Secretary Vilsack Responds to Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Proposal 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday made the following statement on the Obama Administration's proposed Fiscal Year 2016 budget:


"President Obama's 2016 Budget is designed to bring middle class economics into the 21st century. The budget proposal achieves reforms and results for the American taxpayer, modernizes critical infrastructure, supports the research and innovation required to build resilience in the face of a changing climate, and creates a pathway towards continued growth and prosperity in rural America.


"The budget continues to fund programs that, since 2009, have helped more than 900,000 families buy or refinance a home; improved or constructed more than 158,000 miles of electric line; brought clean drinking water and better waste water management to 15.7 million rural residents; and provided grants and loans to assist more than 89,000 rural businesses, creating or saving more than 418,000 jobs. Collectively, these investments support stable communities and create jobs in rural America.


"To empower hardworking Americans as they transition out of nutrition assistance programs, we have invested in programs that build the skills they need to get a good paying job while increasing access to fresh, healthy foods as they work towards self-sufficiency. The budget also supports programs that give children the nutrition they need to learn and grow, including expanded resources to promote the use of MyPlate and help schools upgrade outdated kitchen equipment as they continue to provide healthy school meals with more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy, and less sodium and fat. The budget also continues efforts to increase breastfeeding rates among low-income women.  

"The 2016 budget fosters innovation and advances technologies that address climate change vulnerability, improve pollinator health, combat antimicrobial resistance, encourage the development of renewable energy, and support the efficiency, sustainability and profitability of America's farmers and ranchers, particularly those just starting out." 

Click here to read more about the 2016 budget.  

The 2015 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen's Beef Association Trade Show is getting underway later today as the Cattlemen's College starts with sessions this afternoon. The 117th Annual Convention will be held in San Antonio, Texas.  The convention continues through Saturday. One of those attending will be Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association President Richard Gebhart, who also serves as the NCBA Treasurer. He is looking forward to touring the trade show and see all the new products and technology being made available to producers. Gebhart said this will be one of the largest trade shows held at the Cattle Industry Convention. 


The national beef checkoff will be one of the major topics of discussion at the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention. This is also an opportunity for the checkoff committees to present to cattlemen on how their checkoff dollars are being spent on research, education and promotion of beef. Cattlemen will be discussing an increase in the federal checkoff assessment rate. The checkoff assessment rate was established through the 1985 Farm Bill at $1 per head and remains at that rate today. The Beef Checkoff Working Group recently released a draft "Memorandum of Understanding" to increase the assessment to $2 per head.   Gebhart said this will be presented to NCBA members at convention.


"I'm really excited about this, I think this will be a threshold event in this effort," Gebhart said.    

Read more about what it will take to increase the national beef checkoff assessment and have the opportunity to listen to this full interview by clicking here.   

Bigger Beef Cow Herd, Fastest Growth in Southern Plains

The inventory of all cattle and calves was 89.8 million head on January 1, 2015, up 1.4 percent from one year ago but, except for last year, still the smallest total herd inventory since 1952. The 2014 calf crop was up 0.5 percent from 2013 at 33.9 million head. The 2014 calf crop percentage (calf crop as a percent of all cows) was 88.5 percent, the highest percentage since 2006. Total U.S. cattle on feed on January 1 were 13.1 million head, up one percent from last year. The estimated supply of feeder cattle outside feedlots was up 0.5 percent as a result of one percent increases in the inventory of steers, 500 pounds and over and calves, under 500 pounds; along with a slight decrease in the inventory of other heifers. Dairy cows and dairy replacement heifers were up one percent from one year ago.


 The U.S. beef cow herd grew by 2.1 percent in 2014 to 29.7 million head according to the January, 2015 Cattle report. Though beef cow herd expansion was anticipated, this was a larger than expected increase. The largest increases were in Texas, at 107 percent of last year; and Oklahoma, up 6 percent from one year ago.   These two states accounted for 62 percent of the total increase in the beef cow herd. Kansas and Missouri each accounted for about 10 percent of the cow herd increase meaning that those four states accounted for 82 percent of the total increase in beef cows. The increase in Texas beef cow inventory was higher than expected because, despite improved conditions, significant areas of drought remain in the state.


The inventory of beef replacement heifers was up 4 percent year over year indicating that further expansion is planned on the part of cow-calf producers. January 1 beef replacement heifers, as a percent of the beef cow herd was a record 19.5 percent, indicating intensive heifer retention. Oklahoma had the biggest percentage increase in adding beef heifers to the herd- up 24.6% from a year ago.   

I talked with Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Dr. Derrell Peel after the Cattle Inventory report last Friday.  Click here to read or to listen to the full interview about how this report confirmed herd rebuilding is taking place, especially in the beef cow herd.   

USDA Accepting Applications for Conservation Stewardship Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make available $100 million this year through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and although applications are accepted all year, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners should submit applications by Feb. 27, 2015 to ensure they are considered for this year's funding (applications received after that date will be considered for future funding).   This year's investment may result in the enrollment of up to 7.7 million acres in the program by private landowners.


