cattle trade was non-existent. The Wall Street Journal reported that wholesale beef prices were “ON FIRE.” In view of the Tyson plant inferno that produced much higher wholesale prices, such language was entirely appropriate!

As always, there was an immediate call for an investigation. Senator Ogden Driskill said, “There is a pattern of the packers taking advantage of market crises to create windfalls for themselves. We instantly saw saw spikes in retail pricing, yet packers decreased prices on cattle. As this pandemic continues we are seeing the highest retail beef prices in history. The packers have the money, the demand for beef is there, and yet, they haven’t moved any profits back down the supply chain to producers and feedyards.”

When the history is written about the Covid 19 crises it will record that many cattle feeders and ranchers went out of business at the same time beef was selling at an all time high.

So much for all of us being in this thing together!

Rubbing Salt In The Wound The merciless pig packers took a wrecking ball to the pork industry but they needed to tweak their business model for the cattle business to achieve the same domination. That tweak was what is known today as “globalization” which made it possible for America to become dependent on foreigners for food, medicine and other necessities of life.

Globalization clobbered all of American agriculture. Today 30% of the fruits and vegetables that Americans eat are from foreign countries and 12% of the beef we eat was produced in foreign lands. Like Namibia, for instance.

At the exact same time that the price for live cattle was falling faster than stock in JC Penney, and fat cattle were clogging up feedlot alleys, the African country of Namibia was allowed to start sending their beef here.

They became the first African country to do so and they join three dozen other countries around the world who export beef into our country. Reuters reported that Namibia will send 860 tons of beef cuts to America in 2020 with that amount expected to rise to 5,000 tons in 2025. The foreign beef will be labeled as “grass fed and antibiotic free” but there will be no identification on it that

continued from page one

says it came from Africa. This is exactly the globalization model that American meat packers dreamed of. They can now access beef wherever it is the cheapest in the world and sell it in the richest market in the world without the consumer having any idea where it came from.

And you can forget about country of origin labeling for beef. If we can’t get it done under a pro-American-business Trump administration, we’ll never get it done.

And where did all of this globalized get us?

Dairymen are going bankrupt in droves as they pour 10% overproduction down the drain.

So what do they do? They go back to our government to beg for three dollars more per hundredweight. Since the Covid bomb went off the price of corn is down 25% and corn growers have suffered a collective five billion dollar loss in just two months. The price of ethanol has fallen 46% since last year and 73 of the nation’s 200 ethanol plants are now shuttered.

Soybeans are down 15% and cattle 30%. As of May 1 the number of hogs being processed was down 40% since last year and so they are euthanizing fat hogs and the scenes of piles and piles of fat hogs laying outside of hog houses is enough to turn anyone’s stomach. So what do they do? They have no other alternative but to beg the government for more relief money.

Some Things Never Change When we began this publishing venture nearly 40 years ago the big topic of conversation was the futures market and the devastation it was causing. It has only gotten worse. According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission the futures markets are helping to stabilize the market and they are “working as intended.” Yeah, for futures traders and derivative hustlers. Take oil for example.

Twelve years ago it was selling for $187 a barrel; in the middle of the Covid crises oil on the futures exchange got as low as MINUS $37.63 per barrel. Yes, we said MINUS. While beef in the meat case was selling for an all time high, futures prices for beef collapsed. And what was the answer provided by CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert? “It’s really important again to signify that we have a robust dialogue and continued historical coordination with USDA on matters of mutual interests.”

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue added, “USDA’s role and responsibilities are intertwined more and more with CFTC.” What chickenization was to the 80’s and 90’s, and globalization was to the first two decades of the 21st century, “farming the government” or what we call “begging for bones” will be beef’s next business model.

The New Normal I have a friend who runs 100 cows and thinks the cattle business is a great way to get rich.

Here’s why. For seven drouthy years he got a government check for feed assistance. Two years ago a fire raged through half his ranch and since then the federal government has paid for all new fencing that was falling down, or continued on page three

June 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

Page 3

New Study: Climate Impact of Grazing Cattle Overestimated

DR DAVID WHITEHOUSE, GLOBAL WARMING POLICY FORUM SCIENCE EDITOR

The climate impact of grassfed cattle may have been exaggerated as scientists find emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas from certain types of pasture are lower than previously thought.

R

esearchers from Rothamsted Research found urine from animals reared on pasture where white clover grows – a plant commonly sown onto grazing land to reduce the need for additional

nitrogen fertiliser – results in just over half the amount of nitrous oxide previously assumed by scientists to be released. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas some 265 times more harmful than CO2 and can account for 40 percent of beef supply chain emissions.

Co-author of the study, Dr Laura Cardenas said: “Due to technical and logistical challenges, field experiments which measure losses of nitrous oxide from soils usually add livestock feces and urine they have sourced from other farms or other parts of the farm, mean-

ing that the emissions captured do not necessarily represent the true emissions generated by the animals consuming the pasture.”

Writing in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0167880920301638?via%3Dihub , the team reports how they created a near ‘closed’ system whereby the circular flow of nitrogen from soil to forage to cattle and, ultimately, back to soil again, could be monitored.

Lead author of the study,

BEGGING nonexistent, to begin with. And for using his own equipment to move boulders around, put riprap on creek banks and plant willows he collected another $19,000 from the feds. He visits the ag office in town once a month to see if there any new federal programs he can cash in on.

This, my friends, is a glimpse into the future of the cattle business.

The beef cattle business will be no different than the dairy business or any other ag product whose markets are set, or affected by, the numerous alphabet agencies of the federal government. With all the multi-billion dollar bailouts announced almost weekly the feds are exploding our national debt and attempting to create a dependent class amongst farmers and ranchers whose every move will be according to the wishes of some agency of the federal government.

Whether it be the BLM, Forest Service, Cattleman’s Beef Board, AMS, ARS, APHIS,

Dr Graham McAuliffe and colleagues had previously discovered system-wide reductions of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the inclusion of white clover in pasture. This conclusion was primarily driven by a lack of need for ammonium nitrate fertiliser, whose production and application create greenhouse gases.

According to Dr Cardenas, further research is required to explain the detailed mechanisms behind the observed complementarity between white clover and high sugar grasses – but that the data

continued from page two

FSA, FNS, FSIS, SCS, NRCS, CNPP, FAS, NASS and on and on, your success or failure will be determined by how you interface with the bureaucrats.

There is even talk of creating a Strategic Food Reserve just like the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, so that if the foreigners stopped sending us food for any reason we could rely on the reserve. Or, if the feds decided that beef was too high priced, for example, they could release more frozen beef from the reserve to destroy the market. There will also be several federally backed insurance programs.

But how do the multinational packers benefit? They get their beef cheaper because the feds will be subsidizing the ranchers in a myriad of ways, just as the packers now get their research and promotion paid for by your checkoff dollars.

And who will represent your interests? That would be the packer-backers at the NCBA who are only alive today because they receive almost all of

their money from a government program: the beef checkoff.

And the USDA gets a goodsized check every year for administering the program.

NCBA has always been vehemently opposed to country of origin beef labels and on May 13, the NCBA announced their OPPOSITION to a Senate bill that would require a minimum of 50% of a meat packer’s volume of beef slaughter be purchased on the open or spot market. Instead of taking such action NCBA Policy Division Chair Todd Wilkinson said, “NCBA has been closely working with key stakeholders, industry experts and our partners in academia to develop tangible means to meet that end (price discovery).” In other words, the NCBA will name more task forces like the one the USDA announced that will supposedly investigate the surge in meatpacker’s margins.

(The margin between the packers and the producers doubled in the packers favor between late February and March 21.)

They will come up with ideas like the Fed Cattle Exchange which has been a total failure in price discovery. Most weeks, if they sell any cattle at all, it is at the bottom of the market, thus putting more downward pressure on the market.

Now What?

We have no doubt there will be lots of useless task forces with “key stakeholders” in the future, just as there have been for the past 40 years. The difference now is that Covid 19 has changed the world and the bureaucrats in DC have seen how easy it is to take away your basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Going forward the feds will be even more brazen and will continue to trample your economic rights and civil liberties.

First it was the chicken model, then the globalization model, next it will be the hold out your hand and beg the government for a handout model.

Otherwise known as The Socialist Model.

points towards an effect of sowing clover on the soil’s microbes.

“The evidence suggests that including white clover amongst high sugar grass decreases the abundance of microbial genes associated with nitrous oxide production compared with microbial communities observed under just high sugar grass.”

As the UK wants to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century, improving our understanding of greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation potentials has never been more important, she added.

Page 4

Livestock Market Digest

June 15, 2020

As Wild & Feral Horse Populations Skyrocket in West, Advocates Blast Plan to Remove 12K Animals

BY CARTER WILLIAMS, KSL.COM

T

he Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released an updated report regarding a program aimed to relocate wild horses and burros populations, which officials say are continuing to grow at an alarming rate.

However, a national wild horse advocacy group is blasting a federal plan to round up additional horses this year.

Officials from the federal agency wrote in the May 8 report there were 95,000 wild horses as of the beginning of March, which far exceeds the 27,000 wild horses and burros it believes the land can sustainably hold. That number continues to rise. In fact, the bureau projects there will be 2.8 million horses on the land by 2040 at the current population growth rate.

“They can grow pretty rap-

RIDING HERD of the Irish brogue and swear you were back in Dublin.

Don’t forget to add Italians, Germans and other Europeans who came first for the gold and then the silver in the Comstock Load. When their gold pans and sluice boxes came up empty they mined the miners.

A German named Levi sold them denim pants, an Italian named Giannini built Bank of America and thousands of other immigrants started companies that still stand today.

The Russians came for our whales, created villages in Northern California and ended up selling Alaska to us at a bargain price. Scotsmen came to build great ranching empires and the Cubans risked their lives and came in leaky boats to get a good taste of our freedom. The French came for our furs and ended up opening up the west. The Cajuns in the South gave our country a healthy dose of spice and joie de vivre (a delight in being alive).

Mexicans came to pick our fruit and farm our fields and they added a strong work ethic and love of family to the American concoction. Today if you travel America’s Southwest you’ll find at least one good Mexican food restaurant in every town and that English

idly — 15 to 20 percent a year, which means a herd can double in size every four to five years, triple every six years … and it can overwhelm the resources that are available to them out on the mostly in the high desert,” said Jason Lutterman, spokesperson for the agency’s Wild Horses and Burro Program.

This year, the bureau expects to remove a little more than 11,000 horses and burrosfrom public land in western states, including Utah. The process has already begun, and thousands of more animals are expected to be captured this summer.

The horses are gathered and brought to pastures in the West and Midwest, Lutterman said.

He explained that once the animals arrive to those pastures, they are up for adoption or will spend the remainder of their lives there.

There are about another continued from page one

is quite often the second language. It’s a reminder that the Mexicans owned the Southwest long before the Anglos arrived.

Many races were added to our mumbo-jumbo hodgepodge as a result of wars. The South Vietnamese came because they would have been executed had they stayed at home, and the Thais, Cambodians and Laotians likewise.

Iranians arrived after the Shah was deposed in 1979 and Japanese had been loyal American citizens long before we herded them into internment camps during World War II. A vital ingredient in our American stew were the blacks from Africa who came against their will. We fought a war for their freedom and their descendants have added so much color to our culture in sports, music and entertainment. Today they are the heart and soul of urban America.

