LMD May 2021

Riding Herd Saying things that need to be said.

May 15, 2021 • www.aaalivestock.com

Volume 63 • No. 5

Howl of the Wolf People LEE PITTS

N

ine years ago we told the story of a good friend of mine, Len McIrvin, and his Diamond M Ranch’s war with wolves. The wolves had first migrated into Washington state in 2002. They were not planted there but had migrated over the years from planted wolves in Idaho and Yellowstone. Len could hear the cry of the wolves at night in his northeastern corner of Washington and knew trouble was on its way. Needless to say, the howl of the wolves did not leave him with the same warm and fuzzy feeling that most people get when they see a photo of a wolf and immediately think of the dog that lays at the foot of their bed, that they take for daily walks or are just one Milk Bone away from Bow Wow, Duke, Bandit, or Precious. To Len McIrvin the blood curdling howls of the wolf sounded like the end of ranching on public lands in America.

It turns out Len wasn’t just “crying wolf”.

If you expect to follow the trail, you must do your sleepin’ in the winter.

he says. “If I took their money I’d be condoning their behavior, saying it’s all right to have the wolves here. And it isn’t.” Even though Len has never killed a wolf he believes, “If wolves kill my cattle, I have a right to kill wolves.”

Even if Len took their compensation it wouldn’t come close to paying for the losses because the McIrvins only find 10 -15% of the wolf kills spread over the 1.1 million-acre Colville National Forest. Even in the confirmed attacks it was hard to get the bureaucrats to say they were wolf attacks even when there were wolf tracks and scat surrounding a carcass of a two week old calf whose carcass had been picked clean, or the entire rear end of a calving cow had been eaten out and wolf tracks were everywhere.

Len’s Diamond M Ranch, fencing, range riders and fladry one of the largest cow-calf op- lines, rags tied every few feet on eration in the state, if not the barbed wire. But by 2008 Len largest, has Forest Service per- was experiencing losses as high mits to graze 736 cow-calf pairs as 20%. in just one year a pack in the Colville National Forest. of wolves known as The Wedge They’ve had those permits since Pack killed 40 calves out of 200 1945 and in all that time they’ve on just one allotment! How been the best of tenants. many of you could survive a The McIrvin family has per- 20% hit? severed through 5 generations The problem is the wolves and so far they’ve survived just won’t stay where they’re everything that Mother Na- supposed to. They aren’t like ture and the cattle market has dogs where you can just comthrown its way. But as wolves mand them to “stay”. Nor can Our Spotted Owl move up the food chain and you rub their nose in the blood Currently there are two lawdine on more and more Dia- of a baby calf they’ve just torn suits winding their way through mond M beef, Len wonders if limb from limb and say in a firm Washington courts that would the ranch can survive the natu- voice, “NO!” end the Diamond M’s 85 year ral born killers.

Len says the Diamond M stay in the Colville Forest. If Len had heard all the lies you loses, on average, 70 head of Len loses he’ll have to find alread about wolves in National cattle per year to wolves, and ternative pasture for 750 cows Geographic or the Audubon estimates his losses since 2008 or else go out of business, which Blood Money Magazine: that they won’t kill at more than $1 million. The is what the wolfies want in the After that story ran Len and cattle as long as other food is wolfies say that Len could apply first place. One lawsuit deals his family got death threats available, that they don’t kill for for compensation for his losses with “the damage cows do to from the wolfies. They are peo- sport and you can scare them but Len has refused to apply for the public lands.” The second ple like the actress this year off with nonlethal measures compensation. He doesn’t want deals with the issue of whether who when given an Academy like strobe lights, guard dogs, their money. “It’s blood money” continued on page two Award responded with the howl of a wolf and all of Hollywood’s heart went aflutter. The wolfies vation would be required for an area to count even went so far as to kill some toward the administration’s 30 percent goal or of Len’s cows, as if the wolves indicate how much federal funding would be hadn’t already done enough of needed to make Biden’s vision a reality. that. It got so bad the FBI and This ambiguity is partly by design; some enthe Joint Terrorism Task Force vironmentalists said it would be impractical to began looking into the threats make that assessment at this point, and that it of violence made against Len will take time to muster the kind of grassroots and other ranchers who dared support needed to achieve such a sweeping New “America the Beautiful” report speak out. Even this reporter conservation goal. offers few specifics on how to protect 30 got threatening letters after that “I see it as a starting point that’s telling percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 story ran. us, ‘this is the direction we want to go in and

BY SARAH KAPLAN AND JULIET EILPERIN this is how we want to do this work to ensure WASHINGTON POST we’re going to get the best outcomes,’” said Ali Chase, senior policy analyst at the Natural onths after President Biden Resources Defense Council. “In terms of just set a goal of conserving 30 trying to bring the country around to a conserpercent of the nation’s land vation ethic, I think it’s pretty significant.” and waters by 2030, the adThe report is less a road map than a vision ministration on Thursday laid out broad prin- statement, painting a picture of accessible ciples — but few details — for achieving that parks, ranchlands that double as wildlife corvision. ridors and farms that could also store carbon The new 22-page document from the Com- instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. It merce, Interior and Agriculture Departments lays out guiding principles for the program — highlights one of the Biden administration’s utilizing scientific research, pursuing projects central challenges: having committed to bold that create jobs — and calls for a “voluntary environmental goals in their early days in pow- and locally led” approach to conservation, in er, officials now face the more uncertain and which the federal government provides supcontentious task of figuring out how to follow port and guidance to efforts led by landowners, through on those ambitions. cities, states and tribes.

The “America the Beautiful” report outlines As part of the effort, the government will steps the U.S. could take to safeguard key ar- launch and maintain an “American Consereas on land and in the sea to restore biodiver- vation and Stewardship Atlas” to track the sity, tackle climate change and make natural amount of protected land and water, and the spaces more accessible to all Americans.

Interior Department will be required to pubBut it doesn’t identify specific places for encontinued on page four hanced protection, define what level of conser-

NEWSPAPER PRIORITY HANDLING

A Narrow Path for Biden’s Ambitious Land Conservation Plan

M

by LEE PITTS

Things You’ll Never Hear Here’s some dialogue you’ll never hear on a real working cow ranch.

■■ “Well

boys, shall we retire to the plush confines of the bunkhouse and partake of a bottle or two of Dom Perignon? I find the red summer fruit excites the palate, expresses the fruit, finesse, poise and mineralogy like no other champagne.”

■■ “Why don’t you drive and I’ll open all the gates?”

■■ “Oh

boy, I just got promoted to be on the fencing crew. Who knows, if I perform well there in 20 years or so I might be promoted to the windmill team.”

■■ “I

suppose you have a valid point,” said the husband to the wife.

■■

“Remind me to send a thank-you note to all the Big Four packers for not bidding on my over-ripe steers in the feedlot once again this week. They seem like such nice people.”

■■

Ranch owner talking to a new hire: “The job comes with a new pickup, a 72 inch television and your choice of either a new Lazy Boy or sectional sofa for the media room in your 3,000 square foot personal bunkhouse.”

■■ “I

don’t care what our calves sell for at the auction this week as long as they go to a nice person.”

■■ “Great

news honey, our banker just called and said they’re making so much money this year buying Bitcoin stock they aren’t going to charge interest on our loans for the rest of the year.”

■■ “Honey,

you’ve worked so hard on the ranch this year, single handedly raising the kids, keeping house along with your full time job in town.

Why don’t we spend our stimulus money from Uncle Joe and take a two month vacation to Monaco and Paris.”

■■

Ranch owner to possible buyer: “We’re selling because this ranch never made any money, we’ve spent all my wife’s inheritance and a cow has

continued on page four

Page 2

Livestock Market Digest

May 15, 2021

HOWL OF THE WOLF PEOPLE

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continued from page one

cows and wolves can peaceful- “A rural, grassroots, non-profit ly coexist. The wolfies say they environmental charity formed can’t and want all cows gone in 1976, with a membership of wherever there are wolves. The 500.” wolf, you see, is the rancher’s Collectively the three orgaequivalent of the forester’s spot- nizations are seeking an order ted owl. Think of it as the spot- vacating the revised forest plan, ted wolf, but make no mistake, getting rid of the cows, and of these are not the timber wolves course, all attorneys’ fees and that once numbered two million costs. Every dollar lost by ranchthat roamed freely throughout ers who must pay their own lawNorth America and were en- yer fees seems to be funneled countered by Lewis and Clark directly into the pockets of lawand Jedidiah Smith. These are yers getting rich off the environmuch bigger Canadian-cross- mental movement. bred wolves that are two to three times the size of a coyote. Oh, How They Howl Last June a trio of greenie When the Endangered Spegroups filed a lawsuit over the cies Act was written in 1973 Forest Service’s “ignorance” in the wolf was one of the “keyreducing wildlife conflicts on stone species” it was enacted grazing land. These are the for, despite the fact that there same three groups who also were thousands of gray wolves filed suit based on the grazing in Canada and Alaska identical practices. Proven practices that to the ones they released in Yelhave worked for 100 years and lowstone and central Idaho. The have reduced fuel loads in the wolfies say that, “wolves are vital forest and improved the 68% for regulating prey populations of the Colville National Forest like deer and elk, helping many that is suitable for grazing. other species. By forcing elk to The three groups trying to move more, for example, wolves evict the Diamond M are the can increase streamside vegeWildEarth Guardians, West- tation and, along with it, beaern Watersheds Project, and ver and songbird populations.” the Kettle Range Conservation What has actually happened is Group. They have gone after the wolves have decimated deer the Diamond M because it is and elk populations wherever what they call the “epicenter they roamed. of wolf-livestock conflicts in The wolves that US Fish and the state.” Len has permits on Wildlife released bred like rabfive different allotments and bits and along with relocations on those allotments the Wash- gray wolves could soon be found ington Department of Fish and in 25 states. In 2011 Congress Wildlife has killed 31 wolves delisted wolves in Montana, since 2012. Of those killings Idaho, Oregon, Utah and in 84 percent were in response to eastern Washington where the depredations on Diamond M McIrvins ranch. Wolves are Ranch cattle, according to the still considered endangered by lawsuit. the state of Washington. When Interestingly the green President Trump tried to regroups have not gone after move protections from nearly the Confederated Tribes of every gray wolf in the lower 48 the Colville Reservation even states you should have heard though the tribes have retained the wolfies howl. (Ditto when all their hunting and fishing Minnesota’s first ever regulated rights and routinely hunt and wolf-hunting season was antrap wolves. nounced.)

Officials say Washington The Lawyer’s now has at least 126 wolves in Enrichment Plan 27 packs including a pack that’s One of the plaintiffs, the Wil- been found living west of the dEarth Guardians, is a self-pro- Cascade Range. Scientists have claimed, “non-profit conserva- identified several additional tion organization dedicated to wild areas in Washington where protecting and restoring the wolves could live, including the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, Olympic Peninsula. Len McIrand the health of the American vin estimates the 5 packs in the West. Guardians has more than Colville Forest alone contain 275,000 members and support- 150 wolves.

