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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement on USDA's 2011 Farm Income Forecast, which forecast net farm income at $100.9 billion for 2011, up $21.8 billion or 28 percent from 2010.

"Today's farm income forecast shows that the American brand of agriculture continues to be a bright spot in our nation's economy. Following on a strong 2010, all three measures of farm sector earnings again experienced strong growth in 2011.According to today's numbers, farmers are earning 28 percent more for their products than they made last year. And it is making a real difference for America's farm families, whose household income was up 3.1 percent in 2010 and is forecasted to increase 1.2 percent in 2011. This is good news for rural America and for our national economy.

"A combination of factors has made these numbers possible including growth in cash receipts, off-farm employment, and a record high of $137.4 billion in FY 2011 farm exports-which continues U.S. agriculture's year over year trade surplus.

"A strong U.S. agricultural economy means more opportunities for small businesses owners and jobs for folks who package, ship, and market agricultural products. Our farmers and ranchers have worked hard to keep their debt low and to capitalize on a broader economic recovery."

Click here for more from Secretary Vilsack and a link to the complete Farm Income Forecast report.

Noble Foundation and Other Researchers Collaborate to Address Global Challenges 

The four largest nonprofit plant science research institutions in the U.S. have joined forces to form the Association of Independent Plant Research Institutes (AIPI) in an effort to target plant science research to meet the profound challenges facing society in a more coordinated and rapid fashion.

Scientific leaders from the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (Cornell University), The Carnegie Institution for Science, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (St. Louis, Mo.) and The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation (Ardmore, Okla.) formed the AIPI to facilitate scientific discovery through intellectual and technical collaborations. The group will also disseminate research outcomes and provide a forum for discussion of approaches to the challenges facing agriculture.

Collectively, AIPI member institutions operate nearly 60 laboratories with more than 400 personnel. Each organization offers different but complementary technical expertise that ranges from measuring individual chemicals and proteins within plants to the ability to obtain three-dimensional images of plant structures and proteins in living tissue. In addition, state-of-the-art greenhouse and field resources allow science to mature beyond the laboratory and into tangible outcomes to benefit consumers and provide for tomorrow. 

Click here for more on this research collaboration with Noble Foundation and others.

Farm Service Agency County Committee Elections Deadline Approaches 

Francie Tolle, executive director for Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA), reminds producers that the 2011 FSA county committee elections began Nov. 4, with USDA mailing ballots to eligible voters. The deadline to return the ballots to local FSA offices is Monday, Dec. 5, 2011.

"Our county committee members play a vital role in the operations of our Agency," said Tolle. "New county committee members provide input and make important decisions on the local administration of disaster and conservation programs. With more producers seeking election in recent years, we have also seen increases in the number of women and minority candidates, helping to better represent the diversity of American agriculture."

County committee members provide a link between the agricultural community and USDA. Farmers elected to county committees help deliver FSA programs at the local level, applying their knowledge and judgment to make decisions on commodity price support programs; conservation programs; disaster programs for some commodities; emergency programs and eligibility. FSA committees operate within official regulations designed to carry out federal laws. 

Click here for more information and to find out if you are an eligible voter.

Last Chance to Weigh in on Department of Labor's Craziness Regarding Youth Labor on the Farm 

The deadline is now here- tomorrow is Thursday, December first- and that is the final day that comments can be submitted online for the changes that the Department of Labor wants to make to a relatively old law- the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Feds want to make everything done on a farm or ranch by a minor subject to their blessing.  

For example- one segment of the proposed rule relates to moving cattle from one pasture to another on horseback. "Hired youth should be prohibited from herding animals on horseback. The National Farm Medicine Center noted that past and recent data indicate a significant number of animal-related injuries occur to youth when they are involved in the activities cited in its second recommendation. It also reports that ''horseback herding requires a person to monitor and anticipate the behaviors of two (large) animals simultaneously. No youth development data exists to suggest youth younger than 16 years have the cognitive ability to handle this responsibility.''   Hired youth- according to the wizards in Washington is any young person under 16 not working directly for his mom or dad on their personal farm or ranch.  It can't be a LLC or a similar legal structure of ownership- the fifteen year old can't work for his granddad or other family member or neighbor they have known since birth.   