Stir this mix all together and you have American families of all sorts of permutations and possibilities. Let it stew for 250 years and you end up with us. As in the United States. There never has been nor ever will be anything quite like US ever again. www.LeePittsbooks.com

50,000 animals in those facilities, he said. The report states that the BLM anticipates upwards of 220,000 animals in the next decade.

But the process of removing the animals from public land, which first began in the 1970s, has also gained criticism. The American Wild Horse Campaign blasted the bureau’s May 8 report, calling the use of helicopter roundups inhumane because the roundups happen during the hot summer months and some of the horses are run to death by helicopters. They also contend the process will only add to the number of animals “warehoused in holding pens at a staggering cost to American taxpayers.”

“The BLM is doubling down on the most outdated, inhumane, and ineffective approach to wild horse management possible. If Congress doesn’t act to halt it, the BLM’s newest mass roundup initiative will push the federal Wild Horse and Burro Program over a fiscal cliff, resulting in the mass slaughter and destruction of America’s cherished wild horse and burro herds,” said Suzanne Roy, campaign director of the advocacy group, in a prepared statement.

The Cloud Foundation, another advocacy group that also opposes the bureau’s long-term plan, argues the plan “clearly states there is no guarantee whether there will be sufficient government-holding facilities to accommodate the huge increase in captured horses or what the actual costs will be for warehousing 220,000 horses.”

Wild horses have roamed the west for decades. Domesticated horses were introduced to the landscape by settlers as the U.S. expanded westward; as they did, some horses were released and became wild. Populations can be found all over the western U.S. There are 19 horse management areas in Utah with more than 2.5 million acres of space, according to the BLM. But since horses aren’t in any way indigenous to the area they don’t have many natural predators, which has allowed the populations to grow at such a fast rate. The bureau’s program handling the wild creatures began nearly 50 years ago; since 1976, about 15,600 animals have been rounded up in Utah alone.

Lutterman said the practices are necessary to keep populations close to what the land can handle. In most cases, a helicopter is used to lure an animal to a trap, where they are then checked by a veterinarian and given vaccinations before heading to mostly Midwestern ranches. The agency also uses water traps in some cases.

“We are over about 3½ times overpopulated on public rangelands, which is leading to issues in terms of land degradation over grazing areas, damaging really critical ecosystems, like riparian areas which are so important to the high desert ecosystems and all the wildlife populations that those systems support as well,” he said.

He added that horses and burros may end up in areas

PILT Category 3 442,000 acres of undeveloped BLM and Forest Service land within one mile of a city boundary were assessed at the lowest taxable value according to the relevant local zoning ordinance or general plan.

Total annual property taxes due from the federal government: Category 1 $176 million (study gives $180 million total, but I have adjusted it down because of overlap with categories 2 and 3) Category 2 $131 million Category 3 $227 million Total $534 million Total estimated potential annual property taxes on federal lands in Utah For comparison: $41 million PILT Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) by the federal government in FY 2019 to Utah counties totaled almost $41 million for nearly 33 million acres of federal land. https://www.nbc.gov/pilt/counties.cfm?term=county&state_code=UT&fiscal_yr=2019 This is a very conservative estimate of the property taxes the federal government should be paying on federal lands in Utah. It appraises all federal lands for their lowest use value. Note that

with few water resources, which harms animal health. They also could end up on private property or highways.

In addition to the practice of rounding up horses, wild horse advocates also argue the target population of 27,000 animals on lands was created with “no basis in science,” citing a finding from the National Academy of Sciences. A 2013 report from the academy found that there wasn’t much information provided to show how that number was reached, which could make it “open to multiple interpretations.”

The removals are still planned in the meantime. Of the 11,320 animals to be removed this year, about 5,000 will be moved in the coming months. Those animals will head to the pastures, Lutterman said. The BLM said more than 6,000 horses have been adopted from those ranges since it began a new adoption incentive program last year, which provides $1,000 to anyone who adopts an untrained horse.

Given the land needs, which include the wild horses and other wildlife that live on the public land, Lutterman said that officials have determined it’s necessary to round up horses to keep populations low.

“It’s really important to try and keep those populations at the level that the land can support so that it’s sustainable and long,” Lutterman said, “and populations can live out there long term, and they aren’t continually degrading the resources that they themselves need.” continued from page one

AEON AI/Geomancer’s study also includes alternative higher-use valuations for some categories of land, which results in much bigger numbers.

The full AEON AI/Geomancer report can be found at www.aaalivestock.com in the Cut’s from the Edit Room Floor section on the right side of the home page.

According to the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center’s Briefing Book: “Effective property tax rates differ widely across and within states, making them difficult to compare. In addition to variation in statutory tax rates, local governments use various methods to calculate their real property tax base.” https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/ how-do-state-and-local-property-taxes-work Utah has the 11th lowest property taxes in the country, according to a study published by Wallet Hub in 2020. However, the study focuses on houses and other buildings and not on undeveloped land. https://wallethub.com/edu/states-withthe-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/11585/ More information, can be found on the Federalism Commission’s web site at https:// le.utah.gov/asp/interim/Commit.asp?Year=2020&Com=SPEFED. Go to the 22nd May meeting and click on View Meeting Materials List.

Numerous other states are suffering the same shortages from the federal government, most notably the other 10 Western States.

June 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

Page 5

Lumber Prices Rebound From Coronavirus Decline

BY AND UPDATED BY WILL HORNER & RYAN DEZEMBER / WWW.WSJ.COM

L

umber futures have soared since the start of April, driven by cutbacks at mills, signs that the home-building season might be salvaged and brisk business at home-improvement stores.

Lumber futures for July delivery ended on May 26, 2020 at $356.80 per 1,000 board feet on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 45 percent from a low on April 1 and 8.9 percent higher than a year earlier.

Just as oil producers reacted to a historic drop in demand by shutting in wells and stashing crude on tankers to alleviate a supply glut, lumber mills from northwest Canada’s rainforests to the piney woods of the Deep South were quick to curtail production as wood prices plummeted in February and March and it looked like the home-building season would be lost.

Some shut down temporarily, others for good. Mill owners and analysts estimate that daily

North American lumber production declined last month by as much as a third.

Though some mills have ramped up to meet resurgent demand from builders and retailers, about 20 percent of normal production remains curtailed, according to executives with Interfor Corp., North America’s fourth-largest lumber producer, with mills in the Northwest and Southeast.

“With that kind of volume taken out of the market, prices will react,” said Shawn Church, editor of Random Lengths, a wood price-reporting company.

Random Lengths’ report for a week in late May described “tight supplies in all species,” mills booking orders into the second half of June and “scorching home center demand” for southern yellow pine, often used for fencing and decks.

“Demand has been the speed boat: It is much more agile and it has turned quickly,” said Greg Kuta, president of lumber broker Westline Capital Strategies.

“Supply is the oil tanker meandering slowly through the water.

It’s turning, but it’s difficult.”

Call for Climate Change to be Listed as Cause of Death on Death Certificates

BY JENNIFER HARPER - THE WASHINGTON TIMES

T

he environmental cause just took an unusual new turn.

“Professors in academia are touting a new study that is being used to call for climate change to be added as a cause of death on death certificates,” writes Marc Morano, founder of Climate Depot, a news site which tracks alarmist reports and research trends.

The academic and professors appear quite taken with a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health this month by the Australian National University Medical School.

“Climate change is a killer,

but we don’t acknowledge it on death certificates,” the study authors noted.

“Death certification needs to be modernized, indirect causes should be reported, with all death certification prompting for external factors contributing to death, and these death data must be coupled with largescale environmental datasets so that impact assessments can be done,” the authors wrote.

“Given the focus on COVID-19 infection rates and death tolls, it appears the climate activists in academia may want in on the scary and emotional death toll counts in order to draw attention back to their climate cause,” Mr. Morano explained.

Ten Thousand Commandments 2020 An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State

BY CLYDE WAYNE CREWS

T

en Thousand Commandments is the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual survey of the size, scope, and cost of federal regulations, and how they affect American consumers, businesses, and the U.S. economy at large. Written by CEI Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews, it shines a light on the large and under-appreciated “hidden tax” of America’s regulatory state. The current edition marks 26 years since the first report was published as part of the Journal of Regulation and Social Costs in 1993.

Federal government spending, deficits, and the national debt are staggering, but so is the impact of federal regulations. Unfortunately, the financial impact of these rules gets

little attention in policy debates because, unlike spending and taxes, they are unbudgeted and difficult to quantify.

By making Washington’s rules and mandates more comprehensible, Crews underscores the need for more review, transparency, and accountability for new and existing federal regulations.

The 2020 report urges Congress to take responsibility by reviewing, debating, and voting on the most costly regulations.

Specific reforms include: Executive Orders to permanently repeal recently waived regulations that were harming the coronavirus response, sunset dates for regulations, annual regulatory report cards with standardized, searchable information on existing and upcoming rules, and an independent regulatory reform commission to review existing regulations and recommend which ones to repeal. continued on page six

Interfor, which was producing at just 50 percent capacity earlier this month, has led a surge in lumber-producer shares. Since March 23, its stock has gained 95 percent amid expectations that it will benefit from builders making up for lost time and the huge supply of cheap timber around its southern mills. Shares of West Fraser Timber Co., the continent’s largest lumber producer, are up 68 percent over the same period, compared with a 34 percent rise in the S&P 500 stock index.

Though Census Bureau data released last week showed a predictable plunge in both new housing starts and residential building permits in April, home builders told investors during a virtual conference arranged by JPMorgan Chase & Co. that the drop in demand hasn’t been as bad as feared. Home builders said orders are picking up from people eager to move out of apartments as shelter-in-place orders are lifted.

D.R. Horton Inc. executives said April sales wound up only one percent down from last

year after a strong finish to the month. The country’s largest home builder had earlier told investors sales were off by double-digits. Its shares have shot up 37 percent over the past month.

Meritage Home Corp., which sells houses that are typically priced just under $400,000, said that April orders fell 15 percent from last year to 775, but that sales have picked up. “We expect this month’s orders could be in line with last May,” said Chief Executive Steven Hilton.

The company’s stock is up 67 percent over the past month.

With a few exceptions, notably in Washington and New York, home builders were able to stay on job sites after being deemed essential businesses.

Construction slowed, though, as the number of workers allowed at each house at a time was limited by social-distancing guidelines and municipal inspectors and permit offices were pinch points.

Hamir Patel, a forest-product analyst with CIBC Capital Markets, said home-builder orders are encouraging for lumber

demand and suggest that the massive job loss during the pandemic has been concentrated “among low-income households that are not typically in the market to own a home.”

Meanwhile, many who already own houses appear to have used the time stuck at home to embark on renovations and repairs.

“There’s nowhere to spend their money, they can’t go out, they can’t go to restaurants,” said Paul Jannke of Forest Economic Advisors. “So what are they doing? They are going out to Home Depot to buy wood to fix their homes.”

Home Depot Inc. and rival Lowe’s Cos . reported strong quarterly earnings in late May. A Lowe’s executive cited double-digit growth in lumber sales during the first quarter, the end of which is when millions of Americans stocked up and hunkered down to wait out the pandemic.

