The Heavy Lifting Almost Done- We Talk to Chairman Lucas with Two Votes and One Signature to Go  

We have a Farm Bill Conference Report- which means, we are two votes and one signature from having a Farm Law of 2014. The first of those votes will likely happen Wednesday morning on the floor of the US House- debate will begin around 8:15 AM central time (can be seen on CSpan) with one hour of debate followed by an up or down vote.   

The Agricultural Act of 2014 contains major reforms including eliminating the direct payment program, streamlining and consolidating numerous programs to improve their effectiveness and reduce duplication, and cutting down on program misuse. The bill also strengthens our nation's commitment to support farmers and ranchers affected by natural disasters or significant economic losses, and renews a national commitment to protect land, water, and other natural resources.

In a statement released Monday night by the House Ag Committee, the Chairman of the Farm Bill Conference and the Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas says "I am proud of our efforts to finish a farm bill conference report with significant savings and reforms. We are putting in place sound policy that is good for farmers, ranchers, consumers, and those who have hit difficult times. I appreciate the work of everyone who helped in this process. We never lost sight of the goal, we never wavered in our commitment to enacting a five-year, comprehensive farm bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting its passage."

Yesterday, I talked with Chairman Lucas about the process, about the difficulty of getting a dairy deal done, the fact that Lucas is satisfied with the Commodity Title, believes that the Nutrition title takes the country in the right direction on making sure those in need get food and those who are not do not, blames the Democrats in the Senate for no action on COOL and GIPSA and regrets the Commodity Title was not made Permanent Law- replacing the 1939-1949 acts.

Chairman Lucas also discussed the prospects for passage- and responded to a question about the fact that he will face a primary challenge this coming June for another two years in Congress.

You can catch our full conversation by clicking here.

 

The 2014 Farm Bill was reported out of conference committee on Monday and the reactions of various agricultural and other groups ranged from mostly favorable to strongly disappointed.  Those groups praising the bill urged Congress to act swiftly to pass it while at least one opposing group took off the gloves and vowed to work for its defeat.

The National Association of Wheat Growers gave the conference report an enthusiastic thumbs up as did the National Cotton Council, the National Sorghum Producers and Growth Energy. 

The Dairy Farmers of America and the National Council of Farmers Cooperatives were more muted in their support.

Aside from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's negative reaction mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, the Environmental Working Group also gave the conference report a failing grade.

Click on the organizations' names to read their responses.   

Lucas, Stabenow Proud of Farm Bill That is 'Almost Miraculous,' Confident in its Final Passage

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow yesterday addressed members of the media about the 2014 Farm Bill reported out of the Conference Committee.

Lucas emphasized the magnitude of the nearly three-year project.

"If you look at the environment we were dealing in-the budget situation, the ongoing deficits-if you look at the political rancor that we have had to deal with in both houses and across the country, not only is this a good farm bill, this is almost a miraculous farm bill... but that's what farmers and ranchers and consumers needed. That's what we're about as elected officials to the United States House and the United States Senate-do our work, do it in a way that surprises people positively, and almost create some miracles."

In her remarks, Stabenow recapped the process all the way from its first discussions among both the House and Senate ag committees and traced it up through the final Conference Committee report. She said she was proud that the final bill embodied self-imposed cuts to the agriculture budget and, if followed by other agencies, would result in a large reduction in the federal deficit.


"We did what I think taxpayers and the citizens would like us to do in every part of the budget. We looked at everything... I think between the commodity title and disaster assistance and crop insurance we have addressed the needs of every part of America's agriculture, to be honest with you. And that's something we started out saying we wanted to work for every region and I believe we have done that."

You can listen to their full remarks and read more of this story by clicking here. 

NCBA Lobbyist Colin Woodall on COOL- Debbie Stabenow Completely Failed Us

The Chairlady of the Senate Ag Committee, Debbie Stabenow, is being singled out by the lead lobbyist of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association as not keeping her word in fixing mandatory Country of Origin Labeling rule that livestock and meat groups are up in arms about. Colin Woodall of the NCBA's Washington office says of the Farm Bill Conference Report that did not address a change in COOL and actually backtracked on GIPSA- "we sure found out that we don't have as many friends on Capitol Hill as we expected, especially in Debbie Stabenow, the chairlady of the Senate Ag Committee."

