Bruett Shares the Good News of Global Beef Sustainability at Texoma Cattlemen's Conference

Forget about the haters and focus on the rest. That was the message delivered by Cameron Bruett, who is the head of Corporate Affairs for JBS-USA, one of the major meat processors in the United States and globally. Bruett said agriculture too often engages with people who don't want or desire our product, when the vast majority of Americans love, want and enjoy our product every single day.


"So, when we are dealing with these threats to our industry - whether it be animal welfare activism or environmental activism, I think we always have to keep in mind that Americans are meat eaters," Bruett said. "They love our product."  


Bruett believes sustainability is a great conversation starter between producers and consumers. He said this provides farmers and ranchers a tremendous opportunity to share who we are, what we believe in, why we do what we do and how our values align with consumers. Bruett said this involves more than agriculture telling its story, but also engaging in a dialogue to address the concerns of consumers.

 

I interviewed Bruett at the Texoma Cattlemen's Conference Saturday.   To read more or have the opportunity to listen to our full discussion, click or tap here.   

We also have Cameron's full presentation as heard on Saturday- it's available as a Podcast on Itunes and also on our website- available here.  It's a fascinating look at where we are in the battle with those who don't like modern production agriculture and today's Animal Agriculture industry- it is worth your time to take a listen!  

I would also mention that we place things like this on our Oklahoma Farm Report APP- There is a link to download our APP on the left hand column of his email- choose Apple or Android and download it- it's free!

Proposed Actively Engaged Rule Released by USDA- One Rural Thinktank Says USDA Missed the Mark 

The latest USDA thinking on the controversial idea of who is "actively engaged" in a farm operation was revealed on Tuesday- and the proposed rule is now open for public comment until May 26th.

The tug or war over who is actually involved in a farm operation- and as a result- who is eligible to receive farm program benefits has been underway since the late 1980s.  USDA was told by Congress in the 2014 Farm Law to come up with this latest definition to limit farm payments to individuals who may be designated as farm managers but are not actively engaged in farm management. In the Farm Bill, Congress gave USDA the authority to address this loophole for joint ventures and general partnerships, while exempting family farm operations from being impacted by the new rule USDA ultimately implements.  

Under the proposed rule, non-family joint ventures and general partnerships must document that their managers are making significant contributions to the farming operation, defined as 500 hours of substantial management work per year, or 25 percent of the critical management time necessary for the success of the farming operation. Many operations will be limited to only one manager who can receive a safety-net payment. Operators that can demonstrate they are large and complex could be allowed payments for up to three managers only if they can show all three are actively and substantially engaged in farm operations.

Click here to read more from the  USDA- including a link to the actual proposal that is now open for comment.

MEANWHILE- one populist rural thinktank is already out with their take on the proposal- and they give USDA a failing grade on closing what they see is a loophole to allow big farm operations access to farm program support payments.

"The purpose of revising the actively engaged definition was to make farm payment limits more effective," said Traci Bruckner, Senior Associate at the Center for Rural Affairs. "USDA is, however, clearly more interested in defending the interests of mega-farms by preserving loose definitions that will continue to allow the nation's largest farms to avoid meaningful payment limits."

Read more of Bruckner's thinking by clicking here. 

House Ag Hearing on Mandatory Biotech Labeling Laws

The added costs imposed by mandatory labeling for genetically-modified organisms could increase the price of food to consumers while driving smaller farms out of business, according to Vermont dairy farmer Joanna Lidback, who said that the use of GMO crops is important to her farm's economic sustainability.


In testimony presented Tuesday before the House Agriculture Committee, Lidback, who farms in Westmore, Vermont, with her husband and two young sons, said that building an economically viable small family business has led them to "fully embrace using technology to farm better and with less impact on our surroundings" - and part of that entails using GMO seed varieties that grow best in New England.


"We would want the choice of the best seed regardless of breeding technology; genetic engineering offers the best options," she said, explaining that their 200 acre farm in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom has a shorter growing season that limits the variety of crops they can grow. If marketplace demands were to force them to use non-GMO feed grains - most of which would be certified organic - the farm's feed bill would more than double each month, from $5,328 to $12,000.  Click here to read more about Lidback's testimony to the House Ag Committee.

Click here to read Chairman K. Michael Conaway's Opening remarks at the hearing.  

Mike Sands - Informa Economics Breaks Down Market Volatility of Cattle Prices in 2015

Cattle prices in 2014 reached record levels, which created optimism and incentive for the industry to expand. Informa Economics Senior Vice President Mike Sands said with herd expansion underway, these price levels have some downside risk. The cattle market has seen more volatility since late 2014 into the first quarter of 2015. Sands said that volatility is a function of how tight supplies are.


