NACD Comments on EPA Interpretive Rule on Clean Water Act Permitting  

 The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) submitted comments today on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Interpretive Rule (IR) Regarding Applicability of the Exemption from Permitting under section 404(f)(I)(A) of the Clean Water Act.


"Districts have more than 75 years of experience in working on locally-led clean water efforts in close partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) across the nation," said NACD President Earl Garber. "Because of this expertise and national perspective, we are well positioned to provide comments regarding the Interpretive Rule and the role of NRCS within the process."


NACD's comments address three main issue areas within the IR: 1) the importance that NRCS is not placed in a compliance or regulatory role; 2) "normal farming, silviculture, and ranching" activities are exempted from permitting; and 3) producers are not required to notify regulatory agencies nor NRCS when they self-implement practices.

To read more about NACD's comments Click Here.  

Overall Oklahoma Farm Bureau is pleased with the outcome of the 2014 Legislative session. LeeAnna McNally, Director of National Affairs for Oklahoma Farm Bureau sat down with yours truly to talk about this year's session.


Among the highlights include legislation to protect private property rights, the Drought Proof Communities Act by Senator Mike Schulz and the Gross Production Tax Bill introduced by Senator Bryce Marlatt and Speaker Jeffrey Hickman.


"Our members are very excited about that because believe it or our not a lot of the landowners are also mineral owners too and gross production taxes is a big issue for them," McNally said.


The home office tax credit was also very helpful. McNally says Farm Bureau received close to a $1 million dollar tax credit.  

Click Here to read more or to watch this week's segment with LeeAnna McNally- you can also listen to our separate audio conversation with LeeAnna as well.  

RFA Dismisses Proposed Lankford Legislation

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) dismissed Rep. James Lankford's (R-Okla.) short-sighted effort to undercut the continued growth of renewable fuels by eviscerating the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Rep. Lankford introduced H.R. 4849, the Phantom Fuels Elimination Act that seeks to eliminate the so-called "corn ethanol mandate" and require domestic production of all other RFS blending requirements.


After hearing about the legislation, Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the RFA, said:


"Congressman Lankford should get his facts straight. In dropping this bill, Rep. Lankford suggests ethanol is a 'phantom fuel.' Wrong! There is more than enough ethanol to meet the RFS. If it didn't exist, the oil companies wouldn't be fighting so hard to protect their monopoly over the nation's fuel supply.

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Europe next week to meet with agricultural and trade officials and stakeholders to discuss the expansion of agricultural trade, the importance of agriculture's role in the U.S.-European Union (EU) Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), and the benefits the trade agreement will have to both the American and European economies. The Secretary's trip will include meetings and site visits in Brussels, Luxembourg City, Paris and Dublin.


"The EU is the world's largest importer of food and agricultural products," said Vilsack. "But despite the continued growth of this market, U.S. market share is shrinking because U.S. producers and exporters continue to face numerous trade barriers. The negotiation of the T-TIP offers a major opportunity to address these barriers and expand market access for U.S. farmers and ranchers."


Since 2009, nearly one-third of U.S. economic growth has been due to exports. America has seen record agricultural exports over the past five years, which has been critical to creating jobs in rural America and helping our country's economy recover. Agricultural exports alone reached a record $140.9 billion and supported nearly one million jobs in the United States last fiscal year. U.S. agricultural exports have set a new record every year for the past five years, totaling $619 billion between 2009 and 2013. They are projected to reach another record of $149.5 billion in fiscal year 2014.

Click Here to read more.   

In written testimony submitted today to the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, the National Pork Producers Council reiterated the importance to U.S. pork producers for countries, including those in the current Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations, to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. pork.


NPPC is a strong supporter of the TPP, but the trade talks have bogged down over Japan's reluctance to eliminate tariffs on a number of U.S. agricultural products, including pork.


The TPP is a regional negotiation that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which account for nearly 40 percent of global GDP.


"The elimination of tariffs is the heart of an FTA," said Randy Spronk, a pork producer from Edgerton, Minn., and chairman of NPPC's trade committee. "U.S. pork producers' support for a final TPP agreement has been conditioned on the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. pork exports in each of the TPP nations. If the current Japanese offer on market access were to become part of the final TPP agreement, NPPC would not be able to support TPP or Trade Promotion Authority."

For the rest of this article Click Here.    

The less stress you can put on a calf at weaning time, the better off the calf is going to be, along with your bottomline. That's according to Dr. Glenn Selk, longtime Beef Cattle Specialist at Oklahoma State University and now Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist. On today's Beef Buzz, Dr. Selk shares one of his favorite ideas when it comes to weaning is the use of fenceline weaning.


"One of the real advantages I think to fall calving is to have the option of leaving the calves with the cows until they are nine, maybe even close to ten months of age," Selk said. "That way they are older and heavier at weaning time and we can market a heavier calf."


With that concept that also means fall-born calves will likely be weaned in hottest months of the year and that extra heat adds additional stress to that weaning process.


"We can reduce some of that stress by a management practice, we call fenceline weaning," Selk said. "That is just the situation where calves are weaned from the cows with only a fence in between them, so they can see the mother, hear the mother, but of course don't have access to them."  

Click here to learn more about fenceline weaning.  

This N That- Ag In the Classroom Rolls On and Thanks to Bryan Painter

Our friend Dana Bessinger with the Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom program gives us an update of the rolling educational efforts of both last week and of this week for the AITC program here in the state:

"Ag in the Classroom went on two one-day "Beef Is Good For You" Rolling workshops this past week.
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"On Friday, we started our rolling workshop at Grissom's Implement in McAlester making pancakes for all attendees and any customers that stopped in. Todd Palmer, store manager addressed the group and explained the implements needed for the haying process. After we hopped on the bus, the educators were tested on their perception of the beef industry. Our next stop was Lovera's Market in Krebs. The teachers were introduced to cheese making.

"Back on the bus we headed to Shero's Feed and Cattle in Wilburton. The teachers got to witness first-hand a working cattle ranch, even the branding process! Gerald Shero told the teachers of his family's commitment to producing safe, available, and affordable food for an ever-growing population.

"Lunch was at the Buffalo Creek Guest Ranch in Buffalo Valley. Dave and Darlene Shaw have a beautiful place.
While we were at the ranch, state Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year, Lisa Storm taught lessons Pizza Portions and Pizza for Everyone. Both lessons are great connections to state education standards.

"Our last stop of the day was McAlester Union Stockyards. Teachers trekked through the auction ring and the pens.
After a day of beef, the final post-test was administered.

"This week we will be going On the Road with Ag in the Classroom for 3 days with 50 educators to the Oklahoma Panhandle. We will leave from Woodward High School and head to Beaver, Texas and Cimarron counties to learn about Oklahoma's top commodities."   

Dana promises updates.

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Longtime writer and editor for the Oklahoman, Bryan Painter, contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked if he could do a spotlight on some of the things I am involved in beyond what we do in just covering farm and ranch news for you everyday.  What resulted was a feature for what they call their "Character and Characters" section seen on Sundays.

I wanted to say Thanks to Bryan for allowing me to showcase some of the areas where we give of our time and money- our church to further the Kingdom, Oklahoma FFA as we invest into the future of agriculture and the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program where we invest into the development of men and women who will be the leaders in rural America and Oklahoma in the years ahead.

Click here and take a look- one take away that Bryan picked up on and ended the article with is one I leave with you this morning- when you are sharing time with family, investing yourself into causes that you believe in or God is allowing you to see Him at work- never take those times for granted.