JANUARY  2005

Coalition threatens New Mexico dairies with suit
Producer reaches settlement in City of Waco lawsuit
Cow tests positive for BSE

TAHC launches livestock premises identification program
Family dairy is in the business for the long haul
Erath County Junior Livestock Show
 

Looks like our neighbors to the west in New Mexico have more in common with Erath County and Bosque River dairies than just milk. 

As of Dec. 16, 2004, a coalition of environmental organizations filed "notices of intent" to sue five New Mexico dairies for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act that alleges failure to have a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

 The coalition, comprised of the Sierra Club, Concerned Citizens for Clean Water and the National Wildlife Federation, intends to file the lawsuit under section 505 of the Clean Water Act against all five dairies in 60 days unless a settlement can be reached before then. The dairies that were sent notices are: Philmar Dairies and Bonestroo Dairies, Portales; Rio Vista Dairy, Roswell; County Line Dairies, Lake Arthur; and Tom Visser Dairy, Dexter.

 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines dairies that milk 700 or more cows for 45 days or more in a 12-month period qualify as a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO). CAFOs are required by the EPA to have a NPDES permit. Although New Mexico dairies’ NPDES permits expired in 1998,  the requirements were recently revised and published on Dec. 7 in the Federal Register. The revised permit is currently in the comment period phase which will end on Feb. 7.

 Willie Lane, chief of permits and technical section for Dallas EPA Region VI, said the target date for finalization of the permit is September 2005. Meanwhile, New Mexico dairies are operating under the 1998 version.

 While Texas and some other states’ regulatory agencies have been delegated authority by the EPA to issue their own water quality permits, New Mexico still falls under the EPA’s authority. Currently, New Mexico dairies are regulated through a groundwater discharge permit from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). Jon Goldstein, spokesperson for the NMED, said the agency has been considering the possibility of taking over administration of the water quality federal program for the EPA.

 Sharon Lombardi, executive director of Dairy Producers of New Mexico (DPNM) said this incident is a “catch 22 situation.” She said the dairies are operating under the old general permits that have expired because the new ones haven’t been issued yet. “How can a producer know if he’s in compliance or not until the new ones are issued?”

 Lombardi said regardless of the allegations made by the environmental groups, New Mexico dairies want to maintain the quality of water for their own families as well as for everyone else.

 The New Mexico situation speaks closely of the problems that Erath County, Texas, has experienced in the past year from lawsuits filed against local dairies by the City of Waco, 80 miles downstream. The City of Waco alleges similar water quality violations under the Clean Water Act against 14 Bosque River dairies that claim the dairies are polluting their drinking water. Although some producers have settled out of the suit with Waco, a discovery period is still underway for those who remain in the suit.

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Another Erath County dairy producer recently reached a settlement with the City of Waco regarding a lawsuit filed against him in February 2004. Alan Vander Horst, partner in Excel Dairy, LLC, in Dublin, reached an agreement with Waco in mid-December in order to be dismissed from the suit  Vander Horst is one of several Bosque River dairymen who have been sued this past year by the City of Waco for alleged water quality violations.

 "While it certainly wasn't in the best interest of the dairy industry for us to settle with Waco, I think most other dairymen would have done the same thing had they been in my exact same shoes," Vander Horst said.  "The real estate owners, Tom and Ellie Mear, are in their 70s and live in California, some 2000 miles away. Considering their ages and geographical residency, a lawsuit is hardly how they envisioned spending their golden years."

 Vander Horst said an added dimension for settling is the fact that Excel Dairy, LLC is geographically split into two watersheds. 'We have options other dairies don't have on how we disperse our irrigation water and manure. We also have two compost yards literally across the street from us. This unique combination allowed us to come to an agreement with Waco that both parties could live with," he said.

 As in Vander Horst's case, other producers in the lawsuit have settled individually with Waco in the past few months. In September, Keith Broumley of the Broumley Dairy, settled his suit when Waco city officials determined that an ongoing pilot program at the dairy would sufficiently help to reduce pollution. The dairy is undergoing a methane digester project that involves several government and public partners. The methane produced from the digester will be used to generate electricity and dairy waste will be converted to compost.

 Also in September, Steve and Paul Byl, owners and operators of Dutch Cowboy Dairy near Dublin, settled out of the Waco suit when they agreed to certain provisions that include testing and proper management of dairy waste at their facility.

