LMD Sept 13

LivestockDigest

Livestock“The greatest homage we

can pay to truth is to use it.”– JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

NEWSPAPER

PRIO

RIT

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AN

DLI

NG

by LEE PITTS

MARKET

DigestRiding Herd

by Lee Pitts

When I first heard thatTyson was no longergoing to buy any cattlethat had been fed the

beta agonist known as Zilmax®,my first reaction was, WOW! Forthe first time in my life a hugemultinational meat packer wasdoing the socially responsiblething, and showing great courageand leadership in doing so. Butthen I regained my senses andthought, does this sound like anymajor meatpacker I’ve ever heardof?Of course it doesn’t. That’s

when it hit me . . . it’s far morelikely that Tyson is at a cost dis-advantage to JBS and Cargillwhen it comes to beta agoniststhat make cattle put on efficientpounds at the end of the feedingperiod. Tyson is disadvantagedbecause they chose to patterntheir business after the chickenmodel they pioneered, acquiringthe cattle they processed mostlythrough contracts and captivesupply, whereas Excel and JBShave huge feeding operations inwhich they can use products likeZilmax and Optaflexx® to pro-duce beef cheaper than Tysoncan buy it.I really don’t care what Tyson’s

motivation was to come outagainst Zilmax, as long as it hadthe desired effect. Which it mostcertainly did. One week after

Make no mistake, in showingtheir distaste for beta agonists,Tyson did do the right thing.(There’s a sentence I thought I’dnever write when it comes tomeat packers.) Tyson said it wasan animal welfare issue, not afood safety one. In other words,they didn’t do it because theyfeared people might get sick fromingesting the product, they did itbecause they did not like whatthey felt it was doing to the cattle.

Even though Tyson did not comeout and blatantly say Zilmax®was crippling cattle and makingthem act crazy, they did say in avery public way what a lot of ushave felt for a long time, that betaagonists like Zilmax® andOptaflexx®, are a class of prod-ucts that America’s cattle industrywould be better off without.

Sitting DogsIf this story sounds a wee bit

familiar perhaps it is because inFebruary of this year the LivestockMarket Digest ran a front pagestory titled “Ghost Cattle” inwhich we raised exactly the sameissues that Tyson has. As a writerI remember being concerned atthe time that I was giving ammu-nition to our critics by raising thisissue in the first place. After all,this topic was hardly visited bylarge circulation, colorful andslick-paged cow magazines whose

Tyson made their announcement,Merck, the maker of Zilmax®,pulled the highly profitable prod-uct off the market until they canfurther study the effects of theadditive.Geez, I would have hoped

Merck would have done a thor-ough job of testing the product tobegin with, before they sent theirarmy of P.R. people and paid col-lege professors out to say what agreat product it was.

Coming CleanWords that soak

into your ears are whispered,

not yelled.

continued on page nine

www.LeePittsbooks.com

Desperate.com

Ilaugh when I hear people sayhow revolutionary all thiscomputer malarkey is, like e mail, e Harmony and e

everything. As far as Internetmatchmaking goes, let metell you, people were just asdesperate for affection backin my day. Or at least I was.Picking a mate without

meeting he or she is nothingnew, what do you think thelonely old miners, ranchers,mountain men and sheep-herders in the early west didwhen they married whatevergot off the stagecoach, orthe train? It’s just one moreexample of how, if you waitlong enough, everything thatis old will come aroundagain.I’m just waiting for it to

be my turn.Many of the women who

wanted to come west were“picture brides” because themen, who outnumbered thewomen sometimes by asmuch as 60 to one, pickedtheir lifelong mate as if theywere ordering from a SearsRoebuck catalog. They werealso called “mail-orderbrides,” only in many casesthey were “mail-order lies” asthe product that arrived byboat after sailing around thehorn was often not as adver-tised. But what were thelonesome men supposed todo, send the women back?This wasn’t catch and releasefishing we’re talking abouthere.It was also common for

foreigners who came to thiscountry to marry womenwho were picked out forthem back in the old coun-try. And there were probablyjust as many lies told in theGold Rush days as there arenow on the Internet. Therehad to be, why else would anice woman leave the cozyconfines of the East to live ina dugout with a dirty oldman, cook, clean, propagateand fight off Indians andwild animals in her sparetime?This subject arose

because a friend of ours is“back on the market” afterbeing married for 25 longyears. Slick said that his wifewas “monogamously chal-lenged” but I can’t say as Iblame her because Slick is asexciting as gray wallpaper.He’s also very lonely and

continued on page two

BY ROBERT J. SMITH

FOR THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR

If the government buys the forest, should the cit-izens make a sound?

Recently the R Street Institute, whichclaims to advocate free market policies,issued a statement celebrating theanniversary of the establishment of

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monu-ment in 1982. This is, at best, misguided. Thefederal government’s ever-growing control overand continuous acquisition of land acrossAmerica is the antithesis of the institution ofprivate property and undermines conscientiousprivate stewardship of land, waters, and othernatural resources. Every day, we see the results of a century of

mismanagement of government-owned forests.Failure to harvest timber allows the forests tobecome overgrown and filled with overstressed,diseased, beetle-ridden, dying, and deadtrees—leading to millions of acres scorched bycatastrophic wildfires every summer, year afteryear.Far more instructive is what Weyerhaeuser

did on its forest land adjacent to what is nowthe National Monument. The volcanic erup-tion of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980,instantly destroyed 150,000 acres of forest—trees were flattened by the shock wave or killed

An Environmentalist Deceptionby the intense heat. Of the forest affected,Weyerhaeuser owned about 68,000 acres, theU.S. Forest Service 64,000, Washington State12,000, and other private forest owners 6,000.Weyerhaeuser immediately acted to salvage

the wood from the dead trees and to replantthe damaged areas. Over a period of two years,it restored the desert-like post-eruption waste-land into a healthy, vigorous, thriving and sus-tainable forest. Before the wood could be dam-aged by insects, disease, and rot, Weyerhaeusersalvaged 850 million board-feet of lumber—enough for 85,000 three-bedroom homes. The company also helped establish the

Charles W. Bingham Forest Learning Centerwithin the volcanic blast zone, with an empha-sis on school trips for students and teachers tolearn about sustainable forestry practices andthe achievements of private stewardship. RStreet proudly points to the 230,000 annual vis-itors to the taxpayer-funded National Monu-ment each year, but it doesn’t mention the esti-mated 200,000 who visit the Forest LearningCenter operated by Weyerhaeuser.Perhaps the most instructive activity is to

look down on the scenic vista at the demarca-tion line between Weyerhaeuser’s land and thatof the National Volcanic Monument: on the

continued on page four

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013 • www. aaalivestock . com Volume 55 • No. 9

financial well being is largelydetermined by pharmaceuticaladvertising. At the Digest we longago made those people mad sowe had nothing to fear fromthem. But I did feel that our useof beta agonists made our indus-try vulnerable to a hatchet job by60 Minutes, 20/20, Dr. Oz, theladies on The View, or Geraldo.But it wasn’t the Digest that blewthe lid off this boiling pot of con-troversy, no, it came from a farmore unlikely source: one of theBig Three.After the Tyson announce-

ment, a flood of Zilmax® articlesand exposes hit the newsstandsand airwaves including one in theWall Street Journal titled “What’sAiling America’s Cattle?” Writtenby Jesse Newman and KelseyGee, the authors wrote that scien-tists suspected that livestock feedadditives were behind a growingnumber of cattle arriving forslaughter at U.S. that were dis-playing unusual signs of distress.“Some walked stiffly, while othershad trouble moving or simply lay-ing down, their tongues hangingfrom their mouths. A few even satdown in strange positions, lookingmore like dogs than cows,” saidthe story.

Off The Sauce?Although they pulled Zilmax®,

one senses that Merck is notquite ready to give up on a prod-uct that sold for $8,428.50 for a22 pound sack last January andbrought in $159 million dollars insales in the U.S. and Canada inone year. Instead of throwing inthe towel Merck issued a pressrelease that made it sound likethey are purely an altruistic multi-national corporation that is moreconcerned about the health andwelfare of cattle than they aretheir own bottom line. Their pressrelease read in part: “At MerckAnimal Health, the health andwell-being of animals is our firstand foremost priority. We alsotake very seriously our commit-ment to providing safe, effectiveproducts that are developedbased on comprehensiveresearch, rigorous testing andsound science. We believe in thescience that supports Zilmax®and are confident in its safety andperformance. Reinforcing this sci-ence and data-based approach,Merck Animal Health hasannounced it has strengthened itscommitment to its Five-StepApproach to Ensuring Responsi-ble Beef.”When I read about their five-

step program it made me think often- and twelve-step programsaddicts have used to try and kicktheir drug and alcohol problems.After Merck’s five-step program iscompleted will the beef businessbe off the secret sauce, or will ourindustry be even more addicted tochemicals?

Equal TimeLest anyone say we did our

own hatchet job on Merck, wenow present Merck’s response toTyson’s ban of Zilmax: “In sup-port of our customers and toensure effective implementation

of our five-step plan, Merck Ani-mal Health has made the decisionto temporarily suspend sales ofZilmax® in the United States andCanada. This will allow sufficienttime for the establishment of validstudy protocols, identification offeeders and packers to participatein the audit, and creation of athird-party team to oversee thisprocess and validate its results.“We remain confident in the

safety of the product, based onour own extensive research andthat of regulators and academicinstitutions, and are committed tothe well-being of the animals thatreceive it,” says KJ Varma, seniorvice president of research anddevelopment at Merck’s animal-health unit. “We sincerely regretthat this situation creates busi-ness challenges for our customersbut it is critical to ensure that thisprocess is conducted appropriate-ly and with rigorous scientificmeasures. After the five-step planis completed, the results will beshared publicly.“In addition, we are also accel-

erating the development of ourMerck Animal Health AdvisoryBoard, which will bring togetherindustry experts, producers, aca-demics and company leadershipto promote an open dialogue onanimal well-being and help shapeand strengthen the company'sanimal health and well-being pro-gram in the future.“Over 25 million cattle have

been fed Zilmax® since it wasapproved in the U.S., and I’mpretty sure we didn’t miss any-thing in those safety and efficacystudies, which were reviewed byregulatory agencies,” said KJ Var-ma.

When Bad Becomes NormalThere were rumors that Merck

would try to convince TempleGrandin, famous Colorado Stateprofessor and the best friend ananimal ever had, to sit on theirAdvisory Board. But if they dotalk Temple into it, and if they dolisten to her, we may have heardthe last of Zilmax®.Temple has always been one

professor who speaks her mindwithout being influenced by bigbucks from drug companies. Sheis clearly the most respectedexpert on the subject of animalwelfare in our industry. Templehas already weighed in on thesubject of beta agonists. In ourfirst story about Zilmax® wewrote, “During the dog days ofsummer in 2006 Temple went tothree slaughterhouses where thetemps were in the 90 degreerange and noticed that at eachplant she found lame cattle, asmany as a third of the cattle atone slaughterhouse. “Cattle sufferthese problems,” she said, “Whenyou push the biology.” Templealso said, “I've seen cattle walkingdown a truck ramp tippy-toed.Normally, they just run down thetruck ramp and jump out. We donot want to see bad become nor-mal.”Another person Merck won’t

want on the Zilmax® Board was

Page 2 Livestock Market Digest September 15, 2013

Coming Clean continued from page one

continued on page three

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one of our sources in our Febru-ary article. Gerald Timmermanmade no bones about the factthat he did not like how beta ago-nists make cattle wild and lame.Besides being a major cattle feed-er, Gerald is a meat packer andcustomer complaints about meatquality went up as the use of Zil-max® did, and Gerald blamedZilmax®. Gerald was also quotedin the Wall Street Journal article.“As grain prices accelerated, themargins got extremely squeezedin our business. That was the cat-alyst that drove demand for Zil-max® up. These days, you candrive through a feed yard andspot every one of the cattle that’son it. They look like muscle-bound athletes. I felt it was notthe right thing to do.”We’d sure like to see Guy Lon-

eragan, professor of food safety atTexas Tech sitting on Merck’sAdvisory Board for Zilmax®. Hecould tell the other board mem-bers about his research in whichhe found that there was a 70 per-cent to 90 percent greater inci-dence of death in animals fedwith beta agonists.We’d be willing to bet the farm

that well-known advocate MikeCallicrate won’t be on the Adviso-ry Board either. Callicrate wasquoted in the Wall Street Journal’sarticle too. “Now, you only haveso many days after an animal hasbeen fed a beta agonist before it’sgot to go to slaughter or itbecomes so lame it can’t move,”said Callicrate. “Zilmax®, evenmore than Optiflexx®, drasticallyreduces meat quality, makes cat-tle crazy, increases chances of res-piratory distress, and damagesjoint health-thereby increasingthe incidence of lameness. Is thisthe kind of animal production wewant? Is this the kind of beef wewant to eat? Per capita demand isalready decreasing at a fast paceas consumers react negatively tobad meat eating experiences.”Uh, MIke, hate to tell you this

buddy but I wouldn’t be waitingby your mailbox if I were you,waiting for an invitation fromMerck to sit on their AdvisoryBoard.

