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Rep. Frank Lucas, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, released the following statement in response to the announcement that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has failed to reach an agreement.

"House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders developed a bipartisan, bicameral proposal for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that would save $23 billion. However, the Joint Select Committee's failure to reach a deal on an overall deficit reduction package effectively ends this effort. We are pleased we were able to work in a bipartisan way with committee members and agriculture stakeholders to generate sound ideas to cut spending by tens of billions while maintaining key priorities to grow the country's agriculture economy. We will continue the process of reauthorizing the farm bill in the coming months, and will do so with the same bipartisan spirit that has historically defined the work of our committees."

National Corn Growers Association expressed their disappointment with the announcement by the Super Committee. President Garry Niemeyer released the following statement:

"We're disappointed the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction did not agree on a plan to reduce our federal deficit. We appreciate the hard work of the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Ag Committees to meet agriculture's responsibility to help address our debt crisis."

Click here for more from NCGA on the Super Committee failure.  

And one reaction that is somewhat surprising- but shows that even those outside agriculture understand the bi partisan efforts were unique to the Agriculture Committees. Sara Hopper with the Environmental Defense Fund offered praise for the efforts of Lucas and Stabenow- "While this agreement included significant savings from USDA's voluntary conservation programs, and any cuts to these programs are painful, leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees worked in a bipartisan way to minimize the negative impact of the cuts by also including in their agreement certain policy changes that would have improved the effectiveness of conservation programs. "  Click here for her full statement released on Monday afternoon.    

Oklahoma Crop Weather Update - Cooler Temps Move In 

The latest USDA Crop Weather Update says the cooler temperatures have finally arrived in Oklahoma saying- "The entire state received temperatures below freezing, with the Northern and Panhandle area's receiving the longest hours below freezing. Mesonet reported hours below freezing ranged from one hour in Southeastern Oklahoma to 46 hours in the Panhandle. Freezing temperatures ended the warm season grass production for this year.  

For our fall-planted crops - "Wheat, canola, rye, and oats conditions continued to be rated good to fair. Wheat producers grazed wheat fields earlier than normal due to hay and pasture shortages. Canola, rye and oats conditions were unchanged last week, mostly rated good to fair. Wheat emerged reached 93 percent, four points above the five-year average.  

Harvesting of row crops continued to make good progress last week. Sorghum reached 79 percent harvested, slightly under the five-year average. Soybeans mature reached 98 percent complete by Sunday, and 75 percent of soybeans were harvested, 10 points behind normal. Peanuts dug reached 95 percent complete and 88 percent of the peanuts were combined by Sunday, six points behind the five-year average. The cotton harvest was 68 percent complete by week's end, four points behind this time last year."

When it comes to hay productions, the dry conditions kept harvest progress behind normal. Third cuttings of alfalfa were 75 percent complete, and 22 percent of the state had completed a fourth cutting, compared to a five-year average of 100 percent. A second cutting of other hay was 60 percent complete by Sunday, 31 points behind
normal.

Click here for the complete Oklahoma Crop Weather Update as of Monday, November 21, 2011. 

Noble Foundation Board of Trustees Names Bill Buckner as New President

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Board of Trustees has selected Bill Buckner as the organization's new president and chief executive officer (CEO).

Buckner, who will begin his tenure on Jan. 16, 2012, most recently served as president and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP and has more than 30 years of experience within various agricultural industries.

"Bill Buckner is a proven leader with great integrity and foresight," said Vivian DuBose, chair of the executive search committee and granddaughter of the organization's founder, Lloyd Noble. "The board is confident that he will continue the Noble Foundation's tradition of excellence and advance our mission to improve agriculture for the benefit of mankind."

Buckner becomes the eighth president in the Noble Foundation's 66-year history. He will replace Michael Cawley, who is retiring after two decades of leading the Ardmore, Okla., based foundation. 

Click here for more information about the Noble Foundation's new president, Bill Buckner.  

Miss Oklahoma Sharing Importance of Dairy With Oklahoma Students

Miss Oklahoma, Betty Thompson, has been helping to spread the word about the dairy industry, agriculture, and the importance of exercise and a balanced diet in schools across the state. Recently at a Fuel Up to Play 60 event in Guthrie, Okla., Thompson talked with students about all of these issues and capatilized on her platform of "Milk It Really Does a Body Good."

