Featured Story:

It's a return this week to Louisville, Kentucky for the National FFA- after a multi-year run in downtown Indianapolis.  The meeting has grown since the last time it was in Louisville- as they are expecting more than 56,000 members, advisors and guests during the four day convention between now and Saturday afternoon.

The impact on the Louisville area is immense- this event will have a forty million dollar impact on the local economy- their second largest single convention has an impact of $14 million. FFA members that stay close to the convention epicenter are fortunate- there will be some staying out sixty miles from the State Fairgrounds as well as from the various downtown venues.

Oklahoma will be well represented at the meeting- over a thousand FFA members from the state will be here to compete, be honored or simply take in the sights of thousands of Blue and God jackets from every state in the union.

One Oklahoma FFA member that is already competing is immediate past President of the organization- Brandon Baumgarten.  Brandon has been involved in the National FFA Officer interview process since Sunday- and we will know if Brandon has a shot at being a national officer or not when the number of candidates is cut in half tonight.  Click here for our earlier interview with Brandon about his FFA journey from his Greenhand beginnings to his efforts here in Louisville.

Also- we invite you to check out our Blue-Green Gazette section of our website- click here to do so- we have stories this morning about the National Chapter recognition and a look at who's got talent- all of our coverage here in the email, on the web and on radio is courtesy of the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association and the Oklahoma FFA Association- click here for the state FFA website to learn more about one of the leading state FFA Associations in the nation- Oklahoma! 

NACD Outlines Farm Bill Priorities 

National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) President Earl Garber sent a letter to Farm Bill Conferees outlining the association's priorities for the Farm Bill.

"Our nation's farmers and landowners deserve to have long-term certainty to effectively and efficiently manage their land, resources and businesses for the years ahead," stated Garber. "Locally-led conservation is critical for America's long-term environmental and economic stability. Not only do Farm Bill conservation programs play a key role in supporting clean air, clean water and productive soils, they also help producers avoid unnecessary regulation and promote our nation's long-term economic and food security."

NACD strongly supports the passage of a five-year Farm Bill.  Among their key priorities:

-- Senate budget for Title II. These cuts are fair and justifiable, and we are doing our part to contribute to our nation's deficit reduction. Cuts beyond the Senate version will hurt the very viability of the programs in the Title.

-- Tying conservation compliance to crop insurance (while opposing AGI limitations or premium assistance reductions to crop insurance) as part of our broad coalition agreement.

You can read more of NACD's priorities and find a link to their full letter by clicking here. 

 

Winter Wheat, Canola Planting Nearly Complete; Crops in Mostly Good Condition Across Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas

Wheat planting in Oklahoma was reported at 90 percent complete in the latest USDA Crop Progress and Condition report.  Seventy-three percent was reported to have emerged by Sunday.  Planting of winter canola was listed as nearly complete with 91 percent emerged by week's end, five points ahead of last year.  Both winter crops were rated in mostly good condition.  (Click here for the full Oklahoma report.)

In Kansas, the winter wheat crop was 94 percent planted, slightly ahead of the five-year-average of 90 percent.  Seventy-four percent of the crop had emerged, and 59 percent was rated in good to excellent condition.  Corn harvest by the end of the week was 81 percent complete, but near the five-year average of 78 percent.  (You can read the full Kansas report by clicking here.)

Wheat fields were reported in good condition across Texas, with small grain seeding slowed somewhat by rains in the Blacklands and East Texas.  Seventy-five percent of the state's wheat crop was planted by the end of last week, up from 69 percent the week before and nearly on par with the state's five-year average of 78 percent.  Forty-five percent of the crop was listed in good to excellent condition.  (The Texas report is available by clicking here.)

Corn Harvest Proceeds; Growers Producing Excellent Crop

In its weekly report on crop progress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the corn harvest is only three percentage points under the five-year average and the crop condition is improving, with nearly two-thirds in good or excellent condition.

