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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Busy Busy Friday and Next Week Promises More of the Same for Many Folks involved in Oklahoma Agriculture

 

We are putting the finishing touches on this morning's email in Ardmore, as we get ready to emcee the 2016 Texoma Cattlemen's Conference, hosted by the Ag Division of the Noble Foundation.

 

The program looks like a dandy- with a nice mix of OSU experts, Noble Foundation folks and even an end of the day political analysis with an old friend of mine- Roger Bernard of Informa Economics. 

 

Details of the program are here.

 

Also happening today is the Oklahoma Pork Congress in Norman- we hope to see lots of friends there are the end of the day at their annual Banquet.

 

And- Superior Livestock is on the road with one of their regular Auctions- live at the Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City starting at 8:00 AM this morning.

 

On Sunday- conservation leaders from across Oklahoma will be gathering at the Reed Center for the 2016 Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting.

 

Next week- the Oklahoma No-Til Conference happens on Tuesday and Wednesday- and we will be reporting from a variety of venues associated with the 2016 Commodity Classic down by the muddy Mississippi later in the week- Commodity Classic is the joint meeting of groups that represent wheat, grain sorghum, corn and soybeans. 

 

As I said- Busy, Busy.

Oklahoma FFA Celebrates FFA Week as State Officer Team Issues Hunger Challenge to Every Chapter in the State

 

 

 

Boyce is serving his second year as a state officer, and is a student at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee. He and his fellow officers are very busy at this time of year, as they juggle school with preparation for the 2016 State Convention of the Oklahoma FFA that happens this year April 25-27 at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City. 

We talked about Drake's year as State President, FFA Week and a statewide challenge that the 2015-2016 State Officer Team has made to every chapter in the state of Oklahoma. The Hunger Challenge is a continuation of efforts from the last couple of years, which has seen Oklahoma FFA become the top state FFA in the country in serving their state in generating food donations.  

Despite Current Corn Glut, US Grain Council Analyst Sees China as a Feed Grain Importer in Future Years

 

China's demand for animal products will continue to rise in the coming years, driving demand for feed grains including from imports, said Dr. Bryan Lohmar, director of U.S. Grains Council programs in China at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Outlook Forum being held this week in the Washington, DC area.

 

Lohmar spoke as part of a panel examining China's economic situation and it's impact on agricultural markets. He walked the overflow crowd through multiple estimates of production and consumption numbers out of the country - which vary more widely than they do in other countries - as well as his scenarios for how these changes will impact feed grain demand.

 

He believes that China will try to produce a lot of their own meat protein- and that will help drive continued feed grain imports into China for years to come. 

 

Talking Cattle and Beef Prices- and Tremendous Wheat Pasture with OSU's Derrell Peel

 

 

The calendar reminds us that we are well into the new year of 2016- and OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel says that 2016 will look quite a bit different than the wild market ride that 2015 took cattle producers on. In today's Beef Buzz, Dr. Peel tells us that the hard adjustment down in cattle prices seen in the second half of 2015 will likely not be repeated in 2016, although we could see markets slide somewhat lower, depending on overall meat protein supplies of beef, pork and poultry.

 

Peel expects cattle prices to not be a lot different at the end of 2016, compared to the prices seen in the first few weeks of the year. He does anticipate that domestic beef supplies will see growth compared to a year ago, while pork and poultry supplies may end up going sideways much of this calendar year.

 

Meanwhile here in Oklahoma- a very pleasant surprise has been the amount and condition of winter wheat pasture available to stocker cattle producers. Dr. Peel says the pasture looks so good that some producers may decide to keep cattle on wheat past first hollow stem and harvest their wheat through the weight gains of the cattle rather than rolling a combine across it later this year. 

 

 

Click here to read more and to take a listen to the analysis of OSU's Derrell Peel- it's a part of our Beef Buzz series that is heard on great radio stations through the region and is now a part of our archives of Beef Buzz shows about what is happening in the beef industry today!

 

 

 

House Ag Committee Chair Conaway Really Worked Up Over Cottonseed Decision of USDA Secretary Vilsack

 

 

You may remember in yesterday's email that we featured a story with the audio of the exchange from the House Ag Committee hearing earlier this week between House Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway and USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.  

 

Conaway is totally convinced that the Secretary has the authority to declare cottonseed an "oilseed" for the purposes of allowing cotton farmers to take part in the ARC/PLC programs that make up the federal farm program safety net based on the 2014 Farm Law.

 

Vilsack is just as convinced that he has no such authority and he has no intention of paying any attention to the demands of Conaway and others like former Chairman Frank Lucas on this issue.

 

Well, soon after we pushed the Thursday email out the door- we got an email from the office of the House Ag Committee with an op-ed from the Chairman- explaining in detail why he's right and Vilsack is wrong. No- make that WRONG.

 

Conaway details each of the Vilsack reasons for not being able to declare cottonseed as an "other oilseed" and explains why the Secretary and his lawyers are off base in each case.

 

Whoever you believe on this one- the Conaway Op- Ed is worth a read- click here to check it out.

 

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Wheat Prices Are Well Below the Cost of Production- and Kim Anderson Expects Them to Stay There Through Harvest

 

 

Wheat prices are under water- below the current cost of production for Oklahoma hard red winter wheat producers. And according to OSU Extension Grain Marketing Economist Dr. Kim Anderson. there is little chance that what prices will rebound to break even levels for the next several months.

Dr. Anderson tells Lyndall Stout with the SUNUP program that is produced weekly by the Ag Communications Department of Oklahoma State University that about the only way we will find a way for wheat prices to head higher is for some part of the world to have a massive crop failure. Dr. Anderson believes it could take a one to two billion bushel shortfall somewhere other than in the United States to promote higher wheat prices- it will take an eighty five cent per bushel boost in prices to approach the variable cost of production for wheat farmers here in the southern Great Plains. 

The full conversation that Lyndall has with Kim Anderson is available here- and our story includes not just the comments from the Grain Marketing guru but also a rundown of the SUNUP lineup for this weekend- the show to be seen as always on OETA.

Oklahoma Irrigation Conference Set for March 8 in Woodward

 

Southern Plains agricultural producers looking to get the most out of their water-use investment should register now to attend the March 8 Oklahoma Irrigation Conference in Woodward.


Saleh Taghvaeian, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension water resources specialist, said producers should think of the conference as "one-stop shopping" where they can receive the latest research-based insights and information about many irrigation-related subjects.


"Although the Southern Plains are no longer suffering from historic levels of drought, water remains the most important and in-demand resource in any state; that means informed decision-making is a must for agricultural producers," he said.


In addition to agricultural producers, individuals interested in earning continuing education units should also consider attending this conference, since 4.5 Certified Crop Advisor CEUs are offered in the soil and water management category, as well as 4.5 Irrigation Association Tier 1 CEUs. 

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 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!

 

 

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