Growing up on a farm just north of Davenport, Okla., Thompson raised Jersey cows on a small dairy operation. Thompson grew up milking cows every morning and every night as well as bottle feeding cows. Thompson says her experiences at the family dairy helped inspire her platform as Miss Oklahoma.

Thompson has been traveling to multiple schools during the school year to to talk to students about setting goals, having a healthy lifestyle, making good decisions and having self respect. Thompson says taking these programs and implementing them in schools has been her main job as Miss Oklahoma.

But Thompson says this is also preparing her for the Miss America pageant coming up in early 2012 in Las Vegas. Going out into the schools and having some type of speaking opportunity with children and interacting with people on a daily basis are the the biggest part of the preparation process says Thompson. 

Click here to listen to our conversation with Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson and for a video clip of her presentation to students in Guthrie. 

Futures Traders Hit Hard by MF Global Bankruptcy- Shortfall Doubles to $1.2 Billion 

The shortfall of commodity customer funds at MF Global Holdings Ltd  may be around $1.2 billion, about double initial estimates from regulators, the trustee liquidating the company said on Monday.

 The news was a blow to customers still hoping to get more of their cash out of frozen broker accounts and raised new questions about why the authorities managed to locate only about 60 percent of the segregated customer funds three weeks after the parent firm's October 31 bankruptcy.

There is impact down on the farm as producers across the country that use the market to hedge have had some of their funds caught in this trap- and the same is true for many country elevators.  

We have an article on our website that goes in depth into the farmer/rancher impacts of this MF Global mess- you can jump over there and read more by clicking here.  

Ranchers Need To Avoid Nitrate Toxicity During First Winter Storms

Almost as predictable as the coming of the winter season, will be the quickly spread horror story of the death of several cows from a herd that was fed "the good hay" for the first time after a snow storm. According to Dr. Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, ranchers that have purchased or harvested and stored potentially high nitrate forages such as forage sorghums, millets, sudangrass hybrids, and/or johnsongrass, need to be aware (not fearful) of the increased possibility of nitrate toxicity.

This is especially dangerous if the cows are fed this hay for the first time after a strong winter storm. Cattle can adapt (to a limited amount) to nitrate intake over time. However, cattlemen often will feed the higher quality forage sorghum type hays during a stressful, cold, wet winter storm. Cows may be especially hungry, because they have not gone out in the pasture grazing during the storm. They may be stressed and slightly weakened by the cold, wet conditions. This combination of events make them even more vulnerable to nitrate toxicity.

The rancher is correct in trying to make available a higher quality forage during severe winter weather in an effort to lessen the loss of body weight and body condition due to the effect of the wind chill. But if the forage he provides to the cows is potentially toxic, his best intentions can back fire. 

Click here for more tips from Dr. Glenn Selk on managing nitrate toxicity this winter.  

DuPont and Evogene Enter Multiyear Collaboration for Soybean Rust Resistance

DuPont and Evogene Ltd. announced a multiyear collaboration to improve resistance to soybean rust, one of the most devastating fungal diseases in soybean. Under the agreement, DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred and Evogene will collaborate to develop soybean varieties displaying in-plant resistance to rust. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Soybean is one of the world's most important crops, supplying protein for human and animal consumption and feedstock for oil production. Soybean rust is a severe fungal disease, which causes significant yield losses that can reach up to 80 percent of the affected field. It is estimated that the yield losses caused by soybean rust exceed $1.5 billion annually. Development of new rust-resistant soybean varieties would help growers protect harvestable yield against rust, ultimately improving productivity of agriculture.

DuPont and Evogene will jointly generate a genomic database tailored to soybean rust resistance. Evogene will utilize its computational genomic technology, the ATHLETE™, to identify novel genes predicted to improve soybean rust resistance. Pioneer will use proprietary technologies to evaluate the genes in transgenic soybeans, and may advance leads for further development and commercialization. Evogene will be entitled to receive milestone payments and royalties based on the sales of resulting products.

Click here for more from DuPont and Evogene on the work against soybean rust.