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The Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, is proposing the full elimination of Direct Payments in a vehicle outside of the five year farm bill process. Her proposal is a part of a larger Senate Democrat plan to offer a Sequester Alternative in advance of automatic spending cuts that are supposed to go into effect March first. Stabenow described agriculture's portion of the plan as one fourth of the overall dollars needed to achieve the alternative's goal of $110 billion dollars in a combination of revenue and cuts. Agriculture would contribute $27.5 billion in cuts to the proposal.

The cuts would come solely from the Commodity Title, with no cuts from any other part of the farm law- or for that matter, from any other domestic non military spending program. 

This would only be for one year of the ten year Sequestration plan and but would take ten years of budget accounting and loss of the farm program baseline to achieve the "savings."

The Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas, was not impressed- saying in part "The Senate's approach of taking away our investment in rural America without addressing the hole it will create is not balanced and not acceptable."

To see Stabenow's full statement as well as the full statement from Chairman Lucas- and to hear our audio overview which includes Debbie Stabenow explaining her math to the farm media yesterday afternoon- click here for our top ag story on this subject.

In DC- AFR's Terry Detrick Says House Leadership Feels NO Sense of Urgency Over Farm Bill  

Terry Detrick, president of American Farmers and Ranchers is in Washington, D.C., this week speaking with members of Congress. He and the other members of the National Farmers Union executive committee are trying to encourage the House leadership in particular to get the farm bill moving once again. He spoke with me about their lobbying efforts.

"We've just got to get them busy with a farm bill. The farm bill now, some of them seem to have put it on the back burner-a lot of them have put it on the back burner because they got a little extension. They don't realize that this thing's going to take a while to work out."

Detrick says that many of the Congressmen they have spoken with say the farm bill has waned as an issue among their constituents.

"One of the things we're hearing now is that they're really not hearing from their constituency. And our constituency back home is 'We've got a farm bill to extend us a while now,' and they've let off the pressure.

"So it's an urgent, urgent situation and we've got to get our constituents out in the countryside to start calling our Congressmen. Even from other states, people in leadership need to be urging their membership to get on the ball. Let's get a cooperative attitude and let's get things going so we can get them together." 

You can hear our full conversation or read more by clicking here. 

State Lawmaker Skye McNeil asking Oklahoma Agriculture to Contact Their Lawmakers in Support of HB1999

A bill allowing horses to be processed for slaughter in Oklahoma is wending its way through the state legislative process, and it is drawing fierce opposition from powerful special interest groups. The bill's author, Rep. Skye McNiel, spoke with me about the bill's progress.

"This bill repeals the ban on processing horses in Oklahoma.  It does not deal with the consumption laws. Basically, it says we can process horses in Oklahoma, but we will not eat them in Oklahoma; we will ship that meat overseas."

Even though the bill is aimed at providing a humane and cost-effective way to dispose of unwanted horses who might otherwise be abused or neglected, she said lawmakers are taking a lot of flak from animal rights groups.

"We're getting a lot of heat from organizations such as HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) and they have really come out and attacked us on this bill saying that it's not humane and that this is not the best way to deal with this population of horses.

"They do agree that we have a population--a large population--of unwanted horses being abused and mistreated, but what we don't agree on is how we deal with those horses. And, quite frankly, they've not come up with any solutions.. and I think that it's time that we stand up and tell them that we in Oklahoma will make the policy-all of us citizens of Oklahoma, not outside forces, not people outside of Oklahoma making Oklahoma policy." 

Click here to read more or to listen to my conversation with Skye McNiel. 

Capturing Added Value with High Protein Wheat takes Statewide Effort, Anderson Says

Capturing added value in commodities is one way to increase farm income. For wheat producers-especially individuals-that is very difficult to do. In his preview to this weekend's edition of SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Grain Marketing Specialist Kim Anderson says that while capturing the added value of high protein in wheat may be difficult, it is not impossible.

"The way you capture that return, that value of the wheat, is to produce it and market it as a whole. In other words, the state of Oklahoma produces a good, high quality, high milling quality wheat--good protein. Then the market is going to pay the state a premium for that wheat. You'll see that in the basis. As an individual, you're probably not going to capture it, but as a state, as a marketing area, you can capture that higher value."

You can hear Kim Anderson's audio preview and see the complete lineup for this week's SUNUP by clicking here. 

NACD Highlights Value of Conservation Programs in Mitigating Disasters

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) submitted testimony for the record in today's Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing, titled: "Drought, Fire and Freeze: The Economics of Disasters for America's Agricultural Producers." The hearing examined weather disasters' crippling effects on agriculture, underscoring the need to pass disaster relief and a new five-year Farm Bill.

"Conservation programs help producers make their operations more resilient," said NACD President Earl Garber. "By mitigating the effects of disasters and preventing longer-term harm to the land and other precious natural resources, conservation technical assistance, Farm Bill programs, and other proactive measures help producers stay on their feet when disasters strike. Conservation measures pay dividends beyond disaster payments and offer confidence to crop insurance providers. From droughts to hurricanes and freezes to wildfires, such extreme events can have a paralyzing effect on the entire agricultural industry, local economies, and our natural resource base. Proactive conservation planning and implementation on the ground sustains agriculture from year to year, increasing efficiency and cost savings for producers." 

Click here for a link to the NACD's written testimony.

Recent Rains Ease Drought Conditions in Parts of Oklahoma

Last weekend's rains have been reflected in an improving U.S. Drought Monitor, says Gary McManus, Oklahoma's Associate State Climatologist. Eastern parts of the state have improved most, with some areas being upgraded from the extreme category to severe.

The rain and snow a few days ago won't be realized on the Drought Monitor map until next week, which should show more improvements.

More precipitation is forecast for next week. The amounts are not expected to be heavy, but every little bit helps. After that, there are indications of another major storm the following week. It's just now starting to show up on the latest 7-day rainfall map. Preliminary indications are for more moisture to fall in the eastern parts of the state.

Click here for the latest Drought Monitor map.

This N That- Jhett Skaggs Benefit Report, McAlester Sale, Presidents Day Schedule 

Word from Shari Holloway is that a little over $71,000 was raised last night in the live auction for Jhett Skaggs and his family- as Jhett faces a second heart transplant operation. That does not include the silent auction proceeds- so a great evening as so many folks gave of their time, talents and resources to make this happen. Shari and those who were organizing this event pass along their thanks to each and every one that helped!

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A special and Cow and Bull sale is set for tomorrow for the McAlester Union Stockyards- we have details in the calendar section of our website- click here to learn more about this sale that begins at 12 noon tomorrow.

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This coming Monday is President's Day- and the ag futures will be closing for a three day weekend today here they finish their open outcry and electronic trade after lunch today.  Livestock futures close at 1:55 PM while grain trade in Chicago and Kansas City close at 2:00 PM central time.  The grains will reopen Monday evening at 7:00 PM central time for the electronic trade for Tuesday while livestock trade won't trade until the open outcry/electronic trade opening at 9:05 AM Tuesday morning.

Federal Government offices take the day- no mail service of course-  banks are closed- equity markets are closed-and we will be limited on what livestock market information will be available to us.  HOWEVER- we will have an email update as normal- and our radio reports on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network will be heard on the 45 radio stations we work with across the state and region. If you want to see the complete holiday schedule for all of the futures trading platforms- click here.