Farm Groups Line Up in Support of 2013 Farm Bill Sent to House Floor by Ag Committee 

After a lengthy discussion, the House Agriculture Committee cleared its version of the 2013 Farm Bill during a markup session which ended late Wednesday night.  

Many farm and commodity organizations hailed the committee's action and called for swift action in both the full House and Senate.  The groups were mostly pleased with the bill that emerged from the House, with minor disagreements here or there.

For the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), the House farm bill included priorities important to cattlemen and women such as permanent disaster programs along with the elimination of the livestock title, maintaining of conservation programs and a strong research title. 

National Corn Growers President Pam Johnson said there was much to like in the bill and a few things that were problematic.

"While we are pleased the process is moving forward, NCGA remains extremely concerned with the Committee's decision to adopt a fixed-target-price program that moves U.S. farm policy away from the market-oriented reforms that have made possible a robust rural economy. It is also disappointing the Committee failed to use this opportunity to ensure a Revenue Loss Coverage program that is a genuine risk management option for producers."

National Association of Wheat Growers President Bing Von Bergen, said portions of the bill could be better, but now is not the time to stop the bill's forward progress.

"From all appearances, leaders in both the Senate and House are ready to move the farm bill to the floors of their chambers and across the finish line. Our top legislative priority is completing a long-term farm bill this year, and we stand ready to assist in their efforts to reach this goal."

You can read more positive responses from various groups by clicking on their names below:

American Soybean Association

National Association of Conservation Districts

National Cattlemen's Beef Association

National Corn Growers Association

National Cotton Council

National Sorghum Producers

National Association of Wheat Growers

Oklahoma Farm Bureau 

Reaction to the House Agriculture Committee's markup of the 2013 Farm Bill was not uniformly positive.  Some groups, especially wildlife and environmental groups, found portions of the bill troubling from their points of view.

The Izaak Walton League chastised committee members for, in its opinion, eroding the public investment in clean water and wetlands.  The group called for the full House of Representatives to "protect taxpayers' investment in critical natural resources by re-establishing the link between conservation compliance and crop insurance and including a national Sodsaver provision in the final bill."  Click here for more of their statement.

The National Wildlife Federation was equally disappointed that the House Bill did not link conservation compliance and crop insurance.

"We are very disappointed that Chairman Lucas chose to leave out this important provision supported by a broad coalition of conservation, agricultural and crop insurance interests," said Julie Sibbing, director of agriculture and forestry programs. "Failure to link these longstanding requirements to crop insurance premium subsidies could destroy more than a million wetlands in the Northern Great Plains, putting at risk North America's most important waterfowl breeding habitat."  You can read more from the NWF by clicking here.

Novozymes, a producer of enzymes that turn biomass into biofuels, expressed a need to fully fund the energy programs. The House committee excluded $800 million in mandatory funding that had been called for in the Senate bill.  Click here for more from Novozymes.

NCBA Urges Congressional Reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act

National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) President Scott George, a Cody, Wyo., dairy and beef producer, issued the following statement on yesterday's action by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on reauthorization of the Animal Drug User Fee Act (ADUFA): "Cattlemen and women rely on new and innovative animal health products, and for that reason the reauthorization of ADUFA has been one of the NCBA's key priorities this year. I am pleased to see the House Energy and Commerce Committee pass ADUFA reauthorization yesterday [Wednesday] by a voice vote and look for the full House to consider reauthorization shortly." 

Colin Woodall, vice president of government affairs with the NCBA said, "This is a big one for us because this is a program that allows pharmaceutical companies to pay money to the FDA and that gives them the money they need to get new drugs approved and out into the marketplace. New veterinary drugs are always good for us as we look for new ways to keep our animals healthy and increase production."

Woodall said ADUFA has some powerful opponents both inside and outside of Congress. Representative Louise Slaughter has reintroduced a bill to limit antibiotic use in animals, and it has the deep-pockets support of organizations like the Pew Charitable Trust.

Woodall acknowledged the a floor fight over ADUFA is "an opportunity for the anti antibiotics crowd to come out and fight us. And we're seeing that right now so we're working very hard to make sure this thing gets reauthorized without any restriction on our use of animal drugs like antibiotics."

