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Collin Peterson is the ranking member of the House Ag Committee- and one of the four lawmakers in the room when it comes to the real farm bill negotiations that are being led by the Chair of the House Ag Committee, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma's Third District.  

Up to this point- Peterson has not been very optimistic about the process- altho like a huge oil tanker- he has gradually been turning his opinion around as the closed door talks with the Big Four and Staff  have continued. This report seems to show the turnaround is about complete as he is sounding almost giddy compared to statements a couple of months ago about where we stand on getting a deal to the point where the full Conference Committee can meet and finalize a Conference report.  

His media platform- as spotlight by FarmPolicy.Com is a newspaper in Fargo, North Dakota.  Specifically- Peterson says a framework deal could be done before the end of this week when the House finishes for the year.  

"Crucially, Peterson said the negotiators have agreed on how much to cut from food stamps - one of the largest sticking points between the House and Senate. Peterson declined to provide a number, but said the deal hews 'substantially closer to the Senate's' targeted cuts of $4 billion over the next decade rather than the House's bill, which would slash $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program."

The article in the Fargo Forum OnLine noted that, "'I think it will pass the Senate, but I cannot guarantee you it will pass the House,' Peterson said in a meeting with the Forum's Editorial Board Monday. 'They are not going to be happy with the food stamp cuts.'

Also in the latest Farm Policy farm bill update- Keith Good picks up on what David Rogers of Politico wrote yesterday- that the GOP Leadership in the House will likely have a four month extension to the already extended 2008 farm law- perhaps as early as Wednesday.  That would cover the last three months of this calendar year and take the extension of farm law out to the end of January- talking talk about a so called Dairy Cliff off the table as New Year's is being celebrated.

With likely assurances from Chairman Lucas and others that a deal is very close and that a Conference Report will be submitted to the House and Senate in early January- it's likely to be a measure that will garner plenty of support.

Click here for the complete recap of today's farm bill news as pulled together in one place. 

Recent Changes in U.S.-Mexican Cattle and Beef Trade Likely To Persist, Peel Says

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

Cattle and beef trade between the U.S. and Mexico has evolved over many years to increasingly complex and integrated levels. The long history of Mexican cattle exports to the U.S. was supplemented in the late 1990s with increased U.S. beef exports to Mexico. These trade flows largely reflected the comparative advantages of the two countries: cow-calf production in Mexico and feedlot finishing and processing in the U.S. U.S. beef supplemented growing Mexican beef demand with export flows of products that were complimentary to U.S. beef production and demand. At the same time, Mexican cattle supplemented U.S. feeder cattle supplies.

More recently, the adoption of boxed beef technology, combined with expanded feedlot production in Mexico, increased value opportunities for Mexican beef, including expanded beef export opportunities. Like U.S. beef exports to Mexico, imports of Mexican beef into the U.S. represent specific products, mostly middle meat cuts, which compliment beef production and demand in Mexico. Since 2009, Mexico has emerged as the number four source of beef imports in the U.S. After increasing for many months, Mexican beef exports to the U.S. have decreased five of the last six months and were down 8.4 percent, year over year, in the latest monthly data for October. As result of the recent decreases, year to date U.S. imports of Mexican beef are up only 7.4 percent through October. This compares to average increases of 53 percent each of the past four years. 

Click here to read more of Derrell Peel's analysis.

USDA Overhauls Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a series of sweeping changes to a popular loan program for rural homebuyers. The changes are part of an extensive overhaul that will strengthen rural housing markets, increase the availability of rural home loans and spur the construction of new homes in rural areas.

"These improvements will help create jobs and enable more people to participate in the rural home loan guarantee program," Vilsack said. "The changes will add significant capital to rural areas and give rural Americans more opportunities to make financing decisions that lay the groundwork for the future prosperity of their families."

The changes are published in Federal Register. They take effect Sept. 1, 2014 and make several improvements to USDA Rural Development's Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. Among other things, they expand the types of lenders who are eligible to participate. With the rule change, any lending entity supervised and regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Banks, or the Federal Housing Finance Board may underwrite loans guaranteed by Rural Development. This will enable many small community banks and credit unions to participate in the guaranteed loan program. Currently, these entities are not eligible lenders.

You can read more of this story by clicking here.

 

Oklahoma Forestry Services Urges Families to Choose a Real Christmas Tree Experience 

The holiday season is upon us and families across Oklahoma are pondering the age old decision to go real or go plastic. Oklahoma Forestry Services says it would like to encourage you to go green this year and purchase a locally grown Christmas tree from one of the many growers in our state.

"There are several reasons to choose a fresh or live tree," said State Forester George Geissler. "They smell wonderful. They can be recycled. You can have the classic family experience of visiting a Christmas tree farm to choose and cut your own."

