The America’s Farmers Mobile Experience, a traveling 53-foot trailer that expands into 1,000 square feet of exhibit space, will be open to the public several days this week during the Oklahoma State Fair.

Visitors will journey through three different areas offering interactive tools and displays to better understand the life of an American farmer. An interactive globe allows visitors to see population growth and how many people one acre of farmland will need to feed to meet the demand of the growing population, and a 180-degree theater immerses visitors in a video experience that spotlights an American farm family and what they are currently doing to meet the world demand. Personal guides are also available to educate guests about the tools and technologies that help farmers meet current food, fuel and clothing challenges.

Tours will run Wednesday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 22 10 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.

For more information on Monsanto’s America’s Farmers’ efforts or its Mobile Experience, please visit www.AmericasFarmers.com.

The American Farm Bureau Federation will be accepting submissions for the 2012 Farm Bureau® Photo Contest Sept. 1 - Nov. 30. This contest is a coordinated effort between the American Farm Bureau Federation and American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. It is open to all state and county Farm Bureau members and employees over the age of 18.

AFBF sponsors the contest to obtain usable and appropriate photos which accurately portray today’s agriculture and safe practices of farmers and ranchers. Submissions may be used in future publications and promotions. Photos are being accepted in the following categories:

• Safety and Health
• My Scenic Farm/Ranch
• At Work on the Farm or Ranch
• At Home on the Farm or Ranch
• Consumer Outreach

Visit AFBF's website for more information about the contest ...

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Environmental Management Services announced Aug. 27 that the $10 per ton Oklahoma poultry litter tax credit has been reactivated as of July 1, 2012. This credit is for Oklahoma poultry litter purchased from an Oklahoma registered poultry feeding operation located within an environmentally sensitive and nutrient limited watershed. The litter must also be applied by an Oklahoma licensed poultry waste applicator in a watershed that is not environmentally sensitive and is a non-nutrient limited watershed.

The $10 per ton poultry litter tax credit may be claimed for the 2012 tax year and subsequent tax years for Oklahoma poultry litter purchased and transported on or after July 1, 2012. Due to a moratorium, no tax credits may be claimed for purchases occurring during the period of July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012.

Visit the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service's "Oklahoma Litter Market" to learn more about the poultry liter tax credit.

A buffalo wallow in the middle of a Garfield County pasture was the star attraction of an Aug. 23 event focused on stopping the flood of federal regulations. The buffalo wallow could fall under the EPA’s regulatory umbrella as that agency is attempting to redefine navigable waterways under the Clean Water Act.

“Those of us in the High Plains recognize this as a buffalo wallow, and not a navigable waterway,” said Mike Spradling, Oklahoma Farm Bureau president. “This boils down to the fact the EPA wants to control all of the water. This control would include imposing restrictions on how this land could be used, meaning the farmer would not be allowed to use best management practices. He could be prevented from using herbicides to control weeds or fertilizer to boost forage production. This type of unnecessary and burdensome federal regulations is a serious threat to our private property rights.”

U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), minority ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, joined Spradling during the event and called for a stop to the federal government’s regulatory march.

“The over regulators are destroying this country,” Inhofe said. “This is not just agriculture. Manufacturers and energy producers are all having the same (regulatory) problems.”

Inhofe praised farmers for standing up to the federal regulators.

“Farm Bureau is our best ally in these types of issues,” Inhofe said.

The CWA gives the EPA authority to write rules governing the protection of navigable waters. The EPA wants to redefine the word navigable in an effort to regulate even a roadside ditch that could hold water for only a few hours.

The EPA wants to make this proposal to the guidance document. A guidance document is a non-legally binding interpretation written by an agency to explain how it interprets existing regulations, court decisions and federal statutes. However, a guidance document may not exceed or conflict with the original law as passed by Congress and existing regulations promulgated under the Administrative Procedures Act.

This proposal would allow the EPA to regulate the following:

• groundwater
• ditches
• culverts
• pipes
• desert washes
• farm and stock ponds

The event was part of the American Farm Bureau’s national “Stop the Flood of Regulations” campaign in progress across the country where similar events are being held this summer.

Passage of a federal disaster bill is good news for drought-stressed farmers and ranchers, according to a statement released Aug. 2 by Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Mike Spradling.

“This will offer immediate drought assistance for our producers while we wait on Congress to pass a new farm bill,” Spradling said.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 6233, the Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance bill, Thursday, Aug. 2.

The legislation includes reauthorization of disaster assistance programs, specifically, Livestock Indemnity Payments, Livestock Forage Disaster Programs, Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish, and the Tree Assistance Program.

To pay for this disaster assistance program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program is capped at $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2013 and the Conservation Stewardship Program is limited to 11 million acres in fiscal year 2013.

“We appreciate Congressman Lucas for getting this immediate relief to our producers,” Spradling said. “We know his priority is to get a new farm bill passed, but until that happens, this will greatly ease our burden. The challenges our producers are facing with this drought underscores how important it is that Congress complete a new farm bill this year.”