For the House Ag Committee and Chairman Frank Lucas- It's Farm Bill Week  

On Wednesday morning of this week- there will be a Business Meeting of the full House Ag Committee- where the draft discussion 2012 Farm Bill offered by Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson will be considered.  It's a case where the Committee will likely do it's job in fairly short order- perhaps in a single day- and then it's very uncertain from that point forward. An AP story on the farm bill process that is cited this morning by Keith Good and his daily Farm Policy blog says that the House Ag Committee leadership faces a tough task in convincing House leadership to give them floor time and the measure is "now at risk for becoming sidetracked in the House in the run-up to this summer's presidential nominating conventions and the Nov. 6 election."  Click here to review all of the sources that Keith Good pulled together in this morning's farm bill update.   

Collin Peterson told our fellow farm broadcaster Mike Hergert up in North Dakota this past Friday that he is hearing a lot of Republicans in the House want to hold the Farm Bill hostage and try to use it as a bargaining chip to force other deals through after election day during what could be a very contentious lame duck session.    

Meanwhile, we have several farm groups that have stepped up and offered their support of the choices offered in the House version of the Farm Bill in the last couple of days- Chris Clayton with DTN reports that both peanut and rice interests have offered strong support for the inclusion of a price based farm safety net  by the House leadership.  The Oklahoma Wheat Growers have also come with a strong statement in favor of the overall bill and especially it's Commodity Title. "I believe that is bill provides a true safety net to stabilize agriculture and food prices for all of the United States and its citizens. It also makes significant cuts to federal spending which we in agriculture understand and support," said Paul Fruendt, Oklahoma Wheat Growers President. Click here for the complete statement from the OWGA regarding the House Ag Committee Farm Bill proposal.  

Adoption of Ractopamine Standards Victory for U.S. Cattlemen 

U.S. cattle producers won a victory earlier this month with the adoption of standards by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for allowable residual levels of ractopamine in meat for export.

As a representative of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association on hand for the Codex meeting, Chief Veterinarian Kathy Simmons hailed the vote by member countries.

"It is paramount that science is the foundation for all decisions made in the international community. Today, the Codex Commission proved they are willing to trust science and make decisions based on facts rather than politics. We are very pleased that we can move ahead on adopting international standards for ractopamine."

Established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization in 1963, the Codex sets international food standards and codes of practice that contribute to the safety of the food trade.

The issue of ractopamine has historically caused unnecessary trade disruptions, according to Simmons. She said ractopamine is recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe feed additive, but the lack of international MRL standards caused confusion.

You can read more from the NCBA by clicking here.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also applauded the Codex Commission's decision.

Animal Ag Alliance Adds Balance to Antibiotic Resistance Discussion

The Animal Agriculture Alliance joined 15 other agricultural organizations in submitting a letter to Congress in response to the recent Consumers Union report on the use of antibiotics in animal production.

The coalition wrote: "We strongly believe consumers deserve a choice when it comes to their meat and poultry purchases. However, consumers can make an informed choice through balanced information about the challenges, benefits and realities of the various approaches to raising and processing livestock and poultry. We do not believe it serves the consumer to stigmatize certain production systems to boost others."

Other organizations that signed on to the letter include the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Feed Industry Association, American Meat Institute, American Veterinary Medical Association, Animal Health Institute, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Chicken Council, National Grain and Feed Association, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, and the North American Meat Association.

Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith wrote: "Calling for "Meat Without Drugs" to eliminate the use of antibiotics in farm animals may sound like a good idea, but the very title is misleading and inflammatory. Our meat and poultry supply is already "without drugs." When farm animals are sometimes treated to prevent or control disease, a strict withdrawal period is followed to ensure that the end products are safe.

Click here for more on this story and to find links to the letters written by the Animal Agriculture Alliance. 

Hunter Education Course Offers Safety, Ethics Training

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation will host an Oklahoma Hunter Education course from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, July 21, at the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center, located at 2610 Sam Noble Parkway in Ardmore.

The course will be led by Noble Foundation wildlife consultants and hunter education instructors Will Moseley, Mike Porter, Steven Smith and Russell Stevens; Oklahoma game warden Jeremy Brothers; and hunter education instructor Keith Morgan.

Topics will include hunter ethics, firearms and laws, as well as safety protocols, specialty hunting, and wildlife management and conservation. "Safety and ethical conduct of hunters and other people who handle guns are the primary focuses of this course," Porter said. "The other topics provide knowledge and skills necessary to be a well-educated hunter." 

For more information on this free course, please click here.

Eighth Annual Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conference Coming Later This Month

The Eighth Annual Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conference is coming up later this month with two opportunities to attend in two different parts of the state.

The first opportunity will be July 26th in Enid and the second opportunity will be on July 31st in Altus.   

The conferences are comprised of a number of seminars presented by industry experts. Topics include: the economics of wheat-canola rotations; varieties, insects and diseases; production management; OOC county demonstrations; fertilizing canola: in furrow-pH effects; insurance; grain handler's perspective; and an industry update.

The Enid conference will be held at the Hoover Building at the Fairgrounds. The Altus conference will be held at Western Oklahoma State College.

You will find more information by clicking here, or call your county extension office for more details.

Bayer CropScience Acquires U.S.-Based AgraQuest 

Bayer CropScience announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase AgraQuest, Inc. for a purchase price of US$ 425 million (approximately EUR 340 million) plus milestone payments. AgraQuest, headquartered in Davis, California, USA, is a global supplier of innovative biological pest management solutions based on natural microorganisms. This acquisition will enable Bayer CropScience to build a leading technology platform for green products and to strengthen its strategically important fruits and vegetables business, while also opening new opportunities in other crops and markets. Green products control a broad spectrum of pests and diseases and offer farmers integrated pest management programs to minimize development of resistance and maximize crop yields. The acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant authorities.

"The growing fruits and vegetables market, which today accounts for more than 25 percent of our sales, is of strategic importance for us. We plan to achieve EUR 3 billion sales in this segment by 2020 and with the acquisition of AgraQuest we are underlining our growth ambitions," said Sandra Peterson, CEO of Bayer CropScience, sending a strong signal to the market. "We are the first in our industry to offer farmers a truly comprehensive range of integrated crop solutions based on seeds, traits and combined chemical crop protection and biological control," she added. 

Click here for more. 

US Wheat Claims Success in Building Base for US Wheat Exports into Southeast Asia

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is helping build record export sales and sustainable demand for U.S. wheat in South Asia by helping milling and baking customers grow their businesses, USW Regional Vice President Mike Spier said on Sunday in a presentation to the USW Board of Directors in Spokane, WA.


"In southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, wheat consumption is rising rapidly because incomes are improving and tastes are shifting from rice to wheat foods," Spier said. "That is opening markets for baked goods, biscuits, cakes and other foods that need more types of higher quality flour and per capita annual wheat consumption is growing."

Click here to read more on this success storythat US Wheat Associates believes will result in more bushels of US wheat going into these growing markets for years to come.

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission pays into US Wheat Associates as they support these overseas efforts of the wheat industry in this country to build long term wheat export market relationships on behalf of wheat producers here in the United States. 

Speaking of the OWC- their board and some of their staff have been in Spokane for that meeting- they return here at the first of this week and will be getting ready for their monthly board meeting that will be held Wednesday afternoon at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture in Oklahoma City- click here for details of that meeting and their expected agenda.