Farm Bill Testimony Emphasizes Crop Insurance, Risk Management, Planting Flexibility 

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, said that strengthening crop insurance and reforming farm programs are her top priorities as the committee heard from witnesses during the final Farm Bill hearing.

Witnesses testifying before the committee were practically unanimous in their call for a strong commitment to Crop Insurance in light of increasing input costs and shrinking federal budgets.

"Continuation of a multi-legged stool remains the best approach for providing a fair and effective safety net," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said. "This should consist of a strong crop insurance program, continuation of the current marketing loan provisions and a catastrophic revenue loss program."  (You can read more of his remarks and hear his full testimony by clicking here.)

National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President Erik Younggren called on Congress to approve new farm policy legislation before the 2008 Farm Bill expires on Sept. 30. He told Senators that NAWG strongly opposes any reductions to the baseline available for the federal crop insurance program. (Younggren's statements and audio testimony are available here.)

Steve Wellman, president of the American Soybean Association, echoed those themes but also highlighted the critical need for growers to maintain planting flexibility based on market conditions rather than government programs. (Click here for a summary and a link to a transcript of his testimony.)

Stabenow said she has heard the same thing from farmers across the country.  She said, "Sixteen million people in this country have a job because of agriculture... The Farm Bill is a jobs bill, and no farmer in America should lose their job, lose their farm, because of bad weather or market conditions beyond their control."

Click here to read more of Senator Stabenow's remarks, see a list of all the witnesses, and access a link to an archived webcast of the full hearings. 

 

Vilsack, Industry Leaders Celebrate Opening of U.S.-Korea Free Trade Pact

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack celebrated the inception of the U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement March 15, noting that "two-thirds of the tariffs imposed on U.S. food and agricultural products exported to South Korea are being eliminated. Over the next few years, as additional barriers fall and more U.S. businesses market products to Korea's expanding economy, American agricultural exports should grow by $1.9 billion and help support nearly 16,000 jobs here at home.

Leaders for the wheat industry were equally pleased that the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement has gone into effect.

"While that tariff has not been a huge impediment, removing it will help U.S. producers compete with other wheat exporters and help Korean flour millers spend less to buy our wheat," said Randy Suess, a wheat farmer from Colfax, Wash., and chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW).

South Korea is consistently a top ten market for U.S. wheat and imported more than 1.6 million tons of U.S. wheat valued at approximately $468 million in marketing year 2010/11.

"Our industry is uniquely trade-dependent, with about half of our production moving to overseas markets each year," said Erik Younggren, a wheat farmer from Hallock, Minn., and president of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG). "Hopefully, the results from the U.S.-Korea FTA will encourage implementation of bilateral agreements with Colombia and Panama that were ratified last year."

Click here to read more about the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and Secretary Vilsack's comments. 

Read further responses from wheat growers by clicking here. 

USDA's Lean Finely Textured Beef Decision Draws Critical Response from NCBA

Consumers stampeded by recent media reports critical of Lean Finely Textured Beef prompted the USDA to announce it will offer schools a choice next year. Schools which purchase ground beef through the National School Lunch Program will have the option of purchasing beef with LFTB or without. The department said it is adjusting procurement specifications allowing it to contract for the products.

National Cattlemen's Beef Board President J.D. Alexander was quick to respond to the change in policy by the USDA.

"It is truly unfortunate and a severe disservice to our nation's beef producers and all consumers that media outlets have resorted to misleading the American public and sensationalizing this safe, lean beef product."

Alexander went on to say that, as a beef producer himself, a top-quality product is job one day in and day out.

"When I go to work every morning, my top priority is to raise healthy cattle because healthy cattle are the foundation of a safe, wholesome and nutritious beef supply. Like all beef producers, I take pride knowing the safe, wholesome and nutritious beef from my operation in Nebraska is served on dinner tables, in school cafeterias and in restaurants nationwide and around the globe."

The USDA's announcement reaffirmed the safety of Lean Finely Textured Beef for all consumers and urged them to consult science-based information on the safety and quality of this product. Lean LFTB is a meat product derived from a process which separates fat from beef trimmings to reduce the overall fat content.

You can read the USDA's full announcement by clicking here.

J.D. Alexander's response is also available on our website by clicking here.

