Oklahoma's Latest Farm
And Ranch News
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Wednesday, October 5, 2022 |
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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
- House Ag Chair Dell Kerbs Cheers Drought Help Soon to Head to the Country
- Farmer Sentiment Drifts Lower, Rising Interest Rates Contribute to Uneasiness
- NCBA Working to Keep GIPSA Rules in the Past
- Governor Kevin Stitt Signs HB1006xx- Providing $20 Million in Drought Help
- Dairy MAX Connects with National Ag in the Classroom
- Preparing for Winter with OSU's Mark Johnson
- American Society of Agricultural Consultants Annual Conference Aimed at Targeting All Aspects of Ag
- Farm Country Supports Lucas' Protect Farmers from the SEC Act
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Dell Kerbs Cheers Drought Help Soon to Head to the Country |
I got the chance to visit with the Chair of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Dell Kerbs, talking about the dollars allocated to aid Oklahoma producers in drought.
“I am very thankful that we have the three million to go ahead and start getting deployed and I think the plans that have come forth today and what the drought commission has moved on is definitely a good start,” Kerbs said. “We all know three million when we talk on a statewide level is not a lot of funds. Again, I will go back to, at least we have three million to be able to start.”
Kerbs said he is thankful for his colleagues in supporting the language in the bill in HB1006xx (Emergency Drought Relief Fund) in the special session to bring 20 million dollars more into the drought commission. (See the story further down on the Governor signing this into law)
In these early stages of getting the drought funds deployed, Kerbs said a priority is figuring out how to help in the transportation of hay feed and water without superseding or stepping over FSA.
“FSA has been really good to a lot of our producers,” Kerbs said. “We want to make sure we are helping with those and supplementing and hitting those gaps that FSA didn’t cover for transportation and for hay feed and water.”
Kerbs said it is time to think outside of the box toward long-term investments to help mitigate future drought issues.
“It is really interesting on the drought map, because when we talk about drought, the western side, we always think is drought,” Kerbs said. “If you look at the drought map right now, it is really centrally and southern centrally located and further to the east where we don’t think about drought. So, I commend the commission on making sure that even on the three million they are deploying, that it is going to all 84 conservation districts to really spread that money out.”
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Farmer Sentiment Drifts Lower, Rising Interest Rates Contribute to Uneasiness |
The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer farmer sentiment index declined 5 points to a reading of 112 in September. The decline in farmer sentiment was primarily the result of producers' weakened perception of current conditions, as the Current Conditions Index declined 9 points to 109. The Index of Future Expectations also weakened slightly, declining 3 points from a month earlier to a reading of 113. The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers' responses to a telephone survey. This month's survey was conducted between September 19-23.
"Concerns about input costs and, in some cases, availability are key factors behind the relative weakness in this month's farmer sentiment," said James Mintert, the barometer's principal investigator and director of Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. "However, a growing number of producers are also concerned about the impact of rising interest rates on their farm operations."
Higher input costs remain the number one concern among survey respondents. In September, 44% of respondents chose "higher input costs" as their number one concern, while 23% chose "rising interest rates," and 14% chose "availability of inputs." When asked to look ahead to 2023, the largest share (38%) of producers expect input prices to rise from 1% to 9%, compared to 2022 prices. Meanwhile, nearly a fourth (24%) of producers expect input prices to rise from 10% to 19%, and 9% of survey respondents said they expect an input price rise of 20% or more.
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NCBA Working to Keep GIPSA Rules in the Past |
The USDA recently proposed new competition and market integrity rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Collectively referred to by the agriculture industry as the GIPSA rules, I am featuring comments from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall talking about these regulations in this episode of Beef Buzz.
Before he was CEO of NCBA, Woodall was a long-time lobbyist for NCBA in their Washington D.C. office. One of the things he worked on during the Obama years was the GIPSA rules. These rules have resurfaced again from the Biden administration’s most recent ideas of coming up with fairness for livestock markets.
“This, once again, is USDA coming in and trying to tell cattle producers how they can and cannot market cattle,” Woodall said. “What is most concerning is just how broad this seems to be. It is very broad in scope, a little light in details, and anytime you have anything from a federal agency that is so broad in scope and light in details, you have to get worried because it goes back to what we have spent the past two years talking about and that is where is the appropriate role of government in cattle markets.”
While it is ideal for government to stay out of cattle markets, Woodall said when it comes to the Packers and Stockyards Act as it exists today, he believes it does a good job, but it just needs to be fully enforced instead of adding more layers.
“If we do that, then a lot of the issues that are popping up in this proposed rule are going to be ones that just aren’t as important anymore,” Woodall said.