“Clearly, the customer is re-engaged with DIY,” said Home Depot CEO Craig Menear. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Premium Red Baldy Creates Opportunity

N

ot far from Merriman, Nebraska, the Wobig Ranch has found a new way to add value to their heifer calves. The family recently became one of the first ranches in the country to enroll in the Premium Red Baldy program, a collaborative effort by the American Hereford Association (AHA) and the Red Angus Association of America (RAAA), that combines the best of both breeds to produce productive females.

“As far as the red baldy heifers, it was a marketing choice where maybe we could fill a void or niche market there as well,” says Shane Wobig of Wobig Ranch.

Premium Red Baldy is a tagging program that helps producers access genetically verified females that have the best combination of longevity, fertility and adaptability.

The Wobigs, who raise about 500 Red Angus commercial cows, replaced their entire bull battery with 35 registered Hereford bulls.

They saw it as a way to add value to their heifer calves. For the Wobig family, the program offers a unique marketing opportunity to build buyer demand.

“We invested in it,” Wobig says. “We thought about this for a while before that, the hybrid vigor with the calves and looking for bigger calf

weights. As far as the red baldy heifers, it was a marketing choice as well. Maybe we can fill a void or a niche market.

“We’re trying to figure out a way to raise a moderate-framed, fleshy cow that can raise a big calf, and by crossbreeding we’re hoping to do that.”

Premium Red Baldy identifies quality replacement females that are predominately Hereford and Red Angus breed type. Females enrolled in the program must be sired by bulls ranking in the top 50% of the breed for the Baldy Maternal Index or Herdbuilder Index to ensure an ideal balance of maternal and carcass traits that will yield cattle poised to increase profits for commercial producers.

The Wobigs successfully sold their first set of Premium Red Baldies earlier this year – and plan to step up their commitment to the program. So far, Shane and his son Austin like what they’re seeing from both sires and their red baldy calves.

“This is our first year of having those F1 baldy calves,” Austin says. “You can get that crossbreed, you can get some bigger calves out of there, which helps with your weigh-ups. You can sell a steer for more if it weighs more, so the excitement of that is pretty fun.”

Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

June 15, 2020

Managing Through a Black Swan

BY KASEY BROWN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR / ANGUS BEEF BULLETIN EXTRA

N

obody can accuse agriculture of being a lowstress endeavor with its changing markets, changing weather and black-swan events.

A black swan is an unpredictable event with rare, severe impact.

Agriculture has had a few blackswan events in recent years — the Atlas blizzard, the Starbuck wildfire, last year’s intense flooding. Black swans can’t truly be predicted; they can only be prepared for by building robust systems, says LaVell Winsor, a farm analyst with Kansas State University (K-State) Research & Extension.

COVID-19’s effect on increasing market volatility is certainly a black swan. Robin Reid, farm economist with K-State Research & Extension, explains that dairy, cattle and hogs have been hit the hardest due to processing trouble and the switch in demand.

For cattle, Reid says packers are making good margins, but they do have issues in increased costs because of time off for increased cleaning, employee turnover and closings due to disease outbreaks. As a result, cattle slaughter numbers have taken a deep dive, putting strain on

feedyards having to hold cattle longer or sell for cheaper prices.

This puts a bottleneck on cattle supplies.

Additionally, carcass prices are decreasing because the destination for higher-priced middle meats — normally restaurants — are not open or are open in reduced capacity. Wholesale prices are down because their outlets are gone. Retail demand is up, thankfully, but mostly for the cheapest options, like ground beef.

Other ag segments are similarly affected. Corn has experienced two black-swan events in plummeting commodity prices and less consumption and demand of ethanol. Last August, Reid says the low in the commodity market was about $3.60 per bushel, but now it has dropped to the $3.30 range. About onethird less fuel is being consumed because Americans are not on the road. An oil war between Saudi Arabia and Russia is driving oil prices down to $20 per barrel, further lessening ethanol demand since it is more costly to produce. She warns about one-third of ethanol plants may close, leaving a shortage of dried distillers’ grains (DDGs) for cattle rations.

Along the same lines, soybeans are adversely affected by less demand for biofuels. How-

ever, due to circumstances in South America, U.S. soybeans could fare better in export situations. With less available distillers’ grains, there could also be higher demand for soybean meal for livestock rations.

A silver lining could be that input costs could be lower this year for things like fertilizer.

Consumer food demands are changing from wholesale to retail, but shifting production chains to meet that demand is clunky, Reid says. By the time the production and distribution chains could adapt, it would potentially need to switch back to normal.

How to manage Understanding these changes is one thing, but what can we do about it? Winsor says it’s important to acknowledge this is an incredibly uncomfortable time, and it’s OK to grieve that change. However, despite the uncertainty, she suggests staying the course and following your operation’s production plan.

This isn’t to say avoid tweaks and adjustments. Continue to look at the farm financials so you know and can manage the ramifications of the numbers and critical changes.

“Do not bear the weight of these decisions by yourself,” she warns. Keep in touch with

Namibia Becomes First African Nation to Export Beef to US

BY PALASH GHOSH @GOOCH700 / IBTIMES.COM

N

amibia, a country in southwestern Africa about the size of Texas, recently became the first African country to export beef to the U.S. In late February, Namibia’s state-owned Meatco sent 25 tons of beef to Philadelphia, after nearly two decades of arguments over safety regulations and logistics.

“In 2002 and again in 2005, the government of Namibia initiated negotiations on the export of meat [beef] products to the United States, with the intention to exporting boneless raw beef products such as primal cuts, chuck, blade, and beef trimming,” said Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. “Today, 18-years later, we are able to finally export meat to the lucrative and big U.S. market. This sig-

nifies how ties between Namibia and the United States of America continues to be strengthened through different bilateral agreements.”

Namibia is preparing to export 860 tons of beef to the U.S. this year, then increase the deliveries to 5,000 tons by 2025.

The average American eats 120 kgs [265 pounds] of meat each year, making the U.S. the world’s biggest meat consumer.

“It was therefore an ambitious undertaking for Namibia… competing for a share in a [U.S.] market claimed and defended by the developed beef producing countries of the world,” Nandi-Ndaitwah added.

“The significance of exports of Namibian beef is more than just adding yet another high-quality ingredient to the American people’s plate; it marks the success of two countries in the realization of win-win cooperation,” said Namibian Agriculture Minister Alpheus Naruseb.

In 2019, Namibia exported about 12,400 metric tons of meat to Norway, Britain, the European Union and China.

“Namibia will benefit economically from tapping into the largest consumer market with purchasing power of $13 trillion, and U.S. consumers will benefit from access to Namibia’s high-quality, free-range, grass-fed beef,” said U.S. ambassador to Namibia, Lisa Johnson.

While agriculture only contributes about five percent to Namibia’s entire economy, farming – including the raising of cattle – accounts for almost two-thirds of the population’s income.

Namibia beef exports to the U.S. are duty-free under terms of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Namibia’s livestock industry is valued at about $254 million annually, with Meatco owning about 50 percent of the market.

While Namibia has been engulfed in recession the past three years, the International Monetary Fund projects the economy will grow this year by 1.6 percent -- due to the acceleration of mining production and drought mitigation.

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Namibia’s gross domestic product growth showed losses of 0.9 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

However, IMF also warned that its growth projection could be reduced due to a potential fall in global growth as a result of the coronavirus.

IMF recommended that Namibia take steps to stabilize its public debt over time and enact reforms to support growth and revive structural reforms to increase employment.

“In the absence of structural reforms, growth would strengthen only gradually over the medium term,” the IMF stated.

your business partners, lenders, brokers and marketing advisors, and ag retailers.

If it feels like your plan has blown up, she recommends looking for something you can control. Take the next step, then the next and the next. Continue with your ordinary tasks to keep some form of normal.

You can control your farm safety plan. Think about your biosecurity practices and practice social distancing. Plan for those who need to enter your farm, like seed delivery, she says.

Definitely think through what happens if human illness affects your farm, whether it be you or employees.

You can also review the government stimulus package for anything that might affect your operation. Control costs where you can, and look at refinancing options on loans.

Winsor suggests reviewing your marketing plans. There is opportunity to lock in your wheat prices. Ethanol plants closing may mean it is important to lock in basis levels on corn.

DDGs may need to be replaced with soybean meal.

Often, people are paralyzed in making decisions with this much uncertainty, but in Winsor’s experience, those who weather storms the best are the ones who make decisions.

TEN THOUSAND

Highlights from the 2020 edition include: • The aggregate cost of federal regulation remains more than $1.9 TRILLION annually – and that is a conservative estimate based on publicly available data from government, academia, and industry and the inherent unknowability of such costs • The cost of federal regulation to each U.S. household exceeds $14,000 annually, on average. For perspective, that equals about one-fifth (18 percent) of the average pretax household budget and is the second-biggest budget item after housing.

• The $1.9 trillion regulatory burden is almost equivalent to the $2.5 trillion COVID-19 Phase 3 stimulus bill Congress passed in April 2020. COVID stimulus cost taxpayers $2.5 trillion, but regulations impose a more hidden cost of $1.9 trillion – ouch!

• The $1.9 trillion regulatory burden is equivalent to more than 40 percent of total federal spending, which was $4.447 trillion in 2019.

• The $1.9 trillion “hidden tax” of regulation exceeds the corporate and personal income taxes combined.

• The cost of regulation ($1.9 trillion) + the cost of spending ($4.4 trillion) is equivalent to 30 percent of the economy (GDP $21.43 trillion). In other words, the

“Accept that some decisions will be wrong in hindsight. Make the best decisions with information that’s available today,” she says.

“These are highly volatile times, but no one is going to stop eating. We are all learning a lot about how the supply chain works and how it maybe didn’t work how we thought it did,” she says.

Rebecca McFarland, family and child development agent with the Frontier Extension District, offers ways to cope with this additional decision-making stress. It is OK not to feel OK with this, she says. She recommends using a gratitude journal, music, laughter, diaphragmatic breathing and social support at safe distances.

It is important to eat healthful foods and drink plenty of water. Engage in hobbies, get enough sleep, be active, and try to reframe negative situations.

Reframing is taking a negative perception and substituting it for a positive or neutral one, without denying the situation.

Instead of concentrating on things you can’t control, accept them and think about what you can control.

Black-swan events are not predictable, but they are not new. They can be managed with time and effort.

continued from page five

cost of regulation combined with spending effectively negated 30 percent of what the US economy produced last year.

• The number of new, final rules is way down under Trump: 9611 total over three years.

• The number of pages in the Federal Register – one sort of measure of regulation - are fewer under President Trump compared to his predecessor. Trump has averaged 66,490 pages per year, compared to President Obama’s annual average of 80,420 pages per year.

• For the first time, in fiscal year 2019, the administration did not meet the one-in, two-out goals as prescribed

by Executive Order 13771.

Instead of “one-in, two-out,” the ratio was 1.7 to one.

• The “Unconstitutionality Index”—the ratio of rules issued by agencies relative to laws passed by Congress and signed by the president — underscores the rise of the administrative state over the Constitution. There were 28 rules for every law in 2019 (there had been 11 in 2018, see Figure 23).