Wolves have now returned ers across the West. Guardians has a long history of working in force to the northern Rockto protect gray wolves, grizzly ies and are even establishing a bears, and Canada lynx. Guard- toehold in west coast states like ians operates a wildlife program California. This writer lives on with campaigns focused on the central coast of California reining in the controversial, cru- and recently our local newsel, and often counterproductive paper was overjoyed to report practices of killing native pred- that a lone wolf has entered our ators on behalf of the livestock county. The paper said, “It’s very industry on federal public lands.” unlikely that your household The second plaintiff is the pets are at risk of being eaten or Western Watersheds Project, “a attacked by wolves. A lone wolf nonprofit membership organi- poses very little threat to huzation with over 12,000 mem- mans and other animals.” They bers and supporters. WWP has agonized that if the lone wolf a longstanding interest in the doesn’t find comparable compamanagement of livestock graz- ny soon it my leave the county. ing on the Colville National Heaven forbid!

Coming To Your Place Soon Forest, and in ensuring that any such grazing is ecologically The Diamond M has been drug sustainable and requires peace- through the mud in several othful coexistence with all species er wolf lawsuits in Washington of native wildlife, including the but until now, the ranch has gray wolf.” Jocelyn Leroux of not defended itself in court. It the WWP says, “Washington’s wasn’t going to happen in this wolves deserve better than to be lawsuit either even though Dicast aside for private business amond M was alluded to 62 times in the lawsuit they would profits.”

The third plaintiff is the Ket- not get their day in court. Len tle Range Conservation Group, told Bloomberg News, “We’ve continued on page three

May 15, 2021

HOWL OF THE WOLF PEOPLE

Livestock Market Digest continued from page two

been abused with no chance “Whether you love wildlife, like to redeem ourselves whatsoev- to hunt and fish, or enjoy beauer. We want to at last clear our tiful trails free of manure, putname.” ting one cattle corporation’s To have their side heard Di- profits ahead of all other interamond M had to become an ests is a blatantly outrageous intervener which meant paying waste of our public land.” even higher legal fees. See the Another attorney said, “the injustice here? The lawyers for Diamond M has knowingly put the green groups get their high its cattle in harm’s way.” What hourly rates paid by the Ameri- purpose that would serve for the can taxpayer while the rancher Diamond M we can’t decipher. must pay out of his own pockThe Center for Biological et. Talk about adding insult to Diversity also opposes killing injury! more wolves. One of its attorGive the green groups and neys, Sophia Ressler, said of the inch and they’ll take a mile. An Diamond M, “If this rancher article in the New American keeps putting cattle in prime said that the green groups con- wolf habitat, he needs to actend there are a mere “6,000 cept some losses just like any wolves in the U.S. occupying other business.” According to less than 10% of their historic Bloomberg, “The center and range in the lower 48 states.” other conservation groups say it Their stated goal is to have may be time to consider moving thriving wolf populations in the cattle off Colville National remaining suitable habitat in Forest grazing lands that are the Northeast, southern Rocky also prime wolf habitat.”

Mountains, Southwest, Pacific Despite the fact that wolves Northwest, and California. Ac- are on track for recovery in cording to the New American, Washington, Chris Bachman “That would secure a future for of the Lands Council, a Spowolves and allow them to play kane-based conservation group, their valuable ecological role in also said it may be time to move more of their former home ter- the cattle. “It is evident at this ritory.” point, grazing in an area of Back to 1992 when we re- prime wolf habitat is folly.” ported on a confereece attended And therein lies the rub. by world leaders in Rio de JanieNow we are talking about a ro where a document called landmark lawsuit that would set Agenda 21 was introduced as a a precedent for removing catnew “global partnership” we had tle from any area where wolves no idea the harebrained ideas “could” live. And because wolves contained therein would actu- don’t respect deeds or barbed ally become the law of the land. wire, they will wander on to priOne of Agenda 21’s goals was vate land when all the cattle, elk, to have a corridor from the Ca- moose and deer are gobbled up nadian border cutting through by the voracious wolves. We arAmerica’s West where the cross- en’t just talking about the public bred Canadian wolves could lands rancher any more. meet and greet the 186 MexDon’t ask for whom the ican wolves currently residing wolves and wolfies howl... they in America’s Southwest. This howl for thee. corridor is supposedly needed because, “Wolves need connected populations for genetic sustainability, and natural ecosystems need wolves to maintain a healthy balance of species.”

Timothy Coleman, director of Kettle Range Conservation Group said in a press release.

▫

Page 3

Cyclical Climate Claims Recycle Climate Refugee Fairytale

H

istorically, climate change, just like the seasons, follows natural cycles—solar cycles, shifts in ocean currents, and orbital cycles, for example.

Alarming climate stories also come in fairly predictable (news) cycles. During wildfire and hurricane seasons, when natural weather conditions have historically produced hurricanes and wildfires with regularity, compromised scientific journals and the press will run myriad stories linking any ongoing wildfires and hurricanes to human-caused climate change.

This happens despite a lack of evidence that hurricanes or wildfires have become more frequent or more severe during the recent period of modest warming than they have been historically.

This sentiment also rings true for the farming industry. Global crop production has boomed in recent decades, with new records set for yield and production year over year in spite of the recent warming, according to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) records. However, what’s true at the macro level is not always true at the micro level. Each year, some area or another will experience record late-season cold spells, floods, or drought, resulting in failed harvests.

This is how life has been since humans stopped focusing on hunting and gathering and settled down to farming. Yet when crops fail, one can expect a flurry of journal articles and overheated news stories linking isolated instances of crop failures to climate change. Not only that, but these articles claim crop failures are the harbinger of a disastrous global food future, absent political actions ending the use of fossil fuels.

In between these seasonal weather events, climate alarmists don’t sleep. Instead, they

try to tie climate change to any ongoing political and social upheaval anywhere it is occurring.

A pandemic breaks out? Climate change caused it. War or political revolutions break out?

Climate change caused it.

Another periodic climate crisis de jour is the “climate refugee crisis.” According to climate alarmists, when refugees fled Syria during its civil war, climate change caused it. Now, as a flood of illegal immigrants breaches the U.S. southern border daily, a Google News search displays dozens of news stories in local papers and national publications that claim climate change is creating the problem.

The articles say the Biden administration should recognize “climate refugees” as an official class of persons deserving asylum on humanitarian grounds.

Climate conditions did not change between the Trump and Biden presidencies, so it is clear the present flow of illegal immigrants into the United States is not a result of climate change.

Instead, President Joe Biden’s shift to a more welcoming immigration policy than that enforced by President Donald Trump has made entering the country more promising. But you wouldn’t know this from reading mainstream media stories discussing the current crisis at the border.

For example, the International Policy Digest (IPD) and The Hill published articles titled “It’s Time to Recognize Climate Refugees” and “How to manage migration intensified by climate change,” respectively. The IPD article falsely stated “refugees are … fleeing climate change.”

“In the face of warmer temperatures, reduced precipitation, and blighted crops—struggling farmers from Guatemala and El Salvador are giving up and fleeing to the U.S. border,” the IPD article states. “Climate change will submerge American communities like Isle de Jean

Charles, Louisiana, and entire countries like the Maldives.”

The Hill also cited refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala as proof of climate change causing migration. For good measure, it then threw Honduran refugees into the mix, blaming 2020’s hurricane strikes in Honduras on human greenhouse gas emissions.

Yet looking at each of these claims in detail, one can find no significant link between the past century’s modest warming and forced emigration from any of these countries. Instead, research shows many parts of the American coast and most small-island nations, including the Maldives, have seen their respective land masses, populations, and property values increase in recent years, rather than seeing them sink under rising seas and emigration.

Research published in 2018

by GIScience & Remote Sensing found 15 of the 28 uninhabited islands on Tuvalu’s Funafuti Atoll had their shorelines increase in recent years. Also, the population on Fongafale, Tuvalu’s largest island, has increased by 33 percent. Tuvalu’s government has felt confident enough in its long-term future to erect brand-new government buildings and associated infrastructure.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2018 “Interim Report” observes there is “only low confidence for the attribution of any detectable changes in tropical cyclone activity to anthropogenic influences.” History shows it is not uncommon for hurricanes and tropical storms to strike Honduras, which is “brushed or hit” by hurricanes every four years on average, although some decades have been busier than others. For example, the 1890s, the 1930s, the 1960s, and the 1970s—all of which were cooler continued on page eight

Page 4

Livestock Market Digest

A NARROW PATH

continued from page one

lish annual reports on the prog- mining which land to conserve “Honor private property rights ress being made. and how it should be protected, and support the voluntary stewOne of the looming questions the issue becomes much more ardship efforts of private landis how Biden can reconcile the fraught. owners and fishers,” is listed as new conservati on target, which At the moment, roughly 12 one of the effort’s key principles. has received relatively little percent of U.S. land and 11 perMeanwhile, conservative publicity, with his better-known cent its freshwater ecosystems groups have voiced fervent plans to tackle climate change. enjoy some level of protection. opposition to what some call Tracking Biden’s environ- A much larger portion of U.S. “the 30x30 land grab.” Multimental policies ocean waters enjoy safeguards, ple GOP-led western counties Last month, for example, the in part because in 2016 Barack have issued resolutions oppospresident announced the U.S. Obama expanded the Papa- ing the goal. And in March, would slash its greenhouse gas hanaumokuakea Marine Na- more than 60 members of the emissions between 50 and 52 tional Monument — first estab- Congressional Western Caupercent by the end of the de- lished by George W. Bush — to cus — all Republicans — signed cade compared to 2005 levels. encompass more than 582,000 a letter expressing skepticism The goal of eliminating planet square miles of land and sea. about Biden’s approach, which warming emissions from fossil The “America the Beautiful they said displayed “dangerous fuels is backed by roughly two campaign” proposes increasing thoughtlessness.” thirds of registered voters, ac- that protected area through Biden’s plans to expand recording to a December poll by a hodgepodge of policies, in- newable energy – which calls for George Mason University and cluding creating new parks in a major expansion of large-scale the Yale Program on Climate nature-deprived communities, solar and wind farms onshore, Change Communication. But supporting tribally-led manage- in addition to offshore wind — the administration has yet to ment projects and boosting pro- could also pose a challenge for spell out specific reductions grams that fund conservation his conservation goal. that would need to take place in efforts on private land.

Princeton University’s rekey sectors of the economy.

“I think the idea is to have a cent Net Zero America study, Broadly speaking, Americans massive stakeholder processes,” for example, projects that wind also support the idea of conserv- said National Wildlife Feder- and solar projects will occupy ing 30 percent of the nation’s ation president Colin O’Mara. roughly 230,000 square miles land and water by the end of “When there are designations, by mid-century – more than the the decade. Recent polls from whether that be parks or monu- states of Arizona and Colorado left-leaning Center for Ameri- ments or wilderness areas … the combined. can Progress and Natural Re- ones that have the most staying Jessica Wilkinson, senior sources Defense Council found power have massive local buy- policy advisor for energy and large majorities of respondents in.” infrastructure at The Nature favor the plan, often abbreviatYet farming, hunting and Conservancy, said in an email ed as “30x30.” Bipartisan coa- fishing groups have been wary that when it comes to addresslitions of 70 mayors and more of how the will affect their ing climate and conservation, than 400 state and local elected members. The American Farm “Our science shows, that we can officials have declared support Bureau Federation in April sent be successful on both fronts. for the goal, as have environ- Biden a letter asking for assur- We do, however, need to get mental groups, hunting and ance that public lands used for the right policy signals in place fishing organizations and tribal grazing would still be consid- now.” leaders. ered “conserved” under Biden’s Scientists have identified definition and that conservation land and water conservation as efforts on private lands would a vital mechanism for protect- be recognized. ing biodiversity and addressing “Any discussion about conclimate change. The 30x30 tar- servation must begin with the get puts the U.S. on par with recognition that farmers and a group of more than 50 “high ranchers are already leaders in ambition” nations that have this space and have been for depledged to set aside at least that cades,” the letter said. much land for nature.