Winners And LosersGoing off the juice, so to

speak, did take some courage forTyson, assuming they did notknow that Merck would voluntar-ily withdraw the product a shorttime later. In our initial investiga-tion of beta agonists we foundthat some employees withinCargill’s beef division, Excel, alsohad such misgivings about Zil-max® initially and did not wantto use beta agonists. But thosevoices were silenced when itbecame obvious that without thefeed additives Excel could notcompete on price when they viedfor the business of the big super-market chains. Not using the betaagonists meant that they’d be giv-ing up a penny a pound, and inthe cutthroat meat business that’seasily enough to lose a bigaccount like Safeway. So Excelbecame a reluctant user.As for JBS, the largest meat-

packer in the world, they have

Coming Clean continued from page two

said in the past that they too havenoticed “ambulatory problems” incattle arriving at its slaughterfacilities, but unlike Tyson, theyhaven’t been able to determine adirect cause. They said they mighttake “a different approach if a linkto beta agonists becomes clear.” Please note that even if it’s

proven that beta agonists causelameness and some animals to actcrazy, the Brazilian meatpackerdid not say they wouldn’t usethem.JBS benefits another way by

the sidelining of Zilmax®. It isestimated that beta agonists wereused in 70 percent of feedlot cat-tle in this country. Elanco, makerof the other beta agonist used inbeef cattle production,Optaflexx®, calculates that “itwould require 10 million morehead of cattle on a yearly basis toproduce the same amount ofmeat without beta agonists andother commonly used growth-enhancing technologies, includingsteroid implants.”And where do you suppose

those 10 million more cattlemight come from? Surely notfrom the United States where ourherd has been decimated bydrouth. We are quite confidentthough that JBS, the huge Brazil-ian meat packer with plantsaround the world, stands ready tostep into the void by outsourcingcattle from countries where wehave no idea what went into theirproduction.The other big benefactor of

Merck’s withdrawal of Zilmax® isElanco, the animal health divi-sion of Eli Lilly who makesOptaflexx®. We had hopes thatthey too would withdraw theirproduct until more is knownwhen they applauded China’sannouncement of that country’sban on beta agonists. But Elancowas happy about China’s banonly because Elanco’s brandedbeta agonist products, Paylean®and Optaflexx®, are notapproved, available or sold withinChina, and thus any product likeZilmax® or Optafelexx® that isused or sold within China is justanother Chinese knockoff, like afake Rolex® watch, Coach®purse or Versace® gown. Elancowas just protecting their turf, notcommenting on the safety ofsuch products. Now it appearsthat Elanco will be the biggestwinner amidst all this fuss asmany American cattle feeders willmerely switch from the morepowerful Zilmax®, toOptaflexx®.You can expect the debate on

beta agonists to cool off now, notonly because of the withdrawal ofZilmax® but because cattle feed-ers say that the negative effects ofbeta agonists are more obvious inhot weather. As the weather andthe cattle cool off we hope thespotlight being shined on betaagonists does not dim becausethere needs to be a frank, honestdiscussion about the effects ofthese products on cattle, peopleand the environment, to deter-mine once and for all if they haveany place in the production ofbeef in this country.

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BY RITA JANE GABBETT /MEATINGPLACE.COM

Cargill has decided tostop accepting cattlefed the growth pro-motant Zilmax pending

the results of research byMerck Animal Health,which makes the beta-ago-nist.“The last of the cattle cur-

rently being fed Zilmax thatare in Cargill’s supply chainwill be harvested by the endof September. Cargill will besuspending purchase of Zil-max-fed cattle in NorthAmerica, pending researchbeing conducted by Merck,”a statement posted onCargill’s website stated.The statement was posted

three days after Merckannounced it would stopselling Zilmax while it assess-es whether there is a linkbetween its product and agrowing body of evidencethat cattle are arriving atslaughter plants sore, stiff,lethargic and in some casesunable or unwilling to walk.The actions by Merck and

Cargill follow a letter TysonFoods sent its suppliers inearly August saying it wouldstop accepting Zilmax-fedcattle on Sept. 6. At thattime, a Cargill spokesmansaid the company wouldcontinue to process cattlefed beta agonists, includingZilmax.“While Cargill has not

linked Zilmax to any specificincidents involving animalwell-being, the companydoes believe more research isnecessary to answer recentlyraised questions regardingthe use of this product,” thenew statement explained.Cargill referred to the

National Cattlemen’s BeefAssociation meeting in earlyAugust where multiple pack-ers discussed situations thatthey believed may have beenlinked to beta-agonist use.Dr. Lily Edwards-Callaway,head of animal welfare forJBS USA, presented a videoat the meeting of strugglingcattle captured in recentmonths with remote camerasused regularly for auditinganimal welfare.“I think there are some

serious problems here,” ani-mal welfare expert TempleGrandin told Meatingplace,

noting she has personallyobserved cattle at plants thatwere sore-footed, lethargic,breathing heavily, movingstiffly and reluctant to moveat all. The Cargill statementnoted that Grandin was atthe NCBA conference inearly August and hadexpressed her concerns.

We waitedAccording to the Cargill

statement, the company wasthe last major beef packer toallow cattle fed Zilmax intoits beef supply chain in June2012.“Cargill studied Zilmax

for years prior to doing so.One reason Cargill was ini-tially reluctant to accept cat-tle fed Zilmax was a series ofextensive beef tendernesstests that created concernabout potential impact toproduct quality.”The statement went on to

say from 2006 to 2012,Cargill developed best prac-tices for the company’s cattleprocurement and research &development teams toensure product quality,adding, “Of the major U.S.packers, Cargill harvests thelowest percentage of cattlefed Zilmax.”Dr. Mike Siemens,

Cargill’s head of animal wel-fare and husbandry, will rep-resent Cargill on an advisoryboard Merck has created aspart of its product review.“There are no food safety

issues associated with Zilmaxor this decision. Meat fromcattle treated with Zilmax issafe to eat. Instead, thisdecision is linked to Cargill’scommitment to ensure thewelfare of cattle harvested inthe industry,” the statementadded.

Cargill suspends Zilmax-fed cattlepending Merckresearch

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Weyerhaeuser side, a bright-green, healthy, thriving forestreturned to pre-blast conditionsand abounding in wildlife; onthe government’s side, dull anddense shrub-covered lands thatwere set aside to recover natu-rally. In fact, all across theWest, students of naturalresources can usually tell easilywhether the forest they are driv-ing through or flying over is gov-ernment land or privatelyowned, simply by the health ofthe land and the trees.After wrongly claiming that

the National Monument is aconservation success story, R Street then goes on to praisethe federal Land and WaterConservation Fund (LWCF),through which the governmenthas spent billions of dollars toacquire private land. It is amongthe environmental programsthat rural Americans hate themost. Small landowners, familyfarmers, ranchers, tree farmers,and miners are constantly facedwith the threat of government

acquisition of their land.The federal government has

learned a trick to acquire privateland from supposed “willing sell-ers”: prevent landowners frombeing able to utilize their prop-erty. The government just needsto set aside some habitat underthe Endangered Species Act,even if the listed species don’toccur on the land, or designatea jurisdictional wetland of theUnited States, even though it isdry. You get the idea.Family landowners soon find

that they cannot make use oftheir property without riskingstaggering fines or prison time.The collateral value of their landis gone, so they cannot borrowmoney, and no one will buytheir suddenly useless tracts—except, of course, for the federalgovernment and its environmen-talist allies. Land trusts typicallypay a few cents on the dollarand then quickly resell parcelsto the federal government, usu-ally for far more than they paid.The LWCF thus continues to

add to the staggering amount ofland that the U.S. governmentalready owns, which isapproaching half of the nation’sentire land mass. The four fed-eral land agencies alone controlnearly 30 percent of the coun-try.Further, R Street misrepre-

sents Ronald Reagan’s vision,beliefs, and record. Shortly aftertaking office in 1981, PresidentReagan and his secretary of theinterior, James Watt,announced an immediate anddramatic shift in federal landpolicy. They argued that thegovernment already ownedenough and should begin toplace a major emphasis on car-ing for it, especially the nationalparks. In March 1981, Reaganannounced a moratorium onadditional land acquisition bythe federal government. This dramatic shift was much

needed. Almost every categoryof federal land had fallen intodisrepair, with billion-dollarbacklogs for the most basic

maintenance (a condition thatcontinues to this day, unfortu-nately). Reagan slashed theLand and Water ConservationFund in the budgets he sent toCongress and even zeroed outland acquisition (although itwas restored by Congress).While it is true that President

Reagan signed a number of billscreating new wilderness areasthat enjoyed bipartisan supportin the congressional delegationsfrom the states where they werelocated, he also vetoed severalwilderness bills that did notenjoy such support. Further, hestrongly resisted congressionalefforts to limit natural resourceproduction and recreation onNational Forests and Bureau ofLand Management properties.Reagan’s vision went even

further than this, as WilliamPerry Pendley documents in hisnew book, Sagebrush Rebel: Rea-gan’s Battle with EnvironmentalExtremists and Why It MattersToday. In the late 1970s beforehe was elected president, Rea-

gan clearly described the federalgovernment’s “land hoardingand land grabbing” and many ofthe disastrous managementpolicies that were degrading thefederal lands.Free-market environmental-

ism and private conservationhave characterized much ofAmerican history and surviveddespite the government’s grow-ing ability to take private landsby force and to pay for its own-ership and mismanagementwith taxpayer money. The Wey-erhaeuser lands near Mount St.Helens are a good example ofthe former, the adjacentNational Monument an exam-ple of the latter. Conservatives can do better

than to promote a rehash of thefailed policies of governmentownership and massive misman-agement of lands, waters, andnatural resources.

Robert J. Smith is a Distin-guished Fellow at the Center forEnergy and Environment at theCompetitive Enterprise Institute.

Deception.com continued from page one

Angus Genetics Inc. and Zoetis release DD test.

Angus Genetics Inc.(AGI) and Zoetis Genet-ics began acceptingorders and samples for

Developmental Duplication(DD) genetic condition testing.As with other tests, orders are tobe submitted through the AGIordering process available at theAmerican Angus Association®AAA Login website (www.angu-sonline.org). Either Associationarchived or newly collected sam-ples may be used for testing.

The DD test has just beenlicensed, and the Zoetis labora-tory is in the process of transfer-ring the technology for commer-cial testing. Patience isrequested from customers sinceinitial turn-around times mayvary.For animals that are potential

DD carriers based on pedigreeinformation, results of the testhelp breeders and commercialusers of Angus genetics makemore informed breeding deci-sions. Complete information aboutthis condition may be accessedthrough www.ANGUS.org.

Developmental DuplicationGenetic Condition TestAvailable

BY BLAIR FANNIN, AGRILIFE TODAY

Cattle producers typically wean replace-ment heifers at 7 months old and raisethem with limited nutritional inputbefore their first breeding.

This managerial strategy is often associatedwith delayed puberty, particularly in tropically-adapted Bos indicus-influenced cattle, accord-ing to researchers.In Texas, Bos indicus influence generally

comes from Brahman genetics, but can involvethe Nelore breed as well.To maximize successful pregnancies in

replacement heifers early in their first breedingseason, studies conducted at Texas A&M Uni-versity and at the Texas A&M AgriLifeResearch Station-Beeville are evaluating nutri-tional strategies to promote puberty consis-tently by 12 to 14 months old in Bos taurus xBos indicus crossbred heifers.Drs. Marcel Amstalden and Gary Williams,

reproductive physiologists at Texas A&M Uni-versity and Texas A&M AgriLife Research,along with doctoral students Rodolfo Cardosoand Bruna Alves, are evaluating mechanismsthat lead to the early onset of puberty inheifers.The goal of the work is to use newfound

fundamental knowledge of heifer developmentto optimize pregnancy in replacement heifersby 15 months old and increase the proportionof heifers calving early in their first calving sea-son.“Nutrition plays an important role in the

developmental controls of puberty in heifers,”Williams said. “Breed type is a factor as well,and there are dietary strategies that can help ustime the onset of puberty.”Recent research has shown that age at

puberty in Bos taurus beef heifers is reduced toapproximately 9 months old by early weaning

calves at 3 to 4 months old, and feeding high-concentrate diets that promote increased ratesof bodyweight gain for as little as 70 days,according to the researchers.“A similar response is observed in heifers

with Bos indicus-influence,” Williams said.“Our studies have indicated that early weaning,combined with elevated intake of high-concen-trate diets, is associated with enhanced propi-onate production in the rumen and increasedconcentrations of the fat-derived hormone, lep-tin in circulation.”“The brain is a major target for leptin’s con-

trol of feed intake and energy expenditure,”Amstalden said. “Because the impact of nutri-tion on age at puberty is largely mediated atthe hypothalamus, a region of the braininvolved in the regulation of various body func-tions including reproduction, studies havefocused on this brain region to explain theprocess of reproductive maturation.”Their studies have found that a number of

genes in the hypothalamus are regulated bynutrition and bodyweight gain during calfhood.Structural and functional changes in neurons(nerve cells) are also evident.These scientists are now testing manage-

ment changes that would improve pregnancyrates early and optimize lifetime productive inreplacement heifers.However, the scientists warn that strategies

to accelerate puberty have to be consideredwith caution to avoid precocious puberty andunwanted pregnancies, compromising heiferdevelopment and reproductive efficiency laterin life.Funding for the research has been provided

by the Texas Beef Enhancement Programthrough AgriLife Research and by the Agricul-ture and Food Research Initiative CompetitiveGrants from the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture-National Institute of Food and Agricul-ture.

Researchers explore nutritionalstrategies to time puberty inreplacement heifers

BY PHIL TAYLOR / E&E

Abullet-riddled sign inUtah’s pinyon-juniperdesert warns of a windinghighway ahead.

