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VOLUME XVI, NO. 9 |
TEXAS DAIRY REVIEW |
SEPTEMBER 2007 |
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Tx Ag Expo makes plans for October Show TCEQ commissioners decide to delay dairy permit for 6 mos. Miller’s prepared statement says due process denied on permit Attorney for Parks Dairy files restraining order against state |
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Tx Ag Expo makes plans for October Show |
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Texas Ag Expo is once again coming your way. The 17th annual show, sponsored by Tri County Agribusiness Association (TCAA), will be on Wed., Oct. 24, and Thurs., Oct. 25, at Lone Star Arena, Hwy. 377, Stephenville, Texas. The fall golf tournament in conjunction with the show will be held on Tues., Oct. 23, at 9 a.m., at Legends Country Club. It will be a foursome scramble, $75 per person.
DOPA credits will be offered at various seminars scheduled during the show. Jim Jensen of Environmental Credit Corp. will speak on Wed., 11 a.m., offering 1 DOPA credit followed at 1:30 p.m. with a discussion on permit updates given by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) authorities that offers 1 DOPA credit.
At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Scott Roebuck with Deerchannel.com will give a
hunting/wildlife seminar. The show continues to target dairy producers and ag-related farmers in the tri county region and this year will especially focus on wildlife. Texas Ag Expo is located in the state’s leading dairy region that includes Comanche, Hamilton and Erath counties. There are more than 150 dairies in the tri county region which together generate close to $300 million in milk revenues annually to the local economy. Texas Ag Expo provides a market place for vendors to showcase equipment, supplies and services available to agricultural producers, rural landowners and hunters. TCAA members encourage those who are targeting these markets to sign up for the show. For more information, contact TCAA at 254-965-2406 or email info@tricounty.com. TCAA reports there are vendor booths available and also sponsorship opportunities for the golf tournament, ag appreciation breakfast, horse events and registration prizes. |
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TCEQ commissioners decide to delay dairy permit for 6 mos. |
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While dairy industry leaders were all eyes and ears on Wed., Aug. 22, in anticipation of hearing good news on Hidden View Dairy’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permit application, action by state commissioners to finalize the process unfortunately was delayed for another six months.
Commissioners, although not totally in tune with one another during the hearing, in the end agreed to send this particular case to a judge at the State Office of the Administrative Hearings (SOAH) when a ‘‘mystery party,’’ revealed at the August 22 hearing, claimed to have standing as an affected party because of owning an interest in property adjacent to the dairy. Commissioner Larry Soward and newly appointed Chairman, Buddy Garcia, were visibly upset by the sudden turn of events by the Sierra Club’s ability to produce such a person who ultimately put a kink in Hidden View’s request for permit approval. Sierra Club’s supplemental filing that identified one of its members as an affected party did not allow for timely review by the commissioners and others. Many times during the hearing, Soward spoke of how this fact ‘‘troubled him.’’ Realizing a precedent could be set regarding the outcome of the hearing, Soward apparently felt compelled to send the Hidden View application to the SOAH for a contested case hearing on 12 of the 22 objections made by the Sierra Club, of which Garcia finally agreed. The hearing is limited to a six months duration period for review on the pending issues. Ms. Carol Robbins, the affected party in question, is an absentee landowner from Dallas and the daughter of the actual property owner, Betty Robbins, who resides at the adjacent property to the dairy. The property owner and another daughter, Judith, do not object to Hidden View’s expansion. Betty Robbins owns one half of the land outright and a life estate in the other undivided half interest of the 460 acres. Her two daughters each own a future remainder interest in an undivided one-fourth of the land. The hearing basically hinged on Robbins’ affected party status. Except for Robbins, commissioners determined that all other additional parties who had claimed to be affected parties did not have standing. Although the outcome was less than pleasant for the DeJong family, owners of Hidden View Dairy, attorney Jim Bradbury said it’s best the case will be heard by a SOAH judge to determine whether or not Robbins has standing in the case. Bradbury and commissioners feared that if Robbins had been denied standing at the hearing, the case might have been appealed in a state district court, creating more delay for the dairy. Texas Association of Dairymen (TAD) Executive Director John Cowan said he firmly believes the SOAH judge will comfirm that Robbins does not have standing. Pete Schouten, a director on the TAD board, commented after the Hidden View Dairy outcome his plans to present to the TAD board in a future meeting, a concept to expedite permits by the TCEQ. ‘‘Since the state of Texas does not protect the dairy industry by issuing permits that are meeting all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and TCEQ requirements, I hope TAD will take it upon themselves to form a ‘war chest’ to encourage the TCEQ to do their job in permit matters.’’ |
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Miller’s prepared statement says due process denied on permit |
