Tyson Foods Outlines Letter to Hog Farmers Urging Production Practice Changes 

Tyson Foods has outlined measures the company is taking on hog raising practices in a letter sent January 8, to the hog farmers who supply the company. These steps are being taken as part of Tyson's ongoing animal well-being program and reflect input received from the company's Animal Well-Being Advisory Panel, customers, farmers and industry experts. They also reflect Tyson's continuing efforts to balance the expectations of consumers with the realities of today's hog farming business.

As noted in the letter, Tyson is doing the following:

1-Increasing the number of third party sow farm audits conducted through the FarmCheck ™ program

2-Urging hog producers to use video monitoring in their sow farms to increase oversight and decrease biosecurity risks

3-Encouraging hog producers to stop using manual blunt force as a primary method of euthanizing sick or injured piglets

4-Supporting the use of pain mitigation (such as anesthetic or analgesic) for tail docking and castration of piglets

5-Urging hog farmers to improve housing for pregnant sows by focusing on the quality and quantity of space provided, including urging all future sow barn construction or remodeling to allow for pregnant sows of all sizes to stand, lie down, stretch their legs and turn around.

Click here for a link to the full letter sent to hog producers.  

National Pork Board Reacts to Tyson Foods Announcement on Production Practices

This is a portion of a statement released by the National Pork Board:

Tyson Foods announced it will urge its suppliers to implement a series of production practices that it deems representative of responsible food production. Those recommendations include the use of video monitoring in sow farms, discontinuation of manual blunt force trauma as a primary method of euthanasia, use of pain mitigation for tail docking and castration, and the recommendation for sow housing built or renovated in 2014 and beyond to provide adequate quality and quantity of space for gestating sows.

On behalf of America's pork producers, the National Pork Board continues to recognize and promote the opportunity for producers, working with their veterinarians, to make the best decisions for their farms, their families, their employees and their animals. Producers need workable, credible and affordable solutions for improving animal care. From a broad industry perspective, there are a number of important issues raised by today's announcement:

--Currently there are no approved drugs for the use of pain mitigation in pig farming. 

--The National Pork Board maintains the position, supported by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, that there are numerous ways to provide proper housing and care for sows. 

--Video monitoring can be a useful tool in auditing animal welfare on U.S. pig farms. However, video monitoring, like in-person auditing, is only one component of providing and ensuring good animal care and can add significant cost to the farmer.

You can read the full statement by clicking here.

 

Southern Plains Wheat Crop Off to a Good Start, Mark Hodges Says 

The 2014 wheat crop is off to a good start says Mark Hodges, executive director of Plains Grains. He spoke with me recently and says that is mostly due to the fact that producers in most areas got their crop planted with sufficient moisture and favorable weather conditions.

"Of course, the worst drought areas were the Texas panhandle, the Oklahoma panhandle, western Kansas, eastern Colorado up into Nebraska and South Dakota. I think we really did get some good planting conditions in eastern Colorado. I was a little bit surprised as dry as they were, especially in southeastern Colorado. Western Kansas went in good. Nebraska's gone in pretty good even in those really dry areas in the panhandle of Nebraska. They have some pretty good stands now... Compared to the last two years, we're in really good shape."

Hodges says the potential is there for a very good 2014 harvest.

Mark joins me on this weekend's "In the Field" segment on News 9 about 6:40 a.m. Saturday.  You can also read more of this story and listen to our conversation by clicking here. 

Wheat Specialist Jeff Edwards Says it's Time to Start Topdressing Wheat

There are few crop inputs that deliver as much return on investment as nitrogen fertilizer. According to OSU Small Grains Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards, it takes approximately two pounds of nitrogen, costing approximately $1.00, to produce one bushel of grain worth about $6.00. Of course, nitrogen is not the only yield determining factor in a wheat crop. Also, the law of diminishing marginal returns eventually kicks in, but nitrogen fertilizer is still one of the safest bets in the house.

