Click here to learn more about both Kouplen and Kisling and their respective roles in the new Stitt Administration.

After Governor-elect Kevin Stitt announced the appointments of Sean Kouplen and Brent Kisling to his administration, President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Rodd Moesel offered us his reaction to their appointments and what they mean for Oklahoma ag industry and its rural communities.

"They're both great selections. They both have a long history in Oklahoma agriculture and come from great agricultural families and are great products of Oklahoma State University," Moesel said. "We're really excited to have the chance to work with both of them."

Moesel, highlighting Kisling's previous experience leading the statewide federal Rural Development program out of Stillwater, Okla. says he believes rural Oklahomans will be paid a lot more attention than they have in the past. Together, with Kouplen as Secretary, he says the pair will bring tremendous insight and vision and give agriculture and rural Oklahoma "a seat at the table like they probably haven't had at that agency in a very long time."

Listen to our complete conversation by clicking or tapping here to hear what else Moesel had to say.

It would seem 2019 is off to a good start - in terms of moisture at least, with the first Drought Monitor report of the new year showing no drought in the state for the first time in a long time. Take a look...

 

All drought categories on the Monitor Map currently register at 0 percent, although a small patch of "Abnormally Dry" conditions remains in the northeast corner of the state, covering approximately 5.15 percent of Oklahoma's total land mass.

Thursday's wet winter weather arrived after the deadline for this week's report which means the moisture received will be applied to the following week's report, likely keeping things in relatively good condition regarding any potential drought.

To view this week's Drought Monitor map more closely or to jump to the Mesonet Ticker website for the latest from State Climatologist Gary McManus, click here.

The Oklahoma AgCredit Board of Directors announced this week the appointment of Patrick Zeka as the farm lending cooperative's new Chief Executive Officer. Zeka's experience with Farm Credit exceeds 26 years, having served as Oklahoma AgCredit Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer while performing the dual roles of EVP/Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer from January 2016 until July 2018. Zeka, 52, succeeds Butch McComas, who led the lending cooperative since 2016 when Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma (East Central) and Chisholm Trail Farm Credit (Chisholm Trail) merged.


"I am humbled and honored to be responsible for the customers and employees of Oklahoma AgCredit," said Zeka. "Seeking efficiencies and utilizing technology to improve our customers' experience are avenues I plan to pursue to build on the existing strength of the Association." 


With assets exceeding $1.34 billion and a portfolio in excess of 6,300 loans, Oklahoma AgCredit is the largest Farm Credit association in the state. Headquartered in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma AgCredit has 17 full-time lending offices and a number of weekly contact points to provide loans for farm and ranch land, country homes, livestock, equipment and operating costs.

 

Learn more about Zeka, his new appointment and his qualifications for the job, by clicking here.

Three nominations for senior USDA posts overseeing research, food safety, and civil rights died with the 115th Congress on Wednesday, and the path forward for those nominations in the two-year session that opened on Thursday is unclear. "The three nominations have been returned to the White House. No comment beyond that," said a USDA spokesman.

The Trump administration has moved slowly in putting its appointees to work at the USDA. Five of 13 posts requiring Senate confirmation are vacant, including the three nominations that lapsed this week. They were Mindy Brashears for undersecretary for food safety, Scott Hutchins for undersecretary for research, and Naomi Earp for assistant secretary for civil rights. 

The Senate Agriculture Committee cleared the nominations for a floor vote in early December, but they were not part of a calendar-clearing push this week.

Dr. Brashears is an Oklahoma State grad(Masters and PhD)- and is a Professor for Food Safety at Texas Tech University- and Director for the Texas Tech International Center for Food Industry Excellence. Several populist groups have been critical of what they consider her ties to "Big Ag."

This week President Donald Trump tweeted that the tariffs his Administration has imposed are being charged to China and that those funds are flowing into the U.S. Treasury. This, however, was quickly challenged by the folks at Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, which presented data suggesting Trump's claim is false.

A release from Tariffs Hurt says, "The fact is that the tariffs the Administration has imposed are paid by American businesses, consumers, farmers, and manufacturers - not foreign countries."

 

In a detailed breakdown of the most recent month available, October 2018 is shown to be the highest tariffed month in U.S. history. Overall, the data shows that tariffs cost American companies $6.2 billion in October and tariffs paid increased $3.1 billion (104%) compared to October 2017, despite an increase of just 13% in the value of imports.

 

For more information on this data, read the full story by clicking over to our website.