Farm Bureau Goes Point by Point to Debunk EPA's Claims on Waters of the US Proposed Rule 

The American Farm Bureau Federation last night released to Congress a comprehensive document that responds, point by point, to numerous inaccurate and misleading comments made about the Environmental Protection Agency's latest clean water rule. Nancy Stoner, EPA acting assistant administrator for water, made the statements in a recent agency blog post.

 AFBF's document explains - with specific citations to the proposed rule and other authorities - how the rule would give EPA broad Clean Water Act jurisdiction over dry land features and farming practices long declared off-limits by Congress and the nation's highest court. 

"AFBF and several state Farm Bureaus have met with the EPA repeatedly, and each time agency officials have declined to grapple with the serious, real world implications of the rule," AFBF President Bob Stallman said. "EPA is now engaged in an intensive public relations campaign, and we believe its statements are directly contrary to the reality of the proposed rule. 

"We have therefore decided to take our arguments to a wider audience, as well. Farm Bureau is dedicated to communicating to farmers, their elected representatives and the public how the proposed rule will impose costly and time-intensive federal permitting regimes on commonplace and essential practices that our nation's farmers and ranchers depend on. Agency inspectors and courts will apply the rule, not EPA's talking points. It's time for the agency to ditch this rule and start over."  

AFBF hopes this document will contribute to the ongoing discussion in Congress regarding the rule and its implications not only for farming, but for the U.S. economy more broadly.   

Click Here to read the rest of this story and to find links of Farm Bureau's full response to EPA's proposal.

Oklahoma Drought Situation Showing Improvement

The latest US Drought Monitor Report shows drought is lessening across Oklahoma. The latest report shows drought categories across the state have dropped by one to as much as three percent. Associate State Climatologist Gary McManus says the latest map released Thursday morning recognizes the rainfall that had fallen through Tuesday morning, so there will be likely more improvement made in next week's report.


The latest precipitation shows nice precipitation across much of the southwest two-thirds of the state with Altus receiving 4.69 inches. McManus says Altus has been in the D4 -exceptional drought rating for nearly the longest period of time of anybody in the state. This week Altus moved out of the red and improved to a D2 classification of severe drought.


According to the Mesonet, rainfall for July 1 through Thursday morning shows a statewide average of 2.12 inches. That's .62 inches above normal, making this the 24th wettest since at least 1921. The Panhandle remains dry with an average of 1.07 inches, which is .37 inches below normal. This same time frame makes this the 35th driest for the region. 

Click Here for more on this week's Drought Monitor update and what is ahead weather wise across Oklahoma. 

Anderson Analyzes Conflicting Signals in Wheat Market

Wheat prices continue to slide downward.   On this Saturday's SUNUP program, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Economist Kim Anderson will be saying since the latest World Supply and Demand Estimates Report came out from the US Department of Agriculture wheat prices have been moving lower. Kansas City hard red winter wheat prices continue to bounce around $6.38. Anderson says if prices break the $6/bushel level, "Katy, bar the door."


The latest WASDE report looks positive for US hard red winter wheat with ending stock at 185 million bushels. That is lower than last year at 235 million and the five year average 337 million bushels. Anderson says that looks positive for prices, until you look at the US wheat situation for all other classes are above average for ending stocks.


World ending stocks are above average ending stocks at 6.3 billion bushels, which is above the five year average of 6.2 billion bushels. Anderson says projected ending stock stocks for other major wheat export countries, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Australia are projected to increase this year.

Click Here to read or to listen to Anderson's analysis on the market outlook.  You can also take a look at the SUNUP lineup for this weekend on OETA. 

Farm Bill Offers Assistance with Organic Certification Costs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that approximately $13 million in Farm Bill funding is now available for organic certification cost-share assistance, making certification more accessible than ever for small certified producers and handlers.


"Consumer demand for organic products is surging across the country," said Secretary Tom Vilsack. "To meet this demand, we need to make sure that small farmers who choose to grow organic products can afford to get certified. Organic food is now a multi-billion dollar industry, and helping this sector continue to grow creates jobs across the country."