It’s a harbinger of the tortuouspolitical and legal fight amongUtah’s counties, environmentalgroups and the Bureau of LandManagement that could dramati-cally change management of thearea’s stark deserts, red rockcanyons and backcountry lands.Key witnesses say they

remember Island Park Roadbeing used by jeeps and trucks atleast as far back as the 1950s forlivestock operations, farming,fishing and other recreation.Utah’s claim to more than

12,000 roads across federal landscould radically change the way itsscenic deserts and canyon landsare managed. Meanwhile, aRepublican congressman is tryingto end decades of conflicts overwilderness, motorized recreationand energy exploration in easternUtah. The result could be thebiggest public lands bill in Utah’shistory.That, according to an 1866

mining law, means managementof the road rightfully belongs toUtah, not BLM or the NationalPark Service, over whose land theroad crosses.The 17-mile road, which winds

past ranchlands and AmericanIndian petroglyphs to a historicalranch along the Green River inDinosaur National Monument, isone of more than 12,000 roadsthat Utah and its counties lastyear claimed as their own in fed-eral district court.Spanning about 36,000 miles,

the road claims represent one ofUtah’s boldest bids yet to assertcontrol over federal lands and,according to conservationists, themost serious threat to Utah’sremaining wildlands.Utah claims the roads at stake

have been used for decades byhunters, cattle ranchers, mineralspeculators and motorized vehi-cle enthusiasts, and have eitherbeen shut down or restricted, orare in danger of closure by thefederal government.“There will be economic bene-

fits derived from these roads ifthey’re kept open,” said AnthonyRampton, Utah’s assistant attor-ney general and lead litigationcounsel for the roads lawsuits.“That benefit will come fromranching enterprises, oil and gasdevelopment, wind development,solar development, touristincome, hunting and fishingincome.”But unlike similar campaigns

by Utah to “take back” federallands through eminent domain orby hamstringing federal lawenforcement agents, the lawappears to be on Utah’s side inits road battle.In March 2013, Utah’s Kane

County claimed a major victorywhen a federal district judgeawarded it rights of way over 12of 15 roads it had claimed, fourof which run through the GrandStaircase-Escalante National

Monument (Greenwire, March25). Some of those 89 miles alsorun through the Paria-Hackberrywilderness study area, whichBLM recognized for its roadlesscharacteristics and which envi-ronmentalists have eyed forfuture wilderness designation.“Given the facts that we have

and the law, we’re going to beable to prove the vast majority ofthese roads,” Rampton said ofthe state’s Revised Statute 2477claims, which are located in 22 ofits 29 counties. “It shouldn’t havebeen a surprise to anyone.”The ruling was a shot across

the bow for conservationists whofear the road claims, if successful,would fragment Utah’s bestremaining backcountry, includingscenic national parks and monu-ments. Solitude would be lost,invasive weeds would spread andarchaeological sites would beexposed to looters, they say.Conservationists have assem-

bled a legal team of more than 25attorneys from national and locallaw firms to work alongside fed-eral attorneys against the state’sclaims.Steve Bloch, conservation

director for the Southern UtahWilderness Alliance, said amajority of Utah’s road claimsare primitive dirt tracks, not the“highways” that the 1866 lawaimed to protect.“The overwhelming majority

of these routes simply noodle outinto the desert,” Bloch said.The claims run through every

national park except BryceCanyon and Arches and throughat least two designated wilder-ness areas and would fragmenthabitat for vehicle-skittish elkand sage grouse, according toSUWA.The road claims also travel

more than 500 miles of wilder-ness study areas, 2,000 miles ofnational monuments and 3,600miles of proposed wilderness,SUWA said. Few of them lead togrocery stores or schools or pro-mote commerce, Bloch said.“They’re really out to thwart

congressional wilderness designa-tion,” he said. “That’s why thestakes are so high in Utah.”Barring a settlement, the legal

battle promises to be a costly one— one rural county in southeastUtah has already spent $1 mil-lion litigating a single road inCanyonlands National Park —and could easily last decades.“If we can’t resolve them our-

selves amidst negotiation, wehave no choice but to go tocourt,” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert(R) said in an interview. “I’m notwilling to continue to kick thecan down the road and put offgetting that answer.”If Utah prevails, experts say

other Western states could followsuit, kicking off an even largerbattle.

‘Short, sweet and enigmatic’Utah’s road claims — filed in

several massive complaints inspring 2012 — fall under anobscure 1866 mining law

designed to promote settlementin the Western frontier.“And be it further enacted,”

R.S. 2477 read, “that the right ofway for the construction of high-ways over public lands, notreserved for public uses, is herebygranted.”The law was “short, sweet and

enigmatic,” according to the 10thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ina 2005 ruling.

Island Park RoadThe Island Park Road, which

descends 17 miles through sage-brush and pinyon and junipertrees before ending on the banksof the Green River, is one ofmore than 12,000 roads Utahhas claimed under R.S. 2477.Photos by Phil Taylor.The law was an opportunity

for miners and homesteaders tobuild trails or roads over any pub-lic lands not yet reserved orclaimed for private use. Most ofthe roads in the West were estab-lished under its authority.As Utah’s Supreme Court

noted more than 80 years ago, “Itwas a standing offer of a freeright of way over the publicdomain,” which required no for-mal acceptance or approval bythe federal authorities.That all changed in 1976 when

Congress repealed R.S. 2477 aspart of the Federal Land Policyand Management Act, a water-shed law that directed BLM toretain and preserve its landsrather than dispose them for pri-vate development.But Congress grandfathered

any valid R.S. 2477 right thatexisted at the time.As a result, counties seeking

legal recognition of their R.S.2477 claims must prove —through historical records, pho-

tos or witness testimony — thatthe roads were used as far backas the 1960s.But witnesses who can testify

to using the roads are getting oldand dying, creating a sense ofurgency for Utah counties.“We’ve probably lost between

half and three-quarters of ourwitnesses to death,” Ramptonsaid. “We’re losing more everyday.”

Dinosaur NationalMonumentWhile there’s little dispute

that Island Park Road is a validR.S. 2477 claim, it's unclearwhere Utah’s jurisdiction overthe road ends. Here’s a segmentat the historic Ruple Ranch inDinosaur National Monument.The state is currently deposing

hundreds of “at-risk” witnesses incourthouses, schools, countycommission chambers, BLMoffices and people’s homes.“I killed my first buck here.

We corralled cattle here,” Ramp-ton said. “That’s the kind of detailwe’re able to get from these wit-nesses.”Last month alone, attorneys

from the Justice Department,Utah and its counties, andSUWA visited Tooele, Garfield,Beaver, Grand and San Juancounties to take testimony from10 witnesses.Pete Steele, a 76-year-old wit-

ness from San Juan, testified forthree days on roughly 100 roads.Steele, a former cattle rancher,tour guide, BLM employee andSan Juan employee, said he usedR.S. 2477 roads south ofCanyonlands for livestock opera-tions, hunting, predator control,hiking, and other recreation andtraveling, according to his affi-davit.

“When you spend time withthe people who live and work onthese roads and have lived thereall their lives, you realize they areimportant, and they’re importantfor intangible reasons,” Ramptonsaid. “For instance, there are a lotof hunters who use these roads.They have places they’ve gone alltheir lives. They’ve gone withtheir fathers and grandfathersand families. Traditions havebuilt up around the use of theseroads.”

‘The whole thing is atravesty’But critics of Utah’s claims say

the vast majority of the roads areso-called Class D routes thathave never been maintained andaren’t critical to the state’s trans-portation needs.Many were created by off-

roaders, oil and gas prospectorsor wanderers who left the trod-den path decades ago. In the ariddesert, where plants and shrubstake hundreds of years to regrow,an improvised two-track can takecenturies to fully restore itself.“People argue about the

meaning of the word ‘highway,’but it’s hard to imagine it meansa random oil and gas seismic linefrom the ‘60s that hasn’t beendriven except once every fiveyears,” said Kevin Walker, aSUWA volunteer who lives inMoab and works for Microsoft.“To me that seems like abusingthe law.”On a searing hot July day,

Walker hunted for R.S. 2477claims along Browns Hole Road,a dirt route that heads east fromU.S. 191 toward the La SalMountains.“See that faint line over


Counties want to take the roads less traveled – and keep them

continued on page six

there?” he asked, pointing to astrip of younger, lighter sage-brush that vanished into a hill-side.It was an oil and gas seismic

line, one of thousands that werecarved in the 1950s and ‘60s byprospectors who used dynamiteto locate mineral deposits. SanJuan County is claiming it underR.S. 2477.“They were never planning on

coming back,” Walker said of theprospectors, who are said to havebeen paid by the mile. “Someoneelse comes along and sees the tiretracks and tries the road, eventhough there's nothing there.”

Kevin WalkerKevin Walker, who opposes

Utah’s roads bid, walks the MoabRim Trail, a steep rock precipiceclaimed by Grand County as anR.S. 2477 road. The ColoradoRiver flows behind him.Wearing a blue bucket hat,

running shorts and sandals,Walker said he takes pride infinding the faintest R.S. 2477claims. He mapped many ofthese routes decades ago whiletaking an inventory of roadlesslands for the Utah WildernessCoalition, of which SUWA is amember.He said many of the counties’

R.S. 2477 routes were evenfainter when he first walked them15 years ago. Since the lawsuitswere filed, counties have system-atically driven all the routes, hesaid.“When the counties claim they

need these roads, it’s disingenu-ous and demonstrably false,” hesaid. “What they really want is to

control the land.”Once an R.S. 2477 claim is

granted, BLM has almost no wayto close them down, even if itneeds to preserve them forwildlife or quiet recreation. Iteffectively precludes futurewilderness.“These are federal lands, and

the federal government should beable to manage them in a rationalway and not encumbered by thisloophole in a very ancient law,”Walker said. “To me, the wholething is a travesty.”A handful of other R.S. 2477

road claims spur haphazardlyfrom the Browns Hole Road.One of them narrows into arocky trough before petering outinto the juniper and pinyon flats.In the late 1990s, Grand

County decided to increase themiles of Class B roads in its sys-tem to prevent a reduction instate subsidies for road mainte-nance, Walker said. It unilaterallybladed minor roads and unmain-tained jeep trails, he said, but“BLM didn’t have the guts tostand up to them.”Several miles south of here,

the R.S. 2477 battle is playingout at Hatch Point, a sagebrushplateau coveted by oil and gasand potash developers as well asSUWA and the Sierra Club,which have proposed includingthe land in a 1.4-million-acreGreater Canyonlands NationalMonument.A 22-mile paved road takes

visitors to the Needles Overlook,which offers miles of stunningviews over labyrinth red rockcanyons underneath Canyon-lands park.

Hatch Point has plenty of dirtroads, though the area’s densebrush, rock buttes and spiresmake them hard to see. San Juanhas staked dozens of R.S. 2477claims here.One of them leads to a dried-

up stock pond and a field of inva-sive cheatgrass and Russian this-tle. It fades a couple of hundredyards into the desert before dis-appearing.“It just goes out here and

dies,” said Liz Thomas, an attor-ney for SUWA. “It doesn’t circleback. It wasn’t intended to goanywhere.”Court-awarded road claims

would make the area an easiertarget for mineral developmentand potentially a weaker candi-date for a national monument.‘A wasting kind of witness’Roads support San Juan’s min-

eral economy — oil, gas and min-ing account for 60 percent of itstax base — but they also preserverecreation, said John Fellmeth,who helps run the county’s roadspreservation project.San Juan claimed roughly

1,800 roads in its R.S. 2477 law-suit, even though some have nev-er been driven by county officials.“It looks like there might be a

nice overlook,” Fellmeth said,pointing to a narrow rust-coloreddirt path at Hatch Point.He was joined by Nick Sand-

berg, the county’s public landscoordinator who previouslyworked more than 30 years atBLM’s Monticello field office,which oversees Hatch Point.Neither was sure where the

road went or what it was usedfor.

It likely provided access forlivestock growers, Sandberg said,pointing to a salt block on theside of the road that may havenourished cows or sheep.The road ended at the

plateau’s edge, where a dirt clear-ing offered sweeping views ofHeart Canyon nearly a thousandfeet below and the “six shooter”pinnacle — a sandstone spirenamed by early cowboys for itsresemblance to pistols. Thejagged rocks of Canyonlandscould be seen in the distance.The road certainly led some-

where, though whether it is a“highway” is a matter of disputethat will be decided by a federaljudge.Fellmeth said there are about

80 “at-risk” witnesses in SanJuan. Some testify on as many as60 roads in a day, he said.“Most of them are fairly old,

and even those who are still withus, their mental faculties aredeteriorating quite dramatically,”he said. “It’s a wasting kind ofwitness.”Critics have questioned

whether witnesses in their 70s or80s could accurately identify theroads they used when LyndonJohnson was president.Before they testify, witnesses

are driven on the roads by thestate's attorneys to “refresh theirrecollection,” said Bloch, theattorney from SUWA.Courts will have to wrestle

with issues of credibility, as theydo with all trials.From the Needles Overlook at

Hatch Point, Fellmeth pointed toan airstrip about a thousand feetbelow that may have been usedto transport oil and gas equip-ment to the Lockhart Basin.Visual clues like that can help

orient R.S. 2477 witnesses, Fell-meth said.However, they can also be

deceiving. Less than a mile awayis a similar airstrip with similarred rock surroundings.

