Margaret's Weekly Tallybook

The weekly Stockgrowers Tallybook can be heard every Monday afternoon on KWYR -Winner at 1260AM and on KBJM - Lemmon at 1400AM

Thank you to these stations for hosting the South Dakota Stockgrowers!

February 22, 2010

Good Morning, this is Margaret Nachtigall with the SDSG Tallybook.

Most of you may be aware of the agritourism project that South Dakota Stockgrowers is working on and today I want to update that a bit.

As you know Silvia Christen was hired as a Development Director – her duties being membership and finding a way for the Stockgrowers to receive an income and therefore continue to operate.  Not much of a challenge – right? Well I’m glad it’s her job and not mine!

The agritourism idea actually came from Tommy Tibbets a couple years ago.  And this is what Silvia has been working on.  In her research she was introduced to Jan Jantzen,  Emporia Kansas who had developed a course that would enable ranchers to establish a agritourism program for their own operation.

Silvia immediately began work on this project and I’m happy to say she is now preparing for the third of five classes.  They meet from 3:30 until 8 or 8:30 each Monday evening beginning on February 8.

Jan Jantzen is facilitating the course and Silvia is bringing in experts from South Dakota in their respective fields to provide information for the class attendees.

Mr Jantzen has said, and I quote “The goal is for participants to be ready to start their agritourism businesses at the end of the fifth class period.  He said “we want to help you think through what you have available on your farm or ranch and how you can turn that into a

successful agritourism destination. This is a result-oriented workshop, not an academic exercise”.

The class prepares the participants to put together a program according to their own interests such as hunting, trail rides, overnight guests, etc.  I sat in on a couple of the meetings and it is so exciting to see the amount of enthusiasm in these classes.

Silvia’s goal of 20 participants was reached before the press release invitation was a week old.  She actually ended up with 30 participants and a waiting list for the next class.

 The course is funded by some grants that Silvia has been able to procure plus the enrollment fee, and is looking to be a great success, with more classes in the future.  So if you are interested in this type of project give her a call here at the office and she can tell you what is on the horizon.

 This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening.

February 15, 2010

Good Morning, this is Margaret Nachtigall with the SDSG Tallybook.

I don’t know about you folks, but I’m ready for winter to be over – and I’m not involved in calving like some of you are.  My drive-way and the township road adjoining it are solid ice – and I don’t have my ice skates any more.  Last year we were seeing green grass the first week in March!

This morning’s report from our lobbyist, Jeremiah Murphy, indicates that the overriding factor in Pierre this year is the budget with a deficit that may be larger than originally thought, partially due to lower sales receipts and therefore lower tax revenue.

Jeremiah also mentioned HB1153 which was a bill to revise the requirements for corporation and the state to exercise eminent domain.  He said the bill had several positive features, but also many negative features and no input from landowners.  Stockgrowers opposed this bill which was tabled.

In other business, Stockgrowers and R-CALF had another successful Black Hills StockShow.  Although according to new media the overall attendance at the stockshow was suggested as being down, our booth had strong attendance with some days being busier than others.  Baxter Badure, Belvidere again made a saddle for R-CALF to be raffled off between Stockshow time and the matched bronc ride in Pierre the first week-end in June. Hundreds of tickets were sold and at the same time scores of folks stopped pay their annual dues to both organizations.

Several Stockgrower members met at Senator Johnson’s office with Darrel Schumacher, Chris Blair , Rapid City and with Matt Thornblad, Senator Johnson’s staffer from Washington DC on video conference regarding the Senator’s plan to introduce legislation designating part of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands as Wilderness area.

We have previously registered out opposition to this designation both by phone and by letter, to the Senator’s DC office and recently signed onto a letter by the Black Hills Regional Multiple Use Coalition opposing a wilderness designation.

We have attempted to point out the fact that these grasslands are in the good condition that they now show because of human and domestic animal occupation not in spite of it.  These grasslands have been protected and nurtured by the livestock owners and permitees and other users of the land since the early 1930’s and the beginning of the Soil Conservation Service.  The reason these grasslands are now called “pristine” is because of the care by the people who used them, not because humans were kept out.  To designate this as a Wilderness area will be a move to return it to it’s previous uncared for condition.  The Wilderness Act describes wilderness as: A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.

If man does not remain in this area we will soon see prairie dog towns and Russian Thistle.

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening.

February 8, 2010

Good Morning this is Margaret Nachtigall with SDSG Tallybook, and what can I say – it’s still winter.

Got home from the Stock Show late yesterday afternoon to find another 3 or 4 inches of snow and got up this morning to blowing snow.

Speaking of the stock show – it was a very successful event for SDSG and R-CALF.  We got the chance to visit with many, many of you folks.  Lots of people renewed their memberships and we don’t have a count yet, but we went through scores of raffle tickets for the saddle that Baxter Badure always builds for us this time of year.

This is really a good news day – Silvia had hoped for at least 20 participants for the agri-tourism workshop which begins today.  One week after the press release had gone out she had 25 registered participants and by mid-week last week she had to close registrations as they reached 28.  There is definitely a lot of excitement about this program.

The other good news, which many of you have already heard, is that US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has scrapped NAIS and will work on a new disease traceability program which will be administrated by the States and Tribal Nations.

