We
invite you to listen to us on great radio stations
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weekdays- if you missed this morning's Farm News - or
you are in an area where you can't hear it- click here for this
morning's Farm news
from Ron Hays on RON.
Let's
Check the Markets!
Today's First
Look:
mornings
with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash
Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets
Etc.
Each
afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets
as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS
futures- click here for the report
posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
Okla
Cash Grain:
Futures
Wrap:
Feeder
Cattle Recap:
Slaughter
Cattle Recap:
TCFA
Feedlot Recap:
Our Oklahoma Farm Report
Team!!!!
Ron Hays, Senior Editor and
Writer
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and
Template Manager
Dave Lanning, Markets and
Production
Leslie Smith, Editor and
Contributor | |
Oklahoma's
Latest Farm and Ranch News
Presented
by
Your
Update from Ron Hays of RON
Wednesday,
February 3,
2016 |
Howdy
Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch
news update.
| |
Featured
Story:
Tool
Available to Help Wheat Producers Make First
Hollow Stem Decision
With
February already here, we are getting closer to
that "window" of time when wheat producers who
have cattle grazing their wheat fields need to
decide if they are going to graze out or go for
grain harvest. Wheat producers in Oklahoma
have historically circled March 15 on their
calendars to remember to pull cattle from the
fields. Waiting much longer than that would result
in a drastic decrease in yield. And, many years,
mid March may be too late in pulling those cattle
from wheat fields destined to see a combine in
them come June. Research has shown that
First Hollow Stem, a particular growth stage in
winter wheat, is the optimal time to pull cattle
off wheat to prevent yield loss. Using Mesonet
weather and soil data, as well as FHS observations
from 1995-2012, researchers at Oklahoma State
University have developed a tool for producers to
consult when deciding how long to leave cattle on
their wheat fields. "Grazing too long
will reduce wheat yields, but removing cattle too
early will reduce the profit potential of the
stocker cattle enterprise," said Dr. Jeff
Edwards, Head of the Plant and Soil
Science Department at OSU. "Finding the correct
balance between these two factors has been the
subject of investigation for
decades." Available here on the
Mesonet website, the FHS Advisor is located in the
Agriculture section, under both the "Crop/Wheat"
and "Livestock/Cattle" tabs. A guide on how to use
the Advisor is located in the "Learn More" section
of the website. If we get mild
temperatures in the next few weeks, wheat will
start growing and will be edging close to that
First Hollow Stem stage of development. Click here to read
more about the First Hollow Stem calculator on
the Oklahoma Mesonet- and prepare to check your
fields to pull those cattle on a timely basis.
|
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Senator
Cruz Victory in Iowa Does Not Mean Ethanol
Industry on its "Last
Legs"
Monday
night's win of the Iowa caucuses by Sen.
Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has spawned a
narrative that presidential candidates campaigning
in the state no longer have to express support for
the domestic ethanol industry or the
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Renewable Fuels Association
President and CEO Bob Dinneen
issued the following statement pushing back
against that narrative by disputing the notion
that ethanol is no longer an important factor in
determining who is chosen as the victor in
Iowa. "The narrative coming out after
last night's Iowa caucus that the domestic ethanol
industry is somehow on the ropes is false," said
Dinneen. "Many people seem to have forgotten that,
in the run-up to last night's caucus vote, though
Sen. Cruz stated he was opposed to the RFS he also
expressed support for ethanol as a fuel. In fact
the senator has discussed the need to provide
American consumers better access to ethanol fuels
like E25 or E30, stating that they could prove to
be quite popular with American consumers who are
increasingly concerned about fuel economy. The
senator also called ethanol an effective additive
because it increases octane and decreases harmful
tailpipe emissions. That doesn't sound like
someone to me who is writing off the domestic
ethanol industry. That sounds to me like someone
who is just being true to his no-mandates of any
kind philosophy. "Moreover, pundits
anxious to write off ethanol's potential currency
in Iowa should note that more than 85 percent of
the votes cast in Iowa last night were in support
of candidates who continue to champion the
RFS." The advocacy group America's
Renewable Future also is spinning after the vote
in Iowa- and they are offering a similar story to
the Bob Dinneen statement- click here to read their
comments in the aftermath of the Iowa vote.
