EPA's Emission Tax on Cattle & Pigs

Hmmmm....Emission Tax on Cattle & Pigs. As Larry says, "If they tax cow crap, they'll tax anything!" LOL, I happen to agree with the stupidity of the individuals who run the EPA.

The EPA has collected data on cattle and pigs to justify this tax in order to meet emission requirements per law. The EPA has declared cows alone produce more emissions then the total number of cars in the US in the form of methane. My response is, "SO WHAT IS THE POINT!" If your going to tax ruminants lets tax sheep, goats, prong horn antelope, big horn sheep, elk, and deer. Lets tax the states based on their wildlife populations. If your going to tax pigs which are mono gastric animals lets tax horses, humans, dogs and cats. Well in some states like North Carolina you already pay a pet tax on your State Income Tax.

So what does this really mean to Dairy, Beef and Pork producers? Then finally what does this mean to the consumer of these products? Lower prices to the producer and higher prices to the consumer. For those of you who do not understand Agriculture Economics, I'll explain why this tax is so detrimental to both the consumer and producer.

We'll start with the producer. I am a seed stock producer of cattle. This means I produce cattle that will eventually be sold to the producer who produces calves which will eventually go to someone who eats beef. So there is the two tier system in the beef industry. One who produces registered cattle or F1 cross (two breeds bred for first cross giving hybrid vigor) is the first tier. Second tier is the commerical producer, one who produces calves to sell to a specified market. There are a lot of options to this second tier. Some direct market their cattle and others sell their calves via the local sale barn. There are various other types of cattle operations that fit within both tiers, but that is another story. Now I move on to the final product, the beef you find in the grocery store. If you choose to buy ribeye steaks today at the store do you know the color of the calf or the breed of the calf that steak came from. No! Even in the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) Program you don't know the true breeds represented of the steak your eating. See the CAB website for the definition of CAB.

Specifications of Certified Angus Beef

What I'm trying to explain is every Agriculture product you buy is a homozygous product. Every steak in the grocery store looks the same as the next store and the same in every store across the US. Every ear of corn grown in my state looks the same as every ear of corn grown in every other state, etc. As such this causes a standard pricing for the end product to the consumer. Of course you just said, "But, I pay more for Certified Angus Beef!" Yes, you do, you have bought into the best marketing program in the US by the American Angus Association. If you really want a superior steak, ask your butcher for "Elite Tender Beef." These programs are considered "Branded Programs," an attempt to bring higher prices to the producers and they have succeeded. Through DNA testing we now have markers which allow producers to select for Tenderness and Marbling giving the consumer a higher quality product.

Yet, after all this cattle prices to the producers are less today then in 1980 based on inflation. Remember I produce a homozygous product. Unless I develop a market directly to the consumer and many producers have, providing quality grain fed, grass fed, natural, or organic beef directly to the consumer. Of course these four areas can be a combination. These producers by pass the middle man. Yeah, I got to the middle man. In the beef industry there can be more then one middle man. The list may or may not include the local sale barn, the feedlot, the slaughter house, then the grocery store. They all want to make a profit. No one wants to be in business and not make a profit. I'm included.

So what happens if the EPA enacts this tax. Well I get taxed and the feedlot gets taxed. It is the middle man who knows just how much the consumer will stand on a price hike before they stop buying beef and choose chicken over beef or pork simply because of cost. So who suffers, the producer. The middle man will offer less to the producer for their product. Why? It's a homozygous product. An example in point.... As grain prices went up last year on the Future's Market the amount offered to beef producers went down. This caused a huge number of producers to dump cattle on the market. These production cows and bulls were sold to make hamburger meat. The prices haven't risen even though a large number of production animals were sold. Today on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange the price of cattle is 84.00 cwt. It will be slightly higher depending on how close you live to Chicago. The reason is a whole new discussion which I won't go into. In Texas cattle are running 87.00 per cwt.

Let's look at what 87.00 per cwt brings to the producer. If I have 100 cows I will produce 95 calves based on the average of 95% conception rate. I'll sell these calves at an average of 500 lbs at sale time at the local sale barn. This equates to 95 x 5 cwt x $87 = $41,325 gross income. It takes about $250.00-350.00 for each mama beef cow. I'm down to $11,325 dollars profit. Now the EPA wants me to pay $87.50 for each beef cow I own. Now I've just made a profit of $2,575.00. Why in the world would I now want to raise cattle.

