Ag Groups, Lawmakers Rally In Support of Farm Bill; Attendees Fear House Leadership Immovable

Senators, Congressmen, and farm industry leaders took to the podium in Washington D.C. during the Farm Bill Now rally to call on Speaker of the House John Boehner to schedule the 2012 Farm Bill for a floor vote.

Terry Detrick, Oklahoma rancher and president of American Farmers and Ranchers, was in attendance and said he was encouraged by the unity shown by rally attendees, but he was disgusted with the inaction being shown by the House leadership. He said despite their best efforts, he has doubts the bill will make it to the floor this year. You can hear his comments by clicking here.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, Kansas Senator Jerry Moran, and South Dakota Representative Kristi Noem addressed the crowd, and all said the implications of failing to pass a farm bill this year are very grave. Click here for their comments.

In a statement released after the event, the American Farm Bureau Federation said the farm bill has a broad impact on all citizens and the U.S. economy.  The statement noted one in 12 American jobs is tied to agriculture.  Click here for more from the AFBF.

Others calling on Congress to finish work on the 2012 Farm Bill before the end of the year were Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, the Agriculture Retailers Association, and the National Association of Conservation Districts.  You can read more of their comments by clicking on their names.

So far, no floor time has been scheduled by the leadership of the House of Representatives to take up the bill before the current farm bill expires.

USDA Lowers Predictions For Corn and Soybean Production in Latest WASDE 

The USDA has released the latest US and World Production numbers for wheat, corn and soybeans along with the Ending Stocks report. The numbers look negative for corn and neutral for soybeans and wheat.

July Pork Exports Trend Lower; Beef Exports Largest of 2012

U.S. pork exports in July were slightly lower than a year ago while beef exports dipped moderately in volume, achieving their largest monthly total of 2012 while holding steady in value. These results are based on statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

"With higher operating costs, both the pork and beef sectors are facing serious economic challenges," said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. "Tight beef supplies have pushed prices higher and strong demand from our international customers is helping support higher beef cutout values. On the pork side, an increase in U.S. production has been offset by larger exports, helping drive the pork cutout to its peak in late June. With these factors in mind, it is absolutely critical that we remain aggressive with our international promotions and continue to capture the highest return possible on the products we export. Our pork and beef export value totals continue to outpace last year's records, which is certainly a positive sign."  

Click here for more specifics on July beef, pork, and lamb exports.

Curt Pate Cattle Stockmanship and Stewardship Seminar Scheduled for Elk City

Beef producers have an opportunity to fine tune their cattle handling skills with one of the nation's most sought after clinicians, Curt Pate.

Hosted by the Oklahoma Beef Council through the beef checkoff program, the Elk City Livestock Auction, and Simmons Ranch, the clinic will focus on low-stress cattle handling techniques with the intent of enhancing profitability by working with the natural instincts of cattle.

The clinic will be held at the Elk City Livestock Auction on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 5:30 PM and a meal will be provided prior to the clinic.

Click here for more details and registration information.

DuPont Pioneer Receives All Regulatory Approvals to Sell Optimum® AcreMax® XTreme Products

U.S. and Canadian farmers can now plan for 2013 spring planting with Pioneer® brand corn products featuring Optimum® AcreMax® XTreme insect protection technology. DuPont Pioneer recently received all necessary regulatory approvals for import into major world markets of grain grown from Optimum AcreMax XTreme products. All necessary state approvals have also been received, allowing growers to plant products with this technology.

"This innovative product will further support the Pioneer goal of helping North American corn growers achieve ultimate simplicity while maximizing corn yields across their entire operation in 2013," says Josh St. Peters, DuPont Pioneer corn marketing manager.

Optimum AcreMax XTreme products offer growers a single-bag refuge option in areas of the Corn Belt requiring protection from both above- and below-ground insects.

You'll find more information on our website. Go there by clicking here.

Certified Angus Beef Posts Record High Sales Volumes

Recent Certified Angus Beef sales figures show an increase in quality beef demand. Certified Angus Beef partners reported selling 74 million pounds of beef in June. That's four percent higher than one year ago. That's the highest monthly volume in the brand's 34-year history.

CAB Vice President Mark Polzer says, "We've been very fortunate that the Certified Angus Beef brand has continued to grow in spite of an overall declining beef supply. It really points to the quality of the brand and how people are perceiving it.

"As beef prices in general have had to go up because of the supply situation, it's created an opportunity for our brand to really set itself even further apart. If you're going to have to pay a little more for beef, you certainly want a more desirable eating experience."

Food service has fueled a large measure of the demand with rib eye and strip steak sales holding strong even though the cuts are fetching record-high prices.

You can check out a video version of this story by clicking here.

This N That- Canola and Wheat Planting Rains Arriving and BPI to Sue ABC over LFTB

As we wrap up this morning's email- rainfall is already arriving in western Oklahoma with Cheyenne already up to .75 of a inch of rain this morning and Erick reporting right at a half inch of the wet stuff. If we see these rains apread over the western two thirds of Oklahoma- that will go a long way to helping a lot of producers move quickly into planting mode this coming week- especially for those wanting to plant canola for the 2013 growing cycle- as well as for those producers wanting fall wheat pasture grazing options.

The system that has shown up will generate widespread showers through the day today and into tonight- especially across western Oklahoma where locally heavy rainfall is expected. Many areas will see an inch of rain and localized areas could end up with more. Rainfall chances between now and Saturday morning still depend on a low pressure system that is setting up now, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast discussion for Oklahoma. "the wet weather is expected to continue into the weekend as a cutoff low develops over New Mexico and West Texas. The evolution of this low will determine the extent of rain chances as well as any heavy rain concerns through Saturday." Click here for a real time Oklahoma Mesonet map showing over the last twenty four hours- as updated to that moment.   

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Meatingplace.Com is reporing early this morning that BPI now has plans to fight the uphill battle of trying to prove in court defamation of their product LFTB- which got drug through the mud by ABC earlier this year and resulted in hundreds of jobs lost at three plants closed by the company as consumers reacted to the stories of Pink Slime.  Meatingplace says that details of the suit will be announced this morning- with news briefings expected at both the local and national level. 

It's likely that a study that has been assembled by Iowa State professors Dermot Hayes and Daniel Otto that calculates a half billion dollars worth of damage done by the LFTB debacle may well figure into the litigation plans to be unveiled by BPI later today- click here for a story pulled together this week by Dan Gainor of CNS News on this economic hit to the beef business.