Texas Dairy Review


	Nine dairies remain in Waco lawsuits after two more bail out “The dairy industry will prevail in these lawsuits…” House Bill 1101 pending on new TSU dairy center R-CALF USA wins injunction against USDA to reopen border New dairy CD released to Texas public schools
	Nine dairies remain in Waco lawsuits after two more bail out
	In early February, two more Bosque River dairies were dismissed from the lawsuits filed against them by the City of Waco. The Russell Carpenter Dairy and J&L Dairy, owned by Jimmy Don Pack, settled with the City of Waco in confidential agreements, according to Austin attorneys from the law firm Akin and Gump. Others who have settled out of the suits with Waco include Dutch Cowboy Dairy, owned by Steve and Paul Byl, and Excel Dairy owned by Alan Vander Horst. The Keith Broumley Dairy in Hamilton was dismissed several months ago. Although some of the remaining dairies named in the suits are unoccupied and have no cows at the dairy sites, they are still active parties in the suits. At present, nine dairies remain in the suits which includes AzTex, Fred Lueck; Dennis Schouten Dairy; Centex, Lonnie Hammonds; Hidden View, Willy DeJong; S Cow 10 and Golden Star, Pete Schouten; Triple Dutch, Paul Van Lueween; Scenic Ridge, Harold W. Parks; and Tony Beltman Dairy. Attorneys for the defendants said the suits are still in the discovery phase and depositions are being taken. There is no trial date set at present. While dairymen, agriculture organizations, supporters and others have worked hard to bring the suits to justice, the City of Waco persists in lambasting the situation on a repeated basis in their local newspaper, the Waco Tribune Herald. John Cowan, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen (TAD) said the continuous “irresponsible journalism from Waco is accusatory and out of line.” Cowan referred to the onslaught of articles in the Feb. 18-20 editions of the Waco newspaper that heavily criticized the upstream dairies and clearly blamed them for polluting the city’s water source. Information for the articles was taken from a new $1.9 million study conducted by Ken Wagner of ENSR, a worldwide environmental engineering firm hired by the City of Waco. Wagner said preliminary results from the study show that the dairies are the largest source of phosphorus (30-40%) with the next biggest contributors being wastewater treatment plants at 6-10%. Cowan questioned the information from the study which is partly based on a 1994 Solid Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Recognizing the model was erroneous in certain parts, the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) are both in the process of reworking the model to accurately reflect the data that is fed into it. “While the dairy industry recognizes its responsibility as a contributor to the watershed and understands the need to prevent any runoff or pollutants into the waters, others must accept their responsibilities as contributors, too. This includes landowners, other forms of agriculture, the City of Waco and other municipalities. We’re all part of an overall condition that will take everybody to fix,” Cowan said. Cowan said he also found it quite ironic that Waco Trib editor Carlos Sanchez wrote in an opinion article on Sun., Feb. 20, that the “level of antagonism between the dairies and our region must be reined in” and the “ finger-pointing must stop.” In the article, Sanchez admitted that Waco does contribute to the pollution of waterways into Lake Waco with its own runoff and that Waco should do all it can to mitigate this pollution. But, the dairy industry and the regulators need to step up in a more forceful manner than they have. To do anything less, he said, is to avoid acknowledging a problem exists.
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	“The dairy industry will prevail in these lawsuits…”
	“The dairy industry will prevail in these lawsuits, but there will be a lot of casualties before it’s over,” said an agricultural engineer from Amarillo who spoke at Tulare’s World Ag Expo in February. Norman Mullin of EnviroAg Engineering, served as a guest panelist at a seminar during the three-day show where he discussed the City of Waco lawsuits filed against 14 Texas dairies. “The suits are politically motivated with only 14 dairies being named. These 14 dairies, located in the Bosque River watershed, include some of our largest industry leaders. Based on the merits of the case, I am confident these dairies will win. Even though the city has treated every notice as a violation, these dairies are in compliance with the state.” 12 of the Bosque River dairies are situated in Erath County, the largest milk-producing county in Texas. Two are located in neighboring Hamilton County. Tulare County in California is the largest dairy county in the world. Recapping the circumstances for attendees, Mullin explained that the city versus the dairies has been an ongoing battle for several years. The battle became a full-fledged war when last year in February the city initially filed against 10 dairies, and added 4 more a few months later. The suits allege that the dairies, located 80 miles upstream, are polluting Lake Waco’s water supply, the city’s main source for drinking water. The city seeks compensation in the suits to operate their $45 million water treatment plant. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ, advised the city against filing the lawsuits but to no avail. Currently in the discovery phase, the suits have already cost both the dairymen and the city a tremendous amount of money in legal fees, spiraling upwards to 1.5 million thus far. Some dairymen elected to bail out of the suit by making confidential agreements with the city that includes allowing city officials to inspect their operations that are already inspected and regulated by the state. “But, the rest of the dairies are fighting it,” Mullin said. With 15 years experience as an agricultural engineer, Mullin said the science behind Waco’s accusations is not valid and is based on flawed information. This, along with false claims about violations and trying to usurp the state’s role to regulate dairies, is reason enough for the dairymen to win the suit with plenty of positive outcome for the entire dairy industry.