Let's look at the AVERAGE PRODUCER! The average cattle herd in this country is 30-50 head and the EPA very intelligently decided this tax is only for the producer with 50 head or more. Still stupid. What makes me with just under 100 head on my farm any different then two producers with the same number I have. Their cattle have the same emissions as me. Most producers have cattle to supplement income from their other job. I promise no one can live on the current $11,325 per year. The amount of labor the producer puts in doesn't even pay minimum wage. The small producer raises cattle for one simple reason....THEY LIKE CATTLE. As I said not only will the producer have to pay this tax, so will the feedlots. Double taxing by the government. They will offer less to the producer for their calves so they can absorb the tax and keep the price of beef the same to you. Remember I said the feedlots know exactly what you as the consumer will pay for beef before you switch to chicken or pork. Eventually with this type of tax, the rise in pork and beef will go up to you the consumer.

Let's look briefly at dairy cattle. I'm going to use California Dairies. You like the California Cheese Cows on TV. I can't help but laugh each time I see those cows on TV. The marketing for California Cheese is great....you have this picture of happy cows in the pasture. This so far from the truth it is mind boggling. The large dairies in Southern California keep their dairy cows in a huge feedlot situation. They are milked three times a day. The dairy operates around the clock. These dairies can have 10,000 and some more cows in them. The EPA's wise decision is to tax dairies above 50 head at a rate of $179.00 per head. So those large dairies milking 10,000 head a day equates to $1,790,000 dollars a year. What do you think will happen to the price of milk. Yep, you got it...GO UP!

Are you willing to pay this tax, while producers make less.....think! You need to eat, tell your senators and representatives in Washington the EPA is STUPID!

Kim

Winter Out My Front Door

I love winter out my front door....well maybe! When visited by this cow, chewing on my round bales of hay in the yard, not. As she munches, it makes it really difficult to move the Hay. This gal has figured out how to go through the fence of our neighbors across the street. She is so tired of being chased out I couldn't get the picture taken in time before she decided the best choice is to leave. So I'm watching her back end as she mossies out the gate. She really has a nice profile and is an excellent example of a great commerical production cow. She leaves her three month old behind in the pasture and returns the same way as she got out. Calf never comes with her. I really think she just likes to visit at this point because she isn't hungry. She's in better shape then some of our cows.

Why did I call it Winter out my Front Door? Well on those rare occasions I buy Creating Keepsakes. Want to join 365? That's 365 pictures in a year. There was an article in Creating Keepsakes this month on ideas for a picture a day. They listed 365 ideas to take pictures. One was "Winter out your front door." So here is my Winter Out the Front Door picture, Visiting Charlois Cow in the "GOTTA GO NOW SO I'M NOT CHASED OUT!"


My daily routine in Winter of 2009. LOL!!!!

Kim

New Year's Eve Musings

I often get reflective on Dec. 31st. It's not necessarily about just the past year but about my thoughts and what I find is just important in my life. I never make New Year's resolutions because I can never keep them.

I find the greatest thing that happened to me personally in the last couple of months was to be named to the Youth Committee of the American Lowline Registry. Here is where I can give of myself to what I believe is the most important single activity I can be involved in. Guiding a child in a direction which allows them to be a wonderful contributing member of society. Combine that with Agriculture and I just love the whole process. Our current discussions of the committee is on the formation of the American Lowline Junior Assoc. and then the next item is the National Junior Show in June.

As I read my email this morning I clicked on Scrapbook Junkie, an LSS near my mother's. If your wondering where the store is, it's on the southwest corner of I-45 and NASA Rd. 1. (Ok, I know they now call it NASA Parkway....but I don't like the change). I had thought about submitting an entry for their design team but decide against it as I wasn't sure I could do the traveling. I love the store and I frequent it when traveling over to my Mom's.