Secretary Vilsack said “After concluding our listening tour on the National Animal Identification System in 15 cities across the country, receiving thousands of comments from the public and input from States, Tribal Nations, industry groups, and representatives for small and organic farmers, it is apparent that a new strategy for animal disease traceability is needed. He said I’ve decided to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach with changes that respond directly to the feedback we heard.”

One comment that I found especially interesting is that steps will be taken to lessen the risk from disease posed by imported animals.  We have long said we need to look at our borders for much of the disease in this country.  It was also noted that the program will apply only to interstate commerce, which in South Dakota  is covered by health certificates, and at least partially by brand.  The means of identification will be left up to the states.

According to information from USDA the program will focus on animal health –where diseased ones are – what other animals they may have been in contact with and is not a food safety program.

We here at the South Dakota Stockgrowers are extremely happy at this good news.  Of course we will keep our ear to the ground, but this gives us the chance we have been working for to be able to work with our state agencies in an effort to bring a program that will be beneficial to all parts of our industry.

You may find more information at the USDA Website, - you will find an extensive list of questions and answers, or call this office for more direction.

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks to all of you who have worked so hard to put NAIS to rest.

January 18, 2010

Good Morning this is Margaret Nachtigall with SDSG Tallybook.

What a difference a week makes – last week we were more than knee deep in snow – and that wasn’t the drifts -  but this week it’s not quite that deep, the drifts are beginning to melt and the weather has been beautiful!

Even though most Stockgrower meetings were snowed out last week several of us attended the Harding County Stockgrowers meeting in Buffalo on Friday.  A South Dakota Stockgrower panel including Linda Gilbert, Larry Nelson and Shane Kolb brought forth several issues that are of concern and importance to Stockgrower members.  Subjects of interest included the Clean Water Restoration Act which would place all water under the control of the federal government.  At present only “navigable” waters are in that category.  Also discussed was the Power River Basin Training area which is an Air Force Training area from Ellsworth Air Force Base extending over parts of South Dakota , Wyoming and Montana . Larry brought out the fact that many of the ranchers in that area use airplanes to check their pastures and that the plan presented would in fact be a danger to these pilots.  He also questioned the plan of dropping “chaff” in the training area and what it would do to the pastures and livestock.  Another subject discussed was in the realm of livestock marketing. Shane discussed the need for competition in the market and the need for enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act which was implemented in 1921, but never enforced.

Linda also explained to the audience the need to become active in local organizations.  She advised that we can no longer ignore what’s happening in the world around us, but instead we must stand up for our industry.  An industry that is becoming smaller and smaller and requires more and more input from those of us who hope to keep our ranches and rural economy viable.  She stated “I’m not saying you have to belong to any particular organization – just belong to an organization of your choice for the sake of our industry so your voice can be heard.”

Last Wednesday, Silvia, Bill Kluck and Craig Shaver manned a booth and met with folks at the Vale Ag Fair in Vale, SD.

Stockgrowers were on hand again for the annual Ranchers Workshop which this year was held at Mission , SD with Directors Bob Fortune and Chris Harvey taking care of the booth.

I believe the old saying “it never rains, but what it pours” surely holds true for the Stockgrowers attending meetings this time of year.  On the 25^th some of us will be traveling to Pierre to take part in the annual Ag Fest at the Ramkota.  This is a one evening event with each organization having a booth and a chance to visit with legislators and other ag organizations prior to this year’s legislative session.

Then on the 26^th some of the Stockgrowers will be attending the Perkins County Livestock Association where South Dakota Stockgrowers will again conduct a panel discussion of various subjects of interest to the ranching community.

Last, but certainly not least is the R-CALF USA National Convention held right here in Rapid City at the Ramkota on January 22, and 23^rd.  You will again have a chance to hear J Dudley Butler, Administrator of GIPSA and a promoter of the Packers and Stockyards Act.  If you missed him at the Stockgrowers annual in September, make a special effort to attend this meeting.  He certainly speaks for those of us out here on the land.

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening and help us help you by keeping those memberships coming in.  Thanks a bunch.

January 11, 2010

 Good Morning this is Margaret Nachtigall with SDSG Tallybook.

 Well, needless to say, none of us were able to attend the meetings scheduled for East River and Bison that I talked about last week thanks to the 6^th road-blocking blizzard in 13 months.

The meetings with legislators in the East River area have been cancelled, but the Perkins County Livestock Association Meeting has been rescheduled. I don’t have the new dates yet, but I know it will be at Bison and the Stockgrowers will have a panel discussion as previously planned.

 Another meeting coming soon is the Harding County Stockgrowers Meeting.  The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association will also have a panel at this meeting which is scheduled for January 15 at Buffalo , SD

 Stockgrowers today will be sending letters to our congressional delegates to ask them to contact US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack regarding the Over Thirty Month ()TM) Rule which allows the US to import cattle from Canada that are older cattle and therefore more apt to carry BSE.

 We have reminded them that the federal district court remanded the OTM rule back to USDA, and USDA can now rescind that rule. Secretary Vilsack is apparently of the opinion that the BSE risk to the US is the same as Canada since the World Organization for Animal Health has designated both Canada and US as “controlled risk” countries.  We know this is not accurate information since Canada has had numerous cases of BSE since implementing their feed ban, and because of the OTM rule we now are in a position to receive those potentially diseased cows.

