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VOLUME XVII, NO. 9 |
TEXAS DAIRY REVIEW |
SEPTEMBER 2008 |
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Fill your gas tank or your stomach in a hurry at Allsup’s stores Director brings fresh approach to TIAER USDA moves to ban slaughter of downer cattle |
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Fill your gas tank or your stomach in a hurry at Allsup’s stores |
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By Sherry Webb America’s “need for speed” was the vision of Lonnie Allsup years ago when he owned his first grocery store in Roswell, New Mexico called Lonnie’s Drive-In Grocery. In 1956, grocery stores and gas stations were separate entities but with the coming decades, Allsup saw the convenience for putting the two together that kicked off a phenomenon known as Allsup’s convenience stores.
Today, Allsup’s includes 312 major convenience stores throughout New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma and is nationally recognized as one of the first to offer 24-hour self-serve gas pumps to its customers and for its inspired genius at retail marketing. The long-awaited arrival of Allsup’s convenience stores to Erath County has added another dimension to the cities of Stephenville and Dublin offering everything from competitive gasoline and milk prices to “world-famous” burritos cooked fresh daily at the Chuck Wagon located inside the stores. Of special interest is the Moo Milk promotion that endorses Allsup’s own brand of milk supplied by Plains Dairy in Amarillo. The Moo Stamp program allows participants to receive credit for each half-gallon or gallon of Allsup’s milk purchased. The stamps are in a small booklet and when all 12 stamps are credited, the 13th gallon of Allsup’s milk is free to the participant. “The cities have welcomed us and we hope to bring them the best of service,” said Virginia Jones, advertising coordinator located in Allsup’s headquarters at Clovis, New Mexico. “The tremendous reception has been great for us.” Plains Dairy receives most of its milk from large Texas and New Mexico dairies which have become some of the nation’s most efficient milk producers. 14 tanker trucks, carrying 6,000 gallons each, arrive daily seven days per week at the dairy’s Amarillo facilities. Recent improvements and expansion of the facilities enables Plains and its 95 employees to operate more efficiently. Plains Dairy was started by J. Lindsay Nunn with only seventy cows in 1934, and nearly seven decades later is selling 110,000 gallons of milk a day to customers over 500 miles away. As Amarillo’s sole operating dairy, the operation remains an Amarillo icon that has annual sales that top $60 million. After turning the dairy into a multimillion dollar operation, Nunn sold the dairy to National Dairy in 1955 where it operated under the name Sealtest, a division of Kraft Foods. L.B. Parker purchased the dairy in 1965 and brought back the familiar Plains Creamery name. Affiliated Foods became owner in 1996 and adopted the name Plains Dairy. Plains also bottles and distributes the popular Tampico Punch, Red Diamond Tea, and Culligan Water. |
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Director brings fresh approach to TIAER |
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By Sherry Webb Area dairymen and other agricultural leaders are anxious to participate in a sound and accurate working relationship with the Texas Institute of Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) at Tarleton State University under the direction of newly appointed Executive Director Dan Hunter. Hunter, who assumed his new duties in July 2008, brings to TIAER a new and innovative approach that has long been overdue.
