Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03), Senior Republican on the House Agricultural Committee about the current state of the Farm Bill, projected impacts of the Chevron Deference decision, and the how politics affect each of these things. Hays and Congressman Lucas spoke on the last day of the House being in session ahead of the August Work period, with the House now out of Washington until after Labor Day.

Congressman Lucas won the primary in June and will have no opponent in November, which means he has already won reelection for another two years as the third district Congressman.

I asked whether Lucas was confident that he would remain in the House Agriculture Committee should the Farm Bill be delayed until 2025. Congressman Lucas responded, “Yes. I’m not leaving the Ag Committee again. The minority leader at the time who compelled me to step off of one of my three committees is not here anymore. I will be on the Ag Committee until this Farm Bill process is done no matter what.”

Farm Bill Update:

While the Farm Bill passed successfully through the House Ag Committee back in May, it seems to be hanging in neutral ever since. As to the chances of its advancement, Congressman Lucas admitted that, as an Oklahoma wheat farmer, he is an eternal optimist.

He said, “I’ve watched Chairman [Glenn] Thompson for some days individually work the 400 plus members of the United States House on the Bill on the floor.”

Congressman Lucas explained that the hindrance isn’t only the disagreements between Democrats and Republicans about where the SNAP program should go, but floor time has been consumed by the Appropriations process. He also said that it would help if the Senate Ag Committee would mark up a bill and then work to get it through the full Senate.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau works to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization led by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, OKFB takes grassroots values and advocates for agriculture at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come. Farm Bureau hosts leadership events, supports our state’s agricultural youth and connects consumers with agriculture in order to build a brighter future for our state. Become an OKFB member today online at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.

Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays caught up with NCBA Associate Director for Governmental Affairs, Sigrid Johannes, about the U.S. Department of Defense’s recent decision not to pursue feeding lab-grown protein to our military.

NCBA has worked with agriculture allies in Congress to secure the introduction of several amendments to the Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Appropriations bill, National Defense Authorization Act, and Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture Appropriations bill, aimed at preventing lab-grown protein from ever showing up on the plates of American servicemembers. In late June, their success was confirmed.

How did this issue ever come to their awareness? “It is a good lesson to always check the grant activity that’s going on,” Johannes said. “The Federal Government funds a huge number of projects in all kinds of sectors and this is one we found by looking at the grant sectors that went out in May.”

A company named BioMADE had released a proposal asking for projects related to developing cell-cultured protein for human consumption, among other things. After discovering the proposal, NCBA took action to block the funding stream for it.

Failure to Modernize Farm Bill Has Measurable Consequences

The very real and damaging consequences of Congress’ failure to pass a modernized farm bill are brought to light in a new analysis by American Farm Bureau Federation economists. It provides a clearer picture of major impacts of relying on the antiquated 2018 farm bill, including the likely loss of more family farms in the U.S., all of which impact the country’s ability to produce the food, fuel and fiber America’s families rely on.

The Market Intel highlights five specific impacts of the failure to pass a new farm bill: a weakened farmer safety net, less future funding for sustainability efforts, a gap in coverage for dairy farmers, further erosion of U.S. leadership in public agricultural research as China takes the lead, and reduced overall economic and national security.

AFBF President Zippy Duvall said, “If Congress fails to pass a new and improved farm bill, they will be responsible for leaving farmers in a lurch at a time when we’ve lost more than 140,000 family farms in just five years. When the current farm bill was drafted in 2018, the agricultural landscape was drastically different. Policy that pre-dates a global pandemic, historic inflation, skyrocketing supply costs and geopolitical uncertainty just won’t cut it today or next year. Congress must not put farmers, ranchers and America’s families on the back burner. The House Agriculture Committee has done its part so far. It’s now time for the Senate Agriculture Committee to move this process forward.” 

Hot Temps to Cover Midsection of the US- Including Oklahoma This Week

The map above is courtesy of Makens Weather- and it shows what lies ahead- even as excessive heat is actually arriving today in much of Oklahoma.

Predicted highs across the state this afternoon- and really for the entire week- shows lots of triple digit readings in western and central Oklahoma- with eastern parts of the state in the upper 90s and flirting with 100s by the latter part of the week.

Nationally- the Climate Prediction Center is calling for a widespread heat wave from now into mid August in the much of the lower 48 states.

