Oklahoma County horticulturalist Rodd Moesel was elected president of Oklahoma Farm Bureau by voting delegates at the organization's annual meeting Nov. 11 in Norman, Oklahoma.

The central Oklahoma small business owner has represented District Three on the OKFB board of directors for seven years. He was re-elected to serve his third term in 2016.

"It's very gratifying, and it's unusual because I am unconventional," Moesel said. "I know I'm not the traditional farmer. Oklahoma's very much a cow-calf and grains state."

As he sought the Presidency- Moesel pledged "I will work hand and hand with the state board to switch from a combative intimidation style to a cooperative style with other state agriculture groups. We will work hard to select the right new staff to lead us in the future. We will rebuild our service staff to be active with their Counties to develop county plans of action and to rebuild membership. We believe strongly in transparency and will work hard to rebuild our member confidence and commitment to the organization."

Shortly after hearing his name called as the run off election winner over incumbent Tom Buchanan- we were one of the first reporters to talk with the new President. The audio from that conversation is a part of our webstory that is our Top Ag Story this morning on Oklahoma Farm Report- available here.

This story also has details of the other elections held by the Farm Bureau on Saturday for several District Positions that help make up their State Board of Directors.

 

Delegates to the 2017 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Convention in Norman approved a wide variety of policy resolutions that were submitted to them by the State Resolutions Committee, which had sifted through several hundred proposals that came up from County Farm Bureaus. More than three hundred delegates from all 77 Oklahoma Counties weighed in on seventy six resolutions that covered a wide variety of issues.

Several of the resolutions sparked significant debate- with perhaps one of the hotest topics of conversation coming as delegates voted 79% in favor of "supporting a fuel tax increase capped at 6 cents per gallon added to the current tax and distributed under the existing formula, dedicated to roads and bridges with counties receiving a portion of the revenue. Maintain the dyed fuel exemption." The delegates also voiced full support to eliminate tax breaks currently in place for wind power and stated that "Electric vehicles should pay a road tax."

Farm Bureau is also looking for a way to raise the level of protection for their sales tax exemption for inputs for ag production. Delegates approved a measure that stated "Recently, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that to eliminate an existing exemption, only a simple majority vote of the legislature is required. Agricultural inputs should be moved to a non taxed status, rather than be a sales tax exemption status. Legislation should be adopted during the 2018 session."

Click or tap here to read more of the results of the Resolutions Session at the 2017 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Convention.

 

Oklahoma third district Congressman Frank Lucas told the Opening General Session of the 2017 Oklahoma Farm Bureau Convention that he is hopeful that a farm bill can be written in the early days of 2018- which would follow the measure that he oversaw as the Chairman of the House Ag Committee in 2013-14. He told the general farm organization that a high priority for him is to get federal farm safety net help for cotton producers in the 2018 policy update, which may mean cottonseed might become a farm program crop in Title One.

Just ahead of his presentation to the Farm Bureau, Congressman Lucas talked about his hopes on the Farm Bill debate with yours truly- and he believes that the first quarter of 2018 is a realistic timeframe to get a farm bill moving through the Committee and then onto the floor of the House.

Click or tap here to read more- and to have a chance to hear our brief conversation with Oklahoma's member of the House Ag Committee.

 

According to Don Close, Senior Protein analyst with Rabobank, the cattle markets have been remarkably profitable in all sectors of the industry here in 2017, and he contends they were set up to do so from the beginning. He explained his theory, speaking with our colleague Carson Horn during the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Convention in Kansas City this past week.

"We started a year ago now - a lot of disappointment in calf prices and the cow/calf guy had a tough go," Close said. "The fact that that set of cattle went into the system undervalued laid the ground work for all sectors of the industry to have a very good year in 2017."

As a result of that, Close explains the same set of calves that were undervalued a year ago sold at substantially better prices that balanced out the initial lowball prices. As of right now, he says the industry is ending the year on very solid footing, even as the number of cattle on feed continues to swell. The fact that carcass weights are currently running about 15 lbs. below year ago levels is helping to keep a lid on total production. The way in which the market has fallen into place has proven to turn a profit for each segment of the business - and Close says there is no reason why producers shouldn't see that momentum continue into 2018.

Close was our featured guest on our Friday Beef Buzz- and you can read more and listen to his comments by clicking here.

 

It's bad news for US Agriculture that a lame duck Senator from Arizona has stopped the confirmation of Gregg Doud to be the Chief Ag Negotiator for the US Trade Representative's office.

Farmers and and ranchers only have Sonny Perdue telling their good news story on trade within the Trump Administration at this time- and Gregg Doud's voice is badly needed when it comes to NAFTA, KORUS as well as a possible bi-lateral with Japan.

Here's a summary of a story from Politico on the Doud hold by Senator Jeff Flake,who has announced he won't be running for reelection next year. Flake, by the way, is a fierce critic of President Donald Trump and it appears that both Arizona Senators have little desire to be helpful to the President in any way.