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At the conclusion of State Rep. Sid Miller’s recent speech to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in defense of Hidden View Dairy’s permit renewal, a prepared statement from Miller was submitted. This is an excerpt from that statement. ‘‘It is important for the Commission to issue these permits to allow these existing dairies to make the investments necessary to construct larger lagoons and implement the Best Management Practices (BMPs) which are more protective of our water quality. Delays in issuing permits mean delays in improving water quality. The Commission needs to weigh the benefits of improved operation when it evaluates the merits of hearing requests and the delays associated with these hearing requests. ‘‘Now specifically, in regard to the Hidden View Dairy and Willy DeJong: Willy DeJong is one of the best dairy operators in my district. He is absolutetly at the top of the list. DeJong has nine adjacent landowners and 22 residences within a one mile radius of his dairy and not one single neighbor or landowner has filed a protest to the application during the comment period. DeJong has not had a single incident or odor complaint in the last five plus years. The EPA and the US Fish and Wildlife Department have not opposed this permit. The City of Waco settlement is allowing the permit to be issued. The only protest to the DeJong permit is these activist groups, the Clean Water Action and the Sierra Club. As I have stated before, ironically the action of these groups seek to delay improvements to the proposed application. ‘‘I believe in this particular case that due process has been denied. One of the things I have learned dealing with the TCEQ over so many years, is that one of the things that the TCEQ prides itself on is due process. Y’all are very, very diligent. You make sure that you cross all T’s and dot the I’s and that due process is carried out. I believe it has been denied in this case. ‘‘The Sierra Club’s tactic of failing to identify its ‘‘mystery’’ member until the filing of its reply brief subverts the TCEQ’s hearing request process and this should not be tolerated by the agency, in my opinion. I urge the Commission to find that the Sierra Club waived its right to a hearing by these deplorable tactics. ‘‘I also understand that the alleged adjacent landowner who the Sierra Club is using as a basis to seek standing in this matter, which is Ms. Carol Robbins, lives in Dallas, not anywhere near the dairy. She is a minority owner in that property. I have seen two letters by Ms. Betty Robbins, who is her mother, who controls the property there and lives on the property and owns the majority interest in that same land. And, she has made it perfectly clear that she and her other daughter do not object to the permit or to the dairy operation. ‘‘I am at a loss to understand how a person who lives in Dallas, who is minority owner, doesn’t live on the property, can be the basis for a hearing. Especially when the resident owners of the same property have no objection to the permit. I would encourage the TCEQ to move on down the road and let’s improve water quality and start by denying these weak and improper hearing requests. "As a representative of the State of Texas, I am urging you to proceed and issue this permit." |
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Attorney for Parks Dairy files restraining order against state |
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A temporary restraining order has been filed against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in an Austin district court by attorney Jim Bradbury, representing the Jack Parks Dairy, to prevent the TCEQ from forcing Parks to reduce his herd size to below 200 head. In addition, a motion to overturn the TCEQ executive director’s decision was filed with the Commission to return the CAFO permit application to Parks. Parks was one of two Bosque River watershed CAFOs whose permit applications were rejected by the TCEQ in the latter part of July. The two dairies, J.M. Howle and Park,s were seeking permit renewals to continue their CAFOs. Permit rejection by the TCEQ would force both dairies to scale their herds below the CAFO limit to 200 head. The Parks Dairy, that downsized prior to the TCEQ permit rejection, is permitted for 700 head, currently milking 250 plus. Parks claimed he was dumbfounded when he learned his permit had been rejected. He said he did not blame the TCEQ or Waco but pointed the finger at his consultant’s failure to submit accurate and sufficient information on his permit. |
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Florida dairy facilities visited by Central Texas group |
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Heat and humidity are common to Texas and make cow cooling a bonafide challenge. Although, the Texas climate and its ability to change in a moment’s notice can be frustrating for dairy producers, southeastern states, such as Florida, can face even greater climate changes. Dairymen are always looking for better ways to keep their cows cool and comfortable. A small group of central Texas producers and Dr. Tamilee Nennich, Texas A&M dairy extension specialist, recently visited Florida dairies to learn about the facilities that Florida producers are using to cool their cows. In particular, the group was interested in seeing tunnel ventilated barns working in the hot and humid Florida climate. Tunnel ventilated barns are enclosed barns that use negative air pressure to keep constant airflow throughout the entire length of the barn. Texas dairymen were able to see operations with both traditional freestalls and tunnel ventilated barns. The tour started with a visit to the University of Florida Dairy Research Unit in Gainesville, Florida. The next stop was North Florida Holsteins in Bell, Florida. North Florida Holsteins milk approximately 3800 cows. This dairy has a 6-row tunnel ventilated barn with high pressure misters and soakers installed over the feed lanes. One of the other dairies on the tour was Dairy Production Systems in Bell, Florida and Shenandoah Dairy in Live Oak, Florida. Dairy Production Systems facilities were remodeled last year, going from dry lots to freestall barns with 16-foot eave heights to