Land and Livestock Post (April Issue 2)

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDBRYAN, TX 77802PERMIT # 23

JAMES THOMPSONStraight from the horse's mouth.PAGE 3




April 2014— Issue 2

Old-time justice

Special rangers battle cow andhorse theftsPAGE 10

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDBRYAN, TX 77802PERMIT # 23

GET READYTO STUDYNew farm bill will require a lot of work.PAGE 4

MANAGING LIVESTOCKGulf Coast Ranch Expo includes bus tour.PAGE 5

YEAR-ROUND EATSGrowing forage all year saves producers’ dollars.PAGE 6

GOING NUTSPecan Field Day set for April 19.PAGE 19

April 2014— Issue 2

April 2014— Issue 2 The Land & Livestock Post2

NewsFrom theGeneralManager

Easter is on it’s way. Thatphrase is usually preced-ed by a “hippity-hip-hop,”

but for me it is not a light-heart-ed time of year. For me, Eastercan be problematic.

I have a weakness for Eastercandy. Of all the holidays, Ibelieve Easter produces thebest treats around. You cankeep your gingerbread men andcandy canes, your heart-shapedboxes of chocolates and yourchocolate-covered strawberries,your king cake, your shamrockshake, and your candy cornand pumpkin pie. I will take theCadbury eggs, the deviled eggs,the robin eggs, the peanut but-ter eggs, and even the Peeps.

I am a shameless Eastercandy junkie; I will steal candyfrom children — and make littlepromises to myself that I knowI’m bound to break. “I’ll just eat

the ears,” I’ll say, knowing full-well the soon-to-be fate of thatchocolate bunny, who, like me,is hollow inside with an empti-ness that can be filled only withmore Easter candy.

But, as I get older, I realizethe danger thisposes — notonly to myphysical ap-pearance, butto my overallhealth. I imag-ine it wouldbe difficult tohippity-hip-hopat all if I lose afoot to diabetes, so I try to scaleback. It hasn’t been difficult, be-cause as long as I restrain my-self in the grocery store fromFebruary through April, I cankeep from being surrounded bythe sugary snacks. But now I

have children, and my oldest isof Easter-egg hunting age.

I’m not sure how I’m going tohandle it. I hate to think I’ll goback down that path, and endup having to tell my childrenlies about how some chocolaterabbits don’t have ears, andhow the Easter Bunny takesbites out of some of the candyhe hides.

I just have to make it a fewmore weeks and then the Eas-ter stuff will be gone and prob-ably they’ll start rolling outthe Christmas candy and mydemon will go away for anotheryear.

While my vice may increasemy blood sugar and my waist-line, it is fairly harmless to oth-ers. There are those, however,who cross the boundaries ofsocially acceptable behaviorand end up on the wrong side of

the law.In the cattle business, those

people may end up runningacross the path of a specialranger for the Texas and South-western Cattle Raisers Associa-tion. In our cover story, we tellof special ranger Wayne Good-man and take a look at who he

is, what he does and how hekeeps the cattle industry safe.

Hope you enjoy it, and have aHappy Easter!

’Til next time,• For more information about con-tent or advertising, contact JesseWright at [email protected].

JESSE WRIGHT

The Land & Livestock Post April 2014— Issue 2 3

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NewsComplicated farmbillwill takehomework forproducers

By Kay LedBetterTexas A&MAgriLife Extension

Service

AMARILLO — Crop produc-ers may feel like they are backin school when they begin todeal with the new farm bill, be-cause they certainly need to dotheir homework before going tosign up, according to one TexasA&MAgriLifeExtensionServiceeconomist.Speakingrecently inAmarillo,

JoeOutlaw,co-directorof theAg-riculturalandFoodPolicyCenterat TexasA&MUniversity and anAgriLife Extension economistin College Station, said the newfarmbillrepealsdirectpayments,counter-cyclical payments andAverage Crop Revenue Election,or ACRE. Producers now mustchoosebetweenAgricultureRiskCoverage and Price Loss Cover-age for their program crops.Producers also are going to

have the opportunity to real-locate their base acres to cropsplanted on the farm at any time

duringthe2009to2012cropyears.And,Outlawsaid, all cottonbaseacresarenowgenericbaseacres.“For the safety net to be the

most effective, you really needto get your base as close as pos-sible to what you are planting,”he said.The generic base becomes

whatever crop it is planted toeach year, Outlaw said. The ge-neric base acres can be assignedto other covered commodities.“You have to do your own

homework,” he said. “Don’t getstuck with something that mayormaynotbegood foryou for thelife of the bill.”If producers choose the price

loss coverage option, or PLC asit is referred to in the farm bill,they have the opportunity toupdate their payment yields to90 percent of the 2008-2012 cropyear averages.In explaining the flow of pro-

ducerschoices,Outlawsaidafterdetermining base reallocation,

See LAW, Page 9


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NewsUpperGulfCoastRanchExpoto featurelivestockmanagement, ranchbus tours

