Featured Story:

Many people are keeping an eye on Washington, D.C. right now with regards to the 2012 Farm Bill. Ron Hays talked with Mary Kay Thatcher, Senior Director of Congressional Relations for American Farm Bureau Federation, about her thoughts on the Farm Bill and what changes will be made when it comes to cuts.

Thatcher says she believes that the agriculture leadership will get something to the Supercommittee and she believes it is at the point that it is too big to fail. Thatcher adds that she thinks it will be a last minute agreement that is sent but it will happen.

When it comes to cuts in programs, Thatcher predicts that direct payments will be gone, along with ACRE and SURE programs. What will be left says Thatcher is crop insurance and marketing loans, which she believes will be relatively unchanged. However, with the idea of coming up with extraordinarily high target prices, Thatcher says it is not the way to go.

Thatcher will be traveling to Oklahoma soon and actually to Oklahoma City this Friday to be at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Convention this weekend.  

Click here to listen to our conversation with Mary Kay Thatcher.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack Talks Ag Exports, Farm Policy and More with Farm Broadcasters in Kansas City

Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to a group of farm broadcasters in Kansas City as they gathered for a conference by the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. Secretary Vilsack covered a variety of topics including the record agricultural exports, his upcoming trip to Vietnam, the restructuring of USDA's processes, especially dealing with disaster, and with the licensing of veterinary biologics.

The first topic Secretary Vilsack addressed was the exceptional record ag exports for the past fiscal year. Vilsack said after completing their analysis they found that there was a record amount of $137.4 billion brought in by agricultural exports. This is $22.5 billion higher than export numbers for last year and Vilsack claimed it was a testimony to the extraordinary productivity of American farmers, ranchers and producers.

Vilsack also stressed the importance of these exports in relation to jobs saying that it helps to support 1.15 million jobs in the U.S. economy. Vilsack also added that one out of 12 jobs in the country are connected in one form or another to agriculture.  

Secretary Vilsack also answered a variety of questions from the farm broadcasters. Some of the topics included how much influence non-agriculture groups like HSUS have on USDA, the possibility of producers needing to obtain another permit to spray pesticides around water, and migrant farm workers. 

Click here to listen to all of Sec. Vilsack's comments and the question and answer session. 
 

Upstream Flood Control Dams Survive Record Oklahoma Earthquake

After a 4 day period that saw several earthquakes hit Oklahoma, including the largest in state history, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission can report that the Sooner State's flood control dams survived the tremors with no significant visible damage.

"With over 36 high hazard dams within 50 miles of the epicenter of the quake that hit Saturday and a reduced staff due to tight budgets, it took us some time to evaluate the system, but we can now say the structures came through the tremors without significant visible damage" said Mike Thralls, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. "The dams seem to have come through the earthquake just fine."

On Saturday, November 5, Oklahoma was hit by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, the largest trembler in Oklahoma history. Immediately after the quake hit, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission in cooperation with Local Conservation Districts and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) went into action to evaluate any potential damage to the flood control dams in the immediate area of the record setting earthquake.  

Click here for more on these flood control dams.

National Association of Wheat Growers President Discusses 2012 Farm Bill Priorities and Biotech Wheat

There is a lot of activity and anxiety when it comes to the 2012 Farm Bill says Wayne Hurst, President of the National Association of Wheat Growers. With many different agricultural organizations working together to make sure that the 2012 Farm Bill still protects farmers and ranchers, Hurst says there are some key principles that NAWG has been working towards.

Working closely with state representatives, Hurst says they have tried to develop a policy that will reflect good, solid principles and are also keeping the priorities of wheat growers in mind. According to a survey conducted by the NAWG organization a few years ago, crop insurance is a very important aspect to wheat growers.

Hurst says that they have fought to maintain this risk management tool for farmers and have really stressed the importance of crop insurance to those in government.

Another topic that is very important to NAWG is the development of biotech wheat. Hurst says biotech is really a move in the right direction and the organization is working hard to promote research and wheat production more vigorously for several reasons and biotech is a part of that equation. 

Click here to listen to our conversation with Wayne Hurst of NAWG.  

Classic Thanksgiving Dinner Costing More in 2011

The retail cost of menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the basic trimmings increased about 13 percent this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

AFBF's 26th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year's feast for 10 is $49.20, a $5.73 price increase from last year's average of $43.47.

"The cost of this year's meal remains a bargain, at just under $5 per person," said AFBF President Bob Stallman, a rice and cattle producer from Texas. "The quality and variety of food produced for our dinner tables on America's diverse farms and ranches sets us apart from our contemporaries around the world. It is an honor for our farm and ranch families to produce the food from our nation's land for family Thanksgiving celebrations."

Click here for more from AFBF on rising Thanksgiving dinner prices.

U.S. Beef and Pork Exports Continue the March to a Record Year in 2011 

Led by a record-breaking month for pork exports to China and the continued rebound of beef exports to Mexico, 2011 remains on pace to set new annual records for the value of beef, pork and lamb exports, according to statistics released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The latest numbers are from September.

Volume leaders in September for US beef exports include Mexico, the Middle East, Canada, Japan and South Korea. Total value of September beef exports tallied $461 million- and for the year to date- we have reached the four billion dollar mark.

Over on the pork side of the ledger, if you lump China and Hong Kong together, you come up with just over $101 million dollars worth of pork exports in September- 64% higher than a year ago.  If you figure China on a stand alone basis- they bought right at 39,000 metric tons- just a little less than volume leader for September Mexico- our neighbors south of the Rio Grande purchased 41,000 metric tons of pork for the month. The other really big purchaser of US pork in September- as they often are- were the Japanese- in fact they are the single country value leaeder with a total bill of $166 million for just the month of September.  

Click here for the full story and more details about the latest export numbers from the US Meat Export Federation- it does look like we continue to be on track for a five billion dollar year for both US pork and US beef into the foreign market.  

Mobile Apps and Web Resources to Improve Weed Control

The abundance of smartphones, tablet computers, and laptops provides the opportunity to quickly find answers for many difficult questions that you face in the day-to-day operations on your farm. For weed control in particular, there are several mobile and online resources that can help you make informed decisions regarding pesticides and their use rates. Below is a quick summary of some of the useful (and free) smartphone apps and websites.

Herbicide and other pesticide labels
Agrian 

Agrian is an excellent source of information for pesticide labels, including supplemental labels and other updates. The mobile app (for iPhone and iPad only) allows you to quickly search their database from your handheld device and read the label as a PDF file. Likewise, the website allows you to quick search for information on any pesticide. Keep in mind that the information presented on Agrian is for the entire US and that not all products are registered for use in Oklahoma. 

ODAFF pesticide database 
 

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry pesticide database provides current information regarding pesticides that are registered for use in Oklahoma. The database is searchable by product name, active ingredient, pest, and site where the pesticide will be used. This website also contains the pesticide labels and supplemental materials as PDF files. 

Click here for more apps and websites and links to all of these apps.

Go Back in Time to the 1950s with Angel's Diner in McAlester

The Legendary Restaurants of Oklahoma campaign continues this week with Angel's Diner in McAlester, Okla. Known for their 1950s themed décor, Angel's Diner has a fun environment and a classic menu that is sure to take you back to the good old days. Angel's Diner has even continued their 1950s theme into their menu. For their main menu, customers can choose from Elvis' Grilled Chicken Sandwich or their famous Cadillac Burger, just to name a few. Click here to purchase your $50 deal to Angel's Diner for only $25! 

You can also click here to learn more about Angel's Diner and their unique restaurant.