"Corn growers are on pace to bring in an excellent crop this fall, despite many challenges earlier in the season," said NCGA President Martin Barbre, a corn farmers in southern Illinois. "We're excited about the prospect of rebuilding the supply after 2012, but at the same time we know that lower prices will put the squeeze on farmers who have had to deal with increased costs in raising their crop."

According to the USDA report, 59 percent of the crop has been harvested in the top corn states. The five-year average is 62 percent, and at this time last year, harvest was nearly complete, at 91 percent. Crop condition was reported at 62 percent good or excellent, 25 percent fair, and 13 percent poor or very poor. 

Click here for more of this story and for a link to the latest USDA Crop Progress report.

Replacement Heifer Demand Impacting the Feeder Heifer Market

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter:

There are indications that heifer retention is increasing this fall, although definitive data are not yet available. The delayed October Cattle on Feed report, due out October 31, is expected to show a deeper decrease in heifers on feed. Heifers on feed dropped sharply in the last half of 2012 then increased relatively in the first half of 2013. By July of this year, heifers on feed were still down year over year, but down only 3.5 percent compared to a 9.5 percent decrease on January 1, 2013. It appeared that more heifers entered feedlots in the first half of the year. This is further indicated by the fact that heifer slaughter has been higher by 2.7 percent since July after being down 3.7 percent, year over year, in the first half of the year. This bulge in heifer slaughter should be nearly finished and decreasing heifer slaughter is expected for the remainder of the year.

Meanwhile, auction market reports indicate that replacement heifer demand is picking up. A partial check of auction reports from around the country for the last week indicates at least ten markets where replacement heifers are noted in the feeder heifer auction summaries. The majority of these reports are in Nebraska and South Dakota but also in several other states as well. Heifers denoted as replacements are bringing significantly higher prices than uncommented feeder heifers of the same weight and class.  

Click here for more.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau Disappointed with Water Resources Board Ruling

Oklahoma Farm Bureau commented today that private property rights of landowners in five southern counties were restricted last Wednesday when seven of nine members on the Oklahoma Water Resources Board voted to reduce the maximum annual yield for landowners overlying the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer from two acre feet of water per year to 0.2 acre feet per year.

"When a landowner purchases property he's virtually purchasing a bundle of sticks or a bundle of private property rights," said LeeAnna Covington, director of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Legal Foundation. "Each time a decision of this magnitude is made, it removes a stick from the originally purchased bundle."

After several years of litigation concerning water usage in the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer, landowners in the area are still unsure how the .2 acre feet measurement was determined.

You can read more of this story by clicking here. 

Ready for Wednesday- Lucas Just Wants to Get Ag Policy Right 

on Wednesday, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas will chair the first meeting of the farm bill conference committee. Committee members have the difficult task of reconciling a House bill that cuts 39-billion dollars from food stamps over the next 10 years and 60-billion dollars overall - with a Senate bill that cuts 4.5-billion dollars from food stamps and 24.5-billion dollars overall.  

Lucas does have a proposal for cutting food stamps that he insists can be made without keeping anyone who really needs assistance from receiving it. Mainly by eliminating what is called categorical qualification from the program - his proposal would cut about 20-billion dollars from food stamps.  

Lucas also favors continuing the move away from direct cash payments to producers in favor of federally subsidized crop and livestock insurance. No matter what anyone else might say - Lucas says ag support is necessary to assure reasonably priced food supplies and he understands what happens if Congress gets the policy wrong. He points to the Depression of the 20s and 30s and what he describes as an ag and energy depression that occurred in the 80s.  

Lucas says he's going to try to make sure Congress doesn't make the policy mistakes of the 70s and 80s or 20s and 30s. 

The Tulsa World's Randy Krehbiel has an interesting feature on Frank Lucas and his Farm Bill efforts.  The writer says that the farm bill is the culmination of Lucas' nearly 20 years in Congress, and in some ways his entire life's experience. Click here to read the full article.