Page 12 - MWC 8-6-20s

CALIFORNIA • Recology The Midwest Cattleman · August 6, 2020 · P12
continued from page 10 • Republic Services, Inc. STRATEGIC
municipal hauling companies • Resource Recovery Coali- continued from page 7 feeders and without retaining
tion of California; and,
to other states. Moreover, there • South Bayside Waste Man- heifers. These have an em-
are concerns that composted agement Authority (Re- progeny a sire has, the more phasis on birth and weaning
materials created by some of Think Waste) data going into his EPDs for weights along with dollar in-
these companies contain items Conversely, there is a lengthy enhanced accuracy. As genom- dexes.
strictly forbidden by law. and diverse list in opposition to ics gains more traction in the The “balanced trait”
Under the bill, producers of the bill, including the Almond beef industry, genomically en- bulls are those who produce
these byproducts would need to Alliance of California, Associa- hanced EPDs (GE-EPDs) are well-rounded calves with both
pay franchise waste haulers to tion of California Egg Farmers, even more accurate. growth and maternal charac-
remove these byproducts, rath- California Advanced Biofuels, Dollar indexes are a way teristics.
er than have someone pay to the California Grain and Feed of condensing multiple EPDs For operations with a focus
take them. Association, Western United and their meanings into an on reliable cows with strong
equation and giving an esti-
Existing Law Dairymen, several dairies and mate of how much more eco- maternal instincts, they may
want to look at “low main-
The Integrated Waste Man- 19 individuals. nomically an animal is worth tenance” sires who produce
agement Act demands Califor- "We were trying to stay in specific areas. It allows pro- smaller daughters that are
nia divert 75 percent of its solid neutral on this up to a couple ducers to consider offspring in capable of growth and milk.
waste from landfills, effective weeks ago," Raudabaugh said. terms of net profit. These animals are usually
this year. Furthermore, climate All that changed as it became Right now, there are sev- smaller framed and may have
change legislation passed in clear that the bill's author, Ian eral indexes to choose from to live in environments with
2006 demands that the state Calderon, who represents sub- that are pre-ordained. How- limited labor and resources.
reduce its greenhouse gas urban neighborhoods east of ever, word has it there is a The “high productivity” sires
emissions. Included in this are Los Angeles, was uninterested research project in the works are those designed to increase
ideas to regulate how organ- in working with a coalition of at the University of Nebras- calf productivity, typically
ic byproducts are handled be- agricultural interests, includ- ka-Lincoln in Collaboration in the top third of the breed
cause of their implications with ing Western United, Western with Kansas State Univer- for traits including growth
greenhouse gasses. Growers Association and the sity, the U.S. Meat Animal and maternal characteristics.
The state's waste diversion California Farm Bureau Feder- Research Center and Thera
goals can be done through ation. Solutions, LLC to create a tool Feeder calves born from these
sires grow and maintain well
source reduction, recycling, and Going backwards that would allow producers to and daughters have enough
composting. Current law reg- As a lobbyist well-informed develop their own index based maternal strength to join the
ulates composting by practice on agricultural issues and state on their herds specific needs. herd.
and source material. Certain environmental mandates such Don’t forget to look at the Finally, there are bulls who
products cannot be composted as recycling and greenhouse EPD percentile rank, which fit into the “carcass merit” cat-
and used on crops because of gas emission, Brown sees Cal- is an easy way to see where a egory and are ideal for produc-
food safety concerns. ifornia moving backwards from particular sire ranks in rela- ers planning on retained own-

Confusion its stated goals of reducing tion to the rest of his breed for ership. These are the power
There appears to be some greenhouse gas emissions and specific traits. The closer to 1% bulls for all traits of economic
confusion surrounding how the limiting solid waste hauled to the more positive for said trait. and grading performance. This
proposal could impact large landfills. Be familiar with the breed as- is similar to the terminal sire,
hulling and shelling operations Brown said the Environ- sociations you work with and but instead puts more focus on
that recycle the byproducts mental Protection Agency de- what the benchmarks are. the traits at the packing house
from almond, pistachio, and termined that feeding organic Breed According to Need as opposed to ones tied to feed-
walnut processing. byproducts to livestock is the Once you know what you’re ing and or average daily gain.
Roger Isom, president of the highest and best means to re- looking for in terms of a sire, Small scale producers who
California-based Western Ag cycle these byproducts. He says the next step is getting him fill their own niches can find
Processors Association, says he state officials are not willing to the right cows to service. Re- themselves in especially chal-
is assured the bill will not af- discuss this hierarchy of best- member, your dream bull may lenging positions. Selecting
fect his member tree nut pro- use practices of agricultural simply not work for all your for a well-balanced herd sire
cessors. products created by the EPA animals. Breeding by group, or is perhaps among the most
Anja Raudabaugh, president under the Obama Administra- in some cases by the individu- challenging, because statis-
of Western United Dairymen in tion, because it clouds the fran- al, is ideal. tically and factually there
Modesto, Calif., believes the op- chise agreements these waste Dr. Darrh Bullock of the are negative correlations and
posite is true and the bill will haulers have with municipali- University of Kentucky and trade-offs between things like
impact her members' ability to ties. Dr. Megan Rolf of Oklahoma carcass quality and perfor-
buy hulls for feed and shells for Still, others are concerned State University put herd mance traits or calving ease
bedding materials. If nothing that the move will politically sires into six broad categories and weaning weight.
else, it will start with bakery force these waste haulers with in an extension fact sheet. Artificial insemination is a
and citrus processing byprod- no experience in or infrastruc- These include “heifer ac- powerful tool in this area and
ucts, something Konyn believes ture to handle organic byprod- ceptable” bulls with high calv- can allow you to use multiple
is also the case, and expand to ucts to covertly comingle prod- ing ease. Of course, they will sires for many groups. Like-
hullers and shellers as the solid ucts with compost or simply not be exceptional for weaning wise, separating your herd
waste lobby successfully works divert it to landfills in direct weight, but they will increase according to different bulls for
to protect its monopoly. opposition to state mandates. the likelihood of young and at- live cover is also an option as
Current proponents of the Farmprogress.com risk dams having a safe calv- well.
legislation include: ing. Americancattleman.com
• The California Waste & The “terminal” sires refer
Recycling Association to groups where the focus is
• Californians Against Waste on offspring created as strictly