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It was the busiest day yet at the 2015 Oklahoma Youth Expo- and the day was capped off with the annual Legislative/Celebrity Showmanship Contest. Close to 80 lawmakers tried their hand at showing a pig, goat, lamb or steer last night- and the organized chaos that always results is one of the highlights each year of the Oklahoma Youth Expo.  Each lawmaker/celebrity was matched up with a young person and their show animal- they receive instruction from the youth on how to properly handle the animal and then the fun begins.

The overall winner of the event was Senate Pro Tiem Brian Bingman of Sapulpa, who initially won by showing a goat- then handling a steer.  Here's a shot of Senator Bingman with OYE Board Chairman Bob Funk and Vice Chair Jimmy Harrell enjoying the moment:

We have lots of pictures from last night's Legislative Showmanship- and much more in our album on FLICKR for the 2015 OYE- click here to check those photos out. 

Now, beyond the antics of the Legislative show was a full day of competition in all four species.  The market barrow show got underway, with over 900 hogs working their way through the show ring- The Sheep Ewe show and the Goat Doe Show was also going on all day long- and several beef cattle showmanship and related events kept things busy in the state fair arena as well.  

The Doe show was broken down into two categories this year- the Wether Dam Does and Breeding Does.  In that first category, they had 141 Does, with Baylie Hamlin of Wister FFA winning the Championship- the reserve wether Dam Doe was shown by Corbin Bell of Collinsville FFA.

The Breeding Doe Champion was the best of 660 Does- and was shown and owned by Jaelyn Sewell of Latta FFA.   Reserve Breeding Doe was shown by Megan Greathouse of Ft Gibson 4-H.

Our coverage of the 2015 OYE is made possible by our sponsor- ITC, Your Energy Superhighway- learn more about ITC by jumping over to their website here.

And- for more on the OYE- the place to be is the Blue Green Gazette, available here.

NFU Says Agriculture's Battle Continues in Nation's Capitol

The fight over the Farm Bill is not over and that's just one of many fights agriculture will have coming up in Congress. At the National Farmers Union annual convention earlier this week in Wichita, Kansas. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said there are lawmakers that are wanting to cut more spending from agricultural programs. I caught up with NFU's lead lobbyist Chandler Goule this week. 


Goule said he looks for agriculture to fight even harder to keep funding in the Farm Bill, than we had to get the Farm Bill. He said there are indications the budget committee is going to request $20 billion in additional cuts from the Farm Bill. He said there are a limited number of places where that money can come from such as crop insurance, nutrition programs, commodities, conservation and research.


"The Farm Bill saved $23 billion dollars when it passed, so to come and cut another $23 billion out of it, is simply going to be very devastating to Rural America," Goule said. 
 

Goule also address reforms to the national beef checkoff program

and proposed changes to the Clean Water Act.  To read or to listen to the full interview, click here.  

Vilsack Says Consumers Missing Key Points in Food Debate

There is great divide in this country in how America's food is grown and produced. The battle over Genetically Modified crops, versus organic has come under scrutiny with the launch of a new video and website called New McDonald. I asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about this campaign that wants to harm production agriculture as he addressed reporters at the National Farmers Union Convention in Wichita, Kansas. 


With this discussions, Vilsack said we have to start raising the question, what are the advantages of American agriculture to the American family? One of the advantages is the low cost of food in America. Vilsack said if consumers don't like the process or want to change the process, great, but what is the cost to change it?


"What is it going to do with the cost of food, because I don't think you can make the case that the cost of food will remain the same," Vilsack said. "Think you have to make the case the cost of food will increase. Well, how do Americans feel about that?"


For people to make an informed decision, Vilsack said they need to know how that will impact the cost as well as the availability of food. He said that's part of the problem with the debate today is that the cost of food is never part of the conversation, as people argue over different practices. He said it doesn't get into, if you get rid of this practice - how will that effect your food bill? If Americans are ready to pay more for their food, Vilsack said agriculture has to be responsive and reactive. 
 

To read more or to listen to Secretary Vilsack about what agriculture needs to be doing right now with these kind of consumer perceptions, click here.  

House Ag Sub Committee Reviews WOTUS- Calling It Confusing and a Government Overreach

Congressman Glenn 'GT' Thompson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee, held a public hearing on Tuesday to review the definition of "waters of the United States" proposed rule and its impact on rural America.