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	House Bill 1101 pending on new TSU dairy center
	After hearing comments from supporters in favor of proposed funding for a Tarleton State University (TSU) Dairy Center, House Bill 1101, filed by Rep. Sid Miller, is pending before the Committee on Higher Education in Austin. TSU is proposing a new dairy research and education center in Stephenville to serve the increasing needs of the industry in Texas and beyond. On Feb. 28, a delegation traveled to the Capitol to address the House Committee on Higher Education in support of House Bill 1101 which would provide the authorization of $8 million in tuition revenue bonds to help fund a Southern Regional Dairy Center at TSU. Speakers commented on the many positive benefits of the proposed Dairy Center including the extensive research potential and improved educational programs for students, as well as opportunities for outreach to the general public by providing tours. Supporters of the proposed Dairy Center pointed out that more than one-third of the milk production in Erath County has disappeared since 2000. This loss of production accounts for hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for the county and surrounding areas. This production loss is attributable to environmental pressures, which are solvable through a focused, coordinated research approach. The overall impact emphasized by the supporters is that the proposed facility can provide the capabilities needed to solve problems and stabilize the industry for the economic benefit of the Central Texas region and the entire state. The dairy will also provide resources to support efforts of Texas A&M affiliated institutions and others. The following representatives made comments in support of the bill: David DeJong - Hamilton County Dairy Producer, Texas Association of Dairymen Board Member and Southwest Dairy Farmers Board Member, Darren Turley - Erath County Dairy Producer and Texas Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher Committee, Joe Hinton - Chairman of the Board of Brazos River Authority, John Cowan - Executive Director of Texas Association of Dairymen, July Danley - Executive Director of TriCounty Agribusiness Association, Ron Butler - Stephenville Economic Development Corporation Board Member, Carey Fraser - Stephenville Chamber of Commerce Chairman, Martha Fitzwater - Representing City of Waco, Jennifer Elliott - Stephenville High School Student interested in studying Dairy Science, Pete Whitefield - Erath County Dairy Producer, Dr. Don Cawthon - Dean of College of Agriculture and Human Sciences and Resident Director of Texas A&M Research & Extension Center in Stephenville, Dr. Barry Lambert - TSU Animal Science Professor and TAES Research, Dr. Kyle McGregor - TSU Agriculture Services & Development Professor, and Dr. Dennis McCabe - Tarleton State University President. Dairy Center Goals: 1) Provide educational and internship opportunities in dairy science, dairy management, fluid milk processing and dairy food manufacturing for undergraduate and graduate students state and region wide; and training opportunities for students studying veterinary medicine; 2) provide resources for basic and applied research in dairy science, environmental science and best animal waste management practices; and field-testing of new equipment and technology; 3) provide continuing education opportunities for dairy industry representatives and others; and 4) assist industry in developing and promoting an appropriate “image” to current and future generations of consumers. Support Shown for New Dairy Center at TSU By July Danley, TCAA Executive Director, TSU Dairy Advisory Committee Member. For more information on the proposed Dairy Center, contact Dr. Don Cawthon at 968-9227 or Dr. Barry Lambert at 968-9217.
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	R-CALF USA wins injunction against USDA to reopen border
	Looks like the cattle and livestock industries have succeeded in a temporary victory with news that the Canadian border will not be reopening to the US on Mar. 7, 2005, as previously scheduled by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). On Wed., Mar. 2, in the Federal District Court in Billings, Montana, R-CALF USA was granted a preliminary injunction against the USDA’s final rule that allowed for importation of Canadian live cattle under 30 months of age and additional beef products to the US. The injunction, which postpones USDA’s implementation date of its final rule, is designed to prevent additional imports while the formal lawsuit is heard by the court. R-CALF USA representatives said the outcome of the March 2 hearing and the subsequent lawsuit is of paramount importance to the livestock industries in both the US and Canada. The March 2 hearing is the second injunction sought by R-CALF USA in the Federal District Court, with the first injunction being granted in the spring of 2004. In that case, R-CALF USA asked the court to prevent USDA from allowing additional unauthorized beef imports into the US. R-CALF USA’s formal lawsuit against USDA’s final rule contains volumes of scientific data, which suggests that Canada’s risk status should not be considered “minimal.” R-CALF USA contends that USDA’s only risk assessment of the US's possibility of importing BSE or having BSE spread because of trade with Canada is “low.” USDA did not offer what their definition of low is. Furthermore, USDA’s final rule contains several substantial changes from the preliminary rule and these changes have never been subject to public or industry comment. The final rule only is subject to congressional review, meaning that only Congress and ultimately the President of the US have the authority to revoke the rule. There is a growing list of several members of the Senate that have invoked this privilege and have filed a Joint Resolution of Disapproval. In order for the resolution to remove the rule, it will require both the Senate and the House to agree, followed by the President signing the resolution as well.
