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VOLUME XV, NO. 9 |
TEXAS DAIRY REVIEW |
SEPTEMBER 2006 |
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Candidates vie for state representative
Clovis cheese plant official opening |
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Candidates vie for state representative |
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In the race for state representative, Texas house district 59, incumbent Sid Miller (R-Stephenville), and opponent Ernie Casbeer, (D-Oglesby) will be battling it out for the next few months. "I want to be a voice in Austin for District 59," Casbeer said. Casbeer is married to Catherine, (Cat), and lives in Oglesby. They have three daughters and two grandchildren. Casbeer is an active church member and belongs to several organizations. He just started his 38th year at McGregor High School and says it is the "joy" of his life. As an educator, Casbeer wants to enable students to excel and no unfounded mandates. He wants property tax fairness with an increased homestead exemption. Familiar with farming all his life, he is especially vocal about the importance of the dairy industry in the 59th district. "The dairy issue is very personal with me because I ran livestock in the Lake Waco watershed. Whatever impacts the dairymen potentially impacts me. I believe the dairies are being wrongly blamed for the water problems in Waco and in the Leon River," Casbeer said. According to Casbeer, years ago, before there were many dairies in District 59, Waco's water had a bad taste, supposedly because the "lake had turned over." The Waco Tribune-Herald reported on Feb.28, 2006, the water in the city of Groesbeck had a bad taste. Groesbeck gets its water from the Navasota River, not Lake Waco. The article reported that the Texas Water Development Board had approved a long-term, interest-free loan to help Groesbeck upgrade its water system. "I fail to understand why Waco has spent money on lawsuits instead of investing their money, along with help from the state, to install a filtration system to make the water drinkable as a number of businesses in Waco have done on their own." Casbeer referred to another article written in the Mar. 21, 2006, Waco Tribune-Herald that reported "Waco's tap water to be the foulest in years." The paper said that the bad taste was due to algae blooms, which could not be blamed on the dairies because no heavy rains had washed phosphorus-laden manure into the Bosque River. "Dairies, in fact, are the most easily controllable source of phosphates going into the water of Lake Waco, according to a Mar.1, 2006, article in the paper. Municipal water treatment plants were the second. The Tribune-Herald reported on Sun., Feb. 19, 2006, that 16% of the E. Coli in Lake Waco was from cattle -- not just dairy cattle. Three percent comes from other livestock," Casbeer said. "The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) suggests requiring landowners to fence off the waterways on their property. Wasp Creek is the north border of my property, and my hay field abuts the creek. The Tribune-Herald reports that 40% of the E. Coli is traced back to wildlife, so 40% of the phosphates could also be contributed to that source. Wildlife does not respect fences so this is a needless expense that is being forced on the landowner. "Phosphates, unlike E. Coli cannot be traced back to the source of origin. A primary source of phosphates, as the dairymen have contended for years, must be the fertilizers that farmers and others spread on their land. I do not want to be told some day that I cannot fertilize my pastures and hayfields every year. "Finally, we should look to the dairy issue as a part of the solution to making Texas and the United States energy independent. Microgy, Inc., the Dublin Citizen reported, is constructing manure digesters facilities near Dublin that will process the manure of 10,000 cows into methane gas. Other such facilities are being discussed. I have been told by TXU officials that the natural gas used to generate electricity is methane. It seems logical that Waco or some other city could team up with the dairies to develop an electrical generating facility that could produce cheaper electricity for their citizens while providing the dairy industry with an additional source of income and eliminating one source of phosphates in the water supply. This is a win-win solution which I think needs to be pursued. "Our dairy producers and our cities can and should work together to find win-win solutions rather than squandering resources and good will in lengthy courtroom battles. There is no reason why Central Texans can't have plenty of milk and clean water at the same time. I want to work to make that possible." |
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Miller competes for fourth term |
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State Rep. Sid Miller (R-Stephenville), running for a 4th term, puts his real world experience as a small businessman, community leader, agriculturist, former schoolteacher, and former school board member to work on behalf of the hardworking families of Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, Somervell and Mills Counties.