Members of the House Committee on Agriculture today asserted that the Administration has acted on its own, without input from the states and stakeholders, to broaden the scope of the CWA, threatening the livelihood of farmers, ranchers and rural America.

"Despite strong bipartisan opposition from Congress and the public, the Obama Administration has acted to expand its federal authority. The EPA's proposed rule could have serious consequences for our nation and prove to be a severe detriment to our economy, with a particularly strong impact in rural counties. Hasty movement from the EPA will only invite costly litigation, burden states and counties with compliance costs, and create obstacles to building and replacing our national infrastructure," said Chairman Thompson.  

More from the Commitee's news release is available here. 

Several Ag Groups testified and took turns blasting the EPA and the Army Corp for their WOTUS proposal.   

Click on the name of the group for their thoughts on WOTUS-

American Farm Bureau

National Cattlemen's Beef Association 

National Cotton Council

New FDA Rules Change Access to Antibiotics for Beef Producers

National Cattlemen's Beef Association Chief Veterinarian Dr. Kathy Simmons says new rules for antibiotic use by cattle producers are in the process of being finalized. NCBA is waiting for a final rule on changes made to the Veterinary Feed Directive. Simmons said these changes should increase flexibility and ease of use. The final rule should come out spring 2015. She said NCBA will continue to work to educate producers on this new method of accessibility. The final implementation date has been set for December 12, 2016.


Part of the agreement is that pharmaceutical manufactures and feed companies will change their product labels and the livestock industry to phase out the use of certain antibiotics. This includes antibiotics added to animal feed or drinking water. Simmons said these changes aim to make medically important antibiotics unavailable to producers for growth promotion uses or what they feel are unnecessary use. These label changes will make this a legal and binding use of these antibiotics. Simmons said after the implementation date, these products will only be available under veterinary oversight.


Antibiotic use has become a hot issue at all levels. Simmons said in the recent PCAST report, which is the President's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, they addressed antibiotic resistance and this Feed Directive. The group addressed concerns for the FDA guidance. She said some groups though this change was voluntary and it had no teeth and they wanted to make sure that was not the case. Simmons said these label changes will become legal use changes and it was reiterated in the report the importance of using these medications under the oversight of a veterinarian for treatment, prevention and control.  

With these changes, Simmons said it will be a educational process for producers as there will be a new method of access for these medications.  To read or to listen to this Beef Buzz feature, 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 to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

USDA Reports 97 Percent of All U.S. Farms are Family-Owned

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports that family-owned farms remain the backbone of the agriculture industry. The latest data come from the Census of Agriculture farm typology report and help shine light on the question, "What is a family farm?"


"As we wrap up mining the 6 million data points from the latest Census of Agriculture, we used typology to further explore the demographics of who is farming and ranching today," said NASS Statistics Division Director Hubert Hamer. "What we found is that family-owned businesses, while very diverse, are at the core of the U.S. agriculture industry. In fact, 97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned."


The 2012 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report is a special data series that primarily focuses on the "family farm." By definition, a family farm is any farm where the majority of the business is owned by the operator and individuals related to the operator, including through blood, marriage, or adoption. Key highlights from the report include the following five facts about family farms in the United States:


Click here for five facts to know about family farms.   

This N That- Big Iron Today, Boiling Springs Fire Being Controlled and Last Call on a Must Attend Cattle Conference 

It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items - all 753 items consigned.  Bidding will start at 10 AM central time.                 

Click Here for the complete rundown of what is being sold on this no reserve online sale this week.

According to a report released late Tuesday afternoon by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, the Boiling Springs wild fire is now 70 percent containted.  Better climatic conditions on Tuesday helped more than 100 firefighters get ahead of the fast moving fire, which resulted in the burning of over 22,000 acres in Woods and Woodward Counties. 

More details are available here. 

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A quick reminder- you don't want to miss the 2015 Texoma Cattlemen's Conference in Ardmore this Saturday.  The speaker lineup is tremendous- including a guy we have know for a lot of years- Mike Sands with Informa Economics. Sands will be offering a market outlook for the cattle industry- and given the ups and downs seen in recent months- his perspective should be very interesting.

Add in folks like RMA Agency Head Brandon Willis and Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, director of Sustainability Research, National Cattlemen's Beef Association- and you have a program that is worth your time to come and check out.

Details are available here- we will be moderating this year's event once again- and hope to see you in Ardmore on Saturday!!!