The report appears aimed But when it comes to deter- at assuaging those concerns. BY KAREN BUDD FALEN

▫

Will Biden’s 30 X 30 Plan Be A Repeat of History?

BUDD FALEN LAW OFFICE, LLC

I

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remember my dad saying, “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.”

But before we get to the history lesson, consider this: Under the 30 X 30 Plan, President Biden wants to add an additional 440 million acres to the 67 million acres of land managed in its “natural state” to preserve biodiversity and combat climate change. The federal government owns 563 million acres already, but the Biden Administration says only 12 percent of that land is managed in its “natural state” to protect us from the climate crisis.

■■

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, between livestock and crops, agriculture accounts for about 10.5 percent of all U.S. climate change emissions.

■■

The Biden Administration’s goal is to have net zero global emissions by mid-century.

■■

By 2030, the world’s human population will increase to 8.5 billion people.

■■

To feed all those people, the world needs farmers and ranchers. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average American farm feeds 166 people, but with the increase in the world’s

May 15, 2021

HERD to graze 30 miles per hour just to survive.”

■■ “Thank

you Lord for this beef we’re about to eat and the neighbor who unknowingly provided it.”

■■ “Sure,

I’ll give you a 4% shrink, keep them off of feed and water and put a hard work on them before we weigh my calves. And I trust you to read the scale as I bring them up the alley.”

■■ “I’d

be glad to pay for all the fencing costs to fix the broken down fence between us.”

■■ “That

$400 a ton hay sure is a lot better than I thought it would be and is a real bargain.”

■■ “That

knothead of a horse may look as harmless as a pet rabbit but he is a real man-killer. Why the heck do you think we’re selling it?”

■■ “I’d

never knowingly put too much weight on your cattle truck. Should we take a couple off so you won’t get an overload ticket.”

■■ “I’ve

already got enough free hats and jackets. Why don’t you give these to someone else?”

continued from page one

■■ “I’m

thinking about trading my trusty 4 X 4 Cummins for one of them new Tesla triangle truck thingies.”

■■ “Our new BLM gal says

we’ll be able to run more cows this year than we ever have.”

■■ “There’s

nothing quite as thrilling as the howl of wolves in the calving pasture.”

■■ “I’m

sure you’ll like the calves out of our main herd sire. He has the distinction of being the only bull in history to finish dead last in his class in Denver, Fort Worth, Houston, Rapid City and San Antonio.”

■■ “Dear,

I know I forgot your birthday yesterday and also our anniversary last month. To make up for it why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off and I’ll cook dinner and wash the dishes.

Just show me where the kitchen is.”

■■ “Can

I have another Beyond Beef® burger.”

■■ “I sure wish it would stop raining.”

wwwLeePittsbooks.com

■■ “Range bulls sure are cheap

this year. I think I’ll buy a few extra just to be on the safe side.”

population, the world’s farmers will have to grow 70 percent more food than they did in 2019.

Now for the history lesson, anyone of driving age in 1974— or who had a father who loudly complained when driving I-80 across Wyoming---remembers the 55 miles per hour speed limit. That was a time, based on the 1973 Arab Oil Crisis, that Congress mandated that States should “voluntarily” reduce their speed limits to 55 mph to lower gasoline consumption because the U.S. was not energy independent. The catch was that the receipt of federal highway funds was tied to the “voluntary” speed limit reduction. In other words, if a state reduced its speed limit to 55 mph, it would receive its share of federal highway funds; if a state didn’t comply, no federal highway funds would come its way. Most states complied and the few that didn’t, quickly took “voluntary” action once the checks stopped coming. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Congress can constitutionally use the power of the purse to “influence” decisions that are normally reserved to the States.

So why reminisce about the 55-mph speed limit when talking about Biden’s 30 X 30 Plan? It is because I worry about Biden’s requirement to “voluntarily” reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint by “us[ing] Department of Agriculture programs, funding, and financing capabilities, and other authorities, . . . to encourage voluntary adoption of climate-smart agricultural and forestry practices.” Sec. 216 (b)(i).

This Administration is already making progress on its climate change goals. First, it has cancelled its federal oil and gas lease sales mandated under the Mineral Leasing Act, on the theory that perhaps wind and solar

can replace oil, gas and coal as our energy source. I have not found a lot of affordable commercial all-electric tractors that could be used on farming or ranching operations today.

Second, the Department of Agriculture has just significantly increased its “payment rates and financial incentives” to convince landowners to enroll additional acres into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). While landowners have to right to do with their land what they want, I worry about paying agriculturalists not to produce.

Third, there are those advocating that USDA use its other “financial tools” such as federal crop insurance programs, farm payment programs and increasing collaboration with federally backed agriculture lenders to encourage “voluntary” climate smart agriculture (CSA). There are plusses and minuses with all CSA, but the landowner needs to be able to consider those without the federal government tipping the scales by “voluntarily” withholding certain payments or getting between a landowner and his ag lender if the landowner does not pick the program chosen by the federal government.

And I also wonder this? How are farmers and ranchers going to feed 8.5 billion people in 2030 if there is no American oil and gas for tractors, we are paying landowners not-to-produce or produce less, and multiple use on federal lands is curtailed or eliminated to reach the 30 X 30 Plan goals? And what I am really warning is that the history of the federal government’s “voluntary” 55 mph speed limit NOT be repeated today.

▫

May 15, 2021

Winchester aimed at the West

A

different barrel and different ammo, but still a 30-30. This time, though, it is called 30 by 30 and it is the new battle cry by the enviros and the Biden Administration. They want 30 percent of the land in the U.S. set aside in protected areas, and similarly 30 percent of the ocean.

Advocates had been proposing this type of action for some time, but this particular effort got kick-started by Swiss philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss, who donated a billion dollars to launch the Wyss Campaign for Nature. The Wyss campaign called for 30 percent of all lands to be protected. That was quickly followed by the large environmental organizations issuing a statement calling for 30 percent of all land be set aside in protected areas by 2030 and 50 percent be sustainably managed by 2050.

In January of this year President Biden issued Executive Order 14008 “Tackling the Climate Crises at Home and Abroad.” While most of the media focused on the specific climate change provisions and the order to “pause” oil and gas development on federal lands, Section 216 of the EO, titled Conserving Our Nation’s Lands and Waters states: “The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality…shall submit a report to the Task Force within 90 days of the date of this order recommending steps that the United States should take, working with State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen,

Livestock Market Digest and other key stakeholders, to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.”

We need to ask what will it take to reach that 30 percent?

Federal lands encompass 640 million acres, about 29 percent of the U.S. land mass. However, a study by the U.S.G.S found that only 12 percent of those lands meet the protected status required to reach the 30 by 30 standards. They propose that an additional 440 million acres would be required to obtain their goal. That’s an area twice the size of Texas.

What about private lands?

You know the enviros covet them, and this program provides an excellent opportunity to either acquire or obtain control over private property.

In conjunction with this program, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has expanded the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to halt production, by 4 million acres. In doing so, he brushed aside grain growers’ fears this would send a signal to other countries to step up production. USDA will also consider ramping up their program to purchase perpetual easements over private lands.

Another option for both USDA and USDI is the outright purchase of private lands. Making this a more plausible option is President Trump’s signing of the Great American Outdoors Act last year, which guarantees, without debate, $900 million a year for federal land acquisition.

Was that enough to satisfy the enviros? Of course not. One enviro spokesman recently pointed out the $900 million was a 1978 number, and after factoring in inflation, the appropriation should be $3.4 billion per year.

With respect to federal lands, the big stick everyone will be watching for is the use of the 1906 Antiquities Act. That law has been determined by the courts to grant the President unlimited authority to designate national monuments without allowing for public comment and

NIAA Announces New Board Members & Annual Award Winners

T

he National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) re-elected and welcomed new board members at the 2021 Annual Conference held virtually in April. Additionally, the 2020 and 2021 President, Chairman, Meritorious Service and Animal Agriculture Advocate Awards were presented.

Kelly Loganbill, Midan Marketing, was elected to serve on the board of directors. The re-elected board members are Lanny Pace, DVM, Mississippi State University; Karen Jordan, DVM, Dairy Farmers of America; and Michael Short, DVM, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Retiring board members are Todd Low, MBA, Hawaii Department of Agriculture; David Meeker, Ph.D., National Renderers Association; and Nevil Speer, Ph.D., Where Food Comes From.

“We are excited to welcome Kelly Loganbill to our Board as well as our returning board members, Lanny, Karen and Michael. Each of these individuals has a tremendous depth of knowledge about the challenging topics we address at NIAA,” said Kevin Maher, VetMeasure, Inc. and NIAA Chairman of the Board. “We thank our retiring board members for their dedication to service and the great leadership they provided.”

Each year, NIAA distributes four prestigious awards: the Chairman’s Award, the President’s Award, the Meritorious Service Award and the Animal Agriculture Advocate Award. These awards recognize individuals for their service, leadership and dedication to animal agriculture.

This year, during the 2021 Annual Conference,

without considering the environmental or economic impact of the designation. Given the short, nine-year time frame to meet the 30 percent goal, they very well may be gearing up for a monument onslaught that far surpasses Obama’s record setting 26 new national monuments.

The enviro lobbyists have recently done a great job in bringing in Native Americans to be upfront on many enviro initiatives, especially those pertaining to federal lands. Now, however, the enviros are eyeing the 56 million acres of land held in trust for Native Americans.

It will be interesting to see how welcoming the tribes will be to having national parks, wildlife refuges and national monuments created on tribal land.

Climate what?

I predicted last fall that Biden’s enviro initiatives would all be proposed under the umbrella of climate change, and so it is with 30 by 30 program, as it is only a part of the President’s EO on climate change. I’m sure it is just a happenstance that Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), along with 17 Republican cosponsors, has introduced the Growing Climate Solutions Act. The bill is aimed at “bolstering agricultural carbon markets.” This is not a totally bad bill, but let’s take a closer at the language used to describe and justify the legislation.

The bipartisan bill would create a structure at the Department of Agriculture to help farmers increase their adoption of “climate smart practices” and have better access to voluntary carbon markets, Stabenow told reporters on a Tuesday call.

Here the D.C. Deep Thinkers are saying farmers aren’t changing their production practices at an acceptable rate, or that those who are changing are adopting dumb practices rather than “climate smart practices” as defined by the government.

NIAA recognized the 2020 and 2021 award recipients.

The NIAA Chairman’s Award is chosen by the Chairman of the Board and is received by an individual that has dedicated their time advancing animal agriculture. The 2020 and 2021 recipients went to Ambassador Gregg Doud and Leonard Bull, Ph.D. The NIAA President’s Award is chosen by the Executive Director and is awarded to an NIAA committee or council chair or co-chair for their leadership and dedication to the organization.

