Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
From: Ron Hays <ronphays@cox.net>
Date: 3/9/2020, 6:01 AM
To: ron@ronhays.com



 
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We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network 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!  
MarketLinks


OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.
 
 
   
Today's First Look:
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
 

Superior Livestock had their latest every other week satellite and online sale last Thursday- just over 24,000 were offered and while prices were lower compared to two weeks earlier- value added cattle held up well and according to the report from Superior Livestock- "feeder steers and heifers that were marketed under various value added programs saw premiums as much as $20 to $30 over their non-program contemporaries. Click here for the complete report from the Superior Livestock Sale of March 5.

 
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:  
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture.
 
  
Futures Wrap:  
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network - analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day.
 
Feeder Cattle Recap:  
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
 
Slaughter Cattle Recap: 
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA.
 
TCFA Feedlot Recap:  
Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
 


 
Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
 
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor

KC Sheperd, Associate Farm Director and Editor

Sam Knipp, Farm Editor

Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
 
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production

Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News

 
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
    Monday,  March 9, 2020

Howdy Neighbors! 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) signed a letter, joining 129 of his House Republican colleagues, supporting the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) efforts to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

"In our districts across the country, we constantly hear about the opportunities lost when projects are stalled by NEPA's increasingly time consuming and unnecessary red tape," the letter reads. "As we travel throughout our communities, we experience these failures as we encounter crumbling roads and closed-off bridges that may wait years for repair. We all want better roads, stronger bridges, and improved infrastructure, but without NEPA reform that reality is years away."

The letter highlights how NEPA has delayed countless energy and infrastructure projects across the country with unnecessary regulations. Spearheaded by Congressman Steve Scalise (LA-01) and Congressman Dan Newhouse (WA-04), the letter encourages and supports the Trump Administration's efforts to streamline and modernize the NEPA in order to encourage environmental leadership while eliminating the negative effects of permitting delays for critical infrastructure projects in communities across the United States.


Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
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At the National Pork Industry Forum today, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach announced an African swine fever (ASF) action plan should the swine-only disease be detected in the United Sates. To date, the United States is free of African swine fever; prevention remains the number one priority for the National Pork Producers Council.
According to the plan, USDA Secretary Perdue would immediately declare an "extraordinary emergency" if ASF was detected in the United States. In doing so, the USDA would be established as the leader of a national, coordinated response to control and eradicate the swine disease, which poses no human health or food safety risks. By declaring an extraordinary emergency, the USDA ensures the availability of funding and other resources to effectively manage response.

"We are grateful to Secretary Perdue and Under Secretary Ibach for hearing the concerns of U.S. pork producers," said David Herring, NPPC president and a pork producer from Lillington, North Carolina. "We remain committed to working with the USDA and Customs and Border Protection to keep ASF out of the United States."   


On today's Beef Buzz, Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays talks with Allison Rivera, Executive Director of Government Affairs for NCBA. She explains how the cattle industry is seeking more flexibility from the Department of Transportation on the hours of service requirements with the new Electronic Logging Devices.

Rivera said they have been successful in delaying full implementation of the ELD's for livestock haulers until Sept. 30, 2020.

Flexibility is imperative, Rivera said, because we're dealing with a live animal. There are not many places to stop alongside the road and offload cattle when the hours of service expire.

Until they get that flexibility, the NCBA and other ag groups, are pecking away at the regulation by asking for smaller exemptions.

For example, pending before Congress now is legislation proposing a 150-air mile exemption on the backside of the haul. The industry already has an exemption on the front end.

This provides us with another 2 to 3 hours of extra time, Rivera said.

 
Farmers and ranchers may apply to enroll grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Grasslands signup beginning March 16. The signup runs through May 15.

"Through this CRP Grasslands signup, farmers and ranchers can protect grasslands, rangelands and pastures, while maintaining the land as working grazing lands," said Richard Fordyce, Administrator of USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA). "The program emphasizes support for grazing operations and plant and animal biodiversity, while protecting land under the greatest threat of conversion or development."

Through CRP Grasslands, participants retain the right to conduct common grazing practices, such as haying, mowing or harvesting seed from the enrolled land. Timing of some activities may be restricted by the primary nesting season of birds.

Participants will receive an annual rental payment and may receive up to 50 percent cost-share for establishing approved conservation practices. The duration of the CRP contract is either 10 or 15 years. FSA will rank applications using a number of factors including existence of expiring CRP land, threat of conversion or development, existing grassland, and predominance of native species cover, and cost.


Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April. 
 
They would like to thank all of you who participated in their 2019 Tulsa City Farm Show. 
 
Up next will be the Oklahoma City's premier spring agricultural and ranching event with returns to the State Fair Park April 23-24-25, 2020.
 
Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2020 Oklahoma City Farm Show.  To learn more about the Oklahoma City Farm Show, click here



More than 1,500 attendees, including retailers, processors and packers attending the 2020 Annual Meat Conference in Nashville, TN learned that beef is the most valuable protein in terms of salesi and how the beef industry's Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program is helping to improve consumer perceptions about how high-quality beef is raised in the U.S.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff and manager of the Beef. It's What's For Dinner. brand had a major presence at the event, including a packed booth in the tradeshow, which provided an in-depth look at the voluntary, Beef Checkoff funded program that ensures U.S. beef is produced under stringent animal care standards. The BQA program was introduced to consumers in the fall of 2019 with a campaign designed to educate the general public about how beef in the U.S. is responsibly raised and the farmers and ranchers committed to producing safe, high-quality beef. Retailers were excited to learn that today, thanks to the commitment of cattle farmers and ranchers, more than 85 percent of beef comes from BQA certified farmers and ranchers.