ONE
OTHER POST IOWA OBSERVATION- Do not
expect agriculture to be prominent from this point
forward in the Presidential Primary process- it
will be mentioned in passing, if at all, in the
days to
come.
|
CattleFax's
Randy Blach Explains the Market Volatility of 2015
It's
easy to forget here in the early days of 2016 that
cattle prices were much higher in the first few
months of 2015, before tumbling during the second
half of this past year. The CEO of Cattlefax,
Randy Blach, reminded me in a
conversation that we had in San Diego that the
year 2015, at least when it comes to the cattle
market, was two different stories.
Blach said there was the fed cattle
market that averaged $160 in the first half of
2015 and then fed prices averaged $135 in the
second half of the year. In
looking at the nearly $25 hundred weight move in
average prices through the year, he said there was
a lot going on with the global economic slowdown,
the drop in international beef demand and the
strong U.S. dollar.
"Bottom-line is we
ended up with four and half billion more pounds of
protein to absorb in the U.S. marketplace than we
had one year ago," Blach said. "The single largest
one year change in the history of our
business."
|
House
Agriculture Committee Approves Budget Views and
Estimates Letter
The
House Committee on Agriculture
Tuesday sent its Budget Views and Estimates letter
for fiscal year 2017 to the House Budget
Committee. In the letter, Committee
members requested that the Budget Committee "give
careful consideration to the significant
contributions toward deficit reduction already
made by the Committee on Agriculture, the
substantial reforms these savings entailed, the
troubled economic conditions facing farm country
that are exacerbated by regulatory burdens and
trade and tax uncertainties, as well as our
Committee's work ahead, when determining from
which congressional committees and mission areas
any future budget savings should come."
In the letter, Committee members also
noted the "almost $5 billion that agricultural
policies have been sequestered since fiscal year
2013, accounting for a disproportionate 30 percent
of the non-defense, non-Medicare mandatory
sequester last year" and that "the 2014 Farm Bill
reforms are achieving far greater savings than
would have been realized had the status quo under
the previous farm bill been
maintained." Click here for more
information from the business meeting, including
the archived webcast.
|
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|
Jennifer
Houston Commends Beef Checkoff's Unique
Partnership and Ability to Change With
Times
Jennifer
Houston has worn multiple hats for the
nation's beef producers. She has served as chair
for the Federation of State Beef Councils, an
organization that represents 42 of the state
qualified beef councils. Each one of the state
beef councils is doing checkoff work in their
individual state with 50 cents from the $1 per
head that collected from each animal that is sold.
At the national level, the Federation of
State Beef Councils and the Cattlemen's
Beef Board form the operating committee to fund
national projects. She calls this a unique
partnership between the states and the national
level of the nation's beef checkoff.
"We as a federation want to provide
again that state and national continuity that
gives them a place to invest and a place to make
their efforts be more effective," Houston
said.
One challenge the beef checkoff
has faced has been the drop in available funding.
The buying power of the beef checkoff has dwindled
since its inception in 1986. Houston said
initially the checkoff used a shotgun approach in
buying adverting for radio, television and print
to put the message out to as many people as
possible. As checkoff funds have declined with a
shrinking national cattle herd, the checkoff moved
to a rifle approach. She said today the beef
checkoff is using a laser approach to reach beef
consumers through digital advertising
efforts.
I
interviewed Houston at the Cattle Industry
Convention last week in San Diego. Click or tap here to
listen to the full interview. After our
visit, Jennifer was nominated and will serve in a
new role this coming year- the Chairman of the
Policy Division of the NCBA- moving over from the
Federation Division.
|
Want to
Have the Latest Energy News Delivered to Your
Inbox Daily?
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winning broadcast journalist Jerry
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understanding how to cover the energy business
here in the southern plains- Click here to subscribe to his
daily update of top Energy
News.
|
House
Democrats Join Farm Bureau in Opposing School
Consolidation, Property Tax Hikes
Democrats
in the Oklahoma House of
Representatives announced Tuesday that
they "stand with the Oklahoma Farm
Bureau" on the issues of property taxes
and rural school consolidation, and called on
their Republican colleagues to join
them.