The 2020 and 2021 award recipients were Chelsea Good, J.D., Livestock Marketing Association, and Nevil Speer, Ph.D., Where Food Comes From.

Each year NIAA recognizes an individual who has made extensive contributions and has given exemplary service to the animal agriculture industry and NIAA by presenting them with the Meritorious Service Award. The 2020 and 2021 recipients were David Meeker, Ph.D., National Renderers Association, and Tony Forshey, Ph.D., Ohio Department of Agriculture Individuals who effectively help bridge the gap with consumers by delivering strong, positive messages about animal agriculture are honored with the Animal Agriculture Advocate Award.

The 2021 recipient was presented to Leah Dorman, DVM, Phibro Animal Health.

“It was an honor to recognize these individuals’ hard work and dedication. We appreciate their continuous leadership and service, not only to NIAA, but to the animal agriculture industry,” said Kevin Maher. “Congratulations to each of the recipients.”

As a member-driven, non-profit, NIAA convenes animal agriculture experts and allies in collaborative settings to explore, discuss, learn and develop knowledge that fosters interdisciplinary cooperation for the improvement and continuous progress of animal agriculture

▫

Page 5 ...but the burgeoning private markets for carbon credits vary in quality Something is “burgeoning” in the private sector? Oh no, the DC Deep Thinkers cannot allow that. …bill would create a structure at the Department of Agriculture...voluntary carbon markets.

Whenever you create a “structure” in a federal agency, history teaches that, over time, the “structure” will become a bureau or a division and the program mandatory.

“Most of these carbon markets are complex and farmers need help to get started,” Stabenow said.

These ag producers manage land, livestock, crops and sophisticated heavy equipment.

They manage their own budget and the marketing of their products. Yet the DC Deep Thinkers believe they need government’s help in selecting a program be-

cause it is all too complex?

Therein you find the word that almost always leads to more government spending and control. The word is “complex”.

Whenever you hear a politician utter the word “complex” be assured it will be followed by expressing the need for some new government expansion.

In reality, the exact opposite is true: the more complex an issue the less the government should be involved. Governments have demonstrated over and over again they cannot manage simple, straight forward programs. Why on earth, then, would anybody think they could adequately manage a “complex” issue or program?

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

▫

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Page 6

Livestock Market Digest

Biden’s 2021 Earth Day Summit

BY DR. JAY LEHR, CFACT

P

resident Biden’s two-day virtual “climate leader’s summit” kicked off on

Earth Day. The alarming claims made at Biden’s summit bear little resemblance to reality. The “solutions” proposed would in the main cause massive economic pain and expense for little or no environmental benefit. In some cases they would cause more environmental harm than benefit.

Earth day should be about real conservation, but like so many things has been co-opted by the anti-energy Left.

Senator Gaylord Perry, Wisconsin initiated Earth Day on April 22, 1970 in response to the Cuyahoga River catching fire on June 22, 1969 as a result of a spark from a railroad car crossing the river on a trestle, falling onto an oil slick. The fire got environmentalist attention across the nation that day though it was the 18th time the river had caught fire in the past century. While Perry was quite a left of center politician the fact that April 22 (in 1870) was Vladimir Lenin’s birthday may have just been a coincidence.

The day was set aside to focus on a number of environmental issues such as water supply and waste disposal. Unfortunately, Earth Day has since been hijacked to focus on global warming, which morphed into climate change. It is now largely about the elimination CO from fossil fuel emissions, relying on extreme computer simulations of CO ’s impact on our planet’s thermostat. Realistic cost-benefit analysis is nowhere to be found. It was a coordinated move by the Left who realize that those who control energy, control pretty much everything.

President Biden pledged at this virtual conference, said to be attended by 40 nations, to cut greenhouse gas “pollution.” Anyone with an IQ above plant life recognizes there are no greenhouse gases that are pollutants. Water vapor makes up arguably 95 percent of all the green house gas making carbon dioxide a small player.

Without both our planet would be a huge ice ball. Without the carbon dioxide the planet would be lifeless regardless of its tem2

2

perature.

Biden said he plans to halve American CO emissions by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050. This would cause tremendous economic damage. At least we can count on the Biden administration being long gone by both those dates and work toward better energy policy.

Leaders from many countries such as the UK, Japan, Canada, and even the Vatican weighedin. Yoshihide Suga of Japan was very specific saying his country would reduce emissions by 46 percent below 2013 levels.

One must laugh at such precise numbers which we know to be worthless. China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi said after their free emissions pass ends in 2030 they will finally pitch in. In the meantime China loves producing the bulk of the wind and solar equipment Biden plans to spend ginormous amounts of money on.

Biden patted himself on the back for undoing President Trump’s efforts to break free from damaging U.S. climate commitments and even upped the ante beyond what his old boss President Obama has put in place. The President said the virtual summit was aimed at “renewing” America’s leadership on climate change, ignoring that our country is already number one in emissions reductions (if that’s your thing). Today, the United States is responsible for only 15 percent of world CO emissions, while China’s robust economy produces nearly one third. China emits more CO than the U.S. and E.U. combined.

Surprisingly, normally spineless Republicans said they would fight Biden’s unrealistic emissions reductions. Senator Barrasso of Wyoming, in a wonderful understatement, said Biden’s CO reduction scheme “would put the US at a competitive disadvantage globally.” Simultaneously, Democratic Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts, lead Senate sponsor of the Green New Deal, called Biden’s 50 percent emissions reduction target “technologically feasible and well within reach.”

As expected, the greatest virtual climate exaggerations emanated from UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez, who served as President of the Socialist International from 19952005. Gutierrez said “we see ever rising sea levels, scorching temperatures, devastating tropical cyclones and epic wildfires.”

He said, “we are on the verge 2

2

2

2

of an abyss.” Gutierrez can apparently see climate devastation that historical data and hard scientific observation don’t.

Enough. President Biden’s Earth Day virtual summit featured policies which would erode national sovereignty, expand UN power, and throttle down free-world capitalist economies to the benefit of autocratic China without meaningfully alter the temperature of the Earth. The policies put forward would dramatically weaken developed nations by pricing their energy out of sight. Inefficient, intermittent wind and solar are not viable alternatives to inexpensive and readily-available natural gas, oil and coal. Socalled renewables have oppressively massive environmental footprints which bring nightmares of their own. If only the Greens could get past their unscientific ideological opposition to nuclear power.

Radical leftists will not mind the free world being brought to it knees. The rest of us, not so much. This ill-conceived transformation of our energy supply cannot work. The Left understands this. They court energy failure, planning to demand government further step in and ration all energy. For the Left the answer to every problem is more leftism. How better to realize their dreams of control?

I have been studying the Bolshevik Revolution for years, particularly since its hundredth anniversary in 2017. I plan to write about it in a few weeks and readers will be amazed how its process tracks with the “woke” revolution and the global warming movement.

We need clear-eyed, unbiased science and policy. Let me quote Greg Wrightstone, Executive Director of the CO Coalition, in the Earth Day edition of The Washington Times. “The science and data strongly support that our planet’s eco-systems are thriving and that humanity is benefiting from modestly increasing temperature and an increase in carbon dioxide. These facts refute the claim that Earth is spiraling into one man-made climate catastrophe after another.”

CFACT Senior Science Analyst Jay Lehr has authored more than 1,000 magazine and journal articles and 36 books. Jay’s new book A Hitchhikers Journey Through Climate Change written with Teri Ciccone is now available on Kindle and Amazon.

2

▫

May 15, 2021

The View FROM THE BACK SIDE

The True Beauty of Farm & Ranch

BY BARRY DENTON (The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of this publication.)

W

hen you think about it, living in the American countryside has its advantages. Perhaps we do not have the easy access to good Internet, airlines, Broadway shows, or the best medical team, but we have something much more important known as peace of mind.

We can get up in the morning, have a conversation over a cup of Joe, go to work all day outdoors whether it is sunny or snowing, and come home to dinner and a peaceable evening most of the time. There is always plenty to do without turning on the television, the internet, smart phone, or various other devices.

When we join our gang, it is usually at the grange hall, the 4-H meeting, church, or helping a neighbor. I cannot remember the last time anyone one from rural life ever called me a “racist” which is probably the most popular mis-assigned word in America today. If you turn on any of those devices that I previously mentioned, that evil word you will be certain to hear. It sounds ridiculous to a person that was taught a good value system, has a moral compass, and was taught the tenets of God, family, and country.

Most of us were taught to value the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code. I think all those standards are easy to learn, execute, and live by. There is nothing difficult to understand here. I think the majority of us were taught to respect each other in spite of any differences that we may have. If you have a disagreement, then sit down and work out the details.

You may have to compromise a little. I find it intriguing that most country folks do not waste much time on hate. They know it is destructive and they also know, that at some point in time they will need their neighbors in a crisis.

I am not saying that country living is utopic, but it is a far cry better than what our brothers and sisters in the city must live through on a daily basis. According to FBI statistics which are expressed as per 100,000 people, there were zero hate crimes in rural Yavapai County, Arizona last year with a population of 220,000. In the city of Seattle, Washington there were 40 per 100,000; in Washington, DC there were 29 per 100,000; and in San Francisco, California there were 7.2 per 100,000.

Let’s talk about violent crime. Take Detroit for example with 1965 violent crimes per 100,000, moving on to St. Louis at 1927, and finally Baltimore at 1523. The common denominator here is that these cities have been under democrat control for the last 50 years or more. I am not bragging here, I am merely pointing out that if you, meaning democrat leadership, want to sit around and accuse people of bad things maybe you ought to look at yourself first.

Keep in mind that those of us that live in the countryside have more guns per person than nearly anyone in the cities, yet we have a very low crime rate. We also have a substantial number of minorities in the countryside, but obviously we pretty much all get along. It looks to me via the recent statistics, like democrat party leadership are the racists and enablers of crime in America.

The very people that accuse us country folk of being anti-environment are the ones that have already destroyed where they live. Now they want to tell us how to maintain our environment when ours is so much better than theirs.

That is just plain arrogant folks. They also try and tell you that their paid scientists know much more than God about when the earth is going to end. The funny thing is that their paid scientists are consistently wrong year after year. Remember, we had the doom of a fast approaching ice age in the 1970’s, then we had global warming in the late 1990’s, and now the latest things that we have are climate change and cow gas to end the world.

However, here we are sitting in the countryside doing the same things that we have been doing for the last 240 years.

We are raising livestock, farming crops, taking good care of our families, and having fun. Here in the countryside our air is clean, our water is clean, our food is untainted, we fish, we hunt, we trap, all things that cannot even be attempted in the cities because they have already ruined their own environment.

Finally, since we are talking about absurdities today the current Democrat Governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham settles out of court with a former campaign aide who accused her of unwanted sexual behavior. Here we have the sanctimonious governor trying hard to ruin her state’s economy and her citizen’s livelihoods by using the coronavirus as an excuse. It turns out that obviously from the news reports, she is a predator and New Mexico needs to be saved from her. If you happen to see the New Mexico Governor, you will probably want to keep her at arm’s length. This is just too damn funny.

In conclusion I would say that country folks have a good life and do not need city folks telling them how to live. They are already doing all the right things. Wake up global warmers and take a lesson!

