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Ag Still Matters- Incumbent Congressman Tim Huelskamp told by Kansas Primary Election Voters- You're Fired!

In our part of the world- there are two districts that have always had their Congressman as a member of the House Ag Committee. Here in Oklahoma- it has been whatever number you want to assign the huge northwestern half of the state. Today- it's the third district, held by former House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas. In previous years- it has been the fifth district and back in the days of Congressman Glenn English, who sat on the House Ag Committee and was a part of its leadership from the Democratic side of the aisle- it was the sixth district.

Just across the state line in Kansas- the district that has "always" had a seat at the House Ag Committee table has kept it's district number- the first district. It's been referred to as long as I can remember as the Big First District- and the alums of that Congressional seat include the two current members of the Senate from Kansas- and both real champions of agriculture.

Six years ago- things changed when Tim Huelskamp rode into Dodge (and other Big First towns) with his Tea Party ideas- angered GOP Leadership- especially then Speaker John Boehner- to the point where they pulled his man card when it comes to this agriculturally oriented Congressional seat.  They yanked him off of Frank Lucas' Committee just as his Oklahoma neighbor was preparing to write the 2014 Farm Bill.

The bill for breaking with the leadership came due last night- and Congressman Huelskamp will be looking for other opportunities after the first of the year.

Elected as the GOP nominee for the seat is Dr. Roger Marshall of Great Bend.  His Twitter description says he's a cattle feeder and fifth generation farm kid- he is also an OBGYN and has as his new best friends farm groups like the Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Livestock Association and the National Association of Wheat Growers.

According to Chris Clayton with DTN- there's a reason for that. "The Kansas First Congressional District is the #1 congressional district in the country for value of livestock sold, according to the 2012 Ag Census. The district is the third-ranked congressional district nationally for all agricultural products sold."

Come the first of the year- Dr. Marshall may well be one of the new members of the House Ag Committee- and this OBGYN may be helping Mike Conaway and others on the Committee deliver a new baby called the 2018 Farm Bill into the world.

Cash In and Clean Up Your Wheat By Rotating with Canola

Oklahoma has had a bit of a weed and rye issue in some of its wheat fields across the state lately, says Dr. Ron Sholar of the Great Plains Canola Association. If your farm suffers from this problem, he believes he might have a solution for you that will not only clean up your wheat crop, but may even add a little extra to your pocket.


"A farmer was telling me how clean his wheat fields were following canola," Sholar said. "We could clean up those grassy weeds."


In addition to cleaner fields, Sholar says farmers will enjoy a premium for their canola, which he says has held up very well this year just coming off a really good crop.


"The best price for canola is right off the combine," Sholar said. "We've said for a long time you need about a $2 per bushel premium on canola over wheat and we've been at least $3 a bushel canola over wheat all this year and at times even as much as $4 per bushel. That should incentivize some people to get back into canola... or try it for the first time."


Sholar alluded to other rotation crops like alfalfa and soybeans but dismissed them as impractical alternatives compared to canola for farmers looking for a suitable rotation. He cited one farmer who harvested 70 to 80 bushels per acre of wheat following a canola crop, which was a 15 to 20 bushel bump from their back-to-back wheat crops.


"More people need to hear that story and capture the benefits of the great rotation," Sholar said. "There's just nothing better."


Click here to listen to Dr. Sholar talk with me more about the benefits of rotating canola.

EPA Accused of Setting Dangerous Precedent For All Crop Protection Tools

A recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft report on atrazine ignores a large body of scientific evidence affirming the herbicide's safety, setting a dangerous precedent for all crop protection tools, says Brent Hostetler, a farmer from Plain City, Ohio, and chair of the National Corn Growers Association's Production and Stewardship Action Team.


"Federal law requires the EPA to base its decisions on science. And the science on this is pretty clear," said Hostetler. "Atrazine is one of the safest and most effective crop management tools farmers have. It's also one of the most studied pesticides in history-and more than 50 years' worth of data show it is safe." 


EPA released its draft ecological risk assessment for atrazine in June 2016. All pesticides sold or distributed in the U.S. must be registered by EPA and re-registered every 15 years. Ecological risk assessments are one step of that registration process. EPA is accepting public comments on the ecological assessment through October 4. 


In the report, EPA recommends an aquatic life level of concern (LOC) be set at 3.4 parts per billion (ppb) on a 60-day average. EPA's current LOC for atrazine is 10 ppb; however, scientific evidence points to a safe aquatic life LOC at 25 ppb or greater.


In drafting this assessment, EPA discounted several high-quality studies showing atrazine to be safe, relying instead on studies its own Science Advisory Panel deemed "flawed" in 2012. 


"This sets a dangerous precedent for all crop protection tools," said Hostetler. "Atrazine deserves a thorough review based on sound science. This report does not meet that standard."


Farmers are urged to contact the EPA to voice their concerns at www.FightEPA.com.

Beef Board Has Tough Decisions to Make to Keep US Beef Ahead of the Curve

High-quality beef is the main niche market for the U.S. cattle industry and is what keeps us winning over our biggest competitor, Australia, says Anne Anderson, Cattlemen's Beef Board (CBB) Chair. However, she also says what is really making the difference in the value of beef is that we have managed to maintain a strong market for our offal products.


