One of the key authors of the current farm law, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, has no problem with starting this fall to write the next farm bill. Lucas told me that "I support Chairman Conaway's efforts to go a year early- it's just that given all of the things going on back east in the nation's capitol, it may hard to get enough politcial oxygen to make it happen."

The Congressman and I visited on Saturday in the Livestock Barns at Oklahoma State Fair Park, as the beef cattle shows were in full swing on the final weekend of the 2017 State Fair of Oklahoma. Lucas acknowledged that money will be tight as the House and Senate Ag Committees work on this next farm bill- and House Speaker Paul Ryan has as his highest priority tax reform to move on between now and the end of the year. Lucas says that there are a lot of issues demanding Congressional attention- so that will make it difficult to secure floor time in 2017.

Click or tap here to read more and to listen to Congressman Lucas' comments about moving ASAP on a 2017 or 2018 farm bill.

While we talked farm policy- some things are more important- like the Congressman expressing gratitude that our friend Dr. Bart Fischer was not seriously injured or worse this past Thursday. 

Fischer, who was hired by then Chairman Lucas to join the House Ag Committee to be Chief Economist and then stayed on as Mike Conaway became the next Chairman this past year, was traveling with Chairman Conaway and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue last Thursday inspecting agricultural damage done by Hurricane Harvey in Texas. The SUV that Fischer and another staffer from the Committee and one from USDA was struck by a Semi near El Campo obliterating the third row area of the full sized SUV- the staffers were in the first and second rows. All were taken to the hospital for tests and observation and then released. (Click here for a story from the Texas Tribune with pictures of what was left of the SUV)


Fischer is from southwestern Oklahoma, a graduate from Oklahoma State and had a major role in crafting the ARC and PLC programs that are at the heart of Title I of the 2014 farm law. Among other duties this year- he and other staffers have been working on the "what ifs" for including cotton and dairy in a federal farm safety net in the next farm bill.

Fischer told me in an email that he has plenty of scrapes and bruises, possibly a concussion and lots of sore muscles- but is immensely grateful to be alive. (me too Bart)

Secretary Perdue and Chairman Conaway were in a separate SUV and were not injured.

 

The USDA released its September 1 Cattle on Feed report. I caught up with Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel of OSU for his initial reaction to the numbers.

"This report was pretty well anticipated- not a big surprise to me. I don't know how the trade will react," Peel remarked, summing up his reaction. "The placements came in a little bit higher than the average guess, but they weren't really outside the range."


According to Peel, this month's report measured cattle placements are up 102.6 percent over last year; marketings at 105.9 percent of last year; and a total cattle on feed right on target at 103.6 percent - a figure just slightly lower from last month's 104.3.

Peel believes the industry has done a good job over the last several months handling an aggressive marketing rate. And despite recent run-ups in price, the numbers in this report could give the market an excuse to pull back some. Although, looking ahead, Peel expects there to likely be some seasonal swings in price in the coming weeks.

To listen to more of Dr. Peel's insights, you can hear our complete conversation and check out the full report, here.

Earlier this year in March, when fires broke out in northwest Oklahoma, Araine Cash became the chief contact for relief efforts being made in the area. Her commitment to helping rural Oklahomans affected by this disaster, earned her the recognition of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture as a Significant Woman in Agriculture.

Born on a small farm in Laverne, Oklahoma, Cash was brought up working hard, and enjoyed it too. However, she and her husband, Duston, married in 2003 and lived in Oklahoma City for several years. But Cash's love for her community and family is what eventually brought her back home, wanting her daughters, Jaycie and Whitley, to have the same opportunities and experiences that she so cherishes about her own upbringing. 

For over four years, Cash has made the 46-mile round-trip from her home in Laverne to the OSU Extension office in Buffalo. But, the role Cash played in the spring of 2017 wasn't included in the job description.

On March 6th, the first wildfire was reported in the Northwest, donations from across the country began arriving within hours.Cash and her coworkers at her office took on a daunting task: organizing the influx of donations and making sure they were distributed.

While some may label organizing a flood of donated materials as a challenge, Cash calls it a blessing from God. Cash put in her fair share of hours throughout the month of March, working up to 20 hours a day at times.

As the country reflects on the wildfires in northwest Oklahoma, many will remember images of courage by those affected and the selfless acts of kindness towards them. There is no doubt that for many that image looks like their friend Araine Cash, whom they met while simply trying to show love to others.

Continue reading Cash's story about her life and what makes her a significant woman in agriculture, by clicking over to our website for her complete profile by ODAFF.

One goal was made very clear by activists during their annual meeting held in Virginia this past August - to end all forms of animal agriculture regardless of how well animals are cared for. Hannah Thompson Weeman of the Animal Agriculture Alliance spoke with me about how these activists have strategized to accomplish their mission of eliminating farms of all sizes.


"At the end of the day, they want to end all forms of using animals and all forms of animal agriculture," Hannah said, explaining their strategy to first target 'factory farms,' a term they themselves coined to cast a negative light on larger production operations. "They think they are going to get further if they start with large-scale, modern, efficient production systems which is that idea of factory farming."


However, a speaker at this year's conference was quoted saying that activists need to stop saying it's factory farming that is the problem. He says, that gives people the idea that there are alternative animal agriculture operations that are acceptable. According to Hannah, activists have made it clear, they are not here to negotiate. Simply put, they continue to advance their agenda, choosing one target at a time - moving the goal post a little further each time. And apparently, these groups, that were once fragmented doing their own individual things, have now begun to cooperate.


"Over the past several years, they've really all come together and put pressure on companies for the same thing," Hannah said. "That's something we're all very aware, that that's their end goal - that's what they're working for."


Listen to Hannah explain to me, the long-term strategy of activists and how she suggests the agriculture community should respond to the mounting threat they present to the industry, on Friday's Beef Buzz - click here.