By Blair FanninTexas A&MAgriLife Extension

Service

SIMONTON—Thesecondan-nualUpperGulf CoastRanchEx-poscheduledMay13 inSimontonwill featureseveralmanagementtopics pertaining to beef cattleproduction, including livestocklease agreements, and a varietyof bus tours.The event, to be held at Twin-

wood Cattle Co., 4430 GuylerRoad.It will feature bus tours withseveral TexasA&MAgriLife Ex-tension Service specialists dis-cussing beef cattle production,forage production and manage-ment, weed control and pecanproduction.“We are anticipating a largeturnout since this is a regionalevent,” said Greg Kaase, AgriL-ife Extension program special-ist-risk management in CollegeStation.“Cattle prices continue theirrecord run and many produc-ers are wanting to learn how tocapitalize on these high returns.Many of the topics will providekey information they can takehome and apply to their own op-erations.”Cost is $10 by May 6 or $20 foron-site registration.Registrationand sponsored booth exhibitsopen at 7 a.m.At8:20a.m.,PeteGibbs,AgriL-

ife Extension associate director

fromCollegeStation,willprovideopening comments.Fort Bend County Judge Rob-

ert Herbert also will provideopening remarks.At 8:45 a.m., Levi Russell,

AgriLifeExtensioneconomist inCorpusChristi,will discuss“Useof Debt to Finance Herd Expan-sion.”Following a break at 9:15 a.m.,participantswill board buses fortour stops featuring :

• Joe Paschal, AgriLife Exten-sion beef cattle specialist in Cor-pus Christi, beef cattle manage-ment/water quality.• Larry Redmon, AgriLife Ex-tension state forage specialist inCollege Station, forage produc-tion andmanagemen.• Paul Baumann, AgriLife Ex-tension state weed specialist inCollege Station, weed identifica-tion and control.• Monte Nesbitt, AgriLife Ex-tension horticulturalist in Col-lege Station, pecan production.Following a noon meal, Tif-fany Dowell, AgriLife Extensioneconomist and agricultural lawspecialist, College Station, willdiscuss livestock lease agree-ments/contracts.Nesbit will follow with a pre-sentation on alternative horti-cultural ideas,whichwill includeolives, pomegranates and citrus.A pesticide training laws andregulations sessionwill be givenbyMelissaBartonwiththeTexasDepartment of Agriculture.


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News

By RoBeRt FeaRsSpecial to The Post

Oneof themost economi-cal ways to raise beefcattle is to use standing

forage as the primary feedsource. In areas where soils aretillable, a year-round grazingprogram can be established uti-lizing both annual and peren-nial plants.If pastures have been grazed

at the proper stocking rates,they will contain establishedwarm-season perennial grasses.Species of grass will vary ac-cording to the vegetation areaor eco-region. Texas includesthese 10 eco-regions:• Post Oak Savannah.• Pineywoods.•Gulf Prairies andMarshes.

• South Texas Plains.•Edwards Plateau.• Trans-Pecos.•High Plains.•Rolling Plains.•Cross Timbers and Prairies.•Blackland Prairies.Most of the readers of Land

and Livestock Post live in thePost Oak Savannah, Piney-woods, Gulf Prairies andMarshes or Blackland Prairieseco-regions. Warm-season pe-rennial grasses found in theseeco-regions are introducedspecies which include bahia,hybrid bermudas, dallis and na-tives such as common bermuda,little and big bluestem, Indian,eastern gama, and sideoatsgrama.Under propermanagement,

these grasses canmaintaincattle in good body conditionfrom the last killing frost inthe spring until the first killingfrost in the fall.

Cool-season grassesA forage-based diet can be

provided through late fall,winter and early spring by cool-season grasses planted on tilledland, sod-seeded into warm-season perennials or double-cropped with a summer an-

Growing forage year-roundOne of the most economical ways to raisebeef cattle is to use standing forage asthe primary feed source.