Note: The information in this report is based on a compilation of best available government and private data.

View Full Report at: https://cei.org/sites/default/ files/Ten_Thousand_Commandments_2020_0.pdf

Advertise to Cattlemen and Ranchers!

Call 505/243-9515 for more information.

June 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

Page 7 521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130

REAL ESTATE GUIDE Scott Land co.

1301 Front Street, Dimmitt, TX 79027 Ben G. Scott – Broker Krystal M Nelson –CO/NM QB#15892 800-933-9698 day/eve. www.scottlandcompany.com

Ranch & Farm Real Estate

WE NEED LISTINGS ON ALL TYPES OF AG PROPERTIES LARGE OR SMALL!

■ BLANCA CREEK RANCH – Quay/Guadalupe Cos., NM – 10,191.44 Deeded ac. + 1,640 State ac. – Well improved ranch with excellent access. Level to gently rolling with some arroyos.

Located along I40 between Albuquerque, NM and Amarillo, TX. A beautiful, new, custom built home is situated at the headquarters along with a wellbuilt 150 X 115 shop (80 x 150 enclosed and heated), outdoor arena, horse barns, pens & other improvements. The ranch is well watered and has very good to excellent fence.

■ WEST HAYDEN RANCH – Union/Harding Counties, NM – 9,670.76 ac. +/- (8,350.76 ac. +/- Deeded, 1,000 lease/purchase acres, 320 ac. +/- NM State Lease) of really good ranch land, well watered by a large spring, mills & subs, on pvmt., home, barns & 2 sets of pens.

■ ELK CANYON RANCH – Harding County, NM - Another “hunter’s paradise” listed by Scott Land Company, LLC along w/the Elk Ridge Ranch, great opportunity for livestock/hunting/recreation, 2,240 ac. +/-, well watered w/good fences. Located just west of the West Hayden Ranch.

■ ELK RIDGE RANCH – Capulin, NM area, 100hd. +/- herd of Elk seen on property from time-to-time, 5,520 ac. +/- w/nice home, barns & pens, watered by wells & live water, no outside access through the property. Brochure being prepared!

■ COLFAX CO., NM – 7402.09 ac. +/- (4,789.69 Deeded – 2,612.4 State Lease) w/historic “POINT OF ROCKS” monument on the Santa Fe Trail, attractive improvements, all weather access!

Please view our website for details on these properties, choice TX, NM & CO ranches (large & small), choice ranches in the high rainfall areas of OK, irr./dryland/CRP & commercial properties. We need your listings on any types of ag properties in TX., NM, OK & CO.

SUMNER LAKE, State Road 203, River Ranches Estates, River Ranch Road lots (at intersection with 203) $18,900 each.

State Road 203 frontage lot. $25,000 SAN ANTONIO, Zanja Road, 4.66 acres farmland with Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District water rights. $69,000 PIE TOWN, 142 Webb Ranch Road, Corner lot at just over 20 acres in Wild Horse Subdivision North of Pie town. Electricity, well, small cabin & horse corrals. $75,000

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

208 AC #) MILES OUT OF DALLAS High traffic count, long frontage on US Hwy ready for a developer. $14,000 per ac, 25 ac $700. Ready to develop.

230 AC GAME & RETREAT that is a dream. Lakes, woods, meadows, game galore, 35 miles out of Dallas, Kaufman Co. 133 AC - Miles of Dalles, ready to develop. $13,000 per ac.

Joe Priest Real Estate

1-800/671-4548

MAGDALENA, 47 Angus Loop, 3bd/2ba home on 11.04 acres.

Horse barn and corral. Beautiful views of Magdalena Mountain. $180,000

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

521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130

SOCORRO 575-226-0671 or 575-226-0672 fax PLAZA REALTY On the Vista PlazaRealty Buena

Selling residential, farm, ranch, commercial and relocating properties.

Qualifying Broker: 505-507-2915 cell A.H. (Jack) Merrick 575-760-7521 505-838-0095 fax www.buenavista-nm.com 116 Plaza Donald Brown

Qualifying Broker

COLETTA RAY

Pioneer Realty 1304 Pile Street, Clovis, NM 88101

575-799-9600 Direct 575.935.9680 Office 575.935.9680 Fax coletta@plateautel.net www.clovisrealestatesales.com

PO Box 1903 Socorro, NM 87801 www.socorroplazarealty.com dbrown@socorroplazarealty.com

Bottari Realty

Bar M Real Estate

Paul Bottari, Broker

775/752-3040

SCOTT MCNALLY

Nevada Farms & raNch PrOPerTY

Ranch Sales & Appraisals

www.bottarirealty.com

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

AG LOANS AGLAND LAND LOANS AsLow LowAsAs 3% As 3.5% OPWKCAP 2.9% OPWKCAP 3.5%

INTEREST RATESAS AS LOW 3% INTEREST RATES LOW ASAS 3.5% Payments Scheduledon on2525 Years Payments Scheduled Years

Paul Stout, Broker

575-760-5461 cell 575-456-2000 office officeoffice

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

NMREL 17843

www.bigmesarealty.com

521 West Second St., Portales, NM 88130

575-226-0671 www.buenavista-nm.com

1421 N. Ave O, Portales, NM Nice comfortable 3 bedroom, 3 bath country home on 17.9 acres with city water and sewer, lays next to the Portales city limits. HVAC plus pellet stove in living room, garage has space for woodworking or craft hobbies.

Horse friendly, show animals, get the pasture established and the sky is the limit on the great things that can be done with this 17.9 acres with irrigation side roll. Barn for horses as is, portable panels for a variety of other animals.

FENCE LAKE, 295 Pine Hill Road, 2bd/3ba home on 60 acres, corrals, outbuildings. $295,000

CUERVO, 1130 Aguila Road. 3bd/1ba home with corral on 56.6 acres at the foot of Cuervo Mesa. $85,000

Buena Vista Realty

joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com

CUERVO, Mesita Pass Road, 148.13 acres of land in Mesita Ranch Subdivision. Perfect for a new home site, hunting or grazing. $85,000

RIBERA,340 CR B41E 32.6 acres with 3bd/2ba home on Pecos River, Hay Barn and outbuildings. Just over 20 acres in alfalfa and grass hay production. $695,000

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

See these and other properties at www.buenavista-nm.com

WANTED: Farms and Ranches — Broker has over 45 years experience working on and operating a family farm and has been a farm owner since 1988.

Call Buena Vista Realty at 575-226-0671 or the listing agent Lori Bohm 575-760-9847, or Melody Sandberg 575-825-1291.

Many good pictures on MLS or www.buenavista-nm.com

BAR M M REAL REAL ESTATE ESTATE BAR

M U R N E Y , ASSOCIATES, REALTORS® 1625 E. Primrose • Springfield, MO 65804 • murney.com • 823-2300

See all my listings at: paulmcgilliard.murney.com Paul McGilliard - Cell: 417/839-5096 • 1-800/743-0336

Missouri Land Sales • A STUNNING HORSE FACILITY. Situated in a desirable area, Rogersville schools, beautiful 4,139 sq.ft home. 4 bdrms and 4 baths, a 7,200 sq. ft. indoor riding arena, 5 horse stalls expandable to 7 (12 x 12), a 72 x 12 walkway, 36 x 12 tack room, feed room, 72 x 24 hay loft, outdoor wash rack, 120 x 12 outside overhangs, individual fenced horse runs from stalls. Entire property is fenced annd cross fenced, 5 pastures and acreage for hay. This home has geo-thermal heating and cooling, as well as a full Generac backup generator, all set up.

Also included is a full sprinkler system on all floors of this home. Three fireplaces (one on each level). So much to offer, and quite unique to find something this well-built. A must-see property. MLS#60148528 • GREENFIELD TRADING POST. Available for sale at the corner of Hwy. 160 (Grand) & H Hwy. Newer tile floors, ADA bathrooms, outside storage tanks, 4 double side gas pumps. Owner reports a brisk business with sales around $1m last year. Store features a bait room for fishing at nearby Stockton Lake. Property has roll up garage door for easy storage of equipment and inventory. Vendor for popular Hunt Pizza with small eat-in area. Multiple coolers, coffee makers and shelving are included in sale. 2080 sf in store, 1120 sf for storage of inventory. This is an unbranded station. MLS# 60140876.

NewMexico MexicoProperties PropertiesFor ForSale...

Sale...

New

THE 100 RANCH –you Iflooking you are a quality cattlesuitable ranchthe then the 100iscattle Ranch is just you The 100 THE 100 RANCH – Ifare are looking for a for quality cattle ranch then 100 Ranch just what you what need.

The need.

100 include Ranch is THE 100 RANCH – If you for alooking quality cattle ranch for a registered operation.

Improvements iswell aRanch scenic, well improved cattleThe ranch views of the nearby Sacramento and Jicarilla Mountains.

Located a Ranch scenic, improved cattle ranch with stunning viewsstunning of Sacramento and Jicarilla Mountains.

Located approximately Price: $2,500,000 Call for then the 100 is just what you need.

100 with Ranch is the nearby two sets of pens, shop, and hay barn. approximately 30 ofmiles northwest Carrizozo, the The ranch isdeeded comprised 15,931 mileswell northwest Carrizozo, Mexico on the New Chupadera TheChupadera ranch is comprised of 15,931 acres,of30,680 aon brochure or view onMesa. my website: www.ranchesnm.com a30 scenic, improved cattle ranchNew with of stunning views of theMexicoMesa. deeded acres, federal BLM lease acresapproxand 9,208 NM State leasecapacity acres. of Thethemaximum grazing capacity of the nearby Sacramento and Jicarilla Mountains.

Located federal BLM lease30,680 acres and 9,208 NM State lease acres.

The maximum grazing ranch is listed at 1,200 A.U.Y.L. BLACKWATER DRAW RANCH – an Niceextensive improved ranch ranch atoperational, 1,200 A.U.Y.L. The ranch fully ready to turn out no upwell costs.

Watered with six imately 30ismiles northwest of Carrizozo, New Mexico onno theoperational, The ranch islisted fully ready to turn out is with start up costs.

Watered with six with wells andstart pipeline system. located just minutes downtown Roswell, NMwith wells big andMesa. an extensive system.

Ample deeded big on the ranchoryx. to 15 include elk, mule deer, antelope and oryx.

Chupadera The ranchpipeline of 15,931 Ample game hunting onis comprised the ranch to include elk,game mule hunting deer,property antelope and Access to from the public land is limited along and U.S. Highway 70/380.

Improvements include Access to the public land limitedand with approximately acres of south private landvehicles gated and locked.

TheThe 100 Ranch has acres, 30,680 federal BLM lease acres 9,208 NM approximately 7,000 acres ofis private land gated andState locked.7,000 The price includes all ofranch equipment.

100 Ranch a customwith designed rock home, guest house, Quonset Barn, hadhad justjust two owners 1940s. isisranch one with Mossy Oak Properties NMRanch Ranch Luxury,LLC. LLC. lease acres.

