News Update

News Update
Nov. 2, 2006

Survey Results Tabulated on Property Rights Concerns

Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America’s (R-CALF USA’s) Property Rights Committee is still in its infancy after members voted it into existence just this year, but the group hit the ground running by beginning work on issues such as eminent domain, conservation easements and water rights, along with surveying the organization’s membership to determine what related issues were at the forefront of farmers’ and ranchers’ concerns.

“We wanted more information from the R-CALF membership as to which direction we should go, so the Committee decided a survey was the best way to determine the property rights concerns and interests of our members,” said R-CALF USA Property Rights Committee Chair Kimmi Lewis. “The results will provide guidance to the Committee as to how those issues should be prioritized and where we should focus our volunteer efforts.

“The most glaring and most troubling result of the whole survey revealed that 98% of respondents thought that threats against their private property rights would increase in the future, while 95% agreed that government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) — often for environmental reasons — take an adversarial position against property owners and their rights.

“When asked if government had ever pressured or threatened one’s land rights or water rights, 35% of respondents said their land rights had been threatened, while 42% indicated they felt like their water rights had been jeopardized,” Lewis continued. “We also wanted to find out if our members ever felt like private entities had pressured or threatened their land rights or water rights, and 33% believed their land rights had been threatened, and 29% thought their water rights had been threatened.

“Just a meager 8% of the respondents agreed that city, county or state governments should have the authority to determine which land must remain in agriculture and which may be developed, giving us the conclusion that government should not have the right to take land or take away private property rights,” she said.

“When asked whether R-CALF USA should pursue litigation when necessary and when it would be financially reasonable to do so, 85% of respondents agreed,” Lewis noted. “There were many additional comments, including which groups R-CALF USA might partner with to best advance the interests of cattle producers. Recommendations included conservative private property rights groups such as the Paragon Foundation, Stewards of the Range, and the Rocky Mountain Legal Foundation.

“With this information and these tabulations, it is very clear that private property owners throughout this nation are extremely concerned about their future and their rights to own private property,” Lewis concluded.

— release provided by R-CALF USA

Managing Corn Fields With Excess Down Corn

There are concerns for cows grazing cornstalk residue when the amount of down corn is in the range of 5 to 8 bushels (bu.) per acre. Experienced cornstalk grazing cows will work the field and find the corn grain first. High corn intake can cause cows to founder if the rumen is not accustomed to a high starch diet. Cows can be fed some corn grain prior to grazing fields with excess down corn to help reduce the risk of founder.

Consider grazing fields with excess corn with cull cows or weaned calves or both before allowing your brood cows to graze the field. Again, consider feeding the cull cows some grain before turning them out to graze. Calves are not experienced stalk grazers and they will slowly adapt themselves to the grain remaining in the field.

For other ways to limit the amount of corn consumed, consider increasing the stocking rate or cross-fence the field. These two practices would limit the corn intake.

Sodium bicarbonate administered in a water source can be used to buffer the rumen if cattle overconsume corn. If you can control where cattle get water, then this can help avoid acidosis. Remember, in the winter when there is snow available, cattle can get much of their water from snow. If you use sodium bicarbonate, the information that I have is 2.5 pounds of sodium bicarbonate per 100 gallons of water.

— by Rick Rasby, professor of animal science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln