U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Initiates Process to Consider Lesser Prairie-Chicken As 'Threatened' Species 

Based on scientific evidence that the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat are in decline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it is initiating a process to consider whether the species should be recognized as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

State conservation agencies, in partnership with federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Land Management and partners such as the Sutton Center, are working on a range-wide, voluntary conservation planning effort that will play a significant role in conserving lesser-prairie chicken habitat.

"We are encouraged by current multi-state efforts to conserve the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat, but more work needs to be done to reverse its decline" said Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Similar to what state and federal partners in this region accomplished when the dunes sagebrush lizard was proposed, we must re-double our important work to identify solutions that provide for the long-term conservation of the species and also help working families remain on the land they have stewarded for generations." (Click here to read more of this story.)

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin responded positively to the decision and said, "While I believe the decision to classify the lesser prairie chicken as 'threatened' is overly cautious, the fact that it was not listed as 'endangered' is a sign the federal government appreciates our efforts to protect this animal and its habitat."  (More of Fallin's reaction is available by clicking here.)

Senator Jim Inhofe said he was encouraged by the Fish and Wildlife Service's designation.  

"Fish and Wildlife Service's decision on the Lesser Prairie Chicken is great news for Oklahoma.  Given the tough odds that we faced originally, a proposed listing as 'threatened' is the best possible outcome at this time because it brings us one step closer to achieving a 'not-warranted' decision in the coming months. I was especially encouraged today when Director Ashe called to tell me that there is 'still a chance we can get to a not-warranted decision' due to Oklahomans' excellent voluntary efforts."  (You'll find Inhofe's full statement by clicking here.)

Grant Awarded to OACD to Aid Farmers Protecting Lesser Prairie Chicken 

Northwest Oklahoma farmers and ranchers will soon have additional help in protecting the habitat of the lesser prairie chicken thanks to a grant recently awarded to the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). According to Sarah Pope, Programs Director for OACD this new grant funding will help provide additional technical assistance to landowners working to protect this threatened species on private land.

The grant comes at a time when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is encouraging state conservation districts to bolster their efforts to protect the lesser prairie chicken's habitat and keep the bird off the endangered species list.

"We are really excited about the opportunity this grant from NFWF provides to us to continue our efforts to help landowners protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken," Pope said. "These funds will help us continue to build programs that not only help landowners undertake work to protect wildlife habitat but also help them to profit from good natural resource stewardship. We are very thankful for this help from NFWF."

According to Pope, OACD will receive $90,000 to hire additional staff to provide assistance to landowners in areas of critical  prairie chicken habitat to help develop conservation plans while helping coordinate activities among local conservation districts and their partners at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and wildlife agencies.

Click here for more.

Numerous Issues Challenge Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers, AFR President Says

With negotiations concerning a solution to the so-called "fiscal cliff" seeming at an impasse, I talked with Terry Detrick, president American Farmers and Ranchers Insurance Company, about how a number of issues are playing out for his membership as 2012 draws to a close.

Detrick says he sees some opportunity to get a farm bill passed and to President Obama's desk before the end of the year, but he said that window is slowly closing.

"We've already missed what we felt was the best opportunity and that was to get a five-year comprehensive farm bill done before it expired September 30th. That did not work. Frank Lucas, chair of the House ag committee, he did his job. So did the ranking member Peterson. They worked well together, got an unprecedented 35 to 11 bipartisan vote. And bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., right now is hard to find, so I hand it to them. But that bill that came out of committee is still there.

"There was some thinking that maybe we'd get it done during this lame duck period between the time of the election and when the elected officials take office. It appears that is getting more and more doubtful every day. But a little glimmer of hope may be since they did such a good job, we feel like as best they could under the circumstances-getting that committee bill out, it has savings built in it. There appears to be a possibility that Congress may utilize that opportunity to help them as they satisfy the deficit with their fiscal cliff discussions. So, out of that, we may get a farm bill after all."

You can listen to our whole conversation or read more by clicking here.

 

NCGA Commends USDA's Progress on Crop Insurance Rate Reforms

The National Corn Growers Association voiced support for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announcement that rate adjustments will be made to crop insurance premiums over the next two crop years.

"Crop insurance rating reforms have been a priority for our members for many years," NCGA President Pam Johnson said. "NCGA feels the Risk Management Agency's announcement represents real reform in decreasing the widening gap between the loss ratio for corn and the premiums charged to growers for policy coverage."