Photo by Robert Fears

See FORAGE, Page 7

April 2014 — Issue 2 The Land & Livestock Post6

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Published by Bryan-College Station Communications, Inc.(979) 776-4444 or (800) 299-7355

President - Crystal Dupré ..................................................... Ext. 4613

Publisher and Editor- Kelly Brown ......................................... Ext. 4656

Advertising Director - Ron Prince ........................................ Ext. 4740

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Published by Bryan-College Station Communications, Inc.,P.O. Box 3000, Bryan, Texas 77805.E-mail: [email protected]

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nual. Examples of cool-seasongrasses are wheat, rye, barley,oats, triticale and annual rye-grass. All of these plantsmustbe established annually, whichis a disadvantage due to thelabor and input expense. Theestablishment cost can be re-gained easily, however, throughreduction or elimination ofpurchased feeds. These grassesoften have enough nutritionalvalue tomaintain and growcattle without supplement.Wheat grown in the United

States for grain and pastureconsists of six basic classes:•Hard red winter.•Hard red spring.•Soft red winter.•Durum.•Hardwhite wheat.•Soft white wheat.In the Land and Livestock

Post trade area, hard red winterwheat is the class generallyused for grazing. Accordingto The Samuel Roberts NobleFoundation, soft wheat grownin southern and southeasternOklahoma and into Texas andArkansas is usuallymore pro-ductive than hard red winter

wheat when planted early forpasture. Most varieties of hardred winter wheat will producestockpiled fall forage whenplanted early, but practically nowinter forage regrowth occursaftermid-November. Provenhard red winter wheat varietiesproduce abundant spring forageand can be planted throughoutOklahoma, Texas and adjoiningregions.Forage specialists at the

Texas A&MAgriLife Research& Extension Center at Stephen-ville recommended an awnlessvariety of wheat—without thebristly beard that protects thekernel— for grazing. For dualuse of grazing and grain plantearly, graze for threemonths(mid-November throughmid-February), take cattle off at firsthollow stem, and allow grainproduction.In dual use there is approxi-

mately 10 percent loss in grainyield and forage is not availablefor spring grazing.“Rye is oftenmixed with

other small grains to extendthe grazing season,” said TexasA&M forage specialists. “It willhead out early (February toMarch) during amild winter. Ifthe crop isn’t harvested prior toheading, forage quality dropssignificantly.”“Most varieties of small

grains are bred and selected forgrain production and rye is noexception,” said experts withThe Noble Foundation. “Forageproduction from these cropsis considered a by-product;however, there are several goodforage varieties of cereal rye:Bates, Bonel, Elbon, Oklon andMaton. These varieties can beexpected to producemore falland winter forage than othersmall grains. They can growat a lower temperature, whichmakes them dependable in alate fall and winter grazingprogram. Rye terminates springproduction the earliest of anyof the small grains, so it is not

Forage, from Page 6

See ALLYEAR, Page 8


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a good candidate for a springgrazing program.”

Barley is not as widely usedin Texas as the other cerealgrasses. It is most noted for itstolerance to saline and alkalinesoils. Barley does not grow wellon sandy soils, but is droughttolerant.

Oats are the least winter-hardy of the cool-season annualgrasses. They can be planted inearly fall and usually producemore early spring forage thanmost wheat varieties, sincetheir production peaks in earlyspring. Oats don’t grow wellon sandy soils and their forageproduction is variable. They tol-erate wet, poorly drained soilsbetter than other small grains.Cattle grazing studies show thatoats are more palatable thanwheat, wheat is more palatablethan rye, and rye is more palat-able than barley.

Triticale is a man-made crossbetween wheat and rye and itsforage production generally ex-ceeds that of wheat. The crosshas characteristics of bothparental lines that may makeit the most widely adapted ofthe small grains. Because oftriticale’s advantages, acreageis increasing in Texas.

“Annual ryegrasses are anexcellent choice for Texas, Ar-kansas, and the southeasterntwo-thirds of Oklahoma,” saidNoble Foundation experts.“They can be easily establishedas pure stands in clean tilledfields or in closely grazedbermudagrass. These grassesprovide excellent forage fromMarch to June and there areseveral excellent varieties. Mar-shall is a proven winter-hardyvariety with high production.Other good varieties are Ribeyeand Jackson.”

