Chairman Frank Lucas Previews Farm Bill Plans at Lahoma Field Day 

The Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, looked very relaxed as he spoke to a group of farmers gathered for the 2013 Lahoma Wheat Field Day at the OSU Wheat Research Facility just outside Lahoma, Oklahoma (west of Enid). Lucas, in the middle of his sprawling 32-county district, made references time and again about those "folks back east" as he referred to the efforts to bring together a 2013 five year Farm Bill.

Lucas spoke to the farmers about the expectations for the the mark up of farm policy this coming week in Washington- both in the Senate Ag Committee on Tuesday and then the House Ag Committee on Wednesday.

He expressed a lot of optimism that a new five year farm bill would be completed this year- especially with the hope of floor time as early as June- as promised by House leadership.

We have his full remarks made to the farm audience on Friday morning- five days in front of the mark up- and you can listen to them by clicking here.

Keith Good who operates FarmPolicy.Com has had those remarks transcribed- click here to read and review the Chairman's remarks.

You can also read the text of the 2013 House farm bill by clicking here.  

 

Lucas Pleased with Stabenow's Version of Farm Bill, Upbeat About Chances for Passage and Reconciliation 

Senator Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee has unveiled her version of the 2013 Farm Bill for markup. Stabenow's bill contains the Agricultural Risk Coverage proposal, but she has also included a target price provision. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas spoke with me and said Stabenow's inclusion of those provisions is opening a door for House members. 

"It looks like in a couple of particular groups like peanuts and rice, she's attempting to do that. I think that represents a great step forward. It lays the groundwork for compromise, but ultimately we have to address all the commodity groups. And when it comes to giving people an option in addition to ARC, the shallow loss revenue stuff, all commodity groups need to be able to participate and I think we'll work that out, but the Senate's not quite to a perfected document yet and I'm going to work and help them."

Lucas is the chair of the conference committee that will iron out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the farm bill.  He said he has every confidence of being able to come to a consensus with Stabenow.  You can read more of this story by clicking here.

Lucas said that even though there is a very wide gap between the Senate's proposed bill and the House's version in some places, there are a lot of reasons for producers to be optimistic about how the process is playing out. He said he is very confident that a significant bill will be passed that can be signed by the President.

You can read a section-by-section summary of the House version of the bill by clicking here.

Despite Lucas's optimism about the bill, there are still opponents. Click here for an editorial from the Environmental Working Group which takes issue with both the House and Senate versions of the farm bill.

 

USDA Reports Predict Record Corn and Soybean Crops, Smaller Wheat Crop for 2013

Grain markets reacted negatively Friday to a mix of numbers released in a pair of reports from the USDA. The World Agriculture Supply and Demand report and the Crop Production report forecast record production in corn and soybeans and a drop in overall wheat production.

The WASDE report projects a corn yield of 158 bushels per acre, implying a record crop of 14.14 billion bushels, up 3.36 billion bushels from 2012 when much of the nation was overtaken by severe drought. 

The USDA is forecasting a record year soybeans, projecting 3.39 billion bushels, up 375 million bushels from 2012. Soybean stocks are expected to increase to 265 million bushels, up 140 million from 2012-13 marketing year, with the stocks-to-use ratio at 8.1 percent. 

Wheat numbers in the Crop Production report were decidedly negative, with the USDA forecasting winter wheat production at 1.49 billion bushels, down 10 percent from 2012. The report forecasts a 114-million-bushel crop for Oklahoma. That's down from a 155-million-bushel crop the year before. 

Even with a lowered estimate for Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University Small Grains Extension Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards says the USDA analysts are seeing the state's wheat crop potential through rose-colored glasses.

"I think they're a group of optimists. I think that's really high. I believe the Oklahoma Grain and Feed number was probably closer at about 85 million bushels. I think that's much more realistic. If we have these cooler temperatures that allow us to have an extended grain fill, I think we'll make that 85 million, maybe push the 90-million-bushel range. If we get hot and dry in the next few weeks and have those hot winds, I don't think we'll make that 85. We're probably looking at about half of what we had last year if we turn hot and dry."

You can read more of this story as well as finding links to the USDA's reports, and a commentary from commodity trader Tom Leffler on what the numbers mean by clicking here.

 

OSU Wheat Specialist Jeff Edwards Calls USDA Wheat Number for Oklahoma Too High

Dr. Jeff Edwards, Extension Wheat Specialist for Oklahoma State University, has been traveling the wheat belt within Oklahoma over the last few weeks- and he told me that the most common thing that he has seen in recent days in most wheat fields he has checked is "freeze damage, lots of freeze damage." 

On Thursday, he spent time at the OSU wheat plots in Chickasha and then Friday, he was at the Lahoma Wheat Field Day at the North Central Oklahoma Research Farm that's a part of the OSU Ag Experiment Station. Edwards called the freeze damage seen at both Chickasha and at Lahoma as five to fifteen percent damage- while in many other locations he has found higher levels of damage to the wheat plants he has checked.

