Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

Walter at NoNAIS.org brings us some interesting information about the need for NAIS. All along the government has proclaimed that Nais is necessary to control diseases like BSE. According to the US Food and Drug Administration;

Are the protective measures in place sufficient to ensure the safety of the human food supply in light of the June 2005 BSE positive cow?

Yes, the protective measures put into place in July 2004 by FDA ensure that cattle materials that carry the highest risk of transmitting the agent that causes BSE are excluded from human food, including dietary supplements, and cosmetics. These measures, along with similar measures established by USDA, provide a uniform national BSE policy and ensure the safety of human food.

Is the food in the U.S. likely to be a BSE risk to consumers?

FDA and other federal agencies have had preventive measures in place to reduce the U.S. consumer's risk of exposure to any BSE-contaminated meat and food products. Since 1989, USDA has prohibited the importation of live animals and animal products from BSE-positive countries. Subsequently, USDA expanded the ban to include both countries with BSE and countries at risk for BSE. Since 1997, FDA has prohibited the use of most mammalian protein in the manufacture of ruminant feed. In 2004, FDA issued a rule prohibiting the use of certain cattle materials in human food and cosmetics, and USDA issued a rule prohibiting certain cattle materials from use as human food.

So, it seems that all measures are all ready in affect to protect the consumers from BSE. Why does the Government want the NAIS then? As a prelude to numbering all people in the US maybe. It's not as far fetched as you think.

Instead of generating either unnecessary alarm or a false sense of security regarding these fundamental issues, the best course is to empower people with the truth. Dick Thornburgh

Boy it got warm around here yesterday. What little snow there was on the hillside above the corral broke and overflowed my diversion ditch and was flowing down through the corral. What a mess it was making in the corral.



I felt like some farmer tending his irrigation walking around with my shovel diverting water so it didn't make too big of mess in the corral. Once I got it flowing through the corral I worked on the diversion ditch and finally after a couple of hours picking at the frozen ground got the water flowing through it like it should. Walking around with a shovel tending water. Bah, farmers do that.

I called a well driller back in December about drilling a new well in one place out in a summer pasture. He said he would get back to me at the end on January. I finally heard from him yesterday. I guess he got January and February mixed up. He wanted to come out and drill the well next week. I told him to call me when he is closer but that it is wet enough I don't think he could get his rig in. He was very surprised by this. He said as dry as everyone was he was sure he could get out here. I told him it wasn't real wet out here but it was slick enough his rig would never make it. Never assume just because "every place else" is dry to think we are. Most of the time we have a "little" more.

I don't know when I will be able to get the driller in. Eventually I will and more money will be out of my pocket drilling a new well. Better that than the cows dying of thirst though.

Water, air, and cleanness are the chief articles in my pharmacy. Napoleon Bonaparte

I could make a lot of comments about this program that some one has dreamed up but I won't. Suffice it to say that easiest way to deal with the problem of BVD-PI cattle, cattle that are persistently infected with Bovine Virus Diarrhoea, is watching your cattle a little more closely and culling poor producing animals. For some reason cows that are BVD-PI have smaller calves in the spring and more often lose their calves in the spring so if you cull in the spring everything that doesn't have a calf, or has a really poor calf, BVD won't be a problem in your herd. No need for expensive tests or procedures. Too simple for most people though. They like to make things harder than they need to be.

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. Lao Tzu

Billowing white clouds floating over the sparse Montana winter landscape. Taken 1/19/2006.

Some would say these quotes describe the US. Any thoughts.

Ask yourself why totalitarian dictatorships find it necessary to pour money and effort into propaganda for their own helpless, chained, gagged slaves, who have no means of protest or defense. The answer is that even the humblest peasant or the lowest savage would rise in blind rebellion, were he to realize that he is being immolated, not to some incomprehensible noble purpose, but to plain, naked human evil. Ayn Rand

There are four characteristics which brand a country unmistakably as a dictatorship: one-party rule- executions without trial or with a mock trial, for political offenses- the nationalization or expropriation of private property- and censorship. A country guilty of these outrages forfeits any moral prerogatives, any claim to national rights or sovereignty, and becomes an outlaw. Ayn Rand

Every now and then I get an odd color calf off my mainly Angus cows. Here's one of them. Quite the brown color to him. These odd color ones are always really cute if you ask me. Taken 2/23/2006.

Interesting series of articles in the Gazette about conservation Easements and there use and affects in Eastern Montana.

The Good:

Conservation easement preserve family's way of life

Glasgow-area rancher Steve Page wasn't thinking about tax incentives when he negotiated a conservation easement on 24,000 acres in Valley County.

"The fundamental concern of our conservation easement is preservation of native sagebrush grasslands," he said.

Beyond protection of a family way of life, the easement had the advantage of reducing the value of the ranch. That, in turn, will reduce inheritance tax liability.