“Ryegrass is adapted to awide range of soil types, grow-ing better on wet soils thanmost other cool-season annualgrasses,” said Jeffrey Stapper,Texas A&M AgriLife. “It canbe easily established by simply

broadcasting seed on the soilsurface or on grass sod. Estab-lishment is better when a shortgrazed pasture is lightly diskedprior to broadcasting the seed

“Production occurs late inthe season; so a greater amountof ryegrass forage is usuallyavailable later in the springthan from the small grains.This is an advantage of annualryegrass because mixtures withsmall grains can extend thegrazing season.

“Due to later maturity, it isimportant to keep annual rye-grass grazed short to preventcompetition with warm-seasongrasses when it is overseededinto permanent pastures,” Stap-per said.

Late maturing annual grassthat extends winter pasturethrough early spring normallygives the warm-season grassestime to develop sufficient foragefor grazing. Cool-season annualor perennial legumes can beplanted with an annual grass toincrease forage nutritive valueand add nitrogen to the soil. Ex-amples of cool-season annuallegumes include: annual med-ics, Persian clover, Arrowleafclover, Ball clover, Rose clover,Crimson clover, annual sweet-clover, vetch, Berseem clover,Subterranean clover and Aus-trian winter peas

Some of these legumes areprolific seeders and can re-establish themselves every year.Cool-season perennial legumesinclude alfalfa, red clover andwhite clover.

There are many forage spe-cies and varieties from whichto choose when selecting plantsfor winter pasture. Factors toconsider are cattle nutritionalneeds, suitability for the ranchmanagement systems, soil tex-ture, rainfall patterns, expectedtemperature ranges and thegrazing plan.

Selection recommendationscan be obtained from the coun-ty agricultural extension agent,the Natural Resources Con-servation Service and privateconsultants.

All year, from Page 7


News

they will have to decide if theyare going to choose the agricul-turalriskcoverage,whichcoverslosses in incomeforacommodityrelative to a benchmark guaran-tee, or go the price loss coverageroute. And then there are morechoices within each of those op-tions.Forthe2014-2018cropyears,all

producers on a farmmust makea one-time, irrevocable electionto obtain either price loss cover-age under section 1116 on a com-modity-by-commodity basis oragricultural riskcoverageundersection 1117. Price loss coverageis a set reference price and thepayment is made if the marketprice falls below that.“YoucandopartARCandpart

PLC, unless you choose ARC in-dividual,” Outlaw said. “But thefine print is if the producer andthe landowner can’t come to adecision, then the farm will notbe in the program for 2014, but

youareautomatically inthepriceloss program for 2015.”All decisions will need to be

made on a crop-by-crop basis foreach farm, he said.Additionally, a new area-wide

insurance program, a supple-mental coverage option, will beavailable to all producers begin-ning in 2015 and is designed toprotect them against losses thatnormallywould fall within theirinsurance deductible range.“We are working on educa-

tional materials and tools to as-sistproducerswithall thesedeci-sions,” Outlaw said.Thedecision guide, once avail-

able, will help with the manydecisions that must be made, hesaid. It will include a lot of infor-mationabout thespecificchoicesand about crop insurance.For more information about

the farm bill or to find the deci-sion aide once it is available, goto The Agricultural and FoodPolicy Center website at www.afpc.tamu.edu.

Law, from Page 4


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One ranger,many crimesSpecial lawmanstays theontrailof cattle rustlers

STEVE CAMPBELLFortWorth Star-Telegram

DUBLIN, Texas—Likea beat cop working thestreets, Wayne Goodmanismarking his turfand showing

his badge as dozens ofstock trailers un-load hundredsof cattle atthe DublinLivestockAuction.Good-

manlookslikeTexaslaw,with acowboyhat andtwinsilver beltbuckles, onefor his jeansand the otherfor hisModel 1911.45 pistol. Handcuffsare riding on the back of onebelt, and the silver badge of a specialranger for the Texas and South-western Cattle Raisers Associationis pinned on his blue shirt and em-bossed on his greenwindbreaker.