TIAER is a multidisciplinary research center providing a setting for environmental studies focusing on the interface between the government and private sector to develop effective public policies and cooperative science-based solutions. Founded in 1991, TIAER was the first to recognize that emerging environmental issues required new policy based on sound science, economic research and field experience. As executive director, Hunter will provide the overall management and vision for the research-based organization. “I look forward to the opportunity of leading TIAER to bigger and better things,” Hunter said. “I am fortunate that I can stand behind a staff of highly qualified individuals that include scientists, economists, modelers as well as technical and field staff who make TIAER a leading institute in the field of environmental research.” Hunter first joined TIAER in 2006 as its assistant director. Prior to that, he has served as an adjunct professor in Tarleton’s College of Agriculture and Human Sciences, executive officer/manager of the Southwestern Peanut Growers’ Association, government relations representative for the National Cotton Council and a legislative assistant for U.S. Representatives Larry Combest and Fred Grandy. Cowan said that with the appointment of Hunter to replace former director Ron Jones, the time is right for TAIER to fall under the College of Agriculture at Tarleton State University. “You can get into a paradigm that becomes stale. It’s time to redevelop a strategic plan for today and the future.” |
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USDA moves to ban slaughter of downer cattle |
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The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently proposed a new rule that would disallow the slaughter of cattle that cannot walk. The proposed rule would amend federal meat inspection regulations to initiate a complete ban if cattle become non-ambulatory after initial inspection conducted by the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service personnel. The proposal would remove a provision that states FSIS inspectors will determine the disposition of cattle that become disabled after they have passed ante-mortem, before-slaughter inspection, on a case-by cases basis. The proposed rule means all disabled cattle at any time prior to slaughter, including those that become non-ambulatory after passing a before-slaughter inspection, will be condemned and properly disposed of. |
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Do you understand the Electoral College? |
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By Malcolm Cross, Ph.D., Dept. of Social Science, TSU As the presidential race heats up, some people are still unaware of how the Electoral College works in its purpose to elect the next new president. On Tues. Nov. 4, registered voters will go to the polls to cast their ballots for the candidate of their choice. But, they will actually be voting for members of the Electoral College who will officially elect the president in December. Most of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 opposed having the president directly elected by the people for fear that presidential elections would be dominated by voters in more populous states, such as New York, Massachusetts, or Pennsylvania. They created the Electoral College to give smaller states, especially in the South, more power to help select the president than their populations might otherwise let them have. The Constitution gives each state the right to elect a number of electors equal to the number of senators and representatives it may send to Congress. Each house of Congress was designed to give smaller states more representation out of proportion to their populations: All states, no matter how big or small, get two senators, and all states, no matter how small, get at least one representative. Thus, each state is entitled to at least 3 electors. Texas, with 32 representatives, gets 34 Electors. The District of Columbia, although not a state, also gets 3 electors. Total membership in the Electoral College today is 538. A presidential candidate must get 270 electoral votes to win. The Constitution also gives each state the power to determine how its electors are chosen. All states allow the political parties to nominate electors, and the voters to choose electors by voting for the presidential candidates to whom electors are pledged. For instance, a vote for John McCain this fall will actually be a vote for Republicans running for the Electoral College who have pledged, if elected, to vote for McCain for President. In most states, the presidential nominee who wins the most popular votes wins all the state’s electors. This system has frequently been denounced as undemocratic since, as the 2000 presidential election showed, it is possible for one presidential candidate to win the popular vote and the other to win the electoral vote. But to eliminate the Electoral College and allow the voters to directly select the President of the United States would require a constitutional amendment, which in turn, would require the approval of three-fourths of the states. Since more than a quarter of the states are still overrepresented in the Electoral College, it is unlikely they will consent to its abolition. The Electoral College, which is over 200 years old will no doubt remain with us for the foreseeable future. |
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2008 Texas Ag Expo Coming Soon |
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Plans for the 18th Annual 2008 Texas Ag Expo are underway and exhibitor booth spaces are available. Sponsored by TriCounty Agribusiness Association (TCAA), the two-day show will be at Stephenville Lone Star Arena, Hwy. 377, on Oct. 22 and 23. The show targets the numerous dairy producers and farmers in the region and the growing number involved with beef cattle, goats, horses and wildlife. The show will offer the latest in agricultural products and services and attendees will be able to speak directly with leading manufacturers and distributors. This year’s show will host several seminars and clinics that will provide informative and educational material to attendees. It will also provide a forum for all agribusiness men and women to share information on the vast amount of products and services available to manage a successful operation in the dairy and beef industries, equine, ranching, farming, goats and more. Visitors to the Texas Ag Expo can enjoy sponsored meals, demonstrations and clinics, The Parade of Horses, Farm Safety 4 Kids, Antique Tractor Show and much more. Arts and Crafts Vendor Booths are also available. You won’t want to miss this show if your target market includes the enterprising dairyman, rancher, farmer, livestock breeder, horse lover, wildlife or hunting & fishing enthusiast in Texas and the surrounding region. Call today to include your business in the 18th Annual Texas Ag Expo and the featured Event Guide. Visit the show’s website for event details, sponsorship opportunities and exhibitor application. For more information about the Texas Ag Expo and other area agriculture-related events call TriCounty Agribusiness Association at 254-965-2406 or visit www.texasagexpo.com. |
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