Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
From: Ron Hays <ronphays@cox.net>
Date: 5/8/2017 6:27 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!  
 
   
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 futuresclick or tap 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 on Friday, May 5th.
  
  
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

Carson Horn, Associate Farm Director and 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, May 8, 2017

Howdy Neighbors! 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 







-- This N That- Lincoln to Local Spotlights Water, Bob Hunger Talks WSMV and OSU Wheat Plot Tours in Road Gear

Featured Story:

Packers are chasing fewer market-ready cattle right now, which has in turn caused cattle prices to rise. Oklahoma State University Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel told me that those in the cattle business have been pleasantly surprised to see these stronger cash cattle prices.


"We knew there was reason to have some strength in the markets this year from a supply standpoint," Peel said. "But what really is coming out of this that we didn't really see or know for sure before was the strength in beef demand, that has really been carrying this market. So, we continue to be surprised."


The big question that remains is - just how long can we expect this party to last?


"The supply situation will carry forward for a while although seasonably, we're going to move into larger slaughter numbers through May and June," Peel said. "So, we're probably going to see a seasonal peak in here somewhere, but at the same time, as long as the strength in demand is there, we can carry through this year with higher prices than we would have projected just a few weeks ago."


Listen to Dr. Peel and I discuss what's happening in the beef markets right now that is sparking unexpected price increases, on Friday's Beef Buzz - click here.

Sponsor Spotlight


It's great to have the Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards as a sponsor for our daily email.  The eight Commission firms at the Stockyards make up the exchange- and they are committed to work hard to get you top dollar when you consign your cattle with them.  They will present your cattle to the buyers gathered each Monday or Tuesday at one of the largest stocker and feeder cattle auctions in the world.
 
Click here for a complete list of the Commission firms that make up the Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards- still the best place to sell your cattle- and at the heart of Stockyards City, where you can go around the corner enjoy a great steak and shop for the very best in western wear. 


It has been an amazing year so far for red meat exports in the US, especially for pork and beef. The two protein products capped off the first quarter of 2017 with outstanding numbers in March, setting a new record for pork and continued strength it the beef industry's market share, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.


Pork exports surpassed the last monthly export record set in November of last year by 16 percent, reaching a total of 227,955 metric tons shipped. Export value for pork also rose by as much as 22 percent. 


For beef, exports were up 18 percent year-over-year for a total of 105,310 mt in March. The value of beef also increase by 19 percent.


"Entering 2017 with record-large pork production and an uptick in beef slaughter, we knew this 'wall of U.S. meat' presented a challenge for our industry," said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. "So the fact that first-quarter export volumes are higher than a year ago is not surprising, but it's important to look beyond that - to the higher percentage of production being exported and the strong return on those exports. The U.S. is not just moving more meat internationally because we have more available. Our products are commanding solid prices and winning back market share in many key destinations, even with a strong U.S. dollar and many trade barriers still in place. But our competitors are working every day to reverse this trend, so we must aggressively expand and defend our international customer base."


The increased motivation of markets from Mexico, Korea and South America are fueling the momentum behind increased pork exportation. The pace of ham and variety pork products to Mexico are particularly red-hot right now, while at the same time, chilled pork products are building steam in Japan as well currently.


Japan also has kept demand strong for beef products, along with other Asian nation's like Korea. Canadian and South American markets have also demonstrated growing demand opportunities
for US beef as well.


For more highlights from the report compiled by the USMEF or to view it in its entirety, click or tap here.
LandOklahoma City Hosts 66th Annual National Land and Range Judging Contest - See Who Won

This past week, the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and NRCS, hosted the 66th Annual National Land and Range Judging Contest, attracting more than 600 4-H and FFA members from 33 states to compete for the top honors.


ON Thursday evening, the winners were announced at the contest's awards banquet held at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum. Our Associate Farm Director Carson Horn was there to speak with Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission Trey Lam about the event.


Participants compete in three categories: land, range and homesite evaluation.