Edwards says that he has seen limited stem damage from the freeze events across the state, with plants that have been damaged taking the hit in the head mostly. He does not expect 2013 to be as bad as 2007 when it comes to stem problems. 

His hope for the 2013 crop is for the continuation of an extended mild spring, with limited hot, dry, windy weather between now and the latter part of June. He says that it will not surprise him to see wheat harvest still underway in parts of the state around the Fourth of July.

Click here for more of this story on our website.  

Superior Livestock Auction Purchased by National Livestock

National Livestock Credit announced the purchase of Superior Livestock Auction, Inc. National Livestock and cattlemen from several states have formed a limited partnership to acquire Superior.

National Livestock Credit is part of a family of livestock service companies formed in 1932 to improve the ability of producers to market and finance livestock. When livestock producers were seeking more competitive options, the National Livestock companies were formed to improve the potential for profitability for those producers. The corporate headquarters of National Livestock Credit is located in the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Superior Livestock Auction, Inc. was founded in 1987 and introduced satellite video marketing to the nation's cattle industry. Superior has grown to become the largest livestock auction in the United States, marketing well over one million head of cattle annually. Superior has offices located in Brush, Colorado and Fort Worth, TX, with its auction facilities and Superior Productions' offices located in The Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District.

Click here to read more of this story.

 

BIO Disappointed in APHIS Decision to Require Further Analysis on Dicamba- and 2, 4-D-Resistant Plants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced Friday that the Agency plans to prepare two separate environmental impact statements (EIS) on crops genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicides known as 2,4 dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and Dicamba.

APHIS will publish Notices of Intent to prepare EIS's in an upcoming Federal Register, and each notice will be accompanied by a 60-day public comment period.

Cathleen Enright, Executive Vice President for Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry organization (BIO) issued the following statement in response:

"While the industry fully intends to cooperate with APHIS during this process, we are disappointed by the decision, and we believe that this action by the Agency sets bad precedent for future consideration of safe and beneficial genetically engineered plant products."

Click here to read more about BIO's reaction to this announcement.

This N That- Turf Touchdown for OSU, In the Field note,  Winfeld Meetings and Wheat Commission Election

When the NFL's Washington Redskins open their home season this fall, they will do so on a new playing surface sodded with an award-winning turf bermudagrass created by researchers at Oklahoma State University. The team announced in April it will install OSU's Latitude 36 at FedEx Field in June.

"The NFL is the ultimate for any football player so we are delighted that a bermudagrass created by OSU experts has reached this pinnacle of success," said OSU President Burns Hargis. "The NFL also is the ultimate test of a turf's durability and we're confident the Washington Redskins will be pleased with the performance of Latitude 36." FedEx Field becomes the first NFL field to showcase Latitude 36. The Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens also have installed the new variety on two practice fields, and the University of Virginia and Bradley University home football fields are sodded with Latitude 36 as well. The grass is ideal for use in parts of the eastern, western and southern United States for sports fields, golf course fairways/tee boxes, commercial grounds and residential lawns, in part, because of its excellent tolerance for traffic and recuperation rate once it is damaged. It has improved cold hardiness and excellent color, texture, density and uniformity

Click here for more on this latest OSU product heading to the NFL.

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A quick "In the Field" note- our guest this past Saturday was Mark Hodges of Plains Grains as we discussed the Hard Red Winter wheat crop for 2013- the video of our conversation is now up on our Oklahoma Farm Report App, as well as on YouTube and we have embeded the YouTube version on our website- click here to take a look.

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Winfield will host three informational meetings across western Oklahoma reviewing extensive data on plant nutrition, familiarizing producers with high quality micro-nutrients and presenting cutting-edge seed treatment technology. The featured speaker will be Dr. Tim Eyrich, Manger Product Development Plant Nutrition and Yield Enhancement Products for Winfield Solutions.

The meetings are planned for tomorrow and Wednesday- in Enid tomorrow and Walters and Clinton on Wednesday.  Click here for further details and contact numbers to let them know you plan to attend- two of the meetings are evening meetings and will include dinner- while the midday meeting in Walters will include lunch. 

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Finally- the Oklahoma Wheat Commission has their regular monthly meeting planned for Kingfisher this coming Wednesday- start time for the meeting is 9 AM.  Then that same afternoon- The Oklahoma Wheat Commission will hold an election to fill the District III opening. The election will be held Wednesday, May 15, 2013, commencing at 2 p.m. at the Kingfisher County Fairgrounds, Exhibit Building; Kingfisher, Oklahoma. District III consists of Beckham, Blaine, Canadian, Custer, Dewey, Kingfisher, Roger Mills and Washita counties.  

Click here for more details about the meeting- and how the election process works.