‘We have a high card’County officials in Utah see

R.S. 2477 as a potent defenseagainst the president’s use of theAntiquities Act to designatenational monuments.The 1906 law is controversial

in Utah, where President Clintondesignated the 1.9-million-acreGrand Staircase-EscalanteNational Monument in 1996over the objections of local offi-cials. Monuments bar futuremineral claims.R.S. 2477 adds another twist

to Utah’s political mine field.

Eastern UtahGrand County Councilman

Lynn Jackson says R.S. 2477gives counties a bargaining chipin negotiations over public landsin eastern Utah.“It just gives the counties an

extra card to play that theyhaven’t had in the past,” saidLynn Jackson, a councilman forGrand County, whose economydepends heavily on mountainbikers, off-highway vehicle ridersand national park visitors.

“We know we have a highcard,” Jackson said. “For now,we’re just going to tuck it up oursleeve, and if we need it, we’llplay it.”Utah counties were politically

emboldened by Kane County’sR.S. 2477 victory, Jackson said.Grand and five other counties arecurrently negotiating with con-servationists and other stakehold-ers on a major public lands bill.“SUWA is concerned,” Jack-

son said. “If we take all these12,000 segments, they’re saying‘Holy crap, we’re likely to lose allthat . . . maybe we should negoti-ate.’”Jackson, who formerly worked

for BLM for 32 years, opposesthe proposed CanyonlandsNational Monument, which heargued would hamper oil and gasand potash development inGrand, stifling economic diversi-fication.On a recent drive through the

butte-marked desert lands north-west of Moab, Jackson pointedto a sandy, riparian wash pass-able only by motorcycles thatdescends to an overlook abovethe Green River.The path, an R.S. 2477 claim,

was kept open in BLM’s travelmanagement plan, even thoughconservationists wanted it closed,Jackson said. The county believesit should have the final say overwho uses the road.“That’s a huge draw to the

motorized recreation economy,"he said. “They’re the ones whospend the most money aroundhere.”

A spreading fight?Litigating all of Utah’s R.S.

2477 roads to the 10th Circuitcould take well over a decade andcost billions of dollars.“Obviously it’s kind of insane

to try to litigate 12,000 roads,”said one top Interior official whoasked not to be named. The firstKane County case, whichinvolved 15 roads, took nine daysof trial and field trips, the officialsaid.The hope is that as cases are

decided at the appellate courtlevel, parties will have a betterfoundation for settlement talks.Since March, a handful of cas-

es in Garfield, Kane, Emery andSan Juan counties have beenactive. Meanwhile, the state iscontinuing to depose its old andinfirm witnesses in case the restof the roughly 20 cases becomeactive.While conservationists have

criticized the state’s lawsuits as awaste of taxpayer money, theR.S. 2477 campaign is widelysupported in the Utah Legisla-ture, where lawmakers earlier thisyear passed a special appropria-tion to compensate counties forlegal services from outside firmsincluding Holland & Hart. Thefirm is estimated to have provid-ed at least $1.8 million in servicesto Kane County alone, The SaltLake Tribune reported in March,citing former BLM Director and


Counties continued from page five

continued on page seven

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Counties continued from page six

Utah public lands official Kath-leen Clarke.Under the plan, the state

would pay for half of the first$700,000 in legal bills a countyincurs and would pay the majori-ty of bills beyond that.Conservationists are skeptical

whether the federal governmentwill adequately represent theirinterests.According to SUWA’s Bloch,

conservation groups have twiceas many attorneys working onR.S. 2477 cases than the JusticeDepartment. Pro bono work isbeing provided by law firms Kirk-land & Ellis LLP, Cooley LLPand Jenner & Block LLP, hesaid. There are also two local SaltLake City firms, former Earthjus-tice attorney Robert Wiygul, andSUWA and Wilderness Societyattorneys working on the cases.The federal government’s

appeal of the Kane County caseto the 10th Circuit was hearten-ing, Bloch said.Utah counties have lost some

notable R.S. 2477 cases too.For example, a federal district

judge in 2011 rejected San JuanCounty's claim that several milesof Salt Creek Canyon inCanyonlands National Park wasan R.S. 2477 route. “A jeep trailon a creek bed, with its shiftingsand and intermittent floods is aby-way, but not a highway,”wrote U.S. District Judge BruceJenkins (Land Letter, June 2,2011).San Juan and Utah appealed

the case to the 10th Circuit,which could issue a decision anyday.Utah’s R.S. 2477 claims are

being closely watched by envi-ronmental attorneys as well asother Western states looking toloosen Washington, D.C.’s reinsover public lands.The Vermont Law School

included Utah’s road claims in its“Top 10 Environmental WatchList 2013,” warning that if feder-al courts affirm even a fraction ofthe state’s claims, it could set offa cascade of threats to nationalparks, wilderness study areas,monuments and other protectedlands across the West.“Other western states are like-

ly watching Utah’s land grab,waiting to see what the federalcourts will do with these 26claims,” wrote Hillary Hoffmann,a professor at the law school, andstudent Sara Imperiale.Alaska has already earmarked

money to study potential R.S.2477 claims, and Nevada, thebirthplace of the SagebrushRebellion, would jump on theR.S. 2477 “bandwagon” if Utahprevails in its lawsuits, Hoffmannand Imperiale said.

Attempts to settleThe ongoing litigation has cre-

ated a great deal of uncertaintyon all sides, including BLM, saidRobert Keiter, a professor ofpublic lands for the University ofUtah who serves on the board ofthe National Parks ConservationAssociation, which has criticizedthe state’s road claims.

“That impacts the BLM’s abil-ity to make long-term land andresource management decisionswherever these claims are beingpressed,” he said.The road claims also compli-

cate a broader effort by UtahGOP Rep. Rob Bishop to pass acomprehensive public lands billfor six eastern Utah counties —Uintah, Emery, Carbon, Grand,Wayne and San Juan — thatwould consolidate lands for oiland gas, potash and miningdevelopment while designatingothers for off-highway vehicles,mountain bikes and wilderness.Bishop said conservation

groups he is working with —which include SUWA, theWilderness Society, the PewCharitable Trusts, the SierraClub and the Nature Conservan-cy — have “legitimate concerns”that future road claims could tar-nish wilderness designations,which, by definition, aim to keepthe lands “untrammeled byman.”Scott Groene, executive direc-

tor of SUWA, said WashingtonCounty in 2009 agreed to havewilderness designations under leg-islation passed by former Sen.Bob Bennett (R-Utah) but hassince filed R.S. 2477 claims inthose areas.“Utah’s 20-plus lawsuits

against the United States overR.S. 2477 may be the biggest hur-dle to overcome in trying to reachagreement here,” Groene said.“Fortunately, Congressman Bish-op has said he believes the R.S.2477 issue should be resolved aspart of this legislation. We are inagreement with him on thispoint.”Last month, the various sides

reached a rare accord to amicablyresolve a handful of the disputedroad claims in remote mountainswest of Salt Lake City.BLM, Utah, Juab County and

environmental groups announceda settlement designed to balancethe protection of primitive landsin the Deep Creek Mountainswilderness study area with accessfor motorized vehicle users(Greenwire, Aug. 20).It marked the first negotiated

settlement in Utah’s larger bidover the R.S. 2477 claims.Congress has tried unsuccess-

fully a handful of times to addressthe conflict.Bills by then-Rep. Mark Udall

(D-Colo.) nearly a decade agosought to narrow the definition ofR.S. 2477 rights of ways. Bills byRep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) in2006 and 2007 would have givenstates and counties more influ-ence in the process. But lawmak-ers have done little since then.Some observers are hopeful

Bishop can resolve some claimsin eastern Utah.“There’s an opportunity for

some, if not all, of those roads tobe addressed as a result of thislegislative process,” said CodyStewart, an energy adviser forHerbert and former Bishop aide.“It may be one of the negotiatedpieces that helps bring this acrossthe finish line.”

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) hasextended the public comment period untilOctober 28 on two proposed rules toremove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from

the List of Threatened and Endangered Species,while maintaining protection and expandingrecovery efforts for the Mexican wolf (Canislupus baileyi) in the Southwest, where itremains endangered. The Service alsoannounced a series of public hearings to ensureall stakeholders have an opportunity to com-ment.The first public hearing will be held in Wash-

ington, DC, on September 30, followed closelyby hearings in Sacramento, CA, on October 2,

and Albuquerque, NM, on October 4. Eachpublic hearing will include a short informationalpresentation. The Albuquerque hearing will bea combined hearing on the gray wolf delistingproposal and the proposal to revise the existingnonessential experimental population designa-tion of the Mexican wolf. The hearings are partof the Service’s continuing efforts to provide anopen and comprehensive public process for thetwo wolf rules and will afford members of thepublic a forum by which to register their views.To learn more about the proposed rules, the

details of the public hearings, and for links tosubmit comments to the public record, visitwww.fws.gov/graywolfrecovery062013.html.

FWS Extends Comment Period forGray Wolf Proposals — Announces Public Hearings to Solicit AdditionalStakeholder Input

President Obama is gettingblasted these days from anunexpected quarter:Major labor groups instru-

mental in helping the presidentwin a second term are chargingthat ObamaCare is undercuttingexisting union-sponsored healthinsurance programs and evenencouraging employers to cutworkers’ hours, says the FiscalTimes.Previously, leaders of three of

the largest labor unions sent ascathing letter to Senate Majori-ty Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)and House Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), warn-ing that if the problems with theinsurance program are notaddressed, the new health carelaw will “shatter not only ourhard-earned health benefits, butdestroy the foundation of the40-hour work week that is thebackbone of the American mid-dle class.”

The letter was written byJames Hoffa, president of theInternational Brotherhood ofTeamsters, Joseph Hansen, pres-ident of the United Food andCommercial Workers Interna-tional Union, and Donald Tay-lor, president of UNITE-HERE,a union that represents hotel,airport and food service workers.It stressed the unions' displeas-ure with a law they all had previ-ously supported and helped topass.The Affordable Care Act will

eventually penalize firmsemploying 50 or more peoplethat don’t offer health insur-ance – or that offer coveragebelow minimum standards.This is the so-called “employ-

er mandate.”The White House this sum-

mer put that provision on holduntil 2015 to give medium andlarge employers the opportunityto better prepare and plan for

the changes and reportingrequirements.But once that provision final-

ly takes hold, union leaders saythat companies will cut thehours of workers below 30 hoursper week to get under the 50-worker threshold for providinghealth care coverage.The health care law is likely to

be a prime topic of conversationwhen Obama addresses theAFL-CIO’s Quadrennial Con-vention next month in LosAngeles. Obama’s relations withlabor have been rocky at times,for sure. Yet while he’ll talkabout his plans to create jobs,provide better pay and strength-en workplace protections, thepresident’s speech on Sept. 9may not include every reassuringword that labor leaders are rightnow longing to hear.

Source: Eric Pianin, “Why Organized Labor IsOrganizing Against ObamaCare,” FiscalTimes, August 30, 2013.

Labor Groups against ObamaCare


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BY ALLYSON BLAIR,WWW.KPHO.COM

For Tony Sedgwick life does-n't get much better than itis now.

It’s magnificent country. It’sbeautiful. It’s green. It’s full ofwildlife,” Sedgwick said.Ranching runs in his blood.

His family has raised cattle inSanta Cruz County for morethan a century.His parents bought Car-

mencita Ranch three decadesago. From atop the 700-acrespread can be seen the city ofNogales and the PatagoniaMountains.There’s also a bird’s-eye view

of the border fence with Mexicoabout a mile below, somethingthat drew the interest of U.S.Customs and Border Protectionin 1993.Back then Sedgwick agreed to

lease a 10-foot-by-10-foot spaceon Hines’ Ridge to the agencyfor $350 a year to park a mobilesurveillance tower on his proper-ty.That later increased to $500.

Then in 2003 the paymentsstopped, but the truck never left.In 2009 the agency was back

with another offer for triple themoney. Not long after that dealfell through – the Department ofHomeland Security decided itwanted to buy the quarter-acrepiece of prime real estate.“The fact that they want to

take this land for $600 is outra-geous. So I said we’d be glad tolease. The response to that was aservice of a lawsuit in federal

court where they took the prop-erty,” Sedgwick said.DHS also offered to pay

$5,700 for rights to the 2.5-acreroad leading to the land.Sedgwick looked into suing

DHS and found out it wouldcost a minimum of $40,000.“As an American, I’m not

accustomed to having my handstied and having no chance todefend myself. I understand theneed of a country to protectitself but I think that the needhas to be balanced by the rightsof individuals with the freedomand liberty we are guaranteed,”Sedgwick said.Recently Sedgwick received a

registered letter informing himthat the government will likelywant more of his land. Therewas no mention of a specificoffer.“They don’t have to take the

whole property. They can take alittle piece here and a little pieceon the next hill and a little pieceon the hill after that. I would beleft with the stuff in between,”said Sedgwick.Land that Sedgwick had

hoped to one day sell might notbe worth near what it was.“It’s an enormous tower.

There will be a chain link fencearound it. There will be a razorwire top. There will be lightsthat will be on all night long. I’mnot an expert. But I certainlywouldn’t want to buy my dreamhome in the shadow of a militaryinstallation.”CBS 5 News reached out to

the Department of HomelandSecurity for comment. So far theagency has made no comment.

