Appeal of COOL Rule Filed in Federal Court by Nine Meat Industry Groups 

Nine U.S., Canadian and Mexican meat and livestock organizations filed their initial brief as part of an appeal of a September 11 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denying a motion for a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit to block implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's May 2013 final rule on country-of-origin labeling (COOL).

Appellants include the American Association of Meat Processors, American Meat Institute, Canadian Cattlemen's Association, Canadian Pork Council, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, North American Meat Association, Southwest Meat Association and Mexico's National Confederation of Livestock Organizations.

The brief argues that the trial court incorrectly accepted the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) argument, which was inconsistent with rationale offered by AMS in the final rule, that the new final rule "is to correct misleading speech and prevent consumer deception" that purportedly occurred because of requirements AMS imposed in its 2009 version of the rule.

"Even putting aside the absurdity of a government agency referring to itself as an agent of 'deception,' the District Court should have rejected AMS's belated declaration because it was a plainly impermissible post hoc rationalization. Yet the District Court accepted it anyway," the brief notes.

The appellants also contend that when the trial court accepted AMS' rationalization, it applied the wrong legal standard regarding the First Amendment and compelled speech because the mandated labels at issue are not voluntary deceptive advertising.

Click here to read more.  

Smithfield Foods Shareholders Approve Strategic Combination With Shuanghui International 

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD) announced yesterday that the shareholders of the company voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposed strategic combination with Shuanghui International Holdings Limited.

At a Special Meeting of Smithfield shareholders, more than 96% of the votes cast were voted in favor of the transaction, which represents approximately 76% of Smithfield's total outstanding shares of common stock as of the record date for the Special Meeting.

C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer of Smithfield, said, "This is a great transaction for all Smithfield stakeholders, as well as for American farmers and U.S. agriculture. The partnership is all about growth, and about doing more business at home and abroad. It will remain business as usual - only better - at Smithfield, and we look forward to embarking on this new chapter."

The vote ends months of debate over the deal's implications in terms of food safety and fair trade. China limits foreign investments in many of its industries.

The $7.1 billion deal is expected to close Thursday. It will be the largest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.

You can read more of this story by clicking here.  

There are those who continue to oppose the buyout of Smithfield by the Chinese- click here for the statement released yesterday by the National Farmers Union calling it a sad day for US agriculture.

Farm Service Agency Reminds Producers of New Acreage Reporting Deadlines

Francie Tolle, executive director for the Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA), reminds producers of new deadlines for submitting their annual report of acreage to local FSA county offices.
          
Producers of perennial forage crops (grass, hay, alfalfa, and pasture) must submit a 2014 acreage report for those crops by November 15, 2013. Producers of fall seeded grains (including winter wheat) and canola must submit a 2014 acreage report for those crops by December 16, 2013. The normal deadline is December 15, 2013 but since the 15th falls on a Sunday, producers will have until December 16th to report their acreage.   This is also the same date for these crops to be reported to your crop insurance agent when carrying federal crop insurance.
           
Note: Any crop that has Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage must be reported 15 calendar days before the onset of harvest or grazing of the specific crop acreage being reported.
             
All acreage must be reported for a farm, including crops on non-cropland such as hayed or grazed grassland. It is also important to accurately report crops' intended use. Intended use is used to determine eligibility in many FSA programs and cannot be revised once reported.

Click here for more.

Beef Must Continually Improve to Compete Against Pork and Poulty, Nevil Spear Says

No one can predict the future. But animal scientist Nevil Spear of Western Kentucky State University says there are some certainties as the beef industry looks ahead: other proteins will keep getting cheaper. To compete, beef must be better.

"I think there's lots of varied opinions about what the industry will look like ten years from now, but, increasingly, we have to continue to hit that target. Do it more efficiently with more precision so that we are more price competitive versus pork and poultry."

But it's not all about price. It's about value, Spear says.

"Quality takes us to an increasingly-competitive product. We know that beef will never be able to compete with pork and poultry on a price-per-pound issue which just underscores the reason why we have to hit the consumer target for quality and consistency every single time."

You can read more of this story or a watch a video version of it by clicking here.

Wheat Commission Launches 2014 Junior Wheat Show Competition

Planting is under way for the 2014 wheat crop. Some producers already have seed in the ground in anticipation of winter pasture while others are holding off a little longer for maximum grain yield potential.

