New Study Analyzes Differences Between Senate, House Farm Bills 

A new farm bill analysis by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri provides one of the first in-depth looks at the Commodity Titles of both the Senate and House passed farm bills. The FAPRI analysis was done at the request of the Senate Ag Committee staff- and looks at what the federal farm safety net may look like and how much it will cost depending on which direction the conference report takes.   

FAPRI concludes the two bills have much in common and the consequences of the two bills would be similar in many respects. Both bills replace a Direct Payment program that makes payments that are not tied to current prices or production levels with new programs that offer support linked to current levels of production and prices. Average levels of federal farm program spending would be reduced under both bills, and most commodity market impacts would be relatively small. 

For example:

--The program changes examined in this report reduce estimated 10-year net budgetary outlays by $18.1 billion under the Senate bill and $12.6 billion under the House bill. Estimates of the net budget savings of the same provisions by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) are $16.4 billion for the Senate bill and $15.9 billion for the House Committee bill.

--The Supplemental Coverage Option accounts for much of the difference in the estimated costs of the two bills, as the Title I provisions are estimated to have very similar net budgetary impacts.

You can read more of this story and find a link to the full analysis by clicking here.
 

Stabenow Calls on House to Name Farm Bill Conferees 

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today released the following statement regarding the Senate moving to go to conference with the House on the 2013 Farm Bill:

"I'm pleased that the Senate has once again agreed to go to conference with the House on the Farm Bill and has re-appointed conferees. The government shutdown and the expiration of the Farm Bill has created a double whammy of uncertainty for the economy and for the 16 million Americans who work in this country because of agriculture. The Senate has twice passed a comprehensive, bipartisan Farm Bill that will create jobs, reform agriculture policy and reduce the deficit by tens of billions of dollars. It's time to finally get this done."

The Senate conferees for the majority include: Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Senators Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Max Baucus, D-Mont., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. and Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

 

Farmers and Ranchers Frustrated with Congress Over Farm Bill Expiration, Stallman Says

Bob Stallman, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation issued the following statement today after the one-year farm bill extension expired last night:

"Farmers and ranchers, along with 90 percent of the country, are frustrated with Congress. Aside from shutting down the government, the one-year farm bill extension Congress granted last session also expired at midnight, while the new farm bill has yet to formally reach the conference process.

"Farm Bureau members are deeply concerned over the political challenges that are making it next to impossible for Congress to reach a compromise on important legislation, while restoring fiscal order and setting a responsible course to get the federal budget back on track. Adding to our frustration, both the House and Senate versions of the farm bill would provide significant savings that could be applied toward reducing the federal deficit.

"Now that the 2008 farm bill extension has expired, farmers once again are left with uncertainty as to the safety net and risk management tools that are important in planning for next year's crop. And come January, consumers once again face the impact of high food costs as decades-old farm policy kicks in. 

Click here for more from Bob Stallman.  

 

Oklahoma Farm Bureau Partners with Governor Fallin in 4th Annual Food Drive

Governor Mary Fallin's Fourth Annual Feeding Oklahoma Food Drive kicked off Tuesday with the goal of raising 1.4 million meals to help feed hungry families, children, seniors and those affected by the May tornadoes. The month-long food drive will benefit the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, and their partner agencies across the state.

One of the governor's partners in the project is the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau is the only partner in the drive that has offices in all 77 counties of Oklahoma. Donations can be dropped off at all Farm Bureau offices for delivery to the food banks. Oklahoma Farm Bureau Director Rodd Moesel appeared with Fallin this morning, announcing Farm Bureau's participation in the drive.

"Time and again, Oklahomans have proven themselves to be the most caring and giving individuals in the nation," Fallin said. "Last year, Oklahomans from all 77 counties came together and donated over two million meals in time for the holiday season. This year, we can do even more for the hungry in our state."

Click here to read more.

Expenses Add Up when Raising Replacement Heifers

Job Springer, Agriculture Economist Consultant with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, writes in their latest newsletter:

The Southern Great Plains has seen better forage growing conditions in 2013 than in many recent years. This has been, in part, due to less wind, cooler temperatures and more rainfall. Many ranchers are beginning to chomp at the bit to use these additional forages and are thus looking to rebuild their cow herds. For ranchers looking to rebuild their herds from within the ranch, the question arises as to how much it will cost to raise their own replacement heifers. While every ranch has its own set of unique resources, this article addresses the question of how much it will cost an average-sized ranch in the Southern Great Plains to raise replacement heifers in 2013 and 2014.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average herd size in the Southern Great Plains is approximately 43 head. A rancher trying to expand his herd will need to exceed the typical attrition rate of 17 percent (seven head). In this example, 14 heifers will be used as the initial selection number of potential replacement females.

Replacement heifers need to be approximately 65 percent of their mature weight at the time of breeding. Therefore, a typical herd in the Southern Great Plains would see heifers being bred around 750 pounds. This is a pivotal point when the rancher can either sell a feeder heifer or decide to keep the heifer on the farm as a replacement A spring-calving cow herd will see many heifers being covered as early as March or April. According to the futures market, these 750-pound heifers would be worth $151 per hundredweight or $1,132.50 per head.

Click here to read more of Job Springer's analysis.

 

Conservation Stewardship Program to Reach 63 Million Acres Nationally

Once this year's Conservation Stewardship Program contracts are finalized, the program will have reached a total of approximately 63 million acres enrolled nationally. Helping about 48,000 farmers and ranchers across the country increase their conservation on working lands.


"It is crucial that we learn from the farmers and ranchers who are using the program if it is working as we envisioned," noted Traci Bruckner, Assistant Director for Rural Policy at the Center for Rural Affairs. "Previous applicants that we've heard from helped us develop recommendations and influence the Natural Resources Conservation Service to make positive changes for the program so that it better reflects and values farmers' and ranchers' conservation efforts." 

To read more about the program that was once called the Green Payments program- offering farmers incentives to do the right thing when it comes to good conservation management practices, click here.

This N That-Today's Big Iron Auction, Ag in the Classroom and Climate Change Report Ignores Little Things Like- FACTS. 

Three hundred and 68 items will sell today in Big Iron's latest auction.  The first three items up for bid will close at 10 a.m.  Ag, construction and transportation items are all included in this latest sale.

For details on all if today's items as well as those in coming sales, click here for the Big Iron website.  

If you'd like more information on becoming a buyer or a seller, you can contact District Manager Mike Wolfe by calling him at 580-320-2718.

School is in full swing across Oklahoma and that means Ag in the Classroom is once again underway. This year's contests are now online at www.agclassroom.org/ok.

The theme this year is: Oklahoma Agriculture-Oklahoma Strong.

The competitions this year include: for pre-K and kindergarten students, a coloring contest; for T1, 1st, and 2nd grade students, a bulletin board contest; a poster contest for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students; a storyboard contest for 6th grade students; and an essay contest for 7th and 8th grade students. 

Our thanks for Dana Bessinger for always keeping us in the know on Ag in the Classroom.

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In case you missed the fun and games of this report at the end of last week- an exhaustive United Nations report that claimed with 95% certainty that humans are responsible for global warming left out data that found the planet has stopped warming over the last 15 years, because it did not fit with the climate change agenda it wanted to advance.   

The report, produced by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),  could not explain "why the planet has largely stopped warming over the past 15 years." So it just ignored it. According to the climate data from the U.K.'s weather-watching Met Office, "global surface temperatures rose rapidly during the 70s," but they have "have been relatively flat over the past decade and a half, rising only 0.05 degrees Celsius (0.09 degrees Fahrenheit)."