Farm Bureau President Tom
Buchanan issued a statement in which he
took exception to Governor Fallin's proposals to
consolidate rural dependent schools and to allow
building funds, which are derived from ad valorem
taxes, to defray operational
expenses.
Using property
taxes to pay operational expenses "would shift the
tax burden for educational support from a state
tax base to local property owners, such as
Oklahoma farmers and ranchers," said House
Minority Leader Scott Inman. And
consolidating rural schools with larger
independent schools "would spell the death of many
small Oklahoma communities," the Del City Democrat
said.
"We urge House Republicans to
publicly join us in this effort," Inman said.
"This isn't a partisan political issue. This
affects all taxpayers and property owners in
Oklahoma."
|
This
N That - Syngenta Bought by the Chinese,
Big Iron Wednesday
and
the
Power of Twitter
We
are waking up to news this morning that Syngenta's
Board has agreed to a $43 billion takeover
agreement with ChemChina. The board of
directors of Syngenta considers that the proposed
transaction respects the interests of all
stakeholders and is unanimously recommending the
offer to shareholders. ChemChina
reportedly offered a sweeter deal to Syngenta than
Monsanto, by offering the $43 billion in cash.
Monsanto offered a similar $43 billion takeover in
August, but the proposal included cash and a
portion of its own shares. Syngenta rejected
Monsanto's repeated attempt at the displeasure of
Syngenta's shareholders. Syngenta's
existing management will continue to run the
company. After closing, a 10 member board of
directors will be chaired by Ren Jianxin, chairman
of ChemChina, and will include four of the
existing Syngenta board members. ChemChina
is committed to maintaining the highest governance
standards with a view to an IPO of the business in
the years to come. Feedstuffs has details
in a story this am- click here to take a
look.
************ It's Wednesday- and
that means the Big
Iron folks will be busy closing out
this week's auction items - all 272 items
consigned. Bidding will start at 10 AM
central
time.
Click Here for the complete
rundown of what is being sold on this no reserve
online sale this
week.
If you'd like more information on
buying and selling with Big Iron, call District
Manager Mike Wolfe at
580-320-2718 and he can give you the full
scoop. You can also reach Mike via email by
clicking or tapping
here.
Social
media continues to be a part of our strategy of
reaching out to the farm and ranch community and
beyond with the latest agricultural information
that you need to know. I was reminded over
this past weekend how quickly and widely a medium
like Twitter can spread information. On
Saturday, we were flying home from San Diego- I
was looking at some of the latest Tweets of the
morning and saw the story breaking of a major fire
at the Bluegrass Stockyards in Lexington,
Ky. I mentioned Monday in the email
that I had ties back to that market, as it was one
of two in that city that my Dad and I used to sell
livestock- hogs and cattle. At one time, it was
one of the largest weekly cattle auctions east of
the Mississippi. Well, we posted a Tweet about the fire
and the fact that it was a significant loss as a
cattle market- and that tweet caught fire
itself. As of this morning, it has been
retweeted around the country and beyond 116 times
and I have engaged in several conversations with
folks about the fire and the market. I
enjoy Twitter- it helps us offer an ongoing flow
of ag information that we have for folks- and it's
a great place to keep tabs on what is going on- in
agriculture, politics, sports and life. You can follow me on Twitter- and
join the fun- our Twitter handle is
Ron_on_RON.
|
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Our thanks
to Midwest Farms Shows,
P & K Equipment,
American Farmers &
Ranchers,
Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCredit, the Oklahoma Cattlemens
Association, Pioneer Cellular,
Farm Assure
and KIS Futures for
their
support of our daily Farm News Update. For your
convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked
here- just click on their name to jump to their
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know you appreciate the support of this daily
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Charge!
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also invite you to check out our website at the
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links from around the globe.
Click here to check out
WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com
God Bless!
You can reach us at the following:
phone: 405-473-6144
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