Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News

Howdy Neighbors! 

n response to the rapid and severe decline of the lesser prairie-chicken, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the final listing of the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as well as a final special rule under section 4(d) of the ESA that will limit regulatory impacts on landowners and businesses from this listing. Under the law, a "threatened" listing means the species is likely to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future; it is a step below "endangered" under the ESA and allows for more flexibility in how the Act's protections are implemented.

The Fish and Wildlife Service cited a big drop in LPC numbers across the five states that the bird calls home- claiming that the population of the Lesser Prairie Chicken dropped almost in half from 2012 to 2013- most recently being counted at just over 17,000 of the birds left.

The USFWS did acknowledge that a multi state Conservation Plan has been put in place- and will allow it to move forward and will offer the limited regulatory impact that we mentioned above to those that are participating in the effort.

Click here to read more about the listing- including a link that we have in this story on our website with the full 444 pages of Federal legalese that makes up the announcement of yesterday.

Sponsor Spotlight

Midwest Farm Shows is our longest running sponsor of the daily email- and say thanks for all of you that participated in the 2013 Tulsa Farm Show. AND- they are excited to announce changes coming to their spring farm show held each April in Oklahoma City.

Launched in 2005 as the Southern Plains Farm Show, the show will now be billed the Oklahoma City Farm Show. AND- we are just a week away from the 2014 show which happens April 3-5, 2014 at State Fair Park.  Click here to visit their new website and make plans to be a part of the 2014 Oklahoma City Farm Show! 

Almost immediately after word broke yesterday afternoon that the Obama Administration was moving forward with the Listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken as being threatened- we started getting statements from GOP lawmakers that represent much of the LPC habitat- calling the action unneeded and premature.

Oklahoma's Senior Senator Jim Inhofe called it pure politics and worries that once the bird is listed- it will be extremely to ever get it delisted.

"While better than an endangered listing, the Obama Administration's decision to list the lesser prairie chicken as threatened is purely political," said Inhofe. "Oklahoma and four other states' conservation agencies, industry participants, and the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation made extraordinary efforts to protect the bird in order to keep it from being listed by the Administration. Their efforts included more than $21 million in upfront funding for implementation of a range-wide plan that would cover millions more acres than would be required under the Obama Administration's listing demands. Had the five states been given more time, I believe their plan would have successfully preserved this species. Federal agencies like Fish and Wildlife Service are too concerned about appeasing their rich environmental base by engaging in 'sue and settle' tactics. It is unfortunate that such closed-door tactics have been rampant under the Obama Administration, filling the pockets of environmental activists and leaving devastating economic impacts for generations to come.   Click here for the rest of the Senator's statement.

House  Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas' District takes in all of the counties that may be impacted by this decision- and he offered in his statement "I believe the conservation efforts seen in the five-range states were more than sufficient to warrant a non-listing of the LPC. While I understand the importance of conserving the species, this means Oklahoma farmers, ranchers and energy producers will have to abide to an additional layer of burdensome regulations.  Click here for the rest of his statement.  

Governor Mary Fallin also weighed in- primarily hoping the Five State Conservation plan will be allowed to work- click here for her thoughts- and Kansas Congressman Tim Huelskamp who is the Tea Party Lawmaker from western Kansas who has all of the Kansas Counties impacted by this critter called it another victory for the environmentalists that love to use "Sue and Settle," which has been attacked by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who as far as we can tell- did not offer any reaction. Click here for the Huelskamp response.

What happens when the Dallas Cowboys, an Oklahoma City metro school, Oklahoma Action for Healthy Kids and Dairy MAX get together? You mix it all together and you get a super cool school breakfast event, that's what. A pair of Oklahoma dairy producers were on hand at the Oakridge Elementary School in southeast Oklahoma City on Thursday morning to help lead the cheers for milk and breakfast.

Former Dallas Cowboy Defensive Star Larry Brown was on hand, as was Oklahoma dairy producers Brett Morris of Ninnekah and Tom Woods of Gage- and they enjoyed breakfast with the kids as they promoted starting every day with breakfast and then being active during the day.

Click here to read more- and to have a chance to listen to our quick visit with both NFL Star Brown and Dairy Farmer Star Brett Morris.  

Lack of moisture in the southern hard red winter belt has been the underlying factor in pushing Kansas City wheat futures higher. Dr. Kim Anderson says that the market is also watching the political situation in Ukraine as a secondary factor. However, it's clear that the recent rally in wheat futures prices is all about the stress being seen in the hard red winter wheat belt.


Dr. Anderson talked with SUNUP and offered his weekly his weekly look at the grain markets- and beyond the wheat crop condition, discussed the current forward contracts that are available to producers in wheat, corn and milo. In the case of wheat, you can contract wheat for harvest now for around $7.30 a bushel, based on current Kansas City July contract prices. 

Click here to read more as well as a chance to listen to the  early preview of what Dr. Anderson will offer this weekend on SUNUP, and of course- we have the show lineup for you to check out as well.

The Governor's Outstanding Achievement Award in Agriculture was presented as a part of the Ag Day celebration at the State Capitol on Wednesday during a special ceremony to Rodd Moesel of Oklahoma City. Moesel is the the 17th Oklahoman to be inducted into the Agriculture Hall of Fame by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.

In accepting this honor, Moesel credited his family for his love of horticulture and plants, telling friends and family at the presentation that greenhouse plants helped supply the money for his college tuition. Moesel had high praise for the 4-H program that he grew up in as a boy, saying his first 4-H club met at the Governor's mansion when Henry Bellmon was Governor.

As an adult, a major influence in his life was his two years as a part of Class V of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program. Moesel told the crowd that program challenged him to be involved and opened his eyes to the diversity of Oklahoma's agricultural community.   

Click here to read more- and to be able to hear our conversation with Rodd right after the ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.  

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture heard about the 2015 USDA budget from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack earlier this week. One issue that got some attention was the proposed realignment of Farm Service Agency offices across the country. Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor noted that is likely to result in quite a number of office closures. But Vilsack said he does not anticipate any closures in 2014 while the agency undergoes a work-study analysis. He told the Senators that roughly 30 offices currently have no full-time employees and there are 111 offices with one employee and within 20 miles of another office.

While Secretary Vilsack indicated that no effort would be made to close any offices this year, future restructuring needs to be considered.   

He interacted in the Q&A time with the Chair of the Subcommittee, Mark Pryor of Arkansas- click here to read more and to hear that give and take.  

Earlier this week, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers offered the definition they have been developing for quite some time about what the Clean Water Act means when it says "the waters of the United States."


In today's Beef Buzz, Ashley McDonald, NCBA environmental counsel, discusses this proposed rule by the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers to expand Clean Water Act jurisdiction and the potential impacts to cattlemen and women.


According to a statement released earlier this week, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) is deeply concerned by this vast overreach by the EPA and the administration. Under this expansion, essentially all waters in the country would be subject to regulation by the EPA and the Corps, regardless of size or continuity of flow. 

Click here to read more of that statement- and to hear Ashley describe what this EPA plan could mean to the cattle industry.