Arizona rancher only paid $600 after feds seize prime land

BY JENNIFER THOMPSONPACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Last October, we related thestory of Glenn and JoLynnBragg, pecan farmers inMedina County, Texas,

who suffered from a stateagency’s taking of their waterrights. PLF filed an amicus briefin the case, supporting the Brag-gs’ argument that the agency,the Edwards Aquifer Authority,could not regulate away theBraggs’ common law waterrights, without compensation.The Texas Fourth Court ofAppeals agreed in an opinionissued recently. It held that theAuthority had indeed unconsti-tutionally taken the Braggs’water rights. This is significantnot only for the Braggs, but forall Texas water rights holders.Government does not get a freepass around the Constitution inthe water rights context simplyby asserting that it has a duty topreserve the water. If govern-ment destroys common lawwater rights, it must compensateproperty owners.

PLF’s amicus brief focusedspecifically on one aspect of “thePenn Central test” for determin-ing when government is liablefor taking property by excessiveregulation. As a whole, the PennCentral test requires a court tobalance these factors: (1) theeconomic impact of the regula-tion on the property owner; (2)the regulations’ interference withthe property owners’ “reason-able, investment-backed expec-tations” and (3) the nature of theregulation. PLF’s brief focusedon the second “expectations”factor, because it is often deci-sive.There is no one-size-fits-all

standard for gauging whether aproperty owner has “reasonable,investment-backed expectation”of property use, but courts haveoften found such expectationsreasonable when they merelytrack the land’s historic use. Inthis case, the Braggs had reason-able expectations because theyhad been growing pecan treesfor 30 years, and because they

Texas court finds agency can’tdeny pecan farmers’ waterrights without compensation

continued on page sixteen


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(Including the DIGEST 25)

he’s going broke paying $3.95per minute to talk on the phoneto some gal in Thailand whospeaks terrible English.Slick is one of those men who

just can’t seem to live without awoman in his life. He is also likethose miners and ranchers of yes-teryear in that he takes a bathonce a week, has no social skills,lives in poverty and is desperatefor a mate because he is tired ofdoing his own dishes. The prob-lem is the odds have evened upand there is one woman for everyman in the West now.Except for Slick, that is.Slick got so tired of cleaning

his own bathroom and was sodesperate for love that he wenton a matchmaking web site toprospect for a wife. After payingup, Slick was asked to completean in-depth confidential personalsurvey. But just like the liars ofold, he “aggressively stretchedthe truth,” you might say.Instead of saying he’s 5”8”, hesaid he was 6’2” and instead ofsaying he was bald, fat and ugly,he said he loved to cook, was a185-pound bundle of muscle and

had all of his own hair. He alsosaid that he was sensitive, caring,liked jewelry, made in excess of$150,000 a year and had severalhomes, despite the fact that he’sa day-working cowboy who livesin a 1965 model trailer house.And it’s not even a double wide!When I asked him why he lied

Slick said, “What woman in herright mind would go out with meif I told the truth?”I had to admit, he had a very

valid point.So the Internet dating service

matched him up with a “volup-tuous 25 year old who loved tocook and clean” who turned outto be a 65 year old whose facewould stop a freight train. “She’dkeep the crows out of yourcrops,” said Slick dejectedly.“So you’re not going to see

her again?” I asked.“Oh no, we’re thinking of

moving in together in the trailerhouse,” said Slick optimistically.“Sure, we were both a little dis-appointed at first but fortunatelyneither one of us is in a positionto get too fanatical about a fewminor details.”

Riding Herd continued from page one

Mesalands Community Col-lege is pleased toannounce that TimAbbott, Midland, Texas is

the new Interim IntercollegiateRodeo Coach. Abbott’s extensivebackground in competing colle-giately and professionally in rodeo,and his understanding of theimportance of academics madehim the ideal candidate for thisposition.“We are very excited for our cur-

rent and future rodeo student ath-letes to have Coach Abbott joiningour program,” said Dr. Thomas W.Newsom, President of Mesalands.“He brings the experience and agreat passion for the sport that willcontinue to build on our program’ssuccess.”Abbott has been member of the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Asso-ciation (PRCA) since 2008.According to the PRCA website,he is currently 20th in the worldstandings in the steer roping event.He also competes in team ropingprofessionally.“We are very proud that Tim

Abbott has accepted the positionof Mesalands Community Col-lege’s Interim Rodeo Coach. Clear-ly his reputation precedes him,”said Dr. Aaron Kennedy, VicePresident of Student Affairs at

Mesalands. “I’m sure Tim will con-tinue to improve upon the Mesa-lands tradition of rodeo excel-lence.”Abbott attended the University

of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa,TX from 2005-2006. He alsoattended Odessa College inOdessa, TX from 2001-20013. Incollege he competed in calf roping,steer wrestling, and in team roping.In 2001 he was named the TexasHigh School Rodeo AssociationAll-Around Cowboy. Abbott wasthe Odessa College Rodeo ClubPresident from 2002-2003.He was a College National

Finals Rodeo (CFNR) qualifier in2002 and in 2003. In 2008, he wasthe named the PRCA Steer RopingRookie of the Year and the PRCATexas Circuit All-Around Rookie ofthe Year. In 2008, he won theCheyenne Frontier Days Champi-onship title in steer roping and wasa National Finals Steer Ropingqualifier. Abbott was also the recip-ient of the Dixon McGowanMemorial Steer Roping Award.“I’m very excited about this

position. It was an opportunity thatcame up, that I really couldn’t passup,” Abbot said “The reputationand the tradition that Mesalandshas been building over the last sixor eight years, is pretty incredible

and I’m very honored to be next inline to carry out that tradition.”He is married to Kayton and

has two daughters Rylee andSteely.“My wife is excited about mov-

ing. Everyone that we’ve met inTucumcari has just welcomed ustremendously. It feels like a veryclose community,” Abbott said.Abbott will be assisted by Staci

Stanbrough from Capitan, NewMexico. Stanbrough was recentlyhired as the new Assistant RodeoCoach/Animal Science Faculty.Stanbrough was a member of theNew Mexico State University(NMSU) Rodeo Team in LasCruces from 2006 to 2011. Shecompeted in breakaway roping,goat tying, and in barrel racing.Stanbrough was a four-time qualifi-er for the CNFR and was an Aca-demic All-American recipient forfour years.She was highly involved with the

National Intercollegiate RodeoAssociation. In 2010, she was theNational Student President andwas the Grand Canyon RegionStudent Director from 2009-2011.She graduated from NMSU with aMasters of Agriculture with a Con-centration in Domestic AnimalBiology. She also received herBachelors of Animal Science from

NMSU. Recently Stanbroughworked at the Harry Vold RodeoCompany in Pueblo, CO. HarryVold is a 11-time PRCA StockContractor of the Year. Stan-brough assisted Vold in conductingprofessional rodeos.“The people at Mesalands have

been really helpful and nice. I likethat it’s a smaller campus. I’mexcited to help with the RodeoTeam as Tim Abbott’s assistant. Ithink that we will be a good fittogether,” Stanbrough. “Hopefully,we can keep winning in the GrandCanyon Region and in the nation.

“The College has established astrong Rodeo Program over theyears. With the addition of Tim andStaci, our program will continue tobe one that both the College andthe community can be proud of,”Newsom said. “I would also like tothank the screening committee fortheir time and effort in helping usselecting such fine candidates torepresent Mesalands.”The Mesalands Community

College Rodeo Team will kick-offthe season at Dine College inTsaile, Arizona, September 20 and21, 2013.

Mesalands hires new Rodeo Coaches

2013-2014 Mesalands Coaches (l to r) Staci Stanbrough, assistant coach,Tim Abbott, coach

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Let’s have a look at how thesport of college rodeo andthe National Intercolle-giate Rodeo Association

(NIRA) got their start. Sort ofa History 101 lesson, without afinal. Let’s look back to the days

of horned rim glasses, PearlHarbor, and college rodeos ear-liest beginnings . . . With World War II coming

to an end, and college rodeopopularity on the rise, the needfor a sanctioning body wasupon us. At a meeting onNovember 6, 1948, in Alpine,Texas, twelve schools cametogether to discuss the creationof the National IntercollegiateRodeo Association. Decided atthat meeting was the need for aconstitution, which was thenestablished at a second meetingheld in February 1949.Hank Finger, then Sul Ross

State Universities Rodeo ClubPresident and chairman of theconstitutional committee,

worked with that committee ondeveloping eligibility guide-lines, scholastic standards, androdeo structure. The committeecreated a format for intercolle-giate rodeo that would remainconsistent throughout thecountry and provide nationalrecognition for their con-stituents. At the first NIRA National

Convention on April 14 and 15,1949, in Denver, Colorado,final approval of the constitu-tion was granted, fees wereaccepted, and rules and regula-tions were finalized. Threeregions were formed; Southern,Northwest, and Rocky Moun-tain. Pro-tem president CharlesRankin was elected NIRA pres-ident. There were thirteenmember schools at this time,representing Colorado, Okla-homa, New Mexico, Arizona,Wyoming, and Texas. August 1949 marked the

official, legal birth of NIRAwhen they filed for non-profitstatus. The first CollegeNational Finals Rodeo was heldthe same year in San Francisco,California. The first NIRA AllAround Champion crownedthat year was Harley May ofSul Ross State University. The next decade, the era of

bobby socks and poodle skirts,was one of difficulty for theNIRA. The 1950s broughtproblems with structure andfinance for college rodeo. The1956 National Conventionaddressed these problems bycreating a Secretary/Managerposition within the NIRA.Alvin G. Davis, Bownfield,Texas, was hired to fill thatposition. After noted success,Davis then resigned in 1958.Hoss Inman, a stock contractorfrom Lamar, Colorado, becamethe second man to hold the job.In 1960, Sonny and Joann Sikesof Sam Houston State Univer-sity took over, accepting theroles of secretary and officemanager respectively. Entering into the 60s, the

Sikes family led college rodeointo consistent membershipgrowth and the televisionboom. The 1962 CollegeNational Finals Rodeoappeared on ABC’s WideWorld of Sports. NBC airedthe 1965 finals, and ABC,again aired the event in 1967.Rodeo at this time was experi-encing a huge growth in severalarenas, professional and col-lege, the television airtime wasa welcomed partner in thegrowth. Member schoolstotaled 97 in 1966. Vietnam, beer, and comput-

ers, were the topics of the 70sin college rodeo. Nationalsponsors began joining the col-lege rodeo forces. Vietnam did-n’t slow the growth of NIRA.Member schools totaled 116 in1970 with 41of those two-yearinstitutions. The first nationalsponsor was the U.S. TobaccoCo. Scholarship Awards Pro-gram which was created in1975, offering $70,000 inscholarships to regional andnational champions. In 1979,Miller Brewing Companyoffered scholarships to the tenwinning teams in NIRA’sregions, as well as the CNFRwinning teams. Hewlett Packard and Mon-

tana State University’s electri-cal engineering departmentdeveloped the first computerscoring system for the CollegeNational Finals Rodeo in 1971.This landmark thrust towardthe future computer era hasoffered ease in distribution ofinformation to contestants,media, and secretaries alike.Initially, there were two unitsat the announcer stand—onefor input and one for output,with a huge mainframe locatedat Montana State University.The changes from then andnow are obvious. Now theentire college rodeo standingprocess is conducted on com-puters, both regionally and atthe CNFR. In 1970 the NIRA Public

Relations Director, Del High-am, predicted further NIRAgrowth in the Southeast, whichat that time included McNeeseState University and North-western State University. Thiswas a prediction that provedtrue as an eighth region joinedthat year, the Ozark region,including Arkansas, NorthernMississippi, and Southern Mis-souri. With dedicated forcesbehind the NIRA, growth wasstill apparent. Higher enroll-ments at colleges and universi-ties was also an asset in the70s. During the silver anniversary

year of the NIRA, Tim Cor-field, Northwest Faculty Direc-tor, joined the Board of Direc-tors. Corfield, a coach at WallaWalla Community College,accepted the Executive Secre-tary position in 1979, whenSonny and Joanne Sikes retiredfrom their long held posts. Theoffice then moved from Texasto Washington state. By the 80s college rodeo was

at an all time high, with mem-ber schools totaling 155. Wran-gler Jeans & Shirts signed on asa national sponsor in 1982. Theinception of the Wrangler Offi-cials Program was created.NIRA officials now receivedpayment from an official's judg-ing fund. Feathered hair and bell bot-

toms behind us, the 90s was atime of change for the NIRA.The college finals moved in1997 from a 24-year home inBozeman, Montana, to RapidCity, South Dakota. Newnational sponsors have allied,and continue to do so. TheNational Intercollegiate RodeoFoundation was created, offer-ing relief for injured athletes,scholarships, historical preser-vation, and the wellness pro-gram “RAWHIDE.”Over the years, NIRA’s his-

tory has read like a Who’s Whoin the sport of rodeo. RoyCooper, Chris LeDoux, TyMurray, Tuff Hedeman, DanMortensen, and many more,are all champions in collegerodeo, as well as professionalrodeo. They have added to thesuccess of college rodeo, andcreated some of its’ rich west-

ern history.College rodeo history itself

has repeated along the way.Several generations of rodeofamilies have come up throughthe ranks. Three generations ofNew Mexico’s Bidegain familycollege rodeoed. Phillip B. inthe 1940’s, Phil H. and Laurie(Burns) in the 1970’s, all forthe University of Arizona (U ofA). Their sons Donnie andScott completed for New Mex-ico State University (NMSU)and West Texas A & M, respec-tively. Between them, theyhave six (6) more little Bide-gains who are honing theirskills for their college careers —after they finish pre-school,pre-K and the first grade.Arizonans Robbie and Pam

(Simon) rode for the U of A inthe 1970’s followed by theirthree children Shain, Tad andMandy who spanned theCochise College, Central Ari-zona College and NMSURodeo Teams in the 1990’s. BillSnure, now from Amarillo,Texas, and his brother, Rick(now deceased) competed forArizona, then Rick’s sons Billand Clay roped for NMSU.New Mexico and Arizona

fall within the Grand CanyonRegion of the NIRA. NewMexico colleges and universi-ties that have rodeo teamsinclude NMSU, MesalandsCommunity College, NewMexico Highlands University,Dine College, and NavajoTechnical College. Arizonaschools are the U of A, CochiseCollege, Central Arizona Col-lege, and Northland PioneerCollege. The Region is highlycompetitive nationally with theNMSU men’s team ranking 8thand two women’s teams rank-ing in the top 25. Mesalands isnumber 5 and New MexicoHighlands is number 12. “Preserving Western heritage

through collegiate rodeo”, hasbeen a theme repeated over thecourse of the years. Todaythese efforts are being madethrough over 100 collegerodeos a year, over 3,500 stu-dent members annually and137 member schools and uni-versities. College rodeo has yetto its peak.


