AFBF and 532 Groups: Bring the Farm Bill Back to the House Floor 

The American Farm Bureau Federation helped garner a group of more than 532 organizations that today urged House leadership to bring the farm bill back to the House floor for a vote as soon as possible. The groups also urged against splitting the nutrition title from the legislation.

In a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the vast group encompassing agriculture, conservation, nutrition, rural development, finance, forestry, energy and crop insurance organizations and companies said passage of the farm bill (H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013) is vital. 

"This important legislation supports our nation's farmers, ranchers, forest owners, food security, natural resources and wildlife habitats, rural communities, and the 16 million Americans whose jobs directly depend on the agriculture industry," said the letter.

"Farm bills represent a delicate balance between America's farm, nutrition, conservation, and other priorities, and accordingly require strong bipartisan support," continued the letter. "It is vital for the House to try once again to bring together a broad coalition of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to provide certainty for farmers, rural America, the environment and our economy in general and pass a five-year farm bill upon returning in July." 

Click here to read more of this story and to read the full text of the letter and the groups which signed it.  

OACD's Clay Pope Disappointed with Farm Bill Failure, Hopeful About Future Prospects 

Like other leaders from across the spectrum of agricultural groups, Clay Pope of the Oklahoma Conservation Districts was disappointed in the failure of the 2013 farm bill in the House of Representatives. Pope spoke with me about the bill's failure and how to go forward. He will appear on this weekend's "in the Field" segment on News 9 about 6:40 a.m. Saturday morning.

Pope said he was appreciative of how hard Rep. Frank Lucas worked in getting a bill through the House Agriculture Committee and onto the House floor.   He also had praise for the lawmakers who voted for the bill. Even the though bill was voted down, Pope said he's hopeful for the future.

"We're hopeful they'll come with some other resolution that we can come with another version of the bill that we can move on to conference and get some finality to the farm bill."

He said legislators are trying to understand why the farm bill failed by 39 votes.   He said it is absolutely vital that legislators redouble their efforts to get a bill back on the floor and passed soon.

"Trying to plan for the future, trying to make sure that we have the tools necessary to feed and clothe the world while at the same time protecting our natural resources, it is key to get a farm bill passed."

Click here to read more or to listen to our full interview.  

Farm Bureau Seeks Court Ruling on Farmyard Storm Water

The American Farm Bureau Federation Monday asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia to determine that livestock and poultry farmers do not need Clean Water Act discharge permits for ordinary storm water runoff from their farmyards. The joint motion, filed by AFBF, West Virginia Farm Bureau and West Virginia poultry farmer Lois Alt, would garner a big win for farmers nationwide if the court rules in their favor.

Monday's motion comes on the heels of the court's April decision rejecting efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency to dismiss Alt's case in its entirety in order to avoid defending its legal position in court. This lawsuit began in 2012 when Alt challenged an EPA order demanding that she obtain a Clean Water Act discharge permit for ordinary storm water runoff from her farmyard or face $37,500 in fines each time the storm water came into contact with dust, feathers or small amounts of manure on the ground outside her poultry houses as a result of normal farming operations. Despite EPA's withdrawal of the Alt order six weeks before the legal briefing was scheduled to commence, the court agreed with Farm Bureau and Alt that the case should go forward to clarify whether, as EPA contends, discharge permits are required for "ordinary precipitation runoff from a typical farmyard."

"For the last year Lois Alt has courageously held her ground against EPA not only to defend her own farm, but to help stop EPA from using its muscle against other responsible farmers," said AFBF President Bob Stallman. "We are honored to join with her to explain to the court how EPA is misinterpreting the Clean Water Act and unlawfully using the full force of the federal government to force farmers to seek permits when they are not discharging to waters."

Click here to read more of this story.

Self Says Effects of De-worming and Late Summer Protein Supplements are Additive

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

The advantageous use of high protein supplements on late summer native range and Bermuda grass pastures has been well documented. The Oklahoma Gold supplementation program is widely used for fall-born replacement heifers and summer grazing of stocker cattle. Adding another management tool, late summer de-worming may pay additional dividends.

Oklahoma State University beef nutritionists studied the effects of de-worming and protein supplementation during late-summer on performance of fall-born heifers grazing native warm-season pastures. Forty Angus and Angus x Hereford heifers (average age = 270 days) were assigned to receive one of four treatment combinations: 1) no supplement, no de-wormer; 2) supplement, no de-wormer; 3) no supplement, de-wormed; and 4) supplement, and de-wormed. The de-wormer treatment (Ivermectin, 1% solution containing 10% clorsulon) was applied on July 25 and again on August 26. Protein supplemented heifers received the equivalent of 1 pound per head per day of cottonseed meal (41% crude protein, as fed basis) for 84 days beginning on July 29. Fecal egg counts were obtained from 5 heifers within each treatment combination at 28-day intervals. Fecal egg shedding was lower in de-wormed heifers throughout the treatment period.