"Consumers want to know how their food is raised and market research shows that when consumers learn about BQA, their confidence in beef increases," said Bridget Wasser, executive director, meat science & supply chain outreach at NCBA. "By relaying that information to retailers, we can help educate and support them in achieving their bottom line and driving beef sales."


The Federal Aviation Administration should revamp its drone proposal to provide flexibility to allow farmers and ranchers who cannot access the internet to continue using drones, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

America's farmers and ranchers embrace technology that allows them to be more efficient, economical and environmentally aware. Drones are an important precision agriculture tool they use to manage their crops and livestock and make important business decisions, the organization pointed out in comments to the FAA on its drone-related advanced notice of proposed rule making.

"Today's farmers and ranchers are using precision agricultural devices to make decisions that impact the amount of fertilizer a farmer needs to purchase and apply to the field, the amount of water needed to sustain the crop, and the amount and type of herbicides or pesticides the farmer may need to apply," Farm Bureau said.

The two main problems with the proposal are: it would ground many drones that farmers and ranchers currently own that do not meet the rule's specifications and it would prevent many farmers and ranchers from ever operating a drone because of a lack of access to broadband

Farm Bureau had several suggestions for improvement.

FAA's proposal would require drones to connect to the internet and transmit their remote IDs. But on the 29% percent of farms and ranches without access to the internet, this would be impossible. And while Congress, the FCC and USDA have acknowledged this problem and are working to increase connectivity for precision agriculture equipment, the proposal fails to take this challenge into account.

"Requiring drones to connect to the internet and broadcast a signal would remove one of the newest tools in the toolbox for farmers and ranchers during a time when they have already seen a drastic 50% decline in net farm income in the last four years," Farm Bureau said


A few simple steps can help cattle producers become more effective in battling respiratory disease in their herd, get full value of any vaccine they purchase and possibly increase their operational profit in the process.

Vaccine coolers can be easily modified for syringes and are important in maintaining vaccine efficiency when chute-side working cattle. 

Studies show respiratory disease in cattle - also known as BRD, shipping fever or pneumonia - may cost the U.S. cattle industry more than $2 billion annually. Management techniques can offset much of this cost and having a good vaccination program can maintain the health of a calf all the way through the production system.

"A vaccine can cost more than $3 per head, and if not stored properly the vaccine can be rendered ineffective," said Bob LeValley, Oklahoma Beef Quality Assurance coordinator with Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Biological products should be stored under refrigeration at 35 degrees to 45 degrees Fahrenheit unless the nature of the product makes storing at a different temperature advisable. If vaccines are not stored within this temperature range, efficacy to the calf can and will be reduced.

"Killed vaccines are especially susceptible to freezing temperatures," LeValley said. "Freezing a killed vaccine will alter its delivery system. In turn, this negatively affects the immune response to the antigen in the vaccine."


OYEAnd FINALLY- It's OYE Week!- Dr. Rod Hall Has a Word for ALL Bringing Livestock to State Fair Park This Week


Dr. Rod Hall is the State Veterinarian for Oklahoma- and offers these words ahead of the world's largest junior livestock show that begins it's ten day run this week at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City.

The livestock begin rolling in to OYE this Tuesday.




Dr. Hall has a simple message- "If show animals are sick please don't take them to the show so they can expose healthy animals. If people are sick please encourage them to stay at home so they don't expose other people or livestock. Please wash hands properly and often, especially before eating and after handling livestock or any equipment that may have been exposed to manure or other secretions. Please keep the stall areas and walkways clean, neat, and dry.


"If you have or notice sick animals please contact show management, ODAFF personnel at the gates, one of the veterinarians who are either participating or watching the show, or me. If you're a veterinarian and you're asked to treat an animal please report it to the show management so they have knowledge of what type and how many illnesses are present at the show.


"Some of you may think we're blowing this whole biosecurity thing out of proportion and that "I've shown animals for XXX
years and never had any problems". Unfortunately we have diseases and bacteria and viruses unlike we had when I was showing and even when I was in practice. It is absolutely important that we take these things seriously.



"My hope is that on March the 21st you all think back and realize that everything went well and think "Well, I knew Dr. Hall was full of bull bleep". If that happens it means we all did our jobs."


Between now and March 20th- we will be covering all aspects of the 2020 OYE- and our coverage is powered, once again, by ITC, your Energy Superhighway. 


KC Sheperd and I will be roaming the barns at State Fair Park- and we look forward to seeing you this week and next!


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, AFR InsuranceOklahoma Farm Bureau, Great Plains Kubota, Stillwater Milling Company, National Livestock Credit CorporationOklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, Oklahoma Ag Mediation Program, Inc.the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association 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 website- check their sites out and let these folks know you appreciate the support of this daily email, as their sponsorship helps us keep this arriving in your inbox on a regular basis- at NO Charge!


We also appreciate our Market Links Sponsor - OKC West Livestock! 
 
 
We invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.   
 

 
God Bless! You can reach us at the following:  
 
phone: 405-473-6144
 

 




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