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The Sport of Rodeo — College Style


After completing a nationalsearch, the ArizonaNational Livestock Showhas named Michael

Bradley, Granite Bay, CA, as thenew Executive Director. TheArizona National LivestockShow is the largest LivestockShow in the Southwest annuallyattracting exhibitors from morethan 19 states. It is a westerntradition that began in 1948 forthe Grand Canyon State thatalso produces a prestigious andhighly successful Horse Showheld at West World equine com-plex in Scottsdale, AZ.“The success and future of the

Arizona National LivestockShow are in the very capablehands of an experienced leaderwho is highly regarded withinthe nation’s fairs and expositionsindustry. We are excited to haveMr. Bradley as our new Directorand welcome him to our ArizonaNational family,” said Jim Loug-head, President, ANLS.Bradley hails from California

and has developed an interna-tional reputation for creating thenation’s most innovative live-stock and agricultural showcases.His exposition talents are diver-sified having created and direct-ed expansive outdoor entertain-ment venues, premier wine andfood events and rodeos in addi-tion to museum-quality exhibitprograms.“I have known Michael for

many years and admire hisenthusiasm and dedication for

agriculture. He demonstratesvision, creativity and passion inall he sets out to do and we willtruly miss him in California. Heis a great selection for this lead-ership position and Arizona agri-culture is gaining a valuablefriend,” stated Karen Ross, Sec-retary, California Department ofFood and Agriculture.Long known as an innovator,

the Livestock Market Digestdeclared that he was one of 25individuals, businesses or organi-zations who are making a differ-ence for the American LivestockIndustry. His work is well knownwithin the Western Fairs Associ-ation, International Associationof Fairs and Expositions and theNorth American Livestock Showand Rodeo Managers Associa-tion. Bradley has strong ties toall of agriculture and affiliateindustries having dedicated 28years of management experiencewith the California State Fairand during the past five yearswith the California Farm BureauFederation.Bradley has a commitment to

building partnerships, resourcedevelopment and connectingconsumers to the farming andranching communities. “Theannouncement of Mike Bradleyas the next Executive Director ofthe Arizona Livestock Show isexciting news. Mike’s expertiseas a team builder, as well as hisexceptional leadership and peo-ple skills make him the perfectcohesive force to fast track the

Arizona National to the next lev-el. Mike Bradley will deliver theinnovation necessary to engageall the stakeholders of the Ari-zona National — exhibitors,members, sponsors, partners, thecitizens of Arizona and thenational agriculture community”said Jim Tucker, President,International Association ofFairs and Expositions.He is dedicated to agricultur-

al youth serving as the immedi-ate past Chairman of the Cali-fornia FFA Foundation, servedas a long time board member forthe California 4-H Foundation,has directed the California StateFair Scholarship program andhas been a volunteer 4-H leaderfor the past 14 years.Bradley stated, “I am honored

to have been selected for theposition of Executive Directorand look forward to serving allstakeholders of the ArizonaNational Livestock Show. Mypassion for agriculture and itsvalue to our society, economyand future will drive the ground-breaking programs that this his-toric Southwest event can pro-vide for decades to come.” The Bradley family includes

Michael’s wife Kimberly (mar-ried 28 years) and their sonsGabriel (25), Luke (21) and Levi(12).

The Arizona National Livestock Show, Inc. is anon-profit organization dedicated to support-ing youth and promoting livestock and agri-culture to the public while preserving our west-ern heritage. For more information call theArizona National office at 602/258-8568.

Arizona National Livestock ShowHires New Executive Director

One lucky youngwoman will receive a$1,000 scholarship asthe winner of the Mis-

souri Beef Queen contest.The first runner-up willreceive a $500 scholarship,and the second runner-up, a$250 scholarship. The con-test is sponsored by the Mis-souri CattleWomen (MCW)in cooperation with the Mis-souri Cattlemen’s Associa-tion (MCA), Missouri's Cat-tlemen Foundation (MCF)and the Missouri BeefIndustry Council.The schol-arships are provided by theMCW, MCA and MCF.The contest is open to sin-

gle females, between theages of 16-21 (by Dec. 31,2013). Contestants must bea Missouri resident, have afarm background, an interestin beef and the beef indus-try, already have or would bewilling to obtain a Masters inBeef Advocacy (MBA), be acollegiate or junior memberof MCA or her parent(s)must be a MCA or MCWmember, and must be spon-sored by her county cattle-men's affiliate.The contest will be hosted

on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014,

during the 2014 MissouriCattlemen’s Association’sAnnual Convention andTrade Show, at the Tan-Tar-A Resort, Lake of theOzarks, Mo. The contestantswill be judged on an applica-tion, resume, oral presenta-tion and a personal inter-view. Judges will be scoringthe contestants on knowl-edge of beef, presentation,appearance, personality andtheir entry application.Coronation will be on Fridayevening, Jan. 3, which willallow contestants time toparticipate in conventionactivities.Queen contestants are

encouraged to obtain theirMBA prior to the competi-tion. The 2014 MissouriBeef Queen will be requiredto complete her MBA priorto March 15, 2014. Toobtain an application, or formore information about theMissouri Beef Queen pro-gram, contact Katie Allen,Missouri Beef Queen Chair-person, at 30862 PedenChapel Rd., Marceline, MO64658 or via email [email protected] application postmarkdeadline is Nov. 1, 2013.

Missouri Cattle-Women Offer $1,750in Scholarships


BY DENNIS MAGEE, FOR THE GLOBE GAZETTE

Butter Cow incident areminder of animalrights extremists’presence

Irreverent pundits found a funtopic to roast last month whensomeone poured red paint onthe famous butter cow, a tradi-

tion at the Iowa State Fair since1911.A group, Iowans for Animal

Liberation, claimed responsibility— and quickly became an objectof ridicule.“Fake activists throw fake

blood on fake cow,” one writerscoffed on Twitter.Another posed a not-too-seri-

ous question.“Animal rights group paints

‘Freedom for all!’ on the Iowa but-ter cow. Can butter cows evensurvive in the wild?”Other messages were more

aggressive.“Just poured bacon grease on

our lettuce and herb garden. Take

that, animal liberation group.”The incident at the fair is a

mild example of the mind-set andtactics employed by extreme ani-mal rights groups — like AnimalLiberation Front — and ecoter-rorism organizations, such asEarth Liberation Front.“The paint represents the

blood of 11 billion animals mur-dered each year in slaughterhous-es, egg farms and dairies,” Iowansfor Animal Liberation said in aprepared statement deliveredanonymously after the butter cowincident.For law enforcement agencies,

agribusiness companies and live-stock producers, the “bloody” but-ter cow is a reminder of the needfor vigilance. Advocates ofextreme animal rights positionsare committed to what theydescribe as “direct action” and“monkey wrenching.”But the law defines those acts

as intimidation, harassment, tres-passing, vandalism, arson and ter-rorism.“People look at something like

that as a funny event, but we look

at it more like a terroristic act,”said Chickasaw County SheriffTodd Miller.Mike Kitsmiller is a supervisory

agent with the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation’s office in CedarRapids. He is also a member ofthe agency’s Joint Terrorism TaskForce.“It’s very sporadic. The actions

they take are very few and farbetween — knock on wood —and I’m not challenging them tocome out,” Kitsmiller said.Even so, the FBI routinely

looks into possible crimes by ani-mal rights groups.“They come up every couple of

months. We get something thatmay appear to be linked with thatkind of activity,” he said.Fires at hog confinement oper-

ations or in barns and mayhem atrural construction sites trigger sus-picion, for instance.“We’re going to take it serious-

ly until we know it’s not a truethreat,” Kitsmiller said.Scrutiny is warranted based on

ALF’s and ELF’s histories.Bite Back, a magazine and

website based in West PalmBeach, Fla., purportedly offers avenue for ALF’s followers to sharedetails about their adventures.The website describes 33 inci-dents in July and August, someviolent. Of those, 13 were in theUnited States.Animal rights extremists have

targeted entities closer to home.In 2000, someone released

14,000 animals from EarlDrewelow’s mink farm near NewHampton, and a year later water-fowl, pigeons and mink were letgo from farms in Hamilton andMills counties.In 2002, activists released

1,200 mink on a farm near Waver-ly.Perhaps the most notorious

incident happened in November2004. Masked individuals entereda psychology research area in abuilding at the University of Iowa.The group took about 400

pigeons, rats and mice, smashedcomputers and poured acid ondocuments. Officials estimateddamage at about $500,000.Four days after the attack,

ALF adherents emailed messagesto media outlets from computersin the university’s main library andlaw library, according to federalcourt documents. The messagesincluded names of Iowa facultymembers and their spouses, homeaddresses, phone numbers andemail addresses as well as namesof graduate students and lab assis-tants.Though he no longer raises

mink, Earl Drewelow still knowspeople in the business. He takessuch threats seriously. He and hisfather lost thousands of dollarsduring the 2000 incident inChickasaw County.“They’re no good S.O.Bs.

Instead of giving them one or twoyears, they should lock them upfor 15,” Drewelow said.When he visits farms,

Drewelow goes prepared.

“I just keep a loaded shotgunin the truck when I go downthere,” he said.But he declined to talk about

what precautions active fur farm-ers employ.“Let’s just say we’re kind of

planning for it. You’ve got to keepyour guard up on that stuff,” headded.The ALF operates through

essentially independent cells,according to the FBI’s Kitsmiller.As the ALF websites boast, any-one who takes up a crowbar orbolt cutters can claim affiliation.“One of the trademarks of this

group is that it doesn’t have cen-tralized leadership,” Kitsmillersaid.The FBI is able to collect intel-

ligence on “pockets of individuals”in Iowa and “trip wires” are inplace to raise alerts, according toKitsmiller.“We’ve got people in the com-

munity that report to us aboutactions. We know that thosegroups are here,” he said.Officials can also discern likely

targets. Recently, for instance,Kitsmiller said agents spoke withlocal law enforcement officialsand met with representatives ofResponsible Transportation, aprocessing plant in Sigourney thathad announced intentions toslaughter horses.Suspected animal rights

activists started a fire at a similarmeat processing facility inRoswell, N.M., in July.

Iowa’s history withanimal rights activistsgoes back many yearsBecause of an incident in

November 2004 at the Universityof Iowa, state law enforcementofficials became acquainted witha figure familiar within theextreme animal rights community.By that time Peter Young

already had attained legendarystatus among like-minded extrem-ists.Mark Kitsmiller, a supervisory

agent with the FBI’s office inCedar Rapids, describes Young asthe “self-appointed spokesman”for the Animal Liberation Front.“I know him because he was

very vocal after the University ofIowa attacks, kind of praising theeffort,” Kitsmiller said.Young, however, did not

respond to multiple email mes-sages to a variety of venues fromthe Courier seeking comment.During the incident, a group

broke into a building, took labora-tory animals, trashed computersand destroyed documents. Thedamage estimate was about$500,000.According to federal court doc-

uments, investigators invested agood deal of effort tracingYoung’s possible connection tothe crimes and were able to placehim near the scene.Young participated in some-

thing called the Dangerous MediaTour in September 2004 in Iowa.

The event was described online as“a celebration . . . of do-it-yourselfcrime” with advice on pickinglocks, making free phone calls,stealing and manipulating barcodes, according to court docu-ments.One stop was at a bar about a

block from the Spence Laborato-ries at the University of Iowa.

BustedWhile he was never linked to

the Iowa City vandalism, authori-ties later accused Young and anassociate, Justin Samuel, ofcrimes involving mink operationsin South Dakota, Iowa and Wis-consin.Young and Samuel, however,

went underground, living as fugi-tives for years. Both were eventu-ally apprehended.Authorities returned Young to

Wisconsin to face charges. In Sep-tember of that year he accepted adeal with prosecutors and pleadedguilty to two counts of animalenterprise terrorism.U.S. District Judge Stephen

Crocker ordered Young to servetwo years in federal prison and topay more than $254,000 in resti-tution. Crocker also ordered himto complete 360 hours of commu-nity service benefiting “humansand no other species.”At his sentencing, Young

addressed mink farmers in thegallery, describing raids on theirproperty as “an absolute pleas-ure.”Young got out of prison in

2007 and he remains active in thecause. He is associated with theNorth American Animal Libera-tion Front and maintains AnimalLiberation Frontline, a websitethat shares information about“animal liberation above the law.”“He toes the line on advocat-

ing people going out and commit-ting crimes,” Kitsmiller said. “Buthe puts information out there thatwould make it easy for someoneto do that if they were someonewho was off that mind-set.”As an example, Young in 2009

assembled “The Blueprint: TheFur Farm Intelligence Report,”which includes names, addresses,phone numbers and details aboutfur farms and related suppliers.The list includes many operationsin Iowa.

