Producers, Lawmakers Should Prepare for Worst-Case Drought Scenario Now, Clay Pope Says 

With over 90 percent of Oklahoma entering a third year of extreme to exceptional drought, a lot of people are beginning to wonder if the current drought might indeed be as severe as that experienced in the 1950s or even the 1930s.

Clay Pope, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts spoke with me and said there are a number of things federal and state lawmakers as well as producers can do beginning now to blunt the damage should the worst come to pass.

"The first thing I would say we need to do is pass the farm bill. The tools that we need to make sure that we're helping agriculture producers, that landowners have the resources they need to protect the soil and water and air for all of us is in the conservation title of that farm bill. So we need to pass the farm bill."

He said state lawmakers should also be considering a drought package-one that goes beyond basic soil conservation measures.

"One of the things I think that is desperately needed is making sure we have ways to provide water for livestock. We've seen what this has done so far to our cattle herd in Oklahoma and that's only going to get worse."

Pope said individual producers should also be planning for a worst-case scenario and get more familiar with their crop insurance policies and alternate crops and cropping methods.

Click here to read more of this story and to catch the full audio interview with Clay Pope.

Dave Sparks Says Malnutrition Could Claim Many Cows This Winter Without Proper Management 

With many cow-calf operations hanging by a thread this winter due to high feed and forage costs and dwindling water supplies, Dave Sparks, DVM, Oklahoma State University Extension Area Veterinarian, offers some advice for making the best of it in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter.

"I hear it every day.   All across Oklahoma ranchers are looking at short winter pastures, scarce and expensive hay, and high supplement costs. The temptation is to hope that the cows can make it through the winter and then everything will be better next year. Unfortunately for some producers who fail to meet the nutritional demands, there will not be a next year." 

Spark says many producers are turning to baled crop residues to keep their herds fed, but the danger of nitrate toxicity is very real.

"Nitrates can cause death of the cattle consuming the hay, but they cause abortion in cows at an even lower level.   If the nitrate levels are high, it can't be used for livestock unless it is ground thoroughly and diluted with other feeds."

He says some producers might be tempted to gamble, but might just get through the winter with thin cows unable to breed back.

"That winter feed bill looks awfully expensive if there is no paycheck next year to cover it."

Click here to read more from Dave Sparks and his strategies for getting cows safely through the winter under drought conditions. 

House Ag Committee Chair Frank Lucas and Friends make Progress on Commodity Title of 2012 Farm Bill Proposal

Politico is reporting this morning that a meeting between the four Ag Committee leaders from the House and Senate (which includes Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas) are closer than ever to being of one mind on Title One of their otherwise similar Farm Bill Proposals.  

Chairlady of the Senate Ag Committee, Debbie Stabenow, called the Tuesday meeting of the four leaders a very positive session- Politico's David Rogers says the key apparently is a shift by Kansas Senator Pat Roberts- "Time is certainly running short, if there is any hope of salvaging a bill before this Congress ends. But in a major effort to get a compromise, Roberts said last week that he is prepared to drop his opposition to target price supports favored by many Southern producers. And it's expected the final commodity title will include these, together with a new "shallow loss" revenue insurance option favored by the Senate and many Midwest corn and soybean farmers.

"The outdated and costly system of direct cash payments to producers would be ended. Together with cuts from food stamps, the end result is the Senate and House farm bills promise net savings of between $24 billion and $35 billion over 10 years.

And if a deal can be reached, one option would be to wrap the final farm bill compromise into whatever deficit-reduction plan emerges from White House-Republican budget talks."

Click here to read the complete article as found on the Politico website. 

USMEF's Korean Director Says U.S. Exporters' Tariff Advantages Grow Due to FTA

With exports of both U.S. beef and U.S. pork to South Korea being lower than in 2011, some observers may question whether the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement - which took effect in March - is living up to its promises.

But as Jihae Yang, Korea director for the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), explains, although the meat trade with Korea is actually down this year due to unusual circumstances, the United States is experiencing a significant market advantage over Australia.

