Our state has been blessed with some really good ag journalists on the print side of things- and one of those who has worked within the industry as a PR person as well as for several publications is Vic Schoonover.  Vic has pulled together an excellent read on some of the players within the groups who have lined up in opposition to State Question 777. 

Writing for the Lawton Constitution, his work has also ended up on the Red Dirt Report website. 

He does not spend a lot of time on the "pro" side in this article- but points out almost all of the producer groups that have as their primary members farmers and ranchers are strongly in favor of State Question 777. And he says it is easy to get names of individual farmers or ranchers who get their living by farming and/or ranching- folks who are willing to tell why they want 777 to be approved in November.

What he dives into is who is opposed to State Question 777, and that's where the fun begins. Vic interviewed a reluctant Mickey Thompson, who decided not to volunteer the name of even one full time farmer or rancher who is against State Question 777.

Vic writes "You would think an organization called Oklahomans for Food, Farm and Family would have some farm families or family farmers as supportive members or even spokesmen.

 

GOP Presidential Nominee Donald Trump called it Hillary's Awful Day on Trade"- quoting several folks around the expected Democratic nominee that Trump says shows she really is not going to be as tough on trade deals as she claims she will be. 

From the complete release that can be seen here- the most interesting comment comes from Governor Terry McAuliffe- who believes that Clinton will support TPP- after some minor tweaks.

The Trump site quotes McAuliffe as saying "'I worry that if we don't do TPP, at some point China's going to break the rules -- but Hillary understands this,' he said in an interview after his speech on the main stage at the Democratic National Convention. '

"Once the election's over, and we sit down on trade, people understand a couple things we want to fix on it but going forward we got to build a global economy.' Pressed on whether Clinton would turn around and support the trade deal she opposed during the heat of the primary fight against Bernie Sanders, McAuliffe said: 'Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed.'"

Obviously, farm groups would like for one or both of the Presidential candidates to articulate any sort of support for the Trans Pacific Partnership- a deal that agriculture almost across the board will benefit from.

 
There is always room for improvement in anything you do. The tricky part is knowing where to make those improvements. Thanks to modern science in the field, the Angus breed has taken the guess work out of producers' decisions that directly affect their herds by finding weaknesses through genetic testing.

Montana cattleman, Hugh Bradley, has used D-N-A, a genomic profiler available to Angus breeders, for the last four years. The results of those tests have guided Bradley to make herd selection decisions that emphasize marbling in his cattle, an area in which he discovered his herd was lacking.

Bradley says testing has helped his bottom line.  We have a video that you can take a look at on our website- click here to jump there and take a look.

 

Customers who have their own "how-do-I-do-that" kind of questions now have a convenient, trustworthy, one-stop resource for the answers. John Deere and Frontier Equipment have launched a new website, TipsNotebook.com, offering more than 45 helpful articles and videos on how to tackle many of those property jobs and projects.


"Go to TipsNotebook.com and you'll find the kind of how-to information customers are really looking for," says Scott Geier, manager, sales/marketing, John Deere. "You'll find instructions and product information on a range of topics including gravel drives, fence building, garden building, mowing, seeding, snow removal, water control, and much, much more."


TipsNotebook.com grew out of conversations with customers about what information they really wanted when working with their equipment. Tips and ideas about ways to maintain and improve their property and get the most out of their equipment were clearly at the top of their list.

Click here to read more about this new practical information website for rural folks.

 

Our partners at the News on 6 in Tulsa have a nice video package on their website that we wanted to point you to this morning- a story about teens getting exposed to what it takes to be a farmer.

According to the story- "All week long, students have been visiting farms and gardens like A New Leaf in Broken Arrow.

 

There are lots of concerns and questions in the minds of many in the beef cattle business because of high volume trade that has affected the live cattle and feeder cattle futures contracts- and we talked about these concerns and what seems to be going on with Don Close of Rabo Agri Finance.

Don spent time this last week at the 64th Annual OCA Convention and Trade Show where his company had a booth in the revamped and expanded trade show.

While at the show, we sat down and talked about several issues related to the cattle business with Don, who we have know since his time at the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.

According to Close, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has said it plans to implement what he calls the "circuit breaker" concept, in hopes it will curb some of the instability. He says that currently, market volatility is simply unmanageable and until more progress is made, there will continue to be worries over high volume trade.

Click here to read more- and for a chance to hear Don's comments on this contentious issue that has caught the attention of a lot of folks within the cattle marketplace.

And- you can click here for the previous day's Beef Buzz- also featuring Don Close as we talked with him about an uptick in beef supplies- and what that is meaning to current and expected cattle prices.

 

The Oklahoma's Statewide Women in Agriculture and Small Business Conference 2016 is set for next Thursday and Friday-August 4-5, 2016 at the Moore Norman Technology Center on the south side of Oklahoma City.

The speaker lineup is awesome- including Dr. Temple Grandin.  Most everyone knows Dr. Grandin's pedigree- and her industry changing work on animal well being.  But, she is not the only star that the Women in Ag Conference organizers have lined up for this year- two other speakers will be worth your time:

Kim Bremmer- creator of "Ag Inspirations: Sharing the real story of agriculture", Kim has been a dairy nutritionist for 15 years and a vocal champion of agriculture everywhere she goes. Her true passion is sharing the REAL story of agriculture with everyday consumers. Dynamic, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, Kim compels audiences to reconsider what they think they already know. Kim is the Wisconsin state coordinator for Common Ground, a national movement of farm women who share information about farming and the food we grow.


Michelle Miller- self-proclaimed the "Farm Babe", Michelle grew up involved in 4-H, horseback riding and doing chores on her friend's farms, but when her high-school aptitude tests told her to go into farming, she ignored them and headed west for college and a career in fashion. Her life went full circle going from "Rodeo Drive" in Beverly Hills to the rodeo when she met her "Prince Farming" years later. She has since moved to a farm in Iowa where she has learned the truths of modern agriculture firsthand and enjoys educating the public and debunking popular myths she once believed in.

Details about attending the conference next week are available here.