News Update
June 17, 2015
Waters of the U.S. Debate
Republicans in the House of Representatives in May voted to block Environmental Protection Agency efforts to define Waters of the U.S. and enhance EPA and the U.S. Army Corps or Engineers’ jurisdiction of those waters under the Clean Water Act.
Since the rule’s proposal last year, the EPA and the Corps have drawn much criticism from agricultural organizations who contend the rules would threaten landowner rights. According to the Associated Press, the bill passed in the House would force the EPA to withdraw the rules and further consult with state and local officials before rewriting the final rule. However, the White House has threatened to veto the legislation.
The final rule is expected in coming months and is defended by the EPA saying it will better define which waters fall under the law. For more information on a similar bill under debate in the Senate, view this week’s The Angus Report online.
Irrigated Pasture Management
Irrigated pasture can be more productive than harvesting hay on the same ground. Jim Gerrish, owner of American Grazinglands Services in May, Idaho, has been involved with innovative grazing systems for many years, first as a grazing specialist with the Forage Systems Research Center at the University of Missouri and now as a stockman/consultant in central Idaho, practicing these principals on the Circle Pi Ranch in the Pahsimeroi Valley.
“Here on this ranch we do daily pasture rotation with cattle on center pivots. Irrigated pasture has high production potential and ability to regrow rapidly. We do a fast rotation on these, putting water back on a strip the day after it’s grazed. This accelerates the regrowth and creates opportunity for creating another crop,” he says.
“Well-managed pasture under center pivots will meet or exceed hay production. So you’re not giving up any productivity by grazing instead of haying. You have more days of active growth,” says Gerrish.
Grass only grows up once for hay (or twice if you have a long growing season), but you have multiple cropping with grazing. Read the full Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.
Federal Spending Bill Includes
Important Provisions for Producers
On June 16, the House Interior appropriations bill passed through committee 30 to 21. The Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) strongly support the bill, which allocates how federal dollars are spent for the Department of Interior, EPA and related agencies during fiscal year 2016. The bill included language that would help provide relief from the regulatory burdens that continue to hamper the productivity and profitability of farmers and ranchers across the country.
From language that blocks the listing of the Sage Grouse, to requiring alternative allotments where ranchers are impacted by drought or wildfire without the need to complete extensive environmental analyses and many others, Dustin Van Liew, PLC and NCBA federal lands executive director, said the provisions are important to keeping livestock producers in business.
This bill would maintain the current grazing fee, fund the range budgets at the same levels as fiscal year 2015 and prohibit funding for the creation of de facto wilderness areas under Secretarial Order 3310. These are all critical in maintaining the viability of federal lands grazing and multiple use.
For more information, view the full news release online.
Ashland Veterinary Center Celebrates 25 Year Milestone
On the first day of June 1990, an aspiring veterinarian moved his young family to Ashland, Kan., to assume ownership of a struggling veterinary clinic. The rural Clark County practice, geographically located in an area where cattle far outnumber people, spelled opportunity for Randall Spare.
Fast forward a quarter century and the Ashland Veterinary Center’s (AVC) five veterinarians offer extensive services in a four state area. The clinic provides small and large animal services with the majority of AVC’s work being large animal, including cow-calf, stocker and feedlot.
Herd health management, nutritional consulting, disease prevention and testing, genomic and reproductive services, equine reproduction and acupuncture are all services offered by the AVC team. The AVC bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) lab tests more than 30,000 samples each year in an effort to eradicate one of the most costly illnesses in beef production. In addition, AVC veterinarians and support staff are responsible for managing the requirements of international exports for cattle shipments to Russia, Canada, Mexico, Egypt and Kazakhstan.
For more information, please visit AVC’s website.
Experts will Discuss Brush, Weed Control
at NMSU’s Corona Research Center
Ranchers and farmers across New Mexico are often challenged with the control of everything from salt cedar to starthistle. Weeds and brush can outcompete beneficial grasses, heighten fire danger and increase water usage on parched lands.
Control of brush and weeds will be the topic of a Beyond the Roundtable seminar June 30 at New Mexico State University’s (NMSU’s) Southwest Center for Rangeland Sustainability in Corona.
The meeting will provide producers with the latest thinking on how to approach various control methods on farms and ranches.The program will begin at 10 a.m. with a presentation on plant physiology by Amy Ganguli, NMSU range ecologist. At 11 a.m., a presentation will be given on chemical control of brush and weeds. Lunch will be provided at noon.
At 1 p.m., Ganguli will outline the processes of prescribed burning. At 2 p.m., Brent Racher of Racher Resource Management will discuss mechanical brush removal.
The seminar will continue at 3 p.m. with a presentation of case studies and conclude with a roundtable discussion.
For more information please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events.
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