The maximum grazing capacity ofItItthe is alisted has two ownerssince sincethe the 1940s. one of of a kind. Co-listed Mossy Oak Properties NM &&Luxury, barns, and a good set of pipe pens. Partitioned into two larger atPrice: 1,200 A.U.Y.L. The ranch is operational, ready turnwebsite: out www.ranchesnm.com Price:$11,000,000 $9,995,000 Call for forfully brochure or view view ontomy my website: www.ranchesnm.com Call aa brochure or on pastures and two smaller pastures. Acreage includes 2,185 with no start up costs.

Watered with six wells and an extensive COCHISE RANCH – Ranch property located just west of Roswell, NMalong alongand andadjacent adjacent toU.S. U.S. Highway 70/380 Ruidoso, COCHISE RANCH – Ranch property located just west of Roswell, NM Highway 70/380 toto Ruidoso, deeded acres and 320 NMtoState Lease acres.

The Blackwater pipeline system.

Ample big game hunting on the ranch to include NM.Comprised Comprisedofof6,607 6,607deeded deededacres acresand and8080acres acresofofNM NMState StateLease Lease acres.

Water is provided by three solar wells and pipelines.

NM. acres.

Water is provided by three solar wells and pipelines.

Draw Ranch is adjacent to the Cochise Ranch, the two may be elk,Fenced mule deer, antelope and oryx.and Access the public landfor is registered intoseveral severalpastures pastures smallto traps suitable cattle operation.

Improvements include setsofofpens, Fenced into and small traps suitable for a aregistered cattle operation.

Improvements sets $1,350,000include Call fortwo atwo brochure orpens, combined very easily. Price: limited with approximately 7,000$2,500,000 acres of private land gated and or view shop, and hay barn.

Price: Call for a brochure website: www.ranchesnm.com shop, and hay barn. Price: $2,500,000 Call for a brochure or view onon mymy website: www.ranchesnm.com view on my website: www.ranchesnm.com locked. The price includes all ranch vehicles and equipment.

BLACKWATER DRAW RANCH –Nice Nicethe well improved ranchproperty propertylocated locatedjust just1515minutes minutesfrom fromdowntown downtownRoswell, Roswell,NM NM BLACKWATER well improved The 100 Ranch hasDRAW had just RANCH two owners–since 1940s.

It is ranch KELLEY PECAN ORCHARD –home, 10.2guest acres with over 230 Barn, along andsouth south U.S. Highway 70/380.

Improvements include custom designed rockhome, guesthouse, house, Quonset Barn, along ofofU.S. 70/380.

Improvements a acustom designed rock Quonset one of aand kind.

Co-listed withHighway Mossy Oak Properties NM Ranch &include mature and producing pecan pastures. trees located just west of Roswell, barns,LLC. andaPrice: agood good pipepens. pens.

Partitioned into twolarger largerpastures pastures twosmaller smaller Acreage includes 2,185deeded deeded barns, and setsetofofpipe Partitioned into and two pastures. Acreage includes 2,185 $11,000,000 Call for a brochure or two view on Luxury, NM.isArtesian water rights with one wellthe supplies irrigation acres and 320 NM State Lease acres.

The Blackwater Draw Ranch adjacent to the Cochise Ranch, two may combined acres and 320 NM State Lease acres. The Blackwater Draw Ranch is adjacent to the Cochise Ranch, the two may bebecombined my website: www.ranchesnm.com water through a newly installed sprinkler system to the orchard. veryeasily. easily.Price: Price:$1,350,000 $1,350,000Call Callforfora abrochure brochureororview viewononmymy website: www.ranchesnm.com very website: www.ranchesnm.com include a large 5,400 square foot two story coloCOCHISE RANCH – Ranch property located justacres west with of over 230Improvements KELLEY PECAN ORCHARD – 10.2 mature producing pecan treeslocated locatedjust westofof Roswell, KELLEY PECAN ORCHARD – 10.2 acres with over 230 nial mature pecan west Roswell, style producing residence that hastrees been featured injust Southern Living Roswell, NM along and adjacent to U.S. Highway 70/380 to NM. Artesian Artesianwater waterrights rightswith withone onewell wellsupplies suppliesirrigation irrigation water through a newly installed sprinkler system tothethe NM. water through a newly installed sprinkler system to Magazine. This property is one of a kind. Call for an appointment Ruidoso, NM.Improvements Comprised of 6,607 acres and 80square acres foot two orchard. includedeeded large 5,400 story colonial style residence thathas has beenfeatured featured orchard.

Improvements include a alarge 5,400 square foot two story colonial style residence that been Price: $975,000 Call for ain in to take a look or for a color brochure. of NM State Lease acres.

Water This is provided by isthree solar Southern LivingMagazine.

Magazine. property oneof ofa awells kind.Call Call appointment totake takea www.ranchesnm.com alook lookororforfora acolor colorbrochure. brochure.

Southern Living This property is one kind. forforananappointment towebsite: brochure or view on my andPrice: pipelines.

FencedCall into several pastures and small traps $975,000 brochure view website:www.ranchesnm.com www.ranchesnm.com Price: $975,000 Call forfora abrochure ororview ononmymywebsite: CONTACT CONTACT

BarEstate M Bar M RealEstate Real

Scott McNally, Qualifying Broker ScottMcNally, McNally, Qualifying Broker Scott Qualifying Broker Bar M Real Estate, LLC P.O. Box 428, Roswell, NM 88202 Roswell, NM 88202 Roswell, NM 88202 Office: 575-622-5867 Cell: 575-420-1237 Office:575-622-5867 575-622-5867 • Cell: 575-420-1237 Office: • Cell: 575-420-1237 www.ranchesnm.com

www.ranchesnm.com www.ranchesnm.com

O’NEILL O’NEILL LAND, LAND,llc llc P.O.P.O. BoxBox 145, Cimarron, 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 145, Cimarron,NM NM87714 87714 • • 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 land@swranches.com www.swranches.com land@swranches.com •• www.swranches.com

WAGON MOUND MOUND RANCH, RANCH, Mora/ Mora/ WAGON Harding Counties, Counties, NM. NM. 8,880.80 8,880.80 +/+/Harding Total Acres, Acres,aasubstantial substantialholding holdingwith with Total good good mix mix of ofgrazing grazingland landand andbroken broken country offrim riminto intoCanadian Canadian River. country off River.

Has Has modern located modern water water system system located 17 miles 17 east ofMound WagonoffMound off eastmiles of Wagon pavement pavement then 3 miles on Two county then 3 miles on county road. bedroad.

Two bedroom historic house, room historic house, once a stage stop. once a stage stop.

Wildlifemule include Wildlife include antelope, deer antelope, mule deer and some elk. and some elk. $2,710,000 $2,440,000 $2,710,000 $2,440,000 FRENCH TRACT FARM, 491.55 +/FRENCH TRACT FARM, 491.55 deeded acres, Colfax County, NM +/two deeded acres,gated Colfaxpipe, County, two pivots, some 371 NM irrigation pivots, some pipe, irri-to shares in AVID,gated House, barn,371 close gation barn, exit 419shares off I25inonAVID, HWYHouse, 58. All in one close to exit parcel 419 offwith I25 access on HWYon58. contiguous all All in $700,000 one contiguous parcel with sides. access on all sides. $700,000 RATON MILLION DOLLAR VIEW, RATON MILLION DOLLAR Colfax County, NM. 97.68 +/- VIEW, deeded Colfax NM. 97.68 +/- deedacres inCounty, 2 parcels with excellent home, ed 2 parcels withmillion excellent bigacres shop,inwildlife, a true dol-

$489,000.

Also listed with the house home, big shop, wildlife, a true million dollar view at the of a private road. and one parcel for end $375,000 $489,000. listed withCounty, the house MIAMI 20 Also ACRES, Colfax NM and one 2,715 parcel sqft for $375,000 quality adobe home, barn, MIAMI 20fruit ACRES, Colfax County, NM grounds, trees and mature trees. quality 2,715 sqft adobe barn, Extremely private setting.home, REDUCED grounds, fruit andsee. mature trees. $355,000.

Thistrees is a must Also listed Extremely setting. with same private house with 10 +/-REDUCED deeded $355,000.

This is a must see. Also listed acres for $310,000 with same house with 10 +/- deeded MAXWELL 19.50 ACRES, Colfax acres for $310,000 County, NM quality extensive remodMAXWELL 19.50 ACRES, Colfax eled two bedroom, one bathroom County, NM quality extensive remodhome with water rights, outbuildings eled two bedroom, one bathroom home for livestock in NE outbuildings NM. Great south with water rights, forfacliveing porch for sipping iced tea cooling stock in NE NM. Great south facing porch offsipping at 6,000 ft elevation.

Would for iced tea cooling off atmake 6,000 summer getaway winter ski ftgreat elevation.

Would makeand great summer getaway and winter ski base. $270,000 base. $270,000

C O N TR A C TT AC T RIN ND CEON G P

P E N D IN G

MORA ACRES, 12 12miles miles MORACOUNTY COUNTY160 160 +/+/- ACRES, south Mound,remote, remote,excelexcelsoutheast eastof of Wagon Wagon Mound, lent mix ofof sub subirrigated irrigated lentsolar solar well well good good mix $154,000 lar view at the end of a private road. and andrange. range.Small Small cabin. cabin. $154,000

Page 8

Livestock Market Digest ute for nineteen years? Actually, we would have already been in jail for eighteen years and six months.

Hammonds & Bundy

Federal Management Fly over permits, grazing allotments and wildfire damage

S

ome argue for federal control of resources because of the economies of scale. The big boys would rather deal with the feds than fifty different states, and the enviros have always favored a centrally planned, topdown approach, where they only have to lobby in D.C. A recent court decision highlights a great example of federal management of air and land resources. In a D.C. Court of Appeals decision, we learn that Congress passed the Air Tours Management Act of 2000 which requires vendors who wish to conduct commercial air tours over certain national parks and tribal lands to first obtain a permit from the FAA. The act specifies that the FAA, “in cooperation with” the National Park Service, “shall establish an air tour management plan . . . whenever a

person applies for authority to conduct a commercial air tour operation.” Congress wanted this to be done in a timely fashion, as it instructed a decision be made “not later than 24 months” after an application is received.

Well guess what? After twelve years not one single management plan had been completed. Twelve years! What did Congress do? They amended the act to make it easier by exempting smaller parks and allowing the agencies to enter into the “more flexible and easier to implement” voluntary agreements. The result?

The agencies continued to argue among themselves and the court found that due primarily to interagency conflict, the agencies “have failed to comply with their statutory mandate for the past nineteen years.”

Nineteen years and they can’t get it done. What would happen to you or I if we failed to comply with a federal stat-

Rancher Steve Hammond and his father Dwight, you will recall, were pardoned by President Trump, and the Interior Dept. restored their grazing permits. Enviros filed suit challenging the awarding of the grazing permits, and a federal judge vacated the permits.

The Hammonds then filed suit, but recently announced they were dropping their challenge and would compete for the allotments. Earlier this year the BLM announced they would prepare an analysis of the qualified candidates which includes the Hammonds and three neighboring ranches. At stake are four allotments, comprising about forty-one square miles. A BLM spokesman said they haven’t set a specific timeframe to reach their decision.

The Hammonds, in their application, said if the permits were awarded to another rancher they would require “immediate compensation” for their water rights, intermingled private lands and range improvements.

