Livestock Disaster Package Passes After House Ag Committee Chairman, Ranking Member Urge Passage 

The House of Representatives voted 223-197 to adopt H.R. 6233, the Livestock Disaster Package. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas and Ranking Member Collin Peterson both took to the House floor to urge passage of the $383-million bill designed to assist farmers and ranchers struggling with drought.

During floor debate, both members said the measure is a stop-gap measure with many flaws, and they would have preferred the House take up the full farm bill that would provide a comprehensive safety net, but there was no chance of that before the summer recess.

"What we are doing is fixing a problem," Lucas said. "We are backfilling a hole or fixing a deficiency. I'm not here to point fingers; I was elected to fix problems. We have drought. We don't have a disaster program and I'm here to provide a solution.

"Now, in past years we might just wave our hand and declare this emergency spending. But we tend not to do that anymore, thank goodness. So this bill pays for itself. And not only does it pay for itself, it gives $250-million to debt reduction.

"To me, that sounds like fixing a problem."

Lucas said he was not pleased with diverting funds budgeted to the EQIP and CSP programs to pay for disaster assistance, but he explained that both programs were still receiving large increases over past years.

You can read more of Representative Lucas's and Representative Peterson's comments or listen to their remarks from the House floor by clicking here. 

Lucas Says Thanks- Roberts is Tweeting Mad and August Recess Ushers In Uncertain Future for 2012 Farm Bill 

Right after the vote on the House floor Thursday afternoon, the Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma Third District Congressman Frank Lucas thanked his colleagues for support of the Livestock Disaster Assistance- ""Given that vast areas of productive pastureland are burning up and our agricultural producers are in dire need, I'm pleased that the House approved this disaster assistance measure. It provides risk management tools to those ranchers who are currently exposed. This is not a long-term solution, but it takes care of the problem until we can get a five-year farm bill on the books and put those policies in place." (Click here for the full Lucas statement) 

The only problem is that the Senate Democratic leadership was already busy packing their bags for vacation- with Chairlady of the Senate Ag Committee miffed that the House GOP Leadership refused time to debate the five year farm bill- Senator Debbie Stabenow saying "By refusing to bring up the farm bill, House leadership is doing what Congress always does - kicking the can down the road instead of coming together to solve problems" (per David Rogers at Politico.Com.  Stabenow does pledge to meet with Mr. Lucas and others during the August recess to try to figure out a path to getting a farm bill deal done. 

GOP Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas was seeing red as he tweeted and offered a statement after the Senate's adjournment until after the Labor Day holiday- "Senate Dempcrats ignore drought. Favor politics over farmers & ranchers. "  Click here for his full statement blasting Harry Reid and company on this stand.  

Meanwhile, David Rogers also points out that Speaker John Boehner is not interested in bringing up a bill that he sees as a no win deal- in his weekly media availability- Boehner voices his opinion that he has not seen 218 votes out there that would pass a farm bill through the House- echoing the thought that  (as Congressman Lucas acknowledged on the floor Thursday) those on the left think nutrition programs were cut too much and those on the right think deeper cuts must be put in place.    

Where does this leave us as Congress takes the rest of August off- likely meeting with lots of folks back home in a variety of settings?  The answer may come from how much tougher this drought gets- which would up the pressure on many lawmakers who may come back to DC- ready to challenge Eric Cantor and John Boehner- on their "No Farm Bill Debate" stand.  

Congressmen Join Livestock Producers in Call for EPA Waiver of Renewable Fuel Mandate

Congress has waded into the fray between livestock producers and ethanol refiners.  In a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, 156 members of Congress urged the EPA to act immediately to reduce the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandate to account for the severe anticipated corn shortage.  

The letter urged prompt action by the EPA to help ease short corn supply concerns that would save jobs across many U.S. industries and keep families fed. "We strongly urge you to exercise your authority and take the necessary steps to protect American consumers and the economy," the representatives wrote. Click here for more.

The National Pork Producers Council was quick to praise lawmakers for requesting the waiver to help livestock and poultry producers weather the worst drought in more than 50 years.  You can read their statement by clicking here.

Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen was equally quick on the draw, calling the Congressmen's letter "not only premature, but void of justification."  He said, "Waiving the RFS will not make it rain in Indiana, bring pastures to life in the Plains, or meaningfully lower corn prices."  You'll find more from Bob Dinneen by clicking here. 

Corn Imports Blunt Impact of Tight Stocks, Draw Prices Lower, Anderson Says

In this week's SUNUP preview, OSU Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson says there are technical signs grain markets have peaked with corn and wheat prices falling off.

"Technically we got up there at low volume and declining open interest, both signs the buyers just aren't there. What we saw was corn led the prices up. Wheat seems to be leading the prices back down."

He says supply and demand are driving the markets now, and will continue to do so as the drought cuts into corn production.

"There's just lack of supply. You go back four months, actually go back to the June report, 166 bushels per acre, 114.4 billion bushels of corn production, more than adequate corn, building stocks to 1.8 billion bushels ending stocks.   As we look at it now this week, the report came out 124 bushels per acre 111.1 billion bushels. Ending stocks with that amount of production-if something doesn't change-you're talking about five or 600-million bushels. That's just not adequate corn, very tight corn stocks."

Even with tight stocks expected in the future, Anderson says there are a couple of reasons for recent price declines.

"The prices are like a pendulum: they swing too low then they swing too high. This time they swung, they hit $8. There seems to be a wall there at $8. Plus, we imported corn in the last couple of weeks."

You can hear the rest of Anderson's analysis and see the lineup for this week's SUNUP by clicking here.

Trent Loos Educational Video Debuts at Ag in the Classroom Summer Conference

An educational video aimed at explaining pork production to elementary school children will be premiered at the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom summer conference today at the Embassy Suites in Norman.

The video features nationally-known humorist and columnist Trent Loos discussing the humane care of animals and the many nutritional benefits of pork. Loos, a Nebraska farmer and rancher, is the keynote speaker for the conference which begins at 9 a.m. Loos hosts a daily radio show, Loos Tales, and is founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food.

Copies of the video, sponsored by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Women's Committee, will be distributed without charge to every school district in the state.

More than 300 Oklahoma teachers are expected to attend the summer conference.

Services for Earl Abernathy- One of the Founders of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- Held Yesterday in Altus 

Jackson County Wheat and Cattle producer Earl Abernathy passed away earlier this week- and services for him were held yesterday at the First Baptist Church in Altus. 

Abernathy was one of the founders of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- a Past President of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association and a recipient in years gone by of the Mr. Wheat award from the Oklahoma wheat industry.  

He was also an Angus producer- and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Angus Association. He also received the honor as being named "Mr. Angus" by the organization and was also inducted into to the Oklahoma Angus Breeder Hall of Fame. 

Click here for the full obit of Earl Abernathy- and you'll notice at the top of the page that you can actually watch a webcast of the services from yesterday if you were not able to attend. Apparently, that's a regular service of the Funeral Home that coordinated the services for Earl's family.  

Truly Unique Cafe 33 in Perkins Named the Latest Legendary Restaurant of Oklahoma 

From the tried and true to the truly unusual, you'll find it at Café 33 in Perkins, our latest Legendary Restaurant of Oklahoma.

Located in the sale barn west of town on the south side of Highway 33, Café 33 has been in business for over a decade under a couple of different names. Current owner K.J. Hamel says her staff works hard to offer unique twists on old-time favorites while creating new and exciting dishes to keep the menu fresh.

From signature burgers to their unique Peaches and Crème Omelet, K.J. says there's something for everyone on the menu. She says her staff insists on one thing you might not expect from a café with a humble home inside a sale barn--quality. She also owns a catering company and they make as much from scratch as they possibly can--everything from dressings to desserts.

Café 33 is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday and features a warm, western, family atmosphere.

As a Legendary Restaurant of Oklahoma, Café 33 is offering limited number of half-price gift certificates. Click here to take advantage. 

You can listen to an interview with K.J. Hamel as she tells us more about the Cafe 33 in Perkins.