Oklahoma's Latest Farm
And Ranch News
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Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
- Production Challenges, Economic Headwinds Slow Red Meat Exports in May
- U.S. Corn And Soybean Crops Continue To Look Great According To The Latest USDA Crop Progress Report
- Congressman Lucas Introduces Legislation To Expand Federal Meat Inspection For Smaller Processing Plants
- What Ag Groups are Saying about the RAMP-UP Act
- OSU's Dr. Derrell Peel Says a Slow Recovery Is Projected for U.S. And Global Economy
- USDA Improves Crop Insurance Policies with New Options
- This Weeks Ag in the Classroom, mAgnificent Monday with Herb Gardens!
- Farm Dog of the Year Entries Being Sought by American Farm Bureau
- Remember to Scroll Down and Check Out Our MarketLinks- Including Monday's Auction Markets, Cash Grain Bids & More
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Production Challenges, Economic Headwinds Slow Red Meat Exports in May |
U.S. beef and pork exports trended lower in May, due in part to interruptions in slaughter and processing, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Beef exports dropped well below year-ago levels and recorded the lowest monthly volume in 10 years. Pork exports remained higher than a year ago but were the lowest since October 2019.
"As protective measures related to COVID-19 were being implemented, plant disruptions peaked in early May with a corresponding temporary slowdown in exports," said USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. "Unfortunately the impact was quite severe, especially on the beef side. Exports also faced some significant economic headwinds, especially in our Western Hemisphere markets, as stay-at-home orders were implemented in key destinations and several trading partners dealt with slumping currencies."
Halstrom noted that the recent rebound in beef and pork production will help exports regain momentum in the second half of 2020. The global economic outlook is challenging, but he looks for export volumes to recover quickly in most markets as U.S. red meat remains an important staple, not only in the United States but for many international consumers as well.
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Oklahoma AgCredit is a cooperative, owned by the members we serve. This ensures our customers’ needs come first. Our profit can only be used in two ways – retained to build our financial strength or passed on to members through our Patronage Program.
Patronage is like an interest rebate and it basically reduces our members cost of borrowing. We have returned more than $53 million to our members since 1997.
For more information, click here to go to our Oklahoma AgCredit website.
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U.S. Corn And Soybean Crops Continue To Look Great According To The Latest USDA Crop Progress Report |
The nation’s corn and soybean crops continue to look great although the top ratings for corn was adjusted downward a couple of points this week in the USDA Crop Progress Report.
The corn crop is rated 71 percent in the good to excellent category (73 percent last week), 23 percent fair and 6 percent poor to very poor.
There is no change in the soybean crop rating this week as it continues at 71 percent in the good to excellent category, 24 percent is fair and 5 percent poor to very poor.
The U.S. cotton crop condition in the 15 major growing states was upgraded several points this week to 43 percent in the good to excellent category (41 percent last week), 34 percent fair and 23 percent is rated poor to very poor.
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Congressman Lucas Introduces Legislation To Expand Federal Meat Inspection For Smaller Processing Plants
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U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-3) and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (MN-07) have introduced legislation to provide money for meat inspectors for small and medium size plants. Cong. Lucas talked with me about the legislation referred to as Requiring Assistance to Meat Processors for Upgrading Plants (RAMP-UP) Act.
The legislation would establish a program to make facility upgrades and planning grants to existing meat and poultry processors to help them move to Federal inspection.
In the aftermath of what the livestock industry has gone through because of COVID-19, it became obvious that we needed to make sure we had more diversity in the meat processing industry, Lucas said.
State inspection is just as good as federal inspection but if you want to cross state lines you need the USDA stamp, Lucas said.
The legislation includes $80 million in mandatory money plus an additional $20 million in appropriated funds.
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What Ag Groups are Saying about the RAMP-UP Act
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Last Thursday, Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) and Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson introduced the RAMP-UP Act, a bill that would establish a program to make facility upgrades and planning grants to existing meat and poultry processors to help them move to Federal Inspection and be able to sell their products across state lines. Here’s what stakeholders had to say about the bill:
Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur:
“The livestock and processing sectors faced severe impacts amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The RAMP-UP Act addresses some of the most urgent needs, and I am grateful that it reflects the feedback I heard from state agricultural leaders across the country. Now is the time to act swiftly on the evolution of the processing industry.”
Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Peterson:
“I thank Chairman Peterson and all the co-sponsors of the RAMP-UP Act for recognizing a critical and timely need to expand meat processing capacity across the country. Minnesota livestock producers have seen the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are counting on new approaches like this to accelerate the recovery of this critical industry.”
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We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network weekdays-
if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an area where you can't hear it- click below for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays and KC Sheperd on RON.
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Sponsor Spotlight
The vision of the Oklahoma Beef Council is to be a positive difference for Oklahoma's farming and ranching families and the greater beef community and its mission is to enhance beef demand by strengthening consumer trust and exceeding consumer expectations. To learn more, visit www.oklabeef.org. Also, don't forget to like its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oklabeef for stories on Oklahoma's ranching families and great beef recipes.
The Oklahoma Beef Council is also a part of the United We Steak Campaign- now underway- there is a dedicated webpage for the campaign- available here.
