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Both House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas and his Ranking Minority Member Colin Peterson briefed the members of the House Ag Committee in separate closed door meetings on Thursday- with the bottom line of no deal as of yet. The clock continues to tick on the House and Senate Ag Committee Leadership as they try to pull together details of a plan to cut $23 Billion in agricultural spending over ten years- that plan would in fact be the de facto 2012 farm bill.

But as the clock ticks on both this effort and the broader effort of the so called Super Committee to do their work and find at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts- turbulence is making the effort by Congressman Lucas and the others very difficult.  Two familiar foes to spending much if any money on a Commodity title and a safety net for farmers are fanning the flames of resistance to a "secret" farm bill written outside of regular order.

Wisconsin Democrat Ron Kind fought hard to eliminate much of the Commodity Title in 2008- and he went public with a letter that he and 26 other Congressmen wrote to the Super Committee- crying foul over the Secret Farm Bill process. In the letter, the lawmakers tell the Super Committee "We urge the Joint Select Committee to resist proposals that would go beyond its mandate of deficit reduction and authorize new, complicated agriculture programs that have not been the subject of Congressional review." Click here for our story that includes the full text of the letter. 

You also have several groups also very unhappy with the process- the Environmental Working Group is one- and they claim that the apparent direction of the Ag Committee leadership is to do even more revenue assurance as they drop Direct Farm Program payments- which they say is a HUGE boondoggle for the biggest farmers of program crops. They hired Dr. Bruce Babcock of Iowa State who studied the combination of Crop Insurance and some of the Revenue Assurance farm program possibilities- and they say taxpayers could be stuck with an enormous bill. Click here to jump over to our website to learn more about the Babcock study- and to hear an audio overview of the EWG demands on ending the closed door process and stripping away much of the Commodity Title in the 2012 Farm Bill debate.     

Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Working on Pilot Program to Protect Lesser Prairie Chickens

The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are all working together to help establish a program to help Lesser Prairie Chickens not make the endangered species list.

We sat down with Clay Pope, Executive Director for the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, at the Oklahoma Ag Expo, where Pope was speaking on Thursday morning, to talk about the program and how these organizations are working towards a solution.

Pope says they are working towards a program that is similar to the carbon credit program, where they were allowed to pay individuals who will do the requirements of the program on their land. Pope says the goal would be to improve the wildlife habitat and basically forego certain types of developments to try to improve the quality of the habitat area for the Lesser Prairie Chicken.

Click here to listen to our conversation with Clay Pope.  

Subcommittee Approves Legislation Preventing Costly EPA Regulations on Farm Dust

The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), approved bipartisan legislation to provide much-needed certainty and regulatory relief to America's farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses. H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, passed the panel by a vote of 12-9 and now moves to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.

H.R. 1633, introduced by Reps. Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Leonard Boswell (D-IA), addresses the threat of increased federal regulation of dust by preventing EPA from imposing more stringent federal dust standards. It also exempts nuisance dust from EPA regulation where dust is already regulated under state, tribal, or local law.

The bill passed with an amendment introduced by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) clarifying the definition of nuisance dust to underscore that the bill does not exempt particulate matter generated from combustion, such as from industrial facilities and power plants. 

Click here for more information on this decision and legislation.  

Wheat Emergence Widely Varied According to Kim Anderson- and we have your SUNUP preview 

 With news spreading across the state of good wheat stands for some roducers, the outlook for wheat has changed over the past week. Dr. Kim Anderson, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist, says given what producers started with and the outlook a couple of months ago with continuing drought and temperatures, the reports are exceptional.

The condition of these wheat stands vary across the state with some regions getting more rain than others. When it comes to the northern region, around Kay, Garfield, Grant and even into Kingfisher county, Anderson says the reports show exceptional stands of wheat.

As you move south, the stands aren't quite as good. Anderson says they are still good quality but not as good as the north. 

Click here to listen to Dr. Anderson and Lyndall Stout's conversation on the wheat progression and for your SUNUP preview. 