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	New dairy CD released to Texas public schools
	Taste is typically the only consideration in mind when most people enjoy a glass of milk or scoop of ice cream. The choice between low fat, two-percent, chocolate and vanilla often are the priority thoughts given to the products before the ultimate goal of consumption is attained. For more than 90,000 students across the state of Texas this school year, the thought process has been extended beyond the ponderings of their palate. Through the help of a revolutionary, two-week program on compact disc, established by Tarleton State University and funded in part by Southwest Dairy Farmers, students will get a cutting-edge learning experience exploring the significant number of factors involved with the dairy industry and its products. The “Dairy in the 21st Century” CD includes ten lesson plans, ranging from dairy product nutrition to dairy technology, as well as video resources with interviews from some of Texas’ dairy industry leaders. Designed for sixth through 12th grades, the curriculum meets Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) requirements and contains lesson plans and quizzes tailored to the ten lessons included. Kyle McGregor, Ph.D., assistant professor of agricultural services and development for Tarleton, along with recent Tarleton graduate student, Leanna Shores, of Wichita Falls, Texas, initially developed the program in response to the desire of many businessmen and individuals in their community to support the dairy industry. Located in Stephenville, Texas, approximately 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth, Tarleton State University is in Erath County, which generates more than 30 percent of total county employment from its dairy farms and jobs linked to the dairy industry. “Many people in this area are aware of the impact the dairy industry has made,” McGregor said. “I took a look at what I could do in education and visited extensively with dairymen and members of various dairy groups about which dairy-related topics they felt would contribute well to the program.” The “Dairy in the 21st Century” CD was distributed at the beginning of this school year across the state, and the effect of the program’s curriculum will soon be evaluated by a Tarleton graduate student to determine what changes or course needs to be taken with future projects of this kind. “We sent the CD to every ag science teacher in the state–1,700 of them,” McGregor said. “In the upcoming months, we will begin evaluating the results of the program, and ag teachers are already asking when we will come out with a new program, possibly in other areas of agriculture, such as beef cattle or swine.” A great advantage for the program is its quick production time. McGregor says the average textbook can take as long as five years to reach classrooms, whereas this form of educational material was completed in approximately six months. “The content included in this CD is cutting-edge information,” McGregor said. “Addressing one commodity group is not anything I have seen before. It certainly has potential for anyone in agriculture who wants to educate, whether that be farm organizations, the beef cattle industry, swine or equine.” The project initially involved support from three entities in addition to the university, including Texas Association of Dairymen, Southwest Dairy Farmers and Dairy MAX. McGregor says Southwest Dairy Farmers’ dedication to dairy education prompted them to continue sponsoring the program. One of the most recognized groups of its kind, Southwest Dairy Farmers is an alliance of dairy producers spanning across the southwest portion of the United States, from Texas and New Mexico to Arkansas and Oklahoma. The group’s producers utilize their resources to promote consumer education in nutrition and dairy product use by providing dairy product information. Some of Southwest Dairy Farmers’ programs range from mobile dairy classrooms, which travel to schools, fairs, and various festivals, to outdoor billboards and school book covers, as well as special events with groups such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, among many others. Gene Dunham, president of Southwest Dairy Farmers, said the “Dairy in the 21st Century” program is a viable tool in a much-needed time, and he also attributes much of its success to its brief production time. “We thought by working with the many fine agriculture science teachers we have in Texas, we could increase the knowledge-base about the dairy industry,” Dunham said. “While the teachers have a terrific overall agricultural knowledge, a lot of them do not necessarily have a background in dairy. The program is also great because the dairy industry, much like the rest of the world, is changing at a very fast pace technologically.” “This program excels because it can be updated as quickly as the dairy industry’s technology advances. This will be a great program across the country.” McGregor expects the content to be adapted for other states and notes the program is flexible enough to be adapted to other school subjects and various grade levels. “Next, we’ll branch out across the United States to re-work the CD and distribute it on a national level,” he said. “A lot of lessons are specific to Texas–what we’re going to do when we change it is change the curriculum to a national base, rather than a Texas base. We will obviously have to evaluate national education standards and various other elements, but it’s such a versatile program, it will be exciting to see what it will achieve for agricultural educators everywhere.” The curriculum lessons include: Lesson 1- “The Dairy Industry” Lesson 2- “Dairy Cow Lifecycle” Lesson 3- “Happy Cows” Lesson 4- “A Dairyman’s Life” Lesson 5- “Dairy Related Agencies” Lesson 6- “Environmental Issues” Lesson 7- “Dairy Technology” Lesson 8- “Dairy Product Nutrition” Lesson 9- “Production Dairy Food Safety” Lesson 10- “Future of the Dairy Industry”
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	VOLUME XIV, NO. 3	MARCH 2005