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One of the biggest challenges facing Oklahoma Representative Frank Lucas as he works to forge a farm bill is how to get all the disparate groups to pull in the same direction. In an interview with us, the House Committee on Agriculture Chairman said the obstacles facing his committee as they work on farm legislation are enormous.

To begin with, everyone knows budgets will be smaller next year, he said. The question is how much smaller.   Lucas said he and Senate Agriculture Food and Forestry Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow had agreed in December to write legislation anticipating $23 billion in cuts. Since then, the President's budget shows a $32 billion reduction in spending for farm programs. That budget, declared dead on arrival by both the House and Senate is off the table. Lucas said one proposal for a new budget being floated in the House by Paul Ryan entails $40 billion dollars in cuts.

"What I've essentially told folks is 'The stronger the farm bill, the more resources you've got to give me to work with. The more you expect agriculture to give up, the less of a safety net you'll have for farmers, ranchers, and consumers.' But I'm ultimately going to work with the number that's given me."

Lucas said despite the willingness to work with whatever money is available, the uncertainty over spending levels slows the process to a crawl. 

You can read more comments from Rep. Lucas or listen to his full interview with us by clicking here.

Senate Ag Committee Chair Stabenow Pledges to Strengthen Conservation Efforts in Next Farm Bill 

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today said conservation is essential to producing a healthy and affordable food supply and is important now more than ever to creating new jobs and protecting our land and water. She also noted the need to continue focusing on program simplification, consolidation, flexibility and accountability.

"Conservation helps farmers and ranchers to produce food, feed, fuel and fiber while taking care of the land and water," Chairwoman Stabenow said. "The Farm Bill is a jobs bill, and that's as true of the conservation title as it is for anything else in the Farm Bill."

Stabenow continued, "As we continue our work, this Farm Bill must focus on making our programs simpler, locally driven, science-based, and flexible. These programs must ensure that taxpayers' investments in conservation are enabling agriculture to remain healthy and productive across the diverse landscapes of this great nation. We must be certain those 1.3 billion acres produce clean water, abundant and safe food, wildlife habitat, and conserve this way of life for future generations."

To read more about Senator Stabenow's conservation proposals in teh new farm bill, click here. 

Wheat, Sorghum, Corn and Soybean Growers Head to Commodity Classic 

Grain and oilseed producers from around the country are boarding planes and hitting the road for Nashville, Tenn.

That's the site of the 17th annual Commodity Classic, which begins officially on Thursday at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. On this Wednesday, many of the groups have board meetings and are doing policy related things in advance to the opening of the huge trade show and the general session of all four groups that will be held on Friday morning. 

The National Association of Wheat Growers' policy committees and NAWG's Board of Directors will meet in Nashville, as well as the leadership of the NAWG Foundation, which is scheduled to seat a new board as part of its ongoing revisioning process. Click here for a few more detailsof the Wheat Growers' plans for this week here in Nashville.

The National Sorghum Producers will have their main session on Thursday morning, when they will hear from former House Ag Committee Chairman Larry Combest of Texas, as well as the immediate past Miss America- Teresa Scanlan of Nebraska, who used her bully pulpit as Miss America to talk about US agriculture. More about the schedule for the NSP can be had by clicking here. 

And for the general Commodity Classic website, click here for the overall agenda for the conferences and the trade show- which is already certain to have record attendance this year- with pre registration over 5,000 with more to be registered here on site.

Producing a Cow's Eye View of Cattle Cuisine

When Troy and Stacy Hadrick strapped a camera to one of the cows on their ranch in Faulkton, South Dakota, they weren't quite sure what they were going to get.

"It's been really fun as we got the video back and we downloaded it and our kids were there," Stacy said. "Since then we've shown it to a lot of people, just our little bit of footage. And now that the video has come out and it's been collected from a lot of producers around the country, I think it's this incredible learning tool."

Filmed almost exclusively by cattle in Kansas, South Dakota, Texas and Florida, "Cow Chow" is a production of the Cattlemen's Beef Board and shares life from a cow's eye view. The video has also been coupled with a video game that shows consumers just what cattle eat.

