News Update
March 28, 2014
House Passes Legislation
to Provide Public Input in
National Monument Designations
On March 26, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1459, Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments (EPIC) Act with a vote of 222-201. The Public Lands Council (PLC) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) applaud this action to give local governments, ranchers and other stakeholders a voice in the national monument designation process.
Introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), this bill would prevent the president from making vast, unilateral special land designations without thorough public review of the potential environmental, social and economic impacts.
Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, as interpreted today, the president has the unfettered authority to make “national monument” designations. The EPIC Act would amend the Antiquities Act to require potential monument designations of 5,000 acres or more are given full review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA reviews include in-depth analysis of the impacts of a proposed action, as well as the opportunity for local government and public involvement in the decision-making process.
While intended to protect small, defined areas that are historically or scientifically unique and important, abuse of the Antiquities Act by presidents has led to vast monument designations that are outside the original intent of the law. Large monument designations have had devastating impacts on local economies and culture due to the restrictions they place on productive uses of the land. Applying NEPA to large proposed designations would ensure that the public was made aware of those impacts and give the opportunity for input.
For more information, please view the full release here.
MorganMyers Launches Digital Food IQ Quiz
in Support of National Ag Day
For more than 30 years, MorganMyers has built a world-class reputation for building, protecting and promoting brands that help feed the world. The agency’s commitment to working with outstanding food and agriculture companies has given it the chance to work with some great brands through the years.
So, naturally, the agency wanted to show solidarity with, and raise awareness for, the agriculture industry by doing something special on National Agriculture Day, which took place Tuesday, March 25. To celebrate, MorganMyers has launched a digital Food IQ Quiz (www.morganmyers.com/blog/food-iq-quiz/) that is designed to raise awareness of some interesting information surrounding food and the agriculture industry.
“This has been a passion project for the team at MM,” said Tim Oliver, MorganMyers president. “Even though our staff is made up of some of the savviest people in agri-marketing, we all learn new and surprising things every day and we wanted to share some of the most interesting things with others.”
National Agriculture Day is a time when producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless others across America gather to recognize and celebrate the many good things that American agriculture provides and accomplishes. National Ag Day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA). ACA is a nonprofit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber community, dedicating its efforts to increasing the public’s awareness of agriculture’s role in modern society.
Ancient African Cattle First Domesticated
in Middle East, MU Study Reveals
Geneticists and anthropologists previously suspected that ancient Africans domesticated cattle native to the African continent nearly 10,000 years ago. Now, a team of University of Missouri (MU) researchers has completed the genetic history of 134 cattle breeds from around the world. In the process of completing this history, they found that ancient domesticated African cattle originated in the “Fertile Crescent,” a region that covered modern day Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Israel.
Lead researcher Jared Decker, an assistant professor of animal science in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, says the genetics of these African cattle breeds are similar to those of cattle first domesticated in the Middle East nearly 10,000 years ago, proving that those cattle were brought to Africa as farmers migrated south. Those cattle then interbred with wild cattle, or aurochs, which were native to the region, and changed their genetic makeup enough to confuse geneticists.
In their study published in PLOS Genetics, Decker and a team of international researchers compared the similarities and differences among the genetics of many different cattle breeds to determine how the breeds are related. Their research found mixing of native cattle in Indonesia with imports from India, European and African cattle in Italy and Spain, and European and Asian cattle in Korea and Japan.
The MU researchers also determined that unique American cattle breeds, such as Texas longhorns, are the result of breeding between Spanish cattle, transported from Europe by explorers in the 16th century, and breeds of Zebu or Brahman cattle from India imported into the United States from Brazil in the late 1800s. Decker says these discoveries help advance genetics and uncover important information about human history.
For more information, please view the full release here.
University of Nevada, Reno Launches
Living With Drought Website and Education
With the 2014 drought looming, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension has partnered with other agencies to help Nevadans prepare for and cope with the drought. On March 28, Cooperative Extension launched its Living With Drought website, a one-stop shop where homeowners, gardeners, farmers, ranchers, natural resource managers and others can find information to help them respond to their various drought-related challenges. The website is at www.unce.unr.edu/programs/sites/drought/.
“We want to be proactive,” Mark Walker, dean of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, said. “We know that our offices in every county are going to be getting questions — everything from how to maintain lawns, to how to irrigate crops most efficiently during the drought. So, we have compiled information and links for various groups, and tried to make it easy for them to find.”
Cooperative Extension chose to take the lead in helping Nevadans cope with the drought because many of its six educational program areas, including agriculture, horticulture, natural resources and community development, will be directly affected by the drought.
“We saw there was information and websites that contain information about the current drought conditions, and much information about how to respond to drought conditions. But, the information is spread among a wide range of sources, which makes it difficult for Nevadans to know how to answer very specific questions,” Walker said. “We have a lot of that expertise in Extension. And, what we don’t have, many of our colleagues on campus and our other partners have. It was logical for us to develop a website that makes a wide range of resources available in one spot. It’s what Extension does; we respond to community needs.”
For more information, please view the full release here.
Denton County, Texas, Pond Workshop Scheduled for April 17
Aquatic weeds can choke a pond of oxygen and discourage recreation. Their control will be discussed at the annual pond workshop April 17 in Aubrey. Billy Higginbotham, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife and fisheries specialist in Overton, Texas, will be one of the speakers.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Denton County and the Denton County AgriLife Extension agriculture committee will host its annual pond workshop from 4:30-9 p.m. April 17 at the Rancho De La Roca, 2459 Blackjack Road West in Aubrey.
“In Denton County we have many stock tanks or ponds that landowners and livestock producers rely on as water sources and for recreation,” said Brandon Boughen, AgriLife Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources in Denton County. “Understanding the aquatic ecosystem allows us to understand why oxygen depletion happens in ponds, and what products we can use to get rid of algae growth and weeds.”
Registration will be $15 and will include a fried catfish meal and educational materials, Boughen said. Registration will start at 4:30, and is payable at the door, but an RSVP to Pamela Hill at 940-349-2894 is required by April 14. Only cash or checks will be accepted. Checks should be made payable to “Ag Demo Fund.”
Topics and speakers will include: water quality measures, Higginbotham; weed control measures, Will Moseley, wildlife and fisheries consultant with the Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Okla.; stocking rates, Bob Lusk, owner of Texoma Hatchery and editor of Pond Boss magazine; and pond construction, Mike Otto, owner of Otto’s Dirt Service, Lindsey.
For more information, please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
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