Can We Get it Done? - House Ag Committee Chairman Talks 2012 Farm Bill Prospects 

With the political conventions behind us and Congress set to go back to Washington for eight legislative days before the end of September, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) has a lot on his mind. He spoke with us about his game plan for the coming pre-election session and beyond.

"I am counting on my members coming back in from the countryside and explaining to the elected leadership, on both the majority and minority sides, that It's important that we have a comprehensive farm bill, that the certainty that a farm bill provides in drought years and in non-drought years is critically important. My concern is, though, I'm not seeing that kind of response.   The conversations I'm having with my colleagues, the interaction I'm having with folks across the country, I'm not seeing that fired up concern that will help drive this process."

Lucas said he's trying to remain optimistic, but, so far, there is no announced calendar for the upcoming eight-day session. He says there is a tremendous amount of work that must be done for a comprehensive farm bill to finished before the current farm bill expires. (See below for the calendar for this week that has now been released by Eric Cantor)

"We're in a position where I've got to still have floor time to take the House committee version of the farm bill across the floor, deal with the amendments, deal with the debate, deal with the votes, get it passed." Lucas then described the conference process that he would envision and says the bottom line "It's starting to become a very tall mountain to push a very large boulder up."

You can click here to read more or to listen to our full conversation. 

And we also have the In the Field video conversation as seen on KWTV News9  that we had with the Chairman- click here to take a look.  

BY THE WAY- the late word from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is that the House Ag Committee's Farm Bill is NOT on the list of bills expected to be taken up this week- with the House expecting to return today- no votes will be taken today until 6:30 PM tonight at the earliest- and then work is planned each day through Friday with no votes planned after 3 PM that day. Click here for the weekly schedule as released by Eric Cantor late Friday afternoon.    

NCBA Vice President Urges Congress to Pass 2012 Farm Bill Before Election Recess 

In the latest edition of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association newsletter Beltway Beef, Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs, calls on the House of Representatives to pass the 2012 Farm Bill.

As many of you know, Congress comes back to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 10. Our senators and representatives will only be here for eight short days, and here at NCBA we hope during that time that they will address the important issue of the 2012 Farm Bill before the current 2008 Farm Bill expires at the end of this month. Congress has the option of passing a full 2012 Farm Bill, or it can also decide to extend the 2008 bill and its programs for up to a year and return to the debate at a later point in time. A one-year extension of the current 2008 Farm Bill would continue programs such as commodity programs, crop insurance, conservation programs and federal nutrition programs.

Ideally, Congress will pass the full 2012 Farm Bill. Cattle producers support a reduction of the federal deficit while assuring funding for 2012 Farm Bill priorities. The farm bill should minimize direct federal involvement in agricultural production and preserve the individual's right to manage land, water and resources. This year has been a tough one for farmers and ranchers across the country, especially due to the ongoing drought that has 70 percent of cattle country suffering from abnormal to exceptionally dry conditions. The uncertainty of going through drought, coupled with the lack of permanent relief programs, adds to the challenges cattle producers face every day. Cattlemen must have the ability to make management decisions in a timely manner when faced with drought or other natural disasters. 

Click here for more of Colin Woodall's perspective on the farm bill.

AFBF, Other Groups Urge Senate to Refrain from Disaster Bill

The American Farm Bureau Federation urged Senate leaders to "refrain from supporting" any legislation resembling the House-passed disaster bill if such a measure is presented in the Senate. Supporting such a measure would detract from the larger mission of passing a long-term farm bill.

In a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), AFBF and a dozen other national agriculture organizations said that passing the House disaster bill as a quick fix would do more harm than good to farmers and ranchers.

"This is something our groups do not support," the letter stated. "We strongly urge you to refrain from this as we fear that passage of a bill similar to the House bill could result in further delays in completing a full five-year farm bill." 

You can read more by clicking here.

Is There a Silver Lining in the Drought of 2012?

Rick Tolman, chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association, says the effects of the current drought aren't all bad. In fact, he says in this opinion piece, there are many things for which to be grateful.