"The idea was with so many people wondering what cows eat... they don't need to take our word for it, we'll let the cows do the talking," Troy said.

To see the "Cow Chow" video, or read more about what the Hadricks learned, click here.

No Leaf Rust Reported in Oklahoma Wheat--Yet

Dr. Bob Hunger, an extension wheat pathologist with Oklahoma State University, says there has been no evidence of wheat rust in Oklahoma field locations as of last Friday. In his email update on crop conditions from Oklahoma and other states, Hunger says conditions are right, however, for things to change.

Here are the lastest reports from observations made February 24th:

Oklahoma: I and Brian Olson (Plant Pathology A&P) examined trials and fields of wheat around OSU in Stillwater. No leaf rust was found in any of these locations. Some powdery mildew was found in varieties considered susceptible. Given the conditions of temperature and humidity in the low, thick canopy, I would expect this disease to increase over the next few weeks. The most prevalent disease observed was barley yellow dwarf (BYD), which was present in nearly all of the trials/plots examined. In wheat planted later (mid to late October) the incidence of BYD was the lowest; in earlier planted wheat (September), not only were symptoms of BYD more prevalent, but aphids (bird cherry oat aphids) were numerous. Symptoms of wheat soilborne mosaic (WSBM) and wheat spindle streak mosaic (WSSM) were not striking in my WSBM/WSSM nursery.

Texas: Dr. Amir Ibrahim (Assoc Prof, Small Grains Breeding and Genetics, Texas A&M University)--We have seen significant leaf rust in the lower canopies of TAM 110 and Jagalene in College Station earlier this week. No stripe rust up to date. I will go to Castroville next week and will keep you updated.

You can read more wheat rust observations by clicking here.

Kansas Rancher Testifies on Realities of Overregulation in Washington

The Senate Western Caucus and the Congressional Western Caucus today hosted a hearing to directly address the federal government's role in creating obstacles to economic growth and eroding property rights in the West. As such, the hearing was coined Washington Obstacles to Prosperity and Property Rights in the West. Mark Knight, a cattleman and a grain farmer from Lyons, Kan., testified on behalf of the Kansas Livestock Association and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association to express the realities of overregulation in rural America.

"Like death by a thousand cuts, each regulation adds costs to my operation, eventually bleeding us to death," said Knight of the onslaught of regulations coming from the Obama administration. "Unfortunately, the list of harmful regulations bleeding agriculture to death goes on and on."

Knight cited several examples of regulations negatively impacting agriculture. He said the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) current standard for coarse particulate matter, also known as dust, costs cattlemen in Western regions of the country a lot of money. While Knight said cattlemen are encouraged by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's promise to back away from the possibility of doubling the current dust standard, permanent relief can only be accomplished by the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2012 (H.R. 1633), which passed through the U.S. House of Representatives and awaits action in the Senate.

Knight had more to tell the Senate; Click here to read more.

FSA Offers New Options for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) is working harder than ever to assist new farmers and ranchers. Oklahoma FSA State Executive Director Francie Tolle recently unveiled a new Land Contract Guarantee Program and several other tools designed to help beginning farmers and ranchers build the foundation for a successful career in agriculture.

"New farmers face many challenges, like obtaining land for example," said Tolle. "FSA is going to provide new options to help them to work through this challenging start-up issue." Peak land values, tight commercial credit, minimal credit history, and less collateral make it difficult for new and smaller farmers in Oklahoma to get a commercial business loan right now.

The Land Contract Guarantee Program provides a new approach for landowners willing to sell and finance a land purchase to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer. The program offers two options, one that guarantees up to three annual installment payments on the contract and one that guarantees 90% of the unpaid principal of the contract. Guarantees can be used in the purchase of land for up to $500,000.

"Oklahoma farmers represent all walks of life, as well as a wide variety of backgrounds and ages," notes Tolle. "This program will work well for beginning and minority growers in Oklahoma, and we encourage producers to visit with us to determine if FSA can assist with their individual needs."

Click here to read more about how FSA can help young farmers get a start.