DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY

Ag Official Discusses Laney

A top Agriculture Department official visited New Mexico on Monday to meet with livestock industry leaders in hopes of toning down the rhetoric sparked by the federal roundup of rancher Kit Laney's cattle.

Laney and his ex-wife, Sherry Farr, were grazing cattle on the Diamond Bar allotment of the Gila National Forest without a permit. Last month, the Forest Service removed more than 400 head of their cattle for sale at auction.

Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said he met with the livestock industry in hopes of easing conflicts and persuading ranchers that "we're not a bunch of lying scoundrels and horse thieves."

"The Laney situation is unfortunate because it is defining a broader conflict in a very unhelpful way," Rey said. "I'm most concerned it not become the defining moment for the livestock industry or the Forest Service or the other forest users in New Mexico."

Caren Cowan, executive secretary of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, called Rey's visit "a sign of progress."