Loose Ends

We’re not sure what recent sales they’re comparing to, but Graham Livestock Commission Company this week quoted buffalo bull yearlings "steady" at $510 per head.

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USDA announced Monday that it will purchase up to $8 million worth of lamb to help improve prices.

"The lamb industry has been under pressure due to larger than normal lamb imports, a higher proportion of heavier weight lambs, and an increased supply of domestic red meat," said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. "These additional lamb purchases will help offset the surplus supply of lamb which is depressing prices to producers."

The lamb products will be distributed to recipients of federal food assistance programs through food banks and other charitable organizations, USDA said.

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The Colorado Cattle Feeders Association will present an interactive satellite program addressing water quality and manure management issues on May 28th from 1-3 p.m. MDT. Derald Lang from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will discuss animal feeding operations, manure management and the impact of state regulations. Jim Miller, director of policy and communications, Colorado Department of Agriculture, will address the Ag Chemical and Ground Water Protection Act and the Agriculture Management Areas. Tim Osag, senior enforcement coordinator for Region VIII, Environmental Protection Agency, will discuss EPA’s AFO strategy.

Tom McDonald, Environmental Affairs Manager for the Cattle Feeding Division of Continental Grain Company, will address manure management in feedlots. Chris Kraft, owner and manager, Badger Creek Farm Inc., a 650 dairy cow operation located in Fort Morgan, Colo., will talk about dairies and manure management. Eric Dunker, director of environmental affairs with Western Pork Production, will discuss effluent management in pork production. Finally, Jim Geist, field services director, Colorado Corn Growers Association, will address the on-farm use of manure.

Viewers can ask questions of the panel by calling (800) 566-2992 or faxing questions to (970) 491-5920.

The program will be available at 22 Colorado county Extension offices and to anyone with satellite capability. Viewing information is available from local Colorado State University Cooperative Extension offices or the CCFA office at (303) 457-2232.

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Grazinglands will be the subject of a binational meeting slated for June 25-26 at Texas A&M International University in Laredo.

The meeting, sponsored by the Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management, Texas A&M University and a group of northern Mexico universities, is the second in a series aimed at meeting the needs of livestock producers in South Texas and northern Mexico. The first meeting, in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, centered on livestock production systems in this semi-arid region.

The Laredo meeting begins on Wednesday June 24, with registration. The registration fee is $55 U.S. before June 15; $65 after June 15; and $30 with student identification.

The first session begins at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday and concludes Friday afternoon.

Topics covered, in English and Spanish, include Range Ecosystems in Northern Mexico and South Texas; Integrated Range Resource Management; Drouth Strategies; Pasture Forage Production and Planned Grazing Strategies.

Additionally, there will be a tour of the Killam Ranch. Participants will be able to see watershed demonstrations, pasture grass species plots and how the ranch manages wildlife habitat.

After the tour, the group will travel back to Texas A&M International to discuss research and other needs suggested with the presentations. The reports from all four scheduled meetings will be used as a project proposal from the universities for this region after the fourth workshop. The topics for the final two workshops are wildlife and environmental ecology; however, dates and locations have not been finalized.

Information about the Laredo meeting is available in English from Michelle Lee, Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management, (888) 799-4442, cgrm@tamu.edu; in Spanish from Alma Molina, (409) 862-1979, s-molina@tamu.edu. The host hotel is the Holiday Inn on the Rio, (956) 722-2411.

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PlanIt Texas, a coalition of environmental groups, producer groups, government agencies and private landowners, has scheduled a tour of the Red Corral Ranch. For several years the coalition has acted as an advisory management team for this 1100 acre family ranch. They have helped plan and implement economically profitable ways to preserve and enhance the ecology of the land.

Member organizations will be present at a variety of sites on the ranch to share their expertise, demonstrate the principles which have been successful throughout the collaborative process, and function as a resource to participants.

Participants will learn to recognize golden cheeked warbler habitat, identify wildflowers and collect seed, how to monitor soil and rangeland health, identify native grasses and plants, run a bed and breakfast, manage an organic farm, attract wildlife and more.

Registration is $15 and includes a sack lunch and a PlanIt Texas Landowner’s manual. Registration for children is $10 (12 years and under), which includes lunch but no manual.

To register send name, address, phone number, fax number and check (made out to Red Corral Ranch) to Red Corral Ranch, 505 Red Corral Ranch Rd., Wimberely, TX 78676. A confirmation letter and map will be returned by mail or fax. Lunch is guaranteed only to those who register by May 26.

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Critics of the government’s current anti-tobacco crusade have insisted all along that it has less to do with separating children from cigarettes than with separating billions of dollars from tobacco producers and consumers. The Texas experience appears to have borne that out, given the fact that five private lawyers managed to write themselves a multi-billion dollar payoff as part of the settlement.

Now comes a similar revelation in Minnesota, where the state and a major insurance company just concluded a $9 billion settlement with tobacco companies. The insurance company, Blue Cross, argued — convincingly, it appears — that its policyholders deserved about half a billion dollars in compensation for the share of their premiums that went to treat smoking-related illness. The catch? With the fish in the bag, Blue Cross now says it won’t return the booty to those policyholders. Gotcha.