Elevated fire risks and flash drought are a part of the equation in the days ahead- so the traditionally hottest time of the year will be fully what it is advertised and more in 2024.

Farm Director, KC Sheperd, spoke with Entomology and Plant Pathology Assistant Extension Specialist at Oklahoma State University, Maxwell Smith, about the current condition of cotton across the state.

He said that areas in Eastern and Northeastern Oklahoma that have good irrigation systems look good. In the Southwestern and Western part of the state, where rainfall wasn’t as prevalent early on and irrigation is a little more limited, the crop is also limited.

“Even so, I think we are still sitting on a crop that we can go make something,” Smith said. “It’s a change from last year where at this point, the rain had shut off and we were just watching the crop burn up, so I’m a little more optimistic about how it all looks this year as compared to last year. Especially with rain in the forecast for the next ten days.”

At this time of the year, producers are applying fertilizer and utilizing irrigation. Smith said that some of the later planted cotton is still having problems with flea hoppers, so Smith is monitoring that situation to reduce squaring losses.

American Farmers & Ranchers (AFR) Cooperative hosted National Farmers Union President Rob Larew on a tour of Southeast Oklahoma this past week. The tour showcased the area’s agriculture and provided an opportunity for AFR leadership and Larew to discuss regional industry issues.

The group kicked off the day with a tour of Three Rivers Meat Company, a new locally-owned meat processing facility near Smithville. The facility is owned jointly by the Choctaw Nation and four individual investors. AFR Member Jason Herring is a co-owner; co-owner Brandon White led the tour. The 24,000-square-foot building houses a USDA-inspected processing facility, a value-added processing space, a small retail store and a restaurant. It currently employs 30 local workers. The facility can process cattle, hogs, lambs and goats, with a maximum capacity of 75 head of cattle per week.

While at Three Rivers, the group discussed the retail expansion of the Three Rivers Meat Company brand, the challenges faced by growing businesses in rural areas, and the rural food desert the company is working to dispel.

Justin Talley, head of the Oklahoma State University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, was recognized as the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in livestock entomology at the Livestock Insect Workers Conference in June.

Talley was selected by previous award recipients and industry professionals in the veterinary pharmaceutical field. Among previous award winners are those who developed foundational knowledge for important livestock pests, such as contributors to the screwworm eradication program and developers of Ivermectin.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor within Talley’s field. While OSU has a rich history in veterinary entomology, he is the university’s first recipient of this award.

Talley said he would like to acknowledge the role of the Ferguson College of Agriculture, especially the field research service unit, and the animal and food science department, as well as the natural resource, ecology and management department for providing him opportunities to work throughout Oklahoma; his wealth of knowledge and ability to form long-lasting collaborations have helped him uphold the Extension, ag research and teaching missions of OSU Agriculture.

Growth Energy to USDA: Give Farmers Flexibility on Climate Smart Ag

Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, responded this week to a request for information (RFI) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about how the agency should account for the impact climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices have on lowering the carbon intensity of bioethanol production. 

“While our biorefineries are focused on a range of innovative technologies to reduce carbon intensity at the plant, agriculture represents more than 50 percent of bioethanol’s carbon intensity (CI) score,” said Growth Energy Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Chris Bliley in the comment. “It is therefore essential to recognize the full range of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) innovation taking place on the farm – including farm applications such as cover crops, reduced tillage, manure application, crop nutrient management, and other ag innovations – that can reduce the lifecycle CI score of bioethanol.”

As it has in previous comments to other agencies, Growth Energy emphasized the importance of giving farmers flexibility that allows them to get credit for each and every CSA practice they deploy. Specifically, Growth Energy reiterated how the U.S. Treasury’s guidance on the 40B sustainable aviation fuel tax credit was too restrictive, and would steer farmers away from climate smart ag by requiring them to use three specific practices before they could qualify for the credit at all. 

“Using this restrictive all-or-nothing approach to recognizing the value of CSA practices will limit innovation and make farmers, blenders, and producers less – not more – likely to invest in emissions-reducing technologies,” Bliley said. “Numerous factors including local weather patterns, soil type and health, growing seasons, and equipment costs determine which CSA practices are feasible for a particular farm—and farmers should have the flexibility to implement the CSA practices that are most effective for their unique circumstances and allow producers the ability to maximize carbon reductions based on their specific farm.”  

Read Growth Energy’s full comment here. Learn more about the importance of carbon reduction tax incentives to the future of biofuels here.