The top teams respectively for each category were from the Hays, Kansas FFA Chapter; the Hico, Texas FFA Chapter; and the Klondike, Texas FFA Chapter.


Several Oklahomans won individual awards as well including, Jamie Steele of the Chickasha, Oklahoma FFA Chapter for homesite evaluation and Kevin Stacy of South Coffeyville, Oklahoma, who won the land judging contest in the adult division.


To read more about this contest and all its winners, or to listen to Carson speak with Trey Lam about the event more in-depth, click here to jump to the full story on our website.
AFRAFR's Steve Thompson Watching the Hot-Button Issues as OK's Legislative Session Winds Down

With only three weeks left to this year's legislative session in Oklahoma, I invited Steve Thompson of AFR to our studios on Friday to update us on what's been going on at the State Capitol. The big issue is of course fixing the state's budget deficit. He says with this issue filling everyone's plate, it has really been a moderately uneventful year for agriculture. However, he says he is staying on his toes to ensure that no measures come out of committees to help fix the budget and unintentionally or otherwise, negatively affect the industry.


One thing that has kept Oklahoma's farmers and ranchers uneasy is the risk of losing any ag-use tax exemptions. Thompson says with the help of influencers like Sen. Mike Schulz and others, ag exemptions seem to be safe from the chopping block.


However, Thompson says there is one bill involving a fuel tax that threatens to cost farmers and ranchers substantially. But, his sources say this bill probably does not have the legs to finish the race.


"I think that is the single biggest revenue raising measure that has been published out there," Thompson said. "Farmers and ranchers put a lot of miles on vehicles. They burn a lot of fuel, so a six cent per gallon gas tax would cost them thousands of dollars per year."


There is still much discussion left to be had on this bill, though, at the moment, Thompson says this legislation has stalled. However, he says "word on the street" is that this proposal lacks the necessary votes to pass it.


Listen to my full conversation with Thompson to find out more about what issues are being discussed at the State Capitol, by clicking or tapping here.

Sponsor Spotlight


We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update. On both the state and national levels, full-time staff members serve as a "watchdog" for family agriculture producers, mutual insurance company members and life company members.

Click here to go to their AFR website to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!


Oklahoma's canola harvest this year has already begun according to agronomists Heath Sanders and Josh Bushong, who cover the Southwest and Northwest areas of the state respectively. They tell me, the first harvest they heard of actually happened in Southwest Oklahoma as early as April 23rd. I asked them to describe the conditions of the rest of state's crop from each of the regions they oversee. And with planted acres up in Oklahoma this at roughly 120,000 acres, they've had a lot of ground to cover.


"Most of the fields I've looked at were pretty well done flowering. We are seeing seeds firm up as this canola matures. Stuff is moving along pretty fast," Sanders said. "But that being said - with these cooler temperatures and the moisture and everything we've been receiving, has really slowed the crop process down as far as seed color change."


Bushong says, like Sanders' region, fields he has scouted dropped their flowers very quick this year but he says he has not seen much change so far in seed color.


"Right now, it's just in there building yield," Bushong said. "Once we get some warmer days we'll probably see that change pretty fast."


Both agronomists agree, this harvest looks to be shaping up to be a fairly average crop, despite plants growing somewhat stunted. Bushong predicts growers in his area to yield 40-50 bpa in the better fields and around 15-25 bpa in thinner fields.


Listen to my conversation with each of these gentlemen on their observations from the field this year as canola harvest begins ramping up into full steam, by clicking here.
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Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

 


On Friday, US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited Iowa and gave remarks to a crowd of Iowa farmers and others connected to agriculture- our colleagues from the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network (Ken Root and Ben Nuelle) covered the event and what follows is their story and the audio of the Perdue speech.