A Scrapbook Junkie

This morning I decided to read the blogs of the design team and the owner, Beth. There on Beth's blog was a picture that bought back a flood of memories. Earlier this month Endeavor flew over the Clear Lake area of Houston, the home to NASA. Endeavor was piggy back aboard it's 747. It is an incredible site to see. I didn't get to see Endeavor but I remember a day way back when.....high school. I was either a senior and Columbia was due to fly over. We rarely had morning announcements. That morning of the fly over our principal would tell us when the shuttle was on it's way in. He would announce it and we were to file out of class as in a fire drill. I don't know about the rest of the school but I was in Drafting and when the announcement started the four classes in the shop wing hit their doors in an all out dash for the door. We had the very best view in the entire school for the fly over. This door emptied into the student parking lot. The entire school started to cheer with arms pointing. To grow up with astronaut families in the seventies was definitely an experience. That was when astronauts where on the same level as movie stars. I remember my Mom having to go outside and tell the press they had to stay off our lawn on Commander Conrad's return from Space Lab. I baby sat for Commander Lovell. Several astronauts who walked on the moon were members of our church. Commander McCandless' daughter and I were good friends. I was devastated with the Challenger and Columbia accidents. The Challenger accident was one of those moments in my life that I can relive the moment as it happened when I found out about the accident. I'd just gotten out of class and had gone to Schlotsky's in College Station for lunch before I went to my afternoon labs. There on the television after sitting down was the news and the story. Right there in the middle of the store I started to cry. I knew Mike Smith and his family, the pilot of Challenger, they lived down the street from my parents. So I reflect this day on my youth....my dreams, my friends, my family and the community from which I come.

Oh, then I couldn't resist to visit OLW, see October 17, 2008 post for link. I love the current word, "START." What a great word to start the New Year. I just have to think of a LO to do with the word. When I get it done I'll share it

One last item....I found this really cool little add on from another blog I visited this morning. I decided to ad it as a gadget to my blog. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you will find a "Live Crude Oil" ticker. I loved it since our business is servicing the oilfield. Yes, I suppose I fit the true stereotype of a Texan....cattle, horses, and oil. I'm missing the tumbleweeds.

On this day as in year's past I am reflective.....

2008 California Prop 2

I suppose after much thought I'd look up and see exactly what California Prop 2 was really all about. First I'd thought I'd quote the Proposition 2 as it appeared on the State of California's Voters Guide website.

STANDARDS FOR CONFINING FARM ANIMALS. INITIATIVE STATUTE.

• Requires that calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs be confined only in ways that allow these animals to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely.
• Exceptions made for transportation, rodeos, fairs, 4-H programs, lawful slaughter, research and veterinary purposes.
• Provides misdemeanor penalties, including a fine not to exceed $1,000 and/or imprisonment in jail for up to 180 days.

Then just below on the same page is the economic impact to the State of California.

Summary of Legislative Analyst’s Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:

• Potential unknown decrease in state and local tax revenues from farm businesses, possibly in the range of several million dollars annually.
• Potential minor local and state enforcement and prosecution costs, partly offset by increased fine revenue.

I thought then if you really want to look into as I have I would go to the websites I've added below.

American Veterinary Association

dvm360.com

Beef - beefmagazine.com

I found all three articles basically the same. They presented both sides of the issue. I think the thing that interested me the most was the division that occurred in the California Veterinary Medical Assoc. So divisive was it among the members of the Assoc. there is now two associations in California. The other were veterinarians who opposed Prop 2 they formed the Association of Californian Veterinarians.

So where do I stand. Like most farmers/ranchers we are against this Proposition. We see it as an attack by animal rights activists. The states of Florida, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon have passed similar statutes on veal calves and sows. Most veal producers are moving to a different confinement system then those of the past. As for sows research has been done over and over on different types of confinement systems to insure a higher survival rate of piglets.

I find myself falling into the economic impact of this future law when it comes into effect in 2015. Most individuals do not understand the the potential in agriculture of any shift in the cost of inputs or weather can cause financial collapse of the agriculture operation. It doesn't matter if it is the family farm or corporate farming. Both our egg industry and broiler industry are what called integrated industries. A corporation owns all of the production of the eggs and broilers that we consume. There are only about seven or eight corporations in both industries that produce both products. To require larger cages requires more space. To be honest it would be cheaper to move the operations in California out of the state where it will be cheaper to produce eggs. This will be a large loss to the state of California in revenue. The cost to the consumer will go up because of the cost of transportation of eggs into the state. I'm sure the 64% of voters who passed this bill didn't even think of the cost of their eggs and pork increasing.

