USDA Shows Trans Pacific Partnership Benefits All 50 States, Former Ag Secretaries Push for Trade Promotion Authority

In conjunction with a series of Made in Rural America Executive Actions announced Thursday by President Barack Obama and the White House, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released data showing the opportunities for agriculture of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) to help boost agricultural exports across the 50 United States. TPP is a 21st century trade agreement that will promote job growth, increase farm income, generate greater rural economic activity, and help expand U.S. agricultural exports to some of the fastest growing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. USDA released its TPP data after President Obama announced a set of new executive actions to help grow manufacturing in rural areas and to provide new markets to small businesses across our nation's heartland.

Fiscal years 2009 to 2014 represent the strongest six years in history for U.S. agricultural trade, with U.S. agricultural product exports totaling $771.7 billion, despite the fact that many other countries' markets are not as open to American products as our markets are to theirs. Agricultural exports last fiscal year reached $152.5 billion, the highest level on record. U.S. agricultural exports now support more than one million jobs here at home, a substantial part of the nearly 11.3 million jobs supported by exports all across our country.  To read more about how TPP would boost exports of some U.S. food and agricultural products, click here.  

  

A bipartisan group of eight former U.S. Agriculture Secretaries, representing all past Administrations from those of President Jimmy Carter to President George W. Bush, issued a letter urging Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority.  The letter said as former U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture, we know firsthand the importance of trade to America's farm and ranch families. Access to export markets is vital for increasing sales and supporting farm income at home. Recognizing the importance of exports, we worked hard to open foreign markets, including negotiating new or expanded trade agreements with other countries. Trade agreements lead to expanded agricultural exports by promoting economic growth, removing trade barriers and import duties and developing mutually beneficial trade rules.  To read more, click here.   

Export Demand for U.S. Sorghum Out-Strips Available Supply

High demand has the nation's sorghum crop in short supply. China has moved into the market and they are buying a lot of the grain sorghum. United Sorghum Checkoff Program Executive Director Florentino Lopez said they continue to purchase up all of the sorghum that is available from the U.S.


"They've been really buying over the last 24 months, they have continued to buy not only for this marketing year but have already started making some purchases for the next marketing year," Lopez said.


Lopez said that has been amazing to see how much sorghum is really moving into the Chinese marketplace today. A lot of the demand simply comes from China's need for grain with their growing livestock industry. Lopez the U.S. Foreign Ag Service has report that roughly 10 - 14 million metric tons are going to necessary to sustain their livestock production today. With China not accepting some U.S. genetically modified crops, that has created some added demand for sorghum. China's trade policy also treats sorghum more favorably than corn.  

With this high demand from China, that is tightening U.S. sorghum supplies.  Lopez discusses the other demands for sorghum and new innovations in sorghum products.  To read more or to listen to our conversation from the 2015 Commodity Classic, click here.   

A lot has changed over the last 20 years for the Commodity Classic. The annual convention of corn, wheat, soybean and sorghum producers has grown and evolved, just like agriculture has over the last two decades. Greg Leonard of northeastern Oklahoma was on the grower board for the third Commodity Classic many years ago. Leonard said the event has grown substantially through the years. In attending the 2015 Commodity Classic, he said it has been tremendous to see all of the people with another record breaking year for attendance of more than 7,500 attendees. 


In walking through the large trade show, there is a lot of new technology becoming available to farmers. On his operation, Leonard said they use grid sampling and variable rate fertilizer applications. In talking with company representatives this year, he was most curious to learn more about how that information is stored, connectivity, and transferring that information from the tractor in the field to the computers in the office. Beyond paying for the latest technology, he finds the biggest challenge is having a strong enough cell phone signal in the field.


In looking back at the 2014 crop year, Leonard said their farm was blessed with timely rains and a cooler than normal temperatures making ideal growing conditions. Knowing that wasn't the case for farmers in western Oklahoma, he didn't want to admit that this was his best yielding crop in 30 years of farming.  You can read more or listen to our conversation by clicking here.   

Joe Neal Hampton Among Those Honored by Oklahoma Pork Industry at 2015 Pork Congress

The 2015 Oklahoma Pork Congress included recognition of a pork industry legend, a lawmaker supportive of the ag community, a businessman who has been a friend of the pork business and a ag industry leader who has often had the back of the pork producers of Oklahoma at the state Legislature, as well as at the local level.


The four awards handed out by the Oklahoma Pork Council were presented to the following individuals:

Betty Baker, who was inducted into the okPORK Hall of Fame;

State Representative Lee Denny, who received the okPORK Legislative Leader Award;

Randy Byford, who received the okPORK Ambassador Award and

Joe Neal Hampton, who received the okPORK Distinguished Service Award.