"The phase-out period for tariff reduction is 15 years for beef. So, as of January 1st of next year, the tariff for beef will be 34.7 percent, but there is still 5.3 percent tariff advantage from 40 percent for Australian beef. So I think that will expedite the smooth flow of chilled beef and also, of course, the FTA will moderate the increasing price of the U.S. beef imported into the Korean market."

Yang says the difference in price between U.S. beef and Australian beef is because the United States has a free-trade agreement in place with the Koreans, Australia does not.

Jihae Yang joins us for the latest Beef Buzz. Click here for more.

 

High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Type 2 Diabetes--Corn Growers Question Link

A study released last week by researchers from the University of Southern California and Oxford University claiming to find a unique link between high fructose corn syrup and Type 2 diabetes is flawed both in its design and conclusions, according to the Corn Refiners Association.

Authored by Dr. Michael I. Goran, the report has met with severe criticism for failing to account for the widespread agreement among scientists and medical doctors that HFCS and sucrose (table sugar) are nutritionally equivalent.

"This latest article by Dr. Goran is severely flawed, misleading and risks setting off unfounded alarm about a safe and proven food and beverage ingredient," said CRA President Audrae Erickson. "There is broad scientific consensus that table sugar and high fructose corn syrup are nutritionally and metabolically equivalent. It is, therefore, highly dubious of Dr. Goran--without any human studies demonstrating a meaningful nutritional difference between high fructose corn syrup and sugar--to point an accusatory finger at one and not the other."

You'll find more of this story on our webpage, and a link to the list of flaws found in the report's design and conclusions.

Winners Crowned in 2012 AFR State Speech Contest

American Farmers & Ranchers (AFR) concluded its 68th annual AFR Fall Speech Contest series with the state competition in Stillwater, Dec. 1. More than 150 finalists from across Oklahoma showcased their public speaking skills for a chance to win at the state level.

This year, more than 500 youth statewide competed to advance to the state level. At each district contest, students grades 4-12 competed in five categories-American Farmers & Ranchers, Natural Resources, Student Organizations, Agribusiness and Agriscience. Competitors in this year's contest wrote speeches based on the theme "I Believe in Oklahoma Agriculture."   

"AFR and its sister organization, Oklahoma Farmers Union, provide Oklahoma youth many opportunities to develop into the leaders of tomorrow," said AFR President Terry Detrick. "It is an honor to support and encourage our state's young people as they gain confidence and skill through such activities as the AFR speech contest." 

We have the complete list of the winners on our webpage.  Click here to go there.

In Brief- Our Condolences to the John Ward Family, Tulsa Farm Show Reminder and Peterson Brothers ARE BACK! 

Big John Ward lost his battle with cancer this week at the age of 64- and many within the agricultural community are mourning his loss.  Since 2002, John has been a Vice President for the Poultry Federation and the official in charge of their Oklahoma operations. He would often be seen at the state capitol- and in the meetings of the so called Ag mafia that were hosted by first Terry Peach and more recently Jim Reese.  

Our friend Scott Dewald said of John Ward- "John was a great man who made everyone feel comfortable and who genuinely enjoyed working on agricultural issues.  He was humble, smart and articulate."  

It's not just the farm community that mourns- the entire OSU family has lost one of their All American sports icons- click here to read about that part of his life on the wrestling mat and on the gridiron. 

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The Tulsa Farm Show kicks off Thursday morning- and tomorrow morning in our daily email- we will have a special announcement about a giveaway that we are planning for this year's event.  Be watching for that- it will definitely will be worth your time to stop by our booth just inside the door that is right behind the big Tulsa Driller.  In the meantime- here's a link to see a listing of all of the giveaways and special events that will be a part of the 2012 Tulsa Farm Show!

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FINALLY- we have on our website the BRAND NEW video that went on line last night from the Peterson Brothers of Kansas- It's a HOOT- and you will enjoy Farmer Style!  This latest video is a follow up to their release of this past summer- I'm Farming and I Grow It- which has achieved over 7.7 million views on YouTube. 

Click here to take a look!