 Also, USDA’s risk modeling prior to implementing the OTM rule states that the United States will produce 2 to 75 BSE infections in US-born cattle over a 20 year period.  We don’t need to continue this over a 20 year period – we need to stop this potential BSE introduction now by USDA rescinding the Over Thirty Month Rule – now.

 We believe it is the duty of the Secretary of Agriculture, under the Animal Health Protection Act to prevent the introduction animal disease into the United States and we also believe the importation of these potentially diseased animals is a direct threat to our national herd and to the citizens of this country.

 In other areas of interest the Stockgrowers are looking toward this legislative session which begins in Pierre tomorrow.  We will be meeting with several legislators on the 25^th of January as we take part in the Ag-Fest at the Ramkota in Pierre , and we will also be hosting legislators at our annual Legislative mixer on the evening of February 9^th in Pierre .

 We will keep you informed on Stockgrowers legislative concerns as they come forward.

 This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening and hope to see you in Buffalo , Bison or Pierre .

January 4, 2010

Good Morning this is Margaret Nachtigall with the more marks for the SDSG Tallybook

 Well, I hope everyone has been able to get together with their families for Christmas by this time, I think we celebrated the 12 days of Christmas trying to get everyone together.

 This week is going to be a busy one for many of the Stockgrowers board and staff.

 On January 7 Silvia will be traveling to Bison for the Perkins County Livestock Meeting where she and others will be working on membership business.  At the same meeting Vice President Shane Kolb , Director Linda Gilbert, member Dave Niemi and immediate past president Larry Nelson will be seated as a panel to discuss and answer questions regarding the many areas of interest for farmers and ranchers.  Areas of interest that Stockgrowers can be involved in and can work with them on, whether it’s in the state legislature, US Congress or where ever.  Perkins County folks always put on a great meeting so if you are anywhere near there I would sure plan to attend.

 At the same time President Kenny Fox, Director Bob Fortune , and I will be traveling East River to meet with legislators in an effort to acquaint ourselves with them, let them know who we are, what we stand for and to learn what their issues and concerns are.  We’ll be meeting in Aberdeen at the Pizza Hut at 11:00 am on Wednesday 6^th and the Waverly Steak House in Waverly at 7:00pm the same day. Then on Thursday we travel to Brandon where we meet at the Pizza Hut at 11:00 am. At 7:00 that evening we meet at Al’s Oasis in Oacoma.  We invite anyone who hears this message to join us at any of these meetings.  We have done this for several years and find that it is a good way to get to know the legislators prior to a busy legislative session. (Note: for those of you who heard me give these dates last week, I misquoted the dates – Jan 6 & 7 are the correct dates – sorry if I confused anyone)

 We will also be filing comments with USDA’s Ag Marketing Service; the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) regarding the plan put forth by the NCBA Governance Task Force.  We certainly have no problem with any entity working in an effort to strengthen and improve their organization;  however, we have some serious concerns about the Task Force’s proposal to restructure their organization in a way that would reduce the input from any group not strongly tied to NCBA. 

 It is apparent that some of the proposed changes will in fact reduce the true grassroots input and will move control away from the Federation of Beef Councils which is one of the most important parts of the system that controls the use of our check-off dollars, so we will definitely get our comments sent in and if anyone has any input please give us a call here at the Stockgrower office.

 This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening and hope to see you at some of these meetings.

December 28, 2009  

Good morning/afternoon.  This is Margaret Nachtigall with the latest edition of the SDSGA Tallybook. 

 Is this De-ja-vu or what?  These blizzardy storms are getting to be a bit of a habit.  I know many of you spent a Christmas at home that had been intended to be over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house.  Yep, that’s what happened with our family.

Actually I was feeling a bit sorry for myself until the evening news showed the folks who only had the mission to go to.  I tend to forget how blessed I really am and how thankful I need to be.

 I’m hoping this blizzard didn’t take as heavy a toll on livestock as the one last November, although I really haven’t talked to enough folks to know what has happened around the area.

 And, as for what’s happening with the Stockgrowers – January is shaping up to be a really busy time.

 On the 7^th and 8^th, a carload of us will be traveling to the Eastern part of the state, as we do every year to meet with legislators prior to the 2010 session which starts the 12^th.

We’ll be meeting in Aberdeen , Waverly, Brandon and Oacoma.  These meetings are intended, not as lobbying, but rather a chance to meet legislators prior to the session and let them know who we are and basically what we stand for and to give them a chance to ask any questions they may have.

 On January 7, we have another group who will be conducting a panel discussion at the 2010 Perkins County Livestock Association Meeting. Again, this gives folks a chance to ask questions, discuss their needs and let the Stockgrowers know what we need to plan for the future.

 Then on the 15^th of January some of us will be attending the Harding County Stockgrowers Annual meeting.  This is always a fun and interesting meeting that we look forward to.  And we will again have a booth at the Rancher’s workshop which this year is being held in Mission on January 13.

 Silvia has some tentative dates set for the beginning meetings of the Stockgrower’s Tourism plan and I’ll have more on that for you at a later date.

 Mark your calendars for January 22^nd and 23^rd for the R-CALF annual convention held again this year in Rapid City at the Ramkota Inn.

 Then we have the Black Hills Stock Show that begins the 29^th of January and runs through the 7^th of February – no wonder time seems to go so fast!!

