NMSU center at Corona serves as key site for range, livestock research

NMSU center at Corona serves as key site for range, livestock reseach If you want to learn more about livestock management or range management, you may want to visit the Corona Range and Livestock Research Center. Part of New Mexico State University, the CRLRC is centrally located in the state. As the center’s superintendent Shad Cox said, if you draw the letter “X” on a New Mexico map, Corona is at the center of that “X.” Located in both Lincoln and Torrance Counties, the CRLRC specializes in research and graduate student education. Areas of focus include natural resources, livestock nutrition, livestock reproduction and wildlife habitat. Cox has worked at the center for 22 years. He has served as superintendent for the past 10 years and was the senior research assistant before that. He wears many hats in his leadership capacity, from coordinating outreach events to serving as head cook for the United States Beef Academy. An annual event held in July, the beef academy is for young men and women who are interested in learning about the beef industry. Attendees learn about genetics, nutrition, reproduction, animal health, livestock handling and marketing. Major sponsors of the academy included NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service as well as Zoetis and Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension program. This was the second year CRLRC hosted the event. The plan is for the center to become the beef academy’s permanent home. The CRLRC has been home to other events as well, including: – Cowbelles district meeting – Grassfed Livestock Alliance annual meeting – New Mexico Department of Game and Fish annual officers training program – Beyond the Roundtable ranchers’ educational discussions Stirling Spencer, member of the CRLRC/Southwest Center for Rangeland Sustainability Advisory Committee, said the center’s ability to host real-life experiments is one of its greatest values. “The center is a real-life testing ground for theories and laboratory experiments that need to be evaluated against actual environmental and real-time conditions,” Spencer said. “It’s a place where professors, researchers and agencies can test assumptions and theories that can affect the efficiencies and management of rangeland, wildlife and environmental issues.” Advisory committee member Scott Shafer said the center offers very diverse programs for the public. “We’ve created programs that focus strictly on agriculture, as well as renewable energy and water projects,” Shafer said. “We fall in line with NMSU’s Extension Services’ purpose by getting information out – not just to producers – but to people with various backgrounds from all over New Mexico.” Cox hopes that more people will be able to attend multiple-day outreach events at the center if funding is secured to increase overnight accommodations. “With our centralized location in New Mexico, it would be a great opportunity if NMSU is able to provide overnight accommodations for outreach programs,” Cox said. Right now the center only has one cabin on site, which can host four to six people. Two miles down the road is an apartment, and five miles away are two trailers. But Cox said the center would be able to host more educational programs with everything in one area. “We’re developing a campaign to find some outside funding to construct additional cabins and a laboratory to add to the Southwest Center for Rangeland Sustainability, which is our classroom,” he said. “The plan includes four new on-site cabins and eight new cabins in the future.” Spencer agreed increased housing is needed to create a more efficient operation. “My vision is to expand both the center’s capability of long-term housing for researchers and the site laboratory,” Spencer said. Shafer said increasing accommodations for outreach opportunities falls into NMSU’s land-grant mission. “If we can secure funding to add residential structures, groups can come in for multi-day education events and youth camps,” Shafer said. “We’d also be able to improve our working laboratory for scientists and graduate students.” Aside from overnight accommodations, Spencer hopes to see an increased involvement from other entities. “I would also like to involve more governmental agencies, agriculture groups and the members of the public that are involved in environmental and rangeland decisions and policy,” he said. Rolando Flores, dean of NMSU’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, said the center has potential to have an impact beyond New Mexico. "This is an example of dedicated management and participation of our advisory board for the benefit of the university, as well as economically as a benefit for agriculture in the state of New Mexico," said Flores. "The center is already internationally known as an outstanding place. This is an opportunity to turn this into a major center for international instruction and research in rangeland sustainability." Established in 1988, the CRLRC operates in coordination with the NMSU Department of Animal and Range Sciences. Discover more at www.corona.nmsu.edu. - 30 -

Imagine what you could learn if a rangeland cow wore a GoPro camera

NMSU engineering students design cow camera to assist researchers DATE: 08/31/2016 WRITER: Kristie Garcia, 575-646-4211, kmgarcia@nmsu.edu CONTACT: Laura Boucheron, 575-646-7420, lboucher@nmsu.edu Imagine what you could learn if a rangeland cow wore a GoPro camera. What does the cow eat? How much does it eat? How often does it eat? And how much land does it cover in one day? Four New Mexico State University electrical engineering students are designing a camera prototype that may provide the answers. Seniors Zach Abbott, Christian De La Pena, German Montes and Adrian Palos are in the process of developing a camera that can be affixed to a harness around a cow’s neck. The students are part of the two-semester-long senior capstone design class advised by Laura Boucheron, assistant professor in the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. They’re all seniors and expect to conclude their design project in December. “We want our students to take the concepts they have from all of the courses that we’ve taught them and synthesize them together and design something,” Boucheron said. “The idea is that they’re taking concepts from a variety of different subdisciplines in their engineering, putting them together, learning how to present to a variety of audiences and actually building something that they can test and demonstrate.” The purpose of the camera is to help researchers learn about cattle at the Jornada Experimental Range northeast of Las Cruces. Rick Estell, research animal scientist with the Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research program, is part of a team studying Raramuri Criollo cattle. “Raramuri Criollo is a biotype that’s pretty rare,” Estell said. “It originated in Northern Africa and came over with the Spaniards in the 1500s into Central America. They went through this process of natural selection for 500 years or so before gradually disappearing except in isolated areas.” About 10 years ago, Estell’s colleague brought 27 Criollo cows to the Jornada Range from Mexico. Now, the population on the range is about 200. “What we’re doing is comparing these animals to the standard black baldies that most producers in this area use,” Estell said. “There’s hardly any information on Criollo, so we want to know what they’re eating and how they distribute themselves on the landscape.” The engineering students and Boucheron went to the Jornada Range earlier this month to take some measurements. Several factors must be taken into consideration, such as the circumference of the cow’s neck and the distance from the camera location to the vegetation on the ground. The electronics of the camera are complete at this point, and the next step is packaging the camera. The students will need to come up with a design that can withstand weather and force. Regarding placement, they need to consider any obstructions that may arise. “At this point in the project, the biggest challenge is going to be designing an enclosure for the device,” Abbott said. “It will need to contain all the systems and meet our durability requirements.” If the prototype works, Estell hopes that eventually cameras on multiple cows will help him and other researchers gather useful information. “The idea is that these are hardy animals that are very adapted to harsh environments,” he said. “And some of the larger cattle we use nowadays can be a little bit harder on the landscape than what we want them to be. So we’re looking for something that’s a little bit more matched to this fragile ecosystem.” At this early stage, researchers do not know whether there are significant advantages of Criollo cattle. “It’s all hypothetical right now,” Estell said. “But if it turns out that they’re a better fit, producers and ranchers might have another option. There are some drawbacks to these smaller animals, so marketing is another part of this whole thing that we’d have to work out before it’s a viable option. But that’s what we hope – that it might give producers some more flexibility.” Operated by the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, data have been collected on the Jornada Experimental Range since 1915. Data have been collected for the LTER project, administered by NMSU, since 1983.

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Vilsack on Farm Income Forecasts for 2015 and 2016

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Vilsack on Farm Income Forecasts for 2015 and 2016 WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2016 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued the following statement today on the Farm Income and Financial Forecasts for 2015 and 2016, released by USDA's Economic Research Service. "Today's farm income forecast underscores the unique ability of American farmers and ranchers to plan ahead and make sharp business decisions in a challenging market, as net farm income for 2015 was revised up significantly to $80.7 billion-an increase of 43 percent since the February forecast. Falling production expenses, including the price of fuel and inputs, was the largest contributor to this latest rally by farmers. Just last week, farm exports for 2016 were revised up to one of the highest levels on record, demonstrating that U.S. farmers and ranchers continue to beat expectations. Overall, farm income over the last five-year period reflects the highest average five-year period on record. Although net farm income for 2016 is forecast to decline relative to 2015, the 2014 Farm Bill has provided for a comprehensive farm safety net that will ensure financial stability for America's farming families. Farm Bill program payments-including Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC), Price Loss Coverage (PLC), and the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP)-are forecast to increase nearly 25 percent to $13.5 billion in 2016. For producers challenged by weather, disease and falling prices, we will continue to ensure the availability of a strong safety net to keep them farming or ranching. "The estimates today also showed that debt to asset and debt to equity ratios-two key indicators of the farm economy's health-continue to be near all-time lows. In addition to strong balance sheets, median household income for farming families remains near historic highs. In 2016, higher off-farm earnings are expected to help stabilize losses due to low commodity prices. "The trend in strong household income reflects work of the Obama Administration since 2009 to make significant and targeted investments across the United States toward building a more robust system of production agriculture, expanding foreign markets for U.S. farm goods, bolstering local and regional food systems across the country, and creating a new bio-based economy in rural communities that today supports more than 4 million American jobs. At the same time, rural communities have been infused with billions of dollars to build schools, hospitals, and public safety headquarters, and businesses of all sizes have availed themselves of USDA's business loans and grants to spur growth that complements the agricultural economy. Other key investments made by USDA since 2009 include new or improved high-speed internet service to 6 million Americans in rural areas, along with investments in electricity, water and wastewater, and clean power, that will continue to strengthen rural communities for generations to come. "Outside the United States, demand for American-grown food and agricultural products remains strong. Agricultural exports have surpassed $1 trillion since 2009, besting all previous records in terms of value and volume and acting as an engine for America's farm economy. USDA will continue to ensure American farming families have open markets and a level playing field by working to remove unfair barriers to trade and negotiating trade agreements, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership, that benefit all of agriculture." Full Forecast: www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-sector-income-finances/highlights-from-the-farm-income-forecast.aspx #

NMSU to host livestock water symposium in Albuquerque

NMSU to host livestock water symposium in Albuquerque DATE: 08/30/2016 WRITER: Kristie Garcia, 575-646-4211, kmgarcia@nmsu.edu CONTACT: Nick Ashcroft, 575-646-5394, nashcrof@nmsu.edu If you want to learn about issues related to stock water, you won’t want to miss this event. The New Mexico State University Range Improvement Task Force is hosting a livestock water symposium Sept. 10 in Albuquerque. The symposium is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the MCM Elegante Hotel at 2020 Menaul Blvd. RITF is holding the event in response to concerns about drought and limited understanding related to livestock water rights and water policy. Topics will include: - New Mexico water law and ranching - Pre-basin versus state-engineer permitted water rights - How and why you need to file on your water rights - Livestock water allocations - The special nature of livestock water and challenges in transferring water rights - How special designations impact water - Livestock water records NMSU Range Extension Specialist Nick Ashcroft will provide the introductory remarks. New Mexico State Engineer Tom Blain is the guest speaker. Register online at http://aces.nmsu.edu/register/water-conference/. Pre-registration is $25. Registration at the door is $30. The fee includes lunch and attendance to all symposium sessions. For more information, contact Ashcroft at 575-646-5394 or nashcrof@nmsu.edu.

