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We invite you to listen to us on
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weekdays- if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an
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here for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays on RON.
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the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's
markets as analyzed by Justin
Lewis of KIS futures- click
or tap here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30
PM.
Our
Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
Ron Hays,
Senior Editor and Writer
Pam Arterburn,
Calendar and Template Manager
Dave Lanning,
Markets and Production
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Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News
Presented by
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
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Howdy Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news
update.
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 Featured Story:
Senate Ag Committee Approves Chairman's Mark Biotech
Labeling Measure by 14 to 6 Vote
Senate Ag Committee Chairman Senator Pat Roberts,
R-Kansas held a business meeting on Tuesday where the Chairman's Mark
on Biotechnology Labeling Solutions was favorably reported with
a bipartisan vote of 14-6.
The legislation, which creates a national solution for a
state-by-state patchwork of biotechnology labeling laws, now heads to
the full Senate for consideration. Chairman Roberts indicated on
Tuesday that while ranking member Debbie Stabenow is still not yet
satisfied with the language- he will continue to work toward a final
solution that wins the vote of Senator Stabenow and eventually
approval on the Senate floor.
Click
here to read more about the proposal that Senator Roberts has
moved through his Committee- and we also have in this web story the
comments offered by Chairman Roberts at the start of yesterday's
Business Meeting.
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Ag Groups Breathe a
Collective Sigh of Relief that Senator Roberts Moves Labeling Bill
Out of Committee
Several groups were quick to praise Senator
Pat Roberts for
his decision to move forward with his voluntary GMO Labeling bill
markup- despite the fact that he and top Democrat Debbie Stabenow have
not yet finalized a deal on the measure.
Zippy Duvall and
the American Farm Bureau were quick to
offer a thumbs up- "Farm Bureau believes in meaningful
disclosure that serves to inform and educate consumers on the
innovative technologies farmers and ranchers use to provide food for
this nation and our customers around the world. We support Chairman
Roberts' bill without hesitation, we appreciate the bipartisan
support shown by the committee, and we look forward to swift passage
by the Senate."
Also out quickly with a
statement was Chuck Connor, the President of the
National Council of Farmer Coops- the former USDA Deputy Secretary
called the measure a key step forward in solving the GMO Labeling
mess "This bill injects common sense, uniformity and
transparency to the debate over this issue. At the same time, the
bill would also create a program to better communicate with the
public about GMOs."
The group that represents many of the players in the
Biotech arena- BIO, also applauded the markup. In a statement
that can be found on their website, "This legislation
seeks to establish clear, uniform standards for the labeling of foods
made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This will help
provide consumers with information about foods in the marketplace
while keeping food costs low and protecting farmers' rights to use
modern technologies."
One food writer that has researched the GMO issue and
has decided that the groups who want a mandatory label on GMOs are
doing so with the intention of getting the government to
establish doubt by regulation about the safety of genetically
modified crops and the products we can from them.
Julie Kelly
is a lady we talked to back at the first of the year- click
here if you want to go back and hear our conversation with her-
and she published a great piece
in the Huffington Post yesterday on the whole GMO Labeling deal,
even as the Senate Ag Committee was moving their proposal
forward.
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STIR Sues AG & State
Election Board Over SQ777- Farm Bureau's Buchanan Responds
A
coalition of Oklahomans filed suit on Tuesday challenging the
constitutionality of State Question 777, the "Right to Farm and
Ranch Amendment." Plaintiffs
in the lawsuit include Save the Illinois River, Representative Jason
Dunnington, Ed Brocksmith, and John Leonard.
"State Question 777 amounts to a massive giveaway
to corporate agriculture in a truly unprecedented way," says
Save the Illinois River President Denise Deason-Toyne.
"Oklahomans have a right to clean water, clean air, and food
safety. This 'Right to Harm' amendment strips them of those rights in
favor of an industry that cares only about its own bottom line."
(More details from the STIR news release available
here.)
The first supporter of State
Question 777 to respond to the lawsuit publicly is the Oklahoma Farm
Bureau. In a statement from their President, Tom Buchanan,
calls the idea of tying State Question 777 to the ability to freely
pollute the air we breathe and the water we drink as
irresponsible.
"Right to Farm was created and passed by
Oklahomans to protect Oklahoma farmers and ranchers. The amendment
has nothing to do with water interests in Oklahoma; its sole purpose
is to protect farming and ranching.
"Water and its quality are of utmost importance to our state's
farmers and ranchers, as their livelihoods depend on it. Why would we
support any measure that would jeopardize our state's water?
"The group's suggestions that State Question 777 will impede
efforts to protect Oklahoma's water quality are completely false. In
fact, current state statutes and administrative rules, including
those that ensure water quality throughout our state, will remain
firmly intact after the passage of SQ777."
You can read Buchanan's full statement in defense of
State Question 777 by clicking
here.
