Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!

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R-Calf and others who support the GIPSA Proposal claim that small producers will be protected against the packers with this rule- but Woodall contends that those smaller producers will lose out, because many of the premiums that are paid for value added cattle may dry up and go away. Some of the major value added programs in the country have broken down the stats of the size of their participants- and large numbers of smaller producers take advantage of these programs and walk away with more than the market for their animals.

Woodall adds that he believes that GIPSA Administrator, Dudley Butler, has no intention of paying attention to any comments submitted and that USDA will publish a final rule within a few days after the end of the public comment period on November 22, 2010. He says those that oppose the rule will likely have little choice but to seek relief through court action.

Click on the LINK below to jump to our webstory and listen to Woodall's take on the proposed rule on the marketing of livestock from GIPSA. The Beef Buzz is heard daily across the region on great radio stations that are a part of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network.

Click here for our latest Beef Buzz featuring comments from Colin Woodall of the NCBA on GIPSA.

The article on Butler is called the "Fox Guarding the Hen House; Trial Lawyer who repeatedly sued food companies now regulating them."
In it, it offers this description of who Dudley Butler is- "Mississippi native J. Dudley Butler is a notorious plaintiff's attorney who has filed numerous lawsuits against poultry companies alleging unfair marketing and procurement practices. Before his nomination by President Obama as Administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA) - an agency charged with monitoring the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat and other ag products and ensuring healthy competition - he was an attorney in the Butler Farm and Ranch Law Group in Canton, Mississippi and well-known to the meat and poultry industry. He was one of the "Johnnie Cochrans" of ag law: "Got a chicken? Got a case."

The story adds that "Butler saw language in the 2008 Farm Bill that mandated GIPSA rulemaking on "undue preferences" as the train to which he could hitch a giant regulatory caboose. Instead of restricting himself to what Congress mandated, the proposal he shepherded to the Federal Register in June 2010 included language to reduce the legal obstacles he had encountered in court. Under such a scenario, the private practice to which he might return could be far more victorious in court, and far more lucrative."

Click here for complete article on who Dudley Butler is- and what he hopes to accomplish with the GIPSA Rules on the Marketing of Livestock

"This is not a bill with implications just for the Chesapeake Bay watershed," the letter states. "Its measures would have far reaching consequences for the entire U.S. and, as such, merits the full and serious consideration that the Senate would normally give to measures of such importance. We ask that you oppose any bill that comes to the Senate floor if it includes the text of S. 1816."

"A one-size-fits-all approach is not the appropriate way to address watershed issues at regional and local levels," said NACD President Steve Robinson. "EPA should give locally-led efforts a chance to succeed by ensuring landowners and local communities have the tools and assistance necessary to achieve our common clean water goals."

The American Farm Bureau also suggests that this proposal is bad news. "While carrying a title that suggests it is limited in scope, provisions of this bill would have drastic negative impacts on agriculture," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "The bill makes sweeping changes to the Clean Water Act and sets adverse water policy precedents that would impact watersheds throughout the nation." According to Stallman, the bill strips state and local governments within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed of their authority under the Clean Water Act and grants it instead to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Click here for the letter sent by ag interests protesting this measure as one to be considered in the Lame Duck session in November/December.

Education was a focus for both candidates during the forum. Fallin said if elected, she will work to reduce the remediation rates in Oklahoma to make sure students are adequately prepared for the workforce or college. She also hopes to get more education dollars into the classroom.
Askins said she will work to retain highly qualified teachers in the classroom and give them the flexibility to do their job. Such efforts would work to reduce high school dropout and remediation rates in Oklahoma and increase the number of college graduates, she said.

State Chamber President Fred Morgan said the forum was important to get both candidates in front of the state's business community and ask them questions about how they hope to grow Oklahoma's economy in the future. "Regardless of who wins, our next governor will face a challenging budget next year and it is important that she is familiar with the business leaders in our state who are working every day to create jobs and wealth in Oklahoma," said Morgan.

"Our top priority is the continuation of direct payments," said OFB President Mike Spradling. "The payments provide producers flexibility to grow various crops while providing income support."

This position lines up nicely with the thoughts of the possible next Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, who wants to allow farmers to keep Direct Payments as part of the federal farm price support safety net. This is in contrast to Collin Peterson, current Chairman, who has expressed interest in moving some or all of that money over to more support for programs like ACRE or Crop Insurance.

Click on the LINK below for more on what the Farm Bureau Resolutions Committee did during their sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Click here for our webstory on the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Resolutions Efforts of this week.

For example, the newsletter features some tips from Dr. Joe Armstrong about fall weed control options for winter wheat, which could pay dividends in the spring. There is also a reminder about proper seed rates for those wheat fields you plan on seeding after the first of November.

Click on the LINK below and check out this latest newsletter.

Click here for the latest PaSS Newsletter from the Plant and Soil Science Department in the Division of Ag at OSU.

Ryan Burns is the coach of one of the elite Livestock Judging Teams at the High School level in the US. The team, composed of 2010 High School Graduates, ran away from the rest of the field in the National FFA Championships held in Indianapolis this past week. This completes a long streak of national titles won by this particular team, including 2-time American Royal championships and the champion team at the National Western Livestock Expo in Denver.

On the speech side of competition, you will find very few ag educators that are any better at coaching young people and getting them ready for the rigors of a National FFA Speech Contest than Lori Burns. In the last two years, she has had finalists in two of the three national speech contests- Prepared Public Speaking, Extemporaneous Public Speaking and the Creed Speaking Contest. In 2009, with Final Four Speakers in the Creed Contest and the Prepared Public Speaking Contest- Mckenzie Walta won the National Prepared Public Speaking Contest. A couple of years earlier, McKenzie had finished second nationally in the Creed Speaking Contest.
In 2010, Lori and Kingfisher had a pair of Seniors competing for the last time in their career make the Final Four in Prepared and Extemp. Both Tara Newton and Ashton Mese navigated the difficult journey into the National Final Four- and then were both named National Champions.

Click on the LINK and read more about this couple- and while on that story- you can listen to our conversation with Lori Burns while we were in Indianapolis this past week.

Click here for our feature on Ryan and Lori Burns and their Efforts to Cultivate Excellence in the Kingfisher FFA.

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101 mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. CHECK OUT CASH CATTLE TRADE DETAILS FROM WEDNESDAY- $2.50 LOWER THAN LAST WEEK.