House Passes H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act

The House of Representatives Thursday voted in favor of H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015. The legislation, which passed by a vote of 275-150, establishes an effective and efficient voluntary labeling system for non-genetically engineered foods. This nationwide standard prevents a patchwork of conflicting state or local labeling laws that threaten to interfere with interstate commerce.  Congressman Mike Conaway, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, issued the following statement after the vote.

"Advances in technology have allowed the U.S. to enjoy the safest, highest quality, most abundant, diverse and affordable supply of food and fiber mankind has ever known. With the world's population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, biotechnology is an essential tool for our farmers to meet this demand in an environmentally sound, sustainable, and affordable way. Unfortunately, proposed Federal and State laws threaten this innovation by generating a patchwork of differing labeling requirements, which will result in inconsistent and confusing information for consumers and interfere with interstate commerce. H.R. 1599 establishes a voluntary nation-wide marketing program that gives consumers access to consistent, reliable information while protecting advancements in food production technology and innovation," said Chairman Conaway. 

"Federal policy on food labeling must remain grounded in science and I believe this legislation is a step forward in the direction of innovation, safety and affordable food. H.R. 1599 establishes national uniformity in food labeling because the journey from the farm to your dinner table should be transparent." said Congressman Frank Lucas. (His full statement is available here.) 

On our website, we have reaction from the following groups: American Farm Bureau,  

American Soybean Association,  

National Council of Farmer Cooperatives,  

National Association of Wheat Growers,

National Corn Growers Association,  

Biotechnology Industry Organization   

You can click on the name of the group to review their comments. 

COOL is Hot- and the US Senate is the Hot Spot to Watch  

Cool is one of THE Hot Topics inside the Washington beltway and beyond DC as well. Several developments are in the midst of being played out in the COOL Repeal drama, with the focus on the US Senate.

First of all, there are several Democratic Senators who have been big mandatory COOL fans who have come together- led by former Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow- and have offered a repeal of Mandatory COOL coupled with a mandated Voluntary version of the program. There are three reactions. First, you have groups like the US Cattlemen and the National Farmers Union who love it and say it should be acceptable to Canada and Mexico. Then you have groups like the National Pork Producers and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association who see anything less than a clean COOL Repeal as being unacceptable, which is the stance that apparently Canada and Mexico have taken. That means that the Stabenow plan won't pass muster with our neighbors to either the north or the south. The third reaction belongs to R-Calf- not liking either the Stabenow proposal or the Pat Roberts plan for a clean repeal.

That Senator Roberts plan has been added as an amendment to the Transportation Reauthorization- which a lot of people see as a must pass piece of legislation for 2015.  The Roberts proposal is cheered by NCBA, NPPC and others.  

We talked COOL on Thursday afternoon with Kristina Butts of the Washington office of the National Cattlemen's Association who is in Midwest City today for the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association convention- you can read more about the push to get a COOL repeal- and hear her comments by clicking here.  

Not Your Granddaddy's Animal Science Department- OSU Moves Into Food Safety, Sustainability and Animal Well Being 

It's an exciting time for the Oklahoma State University Animal Science Department, with enthusiasm from students and a vision to stay relevant to the state's livestock producers. Enrollment continues to grow in the university's largest department within the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and remains to be one of the largest departments on campus. OSU Animal Science Department Head Dr. Clint Rusk is expecting a large incoming class to start this fall  with more than 230 freshmen and 88 transfer students already accepted for the upcoming semester.   The largest option within the department is the Pre-Vet option for students wanting to become veterinarians. Rusk said 82 percent of the incoming freshman in the Animal Science Department have enrolled in the pre-vet option. The department has had a very good track record in preparing students for veterinary school. The OSU Veterinary Department accepts 80 to 90 students annually and 30 to 40 of those have been OSU Animal Science graduates.


OSU's Animal Science department continues to add faculty and researchers to address the major challenges facing animal agriculture. Rusk said their department has hired specialists to address sustainability, food safety, forages and animal welfare. He said the Oklahoma Beef Council provided support for OSU's endowed professorship in honor of animal scientist and autistic expert Temple Grandin.


Researchers are looking at global issues, like water usage. OSU has received a million dollar grant for a five year study looking at water intake of cattle. Rusk said Dr. Megan Rolf is the Primary Investigator on the project. At the Willard Sparks Beef Cattle Research Center, she has been measuring individual feed and water intake and how different genetic lines effect water intake. With Rolf's role in research and extension, Rusk said she will be sharing the results of the study and hopefully this will benefit the bottom-line of producers.  

I also talked with Rusk about recruiting and the future of OSU's Animal Science Department.  Click here to listen to our full conversation.   

Tomorrow morning on KWTV NEWS9's Saturday AM news block, Dr. Rusk joins me for our weekly In the Field segment at approximately 6:40 AM.  We invite you to tune in.

Growing Beef, Pork and Poultry Supplies Putting Pressure on Prices, Says CattleFax Analyst

Cattle producers gathering at the Summer Cattle Industry Conference last week in Denver were reminded about how strong the cattle market has been. One of the featured speakers was CattleFax Senior Analyst Kevin Good. After his presentation, he was interviewed by farm broadcast colleague Ken Rahjes about how good it's been and how good prices will continue to be for a while longer. Good said producers have seen some great years in terms of price and profitability in 2014 and now drought recovery with the exception of the west coast. He said producers have the best moisture conditions in 20 years, the highest calf values on record and herd expansion has started to take place. He predicts the cowherd could be 1.3 million head bigger by the start of 2016.