You can read more from Glenn Selk by clicking here.

 

Group Appeals OIG's Decision to Withhold Records Relating to Questionable Checkoff Audit Report

The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) filed an administrative appeal  challenging the USDA Inspector General's (OIG) refusal to release more than 3,000 pages of information relating to a questionable audit report.

Despite an independent audit that discovered substantial violations of the beef checkoff program-which supervised by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)-a recently released OIG report of those same operations did not discover such violations. To uncover the truth behind these irreconcilably conflicting conclusions, OCM filed requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to demand disclosure of the audit records and provide the kind of transparency that OIG has stated is critical to the integrity of the checkoff program.

OIG has now claimed, however, that it intends to withhold from public disclosure more than 3,000 pages of report drafts (the final report was a mere 17 pages long). OCM today has filed an administrative appeal, challenging the OIG refusal to disclose these materials. The appeal also alleges that OIG has not complied with FOIA's statutory deadlines and improperly transferred records to AMS-the very agency being audited-for that agency to make disclosure determinations.

 You can read more of this story by clicking here.

2013 Global Food Security Index Shows Promise in Developing Nations, Declines in Others

On Tuesday, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) issued findings from the annual Global Food Security Index, a first-of-its-kind ranking tool to comprehensively measure food security and monitor the ongoing impact of agriculture investments, collaborations and policies around the world. Commissioned by DuPont, the 2013 Index expands on the 25 previously identified food security indicators to determine how two new factors, political corruption and urbanization, affect access to safe, nutritious and affordable food. Additionally, the 2013 Index includes Singapore and Ireland in the 107-country comparison, designed to track progress, foster collaboration and create real-world solutions to help feed the 9 billion people on Earth.

"Addressing food security is fruitless without measurement tools and global benchmarks, together with a continued commitment, but most important: Action," said DuPont Pioneer President Paul E. Schickler. "Since we commissioned the first Global Food Security Index last year, governments, NGOs and academics have used the Index as a roadmap to identify critical food security issues and make better informed decisions, develop collaborative partnerships and create effective local policies to address country-specific needs." 

Click here for more.

This N That- Big Iron Sale Day, 9Th Annual Canola Conference Dates Set and Happy Birthday America!

On this day before the 4th of July, the Big Iron folks will have an online sale as usual- although total numbers being offered are lighter than normal.  A total of 154 items will be sold in the no reserve bid process- with first items starting to close at 10 AM.  Click here for our calendar listing for this week's sale- which includes our audio conversation that we had recently with District Sales Manager Mike Wolfe. Mike explains how Big Iron works and how you can buy or sell with confidence with Big Iron.  We also have a link at that page to the first listing of all of the items being sold on this Wednesday.

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Producers interested in learning how to maximize their canola crop should plan now to attend one of two Oklahoma-Kansas Winter Canola Conferences taking place July 17 in Enid and July 18 in Altus.

There is no charge to attend either of the conferences being put on by cooperating partners Oklahoma Oilseed Commission, the Great Plains Canola Association, Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

The July 17 conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Enid Convention Hall, located downtown at 301 S. Independence Ave. in Enid. A meeting of the Great Plains Canola Association will follow the meeting. The July 18 conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Western Oklahoma State College, located at 2801 N. Main St. in Altus. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. for both conferences, with programs kicking off just before 9 a.m.

Click here for more details and we hope to see you at one of these great events which help kick off the 2014 growing season.

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With tomorrow the official birthday celebration of our wonderful country- government offices, markets and many businesses make it a day of relaxation and celebration.  There will be no email tomorrow- but we will have a limited edition on Friday- with several of our stories falling under the category of "in case you missed it."

As we pause and reflect on being citizens in this land of the brave and the home of the free- most of us fully understand that freedom comes with a price- a price that has been paid by many who have given their lives so we can live our lives.  The most recent example of brave young men giving their lives helping others can be found in Arizona, where 19 Hot Shot Fire Fighters were caught in a fierce quickly expanding fire- and found themselves out of time and out of options as they lost their lives.  I ask that you pray for these men and their families as you enjoy time with your families and friends the next couple of days- the Fourth of July 2013 will be a rough holiday for them to face.