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This week during The Ag Minute, Chairman Frank Lucas discusses H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, a bipartisan bill that prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating farm dust that is already regulated at the state or local level. 

This measure is on the "to do" list of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for this week- and may be voted on by the full House tomorrow.  

Although EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has announced that her agency does not intend to change the current standards, EPA retains the authority to do so. Furthermore, under the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to review these standards every five years. The Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act gives farmers and ranchers a certain exemption from more burdensome standards, which will allow them to continue investing in their businesses with confidence. 

Part of the transcript from Chairman Lucas' Ag Minute is listed below.  

"This week, the House of Representatives will consider H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act. This bipartisan legislation ensures farmers and ranchers won't be subjected to excessive regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA currently has the ability to tighten regulatory standards for dust under the Clean Air Act."

Click here to listen to The Ag Minute from Chairman Lucas. 

The American Farm Bureau Federation is also urging congressional members to pass H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act, when it comes before the full House later this week. In a letter to House members, AFBF said the legislation would limit the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate naturally occurring dust, or "nuisance dust."

"Naturally occurring dust is a fact of life in rural areas," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "It is raised by such normal activities as driving on unpaved roads and is composed of soil and organic material. The amount of dust in the air depends on wind and rainfall, two conditions that EPA cannot regulate." 

Click here for more from AFBF on the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act.    

Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow says Farm Bill Must Be Done Next Year

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, said Congress must complete a Farm Bill next year before the current Farm Bill expires. Stabenow said passing a new Farm Bill is necessary to provide certainty for farmers and small businesses. Her comments came during an address at the Farm Journal Forum in Washington.

"We will resume holding hearings when Congress returns in January," Chairwoman Stabenow said. "The goal is for the committee to complete an initial product in the spring to provide plenty of time for Congress to complete its work."

Chairwoman Stabenow said the twelve public hearings held in 2011 and the bipartisan framework developed by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees this year will serve as a strong foundation moving forward. 

Click here for more from Chairwoman Stabenow on her plan for the next Farm Bill.
 

Oklahoma Farm Bureau to Host Private Cattle Sale at Tulsa Farm Show

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is sponsoring the Herd Builder Private Treaty Sale at the Tulsa Farm Show, December 8 to the 10, at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. The three-day sale is open to all breeds of cattle for bulls, cows and heifers.  

Oklahoma Farm Bureau's Vice President of Field Services, Thad Doye, said the cattle sale is a good opportunity for producers to market their cattle to a larger audience as thousands will walk through the Quik Trip Center over the three days of the show.

All animals intended for sale at the Tulsa Farm Show are required to have a health certificate from a licensed veterinarian. Livestock owners must be present during the event and will be responsible for feed, water and stall upkeep for the cattle.

For more information about participating in the private treaty sale, please call Thad Doye at 405-523-2307. 

New in 2011- ZACHTRAN Beats Sales Expectations as a BRD Solution

Earlier in 2011- Merial Animal Health released a new antibiotic vaccine for use against Bovine Respiratory Disease- ZACHTRAN. Dr. Bruce Nosky of Merial says early sales of ZACHTRAN have been excellent, well beyond initial goals. Dr. Nosky believes that as producers have tried this new tool in the batle against BRD- they find it very effective and are quickly making it a control and treatment option of choice.

In a news release from the company, Dr. Nosky, who is the Manager, Merial's Large Animal Veterinary Services talks about the studies that have shown the effectiveness of ZACHTRAN- "In field studies, cattle treated with ZACTRAN showed a rapid improvement in BRD clinical signs. More than three-quarters of the cattle with a fever had a significant decrease in temperature within 24 hours.6 And the majority of those cattle treated with ZACTRAN remained healthy throughout the 10-day study."

"Dr. Nosky adds that in additional field trials for BRD control, the majority of lightweight, high-risk cattle that received ZACTRAN to control BRD showed significantly less disease during the 10-day study compared to non-treated cattle."

Click here to listen to our Beef Buzz segment with Dr. Bruce Nosky.
 

NCBA Looks At and Evaluates Beef Certification Programs

The economic incentives are out there and we often hear about cattle selling for a premium if they are "value added" calves. But what does that mean?  And, how does a cattle producer sort out what will make you money versus what will just be a lot of hoops to jump through with little gain?  Well, Tom Field with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association has done a lot of sorting for you and tells us that  "Beef markets have undergone significant transformation over the past several decades resulting in a variety of market niches and opportunities based on associating breed, management practices, feeding practices and a host of other verifiable claims with beef products. The market has provided economic incentives at a variety of levels to encourage participation in supplying the needs of these various market niches.

"In some cases, these incentives have been significant and as a result cattle producers have shown increasing interest in learning about program requirements and the process associated with becoming certified for participation."

Field is not endorsing any specific programs- but he does give us some good input on the good, the bad and the ugly on the many programs that are out there.

Click here for more from NCBA on a sampling of the beef certification programs that are available for cattle producers to participate in.

USDA Announces New Tactics to Combat Fraud and Enhance SNAP Program

USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon announced a new range of aggressive tactics to further improve program integrity of USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) - formerly known as food stamps. The announcement is part of the Obama Administration's ongoing Campaign to Cut Waste which highlights efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse so that federal dollars are invested wisely. The tactics announced by USDA underscore an unprecedented approach to combat trafficking - the use of SNAP benefits for anything other than the purchase of food from authorized retailers, including the sale or exchange of benefits in SNAP.

"SNAP has never been more important as hardworking families turn to the program for assistance while they get back on their feet," said Concannon. "This Administration is committed to meeting the highest standards when it comes to protecting taxpayer dollars and enhancing the integrity of the program to ensure those dollars are invested wisely so the American people can have confidence in overall program performance as it serves as an important safety net for those in need."

Although the trafficking rate has been driven down significantly over the last two decades - from about 4 cents on the dollar in 1993 to about 1 cent in 2006-08 - USDA has increased its efforts to reduce trafficking by working with state agencies and state-of-the-art technologies. 

Click here for more from USDA on changes being made to the SNAP program.

The Heifer That Sold for $50,000 (Almost) 

Good news from the Oklahoma National Stockyards on Monday- where the donated heifer we told you about last week was sold at 11 AM as they paused the regular weekly sale of feeder cattle to raise money for Steaks for Troops.  

As you may recall- A black weaned heifer calf weighing 500 pounds ready to turn out was donated by Bryan and Carrie Linn of Verden, Oklahoma. According to Robert York with National Livestock Credit at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, the sale was a rousing success, as $49,400 was raised during the sale. That included resale of the calf 29 times and some add on donations.  York tells us that they have also received some calls from folks who want to send in additional donations after the sale was concluded and that will add to the total.   

If you want to help them smash through the $50,000 mark- you can give Robert York a call at (580)436-9807 and he will help you get that donation routed the right direction.