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Obama Administration Drops Appeal in Texas Federal Court of Lesser Prairie Chicken Case- Senators Inhofe and Moran Pleased- But Watchful of FWS  

 
Two of the lawmakers that had worked for years on the Lesser Prairie Chicken status were pleased with the word that came on Wednesday afternoon that the Obama Administration had decided not to appeal a ruling from a Texas court that had basically ended the Threatened Status of the Lesser Prairie Chicken.

This decision comes after U.S. District Judge Robert A. Junell, of Midland, Texas, overturned the listing of the LPC as a threatened species on Sept. 3, 2015. The LPC was listed as threatened in 2014 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), affecting regions in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado.

Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma has used his Chairmanship of the Environment and Public Works Committee to keep this issue front and center with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The Obama administration's decision not to appeal a district court ruling, throwing out the listing of the lesser prairie-chicken as a threatened species, is welcome and different news from this administration," Inhofe said. "The court's decision to vacate the listing is a win for Oklahoma, the four other states conservation agencies and our local and industry partners who have committed funding and other resources to implement a conservation plan without the federal government's interference. However, even with this win, I will be looking to put safeguards in place to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from revisiting the issue until the states' plan has time to develop and show its success."

Click or tap here to see the complete statement from Senator Inhofe.

Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas is thinking along similar lines with his colleague from Oklahoma- happy that Obama's lawyers have backed off in this case- but wary about any sort of end run that the Fish and Wildlife Service might pull on behalf of the this little critter.

"My fear is USFWS made a strategic decision to restart the listing process for the bird instead of continuing to fight a losing battle in court. It is incumbent on USFWS to be open and transparent about its future intentions for the LPC listing. I have asked for answers from USFWS, and will continue to advocate for policies that prevent the service from pursuing future efforts to re-list the species."

Click here for the full statement released by Senator Moran's office.

 

Cattle Groups Cheer the End of Threatened Status for Lesser Prairie Chicken 

 

NCBA, TSCRA and the OCA were quick to cheer the word that the Obama Administration will not appeal the Texas court ruling that basically ends the Threatened Listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken in five states- including parts of western Oklahoma.

Michael Kelsey of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association emailed us "We are pleased to learn that the Administration is dropping their appeal regarding the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Oklahoma ranchers have for generations employed stewardship practices that have benefited the land, water and wildlife including the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Private landowner stewardship again shows it is most effective in preserving and protecting our natural resources."

Richard Thorpe- the new President of the TSCRA- says in a statement from the Cattle Raisers "I am pleased the administration decided to drop their appeal of the 2015 federal district court decision that removed the lesser prairie-chicken from the threatened list. This means the chicken is no longer federally protected under the endangered species act, providing major relief for ranchers who have long worried about the additional layer of federal regulations that came along with the listing of the LPC."

Click here for the complete release from TSCRA.

Nationally- the NCBA and Public Lands Council's Ethan Lane says he is pleased with this outcome- saying "Voluntary conservation efforts like the Range-Wide Plan are working to recover the species and must be given an opportunity to succeed without the unnecessary burden of a federal ESA listing."

Click here for the NCBA statement.

OSU Wheat Breeder Brett Carver Likes His Two Newest Varieties- Red and White!

 
The 2016 series of OSU Wheat Plot Tours are in full swing- and on Wednesday morning, we participated in the stop at the Don Schieber farm just outside of Kildare in Kay County. About fifty farmers and wheat industry leaders gathered for breakfast and a chance to look at varieties nearing maturity from Oklahoma State and the private breeding programs Westbred, Agripro and Limagrain.

One of those talking with producers about the varieties was the wheat breeder responsible for the OSU lineup- Dr. Brett Carver. Dr. Carver provided an update about the five experimental lines being grown in the replicated plots on the Schieber farm this year, including one that is a combination of red and white wheat, as well as two Clearfield culitvars- one of which could be the next Clearfield line to follow up behind Doublestop.