 Two dairy producers who no longer operate dairies in the North Bosque River watershed have additionally been dismissed from the suit. The former Erath County dairy operators are Ber Lengers, who recently moved his operation to Comanche County and Harry DeWit, who moved his operation to Friona a few years ago. DeWit informed Waco officials he would not be back in the watershed to operate.

 Joost Smulders, who was operating three dairies in Erath County, moved his cows out of the county in order to be dismissed from the suit.

 Although not in the same lawsuit, Ervin Koblentz, owner of a dairy calf operation near Dublin, reached a settlement with Waco that ended an ongoing battle that has plagued his operation for the past few years. The City of Waco initially filed suit against Koblentz

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Cow tests positive for BSE
USDA confident Canada is providing utmost protection to US consumers

Canadian officials have confirmed that an older dairy cow from Alberta, Canada, tested positive for mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalophathy (BSE). The infected animal was born in 1996, prior to the implementation of Canada's 1997 feed ban. No part of the animal entered the human food or animal feed systems, according to the Canadian Food Inspection  Agency (CFIA).

 The suspected case that has now been confirmed was initially announced on Dec. 30, only one day after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had announced that it would lift a 20-month old ban on importation of live Canadian cattle under 30 months of age in early March.  A USDA official commenting on the suspected case of BSE said that in spite of the newest development,  USDA's plans to reopen the border and its recognition of Canada as a minimal-risk region would not be affected.

 "USDA remains confident that the animal and public health measures that Canada has in place to prevent BSE, including  the removal of specified risk material (SRMs) from the human food chain, a ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban, a national surveillance program and import restrictions combined with existing US domestic safeguards and additional safeguards announced Dec. 29, provide the utmost protections to US consumers and livestock," said Dr. Ron DeHaven, administrator, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service.

 DeHaven said that extensive risk analysis were conducted as part of the rulemaking, and the possibility of additional cases of BSE in Canada were considered. "Because of the mitigation measures that Canada has in place, we continue to believe the risk is minimal. We are working closely with Canadian officials as they conduct their investigation into this situation." he said.

 "According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines, a country may be considered a BSE minimal-risk country if it has less than two cases per million cattle over 24 months of age during each of the previous four consecutive years. Considering Canada has roughly 5.5 million cattle over 24 months of age, under OIE guidelines, they could detect up to 11 cases of BSE in this population and still be considered a minima-risk country, as long as their risk mitigation measures and other preventative measures were effective," De Haven said.

 Last month, a suspected case of mad cow disease was reported by the USDA but proved to be a false alarm.

 USDA first proposed changes to its regulations regarding the establishment of minimal-risk regions and conditions for safely importing live ruminants and ruminant products from such regions on Nov. 4, 2003. The comment period was still underway when the US announced its first case of BSE on Dec. 23, 2003, in a cow imported from Canada. To allow an additional comment period for further evaluation after the first US finding of the disease, USDA reopened the comment period until April, 7, 2004. The final rule published in the Jan. 4, 2005 Federal Register will become effective Mar. 7. 2005.

 The final rule establishes conditions under which it will allow import of live cattle under 30 months of age and certain other commodities from regions with effective BSE prevention and detection measures. The final rule ensures the continued protection of public and animal health from BSE while removing prohibitions on the importation of certain animals and commodities from minimal risk regions. Prior to being able to import to the US, each country must undergo a thorough risk assessment.

 Canada, recognized by the USDA as a minimal-risk region, will be the first country eligible to export to the United States live cattle under the age of 30 months as well as other animals and products. Live cattle imported from Canada under this rule, which is more than 500 pages, will be subject to restrictions designed to ensure they are slaughtered by the time they reach 30 months of age. These include permanent markings of the animals as to their origin, requiring them to move in sealed containers to a feedlot or to slaughter, and not allowing them to move to more than one feedlot while in the US.

 The minimal risk standards Canada has met include:

Prohibition of specified risk materials in human food.

Import restrictions sufficient to minimize exposure to BSE: Since 1990, Canada has maintained stringent import restrictions, preventing the entry of live ruminants and ruminant products, including rendered protein products from countries that have found BSE in native cattle or that are considered to be at significant risk for BSE.

Surveillance for BSE at levels that meet  or exceed international guidelines:  Canada has conducted active surveillance for BSE since 1992 and exceeded the level recommended in international guidelines for at least the past seven years.

Ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban in place and effectively enforced: Canada has had a ban on the feeding of ruminant proteins to ruminants since Aug. 1997, with compliance monitored through routine inspections.

