Oklahoma Farm Bureau Supports Feral Swine Bill at State Capitol

In a policy update posted on the Oklahoma Farm Bureau website this past Friday ,  John Collison, OKFB's Vice President of Public Policy and Communications tackles the issue of Wild Hogs.


Collison writes that  "For years, we have been trying to address this issue of how we manage the wild hog population. Many of you have seen the damage this ever-roving pack of wild pigs has caused. They have torn up your crops and uprooted your land, and some even claim they are the cause of the lost quail population in Oklahoma. Whatever the case, we at Oklahoma Farm Bureau want this problem taken care of. These domesticated animals have run free and it is time to put Pandora back into the box.


"If you have been to the coffee shop in the last few days, you have no doubt heard the commotion about a bill at the Capitol trying to solve some of the problems we face. One such bill is House Bill 1104 that is trying to find a solution to getting rid of feral pigs. This bill has gone through many changes and will continue to evolve until passed and signed by the governor."  

Collison adds "We are working on House Bill 1104 to make sure that if these pigs are going to be rounded up and transported that all of them are first tested to ensure they are free of any diseases. It has been the Wild West in terms of how we treat these destructive animals, and it is time we stop."  

To read more from John Collison, click here.

Collison also opined on this subject in this YouTube update hosted by Farm Bureau's Dustin Mielke-  

Talking wild hogs with John Collison - Lincoln to Local

Mike Schulte Addresses State of 2015 Wheat Crop

No doubt about it- the Oklahoma Hard Red Winter Wheat belt has had more rain and snow from November 1 through early March than was seen in 2014.  Oklahoma Wheat Commission Executive Director Mike Schulte said this moisture has the state's wheat crop better off than a year ago. In traveling the state, he said the crop looks like it is growing and conditions are favorable right now. This latest snow has helped the crop in the central and southern parts of the state. Schulte said the moisture was limited into the northwest region and in parts of the panhandle of the state.


Much of the state's wheat crop has reached first hollow stem, a critical time to move cattle off wheat pasture, if farmers plan to harvest the crop for grain. Schulte said the First Hollow Stem advisor tool available through the Oklahoma Mesonet is a valuable assessment tool. If farmers don't remove their cattle in a timely matter, he said yields are curbed by one percent to as much as five percent daily. In leaving cattle on wheat pasture for an extra week that could lower grain yields by 35 percent. 

We also talked with Mike about last week's release of the Wheat Variety results for Oklahoma- and he told us the Wheat Commission is delighted that wheat growers in Oklahoma- and surrounding states- are making heavy use of wheat varieties developed by Oklahoma State University.

We talked with Schulte on Friday as we recorded our TV segment seen on News9 KWTV Saturday morning- you can read more and/or to listen to our audio conversation as well as watch our video feature- all available here on our website as our Top Ag Story for this Monday. 

Survey Says: Pork Producers Optimistic About State of the Industry

Since 2002, the National Pork Board has conducted an annual survey of pork producers to gain insight to the condition of the industry, general attitudes of pig farming and their support of the Checkoff. The most recent survey was conducted in November 2014 and shows great optimism.


For the fifth consecutive year, pork producer support for the Checkoff has increased to 89 percent - up 2 percentage points from last year's results. Meanwhile, opposition to the Checkoff declined one percent to a low of 5 percent. These results are the most positive in survey history. Other survey highlights include:


-- Right direction / wrong track: 83 percent of producers feel the industry is heading "in the right direction," growing from a 2013 score of 75 percent. Of those surveyed, 9 percent feel the industry is "on the wrong track," dropping from a 2013 score of 13 percent.

-- The biggest overall challenge facing producers is managing hog health and disease. A recently announced $15 million investment in a Swine Health Information Center directly addresses this concern.


-- The single most important thing the Checkoff can do to help their operation is to educate consumers about the safety of pork.

To read more about the results of this producer survey, click here.  

More coverage from the National Pork Forum is also on our website- including a report on what the pork industry is calling solid consumer demand- details are available here.

New Innovative Program Empowers Beef Sales People

Nobody likes to sit in a daylong meeting with nothing but Power-Point slides---especially if you're an always-on-the-go salesperson. That's why the Certified Angus Beef brand found a fun, interactive way to empower beef marketers. Certified Angus Beef Assistant Director of Foodservice Marketing Kelly Murray brings them into the meat lab.