As the price of land continues to rise, the reduction in value can become important to multigeneration operations. It can mean the difference between selling the farm to pay the taxes and keeping it in the family for generations to come.

Conservation easements grow in Eastern Montana

Montana ranchers watching as rising land prices spread east of the mountains have started to worry that the legacy of their grandfathers and fathers may be lost in a checkerboard of expensive private hunting preserves.

When land prices soar, so does the tax liability of the estate a rancher may want to pass to another generation. Many in Western Montana, where land has become more valuable for recreation and development than for traditional agricultural uses, are embracing the concept of conservation easements. The idea is moving east of the divide.

You will note both these articles mention the fact that a benefit of Conservation Easements is the reduction of tax liability of the estate of a landowner passing away. Everybody tells me the estate tax is a good thing and those evil rich people should pay more money and it doesn't affect Montanans. These stories seem to say something different than that. They are saying that the tax liability is so great that efforts have to be made to reduce the tax or risk losing the place. This is the reason the Estate Tax don't seem to affect many farms and ranches. Farmers and Ranchers tend to do something about the situation before it kicks in. Every day farmers and ranchers are penalized, by having to do things to avoid the tax, for working the land and passing it on to their families. The Conservation Easement is one tool they use.

The Bad:

Landowners seek security

Conservation easements aren't for everyone, Big Timber real estate agent and land manager Mark Norem advises.

There are a lot of things to consider when placing restrictions on a piece of property that will forever prevent subdivision, surface mining or other commercial development.

"You have to measure the benefits and weigh the risks," he said.

Placing restrictions on what you can do to the place might not be what future generations want. You are limiting their course of actions.

The Ugly:

Critics of easements take issue with permanence

Conrad farmer/rancher Llew Jones has a one-word objection to conservation easements -- perpetuity.

"A lot of people are beginning to worry about 'forever,' " he said.

Perpetuity. How can I have any idea what my grand kids or Great-grand kids, if I have any, know what they want to do with this place? Do I want to place these conservation burdens on them? Do the tax advantages outweigh the loss of freedom?

These are all questions that make the whole Conservation Easement situation such a hard thing to figure out. Locking your descendants into a mode they might not want to be in. Is this right and proper? I don't know that I have the answer to that. Most of what drives these decisions is tax liability, particularly estate tax. If active farmers and ranchers didn't have to worry about this it wouldn't become the tipping point that drives people into the conservation easement.

As you can tell I am not a big fan of the easements but they are a way of life nowadays. Hopefully I can avoid burdening my family in the future with one of these contraptions and limiting them into how they can use the land and lead their lives. Only time will tell.

I see humanity now as one vast plant, needing for its highest fulfillment only love, the natural blessings of the great outdoors, and intelligent crossing and selection. Luther Burbank

Sharptail grouse foraging for food during the light snow storm on Thursday. There were quite a few more in the area that I didn't get a picture of. I have never seen so many around during the winter. Maybe the coyotes will bother them and leave my calves alone.

Quarter designs roll out

The preliminary designs have not been officially released by the U.S. Treasury Department, but children's author Ken Thomasma, who is on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, brought the final four design samples with him to the school for an assembly aimed at encouraging reading. The event was sponsored by the Arrowhead Parent Teacher Association.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer will make the final decision on which of the four Montana quarter designs will be minted, but according to a spokesperson in his office, he'll base his decision on popular vote and public input. The Montana quarters will be minted in 2007.

Here are the four designs.





The Governor "claims" he will base his decision on a popular vote. It looks to me like people will be able to vote here for which design they like.

Personally I don't particularly like any of the designs. If I had to pick one though it would be the 2nd design with the cow skull. My Darling Wife thought I was nuts. She says none of them would be her choice, they all represent the state poorly and are ugly, I tend to agree. The Governor will eventually tell us which one he chooses whether he goes by our vote or not.

I hate ugliness. You know I'm allergic to ugliness. Imelda Marcos

You are a student in High School involved in extracurricular activities and the rules tell you that you can't use, possess, buy, sell or give away alcohol, tobacco or drugs. You are also banned from gathering at any place where any of these illegal activities are taking place. These are the rules you are bound to abide by. So, when you are caught at a party with alcohol and tobacco present what happens? Your parents sue the school because their precious little angels were kicked off the team.

If you knew the rules going in and did not agree with them why didn't the parents protest the rule then instead of waiting until their kid was trapped by it? Why were the kids involved in the sports if they couldn't abide by the rules?

What ever happened to teaching your kids responsibility? Abide by the rules or suffer the consequences. What does this teach them down the road? If you don't like the rules, violate them then sue to change them? Bah! These parents little angels need to learn responsibility and take their punishment like men, not fight it like little weasels. What an example the parents set.