Miller is a former public school teacher and a former elected member of the Stephenville Independent School District Board of Trustees. He was motivated to seek election to the Texas Legislature following his experience on the school board involving voluntary prayer at school events. A Federal Appeals Court had ruled that student initiated prayers at public school athletic events and graduation ceremonies were illegal. As a member of his local school board, Miller stepped up to the plate to help lead the fight to allow students to pray at these events. The battle caused him to realize just how fragile personal freedoms really are. As a former educator, Miller has a passion for education, emerging as a leader in the fight to improve public education in the Texas Legislature. As an agriculturist, Miller is concerned about protecting Texans´ private property rights, as well as enhancing rural economic development and planning for the future of our underground water supplies. He understands that agriculture has been the glue that has held our state together and he knows that only through good legislation and unbending principle can we continue that legacy. Miller announced a few months ago legislation that appropriated more than $35 million for Tarleton State University (TSU) located in Stephenville. These funds directed by House Bill 153 and co-authored by Rep. Miller, will allow TSU to complete several projects that have been needed for many years. One of those projects includes an $11.3 million dairy and research center, tentatively expected to be located on Hwy. 281. "Dairies are integral to the economics of District 59 and other areas around the state. Therefore, we need to ensure all methods in the operation of dairies, from the health of the cows to the waste management of the facilities, are the best they can be. Research is a valuable investment," Miller said. "With the new center, Tarleton will be the one and only institution to offer a state-of-the-art, technology-advanced, carousel-type milking parlor; complete with classrooms and research facilities," he added. This tuition revenue bond will provide Tarleton with resources to expand the university dairy center. The proposed facility would provide more adequate space for teaching, research, extension and public education on dairy production. Research will include ruminant nutrition, with teaching to include dairy management, food science, agricultural economics, waste management and many other topics will be possible through this revenue bond. "This research is not currently possible in Texas or the southwest," Miller said. "I am delighted to find out that the House and Senate approved the legislation for a new dairy research demonstration center for Tarleton State University," said Dr. Dennis McCabe, President of TSU. "We certainly want to thank state leaders, Sen. Fraser and Rep. Miller for their leadership in getting this project approved through this first, and major hurdle." |
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Tex/NM meet for dairy research & demo |
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The New Mexico/Texas Dairy Highlights meeting has been scheduled for Oct. 11 at the Clovis Civic Center in Clovis, NM, a Texas Cooperative Extension specialist said. Dr. Ellen Jordan, Extension dairy specialist said the joint meeting with Texas A&M University and New Mexico State University is a way for producers to learn about the latest research and demonstration results from the two University that they might use in operating their dairies. "In addition, we're bringing in speakers to talk about two hot issues, immigration and using information to make decision on feed purchases," she said. "Many dairy employees are immigrants, so changes in Federal laws could impact the availability of the dairy workforce. "Feed costs are about half the cost of production on most dairies. We are expecting those costs to rise in the months ahead due to less hay and grain being available," Jordan added. "thus, producers need to carefully evaluate those purchases." The meeting will begin with registration at 9 a.m. and run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (MST). A registration fee of $25 covers lunch and handouts. Topics and speakers include: Immigration Issues, Ben Yale; A Few Surprises: What are the Best Recipes for Composting Large Vovine Carcasses in the Southern High Plains? Brent Auvermann; Air Quality Monitoring Study, Robert Hagevoort; Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium Update, Dr. Jordan; Making Decisions with Data, Normand St-Pierre, Ohio State University; Small Grain Forages, Mark Marsalis, New Mexico Extension agronomy specialist; Nitrogen and Phosphorus in By-Product Feeds and Dairy Diets, Tamilee Nennich; Sorghum Options for Dairy Forages, Brent Bean, Manure Excretion of Cows in the High Plains, Victor Cabrera. Register in advance by calling 254-968-4144. Pre-registration by Sept. 27 is required to guarantee a meal. |
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Clovis cheese plant official opening |
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Although already in operation, the official opening of Southwest Cheese will be on Fri., Oct. 6, 2006, at its cheese and whey manufacturing facility in Clovis, New Mexico. The festivities will include a ribbon-cutting, a tour of the facility, cheese tasting and a celebration dinner. Guests will include U.S. senators and representatives and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. |
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The sky is the limit in Dimmitt |
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If you're looking to build a dairy in Texas, why not go where the sky's the limit? With a population of only 8,700, Castro County in the Texas Panhandle promises big blue skies, arid days and cool nights, enhanced by a friendly small-town atmosphere. Castro County currently has eight working dairies with two more nearing completion. The newest and largest dairy is permitted for 4,500 head with three more in the process of obtaining wastewater permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). A basic 1,500 head minimum is required for new dairies. Dimmitt is the biggest town in the county with a population of 4,375. Hart and Nazarath are also located in Castro County. Dimmitt is located 20 miles south of Hereford, 75 miles northwest of Lubbock, and 65 miles southwest of Amarillo. It is about 45 miles to the New Mexico border. Dimmitt Mayor Wayne Collins said the renewed interest for dairies in Dimmitt and the surrounding area has come about in the last five years. He said in the 40s and 50s, Dimmitt had 17 "Mom and Pop" dairies that milked six cows or less, but due to varying circumstances, they either died-out or moved away. This new dairy growth has spurned a widespread interest by business owners and residents and is somewhat amazing to the general public as they become more familiar with the workings of the large dairies that have moved into their area. Collins said as staggering as it may seem, there are approximately 110 dairies within a 35 mile radius of Dimmitt that are already operating, in the permitting process, or are under construction. "We've encouraged dairy families to move to our area. In the past few years, we've attended the World Ag Expo in Tulare with the High Ground of Texas organization to provide information and to ask dairymen to come out and take a look. We've been very fortunate to have new dairies moving in all the time." Collins said many of the new dairies are from California---where they are being forced to leave for various reasons. "Urban encroachment, high taxes, land values, and strict environmental laws, have forced people to look elsewhere," he said. "We're just glad they're looking in our direction." Collins said the families that have moved into the Dimmitt area have become good neighbors and have been well received by Castro County residents. "The dairy people seem to be good, honest, hardworking people. They've brought with them new ideas and new skills." Collins said many of the dairies have found they can build multi-million dollar facilities in Texas and still have money "to grow on." "We're fortunate that in this area, we have no running streams or rivers and only playa lakes that pose no surface water problems. This makes permitting easy and it normally occurs within six months." Collins said financing for the new dairies has been split between the local financial institutions and out of state. The dairy infrastructure provides regional contractors and other businesses that handle animal health, dairy equipment installation and service. "Pioneer Lab is located here as well as Dimmitt Flaking. Paul Mills, Dimmitt Flaking manager, said the plant has been operating for about three years. Mills said they predominately serve Texas with a few customers in New Mexico. "We've really been busy and have increased our business by 80% since we opened," Mills said. Future plans include a plant in Dalhart. "Several of the farmers in the area are finding new opportunities to grow feed for the dairies, such as corn, cotton, and forage crops." Collins said the future looks bright for Castro County's dairy industry with plans for developing a dairy industry park on the city's 200 commercial acres. |
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