Brantlee Cox of Morrison 4-H Has Top Breeding Ewe at OYE- and We Visit with Ok Ag Leadership Encounter Member Haley Baumgardner

A total of 457 breeding ewes were shown on Thursday at the 2012 Oklahoma Youth Expo- and judge John Mrozinski of Colorado wasted little time when he got to the championship drive in identifying his favorite two ewes to be the Supreme Champion and Reserve Supreme Champion of the show. After making his comments to the crowd- he walked over and shook the hand of first Brantlee Cox of Morrison and then the hand of Jennifer Kennedy of Amber-Pocasset. Cox owned the Champion Commercial Ewe and Jennifer the Reserve Commercial Ewe. Click here to see young Brantlee as well as a full list of the Champions and Reserves in the Breeding Ewe show.  

On Thursday- we had the chance to visit with one of the Class 9 members of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Encounter.  This group of OSU Division of Ag students provide valuable help to the staff in helping operate the OYE each March.  Haley Baumgardner is from the Carrier area in north central Oklahoma and is a senior this year in Ag Business. Click here for our audio conversation with her- and we invite you to catch Haley and I on KWTV News9 for my In the Field segment on Saturday morning around 6:40 AM.

A Final note on the OYE for this week- we are now done with all of the preliminaries- what is the heart of the "traditional" Oklahoma Junior Livestock Show now lies in front of us- the market animal shows in hogs, sheep and beef cattle. All three of these shows will conclude with the Grand Champion selections on Sunday afternoon beginning at 6 PM. Click here for the calendar of timesas we get into the weekend.  

And- click here for our set of photos on Flickr- we have added Thursday pics so go and check them out.  

And- if you want to review all of our stories to date on the 2012 Oklahoma Youth Expo- the goats and all of the breeding shows and of course the Legislature Showmanship- click here for the Blue Green Gazette. 

Canola TV-Warm Weather Pushes Canola Rapidly Toward Blooming

On our latest edition of Canola TV, we hear from Heath Sanders of PCOM at their canola plot in Oklahoma County. Sanders says that the unseasonably warm and wet weather is spurring the crop along rapidly and producers need to keep a close eye on their fields.

Sanders says that some varieties are bolting and almost blooming. Everything is ahead of schedule. With everything being ahead of schedule, producers need to be very aware of what's happening with the crop.

Some producers are preparing a last application of Roundup. Some are applying fertilizer. Now is the time to do both, Sanders says, and time is rapidly slipping away.

Insects are not a major problem yet, Sanders says, but some farmers are reporting diamond back moth larvae to be a problem. Aphid reports have been few and far between, but with the warm, wet weather, Sanders says producers she be on the lookout for exploding populations.

In this edition of Canola TV, Sanders explains more about what to look for to keep those winter canola crops healthy and primed for higher yields.  You can catch it by clicking here.

TCU Ranch Management Director Offers Suggestions On Drought Recovery

The drought of 2011 has thrown beef producers across the Southwest for a loop and recovery is slow. Herds have been liquidated and rain is slow in coming. So, what can beef producers do to try and maximize their recovery efforts without damaging still fragile pastures?

Jeff Geider, the director of Texas Christian University's Institute of Ranch Management says now is the time for judicious and specific action.

"I would preface it by saying there isn't a 'one size fits all' solution. Our approach through the ranch management program is a systems approach. We inventory our resources, we evaluate our resources and then we try to adapt a management plan to what resources we have available to us."

He says proper forage evaluation is crucial to prevent further damage. This is not the time for guess work, but solid analysis. He recommends producers get out in their pastures and do a thorough inventory. Now is the time for ranchers to "take forage clips, forage samples, walk transect lines, identify what species they have and then based on how many pounds of forage produced per acre they could establish that stocking rate."

You can catch the full Beef Buzz interview with Jeff Geider and the full print story by clicking here.

NCBA Supports Rule to Increase Competitiveness of Checkoff Funds

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service proposed rule pertaining to the Beef Checkoff Program. The proposed rule would expand contracting authority by eliminating the requirement that only allows organizations active and ongoing since 1985 to contract with the checkoff. The proposed rule would allow national non-profit, industry-governed organizations that have been representing the cattle industry for at least two years to be eligible to contract for the implementation of checkoff programs.

NCBA President J.D. Alexander said the rule is good for the industry and good for the checkoff. He said the proposed rule would ensure cattlemen are getting the best return on their investment.

"NCBA supports an open and transparent checkoff program that is producer driven. This proposed rule would simply enhance this quest," said Alexander. "We support a competitive checkoff contracting system that ensures producers are getting the absolute best return on their investment. We believe a multitude of ideas coming from several different organizations will enhance creativity and innovation regarding techniques to build and defend beef demand. Along with ideas, contractors must come to the table with the know-how and the resources to transform ideas into reality."

Click here for more comments by NCBA President J.D. Alexander.