Michigan men face charges for 69 malnourished horses
JACKSON, Mich. (AP) – Police were searching for two men March 29, after finding 69 badly-malnourished horses on their debris-strewn farm.

Jackson County prosecutors have issued warrants for James Henderson Jr. and Matthew Mercier, charging each with animal neglect, a 93-day misdemeanor.

Last Wednesday, animal control officials swarmed the property in Grass Lake Township, about 65 miles west of Detroit, finding the horses – including quarter horses and thoroughbreds – standing amid piles of trash, rusted auto parts and animal feces.

The horses, several of which were visibly malnourished, are being fed a strict diet while others cleaned the grounds, said Kimberlee Luce, director of the county animal shelter.

``We’re keeping them comfortable and doing what we can for them,’’ Luce told the Jackson Citizen Patriot for a story published Thursday. ``It’s a sad, sad situation.’’

Luce said the animals cannot be moved to more comfortable surroundings until the men are arraigned. The two were still unaccounted for, as of latest reports.

``Our department checked a number of locations in our county on today’s date in an attempt to locate the two suspects. It’s our understanding that one of the suspects may have left the state on business,’’ sheriff’s Sgt. Joseph Quainton told The Associated Press.

The investigation began about two weeks ago, after police were notified that some of the horses had gotten loose and left the property. The animals were being kept behind tattered wire fences surrounding the property.


Scientist develops weapon in fight against scab
FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A federal laboratory has developed a genetic tool for researchers seeking to develop varieties of durum wheat that are resistant to scab disease.

Prem Jauhar, research geneticist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, has helped to develop a new line of germ plasm, which is a plant’s genetic material.

``I must emphasize, this isn’t meant for use by farmers in their fields,’’ said Jauhar, who works at the Northern Crop Science Laboratory. Instead, it will be used by scientists working on scab-resistant durum, a wheat that is used to make pasta.

North Dakota produces two-thirds of the country’s durum, but acres in the state have plummeted from three million in 1996 to 1.3 million last year. The increasing popularity of other crops, particularly corn and soybeans, accounts for some of the decline, but scab problems also are a reason.

Scab severity is linked to wet weather, which has been common in North Dakota over the past decade. Grain growers nationwide have lost about $3 billion to scab since 1990, according to USDA.

Existing durum varieties have little or no tolerance to scab. The new germ plasm line contains genetic material from a wild grass that is almost immune to scab.

Jauhar would not speculate on how long it will take to develop scab-resistant durum varieties that farmers can plant. ``It’s slow, tedious work,’’ he said.

Noonan, N.D., durum grower Bruce Verlinde said any progress in the fight against scab is good. ``We need it,’’ he said.

Group wants racetrack license for quarter horse facility
LONDON, Ky. (AP) – A group wants to put a quarter horse facility in south-central Kentucky and is trying to get Kentucky’s last available racetrack license, a lawyer for the group said.

Seven partners want to build a track on Highway 80 in London, at a cost of $15-$20 million, attorney Brent Caldwell told The Courier-Journal in a story on its website.

John T.L. Jones Jr., former Walmac International Farm owner, heads the group, the newspaper said. Caldwell declined to name the other partners but said they had ``a tremendous amount of experience’’ in racing.

He said the track would race for about 13 days with simulcasting the rest of the year. Its meet wouldn’t conflict with quarter horse racing at The Red Mile in Lexington, Ky., he said.

Caldwell said an application would be filed soon with the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.


Georgia county nixes egg farm
DANIELSVILLE, Ga. (AP) – County commissioners rejected a request to rezone 178 acres to allow a large egg hatchery.

Madison County commissioners in northeast Georgia made the decision last week before a crowd of more than 100 people who opposed the request. People jumped from their seats after the vote at the meeting in Danielsville and gave commissioners a standing ovation.

The owners of Gainesville-based Country Charms Eggs had asked commissioners to rezone land off State Highway 106, north of Ila. The company planned to build a dozen chicken houses that would hold 1.5 million hens that each would lay an egg a day.

The egg production plant would have employed nearly 60 people in the hen houses and in a 42,000-square-foot building where the eggs would be washed, packaged and shipped. The company said the zoning fit with other poultry houses that dot Madison County, one of the top broiler-producing counties in the United States.

But opponents said the proposed operation was more of a factory than a farm.

Neighbors said the business could bring problems such as flies, depleted underground water supplies and excessive truck traffic.

``It would definitely affect the quality of life,’’ resident Jenny Palmer said. ``What they wanted to put in is not what we would define as agriculture.’’