Appropriate epidemiological investigations, risk assessment, and risk mitigation measure imposed as necessary: Canada has conducted extensive investigations in response to any BSE findings and has taken additional risk mitigation measures in response.

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The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has announced that ranchers and other livestock facility owners from every facet of the Texas livestock and poultry industry can now sign up for a unique “premises identification number,” for their livestock facilities.

 The premises identification number will identify the location of livestock operations in the state.  It is the first step in implementing a national system for quickly tracing livestock and poultry for disease investigations or during a disease outbreak or animal health emergency. 

 TAHC also is launching a year-long pilot project with a number of ranches, feedlots, livestock markets, slaughter plants and other facilities to test the durability and reliability of electronic ear tags, related equipment and databases for identifying and tracking individual animals.

 “The national premises and animal identification system has been under development for several years, with input and ideas from nearly 70 federal and state animal health agencies and livestock industry associations,” said Dr. Bob Hillman, a member of the Secretary’s Advisory Subcommittee on the National Animal Identification System. He serves as Texas’ state veterinarian and heads the TAHC, the state’s livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.

   “The U.S. must have a reliable and efficient method for tracking and finding livestock and poultry during an animal disease investigation or when an animalhealth emergency occurs,” Dr. Hillman said.  He noted that producers and organizations have discussed at great length, the need for information to remain confidential.  To protect data in regards to premises and animal identification, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state-level agencies, such as the TAHC, and livestock organizations and associations are seeking national and state legislation to protect the data from public release or access.

 “Regulatory agencies do not need or want access to production data, but specific information, such as the age and class of animal, as well as movement information is critical for finding potentially infected or exposed animals during a disease situation,” he said.

 Today, it can take days to track the movement of livestock, to ensure that all exposed or diseased animals have been detected, Dr. Hillman pointed out. He predicted that, by 2008, when the national system is fully implemented and mandatory, tracking livestock movements could be streamlined, greatly enhancing disease eradication efforts.  He stressed that the ability to rapidly identify animals and trace livestock or poultry movements is crucial to an effective animal disease response.

 Dr. Hillman explained that the national animal identification system, also called “NAIS,” has two major components.   The first, he said, is the unique premises ­ or facility ­ identification, which identifies the location of livestock operations.  This seven-character alphabetic and numerical ‘address’ is to be assigned to ranches and other sites where livestock or poultry are maintained or moved. Premises information will reside on a database, managed by each state and accessible only by animal health officials.  Dr. Hillman said facility owners can obtain a premises identification number now by calling the TAHC’s headquarters in Austin at 1-800-550-8242. By late January, ranchers and facility owners in Texas also may register online through the TAHC’s web page at www.tahc.state.tx.us

“The second component of the national system­animal identification--is ready for ‘field-testing.’  This involves the unique identification of each head of livestock moved from its original herd. For cattle, sheep, goats, cervidae (deer) and some other species of livestock, the identification device will be an electronic ear tag, also called a radio frequency (RFID) identification device.  For other species, suchas swine and poultry, the number can be applied to groups of animals, if they spend their entire production life together as a group or unit,” he said.

 Dr. Hillman explained that the TAHC, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; and the Osage Nation in Oklahoma are working cooperatively on a year-long pilot project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to test various aspects of the premises and animal identification.  Field tests also are being conducted in at least 20 other states, to ensure the system will function well when it is fully implemented, said Dr. Hillman.

“In Texas, we will work with specified ranches and livestock facilities, equipment suppliers and computer data service providers to test the effectiveness, durability and compatibility of equipment and databases for identifying and tracking individual animals,” said Dr. Hillman.

 “As many as 80,000 individually numbered electronic tags will be used by the pilot project participants, so cattle, sheep, goats or domestic deer can be identified prior to change of ownership or commingling with animals owned by other ranchers or farmers. The tags may be applied to animals before they leave the farm and ranch, or upon arrival at feedlots or order buyers’ facilities, at livestock markets or other livestock sites. This will give facility owners and managers an opportunity to evaluate the system and calculate the costs and time involved with tagging animals, and collecting and reporting animal movement data. Implantable electronic devices will be used for identifying and tracking horses.

 Unless a tag is broken or lost, an animal is to receive only one during its lifetime. The unique 15-digit number on each electronic ear tag or

implantable device can be ‘read and recorded’ with a hand-held or stationary tag reader. Ear tags also are imprinted with the number, so the information can be accessed, even if readers are unavailable or out of service.