Joe Neal Hampton spent some tough years advocating for Roberts Ranch of Oklahoma in the Oklahoma Legislature. When the regulations of the late 90s took effect and stopped expansion of Oklahoma's pork industry and Roberts Ranch began to have troubles with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Hampton was hired to help.

"Joe Neal helped us with things dealing with the legislators in our area and our county commissioners with our roads," said Jeff Mencke, Roberts Ranch of Oklahoma's sow production manager. "It was a very beneficial relationship from that standpoint. In our area it was very important that we continue to build relationships with the people that were influential and could get the word out that we are a good company and do the right thing."

You can read more about Hampton's service to the pork industry, as well as sketches of the other winners as well by clicking or tapping here.  

Butler Says It's Time for Beef Industry to Know Their Consumer

Agriculture has to understand their consumer. At the Ag Issues Forum in Phoenix, held in conjunction with the Commodity Classic, John Butler, Chief Executive Officer of the Beef Marketing Group said today's consumer is becoming much smarter and much more curious and they are showing an intense level of interest in where their food comes from.


An addressing consumer demands, transparency has become a buzz word within the food industry. As far as what that means for the beef industry, Butler said we have to accept the fact we live in a "fish bowl".


"In fact we have to be very, very aware that there's things we are doing with the products we are producing that we need to be held accountable for," Butler said.


This includes everything from animal care and handling, to food safety, environmental management, resource management. As participants in agriculture, Butler said those are things we have taken for granted and we can no longer do that.


"Our business, our industry is challenged in a way that we have forever said that we do all these good things and we are stewards of these things we are responsible for, but now we are going to have to be held accountable for them," Butler said. "In fact we are going to have to face things like verification, so that these practices, these methods, we are not just saying we are doing them, we can have standards set, we can adhere to and agree to."  


To read or have the opportunity to listen to my interview with Butler on transparency in the cattle industry, click 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 Jerry's website where there is a link on the Left Hand Column where you can subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.    

This N That- Retirement Celebration Planned for Mike Kubicek, Texoma Cattlemen's Conference Nears and Rest in Peace Robert Peeler

There is a special celebration being planned at the end of this month to honor Mike Kubicek for his 22 years of service as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission.  

The celebration is planned at the Oklahoma Peanut Expo, March 25-26, at Quartz Mountain Lodge in Lone Wolf.   

USDA Peanut Breeder Dr. Kelly Chamberlin is leading the effort to gather notes and stories about Mike- and she needs them this week in order to compile a book of memories that will be presented to Mike at that time.  

To coordinate getting materials to her- you can email Kelly here, or call her at 405-624-4141 x 225.

I'll reserve my roasting of Mike closer to that celebration time. 

**********

On Saturday, March 21, 2015, the Noble Foundation will host the Texoma Cattlemen's Conference at the Ardmore Convention Center in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The theme is "Prosperity, Volatility and Sustainability."  

The conference will provide producers with insight on how some cattlemen are successfully navigating through the current era, and we will more closely examine some the major interests and issues facing the industry: beef sustainability, ag credit, risk management and the cattle outlook.  

The Noble folks have assembled a GREAT  program- and we are honored to once again have the chance to emcee the day's events.   

Click here for more details and how you can register for this year's Texoma Cattlemen's Conference.

**********

A sad note to finish this email on the first Monday of the month.  Sam Knipp of Farm Bureau let us know that our friend of almost 38 years, Robert Peeler, died of a heart attack this past Friday.  

Robert was on the PR team when I first arrived in Oklahoma City in 1977 from Kansas.  He was the voice of the Oklahoma Farm News Report that was heard three times a day on the Oklahoma News Network.  The guy who brought me to Oklahoma, Rick Parrish, told me that Farm Bureau was doing their farm reports- but that they were at a point where they needed to do more than what Farm Bureau had time to provide the network.   

So- I began what was called the Oklahoma Agrinet.  Robert was a friend and an immense help in those early days- backing me up when I had to cover a meeting- and later providing several assistants that helped me with radio backup when he became the Head of Public Relations for Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

We attended several National Farm Broadcaster meetings together- and Robert was a part several years of what was called the NAFB Gypsies- a group of broadcasters from around the country who picked and sang and entertained the rest of us before one our sponsors starting paying for some professional talent.   

Robert moved out of PR to other areas of Farm Bureau management- but he remained a dear friend for all these years. He will be missed.

Funeral Services for Robert will be held this coming Thursday morning at 11 AM at the Smith and Kernke Funeral Home at 14624 N May in Oklahoma City.