"Over the past twenty years, agriculture biotechnology has become a valuable tool in ensuring the success of the American farmer in meeting the challenge of increasing yield in a more efficient, safe, and responsible manner," said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee at a hearing on Wednesday.

His Committee heard from two panels on biotechnology issues.  The first panel had USDA, EPA and FDA represented, with the central message that the GMOs are as safe as conventionally bred products.  

The second panel was made up of farmers and ag industry officials with expertise in the ag biotechnology arena.  They discussed, among other things, the pros and cons of GMO labeling and whether or not it is appropriate for state and local governments to require mandatory localized GMO labels on foods sold to their citizens.

A good overview of the hearing can be found on the FarmFutures website- click here to read more.

In response to the Senate Hearing-  the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) called on millions of American consumers to contact their elected officials with this message: If you vote against states' rights, if you vote against truth and transparency in labeling, if you vote against the more than 90 percent of Americans who want mandatory, not voluntary, labeling of GMO foods, we will vote against you.

"Today's hearing on H.R. 1599 made a total mockery of democracy," international director Ronnie Cummins said.  "Of the eight witnesses allowed to testify, only one could be remotely considered as someone who represents the interests of consumers and public health. The other seven have ties to the biotech and corporate food industries, and were there to represent the interests of corporations, not people."  Click here to read more from Organic Consumers Association.

The Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN) is a joint effort of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association (OCA). OQBN is a network of beef producers, educators, veterinarians, and industry professionals committed to increasing producers' access to value added marketing opportunities and improving the quality of cattle produced in Oklahoma by increasing communication between all segments of the beef industry.


Gant Mourer, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Value Enhancement Specialist, runs the OQBN program. He said value-added programs like this one are very important to the end-user, as consumers get assurances on how beef is being produced. OSU Food and Agricultural Economist Dr. Jayson Lusk has studied consumer behavior and he has found consumers are looking for a high-quality safe and healthy product.


"If we do a good job on the ranch we can maintain that safety," Mourer said. "We can maintain the health of those animals, then really sort 'em to any of these other programs once we do that. That's what the consumer wants is a safe product. Then we can ship those animals into really any value-added program that we want to."


OQBN provides producers, and others in the beef industry, with education and tools to enhance access to value-added programs. With less ten percent of the state's beef producers enrolled in OQBN there is a need to grow the program. Mourer said that's makes for a challenge in getting data to identify pre-conditioned calves. There are a lot of pre-conditioned calves selling each week at sale barns across the state. Mourer said reputation is also key in getting buyers to purchase cattle from the same ranch year after year.


 I caught up with Mourer at the Cattlemen's Boot Camp in Stillwater. Click or tap here to hear today's Beef Buzz.  To learn more about OQBN and the 2015 sale locations, click here.

This past year in the fall of 2014- Gatlin Squires was busy serving as the State Secretary of the Oklahoma FFA as well as prepping for the National Public Extemporaneous Speech Contest- here in 2015, he  is getting ready for a single interview on Wednesday at next week's 88th National Convention of the FFA.

He is among 16 students that have been named finalists for the 2015 top achievement awards. The American Star Awards represent the best of the best among thousands of American FFA Degree recipients. Recognized are FFA members who have developed outstanding agricultural skills and competencies through supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs; earned an American FFA Degree, the highest level of achievement the organization bestows upon a member; and met agricultural education, leadership and scholarship requirements.


Squires, of Kingfisher, hopes to hear his name called as the American Star in Agriscience next Thursday evening. He combined his passion for agriculture and science in developing skin cleansing products for swine and an electrolyte solution that improves stamina, endurance and prolonged muscle contractions in swine. The product ultimately allowed pigs to be able to exercise for longer periods of time. In being an athlete, he began to think about ways to help pigs with muscle cramps.


"I figured, why don't we treat our animals like athletes, because they're exercising just as much if not more than I am most of the time and basically applied that same idea or theory," Squires said.


A panel of judges will interview finalists and select one winner for each award at the 88th National FFA Convention & Expo, October 28 -31, 2015, in Louisville, Kentucky.


I sat down with Gatlin Squires to talk about his FFA experience. Click or tap here to listen to the full interview.

I will be joined by Squires on the "In the Field" segment this Saturday morning at 6:40 on KWTV News9 in Oklahoma City.