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Feral Swine Rule Approved
by State Ag Board- Final Approval in Legislature and by Governor to
Go Into Effect
The State
Board of Agriculture on Tuesday approved proposed
regulations pertaining to Feral Swine. The measure was approved by a
5-0 vote of the board during the regular March board meeting in
Oklahoma City.
The purpose of these rules is to implement the provisions of the
Feral Swine Control Act and to adopt aggressive measures for the
eradication of all feral swine in the State of Oklahoma.
According to ODAFF, the Department's goal is to render
the State of Oklahoma free of feral swine.
The approved rules will now go to the state
Legislature and Governor for review and approval.
If approved by the Legislature and Governor, these rules will become
effective in mid-September.
While the Oklahoma Pork Council, the Oklahoma
Cattlemen and American Farmers and Ranchers are on board with the
Department of Ag on this Rule, Oklahoma Farm Bureau is unhappy that
the rule is not more aggressive in trying to rid feral swine from all
77 counties- and it remains to be seen if they will actively work to
get the state legislature to reject the rule and force the agency to
rework it.
You
can jump
back by clicking here to mid February and an earlier story we did
on the public hearing on the proposed rule- which includes an
interview we did with State Secretary of Ag Jim Reese.
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information about FarmAssure or call 800-815-7590. You'll be glad you
did.
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Cattle Theft Bill on
Agenda for House Vote Today at State Capitol- OCA Issues Call to
Action
A coalition of four groups- AFR, Oklahoma Farm Bureau,
Oklahoma Cattlemen and the Oklahoma Livestock Marketing Association-
have drafted a letter explaining HB 2504 and asking for support from
all House members- the letter will show up in the offices of the
State House of Representatives on this morning.
According to the letter-
"HB 2504 does two things:
"1. Increases the fine for theft to three times the value of the
animal and machinery stolen but caps the maximum fine at $500,000.
"2. Each head of cattle stolen will constitute a separate offense
(felony).
Oklahoma Cattlemen have this as a priority issue- and
they have issued a "Call to Action" to their members-
asking them to get ahold of members of the Oklahoma House last night
or this morning and urge a YES vote. The bill is up for consideration
later today in the Oklahoma House.
The lead on this bill is state representative John Pfeiffer.
More Details are available
here- including a link let you see the letter being distributed.
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Want
to Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your Inbox Daily?
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 to
subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.
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Monsanto Partners on Farm
Safety
Monsanto Company and the American Red
Cross
announced today a three-year partnership that adds rural
safety content to the American Red Cross First Aid App. The
collaboration will help ensure that individuals and families in both
rural and urban communities have access to life-saving information
and other safety resources.
"Spring planting will begin soon in regions across
the United States, and may have already started in some
locations," said Rod
Denton, Global Environmental Safety & Health Lead
at Monsanto. "It's extremely important to keep safety top-of-mind
during this busy time of year for farmers and everyone involved in
U.S. agriculture. The Red Cross First Aid App and its new
farm-focused content will be a valuable safety resource for both our
customers and employees."
Monanto is the exclusive sponsor of the App- and you
can learn more about the App and Monsanto's involvement with the
American Red Cross by clicking
here.
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This N That- Commodity
Classic, Big Iron Wednesday and More Peel
We are in New Orleans today for the start of the 2016
edition of Commodity Classic- starting with the Bayer Crop Science
pre-event that they are calling AgVocate- you can go to our Twitter
feed and see comments we posted yesterday evening from the opening keynote
of this event- given by Dietician and Food Writer and former CNN
reporter Carolyn O'Neill. She says the way to approach food is to
include in your food selection "a little bit naughty and a whole
lot nice." We talked with her and will be featuring her in
the near future and what she told ag trade media about dealing with
food trends and consumers these days- pretty good stuff.
It's Wednesday- and that means the Big
Iron folks will be busy closing out this week's auction items -
all 590 items consigned. Bidding will start at 10 AM central
time.
If you'd like more information on buying and selling
with Big Iron, call District Manager Mike Wolfe at
580-320-2718 and he can give you the full scoop.
A quick note to point you to our latest Beef Buzz that
continues our conversation this week with OSU Livestock Market
Economist Dr.
Derrell Peel- Derrell and I talk about one of the
numbers in the most recent Cattle on Feed report that seemed just a
little odd- a sharp reduction in the number of lightweight cattle
placed into feedlots in January-
Click
here to learn more about that number and what Dr. Peel thinks it
may be telling us- it's a part of a broader interview that we did
with the OSU Cattle Market Watcher when we caught up with him at the
Texoma Cattlemen's Conference in Ardmore last week.
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Our
thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment,
American Farmers
& Ranchers, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma
AgCredit, the Oklahoma Cattlemens
Association, Pioneer Cellular,
Farm Assure
and KIS Futures for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For
your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked here- just
click on their name to jump to their website- check their sites out
and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily
email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox
on a regular basis- at NO Charge!
We
also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check
out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news
story links from around the globe.
Click here to check out
WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com
God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
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