You must accept responsibility for your actions, but not the credit for your achievements. Denis Waitley

I don't know that I have ever had heifers calve out so fast. It's only 14 days into the first cycle and we are all ready over 60% done. At this rate we will easily make 75% of the heifers calved out in the first cycle. I throw that magical number out because all the "experts" of the industry say that is the goal and can only be obtained by special diets when breeding and synchronizing your heifers at breeding time. This will be the second year in a row I've manged the feat with no artificial drugs and on simple hay and grass proceeded on the ranch itself and not using all the special high priced feed. Just shows you what the "experts know.



This picture was taken 2/7/2006 before the cold, wet weather hit. So peaceful and nice. I am so tired myself, wish I could lay down and rest. That's not in the cards though.

Getting some of the critters moved around to get ready for the cows to start calving. I like to move the cows to a new feeding area just before they start calving to give the calves a cleaner place to lounge around. I have noted that it reduces my scours problem tremendously. Any way of attacking a problem naturally and without expensive drugs I am all for. Another one of those things the "experts" won't tell you about. They just want you to buy the drugs to treat your cattle. Bah, who needs it.

The cows could start dropping calves anytime now. I sure hope the weather straightens out. I have a simple philosophy for calving out cows, if they can't do it on their own, they don't need to be in my herd. The first calf heifers are the only ones I watch and help. That doesn't mean I won't help a cow but they are in a two thousand acre pasture and I don't have the time nor energy to drive around and keep an eye on them. They have done it once and they can do it again on their own. The only time I will break this rule is if it gets really cold. Then I will drive around and help them warm up their calves.

If the weather gets halfway nice though there shouldn't be any problems. That's what I am praying for.

It is the nature of babies to be in bliss. Deepak Chopra

Justices Allow Postal Customers to Sue

I saw this headline and got very excited. Maybe I could use the threat of a lawsuit to get our local Post Office to let me have my mail instead of holding it for weeks on end before finally deciding to give it to me. It really gets old after awhile to get bundles of mail suspiciously grouped together by date that are up to 2 months old all of a sudden in a big burst when you pick up mail. But, it's not to be.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Postal Service can be sued by a woman who tripped over mail left on her porch.

The 7-1 decision revived a Pennsylvania woman's claim that she was entitled to damages after suffering wrist and back injuries during the 2001 fall at her home in suburban Philadelphia. The letters, packages and periodicals were put on Barbara Dolan's porch instead of in her mailbox.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, dismissed government concerns of costly litigation.

...

Justices had been asked to interpret a federal law that bars lawsuits over the "loss, miscarriage or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter." The court said the law did not cover Dolan's claim.

So you see the "loss, miscarriage or negligent transmission of letters or postal matter" did not come into play in this suit so I don't have a leg to stand on. Maybe I will just trip and fall on the way out of the Post Office with all my bundles of delayed mail and then sue them. That just might work, I will consider it.

A sub-clerk in the post-office is the equal of a conqueror if consciousness is common to them. Albert Camus

The way I understand it, the Russians are sort of a combination of evil and incompetence... sort of like the Post Office with tanks. Emo Philips

Yesterday I commented on the heifers chasing the chickens. Today I have a picture of a heifer running at a chicken to get it. I wish I could have gotten more but the camera takes a long time to recycle between pictures.



This Momma cow is taking exception to this chicken being in the pen with her baby and going to chase her out. The chicken left in a big rush. I find it so funny to watch the heifers chase the chickens. The chickens have no idea what the problem is.

Be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Minor White

UPDATE: I thought I posted this in the morning. Oops, I didn't. Here it is.

Autism surrounded by misunderstanding-experts

People with autism are more intelligent and able to function better than previously believed, but mistrust of doctors, biased tests and the Internet have bred myths about the condition, experts said on Sunday.

At a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, researchers presented reports showing that even autistics who do not speak can have above-average intelligence. They also offered additional studies disputing claims that vaccines can cause autism.

"The current figures are that 75 percent of autistic people are mentally retarded, with the mute the most ... impaired," said Dr. Laurent Mottron, an autism researcher at Montreal's Hopital Riviere des Prairies.

But Mottron believes the wrong intelligence tests are used to assess autistic children. Many are tested using the Wechsler scale, a common IQ test that includes questions about words and concepts learned in school.

The Raven's Progressive Matrices test measures abstract reasoning and consistently gives autistic children higher scores, Mottron said.

The average boost in score is 30 points, Mottron said, enough to put someone previously considered mentally retarded into the normal range and the average to gifted status.

My boy is more than enough proof to me of this. He might not be able to speak but he is as smart as a whip, in his own way. Don't get me wrong his speech is coming along but he is no where near as dumb as people think he is just because he doesn't speak. He does things that would surprise a person and his sense of humor is flat wicked at times. The sense of humor is really odd in an autistic but he definitely has it.

I guess the moral of the story is don't judge a book by its cover. There is a lot more hiding underneath than you know.

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Martin Luther King, Jr.