Farm Director KC Sheperd is talking with USDA State Director Kenneth Corn about upcoming USDA value-added producer grants.

Corn said three Oklahomans were awarded these nationally competitive grants this year. Those applicants included American Heritage Beef, Jackson Angus Beef, and Miller Pecan Company.

“They are going to be able to use this grant to help their business continue to grow and to prosper,” Corn said.

Corn said any ag producer with a product or commodity is welcome to apply for value-added grants.

“Once you get the commodity in a position where you can turn it into something else, which gets the term, ‘value-added,’ then at that point, we can potentially help you do marketing, packaging, and some working capital,” Corn said. “Anybody out there who is doing anything in the ag-related area as a producer that has a commodity, they want to turn into a product, they are eligible for this grant.”



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Commercial Cow-Calf Producers Can See Significant Benefit in Utilizing Genomic Technology

At the 2024 CattleCon held in Orlando, Florida, I had the chance to talk with Dr. Daniel Tracy of Zoetis about navigating the rebuilding of the cowherd.

Our coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Orlando is being powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

“The consideration we need to make is there is a lot depending on these heifers because they make up the history of the herd moving forward,” Tracy said. “They set the pace of the herd moving forward, so we want to select heifers more towards the beginning of the calving season because we know they stay in the herd longer. We know their offspring outperform reproductively, and on the steer end, production-wise, too.”

Tracy emphasized the value of taking advantage of new technologies, such as genomics, to identify replacements earlier. Zoetis offers genetic testing for commercial cattle- details are available here

“Now the data is to where we have abilities now to be able to identify, even on the commercial side of things, traits we would like to carry forward in those heifers,” Tracy said.

Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur Sends Letter to EPA Over Dicamba Court Ruling- So Does Zippy Duvall with AFBF

EPA Administrator Michael Regan is getting a lot of mail over the Federal Court Ruling this past week regarding Dicamba. Among the letters he is getting is one from Oklahoma Secretary of Ag Blayne Arthur. Here's the text of the letter sent by Arthur, who is also the President of the National Association of State Departments of Ag:

I am deeply concerned about the recent order in Central for Biological Diversity, et.al, v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et.al. issued by the U.S. District Court of Arizona that vacates the registration for over-the-top (OTT) applications of dicamba on dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton.

The vacate order includes dicamba products Xtendimax (Bayer), Engenia (BASF), and Tavium (Syngenta), all of which are important tools that help Oklahoma farmers protect their crops. This order could not have come at a worse time for cotton and soybean producers."

Secretary Arthur adds "I am asking EPA to issue an existing stock order that ensures dicamba products are available to producers through the upcoming growing season. This would provide much needed clarity to farmers who intend to use these products.

Click here to read the complete letter sent by Secertary Arthur.

Another letter has gone in from American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall also asking EPA to allow farmers to use existing stocks of dicamba for the upcoming planting season. Earlier this week, a federal court in Arizona vacated the registration of three dicamba products, which are critically important tools for farmers in fighting resistant weeds.

“Many farmers have already made planting decisions to use dicamba-tolerant crop systems and have planned to use dicamba products in the very near future,” wrote President Duvall. “These farmers invested substantial sums in the dicamba-resistant seeds in reliance on EPA’s prior approval of dicamba on these crops. Without these products, not only are these substantial investments at risk, but farmers do not know how they will protect their crops.”



AFBF is asking EPA to issue an existing stock order to ensure dicamba remains available to farmers throughout the growing season. Farmers should be allowed to continue the use of the product in accordance with current labels.



Oklahoma Farm Bureau are headed to OKC for the 2024 Leadership Conference Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Embassy Suites Downtown Medical Center in Oklahoma City.

The one-day event will give Farm Bureau members the opportunity to hone their leadership skills, hear about the latest Farm Bureau news, and learn about legislative and regulatory issues that affect agriculture from lawmakers, state officials and leaders from around the state. The evening will conclude with a legislative reception and awards dinner.

Featured speakers and guests include Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur, NonDoc Editor in Chief Tres Savage, AFBF Economist Danny Munch and more.

More details are available here.

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On Thursday- the joint meeting of the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association and Oklahoma Genetics is happening at the Northwest OKC Embassy Suites on Northwest Expressway.

