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The American Farmers and Ranchers 107th Annual Convention is coming up this Friday and Saturday at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Norman and AFR President Terry Detrick says the agenda is a full one.

Headlining the convention is House Agriculture Committee Chairman and Oklahoman Frank Lucas, (R-Cheyenne). This year's convention theme is "AFR: Honor, Heritage, Responsibility."

"When discussing a theme for this year's convention, I thought back on the past year we've had and the three words, 'Honor, Heritage, Responsibility,' simplify our focus for 2012," said AFR President Terry Detrick. "With agriculture being the second largest industry in Oklahoma, it is our responsibility to help this industry grow in our state and our farm organization and insurance companies want to do just that."

On Saturday, attendees will be educated and entertained by a slate of speakers discussing legislative issues, water and environmental issues, transportation issues, education, youth program awards and more. Election results will be announced that afternoon and the convention will conclude with an evening banquet. Chairman Lucas will offer the keynote address and entertainment will be provided by the Dove Brothers Quartet, Salute to the American Farmer Tour.

Detrick said one of the major concerns on farmers' and ranchers' minds this past year has been the drought and how it affected their operations. He said one of the difficulties facing his members is working with lenders. He said there will be a seminar presented by the President and CEO of the East Central Farm Credit on how farmers and ranchers can better communicate with their lenders.
 

Free Canola U Event Comes To Enid February 28th 

It's time to register for the free Canola U event to be held in Enid, Oklahoma, February 28th.

Attendees at the two Canola U events in 2011 took home increased knowledge and confidence about making their farm operations more profitable by rotating winter canola with winter wheat according to surveys conducted after the events.

Southern Plains farmers who missed last year's bandwagon have a chance to catch up with the third Canola U event to be held February 28th at the Cherokee Strip Conference Center in Enid, Oklahoma.

Attendees at the first two events are welcome as well with this month's Canola U featuring a completely new line up of topics and information.

While the first two events were geared solely to new producers, the upcoming event will also have advanced classes for those who want to take their production to a higher level.

For more information on topics and registration, click here.

Is This Farm Boom Different? KC Fed Explores Agriculture's Booms and Busts

Today, U.S. agriculture is in the midst of another farm boom. Could this time be different? Omaha Branch Executive Jason Henderson explores this question in recent articles for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Main Street Economist and Economic Review.

During the 1910s, 1940s and 1970s, U.S. agriculture experienced soaring export demand, which boosted farm profits. At the same time, low interest rates quickly translated rising incomes into booming farmland values, especially during the 1910s and 1970s. Past prosperity wilted, however, as global demand shifted, capital investments led to increased agricultural supplies, and leaner farm incomes were unable to support record-high farmland prices, especially at higher interest rates.

Robust export activity, strong bio-fuels demand and low interest rates have spurred another farm income and farmland value boom. Despite the vast similarities to past booms, Henderson notes that farmers today have hesitated to accumulate debt in financing new investments. Will limited farm debt and leverage be enough to keep any correction in agricultural profits from spiraling into a farm bust? 
 

You can read more of the Kansas City Fed's analysis on booms and busts by clicking here.

Weed Control Can Help Pastures Rejunvenate This Spring After the Drought of 2011

Many producers struggled in 2011, facing volatile weather conditions that included severe drought throughout the South and flooding in the northern Plains. With an emphasis on rebuilding profitability in 2012, we talked with DuPont range and pasture manager Roxy Gutschenritter at the recent Cattle Industry Convention and got her recommendations that can help producers reestablish healthy, productive pastures and benefit their bottom lines.


Gutschenritter told us in Nashvlle that a lot of our pastures in the southern plains were badly beaten down during the drought of 2012- and that with moisture, we can hope to see some gradual recovery this spring. She believes a key is to stay ahead of weeds which have a lot of space to jump ahead of the pasture and get growing this spring because of the drought beatdown. That makes weed control perhaps more important this year than any in recent memory. If you catch those weeds relatively small, control can be more complete and much easier than if you wait until later in the season.


In addition to drought and flood recovery recommendations, Roxy also visited with us on the new range and pasture products and resources DuPont will introduce in 2012 and 2013.

To hear more of Ron's interview with Roxy Gutschenritter, click here.

'Backgrounding for Quality' Field Day Focuses on Profitability

Everybody is paying more for cattle now than ever before.

That should be reason enough to attend the "Backgrounding for Quality" field day, says Gary Fike, of Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB).

Set for Thursday, March 8 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., the event aims to help stocker operators reach profitability by focusing on their output. White Brothers Cattle Co. will host attendees at their ranch south of Chickasha, Okla.

"With tight feeder calf supplies, rising feed costs and all the other market dynamics, backgrounders may have to manage cattle a little differently than they have in the past," says Fike.

The speakers will provide data and ideas.

For more information on this free field day, click here.

Senators, NCBA Support Science-Based Trade Standards

A bipartisan group of 31 United States senators, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service urging the agencies to finalize a comprehensive rule for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), which has been a work in progress since 2004. The senators said the lack of a comprehensive rule has harmed U.S. beef trade.

"Non-tariff trade barriers limit our ability to sell beef to consumers in other countries," the senators penned. "Beef producers need our trade negotiators to significantly reduce or eliminate non-tariff trade barriers by requiring our trading partners to make science-based decisions regarding U.S. beef. By the same logic, it is also important for our government to take the necessary steps to properly address risk related to BSE by adopting a comprehensive rule."

Citing an example of trade relations between the United States and Mexico, the senators said non-science based standards have limited the United States' ability to sell beef in Mexico. While the International Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has recognized both Mexico and the United States as controlled risk countries, meaning both countries have effective BSE risk mitigation measures in place, since 2004, Mexico has not allowed the importation of U.S. cattle over 30 months of age. The senators said this restriction has resulted in U.S. beef producers losing $100 million annually.

You can read more about science-based trade standards by clicking here.

Class XV of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program to Arrive in Scotland midday today Oklahoma time

And so it begins. Class XV of the Oklahoma Agriculture Leadership Program has begun a twenty four day of travels that will end up in Edinburg, Scotland. That's the first stop for the International Travel Experience of this group of young agricultural professionals. Between now and the 27th of February, the group will visit at least eight farms, three research facilities as well as the European Headquarters for Alltech. Add in a dose of culture and some meetings with government and farm organization leaders- and you have a busy schedule for the Class that will be spending time in both Scotland as well as Ireland.

The Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program is a joint effort between Oklahoma State University and private stakeholders in the Oklahoma agricultural community. Class One of the OALP was funded by a grant by the Kellogg Foundation- since that time, the program has operated on the support of the farm community, major donors like the Noble Foundation and support from the Alumni of the program.

I have been honored to serve for a lot of years as the Chairman of the OALP Advisory Council- and I am very excited to be on this international journey with the class over the next several days.  Daily- we will have one or two stories from Scotland and Ireland as the OALP class moves across the countryside- that's here on this email.  We will also be posting stories on our website- click here for that webpage- and we will have pictures posted as the days go by- that will be in a special Flickr set that can be found by clicking here.

One last word on OALP- even as Class XV winds down- we will be interviewing for a new class in a matter of a couple of months- and the program might be a perfect learning experience for you.  Click here for the OALP websiteto learn more about what the two year program is all about.