Public Meeting to discuss Epizootic Hemorrhagic Diseses in Mule Deer

What is EHD: Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Around this time each year, common to have headlines about dead deer near water sources start popping up in other parts of the United States. However it is a little odd here in Eddy County and in New Mexico. The result in other parts of the country is often deer suffering from one of two hemorrhagic diseases (HD): epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) or bluetongue virus (BTV). So what are these hemorrhagic diseases and what do they mean for deer populations and hunters this fall and associated livestock? To find out, I turned to Kerry Mower of New Mexico Game and Fish, Dr. John Wenzel, DVM NMSU Cooperative Extension Veterinarian and Dr. Sam Smallidge Extension Wildlife Specialist. Dr. Wenzel says in short “EHD is a viral disease and most common in whitetail deer but has been reported in mule deer as well. It’s transmitted by biting midges, commonly called ‘no-see-ums’, and it happens in whitetail deer areas every year.” During the first few days, the infected deer might look and act normal or possibly show minor signs of illness. After the first week symptoms become more apparent and can include depression, fever, swelling in the head, neck, tongue or eyelids, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite and the deer could lose its fear of man, according to Dr. Samantha Uhrig DVM. Then it gets worse. Some deer develop ulcers on their tongue or have the thick pad on the roof of their mouth begin to erode. To make matters worse, fluid can build up in the lungs, and the lining of the rumen can scar. As the symptoms worsen, fever sets in, and the deer seek out water; that’s why infected deer are usually found dead around water sources. If you look at this from a glass half full point of view, there is a bright spot. Kerry Mower of New Mexico Game and Fish wildlife disease specialist says “not all deer that get the disease die. If they don’t die, they develop antibodies.” Antibodies can help deer that have been previously exposed to a mild case of HD, but in many cases a deer that is exposed to HD for the first time dies within five to ten days. While it’s possible that some deer will survive, there is no vaccine or cure for HD today. HD also knows no boundaries. Other animals, like bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope, domestic cattle and sheep are also able to contract the virus. Since it was first reported in 1955, HD has been confirmed in more than 30 states. While the virus is most prevalent in the Southeast, it’s also found in the Northeast, Midwest, southern Canada, the west coast and Eddy County, NM. It was reported in NM in the early 1980’s in fact I did some research on it when I was at the NMSU Livestock Veterinary Entomology Laboratory. All common ruminants are susceptible to infection experimentally, but natural infection in cattle is not common. There will be in informational meeting on September 6 in the Eddy County Extension Office at 7:00 pm. Veterinarians and other specialist will be available to answer questions. The office is at 1304 West Stevens Carlsbad NM. There is not much that can be done to control the disease without controlling the insect vectors. Eddy County vector control is very good at what they do and have expanded their control efforts to meet this challenge but the recent rain will make that more difficult. Livestock producers are encouraged to maintain approved fly control measures. Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/ Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

Public Meeting to discuss Epizootic Hemorrhagic Diseses in Mule Deer

What is EHD: Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Around this time each year, common to have headlines about dead deer near water sources start popping up in other parts of the United States. However it is a little odd here in Eddy County and in New Mexico. The result in other parts of the country is often deer suffering from one of two hemorrhagic diseases (HD): epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) or bluetongue virus (BTV). So what are these hemorrhagic diseases and what do they mean for deer populations and hunters this fall and associated livestock? To find out, I turned to Kerry Mower of New Mexico Game and Fish, Dr. John Wenzel, DVM NMSU Cooperative Extension Veterinarian and Dr. Sam Smallidge Extension Wildlife Specialist. Dr. Wenzel says in short “EHD is a viral disease and most common in whitetail deer but has been reported in mule deer as well. It’s transmitted by biting midges, commonly called ‘no-see-ums’, and it happens in whitetail deer areas every year.” During the first few days, the infected deer might look and act normal or possibly show minor signs of illness. After the first week symptoms become more apparent and can include depression, fever, swelling in the head, neck, tongue or eyelids, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite and the deer could lose its fear of man, according to Dr. Samantha Uhrig DVM. Then it gets worse. Some deer develop ulcers on their tongue or have the thick pad on the roof of their mouth begin to erode. To make matters worse, fluid can build up in the lungs, and the lining of the rumen can scar. As the symptoms worsen, fever sets in, and the deer seek out water; that’s why infected deer are usually found dead around water sources. If you look at this from a glass half full point of view, there is a bright spot. Kerry Mower of New Mexico Game and Fish wildlife disease specialist says “not all deer that get the disease die. If they don’t die, they develop antibodies.” Antibodies can help deer that have been previously exposed to a mild case of HD, but in many cases a deer that is exposed to HD for the first time dies within five to ten days. While it’s possible that some deer will survive, there is no vaccine or cure for HD today. HD also knows no boundaries. Other animals, like bighorn sheep and pronghorn antelope, domestic cattle and sheep are also able to contract the virus. Since it was first reported in 1955, HD has been confirmed in more than 30 states. While the virus is most prevalent in the Southeast, it’s also found in the Northeast, Midwest, southern Canada, the west coast and Eddy County, NM. It was reported in NM in the early 1980’s in fact I did some research on it when I was at the NMSU Livestock Veterinary Entomology Laboratory. All common ruminants are susceptible to infection experimentally, but natural infection in cattle is not common. There will be in informational meeting on September 6 in the Eddy County Extension Office at 7:00 pm. Veterinarians and other specialist will be available to answer questions. The office is at 1304 West Stevens Carlsbad NM. There is not much that can be done to control the disease without controlling the insect vectors. Eddy County vector control is very good at what they do and have expanded their control efforts to meet this challenge but the recent rain will make that more difficult. Livestock producers are encouraged to maintain approved fly control measures. Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/ Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

ALFALFA CUT WORMS

ALFALFA CUT WORMS By Woods Houghton Eddy County Agriculture Agent Alfalfa fields across south Eddy County have been slow to recover from the third, fourth or fifth cutting. Some fields have no re-growth and in other fields the re-growth has been slow and plants are pale green and droopy. So what's going on? I think there are two main problems. The pale green, droopy plants nearly always are in fields that have had abundant rain. So much rain in fact, that the soil has remained saturated with moisture for many days in a row right after cutting. Alfalfa doesn't like wet feet. This is especially true right after harvest. For alfalfa to re-grow, oxygen must be available in the soil. Water-saturated soils have little or no oxygen available for the plants. As a result, re-growth is very slow because plant roots are suffocating. This reduces nutrient and water uptake by roots as well as metabolic activity for re-growth. These plants act just like plants that have not had water and they are weaker and more susceptible to insects and disease. The other problem has been insects. From alfalfa weevil larvae to army worms to cutworms to alfalfa caterpillars, it seems like everybody, somewhere has had enough of each of these insects to hurt re-growth from feeding on the newly developing buds. It only takes 3-5 cutworms per square foot to be considered economically damaging. Using insecticides to kill these bugs is about the only solution for any sizable acreage. Synthetic pyrethroids ,usually give the best control. Most producer like to use two different classes of insecticide after the 2010 infestation. If these worms aren't controlled, alfalfa yield and stands will suffer. I observed 4 worms per stem eating the green off the stem. These stands have been hit hard and some may not recover. Cutworms develop on rangelands or weedy fallow fields and move into alfalfa usually after the first cutting. Cutworms are nocturnal insects which feed at night and hide during the day in soil cracks and under debris and loose soil. Growers, pest control advisors, and crop consultants should vigorously scout for the worm at night or early in the morning. Light traps can be a useful tool to estimate the population based on the adults the traps attract. Irrigation or harrowing may help reduce the population at these high populations control will have also include insecticide applications. Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/ Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

Texas Root Rot in Alfalfa-University of Arizona Research.