The certification assistance is distributed through two programs within the Agricultural Marketing Service. Through the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, $11.5 million is available to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories. 
 

These programs provide cost-share assistance through participating states to USDA certified organic producers and handlers for certification-related expenses they incur from October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014. Payments cover up to 75 percent of an individual producer's or handler's certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 per certification. 

Click Here to read more about the assistance available to organic producers.

Livestock Biotech Summit Address Care and Use in Animals

Scientists and researchers are actively engaged in finding ways to improve the care and use of animals in biomedical applications and food production. Programming at this year's Livestock Biotech Summit will address new methods for ensuring optimal care and use of agricultural animals for a range of applications. The 2014 Summit will be held September 16-19, 2014, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.


"Can you imagine a time when cures to life threatening diseases are developed faster and at less cost or when technologies to improve the environmental footprint of animal agriculture are common place? These achievements are within reach through biomedical and food animal biotechnology applications," said Cathy Enright, Executive Vice President of Food and Agriculture at BIO. "We know consumers have questions and we know consumers have questions about the care and use of these animals. This year's Livestock Biotech Summit programming will stress how researchers are mindful of the care and use of animals for biomedical applications and for food production." 

Click Here to learn more about this upcoming conference and the outstanding panel sessions.

DuPont Pioneer Launches Encirca Yield to Enhance Input Management

DuPont Pioneer is launching its new Encirca Yield services platform and enrolling growers today to help them improve timing, placement and management of critical inputs to enhance the overall productivity and profitability of every acre.


"Growers are working harder than ever to manage their margins during a difficult economic environment," said Steve Reno, DuPont Pioneer vice president, regional business director for U.S. and Canada. "The Encirca Yield services platform provides a new way for our customers to assess their crop's performance in real-time and make management decisions that will ultimately improve their operation's bottom line."


The Encirca Yield platform relies on several innovative enabling technologies that mimic crop production throughout the growing season. Strategic collaborations with eight U.S. land grant universities, the USDA and University of Missouri, and DTN/The Progressive Farmer are providing enhanced crop modeling, advanced soil mapping and hyper-local weather data to fuel the analytics featured in Encirca Yield. 

Click Here to read how Encirca helps farmers maximize fertilizer and yields.

This N That- Watch Josh In the Field, A Noble Promotion and a Peterson Declaration of Loving to Farm Farm Farm

Saturday morning- you can watch yours truly and OSU Extension Canola Specialist Josh Bushong talk about the just completed 2014 Canola harvest and about the upcoming Canola Conferences on July 29 and 30 in Enid and ALtus.  Josh is our featured guest on In the Field to be seen around 6:40 am on KWTV, News9 in Oklahoma City- later in the morning- the video will be available on the News9 website on our their mobile App as well.  

We will also be posting an audio conversation with Bushong later today on our website- and his comments will be featured in our Monday email!

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The Noble Foundation Board of Trustees has approved the promotion and appointment of Professor Zengyu Wang, Ph.D., to senior vice president and director of the Forage Improvement Division. This action came last week during the trustees' regularly scheduled July meeting.


Wang has served as interim director and been a member of the organization's Leadership Team since April. "Dr. Wang is one of our most respected researchers," said Bill Buckner, President and CEO of the Noble Foundation. "He brings a strong sense of leadership and a willingness to serve. He is an advocate for the Noble Foundation and agriculture. Dr. Wang is the clear choice to lead this division into the future." 

Read more about Dr. Wang's position at Noble by clicking here.  

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Well, the Peterson Brothers of Kansas have struck again- this time they just want to Farm Farm Farm- and- they Love It. As of early this morning, their latest video parody has topped 140,000 views and you can take a look at it by clicking on it right here- right now-

All I Do Is Farm (All I Do is Win Parody) -Feat. Lil' Fred and Farmer Derek