"In the U.S. they have almost no value, I mean cents," Anderson said. "But if for tripe we can get $1.50 if it goes south of our border, that's just fabulous news. Lots of opportunity."


Currently, there is a tremendous opportunity in the global marketplace opening up that would allow the industry to further the international push of products. The CBB is a major contributor to the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) which Anderson says is imperative to help global expansion of the market. The only problem is; the budget this year is down approximately $4M since cattle prices have stagnated.


"Cattle numbers were down; people have held a lot of heifers back," Anderson said. "So it's going to be a real push in the Operating Committee to see how this money gets split up."


The committee is scheduled to meet in the weeks ahead and will begin a scoring process that will ultimately decide what areas such as global growth, digital promotion, new product development, nutrition research, etc. to invest in with the goal of getting the most bang for their buck. It is the mission of the committee to determine what proposed strategies will best fit their long-term goals and plans and how it will deliver the board's message.


"Everything ties to the strategic plan. Is it reach, is it advocacy, what is it and what are we getting for it?" Anderson said. "We are giving the Operating Committee more tools, more producer input to try to make the right decisions for the industry. The real bottom line is the producers.

Snake Spotting - What to Look For When Identifying Venomous Snakes

Most snakes are harmless to humans. They pose no real threat, lack venom and are oftentimes very docile.


However, a few species in Oklahoma do need some special attention. Rather than finding out the hard way, by being bitten and rushed to the emergency room, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist Dwayne Elmore offered some helpful tips for identifying the seven venomous snakes in the state.


One of the more famous and easily recognizable venomous Oklahoma snakes is the copperhead.


"The copperhead is a medium-sized snake, usually between 1-3 feet in length, with light and dark tan or chestnut-colored, hourglass-shaped bands that wrap all the way around the body," Elmore said. "It is the only snake in Oklahoma with that color pattern."


Juvenile copperhead snakes may have a yellow or green tip of the tail, but that goes away as the snake matures. A bite from one of theses snakes will require a visit to the hospital, but is usually not fatal.


The cottonmouth, or water-moccasin, is one of the most difficult venomous snakes to identify (unless its open mouth can be viewed) because it can have a variety of color patterns. They can be earth tone, red or brown and have grayish banding.


"There is a dark band that runs on the side of its face, under the eye. There are no other water snakes that have this band," Elmore said. "This species is confined to eastern and southeastern Oklahoma and is easily identified by the signature white lining of the mouth."

Click here for more helpful information about identifying venomous snakes in Oklahoma.

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EPA Releases Minutes from Third FIFRA SAP Questioning Role of Epidemiological Studies

On July 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the minutes from a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) titled,"Chlorpyrifos: Analysis of Biomonitoring Data." During an open public meeting held by the SAP on April 19-21, panel members listened to comments from a diverse audience regarding EPA's proposed use of an epidemiological study produced by the Columbia Center for Children' s Environmental Health (CCCEH) in human health risk assessments. The minutes, dated July 15, and the final transcript confirm that the SAP questioned the usefulness of the outcomes from this specific epidemiological study.


"We see yet again, in the minutes submitted to EPA by the SAP, that the panelists question EPA's shift to the use of certain epidemiological study outcomes, rather than toxicological data, in human health risk assessments," stated Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America (CLA). "In our written comments submitted to the SAP, we specifically asked panelists to examine the question, 'Can these epidemiological studies be appropriately used for quantitative risk assessment purposes?' The answer is loud and clear - a resounding no. The crop protection industry now calls on EPA to base regulatory decision-making on hard toxicological data, helping farmers get and keep access to highly advanced products and keeping our food production standards high."


Highlights from the SAP minutes include:

The SAP agrees with EPA that applying additional safety factors to the existing point of departure to account for a potential new mode of action would be problematic due to the challenges in justifying any particular value for such an adjustment;

Some SAP members stated that the sample size may have limited the CCCEH study's ability to examine the association of chlorpyrifos blood concentration on neurodevelopment in more vulnerable populations; and

With respect to fetal exposure, the Panel noted that much uncertainty in the use of cord blood as a measure would be removed if the raw data from CCCEH were provided for reanalysis.

Click here to continue reading about the use of epidemiological studies and find a link to the minutes.

Josh Bushong Receives 2016 Mark C. Boyles Oilseed Industry Meritorious Service Award

Josh Bushong, Northwest Area Agronomist for OSU, has been named as the 2016 recipient of the Mark C. Boyles Oilseed Industry Meritorious Service Award. The award is presented annually by the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission. 


It is named in honor of Boyles, who was instrumental in establishing the Oklahoma canola industry more than a decade ago. Bushong was recognized for displaying the same commitment and passion for the industry that characterized Mark's service. Bushong served as OSU Extension Canola Specialist before accepting the Area Agronomist position in Enid.


The award was presented at the Canola Educational Session in Lahoma yesterday- here's a pic of Josh being presented the award by Oilseed Commission Chairman Brent Rendel and Commission member Matt Gard.


 

Cattle Comfort Index Does Not Look Comfortable for Cattle Any Time Soon- Heat Danger is Huge

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