"CSP is a way of incentivizing farmers, ranchers, and private forest managers who maintain a high level of conservation on their land and agree to adopt higher levels of stewardship," said Oklahoma State Conservationist, Gary O'Neill of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. "By focusing on multiple resource concerns, landowners are able to achieve a sustainable landscape and maintain or increase the productivity of their operations."


Through CSP, participants take additional conservation steps to improve the resource conditions on their land, including soil, air and habitat quality, water quality and quantity, and energy conservation.  Click here to read about how CSP will help broaden the impacts of NRCS' Landscape Conservation Initiatives.

Monthly Crop Weather Updates Show HRW Wheat in Fair to Good Shape at Mid Winter Point

Several states release monthly Crop Weather Updates during the winter season- and the three major southern plains hard red winter wheat states are included in that number.

As I reviewed the numbers from the reports issued Monday afternoon by Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma- the thing that struck me was how uniform the crop is- based on these ratings.  In recent years- there has been a fair amount of difference from state to state- but not here in 2015.

The winter wheat ratings show the Oklahoma wheat crop at two percent excellent, 39% good, 46% fair and 13% poor to very poor. Texas has a few more acres apparently in excellent shape, with 7% of its crop in excellent condition, 35% in good shape, 42% in fair condition and 16% in poor to very poor condition.   

The Kansas crop seems to be in the best shape- but just slightly better.  Kansas wheat acreage is called 4% excellent, 42% good, 41% fair and 13% in poor to very poor condition.

Pasture conditions in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico are about the same as well (Kansas does not rate Pastures in the winter reports) with about a fourth of the pastures in good shape, a fourth in poor to very poor condition and the highest rating number in each of the states in that middle of road "fair" category.

To review each of the states- Click on the name of the state for their January Crop Weather Summary.

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 jump over to the Oklahoma Energy website where you can find the link on the left side of the page to subscribe to Jerry's daily update of top Energy News.

NCGA Applauds Withdrawal of WOTUS Interpretive Rule, Calls for Continued Dialogue 

The National Corn Growers Association Monday applauded the withdrawal of the 'Waters of the United States' (WOTUS) interpretive rule and called for continued dialogue between the Environmental Protection Agency and the agricultural community.


The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers withdrew the interpretive rule on Jan. 29, citing a requirement by Congress included in last year's "cromnibus" appropriations bill. The interpretive rule was intended to clarify normal farming activities exempt from the Clean Water Act.


"Farmers have a lot of concerns about WOTUS," said Maryland farmer Chip Bowling, president of NCGA. "What we need is clarity. The interpretive rule actually made things less clear. We hope that the withdrawal of the interpretive rule will allow us to get to the true matter at hand: how the Clean Water Act is administered." 

Click here to read more from NCGA.  

 Talking the Value of This Past Weekend's Rain- Your Feedback!

I got several responses from the countryside regarding the value of the slow statewide rain that rolled across Oklahoma on Saturday.  A couple of the responses stood out and I wanted to share them with you.

Mark Hodges with Plains Grains and Oklahoma Genetics wrote of the Saturday rains "

"Developmentally we are very close to where we should (and want) to be for this time of year with this crop.  While thankful for what we have received, the water demand over the next 4 months will be defining for this crop.  The longer we go without significantly adding to the profile moisture the more dependent we will be on timely precipitation as we move into spring to preserve yield potential.  Wheat is an amazing plant and can recover and produce from some pretty incredible situations, but I would just as soon not use up any more of those 9 lives until it's just absolutely necessary!"

The other response that I wanted to share comes from a farmer that describes himself as an avid no tiller from Alfalfa County and he writes "All I have heard in this part of the country for 2 months is how dry it is and how we need a rain so badly.I don't have the time or desire to set around at the coffee shop and listen to the complaints but I keep looking at the fields and am amazed at how good the wheat looks for being in this "terrible drought". Just by personal assessment would say we were on track for an average crop before the rain although this will keep us on track for a while longer. I am talking about wheat that was drilled into a corn field that produced 100 bu corn last summer."

He adds "The last 4-5 years have dealt us periods of drought with some rains.  WHY have we not learned to adapt?  I love my neighbors but it really makes me cringe when they basically rape their soil and then complain about its non-performance. I'll admit years ago I used to do the same just like last summer there was a lot of  ground that would either be blowing away or washing away, sometimes all in the same day! There are better ways, better technologies,I know you have seen them because I have seen you places like the No-Till on the Plains winter conference. Soil health, soil conservation, water retention in soil, all go hand in hand.  We have to learn to take what the good Lord gives us, take it, and turn it into not only a way to survive.but a way to keep it sustainable for the future."

Thanks for these thoughtful and well spoken comments- if you want to weigh in- drop me an email by clicking here.