On Thursday, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford called for the elimination of the Renewable Fuel Standard mandate, saying "The RFS program isn't meeting the greenhouse gas emission goals, it is unsustainable, and it yields few benefits, while it has inflicted substantial costs on consumers. The renewable fuel standard mandate simply doesn't work."

In response to Lankford's call during the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management hearing yesterday as the committee examined two reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)., Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen issued a statement conveying his association's objections to the reports which he asserts incorrectly suggest the RFS is falling short of its goals to support commercialization of advanced and cellulosic biofuels:

"This hearing and the GAO reports really miss the point. The RFS has been a resounding success by any measure. It has created high-paying jobs across America, reduced oil imports from OPEC, lowered consumer fuel prices, slashed emissions from the transportation sector, and driven substantial investment into advanced and cellulosic biofuel technologies.

"While first-generation biofuels were already proven in 2007 when Congress expanded the RFS, legislators knew full well that the pace of commercialization for advanced and cellulosic biofuel technologies was somewhat uncertain. That's precisely why Congress included measures allowing EPA to adjust advanced and cellulosic volume requirements. Indeed, the volumes in the 2007 bill were not a forecast, but rather an aggressive goal and bold vision to support the creation of a vibrant low-carbon advanced biofuel market.


"That bold vision is in fact being realized, and advanced biofuel production has grown dramatically under the RFS. Production and use of advanced biofuels has risen from less than 200 million gallons when the original RFS was adopted in 2005 to approximately 4 billion gallons (RINs) in 2016-a 20-fold increase. That's a remarkable achievement that simply wouldn't have occurred without the RFS."

Click here to read Dinneen's statement in defense of RFS in its entirety.


Click here for the video of the complete hearing chaired by Senator Lankford.

Members of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association have kept a full schedule this season with their Fall Gatherings throughout the month of November, including a few new meetings they decided to host this year as well, including informational sessions on the Veterinary Feed Directive and a winter policy meeting scheduled for January. I caught up with Michael Kelsey, OCA's executive vice president, to find out how those meetings went and what's been on the minds of his members lately.


"A big conversation piece was 777, both before and after, but also a lot of other issues that are going on in the cattle industry and then of course the market," Kelsey said. "It went really well, attendance was fantastic. Discussion was good, lots of questions."

Kelsey says addressing the failed passage of State Question 777 - Right to Farm, was high priority for OCA members at these meetings. He says talks steered mainly towards planning for the opposition's next move, which according to Kelsey, is really just a mystery at this point. However, he insists the ag community needs to anticipate that they will want to ride out the momentum from their win. He assures OCA will remain vigilant during the legislative session to intercept any proposed legislation that threatens agriculture in Oklahoma.

Click here to read more about OCA's meetings this year and for a chance to listen to my conversation with Kelsey.

By the way- Michael will join me as my guest for this week's In the Field as seen on KWTV News9 around 6:40 AM tomorrow morning!

In a statement published yesterday, it was announced that, after a thorough examination regarding the genetically engineered (GE) wheat detection in Washington State, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has closed its fact finding. The Agency also said it found no evidence of GE wheat in commerce.

On July 29, 2016, USDA confirmed the discovery by a farmer of GE wheat plants growing in an unplanted agricultural field in Washington State. After thoroughly examining the farmer's property, APHIS detected a total of 22 wheat plants that were volunteering in an unplanted field. The GE wheat in question is resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, commonly referred to as Roundup®.


Working with the farmer, APHIS took measures to ensure that no GE wheat moved into commerce. Although the volunteers were not in a planted field, out of an abundance of caution, APHIS tested the farmer's full wheat harvest for the presence of any GE wheat material. All samples were found to be negative for any GE wheat material.

To read the complete statement, click here.

The Internal Revenue Service hosted a public hearing Thursday on a Department of Treasury proposed rule that would eliminate or greatly reduce available valuation discounts for family-related entities. Kevin Kester, National Cattlemen's Beef Association vice president, said the regulation would effectively discourage families from continuing to operate or grow their businesses and passing them on to future generations.

"Should the discounts be eliminated, a significant number of farmers and ranchers will face an even greater tax burden during the difficult task of transferring minority interests to the next generation," said Kester. "Having dealt with the death tax on multiple occasions, I can assure you that it's not easy to settle the estate of a loved one while coping with the loss of that loved one. To add insult to injury, the proposed rule will upend succession plans, halt planned expansion and growth, and require a majority of livestock operations to liquidate assets in order to simply survive from one generation to the next."


The proposed regulations under Section 2704 will have a profoundly negative impact on the business climate for farmers and ranchers, ultimately dis-incentivizing a new generation of cattle producers from carrying on the family business. For that reason, NCBA calls for the IRS to formally withdraw the proposed rule.

Click here to read more about the potential impact that eliminating valuation discounts would have on farmers and their families.

Occurrences of Hessian fly have been found in southwestern Oklahoma winter wheat this fall, making it important for producers to identify field infestations and strategies that can assist in managing the pest next year.


"Even though there is not a 100 percent effective solution in terms of managing Hessian fly, producers have several options available to minimize the problems caused by this pest," said Tom Royer, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension integrated pest management coordinator. "It starts with awareness about the pest and detecting its presence."

Hessian fly outbreaks can be managed using several methods that work best when employed as part of a long-term management strategy. Effective strategies include using fly resistant plant varieties, planting fields later in the season, controlling volunteer wheat and rotating non-host crops.

As a last resort, farmers dealing with a particularly aggressive infestation should consider using an insecticide seed treatment.

Learn more about managing Hessian fly infestations, by clicking here.

Kansas State Beef Cattle Specialist Dr. Bob Weaber gets a lot of questions from cattle producers about what kind of bulls they ought to be buying. I talked with Weaber about how he responds when he is approached for this kind of advice. He says he usually turns the table on the producer and begins asking his own questions.


"I usually put three questions to them," Weaber said, "Depending on what your response is there, it has an influence on what direction of genetics you might go."


The three questions Dr. Weaber typically puts to producers are 1.) how do you sell calves, what is your marketing endpoint; 2.) how do you generate replacement heifers, raise your own or buy them; and 3.) where are you at today with the cattle you run on your operation, what genetics make up your herd currently - are they mostly British, continental, bos indicus or some combination of those?


"Whatever the case is," Weaber said, "trying to figure out a little bit in terms of breed complementarity, what direction we might head as we think about combining optimality in terms of maternal and growth and carcass traits to produce really what I like to call environmentally adapted cows."


Weaber explains that each piece of the puzzle falls together to help form a strategy that guides your selection of the right bull with the right genetics to help you focus and emphasize the traits in your herd that will serve you best in meeting your goals, based on how you operate.

Listen to Dr. Weaber explain his bull selection strategy more in depth, by clicking here.

Producers should be on the lookout for two things when harvesting this next crop: test weight and protein, says Dr. Kim Anderson, extension grain marketing specialist. According to him, the wheat in bins right now is only averaging 11.2 percent protein. And the previous year's crop only weighed in at 55 to 56 lbs. test weight. Both these numbers are lacking in desirability to millers.

He says in order to capture the highest price come harvest, 2017's wheat crop will need to carry at least 12 to 14 percent protein and a test weight of 60+ pounds. Harvesting wheat comparable to this could potentially earn you a premium of up to $1.66.

"The higher the protein, the higher the test weight, the more valuable that crop is going to be," Anderson said.

To read more details on Anderson's grain market analysis, or to hear his full remarks, click here.