Mark Lange Outlines 2014 Farm Bill and Challenges for Cotton Farmers

Cotton is treated very different from other crops in the 2014 Farm Bill. National Cotton Council President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mark Lange said cotton farmers can't enroll their cotton acres in the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. The safety net for cotton revolves around the Stacked Income Protection Plan, mostly commonly referred to as STAX. This is an insurance product sold by private insurance companies. Lange said STAX has an 80 percent premium subsidy and it is a shallow loss program that growers can buy on top of their regular crop insurance coverage.


This is a new type of safety net for U.S. cotton farmers. Lange said this approach is a direct result of a suit filed by Brazil with the World Trade Organization in 2009, claiming target prices were trade distortive and demanded target prices should be removed.   This past summer, Brazil signed an agreement that they would not challenge the 2014 Farm Bill policy for cotton, but the peace clause in the agreement allows Brazil to reserve the right to challenge the next Farm Bill, especially if Congress restores target prices.


As the 2014 Farm Bill is being implemented for the 2015 growing season, Lange sees several problems with the policy as cotton does not have the same price protection as the other crops. The 2014 Farm Bill also has payment limitations, which could become a significant factor facing growers. 

"Our growers turn their cotton over to a cooperative or to a merchant and they have no idea what kind of marketing loan accumulation is being charged against their payment limit," Lange said. "USDA today can't tell them and in my view that is a critical flaw."

While covering the Red River Crops Conference in Childress, Texas, I caught up with Dr. Lange.  Click here to read more or to listen to the full interview as Lange talks about payment limits, actively engaged rules, trade challenges and more. 

Millions of farmers around the world continue to choose to plant and replant genetically modified (GM) crop varieties because of their environmental and socio-economic benefits and the important role they play in addressing food security, according to a new study.


The report, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2014, released annually by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), says a record 18 million farmers in 28 countries are growing biotech crops on 448 million acres.


"With the global population reaching 9 billion by 2050, GM crop technology is a critical food production tool-increasing yields and efficiency for farmers, and enabling them to produce food more sustainably. A reduced environmental footprint for agriculture is good for all of us," says Dr. Cathleen Enright, Executive Vice President, Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).


According to the report, "Global adoption of biotech crops has risen to 181.5 million hectares. This marks 18 years of consecutive growth and a more than 100-fold increase since 1996, the first year of planting." 

Click here to read more about the report's highlights, including 

a link to the full report.  

NFU Stands Behind COOL, WTO Ruling a Mistake 

The current rule that dictates Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) on fresh packages of meat in this country has been around since the spring of 2013. It was a revised rule that USDA issued after  a World Trade Organization ruling against Country of Origin Labeling in this country. The current Country of Origin Labeling policy has also been ruled "trade distorting" by the World Trade Organization. The U.S. is down to its last appeal, but Roger Johnson, President of the National Farmers Union, continues to believe and say strongly that our current COOL rule is correct and that  WTO has got it wrong.


"We believe we are compliant and we very strongly support USDA and USTR in appealing this decision," Johnson said. "That's what they are in the process of doing right now, they are appealing the decision the WTO issued because they believe, as we believe, the decision was an error. So that's our first position."  

Even if the U.S. losses this final appeal, NFU has a study that shows there is really no damage to Canada and Mexican cattle producers from the COOL rule in the U.S. Click here to read more or listen to the full Beef Buzz feature.

Randy Boman Looks Back at 2014 Cotton Crop

After several consecutive tough years for cotton, Oklahoma farmers were pleasantly surprised with better than expected yields in 2014. Oklahoma State University Extension Cotton Specialist Randy Boman said the crop turned out better than expected due to beneficial rain in late May and timely rains in June and July. Even with limited rainfall in August, Boman said most of the acres in the Lugert-Altus Irrigation District were harvested.


"We kind of had a significant recovery in some areas, but again we were a bit disappointed because we were really set up to have a really nice crop, if we could of just gotten some timely rain in August," Boman said. "We could of knocked it out of the stadium in a lot of areas."


Earlier this month, the US Department of Agriculture announced the state's cotton production forecast was estimated at 265,000 bales, up 72 percent from the previous year. Yields averaged 578 pounds per acre from 220,000 harvested acres. In working with farmers, Boman said the yields were highly variable ranging from 250 pounds per acre on the low end on up. Several cotton gins are still running. He has heard the Farmers Coop in Carnegie looks to set a record this year in receiving over 40,000 bales. 

While covering the Red River Crops Conference in Childress, Texas, I caught up with Bowman. Click here to read more or to listen to the full interview about the outlook for 2015 including some new technology available to cotton farmers.   

AFBF Responds to Court Ruling in Favor of EPA Releasing Producer Information

Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding American Farm Bureau Federation, et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al.


"Farmers, ranchers and citizens in general should be concerned about the court's disregard for individual privacy. This court seems to believe that the Internet age has eliminated the individual's interest in controlling the distribution of his or her personal information. We strongly disagree."


BACKGROUND TO THE RULING


AFBF was disappointed to learn late yesterday that the federal district court in Minnesota dismissed its lawsuit seeking to block EPA from releasing the personal information (such as a person's name, home address, GPS location and telephone number) of livestock and poultry farmers and ranchers in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The court concluded that no federally permitted livestock or poultry farmer is injured by such disclosure because the Clean Water Act mandates disclosure of information concerning permit issuance. For livestock and poultry farmers without a Clean Water Act permit, the court concluded that so long as the farmer's personal information can be found somewhere on the Internet, EPA's distribution of that same information does not result in any injury to the farmer. The court noted that a farmer with a public Facebook page used to promote the farm, or whose information could be found via search engine or any state regulatory website in any form, has no right to sue to stop the federal government from compiling and distributing that information.  

AFBF and its co-plaintiff the National Pork Producers Council have 60 days to appeal the decision. Prior to the AFBF suit, EPA had already released personal information of farmers and ranchers from 29 states. AFBF filed suit to block further disclosures regarding farmers and ranchers in Minnesota, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and Washington.  

Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

OYE and Sirloin Club Name  the State of Oklahoma as the Show Honoree for the 100th Anniversary Event Next Month

The Oklahoma Youth Expo and the Sirloin Club have selected as the 2015 Show Honoree the State of Oklahoma- recognizing the tremendous support given by hundreds of state government officials and employees over the century that the spring livestock show has been in Oklahoma City.


Accepting the award on behalf of the State on Wednesday evening at the Sirloin Club of Oklahoma banquet was Lt Governor Todd Lamb. He praised the volunteers for their efforts and told those gathered at the Cowboy Western Museum and Heritage Center that the work ethic and other life skills that 4-H and FFA members develop in these organizations prepare them to be productive members of society.

Here's the Lt Governor receiving the award from long time Livestock Show supporter Celeste Nelson:

The annual Silver Chalice auction conducted at the banquet raised $58,000 for the 2015 OYE- we'll have more details on that aspect of last night in tomorrow's email.