Oklahoma's Latest Farm
And Ranch News
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Wednesday, September 21, 2022 |
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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
- Obtaining Private Applicator Certification through CEUs with OSU's Josh Bushong
- Beef Demand Remains Stronger than Anticipated Despite Stubborn Inflation
- GOP House Ranking Members Tell Biden Administration- Don't Overstep on WOTUS
- Benefits of Early Culling Open Breeding Heifers
- Latest Southern Plains Perspective Blog talks Climate Smart Ag Programs
- NAWG Testifies Before the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- NCBA Extremely Disappointed with White House Biotechnology Executive Order
- Native Pecan Harvest Field Day is Oct. 13
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Obtaining Private Applicator Certification through CEUs with OSU's Josh Bushong |
Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, visited with Oklahoma State University Extension Area Agronomist Specialist, Josh Bushong during the Schantz Farms Field Day in Hydro, Okla. on September 15. Bushong talks about Continuing Education Units, a route producers can take to obtain their private applicators license.
“The big thing is this is new for a lot of guys,” Bushong said. “Whom we are talking about is our private applicators, so a lot of our farmers that are applying restricted use pesticides on their own farm, they have a private applicator’s license.”
Before now, Bushong said to obtain their private applicators certification, producers have always just had to re-test every five years, through a take-home and open-book test, which they could then put in the mail to become recertified for the next five years.
This year, Bushong said, the exam is proctored, and producers can no longer complete the take-home test to become recertified.
“Now private applicators now have two options to certify,” Bushong said, “They can either acquire enough CEUs to where they don’t have to retest, or they can just simply retest as they have always done. Just keep in mind it is a closed book, it is a proctored computer-based exam. So that is kind of startling for some of our farmers obviously that are not very computer savvy, so they are going to be wanting to look at recertifying by acquiring those CEUs.”
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Beef Demand Remains Stronger than Anticipated Despite Stubborn Inflation |
In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with the Director and Senior Agricultural Economist at the Livestock Marketing Information Center, Katelyn McCullock talking about consumer trends and beef export numbers.
Regarding the recent issue of the foreign ag service of USDA being unable to deliver on grain and meat export numbers, McCullock says when we take a look at those numbers now that they have resumed, some interesting trends stand out.
“This has been something that maybe we don’t emphasize all the time because it is preliminary data,” McCullock said. “What it is telling us is what sales have happened, and so it doesn’t necessarily translate to meat exports. Those things can get canceled, moved around, or shipped in a different time than maybe you were expecting, but to go a whole month without the information- it rattled the markets a little bit, especially on the pork side when it came back out.”
In general, over those four weeks from August 18 to September 8, McCullock said the data was down about 8 percent for beef and about 10 percent for pork. While those numbers are not necessarily positive, McCullock said it helps to know where we were at.
McCullock says the industry is glad to have the data flowing once again, and there are a lot of things happening in the export market, including a very strong U.S dollar having some impact.
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GOP House Ranking Members Tell Biden Administration-Don't Overstep on WOTUS |
I don't recall seeing the Republicans coming together like this in the US House- offering a show of force to the Administration on any subject. But on Tuesday- we saw exactly that as the ranking members of 15 House Committees signed a letter to the heads of the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers- telling them- back off on WOTUS.
This was a reminder to the Biden Administration that the West Virginia vs EPA Supreme Court ruling of earlier this year seems to be telling the Administration to cease and desist when it comes to writing rules that don't line up with Congressional intent.
This comes less than 50 days from the November elections when it's a distinct possibility that these Ranking Members may become the Majority and assume the Chairmanship of these committees.
For Oklahoma- it's a reminder of how important and historic this election could be as two Members signing off were Tom Cole of the Rules Committee and Frank Lucas of the Science and Technology Committee- and if the GOP takes the House in November- it would be the first time that Oklahoma has ever had two Committee Chairmen in the House at the same time.
As for the letter, the Members write, "One of the most serious instances where a presidential administration has sought to usurp the authority granted to it by Congress is in the attempts to revise the definition of WOTUS under the Clean Water Act. For decades, rural communities, farmers, businesses, and industries who rely on clean water have dealt with legal and regulatory uncertainty, compounded with confusing and overreaching Federal regulations over what is considered a WOTUS and subject to Federal regulations and permitting. West Virginia v. EPA suggests that there is 'reason to hesitate' with regard to this claim of authority given the two criteria outlined by Chief Justice Roberts: the history and breadth of the authority asserted and the economic and political significance of that assertion."
The Members continue, "As Ranking Members of several House Committees, including those overseeing your Agencies, we intend to exercise our robust investigative and legislative authority to not only forcefully reassert our Article I responsibilities, but to ensure the Biden Administration does not continue to exceed Congressional authorizations."