 Well, this kind of gives you an idea of where we will be and what we’ll be doing for the next few weeks.  As always, please stop in when you’re in town and/or drop us an email or phone call if you have questions or suggestions.

 Until next Monday, this is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening.

December 21, 2009

Good Morning this is Margaret Nachtigall bringing you the latest additions to the SDSG Tallybook.

And this morning I’m mighty happy to say Welcome to a new station KBJM 1400 in Lemmon , SD.   I’d like to thank Mike Switzer and Dennis Drayton for making this possible.  We are glad to have a chance to visit with all the folks in the KBJM listening area and please, if you have comments in any direction regarding tallybook just give us a call here at the South Dakota Stockgrowers office in Rapid City or on our Website.

We have a couple really nice days and now we have fog – big time.  Coming to work this morning was approximately ½ to l mile

Usually at this time of year we start remembering what the past year has been, what we have done, what we should have done etc.

Stockgrowers as an organization is no different.  One of the things on that list was a series of listening sessions conducted by USDA regarding the National Animal Identification System, better known as NAIS.  One of the sessions was actually held here in Rapid City with the largest attendance of any of the 16 sessions.  It was also one of the most orderly – no yelling, screaming, carrying-on that occurred at some of the other sessions.  Everyone that wanted to testify here had the chance to do so.  The outcome of all the sessions including the on in South Dakota resulted in 90% opposed to NAIS.  I think we actually got the attention of our federal government since USDA’s funding for NAIS has been cut from $14 million to $5 million, and because as of this date US Sec of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is still sitting on the decision to move ahead with NAIS. 

Another good happening this past year has been the Stockgrowers decision to hire Silvia Cristen as our Development Director in an effort to find a source of income which will enable the Stockgrowers to continue in their work towards the profitability and viability of farmers and ranchers and our rural economy.  Silvia is moving in a steady line with the potential of establishing a agritourism business which will not only provide added income for ranchers, but will especially provide a means of education to our urban cousins.  We will be able to give them hands on experience of caring for livestock, caring for the land and showing them that we ARE stewards of the land – that we do care for our livestock.  This looks to be a win-win situation.

We also were able to get Country of Origin Labeling implemented this past year.  This has been a long hard battle which is not really over yet, but has lots of promise.  We still need some stronger rules when it comes to the actual labeling, but that can all come in the future.

The Stockgrowers has a very successful annual convention in September.  We had several excellent speakers – I would hate to try to say who was the best – each had his or her own subject and all were very professional.  Our keynote speaker the night of the banquet was J Dudley Butler who is the new administrator of the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration, Washington , D.C. One of the things I believer we all remember him saying was that his orders are to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act - something that has not been done in the past.  He was emphatic about the fact that he will need the support of every grassroots person on the land because those who have been benefiting from the lack of enforcement will put up a monumental fight.

These are just a very few of the things that we have helped accomplish in this past year – there are more and maybe I can get into that next time.  The thing we need to remember is that each and every one of us has a say in what goes on in our business and it is our responsibility to stand up and be heard.

I think I’m running out of time, so until next Monday this is Margaret N saying Thanks for listening.

12-14-09

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall bringing you the latest additions to the SDSG Tallybook.

 Well we have cold and we have snow, but nothing like the cow-killing blizzard we had in November a year ago, so I guess that is something to be thankful for.  Speaking of which, I understand that, at least in Pennington County , most of the Livestock Indemnity Program payments have been made to those who lost livestock in last year’s storms.

 I had planned to attend the Ag Unity meeting today in Huron, but since Silvia had to be in Brookings this week-end she agreed to take in the meeting in Huron on her way back.  Also one of the directors Joan Wollschlager is planning to attend.  Ag Unity’s agenda looked to be full and interesting as we all begin to look towards the new year and new legislative session.

 Last week we filed comments with USDA regarding APHIS’s proposed changes in the federal Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis programs.  Part of the changes we agreed with such as increased import standards to reduce the number of untested cattle imported from Mexico, “enhanced efforts to mitigate disease transmission from wildlife”, and research and development of new vaccines.

 We did oppose the proposed plan to reduce testing including slaughter house testing in the United States .  We also opposed the plan to work with “zones” instead of states – we feel this is moving from state control to federal control – a move we strongly object to.  We also get major heartburn when they mention “modernizing the regulatory framework” in an effort to make it easier for APHIS to make changes as needed.  We believe this may lead to changes that affect us, but that we may be unaware of.

 Both Bangs and TB have been almost entirely eradicated in the United States under a program that was implemented in the early 1900’s.  However, we are still importing cattle carrying both of these diseases from Mexico and are still having disease reintroduced from the wildlife, mainly elk and bison, and from cattle imported from Canada where they also have a huge problem with the wildlife.

 One thing I would like to mention about comments is the fact that anyone can and should file comments any time there is a notification in the US Federal Register regarding changes that can affect your bottom line.  You can also go on line and read comments that have been filed by others.  The reason I bring this up is that in this particular case most of the comments filed were by individuals who wanted the cattle off the land – especially in the Yellowstone area – and wanted the bison able to roam free – no fences.

 By now everyone should have received their 4^th quarter Stockgrower Magazine – if you have and you haven’t read all the way through, be sure to turn to page 23 and take a look at the Christmas gift page.  Then give us a call here at 877-529-2333.