Woodall also talked about the SEC’s (Securities and Exchange Commission) effort to require reporting of greenhouse gas emissions. He said the SEC’s role is not to regulate greenhouse gasses.
“Their role is to regulate those publicly traded companies and the financial transactions between them,” Woodall said. “It is not meant to regulate greenhouse gasses. They don’t have the jurisdiction, and they don’t have the expertise.”
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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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Union Mutual was chartered in 1938 to write property and casualty insurance in the state of Oklahoma. Over the years, Union Mutual has maintained the attitude that started the company and continue to be that company that understands Oklahomans’ insurance needs when they contact any member of the UMIC team.
That’s 83 years of protecting rural Oklahomans, providing town and country, poultry house and legacy rural actual cash value policies.
With over 80 years of experience and 300 agents in all 77 Oklahoma Counties to serve you, it’s time to take a good hard look at Union Mutual Insurance Company.
For the agent nearest you, go to unionmutualic.com or give them a call at 405 286-7703.
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Governor Kevin Stitt Signs HB1006xx- Providing $20 Million in Drought Help |
Governor Kevin Stitt announced today his signing of HB 1006xx, a measure allocating an additional $20 million in drought relief for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers.
“This year’s extreme drought conditions have created unprecedented challenges for our agricultural producers and as governor I will always do everything I can to support Oklahoma’s great farmers and ranchers,” said Governor Stitt. “I am proud to have partnered up with the Legislature to deliver this much-needed relief.”
Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Rodd Moesel said the additional funding will provide some welcome relief to agricultural producers.
“Oklahoma Farm Bureau members deeply appreciate Gov. Kevin Stitt and the state legislature for appropriating an additional $20 million in drought assistance for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers,” Moesel said. “These funds will help alleviate some of the strain and stress that our members have been facing for months on end.”
“Oklahoma farmers and ranchers are no strangers to our state’s harsh weather conditions, but with no immediate relief in sight, the agriculture community must rally together to support one another and find solutions to carry on our important mission until this natural disaster is over,” he said. “Despite these challenging times, our state’s agricultural producers are resilient and will continue to forge ahead in feeding, clothing and fueling the world.”
The $20 million, added to the initial $3 million allocated to the state’s Emergency Drought Relief Fund, will be used to help producers in sharing the costs of many drought-relief efforts, including pond cleanout, water well drilling and more.
Producers needing assistance should reach out to their local conservation district as early as Wednesday, Oct. 5(TODAY) for more information on the application process.
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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
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Dairy MAX Connects with National Ag in the Classroom |
We live in a hyperconnected world where we have access to more information than ever before. Recognizing this shift in how people, especially youth, receive and consume information is pivotal in continuing to reach an emerging generation of consumers who are making their own food consumption decisions earlier in life. Using the latest technology, the Dairy MAX team created an opportunity for people of all ages to visit a dairy farm and introduced Dairy Tour 360 this past June. Through recent collaborations with National Ag in the Classroom, the virtual farm experience will reach students across the country and allow them to see firsthand how dairy farmers care for their animals and the environment.
Dairy Tour 360 gives viewers a 360-degree encounter that combines immersive, interactive virtual reality with an engaging guided tour. Three viewing options were developed for the tour: desktop experience, virtual reality headset, and mobile device. Throughout the tour viewers will feel like they are on the dairy farm – standing in the feed lane, riding the milking carousel or flying over the fields, connecting audiences to farms like never before.
“Dairy MAX understands the importance of consumers seeing firsthand how dairy farmers care for the cows and the environment. A virtual tour is one of the best ways to share the life on the farm with consumers,” said Todd Green, vice president industry image and relations. “The creation of the virtual dairy tour has been key to bringing dairy farms to the homes of consumers, but also allows collaboration with partners like Ag in the Classroom.”
National Ag in the Classroom works with over 80,000 teachers nationwide to incorporate agricultural concepts in their classrooms. The Dairy Tour 360 was recently linked to 14 lessons in the National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix. The matrix provides K-12 educators with relevant standards-based instructional resources. The lesson plans and companion resources use agriculture as a context for science, social studies, and nutrition education content.
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Preparing for Winter with OSU's Mark Johnson |
Weekly, Mark Johnson, extension beef cattle breeding specialist at Oklahoma State University, offers his expertise in cattle breeding. This is a part of the weekly series known as the "Cow-Calf Corner" published electronically by Paul Beck. Today, Johnson talks about preparing for winter.
