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This past  Friday, we talked at length with the Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas, about the impasse that developed on Thursday in Farm Bill Conference negotiations between the so called "Big Four." With no deal among the four key leaders of the House and Senate Ag Committees- it becomes increasingly unlikely that a conference report can be completed and walked through the process that would follow- delivering a signed farm law- before the end of the year.


Lucas mentioned three areas where issues are not yet settled in the talks- aimed at producing a 2013 Farm Bill for the House and the Senate to vote on- and hopefully for the President to sign. Those three areas where breakthrough is needed- Commodity Title, Nutrition Savings and Dairy Policy.   

Click here to read more and to  hear our conversation with the Chairman of the House Ag Committee- who is also the Chair of the Conference between the House and Senate on this bill.  Our friend Keith Good with AgPolicy.Com has also produced a transcript of what the Chairman and I talked about- we have the link to that file in our story as well.

In addition, the ranking member of the House Ag Committee, Colin Peterson, was also talking on the radio Friday in his home state- and you can read the transcript of his conversation about the Farm Bill process- we have the link in our story above.

While the Nutrition Title is a major issue- one thing I took away from my conversation with Chairman Lucas is that there are literally dozens and dozens of different combinations of how to structure the safety net that is Title One (The Commodity Title) that are being worked on by staff- and if a winning combination can be found that can fit the budget, be useful in tough times for all covered commodities and not leave the US as a easy target for WTO litigation in the future- that might be the catalyst to start this thing rolling downhill to a successful conclusion.  So- the staff works in DC- Lucas and Peterson and Stabenow and Cochran are talking on the phone a lot- and I would suggest a Thanksgiving Day prayer for these four and their staffs to find the sweet spot that will get er done.

Cattle On Feed Numbers Down Six Percent From Year Ago- Tom Leffler Explains   

The November Cattle on Feed report released on Friday afternoon was right in line with the pre report guesses of the analysts who offered their guesses ahead of the report. According to USDA, Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.6 million head on November 1, 2013. The inventory was 6 percent below November 1, 2012.


Placements in feedlots during October totaled 2.39 million, 10 percent above 2012. Net placements were 2.32 million head. During October, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 720,000, 600-699 pounds were 584,000, 700-799 pounds were 510,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 580,000.


Marketings of fed cattle during October totaled 1.86 million, 1 percent above 2012.

In today's Beef Buzz- Tom Leffler joins us to dissect the numbers- and the breakdown of the placement numbers are especially revealing about where we are in the beef cattle business today.

To hear our conversation with Tom- and to also get to a link for the full report from Uncle Sam- Click here.

Snowfall Blankets Southwest Oklahoma and the Texas Panahndle on Sunday  

Needed precipitation in the form of snow blanketed a good share of southwest Oklahoma over this past weekend. Snow and sleet fell on southwest Oklahoma and adjacent portions of north Texas on Sunday.  

Dry low-level air and sleet prevented snowfall totals from being very high across central Oklahoma, but a small portion of southwest Oklahoma received over 6" of snow from northern Harmon across portions of Kiowa and northern Jackson Counties, with a report of 13" at Vinson and 10" at Granite. 

We have a couple of maps that you will want to check out with snowfall totals from both southwest Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle- click here to take a look!

Preparing for a Successful Calving Season in 2014  

Someone once said "that Success occurs when Opportunity meets with Preparation". Planning and preparing ahead for next spring's calving season can help increase the chances of success. There are several key preparation steps that would be good to conduct in November or December to insure success in February, March, and April.  

Dave Sparks, DVM, Oklahoma State University Area Extension Veterinarian and Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist have several keys to being ready for calving season when the calendar rolls over into 2014.

They divide their advice up into three categories- Equipment, Protocol and Supplies.

Click here to read their advice in brief as well as get their link to more detailed help on being ready for your next calving season.

Maschoffs Add Poultry to Their Family Owned Pork Production Company 

The Maschhoffs, LLC, the largest family-owned pork production company in North America, and GNP Company™, the Midwest's leading provider of premium quality chicken under the Gold'n Plump®, Just BARE® and Sunny Roost® brand labels, announced today they have signed a definitive agreement whereby The Maschhoffs will acquire GNP Company and its subsidiaries.  

"Our overall goal is to continue to grow both the pork and chicken businesses while enhancing our ability to meet the needs of our valued customers and of a growing population," Jason Logsdon, The Maschhoffs Chief Executive Officer said. 

GNP Company and The Maschhoffs' pork production business will operate as separate business units following the closing of the transaction. The transaction will have no immediate impact on GNP Company's chicken business or The Maschhoffs' pork production business.   

To read more about this purchase- click here.

Oklahoma Food Industry Leaders Conclude Food Safety Has to Be Job One 

There was one common theme during a recent advisory meeting of Oklahoma State University's Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Center- and that was Food Safety.



FAPC's Industry Advisory Committee members from across Oklahoma met earlier this month at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City to discuss food and agricultural issues. The topic of discussion that dominated the day was how the advisory board could help make OSU and FAPC the leader in food safety.



"With the leadership of the advisory board, there are developing programs that could have a positive affect on Oklahoma, especially in the area of food safety," said Paul Schatte, committee chair and co-owner of Head Country Food Inc., who presided over the meeting.

The committee agreed that food safety is the common denominator for all food processors. The food industry leaders emphasized the need to hire individuals with food safety knowledge, and a food safety program at OSU could help them hire students with expertise in that area.

Click here for more.

This N That- Pheasant numbers up, a little and Superior Livestock Sale Results

The numbers are promising, at least up from last year, giving Oklahoma pheasant hunters something to look forward to when the season opens this coming Sunday, December first.



Dwayne Elmore, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension wildlife specialist said the best areas for pheasant hunting are northcentral, northwest and the panhandle.



"Reports indicate pheasant numbers are up in some areas of the state compared to last year, but it's still not a banner year as last year was very poor," he said. "Expect spotty hunting."

Click here for more details about pheasant numbers as seen by state officials here in 2013.

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This past Friday's Superior Video Livestock Auction saw about 25,500 cattle being offered.

Yearling steers were $3-$5 lower than our last sale with yearling heifers being $1-$3 lower. The market picked up as the day went on. Calves were steady to $5 higher. 

Click here to jump over to our full report from Superior from this past Friday- they will be taking an extra week off for the Thanksgiving holiday- their next regular sale is planned for  Friday, December 6th.