Texas root rot Mostafa Alfalfa Specialist with University of Arizona is conducting field trials on another threat to Arizona alfalfa growers in the low desert – Texas root rot (TRR). This pathogen, caused by the fungus Phymatotrichopsis omnivore, is more commonly known for its impact in cotton and alfalfa fields in the Southwest where it attacks plant roots including the tap root, leading to wilted leaves and plant death since diseased plants cannot uptake adequate amounts of water. Following initial TRR trials conducted by Texas A&M researchers, a UA team including retired plant pathology specialist Mary Olsen, statewide cotton specialist Randy Norton, and Mostafa conducted numerous TRR trials in cotton with the herbicide active ingredient Flutriafol (Topguard) by FMC since 2012 with good success. A Section 18 Emergency Exemption was granted for Topguard use in cotton for use in 2013, followed by a full label for the same crop in 2014. Efforts to enhance the method and timing of applications continue under the expertise of Norton and UA’s Mark Siemens. Mostafa is testing Flutriafol for TRR control in alfalfa, now in his second year of on-farm trials. So far, the early findings suggest Flutriafol is effective. TRR thrives in areas with high soil pH, low organic matter (most of Arizona) and old mesquite tree areas reclaimed for commercial agriculture. Mostafa estimates about 20 percent of all alfalfa acreage in the state have TRR, perhaps more acreage than Arizona cotton. “Once a field has Texas root rot it ruins it for alfalfa production,” Mostafa said. The only other crops which can be grown in infected ground are several grains and grasses.” In the field trial this year near Arlington (Maricopa County), Mostafa has applied the new label Topguard Terra over the top at three different application rates – two ounces, four ounces, and eight ounces. “From the 2015 results and those obtained so far in 2016, there are significantly higher yields using Flutriafol Terra at all the rates compared to the untreated check,” Mostafa said. It’s free – Western Farm Press Daily – agricultural news delivered to your Inbox. Mostafa says discussions are underway with FMC for the farm chemical company to apply for a one-year Section 18 Emergency Exemption for Topguard Terra use in alfalfa, in part with Mostafa’s alfalfa field trial findings to support it. “If we can get a label for alfalfa, Topguard Terra could be a good option for growers to increase yields despite the disease, and possibly bring abandoned fields back into production.” Mostafa plans to conduct trials next year again in Arlington, plus in Parker (La Paz County) and the Gila Bend area (Maricopa County).

MORE MILKWEED FOR THE HEARTLAND- Politico Morning Ag report

MORE MILKWEED FOR THE HEARTLAND: The Environmental Defense Fund is engaging with farmers across the country about how best to incentivize them to help reestablish milkweed, the Monarch butterfly’s preferred grub. EDF staff and scientists just wrapped up visits with Nebraska corn farmers and are headed next to Iowa and Minnesota. It’s all part of an effort to stand up a Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange, a conservation initiative in which landowners get paid for preserving or creating habitat, while businesses that disrupt habitat can purchase credits, creating a market dynamic. The Monarch population is down an estimated 95 percent, a trend that many blame on lack of milkweed across the Midwest and elsewhere. EDF is currently running field tests and pilots and is aiming to get the exchange up and running by the end of 2017. Find the latest update from the group here. In case you missed it, Smithsonian Magazine’s cover story in July looked at the model of paying landowners for such conservation efforts. That deep-dive is here. Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-agriculture#ixzz4Ijp6bUzG Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

R-CALF REQUESTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN BEEF CHECKOFF CASE: Politico morning Arriculture report

R-CALF REQUESTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN BEEF CHECKOFF CASE: R-CALF USA is asking a Montana federal court for a summary judgment in its case against the USDA over the Beef Checkoff program. The lawsuit, filed in May, argues the USDA violated Montana beef producers’ First Amendment rights by forcing them to pay a $1-per-head fee every time one of their cattle is sold to support a marketing program that doesn’t distinguish between domestic and imported beef. Earlier this month, USDA filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing it was working on a new rule that will resolve R-CALF’s complaints by allowing “producers in most states to petition their respective state beef councils to redirect checkoff dollars away from those private state councils and to the federal Beef Checkoff program, which is operated under the direct supervision of the USDA,” R-CALF said in a statement. But the group said that proposal is “woefully inadequate.” “There is no reason to continue unconstitutionally taxing America’s independent ranchers when the government already admits it should have never happened in the first place,” says David Muraskin, an attorney with Public Justice who is representing R-CALF. Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-agriculture#ixzz4IjoW8Xmd Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

PESTICIDES: THE NEW TARGET IN LEGAL BATTLES OVER ‘NATURAL’? Politico.com Morning Agriculture

PESTICIDES: THE NEW TARGET IN LEGAL BATTLES OVER ‘NATURAL’? Four lawsuits were filed against General Mills on Thursday that argue the company is violating consumer protection laws by claiming the oats in its Nature Valley-brand granola bars are “natural,” even though they contain trace amounts of the pesticide glyphosate. A similar case was brought against PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats brand in May. The Richman Law Group is representing the plaintiffs in the suits — making pesticides the latest target in the wave of legal challenges over the word “natural.” The lawsuits against General Mills were filed in California, Washington, D.C., Minnesota and New York by three consumer advocacy groups: Organic Consumers Association, Beyond Pesticides and Moms Across America. In the complaints, the groups describe how they purchased boxes of Nature Valley’s Oats ’n Honey Crunchy granola bars in different D.C. stores and had them tested by an independent laboratory. The lab found the products contained 0.45 parts-per-million of glyphosate, which is well below EPA's 30 ppm residue limit. But the lawsuits maintain the products are misleading because “no reasonable consumer, seeing these representations, would expect that the oats or any ingredients in the products” contain synthetic chemicals. Plaintiffs demand General Mills issue corrective advertising and make payments to reimburse plaintiffs’ legal fees and provide “equitable relief." In response to MA’s request for comment, General Mills said: "We stand behind our products and the accuracy of our labels." FDA has yet to define the term "natural" on food labels, which has left food companies vulnerable to an onslaught of civil actions against use of the term. The agency in May requested public comment on the matter. Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-agriculture#ixzz4IjoBJjtn Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

Water Symposium Range Improvement Task Force and Water Research Instute

NM Range Water symposium to be held Saturday September 10, 2016 at the MCM Elegante Hotel Albuquerque, NM 9-4. If water is used by livestock every day, and drought historically plagued NM 66% of the time it stand to reason that stock water is paramount to producers. However unlike irrigation water and drinking water, our understanding of stock water 'right' policy is meager at best. The NMSU Range Improvement Task Force was asked at their annual advisory board meeting to address this knowledge gap. The agenda includes "New Mexico Water Law and Ranching-Christopher Vighil, NM Administrative Office of the Courts; Pre-baisn V. State Enigeer Permited Water Rights- Seth Fullerton; How andwhy You Need to File on Your Water Rights- Suzanne Smith; The Value of a Water Right-Colin McVaugh; Lunch speaker Tom Blain State Enginer; Livestock Water Alloication And more n Registration is $25 go to http://aces.nmsu.edu/register/water-conference/ to register. For more information contact Dr. Nick Ashcroft 575-646-5394 or nashcrof@nmsu.edu

Rain

This rain is expected to keep up for a few more days. The county has some damage to roads that were damaged in 2014. If you are experiencing crop damage or other let FSA and me know. If we can arrange to get some assets or resources to help let me know, I am serving as the Agriculture contact for the Emergency Operation Center. 575-887-6595 1877-877-6595 or cell 575-361-2852 or e-Mail whoughto@nmsu.edu

USDA to Purchase Surplus Cheese for Food Banks and Families in Need, Continue to Assist Dairy Producers

USDA to Purchase Surplus Cheese for Food Banks and Families in Need, Continue to Assist Dairy Producers 08/23/2016 04:00 PM EDT WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced plans to purchase approximately 11 million pounds of cheese from private inventories to assist food banks and pantries across the nation, while reducing a cheese surplus that is at its highest level in 30 years. The purchase, valued at $20 million, will be provided to families in need across the country through USDA nutrition assistance programs, while assisting the stalled marketplace for dairy producers whose revenues have dropped 35 percent over the past two years.

Water worries making waves By Lauren Villagran / Journal Staff Writer - Las Cruces Bureau Published: Monday, August 22nd, 2016 at 12:02am Updated: Monday, August 22nd, 2016 at 8:32am

