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The Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, chaired the final of four Field Hearings on Friday in Dodge City, Kansas. Lucas told the more than 200 farmers, ranchers and those in agribusiness who gathered that he continues to have a vision for what he sees as the right balance for new farm policy.

He told the Dodge City gathering "First and foremost, I want to give producers the tools to help you do what you do best, and that is to produce the safest, most abundant, most affordable food supply in the world.

"To do this we must develop a farm bill that works for all regions and all commodities. It has to take into account the diversity of agriculture in America. Even within commodities, different programs work better for different regions.

"That's why it is vitally important that the Commodity Title give producers options so that they can choose the program that works best for them whether it is by protecting revenue or price.

"I also am committed to providing a strong crop insurance program for our producers. The Committee has heard loud and clear the importance of crop insurance and it will be the backbone of our safety net 

After the two hour hearing, we spent a few minutes with Congressman Lucas as we talked about what he had heard on Friday- and how he hopes to get to the endgame of having a 2012 Farm Bill signed into law. Click here for that exclusive conversation with the Chairman.

We also have several other links we want to point you to-  

Click here for the testimony of Scott Neufeld from Fairview- the only Oklahoman who testified on Friday. The spoken remarks of all of those who testified was a summary of what they submitted for the record- we have a link to Scott's written testimony in our story as well that you can check out. 

Click here for the testimony of Dee Vaughan of Dumas, Texas- past President of the National Corn Growers Association.

Click here for the Question and Answer session that Chairman Lucas had with the panel that included Neufeld as well as Dee Vaughan and also Terry Swanson of the National Sorghum Producers.  In particular, Lucas asked Vaughan about his opinion of the letter sent last week to the Ag Leadership in Congress from several groups- including NCGA and the American Farm Bureau, demanding a shallow loss program be the primary safety net in the new farm bill.   

Finally, click here for the news release from the House Ag Committee, that has the link to the written testimony of all ten farmers who testified on Friday.

Oklahoma Farmer Scott Neufeld Testifies Before House Ag Committee in Dodge City Field Hearing

Major County Farmer Scott Neufeld testified before the final House Agriculture Committee Field Hearing dealing with the 2012 Farm Bill. Neufeld and his wife Brenda have a diversified farm near Fairview- and Scott has served as the Chairman of the Farm Bill Task Force of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. Neufeld emphasized two keys that he tried to convey to the Committee- keep crop insurance largely as it now exists- it works- and to provide a price protection program that will allow a farmer to survive a bad crop or low price year to keep farming the next season.


Neufeld told the Committee that the current mix of farm program supports with crop insurance allowed farmers in the southern plains to survive the drought of 2011 without a widespread call for any sort of ad hoc disaster assistance.


Neufeld also related the value of Direct Payments on his farm in recent years- pointing out that those payments have allowed him to invest back into his farm operation and support the community as he purchased equipment or inputs.

Click here to listen to our interview with Scott Neufeld. 

Chairwoman Stabenow Summarizes the Senate Ag Committee's 2012 Farm Bill Committee Print

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and ranking member Pat Roberts, R-Kan., have released their co-authored mark for the 2012 farm bill. The Committee Print of the 2012 Farm Bill reforms farm policy, consolidates and streamlines programs, and will reduce the deficit by $23 billion. This bill saves taxpayers money while strengthening initiatives that help farmers, ranchers and small business owners create American jobs.

The bill eliminates direct payments while strengthening risk management. Farmers face unique risks unlike other businesses. Weather and market conditions outside a producer's control can have devastating effects. A risk management system that helps producers stay in business through a few bad seasons ensures that Americans always have access to a safe and plentiful food supply.

The proposal eliminates direct payments. Farmers will no longer be paid for crops they are not growing, will not be paid for acres that are not actually planted, and will not receive support absent a drop in price or yields. It consolidates two remaining farm programs into one, and will give farmers the ability to tailor risk management coverage-meaning better protection against real risks beyond a farmer's control. It strengthens crop insurance and expands access so farmers are not wiped out by a few days of bad weather. 

There are a lot more details to this bill.  You can read more about them by clicking here.

OACD Leaders Support Senate Agriculture Committee 'Chairwoman's Mark' of Farm Bill Conservation

Leaders of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) today voiced their support for the Conservation Title contained in the proposed version of the Farm Bill released today by Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. According to Joe Parker, President of OACD, the language in the proposed farm bill would continue providing farmers and ranchers the tools they need to practice good conservation on the land.

"We are very happy with the work done by Chairwoman Stabenow in crafting a conservation title that allows us to continue the work of protecting our soil, water, air and wildlife habitats through voluntary, locally-led means," Parker said. "While the language proposed today does reduce conservation spending overall, we feel it creates an overall program that will still allow us the ability to protect our environment while producing the food and fiber needed to feed and clothe the world."

According to Parker, the proposed Conservation Title released by Chairwoman Stabenow streamlines several conservation programs in an effort to increase efficiency and reduce complexity. Some programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) are to be consolidated in a manner to ensure the original purpose of the programs are maintained while reducing administrative confusion and oversight. The overall reform effort of the Conservation Title should result in a combined savings of $6 billion to the federal government.

Please click here to read more about the OACD's reaction to the Chairwoman's Farm Bill mark.

U.S. Cattle on Feed Up 2 Percent

The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report was released Friday afternoon, April 20, 2012, showing the On Feed numbers come in exactly as the pre-report estimates predicted at a 2 percent increase over year ago numbers. This represents twenty three straight months of On Feed numbers being larger than year ago levels. The Placement number was slightly higher than the estimates. It came in at 94 percent, placing 1.79 million head of cattle making this the smallest March Placement in the last four years. Marketings came in slightly larger than expected at 96 percent, representing 1.989 million head of cattle. According to Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities, the latest Cattle on Feed report has nothing that stands out to influence the market one way or another.


Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.5 million head on April 1, 2012. The inventory was 2 percent above April 1, 2011. The inventory included 7.17 million steers and steer calves, up 1 percent from the previous year. This group accounted for 62 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.25 million head, up 4 percent from 2011.

Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.79 million, 6 percent below 2011. Net placements were 1.72 million head. During March, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 390,000, 600-699 pounds were 300,000, 700-799 pounds were 500,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 602,000. 

There's more to this story on our website and you will find a link to the full report.  Click here to go there. 

Winners Take Home Scholarships in AFR Cattle Grading Competition at Southern Plains Farm Show

Thirty scholarships totaling $6,300 were awarded to winners of the American Farmers and Ranchers Commercial Cattle Grading Scholarship Competition at the Southern Plains Farm Show. Scholarships were awarded to the top three FFA teams, the top three 4-H teams, the top three individuals from FFA and the top three individuals from 4-H.

The first place winner for individual FFA members was Aeschili Truesdell of Nowata with a score of 444 points. As the top finisher overall, Truesdell took home the competition's top prize of the $2,000 Rick Jones Memorial Scholarship.

Close behind Truesdell was second-place finisher Carlee Robins of Perkins-Tryon. Robins scored 440 points. The third-place winner was Landom McGarrah of Wyandotte, posting a score of 440 points.

In the 4-H individual competition, Michaela Branen with the Rogers County #1 team took top honors with a score of 442. Stetson Richards of Oktaha #1 placed second with a score of 430 points. Third place went to Mazie Richards from Oktaha #2 with a total of 430 points.

Click here to read how the teams finished and to find a link to pictures of all the winners.

Congressmen Lean On Vilsack to Set the Record Straight on Lean FinelyTextured Beef

Thirty members of Congress signed a letter asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to provide them with the steps USDA plans to take to set the record straight about the safety of LFTB.

"We agree with you that consumers should always have the ability to exercise choice in the marketplace. However, in the current environment of rampant and intentional mischaracterization and misinformation, it is incumbent on all of us to ensure consumers are able to make choices that are based on facts, rather than emotion and hysteria," the letter stated.

The legislators pointed to job losses and the possibility of consumers paying more for their ground beef. "We have been watching with great concern as this campaign of misinformation has unfolded and have been particularly concerned about the loss of jobs that's resulted from it.

No company should be forced to close its doors due to a smear campaign by a few overzealous individuals in the media. LFTB is a safe product and should be promoted as such," the legislators wrote.

You'll find a link to the Congressmen's full letter by clicking here.