Lucas Still Believes the 2014 Farm Bill was/is a Miracle 

It's been one year since the House and Senate conference committee came to consensus on the 2014 Agricultural Act. That was followed by passage in both chambers and an eventual signature by President Barack Obama. Oklahoma Third District Congressman Frank Lucas, the former House Ag Chairman, said this was a significant milestone. 


"Ron, I still think it's almost a miracle that we actually managed to pass another comprehensive Farm Bill," Lucas said. "I think it is almost a miracle that we were able to create a Farm Bill that gave choice so all producers, all regions of the country and all the different commodity groups could tailor a safety net that meets their particular needs."


Getting the 2014 Farm Bill was a long process, spanning two and half years and a lot has changed. From seeing high prices for corn, wheat and soybeans to now having a much different situation on the world market that has caused a dramatic shift in prices. During the process, Lucas he emphasized to his colleagues how important it was get a policy that would provide a safety net for the long haul, as he felt he could not guarantee there will be another Farm Bill.  

"We may not have another brand new Farm Bill, ever, but at least we have a Farm Bill that we will be able to extend after the five years, if we can pull the political consensus together," Lucas said. "Because we are always going to need a safety net. Farmers just have so many things that they can not control in their lives, the weather, the world markets, the tax code. So many things they can not control, you've got to have a safety net, because after all you may not need to buy that next widget, you might be able to live without one more TV subscription, but we all have to eat."

Read or listen to my full interview with Congressman Lucas, by clicking here.    

By The Way- The former House Ag Committee Chair zeroed in on the Livestock Disaster Assistance Program during our interview- and you can listen to those comments specifically in our Friday Beef Buzz- that feature is available here.

Infrastructure Top Legislative Priority for Ok Farm Bureau

After several years of gridlock in our Nation's Capitol, Oklahoma Farm Bureau is excited about the new legislative session. In Washington D.C., Republicans have taken control of the House and Senate. Oklahoma Farm Bureau Vice President for Public Policy and Media Affairs John Collison said Congress is back open for business in 2015. He is excited about having Senator Jim Inhofe serving as Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, along with working with Senator James Lankford and the House Members to start moving forward on government issues like reining in the Environmental Protection Agency and improving the nation's infrastructure.


At the federal and state level, Collison believes the focus should be on developing the state's natural resources and water needs to be top of mind. He believes the state needs a visionary approach with water development with an overarching plan to get the government planning for the longterm viability of the state. Water is necessary for agricultural production, along with the oil and gas industries.  

He believes the state needs to look at developing the excess water in the state, as that could bring billions of dollars of economic wealth into Oklahoma. By moving water incrementally from water rich areas, to areas in need of water, that would support communities in areas that have improving water supplies, along with tourism, recreation and agriculture. 

Collison will be my featured guest on the In the Field TV segment Saturday morning on KWTV, News9 at 6:40 AM.  

Read more or have the opportunity to listen to our conversation with John by clicking here.   

Anderson Says Many Factors Dropping Wheat Prices

As the U.S. dollar continues to move higher, that's hurting U.S. commodity exports. The stronger U.S. dollar makes commodities more expensive for foreign buyers. On this weekend's edition of SUNUP, Dave Deken talks with Oklahoma State University Crop Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson about how the stronger dollar impacts wheat prices. Anderson said if the Euro was equal to the U.S. dollar, a $100 worth of wheat back in June and July would cost $119 today.


In looking at the index of the U.S. dollar in comparison to other major currencies, that index has gone from 80 points last summer to 94.7 points this week.   That's an 18.4 percent increase in the value of the dollar. If you convert that to bushels of wheat, Anderson said that's about an additional $1.10 per bushel.


Over the past 15 years, the index of the dollar has gone up to over 120 points. Anderson said that's another 28 percent increase in the value of the dollar or about another $1.75 per bushel increase. He doesn't think that will likely return, as the dollar typically stays around the 80-95 range.


"It looks like it may go up into the 95 to 105, rarely does it go over 105 points," Anderson said. "So I think we can pick up another 10 or 15 points on the dollar or it may just waller around in this range for a while."  

Click here to read or to listen to the full interview with Anderson. You can also see the what the full lineup will be for this weekend's edition of SUNUP- as will be seen on OETA Saturday and Sunday mornings. 

ASA to EPA: Where Are Your Renewable Fuel Priorities?

The farmer leaders of the American Soybean Association (ASA)  voiced their exasperation, confusion and anger this week at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency following an announcement that the EPA will approve an application allowing Argentine biodiesel easier access to the U.S. market.


