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USDA Announces Enrollment Period for Safety Net Coverage in 2016 

 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini announced that producers who chose coverage from the safety net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill, known as the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, can begin visiting FSA county offices starting TODAY, to sign contracts to enroll in coverage for 2016. The enrollment period will continue until Aug. 1, 2016.


"The choice between ARC and PLC is completed and remains in effect through 2018, but producers must still enroll their farm by signing a contract each year to receive coverage," said Dolcini.


Producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment to enroll. If a farm is not enrolled during the 2016 enrollment period, producers on that farm will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC programs should crop prices or farm revenues fall below the historical price or revenue benchmarks established by the program.


The two programs were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and offer a safety net to agricultural producers when there is a substantial drop in prices or revenues for covered commodities. Covered commodities include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice (which includes short grain and sweet rice), safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity. For more details regarding these programs, go to www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc.


For more information, producers are encouraged to visit their local FSA office. To find a local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.


The ARC and PLC programs were made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill.  Click or tap here to read more.

Wheat Growers Commend Congress for Reversing Cuts to Crop Insurance

 

The House and Senate finalized legislation at the end of this past week reversing cuts to crop insurance that were made in the recent budget deal. The legislation-included as part of the highway bill-nullified what would have been a $3 billion cut to crop insurance over ten years. National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President, Brett Blankenship, a wheat grower from Washtucna, Wash., issued the following statement in response to the legislation.


"This vote was a huge victory for our agricultural producers and consumers everywhere. Congress made a five-year commitment to our producers when it passed the Farm Bill last year, and yesterday's votes in the House and Senate confirmed that commitment. Wheat farmers across the country rely on crop insurance to help offset the risks of things that are beyond our control such as drought, severe weather events and market prices depressed by a strong U.S. dollar. The draconian cuts included as part of the budget agreement, which were reversed last night, would have increased the cost of delivering the program, reduced options for producers, and ultimately made premiums more expensive. We sincerely appreciate the corrective action taken by Congress, as do the thousands of farm families who grow wheat across our country."

Beef Checkoff Works to Develop New Cuts and Make Beef Quick and Easy for Today's Consumer

 

One of the reasons the dollar per head beef checkoff has proven to be so valuable to cattle producers is the research that resulted in a couple of waves of value-added cuts. Beef Checkoff Executive Chef Dave Zino said these value cuts have been a real win-win for the consumer and the cattle industry. In working for the beef checkoff for the past 15 years, he has seen the Flat Iron Steak go from being unknown to being menued literally from coast to coast.

The beef checkoff also has the Beef Alternative Merchandising (BAM) program to stimulate beef sales. In recent months, this has helped restaurants handle larger carcasses and maximize profitability. Thicker cut steaks cook better and the thinner a steak is cut, Zino said the less steak integrity it has. By cutting a strip loin length wise, then into smaller, thicker portions, he said the consumer gets a better eating experience and a more desirable portion size.


The beef checkoff has also introduced a whole lineup of videos to help consumers cook beef. The Millennial generation (those born between 1980 and 2000) have become a key target audience, because they account for about a fourth of the U.S. population and about a third of all adults. Zino said the videos show how easy it is to cook beef. The website  beefitswhatsfordinner.com offers several resources, such as showing in three simple steps how to cook beef. This includes grilling, broiling, pan frying, stewing, stir-frying and much more. 


Click or tap here to listen to our Beef Buzz with Chef Dave as he talks with us about the strategies being used to reach consumers by the beef industry.

Oklahoma Agriculture Producers Invited to Participate in Healthy Soils Project

 

The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) is now accepting applications from Oklahoma agriculture producers to participate in a soil health project. The Oklahoma Healthy Soils Project is a voluntary effort to conserve the natural resources of Oklahoma by encouraging agriculture producers to implement proven conservation practices. The project will focus on incorporating cover crops on croplands in four regions of the state in 2016 by establishing demonstration farms of at least 80 acres in size on privately-held lands through a voluntary process. The goal of the Healthy Soils Project is to ascertain the feasibility of incorporating cover crops into no-till systems in Oklahoma.


"Many producers are skeptical about incorporating cover crops due to moisture loss," Jordan Shearer, OACD Project Director said. "Although we know cover crops use moisture, much of the moisture that producers believe they are saving through a fallow system is lost to evaporation."


Through the Oklahoma Healthy Soils Project, 10 producers will be selected to plant cover crops on 80 acres at no cost to the producer. The producers selected to participate in the pilot project will receive up to $115/per acre for seed cost, fair rental rate compensation, technical assistance and testing/monitoring equipment. After implementation, cash crop yields from the cover crop acres will be compared to yields from fallow systems to evaluate economic impact as well as environmental benefits. Participating producers will also be paired with a conservation mentor in their area to provide qualitative support for the project duration.


