Frank Lucas: No Rest for House Ag Committee Following Farm Bill Passage 

Though the bulk of the work with the 2014 Farm Bill is now behind him, Third District Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas said there is still more work to be done by the House Agriculture Committee which he chairs.

He visited with me about several items that will need to be addressed in the coming months, the largest of which is the implementation of the farm bill. 

"I think they're working very hard to address the drought disaster payments, some of those that are backdated for years, trying to catch up on that. The rulemaking process to implement the two new choices in the commodity title, whether it's PLC or ARC, so that producers will be able when they sign up for the 2014 farm bill will be prepared to make their choices, I think is somewhere into the summertime.

"The bottom line is this, there are so many dramatic changes from the old direct payment-based farm bill from 2008 to the new Agricultural Act of 2014 with its choices and new option, the department is going to have to work really hard to take the law that we crafted in Congress and turn it into the rules and regs so that the software can be purchased so that the good FSA folks can be properly trained to work with all of us when we go in and begin the sign-up process at different stages throughout the spring, summer and into the fall."

Lucas said he was pleased that the President put drought relief at the top of the USDA's agenda in implementing the farm law.

"Prioritizing getting the drought dollars out the door, because those go to producers who have been hurting for some time now, I believe that was the right call, so I'm pleased with that. But once that's done, there's a whole myriad of other things in the other commodity groups that have to be addressed."

You can listen to our full conversation or read more of this story by clicking here.

 

Secretary Vilsack Addresses Commodity Classic on Farm Bill Implementation 

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed attendees at the Commodity Classic in San Antonio, Texas, Friday. Vilsack spoke mainly about the USDA's plans for 2014 and the ongoing implementation of the recently-adopted farm law.  Vilsack suggested that sign up for the 2014 crop year may well extend into 2015 as the agency works to retool for a very different Commodity safety net than what has been in place.

"With the passage of the farm bill, it seems to me that at USDA we have three basic responsibilities. We need to continue the profitability of large-scale commercial sized operations. We need to continue to promote programs and policies that will ensure that profitability will remain. Commercial size operations are important to this country and to our ability to continue to feed our people and the world's people. At the same time, we have the responsibility to preserve and expand mid-sized operations coming up with new ways to create income opportunities so folks don't necessarily have to give up the farm. For me, that's extremely important and I know it is for you as well.

"And our final responsibility to assist smaller-sized operations, those that are our beginning farmers and ranchers, women, minorities, social disadvantaged, our returning Veterans who are interested in reconnecting with the land. We have a responsibility to enable them to start and stay in this business. "

Click here to read more of this story and to find a link to Vilsack's full remarks.  

Chuck and Wathina Luthi Inducted into okPork Hall of Fame

Stepping into someone else's shoes can be the beginning of a trip anywhere. Stepping into Chuck and Wathina Luthi's shoes is a trip going everywhere. There is a minimal amount of area in the Oklahoma pork industry their shoes haven't traveled. For this reason okPORK announced Chuck and Wathina as their 2014 okPORK Hall of Fame inductees.

Chuck and Wathina's contribution to the pork industry in Oklahoma began before they met, even before they were born. The two met in college, but before then both of their families had been involved in raising pigs. When the young couple moved to Woodward and Chuck took a job working in town, Wathina needed something to keep her busy at home.

"I told him he needed to find something to keep me busy or I was going to get a job in town," Wathina said. "So we got two pigs - and we were excited. We got two sows and started there."

From that humble start, the Luthis' farm has never stopped growing. They held contracts with several companies throughout the years but now they work with The Maschhoffs. Their 4,900-head sow farm sends weaned baby pigs north to Iowa to grow to market size.

You can listen to my interview with Wathina or read more of this story on our website by clicking here.  

AND- we have two videos to share with you as well- one is the video that was shown on Friday night to honor the couple as they were inducted into the Hall of Fame- and the other is from their appearance with yours truly on our In the Field segment as seen on Saturday morning on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City.  Click here to take a look at both of those videos!

Oklahoma Senate Gives Unanimous Approval to 'Rural Tourism Protection Act'

The full Oklahoma Senate voted 40-0 last Thursday in favor of legislation requiring advance notice before state parks can be closed. Sen. Jerry Ellis presented SB 1959 both in committee and on the floor. The measure, authored by Sen. Sean Burrage, D-Claremore, and co-authored by Ellis, D-Valliant, would require the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department to notify local governments before closing any state park, parkland or public recreation facility within the state agency's jurisdiction.            

"In 2013, the Oklahoma Tourism Commission voted to take away the status of Hugo State Park. That would have been devastating to our local economy," Ellis said. "Hugo State Park survived the axe, but the year before, seven other state parks were not so lucky, and all of them were located in rural Oklahoma. People need to remember-as goes rural Oklahoma, so goes Oklahoma. Simply shutting down these parks with no warning and without giving our rural areas adequate opportunity to make their case will ultimately hurt the whole state."            

Click here for more.

USDA Finalizes Changes to the WIC Program

The U. S. Department of Agriculture last Friday finalized changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to further improve the nutrition and health of the nation's low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants and young children. The changes - which increase access to fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy - are based on the latest nutrition science. Today's announcement marks the completion of the first comprehensive revisions to the WIC food packages since 1980.

"The updates to the WIC food package make pivotal improvements to the program and better meet the diverse nutritional needs of mothers and their young children," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "The foods provided by the WIC program, along with education that focuses on the critical role of breastfeeding and proper nutrition, help to ensure that every American child has the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong."

You'll find more of this story on our website by clicking here.

Roger Ballenger and Jeff Hickman Receive okPORK Outstanding Legislator Awards- We Talk With Speaker Hickman about the Award and About the 2014 Session  

In 2010, the Oklahoma Pork Council established the Outstanding Legislator Award to honor members of the Oklahoma legislature for supporting Oklahoma's pork industry. This year's honorees are Sen. Roger Ballenger, D-Okmulgee, and Speaker of the House Jeff Hickman, R-Dacoma.

Sen. Ballenger grew up in Okmulgee and made his living as an electrical contractor in the Tulsa area while owning and operating a small Beefmaster cattle operation west of Okmulgee. He was the Okmulgee County Commissioner for 16 years and served on the Okmulgee City Council for eight years.

Oklahoma Speaker of the House Jeff Hickman is a fifth generation owner of farmland in Alfalfa and Woods counties. Speaker Hickman was raised in the Cherokee and Dacoma areas and represents District 58 which includes the counties of Alfalfa, Major, Woods and Woodward.

Click here for more details on these award winners and their awards.

AFTER THE AWARD TO SPEAKER HICKMAN WAS PRESENTED- we talked with him in the hallway at  the Reed Center before he headed on to his next obligation- and he expressed great appreciation to the Oklahoma Pork Council for the award- saying that the pork industry has been an important job creator in rural Oklahoma.   

We also talked about the 2014 session- and he mentioned several priorities- including the "elephant in the room- the budget."  Click here for our story on Speaker Hickman where you can go and listen to our conversation with him- for those of you interested in the conversation over possibly allowing Career Techs to have an FFA Chapter- we asked Speaker Hickman about that as well.  

Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting Pushes On in Snow and Ice at the Reed Center 

The word we have gotten from officials with the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts is that they have decided to push forward with their annual meeting's activities today and tomorrow at the Reed Center in Midwest City. They had to cancel their Sunday events planned to kick off the three day convention. 

Their theme for the 2014 meeting is Local Leadership- Global Impact.

Click here for more details about their annual meeting in general and click here for the printable PDF of their schedule for today and tomorrow.