AFBF and 250-Plus Groups Urge Congress to Pass Farm Bill

More than 250 organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, sent a letter to House and Senate agriculture committee members and leadership advocating passage of a five-year farm bill as soon as possible. The groups are urging Congress to move forward on a unified farm bill that preserves a five-year authorization for all programs, while continuing the partnership between the nutrition and farm communities.   

In the letter, the groups cautioned against ending provisions that would reinstate permanent farm law from last century. "For decades, the threat of reinstatement of the long-outdated policies of the 1938 and 1949 acts have served as strong motivation for Congress to enact new farm bills," said the letter. "Repealing those acts and making the 2013 farm bill commodity title permanent law could make it difficult to generate sufficient political pressure to adjust the commodity safety net provisions should conditions in production agriculture change."

The groups said they are also concerned that if Title I of the 2013 farm bill is made permanent, other important farm and rural programs covered in other titles would risk not being reauthorized if the bill expires after five years.   

"If this should occur and we revert to permanent law, then programs covering conservation, forestry, research, energy, rural development, horticulture, trade, etc., could be left to the will of the appropriations process, likely with limited funding and little opportunity to update or adjust to meet changing needs in agriculture and rural communities," said the letter.

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From the National FFA Convention- Brandon Baumgarten Makes the Cut and the State Owl is Proud  

Oklahoma FFA National Officer Candidate Brandon Baumgarten remains IN the hunt for a national office- he made the cut for our region. Congrats to Brandon for being a step closer to his dream of hearing his name called from the stage in Freedom Hall on Saturday afternoon!  

Roughly half of the National officer candidates have now been excused- and there will be no more cuts made public until the new six national officers are announced in the final general session.

Meanwhile, there is lots to celebrate over the next few days as Oklahoma continues to prove itself as one of the premiere state FFAs in the country.  One of the best measures of the health of the Oklahoma FFA lies in the number of three star FFA chapters Oklahoma has year after year.  Here in 2013- Oklahoma had the right to submit 35 Chapters to the National organization for consideration to be either a one, two or three star chapter.  Oklahoma walked away from the judging with 30 three star chapers- the most of any state in the US.

State FFA Advisor Jack Staats is understandably proud of this accomplishment- achieved for the second time in as many years- and done with a fresh set of chapters- none that won a three star award in 2012 was eligible for the 2013 contest.

We talked to Jack about what this award really shows  about the health of the local groups- the Chapters as well what its shows about the young people that make up those chapters. Click here to read more- see the full list of the top chapters getting the three star award and listen to our visit with Jack Staats. 

Farmers waiting for their Conservation Security or Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) payments should receive them in the coming days. The shutdown of the federal government delayed some of the $907 million in payments from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to CSP participants who have enrolled millions of acres to improve the overall conservation performance of their operations.

"Farmers and ranchers are stewards of our natural resources, and their efforts show the value of conservation - working farms, ranches, and forests can provide food and fiber as well as clean water and valuable wildlife habitat," NRCS Chief Jason Weller said. "We're happy to have our staff back in the field where they can continue working with farmers and ranchers to put conservation practices on the ground."

The payments are part of a financial assistance program for producers who are already established conservation stewards and are implementing additional conservation activities for higher, farm-level benefits on their property. This work leads to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and enhanced wildlife habitat, while also supporting rural economies.

You can read more of this story by clicking here.  

HSUS Attacks America's Hog Farmers Again

The National Pork Producers Council published the following editorial:

A questionable undercover video from a Minnesota farm released today by Mercy for Animals, a front group for the Humane Society of the United States, is the latest attack against America's hog farmers. In advance of a press conference that is expected to be full of misinformation, it is important to know the facts:

-- An independent veterinarian, who was taken by law enforcement to the Pipestone facility shown in the video, determined that there were no signs of inhumane treatment or violations of good production standards. Therefore, no charges were filed.

-- But that wasn't good enough for this Pipestone farm. Its care for animals is so firmly rooted in its commitment to industry best practices that it did something consistent with its proactive approach to continuous improvement - it brought in a third party to investigate.

-- Though the MFA-produced undercover video was unfortunately never made available to Pipestone, the farm's investigation determined that the employee involved had not been following animal care protocols, and he was immediately fired. 

Click here for more of this story. 

Winter Canola Acreage Increases Significantly

With the crop still emerging from the soil in many places in the Southern Plains, qualified estimates suggest 400,000 acres of winter canola has been planted this fall, Gene Neuens, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, oilseed field representative, said.

"We still have reports coming in from other states as well as Oklahoma farmers," Neuens said. "We will have better information when we get planting seed figures from seed companies in a few days."

Right now, Neuens said Oklahoma farmers planted 340,000 acres of canola with Kansas producers planting 40,000 acres and Texas planting 25,000 acres. 

"Probably more significantly," Neuens said, "is how much plantings of winter canola have spread geographically.. This shows farmers are continuing to show interest in the crop even farther away from it's original planting area."

You can read the full story on our website.  Please click here to go there.

Deadline Set for Applications for Drought Relief

On Oct. 15, Governor Mary Fallin announced emergency drought conditions in five Oklahoma counties: Jackson, Tillman, Greer, Harmon and Texas. This declaration activated the Emergency Drought Commission with opportunity for public entities located in these counties to apply for state assistance. The legislature and Governor agreed last session to make up to $3 million dollars available for drought relief for these public entities. The Oklahoma Emergency Drought Commission held a public meeting last week to discuss the structure of the commission and the current status of applications. 

An initial application deadline was set for Thursday, Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications by this deadline. Applicants are asked to summarize their drought emergency request in five pages or less. It should include full justification for the amount of assistance requested, details of any cost-share or matching funds provided by the applicant, ability of the applicant to finance the project without assistance, and the implications should the applicant fail to receive funding for the desired activity or project. Additionally, applications to assist public water supply systems must include information about the system's existing water and sewer rate structure, current indebtedness, and median customer household income.

Click here to read more.
 

This 'n' That- The Latest BigIron.com Auction and 1:30 PM is Start Time for Farm Bill Conference 

Three hundred and one items up for auction on BigIron.com will begin closing at 10 a.m. this morning.  Among the items offered in Oklahoma are two flat-bed equipment trailers, a Hay Monster bale wagon and a 55-foot Aztec Hay trailer with hydraulic dump.   

If you'd like more information on today's sale or future sales with BigIron.com, you can reach Mike Wolfe at (580) 320-2718 or mike.wolfe@bigiron.com

The House-Senate Farm Bill Conference will kick off at 1:30 PM central time- a live feed will be available on the House Ag Committee website- click here for that.

Today,

Speaking first will be the Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma's Frank Lucas.  Click here for the live feed from the House Ways and Means Committee hearing room.