▫

May 15, 2021

Livestock Market Digest

REAL ESTATE GUIDE

www.scottlandcompany.com

Ben G. Scott – Broker Krystal M. Nelson – NM QB 800-933-9698 5:00 a.m./10:00 p.m.

RANCH & FARM REAL ESTATE

We need listings on all types of ag properties large or small!

■ SARGENT CANYON RANCH – (Chaves/Otero Co.) – 18,460 +/- ac. - 200 +/- deeded, 2,580 +/- State, 11,200 +/- BLM, 4,480 +/- Forest - permitted for 380 AUs year-round, well watered, good headquarters, very nice updated home, excellent pens & Digest out buildings.

Livestock Market Scenic ranch!

■ FOUR MILE ROAD RANCH – Borden Co., TX. – 939.37 ac. +/- in two tracts. A good combination ranch for cattle, hunting & recreation.

■ RIMROCK RANCH - BUEYEROS, NM – 14,993.49 total acres +/- (12,157.49 deeded acres +/-, 2,836 +/New Mexico State Lease). Live water with five miles of scenic Ute Creek. Elk, deer and antelope to go along with a good cattle ranch!

■ SUPER OPPORTUNITY! One of the best steak houses in the nation just out of Amarillo & Canyon at Umbarger, TX., state-of-the-art bldg., turn-key w/complete facilities in full operation at this time.

■ ALAMOSA CREEK RANCH - Roosevelt Co., NM – 14,982 +/- acres (10,982 ac. +/- deeded, 4,000 ac. +/- State Lease). Good cow ranch in Eastern NM excellent access via US 60 frontage between Clovis and Fort Sumner. Alamosa creek crosses through the heart of the gently rolling grassland.

■ DRY CIMARRON – Union Co., NM – 1,571 ac.+/- of grassland on the dry Cimarron River, located on pvmt. near Kenton, OK just under the Black Mesa.

■ COWEN ROAD FARM – Sedan, NM – two circles in CRP until 2023, one circle sown back to native grasses, all weather road.

■ PRICE QUAILSt. HAVEN along w/deer, 521REDUCED! West Second • Portales, NM turkey, 88130 antelope & other wildlife or – Borden Co., TX., 1,672.8 575-226-0671 575-226-0672 fax +/- ac., well located near Gail/Snyder, Texas on pvmt. & all-weather road, well improved.

Buena Vista Realty ■ STRONG WATER! Baca Co., CO – 640 ac. +/- w/three Qualifying pivot sprinklers & three irrigation Broker: well all tied together A.H. pipe, (Jack)fourth Merrick 575-760-7521 w/underground quarter in native grass www.buenavista-nm.com permitted for irrigation according to owner.

■ EAST EDGE OF FT. SUMNER, NM – a 900 hd. grow yard w/immaculate 7.32 ac. +/-, a beautiful home, & other improvements w/a long line of equipment included, on pvmt.

■ PRICE REDUCED! PECOS RIVER RANCH – a scenic, 968 +/- ac., will sell in tracts of 418 ac. & 550 ac., live • 83that acre home water ranch lies wood along both sideswith of thebarns, Pecos River between Santa Rosa & Ft. Sumner, NM. Wildlife, water meadows and woods.

Fronts & cattle make an excellent pairing for the buyerState who is looking for top tier assets in a rugged New Mexico Ranch.

Rd. $545,000 ■ SWEETWATER CREEK – Wheeler Co., TX – 640 acres of scenic ranch land traversed by seasonal Sweetwater Creek just a few miles west of New Mobeetie, TX. 200 160 acre Ranger Eastland feet of •elevation change.

MINERALS INCLUDED!Co, ■ NE TEXAS IRRIGATED FARM – Red River Co., TX. – $560,000 1,326 ac. with 6 pivots, unlimited water from 6 lakes with 100+ ac. of surface area. Excellent farm or cattle operation.

• 270 acre County, ■ FT. SUMNER, NM –Mitchell APPLE JACK RANCH Texas – 7.616 ac. +/-, an irrigated orchard, canal & well water, city water for ranch.

Investors dream; excellent improvements, neat fruit stand & a 2 bdrm. home.

TATE GUIDE

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mitt, TX 79027 Scott - Broker lifying Broker am/10:00pm company.com

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uadalupe Co., eded & 519 anch on both g flow daily) mner; wildlife, buyer looking New Mexico

980 ac. +/past, land lays e of Hwy. 54. on Co., NM – and w/statey remodeled in very good n pvmt. . +/- heavily listing r livestockagent w/ 75-825-1291. ences etc., on ta-nm.com e front gate. ic ac. +/- on d by Lincoln in Pines & ed meadow Penasco. This uild a legacy

4 ac. irr., on exico, adjoins l.

POTENTIAL xline Special,

+/- w/water & a beautiful 3 bathrooms, etal shop.

Page 7

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

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

Selling residential, farm, COLETTA RAY ranch, commercial and Pioneer Realty relocating properties.

1304 Pile Street, Clovis, NM 88101

COLETTA RAY 575-799-9600 Direct Pioneer Realty 575.935.9680 Office 1304 Pile Street, Clovis, NM 88101 575.935.9680 Fax 575-799-9600 Direct coletta@plateautel.net 575.935.9680 Office www.clovisrealestatesales.com 575.935.9680 Fax coletta@plateautel.net www.clovisrealestatesales.com

TEXAS & OKLA. FARMS & RANCHES

230 SOCORRO ACRE GAME & RETREAT PLAZA REALTY that is a dream.

Lakes, woods,

SOLD

the Plaza meadows,Ongame galore, 35 miles Donald Brown out ofQualifying Dallas, Kaufman Broker County.

505-507-2915 cell @10,000 PA 505-838-0095 fax 116–Plaza 133 ACRES 24 Miles out of PO Box 1903 Socorro, NM 87801 $13,000 Dallas, ready to develop. www.socorroplazarealty.com dbrown@socorroplazarealty.com per acre 313 ACRES NORTH OF DALLAS AG LAND LOANS AGMAJOR LAND LOANS ON HIGHWAYS 121 & AsLow LowAsAs 3% As 4.5% 2.9% 69 – OPWKCAP Nice horse barn with living OPWKCAP 2.9% INTEREST RATESAS AS LOW AS 3% INTEREST RATES LOW 4.5% quarters. Scheduled $11,500 onon25AS Payments Scheduled 25 Years Payments Years 234 SHOW RANCH – 8,000.

Imaculate home, cattle show barn, Joe Stubblefield & Associates 2313830 milesWestern from Dallas $2.8MTX St., Amarillo,

SOLD

806/622-3482 • cell 806/674-2062 joes3@suddenlink.net Michael Perez Associates Nara Visa, NM • 575/403-7970

Bottari Realty Paul Bottari, Broker

775/752-3040

SCOTT MCNALLY

Nevada Farms & raNch PrOPerTY

www.ranchesnm.com 575/622-5867 575/420-1237 Ranch Sales & Appraisals

www.bottarirealty.com

AG LAND LOANS INTEREST RATES AS LOW AS 3.5% Payments Scheduled on 25 Years

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

Call

505-243-9515

for more information

B

A.H. (J ww

14298 N

521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130

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

joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com

Buena Vista Realty

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

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

575-226-0

AS PRO R

521 West Second St., Portales, NM 88130

Rural Properties around Portales, NM 1242 NM 480 - Nice home on 59.7 acres, grass 427 S Rrd P 1/2 - Large nice home, lots of barns 24+ ac 1694 S Rrd 4, Great home, barns, cattle pens, location 2344 S Rrd K east of Dora, NM, great - Near wind farms All properties excellent homes & can have horses, etc.

521 West Se

Advertise to Cattlemen and Ranchers!

As Low As 3.5% OPWKCAP 3.5%

1-800/671-4548

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

521 West Second St. • Portales, NM 88130

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

Buena Vista Realty

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

cash flow. Rock formation being crushed and sold; wind turbans, some minerals. Irrigation water developed, crop & cattle, modest improvements. Just off I-20. Price reduced to $1.25 million.

CALDWELL • 840 Immaculate, Hunt Co,RANCH TX.

PRICE REDUCED First time offering of the Ranch. Pastures, and Caldwell Ranch40 tanks, comprised of a two noncontiguous tracts of native grass rangeland lakes. Beautiful home, barns, separated by landsSome belonging toNORTHERN other ownership.

Located approximately 20 miles CALIFORNIA RANCH PROPERTY and other improvements. minerals, game All for $1.35 northwest ofgalore. the small community of Elida, New Mexico in northeast Chaves County.

DUANE & DIXIE McGARVA RANCH: approx. 985 acres Likely, CA. with about 600+ acre gravity flood irrigated2.5 pastures miles PLUS privateapart 542 AU BLMas permit.

Aboutcrow 425 acres so of the irrigated are level toto floodboth Themillion. two tracts are approximately the flies.

Access excellent pastures with balance good flood irrigated pastures. NO PUMPING COST! Dryland is perfect for to pivot irrigated alfalfa if desired. Plus BLM permit for 540 AU is fenced into 4 fields on about tracts is good by maintained expansion Chaves Roadways. north tract, referred 18,000 acres onlyCounty 7 miles away. REDUCED ASKING PRICEThe - $3,125,000 Joe Priest Real Estate BEAVER CREEK RANCH: 82,000 acres - with 2,700 deeded acres plus± contiguous USFS & BLM to as the Cothern Place, is comprised of about approximately 2,500 deeded acres permits for 450 pair; 580+- acres irrigated alfalfa, pasture, and meadow from Beaver Creek water rights and one irrigation well.

3 homes, 2 hay barns, 4 feedlots each w/ 250 ton barns, 2 large reservoirs, can run up to that1-800/671-4548 is partially fenced with one tract,PRICEreferred 500-600well. cows YEARThe ROUND.south REDUCED ASKING - $5,400,000. to as the Rippee joepriestre.net • joepriestre@earthlink.com BEAR CREEK RANCH: Approx. 1,278 acres winter range groundand and recreational Located Lease on Bear Place, is comprised of approximately 4,700 deeded acres 640property.

State Creek and accessed from South Cow Creek Valley Road. Should be great hunting for deer, wild turkey, wild pigs, quail & owner states good trout fishing in Bear Creek. Deeded access easement thru neighbor ranches. fenced into three pastures, watered by two wells and pipelines. The two tracts are No improvements & very private inside the ranch.

Now only $700 per acre - $894,600 approximately 2.5 miles apart. Excellent year around cow country. Grazing capacity BILL WRIGHT, SHASTA LAND SERVICES, INC. per •deeded acre; $2,484,000. is estimated to be 130 AUYL. Priced at $370 $345 530-941-8100 • www.ranch-lands.com

y limits of Roswell, NM. Six total acres ved with a 2, 200 square foot residence,

Bar M Real Estate

Joe Priest Real Estate

31 years in the ranch business - see www.ranch-lands.com for videos & brochures

DRE# 00963490

Scott McNally, Qualifying Broker ch that has been owned and operated s southeast of Corona, NM in Lincoln Bar M Real Estate, LLC M Lease Acres and 2,240 NM State Box 145, Cimarron, NM 8771488202 • 575/376-2341 • Fax: 575/376-2347 P.O. Box 428,P.O.Roswell, NM land@swranches.com • www.swranches.com UYL. Water provided by five wells and corrals. The ranch had a good summerOffice: 575-622-5867 CHICO CREEK RANCH, Colfax Cell: County, NM. 575-420-1237 NEW LISTING. CIMARRON ON THE RIVER, Colfax County, NM. 7.338 +/6,404.26 +/- Total Acres, Located approximately 10 miles east of deeded acres with 4.040 acre-feet per annum out of the for a brochure or view on my website. Website: www.ranchesnm.com Springer New Mexico. 3,692.60 +/- deeded acres with balance Maxwell-Clutton Ditch. Custom country-chic 2,094 +/- sq ft

R CT

Page 7

O’NEILL LAND, llc

in state lease. Excellent grass and water. Two plus miles of the Chico Creek meandering through the center of the property.