promote airflow and cooling. The freestall operation provided a nice contrast to the tunnel ventilated barns and presented an opportunity to hear about different philosophies on cow housing. Shenandoah Dairy built their first 4-row tunnel ventilated barn several years ago and due to its success, they have since added another barn. The barns at Shenandoah Dairy also use high pressure misters and soakers over the feed lane to promote evaporative cooling. Another interesting part of the tour was the manure management systems on the dairy operations. At Dairy Production Systems, a new system was recently installed that is designed to remove 75% of the nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure. At North Florida Holsteins, the dairy is in the process of constructing a new manure treatment process that removes liquid from flocculated manure using a vacuum assisted porous dewatering bed. Visiting the dairy operations in Florida provided an opportunity for Texas dairy producers to learn more about keeping cows cool and comfortable in hot, humid climates, as well as providing an opportunity to see how other dairymen are dealing with nutrient management issues. |
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Miller urges TCEQ to approve dairy permit |
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Serving a fourth term as state representative, Sid Miller (R), District 59, gave an impassioned speech in defense of Hidden View Dairy and other North Bosque River dairies when allowed to speak before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) at an Aug. 22 hearing in Austin. Although a future contested case hearing before a judge at the State Office of Adminstrative Hearings (SOAH) was not the outcome dairy industry leaders had hoped for, Miller did his best to convince commissioners that Hidden View’s permit and other dairy permits should be approved and expedited. Miller told commissioners the permitting problem for Bosque River watershed dairies had been going on before he was elected in 2000. He said that because of expired permits and the delayed permitting process to issue new ones, dairies are operating in antiquated times and should be brought forward into the 21st century. He brought up to TCEQ commissioners Larry Soward and Buddy Garcia the importance of setting a precedent which could depend on how the Hidden View Dairy permit is handled. ‘‘This permit is ready to be issued,’’ Miller said, adding that there are nine more in the notification process. He said the dairies are finally to the point where new TCEQ rules and regulations in the Bosque River watershed can be implemented and should be, to help enhance the environmental quality of the watershed. He pointed out if new rules had been in effect during a recent rainfall that lasted nearly 50 consecutive days, dairy producers would have been able to contain every drop of the water and there would have been no run-off. Unfortunately, Miller said, discharges occurred because the old permit system was still in effect, disallowing dairymen to enlarge their lagoon systems that new permits require. Miller pointed out he represents the north end of the watershed, while Sen. Kip Averitt and Doc Anderson represent McLennan County. ‘‘I know you have had encouragement from Sen. Averitt with all expediency to move these permits forward so we can make these needed improvements in the watershed.’’ He said Anderson is in agreement and Rep. Rob Orr, representing the middle of Bosque County. He said no matter which side of the issue each is on, they all what to see the new permits issued. He made it clear to the TCEQ commissioners that in all his years of correspondence about the watershed, the challenges have basically been geared toward the authority of the TCEQ to issue the permits. Miller said he found it very ‘‘disturbing and hypocritical’’ that the environmental groups, such as the Clean Water Action Group and the Sierra Club, would fight the permit renewals when the renewals are what is going to clean up the watershed. ‘‘What their tactic is, and I want to point it out to you, is one of the oldest military strategies that we have around. It’s called the philosophy of a siege battle and when you implement a siege battle, you don’t necessarily fire a shot at the enemy but you lay siege to all their supply lines. You cut off their ammunition. You cut off their troop supplies; you cut off their financial supplies and basically starve them out until they give up. That’s what these environmental groups, I believe, are intending to do.’’ Miller spoke about the loss of dairies and cows in the watershed. He said that in the year 2000, Erath County had 144 dairies and today there are 86. In 2000, there were 59,000 milking cows, and now there are 35,000. Miller said this tactic of siege battle by environmentalists has worked well over the past seven years and is working well today. He said he’s convinced the plan of action by environmentalist groups is not to see new rules and regulations implemented for better environmental quality, but to ‘‘simply drive the dairymen out of business and out of the watershed, entirely.’’ Miller attested to the merits and high quality of Hidden View Dairy. ‘‘Mr. DeJong runs one of the finest, cleanest dairies in the watershed.’’ He said DeJong goes above and beyond what is expected of him. ‘‘Here is a man who is trying to do right, is willing to implement the practices necessary to bring his dairy up to compliance, and above compliance.’’ Under the siege battle tactics by environmentalists, Miller said dairymen are in a ‘‘Catch 22’’ situation. He explained that without new permits, financial institutions will not issue any long term financing and dairies cannot qualify for USDA cost sharing programs, such as the equip program, which would help them implement new construction to enlarge lagoons for runoff protection. He concluded by saying that as long as the permits are not issued, dairy producers will eventually be starved out of business. |
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