Search warrantsYoung in 2010 twice fell under

suspicion. In March, SpecialAgent Thomas Reinwart withFBI’s office in Cedar Rapids got asearch warrant for Young’s homein Salt Lake City. That action wasconnected to the investigationinto the incident at the Universityof Iowa.Five months later FBI and

ATF agents returned, this timetrying to confirm a link betweenYoung and Walter Bond, alsoknown as “Lone Wolf.”Bond got his start as an arson-

ist in Mason City and Cerro Gor-do County under the name Wal-

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Beware of Animal Activists

continued on page thirteen

ter Edmund Zuehlke. He wasconvicted of third-degree criminalmischief and trespassing in 1996.According to court documents,

he set fire to a house in 1997,killing a pet inside. For that, Bondwas convicted of second-degreearson and sentenced to 10 yearsin prison. He served about threebefore his parole in May 2001.He struck again in April 2010

at the Sheepskin Factory in Glen-dale, Colo. The arson destroyedthe building and caused $500,000in damage.According to the U.S. Attor-

ney’s Office in Colorado, Bondaccepted a plea deal, admitting heused fire to damage a property ininterstate commerce and usedforce or violence against an ani-mal enterprise. He was sentencedin February 2011 to five years infederal prison. The court alsoordered Bond to pay more than$1.17 million in restitution.At his sentencing hearing,

Bond said he was honored to be aprisoner of war in the fight against“inter-species slavery.”But in handing down the sen-

tence, Judge Christine Arguelloexpressed doubts about Bond’smotivation.“It does appear to me from

your record that whenever you getupset, the way you act out is tolight something on fire,” Arguellosaid.Bond’s legal troubles contin-

ued in Utah stemming from firesin June 2010 at the TandyLeather Factory Store in SaltLake City and in July 2010 atTiburon Fine Dining in Sandy,Utah.He accepted another plea deal

in July 2011 in Utah. He was sen-tenced to seven years, threemonths but was allowed to servethe time concurrently with thesentence in Colorado. He is aprisoner at the U.S. Penitentiaryin Marion, Ill.As a condition of Bond’s even-

tual release, the court ordered hehave no “association with the Ani-mal Liberation Front or anymember either in person, by mail,by phone, by email by third per-son or by any other method.”Young denied that Bond ever

lived in the house in Salt LakeCity.

After prisonFederal court documents state

that Young lives in Issaquah,Wash., and he apparently makespart of his living as a public speak-er through Evil Twin Booking inPhiladelphia.On the Voice of the Voiceless

website, Young is described as “afrequent lecturer at universitiesand events, writer on liberationmovements and unapologeticsupporter of those who work out-side the law to achieve human,earth and animal liberation.”According to court documents,

as of July 2010, Young still owedabout $253,500 in restitutionstemming from his convictions in1998. Garnishment of his incomewas ordered.The FBI’s Kitsmiller empha-

sized Young’s role as a spokesman

and advocate for animal rightsrepresents nothing illegal.

Officials urge farmersto be vigilant againstactivistsThose familiar with the tactics

of hard-core animal rights activistssuggest farmers with livestockplan for potential trouble, accept-ing that isolation in rural Iowadoes not provide total protection.In fact, remote locations work

in favor of extremists bent oncriminal mischief or worse.So-called “direct actions” —

opening cages at fur farms, gluinglocks at butcher shops and settingfires — reached Iowa in the 1970sand ’80s, according to MarkKitsmiller, an FBI agent assignedto the Joint Terrorism Task Forcein Cedar Rapids. And since then,sporadic incidents have beenreported.A more recent incident hap-

pened in October 2011 at theCircle K Fur Farm in WoodburyCounty. Although no animals gotloose, law enforcement officialsarrested Kellie Van Orden andher husband, Victor, after theytripped alarms.Both accepted plea deals last

year.Kellie Van Orden pleaded

guilty to releasing an animal froman animal facility, a felony, and tothird-degree attempted burglary,an aggravated misdemeanor. Shewill be on probation for five years,according to court records.For the same charges, Victor

Van Orden was sentenced to fiveyears in prison.The Fur Commission USA,

which represents mink farmers,commented on Kellie VanOrden’s situation.“Once again, the extremists of

the animal rights movement haveincited another young person topay the price for their misguidedcampaigns against our country’sfarming community,” the organi-zation said at the time.Peter Young, an unofficial

spokesman for the Animal Libera-tion Front, also shared thoughtson the couple’s crime.“This is the second time there

was an action at the Circle K FurFarm,” Young wrote in 2012.“The first occurred in 1997 when5,000 mink and 10 foxes werereleased.”Young, a convicted felon, did

not mention in his post that theFBI considered him a suspect inthat crime along with an associ-ate, Justin Samuel. They were lat-er charged and convicted in Wis-consin for similar acts during thatsame time frame.Mink farmers maintain a high

level of awareness, share informa-tion and, as Circle K ownersapparently did, install securitymeasures. Hog, cattle and poultryproducers are starting to catch up,according to Brian Waddingham.He is executive director of the

Coalition to Support Iowa’sFarmers. The organization iscomprised of seven separategroups but includes Iowa’s beef,pork, turkey and dairy associa-

tions. On its website, www.sup-portfarmers.com, the organizationadvises producers to avoid com-placency and to think ahead.“Every year, the Coalition to

Support Iowa’s Farmers receivesnumerous reports of livestocktheft and/or vandalism. It isimportant for every farmer to stopand take time to think about thesecurity measures they have — ordon’t have — in place,” accordingto the organization.“The coalition and law enforce-

ment officials encourage farmersto be proactive and take steps tobetter protect their farm and live-stock, even if they are not awareof any criminal activity in theirneighborhood.”Waddingham suggests other

tips for producers:• Install motion-activated

lights around buildings.• Install video cameras that

also react to movement. Place twoif possible, one to capture licenseplates, another higher to record

faces and vehicles.• Develop good relationships

with neighbors, sharing informa-tion about vacations and suspi-cious vehicles.• Vary routines.“Don’t show up at your hog or

turkey operation every day at 8o’clock,” Waddingham said. “Stopin at different times of the day.”Kitsmiller also advises rural res-

idents to contact law enforcementagencies, including the FBI, whenthey see something out of theordinary.“I’d rather have people call and

have it turn out to be nothing,” hesaid.Waddingham sounds a similar

note but adds a word of caution.“If you see lights in the middle

of the night, call the sheriff. Don’ttry to get in the middle of any-thing,” he said.Waddingham and Kitsmiller

both report little change in thefrequency of such “direct actions”in Iowa.

“I haven’t seen any trends.From what I see and hear, I don’tthink it’s getting any worse,”Waddingham said. “That’s why Iwas kind of shocked by the ButterCow (incident at this year’s StateFair). Maybe that’s some indica-tion they are ramping up again.”Kitsmiller puts some faith in

Iowans’ attitudes, who — if onlinecomments are any indication —overwhelmingly rejected theattack on the Butter Cow.“Some of the people here that

would subscribe to their ideasmaybe think there are other waysto share their views rather thanphysical damage,” Kitsmiller said.He also wonders about the

movement’s objectives.“I’ve always questioned when

they release these animals, youget a number run over by cars oreaten by predators,” he said. “SoI’m not sure what the differenceis. But that’s just me.”

Dennis Magee is regional editor of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, a Lee Enterprises newspaper.


Animal Activists continued from page twelve


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Working to Protect the Rich Tapestry of the West

BY HEATHER SMITH THOMAS

Ranch horses are athletes.They are probably thebest example of versatilityin the horse world. A

good ranch horse is a jack-of-all-trades. He may be asked to trav-el long distances many days in arow in rough country gatheringrange cattle (and be surefootedin all kinds of terrain). He mayneed split-second reflexes andspeed to sort cattle in a corral.He might have to jump into atrailer at a moment’s notice, orpack salt or fencing materials toplaces a vehi-cle can’t go.He might beasked to carrythe kids orgrandkids andbe trustworthywhile doing it,or take his rid-er to victory at a weekend rop-ing or some other competition.His job description is virtuallyendless, depending on what hisrole is on any particular ranch.The horse is often vital to a

rancher’s or cowboy’s livelihood,but in order to do the job, thehorse needs good foot care. “Nofoot, no horse” is very true, asthe old saying goes. Some ranchhorses receive very little hoofcare and some are only shodwhen their feet wear down toomuch and they start to get ten-der. But hoof care is important,to make sure the horse will beable to do the job you ask ofhim when needed.Galen Neshem is a

farrier/rancher in west centralArizona who depends on good-footed horses, taking care of cat-tle in big pastures and harshcountry. “We have rocky ter-rain—everything from granite tovolcanic rock mesas and oldlava. Many of our canyons haveslick river rocks. We also havelimestone, so we have manykinds of rocks. All our horseshave to be shod,” he says.“It’s important to us to have

horses with good feet, because ifyou lose a shoe out there youwant to be able to ride the horsehome without crippling him. Weraise registered Quarter Horses,but most of our own ranch hors-es go back to a good mustangmare; most of our horses are aquarter to half mustang blood.The studs we've used also havevery good feet; this is somethingwe select carefully. Most of ourranch horses have tough feet.You can lose a shoe and if youdon’t get a chance to shoe thehorse today you can still keep ongoing. Strong feet make a verybig difference.” On occasionhe’s ridden a horse barefoot inan emergency, to gather cattle—like when some steers got out onthe highway and into a neigh-bor’s place. When shoeing ranch horses,

Neshem’s methods depend onthe individual horse. “Most of

the time I only use six nails. If ahorse gets a hoof caught I wantthe shoe to come off, ratherthan cripple the horse. Most ofmy horses have hard feet, andcan make it home without ashoe. Some horses, however, Iuse all the nails, to make surethat shoe doesn’t come off.Sometimes on an old horse Idon’t use the rear nails—if thehorse has straight hoof walls andneeds all his expansion poten-tial,” he explains.If shoes wear out too fast

when horses are ridden con-stantly in the rocks, he some-

times uses ahard surfacingrod and weldsa little beadfrom one frontnail to the oth-er front nail,around the toe

of the shoe, and a little on eachheel. “I do that sometimes tokeep a shoe from wearing outtoo fast or to give a little moregrip,” he says. “We probably leave a little

more heel on our shoes thanpeople who ride in softer coun-try or an arena, just to protectour horses’ heels from the rocks.On occasion, when I felt a horseneeded it, I've turned the heel ofthe back shoes up, to protectthe heel bulb. The horses weraise haven’t needed this, so Ihaven’t done that in a longtime.” If he knows they will be

doing a lot of running acrosslava rock—catching wild cat-tle—he may put pads on thefront feet. It's easy to bruise ahorse in that terrain, andNeshem has had a few horsescrippled over the years due toabscessed stone bruises.He’s found that most horses

raised in rocky country, runningover boulders as they grow up,have strong feet. But genetics isalso a factor. Some horses haveweaker hoof walls. “With theregistered Quarter Horses weraise, if you lose a shoe you areafoot. Even though we turnthose horses out, if we turnthem out barefooted we have togo pick them up again within amonth because they are too ten-derfooted to get around. Theonly reason we still have them isthey are really good horses oth-erwise. They just don’t have thefeet we’d like. I have a 20-year-old gelding that I rope on and Idon’t use him on the ranchexcept for corral work or insmall pastures. If you lose ashoe on him, you’re walking. IfI turn him out with the otherhorses, he’s tender in aboutthree weeks.” Individual horseshave different qualities in feet.“When riding a horse that

doesn’t have strong feet (and ifyou lose a shoe, you’re in trou-ble), we always put a few nails inour shirt pockets. You can put

Foot Care is Crucialfor Ranch Horses

continued on page fifteen

A good ranch horse is a

jack-of-all-trades.

The furor of lawsuit threats,animal rights terrorists, ges-ticulating celebrity actorsand ex-politicians traveling

the countryside like Barnum andBailey is finally bringing out thosewho really have something atstake in the Wild Horse/DomesticHorse slaughter issue. It is easyfor a movie star or politician oranimal rights advocate to fallunder the trance that horses liveforever and eventually go to horseheaven, because that is about asdeep as they think. Their weaksolutions to the abandoned horseproblem that they have helpedcreate are like ducks peeing on aforest fire.I don’t wish to ridicule them. I

appreciate their compassion, theirconcern of animals being mistreat-ed, and their wish that horseswouldn’t die. But they live in adream world. Buster, a life-longcowboy and horse trainer takes itpersonally when he sees picturesof starving, skeletal abandonedhorses. He says, “There are a lotmore humane ways for a horse todie than starvation.” The WildHorse Wreck we have created bynot allowing the BLM to cull theherds of wild horses and burros isas big a fiasco as the Forest Ser-vice’s misguided policy of banning

timber and grazing in national andstate forests. Oh, how we have tolearn the hard way.The American Indians have

always held the horse in highesteem ever since Coronadocrossed the border in 1535 andintroduced them to us. The horseis revered, valued and used bythem as chattel. But the Indiansalso take the responsibility of car-ing for the herd and the land.They are now trying to talk to peo-ple who live behind a desk about“nature’s balance.” The NavajoNation in New Mexico, thebiggest tribe in the United States,has now joined the National Con-gress of Indians and other tribes,in support of horse slaughter inthe U.S., “We . . . can no longersupport the estimated 75,000 feralhorses that are drinking wells dryand causing ecological damage tothe drought-stricken range,” theysay. They aren’t kiddin’ and theyknow what they’re talking about.Studies of cost to feed and main-tain one horse for a year in a res-cue, feedlot, summer pasture, orrefuge can be as low as $2,400 to$3,650. Using the lowest esti-mate, $200/mo. = $2,400/yr x75,000 horses = $1,800,000.00.Three of the entities actively

involved in preventing the horse

slaughter plant in New Mexicoare ex-governor Bill Richardson,movie star Robert Redford, andthe Human Society of the U.S. Ihave listened to their speechesand read their quotes. I do notdoubt they are sincere. I don’tquestion their emotional motives.However, I have yet to hear aviable solution for, not just NewMexico’s impending crisis, but forour whole country’s equine catas-trophe that was the result of cessa-tion of horse slaughter plants.I would suggest that they put

their money where their mouth is.Governor Richardson has hadsome legal problems due to shadypolitics, but I would guess hecould come up with $250,000.Mr. Redford has an estimated networth of $170 million, and therecent budgets of the HSUSspending runs about $250 milliona year. They ante up together andmake the first donation, $420 mil-lion. That will take are of theNavajos for 2 years.Well, we all know they don’t

intend to spend their own money,they don’t care that much. But thetrain is comin’ down the track andthey are standin’ right betweenthe rails and they better turnaround and see it before it’s toolate.

