Iowa Lawmaker Says the Problem is Cantor

We have no 2012 farm bill and at least one member of Congress says it's because of Eric Cantor- the US House Floor Leader.  In an article at Politico.Com, Iowa Congressman Tom Latham says "Speaker John Boehner wants to bring the farm bill to the floor, but is being stifled by his leadership colleagues."  Latham is a contemporary of Boehner and says that he has had a couple of conversations in recent days about the farm bill with the House Majority Leader and that he is all for consideration of the House Ag Committee's farm bill proposal.  

The Politico article adds that a spokesman for Cantor claims the votes are simply not there. "'House leadership is in agreement. Moving a reauthorization or extension before there is consensus - and there is currently none - would not be wise,' Cantor spokesman Doug Heye said. 'In the meantime, the House has acted on important livestock disaster aid. The Senate has not.'"

It has been reported that Cantor seems to be taking his farm bill cues from former House Ag Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who doesn't like several components of the current bill- and seems to think a delay of the measure would result in a better deal for what he wants once a new Congress is seated next year. 

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can take the high road- since the Senate is ahead of the House on this bill. 

In a press briefing yesterday,  Reid (D., Nev.) was asked about the Farm Bill and stated that, "Well, we have a Farm bill that we were very proud of. It was one of the few bipartisan things we were able to get done. Passed here by a nice margin. It saves $23 billion off the debt. It does some - reforms that have been overdue for decades. And it has a - one - really a good disaster relief package in it. So we're waiting to get something in the House."

Sen. Reid added that, "Can't have a conference until they pass something. They haven't passed anything."

House leadership has leaned hard on their members to not sign the discharge petition that could force the Farm Bill to the floor in a Lame Duck session- and just a handful of Republicans have signed- currently just 56 members of Congress have their name on that Discharge Petition.  

One question right now is whether or not the Cantor decision to block consideration of the 2012 farm bill will hurt Republicans or not. Keith Good of FarmPolicy.Com has a good look at that angle of this story- click here to check it out.

USDA Expands Drought Assistance to 22 States 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $11.8 million in additional financial and technical assistance to help crop and livestock producers in 22 states apply conservation practices that reduce the impacts of drought and improve soil health and productivity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides this assistance through its Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

Since early summer, USDA has announced a variety of assistance to producers impacted by the drought, including opening conservation acres to emergency haying and grazing, lowering the interest rate for emergency loans, and working with crop insurance companies to provide flexibility to farmers. Just a few weeks ago, USDA announced $16 million in financial and technical assistance to immediately help crop and livestock producers in 19 states cope with the adverse impacts of the historic drought. In July, the Secretary announced USDA would allow producers to modify current EQIP contracts to allow for grazing, livestock watering, and other conservation activities to address drought conditions, and also authorized haying and grazing of WRP easement areas in drought-affected areas where haying and grazing is consistent with conservation of wildlife habitat and wetlands. Today's announcement expands upon these efforts and brings the total assistance to nearly $28 million.

For more on this continuing story, please click here.

Market Forces Will Lead to Rebuilding Cow Herd Sooner Rather Than Later, Researcher Says

Two years of drought in major cattle producing areas of the United States have caused problems for rebuilding the national cow herd. The U.S. herd now stands at under 30 million head.   Dr. Nevil Speer of Western Kentucky University says the drought plays a part, but rising cattle prices are also dictating selling decisions made by producers.

"Whenever you invest in a cow, it's a pretty long-term kind of investment. And so when you begin to add uncertainty and higher costs and then the capital at risk you provide a lot of incentives to go ahead and 'let's market the cows.' And on the other side of that, it's not just the feeder cattle, the cull cow market has been just amazing in the last couple of years. And it's one of those things I always like to talk about: markets work. When you provide enough of an incentive to something, people respond to it. And, certainly, cow-calf producers have responded to that. And cows that are somewhat marginal? They load up the trailer and take them to the sale barn."

Despite high prices to the consumer, Speer says demand has held up quite well.   He says that will provide an incentive back to cattle producers to start rebuilding those herds sooner rather than later.

You can catch more from Dr. Speer on our current Beef Buzz.  Click here to go there.

Farmers Royalty Company and OACD Partner on State Conservation Youth Awards

As part of their continuing commitment to the youth of Oklahoma and the Conservation of our state's natural resources, Farmers Royalty Company and the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) announced that they will again partner together in presenting the Farmers Royalty Company Conservation Youth Awards. These awards will go to the winners of the OACD poster, essay and speech contests at the district and state level. Last year over 1,000 students from throughout Oklahoma participated in these contests.

"We are honored to once again have Farmers Royalty Company as a partner in recognizing the outstanding achievements of our states youth," Joe Parker, President of OACD said. "These students work hard in preparing their speeches, posters and essays. The support of Farmers Royalty Company gives us a chance to better recognize their achievements."

Open to students from all areas of Oklahoma, the Farmers Royalty Company/OACD Youth Conservation Contests include categories for both high school and grade school students. These contestants research the conservation topic chosen each year and then write essays, develop speeches or create posters to expand on the conservation theme for that year.

You can read more about the conservation youth awards by clicking here.

Fuel Up to Play 60 Program Sparking Increases in Student Participation, Impact across the Midwest

Following the release of national data, new data shows that Fuel Up to Play 60 is seeing significant increases in student participation, engagement, awareness and impact across the Midwest. Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program created in partnership with the National Dairy Council and the NFL, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture, and provided by the Midwest Dairy Council in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.


The 2011-2012 Fuel Up to Play 60 Utilization and Impact Survey interviewed 1,954 program advisors and school administrators, representing 1,557 schools, in Midwest Dairy's 10-state service area. In its second year of a national roll-out, the Fuel Up to Play 60 program encourages students to eat healthy, be active and make positive, healthy changes in their schools. The survey results show Midwestern schools involved in the Fuel Up to Play 60 are making substantial progress and have seen marked increases over the 2010-2011 school year on a number of fronts, including:

• 70 percent of respondents think the program is helping students make healthier food choices (up from 57 percent in 2011).
• 59 percent say it is helping increase the amount of time students are physically active at school (up from 54 percent in 2011).
• 65 percent of respondents believe Fuel Up to Play 60 positively influences their school environment (up from 58 percent in 2011).

Click here to read more on the Fuel Up to Play 60 program.

Sholar Selected to Receive OSU DASNR Distinguished Alumnus Award

The executive director of the Oklahoma Oilseed Commission has been selected to receive a top award from the agriculture program at Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Ron Sholar will receive the 2012 Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Distinguished Alumnus Award.

In addition to serving at the head of the oilseed commission, Sholar serves as the executive director of the Great Plains Canola Association.

Sholar earned master's and doctoral degrees from OSU. He then served on the faculty for more than 30 years. He was a professor of agronomy and served as an Extension agronomist. He was responsible for statewide programs in peanuts and soybeans and coordinated interdisciplinary programs for oilseed crops.

Sholar also served as a major general in the U.S. Army, and retired in 2010 as the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

He and his wife, Linda, a retired public school teacher, reside in Stillwater. 

USDA Value-Added Grants Available to Ag Producers

USDA Rural Development State Director Ryan McMullen encourages Oklahoma ag producers interested in adding value to their commodities to check out the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. His office will accept applications for the VAPG program through October 15, 2012.   


The program is designed to help agricultural producers add value to their raw commodity prior to sale. This can include the development of marketing strategies or the development of business plans for the viable production of products from agricultural commodities.


Applicants may apply for either a Planning Grant of up to $100,000 or a Working Capital Grant of up to $300,000.

Click here for more on this story and a link to follow over to the USDA Rural Development office.