SANTA TERESA – Beneath the growing industrial development, under the homes sprouting at the urban edge of West Texas, below the often-dry Rio Grande, sits an immense hydrogeologic bowl that water experts say contains more water than the region may ever need – a seductive claim in the desert. Now read the fine print: Only the top skim across much of the resource known as the Mesilla Bolson is fresh water, and experts say that the “good” water could be gone in a decade or so. The rest is brackish, according to John Hawley, an independent hydrogeologist who has been studying the region since the 1960s, “an incredible amount of old water that dates back to the Ice Age that is optimum for desalination.” The demands on this interconnected system of surface water and groundwater in the Mesilla Bolson are growing year by year from the three jurisdictions atop it: New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. h Las Cruces on Aug. 18. The Rio Grande will flow just 75 days this summer. (Andres Leighton / For The Albuquerque Journal) SANTA TERESA – Beneath the growing industrial development, under the homes sprouting at the urban edge of West Texas, below the often-dry Rio Grande, sits an immense hydrogeologic bowl that water experts say contains more water than the region may ever need – a seductive claim in the desert. Now read the fine print: Only the top skim across much of the resource known as the Mesilla Bolson is fresh water, and experts say that the “good” water could be gone in a decade or so. The rest is brackish, according to John Hawley, an independent hydrogeologist who has been studying the region since the 1960s, “an incredible amount of old water that dates back to the Ice Age that is optimum for desalination.” The demands on this interconnected system of surface water and groundwater in the Mesilla Bolson are growing year by year from the three jurisdictions atop it: New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. Advertisement Regional water experts say the freshwater cap could turn increasingly salty within 10 to 15 years and, at a minimum, that amount of time would be needed to plan and build a desalination plant that could turn the brackish resource into potable water. But Santa Teresa business leaders say those estimates may be based on inaccurate, inflated growth projections and that there is enough fresh water to fuel plans for slow-but-steady growth over the next two decades. A desalination plant – which could cost tens of millions of dollars – will only be financially feasible when there are enough customers to pay for it, they say. “It looks like to me that the problem is a 10-year to 12-year problem, not a 30-year problem because it’s an aquifer that is being utilized both by Texas and by Mexico,” said Mike Hightower, a Sandia National Laboratories civil engineer who studies water as a national-security and environmental-sustainability issue. “Without the agreements in place to manage that, you’re going to end up with somebody inappropriately withdrawing all the fresh water. These current wells that may not be projected to become brackish for 30 years down the road could become brackish in half the time.” The urgency, experts say, could be exacerbated by a Special Master’s recommendation that the U.S. Supreme Court side with Texas and the U.S. in their claim that groundwater pumping in southern New Mexico is depleting the Rio Grande of water that belongs to Texas. If the court accepts the recommendation, the case will proceed. “Water is of supreme concern to everybody because we live in a desert,” said Jerry Pacheco, president of the Santa Teresa-based Border Industrial Association. “Given the projections we have created for the next 20 years, if the growth projections are correct, we have enough water rights to be able to service that. As to what the Supreme Court case does to everybody, it’s really up in the air.” The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority, which delivers water to municipal and industrial customers in Santa Teresa and Sunland Park, is “primarily focused on day-to-day operations,” said Executive Director Brent Westmoreland, who added that with regard to desalination, “There will be a time when CRUUA will be faced with that issue.” Elephant Butte Irrigation District groundwater resource manager Erek Fuchs summed up local irrigators’ concerns about growth in Santa Teresa and Sunland Park. “When they drill new wells, and as additional industry, residential and related actvity occurs down there,” he said, “then the groundwater pumping to service that demand is going to affect the river.” Agricultural interests – the chile and onion fields of Hatch and sprawling pecan orchards of the Mesilla Valley – are the largest users of river water, drawing 100 percent of the total Rio Grande water consumed in southern New Mexico, according to Phil King, a professor of civil engineering at New Mexico State University. EBID favors a desalination plant in southern Doña Ana County but doesn’t want to take the lead, Fuchs said. But is there enough water for all the new development? “Not without impairing somebody else,” he said. The competing interests for surface water and groundwater don’t just pit New Mexico against Texas and Mexico; it’s farmers versus industrial and municipal expansion, with the export hub of Santa Teresa at the heart of it. Water delivery system Where the wide Rio Grande bends over the state line, the river is essentially a highway: a conduit for delivering water from New Mexico to Texas, and eventually Mexico. The water only runs in this riverbed for an appointed number of days each summer – down to 75 days from flows that lasted eight months before 2003 – during which time water is diverted by southern New Mexico farmers and what remains moves southeast. The Rio Grande Project reservoir at Elephant Butte is at less than 10 percent capacity; the Bureau of Reclamation controls the release of water. A 2016 Bureau of Reclamation report, “Managing Water in the West,” affirmed that “the growing imbalance between supply and demand is expected to lead to a greater reliance on nonrenewable groundwater resources. Increased reliance on groundwater resources will lead to greater losses from the river into the groundwater system.” Santa Teresa businesses depend on fresh water from the Mesilla Bolson. So do the fast-expanding neighborhoods of Sunland Park and El Paso’s west side. So do industrial and municipal users in the booming factory town of Ciudad Juárez across the border in Mexico. And so does New Mexico’s $182.5 million pecan industry and other irrigators during the long months when the river is dry. Every drop that CRRUA slurps out of the Bolson to service Santa Teresa and Sunland Park must be paid back to the river in “offsets,” some of which come from treated wastewater being put back in the Rio Grande – a practice that King says is a “Ponzi scheme” that will be unsustainable in the long run. “You can pump out 15,000 acre feet but you are putting 7,500 acre feet (of treated wastewater) back in the river, so you can pump another 7,500 acre feet and so on,” King said. “It’s a shell game.” Santa Teresa and Sunland Park are essentially engaged in “a water-mining operation that is masking the effect of drought,” King said. “Before they run out of water, (the wells) will salt up.” El Paso relies on desalination Nearby El Paso boasts the nation’s largest inland desalination plant, with capacity to treat more than 27 million gallons per day. Ed Archuleta, the former chief executive of El Paso Water Utilities, spearheaded the city’s desalination effort. “At one time we were pumping a lot of water from the Hueco Bolson” east of the city, about 80,000 acre feet per year in the 1980s, he said in a 2009 presentation at NMSU that was published in the Journal of Transboundary Water Resources. “It was our principal source of water in El Paso.” With conservation efforts and the desalination plant, groundwater pumping dropped to below 30,000 acre feet per year and the bolson, which was dropping at the rate of a foot or two per year, stabilized, he said. Hightower estimates the capital costs of building a desalination plant could run $3 to $4 gallon, meaning a 20 million gallon-a-day facility could cost between $60 million and $80 million. But operating costs would run closer to $3 to $4 per thousand gallons – “not much different than what a lot of people are beginning to pay for new sources of water,” he said. “It’s consistent with what municipalities in the Southwest are paying for new, supplemental sources of water.” King notes that technological advances are bringing the costs down. Hightower envisions for a smaller-scale approach that would see two or three facilities desalinating 5 million or 10 million gallons a day in lieu of a single huge plant. Alternatively, he said, there are modular technologies that are commercially available and offer even smaller scale. EBID Manager Gary Esslinger recommends a similar approach: drilling a test well and placing a skid-mounted mini-desalination plant of the kind tested at a Bureau of Reclamation facility in Alamogordo. “All they need to do is verify that it’s there,” he said of the brackish water. “Just see if it’s doable. If growth comes, then they have something to go on. It would let the Rio Grande heal. We have all these straws in the valley. But if we have a brackish supply, and we can reduce the pumping, then it sustains it for awhile.” Taking the lead But who could or should spearhead such an effort? Water managers and experts point to the Border Industrial Association, the trade group that represents more than 100 industry members in Santa Teresa; or the CRRUA water utility. They also say it is unlikely that any desalination effort could be accomplished without vision and backing from the Legislature or Governor’s Office. Pacheco agrees that the industrial base may one day consider taking on such a project but reiterates the slow pace of growth. The need just isn’t there yet, he said. “We are growing the industrial base by a net 200 to 500 jobs per year,” he said. “Are more people than that moving over here into the valley? I would assume yes. But we’re not in the business of going to recruit water-intensive users.” Most of the companies locating in Santa Teresa are components manufacturers, as well as warehousing and logistics services providers tied to the maquila industry in Ciudad Juárez and the new Union Pacific intermodal rail hub. Chris Lyons, the major landowner in Santa Teresa who is developing the new Westpark industrial park and has plans for future residential development, said, “We want to be the model for water conservation in whatever we do out here.” “I think Santa Teresa is going to grow, but I think it’s going to grow within reason and logic” – maybe 50,000 people in 30 or 40 years, Pacheco said. Hightower offers a caveat. “You better think about it 10 years before you want to start it,” he said, “and you want to start it 10 years before you really need it. If you need it all of a sudden, then it’s too late.”

Cattle Growers meeting last night

We had about 18 ranches represented show up at the meeting last night. Decided to reform into an organization, Mike Carter was selected to serve as President,Vice President Fred Beard, and Sandi Wilkie as Secretary/treasurer. A meeting will be at 6:00 om 23 August at the extension office to from by-laws. Another organizational meeting will be held in Artesia at the Eddy County Fair Community Building on September 22 at 7:00 pm.

Fall Pesiticide Training

I am preparing for the Fall Oct, Nov, December pesticide CEU classes. I would like to know what it is that you want training on. So if you have something that fit into Pesticide Training and you want it covered in one of these classes send your thoughts to me via e-mail. Woods Houghton email is whoughto@nmsu.edu Please do that as soon as possible I want to put the agenda together soon.

NM Livestock Board pubic hearing for review of proposed changes in Trichomoniasis rules.

NEW MEXICO LIVESTOCK BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC RULES HEARING AND REGULAR BOARD MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the New Mexico Livestock Board will conduct a public hearing on amendments to 21.30.6 NMAC, Section 11 on Thursday, September 15, 2016 at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, 1309 Fourth Street SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102 at 9:00 a.m. The Board will consider changes regarding Bovine Trichomoniasis and discuss other matters of general business. Copies of the agenda and proposed changes to 21.30.6.11 NMAC may be found at the NMLB website at: http://www.nmlbonline.com or by contacting Mr. William W. Bunce, Executive Director, New Mexico Livestock Board, 300 San Mateo NE Suite 1000, Albuquerque, NM 87108-1500, (505) 841-6161. Written comments on the proposed changes will be accepted until the close of business on September 16, 2016. Interested individuals may provide comment at the public hearing or submit written comments regarding the proposed rule amendment to 21.30.6.11 NMAC “REGULATORY ACTION” to Mr. William W. Bunce, Executive Director, New Mexico Livestock Board, 300 San Mateo NE, Ste. 1000, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108 or William.Bunce@state.nm.us, fax 505-841-6160. Written comments may also be submitted at the NMLB Website at http://www.nmlbonline.com. Written comments in any of the above formats must be received by close of business on September 16, 2016. If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please contact the New Mexico Livestock Board at (505)841-6161 at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats. Please contact the New Mexico Livestock Board at (505)841-6161 if a summary or other type of accessible format is needed. Ralph Zimmerman, DVM State Veterinarian New Mexico Livestock Board O:505-841-6161 C: 505-414-2811 ralph.zimmerman@state.nm.us

Court sides with efforts to certify Hatch chiles

Court sides with efforts to certify Hatch chiles By MORGAN LEE AP writer | Posted: Friday, August 12, 2016 12:13 pm Green chile growers want new guest worker program Farm workers harvest chile July 25 on the 350-acre Adams Produce farm near Hatch. Last year, New Mexico saw a 10 percent decline in acres of red and green chiles harvested. That decline marked a 43-year low in the state, according to federal numbers. Jett Loe /The Las Cruces Sun-News via AP A federal appeals court is refusing to reconsider a decision in favor of an association of green chile growers in the Hatch Valley of Southern New Mexico in a dispute over the use of the renowned Hatch name on food labels. The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a rehearing request by the Hatch Chile Co. in a potential setback to the company's efforts to protect its stylized "Hatch" brand logos, parties to the litigation confirmed Thursday. The appeals court recently backed efforts by the Hatch Chile Association and allied Albuquerque food distributor El Encanto to subpoena records that may indicate whether Hatch Chile Co. products contain purely Hatch-grown chile. The association is seeking a certification mark for Hatch-grown chile to help consumers verify the source. The years-long trademark dispute continues to unfold with New Mexico's late-summer chile harvest underway. Roadside chile roasting stands pop up across the state in August and September, selling chiles from Hatch and other local farms by the 30-pound sack and smaller increments. Preston Mitchell, a board member at the Hatch Chile Association, said Thursday that a lower court now will review subpoenas and decide what documents need to be released by Hatch Chile Co. and its main chile supplier. Hatch Chile Co. said in an email that the trademark dispute is ongoing and that it expects to receive fair treatment in U.S. District Court. El Encanto, which sells products under the Bueno Foods label, declined to comment on matters still under litigation. In a June opinion, the court of appeals wrote that the Hatch Valley "may be to chiles what the Napa Valley is to grapes," calling the area's chiles "some of the world's finest." Hatch Chile Co., in its appeal, said the comments were prejudicial to its case before a trial and appeals board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where the Hatch Chile Association is seeking approval of a crop certification mark. That federal trademark board currently is considering whether the Hatch Chile Co. may have acquiesced to the certification mark in a 2014 letter congratulating an attorney for the Hatch Chile Association on the progress of its application.