Click here to read more and to listen to an interview with Colin Woodall.
 

Look Back at the Calving Season and Start to Make Improvements Now, Selk Says

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist, writes in the latest edition of the Cow-Calf Newsletter:

Only 1 to 2 months ago the spring calving cows were calving, the temperatures were colder and the calving pastures were covered with muck and manure. Experience would say that you do not want to ask cow calf operators how calving is then, because the response would be less than objective, reflecting bone-chilling cold and not enough sleep.

If you wait too long, perhaps until this fall, time will have mellowed most of the events and one soon has difficulty matching a calving season with particular problems. Now is perhaps the best time to make a few notes on what to change for next year.

The first step is to list the dead calves. Hopefully, your cattle are in a record system that will provide that information. If not, grab a piece of paper and pencil and list the calves. Your calving notebook should have the dead calves checked off and a brief notation on what happened to each. Until all the calves are listed, the shock of lost opportunities has not had its full impact.  

You can read more of this story by clicking here.   

 Late Planting in Cornbelt Could Have Ripple Effect Into Next Year, Illinois Farmer Says

Continued cold and wet weather conditions across parts of the cornbelt are having a negative impact on farmers like Roger Ward from Jacksonville, Illinois. Jacksonville is in the central part of the state between Springfield and the Mississippi River.

Ward says farmers in his area are still having trouble getting their corn planted. He said they are normally finished planting by this time each year, but other than planting a test patch in a very dry area to verify his planter was working properly, conditions are still too wet to get into the fields.

"Last year at this time we were done with both corn and soybeans, so, yeah, we're running quite a bit behind."

He said weather forecasts in his area predict continued wet conditions.

"When you look at rainfall events in the next 15 to 20 days, you only get two or three dry days at a time."

Ward said the extremely late planting season is already causing farmers concerns over what comes down the road.

You can read more of this story or listen to my interview with Roger Ward by clicking here. 

Grassland Reserve Program Funding Available

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) are now accepting applications for the 2013 Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP).   The Grassland Reserve Program is jointly administered by NRCS and FSA.

GRP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to landowners and operators for the restoration and conservation of the nation's grasslands. Enrollment of land in the GRP will have a positive impact on the local economy and improve environmental quality by preventing the conversion of grassland to other uses, including crop production and urban development.

NRCS and FSA offices will accept GRP applications on a continuous basis for rental agreements; however, applications must be received prior to May 31, 2013 in order to be considered for 2013 funding. A portion of the GRP allocation for the state of Oklahoma was designated to address the States Initiative for protecting and preserving the Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Counties with land that fall in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Current Range in Oklahoma are: Beaver, Beckham, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Harper, Roger Mills, Texas, Woods, and Woodward counties. A map indicating the areas designated as the Current Range can be viewed at the NRCS or FSA website listed at the end of this release or by contacting your local NRCS or FSA office.

Click here to read more.

This N That- Weather Stuff, Today and Next Week at Alltech 

Three Weather Maps are up on our website that you may want to check out- all on one page.  The top map is the latest Drought Monitor as released yesterday morning abouot 7:30- and which shows little difference from a week ago.  Two thirds of Oklahoma remains in drought, with about eight percent in exceptional drought. The second map offers some insights as to how much rain and where may be coming between now and early next week- a hint- think central and eastern Oklahoma- and then finally, we have a map offering predictions regarding severe weather Sunday, Monday and perhaps Tuesday of this next week.  Click here to take a look.

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We have several things on the calendar for today and tomorrow as well- click here for our calendar page and check out stuff like the Superior Video Livestock Auction that starts at 8 AM central this morning and the Eastern Cedar Workshop set for tomorrow on campus in Stillwater.

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Looking into next week- we will be on the road for a couple of days- covering the 2013 International Symposium of Alltech- this is one of those meetings that always challenges me to think beyond the box and past the short term answers in the world of agriculture- we will look forward to sharing what we learn at this year's event with you in reports starting on Twitter on Monday and Tuesday morning in this email and also on the radio across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network. Click here for more details about the Alltech event that we will be covering for you.