As I said- History.
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For our farmers who have either- always have had cotton on their farms- or those who have more recently have added the fiber crop to their operations- we have a daily report heard on several of our Radio Stations- It's Called Cotton Talk!
Click on the Button below to listen to our most recent report
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Benefits of Early Culling Open Breeding Heifers |
Mark Johnson, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Breeding Specialist, offers herd health advice as part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by Dr. Peel, Mark Johnson, and Paul Beck. Today, Johnson is talking about the benefits of culling open breeding heifers early.
Early culling of open breeding heifers has several benefits to your cow-calf operations bottomline. Pregnancy can be diagnosed by palpation at 60 days and by ultrasound as early as 30 days, so now is the now is the time to take action and cull the open heifers. In addition to reducing grazing pressure on drought stressed pastures there are several other long-term benefits. Typically we should expect well developed yearling heifers, at 65% of their mature weight, going into their first breeding season to conceive in a fairly short (45- 60 days) breeding season. The easiest time in a beef breeding females life to get bred, should be as a well-developed yearling heifer.
It is a best management practice to breed heifers to calve a little ahead of our mature cow herd. It permits us to concentrate our management efforts during the heifer’s calving season and, as importantly, to give them a little extra time to breed back and calve on schedule the following year. With this in mind, hold your replacement heifers accountable and cull opens as soon as practical to save on feed bills, capture their maximum value and improve the fertility of your cow herd.
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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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Latest Southern Plains Perspective Blog talks Climate Smart Ag Programs |
Climate smart ag programs are rolling like an avalanche comin’ down a mountain….
First, in August we had the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA)—a measure that put nearly $20 billion into Working Lands Conservation at the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). This funding included $8.45 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), $3.25 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and $1.4 billion in the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program (ACEP)—programs all designed to help farmers and ranchers deal with natural resource challenges like droughts, floods and wildfires—they are also the types of challenges that climate change is exacerbating. Through climate smart practices like no-till, cover crops, improved pasture management, planting grass on highly erodible land, prescribed fire, and the like, agriculture producers adapt to these challenges while helping address some of the root causes of climate change through carbon sequestration and avoided emissions.
Now in September USDA has announced the first 70 projects to receive funding under Climate Smart Commodities initiative, funded by dollars from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). This initiative, designed to fund pilot projects that will create market opportunities for American commodities produced using climate-smart production practices, was originally financed with $1 billion in funds from the CCC. USDA has now announced that the level of funding for the program has now grown to more than $3 billion, reflecting the focus being put on climate smart agriculture by the Department and the huge number of applications submitted for consideration once the program was announced. Among the first projects to be funded are several in the Southern Plains states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
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NAWG Testifies Before the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee |
National Association of Wheat Growers President and Washington State wheat grower, Nicole Berg, testified in front of the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee, A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Stakeholder Perspectives on Title II Conservation Programs.
Nicole Berg highlighted how the Farm Bill voluntary conservation programs are significant in terms of environmental benefits and assistance to farmers. Technical assistance, planning and engineering and financial assistance in the form of cost share or incentives, provide farmers with the knowledge and economic incentive to be able to make a change in their operation or maintain a conservation practice.
“The costs of farming have increased and continue to do so,” said Nicole Berg. “While commodity prices have decreased recently, input costs have remained high. With farmers facing higher costs in all areas of their operations, the decision to adopt conservation practices can depend on the financial assistance that Farm Bill programs provide. Wheat growers support continued access to the voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs of the Farm Bill. Wheat growers, the environment and society have benefited from the programs through improved water quality and quantity, air quality, soil health and habitat. These results would not be possible without the financial and technical assistance that the Farm Bill conservation programs provide.”
As Congress continues to have hearings and reflect on programs authorized under the 2018 Farm Bill, the National Association of Wheat Growers looks forward to working with Congress and the industry to help craft a Farm Bill that benefits wheat farmers and American agriculture.
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NCBA Extremely Disappointed with White House Biotechnology Executive Order |
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) raised questions on President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy, following its release last week.
“We encourage the administration to support the biotechnology innovations already occurring in the cattle industry. Technology like gene editing is critical to improving cattle health and wellbeing, while also helping the U.S. cattle industry demonstrate climate neutrality by 2040. These tools are necessary to build on our legacy as sustainable providers of beef to consumers in the U.S. and around the world,” said NCBA President Don Schiefelbein. “Unfortunately, we are extremely disappointed that this Executive Order also addresses fake meat production under the guise of food security. Supporting cell-cultured, fake meat products is the wrong approach and the administration should remain focused on supporting America’s farmers and ranchers.”