 When identified animals are sold, moved or harvested, project participants will report the event to third-party data service providers by computer, fax or mail, Dr. Hillman explained.  Animal tag numbers will be correlated in the database to premises identification ‘addresses.’

 A major aspect of the project will involve determining problems that occur when integrating information from several data collection systems into a central or common database. Ultimately, when an animal’s number is queried, a report should list all the premise numbers where the animal had been maintained. Likewise, when a premise number is queried, the list of related animal identification numbers should appear. When an animal is harvested, its number will be retired.

 “With the ‘roll-out’ for the premises identification system, and field trials underway for animal identification, we are much closer to the goal of fighting disease more efficiently and effectively,” said Dr. Hillman.  “Once the field trials are completed across the U.S., improvements can be made before the animal identification system is launched nationally.  By that time, we hope to have confidentiality issues, and any equipment and database compatibility problems evaluated, addressed and resolved.”

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When James Traweek decided to go into the dairy business many years ago, he banked on the idea that it would provide his family with a good living and a bright future for generations to come. Although there were times when James questioned his choice and felt the challenge might be too great, his determination outweighed his doubts, and helped him to succeed in what he set out to do.

 "Over the years, I've fought it, managed it, utilized everything I could,  but was just bullheaded enough to stay in it.  Now it's up to them," James said, turning to sons Ricky and John. "It's time for the younger generation to take over and see what they can do with it."

 "We refer to Dad as our advisor," said Ricky, who is responsible for managing the dairy operation while younger brother John, although still active in the dairy business, basically oversees Legends Golf Course. The Stephenville golf course is a separate endeavor James bought more than 20 years ago. "The golf course was something that we thought would be a good investment for this area," James said. "But, I have to say the dairy has made us a better living than the golf course."

 In order to keep up with changing times, Ricky and John stay active in industry organizations. John is currently a director for Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA), district 11 and was a voting delegate for Associated Milk Producers, Inc., years ago. Ricky was an active member on the Texas Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) Board of Directors until 2000.

 James and his wife Dorothy have owned Jam-Dot Dairy located on the Lingleville Road  for nearly 42 years. They've raised four children (which includes daughters Liz Albrecht and Cynthia Grafe) and ten grandchildren off the profits of the dairy business. "There have been times when it wasn't so good, but this is probably the best I've seen it in years," James said. "The milk prices have been up and pretty stable for the past eight to ten months. Looks like the CWT program that was started two years ago is working very well to keep the prices up. That, along with the Canadian border being closed and BST being taken off the market has benefit the dairy business this past year. "

 In retrospect, James said producing milk used to be pretty simple. "But, it's not that easy, today, " he said.  "The dairy industry has grown so much that it's sometimes staggering to realize the complexities involved with producing milk and marketing it, not to mention the amount of money it takes to operate."

 James' first taste of the dairy business was in 1952 when his father obtained an FHA loan and built a dairy near Dublin. James and his three brothers, Bob, Bill, and Leslie, worked on the dairy, milking about 25-30 cows in a double 6 flat barn.

 "Cotton and peanuts had gone by the wayside and people in this area were looking for something to do to earn a living. A few dairies started getting permits, and before long, there were several of us who had operating dairies. Back then you were required only to have a health permit to operate."

 James said he bought his own dairy in 1963, naming it Jam Dot, after him and his wife, Dorothy. At that time, James never expected the steps he took to improve his dairy would become a major contribution to the dairy industry's future, such as AI breeding. James used the program long before it became the widely accepted breeding method that it is today.

 He also helped to form the first DHIA and the first milk marketing cooperative, called the Central West Texas Producers Cooperative. The North Texas and South Texas Producers Cooperatives had also sprung to life. In order for producers to find a better way to market their milk and get a better price, these cooperatives merged to form Milk Producers, Inc., which later became Associated Milk Producers, Inc. (AMPI). Having been on the ground floor when the cooperatives took hold, James stayed very active as an AMPI director for many years.

 In the mid 80s, dairies began to boom in the surrounding area with producers coming to Erath County from California, Arizona, and the Netherlands. James said because of the growth in area dairies, AMPI began to experience an overload of milk. Meanwhile, Mid-Am, based in Kansas City, Missouri, was looking for more milk to handle. They suddenly appeared on the Texas market, taking in new members. About seven years ago, AMPI, Mid-Am, and two other cooperatives merged to form DFA, the largest milk marketing cooperatives in North America.

