A bipartisan letter, signed by more than 100 US Congressman,
was sent to the White House this week, urgently requesting the President's intervention to help stabilize the cotton industry by operating the Cotton Ginning Cost Share Program on an ongoing basis beginning with the 2016 crop year. House Ag Committee Chairman Mike Conaway spearheaded the effort, in cooperation with the ranking committee members.

"We can't continue ignoring the economic turmoil of U.S. cotton farmers. America's cotton producers have been struggling to scrape by without a safety net to help them soldier through these tough times - the steepest slide in net-farm income since the Great Depression," said Chairman Conaway.

The committee's work to aid cotton farmers dealing with poor economic conditions has been an ongoing effort since 2015 when Conaway first requested that the Cotton Ginning Cost Share Program be enacted.

If Trump authorizes the program for this year, it should alleviate the economic pressure for cotton farmers until the issue can be addressed and provided for in the writing of the next Farm Bill, with a safety net of the cotton industry's own.

Read more of Conaway's remarks on this issue and check out the actual letter for yourself, by clicking here.

Senate policy makers are being criticized for being unable to
find a solution to the healthcare problem facing our nation. It's been suggested that our leaders in Washington move on to discussing other big ticket items, where they may be able to actually make some progress.

One significant matter that urgently needs the attention of Congress, is the issue of comprehensive tax reform.

American Farm Bureau has offered testimony frequently describing the hardships under which farmers and ranchers struggle to make their operations stay afloat.

"Tax reform is critical for farmers and ranchers," said Isabella Chism, a corn and soybean farmer and Farm Bureau member from Indiana who is vice chair of the AFB Women's Leadership Committee. "Reform is absolutely necessary so we can pass our farms and ranches down to our sons and daughters."

Farm Bureau said in a release that it is seeking tax reform that will help all types of farm and ranch businesses: sole-proprietors, partnerships, sub-S and C corporations. In addition, Farm Bureau supports replacing the current federal income tax with a fair and equitable tax system that encourages success, savings, investment and entrepreneurship.

Long time ag senator, Chuck Grassley, has assured that the wheels of tax reform are in motion and that government vehicles to mobilize tax legislation is being put in place. He has been quoted saying that the Trump White House has offered more input on tax reform than he has seen in more than thirty years.

For more information or to read more remarks by the farming and ranching members of Farm Bureau that have offered testimony on behalf of the agriculture community to the US Senate, click or tap here.

The US beef industry looks a lot different than it did in the early 90s when the first National Beef Quality Audit was conducted. Dr. Keith Belk of Colorado State University was a graduate assistant then, helping with that first NBQA. Since then, he has been a part of each of the five subsequent audits that have been conducted. I spoke with him recently during the presentation of the 2016 NBQA's findings at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Summer Business Conference in Denver. Belk says this most recent audit offers the industry a good feel for the job its doing to meet the needs and wants of today's consumers.


"Based on the data from 2016, the industry has done an excellent job at addressing many of the things that have popped up over time, and we have some good news in this audit," Belk said encouragingly. "One of the things that showed up is, we're doing a better job producing higher quality meat."


When you consider the things important to today's consumers, and what influences their purchasing decisions, Belk says, eating satisfaction has become very prevalent. With more cattle grading higher than ever before, the industry is able to continue feeding consumers looking for a superior eating experience that alternative proteins at the supermarket can't match. However, another issue trumps even the taste factor - food safety. Unfortunately, though, as revealed by the audit, consumers are unaware of all the great, self-imposed safety quality standards the industry has implemented and passionately practices.


"We're not marketing the good things that producers do downstream, so that customers understand what they're doing," he said. "As a consequence, one of the things that came out of the interviews is that we need to do a better job or re-engaging the public in what we do; telling them the good story about what we do."


Listen to Dr. Belk and I discuss some of the key deliverables that came out of this year's National Beef Quality Audit, on yesterday's Beef Buzz - click here.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai of Parsons, Kan. has been in the news lately, for his vision of expanding rural broadband access throughout the US. Currently, Pai is up for reappointment to his post at the FCC to serve another term.

Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts attended the hearing to take testimony on Pai's performance and recommendations for his future with the FCC. Roberts presented Pai with a gracious and complimentary introduction to the Senate Commerce Committee.

In his introduction, Roberts referred to Pai as "a fearless advocate who understands rural Americans' communications challenges."

With jurisdiction over all broadband loan and grant programs administered by the USDA's Rural Utilities Services, as chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, Roberts and Pai have worked extensively together on some of the FCC's recent efforts to augment rural internet service.

"As Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, I regularly hear from farmers and ranchers who have come to rely on broadband to run their operations and connect to customers and markets around the world," Roberts stated before the committee.

"And I take heart in the fact that those constituents who feed the nation and the world have a fearless advocate at the helm of the FCC who understands the great challenges that lie ahead in closing the digital divide between rural and urban communities."

The chairman concluded his introduction, with a hearty endorsement for Pai's reappointment to lead the FCC.

Read the Chairman's complete remarks at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing, here.

The group known as the North American Agricultural Marketing Officials, recognized the Oklahoma Ag Department's "Jelly Making Trails" program with its Excellence in Marketing award, during its recent annual conference in Manhattan, Kansas.

The "Jelly Making Trails" program in Oklahoma was launched in 2016 to help market U-Pick farms, which have grown in popularity in recent years.

On the trails, consumers can pick produce off the tree or the vine, from the orchard or the patch.

"This prestigious award was launched to recognize innovative and effective agriculture marketing practices," said Jamie Cummings, former Agritourism Coordinator and now International Programs Coordinator. "This recognition allows these effective strategies to be shared across the nation with the other state marketing teams and transfer the knowledge about these effective projects."

The Agritourism team at ODAFF developed the Jelly Making Trails project. The trails were determined based on geography in order to allow consumers to plan trips around the farms. Any agritourism producer offering a chance to pick or purchase specialty crops was included.


During the first year, 47 producers participated with the busiest months being May to August.

In it's second year now, 53 producers have decided to participate under the program's 2017 edition campaign, focused this time on education - teaching visitors about how and where their food is produced.

"I believe the main reason this project has been successful is that consumers are engaging with the producer,"  said Meriruth Cohenour, an ODAFF Agritourism Coordinator. "When they visit the farm they make personal connections with the farmers and they learn so much about the way their food is grown. This positive experience encourages them to seek similar opportunities, thus making the Jelly Making Trails material a very valuable resource."

To read the full story on ODAFF's recognition for it's marketing success with the Oklahoma Jelly Making Trails, click or tap here.

Third District Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas yesterday participated in a House Agriculture Committee hearing focused on examining the infrastructure of the state's rural areas.

Oklahoma State University Dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Dr. Thomas Coon, gave witness during the hearing, testifying on the condition of the land grant university institutions in Oklahoma, in place to offer advanced education opportunities to rural citizens. 

Lucas focused on the significance of the Morrow Act of 1862 that provided the "opportunity for anyone to be able to secure a college education."

Dr. Coon described how funding for land grant universities is utilized toward maintaining existing facilities and supporting the researchers and students at these institutions. Dr. Coon cited good stewardship and diligence as being critical to supporting the mission of such programs and attracting the highest quality faculty to promote innovation in agriculture.

Here's the YouTube of the exchange between the Congressman and Dean Coon:

Market speculation institution, Allendale, shared this week, its estimates for the Cattle on Feed and Cold Storage reports from the USDA, due out this Friday.


According to Allendale, June Placements are expected to be 6.4% larger than last year at 1.623 million head. This would be the largest June placement in five years. June placements supply the December through March slaughter period.


Allendale anticipates a Marketing total 4.5% larger than June 2016 at 1.998 million. This was the largest June marketing in six years. This was no calendar adjustment this month.
Total Cattle on Feed as of July 1 is 3.0% over last year at 10.666 million. This is the largest July 1 total in five years.


For more of Allendale's prediction for this upcoming report from the USDA, click over to our website for their complete estimate.