The USDA's Risk Management Agency stated in the announcement that an independent and peer reviewed study recommended more weight be given to recent years, rather than the current approach of giving equal weight to all years back to 1975. This will help provide greater predictability for producers and crop insurance providers. RMA also announced it will be releasing documents by the end of the week that outline premium rates and other program information for the 2013 crop year.

Click here for more.

 

Raising the Beef Quality Bar

The key to success in business is creating an affordable product that everyone wants. When it comes to the beef business, that product is highly-marbled beef.

Don Schiefelbein, a rancher from Kimball, Minnesota, says that the cattle business has changed dramatically. Cattlemen who were once satisfied with cattle that would produce 80 percent choice beef or higher are now striving to produce beef that outperforms the standards of the Certified Angus Beef brand. That's where the money is, Schiefelbein says. Feeders now procure cattle based on those high standards.

"Definitely, the bar has been raised," says Steve Peterson of MPK Land and Livestock. "And that's mainly due to the premiums that are paid, whether it's CAB premiums or a premium for choice. People are looking for the better cattle. It's just like any other thing, you can stay in the same tracks and sit still or progress and get better.

"Sadly to say, there's some people that have done the same thing they've done for 20 years. And they're the ones who are sitting there. But the progressive people that have kept up on the genetics, tried to make their cattle better, more efficient, those are the ones we look for and the ones we like to feed."

You'll find more of this story and a video version of it on our website.  Click here to go there.

 

Two OSU Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Earn Rare National Honor

Oklahoma State University accomplished a rarity in 2012, when two faculty members with the OSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering were named fellows by their professional organization in the same year.

Department Head and Professor Dan Thomas and OSU Regents Professor Glenn Brown were so recognized by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers in 2012.

"This is a great honor, for the individuals, the department and university; attaining the rank of Fellow is the highest honor presented by organizations of this type, which recognizes exceptional lifetime achievement and advancement of the profession," said Mike Woods, interim vice president, dean and director of OSU's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Generally, only about 2 percent of an organization's active membership has achieved the rank of Fellow. 

You can read more by clicking here. 

 

This N That- Mighty Mississippi Woes, John Collison Making the Leap and Eric Cantor Mumbling on Farm Bill

Water levels on the Mississippi River are falling - and if they get too low - the nation's main inland waterway could become impassable to barges. The biggest area of concern is a 180-mile stretch between the confluences of the Missouri River near St. Louis and the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois. A lack of rain has squeezed the channel from its normal one-thousand foot or more width to just a few hundred feet. The depth of the river is 15 to 20 feet less than normal - about 13 feet deep in many places. At a depth of nine feet - rock pinnacles at two locations make it difficult - if not impossible - for barges to pass. National Weather Service hydrologists predict the river will reach that nine-foot mark by December 9th- THIS COMING SUNDAY!   

Click here to read more about where we are on the falling Mississippi- which will have an impact on barge traffic in northeastern Oklahoma along the Arkansas.

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Long time State Director (and a fan of our daily email) for Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, John Collison, has decided to leave the Inhofe team and will become the Vice President for Public Policy at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau- the announcement on that expected today. 

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It's obvious that US House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has absolutely NO intention of bringing the 2012 Farm Bill to the floor in this lame duck session- he conversed on the floor of the House on Friday with Minority whip Stenny Hoyer of Maryland- here are his remarks-

"I would tell the gentleman that both the Speaker and I have both said that we will deal with the issue of the farm bill or the issue in and around the farm bill before leaving this year.  

"I would tell the gentleman it is our sense that the farm bill, in being brought to the floor in regular order, does not have the votes to pass this House. And we understand the importance of the issues surrounding the farm bill and working with Chairman LUCAS and others.

"But on both sides of the Capitol, we look forward to hopefully reaching some type of resolution on issues surrounding the farm bill prior to leaving this year." (Click here for our full web story and the Cspan video of this exchange) 

Clearly- the ONLY hope for a farm bill deal is if the big boys can cobble together a grand deal to avert the Fiscal Cliff- and pull in the House Ag Committee's bill intact to use as an offset the $35 billion in savings claimed in that legislation. You can review our conversation with Chairman Frank Lucas about that from last week by clicking here.