Senators Ask for Elimination of Trade Barriers to U.S. Pork 

A group of U.S. senators is urging U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to push for broad market access for U.S. pork in the countries that are part of the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks.

The TPP is a regional trade negotiation that includes the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which account for nearly 40 percent of global GDP.

In a letter circulated by Sens. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and sent Friday to Froman and Vilsack, 32 Senate lawmakers said the TPP talks represent an opportunity for the United States to open new markets to U.S. pork in the Asia-Pacific region, to expand existing markets and to establish a standard for future trade agreements.

But, the senators pointed out, a number of the TPP nations currently have highly restrictive trade barriers that limit U.S. pork exports. Japan, for example, maintains a complex system of tariffs that reduce the volume of U.S. pork exports, while other countries have non-tariff barriers that constrain U.S. pork shipments.

U.S. negotiators should insist that tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. pork in each TPP country be removed, action that would prompt U.S. pork exports to grow by more than 50 percent within 10 years, they said.

You can read more of this story on our website.  Please click here to go there.

Bipartisan Group of Senators Calls for Release of Poultry Inspection Rule 

A bipartisan group of 13 U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle sent a letter last week to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to move forward with a proposal to modernize the department's poultry inspection system.

The voluntary change would allow plant employees to check carcasses for defects and perform other quality-assurance tasks not related to food safety. That would free up some federal inspectors to focus more on food safety-related tasks, such as oversight and verification, microbiological testing for pathogens, sanitation standards and antimicrobial controls in the plant.

Signing the letter were Sens.: Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Boozman (R-AR), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Chris Coons (D-DE), John Cornyn (R-TX), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Amy Klobachar (D-MN), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Mark Warner (D-VA).

The letter noted that a risk assessment which accompanied the proposed rule concluded more than 5,000 foodborne illnesses per year would be prevented if the system was changed in this way, saving about $80 million in health care costs annually.

Click here to read more and to find a link to the Senators' letter.  

AFR 2013 Speech Winners Crowned in Stillwater

American Farmers & Ranchers/Oklahoma Farmers Union (AFR/OFU) concluded its 69th annual AFR/OFU Fall Speech Contest series with the state competition in Stillwater, Dec. 14. More than 150 finalists from across Oklahoma showcased their public speaking skills for a chance to win at the state level.

The fall speech contest series is divided into five district competitions, giving youth in every part of the state an opportunity to participate. This year, more than 500 youth statewide competed to advance to the state level. At each district contest, students grades 4-12 competed in five categories-American Farmers & Ranchers, Natural Resources, Student Organizations, Agribusiness and Agriscience.

"AFR/OFU provides Oklahoma youth many opportunities to develop into the leaders of tomorrow," said AFR/OFU President Terry Detrick. "It is an honor to support and encourage our state's young people as they gain confidence and skill through such activities as the AFR/OFU speech contest."

You can click here to read more of this story and see the full list of this year's winners. 

Glenn Selk Says It's Time to Begin Early Evening Cattle Feeding to Effect Daytime Calving

Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Emeritus Extension Animal Scientist writes in the latest Cow-Calf Newsletter:

It is generally accepted that adequate supervision at calving has a significant impact on reducing calf mortality. Adequate supervision has been of increasing importance with the use of larger beef breeds and cattle with larger birth weights. On most ranching operations, supervision of the first calf heifers will be best accomplished in daylight hours and the poorest observation takes place in the middle of the night.   

The easiest and most practical method of inhibiting nighttime calving at present is by feeding cows at night; the physiological mechanism is unknown, but some hormonal effect may be involved. Rumen motility studies indicate the frequency of rumen contractions falls a few hours before parturition. Intraruminal pressure begins to fall in the last 2 weeks of gestation, with a more rapid decline during calving. It has been suggested that night feeding causes intraruminal pressures to rise at night and decline in the daytime.   

Click here for the latest from Glenn Selk.

Red River Crop Conference Scheduled for January 28-29

A new Extension crop production conference specifically tailored to agricultural producers in north Texas and southwest Oklahoma has been slated for January 28-29 in at the Altus Southwest Technology Center in Altus, Oklahoma. The Red River Crop Conference will bring together two land-grant institutions - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and OSU - Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

Due to the complexity of agricultural production in the area, it was decided to have a full meeting day focusing exclusively on cotton (January 28), and another day to provide programming for other crops including wheat, canola, guar, sesame, pastures, etc. (January 29).

The ongoing series of annual conferences is a new concept for Extension programming and will be executed as a joint effort of Extension personnel with both Texas A&M and Oklahoma State University. It will rotate between Altus and Childress, Texas.  

You will find a PDF file with a full listing of conference activities and a registration form by clicking here.

Nowata FSA Office Leads Nation in Microloan Program

Chris Beyerhelm, Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs with the Farm Service Agency in Washington, DC, recently visited Oklahoma to present the Excellence in Farm Loans Award to the Nowata FSA Office for their efforts with the USDA Microloan program.  Beyerhelm was joined by Oklahoma FSA Executive Director, Francie Tolle.

Nowata Farm Loan Manager, Mark Huntington, and his loan team obligated 51 Microloans since the program started in January 2013. That number was more than any other office in the Nation, and prompted the visit from Deputy Administrator Beyerhelm.

The USDA Microloan program was established to help small and family operations, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers secure loans under $35,000. The program is aimed at bolstering the progress of producers through their start-up years by providing needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their operations. The Microloan program is designed to be a less burdensome, more simplified application process in comparison to traditional farm loans.

"Over half the microloans we made were to new customers, and over 70% were made to Native American producers," explained Huntington. "The program really sold itself, with features like streamlined paper work and less security required."  

Click here to read more.

This N That- Big Iron, Final Auctions of the Year and The Latest from The Hill

This week's Big Iron features a total of 959 items- one of the biggest sales of the year- with featured items from Custer County, Oklahoma District Number 2 as well as from Farmers Cooperative in Cherokee.   

All kinds of equipment will be sold without reserve- with items starting to close at 10 AM this morning.  You can click here and go and check out all of the items- search by type of item you want- when you see an item you are interested in- there is a small thumbnail picture there and there almost always a lot more pictures for you to be able to see every angle of the piece of equipment up for bid.   

And remember- Sales Manager for this region, Mike Wolfe, can explain more about how to buy or sell on Big Iron- call him at 580- 320-2718.

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Virtually every auction barn in our region is having its final sale of 2013 this week- few if any sale barns will be open after Friday until the start of the new year.  Before working livestock in preparation for a trip to the local market you may use- be sure and make contact with them for their holiday schedule.

The final feeder cattle and replacement cow sale of 2013 for the Superior Video Livestock folks is this Friday- December 20th- click here for details of their last sale of the year that will start at 8:00 AM central time.

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In the latest farm bill update from the online blog of The Hill- Erik Wasson quotes Debbie Stabenow with answers that are similar to what we have been hearing for a couple of weeks now- Senator Stabenow saying a farm bill framework is "close" and then goes on to add what might be construed as new information- that we might expect a Framework to be unveiled the first week of January- which would throw it out there for the world to see on or about the 6th of January.  

Click here to read more for insight as to how close we are to a 2014 Farm Bill.