Additional wells and dirt tanks. Nice historic head quarters privately located with shade trees and excellent views of the property. Shipping pens in central portion of property. $2,837,318

home. Owns both sides of river in places. Horse/cow/chicken/ vegetable garden/greenhouse/orchard set up. Country living at it’s finest, in town, but in a world of your own. Very special on river. Appointment only. $650,000.

RATON MILLION DOLLAR VIEW, Colfax County, NM. 97.68

TABLE ROCK GEM! Elegant, quality, meticulously maintained, attention to detail - words do not do justice to this home. The finish work in this home down to the marble floors in each bathroom and hardwoods is spectacular. Walk into the living room with soaring ceilings (check the crown molding) and a wall of windows to view the beautiful lake. The gas fireplace (one of three) warms, warms a chilly morning. The chefs kitchen features custom cabinets, granite countertops, center island, pantry, wine fridge and lots of built in features. The formal dining and casual dining areas offer a serene view of the lake. The main floor large master also has a lakeview (and fireplace) with ensuite bath and walk-in shower, and separate jetted tub. Upstairs are two full bedrooms with beautiful lakeview. Also upstairs a non-conforming third dorm bedroom which accommodates multiple beds or serves as a separate living area. Downstairs features another living area, gas fireplace with a built in bar (second wine fridge), another bedroom with lakeview, and a large storage room with a safe/tornado shelter.

There is also a separate pool table/workout room, 3 car garage, central vacuum, three HVAC systems, on a corner lot with beautiful landscaping. Both covered decks with large outdoor fans face the lake.

You won’t find a better home on Table Rock Lake. MLS#60189891 10 ACRES OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY. Incredible highway visibility & access from either East or West directions on Hwy. 60, 3 miles East of El Rancho Truck Plaza & 4 miles West of Willow Springs. Natural gas may be available on site. LOCATION PLUS! This property is well suited for many types of businesses. (Restaurant, Retail, Motel, Business of any kind)! A Must See Property.

MLS#11402703

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

WAGON MOUND PLACE, Mora County, NM 8.202 +/- deeded acres on western edge of I25/Wagon Mound has two homes, abundant water with one well, two springs and pond. Other outbuildings and many trees would suit many purposes. $190,000.

SOLD

RATON MILLION DOLLAR VIEW, Colfax County, NM. 97.68 +/- deeded acres in 2 parcels with excellent home, big shop, wildlife, a true million dollar view at the end of a private road. $489,000.

SOLD

MIAMI 20 ACRES, Colfax County, NM quality 2,715 sqft adobe home, barn, grounds, fruit trees and mature trees. Extremely private setting. REDUCED $320,000. This is a must see.

CIMARRON HIDDEN PLACE, Colfax County, NM. 1.66± deeded acres with a 2,304 sq ft home updated with recent remodels including large open kitchen vaulted tin ceiling, three bedrooms and two bathrooms, edge of town amazing views. $290,000

E

E

COLMOR-OCATE CREEK, Colfax and Mora County, NM 853 +/- deeded acres split by I25 and Ocate Creek.

Suit cattle operation, with some wildlife drawn to water holes in creek. $617,000 EAGLE NEST ESCAPE, Colfax County, NM. 78.42± deeded acres in off HWY 64 overlooking Eagle Nest Lake, private pond, two elk tags, 3 bedroom home with and large shop garage able to store your RV and big toys.

Improvements almost half a mile off highway. Truly an escape. $850,000

CON W

C

L Page 8

Livestock Market Digest

Collector 's o r n e r

Buyer’s Premiums at Auctions?

BY JIM OLSON

T

he Romans were said to have charged the first buyer’s premium at auctions, thus dating the charge back to around the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. However, the modern day buyer’s premium was re-introduced during the mid-1970s by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions. The introductory rate they charged was 10 percent. Often called by the slang term “juice,” buyer’s premiums have been around ever since—and are very common now. What is a buyer’s premium (BP) some may ask?

A buyer’s premium is a charge or fee (usually a percentage) in addition to the hammer price of an item at an auction.

The winning bidder is required to pay both the hammer price (winning bid announced) and a percentage of that price, AKA— buyer’s premium. This percentage may range from one to 10 percent in Real Estate auctions, from 10 to 30 percent in art and collectibles auctions, and equipment and car type auctions usually fall somewhere in the middle of those ranges. It is estimated today that over 80 percent of auctioneers charge a buyer’s premium. How exactly is a buyer’s premium calculated?

Let’s say a piece of art sold for $5,000 and there was a 10 percent premium at this particular auction. The price paid by the buyer would be $5,500 ($5,000 hammer price plus 10 percent BP). Taxes and any other applicable fees such as shipping and handling may be added on top of that. But why even charge a buyer’s premium at all?

Auction houses charge a BP for several reasons, but the bot-

tom line is — to stay in business and hopefully remain profitable.

(As a side note, the main segment of the auction industry, making up most of the small percentage of auctions who do not charge a BP, is the livestock auction industry. Consequently, many smaller livestock auction business have gone under in the last couple of decades because margins were too small to remain in business.)

So a buyer’s premium is basically a fee to help cover the escalating costs involved with running an auction business. There are many costs which go into the events which most people do not consider — and a whole new category of costs have evolved the last few decades with the now, almost necessity, of having auctions offered online. For those who advocate against a BP, maybe try to think of it as a necessary evil in order for the auction to keep bringing you items to bid on. “But don’t auctions collect a commission from the seller?” some ask.

Most of the time an auctioneer does collect a commission from both the seller and from the buyer. However, as competition for quality items has become greater, commissions charged to sellers went down over time. Before buyer’s premiums were charged, sellers usually paid higher commissions than they do now, even though it is now more expensive than ever to put on auctions. In some extreme cases, if a seller has a particularly rare or valuable item that several auction houses wish to represent, they may actually pay no commission at all and the only way for an auctioneer to cover expenses is through the buyer’s premium. The norm now-a-days however is for the auctioneer to collect a little something from each side (seller and buyer) as their profits from the seller’s side has diminished.

In the auction business there are expenses associated with

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both the buying side and selling side of the transaction—and expenses associated with the buying side have skyrocketed.

As mentioned, a prime example of an expense that did not used to be a factor 40 years ago are fees charged by online providers who make it possible for an auctioneer to present items to buyers at their convenience, no matter where they are.

Think about this for a minute: Everyone who shops, no matter where they shop, pays a “buyer’s premium” whether they realize it or not. It may not be called such outside of the auction world, but I submit to you that every purchase has it built in. In a retail setting it’s called a markup, while in auctions, it’s called commissions or premiums — but everyone pays it no matter where you shop.

You see, in a retail setting the seller sets a price. They factor in expenses and profit margin (and usually a little room for discounts or sales) and then set a price deemed appropriate and that the market will bear. Every retail outlet, from a big box store to a local mom and pop, has the overhead and profit margin built into the price a customer pays.

Customers just don’t notice all the little fees added in because they are lumped into one number without being broken down.

At an auction however, the buyers set the price. The price paid for an item will not go any higher than what two or more bidders are willing to bid up to.

And the auctioneer’s job is to bring those sellers and buyer together. While facilitating these true market discovery transactions, they are typically paid on a commission basis. But just like a retail outlet, there are expenses and profit margins which have to be covered (if they want to remain in business anyway).

What auction customers should remember (and factor in) is that even if you add up the fees, etc., the overall purchase price paid at auction is often less, or at least not more than, what one might expect to pay in a retail setting. And there’s always the chance it could be much lower!

That’s one of the allures of an auction.

Savvy bidders know about the fees and factor them in. It is recommended to have your maximum bid amount in mind before bidding, that way one can calculate the buyer’s premium, taxes, shipping, handling and any other applicable fees beforehand and know the amount you feel comfortable bidding up to.

To sum it up, everyone pays a markup/premium/juice or whatever you want to call it when you purchase items. That is the only way businesses selling the items can remain in open. While some complain about the fees, the truth is — the market sets them. In an open, capitalistic marketplace, folks who charge too much do not remain in business long. If an auction company (or any other business) charges their sellers too much (or doesn’t pay their suppliers enough), before long they have nothing good to sell because sellers go elsewhere where they are treated better. The same logic applies to the buyer’s premium. If it is too high for the item(s) being offered, buyers will not patronize that auction (business) for long and go elsewhere. Conversely, if a business does not charge enough, they will not be open long.

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May 15, 2021

Copper is ‘the New Oil’ & Low Inventories Could Push it to $20,000 per Ton

BY ELLIOT SMITH / CNBC

T

he world risks “running out of copper” amid widening supply and demand deficits, according to Bank of America, and prices could hit $20,000 per metric ton by 2025.

In a note May 4, Bank of America commodity strategist Michael Widmer highlighted inventories measured in tons are now at levels seen 15 years ago, implying that stocks currently cover just over three weeks of demand. This comes as the global economy is beginning to open up and reflate.

“Linked to that, we forecast copper market deficits, and further inventory declines, this year and next,” Widmer said.

“With (London Metal Exchange) inventories close to the pinch-point at which time spreads can move violently, there is a risk backwardation, driven by a rally in nearby prices, may increase.”

Backwardation is when an underlying asset is trading at a higher price than the futures market for that asset.

Widmer also highlighted that a rise in volatility resulting from falling inventories was not without precedent, since nickel shortages in LME warehouses in 2006/7 drove nickel prices more than 300 percent higher.

Given the fundamental environment and the depleted inventories, Widmer suggested that copper may spike to $13,000/t in the coming years after notching $10,000 last week for the first time in a decade.

Copper prices stood at just under $4.54 per pound as of 5:30 a.m. London time on May 6, up 30 percent for the session.

After deficits in 2021 and 2022, BofA expects the copper market to rebalance in 2023 and 2024 before fresh shortfalls and a further draw down on inventories kick in from 2025.

“In our view, scrap supply is critical and our analysis suggests that scrap usage at smelters/refiners could increase from around 4,200t in 2016 to 6,700t by 2025,” Widmer said.

“If our expectation of increased supply in secondary material, a non-transparent market, did not materialize, inventories could deplete within the next three years, giving rise to even more violent price swings that could take the red metal above $20,000/t ($9.07/lb).”

‘The new oil’ Along with the broader economic recovery, demand for copper is also being boosted by its vital role in a number of rapidly growing industrial sectors, such as electric vehicle batteries and semiconductor wiring.

David Neuhauser, founder and managing director of U.S. hedge fund Livermore Partners, told CNBC on Wednesday that metals were receiving a general tailwind from a weaker dollar and increasing moves toward green infrastructure.