That's good news, but in looking longer term that means more beef production in the coming years and American consumers will need to consume more of that product. Good said the big unknown is the price level at which the consumer will eat more beef.


One of the challenges of aggressive herd rebuilding is tighter beef supplies. Beef also has increased competition from pork and poultry. Good said pork and poultry supplies this year are up five to six percent and he looks for both sectors to increase production in 2016. So far that's hasn't effected beef, but that's changing. Good said this summer there has been less featuring of beef and more featuring for the other meat products. In looking at beef demand for June and July, he said demand is falling below 2014 levels, just like cattle and beef prices.

Good was our guest on Beef Buzz- and you can hear more of his comments by clicking or tapping here. 

New Pipeline Infrastructure Key to Relieving Pressure on Freight Rail

Expanding America's pipeline infrastructure would relieve the nation's overburdened freight rail network and improve service for farmers nationwide, according to a new study from the American Farm Bureau Federation.


The booming energy business in the Upper Midwest spiked rail congestion and freight costs for farmers in the region and cut their profits by $570 million during the 2014 harvest. The AFBF study found that the average North Dakota corn farmer may have received $10,000 less than the traditional market rate for the crop. Increasing U.S. pipeline capacity - particularly in the Bakken region - is a prime solution for adding freight system capacity overall and relieving rail congestion, according to AFBF.


"American farmers depend upon rail freight to move their products to market. The surge in rail transportation of crude oil has affected that ability and timing in recent years," AFBF Chief Economist Bob Young said. "Construction of new pipelines would certainly be a more effective way to move that product to market. It would take crude oil off the rails and, in doing so, improve the overall efficiency of the transportation system. Improved pipeline infrastructure will also help enhance American energy security for everyone."


Study author Elaine Kub said farmers face challenges in getting their goods to market that others do not.  Click here to read more about this study.  

Domestic and Global Factors Cause Big Price Moves in Wheat Market, Anderson Says

Wheat prices have been on a wild roller coaster ride this spring and summer. The market has seen big swings of fifty cents or more in every two to three week period since April. On this weekend's edition of SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson addresses the Kansas City wheat futures prices. Over the last two to three weeks, the September KC wheat contract has fallen sharply. Anderson said that contract has been trading from $4.95 to $6.11. He said right now the contract price has support at $5.06. If it breaks that level, he said the next target is $4.95, but if it breaks that level it could move into no man's land and the next target would likely be at $4.55. If wheat prices can move higher, he said there is resistance at $5.34 and $5.60.


The volatility of the market is being caused by several factors. Anderson said there is the political and financial volatility with Greece. As financial markets adjust, he said that forces the funds to pull money in and out of the commodities market. The strength of the U.S. dollar also isn't helping the situation. He said the value of the dollar is up around 97 points, which is relatively high. Plus, there are the fundamentals or supply and demand situation of the wheat market.


"We've got a pretty big carry over, we've got an adequate amount of wheat, we're probably going to have a surplus of wheat according to expectations, then you take the financial situation, the supply and demand situation, you've got the funds - billions of dollars moving in and out of the market and that gets you big price moves," Anderson said.


With so many factors influencing the market, Anderson said no one can predict where wheat prices will go. He recommends producers spread out their marketing of the crop by using the "dollar cost averaging" strategy in selling a little bit of the crop at a time.
 

SUNUP host Lyndall Stout interviews Kim Anderson.  Click here to read more or to listen to the full interview.  You can also find the lineup for this weekend's edition of SUNUP. 
   

State Question 777 is Front and Center at OCA Convention- and We Have Your Final Ballot Language to Study

We have been asked to moderate a panel this afternoon at the 63rd Annual Convention of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association on State Question 777- I think it will be very informative about how we have gotten to where we are with this "Right to Farm" ballot initiative- and how agricultural interests need to come together to get a "Yes" vote next November.

Ahead of our conversation  this afternoon- we have obtained from the Attorney General Scott Pruitt's office the final ballot language that will be seen next fall by voters- here's what voters will be reading and saying yes or no to next fall:

"Ballot Title for State Question No. 777

"This measure adds Section 38 to Article II of the Oklahoma Constitution.

"The new Section creates state constitutional rights. It creates the following guaranteed rights to engage in farming and ranching:

"The right to make use of agricultural technology.

"The right to make use of livestock procedures.

" The right to make use of ranching practices.  

"These constitutional rights receive extra protection under this measure that not all constitutional rights receive. This extra protection is a limit on lawmakers'  ability to interfere with the exercise of these rights. Under this extra protection, no law can interfere with these rights, unless the law is justified by a compelling state interest- a clearly identified state interest of the highest order.  Additionally, the law must be necessary to serve that compelling state interest.

"The measure- and the protections identified above- do not apply to and do not impact state laws related to:

"Trespass,  

"Eminent Domain,

"Dominance of mineral interests.

"Easements,

"Right of way or other property rights, and  

"Any state statues and political subdivision ordinances enacted before December 31, 2014.  

"Shall the proposal be approved?

"For the proposal- YES

"Against the Proposal- No."

This is the language developed by Attorney General Scott Pruitt that has been certified to be placed on the ballot in November 2016.