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association is “fully supportive” of the Hammond family and would have preferred that other cattlemen not compete for the grazing allotments, said the group’s executive director, Jerome Rosa.

June 15, 2020 Ryan Bundy is back in the news, with the BLM saying they are investigating whether Bundy constructed illegal irrigation ditches across land within the Gold Butte National Monument. Apparently, hikers visiting the area have filed a four-page complaint with the BLM. Bundy told E&E news he was unaware the BLM was looking into his irrigation activities.

Smokey damages property An interesting case is developing in Montana, where two ranchers are claiming they should be compensated nearly $9 million because the federal government burned their rangeland while attempting to control a wildfire. In their lawsuit, the ranchers allege the U.S. Forest Service intentionally ignited their property for “burnout and backfiring” operations while fighting the Alice Creek fire. The lawsuit claims, “the ranches would have suffered no material or substantial damage as a result of the naturally ignited Alice Creek Fire,” except for the actions of the agency. The ranchers also allege the Forest Service had “safe and effective alternatives” to suppress the fire, but instead chose “to manage the Alice Creek Fire with land management goals primarily in mind rather than fire suppression.”

This case will be watched by many in the West.

Coronavirus & Climate Change The enviros are doing their best to use the so-called pandemic to promote their policy goals. The most recent examples involve climate change.

At a town hall called “Saving our Planet from the Existential Threat of Climate Change”, Washington Governor Jay Inslee said, “We should not be intimidated by people who say you should not use this COVID crisis to peddle a solution to climate change”. Well, peddle away Governor. Of course Al Gore has jumped into the picture, telling MSNBC, “This climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are linked in some ways…The preconditions that raise the death rate from COVID-19, a great many of them, are accentuated, made worse by the fossil fuel pollution.” Al Gore can out peddle Jay Inslee any day of the week, and he has made millions of dollars doing it. You can always count on Gore to see the dark at the end of the tunnel, and I have to wonder what his next Uncle Sam Scam will be.

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

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

Depopulation & Meat Shortages: Answering the Tough Questions

W

hile many Americans fired up their grills this Memorial Day weekend, some may have found limits on meat purchases, near-empty meat cases or no fresh meat at all at their local grocery stores. At the same time, they see headlines about pork and poultry farmers having to euthanize entire barns of animals. Such a confusing contradiction presents an opportunity for agriculture to engage with consumers on the complexities of the food chain and the emotional toll this current situation is taking on farmers, according to Terry Fleck, executive director of The Center for Food Integrity (CFI).

“The contrast consumers are seeing between the meat case and what’s happening on farms illustrates the unfortu-

nate effects of the pandemic on a complex food system,” said Fleck. “It’s confusing to those on the outside and causing concern and mistrust. That’s why engaging consumers on how meat gets to our tables and explaining the unfortunate necessity of depopulating animals is critical.”

CFI recently created an animated infographic in partnership with the Iowa Farm Bureau and Illinois Farm Bureau.

“Pork, Beef, Chicken: Journey to Your Plate,” featured on the website BestFoodFacts.org, details the intricacies of the meat supply chain. Also on the site, “COVID-19 and the Food Supply: Your Questions Answered” addresses questions about the supply chain and food safety.

“These resources help explain a complex supply chain

and why the pandemic has wreaked havoc,” said Fleck.

The U.S. has 835 federally inspected livestock plants for beef and pork and nearly 3,000 federally inspected poultry plants. The system can adjust when one or two plants close.

However, the impacts from COVID-19 have affected the entire system at unprecedented levels, resulting in temporary shutdowns or reduced operating capacity at many meat and poultry processing plants.

This massive bottleneck has left millions of market-ready pigs and chickens with nowhere to go. Normally, processing plants harvest an average of 500,000 pigs and 24 million chickens per day. As the number of pigs and chickens unable to go to market grows day after day, so too do the animals.

They literally outgrow the space that is designed specifically for their comfort and wellbeing.

That has resulted in farmers faced with the heart wrenching decision to euthanize animals that should have gone to market.

For the farmers who’ve committed their lives to the responsible care of animals, putting down healthy animals is devastating, said Fleck. “They dedicate their lives to raising animals to provide food for families in the U.S. and around the world. Depopulating herds and flocks is an unimaginable action that’s done only as a last resort. Failing to depopulate would mean millions of animals kept in conditions that jeopardize their wellbeing.”

Helping consumers understand the supply chain disrup-

tion and impacts may seem daunting, but the key is to keep it simple and engage on the shared values of safe food and a commitment to the highest standards of animal care.

“Talk about how challenging these times are in a reality that can’t be changed,” said Fleck.

“That those in the food supply chain are working diligently to keep food on store shelves while keeping employees and the public safe, and how farmers – like others around the world – are in crisis and faced with incredibly difficult decisions.”

Depopulation is the last resort, but being transparent about the realities of assuring animal wellbeing may bring a new perspective to consumers and help earn their trust, said Fleck.

Dozens of Groups, Individuals Sign Livestock Support Letter

BY LISA M. KEEFE / MEATINGPLACE.COM

M

ore than 65 organizations and individuals involved in various aspects of the animal agriculture supply chain have signed an open letter seeking the public’s support of the livestock sector during the pandemic.

Among those who signed the letter are Animal Agriculture Alliance, North American Meat Institute, former USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Richard Raymond, and academics

from UC Davis, Iowa State and University of Arkansas, among others.

“The coronavirus crisis has brought into focus the incredible public health challenge our world faces,” the letter reads, in part. “Animal agriculture provides milk, meat, fish and eggs at a time when access to safe, nutritious and affordable food is necessary to fend off a potential global hunger crisis, and offers invaluable support for farmers facing severe, often existential, economic hardships.”

The letter points out that livestock have been inac-

curately identified as the source of COVID-19, and addresses the need for wider understanding of how animal agriculture and biosecurity works.

“We urge authorities, intergovernmental groups, and NGOs to support these efforts by: • Reaffirming the safety of livestock production and reminding consumers of our robust food safety system, including the important role of veterinarians and animal nutrition.

• Refuting misinformation that tries

June 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

Page 9

Mexican Wolf Population Gets Genetic Boost with 20 Captive-Born Pups Cross-Fostered into Wild Packs, Government Says

T

he Mexican wolf recovery effort recently got a genetic boost when biologists from the Arizona Game & Fish Department (AZGFD), New Mexico Department of Game & Fish (NMDGF), and Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan (SSP), with extensive logistical support from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), worked together to cross-foster 20 genetically diverse wolf pups from captive facilities across the U.S. into litters of wild wolf packs.

Over a six-week period in April and May, 12 pups were fostered into four different packs in eastern Arizona and eight were fostered into three packs in western New Mexico.

Cross-fostering is a proven method used by the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team (IFT) to increase genetic diversity in the wild Mexican wolf population. It involves placing genetically diverse pups less than 14 days old from captive breeding populations into wild dens with similarly aged pups to be raised as wild wolves.

The IFT has documented that cross-fostered pups have the same survival rate as wild-born pups in their first year of life (about 50 percent), and survival rates using this technique are generally higher than other wolf release methods.

“Managing genetics is one of the biggest challenges facing Mexican wolf conservation, even as constant progress is being made on numeric recovery,” said Jim deVos, Assistant Director for Wildlife Management at the AZGFD. “Science has proven that cross-fostering young pups works in increasing genetic diversity.”

A total of seven different captive-born litters provided Mexican wolf pups for fostering into the wild population.

The following facilities provided pups this year: • Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Missouri - three pups into Elkhorn pack in Arizona; three pups each into Dark Canyon pack and San Mateo pack in New Mexico.

• Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

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

Y

Babe

ears ago the movie “BABE” was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture. It was very popular and made a lot of money. It stars a pig named Babe. A gilt to be more specific... a feeder pig maybe weighin’ 80 - 100 lbs. But it was a cute pig. It talked, of course, was kind and brave. And to top it off it did heroic deeds and yet maintained a sensitivity that would make the Pope blush.

All this anthropomorphism, giving a pig human qualities, is necessary if movie makers expect an audience to relate to the hero. It made me wonder if the movie, BABE had a deleterious effect on the price of pork. I made a couple calls but the Pork Producers were non-committal.

They had an up market this spring. But I would not have been surprised if it had. The sheep and veal people have known for years that it is hard to convince the public to eat something cute.

Rabbit raisers are careful to avoid any advertising including the words BunnyBurger or BBQ’d Bunny Ribs or Bunny on a Grill. Even in the frozen north they’ve never developed a market for the Baby Seal Club Sandwich.

Australians have never had trouble eating lamb, mostly

because they’re so numerous over there they are thought of more often as ants or road kill. Yet in my three trips ‘Down Under’ I saw no Koala Kabobs. Too cute.

The Chinese seem to eat anything under the sun from thousand year-old eggs to objects that crawl on the sea floor but I’ve never heard of a Panda Patty.

The reverse is also true... that it is easier to eat something less cuddly. That may be part of the success of the chicken business. In books, movies and stories, chickens are seldom portrayed in flattering roles. They’re usually stupid or pompous, i.e. Foghorn Leghorn, Chicken Little, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Even the Little Red Hen turns out to be a Republican.

The eel is another good example. The oyster, the goat, fish in general, most reptiles and the Spotted Owl in certain parts of the country.

But I do suspect the Pork Producers were worried about their business while BABE was showing in thousands of theaters to hundreds of thousands of young impressionable kids. Had to be.

I know French restauranteurs worried when the BLACK STALLION was showing. www.baxterblack.comv

Service, in Socorro, New Mexico - one pup into Prime Canyon pack in Arizona.

• Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas - four pups into Hoodoo pack in Arizona.

• California Wolf Center in Julian, California - four pups into Rocky Prairie pack in Arizona.

• Phoenix Zoo, Arizona two pups into Iron Creek pack in New Mexico.

Aerial support of three cross-foster operations was provided by LightHawk Conservation Flying and a private jet donor associated with one transfer from the Endangered Wolf Center. Their donations made possible three early morning flights of pups from the Midwest to ensure IFT biologists had ample daylight to conduct operations.

“We are grateful to all those who contributed to the success of this year’s efforts, including the staff members at the captive facilities that provided pups and the organizations and individuals that provided flight support,” said Paul Greer,

Mexican Wolf IFT Leader for Arizona Game and Fish.

“Despite the many challenges this year has presented, staff from the captive facilities, LightHawk, and our state partners came through and placed a record number of captive-born pups into the wild,” said Brady McGee, Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the USFWS in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service thanks these partners for their commitment to ensuring cross-fostering was a success in 2020.”

This is the first time the NMDGF has participated in the cross-fostering effort since rejoining the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program last year.

“The cooperation between the two state wildlife agencies was key given the challenges faced with the current pandemic,” said Stewart Liley, Chief of the Wildlife Division, NMDFG. “Working together allowed a very successful cross-fostering season and keeping pace with improving genetics in the wild.”

Since the first cross-foster of two pups in 2014, the IFT has documented a minimum of 10 cross-fostered wolves surviving to the end of the year and being recruited into the wild population. The IFT does not capture and collar every wolf pup that survives, so there are likely other cross-fostered wolves that have survived and are currently alive in the population that have not yet been documented.