"Today's decision issued by EPA on Argentinian biodiesel shows a lack of coordination and alarming tone-deafness regarding the purposes of the Renewable Fuels Standard," said ASA President and Brownfield, Texas, farmer Wade Cowan. "EPA has put the interests of our foreign competitors above those of soybean farmers here in the U.S. At this point, we can only scratch our heads and wonder what EPA's priorities are when it comes to the domestic renewable fuels industry."


EPA's announcement followed a December notice that the agency would postpone setting biofuels volume requirements for 2014 until early in 2015. Speaking at the National Biodiesel Board Conference last week, former Senator Byron Dorgan said EPA's inability or unwillingness to set the 2014 RFS volume requirements demonstrated that there was "no minimum threshold for embarrassment" at EPA.  Click here to read more.   

Peel Analyzes the Break Down in the Cattle Market

The cattle market has gotten off to a rocky start in 2015. Since the start of the year, live and feeder cattle markets has seen volatility and sell-offs. Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel said most of this is external to the cattle industry.


"The pressure has come through the futures markets, things like lower energy prices, the strong dollar, it's really the investor side of this market that has impacted the futures markets, but it has spilled over into cash markets recently," Peel said. "So we have seen a bit of run down in these cash markets, some of this stuff will pass here I think relatively soon and these markets will get back on track."  


The good news is the fundamentals of the cattle markets haven't changed. Peel said the supply fundamentals are still very tight and he is looking for a continuation of strong prices near record levels. On Friday, the US Department of Agriculture will release the U.S. Cattle Inventory report and Peel looks for this report to confirm what is already expected. 
 

Read more or have the opportunity to listen to this Beef Buzz feature by clicking here.  

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 for the Oklahoma Energy website where there is a link on the left hand column that will allow you to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

2015 TSCRA Convention Scheduled for March 27-29 in Fort Worth

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) announced details about their 138th annual Cattle Raisers Convention.  The TSCRA gathering is the biggest ranching industry event of the year, is scheduled for March 27-29, 2015 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.


Vicente Fox, president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, will be the keynote speaker at the opening general session. He will share stories of his prior experiences working to build a strong relationship between the United States and Mexico. Fox will also take questions from cattle raisers at the close of his speech.


Former First Lady Laura Bush has been invited to speak at the opening general session of the Convention. Bush is actively involved in issues of national and global concern, with a particular emphasis on education, health care, human rights and the preservation of our nation's heritage. Bush will discuss her role as a founder of "Taking Care of Texas," which is an organization that promotes successful land, water and wildlife conservation practices.  

For more information and registration information, click here.   

This N That- Secretary Vilsack In El Reno This Morning, the Life of Henry Gardiner to be Celebrated Saturday and Cattle Industry Convention Next Week

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will join Congressman Frank Lucas (R-Okla. 3), former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, to deliver remarks on the economic impact of the 2014 Farm Bill and its significance to Oklahoma and the country.

The event will be happening in the district of Congressman Lucas at the Redlands Community College in El Reno, starting at 8:15 AM.

Lucas told us yesterday that he is pleased to have Secretary Vilsack in Canadian County for this event.

After comments from Vilsack and Lucas, it is expected that questions will be taken from the invited audience to the event.  

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Legendary Angus breeder Henry Gardiner passed away at the end of this past week at the age of 83.

The Gardiner Ranch has been on the cutting edge of innovation within the beef cattle industry in general and the Angus breed in particular for decades.  In the mid 1990s, Gardiner was a founding member of US Premium Beef. Today, Gardiner Angus Ranch is a fourth-generation, family-owned ranch and one of the premier Angus seedstock operations in America.   

Funeral services will be held Saturday, Jan. 31, 10 a.m., at Ashland High School. Arrangements are being made through Schilling Funeral Home, Ashland.   

More details are available here.

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We will be headed to San Antonio early next week for the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show.  This is the largest and most important gathering of beef cattle producers to be found in the US each year- and there will be a lot on the minds of cattle ranchers as they gather in one of the cities that always draws a big crowd.

Issues on the minds of producers will include record high cattle and beef prices that have been seen since last February, the efforts to rebuild the US Beef Cow herd, Regulatory battles against issues like WOTUS, the New Congress which includes a GOP majority in the Senate, the ongoing fight for the center of the dinner plate in America and around the world and lots, lots more.  

We look forward to this meeting each year- and we invite you to check out our stories here in the daily email, on our website, via Twitter and Facebook and of course, on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network.