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The regulation defining Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act was officially printed in the Federal Register this past week. This public printing designated a final action that starts a 60-day countdown for implementation and cleared the way for legal action. In response, four lawsuits comprised of 27 states and state agencies have been filed against the EPA.  
 

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin filed suit in US District Court in Georgia.

Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming filed suit in US District Court in North Dakota.

Ohio and Michigan filed suit in US District Court in Ohio

Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas filed suit in the US District Court in Texas.

In checking with the office of Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma Attorney General, we and others have been told that legal action is coming from AG Pruitt as well.

MEANWHILE, a coalition of groups that include interests that range from agriculture to oil to mining to Home Builders and more have filed a legal action against the EPA over their release of the Clean Water Act.  

The complaint charges that this rule by the EPA and the Corps exercises broad control over land use, far beyond what Congress authorized in the Clean Water Act. Moreover, the ambiguity and breadth of this rule violates the U.S. Constitution.


"The final rule is vague and fails to let regulated parties know when their conduct violates the law," said NPPC President Dr. Ron Prestage, a veterinarian and pork producer from Camden, S.C. "We're asking the court to find the rule arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and not in accordance with law; and to find that it's unlawful because it's contrary to constitutional rights and powers, inconsistent with the agencies' statutory authority under the CWA and was promulgated without following procedures required by law. The bottom line is we want the court to set aside the rule.   

Click here for our feature story on this coalition that is standing up to EPA regarding the Clean Water Act- we have comments from the NCBA and AFBF in addition to the Pork Producers in this report.  

Regulation System Must Encourage, Not Hinder Innovation

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) welcomes the release of a White House memo regarding the regulation of biotechnology-derived products.


"BIO commends the White House for recognizing that coordination between the agencies that oversee the approval of biotech products - the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - must be a priority to encourage innovation by improving transparency, timeliness and predictability of the regulatory system," said Matt O'Mara, acting vice president of BIO's Food & Agriculture Section.


The three agencies each have regulatory authorities under the U.S. Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. Established as a formal policy in 1986, the Coordinated Framework ensures the health and environmental safety of biotechnology-derived products and, as such, has provided the scientific bedrock on which biotechnology innovation has flourished in the United States over the past three decades.  Click here to read more.  

OCA Urges Congress to Fix COOL and WOTUS before It's Too Late

Time is running out for Congress to act on Country-of-Origin Labeling before retaliation kicks in from Mexico and Canada. In June, the House of Representatives voted 300-131 in favor of removing the labels off meat products sold in the United States. Now the legislation waits for action by the U.S. Senate. Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey said the U.S. is up against a brick wall and it's time to fix this problem and repeal COOL.


"Two of our largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, have been determined in the WTO realm that they have standing in order to retaliate," Kelsey said. "Both of them have made it very clear, especially Canada that beef would be high on the list in terms of retaliation. Some of the figures I have heard from some of my Canadian friends are that they're pushing for 100 percent tariff, basically doubling the cost of U.S. beef, if you will, into Canada and that would be a detrimental effect on our markets. We need a fix."


U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow has proposed a voluntary COOL program. Kelsey agrees that consumers want to know more about their food products and he welcomes the concept, but the U.S. needs to worry about the immediate concerns with Canada and Mexico.


Another major challenge will be "Waters of the United States" final rule that goes into effect in August. Several Attorney Generals and national agricultural organizations have filed lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps over the overreach and constitutionality of the rule. Kelsey said having this rule tied up in litigation is the best way to stop this rule and fortunately agriculture is not the only industry effected, so the lawsuits are gaining support from construction, manufacturing, mining, petroleum and forestry industries. He also anticipates that Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt will also file a lawsuit against EPA and the Army Corps. In the meantime, he said OCA will continue to push for a congressional fix by urging Congress to repeal the rule or by defunding the measure through the Appropriations process.


 Click here to hear more about Oklahoma's agricultural groups are also starting their planning and preparations for the 'Right to Farm' initiative that will on the ballot in November 2016 and the 63rd Annual OCA Convention and Trade Show coming up this month.

