Gebhart Says WOTUS Gives EPA Authority to Regulate All Lands 

More than once, agriculture has heard Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials claim the 'Waters of the US' (WOTUS) proposal is not a land grab and it is not EPA's intention to regulate more lands than they currently have under their jurisdiction. Richard Gebhart is President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and the current Treasuer of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and he says he is not buying EPA's arguments. Besides being a cow/calf operator in northeast Oklahoma, Gebhart is also an attorney. So when he reads the rule- which he has several times, he is doing it not just as a rancher, but also from a legal perspective.  It's from that understanding that he finds it to be a huge land grab, telling us "you just have to read it."


"I can not believe how shocked I am by the overreach of this rule," Gebhart said. "EPA consistency tells us in our conversations with them that is not their intent to regulate all lands, but when I read this rule I see it gives them the authority to regulate all lands." 


In reading the rule, Gebhart says he was reminded when he served as an infantry officer in the Army and they trained him to identify five types of land that include depression, hilltop, valley, ridgeline or a saddle. He said all of those types of land except for a depression drain water and are within the reach of this rule.


"Cause no matter where they drain, they are going to drain into something that's going to drain into something else," Gebhart said. "If you are in between the two mountain ranges, it will get to the Mississippi (River), except for some of the north part of the United States, all of them get to the Gulf of Mexico."

Click Here to read more about the impact of WOTUS or to listen to our Beef Buzz feature with Richard.

Vilsack Responds to Formation of New Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture 

The Obama Administration Wednesday announced the launch of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture, a new effort to promote greater international engagement on ways agriculture can help mitigate the impact of climate change. The administration says they hope to collaborate with other nations and industry leaders to develop a next generation of solutions that will help agriculture adapt to modern climate challenges.


US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack offered the following statement as he participated in the Alliance: "Farmers, ranchers and other producers in the U.S. and around the world are feeling the impact of climate change now. They are experiencing production challenges from extended droughts, more severe flooding, stronger storms, and new pests and diseases. The Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture offers the opportunity to collaboratively share knowledge, make investments and develop policies that will empower all producers to adapt to climate change and to mitigate its consequences. Long term global food security depends on us acting together now."  

Rain Needed to Finish Canola Planting

Canola planting is progressing across Oklahoma. About half of the crop has been planted to date. Great Plains Canola Association Executive Director Ron Sholar said the crop needs more moisture to get established.

"We didn't get the rain out of (Hurricane) Odile that we were counting on," Sholar said. "...That was a pretty big disappointment because that has slowed this down some."

Canola planting is running a little bit behind wheat planting. Canola farmers still have two weeks left in the planting window. Sholar said it is still a little early for some farmers to get the crop planted, but many are holding off for some rain in the next few days.

"We'll get the rest of this in," Sholar said. "Some have dusted it in. They don't like doing that but sometimes that's what you have to do. Some will talk about planting down to moisture. When the moisture is down as far as it is right now that's kind of a dangerous proposition too. We're feeling still reasonably optimistic Ron, enough time is left to get this crop in, so we are still counting on good things."

Some areas of north central Oklahoma did receive rain early Wednesday- but amounts were generally limited. It now appears that the next chance of showers will come next Tuesday or Wednesday.

I interviewed Sholar about the planting season and the attitude of farmers. Click here for the full article or to listen to our interview.

American Farm Bureau Addresses Big-Data Risks, Rewards for Farmers

The American Farm Bureau Federation has released a series of short educational videos to help farmers and ranchers understand the rewards and risks of data-analysis technologies sweeping the agricultural landscape.


"Modern data technology offers great benefits for America's farmers and ranchers, but these new advantages don't come without some risks," AFBF President Bob Stallman said.


From collecting weather data to analyzing nutrient applications and seed varieties, agricultural technology providers collect data that help farmers increase efficiency and yield higher profits. But many questions remain unanswered regarding who owns and controls this information once it is collected. Farm Bureau is leading the way in helping farmers get answers to these questions and secure their business data.


Through a series of four new educational videos, Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional relations for AFBF, explains ownership of data, discusses key concerns for data use and provides guiding questions for farmers as they translate privacy agreements and terms-of-use contracts. Click here to view those videos.

Peanut producers have largely dodged the disease "bullet" this growing season across Oklahoma.  At the OSU Caddo Research Station Tour at Fort Cobb, I interviewed OSU Plant Pathologist Dr. John Damicone.  He said disease pressure has been limited this summer.


"Surprisingly the diseases aren't as severe as what you would expect given the amount of rainfall we're had and the crop looks very good," Damicone said.   


Damicone has seen some pod rot and sclerotina that showed up early in the growing season. With some good fungicides available for farmers to treat sclerotina, he said most of the farmers have been treated and the fields look very good.


At the field day, farmers brought in peanut plants to be blasted to assess the maturity of the crop and this also allows researchers to assess the incidence of leaf spot. With affordable treatment options for leaf spot,  foliar diseases have not been much of an issue this year.  Click here to hear our conversation with Dr. Damicone and to read more about how new varieties developed by OSU aim to combat diseases and grow peanut acres in the state.  

Op-Ed: State FSA Director Urges Producers Apply for Drought Assistance by October 1

Op-Ed Written By Francie Tolle, State Farm Service Agency Executive Director


Since late 2011, Oklahoma livestock producers have suffered through one of the worst and longest sustained droughts since the days of the Dust Bowl in the late 1930s, awaiting Congressional enactment of a farm bill so that disaster assistance programs could resume.


When the 2014 Farm Bill was enacted into law this February, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack ensured that disaster programs were restarted in sixty days, by April 15, nearly eighty percent faster than our predecessors.


Five months later, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has approved more than 250,000 applications seeking assistance, exceeding Congressional estimates, and more applications are expected. In Oklahoma alone, FSA has approved over 40,000 Livestock Forage Disaster (LFP) applications and has issued over $568 million in disaster assistance payments. This assistance is critical for producers looking to recover, rebuild their herds and pay off debts. While disaster aid to Oklahoma farmers and ranchers is substantial it is important to note that FSA's disaster payments only pay a portion of the losses that producers have incurred from this severe multi-year drought. LFP payments are capped at 60 percent of the feed cost, so while these programs are not making everyone whole, they are critical to help folks get back on their feet. Losses to livestock producers affect all of agriculture, including the implement dealers, the feed stores, the grain and hay producers and the thousands of small-town merchants who count on farm income for their financial well-being. 

If you've suffered livestock forage or feed grazing losses in 2011, 2012, 2013 or 2014, the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) may offer help.  Tolle is encouraging producers to visit their local FSA office soon as LFP payments will be reduced by 7.3 percent due to sequester.  Click here to read more about LFP.

Superior Selling Females Today and Their Regular Feeder/Stocker Run Friday

Superior Livestock has a pair of sales planned for today and tomorrow- they will be offering 0ver 6,000 replacement females starting at 1:00 PM this afternoon on both RURAL TV, DISH Network channel 232 as well as via Superior Click To Bid.

Details are on their website and are found here.  You can also jump straight over to the catalog of what they are offering by clicking here.   

Then, tomorrow morning(Friday 9/26) at 8:00 AM Central- Superior will have their regular every other week yearling and stocker cattle sale, with 24,000 head on offer.  That will include 5,500 yearling steers, 3,100 yearling heifers and 8,100 weaned calves.

Details are here on their website- or if you need to talk someone at Superior and get those last minute questions answered- their phone number is 1-800-422-2117.