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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

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Headline		Date	Outlet
	Hay crisis makes some farmers bail out: Summer drought taking toll on cattle industry	02/20/2007	Birmingham News
	Auburn grad gets Hollywood spotlight with movie Breach	02/19/2007	Gadsden Times, The


Hay crisis makes some farmers bail out: Summer drought taking toll on cattle industry 02/20/2007 Birmingham News Stan Diel		Return to Top
Cindy McCall, a professor in AU's animal science department is a source for this story. A hay shortage caused by last summer's drought is prompting Alabama farmers and ranchers to sell off cattle they can't feed and likely will drive some farmers out of business, agriculture experts said Monday. The shortage also is hurting those who raise horses as a business or for pleasure, because hay is an important part of horse diets. Henry Dorough, Alabama cooperative extension agent for eastern Alabama, said farmers typically cut a field of hay four or five times a year, and save the hay to feed cattle or horses over the winter. But last summer most farmers were able to cut hay fields only once. The drought also has meant that pastures of grass typically used for grazing are dry, so farmers had to use what little hay they had even earlier than usual. "There just isn't any hay out there," said Dorough. Many who raise cattle have had to sell some of their animals, causing a dramatic drop in prices. A year ago calves brought from $1.30 to $1.50 a pound. Today they bring about $1 a pound, Dorough said. "This drought is one of the worst we've ever had," he said. "Some are going to go out of business over it. ... Most are going to take a loss." Cattle are big business in Alabama. The Alabama Cattlemen's Association estimates that there are 1.3 million cows in the state - each worth an average of $750 - and that $469 million a year is made from their sale. The cattle industry as a whole in the state is valued at about $2 billion a year, according to the association. The state's hay crop last year was valued at $117 million. Hay is an important part of cow and horse diets, providing nutrients and roughage they can't get elsewhere. Cindy McCall, a professor in the animal sciences department at Auburn University and an equine specialist for the state extension service, said horses need the roughage they get from hay to help them maintain good bacteria, which break down food and give them energy. The fiber horses get from hay also keeps their digestive tracts working properly, preventing colic. Alternative feeds, made from plants such as alfalfa, just aren't as effective, McCall said. "It's a real problem," she said. Horses also are a fairly large industry in the state. According to the Alabama Horse Council, there are nearly 100,000 horses in Alabama, and the industry directly produces $573 million in goods and services annually. Ron Sparks, Alabama commissioner of agriculture and industries, last month warned that the cattle industry was in trouble and said the state had no luck in trying to find hay anywhere in the South. Agriculture and industries officials could not be reached for comment Monday, a state holiday. Farmers and extension service agents said the hay shortage is hitting both large producers and hobby farms hard. Randall Pridmore, an Alabama Power Co. employee who has 13 cattle on his farm near Corner, on the Walker County-Jefferson County line, said he can't find hay at any price. Pridmore has been feeding soybean hulls to his Brangus cattle - they're a combination of Angus and Brahman. The cattle are losing weight and aren't getting nutrients that they can get from hay, he said. "If I can't find any hay this week, I'll have to start selling," he said.
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Auburn grad gets Hollywood spotlight with movie Breach 02/19/2007 Gadsden Times, The Associated Press		Return to Top
This story originally appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser, was picked up by AP and has appeared in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Sarasota Herald Tribune and the Decatur Daily and has been broadcast by WAFF-TV, WPMI-TV, WFXT-TV (Boston), KSAZ-TV (Ariz.), KTVI-TV (St. Louis), KDVR-TV (Denver) and WTTG-TV (Washington, D.C.). Auburn University alumnus Eric O'Neill went from being working with agents to needing one. After graduating with a dual major in psychology and political science in 1995, O'Neill joined the FBI, where he was a key player in the 2001 capture of bureau mole Robert Hanssen, who was selling U.S. secrets to Soviet and Russian intelligence organizations. His story can now be seen in theatres nationwide in the movie Breach, which opened last weekend and stars Ryan Phillippe as O'Neill. People ask me what it's like and I tell them, 'get a movie made about yourself,' O'Neill joked during a recent screening in Auburn. It's the only way you can get an idea. The then 22-year-old was considered too young to be hired as a special agent with the FBI, but he did get a spot with a special surveillance group known as the G's, which is tasked with gathering information on suspected spies and terrorists in the U.S. After a yearlong training period, he was given the codename Werewolf and was assigned to investigate Hanssen, a 25-year veteran of the FBI who was suspected of being a mole for both Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies. Academy Award-winner Chris Cooper plays the role of Hanssen, who joined the FBI in 1976. O'Neill found that over the next 20 years, Hanssen had compromised the U.S. government's contingency plans for nuclear war, revealed the existence of a spy tunnel built under the Russian embassy and betrayed three Russian agents recruited by the United States. His work led to Hanssen's arrest in 2001. Shortly after Hanssen's conviction, O'Neill finished law school, left the FBI and started trying to sell his adventures to publishers and movie producers. He finally got an offer from Universal Pictures. O'Neill was made the technical consultant and co-producer of the film and worked extensively with Phillippe and Cooper. I had a lot of time to work with him (Phillippe) on interpretations, and we became friends, O'Neill said. It was important to establish a rapport, and Ryan made it easy. He's currently a lawyer in Washington, D.C., with an international law firm, but he's also making sure Breach is not his last foray into the entertainment industry. O'Neill recently sold the rights to CW Network for a TV show that chronicles what he did in the FBI before the Hanssen case. --- Information from Montgomery Advertiser, http //www.montgomeryadvertiser.com>http //www.montgomeryadvertiser.com
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