Lawmakers in Special Session Approve Tort Reform Measures Impacting Rural Oklahoma 

Oklahoma lawmakers in special session approved 23 measures dealing with tort reform Monday. Senators and House members were called into session by Governor Mary Fallin to address tort reform which had been passed in a single bill in 2009. The Oklahoma State Supreme Court struck down that law saying the issues needed to be addressed singly. With their votes Monday, lawmakers affirmed the reforms they made in the 2009 law.

Representative Don Armes is the chairman of the Oklahoma House Natural Resources Committee.   His committee also has oversight of the agriculture subcommittee. He spoke with me about how the bills before the special session affect rural Oklahomans and agriculture.

"I think the thing that we have to remember is that we have to be a less litigious society. We've got to be able to have things like agritourism and things like that without fear of frivolous lawsuits. I think that's the overriding 'big picture.' I think that all the intricate puzzle pieces that fit into tort reform have to do with things like that for those of us in the rural areas.

"Farmers and ranchers have a tremendous amount of exposure as far as liability-hired hands , the cattle getting on the road, any number of things can happen when you're pulling farm equipment down the road--nothing like that. In legitimate instances, it's one thing, but just for frivolous lawsuits with somebody hunting a check, that's not good. That's really what tort reform and lawsuit reform is really all about."
 

Please click here to catch my full interview with Don Armes.
 

Intensifying Drought Affecting Crop Conditions, Planting 

Another week of meager rainfall and summer heat resulted in worsening drought conditions across Oklahoma. According to the September 3rd U.S. Drought Monitor, 73.8 percent of the state is in a drought or abnormally dry, up from 60.2 percent the week before. Some producers have begun dusting in wheat, while others have delayed planting due to the limited soil moisture. Row crops continued to make progress and corn harvest continued. Corn, soybeans and peanuts continue to be rated mostly good, with none rated very poor.

Corn in the dent stage was 94 percent complete 15 points ahead of last week. Fifty-eight percent of the crop was mature by Sunday, and 14 percent was harvested.  Soybean blooming was 95 percent complete by Sunday, and 80 percent of plants were setting pods, two points behind the five-year average.  (The full Oklahoma Crop Progress and Condition report is available by clicking here.)

The extreme heat and lack of rainfall caused soybean conditions across Kansas to decline when compared to the previous week.  Soybean setting pods were 94 percent, compared to 90 last year and 94 average. Soybeans dropping leaves were 9 percent, behind 22 last year and 14 average. Condition rated 3 percent very poor, 11 poor, 37 fair, 44 good, and five excellent.

Thirteen percent of the corn crop was mature, well behind 72 last year and 47 average. Corn harvested was three percent complete, behind 40 last year, and 17 average. Corn condition rated 14 percent very poor, 18 poor, 30 fair, 31 good, and seven excellent.  (You can read the full Kansas report here.)

Row crops in Texas were running very close to five-year averages last week.  Corn and sorghum harvest was underway in the Southern High Plains. Soybeans were being harvested in the Blacklands and South Central Texas.

Fifty-four percent of the state's corn crop was in good or excellent condition and 45 percent was in fiar to poor condition.  The condition of the soybean crop was 55 percent in fair to poor condition with 42 percent being listed as good to excellent.  (Click here for the full Texas report.)

Weather Brings Corn Crop Condition Down Nationwide

Warm, dry weather though much of the Corn Belt, with drought conditions in several areas, has reduced the condition of the 2013 U.S. corn crop as harvest approaches, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported today.

"Many of our growers are noticing the impact of the late-summer weather on their crops," said National Corn Growers Association President Pam Johnson. "We also see that drought monitors show conditions reaching the severe stage in several key corn-growing areas of the upper Midwest."

As of Sept. 8, 54 percent of the crop is rated good or excellent, down two percentage points from last week, with 29 percent rated fair and 17 percent rated poor or very poor. Only 9 percent of the crop has reached the mature stage, markedly lower than the five-year average of 28 percent.

You can read the rest of this story as well as find a link to the full USDA Crop Progress and Condition report by clicking here.

Talking Southwest Ag Issues Summit with Oklahoma Wheat Grower President Paul Fruendt

The Southwest Ag Issues Summit is underway- and one of the most significant Oklahoma farm organizations that is a part of the Southwest Council of Agribusiness is the Oklahoma Association of Wheat Growers. The President of the OWGA, Paul Fruendt, believes that this has been a great partnership that they have formed by joining other commodity groups that are a part of this Council. The Council is the host of the 2013 edition of the Ag Issues Summit that is being held this year in downtown Oklahoma City.