Winston Churchill once said, "For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself." A decade from now-as we look back, how will we write the history of the Drought of 2012? I hope that I will look back and remember key lessons that can be gleaned from this experience and that collectively we are able to say that we are stronger and wiser because of having gone through the experience.

What nuggets or silver linings might there be in the most devastating drought of our life time? Consider:

1. The importance of risk management and crop insurance. 
2. The value of advanced seed technology.
3. The impact of modern agronomic and production methods. 
4. Economic signals to produce more grain worldwide.
5. We have benefited from pulling together. 

Click here to read Rick's explanations for each of these silver linings.  
 

Statewide Burn Ban Allows For Extreme Hardship Exceptions, State Ag Secretary Says

Despite recent rains, the statewide ban on outdoor burning is still in effect in all 77 counties. Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese says the ban will continue until the state experiences significant rainfall.

Speaking on the "Insiders," a new program airing for the first time on the Radio Oklahoma Network this past weekend, Reese did say that there are some exceptions being granted to the burn ban in cases of extreme hardship. He said good examples would be a welding company that needed to make repairs in the field somewhere, or a controlled burn that needed to be made for agricultural purposes.

Reese said the Forestry Department reviews applications for exemptions from the burn ban on a case-by-case basis.

"That exception, you have to request it from the state forester through an application. You can't just go burn and say you had a hardship. You have to get approval to do it before you can do it."

You can hear the full interview with Secretary Reese and read more about burn ban exemptions by clicking here. 

Okeene FFA, 4-H Members Win Big at 2012 Junior Wheat Show

Morgan WestFahl, daughter of Ron and Tracy WestFahl, was recently awarded the overall grand champion award showing her Billings variety in the 2012 Oklahoma 4-H/FFA Junior Wheat Show. WestFahl placed 2nd in production and visual, 1st in milling and baking, earning her the title of 1st place among the FFA, FFA champion, and overall grand champion of the 4-H and FFA Junior Wheat Show. WestFahl is from the Okeene FFA chapter.

Koby Smith, son of Guy and Joni Smith, recently placed 1st overall in the 4-H division while showing his Billings variety at the 2012 Oklahoma 4-H/FFA Junior Wheat Show.

Smith placed 8th in production and visual, 3rd in milling and baking, earning him the title of 1st place among the 4-H, 4-H champion overall and reserve grand champion winner. Smith is a member of the Okeene 4-H club.

Click here for more.

This Week- Southwest Ag Issues Summit, Farm Bill Now Coalition Rally and USDA Crop Report

Underway today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday) is the Southwest Ag Issues Summit in Austin, Texas- they have quite a lineup of speakers for this event being put on by the Southwest Council for Agribusiness. The honorable Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas, is on their agenda as the Monday morning breakfast speaker- they will also be hearing from farm and agribusiness leaders from the southwest plus a couple of veteran observers of agriculture- Ag Futurist Lowell Catlett and Ag Political junkie Jim Wiesemeyer.  The Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association is a part of this group- click here for details about this two day program that just happened to be scheduled on top of what is going to be a very interesting week for US agriculture.  

About fifty US farm, ranch, conservation and agribusiness groups will gather on Wednesday at the US Capitol to rally and call upon the US House to move on the US Farm Bill this month.  The Farm Bill Now Coalition will show some farm group unity with the co Emcees of the event are NFU President Roger Johnson and AFBF President Bob Stallman. Click here for the website of this coalition- it will be interesting if this effort can spark any last minute desire in the hearts of Congress to do something before they head home to campaign for November.    

Finally, USDA issues their latest look at the 2012 spring crops on Wednesday morning as we get the Crop Production numbers and the monthly supply demand numbers all rolled out at 7:30 AM central time.  It's likely that the USDA corn crop estimates will be lowered from their August numbers of 123 bushels per acre- lots of folks that we believe have credibility think it should be around 120 bushels per acre. The consensus on the 2012 soybean crop is a little less certain- and it depends on whether you believe the crop was helped very much by the late arriving rains in the midwest or not.