The IFT will continue to monitor the packs through GPS and radio telemetry signals from collars placed on the wolves to avoid further disturbance. Later, through remote camera observations and efforts to capture the young of the year, the IFT plans to document survival of the cross-fostered pups.

The end-of-year census for 2019 showed a minimum of 163 wild Mexican wolves in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (76 in Arizona and 87 in New Mexico), up from a minimum of 131 wolves counted at the end of 2018.

Poultry Industry Execs Indicted on Price-Fixing Charges

BY SUSAN KELLY / MEATINGPLACE.COM

A

grand jury in Denver has indicted four current and former poultry industry executives, including Pilgrim’s Pride Chief Executive Jayson Penn, on charges of conspiring to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chickens from 2012 to 2017, the Department of Justice announced today.

Also charged in the indictment are Roger Austin, a former Pilgrim’s executive; Claxton Poultry President Mikell Fries, and Scott Brady, a Claxton vice president. The charges in the one-count indictment are the first to be filed in the ongoing investigation into price fixing of broiler chickens, the DOJ said.

“Particularly in times of global crisis, the division remains committed to prosecuting crimes intended to raise the prices Americans pay for food,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Makan Delrahim said in a press release. “Executives who

cheat American consumers, restaurateurs, and grocers, and compromise the integrity of our food supply, will be held responsible for their actions.”

“The FBI will not stand by as individuals attempt to line their pockets while hard-working Americans and restaurant owners are trying to put food on their tables,” said Timothy R. Slater, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “Today’s announcement shows the FBI’s commitment to investigating allegations of price fixing so that the perpetrators can be held accountable.”

The federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the broiler chicken industry is being conducted by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington Field Office, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General.

DOJ Sends Antitrust Inquiries to Four Meatpackers

BY SUSAN KELLY / MEATINGPLACE.COM

T

he U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking four large beef processors for information related to potential antitrust violations, Bloomberg reported on June 4, citing an unnamed source familiar with the confidential inquiry.

The department’s antitrust division sent civil investigative demands, which are similar to subpoenas, to Tyson Foods Inc., JBS SA, Cargill Inc. and National Beef Inc., according to the Bloomberg report. The story also said a group of states has called for an investigation.

The four companies did not respond to requests for confirmation from Meatingplace.

News of the inquiries follows Wednesday’s DOJ announcement of a grand jury indictment charging four current and former poultry company executives with conspiring to fix broiler chicken prices from 2012 to 2017. The four individuals indicted are Pilgrim’s Pride Chief Executive Jayson Penn; Roger Austin, a former Pilgrim’s exec-

utive; Claxton Poultry President Mikell Fries; and Scott Brady, a Claxton vice president.

Claxton Poultry, in a statement sent to Meatingplace, said the allegations are without merit, and the company would

vigorously defend itself and its good name.

In a separate statement, Pilgrim’s Pride said the company is committed to high ethical standards, governance and free and open competition.

Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

The View FROM THE BACK SIDE

Coronavirus Capers

BY BARRY DENTON

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

D

arn, I got a notice that it was time for my annual physical the other day. Anymore, I always hate those things as they seem to find more and more wrong with

me each year.

How I long for the days when the doctor would say, “get out of here, you are just fine.” The only problem is that this year there was a change in plans. I was told that I had to wear a mask into the doc’s office. Since, you cannot find a mask in our area and I live in the middle of nowhere, I never had acquired a mask. I asked if I could wear a bandana and the doc’s receptionist told me that

CLASSIFIEDS KADDATZ

Auctioneering and Farm Equipment Sales New and used tractors, equipment, and parts. Salvage yard, combines, tractors, hay equipment and all types of equipment parts.

ORDER PARTS ONLINE.

www.kaddatzequipment.com • 254/582-3000

g•u•i•d•e BRANGUS

520/384-3654 4995 Arzberger Rd. Willcox, Arizona 85643 Willcox, AZ

CORRIENTE

Bradley 3 Ranch Ltd. Charolais Bulls & Angus Bulls

— BULL SALE — FEBRUARY 13, 2021 At The Ranch NE Of Estelline, Texas

www.bradley3ranch.com M. L.: 940/585-6471 James: 940/585-6171.

Ranch-Raised Bulls For Ranchers Since 1955

BEEFMASTER

210.732.3132 • beefmasters.org 118 W. BANDERA ROAD BOERNE, TX 78006

horse.

Anyone that has cattle is pretty familiar with the coronavirus as it can occur a couple of different ways. In calves it shows up as diarrhea or as a respiratory problem in mature cattle. No, it is very unlikely that a human could ever catch coronavirus from cattle.

While the coronavirus originates in animals, this latest Wuhan strain actually originated in bats. Dr. Geoff Smith D.V.M. from North Carolina State University said that coronaviruses come from a very diverse family of RNA viruses. The strains that cause the problems in cattle are very different than the strains that cause coronavirus in humans. Dr. Smith went on to explain that these strains have very narrow host ranges, and the chance that a human strain would come from a cow are extremely low.

It looks to me like people that are normally used to being free to do as they like, pitched in and made things safer during this coronavirus pandemic by staying at home and following government protocols when they ventured into town. Now, the 26 red states are opening up and on their way to getting back to normal. The 24 blue states are still trying hard to contain their populations, but folks are getting fed up with government controlling their livelihoods.

Blue state governors seem to be out of control. In California despite Democrat Governor Newsom’s order to stay home, thousand’s went to the beach.

Then during the next week the governor ordered all the beaches closed, but people went anyway.

See, the greatest thing about a “free society” is that people like it. They are only going to put up with a certain amount of tyranny from their elected officials. Also in California this

week, Elon Musk opened his Tesla car plant. It remains to be seen if the Governor takes any action against him. In Wisconsin the Supreme Court struck down the Democrat Governor’s Stay-At-Home-Order. In just a few hours Wisconsin bars are packed with patrons. It’s good to see Americans acting like Americans.

Yes, we still need to take precautions against this virus and protect the vulnerable, but we can also still figure out how to go to work and earn livings so we can support our families.

Isn’t interesting that now you can wear masks into a bank with no problem? What a great time to become a bank robber if you were so inclined.

I also think it’s funny that President Trump’s go to man on coronavirus Dr. Anthony Fouci is telling people to wear masks and our Surgeon General Jerome Adams says the public should not wear masks. Personally, I think the fear factor perpetrated by the news media should be a crime.

Each day we find out the “alleged facts” told by the media about the virus are simply not true. The numbers of cases, deaths, hospital beds being used, are blown out of proportion by about 12 times from the “fake news”.

My advice on this is to just turn the television off until the daily briefing comes on each day. Then you can get the information straight up instead of from a drama queen journalist.

If you are out on a ranch or farm, just count your lucky stars. If you are reading this in the big city, then take precautions. Be kind and considerate of others and don’t put up with rude people in the least. Don’t waste your time being scared, get to work, have fun and live life. Each day is a gift, appreciate it.

Researcher Hopes to Understand Habitat Functionality of Texas Kangaroo Rat

T

R.L. Robbs

angus

would be fine.

Since I always tend to drive a one ton dually pickup, going to the narrower parts of town is often tough. I mean my doc’s office has enough room in the parking lot to park 4 Volkswagen’s and a donkey cart. I always have to park in an adjacent lot and hop the fence to go to the doc.

Well, this day the lot is full so I had to park even farther away and down at the bottom of the hill. I folded a wild rag in a triangle and tied it on my head before I got out of the pickup.

As I trudged up the hill for a quarter mile I noticed that I could not breathe very well and that silk wild rag was making me mighty hot. Besides, having the face covering, it made my glasses steam up, so I could not tell where I was. I really felt like Mr. Magoo.

By the time I got to the doc’s office at the top of the hill I was in rough shape. Normally without a mask I could run the distance up the hill no problem. I walked in the office and I couldn’t see nor breathe. I was never so glad to see a waiting room chair. I no more than sat down when they called me back. The little nurse was taking my vitals and told me she was alarmed because my blood pressure was so high, so she went and told the doc.

The doc is all concerned and said, “Barry, has anything changed with you lately?” I said, “Yes, I just ran up a quarter mile hill with a silk bandana on.”

He just laughed and I told him that I would bet him $10 that he couldn’t put the silk bandana on and run back down the hill to my truck. He did not take the bet.

I have learned that if you are ever going to rob a bank, do not use a silk wild rag, stick with the cotton bandana or you won’t be able to make it to your getaway

June 15, 2020

he eradication of rangeland over time has threatened or exterminated numerous species of animals and plant life, and many people have worked hard to not only preserve the natural habitat of living things but also ensure they thrive.

Yes, even rats.

One of those species listed as threatened by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is the Texas Kangaroo Rat, which is native to north-central Texas and endemic to only 11 counties in the state. Numerous studies have been conducted over the past five decades to determine the Texas Kangaroo Rat’s abundance, population genetics, distribution and potential responses to climate change.

However, when follow-up studies have returned to the Texas Kangaroo Rat’s habitat, they’ve discovered the results aren’t always the same in terms of the rats’ presence or absence.

Why that is has not been investigated, until now.

Richard Stevens, a President’s Excellence in Research Professor in the Department of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech University, has received a $300,000 grant from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. His project, titled “Spatial Ecology of the Texas Kangaroo Rat,” will attempt to evaluate Texas Kangaroo Rat movements, dispersal and metapopulation dynamics in North Texas grasslands with the hope of enhancing its survival through conservation management decisions.

“The partnership will develop information that local stakeholders can use to sustain economic development while conserving biodiversity,” Stevens said. “Researchers at Texas Tech will track Texas Kangaroo Rat individuals and look at local and landscape movement patterns and selection of resources. The results of this study will provide valuable insight into the status of the species to inform the federal species status assessment pro-

cess and development of effective conservation strategies.

According to Stevens’ research proposal, four previous surveys of the rat determined the persistence of the species in its specific habitats is quite dynamic but not consistent. Where one study may have discovered a hotspot of the rat, another study examining the same area may not have found the same results.

Stevens said a number of implications can be made from this. These results don’t necessarily mean the habitat site studied is not suitable for species survival, and that the rat persists at different spots at different times.

Also, Stevens theorizes that the distribution of the rat over a certain area might be better understood on a larger scale, studying different rat habitats over a larger geographic area, where persistence of the rat population depends on the dispersal of the species between sites.

Stevens’ project will attempt to tie the previous four research findings together in order to gain a better understanding of the spatial ecology, movements, dispersal and overall population dynamics, which will help conservation efforts in Texas.

Over the next 2.5 years, researchers will characterize the local, landscape and regional movement patterns and selection of resources by examining Texas Kangaroo Rat burrows, foraging areas and home ranges. They will also compile data from the last five comprehensive surveys covering the last 50 years to estimate overall population dynamics and determine how much colonization and extinction variabilities are related to environmental, spatial and connectivity characteristics of various sites.

Stevens said research on such a scale has yet to be conducted but is necessary to better understand the rat’s habitat choices over time and to enhance survival of the species through informed conservation management practices.

June 15, 2020

Livestock Market Digest

Page 11

USDA Issues First Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Payments SOURCE: USDA FARM SERVICE AGENCY

U

.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced on June 3 that the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already approved more than $545 million in payments to producers who have applied for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. FSA began taking applications May 26, and the agency has received over 86,000 applications for this important relief program.