Lincoln National Forest Closes recreation areas.

ALAMOGORDO – The Lincoln National Forest has issued a closure order pursuant to 16 U.S.C § 551 and 36 C.F.R. 261.50 (a) for resource protection and for the protection of public health and safety Friday. Temporary electric fences along with barbed wire and pipe enclosure fences have been put in place to protect endangered species, water quality and to improve management of riparian habitat. The fences have repeatedly been taken down by members of the public for recreation and camping purposes within the areas needing protection. A closure is necessary for all the fenced areas to prevent members of the public from handling the electric fences, which poses a safety threat, and to effectively protect endangered species habitat and water quality by reducing the impacts in these sensitive areas. The closure order will include areas fenced off by temporary electric fences, barbed wire or pipe fences within Agua Chiquita, Rio Peñasco and Wills Canyon riparian areas on the Lincoln National Forest. The closure will be in effect when signed and shall remain in effect until October 31, 2016. The closure restricts all entry to the restricted area. Authorized roads and trails within or near the restricted area will remain open. Exceptions to the closure include: persons with a permit specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission; any federal, state or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force engaged in the performance of an official duty; any other person meeting exemption requirements specified in the order. Livestock access lanes (breaks in fences within protected habitat) are provided in order to allow permitted livestock access to water and access to livestock handling facilities, and are considered outside of the restricted area. Grazing permittees are permitted to enter the restricted area to remove livestock from the restricted area, to utilize designated access lanes, or to perform necessary operations with prior approval from the Forest Service. Hunters are permitted to enter the restricted area to retrieve game animals when necessary. Any violation of these prohibitions is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, or both. Signs will be posted in the closure areas as well as at the Lincoln National Forest Supervisors Office in Alamogordo and at the Sacramento Ranger District in Cloudcroft. For additional information about the closure on the Sacramento Ranger District, please call Ciara Cusack at 575-682-2551, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit the Lincoln National Forest at www.fs.usda.gov/lincoln Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/LincolnUSForest

EPA and DOT Finalize Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Heavy-Duty Trucks

EPA and DOT Finalize Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Heavy-Duty Trucks Standards address second-largest segment of U.S. transportation in terms of emissions and energy use WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) jointly finalized standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that will improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution, while bolstering energy security and spurring manufacturing innovation. The final phase two standards were called for by President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, and respond to the President’s directive in early 2014 to develop new standards that run into the next decade. The final phase two program promotes a new generation of cleaner, more fuel-efficient trucks by encouraging the wider application of currently available technologies and the development of new and advanced cost-effective technologies through model year 2027. The final standards are expected to lower CO2 emissions by approximately 1.1 billion metric tons, save vehicle owners fuel costs of about $170 billion, and reduce oil consumption by up to two billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the program. Overall, the program will provide $230 billion in net benefits to society, including benefits to our climate and the public health of Americans. These benefits outweigh costs by about an 8-to-1 ratio. The final standards are cost effective for consumers and businesses, delivering favorable payback periods for truck owners. The buyer of a new long-haul truck in 2027 would recoup the investment in fuel-efficient technology in less than two years through fuel savings. “The actions we take today on climate change will help lessen the impacts on future generations,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “This next phase of standards for heavy- and medium-duty vehicles will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while driving innovation, and will ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in developing fuel-efficient technologies through the next decade and beyond.” “Today’s ambitious but achievable announcement is a huge win for the American people, giving us cleaner air, more money saved at the pump, and real benefits for consumers across the supply chain,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Today’s action preserves flexibility for manufacturers to deliver on these objectives through a range of innovations and technology pathways.” Heavy-duty trucks are the second largest segment and collectively make up the biggest increase in the U.S. transportation sector in terms of emissions and energy use. These vehicles currently account for about 20 percent of GHG emissions and oil use in the U.S. transportation sector. Globally, GHG emissions from heavy-duty vehicles are growing rapidly and are expected to surpass emissions from passenger vehicles by 2030. Through the Paris climate agreement and discussions with other countries, the United States is working with other major economies to encourage progress on fuel economy standards, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that will improve global energy and climate security by reducing our reliance on oil. The product of four years of extensive testing and research and outreach to industry, environmental organizations, labor unions, and other stakeholders, the vehicle and engine performance standards would cover model years 2021-2027, and apply to semi-trucks, large pickup trucks and vans, and all types and sizes of buses and work trucks. These standards will result in significant GHG emissions reductions and fuel efficiency improvements across all of these vehicle types. For example, when the standards are fully phased in, tractors in a tractor-trailer will achieve up to 25 percent lower CO2 emissions and fuel consumption than an equivalent tractor in 2018. The agencies are also finalizing fuel-efficiency and GHG standards for trailers for the first time. The EPA trailer standards, which exclude certain categories such as mobile homes, will begin to take effect in model year 2018 for certain trailers, while NHTSA’s standards will take effect as of 2021, with credits available for voluntary participation before then. Cost effective technologies for trailers – including aerodynamic devices, light weight construction and self-inflating tires – can significantly reduce total fuel consumption by tractor-trailers, while paying back the owners in less than two years due to the fuel saved. Recognizing that many trailer manufacturers are small businesses, the program includes provisions that reduce burden, such as a one-year delay in initial standards for small businesses and simplified certification requirements. Compared to the proposal, the final program: • Achieves 10 percent more GHG and fuel consumption reductions; • Has more robust compliance provisions, including improved test procedures, enhanced enforcement audits and protection against defeat devices; • Includes more stringent diesel engine standards • Improves the vocational vehicle program with a regulatory structure better tailored to match the right technology for the job; • Maintains the structure and incremental phase-in of the proposed standards, allowing manufacturers to choose their own technology mix and giving them the lead time needed to ensure those technologies are reliable and durable. NHTSA and EPA have worked together to harmonize their standards under this program. The agencies have worked closely with the State of California’s Air Resources Board in developing and finalizing the standards. All three agencies are committed to the goal of setting harmonized national standards. Throughout every stage of development, this work has benefited from a collaborative dialogue with industry, labor and environmental organizations. For example, this feedback has improved the agencies’ ability to measure industry performance and enforce compliance for both full vehicle and engine standards. Today’s final rulemaking builds on the fuel efficiency and GHG emissions standards already in place for model years 2014-2018, which alone will result in CO2 emissions reductions of 270 million metric tons and save vehicle owners more than $50 billion in fuel costs. Truck sales were up in model years 2014 and 2015, the years covered under the first round of truck standards. The rule also builds on standards that the Administration has put in place for light-duty vehicles, which are projected to reduce carbon pollution by billions of tons of over the lifetime of vehicles sold, and will save consumers money at the pump. For more details on DOT’s and EPA’s phase two greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, visit: https://www3.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regs-heavy-duty.htm and http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy R129

CALLING ALL STOCKMEN

CALLING ALL STOCKMEN Due to a number of stock related issues a number of Eddy County Stock producers would like to reorganization of the Eddy County Stockman’s Association. A reorganization meeting is going to be held August 18th at 7:00 pm in the meeting room of the Eddy County Extension Office, 1304 West Stevens Carlsbad. If there is an interest we will move forward with this effort. There are lots of issues that an organized cooperative effort will make business better for all producers. If you cannot attend this meeting please call the Extension office and voice if you support such an effort or not. Thanks. Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/ Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

NMSU offers unmanned aircraft systems workshop in September; Drones.