U.S. Beef Going to China, Despite Decade Long BSE Ban Unresolved

China is a point of frustration for U.S. cattle producers, as it one of the countries that has still not reopened its borders to U.S. beef. Trade restrictions were put in place in 2003 after the U.S. discovered a cow with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or more commonly referred to as "Mad Cow" disease. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has said U.S. beef is safe, but the Chinese continue to ban U.S. beef and beef products, but that does not mean China is not getting any U.S. beef. Thousands of ton of U.S. beef are being transported through Hong Kong into mainland China. Rabobank livestock industry economist Don Close said that is a point of frustration right now, especially since China is making trade deals with other countries.


"They have the beef trade with Australia, they have the negotiations on the live animal trade and they have a trade agreement with Brazil," Close said. ".... If the U.S. is really going to be player in that Chinese trade, we're going to have to come to resolves with the trade disparities that the U.S. has with China, in regards to beef."


China is not part of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement at this point, but as Congress heard testimony on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation the Administration often tried to link China to the TPP.   Close said President Obama has been openly talking about China in an attempt to gauge the possibility of China joining the Trans Pacific Partnership. Given the size of the agreement and the geographic area it covers, Close said he would not be surprised to see China be part of the TPP fold at some point.


The bottom-line for the U.S. cattle industry is that at some point the U.S. will have to find a way to officially reopen trade with the Chinese. In the meantime, thousands of tons of U.S. beef continue to be shipped through Hong Kong. Last year, an estimated 154 - thousand Metric tons of beef and beef products were exported to Hong Kong, which was up nearly 19 percent over the previous year. It's likely a sizable portion of that beef is being shipped into China, as their growing middle class is demanding more high protein food.
 

I featured Close on our latest Beef Buzz, as heard on great radio stations across the southern great plains. Click or tap here to listen to this feature.  

Commodity Funds Driving the Wheat Market- Kim Anderson Explains on SUNUP

Wheat prices surged higher in recent days. On this past weekend's edition of SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist Dr. Kim Anderson said prices rallied 41 cents from Monday, June 29th through Wednesday, July first. In looking at the past eight trading days, he said wheat prices surged 98 cents to over six dollars a bushel on June 30th. Anderson attributes the rally to the funds buying into the market. For instance, the funds bought 20-thousand contracts on Tuesday, June 30th for 100- million bushels. The wheat market dropped on Wednesday, as the funds sold 10 to 12 thousand contracts for 50 to 60 million bushels. Anderson said the funds are getting into position for an unknown reason. 

Last Thursday- the Kansas City September Contract briefly traded above $6 before falling back to about unchanged on the day at just above $5.90 a bushel  Early Monday morning trade has the contract down by about eight cents a bushel.


With the move in the market, Anderson recommends farmers sell some, but not all of their 2015 wheat crop now. With the volatility of the market, he believes farmers need a written marketing plan with a price trigger point or a kill date. He said this will get farmers to sell some of their crop while still staggering their marketing.   

To read more of what Dr. Anderson is recommending- and to have a chance to hear his comments with Dave Deken- click here.

National Junior Angus Show Attracts Near-Record Numbers

An anticipated 1,800 head of Angus cattle will compete in Tulsa, Oklahoma this month. The signs will be difficult to miss - the laughter of reunited friends, the aroma of cattle and hay, and the rumble of hooves coming off the trailer - as more than 750 Angus juniors from 36 states arrive at the 2015 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS).


Expo Square at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds will set the stage for what's expected to be an NJAS for the record books. Nearly 1,800 individual head of Angus cattle are entered to compete in one of the year's most anticipated events July 13-18.


"We are thrilled with the numbers for this year's NJAS and cannot wait for the juniors and their families to arrive in Tulsa," says Jaclyn Upperman, American Angus Association® director of events and education. "Our junior nationals is known as one of the largest junior-breed beef shows in the country, and this year will be no exception."
 

Click here to read more about the 2015 National Junior Angus Show in Tulsa.  

Superior Livestock's Week in the Rockies Kicks Off This Morning! 

Over the next five days, the folks at Superior Livestock will hold one of their biggest sales of the year- their 2015 Edition of the Week in the Rockies Sale- being broadcast live from Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

There will be about 260,000 cattle being sold today through Friday.  This morning- the sale will begin at 8:00 AM central time- this after the half hour show Superior Sunrise which starts at 7:30 AM.   

Featured today will be weaned calves- a total of 37,500 or them from the southern, southeastern and South Central regions.  

They will also have 4,500 bred heifers, bred cows and cow-calf pairs that will be offered later today.  

For more information about today's offering as well as what is happening each day for the rest of the week- click here or call Superior at 1-800-422-2117.