Annus Horribilis
Drought Tolerant Cattle
The Year of the Mask
By Stephen L. Wilmeth
The
question of the day should be why on earth is congress appropriating $6.9
million dollars of debt funding to develop smart toilets when they are already readily
identifiable without capturing an image of their orifices.
If those characters insist on
spending money they don’t have, it would seem to be much more environmentally
appropriate to sink that kind of money into developing more drought tolerant
cattle. To the uninformed, that would be an effort to extend the efficiency of
grass conversion on our drought ravaged range lands. Remember, this is the crew
that carry the red banner that all things natural are being elevated into
Valhalla wunderland.
To develop a layered toilet of
camera gimmicks to map the frontier fringes of their human anoderm, though, is
space science into another dimension. What on earth are they thinking? Some
techie advertiser must have gotten to somebody’s campaign manager with the
intention of mapping anal scans in order to correlate various prevailing
features with buying preferences.
They must need to know which
direction sphincter emissions will prevail. Those left bound would be greeted
with various gifts and discounts while the righties would be ostracized and
frowned upon.
In a time that everything is in
disarray, lives upside down, and the Dick Hays’ book of poems is even further politically
unacceptable, insight into the observations of his favored character, Juan, offers
the only hint of real truth.
The news … she ain’t good!
Annus Horribilis
Fresno
County’s favorite Nordic American classicist, Vic Hanson, has penned yet
another literary bullseye in his latest article referencing 2020 as our Annus
Horribilis or the horrible year.
Dr.
Hanson’s dry wit and delivery has become the siren voice out of the Thompson
seedless vineyards and the Central Valley to the nation. This latest article
maps the events of 2020 by using 1968 as a benchmark. The article could well
have been entitled The Year of the Mask, but Annus Horribilis is more
scientifically appropriate. In snippets, he revealed that the COVID19 debacle
would have best served the nation by addressing the highest at-risk category,
those Americans over 65 with comorbidity conditions.
The
destruction of 30-60% of small businesses was not warranted.
Then, there
was the boom to bust economy. From first to near last the nation’s economy
cratered. From sunlight to darkness, we watched the events unfold.
The burning
of cities was merely a recapitulation of 1968. So, too, was the tolerance of
ignoring private property destruction as opposed to the voracity of the
condemnation toward those outraged by the allowances to let it continue.
Lockdowns,
cancellations, protests, racial hatred and bias, and polarizing rhetoric were the
features. Death, destruction, and dissension were the bylines. Then, there was
the growing shadow of China and the likelihood that perhaps something more than
accident was the realization.
The
cumulative impact was immense. The rancor, the hatred, and the manipulation of
the election spread across the land. The latter is still a lingering pall
laying across the winter valley we find ourselves.
Hanson
seeks and describes a silver lining, though. He suggests that which didn’t
destroy us will make us better. He also points to a patch of blue sky on the
horizon in the developments in the Middle East.
Maybe he is
right. Maybe he is wrong.
Only time will reveal whether his
title should have actually been plural, or … Anni Mirabiles.
The Year of the Mask
The new progressive party, the mob
that shapes the continuing narrative, has a real problem out here in the
hinterlands. For starters, we don’t think masks are a becoming feature of our
permanent attire.
Not only do they have no idea what
drought tolerant cattle can actually be, they don’t like us or at least that is
the message we receive constantly. That condition, as a theme going forward,
should be some kind of high alert to them.
The abstract they have created in
our midst is alarming. In words and actions, they hate our skin color, they
hate members of the Jewish faith, they despise members of our Christian faith,
they advocate the redefining of all standards, they constantly dismiss
selective abuses, and they hate the United States in its present form.
To be a party of the people, those
are huge obstacles to sell in order to remain inclusive and hospitable to an
entire segment of the production enclave of American citizenry. It is
impossible to preach unity with that image and that constant refrain.
Drought Tolerant Cattle
So, back to drought tolerant cattle
because something has to make sense in all this new and contrived world order.
Aside from consistent and reliable
calving ease on western rangelands, drought tolerance is perhaps a most
important feature to nearby genetic selections. If there is a standard that
deserves erasing, it starts with dethroning the past accepted conversion of dry
matter to weight gains of 8:1.
Range managers must realize what
the consequences are of reducing feed intake 40% and getting the same rates of
gain. That is what would happen by identifying genetic markers that make it
possible to create cattle that could convert at 5.7:1. The outcome from both an
environmental and economic perspective is huge.
Creating increasingly drought
tolerant cattle is stewardship of the highest order.
In our approach to bull selection,
three primary factors are being revealed. Low birthweight with calving ease is
now the standard feature. The potential to capture more weight gain from
calving to weaning (than from weaning to harvest) is mapped, and the march
toward more drought tolerance across the herd is the emerging guidepost.
In arid grasslands where drought is not just occasional, but ongoing, the third factor may be the most important. It is achievable. If the rest of the world would just allow such free and independent creation, great things can happen.
Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Happy New Year"
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