"We do anything from fog machines so it looks like it's rolling out of the laboratory to we have posters put up all over the building with cut charts, to really kind of, we want them to feel like they're in a true meat lab," Murray said. "They are being transported away from their traditional sales meeting into a meat lab."


Music and high-energy instructors greet attendees. They don hair nets and gloves and get ready for hands-on sessions that include fabrication of the round, chuck and loin.  

To read more or to watch a video new release from CAB, click here.   

OSU Named Top Range Club in the United States

It is a traveling trophy housed at the university of whoever wins it, but the Oklahoma State University Range Club is going to do everything it can to make Stillwater a permanent home for the Collegiate Trail Boss Award trophy.


A recent trip to Sacramento, California for the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management resulted in the OSU Range Club being recognized as the top range club in the country.


"Our rangeland ecology and management students are great. Communications, leadership and professional engagement set the outstanding students above all the others," said Ed Miller, OSU Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management interim department head. "The Trail Boss Award indicates that, in addition to strong technical competence, our students have developed skills that set them apart now and those same skills will also pay big dividends in their professional careers."


The high notoriety came from hard work and dedication, said Karen Hickman, Range Club adviser and NREM professor.


"This award truly is a reflection of the quality of students who are a part of our team," she said. "All the work they put into this meeting is now proudly displayed for all to see in the trophy case in Ag Hall." 

To read more about this achievement, click here. 

Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here for Jerry's website where there is a link on the Left Hand Column where you can subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.  

Cowboy Hats Head to Capitol Hill - 2015 NCBA Legislative Conference

Cowboy hats and boots will be on the hill later on this month. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association will host its spring legislative conference March 24 - 26, 2015 in the nation's capital. NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said it's always a great time to have members of NCBA come and interact with members of Congress and their staffers.   He said cattlemen will address lawmakers on both the legislative and regulatory side and to make sure their voices are being heard. 


The top concern for cattle producers are the proposed dietary guidelines. Woodall said in looking at the recommendations that have come out, they are concerning. He said there is still a lot of steps before the final guidelines will come out at the end of year.   The 'Waters of the US' proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency also ranks near the top.


"We know that will continue to be a push by the Administrator to move that thing forward," Woodall said. "And really the only opportunity we're going to have to kill it is going to congressional action. So it's going to be a great opportunity for cattle producers to really show the concern with this rule and to urge them to step up and shoot down EPA before they can finalize this particular 'WOTUS' proposal."  

To read more or have the opportunity to listen to my Beef Buzz feature with Woodall, click here.  

From Saturday- Ag Summit Offers Rare Glimpse at GOP Presidential Hopefuls in Touting Their Ag Credentials

In the Sunday edition of the Des Moines Register- a feature story made the front page on perhaps our only chance this election cycle to see Presidential hopefuls show up and talk ag and nutrition issues.

The Register writers tell us ""Nine GOP White House contenders did their best to sound more compelling and better-versed on farm-related matters than their competitors Saturday as they were quizzed during an unusual showcase of agriculture policy on the presidential campaign trail." 

The Register writers explained that, "Unlike the raucous, free-wheeling political rock concert that was the freedom summit, which was hosted by conservative Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King, [moderator and pork and ethanol entrepreneur Bruce Rastetter], a mainstream Republican, kept tighter control on the conversation. He staged a living-room-like setting with leather chairs and a vase of tulips and conducted interview-style question-and-answer sessions on renewable fuels, the wind energy production tax credit, normalizing trade with Cuba, biotechnology, illegal immigration, water pollution from farm runoff and other topics."

We featured comments in today's Farm News on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network from former Texas Governor (and Ag Commissioner before that) Rick Perry- who weighed in with his thoughts on labeling food using any trace of GMO crops.  

It was in Iowa- and that meant a lot of attention was placed on biofuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard- most of the candidates expressed support for the RFS- But Pataki expressed vocal opposition to the RFS, as did Ted Cruz, whose answers were met with applause- Senator Cruz of Texas said the government should not be picking winners and losers- this in regards to the RFS subsidies that put a floor under ethanol usage.    

On his website blog- FarmPolicy.Com, our friend Keith Good did a great job summarizing the comments from all of the GOP hopefuls- and you can read his overview by clicking here.