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Election Day Has Arrived for Farm Bureau in Orlando

Most years- the Tuesday of the American Farm Bureau annual meeting is important for the policy debates that have been anticipated leading up to the meeting.  

As the nation's largest general farm organization, the position that the group takes on an issue like COOL or the Federal Farm Safety Net matters in circles well beyond the "Bureau."  

But, here in 2016, the delegates are not buzzing about one policy vote or another expected this morning- but rather what will happen after lunch today here in Orlando- the official nominations for President and Vice President- and the delegates then choosing who will lead their organization for the next two years.  

Here in 2016- there are four candidates for National President- current AFBF Vice President and Oregon Farm Bureau president Barry Bushue, Georgia Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall, Arizona Farm Bureau president Kevin Rogers, and Indiana Farm Bureau's Don Villwock. 

AFBF's Mary Kay Thatcher Says It's Crunch Time for Congress to Take Up "Unfinished Business" 

Progress on key agricultural policy issues will grind to a halt later on this year on Capitol Hill. That's according to American Farm Bureau Senior Director of Congressional Relations Mary Kay Thatcher.  I interviewed Thatcher at the American Farm Bureau Federation's 97th Annual Convention.  She talked about the challenges with it being an election year.


"Every election year is tougher to get things done than a nonelection year and when you figure this is a presidential election year and both the Republican and Democratic conventions have been pushed up a month - I mean now you're looking at really having until about June to get everything you need to get done, done," Thatcher said. "So, with all the budget issues out ongoing, it's pretty doubtful we'll get much major legislation passed."


The U.S. House may take up a resolution of disapproval of the "Waters of the United States" rule this week. The measure passed the Senate in November by a vote of 53-44. Thatcher thinks there is good chance it will pass, but not by a veto proof margin. The President has been pretty adamant that he will veto the measure. While there is a nationwide stay on the WOTUS rule right now, she said that could change at almost any time.


"You know, we don't have the magic bullet right now," Thatcher said. "We are still looking for every opportunity to find ways to continue to do it, but it sure doesn't look like we are going to make any progress with this administration on this issue until they are out of office."

Thatcher also discusses the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement and the key priorities of the year.  Click or tap here to hear the full interview.

Peel Finds International Beef Trade Situation Improving

Mondays, Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry. This analysis is a part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by Dr. Peel and Dr. Glenn Selk.


Peel writes in this week's analysis "the latest international trade data for November confirms that the trade picture for beef and cattle is recovering from the dramatic changes in recent months. A variety of factors contributed to the adjustments in beef and cattle imports and exports late in 2015.


"November beef imports were down 26.6 percent year over year, the second monthly decrease following a 12.9 percent year over year decrease in October. Total beef imports for the first eleven months of 2015 are still up 19.7 percent. Beef imports were down most dramatically from Australia, with November imports 43.5 percent lower than one year earlier. For the year to date, imports of Australian beef are up 25 percent year over year. Australian imports dropped sharply in the fourth quarter in part because Australia reached their import quota limit and faced increased over-quota tariffs. Australia will start over with a new quota in 2016 but there is reason to expect beef imports from Australia to decrease sharply in 2016. Low cattle numbers and improved drought conditions in some regions of Australia will likely restrict beef exports from the country this year. November beef imports were also down from Canada and New Zealand compared to last year. Beef imports from Mexico continue higher, year over year, but at a slower pace in October and November compared to earlier in the year. The four major import sources of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico, accounted for 87.3 percent of total beef imports with Brazil, Uruguay and Nicaragua each accounting for less than five percent of total imports." 

Click or tap here to read more about U.S. beef exports and live cattle imports.

Petition Drive Continues for Oklahoma Producers to Consider Beef Checkoff Fee

There are few opportunities for the U.S. beef industry to increase the nation's beef checkoff. It may not be until the next Farm Bill is considered in the next two to three years before a fee increase could be considered. As a result, several states are looking at establishing a secondary beef checkoff as the best opportunity to get additional resources for beef promotion, education and research. Texas has already established and implemented a secondary beef checkoff and Oklahoma has begun the process to get a secondary checkoff. Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey said they are working to collect signatures to call for an actual referendum sometime this year. Right now there are a lot of petitions distributed throughout the state. He said they are starting collect those petitions, so OCA can gauge the progress of the signature drive.


"We've got a good database of signatures in place," Kelsey said. "I don't know that we have the 5,000 that we need yet. I think we are getting much, much closer than where we were even a month ago."


Beef producers still have an opportunity to sign the petition. The petition is available through the OCA website, plus it was published in the "Cowman" publication the last two months. Beef producers are encouraged to sign the petition and mail it to the OCA office.


"We're excited, we think we've got some momentum," Kelsey said. "We think for sure this year, we're going to get this done and have an opportunity for a referendum."

Kelsey also talks about the next steps in the referendum process.  I featured Kelsey on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap here to listen to today's Beef Buzz.


To read more about an Oklahoma Beef Checkoff, click here. 

We are happy to have the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association as a part of our great lineup of email sponsors. They do a tremendous job of representing cattle producers at the state capitol as well as in our nation's capitol. They seek to educate OCA members on the latest production techniques for maximum profitability and to communicate with the public on issues of importance to the beef industry.  Click here for their website to learn more about the OCA.  

Charlie Arnot with Center for Food Integrity Says Transparency Key to Building Consumer Trust

With research affirming that increased transparency boosts consumers' trust in the food they eat and how it was produced, transparency is no longer an option for farmers and ranchers, the Center for Food Integrity's Charlie Arnot told farmers and ranchers from across the country during a workshop at the American Farm Bureau Federation's 97th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show.


 As farms have grown bigger over the decades, people's trust in agriculture has declined, Arnot said. Consolidation, integration and technological advances in agriculture have resulted in safer, more available and more affordable food- and more skepticism from the public.


"As we've changed in size and scale and in the kind of production techniques and technology we use, we now reflect a different type of agriculture than many people anticipated," Arnot said. "We consistently hear from people that they trust farmers but they don't trust farming."

As a result, agriculture has lost its social license- the privilege of operating with minimal formalized restrictions, such as laws and regulations, based on maintaining public trust by doing what's right.  I interviewed Charlie Arnot.  Click or tap here to listen to our conversation.

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Pork Crisis Alert Text Service Announced

The National Pork Board Monday introduced a pork industry crisis text news service, Pork Crisis Alert, which will immediately deliver essential information to U.S. pork producers in the event of a major industry-wide emergency.


"Every day, America's pork producers are busy on their farms and may not always have immediate access to information that could impact their operation," said Derrick Sleezer, National Pork Board president and a pig farmer from Cherokee, Iowa. "Disease outbreaks and other emergency situations can spread quickly, so America's pig farmers need a news service to notify them immediately and enable them to take early action to safeguard their farms."


When a pork industry-wide emergency is declared, Pork Crisis Alert will text instructions to farmers alerting them on how to access information and other critical resources online or by calling the Pork Checkoff Service Center at (800) 456-7675. Pork Crisis Alert is just one element of the Pork Checkoff's overall risk management program, defined in the strategic plan introduced early in 2015.  Click or tap here to read more about the Pork Crisis Alert texts.

Farmland Values Defy Lower Farmgate Prices Seen in 2015

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