As I sit and look at what is happening around me in agriculture since the stock market went in the tank I see as gloomy near future. I've watched fellow cattle producers dump their cows on the market because they can no longer feed through the winter. Pilgrim's Pride has filed for bankruptcy protection. Tyson is also having problems. All as a result of speculators involved in the Futures Market with grain. Producers of Eggs, Broilers, Milk Producers, Beef Feedlots, and Pork Producers all have to buy large amounts of grain to produce the meat, eggs and milk you drink. They use the futures market to guarantee a price on the grain they need. This gives them an exact amount of dollars they will put into a calf that will go to your plate as a ribeye or hamburger. Same with the broiler, the egg, a gallon of milk and the pork loin. Tyson ventured into pork production and other companies have followed so pork like broilers is mostly integrated. Those inflated grain prices have caused a burden on these companies and food prices won't go down until they have run through the grain they purchased earlier this year via the Futures Market. Then it still may not go down even though the transportation costs have gone down. Grocery stores rarely lower prices once the consumer is used to paying a particular price for their product since they run on a very small margin.

I suppose the thing that drives me the nuts the most are the animal rights activists. Disease and injury is a greater risk in these larger systems. When it comes to chickens and pork their control of disease is the greatest issue. In chickens that range in the open or even in covered pens that are moved each day their is a greater risk of disease. In laying house they can control the environment to keep disease at a minimum. This is so true I could not enter a laying house if I wasn't an employee. The same is true in a farrowing operation (swine breeding). So that argument is mute. And as I mentioned above one small thing should go wrong in any agriculture operation it can mean the difference between profit and loss. Should disease hit a laying operation the only thing the egg producer can do is empty the entire facility of hens, which are humanly destroyed. Then totally clean the entire facility and wait for the next available delivery of replacement pullets. This throws the entire process by the corporation in their ability to meet delivery on their normal rotation of replacing older hens with younger hens in all of their laying houses.

The other thing that seems to drive me nuts more then anything is that the great majority of our population has no idea that the most dynamic industry in the US is agriculture. Without the continued research in agriculture we would not enjoy the availablity of food we enjoy today. If I could scream at the top of my lungs I would. You enjoy the lifestyle you have today because of the ability of our country to feed our population. Wake up and realize we have a hunger problem in this country for reasons other then our agriculture systems. Wake up and realize I'm not the dumb rancher. If I have to I can grow food other then our cattle to feed myself. Could you? Your food doesn't come from a grocery store. It comes from people like me. So animal rights activist I doubt greatly that you could do what I do. Trust me if our economy so totally collapsed you would be in a heap of problems trying to get food. Every producer would protect their food for their family first, I'm no different.

Finally, there is an estimated 3500 jobs lost in California as a result of this bill. That is another economic impact that the state doesn't receive tax revenue from those who lost their job. Californian residences will be paying for their loss of jobs. Right now we in our current economic position as a country just don't need more jobs lost.

I can only conclude the voters of California were STUPID!

Just my thoughts.

Kim

OLW - Keep

Another word to keep me thinking, KEEP! I read the current challenge on One Little Word, and really had a tough time so off I went to the dictionary. One definition was "livestock keep" meaning one who keeps livestock or an area to house livestock. As a child I remember my grandmother talking about livestock keeps, as in noun. Now I had the perfect pictures for the perfect story in my head.




I had no idea how to use OLW for over a year as I would read through the posts. I'd been wanting to have an album which described me and deep down who I am. Then reading Word #33, FAITH, it dawned on me. Of course I had plans to tell others about my love for God and his son, my savior Jesus. I now had the route and the album to have all of these words to describe who I am. Yet, I found a stumbling block and spent time working on pages about my family for my album. It wasn't until the word "KEEP" which unblocked some of the problems I was still having in describing myself.

I started on the LO the day "KEEP" was posted on One Little Word. I scrolled through the LO's but didn't "read between the lines." With the LO undone I headed to the ranch on Friday. Monday I head to Pencil Lines to see the LO. Whoops, I'd already done "Keep" using Pencil Lines Sketch #105. Soooo....here's my Pencil Lines Sketch #106 Entry using the OLW Wordup #19 "CREATE."




The journaling on this LO, my entry to Pencil Lines is my first attempt at computer journaling my words.


'What a joy to have a hand in God's Creations. A breeder striving to produce the perfect horse, cow or rabbit. The joy of planting a new rose, Pope John Paul II."