Commodity prices rose three in April, taking the global index up 80 percent since April 2020, and HSBC commodity analysts highlighted in a note Wednesday that demand for copper is being supported by investment in electrification as emission reduction strategies are further bolstered by policymakers.

Copper remains Livermore’s favorite commodity at present, Neuhauser said.

“I think copper is the new oil and I think copper, for the next five to 10 years, is going to look tremendous with the potential for $20,000 per metric ton,” Neuhauser said.

“We think there are some very solid small cap companies that have massive production potential, and valuations are attractive, and Livermore could make great return on investment.”

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CYCLICAL CLIMATE CLAIMS

continued from page three

time periods than today—saw multiple hurricanes striking Honduras. One of the worst hurricanes ever to strike Honduras was in 1934, nearly 90 years of climate change ago.

Data from the FAO, shown in the two graphics below, demonstrate that crop yields and production for most major crops in El Salvador and Guatemala have boomed in recent years regardless of drought cycles.

Shamefully, IPD even trotted out the long-refuted lie that the Syrian refugee crisis, beginning in 2011, was caused by drought and failing crops. In truth, mass migration from Syria stemmed from a civil war as people sought to overthrow the Asaad regime during the Arab Spring democracy uprisings and the efforts by Al-Qaeda to establish a Muslim caliphate. Climate change had nothing to do with Syria’s refugee crisis.

Syria is in an arid, desert region where, for thousands of years, droughts have been the norm, not the exception. In fact, the entire region experienced the same drought as Syria, yet neither war nor mass emigration broke out in Iran, Israel, Jordan, or Saudi Arabia.

The battle for freedom, not food, was responsible for the Arab Spring revolutions in Syria and other countries around the same time. When the disingenuous Syrian-climate-refugee narrative first reared its ugly head, FAO data showed Syrian crop production had increased by approximately 50 percent since 1995, as Heartland Institute President James Taylor pointed out. In addition, Syria’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising occurred in a year in which the nation’s farmers produced the eighth-highest crop yields in the country’s history.

The constant attempt to link illegal immigration to climate change is part and parcel of what one author referred to as “the continued on page eight

May 15, 2021

Livestock Market Digest

The U.S. Owes Hawaiians Millions of Dollars Worth of Land. Congress Helped Make Sure the Debt Wasn’t Paid.

BY ROB PEREZ / HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER

I

n the 1990s, Hawaii’s two elder statesmen — U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka — were at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the U.S. compensated Native Hawaiians for ancestral lands taken from them over the years.

“Dan Inouye believed that a promise made should be a promise kept,” Akaka, a Native Hawaiian, said in 2012 upon the death of his longtime Senate colleague.

But an investigation by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica has found that those same senators voted several times each to support must-pass legislation that included provisions undermining efforts to repay millions of dollars in land debt to Hawaiians. At least six other current and former members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation have supported such legislation one or more times.

Between them, Hawaii’s members of Congress voted for at least six laws authorizing the federal government to sell dozens of excess properties to private parties rather than offering them to a Hawaiian trust established to repatriate the land. In one must-pass military spending bill spanning more than 500 pages, lawmakers slipped in a single sentence that helped a handful of nonprofits to acquire the land. In another, they added language that effectively put the need for military housing ahead of the need for housing Hawaiians.

The circumvention of the landmark 1995 Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act, which has not been previously reported, sent the excess lands to a variety of buyers instead: the Catholic Church; the nonprofit operator of a private school; a developer that intends to sell a site to another company with plans to construct hundreds of private-sector homes there.

The transactions mostly involved lands on Oahu, the state’s most populous island, and were executed during a period in which the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which manages the trust, faced a severe shortage of developable residential land there. About 11,000 Hawaiians are now seeking residential homesteads on Oahu, nearly double what the figure was when the recovery act passed. As the Star-Advertiser and ProPublica reported in December, the trust has only enough land to accommodate less than a third of those homestead-seekers in single-family homes, although it is moving to develop more multi-family housing. Many waitlisters are homeless, and thousands have died without getting a homestead lease.

Even as the federal government was selling excess properties to private buyers, it offered only two parcels to the trust over the past decade, according to the news organizations’ investigation. And one was for a remote mountainside location that DHHL rejected because it determined that the property — a former solar observatory — wasn’t suitable for residential use or to lease for other purpos-

es.

The findings confirmed the suspicions of Mike Kahikina, who said he had a hunch something was amiss during the eight years he served on the Hawaiian Homes Commission, which decides policy for DHHL. Kahikina joined the commission in 2011, 16 years after the recovery act was signed. Along with eight other commissioners, his job was to help the department get beneficiaries onto residential, ranching and farming homesteads in a timely way — a task DHHL has struggled with historically. By the time he left in 2019, the federal government’s debt was the same size as when he joined.

Kahikina said he periodically raised questions with DHHL about the land debt, but they were never satisfactorily answered.

The news organizations shared their findings with Kahikina — an Air Force veteran, former state legislator, ordained minister and outreach worker for troubled youth — as he sat outside the West Oahu homestead residence that has been in his family for three generations. With his long saltand-pepper hair tied back in a bun, Kahikina, who now heads the Association of Hawaiians for Homestead Lands, a statewide nonprofit organization of waitlisters, was stunned as he learned details of the private deals. “You connected the dots for me,” he said, repeating himself to emphasize the point. “It’s like we’re an invisible people.”

The investigation relied on federal, state and county records and revealed nearly 40 deals over the past decade involving about 520 acres, all authorized by special language inserted into at least six bills passed by Congress. Beyond the Catholic Church, the developer and the private school operator, the special legislation also allowed land deals with a veterans association, individual homebuyers, another nonprofit private school operator and several religious organizations.

Had it not been for that legislation, advocates say the recovery act could have allowed some of these same entities to access the land while benefiting DHHL at the same time. That’s because under the recovery act, DHHL is permitted to sell certain properties for fair market value and use the proceeds for homestead development.

The Navy, which had owned the majority of lands involved in the private deals, defended its actions. The special legislation expressed the intent of Congress at the time, and if a new law conflicted with a prior one, the new one applied, according to a spokesperson. “Navy followed the law,” she wrote.

The General Services Administration, which plays a key role in federal land disposal, would not address criticisms about bypassing the recovery act. But in response to a letter from one of Hawaii’s two current U.S. senators, a GSA official acknowledged that congressional actions — a reference to the special legislation — allowed some agencies to bypass the re-

covery act.

William J. Aila Jr., who now heads DHHL and the Hawaiian Homes Commission, said the congressionally approved workarounds deprived the trust of promising development opportunities. “It’s a conscious effort to go around the spirit of the recovery act,” Aila said in an interview. “Somebody had to consciously propose legislation.”

Aila also said that some of the Oahu parcels that were sold would have been especially appealing to the commission because they were relatively flat and already had roads and utility connections. The high costs of installing such systems have contributed to DHHL’s slow pace in developing homesteads in recent years.

“It wasn’t the department that was deprived,” Aila said.

“It was the beneficiaries and the people on the waitlist.”

Inouye and Akaka were widely known as strong advocates for Native Hawaiians and were credited with helping secure passage of major legislation benefiting Hawaii’s indigenous people, including the recovery act and bills related to health care and education. But extensive reporting on the special legislation did not turn up evidence that Inouye, Akaka or other legislators publicly addressed the potential impact on the debt.

For their part, Hawaii’s current U.S. senators vowed to stop the practice of workarounds — even though both voted years earlier for legislation allowing it.

They said they hadn’t realized at the time that the trust effectively would be left out the loop.

Beneficiaries also said they didn’t know Congress was shortchanging the trust all these years. Many greeted the news with shock. “My heart’s broken,” said Ian Lee Loy, who lives on a Big Island homestead and served on the commission from 2011 to 2013. “The promises to Native Hawaiians continue to go unfilled while the political machine keeps churning and deals are made.”

More Land Still Owed The circumvention of the recovery act is only the latest chapter in the struggle by Native Hawaiians to reclaim their lands. The U.S. debt to Hawaiians began accruing in the 1890s, after the U.S.-supported overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. In 1898, when the U.S. annexed the island chain, it took possession of 1.8 million uncompensated acres of former kingdom land.

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.

This story was co-published with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.

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Page 9

Page 10

Livestock Market Digest

CYCLICAL CLIMATE CLAIMS endless, fruitless search for climate refugees.”

Millions of people flee their homelands each year. The causes are what they have always been: war, political persecution, and poverty, not climate change.

Refugees now, as they always have, are leaving their countries in pursuit of a better life for themselves and their children.

continued from page eight

Climate refugees, if they exist at all, are few and far between, and they provide no justification for authoritarian policies to fight climate change.

— H. Sterling Burnett SOURCES: International Policy Digest; The Hill; Climate at a Glance: Climate Refugees; Climate Realism; Food and Agriculture Organization; American Thinker; The Heartland Institute

New Dashboard Allows Senators US-Mexico Supply Chain Ernst, Analytics of COVID-19 Marshall Push Back new web-based tion to improve decision-makdashboard de- ing by anyone within the supply Against ‘War signed to pre- chain,” Medina-Cetina said. on Meat’ dict COVID-19 “We’ve already identified SOURCE: AGRILIFE TODAY

BY SUSAN KELLY / MEATINGPLACE.COM

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.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said they will push back against “Meatless Mondays” and what they called the “war on meat” with new legislation that would prohibit federal agencies from creating policies that ban serving meat to employees.

The bill, called the Telling Agencies to Stop Tweaking What Employees Eat Act, or TASTEE Act, would prevent Meatless Mondays and other types of discrimination against agricultural products from taking place in government dining halls, Marshall said in a press release.

In a conference call with reporters, Ernst acknowledged there are no current proposals to ban serving meat to federal employees, but said it is important for Congress to make its opposition known to any type of activist ban before it becomes policy or law, the Omaha World-Herald reported. The newspaper noted the bill is unlikely to pass in Congress.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has proclaimed April as “Meat on the Table Month” in the state, while Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts declared March 20 “Meat on the Menu Day.” Those moves followed Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ designation of March 20 as “Meat Out Day,” an action that drew backlash from ranchers and livestock groups and prompted 26 counties in the state to sign “Meat In Day” proclamations.

▫

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May 15, 2021

wanna tell y’all a true story that happened to a friend of mine.

Big Jim was judgin’ the rodeo at Burlington last year. They call him Big Jim ‘cause he’s big as a round bale and twice as tough. But he don’t move quite as fast as he did in his ol’ bronc ridin’ days.

Big Jim always had a way with animals. He roped a skunk one time when he was a little boy and drug it home.

His dad made him unsaddle a hundred yards from the house.

Jim said his ol’ pony walked right into the pond and stuck his whole head under the water . . . several times. He finally sold the saddle. Two years lat-

A

threats to supply chains, share data and foster analysis is now available from Texas A&M University’s Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense, CBTS, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Center of Excellence.

CBTS COVID-19 Binational Dashboard, a project sponsored by the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office, is following a new approach, said Matt Cochran, Ph.D., CBTS research director.

A group of experts from industry, academia and government from the U.S. and Mexico are creating an open and collaborative platform to improve decision-making by generating research on potential impacts – social, economic and environmental – on supply chains due to COVID-19.