Top dress nitrogen fertilizer is especially important because it is applied and utilized at a time when the plant is transitioning from vegetative to reproductive growth. Several things, including the number of potential grain sites, are determined just prior to jointing and it is imperative that the plant has the fuel it needs to complete these tasks. Jointing also marks the beginning of rapid nitrogen uptake by the plant which is used to build new leaves, stem, and the developing grain head. The nitrogen stored in these plant parts will be used to fill the grain later in the season, and the plant is dependent on this stored nitrogen to complete grain fill.

Click here to read more from Dr. Edwards on nitrogen topdressing and you'll also find his three audiovisual presentations exploring the topic in greater detail.  

Monsanto's Annual Pipeline Update Provides a Look Into Agriculture's Future

Monsanto Company's annual research and development update marks the company's largest advancement of products to date. The agricultural company announced this week a record 29 products progressed in its pipeline with five of those headed to the commercial marketplace. Monsanto's advancements include products across all of its platforms, including breeding, biotechnology, and new technology areas such as Integrated Farming Systems® and agricultural biologicals.

"Monsanto's annual pipeline update provides a window into agriculture's future - and, specifically, how breeding, biotechnology, biologicals and improved agronomics can meet the challenges of feeding a growing planet while using resources more efficiently," said Robb Fraley, Ph.D., Monsanto's chief technology officer. "From rural communities in America, to the plains of Sub-Saharan Africa, our scientists and breeders are working to provide farmers with innovations that can help them get the most out of every acre. I am particularly proud as this year's advancements highlight the breadth of our R&D efforts and the truly integrated approach we are taking in order to deliver a total system of solutions that can offer additional choice for our farmer customers."

Click here to read more.

 

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way with Prescribed Burning

There is nothing better than when a plan comes together. Also, in this case, there is nothing worse than when there was no plan to start with.

John Weir, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension fire ecologist, said well-conducted fires in the field are the result of well-written fire plans.

"It helps us to put it down on paper and think this whole process through," he said. "So when the day comes when we're ready to light that fire, we've already thought it through and have a plan to follow to help us make the burn safe and effective to meet our goals and objectives."

A burn plan is a written prescription for the prescribed fire including critical elements such as the weather conditions under which the burn will be conducted, number of personnel and duties of each and the type, amount and placement of equipment needs to safely conduct the burn.

Click here to read more and to find a link to a sample burn plan. 

This and That- J Doug Talks Dairy With the Congressman, Warmer Weather and a Tip of the Hat to Ben Pollard  

In an interview Thursday morning with Doug Williams on Radio Oklahoma Ag Network affiliate  K-101 radio in Woodward, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas acknowledged that farm bill negotiations have hit a roadblock that is making it less likely that a 2014 Farm Bill can be done in January.  

Specifically, it's all about dairy.  Lucas says he is in the middle between a serious philosophical battle over what the dairy portion of the farm bill will look like once this bill is complete. As we described yesterday- it's about House Speaker John Boehner wanting no supply management in dairy and Collin Peterson and dairy farmers wanting supply management. 

Lucas likens the battle to a pair of old herd bulls put into the same pasture- with a lot of snorting and head butting going on between the two sides- with his job to try to separate them.  J Doug asked Lucas where he comes down on this- and after a long pause- adds, "was this a question I was not supposed to ask?" Lucas chuckled and say it was a very good question, but that he had not yet made up this mind.   

Separately, he told Politico yesterday "There comes a point in time here where I have to pick a side and go with it."

You can both read and listen to the K101 conversation with Congressman Lucas- courtesy of FarmPolicy.Com by clicking here. 

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We headed into a time of warmer temps the next few days- fifties and sixties on Saturday, sixties and low seventies on Sunday and then back into the fifties and low sixties first of the week.  

Best chances for rainfall come today in mostly eastern Oklahoma.  

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We posted a story earlier this week about our friend Ben Pollard, who is stepping down from the Oklahoma Conservation Commission after 35 years of state service.  Fellow of the Soil and Water Conservation Society and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservationist of the Year were just a few of the accolades recounted from his career- ending his professional life as the  Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC) Assistant Director in recent years.

Congrats to Ben- you can read more about his lifetime of service and his retirement by clicking here.