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!
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.
Okla Cash Grain:
Futures Wrap:
Feeder Cattle Recap:
Slaughter Cattle Recap:
TCFA Feedlot Recap:
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
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Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
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Howdy Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
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When COVID-19 infections sent workers home from the major meat processing plants, consumers quickly saw the impact in the empty meat counters. In response to this event, Career Tech across Oklahoma is offering updated meat processing courses online.
I spoke with Dr. Marcie Mack, state director of Career Tech, as she announced the new courses this week.
Industry officials were concerned with the supply of meat and finding the resources they were looking for, Mack said. Oklahoma Agriculture Secretary Blayne Arthur reached out to us and asked what we are doing to train individuals to work in the meat processing industry, Mack said.
We met with an industry panel of individuals who operate their own facility and we asked what they look for in a qualified work force, Mack said. They outlined some specific criteria and industry credentials they find valuable.
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Sponsor Spotlight
The Oklahoma Cotton Council is proud to serve the cotton producers and those who are a part of the cotton industry in Oklahoma- promoting and protecting their interests. In Recent Years- cotton acreage has grown in Oklahoma- and today we are the third largest Cotton State in the US- based on Acres Planted.
The Oklahoma Cotton Council works for the cotton farmer in the areas of research, advocacy and education. Follow the Oklahoma Cotton Council on Facebook or check out out the Oklahoma Cotton Council website- okiecotton.org
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Following the December 2019 announcement of a new farm stress management online training course for employees and members of Farm Credit, Farm Bureau and Farmers Union, these organizations have supported the launch of a free online training available to the general public.
Developed by Michigan State University Extension (MSU Extension) and University of Illinois Extension (Illinois Extension), the course will help farmers, their families and neighbors identify and cope with stress. It provides participants the skills to understand the sources of stress, manage their own stress, learn the warning signs of stress and suicide, identify effective communication strategies, and connect farmers and ranchers with appropriate mental health and other resources.
The challenges of ongoing low commodity prices, trade wars and extreme weather events have dramatically affected farmers and ranchers for years. Add the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic disruptions and that stress multiplies. Stress among farmers and ranchers is felt throughout farm operations and seeps into cities and towns across the country.
Sign up today
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Cattle producers concerned about profitability after the COVID-19 crisis has changed the world can take heart in some encouraging words from OSU Extension Livestock Economist Dr. Derrell Peel. On Today's Beef Buzz, Dr. Peel and I talk with about what lies ahead for the rest of this year.
Obviously, we still have a lot of uncertainty, Peel said.
The heavier feeder cattle market is going to continue to struggle as there is limited space in the feedlots and this will keep a little pressure on the fed cattle market, Peel said.
This segment of bad news is offset by lower feed prices which Peel said will help support feeder cattle.
Peel said the calf market this fall could bounce back to year ago levels but no guarantee.
The OSU livestock economist suggested producers "hunker down" and try to wait out the storm.
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A group of leading nutrition scientists, including a former member of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) and the Chair of the 2005 DGAC, were among the prominent authors of a "State-of-the-Art Review" in the prestigious Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC): "Saturated Fats and Health: A Reassessment and Proposal for Food-based Recommendations." This review found that government limits on saturated fats are not justified by the science.
Advice to limit saturated fats has been a basic pillar of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) for 40 years. Yet this advice has never had any substantial scientific backing, according to a large and fast-growing body of scientific Literature which now includes the JACC paper
The JACC abstract reads:
"The recommendation to limit dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake has persisted despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Most recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational studies found no beneficial effects of reducing SFA intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, and instead found protective effects against stroke. Although SFAs increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, in most individuals, this is not due to increasing levels of small, dense LDL particles, but rather larger LDL which are much less strongly related to CVD risk.
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Sponsor Spotlight
National Livestock was founded in 1932 in Oklahoma City. National's Marketing Division offers cattle for sale weekly at the Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City. The Finance Division lends money to ranchers across several states for cattle production. The Grazing Division works with producers to place cattle for grazing on wheat or grass pastures. National also owns and operates other livestock marketing subsidiaries including Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction in Ada, Oklahoma, OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno, Oklahoma, and the nation's premier livestock video sale, Superior Livestock Auction. National offers customers many services custom made for today's producer. To learn more, click here for the website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.
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Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the Oklahoma Office of the Secretary of Energy & Environment a grant of $287,700 in disaster relief funding for water quality programs. One focus of the funding will be assessing effects of wildfires on streams in western Oklahoma.
"Protecting water quality requires a variety of approaches, including being prepared for and responding to natural disasters," said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. "EPA is pleased to continue supporting programs in Oklahoma to improve and maintain water resources."
The funding will support programs to protect and improve water quality of rivers, lakes, groundwater, and other waterbodies and to reduce the number of impaired, or polluted, waterbodies. Planned uses of the grant include assessing effects of wildfires on stream ecosystems in Western Oklahoma and providing technical assistance for Oklahoma wastewater systems to develop emergency response and operation manuals. The grant was funded through supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and awarded under a cooperative agreement between the state of Oklahoma and EPA.
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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farmers to Families Food Box Program has distributed more than 20 million food boxes in support of American farmers and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Over the past few weeks, the Farmers to Families Food Box Program has continued to pick up steam, getting food in the hands of more and more Americans while providing much needed support to our agricultural sector," said Secretary Perdue. "This milestone is a testament that the program is accomplishing what we intended - supporting U.S. farmers and distributors and getting food to those who need it most. It's a real trifecta, which is why we call it a win-win-win."
"The Farmers to Families Food Box Program has been an extraordinary success having already delivered 20 million large boxes of farm fresh food to those in need! This administration is proud of the collaborative efforts of farmers, distributors, food banks, non-profits and faith-based communities and their workforces in dispersing fresh produce, protein and dairy to those most in need across the United States," said Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump.
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Oklahoma Youth Expo Announces the Summer Spectacular Livestock Clinic
Friday, July 17, 2020
Kingfisher County Fairgrounds
300 S. 13th Street
Kingfisher, Oklahoma 73750
Who's ready for the hottest clinic of the summer?! Join us July 17 in Kingfisher for the Summer Spectacular Livestock Clinic! The event is free!
9:00 am--Registration
9:30 am-- Sullivans Supply Stock Show U
11:30 am--Lunch/OPAL
1:00 pm--LNC & ADM Feed and Nutrition Clinic
3:00 pm--Conclude
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 AND FINALLY- Senators Add Their Voice- Calling for Help for Smaller Meat Processors
A bipartisan group of senators have added their voices to those of several House Members as they call for USDA to modify regulations that "create impediments to a diversified meat processing industry," the legislators said in a letter sent this week to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
The letter, signed by U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), John Barrasso, (R-Wy.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Michael Enzi (R-Wy.), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.), reiterated points made by Congressman Jim Jordan and other Republicans who serve on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, when they called on USDA to ease restrictions on small and mid-sized meat processing operations in early June.
"They asked you to 'consider four areas for regulatory and programmatic reform.' Those areas were Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans, Meat Label Submission and Approval Process, Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) Program, and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Overtime Requirements. We echo their sentiments and ask for your swift action," the senators wrote.
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, AFR Insurance, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma Ag Mediation Program, Great Plains Kubota, Stillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma Cotton Council, National Livestock Credit Corporation, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, 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 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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