Arizona Republican Jeff Flake has put a hold on the confirmation of Gregg Doud, President Trump's nominee to be the U.S. Trade Representative's Chief Agricultural Negotiator. Politico says the hold involves concerns surrounding a controversial produce proposal that the United States has introduced into the North American Free Trade Agreement Negotiations. The seasonal produce proposal is aimed at protecting U.S. farmers from cheaper Mexican imports. Growers in the southeastern U.S. support the proposal.

Flake argues that the move would raise the cost of production, reduce the selection of fruits and vegetables for consumers, and hurt growers in western states like Flake's home-state of Arizona. The largest U.S. port of entry for produce is located in Arizona. Flake hasn't said what it would take to get him to lift the hold.

Flake wrote a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer asking him to commit to withdrawing the proposal at the next round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City. Flake wrote, "Efforts that lead to unncessary restrictions on trade with our North American partners will have devastating economic consequences both in Arizona and nationwide." 

One note- Jay Truitt, who worked with Gregg Doud at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's DC office, has opined on Facebook that "a Senator who is struggling to remain relevant has decided that his ego is more important than a viable trade agreement negotiated by knowledgeable expert negotiators like Gregg Doud. This is why DC is dysfunctional. Mexican tomatoes are more important than confirming the person who would actually negotiate on behalf of all of agriculture worldwide."

 

Our own Carson Horn also caught up with current chairman of the Cattlemen's Beef Board Brett Morris, a cattle producer from Ninnekah, Oklahoma during the National Association of Farm Broadcasters convention last week in Kansas City. Morris reviewed some of the activities the board has been engaged in, recently.

Most recently, Morris says the CBB just wrapped up its operation committee meeting, which sets the budget for the upcoming year. In total, the committee had roughly $38 million dollars in which to work with to fund Checkoff related programs.

In addition to this, the Beef Checkoff has also just launched a new campaign designed to revitalize the 'Beef It's What's for Dinner' brand. The campaign incorporates elements being heavily utilized on social media platforms, such as hashtags to promote awareness and allow people to connect, share and engage with the campaign. The emphasis on digital platforms is specifically to target the Millennial generation - which is becoming an increasingly more important demographic for the beef industry. One element of the campaign is a series of videos that illustrates producers' way of life and how they raise cattle.

"To be honest, the very first video of it - I just got chills from looking at it, because it gave me that 'feel good' feeling. I'm part of that, I pay the checkoff dollar and this is what my checkoff dollar is going to," he said. "The connection we've got to have is to just get the producers to that website and let them see it. It's also a great resource for consumers to go to."

You can read more and also listen to Carson talk with Brett by clicking or tapping here.

 

Saturday morning, we had the chance to visit with the President of the American Farm Bureau, Zippy Duvall, right after he spoke to the morning session of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Convention. 

You can jump over to our website by clicking here and take a listen to our visit- which was mostly about policy- but also about why he felt the desire to give so much of himself as he has taken on the job of the leading general farm organization in the US.

One side note about our visit with Zippy- we were about two thirds of the way thru our conversation when the doors flew open and we were asked to vacate the room because EMTs had a delegate who had an apparent heart attack they were working on and needed the privacy.  President Duvall and I stepped to the hallway and without missing a beat- he picked up where we were and we finished the interview you can hear in the link above.

Moments after we finished- the doors to that room opened and the EMTs wheeled the Farm Bureau member out and headed to the Ambulance- they let the wife know she could follow them over to the hospital if she preferred.  Shortly after that- I saw Zippy give that sweet lady a hug and he and a couple of folks stood with her and offered up a prayer for her husband. 

Zippy Duvall had quoted scripture on stage minutes earlier and he lived it out in the hallway after.  I got my gospel lesson for the day right then.

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Friday night at the 2017 Oklahoma Farm Bureau convention- lots of awards were handed out- I would direct you to their website and this link right here for a full rundown of those that they honored here in 2017.

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Finally- some Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program bragging- many of you know that I am very proud of our leadership development program for folks engaged in agricultural pursuits- the OALP.  For more years than I can honestly tell you- I have been so honored to be the Chairman of the Advisory Council to OSU for the Program. 

So when alums do good- I smile. 

With that in mind- Congrats to Class V Alum Rodd Moesel for being elected to President of Oklahoma Farm Bureau- By the way- one of Rodd's classmates, James Fuser, serves on the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Board.

Congrats also to Class Two Alum  Jimmy Wayne Kinder of Walters who was reelected to serve on the Farm Board Board as Class 4 Director.

ALSO- Congrats to Class XIV Alum Chad Selman who won the YF&R Achievement Award.

And- Congrats to Class XVI Alums Brent Howard and Jennifer Jensen Howard (Classmates who got hitched) selected as the OKlahoma Farm Bureau YF&R Chairmen for the coming year- Brent also will represent Oklahoma at the AFBF Convention in Nashville in the Discussion Meet!