The Oklahoma Beef Checkoff Referendum has apparently failed, based on the raw numbers provided to Oklahoma State Commissioner of Agriculture Jim Reese. Reese, after receiving a half dozen boxes filled with ballots from the Third Party Auditor that collected the ballots and provided a vote count, announced that " after reviewing the ballots from both the early mail in voting and the in person voting, I find the vote to adopt the new Oklahoma Beef Checkoff to have failed by 1998 in favor and 2506 in opposition."


Reese added that he would review all ballots and provide a certified vote count in one week- by next Thursday, November 16th.

Click or tap here to read more- and to hear an audio overview from midday yesterday on the defeat.  That story include comments from OCA, the Oklahoma Council, AFR and two groups opposing the Checkoff that issued a joint statement- R-Calf  and the Organization for Competitive Markets. The audio report includes some comments with AFR's Terry Detrick.

Later, we caught up with Weston Givens, current President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association- and you can hear his comments and read the full statement from the OCA by

 

The November Crop Production Report from USDA pushed Oklahoma further into uncharted territory as the state is now the fourth largest cotton producing state in the country, with a November first estimated crop of 1.1 million bales. In the last couple of years, cotton acreage in the state has ramped up- and the 2017 season will see 555,000 acres of cotton harvested in the state, up from 290,000 acres in 2016 and 205,000 acres in 2015.

The yield jumped 101 pounds of lint per acre from October to November in the USDA estimates- and that pushed the state total production to 1.1 million bales. Last year- the crop ended up being 617,000 bales, while in 2015- we ginned 374,000 bales of cotton from Oklahoma fields.

If 2017 unfolds in a similar fashio to the 2016 crop and timeline with USDA- the 1.1 million bale number could get even bigger by the time we close the books on this historic crop.

Click or tap here to read more- and we have links to the complete November Crop Production Report and the Oklahoma-Texas Production Report which further breaks down the cotton and other spring planted crops for the both states.

We also have the interview from earlier this week with Randy Boman as we talked about this 2017 Oklahoma Crop.

 

Oklahoma State University Extension Grain Market Economist Dr. Kim Anderson talked about the USDA WASDE report released on Thursday morning as he was interviewed by Lyndall Stout of the OSU Ag Communications Department for this weekend's SUNUP program- to be seen on OETA.

Anderson said the WASDE held little interest for wheat and soybeans- but the USDA reports- both the Crop Production report as well as the Supply and Demand Report were bearish for corn- the 2017 corn crop has gotten bigger with a record yield now predicted by USDA- and expected lower wheat prices as a result. Anderson says that is not the best news for wheat producers, as the lesser quality wheat in the pipepline needs to be livestock feed- and with cheaper corn prices, that feed wheat just becomes harder to move.

Anderson says that wheat farmers who are unwilling to pursue best management practices and use needed inputs in order to produce a quality wheat crop hurt themselves and their neighbors- saying "you have got to ignore these lower prices- if you are a wheat producer, you are a wheat producer- you have got to produce a quality product that the market wants and needs and the only way to do that is to use best management practices to get that test weight up and get that protein up and have a good milling quality product."

Click or tap here to hear the conversation between Kim and Lyndall- and for a chance to review the complete lineup for trhis weekend's SUNUP to be seen on OETA.

 

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) released the following statement after the National Institute of Health finally published the Agricultural Health Study on the herbicide glyphosate in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This study is widely considered to be the preeminent study on glyphosate exposure in humans and determined that glyphosate was not a carcinogen.

"The Agricultural Health Study confirms what we already knew-there is no link between glyphosate exposure and cancer. This only echoes the findings of the EPA's Scientific Advisory Panel and the European Chemicals Agency, both of which have also determined that glyphosate is not a carcinogen. These findings reaffirm my concern that the previous administration purposefully withheld the release of this report while they refused to finish glyphosate's registration review.

"I hope that with this report being made public, and with the new leadership at the EPA, glyphosate's long overdue registration review will be completed."

Click or tap here to review Senator Inhofe's timeline on this regulatory journey.

 

Each November, it has become a tradition for competitive equine enthusiasts across the globe to make Oklahoma City an annual destination, to take part in the Lucas Oil American Quarter Horse World Championship. Contestants and spectators alike have the opportunity between now and November 18th, to enjoy some of the best that the horse world has to offer. Event organizer, Sarah Davisson, of the American Quarter Horse Association, me in studio this week to discuss the show, that has attracted over 4,800 entries this year.

"These exhibitors qualify and compete all year long just to compete at State Fair Park," Davisson said, adding that there is something for everybody at the show. "You can see a little bit of everything. The American Quarter Horse is the world's most versatile horse and you get to see that versatility here in Oklahoma City."

Click or tap here to read more(and to listen to my visit with Sarah) about the 2017 World Show- and I invite you tune in Saturday morning on KWTV News9 for our In the Field segment- Sarah will join me as we talk about the thousands of horses and their owners that make the AQHA World show so unique.

 

With a Nov. 15 deadline looming, the National Pork Producers Council and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association today filed a brief in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's motion to delay a mandate that farmers report certain air emissions from manure on their farms.


In April, a federal court, ruling on a lawsuit brought by environmental activist groups against EPA, rejected an exemption for farms from reporting "hazardous" emissions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). CERCLA mainly is used to clean hazardous waste sites but has a federal reporting component, while EPCRA requires entities to report on the storage, use and release of hazardous substances to state and local governments, including first responders.

Unless a delay is granted- Between 60,000 and 100,000 livestock and poultry farmers will need to file air emissions reports with the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center (NRC), beginning Nov. 15, as well as written reports with their regional EPA office within 30 days of reporting to the NRC.

Click or tap here to read more about why the Pork Production are asking for further delay from EPA on these reports.

 

There are some outstanding speakers and other program elements that have been put in place for the 2017 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Convention and Trade Show that runs today though Sunday morning- but really the Delegates are the stars of the show for 2017, as they will establish not just the policy direction of the organization for the coming year- but will also decide who will lead the organization as they seek new staff, deal with lawsuits and more. 

Three candidates will be asking for the job of President. Incumbent Tom Buchanan, Fourth District Board Member Jimmy Wayne Kinder and Third District Board MemberRodd Moesel each have a slightly different mindset of the direction they would like to take the organization- click on their names and you can read their statements that have been circulated among Farm Bureau leadership and delegates.

We have been told that the delegates will start work on the resolutions that are coming out of the State Resolutions Committee Meeting of a couple of weeks ago on Saturday morning- then after lunch, the speeches for each candidate and by each candidate will preceed the voting on Saturday afternoon.

For a complete agenda of the meeting- click or tap here.