Your chance to tell DOL your thoughts on these rules ends tomorrow night.  It has been suggested to us that you need to say more than that you are just against it- but rather why and give specific examples about how working in a supervised manner- your kids or you- learned life lessons in those key teenage years that helped establish a work ethic that has made US agriculture what it is. (just tell your story- that will can have impact) Click here to learn more about the proposal and how you can make your comments known.  Once you get your comments submitted on the Federal website- you may want to forward them to your US Senators and to your US Congressman- when they feel heat- they often see the light.  

Former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine Called to Testify before Senate Committee

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, has called on former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine to testify before the Agriculture Committee at a hearing on December 13th.

The hearing is the latest step in an ongoing investigation into circumstances surrounding the October 31 bankruptcy of MF Global Holdings Ltd., the eighth largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The Senate Agriculture Committee has oversight jurisdiction on commodity trading and its regulatory agencies.

"The farmers, small business owners and others who trusted this firm are now facing tremendous hardship and may ultimately never recover all of their money," said Chairwoman Stabenow. "A discovery of this magnitude demonstrates yet again the need for strong oversight and protections for consumers to prevent this sort of abuse from occurring. Anyone engaged in wrongdoing in this matter must be swiftly held accountable, to help bring justice to victims and to prevent further erosion of confidence in the financial system." 

Click here for more on this hearing by the Agriculture Committee.

State/National Partnership Key to New Beef Retail Marketing Program 

State beef councils are joining with the national Beef Checkoff Program in support of a new retail beef marketing program that has the potential to significantly increase U.S. beef sales. The checkoff-funded program, called Beef Alternative Marketing (BAM), has identified innovative cutting techniques and marketing strategies for securing beef purchases from shoppers who previously looked elsewhere for nutritious, high-quality, size-appropriate proteins.

BAM creates smaller filets and roasts out of beef ribeyes, top loins and top sirloins. These new cuts are thicker than many being sold by retailers, which have been sliced thinner because of larger beef carcass sizes and a retail desire to control package weights. By increasing cut thickness, final product quality is protected. At the same time, smaller portions give consumers the sizes and nutritional profiles they seek.

We have a story on BAM that describes the State-National Partnership efforts- and includes Heather Buckmaster's take on BAM as well as the Oklahoma Beef Council's role in bringing this program successfully on line. Click here for more information on this partnership between state beef councils and the national Beef Checkoff.   

We also have featured BAM on today's Beef Buzz, as heard on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network. Click here for our Beef Buzz, which has Beef Operating Committee member Becky Walth of South Dakota weighing in on BAM.  

Syngenta Ordered to Defend Atrazine-Contamination Lawsuit in Court

A federal judge in Southern Illinois has ordered the Swiss parent company of atrazine-maker Syngenta Crop Protection Inc. (SCPI) to appear in his court to a defend a water-contamination lawsuit brought by Midwestern public water providers filed by Korein Tillery of St. Louis.

The order marked the first time the company has ever been held subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.

The notably detailed opinion by District Judge J. Phil Gilbert of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois was handed down the day before Thanksgiving and found that Syngenta AG (SAG) - the Basel, Switzerland-based international conglomerate - "has organized its group of subsidiary companies, including SCPI, purposefully to limit the jurisdictions in which it is subject to court authority."

Judge Gilbert focused on substance over form, however, and exercised jurisdiction because voluminous evidence revealed SAG's pervasive operational control over its indirect subsidiary SCPI - the agrochem giant based in Greensboro, N.C., that manufactures and distributes the herbicide Atrazine that is at the heart of the lawsuit.

Click here for more information on this atrazine-contamination lawsuit.