NMSU to offer unmanned aircraft systems workshop in September DATE: 08/15/2016 WRITER: Tiffany Acosta, 575-646-3929, tfrank@nmsu.edu CONTACT: Dennis Zaklan, 575-646-9417, dzaklan@psl.nmsu.edu With the increasing popularity of unmanned aircraft systems or drones, New Mexico State University’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Test Center will offer a three-day workshop to teach government, civil and business officials about the new technology and regulations. The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 13-15, at the Physical Science Laboratory at Anderson Hall. The cost is $300 per person with a working lunch included. Registration is available online at http://psl.nmsu.edu. The workshop will focus on helping officials understand the technology, determine the right sensor and UAS for a particular application, prepare for the changes in this fast-moving field, become aware of the administrative and FAA regulations, and learn how to develop a plan and achieve each organization’s goals. NMSU’s UAS experts will guide participants through the requirements process addressing the many nuances to optimize budgets and perform the mission. “The workshop was developed and is being offered in answer to the many phone calls and questions we receive from state, county and city employees and even businesses. UAS is a new tool and it is easy to go the wrong direction when you purchase one because of lack of education. The problem is, the cost for the wrong decision can be substantial and can set your timeline back months or even years,” said Dennis Zaklan, deputy director of the NMSU UAS Flight Test Center and UAS Flight Operations Team. For more information contact Zaklan at dzaklan@psl.nmsu.edu or 575-646-9417. - 30 -

Dollars in the wind; Galloping off in all directions with taxpayers’ money

Dollars in the wind; Galloping off in all directions with taxpayers’ money …In addition to the 67,000 horses roaming free, the BLM has moved 46,000 animals to corrals and to what the bureau’s director, Neil Kornze, calls “gorgeous green pastures in the Midwest”. Horses live longer on those rented pastures. Over the next 40 years, Mr Kornze calculates that those verdant retirement homes are “a billion-dollar commitment on behalf of the American public, in addition to the billion-dollar cost of horses on the range”. The bureau’s entire annual budget is $1.2 billion, of which over $80m is now spent managing wild horses—double the amount spent seven years ago. For a case in point, consider the Wild Horse and Burro Programme of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM, a federal agency which manages more than 245m acres of public land, is a whipping-boy for the environmental left and the anti-government right alike. But when it comes to the mismanagement of wild horses, the real villain is Congress. The BLM runs 177 “herd-management areas” across ten states. The animals are in truth feral, not wild—a few can be traced back to horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish, but most are descended from ranch stock or unwanted animals set loose during the 20th century. Lexington recently visited a herd in the McCullough Peaks of Wyoming—100,000 acres of desert badlands softened by pale, scented sagebrush, and cut through by canyons of pink-striped rock. To keep the herd’s population constant, a BLM officer, Tricia Hatle, injects between 50 and 60 wild mares each year with darts containing PZP, a contraceptive. This involves stalking the herds with a fearsome-looking gas-powered dart gun, capable of hitting a horse from 40 yards. Ms Hatle, an efficient sort, finished her darting in 18 days this year, down from several months a few years ago. The cost is $150 per horse, per year. That sounds reasonable—except that the McCullough Peaks herd comprises just 152 animals, out of 67,000 wild horses that roam public rangelands. The McCullough Peaks animals are also among the most accessible in the country, feeding and drinking near dirt roads open to the public. (Indeed, as Ms Hatle demonstrates her dart-gun, a retired baby-boomer in a low-slung sports car growls into view, asking where the horses are; the tourist is politely directed back to a tarmac road before he has to be towed out of a mud-pool.) Other herds roam across treeless tracts of states such as Nevada and would see agents from miles away. They would run long before they could be darted. Feral horses were once herded cruelly with airplanes or poisoned to stop them competing for food. But in 1959 a law promoted by a campaigner, Velma Bronn Johnston, also known as “Wild Horse Annie”, ended those practices. It was followed by the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, which ordered the animals protected as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West”. Yet at the same time Congress told the BLM to keep public rangelands open for cattle-grazing and other uses, leaving limited room for feral horses. Bowing to public opinion, Congress has also shut down horse slaughterhouses in America. In 2015 a bipartisan group of members further tried to ban the export of horses for meat (steak de cheval is a delicacy in France). More cheerfully, as many as 8,000 wild horses used to be adopted out of BLM herds each year. But there is an oversupply of domestic horses—in part because of the closed slaughterhouses, and partly because rural folk are turning to all-terrain vehicles. Today the BLM struggles to find adoptive homes for 2,500 animals. Meanwhile, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) estimates that the nationwide wild-horse population grows by 15-20% a year. In addition to the 67,000 horses roaming free, the BLM has moved 46,000 animals to corrals and to what the bureau’s director, Neil Kornze, calls “gorgeous green pastures in the Midwest”. Horses live longer on those rented pastures. Over the next 40 years, Mr Kornze calculates that those verdant retirement homes are “a billion-dollar commitment on behalf of the American public, in addition to the billion-dollar cost of horses on the range”. The bureau’s entire annual budget is $1.2 billion, of which over $80m is now spent managing wild horses—double the amount spent seven years ago. The BLM is pinning its hopes on research into new contraceptives, as well as into spaying and neutering. The bureau also wants Congress to make it easier to transfer wild horses to public agencies, such as the US Border Patrol. But the challenge may be larger than any technical fix. Historically, horses were seen as livestock, explains Mr Kornze. They are now “trending more into the pet category”. Hipsters against culling Last year a group of mostly western senators and members of Congress asked the BLM to outline different scenarios for bringing wild-horse numbers under control. Bluntly, none looks sustainable. In one, more than 160,000 animals would be added to BLM off-range corrals and pastures, for a 40-year cost of $4.6 billion. Another involves adding 15,000 horses to corrals and injecting up to 27,000 fertile mares a year with PZP. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, a Republican, says the BLM is between a “rock and a hard place”. The senator, a surgeon by background, sees no solution which does not involve some culling of wild horses. But public sentiment makes that unthinkable for most members of Congress, notably those representing urban and suburban areas. Several animal-rights groups even oppose transfers to pastures, arguing that the BLM should instead pay ranchers to move their cattle, freeing up vast new areas of the West for horses. Meanwhile, the wild-horse population is on course to double every four years (the NAS found little evidence that wolves or mountain lions keep herds in check). It is a revealing mess. Ask Congress to manage a few hundred thousand photogenic mustangs, and they try to spend their way to popularity. Small wonder welfare for humans is beyond reform.

Tiny Fish behind Rio Grande Water Plan.

Tiny fish behind Rio Grande water plan Albuquerque Journal By Ollie Reed Jr. / Journal Staff Writer …It is not unusual for the Rio Grande to run dry. The river dries up along some stretches almost every year, 2008 being a recent exception. About 30 miles of the river dried out last year and more may dry out this year before the irrigation season winds up at the end of October. “In almost every year going back to 1895, there was a major river drying,” Gensler said. “There has been far less drying since 1996 than there was before then. Every year since 1996, there has been something done by water managers to prevent drying.” That’s because the Rio Grande silvery minnow was declared an endangered species in 1994. Gensler said nothing needed to be done in 1995, which was an exceptionally wet year, but efforts to protect the minnow kicked in the following year. More here

Pecan market Information by AG

Exports/Imports/United States Consumption U.S. pecan exports were valued at $446.3 million in 2014, up 28 percent from 2013. Hong Kong remained the primary destination for U.S. in-shell pecan exports, with sales reaching $118 million, a 5 percent increase from 2013. Vietnam was the second largest in-shell pecan market, purchasing pecans valued at nearly $87.6 million, a whopping 170 percent increase. Mexican purchases increased 42 percent, reaching $43.8 million (FAS, 2015). From 2013 to 2014, Canada remained the largest market for shelled pecans, buying pecans valued at $45.9 million, an increase of 2 percent. The Netherlands was the second largest market for shelled pecans, buying pecans valued at $30.7 million, a 19 percent increase. The United Kingdom was also a significant buyer of shelled pecans; it bought pecans valued at $24.9 million, a 13 percent increase (FAS, 2015). In 2014, the United States imported pecans valued at $370.6 million, up 52 percent from 2013. Mexico remained the dominant supplier, providing shelled pecans, in-shell pecans and prepared or preserved pecans valued at $366.3 million (FAS, 2015). Of tree nut consumption in the United States, pecans rank third behind almonds and English walnuts. Interestingly, pecan per capita consumption has held nearly constant over the past several decades, ranging from 0.3 pounds to 0.6 pounds. In 2013 per capita consumption of pecans was 0.3 pounds (ERS, 2014).

Eddy County 4-H possition posted.

County Agricultural/4-H Agent 1600099F New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service 310550-Admin and Prm Unit Eddy Cnty 08/04/2016 -Provide leadership, guidance and training to adults in providing opportunities for youth to participate in various 4-H delivery modes throughout the county as required. -Conduct youth programming in the areas of agriculture and natural resources. -Collaborate with youth serving community organizations and agencies to help further Extension 4-H/Youth Development programs. -Recruit, train and…

NMSU to host Western Pecan Production Short Course in October

NMSU to host Western Pecan Production Short Course in October DATE: 08/08/2016 WRITER: Tiffany Acosta, 575-646-3929, tfrank@nmsu.edu CONTACT: Richard Heerema, 575-646-2921, rjheerem@nmsu.edu This fall, New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences will host the 2016 Western Pecan Production Short Course. The short course, which will teach the public about pecan production, will be held Oct. 17-19 at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. The registration fee is $350. The short course is intended to help farmers increase yields, quality and profitability of pecan orchards. Topics to be covered during the short course range from orchard site selection and tree planting to irrigation and pest control to marketing. In addition to presenters from NMSU, speakers from the University of Arizona, University of Georgia and New Mexico Department of Agriculture also will make presentations. “This course will greatly benefit experienced and inexperienced farmers alike,” said Richard Heerema, NMSU extension pecan specialist. “Furthermore, I would encourage pecan farmers to send their farm managers and even their children who may be interested in continuing farming.” Continuing Education Units will be available for growers holding pesticide applicators licenses in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. This will be the fourth time NMSU has offered this short course, which has been held every other year since 2010. To register visit http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/pecans/. The course’s agenda will be posted at a later date.

