OYE Celebrates OSU Day, Dr. Coon Promotes University to Future Students

Wednesday was Oklahoma State University Day at the Oklahoma Youth Expo going on at State Fair Park. OSU Dean and Vice President of the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Dr. Tom Coon has been looking forward to this day for a long time. He said he first heard about the event when he interviewed for the position of Dean last spring.


"I'm really excited about getting out there today and seeing all these young people and their parents and making sure they know about OSU," Coon said.  


Enrollment at OSU and in DASNR continues to see steady growth. Coon said that provides a positive challenge in serving more students with the available resources. He commended his faculty for their creativity in development of course work and developing opportunities for students to gain hands-on-learning.


OSU has many bright spots within the agriculture college.   Coon said the Wheat Improvement Team has developed 44 % of the state's wheat varieties planted in Oklahoma. In the animal science department, Dr. Coon said there is some new faculty that is looking at animal wellbeing, minimizing environmental impact and looking at how to become more efficient with livestock nutrition. Similar to precision farming, Coon said this research aims to ensure the right nutrients are available at the right time, so there is no waste. The natural resource ecology management department is doing work on the endangered and threatened species in the state. Coon said they are doing some pioneering research on lesser prairie chickens. He said ranchers are working with OSU facility in trying to figure how to manage grazing, so the birds can succeed, while allowing ranchers to have a profitable ranching operation.  

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.

House Ag Committee Holds Hearing on Agriculture Trade

Rep. K. Michael Conaway, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, held a public hearing Wednesday to review the importance of trade to U.S. agriculture. In 2014, U.S. agricultural exports reached a record-setting $152.5 billion, an increase of 58% over the last five years. Members and the witnesses emphasized that with 95 percent of the world's population residing outside of the United States, it is imperative that the U.S. works to expand market access while eliminating international barriers to trade. They made it clear in the hearing that passing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is key to this effort. 

Testifying on behalf of the National Pork Producers Council, Dr. Howard Hill, a pork producer and veterinarian from Cambridge, Iowa, who is chairman of the association's Trade Policy Committee, said the key reason TPA is needed is for concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations among the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries. That deal would be the most significant commercial opportunity ever for U.S. pork producers, generating more than 10,000 pork industry jobs.  Click here to read more from NPPC.  

Click here for more information, including Chairman Conaway's opening statement and the archived webcast.  

Farmers and Ranchers Warn: Estate Taxes Can Kill Family Businesses

The House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday on the Burden of the Estate Tax on Family Businesses and Farms. 

Farm Bureau member Brandon Whitt Wednesday urged Congress to repeal the estate tax to free up farmers and ranchers to build stronger businesses and benefit their local communities. Whitt, who farms in Tennessee, testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, where he outlined the harmful impact the estate tax has on family-owned businesses.


"Agriculture looks different on farms from state to state but we all face the same reality that an uncertain tomorrow can bring," Whitt said. While facing unpredictable weather and fluctuating markets, farmers and ranchers make decisions to expand their businesses and remain competitive. "Why should uncertainties over estate taxes be added to these others? Our job is hard enough as it is."

National Cattlemen's Beef Association member and seventh-generation cattleman from Fort Davis, Texas, Bobby McKnight

was able to share his family's personal story of facing the death tax, and the consequences to their livelihood and operation in southwest Texas.


"When times have been lean, I have had to make sacrifices to keep my business above water, but sometimes you run out of places to cut," said McKnight. "That is what happened to my family during hard times brought on by the estate tax. I had to let go of seasoned employees that had families of their own and were forced to work elsewhere. The skilled labor that I needed to run my operation was lost."
 

Click here to read more about the Death Tax effects farmers and ranchers.  

Vilsack Address Beef Checkoff MOU, Still Touts His Plan of Second Checkoff

This past week seven groups signed off on a so-called Memorandum of Understanding from the Beef Checkoff Working Group, as the groups try to move forward on getting a vote successfully for a second dollar for the dollar per head checkoff. One group decided not to sign the MOU. That was the U.S. Cattlemen's Association. Another group pulled out of the discussions all together last year. That was the National Farmers Union. 


I covered the NFU annual convention earlier this week in Wichita, Kansas. One of the speakers was U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. One of the questions came from the audience during his presentation had to do with checkoff and his thoughts on the MOU.


"I would imagine the groups that sign onto the MOU recognize that there is legislation that would be required to implement whatever it is they all agreed to, so the path forward would be to see if that can happen," Vilsack said.   "Obviously there will be folks who think it's a good idea and folks who think it's a bad idea and with this Congress who knows, right, who knows?"


The Secretary reminded the audience that he tried to come up with an alternate plan in creating a second beef checkoff. An idea that no one supported, including NFU. Vilsack said he made an effort to figure out how to get more money into the beef checkoff because he believes there is need for additional research and marketing.  To read more 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.

Farmers Fight Back: The Takedown of #NewMacDonald

Op Ed from U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA)
CEO Randy Krotz
Politico Morning Agriculture
March 13, 2015


"Only Organic, a group that includes organic and natural food companies, including Earthbound Farm, Organic Valley and Nature's Path, released a new musical ad on YouTube that's started a firestorm on Twitter under the hashtag #NewMacDonald, with dozens of farmers, conventional and organic, slamming the ad as divisive, inaccurate and even delusional propaganda.


"Luke Runyon at Harvest Public Media explains: "It starts as innocently as the children's song , but quickly takes a dark turn, showing a staged farm flooded with pesticide spray, genetically engineered corn made of papier - mâché and stuffed farm animals in cages. ... The ad is easy to understand and fits into a narrative long in the making: that conventional farmers are irresponsible with chemicals, cruel to animals and flippant about the environment. ... But most farmers, organic ones included, hate that narrative and are ready to dismantle it on social media at a moment's notice." The video had more than 900,000 views as of late Thursday night. 


"From USFRA's perspective, I believe it is a tipping point for consumer transparency and truth. Farmers and ranchers have the tools to tell their stories, even in hostile environments. And organic and conventional farmers who respect each other are beginning to work together to make sure that truthful information gets to consumers. Even Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently talked about the destructive practices of different types of ag attacking each other. We agree. Let's stop the attacks."

To read more from USFRA, click here. 

Congressman Frank Lucas Gets Bill Through the House to Require Transparency  to the EPA's Expert Panel

The House of Representatives passed the bipartisan EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act (H.R. 1029) this week, introduced by Science, Space, and Technology Committee Vice-Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). The bill brings fairness, transparency, and independence to the EPA's expert panel.


"The EPA's Science Advisory Board was intended to provide a meaningful, balanced, and independent assessment of the science that informs federal regulatory decisions," said Congressman Lucas. "However, the EPA systematically silences voices of dissent on the Science Advisory Board, ignores calls for independence and balanced participation, and prevents the Board from responding to Congressional requests. This is a good-government bill; it reflects the values we should uphold regardless of which side of the political aisle we are on. The bill recognizes the important role science should play in our policy debates and provides safeguards to give the public confidence in science. It restores the independent Science Advisory Board as a defender of scientific integrity." 

Read more about this measure here.

You can watch Congressman Lucas as he makes his case on the floor of the House for this measure by clicking on the video below:

House Passes Frank Lucas Authored Legislation to Promote Scientific Integrity at EPA