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OSU's Dr. Derrell Peel Says a Slow Recovery Is Projected for U.S. And Global Economy
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Mondays, Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry. This analysis is a part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by Dr. Peel and Dr. Glenn Selk. Today, Dr. Peel says a slow recovery is projected for U.S. and global economy
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have devastating impacts on public health and the economies of the U.S. and many other countries. There is much uncertainty about the future impacts of COVID-19 but even in the best of circumstances, the economic impacts are enormous. Table 1 shows a range of estimates for changes in U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020 and 2021. All of the estimates for 2020 are significantly worse than the 2.8 percent decrease in GDP in 2008, during the last recession.
The 2020 U.S. unemployment rate is forecast at 9.3 percent, replacing pre-COVID estimates of a continuation of the 3.5 percent rate from late 2019 . The Fed estimate for the 2021 unemployment rate is 6.5 percent, persisting at a 5.5 percent rate in 2022. The impact of unemployment and reduced income in the U.S. economy is likely to grow at some point as government support reduces or ends.
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USDA Improves Crop Insurance Policies with New Options
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced changes to several crop insurance policies improving options for producers, including introducing a new Quality Loss Option, a new unit structure assignment option for Enterprise Units (EU) and new procedures for Multi-County Enterprise Units (MCEU).
“In addition to making the changes required by the Farm Bill, we are making updates to provide producers more flexibility and options. We continually listen to producers and other stakeholders, and we adjust these policies when necessary,” said Martin Barbre, Administrator of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). “With these changes, producers will have more coverage choices.”
Specifically:
The new Quality Loss Option is in response to the 2018 Farm Bill that required the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to research and develop methods of adjusting for quality losses. The new Quality Loss Option allows producers to replace post-quality production amounts in their Actual Production History (APH) databases with pre-quality production amounts, thereby increasing their actual yields for individual crop years.
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This Weeks Ag in the Classroom, mAgnificent Monday with Herb Gardens!
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Summertime is here and the kiddos are out of school with many parents are at home with their kiddos, wondering, "What do we do now?" Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom has come up with some excellent daily activities you can do with your kids and family.
Today we are featuring mAgnificent Mondays with herb Gardens! A perfect Summer activity! Many Oklahoman's plant herb gardens so they can enjoy fresh herbs in their food or drinks. Oregano is generally used to season Mexican, Italian, Greek and Spanish dishes. When in bloom they have beautiful purple or pink flowers that are also edible!
The name "oregano" derives from two Greek words meaning "the joy of the mountain." It is a hardy member of the mint family that has been used for flavoring fish, meat and sauces since ancient times. It became popular in America after soldiers returned from Service in World War Two in the Mediterranean and were craving pizza - it's this reason it is often called the pizza herb. Ancient Greeks believed that cows that grazed in fields full of oregano had tastier meat and that if you anoint yourself with oregano you will dream about your future spouse.
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Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year Nominations Accepted Until Aug. 20
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Farmers are invited to submit nominations for the 2021 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year Contest, with support from Purina. This is the third year of the contest, which celebrates farm dogs that work alongside farmers and ranchers to produce nutritious food for families and their pets across America.
The grand prize winner – Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year – will win a year’s worth of Purina dog food and $5,000 in prize money. The winner will be recognized at a Farm Dog of the Year award ceremony at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention in January. Up to four regional runners-up will win $1,000 each in prize money.
Click on the link before for more details and how you can enter.
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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.
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Today's First Look:
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
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Wholesale Boxed Beef Choice Beef up 2 cents while Select Beef down $1.79- Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News |
Oklahoma National Stockyards had 4,500 head on Monday-
Compared to last week: Feeder steers traded 2.00-5.00 higher, feeder heifers are selling 3.00-6.00 higher. Click below for the complete closing report.
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Joplin Regional Stockyards had just over 4,600 on Monday July 6th-
Compared to last week, steers and heifers steady to 3.00 higher. Demand good, supply moderate.
Click below to check the full report.
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Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futures - click below for the Latest report.
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Okla Cash Grain:
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture- click below to view the latest report.
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Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor
KC Sheperd, Associate Farm Director and Editor
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production
Sam Knipp, Farm News Editor
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
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Rural Oklahoma is full of some of the greatest success stories throughout the entire state and are a main reason Oklahoma is on track to become a top 10 state.
The Road to Rural Prosperity will dive into these stories each week bringing you insight into the great things happening in and to rural Oklahoma. We will bring you stories covering rural life, agriculture, energy, healthcare, tourism and politics all affecting rural America.
The Road to Rural Prosperity is here to tell stories about rural America, for rural America.
Our Latest Road to to Rural Prosperity Podcast features our conversation with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt as we talk COVID 19, what's ahead for agriculture as well as oil and gas- plus his take on how Oklahoma is doing in being Top Ten in a variety of areas.
Coming this week- a visit with the Oklahoma FFA Star Farmer for 2020- Reagan Klassen!
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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.
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God Bless!
Reach Out To Us:
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Tim West
President/General Manager
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
2401 Exchange Avenue,
Suite F
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
405.317.6361
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Ron Hays
Director of Farm Programming
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
405.373.6144
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