WhenGoodman, 57, walks into thesale barn, a tall cattleman eyes thatbig pistol with elk antler grips, thensteps back and swings open the door.“I let people with guns go first,” hesays.Goodman’s one of just 30 of a

unique brand of public/private “cowcops” who investigate agriculturalcrimes across Texas and Oklahoma.The special rangers employ 19th-

century skills such as tracking butalso use DNA technology to identifystock or whip out smartphones to tapinto the FortWorth-based associa-tion’s database of cattle sales.Goodman, a former North Rich-

land Hills detective whoseterritory covers

eight counties isno stranger totechnology.As a policedetective,he spe-cializedin com-putercrimesandoftenplayedthepartof “the13-year-

old girl onthe Internet”

when targetingchild predators.

Since 1877, whena group of rustler-plagued

ranchers in Grahamfirst put themon patrol, the state-certified specialrangers have investigated cases thatrun the gamut from tractor and trail-er thefts to fence cuttings (a felonyin Texas) and, of course, cattle andhorse thieves.

Rustling is as old as the Texasfrontier, and it hasn’t ridden off intothe sunset.But it has changed. Instead of

driving cattle off the lonesomerange, modern thieves with portablepens and gooseneck-style trailersaremore likely to target absentee“weekend ranchers,” whose habits

are all too predictable andwho areless likely to brand their stock, saidLarry Gray, who oversees the law en-forcement program.In the past 10 years, special rang-

ers have investigated nearly 10,000cases with amarket value of morethan $44million, according to the as-sociation’s records.During that period, 32,823 cattle

and 587 horses were stolen, as well as198 saddles and 117 trailers. Of of 365cases filed, offenders have been sen-tenced to 1,723 years of confinement.

Last year, the special rangers in-vestigated 770 cases with a value of$3.74 million— a sizable drop from2005, when they tackled 1,111 casesworth $6.45 million.A big reason for the decline is that

record beef prices havemade ranch-ersmore vigilant about protectingtheir stock, Gray told the FortWorthStar-Telegram (//bit.ly/O5yLlk).But with the cash flow of many

ranchers pinched by a three-yeardrought, the rangers are spendingmore time on complicated “white-collar” or fraud crimes.“That’s where somebodymaybe

borrowed $500,000 from a bank on a

Special Ranger Wayne Goodman works from acatwalk at theDublin LivestockAuction inDublin,Texas.Since 1877,special rangerswith theTexasand Southwestern Cattleman’sAssociation havebeen a private, but fully state certified brand oflawman charged with solving crimes involvingTexas’ cattle industry, including cattle rustling.

On the cover:Special RangerWayne Goodman wears a doublebelt with double belt buckles designed from hisbadge, as well as a Model 1911 .45 pistol.

AP Photos/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Ron Jenkins

See LAWMAN, Page 11


News

set of cattle and then sold themout of trust,” Gray said. “We’veworked a whole lot of those. It’svery time-consuming. Our spe-cial rangers just about have tobe accountants to figure thoseout.”

The drought has put a lot ofranchers in a squeeze, Good-man said.

“People that have been in thebusiness a long time have soldoff bank-owned property,” hesaid.

That situation often turnsinto a “rob Peter to pay Paulthing, when a note comes due,”Gray said.

“He gets behind on some ofhis other bills and sells a fewoff and then it happens againand they continue to do it untilthose cattle are gone,” he said.

In Texas, that’s called hinder-ing a secured creditor.

“We’re having a record num-ber of cattle involved becauseof some of these cases involving600 to 700 cattle. Our numberof cases has dropped, but we’reseeing bigger cases,” Gray said.

For more than two years,Goodman worked one North-east Texas case involving up to2,500 cows worth $2.5 million.

A father and son, Ricky andRyan Evans of Hopkins County,

face state and federal chargesof first-degree felony theft andwire fraud. They’re accused ofdefrauding 19 victims, includ-ing a sale barn, four banks andthe Farm Service Agency, adivision of the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture.

According to a federal indict-ment, Ricky Evans operated a

Lawman, from Page 10

See RANGER, Page 12


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Texas Tough + 4,646 11,488 7,618 7,917 1Sungrazer + 3,516 11,281 6,599 7,132 2Buckaroo 3,979 10,881 6,428 7,096 3Cowboy 3,426 10,054 7,301 6,927 4Ranchero Frio 3,051 10,374 7,013 6,813 5Numex Sahara 3,201 10,293 6,772 6,755 6Amarillo King 3,586 9,873 6,561 6,673 7Laredo 3,410 9,975 6,654 6,680 8Highlander 2,379 10,880 6,159 6,473 9Mohawk 3,163 9,739 6,321 6,408 10Cheyenne II 3,612 9,334 5,941 6,296 11Rancher 2,830 9,740 6,085 6,218 12

Planting Date 7/13/201110 lbs (P.L.S.) Planting Rate, LSD (0.05)

Commercially available varieties only included in these results.

