Presented by

 

 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Story:

Opposition to State Question 777 Organizes Under the Banner of the Oklahoma Stewardship Council- Led by Drew Edmondson  

 

Less than a year out before the vote on State Question 777- formal opposition has now surfaced and has articulated their reasons for voting against the measure.

The groups against 777 have come together as the Oklahoma Stewardship Council, which has been formed as 501(c) (4) and is chaired by former Attorney General, Democrat Drew Edmondson. Edmondson was the face and voice at a news conference called by the Council on Tuesday afternoon in the Blue Room at the State Capitol.

Several themes were sounded by Edmondson and three other speakers who talked with a handful of reporters Tuesday afternoon. Those themes included the idea that State Question 777, if passed will harm small family farmers and help protect larger corporations involved in farming in the state. Claims were also made that State Question 777 would "give constitutional protection to horse slaughter and farm animal cruelty."

The former AG also called the phrase in the Amendment "compelling state interest" a very dangerous concept to give any group, as the ability to achieve that standard in any bill proposed by and passed through the state legislature as "almost impossible" to become reality.

We did two interviews after the official news conference- one with former AG Edmondson and the other with William Tabbernee, the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches.

You can read more and hear our conversation with Edmondson by clicking here. Included in our visit with Edmondson was his opinion that each side may end up spending north of two million dollars to educate the voters on their side of the issue.

To listen to our conversation with Tabbernee, click or tap here.  He told us that an Impact Committee studied the issue and decided to oppose SQ777.  I have heard from several folks that are members of some of the denominations that have membership with the Conference- and this position may be revisited before next November if those parishioners have their way.

At the News Conference- they provided a letter from the Conference detailing their opposition- and it has the logos of the church groups a part of their organization- click here to see that letter.

We now have websites on both side of this state question- you can do more research of what both sides are saying- click here for the Vote No website- Click here for the Right to Farm website.

 

E. Coli Very Much on the Minds of Consumers According to the November FooDS Survey from OSU

 

Dr. Jayson Lusk of the Ag Economics Department at Oklahoma State University is the lead on the Food Demand Survey that is now in it's third year. Dr. Lusk has just released the November edition of the Survey- and offers an overview of the results on his blog- here are his comments from the latest research results:


"The November 2015 edition of the Food Demand Survey (FooDS) is now out.


"A few highlights from the tracking portion of the survey:

    
"After a dip last month, Willingness To Pays for all products are back up in November.
    

"There was a BIG increase in awareness of E. Coli in the news in the past two weeks, perhaps due to the discussion surrounding the Chipotle.
    

"Despite the increase in awareness of E. Coli in the news, there was not a big change in concern about the issue.
    

"Consumers expect higher meat prices and expect to consume less meat in the next two weeks as compared to October.

 

 

To read more about the November report-  including details from the Ad Hoc questions that focused on E.Coli, click here.

Ag Groups Urge Congress to Move Now on Tax Extenders To Help End of Year Business Planning

 

A whole host of agriculture groups- from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association to the American Farm Bureau and even the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association- have sent a letter to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to take up legislation addressing expired tax extenders. 


NCBA President Philip Ellis of Chugwater, Wyo., said it is critical to address expired tax provisions for long-term business planning.


"Farmers and ranchers like myself rely on a stable and predictable tax code in order to plan purchases, make investments, and grow their businesses," said Ellis. "Each year producers make significant financial determinations, and Congress' failure to act on permanent tax reform has placed greater reliance on extender legislation over the past few years."


The letter specifically focuses on Section 179 and bonus depreciation, which allows producers to write off a greater part of capital expenditures in the year that purchases were made rather than depreciate them over time. This provides an incentive for farmers and ranchers to invest in their businesses and offers the benefit of reducing the record-keeping burden associated with depreciation. 


I talked with Colin Woodall of the NCBA about the Tax Extender issue last week in Kansas City at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention- click or tap here to hear Colin's analysis of this issue.

American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman Winding Things Down After 16 Years

 

The head of the nation's largest general farm organization will be stepping down in 2016. American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman has served at the helm of the group for the past 16 years. In January, he will not seek reelection at the American Farm Bureau annual convention in Orlando, Florida. Stallman said it has been fantastic to serve as President of this organization, its members from across the country, along with working with elected and appointed leaders.


"It's been an incredible experience," Stallman said. "I think we've done some good things. The organization is positioned well to move forward. We have leaders willing to step up and take this position. So I think the time is right to step down and let somebody else take the reins."


American Farm Bureau has not made its position known on the

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. The text of the free trade agreement was released by the White House earlier this month. Stallman said the organization has to go through an internal process first, as determined by organization's policy. He said they will review the text and do an analysis on the impact on American agriculture by commodity. He expects the outcome will be positive, but American Farm Bureau won't take an official position until the analysis is complete and voted on by the board of directors. That will take approximately three weeks.

 

I caught up with Stallman at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City, Missouri last week.  We discussed a whole host of issues- ranging from the TPP agreement to the Clean Water Rule- as well as Stallman's retirement. Our full conversation can be listened to by clicking or tapping here.

Pork Industry Message For Antibiotic Awareness Week: Healthy Animals Equals Safe Food

 

As part of World Antibiotics Awareness Week, the National Pork Producers Council is highlighting U.S. pork producers' three-decade commitment to responsible and necessary use of animal health products to keep their animals healthy and to produce safe food. Among those efforts, the U.S. pork industry:


1980s

·         Developed in 1989 the Pork Quality Assurance program to address concerns over antibiotic residues. Today, 99.9 percent of pork tested meets FDA residue standards.


1990s

·         Established Judicious Use of Antibiotics standards for pork producers to follow.

·         Supported establishment in 1996 of the federal National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System to track antibiotic resistance in foodborne bacteria from humans, retail meats and food animals. The industry continues to lobby Congress for federal funding for the program.


Click here to read more about changes pork producers have made since the year 2000.

Want to Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your Inbox Daily?

After a Rough and Volatile 2015, Rabobank's Don Close Predicts Markets Will Calm Down in 2016

 

Beef carcasses have been getting progressively heavier over the past several years. Rabobank Protein Analyst Don Close is seeing some pushback in 2015 over these heavy carcasses. It's gotten to the point where a lot of buyers don't want them. Close said the biggest challenge comes with handling the middle meats.


"When you get that steak item that's either bigger than the plate or you have to cut it thin enough to keep your serving ounces to a manageable level, that's where it's really tough," Close said. "The remainder of the carcass we can pretty well cut it up to whatever size is desired."


I caught up with Close at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in Kansas City, Missouri last week.Today's Beef Buzz is part two of a three part conversation that we had with the Rabobank analyst.  Click or tap here to listen to this Beef Buzz segment.

It's Big Iron Wednesday

 

 

 

 

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows , P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures, CROPLAN by Winfield, Stillwater Milling Company, Farm Assure,  Pioneer Cellular, National Livestock Credit Corporation and the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- at NO Charge!

 

 

 

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.  

 

 Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com  

 

 

God Bless! You can reach us at the following:  

 

 

 

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is Proud to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Ron Hays Daily Farm and Ranch News Email