State Attorney General Addresses OFB Concerning Water Issues, Possible HSUS Misrepresentation 

Oklahoma Farm Bureau finished up its leadership conference in Oklahoma City on Tuesday afternoon as members headed to the State Capitol to talk with their lawmakers.  

On Monday evening,  Attorney General Scott Pruitt addressed the OFB members at their opening night reception. One of the issues Pruitt addressed was his desire to see more accountability for charitable groups such as HSUS for the donations made to their groups.

"There's a concern with charitable organizations-and this is not just with the Humane Society-but all charitable organizations when they raise money they make representations to those that they receive money from. I think there are many across the state of Oklahoma when they give to the Humane Society they think it's going to local concerns. They believe they are actually benefitting an organization that helps make sure animals are taken care of locally and at the state level. And there's a concern that that is not happening. As those dollars go nationally, there is a concern, perhaps, that they're not coming back.

"And, so, we're going to inquire about that to ask the national Humane Society to give us information about that to see what representations have been made and whether those representations are, in fact, true."

Pruitt also talked about water issues which, once again, are moving to the forefront as Texas seeks to buy water from southeastern Oklahoma.

"I think the water issue, for the future, is one of the most important-if not the most important issue-that we're going to deal with as a state. We have an abundance of it in certain areas of the state and we have a tremendous lack of it in other parts of the state. And the discussion with respect to infrastructure at the state level, is it, in fact, incurring   Our objective in the AG's office is to make sure we deal with these legal challenges to get them out of the way, to remove barriers so that policymakers can, in fact, engage in discussion about how to do water policy differently for the future to make sure that we don't have drought conditions on one side of the state and an abundance of water in other parts of the state."

Click here for more of this story.  

National FFA Advisor's Oklahoma Visit Highlights National FFA Week 

Dr. Steve Brown, Education Program Specialist, Office of Vocational & Adult Education, U.S. Dept. of Education, is spending four days in Oklahoma as a part of National FFA Week, February 15-22. Brown also serves as National FFA Advisor and Chairman of the National FFA Board of Directors. He sat down to visit with me. 

"I believe it gives the chapters and the members an opportunity to showcase what they do educationally as well as service and leadershipwise in their communities. And, also, it's a way to say 'thank you' to their community and school at the local level for what they do to support the programs and activities of the organization."

As the National FFA Advisor, Brown says he not only provides leadership to the organization and its staff, but also to its board of directors as its chairman. He emphasized that it is the board that guides the organization by looking to the future and making provisions for existing and new programs. An example of that forward-looking philosophy is the change in emphasis of the organization as the Future Farmers of America to simply FFA.

Click here to read more of this story or to listen to my interview with Dr. Brown.  He will also join me on this weekend's "In the Field" segment Saturday about 6:40 a.m. on News 9.

Quality of 2013 U.S. Soybean Crop Higher than Average

The average protein and oil levels in the 2013 U.S. soybean crop ticked upward, according to the soy-checkoff-funded Crop Quality Survey. Average oil levels jumped to 19 percent, a 0.5- point increase from 2012 levels, while average protein levels grew by 0.4 percentage points to 34.7 percent.

U.S. soy's biggest customer, the global animal agriculture sector, takes note of the protein content in the soybeans it uses, says Laura Foell, chair of the United Soybean Board's Meal Action Team.

"Our customers buy our soybeans for the components: protein and oil," says Foell, who farms in Schaller, Iowa. "The animal agriculture sector uses protein to feed animals, and the food industry uses the majority of soybean oil for human consumption and the rest for industrial-like biodiesel. The more protein and oil we have in our soybeans, the more product we have for our end-customers. And more demand could lead to a better price for our crop."

You can read the rest of this story on our website by clicking here.

 

CROPLAN Quadruples Answer Plot Locations Across Southern Plains

It won't be too much longer before the winter canola crop breaks dormancy and Mark Torno with CROPLAN by Winfield tells me farmers will have additional opportunites to see for themselves how his company's varieties are faring this year. CROPLAN has quadrupled the number of its answer plots across the Southern Plains showcasing its winter canola offerings.

"It's pretty exciting down here. We've taken the approach that we see this as a long-term market. We've been committed for many, many years. We've been in the market for seven to ten years and now we've looked at it and we're going to make a big investment. And we've moved up from just a couple of locations of answer plots to eight locations."

Torno says the answer plots give producers a chance to see how CROPLAN varieties perform in their local areas under the same conditions they will experience in their own fields.

You can catch my interview with Mark Torno by clicking here.

 

AFR/OFU State Committee Conducts Policy Focus Group in Preparation for Annual State Convention

The American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union (AFR/OFU) 2014 Policy Committee has recently convened in Oklahoma City to finalize proposed changes and additions to the organization's policy. The select group has been discussing these proposed changes since early December.

Committee members play an integral role in policy development. Policies formed, altered or approved during the committee meetings and then adopted by member delegates during the 2014 AFR/OFU State Convention Feb. 21-22 will govern AFR/OFU legislative efforts through the next year.

While private property rights and taxation are always on the table, additional topics of this year's discussion included water policy, conservation, drought relief for Oklahoma agricultural producers and the need to keep FFA activities in our state's public schools.

"The AFR/OFU policy process is a fantastic example of grassroots legislative efforts in action," said AFR/OFU President Terry Detrick. "Through the members-only policy committee and resolutions from our local and county organizations, AFR members can have their voices heard at the state and national level." 

Click here to read the rest of this story.

 

RFA-Funded Study Shows Impact of Ethanol Industry on Jobs & Energy Independence

The Renewable Fuels Association unveiled a new study today by ABF Economics entitled "Contribution of the Ethanol Industry to the Economy of the United States" at the National Ethanol Conference in Orlando, Fla. The study examines the nationwide impact of the ethanol industry in 2013 on job creation, the economy, household income, and foreign oil displacement.

Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, commented on the new study, noting, "Last year we fought, and we continue to fight, against naysayers determined to end the Renewable Fuel Standard. These numbers should silence the opposition as the ethanol industry is clearly helping individuals, families, communities, and our country by creating jobs, displacing oil imports, and contributing to America's economy."

The new ABF Economics study found that the 13.3 billion gallons of ethanol produced created 86,503 jobs and sustained an additional 300,277 indirect and induced jobs.

You'll find the rest of this story on our website by clicking here.

This N That- Big Iron, Flat Out Windy and Texoma Cattlemen's Conference Reminder

There are 689 items up for sale on the Big Iron website this morning.  The first sales will be closing at 10 a.m.  Click here to go to the Big Iron website for full descriptions and multiple pictures of each item up for bid in their no-reserve auction.

Alan Crone over at the News on 6 in Tulsa tweeted this morning a very good description of weather conditions the next few days- especially for what is being forecast for Thursday- FlatOutWindy!

Jed Castles with News9 has also weighed in and offers a seven day forecast for us this morning- click here for that graphic and also with that graphic, we have a warning from State Forester George Geissler regarding the drying out of land all over Oklahoma this week- and a reminder to stay alert for wild fire warnings- including a Red Flag alert that will possibly be out for tomorrow.

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I wanted to give you a very quick reminder of next Thursday's Texoma Cattlemen's Conference in Ardmore- the folks at the Noble Foundation have really assembled a great one day program- and I hope you will saddle up and ride over to the Ardmore Convention Center for this February 27th event.  Details are available by clicking here.