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Number oneyielding seededbermudagrass inproduction trialsacross the Southin multiple years.

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Virtually diseasefree, droughttolerant and easyto establish.Stands stayproductive yearafter year.

2013 TESTIMONIALI first planted Texas Tough + Bermudagrass in the Springof 2009 for grazing and baling. I now have close to 200acres in production. My Texas Tough + has been free ofdisease with no loss of stands. My yields have remainedconsistent with no loss in production even through ourdrought of the last three years. It establishes fast withexcellent forage quality and much finer stems than coastalsprigs. In 2013, I thought I might have lost my newlyseeded Texas Tough + because of very cold early springtemperatures but, after receiving rains, the Texas Tough +came on and I had a great stand. By July it was over kneehigh and we turned the cattle in. Some of our fields werecut three times for baling. I have been very pleased withmy Texas Tough + production. It has increased my grazingtime from 90 days on native grasses to 150 days on myTexas Tough stands. I plan on planting more in 2014.

Denny Chaney - Bertram, TX

News

calf-raising program commonlyreferred to as “feed on thegain.”“Hewould take on cattle to

graze on his property and hewould sell your herd off, but notbefore he had another herd. Hewould sell off a herd and payoff some dividends,” Goodmansaid. “Theywere playing a shellgame.”The “eyes and the ears” of the

special rangers aremarket in-spectors with the cattle raisersassociation whowork at the 98cattle auctions in Texas, Good-man said.In a normal year, inspectors

will record brands and descrip-tions of 3.5 million cattle, aswell as the names, addressesand vehicle license numbers ofsellers, all of which is fed into adatabase.The $1.3-million-a-year law

enforcement program is fullyfunded by the association’s16,500members, who pay on asliding scale depending on thenumber of livestock they own.Theminimum is $100 a yearfor up to 50 head, said Gray, aformer FortWorth police officerwho has overseen the specialranger program for 32 years.

But amembership isn’t re-quired when a farm or ranch isvictimized.“The attitude of ourmember-

ship is that if they steal froma nonmember, they will stealfrom amember as well,” hesaid.Themembership amounts to

affordable and effective insur-ance, said Evelyn Dunn of Cle-burne, whose “text-beautiful”sorrel horse was stolen in Janu-ary from a sale barnwhere herhusbandworks.

Ranger, from Page 11

See CATTLE, Page 13


News“In less than 22 hours from

the time I calledMr. Goodmanand sent him pictures, I hadmyhorse back,” Dunn said. “He’svery thorough and polite andvery good at his job.”Goodman also likes the va-

riety. He’s been on the trail ofan only-in-Texas sort of crime— a counterfeiter who has beenknocking off high-dollar customspurs.“I haven’t nailed that guy

yet.”The Dublin sale is amicro-

cosm of the big-money Texascattle industry: 800 or so cowschanged hands in just hours.With the U.S. beef herd at itslowest level since the early1950s, cows are going for $1,000to $1,500 ormore.

Those pricesmake rustlingtempting, said Goodman, who isbased in Godley.Not tomention that thieves

in Texas can get market valuefor a cow because sellers don’thave to prove ownership at asale barn.“If I break into your house,

I might get 5 to 10 cents on thedollar on a TV set. Right now,you can get $1,000 ormore fora cow.When you sell it, you getfull market value. You get a penof cattle and you have a wholepocketful of money,” Goodmansaid.Themost active areas for

cattle theft are East and North-east Texas and southeasternOklahoma, Gray said.

“Absentee ownership is thereason for a lot of it. Theymightlive in Dallas and they only seethose cows on the weekend.Those thieves figure that outfast,” he said.Another problem is that small

operators in eastern Texas oftenare negligent about branding oridentifying their cattle, he said.