Woodall says that NCBA and the other groups that signed a letter to the Farm Bill Conference Leadership and members have vowed to work as hard as they can to defeat the Conference Report in either the House or Senate. Woodall feels they have a chance of doing so in both bodies, but that prevailing in the Senate would send a great signal to Senator Stabenow- "I think our preference would be to take this farm bill down in the Senate, just to show the lack of leadership by Senator Stabenow on this subject."  

I spoke at length with Woodall and you can listen to our conversation by clicking here.

Meanwhile, at her Tuesday morning teleconference, Stabenow defended herself saying that the Senate and House conferees supported the main livestock groups in the form of permanent disaster assistance "which was the number one priority for all of these groups up until a couple of weeks ago... All of us worked together with what we knew we could achieve and they came in wanting to repeal COOL. There was no way-the chairman and I assessed this-the votes were not there in either body to do that. And, so, we moved forward to achieve what we could together and I'm very disappointed that they are not choosing to understand what a huge win this bill is for livestock."

Stabenow says the language in the bill is the language that came from the House offered by Randy Neugebauer of Texas calling for a study on the new COOL rule by USDA (the agency that wrote the rule) in 180 days from the enactment of the farm bill. 

Frank Lucas also defended the decision to omit a repeal of COOL from the farm bill.  Click here to listen to their response to my question on the COOL issue from Senator Stabenow and Representative Lucas.  

Town Hall Meetings Planned to Demonstrate Demand for More CNG

Secretary of Energy & Environment Michael Teague and representatives from the Governor's Office will join local legislators, city officials, the State Chamber of Oklahoma and local Chambers of Commerce for a series of upcoming town hall meetings to discuss ways to accelerate the deployment of compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling infrastructure throughout the state. The meetings will take place on Thursday, January 30th in Antlers; Friday, February 7th in Durant; and Friday, February 14th in Alva.

The State of Oklahoma currently has more than 550 CNG vehicles in state fleets, and nearly 400 of which were purchased in the last year at reduced prices as a result of Governor Fallin's 23-state effort to encourage the production of more affordable and functional CNG vehicles. As state and local governments work toward transitioning fleets to CNG, additional CNG refueling stations are needed. The town hall meetings will be focused on building support among state and local leaders, public and private fleets and the general public to demonstrate to private fuel retailers the demand for CNG in communities currently without access to CNG infrastructure.

You'll find a full listing of the dates, times and locations of the town hall meetings on our website by clicking here. 

Glenn Selk Explains What to Expect from 'Normal' Calving

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter:

Late January is the time that requires last minute preparations for the upcoming spring calving season. Before the first heifer begins the calving process this spring, it would be wise to review what takes place in a normal delivery.   Understanding "normal" will help us better recognize problems when they occur and therefore provide assistance when necessary. The process of "calving" (or formally known as parturition) is generally divided into three stages.

Stage 1 -- The first stage of parturition is dilation of the cervix.   

Stage 2 -- The second stage of parturition is defined as the delivery of the newborn.   

Stage 3 -- The third stage of parturition is the shedding of the placenta or fetal membranes.   

Click here for a detailed discussion on calving with Glenn Selk.

This n That- Big Iron, Little Dixie Horse Thief and Your Basic Farm Bill One Pager- or ALL 959 Pages

On this Wednesday, we call your attention to the weekly closing of bids on the Big Iron website- a total of 331 items are being sold this week.  Click here for the Big Iron website where you can see pictures and lots of details about each of those items.

We also remind you that it's easy to use Big Iron as a buyer or seller- you can call District Manager Mike Wolfe and he can help you with the process- give Mike a call at 580-320-2718.

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A former Southern Arkansas University student has been sentenced to more than three years in prison in Oklahoma for stealing horses from the school stables.

Jaci Jackson was also sentenced Monday to seven years of probation for her role in the 2011 theft.

Jackson faced charges in both states. She set to be sentenced in Arkansas on February 6, 2014.

Prosecutors say the horses were taken from the school in Magnolia, Arkansas, and were discovered in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. One of the horses had been killed. 

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In case you want a convenient one page summary of the Agricultural Act of 2014- the friendly folks of the House Ag Committee have got just what you are looking for.  Click here for their one pager on the measure that apparently will be our farm law for the next five years.

Of course, if you want the full word by word version, click here for all 959 pages of the measure.  That does not count the Manager's Statement, which is kind of like the play by play color commentary of what is going on within those 959 pages- the Manager's Statement is another 186 pages.