Joint educational sessions include an OSU update from DASNR leadership- including Vice President and Dean Dr. Jayson Lusk as well as Dr. Scott Senseman and Dr. Wade Thomason.

After lunch- OSU Wheat breeder Dr. Brett Carver will lead a discussion about some of the cutting edge wheat breeding research he has been leading in novel traits for HRW wheat in the southern plains.

Dr. Kelly Chamberlin will offer a USDA-ARS update and Mike Schulte with the Oklahoma Wheat Commission will update those at the meeting on marketing and promotion efforts for Oklahoma wheat.

USDA Rallies Partners to Help with the Conservation Reserve Program-Transition Incentives Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing almost $1.8 million in cooperative agreements with six partner organizations for outreach and technical assistance to promote awareness and understanding of the Conservation Reserve Program-Transition Incentives Program among agricultural communities. This includes a partnership with Trustees of Indiana University that focuses on Oklahoma producers.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers the program as an important tool to help beginning, veteran and socially disadvantaged farmers access land, as well as keep agricultural lands in production. These partnerships build on other efforts by USDA to increase equity in program delivery and broaden the reach of its programs to underserved producers. 



“The Conservation Reserve Program-Transition Incentives Program creates opportunities to ensure expiring Conservation Reserve Program contracts are used to support the next generation of producers by incentivizing transfer of land access and ownership. Connecting Conservation Reserve Program contract holders to beginning, veteran and underserved farmers and ranchers, as well as making sure landowners understand the program, its benefits and potential for positive, generational impact, is an ongoing challenge,” said FSA Oklahoma State Director, Steve Kouplen.

National Institute for Animal Ag Board Adopts New Strategic Plan

To ensure the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) continues to meet its mission, the board of directors adopted the NIAA 2024 – 2026 Strategic Plan during their January 24, 2024, meeting. Adoption of the strategic plan culminates the work of NIAA elected leaders, members, partners, and staff who began work on the latest strategic plan in November 2023.

“Our organization has seen considerable growth because of the NIAA 2020 – 2023 Strategic Plan. Fellow board members and I are looking forward to implementing these new strategic pillars and build on the achievements from the past four years,” shared NIAA Chair, Dr. Eric Moore with Norbrook, Inc.

The 2024 – 2026 plan celebrates past successes while continuing key programs and activities of NIAA. Additionally, a few new focus areas that align with the NIAA mission have been added. All components tie to the NIAA mission – to convene animal agriculture experts and allies in collaborative settings to explore, discuss, learn, and develop knowledge that fosters interdisciplinary cooperation for the improvement and continuous progress of animal agriculture.

From the National Sorghum Producers Newsletter- Is the Window to Debate a 2024 Farm Bill Closing??

From this past Friday's National Sorghum Producers E-Newsletter:

Both the House and Senate had bumpy weeks as the chambers grappled with the ongoing reality of slim majorities trying to tackle thorny issues. In the Senate, lawmakers considered and rejected a package that tied southern border security changes with supplemental appropriations for Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine. This caused the Senate to pivot back to ‘Plan A’, with the chamber beginning the process of considering the supplemental appropriations package sans changes to border and immigration policy. Senators from both parties are pushing for the consideration of divisive amendments to the package. At least 60 senators will have to stand in lockstep against inclusion of any poison pill amendment that would threaten the measure’s ultimate passage.

Meanwhile, the House this week failed to advance two measures, one to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and another standalone bill for Israel. While the legislation to provide over $17 billion in support for Israel reached 250 votes, it did not clear the two-thirds majority threshold needed for passage under suspension of the rules. Although the House is expected to recover its fumble on the Mayorkas vote next week when House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) returns from cancer treatment, these ongoing hiccups have sparked concerns about the future of the FY 2024 Appropriations process.

While topline funding levels have been allocated to each of the twelve appropriations bills, many key leaders have expressed concern that other issues, including controversial policy riders, will present challenges to completing the measures in the coming weeks. March 1 is the deadline to complete four appropriations bills, including Agriculture, and March 8 is the deadline to complete the other eight. March 7 is also the President’s State of the Union Address, and the President’s FY 2025 Budget is expected to be released on March 11.

All of this activity plus an early Easter recess – to say nothing of ongoing disputes within the Agriculture Committees – on how to pay for investments in the farm safety net means broader Congressional focus on the Farm Bill is likely delayed.