Exacerbating the problemin Northeast Texas is thatOklahoma has no brand inspec-tion, said special ranger ToneyHurley, whose district covers 11counties.There’s a $10,000 reward con-

nected to the theft of 60 cattlefrommultiple operators overtwo years in Hopkins County,he said.“We’ve got one victim that

is probably $40,000 in the hole.He’s been victimized threetimes,” Hurley said.The high prices are inviting

for thieves.“When you have a 3-week-

old calf that could bring $400,that’s a pretty good profit forsomebodywho can just dragthat calf under a fence. I’ve seenthem put calves in the back seatof cars,” said Hurley, a formersheriff’s deputy.Cattle thieves are seldom nov-

ices, Gray said.“You very seldom see a city

boy start stealing cattle. It’ssomebodywho has a back-

Cattle, from Page 12

See PROTECT, Page 14

Special RangerWayne Goodman keeps aneye on cattle from a catwalk at the DublinLivestock Auction in Dublin, Texas.


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3390Winbrook Dr.Memphis, TN 38116

News

ground in agriculture whoknows the system,” he said.

The same goes for specialrangers, whoweremostly farm-or ranch-reared, Gray said.Most are former police officersor sheriff’s deputies, seven areformer gamewardens, and a

retired Texas Ranger recentlyjoined the force.

Like a gamewardenwholoves fishing, Goodman lovesthe cattle industry and a jobthat often puts him in the saddleto round up strays.

“I’ve had a horsemywholelife. This was the job I alwayswanted.”

Protect, from Page 13

Special Ranger Wayne Goodman checks out a trailer in order to inspect cattle at theDublin Livestock Auction in Dublin, Texas, last month.


1-800-750-9608www.hudsonlivestock.comEmail: [email protected] Thompson RoadMiles, Texas 76861

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News

BuffaloResults of the Buffalo Livestock

Market’s March 22 sale:Head: 973Steers:150-200 lbs.,$255-$290;

200-300 lbs.,$230-$275; 300-400lbs., $225-$275; 400-500 lbs.,$200-$250; 500-600 lbs., $190-$230; 600-700 lbs., $170-$217;700-800 lbs., $160-$178.Heifers: 150-200 lbs., $225-

$285; 200-300 lbs., $200-$266;300-400 lbs., $190-$235; 400-500 lbs.,$180-$230; 500-600 lbs.,$160-$217; 600-700 lbs., $155-$187; 700-800 lbs., $140-$166.Slaughter bulls: $100-$138.Slaughter cows: $65-$122.Bred cows: $975-$1,675.Cow/calf pairs: $1,100-$2,075.

Brazos ValleyResults of the Brazos Valley Live-

stock Market’s March 25 sale:

Head: 515Steers: 200-300 lbs.,$250-$300;

300-400 lbs.,$220-$280; 400-500lbs., $195-$240; 500-600 lbs.,$180-$220; 600-700 lbs., $170-$190; 700-800 lbs., $165-$176.Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $225-

$255; 300-400 lbs., $204-$235;400-500 lbs., $185-$215; 500-600 lbs.,$174-$205; 600-700 lbs.,$155-$184.Slaughter bulls: $98-$136.Slaughter cows: $83-$120.50.Bred cows: $950-$1,400.Cow/calf pairs: $1,100-$1,375.

CaldwellResults of the Caldwell Livestock

Commission’s March 26 sale:Head: 303Steers:200-300 lbs.,$250-$300;

300-400 lbs.,$235-$295; 400-500lbs., $220-$250; 500-600 lbs.,$190-$215; 600-700 lbs., $180-

$200; 700-800 lbs., $165-$175.Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $200-

$260; 300-400 lbs., $210-$230;400-500 lbs., $200-$225; 500-600 lbs., $190-$200; 600-700lbs., $170-$190; 700-800 lbs.,$150-$165.Slaughter bulls: $90-$132.Slaughter cows: $76-$125.Stocker cows: $1,150-$1,650.Cow/calf pairs: $1,525-$1,975.

GroesbeckResults of the Groesbeck Auction

and Livestock Exchange’s March 27sale:Head: 364Steers: 300-400 lbs., $230-

$295; 400-500 lbs., $210-$270;500-600 lbs.,$180-$210; 600-700lbs., $175-$197.Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $185-

$250; 400-500 lbs., $175-$230;500-600 lbs.,$170-$215; 600-700

lbs., $170-$185.Slaughter bulls: $111-$130.Slaughter cows: $83-$122.Stocker cows: $1,150-$1,900.Cow/calf pairs: $1,300-$2,300.

