Lawmakers were at the State Capitol on Saturday- but there was no deal between Republicans and Democrats. The 75% rule for passing revenue hikes in the state of Oklahoma- the result of a Constitutional Amendment passed by the people back in 1992-have made the Democrats relevant to the equation. 

The sticking point appears to be five percent versus four percent on the tax rate for new wells being drilled in Oklahoma- right now, the industry now pays 2 percent for the first three years of operation, and then 7 percent for the remaining life of the well.

 

Farm Policy Facts published a guest editorial from U.S. Representative Kevin Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, that highlights the policies his committee is working on to help our agricultural producers succeed.


"With increasing competition around the world and an increasingly burdensome tax and regulatory environment in the United States, America's farmers and ranchers need pro-growth policies that will help them compete and win across the globe - but especially here at home. Working with President Trump, that's exactly the kind of agenda we're moving forward in the House Ways and Means Committee.


"As a Texan, I understand how crucial farming and ranching are to a healthy and growing economy. I also know that our agricultural producers are facing serious challenges with a depressed farm economy, extreme weather conditions, and regulatory burdens. More overreach from Washington is the last thing they need.


"President Dwight D. Eisenhower had it right when he remarked, 'You know, farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field.'


"So, rather than look to Washington for the answers, the Ways and Means Committee believes in providing more flexibility and economic freedom to our nation's farmers and ranchers. Here's how we're working to help them succeed."

To continue reading Congressman Brady's editorial in it's entirety on our website, to find out how the House Ways and Means Committee is working to help farmers succeed, click here.

Wheat growers and research and extension staff of DASNR's Plant & Soil Science Department gathered at OSU's Agronomy Research Station in Stillwater on Friday to celebrate 125 years of research on the Historic Magruder Test Plots, the third-longest running field trial in the United States, established and named for A.C. Magruder, the first professor of agriculture at then Oklahoma A&M College.

Special guests that attended the event included OSU President Burns Hargis; Dr. Robert Westerman, emeritus vice president of the division and retired agronomist; and DASNR Vice President Dr. Tom Coon. Our Associate Farm Director Carson Horn was there and spoke with Dean Coon who offered his perspective on the significance of the day's events and the lasting impact the research that has been conducted there has had on the industry.

"That's momentous. That's a long time," Coon said in reference to the milestone of 125 years of active research. "But, I think more importantly, what it means is that we've had a long-running commitment to understanding the science behind crop production - going way back to 1892 here at Oklahoma State.


"It's fun to celebrate that, but it's also an opportunity for people to learn from that."

The tradition behind the Magruder plots that has been in continual use for more than a century is a testament to the OSU's legacy and its mission founded in research.

"It really is part of our land grant mission to be out there, to not only be studying and advancing our understanding of crop and soil science," Coon said, "but then turning around and making that available to growers so they can make decisions about the varieties they choose, or whether to fertilize or whether to use fungicides on their crops and so on."

Listen to Carson's complete conversation with Dr. Coon during the Magruder Plots 125 year anniversary celebration last week, by clicking here.

This past week, our new US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, gave Congress formal notice of the Trump administration's intentions to fulfill one of President Trump's campaign promises and renegotiate the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). However, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, in tandem with its Canadian and Mexican counterparts, sent a joint letter to the presidents of the three nations involved, addressing their concern that the beef business would have little to gain from NAFTA renegotiations.


"Recent statements about the possible dissolution of NAFTA or potential renegotiation of NAFTA are deeply concerning to us because of the unnecessary risk it places on our producers," the letter states. "While there may be general agreement among the countries to improve some parts of the NAFTA trade framework, we urge you to recognize that the terms of the agreement affecting cattle producers are strongly supported as they currently exist and should not be altered."


The groups also urged Presidents Trump, Trudeau, and Nieto to reject efforts to use NAFTA as a platform to resurrect failed policies, especially the misguided mandatory country-of-origin labeling policy that was the law of the United States for over seven years.

Listen as I report on the beef industry's attempts to appeal to the leaders of the NAFTA partners not to alter the trade treaty as it currently exists, on Friday's Beef Buzz.

In Plains Grains first report covering the 2017 wheat harvest, released last Thursday, it was noted that harvest in the central Texas to Southwest Oklahoma region started about ten days earlier than normal. However, much of the area is still seeing green wheat or wet fields, which could keep harvest from hitting full swing for at least several more days.

So far, only a few hundred thousand bushels have been harvested at this point.  Early reports of yields have ranged from 20 bu/ac to 40 bu/ac (1.3 tons/ha - 2.7 tons/ha) in both states with test weights ranging from 60 lb/bu to 65 lb/bu (78.9 kg/hl - 85.4 kg/hl). These are very early reports and may or may not reflect the overall crop. There have been no official reports on protein at this point.

At the time this report was issued, the HRW growing states are currently being chalked up at zero percent harvested.

Meanwhile, damages from winter storms in Kansas are still being assessed.

For more insight into this report from Plains Grains on this year's harvest, click here.

The Animal Science Department at Oklahoma State University is going on the road, and inviting anyone interested in the beef and cattle industry to tag along. The Animal Science Road Trip "Ranchin' Oklahoma," will take place May 31 to June 1, 2017, making stops at five different ranching operations in and around the greater Lawton area. I spoke briefly with one of the event organizers from the department, Gant Mourer, about the trip's details.


"We're going to see some very forward thinking ranches, in terms of profitability and management on those ranches," Mourer said. "Now, we don't have a lot of stops and that's by design - so, we can spend some really high-quality time with those producers, looking at some management programs and then leisurely taking our time just going a few miles away to the next ranch and doing the same thing."


The tour will feature visits at Ballou Cattle Company, Flether; MCS Cattle Company, Elgin; Glover Cattle Company, Elgin; Coyote Hills Ranch, Chattanooga; and Collins Cattle, Frederick.


For more details on lodging and pricing, or to register for the tour, click here, or call Mourer directly at (405) 744-6060, or listen to my conversation with Mourer about this event, by clicking here.

 

Courtesy of Alan Crone of the News on 6- a radar shot gives us a look at a few thunderstorms rumbling in the Texas Panhandle edging over into Oklahoma this morning-



Storm chances are best in northwestern Oklahoma and then later today- in about the southeastern half of the state- Jed Castles with News9 tells us and shows us a few days of dry and hotter weather ahead- which may help push Oklahoma wheat and canola to harvest.



I guess I am kinda like those Preachers who have a hard time ever doing anything unless it is in three points- so my THIRD graphic this morning goes national and was shared on Twitter this morning by Chad Colby and Max Armstrong- Chad writing about the graphic below- "Wow this is a VERY telling map showing 30 day precip, safe to say where "likely" replant could be!"



Northeastern Oklahoma is included in the heaviest rainfall amounts over the past thirty days- which catches a bit of southeastern Kansas, a LOT of Missouri, southern Illinois and northern Arkansas- even some southern Indiana. 

That intersection of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas sits right under the big 690 AM signal of KGGF Radio- and we offer extended coverage of our Radio Oklahoma Ag Network programming every day on the Mighty 690- those times you can catch, yours truly, Carson Horn and Dave Lanning are 6- 6:30 AM, 11:30- 12 Noon and 12:30- 1 PM. (Click on the link above to check the shaded area where you can easily listen to KGGF and hear our weekday farm and ranch news coverage)