I loved the top picture of my Pope John Paul II as it had been in the ground one week when I took this picture. It shows some of my spring cleaning of our rabbit barn. Rabbit manure. No need to compost since it doesn't burn. It's the love you give a rose when taking care of it that brings such beautiful roses.


The bottom picture taken by Lynn is of Zuby in his pasture. The picture taken before his colic surgery. It's amazing how he looks now then just a year before his surgery. Little did Lynn or I know at the time that a time bomb was ticking inside of him. Something that caused attachment of his small intestine to his abdominal wall. Ibn Zubaydahh (Tammen x Zubaydahh), aka Zuby in my humble opinion was the best horse we ever bred. A champion in halter, a friend, and companion he loves to once again fly accross the pasture. This past weekend at the ranch I watched him run silhouted by the setting sun and it was if I was watching the movie, The Black Stallion all over again. He was just beautiful in his joy of living.


I'm off to print pictures now as I'm down to one picture left to scrap.....


Thank you for the Word Up OLW.


Kim

4H & FFA

Larry and I were both members of FFA. Our kids were both members of FFA. For agriculture these are definitely the two best organizations for kids. I've watched trouble kids become well adjusted adults via both organizations. I've watched the leaders tomorrow not just in agriculture but in all areas of the economy. I've seen young adults involved in both desire and are giving back to those currently involved in the organizations.


I love RFD-TV! It's all about what I love so much, agriculture! I watched the show Virginia Farming the other night. They had a segment about a young man in 4-H who entered the Eat Local Video Contest sponsored by the Virginia Dept of Agriculture. They showed the video on that segment of Virginia Farming then interviewed him about his video. His entire family was involved in the video. I hope you'll enjoy the video, too.




There is a growing movement all across the US on "Grow Local, Eat Local." So how did this movement start. Farmers and ranchers trying to get a decent price for the products they raise. When was the last time you visited the local farmers market. There you will find all sorts of products. Some fall under naturally grown, some organic, some not labeled either. But either way you will find some of the best vegetables and fruits you have eaten. There is no shipping via a truck for thousands of miles. The fruits and vegetables have been picked in the last 12 hours as a general rule. Texas Department of Agriculture has a website which lists local farmers markets. Check you state's agriculture department to see if they have a list. There are many other places to buy your state's agriculture products and support the farmers and ranchers of your state. Even Rhode Island has a small thriving community of farmers and are well supported by their agriculture department.


Texas Farmers Markets


Local Harvest - a website supporting Grow Local, Eat Local.


Enjoy your day!

Kim

OLW - "Create"

wow...this word can be so large in how you really search within yourself to wonder how you put a LO together to tell others about a deeper meaning within you.

I've completed my first word with OLW today using Pink Sketches #9 Sketch. This word was "keep." Since Pencil Lines and OLW have teamed up this week I need another word thus I've decided to use "Create." I had the choice of 36 other words to choose from to work with and I loved this one.

I first thought of my scrapbooking when it came to "create." But as I read the Blog "little gi" on what "keep" (this week's OLW word) meant to Gigi, I realized just what create meant to me. We have the ability to "create" so many things. Yet "create" to me means a couple of things. I've always wanted to be creative, I'm not & I never will be to my liking. It is why I took drafting in high school, back when you did the drawing instead of using a computer. I especially loved Architecture, it allows for artistic expression. I love clean lines, my scraping reflects that.... Yet when I sit and really think about create....it becomes an expression of who I am when it comes to Agriculture. There is nothing more thrilling then a bale of hay coming out of a baler that you and God's hand had a part in getting to that point. Or a foal or calf born which you have agonized over who to breed the dam to. That calf is your creation. Plant a rose take care of it, nuture it and watch as God gives you the most breathtaking flower in the world. Or at least the rose is my favorite flower.

I've also come to realize I've made the next step in my scrapbooking. For one who isn't creative I'm getting there one baby step at a time. Oh, how I wish I was like so many others who are so very creative! I've made the step to working on my own sketches, I've done two. Now I'll look at the challenge blogs I frequent and sometimes never look at the sketch a second time. Six months ago it would have driven me nuts to have a LO not look like the sketch. Now I'm slowly moving towards what a sketch is, a guideline to inspire.

.....one baby step at a time where my LO's become my creation...

So stay tuned to see my OLW "Create" in a few days.

kim....