 "We've always been proud to be in the dairy business and part of this community," James said. "We used to hold a cheese festival that was a pretty big affair in those days. We held it at the Stephenville recreation hall and people came from all around to learn about different cheeses. It was informative, educational, and we all worked together".

 But, as the dairy business evolved into a mega industry, the perception of dairies began to change by the general public. As the dairies became larger, more emphasis was placed on the waste a dairy produces instead of the product. Dairies began to receive a lot of negative publicity while state and federal regulatory agencies began to implement stricter and more stringent laws.

 Besides getting low milk prices for years, the improvements required by these agencies flat broke a lot of the dairies.  And while the dairies had once been supported by the community, they began to get a bad image." 

 In light of the situation that has involved years of regulatory revisions by state and federal agencies, James and his family have managed to keep their feet planted firmly on the ground. Jam Dot Dairy, permitted for 1,000 head, currently milks 740 cows in a double 14 rapid exit Herringbone barn. The dairy employs 10 people.

 "Our plan for the future is to stay where we are," Ricky said. "We will do our best to stay in compliance with the rules, do whatever it takes, because we love where we are and we would like to be around for another 40 or 50 years to pass the business on to the next generation of Traweeks."

 As with many children who are fortunate enough to be born into a family tradition, some of the Traweek  grandchildren are following along in their parents footsteps. Liz and husband David have two daughters, Amanda and Ashley, who have always been big promoters of 4-H and show cattle. "Ashley is the one that got everyone so involved in showing cattle," Ricky said. "She also helps me on the dairy," he added. Cynthia and husband Paul reside in Boerne with their three children, Phillip, Stephanie and Richard. Cynthia and Phillip are very active in the county 4-H dairy judging team while Stephanie shows her two Swiss cows across the state. John has two daughters, Heather and Jordan, and one son, Dillion. Heather is active in FFA and 4-H where she shows cattle and judges. Dillion has just begun to show this past year. Ricky's daughter, Rachel, has been involved for the past five years in showing cattle. Ricky and his wife Stephanie look forward to providing their 21-month old son, Grayson, with the same opportunties the other grandchildren have been introduced to.

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This year's Erath County Junior Livestock Show gets underway on Sat. Jan. 8, 2005. The show will run through Tues., Jan. 11. The Dairy Auction Sale, one of the major events at the show, will be on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Market Auction for goats, steers, swine, and sheep will be on Tue., at 7 p.m. The community's support of the Junior Livestock Show has always been outstanding, and Erath County 4-H invites everyone to come out and enjoy the fun.

 This year, a Youth Fair will be held for the first time during the county show. The Youth Fair allows 4-H members to exhibit their non-animal projects beginning on Saturday with judging at 9:30 a.m.  There will be three general categories- Foods, Arts & Crafts, and Photography.  Forty 4-H members are entered with a total of 56 projects that range from woodworking and welding to desserts, pillows, and pictures.

 The Junior Livestock Show has 513 total entries: Dairy selling -70; dairy non-selling-11; horses-20; breeding swine-19; market steers-41; breeding beef-17; market goats-106; market swine-158; and market sheep-71.

 The schedule is as follows:

SAT. JAN. 8

6:00 a.m.            Gates unlock - all animals mist be on show grounds and checked in with their division superintendent at least 1 hour prior to appropriate division judging

10:00 a.m.          Judging-Showmanship; breeding Dairy, Dairy Selling

2:00 p.m.            Judging-Horse, Horse Showmanship

7:00 p.m.            Dairy Auction Sale

9:00 p.m.            Gates locked

SUN, JAN. 9

8:00 a.m.            Gates unlocked for show entries

11:00 a.m.          Church service

2:00 p.m.            All animals must be on show grounds

4:00 p.m.            Judging- Market Goat Show, Market Goat Showmanship

9:00 p.m.            Gates locked

MON., JAN. 10

6:00 a.m.            Gates unlocked

7:30 a.m.            Judging-Breeding Swine

8:00 a.m.            Judging-Market swine, Swine Showmanship

1:00 p.m.            Judging- Breeding Beef, market Steers, Beef Showmanship

4:00 p.m.            Judging- Market Sheep, Sheep showmanship

9:00 p.m.            Gates locked

TUES., JAN. 11

7:00 a.m.            Gates unlocked

7:00 p.m.            Showmanship Awards

            Preliminary Announcements

            Market Auction: Sale order - goats, steers, swine, sheep

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The Texas Dairy Review
1521 C Lingleville Road, Stephenville, Texas 76401
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Sherry Webb, Editor

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