News Update
September 11, 2014
U.S. House of Representatives Pass Bill to Halt Land Grab
The House of Representatives has passed H.R. 5078 Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Act of 2014 with a bipartisan vote of 262-152. The legislation is an attempt to halt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposed “Waters of the United States” regulation.
“The proposed WOTUS regulation by EPA and the Corps is a thinly veiled land grab attempt by the federal government,” according to Ed Luttrell, president of the National Grange. “Recently released maps by the EPA show that virtually every farmer, rancher and landowner would be adversely impacted by this regulation.”
The proposed rule has come under fire because of its breadth of jurisdiction. Among other things, all perennial, intermittent and ephemeral streams would be part of the rule because they are considered tributaries that are “physically and chemically connected” downstream to traditional navigable waters.
“This legislation is necessary because, in my view, the EPA does not seem to understand the real world effects these regulations will have on farmers across the country,” according to House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Colin Peterson, D-Minn. The bill’s original sponsor, Rep. Steve Southerland, R-FL, citing the proposed regulation as the very definition of regulatory creep, said, “This (regulation) really facilitates a capture of private property using the Clean Water Act and this onerous authority as a tool for eminent domain.”
The Senate is not expected to consider a WOTUS bill until after the November elections. More than 30 senators have sponsored legislation similar to the House-passed version. The White House has threatened a veto. Grange members are encouraged to contact their senators during the upcoming October election-cycle recess and ask them to vote for legislation to curtail the EPA and Corps regulatory overreach on water in the lame duck (November-December) session of Congress.
Farm Bureau Denounces Federal Overreach on States’ Water Rights
The Forest Service’s latest attempt to take water rights from farmers and ranchers violates fundamental constitutional protections, the Colorado Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said Sept. 10. The proposed Forest Service Groundwater Directive, they said, would circumvent state water rights and give the agency unprecedented control over water use in the West.
Colorado Farm Bureau President Don Shawcroft told the House Committee on Agriculture that the new directive would empower the Forest Service to take part-ownership of private citizens’ water rights as a regular part of the rights renewal process. Such seizures are unnecessary because western states have developed systems to fairly appropriate their often scarce water resources through statute and years of well-established case law, Shawcroft said.
Farm Bureau urged Congress to stop the directive. “Water is the lifeblood for all farm and ranch operations,” Shawcroft said. “We are outraged that the federal government continues to grossly and willfully ignore the established system of water rights.”
Cattle Castration and Dehorning Guidelines Available from AABP
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) has created castration and dehorning guidelines for the castration and dehorning of beef and dairy cattle (http://aabp.org/about/AABP_Guidelines.asp). These guidelines are meant to assist veterinarians and their clients in enhancing the welfare of cattle on beef and dairy farms by providing information on how best to approach dehorning and castration of calves.
“These new guidelines for castration and dehorning represent our combined view on the best approach to be taken for performing these procedures, melding science where it exists with sound judgment and common sense where science is less clear, accepting that the veterinarian of record for the farm is likely the best person to ultimately determine the most appropriate combination of procedures,” says AABP Past President Nigel Cook, University of Wisconsin. “They will be updated regularly as new science emerges so that our recommendations represent the best possible approaches available.”
The guidelines discuss age at castration and dehorning, proper chemical or manual restraint, different methods used to castrate and dehorn, and anesthesia and pain relief.
“These new guidelines accept that these are painful procedures where pain mitigation is a priority,” Cook explains. “They provide the most up-to-date recommendations for the use of different procedures for castration and dehorning, the use of local anesthesia and the use of long-acting pain relieving pharmaceuticals.”
Cook stresses, however, that these are guidelines only, not legislation. “They allow the veterinarian to work with them, with their clients, in deciding the most appropriate procedures for a given farm situation,” he says. “It is the veterinary profession that should take the lead in providing the most appropriate practices for the circumstances that exist on any given farm.”
Use of anesthetics or pain mitigation may include extra-label drug use as provided for in the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act, and their use should be based on the judgment of the farm’s veterinarian of record with a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR). See AABP’s VCPR guidelines and the castration and dehorning guidelines at http://aabp.org/about/AABP_Guidelines.asp.
AABP is a membership-based, not-for-profit organization serving cattle veterinary medical professionals across the United States, Canada and other countries. Visit www.aabp.org for more information.
Stockmen's Association to Host Convention Sept. 25-27
The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) is calling upon its members to weigh-in on issues that impact their businesses during the 85th Annual NDSA Convention & Trade Show, “Right Here, Right Now,” Sept. 25-27 in Dickinson, N.D.
The special anniversary event begins at 9 a.m. MST, Thursday, Sept. 25, with a Golf Scramble and Hole-In-One Contest at Pheasant Country Golf Course near South Heart, N.D. To register for the golf outing, contact NDSA member Daryl Zarak, who is chairing the event, at 701-590-3590.
That afternoon, convention-goers will head to the Dickinson State University (DSU) Ag Building on the West Campus for the popular Cattlemen’s College. Thursday’s activities will conclude with a social and supper at DSU’s Biesiot Activity Center.
On Friday, Sept. 26, convention activities will take place at the Grand Dakota Lodge. Participants will be encouraged to peruse the aisles of the Trade Show from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The opening general session begins at 8:45 a.m. and will include welcome addresses, a chief brand inspector report, committee reports and a special recognition of longtime NDSA members. During the Candidates’ Forum, members will also learn more about their peers who are vying for NDSA leadership positions.
Policy development is planned for Friday afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m.
The general session begins at 8:15 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, and will include four featured speakers — Mike Murphy, CattleFax; Allison Wiedeman, EPA; Jason Schmidt, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA); and Kristina Butts, NCBA.
During the noon luncheon, the North Dakota Stockmen’s Foundation will award seven Endowment and Legacy Scholarships and recognize Mentoring Program graduates.
The closing session, where NDSA members will adopt resolutions and elect directors and officers, will follow. The top membership recruiter will also be named and awarded the top prize — a one year’s lease on a Platinum aluminum stock trailer from Leanin’ Pole Arena.
The convention will close with a social and banquet beginning at 6 and 7 p.m., respectively.
Registration information is available at www.ndstockmen.org. Those who preregister by Sept. 11 will receive discounted prices and a commemorative t-shirt.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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