In the first six days of the application period, FSA has already made payments to more than 35,000 producers.

Out of the gate, the top five states for CFAP payments are Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and South Dakota. USDA has released data on application progress and program payments and will release further updates each Monday at 2 p.m. ET. The report can be viewed at farmers.gov/cfap.

FSA will accept applications through Aug. 28, 2020.

Through CFAP, USDA is making available $16 billion in financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

In order to do this, producers will receive 80% of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date nationwide, as funds remain available.

Getting Help from FSA New customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer general assistance. This is a recommended first step before a producer engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service Center.

Producers can download the CFAP application and other eligibility forms from farmers.gov/cfap. Also, on that webpage, producers can find a payment calculator to help producers identify sales and inventory records needed to apply and calculate potential payments. Producers self-certify their records when applying for CFAP and that documentation is not submitted with the application. However, producers may be asked for their documentation to support the certification of eligible commodities, so producers should retain the information used to complete their application.

Those who use the online calculator tool will be able to

print a pre-filled CFAP application, sign it, and submit it to your local FSA office either electronically or via hand delivery through an office drop box. Please contact your local office to determine the preferred delivery method for your local office.

Team members at FSA county offices will be able to answer detailed questions and help producers apply quickly and efficiently through phone and online tools. Find contact information for your local office at farmers.gov/ cfap.

Policy Clarifications

Common Name

Description

CFAP Category

Newborn Calf

Calves from birth to days oldFeeder Cattle:

Feeder Cattle:

Calf

Calves still nursing the cow, animals that generally weigh less than 500 pounds

Feeder Cattle:

Bucket Calf

Orphan or newborn calf normally purchased when they are 1 to 10 days old

Feeder Cattle:

Heiferette A female bovine animal that has not calved and weighs more than 500 pounds; OR a heifer placed

on feed following the loss of a calf or an open heifer placed on feed following the breeding season

Feeder Cattle:

600 lbs, as applicable Steer A castrated male bovine animal that generally weighs more than 500 pounds

Feeder Cattle: 600 lbs, as applicable

Weaner or Weaned Calf

Animal between 105 and 355 days coming from cow-calf

Feeder Cattle: 600 lbs, as applicable

FSA has been working with stakeholder groups to Backgrounded Cattle Steers and heifers that are fed a warm up or conditioning ration are normally fed to provide further clarification

approximately 700 pounds, and then sold as feeders or shipped to another feedlot to be to producers on the CFAP

finished for the slaughter market Feeder Cattle: 600 lbs, program. For example, the

as applicable agency has published a matrix of common marketing Stockers/Feeders/Feederon Calves steers or heifers, weighing 400-800 pounds usually grazing 12 and under. her Young blog,weaned “Buzzard’s Beat.”

Sheapproximately con- children contracts that impact eligi on pasture and/or feed ration to prepare for shipment to feeders intended for Attendee registration is now open at nects with readers by sharing stories bility for non-specialty crops

slaughter or selected forreplacement stock Feeder Cattle: 600 lbs, and has provided a table that about raising cattle and starting a ranch www.cattleu.net.

An Early Bird Discount

as applicable crosswalks common livestock with her husband, raising their young rate of $85 is good through April 30. terms to CFAP cattle catedaughter, and more.

Frobose May Yearlings Calves between 1 and 2 years ofwill age keynote Regular registration price starting Feeder Cattle > 6001lbs gories. Updated information the first day of Cattle U, as well as conduct will be $135 per person. can be found in the frequentOpen Heifer again a breakout Non-pregnant female bovine Feeder Cattle: 600 lbs, he High Plains Journal is once session on advocacy methods Cattle U Trade Show space is currently ly asked questions section of

as applicable available, but filling up quickly. Exhibitors the CFAPhosting website. a two-day learning oppor- for today’s cattlemen. tunity, Cattle U & Trade Show, July Another confirmed speaker will be have the opportunity to save 20 percent Replacement Heifers A heifer that has been selected to be bred and placed in the beef herd All Other Cattle

Cattle U Comes to Dodge City, Kansas July 29 & 30

T

More 29Information and 30 at the United Wireless Arena,

Dave Nichols, owner of Nichols Farms in

on booth space rates until April 30 as well.

ToDodge find the latest informaCity, Kansas. southwest The Nichols Bred Heifers A femaleIowa. bovine that is pregnant with herfamily first calf To inquire about how your company All Other Cattlecan tion on The CFAP, visit farmers. event will feature keynote ses- markets bulls, semen and embryos exhibit at this premier educational event gov/CFAP or call 877-508Heifers A youngthe female that hasDave had onlyNichols one calf will for cattle producers, contact All Zac OtherStuckey Cattle throughout world. sions and breakouts aimedFirstatCalf cow-calf, 8364. stockerService and feeder producers. Sessions speak to the importance of using every at 316/516-3670 or zstuckey@hpj.com.

USDA Centers Bred Cows A female bovine animal that has borne at least one calf All Other Cattle will provide practical, For more event information and to see are open for business by actionable, infor- tool available to today’s cattle producers phone appointment only, and as: animal mation on topics such to make herdsseason the general schedule at aAllglance, Open Cowshealth, - Retained inin Herd order (Non-pregnant) cows atthe the endbest of the breeding Other Cattlevisit field genetics, work will marketing, continue with www.cattleu.net. nutrition, reproduc- even better. appropriate socialand distanction, forage range management, two-day program Open Cows - Slaughter The (Non-pregnant) cows at the endwill of the feature breeding season Slaughter Cattle: Mature ing. While program delivery finance and more. keynote speakers each day, breakout staff will continue to come Cows-Culled (Beefisand Dairy) A cowa that is removed from the mainabreeding herd or dairy production for one or more reasons of the first confirmed speakers sessions, trade show, and special into theOne office, they will be

(i.e., age, poor production, physical ailment, poor disposition, genetic selection, etc.) and is Brandi Buzzard Frobose, working with producers by a Kansas rancher, social event planned exclusively for

generally sold for slaughter and not destined to be a replacement Slaughter Cattle: Mature phone and using online tools blogger and communications profes- Cattle U attendees July 29 at the Dodge whenever All SerCity Roundup Arena prior24tomonths the Roundup sionalpossible. who was named Herd National Bulls-Culled (Beef and Dairy) A mature (approximately of age or older) uncastrated, male bovine removed from vice Center visitors wishing Rodeo performance.

Rodeo tickets Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s 2019

the main breeding herd sold for slaughter andare not destined to be replacement Slaughter Cattle: Mature to conduct business with available as an add-on to registration for Advocate of the Year.

Frobose writes the FSA, Natural Resources Herd Bulls (Breeding-Beef only) A mature 13 (approximately 24 months of age or for older) uncastrated, male bovine used for about herService, family or and their Kansas ranch $19 for adults and older and $10.25 Conservation any

breeding purposes All Other Cattle other Service Center agency are required to call their Finished Cattle (1200 lbs or more) Cattle that have reached the optimal weight and conditions ready for slaughter Slaughter Cattle: Fed Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More Fat Steer/Heifer (1200 lbs or more) Cattle that have reached the optimal weight and conditions ready for slaughter Slaughter Cattle: Fed information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

▫

MAY 2020

35

Page 12

Livestock Market Digest

June 15, 2020

Negotiated Prices for Fed Cattle Not Dead Yet

BY BURT RUTHERFORD | BEEF

T

he role of alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs) in the fed cattle market has long been a part of the marketing mix. It’s been a part of the concern and conversation about the viability of the cash market for just as long. BEEF has explored this recently, thanks to a remarkable amount of information from Stephen Koontz, ag economics professor at Colorado State University.

The economics of AMAs are clear, according to Koontz’ re-

search, and that explains why the majority of fed cattle are marketed that way. AMAs can lead to labor efficiency of 1,500 head per person instead of the industry average of 1,000 head.

Some feedlots report a 20-percentage point increase in capacity utilization with AMAs, spreading overhead costs over more head.

Cost savings ranged from 17 percent to 22 percent, figuring 30 cents-per-day yardage (not including feed) and 150 days on feed. Total feedlot cost of $45 per head meant cost savings of $7.65 to $9.90 per head. Much

of that is labor cost savings, reported in the $1.25 to $10-perhead range. Quality premium loss estimates are bigger, ranging from $15 to $17 per head, the research found.

In short, alternative marketing agreements (AMAs) have replaced the cash market for fed cattle because they cut costs for feeders and packers, increase efficiencies and improve the overall quality of beef. This does come at a cost to the depth of cash market price discovery, however.

And that’s the rub. AMAs use the cash market as one of

the benchmarks for determine price.

That is now changing, in part at least. According to the Daily Livestock Report (DLR), packers have significantly reduced the number of cattle they have contracted for delivery in the next few months. A number of factors have likely contributed to this: • Demand is highly uncertain and forward beef sales are sharply lower than a year ago • Front end cattle supplies are heavy • Slaughter capacity has increased but COVID remains a

THE BEST ADVERTISING VALUE IN WESTERN LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY!

What is happening to the beef market... and why?

For Ad Sales, call Randy at 505.850-8544 or email rjsauctioneer@aol.com

major wild card that could further disrupt slaughter and especially line speeds Ultimately, if the packer does not see much supply risk and faces uncertain demand, the result is a decline in forward contracted cattle. Forward contracts are just one possible AMA and not the biggest, however. “In any given week, the supply of forward contracted cattle delivered to packing plants moves around, but in the last 12 months it has averaged about 9.6 percent of all deliveries,” DLR reports.

But it can serve as a barometer for what’s currently happening in the fed cattle market.

“The latest data from USDA show that cattle forward contracted for delivery in July are currently 43 percent lower than a year ago, August was down 53 percent, September was down 46 percent and October was down 38 percent,” according to DLR economists.

“However, the data also show that packers may perceive a bit more upside risk in 2021 and have started getting some cattle on the books for delivery next winter and early spring. Of the 50,455 head of cattle purchased for forward delivery (the week ending May 30), about 77 percent of those cattle were purchased for delivery in the first four months of 2021.”

What, then, is taking its place? More fed cattle sold on a negotiated grid, DLR economists say.

“The increase in the number of negotiated grid cattle may present a benefit for those feedlots that do not want to be penalized by the current market conditions, especially if they are delivering good quality cattle to packers and would like to see the benefit of that,” according to the DLR economists.

“When we combine the number of negotiated grids with other negotiated cattle, the total supply for the week ending May 31 represented almost 40 percent of all cattle delivered to plants, a dramatic shift from the 20 percent share we saw in midApril.”

In the last three weeks, the share of grid cattle was 18.7 percent. Prior to this, the share of this marketing arrangement was just 3.4 percent for the year, DLR says. So that means that the number of live cattle sold on the cash market remains about the same on average.

Will that change? Only time will tell, of course, but that’s certainly a possibility. And something that needs to happen.

This shift in the increase of negotiated grid sales is only temporary, a reaction to current market conditions. But the conversation must continue.

AMAs are here to stay. The economic advantage they provide to both feeders and packers is clear and economics will always win out. But a viable cash market for fed cattle is imperative, at least until a fundamental change is made in how fed cattle are priced.

Koontz has given the beef business plenty to think about and chew on. Now it’s time to act.