 This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening, and I hope you are more ready for Christmas than I am!

 This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening!

December 7, 2009

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall bringing you the latest additions to the SDSG Tallybook.

Last Monday and Tuesday most of the Stockgrowers Board of Directors, staff and some members were in Pierre attending the December Quarterly.  We had a little different agenda this time.  Monday’s meeting consisted of a full day of planning and organizing conducted by Stockgrowers’ new Development Director, Silvia Christen.  Silvia led us through several different and interesting exercises.  This was a new type of meeting for many of our members, but everyone I talked to afterwards were impressed with the amount of information that we pulled together that day.

One of the topics we worked on was a list of the positive work SDSGA has done this past year coupled with a list improvements that can make Stockgrowers a better organization.  This was an excellent way for each of us to begin thinking about our own responsibility to the organization.

We also put together a list of issues that the board believes need our attention in 2010 which will be prioritized at later meetings.

The regular SD Stockgrowers quarterly business meeting was held on Tuesday and was followed by a small NAIS meeting in the afternoon.

South Dakota Stockgrowers will be busy for the next few months as indicated by the list of events and happenings that we plan to take part in.  For instance: Tentative meetings in Bison, Martin and Kadoka in January; the regular legislative East River tour also in January; the Rancher’s Workshop in Mission ; the Valentine Bull Bash in Valentine, Neb. in February. These are just a few of the events planned for the first couple months in 2010.

The Stockgrowers along with R-CALF will again be tending a booth at the Black Hills Stock Show.  Some of our members will be manning booths at the Watertown Farm Show in February, the KBJM Farm and Home Show in Lemmon in March and the Bison Livestock Show in Bison in January.

Last Thursday I represented the Stockgrowers at a luncheon to hear Dr Barry Dunn who is one of the candidates for the next Dean of Agriculture at SDSU.  This week on Wednesday I again will attend to hear candidate Dr Ken Odde.  I believe we have some topnotch candidates for this position and also believe whichever candidate is chosen we can have a good working relationship with him.

I will be representing the Stockgrowers at the SD Ellsworth Development Authority which will be held on Tuesday at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Rapid City .  This meeting is to address “incompatible” development around Ellsworth.

These are just a few of the events we will be attending in 2010. As you can see Stockgrower members and Board of Directors will be busy this year, however, any time you have concerns or questions, or suggestions please feel free to call, email, or better yet stop by for a cup of coffee and a chance to visit.

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening!

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall bringing you information from the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.
We start today’s tallybook off with sadness – Kathy Kolb, wife of our Vice President Shane Kolb passed away last week following a terrific battle with cancer. The attitude and spiritual strength that Kathy showed for the full duration of her battle was absolutely amazing. Kathy’s funeral is Thursday Nov 19, 1:00 PM at the Bison School Gymnasium. Other information is available at Evanson-JensenFuneralHome.com. 

We learned today that the Department of Justice-USDA joint workshops, that we have been promised, have been set throughout the country. Five subjects will be covered – a different one at each workshop. The first one is March 12, 2010 at Ankeny, Iowa and involves issues for crop farmers. May 21st is basically for the poultry industry and will be held at Normal, Alabama. The Dairy Industry workshop will be June 7 at Madison, Wisconsin; and the Livestock Industry workshop which may include enforcement of the Packer and Stockyards act and concentration will be held at Fort Collins, Colo. on August 26, 2010. The 5th workshop addresses discrepancies between prices received by farmers and prices paid by consumers and will be held December 8, 2010 in Washington, D.C. According to information received “Each workshop may feature keynote speakers, general expert panels, and break-out panels. The public will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments. Stockgrowers will be issuing written comments prior to attending a workshop.

Next Monday the Stockgrowers finance committee will meet to look at the present financial conditions. On November 30, the quarterly meeting, which will be held at the King’s Inn in Pierre, will be dedicated to working on Stockgrower  goals, objectives, reviewing our mission statement and vision statement as well as beginning the process of setting a business plan for the organization.

The meeting will be conducted by Silvia Christen who is the Stockgrowers new Development Director. Silvia and Sherri have been putting in a lot of hard work lately on the membership program and I’m happy to report that we are receiving membership dues daily with many of them being previously expired members. 
Silvia also has been meeting with several different organizations as she works towards a new program to add to the Stockgrowers income. Silvia was hired when we realized any program we put into affect needs the complete attention of a full time employee and she certainly is doing the job.

I certainly would be remiss today if I didn’t again mention the devastating E-Coli ground meat recalls. I’ve been reading an interesting blog authored by Dr James Marsden who is a senior science advisor for the North American Meat Processors Association and an associate director of the Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State University. I guess I haven’t heard too much good about HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), but I was a bit surprised to read Dr Marsden’s comment “I don’t believe that HACCP as it exists today was what the National Academy of Sciences had in mind in 1985”. 
HACCP was actually developed in the 1960’s for the production of in flight food for NASA.

It was designed to be a systematic method of detecting physical, chemical and biological hazards in the production line of any product, and was, I believe , adopted by USDA in 1985 for use in among other things, our meat supplies.
HACCP has not worked well in that area since that time, and many have called for a HACCP or other program that would effectively work to prevent such contaminations as E-Coli in our ground beef.