The Battle of the Abandoned Horse

REAL COWBOYS & INDIANS VS HOLLYWOOD & URBAN AMERICA


nails in a shoe with just a fencingtool, if the horse starts to lose ashoe. Some cowboys aroundhere do that all the time; they’vealways got a little sack with a fewnails in it. If you’re carryingheavy fence pliers you canalways use those as a hammer. Ifyou get in a pinch you can jerk ashoe off, flatten it out, and nail itback on. Most of the horses inmy string, however, have goodenough feet that I could make ithome if they lose a shoe, andmaybe even ride another day if Ihave to,” says Neshem.“The bigger, heavy horses as a

rule have more trouble. We likea horse that weighs 950 to 1100pounds and not much over that.Most of ours take a number oneshoe; they have adequate feetfor their body weight.”He has one heavy boned, big-

footed horse that came from awild horse band in California.Even though he’s a large horse,he’s not a heavy horse, and hashuge, strong feet. “Just forscouring the country looking forcattle, I’ve ridden that horsemost of a winter without shoes.He has a foot that’s unbeliev-able. In the granite country,there were a couple winterswhen I was only riding once ortwice a week and not putting inhard days, and I rode that rascaland never nailed a shoe on him.He also makes a good packhorse because if you’re not pack-ing all the time you can grab himwhen you need him and nothave to bother with puttingshoes on. When we’re using himthrough the cattle workings weshoe him, of course, but hemakes a good spare horse with-out shoes. He can run throughthe rocks if you need to.”When a horse needs hoof

pads, Neshem used to use aheavy piece of leather. “It wouldwear out by the time you have toreshoe. I still use leather onoccasion if I have a horse that’s alittle tender after shoeing. By thetime the leather wears out, hishoof has grown a little andtoughened up,” says Neshem.“You can buy plastic pads

already made up.” He’s alsoused neoprene (the sheets youget from a shoe repair shop),and says it lasts the best. Youcan use it over and over; it willlast through several shoeings.“You can get neoprene that’s

quite thin, or heavier. I’ve takenthose pads and cut them out forthe frog, when I just need someprotection for the sole. Thatreally works well,” he says. Thiskeeps the frog outside the padand it’s less prone to developthrush. The pad doesn’t have tobend up over the frog on a flat-footed horse (which creates aspace at the heel where dirt orsmall rocks could work in underthe pad); it’s flat against thesole.Bob and Kelly Sue Bachen

shoe horses in the northeast cor-ner of New Mexico and have afarrier supply store (WagonMound Ranch Supply). Thisarea is rolling grasslands withrocky canyons running

through—high plains next to theKiowa National Grasslands.There are some large historicranches here, and many smallfamily operations. Bob says a lotof farriers tend to belittle “cow-boy” shoeing, but he feels mostcowboys have a good under-standing of their horses’ feet,since most of them are goodhorsemen. They use their horsesa lot, and know how the horse isbuilt and how it moves.“A lot of people who come

out of shoeing school have neverbeen around horses that much.The cowboy, by contrast, hasbeen working with horses a longtime and knows what a horseneeds. Most cowboys have abetter idea about what a horse’sfoot should look like than a lot

of people out there practicingthe profession of farriery,” saysBob.It’s important that the shoes

stay on. “When I first moved tothis part of the country, it wasonly about three years after Istarted shoeing horses. A clientwould tell me my shoeing jobwas the prettiest he’d ever seen,but a week later he’d call me tosay the shoes had come off! Isoon learned, and had to adaptmy methods of shoeing. Thiswas part of my education. Youlearn to shoe for what the horseneeds. These horses need to befit tight and short, with not a lotof heel sticking out.” When a horse is scrambling

around in the rocks he may stepon one foot with another, or get

one caught in the rocks if there’sany shoe sticking out. “If he’srunning hell bent for leatherdown a narrow canyon orthrough the volcanic rock on topof a mesa, you sure don’t wanthim to lose a shoe,” says Bob.Kelly Sue adds, “We always

smooth the shoes so they nevercatch the side of the shoe withanother foot. These horsesdodge back and forth whenchasing cows, and if they areturned out in pastures with abunch of other horses you neverknow who's stepping on who'sshoes—so you always box theheels. You don’t leave any stick-ing out.Bob says, “A therapeutic shoe

or an egg-bar or long heeledshoe may stay on if a horse is

kept in a stall or ridden lightly,but in a pasture or ridden like aranch horse must be, that’s a dif-ferent story. These horses areout there kicking and snortingand jumping around.”“Some people will tell you it’s

not good to shoe a foot with noroom for expansion and tooshort, but is it better to have theperfect shoeing job and lose theshoe in the rocks and end upwith a crippled horse because hehad 15 miles to get back tocamp, or to have a shoe thatstays on and protects the foot?You have to shoe a horse forwhat he’ll be used for, and inthis country you need to shoeranch horses short and tight.

Foot Care continued from page fourteen

continued on page sixteen

You need to make sure the shoesstay on so they don’t pull off in abad situation,” says Bob.On the whole, ranch horses

tend to have very healthy feet.They are not kept in stalls orsmall pens and rarely havethrush. They are moving aroundin big pastures or used regularly,and their feet stay cleaner andhealthier, especially if you use agood shoe that is self cleaning,says Kelly Sue.

Horses being used regularlyneed shoes, but rarely needpads. “If a horse is born andraised here, he generally doesn’thave much problem with bruis-ing. But when you buy a horsefrom outside and expect him toadapt, he may or may not. Padsare not always the best idea,because that doesn’t help himadapt and toughen his feet. Ahorse that can’t do the job usual-ly doesn’t stick around as a

ranch horse; if his feet won’thold up the cowboy usually getsa different horse. These guysdon’t have time to mess withone that takes extra work,” saysBob. He likes to use rim shoes;

they last longer (more miles)than any other shoe he’s tried. “Ialso like a rim shoe becausewhen that rim fills up with dirt itgives a lot more traction. Dirt onrock gives you much more trac-tion than steel on rock. Somepeople don’t like a rim shoe onthe hind feet, saying it givesthem too much torque, makingthe horse hesitant to perform athis best. But this depends onwhat the horse is being used for.If you are doing arena work thismay be true, and you want just aflat plate on the back—especial-ly for a roping horse--and a rimshoe on the front. But ranchhorses out in big pastures or onrocks need as much traction asyou can give them. If you’regoing down a steep side of acanyon, the horse needs to beable to get underneath himselfand have some traction,” hesays.“We don’t very often use toe

and heel shoes, though up inMontana it’s a popular shoe (thestandard keg shoes with a littlebuildup on toe and heel). Itgives some traction and some

extra wear. The rim shoe can lasta long time, too, even if youhave to lay a little borium in therim. Rim shoes are nice becausethe concavity of the inside webhelps it self clean better than aregular keg shoe. It also has thatnice roller motion all round. Ahorse doesn’t necessarily breakover the center of the toe andthis makes his breakover easier,”he says.Jim Neshem ranches and

shoes horses near Minot, NDwhere lots of ranch horses areshod in early spring because oficy conditions when they arebeing used during calving sea-son. “I shoe a lot of them thattime of year with calks or useborium, for better traction. Lat-er in the summer we generallyuse flat shoes—some type ofplate—in the rougher areas.Many horses in the northernpart of the state are justtrimmed and not shod, whereit’s mainly grassy terrain,” saysJim.Terrain in North Dakota

ranges from grassy to rocks.“Down in the Badlands it’srougher—a little sandy, a littlerockier, and some clay buttes.Here where I live there are morefarms and it’s grassy. In thesouthern or southwestern partit’s sandier, which can wear thefeet or shoes faster, but they

don’t have the snow and ice likewe have. The horses down thereI just shoe with plates.”Sometimes he uses rim shoes.

“A few ranchers like rims on thefronts and plates on the back.The rims probably give a littlemore traction on the front, butnot very many guys want rimshoes on the back feet. Theythink that when the horse isturning and doing fast work, therims make those feet stick a littletoo much. They don’t want tostop the foot that much. If theyare working in steeper countryor slippery sidehills, then theywant a little more traction, withcalks or borium. Everyone has adifferent idea about what theywant—what they are used to orfeel works best for their horses—so I shoe them the way theywant their horses shod. I evenuse some toe and heel kegshoes. Some guys want calks onthe front and those keg shoes onthe hind feet.”Some of the horses are kept

barefoot much of the yearexcept for the ones brought infor use during calving. Most ofthe horses run on big pastures,on the same type of terrainwhere they are used for cattlework, and their feet stay healthyand sound—much more healthythan horses kept in stalls orpens.


Foot Care continued from page fifteen

had specifically purchased theirorchards in reliance on theirground water rights. The Braggsknew that they would need touse more and more water fromthe Aquifer as their pecan treesmatured, which was not a prob-lem as their title included com-mon law water rights to use asmuch water as necessary for irri-gating their crop. But when theTexas Legislature created theAuthority, it passed regulationsthat severely curtailed how muchwater the Braggs could use. Itwasn’t enough to irrigate all oftheir trees, so they had to thintheir orchards and let many oftheir trees die.The Authority tried to argue

that the Braggs had no reason-

able expectation of irrigating asneeded, free of Authority regu-lation, because the Authoritydid not exist at the time theBraggs’ purchased theirorchards. Our brief noted thatif that were the case — i.e. gov-ernment could defeat propertyowners’ expectations simply byenacting regulation — anyonewho purchased land prior tothe permitting scheme beingenacted would never have areasonable expectation ofreceiving a use permit, and gov-ernment could always insulateitself from its constitutionalobligation to pay property own-ers’ for the taking of theirrights.Fortunately, the court

implicitly rejected that argu-ment in holding that the Brag-gs’ had a reasonable expecta-tion to use as much water asnecessary to water theirorchards. This supported thecourt’s conclusion that theAuthority had taken their waterrights. The Authority must nowpay the Braggs the differencebetween the value of their landas an orchard with unlimitedaccess to Edwards Aquiferwater, and their land with theAuthority’s water restrictions inplace. This is an excellent resultfor the Braggs, who have beenfighting this court battle since2006, and for the continuingprotection of common waterrights in Texas.

Texas Court continued from page eight

Phil Hickey, chairman of theNational Restaurant Association,says his first job was at age 14washing dishes at a Big Boy

restaurant in his hometown of Detroit.He says it was a job that gave him astrong work ethic and taught valuableskills that helped him move from thekitchen to eventually owning nine ofhis own restaurants.This experience is not uncommon.n The first job held by nearly one in

three Americans is in the restaurantindustry.

n In addition to teaching personalresponsibility, teamwork, discipline and

accountability, these positions provideworkers with opportunities for success-ful careers.

n Many of them advance from theirentry-level, minimum-wage positions.

n Nine out of 10 salaried restaurantemployees start off in hourly positions.Protesters at fast-food restaurants

around the country in recent weekshave alleged that fast-food workerscan’t survive on $7.25 an hour, thenational minimum wage, and thatrestaurants must pay all of theiremployees a “living wage” of $15 anhour.The majority of workers who earn a

minimum wage in the United Stateswork outside of the restaurant industry.

n Only 5 percent of the 10 millionrestaurant employees earn the mini-mum wage.

n Seventy-one percent of minimum-wage employees in the restaurantindustry are under the age of 25.The U.S. restaurant industry is vital

to the country’s economic growth andhas helped fuel the recovery nowunderway.

n Employment nationwide grew by1.7 percent in 2012

n The restaurant industry employ-ment grew 3.4 percent – making 2012

the 13th consecutive year that therestaurant industry has outperformedoverall U.S. employment growth.Efforts to devalue the industry and

mandate changes, like raising the min-imum wage, hurt workers by prevent-ing businesses of all sizes from creat-ing more jobs. As the U.S. economycontinues to recover, let’s focus onpreparing workers for high-growthpositions and helping businessesexpand – not on implementing policiesthat would eliminate jobs and shutterlocal businesses.

Source: Phil Hickey, ‘“McWages’ Can Be the Path to theMiddle Class,” Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2013.

“McWages” and the Middle Class

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LMD Sept 13