"As supplies have tightened up, the upside risk in the market certainly has been rather significant," Sands said. "We have posting record highs off and on since last summer - all the way across the spectrum of the cattle market. But as supplies now begin to look like at least expansion is underway, maybe we don't see a big increase in beef production this year and potentially not even a big increase next year, but the point is, there are bigger supplies coming at some point. That will give us some downside risk as we move forward." 


In January the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the annual cattle inventory report and showed the nation's producers have begun to hold back heifers and increase the size U.S. cow herd. Sands said there is no question the amount of heifer retention accelerated rather aggressively in 2014 and USDA also revised some historic numbers higher, so the industry is starting out at a higher base.   

I caught up with Mike Sands at the Texoma Cattlemen's Conference in Ardmore Saturday. Click or tap here to read or to listen to today's Beef Buzz.  

DuPont Pioneer Studies Drought Tolerant Corn Varieties

DuPont Pioneer announced Tuesday the Journal of Crop Science has published results of a multi-year study conducted to evaluate maize (corn) hybrids under drought-stress, or water-limited, conditions. Findings scientifically demonstrate the efficacy of Pioneer® brand Optimum® AQUAmax® maize hybrid seeds, which help farmers achieve more stable yields under drought-stress conditions and high-yield potential in favorable growing conditions.


"Through these and related research efforts, we are making real progress in understanding what contributes to drought tolerance," said Mark Cooper, research director, trait characterization and development at DuPont Pioneer, and one of the study's authors. "This will help DuPont Pioneer continue to deliver strong maize hybrids to growers around the world."


The international community faces the challenge of growing food sustainably, which involves meeting the demands of a growing population in the midst of adverse environmental changes. Globally, water is the most limiting factor to agricultural and food productivity, causing annual crop losses of $13 billion due to drought. Since 1980, major droughts and heat waves within the United States alone have resulted in costs exceeding $100 billion, easily becoming one of the most costly weather-related disasters on the continent during that time (Lott and Ross, 2000). In 2012, a severe drought contributed to historically high grain prices in the United States (Boyer et al., 2013).

Click here to read more about key findings from the study.   

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.

Genetically Enhanced Apples and Potatoes are Declared Safe and Nutritious by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has evaluated several varieties of genetically engineered apples and potatoes and found them to be as safe and nutritious as their conventional counterparts.


The FDA evaluated Okanagan's Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples, known as "Arctic Apples."


The agency also evaluated a half dozen varieties of Simplot's genetically engineered potatoes known as "Innate" potatoes.


The apples have a reduced level of enzymes that cause browning associated with cuts and bruises. The potatoes are genetically engineered to reduce the formation of black spot bruises by lowering the levels of certain enzymes.


The potatoes are also engineered to produce less acrylamide that can form in some foods during high-temperature cooking, such as frying. The FDA says acrylamide has been found to be carcinogenic in rodents.  Click here to read more about foods derived from genetically engineered plants. 
 

This N That- Under New Ownership- OBI Ready to Market Bulls: Big Iron Today and Monsanto Disagrees with Junk Science on Glyophsate 

Oklahoma Beef, Incorporated was bought last year by Farmers Cooperative of Tonkawa- and while the ownership has changed- the OBI folks are telling the cattle industry that their ability to provide high quality, tested, performance bulls has NOT changed.

With that in mind- let's remind you of the next OBI Bull Test Sale- their 43rd Annual- set for tomorrow- Thursday, March 26 at high noon.

The sale will be held at the test station on Highway 51 between Stillwater and Interstate 35.

They will be selling an estimated 160 bulls tomorrow- for details, contact Manager Tim Stidham at 405-624-1181 or 405-742-4553.  

Click here for additional details.

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It's Wednesday- and that means the Big Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items - all 836 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.

If you'd like more information on buying and selling with Big Iron, call District Manager Mike Wolfe at 580-320-2718 and he can give you the full scoop.  You can also reach Mike via email by clicking or tapping here.

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Robb Fraley is mincing no words in his assessment of a claim by the International Agency for Research on Cancer claiming that one of the most used ag chemicals ever, Glyophsate, causes cancer.

"We are outraged with this assessment," said Dr. Robb Fraley, Monsanto's Chief Technology Officer. "This conclusion is inconsistent with the decades of ongoing comprehensive safety reviews by the leading regulatory authorities around the world that have concluded that all labeled uses of glyphosate are safe for human health. This result was reached by selective 'cherry picking' of data and is a clear example of agenda-driven bias."  

Read more of his statement and check out additional links to information that Monsanto has released in response to this challenge about the safety of Roundup.