by Norman L. Kincaide
Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association (CICA) held their 19th Convention in Otero County on July 19-20, 2024. CICA’s mission is to promote policy that will benefit the live cattle industry at the local, state and national levels, and preserving a viable operation for present and future generations.
On July 19, CICA members toured Innovative Water Technologies in Rocky Ford. Jack Barker, President of Innovative Water, gave an overview of its fifteen-year history of providing clean water technology all over the world in 38 countries as well as domestically in the United States. Barker showcased the SunSpring Hybrid, 100% solar & wind powered, which can provide 20,000 liters of water per day for 10 years; the IWT WallSpring which must have grid power and have between 30-50 psi incoming pressure, producing 40,000 liters of water per day for 10 years; and IWT Responder, which needs 120 VAC power, providing 54,000 liters per day for 10 years, to be used for rapid & emergency response and can be set up and making safe water in minutes. Cisco Perez, project manager and Rich Hosea, plant manager, split a group of twenty visitors for a tour of the facility, which is west of Rocky Ford off of Colorado Highway 202.
The tour continued to the CSU Arkansas Valley Research Center, where Dr. Gene Niles spoke about toxic weeds with high cyanide content which can be deadly to cattle and about the services and diagnostic work at the facility. Jeff Davidson, assistant manager of the research station, conducted a tour of the facility. The tour concluded at 5 P.M. with refreshments and ribeye steak dinner donated by Virbac Animal Health and Multi-Min and desert by Colorado Veterinary Clinic. Rep. Ty Winter, Colorado House District 47, gave a brief overview of the 2024 legislative session. Dr. Dave Louder, DVM, of Idaho, gave a presentation on Multi-Min, a one-of-a-kind mineral injection system which supports cow-calf trace mineral transfer, enhances cattle vaccine protection and immune response when used as part of a health protocol, and quickly improves trace mineral status in breeding stock.
The evening concluded with Dave Gittleson of Jackson County describing wolf depredation in North Park. Gittleson related how being vigilant in preventing wolf predation is extremely time consuming and stressful. Wolf behavior is similar to coyote behavior, but wolves are a much smarter animal and not as easy to detect as coyotes or other predators. Obtaining compensation for wolf predation is also problematic as burden of proof of loss is on the livestock owner.
Day two of the convention saw 55 CICA members gather in the Rizzuto Banquet Hall, Otero College. Marie Bond, President of CICA, Durango, CO, opened the morning session which was devoted to committee reports and approval of resolutions, followed by a presentation by Rep. Ken DeGraaf, Colorado House District 22, on the true science of documenting Carbon Dioxide levels and the danger of lowering Carbon Dioxide to levels dangerous to continued life on planet earth.
After lunch, Todd Inglee, Colorado Brand Commissioner, spoke on the challenges facing the Colorado Board of Stock Inspection, which operates on a budget external to the Colorado legislature, relying on fees to operate while endeavoring to function within those budgetary parameters during an inflationary period. There are 68 brand inspectors, seven office staff to cover the entire state of Colorado, in 2023 they travelled 1.1 million miles with over 4.3 million head of livestock inspected.
Margaret Byfield, American Stewards of Liberty, centered in Texas, first explained how certain Department of Agriculture programs have been altered to reflect environmental concerns as opposed to providing better forage outcomes for ranchers and farmers. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), originally specified: “assisting producers to make beneficial, cost effective changes . . . related to organic production, grazing management, forest management, nutrient management associated with crops and livestock, pest management, irrigation management, adapting to, and mitigating against, increasing weather volatility, drought resiliency measures, or other practices on agricultural and forested lands.”
This program has now shifted to: “prioritizing proposals that utilize diet and feed management to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminants . . . directly improve soil carbon or reduce nitrogen losses or greenhouse gas emissions, capture or sequester greenhouse gas emissions, associated with agricultural production; and . . . mitigate or address climate change through the management of agricultural production, including by reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions.”
Agricultural and livestock producers need to scrutinize any contract with the federal government that involves how producers conduct their business and how any contract may inhibit the efficient and profitable conduct thereof.
Byfield also explained the withdrawal of the Natural Asset Company (NAC) rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the approval of which would have placed these NACs on the New York Stock Exchange.
This began with the premise that “nature’s economy is larger than our current industrial economy and more that 50% of global GDP is dependent or highly dependent on nature. We can tap this store of wealth and productivity to protect and grow nature and to transform our economy to one that is more equitable, resilient and sustainable. The IEG NAC Reporting Framework connects our social values with economic and ecological realities.”
The NAC rule was proposed by the SEC on October 4, 2023, the purpose of which was to “monetize natural processes: pollination, photosynthesis & the health benefits of open space; to enroll federal lands, national parks, and private lands through conservation easements, convey management authority of these assets to the NACs and allow foreign adversaries to invest in them.” This rule was an alarming development in the area of private property rights and the expansion of corporate power to manage assets they do not own. The whole purpose of NACs is not about returning a profit on investment as in traditional investment programs. Rather, NACs are used to gain control of land by large corporations and wealthy individuals who can hold these assets for the long term without fear of losing money on these types of investments.
American Stewards of Liberty was instrumental in alerting Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and other legislators to the danger of the NAC rule. Legislators who opposed the rule along with a coalition of state attorney generals who filed suit against the SEC, brought enough pressure to bear that the SEC withdrew the NAC rule on January 17, 2024.
Along with NACs, the federal government is considering a Natural Capital Accounting scheme, “when the government spends a dollar to restore a coral reef or a forest that will attract tourism, supply water or clean the air, our current system does not capture the economic value of this investment. The National Strategy gives us a path to change that . . . they are investments in our economy and future, and thus need to be captured in our accounts.” Furthermore, “private land in the contiguous 48 states was valued at $32 trillion, equivalent to roughly 30% of the net wealth already measured in U.S. Accounts. Accounting for natural assets like land on our nation’s balance sheet is critical; omitting them would dramatically understate U.S. wealth.”
Why is this being proposed? Perhaps to leverage this additional and accountable wealth of United States to increase government spending in the future and to assist in calculating the value of NACs, if NACs do become a financial trading reality, even in light of the NAC rule being rescinded.
Following a beef brisket dinner, Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF USA, of Billings, MT, spoke on the advent and continued policy of free trade by the United States, which began in 1947 with the intended purpose of growing the middle class worldwide. This did not happen as economists had predicted and has been detrimental to United States trade over the last 70 years. To counter this imbalance tariffs will have to be implemented to level the economic playing field for American produced goods. This will have to be implemented regardless of which political party is in power.
Following Bullard’s presentation, the convention closed with a live and silent auction.
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Norman L. Kincaide, norman.kincaide@yahoo.com
L-R: Todd Inglee, Colorado Brand Commissioner, Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF, Margaret Byfield, American Stewards of Liberty, Cathy Clark, CICA Director, Karval, CO, Barb Leininger, CICA Director, La Junta, CO, Kay Schreiber, CICA Secretary, Woodrow, CO, Adam Nuss, CICA Treasurer, Karval, CO, Harold Unwin, CICA Director, Pritchett, CO, Marie Bond, CICA President, Durango, CO, Drew Gordanier, CICA Director, Cortez, CO, Marty Canterberry, CICA Director, Canon City, CO, and Marsha Holton, CICA Vice-President, Gilcrest, CO.
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