I tend to agree with a blogger who said the National School Lunch Program, which is an extension of HACCP should be followed by all ground beef programs. In the NSLP, 2 positive tests in a month puts the supplier completely out of that program. To my knowledge there has never been an E-Coli problem in the school lunch program. If it’s possible to provide uncontaminated ground beef for one program it’s possible to provide it for all programs – is it not?

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening.

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall bringing you information from the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.

We had a taste of winter and now it seems we’re back to early fall – isn’t it great to live in a part of the country where we’re not bored by the weather?

I don’t know how many of you catch Good Morning America on TV – I usually hear it while I’m getting ready for work. This morning was interesting as they interviewed a person from USDA regarding the recent hamburger E-Coli contaminations. I was especially interested as quite often these interviews come to rest on the producer. That wasn’t the case this morning – USDA was in the hot seat and the point of contamination was at the packing houses. Of course, the answers were as one might expect – according to the USDA spokesman and Patrick Boyle, everything possible is being done to provide safe food. I’m glad this puts the point of contamination right where it is, however this certainly doesn’t do much to promote beef. I believe this is part of the reason we are seeing so much positive emphasis on local food suppliers, and rightly so.

In a not to distantly related issue, SDSGA has signed onto a letter with many other organizations in reply to USDA’s notice of intent to amend its BSE regulations regarding beef and beef products. The notice states that “country classification and commodity import would be closely aligned with those of the World Organization of Animal Health”
We are concerned with USDA’s plan to align with an organization whose BSE standards have proven to be basically ineffective. As I understand it, if we go with the World Organization of Animal Health policy in country classification and commodity import that leave our borders open and in effect relieve USDA of its responsibility of protecting the livestock and citizens of the United States.

We are requesting that our policy not be along those guidelines, but instead be brought back to those which are more closely in line with the majority of our trading partners and to our own past standards. We must act according to the needs of our consumers and that means setting policy that is of sound science and sound economics and does not place higher regard on our foreign trade than it does to the health of our national herd and our United States citizens. 

In other areas, most members and directors alike have been extremely busy with fall work, and even more so now that the weather has cooperated for a few days. However, Silvia is busy as can be with her preparations for our quarterly meeting in Pierre on Nov 30 and Dec 1 where the entire board will be doing some strategic planning and preparing to set goals and objectives for our proposed fund raising endeavors.

On that note, mark your calendars for November 30, and December 1, at the Kings Inn in Pierre, SD.

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening.

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall bringing you information from the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.

Wouldn’t it be nice to just take care of the cows; feed ‘em, calve ‘em, work ‘em no more often than needed, ride on ‘em when necessary; and forget about local, federal and global issues that constantly invade our workplace – the ranch. That being said, I doubt it will happen in the near future. However, I did just receive word that the United States blocked Canada and Mexico’s first request for a WTO panel examination of Country of Origin Labeling.

As I understand, according to WTO rules we can block the first request but the second will probably be made at the WTO’s dispute settlement body on November 19th. And I don’t believe we can block that one.

If you remember last week I talked about these two neighboring countries filing a complaint with the WTO in which they blamed the United States and COOL for damaging the trade with these countries. And hopefully you remember that according USDA’s U.S. trade statistics database the United States buys over $1billion worth of beef and product from Canada and Mexico than it sells to them. In other words we have a $1 billion dollar agricultural trade deficit with these 2 countries.

Personally, I don’t see how they can have any kind of grounds for filing a request for examination of our labeling rules, I don’t believe we are actually blocking any kind of trade; all we’re doing is allowing producers to differentiate their products and allowing the consumer to have a choice at the retail level. I think it’s called taking pride in your product and protecting your family. It’s what the United States of America is all about.

I also want to take a minute today to ask you all to count your blessings and to say a prayer for the Kolb family. As you know Shane is our South Dakota Stockgrowers Association Vice-President. Shane’s wife Kathy was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this summer and has since been taking treatments. However, the doctors are now reporting that the cancer is no longer responding to treatment. Kathy is in the Hettinger West River Medical Center, Hettinger ND Hospital. 

As I said, please count your blessings – yes, cattle prices are in the hole, grasshoppers ate everything in sight, some of us didn’t get out of the drought, the new bull broke his leg, 
expenses are up, income is down, the wife lost her job in town; but if you have your health and that of your family – count your blessings.

In the meantime please take a minute to ask God for strength comfort for the Shane, Kathy, Justin, and Wil Kolb. BTW Kathy has a journal on www.caringbridge.org.

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening.

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall one more time, bringing you information from the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association.

Well, we finally came out of the freezer and went from cold to hot. I helped my son and several other folks gather cattle in the limestone area Northwest of Custer this week-end. Lots of frost in the morning, but those ole cows and heavy calves sure felt the heat as the day wore on.

It’s always fun to get out of the office and horseback behind a bunch of cows – (well, for the first couple hours anyway, somehow it doesn’t take long to become work.)

Many of us were born into this lifestyle, but we’re not forced to stay. We stay because it’s what we want to do – it’s the kind of life we want for our kids. It’s the right to make our own decisions – be our own bosses. It’s the kind of life where the work and the fun often come with the same chore. It’s where neighbors help neighbors – it’s a social time as well as a work time.

It was all of that this week-end where I was and I’m sure it was the same for all of you.