It’s not too early to be preparing for winter. In recent weeks, I have covered some of the “best management practices” to deal with the drought and excessive heat that continues to plague Oklahoma cattle and cattlemen in the summer of 2022. This week we look ahead at a checklist to consider to be ready for winter. Many of these are typical of preparing for the winter months, some are of more significance this year. Here goes……
1. Water is the most important of the classes of nutrients. A clean and abundant supply of water is critical for the health, reproduction and production of beef cattle. In a year when ponds are low now is the time to be planning for your winter water supply. Evaluate your ponds or water sources now. Whether it is pond cleanout, installing automatic waterers, checking wells, windmills, etc. Now is the time to take action before freezing temperatures are upon us. Most ponds are at low levels. Shallower ponds are more subject to freezing. Plan accordingly.
2. Secure your feed and hay supply. Even if we receive ample moisture before the first frost, we are running short of growing days for warm season grasses. The warm season forage base you have now is all you will have. As we move into the typical hay feeding season demand (and price) for hay (already scarce) will increase. In a year like this, getting a feed analysis on your hay is more critical than ever. If you are buying hay, ask for the feed analysis before you agree to purchase. If your grass is short and hay inventory is low…….
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American Society of Agricultural Consultants Annual Conference Aimed at Targeting All Aspects of Ag |
Farm Director, KC Sheperd, got the chance to visit with the President of the American Society of Agricultural Consultants, Kyle Walker, and the Chair of Marketing and Promotions, Paige Gilligan talking about the ASAC annual conference which will be held in Oklahoma City on October 23-26.
“We are pretty excited,” Walker said. “We are hosting our 59th annual ASAC National Conference this year. It will be held at the Skirvin Hilton in downtown Oklahoma City. Pretty excited about Oklahoma City and being able to finally get to Oklahoma. I don’t believe we have ever had a national conference in Oklahoma, so we are pretty excited.”
The conference will also consist of a tour, Walker said, which involves going to the Oklahoma National Stockyards and National Grazinglands Research Laboratory.
“We have industry professionals coming in from all over the country that will be discussing numerous topics and key ideas that our membership likes to hear,” Walker said.
The American Society of Agricultural Consultants, Walker said, is a very diverse group. The ASAC has approximately 70 members across the country and specializes in agriculture as its main focus.
“We have a lot of people that are in the ag finance world, or in crop consulting,” Walker said. “I am a farm manager by trade. We have guys in organics and people that handle farm software.”
Gilligan said she believes the biggest benefit of the conference is being able to network with people from across the United States. This year, she added, attendees will get the chance to get to know more about Oklahoma and the agriculture that occurs within the state.
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Farm Country Supports Lucas' Protect Farmers from the SEC Act |
Last week, Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) proposed legislation that would exclude agriculture from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) climate disclosure rulemaking.
The Protect Farmers from the SEC Act is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Cotton Council, National Corn Growers Association, National Pork Producers Council, USA Rice, American Sugar Alliance, American Soybean Association, National Potato Council, United States Cattlemen’s Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Agricultural Retailers Association, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.
Industry leaders and Members of Congress representing America’s farmers and ranchers issued statements of support for the Protect Farmers from the SEC Act:
One thumbs up comes the National Association of Wheat Growers- “NAWG thanks Congressman Lucas for introducing this important legislation addressing the inclusion of farming in SEC regulation," said National Association of Wheat Growers President and Washington State wheat grower Nicole Berg. "This regulation could add layers of reporting requirements on wheat farmers that are focused on producing a quality wheat crop for domestic and international customers. With all the uncertainty in agriculture today, we don’t need additional regulation, we need to focus on keeping farming operations productive.”
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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 higher- Choice Beef was up $2.10 and Select Beef was up 60 cents on Tuesday 10/04/2022.
Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News
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Oklahoma National Stockyards had a final count of 8,346 head on Monday for the first sale of October, 2022.
Compared to last week: Feeder steers 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Heifers mostly steady. Demand moderate to good for feeder cattle. Quality average to attractive. Steer and heifer calves, most classes unevenly steady. Demand moderate for calves. Many cattle continue to head to market some 4-5 months early due to drought conditions. Extreme drought continues to plague most of the region as cooler temperatures are expected this week with a slight chance of moisture.
Click below for the complete closing report.
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OKC West in El Reno had a a calf sale on Tuesday with an estimated 2,500 head being sold. OKC West is expecting another 4,000 head today- including 1,500 feeder heifers and 2,500 feed steers.
Compared to last week: Steer and heifer calves sold 6.00-9.00 lower, with exception of long weaned steer calves steady to weak on very limited offerings. Demand light, few trades moderate. Severe drought continues across the trade area with no moisture in the near future.
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, Oklahoma Pork Council, 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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