Our exclusive coverage of the 2015 National FFA Convention in Louisville is a service of ITC, Your Energy Superhighway. Learn more about ITC Great Plains, LLC by clicking here. We also appreciate the support of the Oklahoma FFA Association and the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association. Click here for more information about one of the top states in the US in the FFA- the Oklahoma FFA Association. Oklahoma FFA impacts the lives of 27,154 members in 359 chapters across the state.

The House Agriculture Committee held its second hearing Wednesday to examine foreign agricultural subsidies. Members and witnesses discussed the trade-distorting effects of the ever increasing subsidies utilized by our foreign competitors, emphasized the resulting injury to American producers, and reaffirmed the need for sound U.S. farm policy as a modest response.


"In 2014, U.S. agriculture exports reached a record-setting $152.5 billion, highlighting the importance of expanded trade and strong trade agreements to U.S. agriculture. However, as China, India, and other foreign countries continue to ignore their WTO commitments, America's farmers and ranchers suffer real and significant consequences. We cannot allow these actions by our foreign competitors to undermine our trade agenda and destroy American jobs, businesses, and our economy. By pushing back on bad actors and maintaining strong U.S. farm policy, we can give our farmers and ranchers a fighting chance in the global marketplace. I appreciate the perspective of our witnesses today who clearly outlined the harm that foreign subsidies are causing to U.S. agriculture," said Chairman Mike Conaway.


Written testimony provided by the witnesses from today's hearing is linked below. Click here for more information, including Chairman Conaway's opening statement, and the archived webcast.

Witness List:  Panel I

Dr. Dermot Hayes, Professor and Pioneer Chair in Agribusiness, Iowa State University, Ames, IA - Click here for testimony.


Dr. Gary Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Cotton Council, Cordova, TN - Click here for testimony.


Mr. Jack Roney, Director of Economics and Policy Analysis, American Sugar Alliance, Arlington, VA - Click here for testimony.


Mr. Jaime Castaneda, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Trade Policy, National Milk Producers Federation, Arlington, VA - Click here for testimony.

The Center for Consumer Freedom continued its Chubby Chipotle campaign against Chipotle's food misinformation with a new "Dihydrogen Monoxide" ad in Wednesday's New York Post. The ad calls out Chipotle for scaring the public and tricking people into thinking its burritos are healthier by advertising its meat as being "antibiotic-free," meaning from animals raised without antibiotics.


But Chipotle is trying to have its pork and eat it, too. This year the burrito chain began sourcing pork from Europe that comes from animals that may have been given antibiotics.


The instance is one more example of Chipotle deception and attempts to abuse consumers' lack of familiarity with food production. The use of antibiotics is strictly controlled by federal regulations. If a farmer uses antibiotics to prevent or treat sickness in an animal, regulations ensure that food from that animal is safe. The federal government mandates a withdrawal time for drugs so that animals can eliminate them from their bodies. The government conducts random testing of meat to ensure safety, and can stop meat from being sold that doesn't pass muster. As veterinarian Dr. Scott Hurd has put it in regards to meat: "It's all antibiotic free." Even Chipotle now admits this-on its website, after running misleading ads that scare consumers. 

Click here to read more or see this latest ad from The Center for Consumer Freedom.

The 2015 Tulsa State Fair is now history- and it was a record setting event for the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association and their longstanding tradition at the Fair- the operation of the OCA Beef Tent. 

Our own Leslie Smith sat down and talked with several of the cattle producers about the legacy of selling ribeye steak sandwiches at the Tulsa Fair- and you can read their story and listen to her audio overview of the Beef Tent by clicking here.

By the way- it was a great year for the OCA in selling those steak sandwiches wrapped in Vote Yes for 777 garb- they sold a total of 19,225 over the eleven days of the 2015 fair.

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The rains are starting to move past the central and western parts of the Oklahoma Panhandle this morning- this storm has left over three inches of rainfall in Texas County and over two inches of rain in Beaver County- and just starting to dump rain into the main body of the state.

Click here for the real time Mesonet rainfall map which will give you rainfall totals of the past two days on a rolling basis- so as you check back on it over the next several hours- you will be able to watch the rainfall as it moves slowly but surely eastward.