Humane Society Airs Concerns Over Gestation Crates

We called on our newest employee at the Radio Oklahoma Network, Jim Apel, to step up and cover what could have been a rather intense story that was set up by the Humane Society of the US deciding to hold a media briefing in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.  We were scehduled to head eastward to Nashville to get set up to begin coverage from the Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show.

Apel did an excellent job in presenting the cases made by both sides on Tuesday- as Paul Shapiro, the senior director of farm animal protection for the HSUS, complained to the news media about sows being held captive in gestation crates. "Getting rid of gestation crates is one of the most important reforms that can occur within the entire agribusiness industry and certainly the most important reform within the pork industry today," Shapiro said.

The other side of the story was told by Roy Lee Lindsey of the Oklahoma Pork Council- and Apel went downtown to the Pork Council offices and heard the OPC pushing back on what the HSUS was trying to accomplish. Lindsey told Apel that his organization has never been contacted by the humane society regarding the practices of pork producers in Oklahoma.

He said his group would welcome contact with the society about their views.

"We think it's much more appropriate for folks if you've got a concern about what we're doing to ask us and have a dialog about it than to try and misrepresent who you are and what you stand for.

"If you've got concerns, one of the things we teach all of our employees as a part of the process of working on a farm, is if you see something you think is inappropriate, let us know immediately, because we can't deal with it if you don't let us know," Lindsey said.

Jim Apel told the story of the day very well- and you can read his full report- as well as listen to the audio overview that we have prepared from comments from Lindsey and Shapiro on the confrontation over gestation crates- just click here. 

Seaboard Foods Offers Rebuttal to HSUS in a Statement on Tuesday Afternoon 

Seaboard Farms has released a statement in response to the claims of abuse by the Humane Society of the US- saying in part "We've reviewed documented employee actions alleging abuse and listened to the recent discussions questioning U.S. industry practices of sow gestation, swine tail cutting (or docking) and swine castration, and strongly dispute any allegations of abuse."

They add that "housing for gestating sows, must be based on sound science while also seeking a balance with societal concerns. Seaboard Foods' integrated system uses both stalls and group pens to house gestating sows. Animal welfare experts and professional groups have found no one method for housing gestating sows that is clearly better than the other when managed properly." 

Click here to jump to the compete statement as released on the company's website- this in response to the cries of bad treatment of the sows owned by Seaboard.

Tammi Didlot of Oklahoma Becomes President of the American National Cattlewomen on Wednesday

Some of the first meetings each year of the Cattle Industry Convention are the ones held by the American National Cattlewomen- and one of the busiest ladies at this year's gathering in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel is Tammi Didlot of Oklahoma- the incoming President of the ANCW. She is currently the President of the Oklahoma Cattlewomen- and will move up in the national officer chairs later on Wednesday to become the 2012 President of the national group.

The ANCW has evolved from being at one time the auxiliary to the National Cattlemen's Association to having a much more dynamic and integral role in shaping the beef cattle business. Didlot says these are not just ranch ladies gathing at the annual meeting for a lunch or two- these are women, young and old, who are willing to roll up their sleeves and be advocates for today's beef cattle business. 

Click here to jump over to our website for today's Beef Buzz from the Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show as we salute Oklahoma cattle lady Tammi Didlot. The Oklahoma and Arkansas Cattlemen's Associations will honor Didlot on Thursday evening with a special reception here at the 2012 National Convention.

New Beef Economics Seem to Favor Better Management of Forage- Because Its Worth More

The beef industry is at the beginning of a long-term economic shift, says Dr. Derrell Peel, livestock marketing economist at Oklahoma State University. And it's a shift to -or maybe back to - forage.

"The cattle industry from the 1960s to 2006 was based on cheap grain and cheap energy," he says. "Late in 2006, the world began to change.

"Corn prices doubled in a few months. For almost 20 years, corn prices were about $2 per bushel. The trading range for corn now is twice to three times what it was, and it's basically permanent. Feed is no longer the primary use of corn."

In remarks prepared for a "New Age of Forage" media seminar here sponsored by range and pasture herbicide manufacturer Dow AgroSciences, keynote speaker Peel noted that the cattle market now wants more pounds produced from forage.

We attended this pre convention seminar sponsored by Dow- and talked to Dr. Peel about a theme he has sounded before- that the market is telling cattle producers put pounds of gain on with forage- and you will be rewarded. Click here to read more about Peel's comments- and to hear our conversation with him from here in Nashville.

Randy Raper Tabbed as Senior Director for OSU Ag Field and Research Service Unit

The Oklahoma State University Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources found the leader it was looking for in Randy Raper, who assumed the position of senior director of its Field and Research Service Unit in January.

Part of DASNR's statewide Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station system, the FRSU provides the infrastructure for cutting-edge research conducted by OSU scientists and engineers, who often work in cooperation with other public and private agencies and organizations.

"OSU's state and federally mandated land-grant mission is to help Oklahomans solve issues and concerns of importance to them, their families and communities," said Robert Westerman, DASNR assistant vice president for program support. "We're pleased to have been able to attract a professional of Randy's abilities and experience to provide key leadership for many of our agricultural research efforts."

Click here for more detailsof this hire by the Division of Ag at OSU.

National Biodiesel Board Wants Tax Incentives to Continue

The National Biodiesel Board says the U.S. biodiesel industry's record growth and resulting job creation is at risk without immediate action from Congress to reinstate the industry's tax incentive.  That was the message within written testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee by the National Biodiesel Board. The one-dollar-per-gallon biodiesel tax incentive expired on December 31 for the second time in three years.

In her testimony, NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs Anne Steckel emphasized that when the incentive was reinstated last year after a lapse in 2010, it helped boost biodiesel production to a record volume of nearly 1.1 billion gallons in 2011. That volume - triple the production in 2010 - supported more than 39,027 jobs and 3.8-billion in Gross Domestic Product, according to a recent study conducted by Cardno ENTRIX.

Under projected expansion, with the tax incentive in place, the industry is expected to support more than 74,000 jobs by 2015 and some 7.3-billion in GDP. Steckel says - the biodiesel industry is poised to continue that momentum so long as Congress and the Administration continues supporting strong policies such as the biodiesel tax incentive. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to extend the tax incentive for three years.

Clarence Watson Lands in Razorback Country

In case you missed it- OSU's Division of Agriculture said goodbye this past month to the head of the OSU Ag Experiment Station- Dr. Clarence Watson.

University of Arkansas System Vice President for Agriculture Mark Cochran announced that Clarence E. Watson, who served as the associate director and chief operating officer of the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, is now the new director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.

Watson served as a part of the Dean Bob Whitson team in Stillwater since 2006. He was associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station from 2002 to 2006.

Click here to read the University of Arkansas releaseon the hire of Dr. Watson at the end of this past month.