Whether fresh-cut or live, a real tree benefits the environment instead of harming it, OFS says. During their lifespan, an acre of Christmas trees supplies enough oxygen for 18 people and after the holidays they make excellent habitats for birds and other wildlife. Fake trees are made of non-natural materials so they will not decompose, cannot be recycled into mulch or wildlife habitat, and are transported thousands of miles because they are manufactured outside of the US.

Click here for more reasons to by a fresh, grown-in-Oklahoma Christmas tree.  You'll also find a links to locations of Oklahoma Christmas tree farms.

 

U.S. Cattlemen's Association Issues Statement Urging Farm Bill Passage Without Altering COOL

Jon Wooster, United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA) president, issued the following statement today regarding the ongoing farm bill conference negotiations.

"As farm bill talks continue, USCA commends the four leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees for their efforts to move new farm policy forward. USCA appreciates the efforts of Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-MS), House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) who are working hard to produce bipartisan legislation.

USCA remains firm in its opposition to any amendment that would alter or repeal the U.S. county of origin labeling (COOL) program. As noted in previous USCA statements, any legislative action on COOL is unwarranted. The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) revised COOL regulations went into effect on November 23. USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative have stated that the revised regulations bring the U.S. into compliance with our international trade obligations. It would not be appropriate for Congress to disrupt the ongoing process at the WTO. USCA opposes any attempt to derail COOL during the farm bill conference and we urge passage of a final farm bill that provides U.S. agricultural producers with the long-term, comprehensive safety nets they need as we prepare for the new year."

 

New American Angus President Sees Breed's Potential Value as U.S. Herd Expansion Goes Forward

The American Angus Association named a new president at its 2013 annual meeting held during the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky, last month. Board members chose Gordon Stucky, a long-time Angus producer from Kingman, Kansas, to fill the office. He started his herd from a single heifer in 1976 and currently produces about 250 calves per year. Stucky has put a strong emphasis on within-herd performance data with his genetic selections, and is also utilizing genomic technology to improve the accuracy in selection decisions. 

Stucky says he believes the American Angus Association is moving in the right direction and can use the tremendous assets it possesses to further fine-tune that course.

"I think the ability for the association to use the extremely strong database that we have, utilize the staff that we have that, in my opinion, is second to none, and to be able to transfer the collection of data into a concise format to where the commercial cattlemen-and seed stock producers-can grab onto that and just continue to be able to make higher quality cattle every year as we go forward will keep the association in a very strong position."

Stucky is my guest on the latest Beef Buzz.  Click here to listen in or to read more of this story.

 

This N That- OSU Winter Crops School, Countdown to Tulsa Farm Show and Big Iron

Getting underway this morning and running through midday Wednesday is the 2013 edition of the OSU Winter Crops School- being held at the Wes Watkins International Center on Campus at OSU.    

One of the more interesting segments of the program will be presented by Shanon Ferrell and Chad Penn- as they look at Drilling mud when applied to farm ground- the  agronomic and legal considerations.   

Click here for our webstory that includes the final agenda for the two day program.

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We are just a little over 48 hours away from the start of the 20th Anniversary Edition of the Tulsa Farm Show- and Show Manager Ron Bormaster promises that this year's Farm Show is going to  be the biggest and the best yet!  More exhibitors means more to see on the lower level of the River Spirit Expo Center.   

Some of the things that will be a part of the 2013 Tulsa Farm Show once again include the Gentle Horse Training Sessions with the ever popular Craig Cameron, Cattle Chute Demos, the daily drawing for a thousand show bucks for folks who arrive before midday and the chance to watch the Livestock Handling Skills Competition.

High school students from across the state will compete in the finals of the Livestock Skills Scholarship Competition . Ten 3-person teams will compete in practical, real - life cattle handling scenarios and the winning team members will win scholarship dollars and prizes. To date, Midwest Shows Scholarship Program, with key support from American Farmers & Ranchers, has awarded nearly $100,000 in scholarships to Oklahoma high school student s interested in furthering their agricultural education.

Click here for the Tulsa Farm Show website- brand new for this year and it includes a nifty interactive Farm Show Exhibitor map- which can help you see who will be where at the show- and help you make a list of exhibitors that you want to be sure to see and support.

 You might take a minute and check out this week's Big Iron sale with almost 300 items that will begin closing at 10 a.m. Wednesday. For example- you can be ready for the next snow and ice storm with a 30KW Silent Diesel generator or one of several Bobcat Skid Steers up for bid.

Click here to go and review the entire lineup of sale items and to check out everything from semi trucks and trailers to tractors, implements, combines and more. As always- you can call Mike Wolfe with Big Iron at 580-320-2718 to learn more about how to buy  and sell on Big Iron.