We talked with Dr. Carver about the two most recent OSU wheat variety releases, Bentley and Stardust. Bentley, which had a limited amount of seed available to farmers last fall, appears to be a really strong candidate to be used on a lot of acres across the southern plains- offering lots of yield potential and the ability to handle late freeze conditions better than many of its peers.

We also talked with Carver about Stardust- the new white wheat that the OSU Wheat Improvement Team is touting- and we also discussed the bigger picture of the relationships that continue to evolve between public and private breeding programs.

Both Stardust and Bentley will be on display at the Lahoma Wheat Field Day- set for tomorrow.  Start time is 9:00 AM with the first tours to head out at 9:20 AM.  Registration will begin by 8:40 AM.

The OSU wheat breeding program is one of the strongest public programs- and to this point- has steered clear of any exclusive deals with a private company.  You can hear Dr. Carver's thought on the state of the breeding program- and where the wheat industry is headed in this regard by clicking here to jump to our Top Ag Story of the morning.
 

Growth Energy Says Latest Move to Dismantle RFS "Incredibly Flawed"  

 

The latest effort to pull back the Renewable Fuel Standard was introduced this week in Congress- HR 5180, the Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act of 2016 would limit the total volume of ethanol contained in transportation fuel to 9.7 percent.

As you might expect- Tom Buis of Growth Energy is not a fan. He says "This bill is incredibly flawed because the ethanol industry is already producing over the bill's 9.7 percent threshold and growing. Perhaps more importantly this bill would deal a blow to American consumers who have embraced ethanol as a less expensive, 21st century fuel that is higher performing and allows for consumer choice."

Click or tap here to read his complete statement expressing his unhappiness over this proposal that would mandate maximum blend rates.

 

 

Strategic DeWorming Can Make You Money- We Talk to Harold Newcombe of Merck

 
For a beef cattle producer, the reality is that parasites are a concern from the day that beef cow or stocker takes their first bite of grass to the day that they take their last bite of grass. Dr. Harold Newcomb, Technical Services Manager for Merck Animal Health, believes that a priority rightly needs to be placed on effective control of parasites because "they are not just hurting us in weight gains- they can actually affect things like conception rates in a cow herd, grazing weight gains on stocker calves as well as affect that animal's ability to respond to certain diseases- they can actually impact the immune system."


We talked with Dr. Newcomb about the development of a strategy by beef cattle producers to best manage parasites in their herds. Dr. Newcomb believes that producers should consider multiple treatments- one at the beginning of the grazing season- then a second treatment six to eight weeks would follow after cattle have been grazing which "allows those cattle to go out and harvest those parasites off the pasture- and right before they ready to make a turn and start producing eggs- you go in and deworm them and we kill off those worms so we have actually lowered the parasite burden on the pasture."

Click or tap here to read more- and to listen to our full conversation with Harold about dealing with parasites- his comments featured in the Beef Buzz part of our website- OklahomaFarmReport.Com

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Roberts and Stabenow Continue to do the GMO Labeling Two Step

 
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts wants any GMO labeling proposal from the Committee's ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow vetted by agriculture groups. Chairman Roberts says any GMO labeling bill needs the approval from agriculture and food groups to be successful in the U.S. Senate, according to Politico.

Roberts says "we can't get anywhere" unless the majority of the 800 agriculture and food groups approve of a GMO labeling proposal, adding "should that be the case, I'm ready to go."

Roberts says he is still unclear what Stabenow is willing to agree with to set a national standard on GMOs. Staff members for both lawmakers are reportedly hammering out the details for a bill with the hope of getting a proposal on the Senate floor before Vermont's labeling law takes effect in July.

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head- Multiple Inches Worth in Next Seven Days

 
The latest seven day national rainfall map shows a lot of rain across parts of several states in the middle of the country- including Oklahoma.



It looks like a location not far from Tulsa could get over three inches by next Thursday.  The current seven day forecast from both News9 and the News on 6 show rain chances virtually every day through the middle of next week- mostly set at 40%. 

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