JordanResults of the Jordan Cattle Auc-

tion Market Sale on March 27 sale:Head: 953

Steers: 200-300 lbs., $220-$260;300-400 lbs.,$210-$247.50;400-500 lbs., $190-$232.50; 500-600 lbs.,$180-$257; 600-700 lbs.,$170-$193; 700-800 lbs., $165-$180.Heifers: 200-300 lbs., $200-

$227.50; 300-400 lbs., $200-

LIVESTOCK MARKET REPORT

See LIVESTOCK, Page 17


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News$227.50; 400-500 lbs.,$190-$226;500-600 lbs., $180-$206; 600-700lbs., $160-$191.50; 700-800 lbs.,$145-$169.Slaughter bulls: $100-$131.50.Slaughter cows: $99-$117.Stocker cows: $1,000-$1,425.Cow/calf pairs: $1,700-$1,750.

MilanoResults of the Milano Livestock

Exchange’s March 25 sale:Head: 228Steers:300-400 lbs.,$132-$247;

400-500 lbs., $120-$219; 500-600lbs., $125-$203; 600-700 lbs.,$120-$189.Heifers: 300-400 lbs., $130-

$211; 400-500 lbs., $125-$207;500-600 lbs., $117-$201; 600-700lbs., $111-$185.Slaughter bulls: $101-$126.Slaughter cows: $75-$115.Stocker cows: $1,100-$1,600.Cow/calf pairs: $1,725-$1,900.

NavasotaResults of the Navasota Livestock

Auction Co.’s March 22 sale:Head: 254Steers:150-300 lbs.,$175-$320;

300-400 lbs., $160-$290; 400-500lbs., $150-$260; 500-600 lbs.,$140-$215; 600-700 lbs., $125-$185.Heifers: 150-300 lbs., $150-

$270; 300-400 lbs., $150-$225;400-500 lbs., $140-$225; 500-600 lbs.,$135-$200; 600-700 lbs.,$125-$180.Slaughter bulls: $85-$131.50.Slaughter cows: $75-$115.Stocker cows: $950-$1,575.Cow/calf pairs: $1,300-$1,775.

— Special to The Post

Livestock, from Page 16


Jesse Wright [email protected]

To advertise in MarketplaceContact:

ALL TYPES OF STRUCTURALSTEEL & PIPE

Steel Buildings979-589-23331-866-959-2333pioneerboys.com

Cleere Earthworks L.L.C.TEXAS A&M CLASS OF ‘02

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BRAHMAN BULLS/HEIFERS

Anthony Kubicek(979) 324-7391 cell.(979) 567-4201 ranch.Email: [email protected]

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NewsCentralTexasPecanFieldDayset forApril19 inGeorgetown

By Paul SchattenBergTexas A&MAgriLife Extension

Service

GEORGETOWN — Whetheryou have one pecan tree in thebackyard or 1,000 trees, you willbenefit from the Central TexasPecan Field Day to be held April19 atGeorgetownPecanCo., 1300CountyRoad150 in Georgetown.The day-long program begins

withregistrationat8a.m.and in-cludesspeakers, lunch,agraftingworkshop and vendors.The fee is $20 per person and

the deadline to preregister is 5p.m. April 16.Preregistration is required to

ensure each participant a lunch.The registration fee is to be paid

at the AgriLife Extension officeforWilliamsonCounty. 3151 S.E.InnerLoop,SuiteA,Georgetown.After lunch,attendeeswill tour

the Perz orchard. The final fieldday activity will be a graftingworkshop, presented by a localpecan grower.Two Texas Department of Ag-

riculture continuing educationunitswillbeavailable for licensedpesticide applicators—one inte-gratedpestmanagementandonegeneral.Formore information, contact

Fred Hall, AgriLife Extensionagent for Williamson County, atthe AgriLife Extension office at512-943-3300 or [email protected].


Comfort Inn & Suites(936) 825-9464

May 17, 2014

These cattle have all been screened to ensure youonly the best quality conmmercial cattle will offered.Cattle will be palpated and sold in uniformly sortedgroups to fit any cattleman’s needs.

On Thursday, May 8th, a complete listing ofall sale cattle will be atwww.johnsoncattlemarketing.com

Contact Tom Johnson817-291-5121

CALDWELL LIVESTOCK COMMISSION

Carl Herrmann(979)820-5349

Hwy 36 South, P.O. Box 542, Caldwell, TX 77836Sale Barn Phone: (979) 567-4119

REGULAR SALE EVERY

WEDNESDAY, 1:00 PM

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Land and Livestock Post (April Issue 2)

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