HOME PECAN TREES

Press Release Eddy County Cooperative Extension Service 1304 West Stevens Carlsbad, NM 88220 For More Information, Contact: Woods Houghton, Eddy County Agriculture Agent Eddy County Cooperative Extension Service Phone: 575-887-6595 Fax: 575-887-3795 whoughto@nmsu.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Release HOME PECAN TREES The pecan (Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K.Koch) is not generally considered a native of Eddy County or New Mexico. Although a few large trees producing seedling-type pecan nuts were or are growing in southern New Mexico, there is evidence that some of these were brought to the area from central Texas and north-central Mexico in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Few of these original pecan trees remain today. One, considered the largest pecan tree in the state, still grows near the town of Mesilla, NM. There is one in South Eddy County that may be as big or larger. The oldest known planting improved (named) varieties were at the Fabian Garcia Agricultural Center of New Mexico State University in Mesilla Park, NM in 1915 and 1916. At the time it was planted, the four-acre planting was the largest pecan planting in New Mexico. Many of these trees remain in their original planting sites. Early pioneers of pecan promotion in the Mesilla Valley was J.W. Newberry of Fairacres, NM. Newberry grew, propagated, and sold pecan trees. The first large-scale planting of pecans in New Mexico, however, was made by the late Deanne F. Stahmann. This 30-acre planting was made on the Snow Ranch, a farm south of Las Cruces in 1934 and 1935. Stahmann mainly planted 'Western' with 'Burkett' as the pollinator. He made subsequent additional plantings on the remainder of the Snow Ranch, as it is still known today. What is known today as Stahmann Farms was land that was cleared and leveled for planting later. Other smaller plantings were made by other growers in Pecos river basin after the Snow Ranch plantings. I know from notes of the Eddy County Agriculture Agent that there were a number of Pecans planted in Eddy County in 1938. While the value of the pecan industry can easily be measured from a nut production standpoint, there are other, less obvious, benefits to the community. Hartman et al. (2000) identified the following benefits of trees to a community: Supply oxygen; sequester carbon dioxide; reduce noise pollution; trap particulates; alter microclimate; improve aesthetics; enhance outdoor urban spaces; alter the community’s character. Obviously, the opportunity to provide income was not included. These benefits are difficult to quantify, and it’s even more difficult to define their dollar value. Hence, the values are non-commensurable, since they do not have a common unit of measure. I have been told by real-estate professionals that properly placed Pecans can add 10 to 20 thousand dollars to the value of a home. The main ingredients needed by pecan trees in Eddy County NM include adequate space, water, nitrogen, zinc and more water. A mature pecan tree requires nearly 34,000 gallons of water per year. With annual average yields of 40 to 50pounds per tree, this amounts to nearly 680 to 850 gallons of water per pound of nuts, depending on soil type. Proper management of these practices will result in fast growing productive trees. Trees will begin producing a few nuts three to four years after planting. Significant production can be achieved in six to eight years. Good production will begin the ninth or tenth year. Trees can be productive for a100 years or longer. Pecans, like other fruit and nut trees, exhibit a characteristic called alternate bearing. This is when trees produce an abundant crop one year and the following year relatively few fruits/nuts. The third year yields will be abundant once more. The fourth year will produce small yields. This cycle continues for the life of the pecan tree. A pecan tree can produce about from 50 to 80 pounds of nuts per tree per year. That can be significant and depending on how and where those nuts are marketed can be an economic return or just good pie. Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/ Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

CALLING ALL STOCKMEN

CALLING ALL STOCKMEN Due to a number of stock related issues a number of Eddy County Stock producers would like to reorganization of the Eddy County Stockman’s Association. A reorganization meeting is going to be held August 18th at 7:00 pm in the meeting room of the Eddy County Extension Office, 1304 West Stevens Carlsbad. If there is an interest we will move forward with this effort. There are lots of issues that an organized cooperative effort will make business better for all producers. If you cannot attend this meeting please call the Extension office and voice if you support such an effort or not. Thanks. Subscribe to Eddy County Ag news at: http://nmsueddyag.blogspot.com/ Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

EPA cancels Flubendiamide insecticide use in the US Pesticide said to be 'too toxic' and risky for certain water-borne species Aug 1, 2016 Todd Fitchette | Western Farm Press

In what’s being called a “first-of-its-kind” move, the Environmental Protection Agency cancelled registration of an insecticide that was previously approved for use and ultimately labeled in 49 states. The active ingredient Flubendiamide, marketed in the United States by Bayer as Belt, is a Group 28 insecticide labeled for use in about 200 different crops, including almonds, pistachios, walnuts, stone fruit, and cotton, numerous vegetable crops, alfalfa, melons, and sorghum, to name just a few. Bayer received a conditional label for the product in 2008, according to Bayer Spokesman Jeff Donald. Under the conditional label Bayer was required to provide proof that the product did not exceed certain toxicity levels in water ways. Earlier this year the EPA asked Bayer to withdraw its registration of Flubendiamide, which the company was not willing to do, according to Donald. The EPA then filed a notice of intent to cancel registration of the pesticide. Bayer appealed the EPA decision to the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). That hearing just concluded with mixed results. The EAB said the EPA could move forward with label cancellation but will allow growers to use existing stocks of the product until inventories are depleted. “The science supporting the registration of Flubendiamide may be complex, but it is solid,” said Dana Sargent, vice president of regulatory affairs for Bayer. Sargent accused the EPA of denying Bayer an opportunity to argue the scientific merits of its case. Bayer Spokesman Jeff Donald said the technology used to conditionally approve Flubendiamide in 2008 was cutting-edge. Donald said Bayer provided “real world” data to support its claims while the agency relied upon theoretical computer models to declare the product unsafe for certain aquatic species. Donald calls the federal government’s decision to pull registration of the product “ironic,” saying it makes no sense to give conditional consent to its use, and allow existing stocks to be depleted while claiming the product is dangerous to the environment. Bayer has not announced its actions going forward except to say it will comply with the order and will “fully review the decision” prior to moving ahead on the issue. Charlotte Fadipe, spokesperson for the California Department of Pesticide Regulations, said the product was first registered in California in 2008. Its use since then has been “fairly low,” she said. In 2013 just over 42,000 pounds of the active ingredient was used in California. Nearly half of that amount was used in almonds and alfalfa. Other crops using over 1,000 pounds of the active ingredient included corn, cotton, grapes, pistachios, sunflower, and processing tomatoes, according to a DPR report. According to Fadipe, EPA studies show Flubendiamide breaks down into a more highly-toxic material that is harmful to species that are an important part of aquatic food chains. She said DPR scientists agree with EPA findings on the toxicity. “DPR believes there are alternative products for farmers or growers to use,” she said. Growers, retailers and distributors with questions about this issue should contact their local Bayer field sales representative, or 1-866-992-2937.

USDA pays out $11.2m for dairy assistance

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced approximately $11.2 million in financial assistance to American dairy producers enrolled in the 2016 Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy). The payment rate for May/June 2016 will be the largest since the program began in 2014. The narrowing margin between milk prices and the cost of feed triggered the payments, as provided for by the 2014 farm bill. "We understand the nation's dairy producers are experiencing challenges due to market conditions," Vilsack said. "MPP-Dairy payments are part of a robust, comprehensive farm safety net that help to provide dairy-producing families with greater peace of mind during tough times. Dairy operations enrolled in the 2016 MPP-Dairy program will receive approximately $11.2 million this month.” Dairy producers who enrolled at the $6 through $8 margin trigger coverage level will receive payments. MPP-Dairy payments are triggered when the national average margin (the difference between the price of milk and the cost of feed) falls below a level of coverage selected by the dairy producer, ranging from $4 to $8, for a specified consecutive two-month period. All final U.S. Department of Agriculture prices for milk and feed components required to determine the national average margin for May/June 2016 were released on July 29, 2016. Vilsack urged producers to use this opportunity to evaluate their enrollment options for 2017, because the enrollment period is currently scheduled to end Sept. 30, 2016. “By supporting a strong farm safety net, expanding credit options and growing domestic and foreign markets, USDA is committed to helping America's dairy operations remain successful," Vilsack added.