Eligible producers must qualify for EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) as defined by the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill and submit a full Healthy Soils Project application to OACD by Friday January 15, 2016. 


Click or tap here to read more about the areas for the first phase of the demonstration project and to download an application.

  

 

Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) Sets Key Initiatives in 2016

 

The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) held its annual general assembly meeting October 27 - 29, providing updates on GRSB initiatives including: enhanced communications, antibiotic stewardship, global indicators and equivalence. Approximately 75 individuals representing 28 member organizations attended the meeting in Amsterdam.


"We had more than a 50 percent increase in attendance this year," said Ruaraidh Petre, executive director of GRSB. "The meeting provided a sense of the progress and increased enthusiasm to grow the momentum of the organization. Most importantly, it provided a sense of the value and indicators of progress in making the beef industry more sustainable worldwide."


The GRSB meeting was focused around its Principles and Criteria for Global Sustainable Beef, a document developed in 2014 that defines the attributes of sustainability to which GRSB is committed. The Principles also recognize that production systems and value chains vary in sustainability across regions and countries. Regional roundtables, including Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock, Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, in addition to roundtable groups in Europe, Columbia and Mexico, provided updates and progress on sustainable initiatives within their respective areas. Over the past several months, the Global-to-Local model of the regional roundtable process also resulted in two technical working groups focused on accreditation and global indicators. Those specific working groups reported multiple meetings and progress throughout the year.


Click here to read more about additional areas of focus included 2016 - 2020 initiatives to move the organization forward in supporting sustainability within the beef value chain.

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National Livestock Planning 6th Annual Fundraiser for Troops Next Monday at Oklahoma National Stockyards  

 

 The Oklahoma National Stockyards will be hosting a special sale of a steer, donated by the Clyde Runyon family, next Monday, December 14, 2014 at approximately 11:00 a.m.  The sales from the steer will be donated to the All-American Beef Battalion, a non-profit organization dedicated to thanking the national's military by striving to provide a steak dinner to every U.S. serviceman. 

Last December, the sale raised over $60,000 bringing the five year total of the special sale to well over $220,000 which translates to a welcome home steak meal for more than 22,000 troops. Traditionally, the steer is brought into the sale ring- and is sold- and resold- and resold multiple times until everyone that has wanted to contribute has had the chance to do so.

Robert York with National Livestock tells us in an email note that "Bill Broadie, the founder of the AABB, has come to the sale each year to speak on behalf of the program.  He has put together a tireless crew of volunteers that make this program possible.  The real beauty of this program is that 100% of all money raised goes directly to support the program and not for salaries for paid positions.  Special thanks are also due to Rob Fisher, President of Oklahoma National Stockyards Company, for supporting this sale each year.  Many other people deserve thanks for their consistent support of this program including owners of commission firms, order buying companies, banks and lending institutions, and other companies that support the cattle industry with their products and services."

Winners Selected and Honored Saturday at 71st Annual State Speech Contest of AFR-OFU

 

The 71st State Speech Contest of the American Farmers and Ranchers concluded Saturday with their State Finals being held on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Hundreds of young 4-H and FFA members participated in the 2015 contest- starting in their local districts.  The top finishers in those districts traveled to Stillwater on December 5th and competed in five different speech divisions and in one of three age classifications.  


Terry Detrick, President of AFR-OFU, says that "these young people are amazing."  He adds that in many cases, there have been several generations of families that have participated in this speech contest  that has been sponsored down through the years by the organization. Of this year's crop of kids- "we're really proud of them- we're happy to sponsor this and be a part of their lives and be a part of helping develop their leadership skills."

Top winners in the five Senior Division Categories include:

Senior (11th & 12th grade) American Farmers & Ranchers:
1st - Colton Smith, Kingfisher
2nd - Kohl Murray, Perkins
3rd - Maggie Martens, Fairview

Senior Student Organizations:
1st - Guess Leonard, Sequoyah-Claremore
2nd - Holly Barrow, Kingfisher
3rd - Tucker Jackson, Calera

Senior Natural Resources:
1st - Chelsea Richison, Depew
2nd - Bryce Thralls, Calera
3rd - Shante Seals, Maysville

Senior Agribusiness:
1st - Breckin Horton, Spiro
2nd - Emily Bennett, Yukon
3rd - Maddi Nation, Sapulpa

Senior Agriscience:
1st - Jordan Storey, Valliant
2nd - Sydnee Gerken, Kingfisher
3rd - Shianne Hood, Calumet

You can see the Intermediate and Novice divisions in our online story by clicking here.  We also have some comments, courtesy of Sam Knipp, with the Intermediate Division winner in the AFR category- Madelyn Gerken of Kingfisher.

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, CROPLAN by Winfield, KIS Futures, 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!

 

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