Farm Service Agency County Committee Elections Begin Today

Francie Tolle, executive director for Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA), announced that the 2011 FSA county committee election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters on November 4th. The deadline for eligible voters to return ballots to their county FSA offices will be December 5, 2011.

"The FSA county committee system is unique among government agencies, because it allows producers to make important decisions concerning the local administration of federal farm programs," said Tolle. "I urge all eligible farmers and producers, especially minorities and women, to get involved and make a real difference in their communities by voting in this year's elections."

Committee members apply their knowledge and judgment to make decisions on disaster and conservation payments, establishment of allotments and yields, producer appeals, employing FSA county executive directors and other local issues.

Click here for more on these FSA county committee elections.

Producers May Not Need to Use Nitrogen on Wheat in 2011 

 It's said that every cloud has a silver lining. As we approach the end of 2011, the rather tarnished silver lining in the very uncloudy year is that many soil sample results have considerably higher than average amounts of nitrates, especially in wheat and winter pasture fields. What does this mean? It means that you may be able to reduce or eliminate nitrogen (N) fertilizer this year.

Don't read the title of this article and immediately call the dealership and cancel your fertilizer purchase. All soil samples are not high in residual nitrates. The only way you can know if your fields have high amounts of residual nitrogen is to take good soil samples and rely on the results.

The standard 0- to 6-inch soil sample is OK for this purpose, but taking an additional 6- to 12-inch sample will show how much N is in the subsoil and may allow you to cut N rates even further.

Click here for more on nitrogen levels in wheat in 2011.

GIPSA Rumblings 

No official word has come from USDA as of yet- but we have been getting indications that officials are ready to move a modified version of the GIPSA rule to the next step- which may be sending it as early as today on to the Office of Management and Budget for their blessing.  

There has been a lot of speculation that the USDA would strip out the most controversial parts of the proposed rule- and that would result in little impact on the cattle and hog producers of this country- while poultry operations would be subject to more change coming from the amended marketing rule, which was originally proposed back in June 2010.  That apparently is the case.  

Part 1 will be a Final Rule that contains only some of the provisions expressly required under the 2008 Farm Bill.  Those provisions appear to include primarily poultry-related provisions such as provisions that address the suspension of delivery of birds, additional capital investment criteria, breach of contract and arbitration as well as a section on sample contracts for swine and poultry.  

Part 2 will be an Interim Rule, which will contain a modified version of the section in the proposed rule that addressed tournament pricing systems in the poultry industry. The Interim Rule will also have a new public comment period before it becomes final.

USDA is indicating that it is abandoning provisions in its proposed rule that would have prohibited packer-to-packer sales, prohibited a packer buyer from buying for more than one packer, and the requirements that packers must retain records.

USDA is indicating that all the other provisions in the proposed rule will remain at USDA for further consideration, meaning USDA will not send the sections on prohibiting undue preferences or advantage, or the section that clarifies that producers do not have to prove harm to the entire industry if they are harmed by a packer's unfair buying practices. 

At this point, it does not look like any of our other key cattle issues have gone through USDA's clearance process, so they likely will not be submitted to OMB for a while. It appears that USDA is not backing off of these proposals forever- but for now- they appear to be going NOWHERE. 

Visit Old Germany Restaurant and Fill Up on Original German Cuisine

Old Germany in Choctaw, Okla., continues the Legendary Restaurants of Oklahoma this week on Friday, Nov. 4. Old Germany has been open since 1976, when the family visited Oklahoma and decided to make the big decision and move to the state. Known for their strictly German menu, Old Germany serves up the best in original German cuisine.

Mike Turek, one of the family owners of Old Germany Restaurant, says when the restaurant was first opened, they only had a couple of German dishes on the menu. Today, they only serve up dishes that are part of the German culture and one of their most popular dishes is of course their wiener schnitzel. 

Click here to purchase your $50 voucher to Old Germany for only $25! 

Our very own Karolyn Bolay also visited with Mike Turek about Old Germany Restaurant. Click here to listen to their conversation and find out more about this German restaurant.