Mike Schulte, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, tells us that the time is right for 4-H and FFA members to embark on projects for next year's Junior Wheat Show.

"This is a great opportunity for 4-H and FFA members to become involved in wheat production. We offer over $16,000 in scholarships and awards to the top winners each year in this competition."

With planting time upon us, Schulte says time is of the essence for those who would like to participate in the competition. A complete set of rules is available on the Wheat Commission's website by clicking here.   The rules currently posted are last year's rules, but Schulte says they are basically the same as this year's with only a couple of minor changes.   He says updated rules will appear on the website in November. 

You can listen to my conversation with Mike Schulte or read more of this story by clicking here.

 

Using Nitrogen Rich Strips to Optimize Fertilizer Application

Brian Arnall, Assistant Professor of Nutrient Management at OSU writes in his latest "Down and Dirty with NPK" blog post: 

The Nitrogen Rich Strip, or N-Rich Strip, is a technique/tool/process that I spend a great deal of time working with and talking about. It is one of the most simplistic forms of precision agriculture a producer can adopt. The concept of the N-Rich strip is to have an area in the field that has more nitrogen (N) than the rest. Due to our fertilizer applicators this is typically a strip. The approach maybe somewhat new but at one point most producers have had N-Rich Strips in their fields, albeit accidentally. Before the days of auto-steer it was not uncommon, and honestly still is not, to see a area in the field that the fertilizer applicator either doubled up on or skipped. In our pastures and dual purpose/graze out wheat every spring we can see the tell-tale signs of livestock deposits. When over laps or "Cow Pox" become visible we can assume the rest of the field is behind in nitrogen. I like to tell producers that the goal of the N-Rich strip is to make a really big cow pie.

What I like most about the N-Rich Strip approach is its simplicity. The N-Rich Strip is applied and; Scenario 1. The N-Rich Strip becomes visible (Greener) you APPLY NITROGEN, Scenario 2. The strip is not visible you Option A. DON'T APPLY NITROGEN Option B. Apply Nitrogen Anyways. The conclusion to apply N or not is based on the reasoning that the only difference between the N-Rich Strip and the area 10 ft from it is nitrogen, so if the strip is greener the rest of the field needs nitrogen. If there is no difference N is not limiting and our research shows N does not have to be applied.

You can read more from Brian Arnall on N-Rich Strips by clicking here.  

Checking the Auction Circuit- Big Iron, Superior, McAlester and more

It's Wednesday- and that means the next round of closings for equipment will be happening on the Big Iron Auction website.  A total of 352 items are for sale this week- with the first 3 items to close at 10 AM central time.

For details of the stuff that will be sold in this no reserve auction setting- click here for the Big Iron website.  And, remember, you can contact District Manager Mike Wolfe by calling him at 580-320-2718 and learn how to be a buyer or seller or both on Big Iron!

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The next Superior Video Livestock Auction gets underway this coming Friday morning- September 27th- starting at 8:00 AM central time.  

A total of 34, 500 cattle are to be offered this week- and you can learn more about this week's lineup by clicking here for our listing of the sale in our calendar section of our website.  

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Julie Grant and the folks at the McAlester Union Stockyards have scheduled a special stock cow and bull replacement sale for this Saturday, September 28th at high noon.  Consigned over 700 head of Bred Cows, Pairs, Bred Heifers, & Bulls- we have details of those consignments that you can find by clicking here.

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We also have a couple of purebred auctions that are currently listed on our Auction page on the OklahomaFarmReport website- Moss Land and Cattle Company has brought their high quality Hereford genetics in from Oregon and are having a dispersion sale in central Oklahoma at the H2 Ranch & Cattle Company in Perkins.  

Click here for more details- which includes a link to a complete catalog on the National Cattle Services website- Eddie Sims is the sale manager and you can call him with any questions you may have about this sale.    

Finally, we want to remind you to put the Express Ranches Ranchers Bull Sale on your calendar- the date this year is Monday, October 7th.  A total of 282 Angus bulls will sell- as well as 500 Commercial Spring Bred Females.  Our Auction listing for the Ranchers Bull Sale can be found by clicking here.