The summit includes a robust program of speakers to touch on such topics as the farm bill, agricultural trade, endangered species impacts, and more. Featured speakers include House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), futurist Jim Wiesemeyer, and Cook Political Report's David Wasserman. Renowned cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell will also be speaking at this year's event.

I talked with Freundt about the Summit, about his worries about completing the five year farm bill process and about watching the weather for any chance of rain to allow wheat planting to really kick into gear.

Click here to listen to our conversation.

 

Senator Stabenow Calls on House to Name Farm Bill Conferees

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today released the following statement regarding moving forward on the 2013 Farm Bill. Chairwoman Stabenow joined Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid and Neil Young at a news conference today and called on House leadership to announce their conferees and officially begin conferencing the Farm Bill before the current extension expires on Sept. 30.

"It's time to stop kicking the can down the road and leaving rural America and 16 million jobs hanging in uncertainty. The Senate has agreed to go to conference and appointed conferees, and whenever the House decides to do the same we can move forward and finish the Farm Bill.

"I do not support an extension because it is bad policy that yields no deficit reduction, no reform and does nothing to help American agriculture create jobs. It's time to do the work we were sent here to do and finally finish this Farm Bill."

 

Summer Changes the Mexican Cattle and Beef Market, According to Derrell Peel

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow-Calf newsletter:

The latest trade data for July provides additional indication that recent trends in U.S. and Mexican cattle and beef trade have changed dramatically. The 51 percent decrease in July imports of Mexican cattle, compared to last year, is a continuation of the change in Mexican cattle imports that has been happening for several months. Although total annual imports of Mexican cattle in 2012 were the second largest on record, the rate of imports dropped dramatically in August 2012 and has continued to date. So far in 2013, imports of Mexican cattle are down 46 percent year over year, a decrease of 459,000 head through July. Mexican cattle imports are expected to continue below year ago levels for the remainder of the year, although the percent decrease will be smaller when compared to the decreased monthly levels in the second half of 2012.

U.S. imports of Mexican beef have decreased since April, decreasing in May and July and growing only slightly in June. This follows dramatic double-digit monthly growth, year over year, for 51 of the 52 months prior to April. Since 2009, Mexico has emerged rapidly as the fourth ranked source of U.S. beef imports. However, the recent data suggests that growth of Mexican beef imports may have stalled at this point. This raises the question of what is limiting Mexican exports of beef to the U.S. There seems to be no significant change in the value of Mexican beef in the U.S. leaving the possibilities that demand is lacking for further growth or that supply is limited in Mexico. 

Click here for the full story on Mexican beef from Derrell Peel.

 

From the Southwest Ag Issues Summit- Here's Chairman Lucas' Speech on Monday Morning 

The Southwest Ag Issues Summit continues- and those in attendance on Monday morning heard from the Chairman of the House Ag Committee in the US Congress- Oklahoma Third District Congressman Frank Lucas.


Lucas, as you might expect, talked about the 2013 Farm Bill process- as he described the roller coaster ride of moving a farm bill closer to a conclusion. He spoke of the low point of the process- when the full House defeated the House Ag Committee's Farm Bill earlier this summer- and the decision that he had to make in allowing a vote to occur that was likely to be a defeat for the measure.


Out of that came the "farm bill farm bill" that was passed on a straight party line vote- which Lucas calls very significant because it means that no matter what happens with the proposed stand alone Nutrition Bill that Eric Cantor and other Republicans are promoting that would cut forty billion dollars from food stamp programs over a ten year period- because of the measure that has passed the full house- there is a vehicle that makes the process "Conference-able" with the US Senate.


Lucas strongly believes that we will get a farm bill deal done before the end of 2013- and pledges it will be a safety net for all commodities and producers- not just something tailored for a couple of crops. 

Click here to jump to our website to be able to listen to the full presentation made by Lucas to the Ag Issues Summit.

AND- as a reminder- audio like this can be found not just on our website- but also on our APP- and gives you a great way to listen to things like this Frank Lucas speech on the go on your smartphone or tablet.  Links to download either the Apple or Android version are in the left column of this email- check it out!!!!