Cattle producers play an important role in ensuring food security and NCBA has long fought for policies that help producers remain in business while raising the highest quality beef in the world.
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Native Pecan Harvest Field Day is Oct. 13 |
Specialists from Oklahoma State University Extension, the Noble Research Institute, the Oklahoma Pecan Growers Association and those involved in the Oklahoma native pecan industry will share their knowledge of pecan management at the Native Pecan Harvest Field Day slated from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Flying G Ranch Pecan Orchard, 8102 E. 550 Rd. in Claremore. (Mike Spradling's operation)
“This event is open to anyone interested in learning about native pecan harvest or production,” said Becky Carroll, OSU Extension associate specialist for fruit and pecans. “This is a good opportunity for networking with other pecan growers and learning more about the pecan industry.”
This field day is free and open to the public, but pre-registration by Oct. 11 is encouraged to help plan for the dinner served in the pecan grove. The meal is sponsored by Oklahoma AgCredit. Topics on the agenda include:
• Orchard history
• Different types of harvest equipment
• Harvest demonstration
• Drying methods and how to check moisture
• Pecan leasing
• Prolonged drought stress on native trees
• Disease pressure in 2022
• Insect update
• Oklahoma Food Freedom Act
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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 Prices were mixed- Choice Beef was down 81 cents and Select Beef was up $1.34 on Tuesday 09/20/2022.
Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News
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Oklahoma National Stockyards had a final count 6,647 head on Monday, September 19, 2022.
Compared to last week: Feeder steers mostly 3.00 - 5.00 lower, instance to 7.00 lower. Feeder heifers steady in a light test. Demand moderate for feeder cattle. Steer calves 2.00 - 6.00 higher. Heifer calves mostly steady. Demand moderate to good for calves. Weather remains warm and dry.
On Tuesday in the Cow and Bull sale- there were 1,609 head. Compared to last test two weeks ago: Slaughter cows 6.00-8.00 lower. Slaughter bulls 4.00-5.00 lower. Packer demand moderate as large numbers continue to move to market.
Click below for the complete closing report.
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OKC West in El Reno had a calf run of 2,000 head on Tuesday September 20th.
Compared to last week: Steer calves traded steady to mostly 3.00 higher, heifer calves sold steady to 2.00 lower. Demand moderate for long weaned calves with multiple rounds of shots- However un-weaned or short weaned calves remain in light demand. Hot and dry conditions continue across the trade area.
Supply included: 100% Feeder Cattle (38% Steers, 51% Heifers, 2% Cows, 9% Bulls). Feeder cattle supply over 600 lbs was 14%
For today- Wednesday- Expecting 3,000
1,000 feeder heifers
2,000 feeder steers
Click on the button below for details of the trade as compiled by the USDA Market News Service.
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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 update on the Livestock and Grain Futures Trade..
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Okla Cash Grain:
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture- The report available after the close of the Futures Trade for that day.
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Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
Ron Hays, Senior Farm/Ranch Broadcaster and Editor
KC Sheperd, Farm Director and Editor
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production
Reagan Calk, Farm News and Email 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 is a big reason why Oklahoma is on track to become a top 10 state.
The Road to Rural Prosperity dives into these stories, bringing you stories covering rural life, agriculture, energy, healthcare, tourism, and politics affecting rural America.
The Road to Rural Prosperity is here to tell stories about rural America, for rural America.
KC Sheperd shares the story of Joey Carter, a hard-working farmer who was widely regarded as a model citizen in a rural North Carolina town. Carter is the focus of a movie coming out in October called Hog Farmer- the Trials of Joey Carter.
He was not the type of person who ever expected to find himself caught up in the middle of a federal lawsuit involving some of the nation’s most ruthless trial lawyers and one of the world’s largest food companies.
But that’s exactly what happened when Joey’s family farm became the focal point in a series of nuisance trials that attracted national and international media attention. While his neighbors leveled charges of environmental racism in hopes of winning multi-million-dollar verdicts, Joey was left wondering how this could happen to a man who has always taken pride in playing by the rules.
Search for Road to Rural Prosperity and subscribe on your favorite Podcast platform.
To hear this podcast, you can click here or tap below:
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma Ag Mediation Program, Great Plains Kubota, Stillwater Milling Company, National Livestock Credit Corporation, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, Union Mutual Insurance, 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
Rural Oklahoma Networks
405-317-6361
***************
Mike Henderson
Director of Sales
405-615-4922
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KC Sheperd
Farm Director
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
405-443-5717
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Ron Hays
Senior Farm/Ranch Broadcaster
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network
405.473.6144
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