The downside of it all right now is cattle prices – should we have sold early, should we wait ‘til later, should we make yearlings out of them, - and there doesn’t seem to be an answer. Of course that’s the question most years, but this year when the national herd is lower than it has been for over 50 years shouldn’t the supply and demand rule make for higher priced cattle now?

You may be hearing that MCOOL will cause us to lose our markets with Canada and Mexico and that COOL will do more harm than good. Well, the next time someone tells you that, you may want to let them know that according USDA’s U.S. trade statistics database the United States buys more than $1billion worth of live cattle, beef, and beef products from Canada and Mexico than it sells to them. In other words what would our domestic cattle prices look like if COOL brought that $billion back home?

Now if you know someone who believes COOL is harmful to the US cattle industry maybe you can also sell them some ocean front property in the Bad Lands.

The light at the end of the tunnel may be the word we received at the Stockgrowers Annual Convention from the new administrator of the Packers and Stockyards administration, J. Dudley Butler.

Mr Butler told us that the Packers and Stockyards Act WILL be enforced. He also said that he will need the support of all of us because when the enforcement puts the pressure on the entities that have received benefits from our losses there will be lawsuits from them against the PS&A He says when that happens his office needs our support bring the facts forward.

I don’t know how much this is going to help us, but I don’t believe we have any alternatives. I believe I know you folks well enough to know that we will not stand by and allow industrial agriculture to rule this land.

As I said we live this life because it’s what we believe in.

That being said, I have one more thing to tell you all. I was advised today that we no longer have a sponsor for the Tallybook and KBHB is making some timing changes, so I’m sad to say I’ll no longer be visiting over the air with those of you who hear me on KBHB. This is Margaret Nachtigall saying goodbye and thanks for listening.

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall bringing you the latest news and views from the SDSG Tally book.

If you recall, last Monday several of us had a chance to meet and ask questions of the US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.

Since South Dakota Stockgrower members was able to ask only one question, we have written a letter to Secretary Vilsack and our Congresswoman with further questions.

NAIS: We again stated that it is simply impossible for producers to comply with the requirements of 24 hr reporting, premises registration and others demands as listed in USDA’s Users Guide and Business Plan. We requested total disposal of NAIS as we know it today. Not being totally ignorant to the fact that there is some need for ability to trace animal disease, we would agree to a new plan brought forward IF all stakeholders in the food chain be at the table. This, of course, would include seedstock producers and cow/calf producers.

Our second item was MCOOL. We strongly urged USDA to prohibit the practice of using foreign beef in inventories of USA beef. This creates a false and misleading impression of our domestic production from a herd that is the smallest in over 50 years. It also drives our domestic live cattle prices to unwarranted lows. We also want to close the loop-hole that allows meat processors to apply a combination origin label with the inclusion of just one part of any day’s processing from a different country. In other words, just one animal from Canada included in one day’s processing allows the processor to label it as USA/Can. The original intent and purpose of COOL was to allow the producer to differentiate their product as born, raised and processed in the United States and to give the families who purchase that meat the satisfaction of knowing it is produced domestically.

One of the questions we did not get a chance to ask is, “What steps will the USDA take to see to it that family farmers and ranchers have access to competitive market for their cattle, hogs, sheep and milk?” We believe the Captive Supply Reform Act as introduced last year, and the ban on packer ownership of cattle are necessary for the survival of grassroots producers.

We also explained that we firmly believe our first line of defense regarding the health of our national livestock herds, as well as our own health, is at our borders. We believe the over 30 month rule (OTM) should be firmly in place, and enforced, until such time as Canada has been able to control BSE in their herd.

These were just 4 of the concerns that South Dakota Stockgrower members wanted to bring to the meeting.

We will continue to work with our national delegates and fight for what is right for the profitability and viability of our rural livelihoods.

This is Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening and don’t forget to call or email to let us know what your thoughts and ideas are. We work for you. margaret.sdsga@midconetwork.com 605-342-0429

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall with another entry for the SDSGA Tally book.

My sister-in-law asked me yesterday if everything except the mortgage had blown from her place to mine. I know if the leaves had had a little more color to them the trees would be bare. But it’s fall in South Dakota and a beautiful time of year.

I want to let everyone know that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack along with Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin will be in the state next Monday, October 5^th.

for a Rural Issues Forum at the Jim and Barbara Hundstad’s farm near Bath, SD located 4.5 miles south of Hwy 12 on Brown County hiway 16.

Anyone who would like to go, please call here at the Stockgrowers Office – we will be arranging rides to accommodate as many as possible.

I also wanted to talk a bit about a couple new resolutions set at the annual membership meeting the first part of Sept.

The first is Legislative Oversight of Gubernatorial Appointments: a resolution set for the benefit of preserving the separation of powers, those being legislative, executive and judicial.

This resolution asks the legislature to enact a law requiring legislative approval of all executive board and commission appointments.

Another is Grasshopper Reduction Program:

This states that the SDSGA believes it is cost prohibitive for producers in western South Dakota to pay $6 to $8 per acre for reducing grasshopper populations, and therefore is asking the state and federal governments to help find grant moneys for cost sharing the grasshopper reduction programs on private land in an attempt to keep the cost closer to $1.00/acre, which would be more in line with other states.

