USDA Announces Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Sign-Up Period for 2011 Crop Losses 

Farm Service Agency Administrator Juan Garcia announced the sign-up period for the 2011 crop year Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program will open Oct. 22, 2012. The SURE program is part of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill). Under the 2008 Farm Bill, SURE authorizes assistance to farmers and ranchers who suffered crop losses caused by natural disasters occurring through Sept. 30, 2011.

"Any eligible producer who suffered losses during the 2011 crop year is encouraged to visit a local FSA office to learn more about the SURE program and how to apply," said Garcia.

As of Sept. 30, 2011, the Department's authority to operate the SURE program expired along with four other, important disaster assistance programs: the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP); the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Production losses due to disasters occurring after Sept. 30, 2011, are not eligible for disaster program coverage. 

Producers considered socially disadvantaged, a beginning farmer or rancher, or a limited resource farmer may be eligible for SURE without a policy or plan of insurance or NAP coverage.

Farmers and ranchers interested in signing up must do so before the June 7, 2013 deadline.

You can read more about this program including eligibility requirements by clicking here. 

Conservation Improvements Maximize Value of School Land Leases Ahead of Auctions 

The annual school land lease auctions are rapidly approaching and the secretary of the school land office, Harry Birdwell, says officials are doing everything they can to preserve this crucial income stream for public education.   Birdwell spoke with us about their ongoing efforts. 

"We made the commitment as an agency that we were going to do more to properly conserve the land, more conservation improvements and terracing and going in and developing water resources and digging new wells and dredging out silted ponds," Birdwell said.

"And another new thing that is so important, I think, to our state is if you look at the number of acres of productive land throughout the state that are being encroached on by red cedar infestations, that's really taking away from grazing and cropping lands around the state. So, we've begun a program on our land to remove, in areas of the state where infestation is worst, a lot of cedars because that will return the land to productivity. Those red cedars take an awful lot of water that would otherwise be productively used in growing vegetation and cropping." 

Click here to read more or listen to our full interview and to find a link for the upcoming lease auctions.  

And you can also take a look at our "In the Field" TV segment with Birdwell that was seen this past Saturday morning on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City- click here to check that out.  

National Council of Farmers Cooperatives Calls For Lame Duck Ag Bill Vote

The following statement was released by Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmers Cooperatives:

"With the 2008 farm bill expiring on Sunday, it is of upmost importance that Congress take up farm legislation when they return for a lame duck session after the November elections. America's farmers, ranchers and growers need the certainty that comes from knowing the rules of the game as they begin to make planting decisions for the 2013 crop year this winter. 

"In order for Congress to take action, though, those of us in the agricultural community need to move beyond simply calling on Congress to pass a bill. We must come together to develop a framework for farm programs that meets the needs of all producers, regardless of the region of the country they farm in or the commodity that they grow."

Click here for more.
 

USDA Study to Examine Farmers' Production Practices

With volatile weather and variable planting conditions last spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will soon begin contacting producers to learn about their actual production practices during the 2012 growing season. As part of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Economic Research Service (ERS) will gather data on farmers' chemical use and pest management practices for soybeans and wheat. 

"Conducted every fall, ARMS serves as the primary source of information on the production practices, resource use and economic well-being of America's farm operations and farm households," said Wilbert C. Hundl Jr., Director of the Oklahoma NASS Field Office. "The survey results help agricultural leaders and decision-makers better understand how producers cope with risk, adapt to policy changes, and make decisions about chemical use, new technologies and many other aspects of farming."

Beginning in October, NASS representatives will conduct face-to-face interviews with 6,000 growers nationwide, including 150 in Oklahoma."When contacted, wheat producers will be asked to provide information on their fertilizer, nutrient, biocontrol and pesticide applications, as well as their pest management and irrigation practices," added Hundl. "Early next year, we will follow up with some of the participants to obtain additional economic data." 

Middle East Expanding, Changing Market for U.S. Meat Export Federation

Dan Halstrom, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) senior vice president for global marketing and communications, recently visited the Middle East to meet with USMEF's representatives in the region as well as with buyers and traders of U.S. beef. With U.S. beef sales expanding rapidly in a section of the globe that stretches all the way from West Africa to Kazakhstan. He says the region truly is in transition.

"The really exciting part about the Middle East right now is the expansion away from just variety meats. There's still a big market for variety meats-livers, hearts, kidneys-but the emerging area is the muscle cuts. Five years ago 95 percent of our value was variety meats. Last year 60 percent of our value was muscle cuts, 40 percent of the value was variety meats. So, what's happening is we're starting to diversify into many different cuts all across the region," Halstrom said.

He also said that social and political unrest in the Middle East has done very little to slow demand for U.S. beef. 

"The unrest, from a humanitarian standpoint, is unfortunate, but the reality is that their desires for higher levels of protein continue to increase. And that's where U.S. beef, high quality grain-fed beef, comes in." 

Check our webpage for more of this story and our audio interview with Dan Halstrom.

Weed Science Society Cautions Pesticide Buyers to Select Carefully for Best Results

There are a number of important considerations to make in purchasing and applying the proper pesticide. The Weed Science Society of America has recently published recommendations to pesticide users that will help them more safely select and use the proper products. 

"Whether you are buying a pesticide for commercial use on crops, for personal use on your lawn or garden, or for any other purpose, the purchase must be carefully considered," says Andrew Thostenson, President of the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators and Pesticide Program Specialist, North Dakota State University Extension Service.

Here are a few of the guidelines from the WSSA: 

1. Arrive at the store knowing the identity of the pest(s) that you are trying to control. Your Cooperative Extension Service, other trained professionals or university websites can help. (Some websites for identifying pests are listed below.)

2. Make sure the pesticide will work on your pest(s). Check the label to see if the pest is listed and under what conditions it will be controlled. For example, an herbicide will not control weeds that are too large, and an insecticide will not solve an insect problem that is caused by poor food storage or ripped window screens.

Click here for more on pesticide selection from the WSSA. 

The 2008 Farm Law Has Expired- Now What?

It's October first and that means the 2008 Farm Law is officially dead. While there has been a tremendous amount of political rhetoric about not getting a farm bill done on time here in 2012- the truth is that no farm bill has been completed before the one before it expired since 1977.


As the Congressional Research Service (CRS) points out in their report, "Possible Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill," in the past 40 years, only the 1973 and 1977 farm bills were enacted before Sept. 30. The 1981, 1985, and 1990 farm bills were enacted by Dec. 31 The most recent three farm bills have been enacted much later: April 1996, May 2002 and June 2008.

We have an extensive analysis that USDA has done on what happens now that we have no contemporary farm bill in place as the law of the land- and how they see the Permanent Farm Law of 1949 kicking in.  Click here to check out our story on the USDA intentions in this regard.  We also have the complete memo as written by USDA that you can check out as well as a part of that story.

One thing that is fascinating to me is that the wheat program under permanent law- if the Secretary decides we will have a marketing program for that year, would be based on 1958 allotments for each farm.  USDA admits they have no data that relates to today's farms from back in 1958 on file- so setting up allotments and as a result quotas would be very problematic for the agency.  Wheat loan rate- if a marketing quota program was put in place would be around $16 a bushel.