"Hello from Nevada where top officials gathered to welcome the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to Iowa. Sonny Perdue toured the feedlot of Couser Cattle Company owned by Bill and Nancy Couser. Perdue was duly impressed by the facilities and quality of care given to the animals. He suggested the critics of animal agriculture should see how these steers and heifers were handled. "If the children of America were vaccinated and fed this well, this would be a better place," said a smiling jean and boot clad Secretary as he addressed a crowd that numbered well over three hundred.


"The Secretary gave a fifteen-minute off the cuff speech outlining his commitment to trade, efficiency in the workplace and the Trump Administration's goals for reducing regulation on farmers and businesses across America."

Click here to read more and to listen to the comments made by Secretary Sonny on Friday.



A prolonged period of low feed prices combined with steadily growing demand for animal protein continues to fuel profitability and optimism for U.S. feed mill operators, according to a new report from CoBank. However, changes in the industry are spurring the need for newer, larger facilities and forcing the closure of older mills that lack the newest technology.


The abundant and affordable supply of grains and oilseeds has led to a 19 percent increase in total domestic feed usage since 2012, when use had plummeted to its lowest level since 1995. With many mills operating at capacity, they are now gearing up for the next surge in demand, due to come from the swelling U.S. hog population.


"Many feed mills are investing in upgrades to aging facilities or replacing them with new facilities that boost capacity and efficiency to meet the growing demand for livestock feed," said Tanner Ehmke, CoBank senior economist, grains, oilseeds and ethanol, and farm supply. "There are several reasons for the huge investments being made, but expansion in the hog sector is the leading factor," added Ehmke.


As the level of feed demand from the animal production sector has expanded and evolved, so has the nature of that demand. It's become considerably more diverse and specialized. Livestock and poultry operators are increasingly calling for custom feed formulations with micro-ingredients. New feed mills are more frequently focusing on serving single specie markets with fewer general purpose toll mills.


"Large bulk orders are increasingly replacing smaller orders and bagged feed," said Ehmke. "There's also a greater tendency for new mills to offer animal nutrition expertise and consulting services, along with formulations requiring veterinarian feed directives (VFDs)," said Ehmke.


Click here to continue reading this article to find out more about America's evolving feed industry.
ThisNThatThis N That- Lincoln to Local Spotlights Water, Bob Hunger Talks WSMV and OSU Wheat Plot Tours in Road Gear
 
This past Friday's Lincoln to Local Video produced by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau is mostly about water and why water is not being discussed more at the Capitol. LeeAnna McNally explains Farm Bureau members believe developing Oklahoma water could help solve the state's budget problems.

Click here to jump over to our webstory that features the video from LeeAnna and Hannah Nemecek of the OkFB Staff.

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OSU Wheat Disease Guru Dr. Bob Hunger has lots of concerns about late season disease pressure on the 2017 Oklahoma winter wheat crop- especially the large number of fields that apparently have been hit with wheat streak mosaic virus- WSMV. 

According to the latest report from Dr. Hunger- "Much of the bad wheat I saw had been hit with wheat streak mosaic (WSM). To date, the Plant Disease and Insect Diagnostic Lab (Ms. Jen Olson, Director) has assessed about 82 wheat samples from 19 counties for Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), High plains virus (HPV), and Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV; PAV strain). These 19 counties are located west of Stillwater, and mostly are west of I-35. Of these 82 samples, 56 were positive for WSMV, 11 were positive for HPV (all 11 co-infected with WSMV), and 42 were positive for BYDV."

Click or tap here to read his complete report on disease issues that is being seen in the 2017 crop.

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In our calendar section- we have some of the details for the many wheat plot tours planned for the next couple of weeks across western Oklahoma-

Click or tap here for our May calendar and click on the location you are interested in.  Just this week- there are a total of nine locations where you can check out many of the varieties that will work for your area- with the ninth of the events set for this week the always popular Lahoma Wheat Field Day at the OSU Research Station just west of Lahoma. 

 
Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, American Farmers & Ranchers, Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National StockyardsOERBOklahoma Farm BureauStillwater Milling Company, Oklahoma AgCreditthe 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 invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story 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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