“COVID-19 is a highly sensitive problem that is continuously changing,” Cochran said.

“DHS called for a neutral third party to look at the situation, and they needed someone who knew something about modeling.”

more than 370 variables that are potential impacts of the supply chain. Rain, drought, hurricane, earthquakes – how can they disrupt the supply chain? We put those variables up front. What is the impact of having a power outage and we can’t issue vaccinations? Somebody will be charged for a supply chain disruption. Anybody trading with the U.S. can anticipate the threats to reroute or reconnect or whatever changes that might need to be made.”

The goal is to develop a data-lake platform concentrating near real-time analytics following a risk-systems approach that can provide strategic information about the evolution of COVID-19 and related current and emerging threats, the state of vulnerability of the health supply chain systems and the likely impacts a combination of these may cause to society, the economy and the environment.

“We want to help everyone and inform those who are active in trade with the U.S. who might want to know the state of risk,” Medina-Cetina said.

Analyzing COVID-19’s impact

A case study within the big picture

Zenon Medina-Cetina, Ph.D., associate professor in the Zachary Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering within the Texas A&M School of Engineering and lead researcher on the multi-disciplinary project, said there is a great concern some sectors of the supply chains could break, and this project will monitor data and provide predictive analytics.

“From electrical parts that are used to produce dishwashers to a wide variety of agricultural products, we wanted to be responsive to what is happening and be able to provide informa-

Medina-Cetina said the dashboard supports two sponsored projects: one, a Risk Scenarios Modelling effort, which deals with the processes of trade between the U.S. and the world, and the other, a COVID-19 U.S.-Mexico Risk Taskforce project, serves as a major case study looking at trade between the U.S. and Mexico.

The Risk Scenarios Modelling effort will identify variables and processes related to all supply chains that involve U.S. export and import ground points of entry – essentially the critical components involved in supply

er. In the winter.

They claim him and his dog, Pat, cornered a 300 lb. wild boar in a thicket, unarmed, and did him in with his Barlow.

So Big Jim is used to animals behavin’ peculiar around him.

The stock contractor told Jim that his blue mare would buck out and come round to the right. Jim positioned himself to see when the saddle bronc rider marked’er out. The rider called for the horse.

Out they came pitchin’ and rollin’. The cowboy was spurrin’ fer all he was worth and the ol’ mare was feelin’ her oats. She bucked toward Big Jim. He backed up ‘til he was backed up against the front of the chute.

Ol’ Blue stuck her head right against Big Jim’s chest and pinned him to the fence!

She had her mouth wide open and was sqealin’ like a cheerleader at the high school basketball finals. She was strikin’ and pawin’ and flailin’ on both sides of his rigid body. Splinter and sparks were flyin’ off both sides of Big Jims head.

He daren’t move a muscle.

He was less than three feet from the dumbfounded bronc stomper who was still spurrin’ like a hound dog in a gopher hole! They were lookin’ at each other with Pekingese eyes.

Silver and horsehair was flashin’ and flyin’ in furious strokes as the rider continued to try and impress the judge.

It can be said, he certainly had his attention. This continued for a three second eternity then the mare fell back, wheeled and mule kicked at the petrified judge. Both hooves hit the chute simultaneously on each side of Jim’s head at eye level.

Then she bucked off down the arena.

The other judge come runnin over. “Are ya ok? Could ya see what happened? Was he spurrin’ on both sides? How’d ya mark’em?”

“Wull,” said Big Jim, “I know the kids got the makin’s of a bronc rider. He had his toes pointed out so far that from where I was standin’ I could read ‘genuine cowhide’ on the soles of his boots!” www.baxterblack.com

May 15, 2021

Livestock Market Digest

chains that cross U.S. borders, he said.

“They came with the special request about Mexico, which is the No. 1 trade partner with the U.S.,” Medina-Cetina said.

“The auto, defense and ag industries, as well as other supply chains, could be affected. That’s why they requested a special application to look at the risks with Mexico particularly, and that is our COVID-19 U.S.: Mexico Risk Taskforce project.”

With the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is the updated North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 2020, he said there was concern that COVID could impact multiple and strategic supply chains.

“There was a need to study the potential migration of people and supplies that could be contaminated and affect the spread of the virus,” Medina-Cetina said. “On the other hand, you have everything related to support in a supply chain, from PPE to agriculture products to manufacturing and tourism.”

He said it has been an intense six months building the tool that will become the point of reference for anyone making decisions on trading.

As a part of the project, a monthly U.S.-Mexico COVID-19 Risk Bulletin will be

published to provide scientific, technological and strategic cultural support to secure the operation of U.S.-Mexico supply chains. The project concentrates on five priorities – vaccination supplies, personal protection equipment or PPE supply chain on the infrastructure, and then state of the health of the workforce for the health, manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

The risk bulletin report provides an overview of the project status, general objectives and the most important initial lessons learned during the last period of covered performance.

The main objectives of this project are support all health supply chain systems for both infrastructure and workforce, and to do it accounting for the inherent cultural regional differences, and considering the current and emerging regional social, economic and environmental risks.

Building on solid ground Cochran said the vision for CBTS is based on the need for enhanced risk-based decision-making in a variety of contexts – supply chain and biological threat screening.

“We proposed the CBTS Center of Excellence before COVID,” he said. “We didn’t know the pandemic was coming, but we all have backgrounds in pandemic preparedness and risk

assessment and management.

We brought all that together, and more immediately once COVID surfaced. When DHS wanted more insight on COVID in a binational sense, we formed these research projects.”

DHS, in assessing the threat of a border region in Mexico, asked that CBTS partner with a Mexican national lab in charge of producing everything related to COVID-19, Cochran said.

Medina-Cetina already had a great relationship with Mexican partners, allowing the task force to look at supply chains and infrastructure from a binational perspective and reflect that on the dashboard.

The U.S. statistics and information used to populate the dashboard in this initial version are from Johns Hopkins University. A second version is expected to follow within six months that will develop cross-cutting analytics on the processes that are affecting the supply chains.

Mechanics of the dashboard In addition to a binational dashboard, viewers will have access to the Mexican and U.S. statistics on everything from confirmed cases, negative cases, pending results, active cases, deaths and recovery estimates.

Additionally, graphs will let viewers see breakdowns on the demographics of the cases.

Page 11 “There are differences,” Cochran said. “Right now, we are reflecting as much as possible the situation. There are myriad differences in how things are counted with respect to COVID not only between the countries, but even between states. We’ve treated this as apolitical research project.”

Medina-Cetina said the dashboard steps beyond an initial look to provide concentrated information to generate a risk-guided platform and risk-management strategies based on all the evidence collected, which he anticipates can become a model to other regions around the world.

“We have more than two dozen people, from data management to server management, who worked to create this concept,” he said. “We are ingesting data so we can better inform the public. We are only using publicly available data to create firsthand information on threats to supply chains and environmental impacts.”

The ultimate goal is to be a point of reference for anyone trading between U.S. and Mexico.

“While our main interest is agriculture, any supply chain can work with us,” Cochran said.

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Trucker Shortage Its Spurring Higher Costs of Goods & Food Across the U.S.

BY AGDAY TV

H

arvest season is well underway for some crops, but there is growing concern not all those crops will make it to market. The problem stems from a lack of truck drivers.

The California Farm Bureau’s Ag Alert reported on the issue, saying during the carrot and onion harvests in Southern California they are already seeing up to 30 percent fewer drivers than before.

What’s behind it? One California-based trucking company says the problem has been growing for 10 years, but they say this year, it’s a bigger issue because some drivers are telling them they are concerned about COVID. Plus, workers are getting enhanced and extended pandemic economic relief through federal unemployment benefits.

“One of the ways we’ve discussed with the Farm Bureau and California League of Food Processors for this season in order to alleviate some of the shortage is to get President Biden to inact the Stafford Act, as Donald Trump did last year,” says Joe Antonini, president, Antonini Enterprises. “This would allow the weights of the loads to go from 80,000 pounds maximum, to 88,000 pounds a 10 percent weight tolerance.

Given that, there would be some relief on the amount of drivers needed to bring in the harvest.”

Antonini says with the vaccine for COVID now readily available he hopes that will get some people back to work.

Trucking fleets are stepping up equipment orders and raising driver pay as well.

But those efforts still haven’t caught up with demand, and that’s also pushing up prices for goods across the economy.

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Page 12

Livestock Market Digest

Bipartisan Bill Would Block Regulation of Livestock Emissions

BY KATE GIBSON MEATINGPLACE.COM

L

egislation recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating livestock emissions, continuing a more than decade-long restriction.

Introduced in late April by South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune and Arizona Democrat, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the Livestock Regulatory Protection Act would prohibit the EPA from issuing permits for carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, water vapor or methane emissions from livestock production.

“Livestock producers are working to improve efficiency and reduce emissions from their operations,” Thune said in a news release. “They should not be subject to onerous regulations and costly permit fees for their animals’ emissions.”

The proposal comes several weeks after dozens of environmental and consumer groups petitioned the EPA to limit methane emissions from large hog and dairy farms.

Thune first introduced the bill in 2009 with New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, and the restriction has been included in annual appropriations legislation ever since, according to his office.

Agriculture overall accounted for 10 percent of 2019 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, traced back to such sources as agricultural soils and rice production as well as livestock, according to the EPA.

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May 15, 2021

Impossible Foods Wins Key Legal Decision on Heme

BY LISA M. KEEFE / MEATINGPLACE.COM

I

mpossible Foods won a court ruling enabling the plant-based altmeat manufacturer to continue using soy leghemoglobin in its products, according to documents filed in the case.

The Center for Food Safety had petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to disallow the use of the genetically modified additive, which is used to impart a realistic “blood” color to Impossible’s burgers.

On Monday, the Ninth District Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the agency’s original decision approving use of heme, dating to 2019. At that time, the FDA’s approval opened the door for Impossible Foods to add retail distribution to its restaurant sales.

“Center for Food Safety (CFS) seeks review of [FDA’s] denial of its objections to the agency’s approval of soy leghemoglobin as a color additive for use in Impossible Foods’ products. [W]e deny CFS’s petition,” the court’s majority opinion said. The court determined specifically that the agency had applied the correct standard for evaluating the safety of soy leghemoglobin, and that the FDA has used appropriate analysis in reaching its decision.

Use of the additive still is prohibited in China and the EU.

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TSCRA has New (Temporary) Home

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fter more than 40 years on West Seventh Street, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association has a new address, effective April 22.

The move follows the sale of the building last fall when the association’s board of directors unanimously voted to accept an unexpected offer.

“We were not planning to move, and our building was not on the market, but a buyer approached us with an offer that we felt was worthy of serious consideration,” explains the association’s executive vice president and CEO, Jason Skaggs.

“After some negotiating, the executive committee and then the board concluded it was a great opportunity for TSCRA.” The association has moved into a temporary lease space on Hulen Street until the right building — or lot to build on — becomes available, Skaggs says.

Association bylaws dictate the association’s headquarters must remain within the city limits of Fort Worth.

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association’s new mailing address is P.O. Box 101988, Fort Worth, Texas 76185. The new physical address is 2813 S Hulen St., Suite 275, Fort Worth, Texas 76109.

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