We also set a Cap and Trade Resolution saying we endorse a policy of delaying any Cap and Trade legislation until such time as certain concerns can be address and the full environmental, economic, and social impact is known.

Some the concerns were impact of cap and trade legislation on farmers and ranchers such as raised costs of input, energy, whether climate change is a result of manmade global warming or rather natural heating and cooling cycles which have existed forever.

The 4th and last resolution regards the Rangeland Insurance Program in which SDSGA encourages the current Rangeland Insurance Program to provide a program that is cost effective and helps SD producers. There is a lot more to this one which I will go into at a later date.

For now I’ll just say this MN saying thanks for listening to the SDSGA Tallybook.

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall with another entry for the SDSGA Tally book.

The 2009 Stockgrowers Convention is history – I want to thank all you folks who helped make this a great convention. Whether you donated items for the live auction, slaves for the slave auction, sponsored some meals, spoke at the committee meetings and/or meals times, or none of the above, but was there to hear the speakers and take part in the meetings, you are all the necessary ingredients that make up a successful convention – Again we thank each and every one of you.

For those of you who were unable to attend, I’d like to give a few highlights today.

The convention actually kicked off at 6:30 on Wednesday evening when the Stockgrowers hosted the past presidents of this organization and the cattlewomen’s organization. This is always a time to renew old acquaintances and of course make new ones, so we seldom have a program, and just enjoy a quiet evening of good conversation. and several people told me how much they enjoyed her presentation and how awed they were at her abilities.

We also tapped the Northwest for a couple other speakers: Namely, Pastor Jean Helmer, who was the Inspirational Breakfast speaker on Friday, and our new past president, Larry Nelson.

Pastor Jean gave an excellent presentation that was both entertaining and inspirational and used visual aids that eventually spelled STOCKGROWER demonstrating the need for balance in all areas of our lives.

Larry Nelson, who at that time was still President of the SDSGA gave a very resounding presentation on the needs of the ranching, and rural American communities. He explained that the poultry industry has lost its independent poultry farms; the independent hog farmers are almost in the same position and that those of us in the cattle business are standing right now at the brink of the same loss of our industry to large multinational conglomerates.

Our Friday night keynote speaker was J. Dudley Butler, Administrator of GIPSA , Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration, Washington, DC. He said USDA and the Justice Department have put together a task force and will be traveling throughout the country with a series of meetings to hear from the folks on the farms and ranches and rural communities.

I have never heard a more honest or emphatic or determined goal from anyone in his position. He said he will need help from all of us – that the pressure that will be brought upon him and his crew will be tremendous and that he will need comments and help from every one of us.

We ended the evening with a fun filled and profitable Live Auction with items donated by many members and local businesses.

I wish I could tell you about every one of the speakers that we heard – hopefully you were there, if not, call if you have questions or need information on any part of the convention.

Good Afternoon – this is Margaret Nachtigall with another entry for the SDSGA Tally book.

Just 10 more days until the 2009 South Dakota Stockgrowers Annual Convention and we’re a buzz of activity here in the office – I can’t believe the amount of work and planning that goes into a convention like this and then in a few short days it’s all over with.

I brought information to you last week about a couple of our speakers, and today I’ll be talking about a few more of them.

We’re proud to bring to you as our Friday night dinner speaker from Washington D.C, Mr. J. Dudley Butler the new administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration. Mr Butler is an attorney and is also a certified mediator and arbitrator. He has been involved in cattle, timber and farming operations and helped bring about the Mandatory Price Reporting law in Congress that South Dakota fought so hard for at the state level. Mr Butler has also been very actively involved in protecting family farms and rural America in property rights issues.

Mrs Butler will be traveling with her husband and the two of them will be spending the weekend following the convention getting acquainted with rural South Dakota.

One of our members introduced me to Dwight & JoAnn Edstrom, members of Rapid City’s Toastmaster Club.

And they will be demonstrating a ‘model meeting’ at the Freedom Lunch on Thursday the 10^{th. I’m pretty excited about this – they’ll bring with them approximately 10 people who will hold a mock meeting. This is a little different from our regular speaker line-up and should be very interesting.}

Following the demonstration we will be holding an ice-cream social with ice-cream donated by SDSU and a different topping available at each vendor booth. We’ve been doing this each year and it has proven to be great fun and we do see some really original looking sundaes!

Another fun thing we do is a silent auction. Each vendor brings a silent auction item of their choice which is displayed at their booth along with a bid sheet. The lucky bidders will be announced on Friday following lunch.

And of course we are planning to repeat last year’s slave auction idea which helped us pay for our lobbyist and

provided the buyers of the “slaves” some much needed help. And don’t forget the Live Auction Friday as we wind up the convention with some really great items donated by members and businesses. We have everything from T-Shirts to rocking chairs at these sales.

Thursday night dinner, which we call the “Support Rural America Banquet”, this year our president Larry Nelson, Buffalo will be giving his “ Industrial Foods” presentation. In this day and age, when all of a sudden food safety is big in D.C., Larry’s presentation is indeed timely. In light of what’s happening with these giant multinational food factories I would say whatever you do, don’t miss this presentation - I have heard part of it in other meetings and I’ll guarantee this is something we need to listen to and act on if we want to save rural America.

Remember, September 10th and 11th at the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, Lacrosse Street and I-90

This Margaret Nachtigall saying thanks for listening – see you at the convention!