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<H1><A
title="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/14/269398/perry-government-in-gods-hands/
CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/14/269398/perry-government-in-gods-hands/">Rick
Perry Wants To Leave Government ‘In God’s Hands,’ Says ‘God, You’re Gonna Have
To Fix This’</A></H1>
<P class=byline> </P>
<P class=byline>How's that working out for you in Texas, Rich?</P>
<P class=byline><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 24pt"><FONT
face=Cambria>Drought puts cattle ranchers at a
crossroads<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNoSpacing><FONT size=3>Most of his cows
have gone to slaughter, and the goats have been sold off. But if rain doesn't
soon fall on the parched plateau of </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about West Texas"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/West+Texas"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>West Texas</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>,
rancher Sam Epperson may be looking for a new line of work.</FONT></P>
<UL type=disc>
<LI
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"
class=MsoNormal><A
href="http://i.usatoday.net/news/_photos/2011/09/01/Drought-forces-cattle-ranchers-to-sell-herds-JNBKATV-x-large.jpg"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-no-proof: yes; text-underline: none"><SPAN
style="mso-ignore: vglayout"><FONT size=3><IMG border=0
alt="Sam Epperson feeds hay to his horses."
src="cid:975122B00299448D9E56DE82E743DA3A@cobra" width=245 height=184
v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1"></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></A><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></LI></UL>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Sam Epperson feeds hay to his horses.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>By Mark Sobhani, for USA TODAY<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Sam Epperson feeds hay to his horses.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"I might be driving a truck," says Epperson, a fourth-generation rancher
who runs his family's 100-year-old cattle business near </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about Rock Springs"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Rock+Springs"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>Rock Springs</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>,
Texas. "I don't know what we'll do. It's that
serious."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>A blistering, record-setting drought in Texas and other parts of the
</FONT><A title="More news, photos about USA"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Places,+Geography/Countries/United+States"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>USA</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3> paired with
high temperatures and the soaring cost of hay have made it one of the toughest
seasons ever for cattle ranchers.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<UL type=disc>
<LI
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-outline-level: 3"
class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">PHOTOS:
<A
href="http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/Texas-drought-tough-on-ranchers/G2672,A10060"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue">Texas drought tough on
ranchers</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></LI></UL>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Texas has seen only 7.5 inches of rain this year through August, says
state climatologist </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about John Nielsen-Gammon"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/John+Nielsen-Gammon"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>John Nielsen-Gammon</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. The previous record low for January-to-August moisture in Texas was
10.56 inches in 1956. The last significant rainfall was in September 2010, he
says. "It's the worst one-year drought ever," Nielsen-Gammon
says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The lack of moisture means millions of acres of scorched, inedible grass
for the state's cattle, says </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about David Anderson"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/David+Anderson"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>David Anderson</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>,
a livestock economist with the </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about Texas AgriLife Extension Service"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Texas+AgriLife+Extension+Service"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>Texas AgriLife Extension
Service</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3> at Texas A&M University. This year,
Texans have lost $5.2 billion in crops and livestock to the drought, surpassing
the previous record of $4.1 billion in 2006, he
says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-no-proof: yes"><IMG
border=0
alt=http://i.usatoday.net/_common/_notches/92cdbd58-0b38-48da-bba4-de1cb3659498-texasdrought.jpg
src="cid:F4FF14B7AA144C0CAA8B72320C9DC078@cobra" width=227 height=273
v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2"></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Faced with starving cattle, ranchers must decide whether to buy enough
hay to keep the livestock alive through the drought or sell them off at local
auctions, Anderson says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Texas is the USA's largest producer of beef cows — an estimated 5 million
cattle, or 16% of the nation's supply, he says. More than 400,000 of those are
expected to go to slaughter this year, he says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"We're looking at what can be an historically large reduction in the cow
herd," Anderson says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The drought also has spread north of Texas. In Kansas, where more than
90% of the state is experiencing some level of drought, federal officials have
allowed ranchers to graze cattle in conservation land usually off-limits to
livestock. And ranchers in Oklahoma are bringing record numbers of cattle to
slaughter as the state's grazing tracts have dried, says Scott Dewald, executive
vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association. "It's going to be tough
in this business for awhile," he says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The drought is most pronounced in Texas, where three-fourths of the state
is experiencing "exceptional" drought, the severest classification by the U.S.
Drought Monitor, produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and other agencies. Texas ranchers also are bringing cows to slaughter in record
numbers.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Wayne Geistweidt, owner of Gillespie Livestock in Fredericksburg, Texas,
is selling 2,500 to 3,000 cattle a week, including young cows he would
ordinarily keep. Selling young cows brings less money than adult cows and leaves
fewer to sell in coming years, he says. The next few years will be extremely
difficult with a smaller herd and a shortage of young cows, he
says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"It's the worst I've ever seen," Geistweidt says. "No grass, no water.
It's going to put a lot of people out of business if something doesn't
change."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Under normal conditions, the Decatur Livestock Market, about an hour
outside Dallas, sells between 250 and 400 cattle a week, says Mickey
Scarborough, operations manager. On Monday, the auction house sold 1,200.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The ranchers are also bringing in 3- and 4-year-old cows to sell, a sign
of troubled times, Scarborough says. "If they're selling those now, they're
selling the last things they got," he says.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Some are quitting the business altogether. A recent survey of its members
by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association found that respondents
had sold off 40% of their cattle inventory, compared with 5% to 10% on a normal
year, says Joe Parker, association president. Also, 10% said they sold off all
their cattle and left the industry.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The plight of Texas ranchers has prompted hay donation drives in states
such as Louisiana and Iowa. Duncan Freche, 54, organized other worshipers at his
church in Hammond, La., and began shipping hay to Texas ranchers last month. The
group so far has donated 500 large bales of hay — about 5,000
pounds.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"It's terrible what's happening out there," says Freche, a retired state
worker who owns 15 cows. "I can't imagine what it's
like."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Little relief is on the horizon. The drought is a result of La Niña, a
weather phenomenon that makes surface temperatures in the eastern </FONT><A
title="More news, photos about Pacific Ocean"
href="http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Places,+Geography/Bodies+of+water/Pacific+Ocean"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue"><FONT size=3>Pacific Ocean</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT size=3>
colder than usual and pushes tropical thunderstorms east past Texas,
Nielsen-Gammon says. September is one of Texas' wettest months and some rain is
possible, he says. But it will take several large rainstorms to break the
drought.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>As the drought shriveled the acres of sideoats grama and bluestem grass
on his property, Epperson, 57, was forced to sell off all but 90 of his 400 cows
and 800 of his 3,000 goats.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>If rain doesn't come by mid-September, Epperson says, he may have to sell
off his remaining cows.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>"We're just trying to figure out what to do," he says. "You wonder how in
the world this is all going to work out."<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNoSpacing><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=byline> </P></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>__________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Wayne A. Fox<BR><A
href="mailto:wayne.a.fox@gmail.com">wayne.a.fox@gmail.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>