New Mexico organic-certification program at crossroads

osted: Wednesday, August 3, 2016 11:55 pm | Updated: 12:42 pm, Thu Aug 4, 2016. By Staci Matlock The New Mexican In 1989, a handful of New Mexico farmers founded the state’s organic growers association, one of the first in the nation. Dedicated to producing food that was healthy for both people and the environment, they promoted farming free of chemicals and genetic engineering. They were at the forefront of a food revolution. The organization grew, with more farmers signing up for the arduous process of becoming Certified Organic. The organic label caught fire with customers and began generating millions of dollars in sales at restaurants, grocery stores and farmers markets in the state. Fast-forward to 2011, when Gov. Susana Martinez signed a bill into law that disbanded the original farmer-driven New Mexico Organic Commodities Commission. The law shifted the organic farming program to the state Department of Agriculture and ended its annual funding, requiring it to survive instead on fees charged to organic farmers and food processors. Now the program, facing a $125,000 shortfall and staffed with just two people who oversee certifications and inspections for about 150 producers statewide, is in trouble, and the Department of Agriculture is begging for advice on how to proceed from the farmers and food processors the program serves. “The current fee structure doesn’t provide sufficient funding to cover operating costs,” Deputy Secretary Anthony Parra told the growers, processors and farmers market staff gathered for a meeting Wednesday at the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service Office. “We’re here begging for your help. We want this program to succeed as much as you do.” The organic program certifies and inspects about 150 farms, livestock operations and processors a year, which collectively generate $40 million a year in sales — an amount that’s growing. Private companies also certify and inspect farms seeking organic certification under the standards set by the federal government, but producers said they must pay three to four times more for that service. Wednesday’s meeting was the third such gathering in three days, during the height of the growing and harvesting season. Farmers were angry that state officials had let the program run into so much trouble. “It’s a kick in the teeth to think we might lose this program,” said Matt Rembe of Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm in Albuquerque. “That’s the message we want going back to the governor and lawmakers. … We don’t make the profits of big conventional ag. We are composting. We are weeding by labor. We should be rewarded for the extra labor. Instead, we are being asked to do more than big ag.” Some farmers said they were concerned that lawmakers and the governor had set up the program to fail by ending appropriations while limiting the fees staff can collect from farmers. “It was inevitable that the program would run into trouble the day the governor canceled the commission and took away all the funding,” said Minor Morgan, owner of North Valley Organics in Albuquerque. “This day was preordained.” Under the state law, farmers, livestock owners and food processors pay $200 a year to apply for organic certification. A certifier makes sure an operation meets the federal government’s organic standards, and later, an inspector tours the farm or processing plant to make sure national standards are still being met. The producer also pays a three-quarters-of-a-percent fee on gross sales. New Mexico has certified organic producers for cotton, dairy products, alfalfa, peanuts, pecans, herbs, vegetables and fruits, said Brett Bakker, one of the certifiers who started working with the organic program in 1991. When the Department of Agriculture took over the program, it had a $200,000 surplus. But knowing the program had to survive only on fees, the department began scaling it back immediately. An office in Albuquerque was closed down and moved to Las Cruces. Positions were left unfilled. But that wasn’t enough, said Parra and the department’s marketing director, David Lucero. If the state can’t keep the program going, “it leaves 153 organic growers hanging,” Parra said. New Mexico isn’t the only state to have problems maintaining its organic certification program. Only 16 states have such programs, Lucero said. “Most have dropped the program for the same reasons — not enough cash flowing.” Until recently, New Mexico’s organic program had three certifiers who also served as inspectors, and Joanie Quinn, one of the founders of the original organic commission, served as an adviser to farmers. The department plans to fill one of the organic certifier positions. But it isn’t sure it can replace Quinn, who recently retired. Farmers said Quinn was an invaluable resource, a farmer herself who could help them navigate the red tape and find solutions to problems that cropped up within their operations. Kristine Keheley, owner of Vapour Organic Beauty of Taos and Plenish Skin Care, which manufactures skin care products sold largely out of state, said the state should be supporting the organic program and farmers as an economic development boon. “This program is working,” said Keheley, who employs 25 people and is looking to hire more. “Organic is a growing industry in the state.” Karen Converse, operations manager for the commercial lavender fields at Los Poblanos, said New Mexico officials are not paying attention to the high-value, homegrown organic foods industry. “They’re too busy chasing the Teslas,” Converse said. Organic growers like Tom Dixon, who farms the land where he grew up in La Cienega, will have to hire private certifiers and inspectors if the state’s organic program fails. “I’ve talked to other farmers whose states don’t have organic programs like ours,” Dixon said from his Green Tractor Farm. “It costs them thousands to bring inspectors in from out of state.” Jeff M. Witte, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, said he’s “not keen” on making organic farmers hire private inspectors. “We have a lot of small farmers who would be hurt by the higher fees.” Dixon said, “The Legislature, as much as it needs to stretch state dollars, should be willing to help put healthy food on people’s tables.” Dixon, who was unable to attend Wednesday's meeting, and the farmers who did attend said they don’t have a lot of time around running their businesses to push lawmakers for funding to help the organic program survive. But Dixon’s wife, Mary, said farmers, organic food advocates and organic markets will have to lobby lawmakers and the governor to save the program. Parra and Lucero said they hope to host more meetings with farmers in the northern part of the state, but with the next legislative session not too far away and the clock ticking on the organic program, there isn’t much time to come up with solutions. Contact Staci Matlock at 505-986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com. Follow her on Twitter @StaciMatlock.

Youth photo contest on sheep.

"In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself." -Albert Einstein The New Mexico Livestock Board and the New Mexico Wool Growers, Inc. invite kids, ages 18 and under, to submit pictures for a photo contest, Aug. 5 - Oct. 5, 2016. This contest supports the local economy, displays New Mexico raised sheep in our environment and creates youth awareness about Scrapie eradication. First prize includes a $100 Tractor Supply gift card, and the winning photograph will be featured in the NM Stockman magazine. • Pictures must be of sheep and goats, any breed or number, and contestants can enter all the pictures they want. The sheep can be owned by the participant or belong to someone else. People may be included in the photographs. • All submissions must include the attached Permission & Liability Waiver form completed and signed by the parent or legal guardian of the participant. • Digital and print photos are both acceptable. Prints can be dropped off or mailed, but MUST be postmarked by 10/5/16 to: New Mexico Livestock Board 300 San Mateo Blvd. NE Suite 1000 Albuquerque, NM 87108 • Digital images can be e-mailed to statevet@nmlbonline.com • Pictures must be in good taste: acts of cruelty or vulgarity will not be accepted. • A person submitting photos acknowledges that his/her photo(s) will not be returned. By submitting, the contestant grants permission for his/her photo(s) to be used by New Mexico Livestock Board and the New Mexico Wool Grower´s, Inc. for a Scrapie brochure featuring New Mexico sheep. Additional photos may be used for other educational materials and marketing purposes by the above mentioned parties and the NM Stockman magazine. Happy Sheep Photo Contest Details and Waiver.pdf

Udall, Heinrich Announce $4.4 Million for NMSU Research to Support Sustainability and Profitability of Pecan Industry

Udall, Heinrich Announce $4.4 Million for NMSU Research to Support Sustainability and Profitability of Pecan Industry WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that New Mexico State University (NMSU) will receive more than $4.4 million to support research on pecan genetics and breeding that will help New Mexico pecan farmers improve the sustainability and profitability of their crops. The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, which Udall and Heinrich supported. The funded research will allow for the development of genetic tools that will help farmers select varieties of trees that will thrive in the varying growing conditions of different regions. "This significant investment in research at New Mexico State University to support the pecan industry will help pecan farmers in New Mexico and across the country expand their production and increase the yield and quality of their crops," Udall said. "New Mexico is one of the top pecan-producing states in the country and the pecan industry is critical to local economies in Southern New Mexico, but our state’s climate and weather pose unique challenges for farmers. This research will help pecan farmers select the varieties of crops that will thrive and be most profitable, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I’ll continue to push for investments in cutting-edge research at our universities that supports local economic development." "Southern New Mexico is a leading producer of pecans, and pecan farmers are a driver of our state’s economy," said Heinrich. "I was proud to support the Farm Bill, which included the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. These funds will further position New Mexico State University as a leading agricultural research center. Many growers in New Mexico come from families that have cultivated land for generations. However, challenges today such as long-term drought has made farming difficult. This research will help ensure that the pecan industry can continue to thrive." The funded project, Coordinated Development of Genetic Tools for Pecan, is a multi-institutional collaboration between NMSU, the University of Georgia, the University of Arizona, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The project seeks to identify the genetic elements of crops that control traits, such as nutrient uptake, drought tolerance and nut quality, and to identify trees that will yield the largest and best quality crops in specific environments, yet require less input by growers. The $4,404,284 grant awarded to NMSU was one of 19 grants totaling $36.5 million awarded nationally through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. The awarded grants fund research and extension to support farmers throughout the country growing fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops. The program seeks to address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry through grants that address challenges in sustaining all components of food and agriculture.

field sandbur

Press Release Eddy County Cooperative Extension Service 1304 West Stevens Carlsbad, NM 88220 For More Information, Contact: Woods Houghton, Eddy County Agriculture Agent Eddy County Cooperative Extension Service Phone: 505-887-6595 Fax: 505-887-3795 whoughto@nmsu.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Controlling Field Sandbur (Grass bur) in Turf grass Field sandbur (grass bur) is a summer annual grassy weed that can be found in home lawns, sports fields, parks and along roadsides. It the spinney grass like weed that is in your pants legs, shoe laces and pet’s hair and paws at this time of the years. This weed is especially adapted to dry, sandy soils but can be found growing in other types of soils as well. The big problem with this weed is the sharp, spiny burs that are part of the inflorescence. These burs can be painful and are difficult to remove from clothing material. Field sandburs (grass burs) generally start germinating in late spring and will continue to germinate until late summer or early fall months. This weed will continue to grow until the first hard frost or freeze occurs in the fall. Field sandburs (grass burs) are generally not a problem in well maintained turf grass areas. With proper fertilization, mowing and irrigation, you can produce a turf that is dense enough to prevent sandbur (grass burs) from becoming a problem. However, if field sandburs (grass burs) do become a problem there are several effective herbicides that can be used to control this particular weed. The most effective and efficient method of control is to use a pre-emergent herbicide. This is done in February; during mild winters the field sandbur plants will survive and act like a perennial weed. In these cases, a pre-emergent herbicide will not be effective in controlling these particular plants, but will work on any of the seeds that try to germinate. At this time of the year a post-emergence herbicide such as Dimension – dithiopyr (pyridine, Group 3); Drive XLR8 – quinclorac (quinolinecarboxylic acid, Group 4 (26 for monocots)); Dismiss – sulfentrazone (aryl triazolinone, Group 14); Tenacity – mesotrione (triketone, Group 27); Sedgehammer – halosulfuron (sulfonylurea, Group 2);l Monument – trifloxysulfuron-sodium (sulfonylurea, Group 2) ;Revolver – foramsulfuron (sulfonylurea, Group 2);Certainty – sulfosulfuron (sulfonylurea, Group 2); Celsius - iodosulfuronmethyl-sodium and thiencarbazone-methyl (triazinylsulfonylurea, triazolone, Group 2) is used. These products will do a good job of controlling the field sandbur (grass bur) when it is young. As the sandbur (grass bur) matures, such as now, it becomes more difficult to obtain effective control. REMEMBER: A dense stand of healthy grass provides the best weed control. Because most weeds are "opportunists" that invade weakened lawns, the fight against weeds starts with good management. All cultural practices such as mowing, fertilizing and watering should be done in a manner and time that will favor the grass rather than the weeds. Height of mowing influences competition against weeds such as crabgrass - the higher the cut, the lower the infestation. Frequent light sprinkling encourages shallow-rooted weeds and seed germination. Less frequent "deep-soak" watering that maintains a dry surface layer provides the grass with a competitive advantage. Temperature, light, soil moisture and other factors determine the time and extent of weed germination and development. Some weeds germinate in early spring while others sprout in summer or fall. If conditions are favorable, a weed may be particularly abundant in a given year, but under different conditions the next year, it may be little in evidence. Herbicide application Although most herbicides are formulated with reliable safety factors, application rates higher than those recommended may cause injury to turf and other ornamental plants. Many people over apply herbicides; the user needs to follow instructions on containers carefully to avoid overdoses. This and all programs are available to everyone regardless of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, or veteran status. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating “to put knowledge to work”.