Thursday, July 21, 2011

Battle brewing between Valley farmers and ranchers

An Old West battle is brewing in the far west Valley between farmers and ranchers. “They were back again this morning,” said farmer Brandon Shelton. He’s upset that dozens of cattle come to his property about everyday, eat the crops and cost him thousands of dollars. “With open range rules you have to fence the animals out not the other way around,” says Shelton who is referencing the ways of the Old West where ranchers were allowed to let their cattle graze without boundaries. Several dead cows can be seen on his property. Shelton says they have either overeaten on alfalfa -- that can cause a buildup of gas -- or been hit by cars. But since the City of Goodyear annexed the land in 2007 open range rules were supposed to go away and restrict animals from going onto to others property. The problem is, the current city ordinances don’t include cows. “It only goes for dogs and potbellied pigs,” said Goodyear City Planner Joe Schmitz. He says the city is concerned about the 10 car-hitting-cow accidents in the past 10 months...more

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