Coburn Proposes Farm Bill Amendments, Offers Lots of Criticism of Senate Ag Committee Bill Now on Senate Floor

The Senate Agriculture Committee's version of the 2012 farm bill is now up for consideration on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Oklahoma's junior Senator, Dr. Tom Coburn, has offered several amendments to the bill, but says the Senate bill is almost a hopeless cause. The bill's price tag of 984 billion dollars over ten years increases costs by 60 percent over the last farm bill. The majority of the increases were mandated to nutrition programs by the stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and are off the table.

Beyond those cost factors, Coburn says, the bill's direction is all wrong. Senator Coburn talked on Wednesday morning with our own Jim Apel about his amendments- and more about what he sees wrong with the Senate Ag Committee approach to farm and food policy.

"What the farm bill ought to be is to create a stable environment where farmers who know how to farm can actually leverage their risks and have a backdrop in case they either have a bad crop or bad prices, because we want them to stay there.

"So what we ought to have is a system that says 'Here's something that if we're caught in a severely down price, we're going to protect our production agriculture.' But what this program does, with the ARC and the flood (sic) insurance program, it guarantees everybody 90 percent of their revenues even if prices decline and the federal government picks up the tab."

Coburn says the Senate's bill does not adequately address the financial realities facing the country at this time.

You can hear more of our interview with Dr. Coburn by clicking here.

NCFC Opposes Farm Bill Amendments That Would Weaken Crop Insurance 

The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) strongly opposed two amendments to the farm bill that would weaken the crop insurance program and deprive producers of access to important risk management tools.

In a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and the panel's ranking Republican, Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), NCFC outlined how two amendments in particular-SA 2168, sponsored by Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), and SA 2156, introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)-would hamper the ability of producers to offset the risk inherent in production agriculture.

The Coburn-Durbin amendment would impose a means test and limit crop insurance protection based on the results. This amendment fails to recognize that weather disasters can happen anywhere and everywhere - and affect all producers, regardless of size. The Gillibrand amendment proposes additional crop insurance funding cuts, which would result in reduced service to farmers and ranchers.    Both of these amendments would limit the reach and effectiveness of crop insurance. 

Click here to read more on the NCFC's position on these amendments.

NCBA Opposes HSUS-UEP Production Mandate on Animal Agriculture

Tom Talbot, chairman of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Cattle Health and Well-Being Committee, said despite challenges cattlemen and women face, raising healthy cattle is and always has been a top priority. Talbot, who is a veterinarian and California cattle rancher, is appalled that animal care could be taken out of the hands of experts and placed in the control of the federal government. Specifically, Talbot is referring to amendment 2252 to the 2012 Farm Bill offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The amendment, which would mandate on-farm production practices, was also introduced as legislation, Egg Inspection Act Amendments of 2012 (S. 3239 and H.R. 3298), by Sen. Feinstein and Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.).

"The U.S. beef community has changed through the years, but the one thing that remains the same is our commitment to raising healthy cattle and providing our animals the best care possible," Talbot said. "NCBA's Cattle Health and Wellbeing Committee relies on the latest information from government officials, veterinarians and cattle health experts to ensure our policies reflect the latest science and ensure effective cattle care practices on cattle operations throughout the country."

Talbot said while cattlemen make it their top priority to care for their animals, there are organizations that attempt to paint a different picture of animal agriculture. Talbot said the amendment to the farm bill would codify an agreement entered into by the Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers to seek federal legislation to mandate egg production practices. Talbot said the agreement creates a slippery slope to allow the federal government to mandate on-farm production practices for all sectors of the agricultural industry.

You can read more of this story by clicking here.

Public Trust is a Terrible Thing to Waste- Daryll Ray Opines on the Fragile Nature of Credibility 

As the debate over the 2012 Farm Bill heats up, Daryll E. Ray of the University of Tennessee's Agricultural Policy Center cautions farmers in his latest opinion piece to carefully protect the credibility they have with the general public:

When it comes to public policy support and trust, the most important asset that farmers have going for them is credibility with the general public. Evidence of this support can be seen in the historical bipartisanship that has characterized the passage of farm bill legislation, despite the fact that farmers now account for less than two percent of the US population. It can be seen in the outpouring of gifts to the annual Farm Aid concerts featuring Willie Nelson and other artists.

This degree of public support has been built up over many years, beginning at a time when one-third of the US population earned a living by farming. When the mortgage crisis hit farmers in the 1980s, people understood. As prices fell in the late 1990s, farmers could count on Congress to vote for Emergency Payments because of widespread public support of family farmers and their stewardship of the land.

As many have discovered, trust that has been built up over generations can be lost in a moment.

You can read more from Daryll Ray by clicking here.

Rules Change for Feral Swine Tagging and Transport

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) announced several rule changes affecting transport of feral swine in Oklahoma that will take effect November 1. Changes have been made in the way feral swine can be tracked by hunters and sold at markets. A further change restricts the importation of feral swine.            

"The most import message is that feral swine can no longer be sold at livestock markets and can only be imported for slaughter after November 1," ODAFF Staff Veterinarian Justin Roach said.            

When the changes take place, hunters may use a tracking method called the "Judas pig" tagging system. This is a population control technique where a radio-collared feral swine is released into a control area and, after allowing a sufficient period for the animal to join other feral swine, it is tracked down and all swine found with the swine wearing the collar are removed. 

Click here to read more about these important rule changes.

Is the 'Arms Race for Muscle' in Beef Cattle a Winning Proposition?

In the fourth and final part of a four-part Beef Buzz series, Dr. Dave Lalman continues to talk efficiency. In this portion of his address at the recent Alltech International Symposium on the Future of Agriculture held in Lexington, Kentucky, Lalman talks about breeding to optimize particular traits.

He says beef producers are in a race for muscle. Purebred breeders are constantly trying to improve the amount and quality of muscle in their breeds.

Once again, Lalman says, the efficiency question arises: "How much muscle do you need in a cow that is going to be part of your operation for 10 or 12 years?" Increased muscling means increased maintenance costs. Do the increased maintenance costs over time erase any value added in the calves sold? 

Catch Dave Lalman in the current Beef Buzz by clicking here.

Future of Food Event Happening Today in Washington and in Cyberspace

Co-hosted by The Washington Post and Slate, panel discussions will begin a balanced, inspirational conversation around solutions, and roles and responsibilities to address food insecurity. Attendees include key public figures and policy makers, as well as the Innovation Center Board of Directors and other business leaders.

Speakers include:

Dr. Jason Clay, World Wildlife Fund
Chris Policinski, Land O'Lakes
Andrea Thomas, Walmart
Elaine Waxman, Feeding America
Tom Vilsack, U.S. Department of Agriculture 

It starts early- 7:15 AM central time- and you can follow a couple of ways- there is a live stream- click here to jump over to the Washington Post site where it is available- or you can follow along with written thoughts about the event as it unfolds at the blog- DairyGood- click here to jump there- which is operated by the Innovation Center for US Dairy- underwritten by Dairy Management Inc which is the group that overseas the checkoff efforts for the US dairy industry.  Both Midwest Dairy Association, who works with dairy farmers in the eastern parts of our state- and Dairymax, who represents Dairy farmers in central and western areas- are supportive of the of these efforts to tell the dairy story in this manner and seek ways to bolster consumer confidence of dairy products.  In particular, we say thanks this morning to one of our long time friends who started her career as a tremendous farm broadcaster up in Minnesota and is now Communcations Director for Midwest Dairy, Sherry Newell, for sharing a lot of info about today's event.

By the way- for our Twitter friends- you may want to search for the hashtag #thinkfood to follow this event in that medium.