Oklahoma's Latest Farm
And Ranch News
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Friday, February 17, 2023 |
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Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
- Extreme Drought or Worse Improved by Nearly 20 Percent in This Week’s Oklahoma Drought Monitor
- Bits and Pieces From OALP in Israel
- Beef Checkoff Sees Substantial Improvements in Online Beef Purchasing from Digital Marketing Efforts
- What To Know About Clean Label And Implications For Wheat Food Production
- As Commodity Prices Stay Level, Kim Anderson Urges Producers to Focus on Production
- Performance Beef by Zoetis Offers Cattle Producers Simplified Management Tools
- First Hollow Stem is the Critical Point for Removing Cattle from Dual Purpose Wheat
- More Stories for Your Weekend Reading
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Extreme Drought or Worse Improved by Nearly 20 Percent in This Week’s Oklahoma Drought Monitor |
After a few weeks consisting of several parts of the state receiving some decent moisture, the drought monitor this week saw some substantial improvements add up into the extreme drought or worse and severe drought or worse categories. In fact, all categories of drought saw improvements this week.
Exceptional drought or worse has improved by over three percentage points from 11.27 percent down to this week’s 8.07 percent.
Extreme drought or worse has jumped down to 36.58 percent from last week’s 56.20 percent.
Severe drought or worse has improved from last week as it moved from 79.25 percent to this week’s percentage of 66.94.
Moderate drought or worse has improved and is now at 80.07 percent, down from last week’s 84.95 percent.
Extreme drought or worse improved by almost ten percent as it jumped down to 85.03 percent this week- down from last week’s 94.12.
According to the 6 to 10-day precipitation outlook map, the panhandle and the northern half of the state are leaning above a 33 to 40 percent chance of precipitation through February 25. The southern half of the state is standing at a near-normal percent chance of precipitation through February 25.
To see this week's Oklahoma drought monitor numbers, click the Oklahoma drought map above the story.
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The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.
At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.
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Bits and Pieces From OALP in Israel |
We are right at the halfway mark for our travels in Israel as we follow Class XX of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program as they engage with their capstone international travel experience. (Above was one of the sights in the Old City of Jerusalem- this is the Western Wall (once known as the Wailing Wall) where you can go and pray and leave that prayer in note form in the crevices of the wall)
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We started Thursday almost 1900 feet above sea level- and promptly down hill to almost 1,300 feed BELOW sea level as we followed the shore line of the Dead Sea for several miles. (More Dead Sea adventures coming today- here was our first look in the bus)) and as we moved south of the Dead Sea we spent the day first at an Ag Research Center and then at an individual farm.
We learned about the research to maximize every drop of water available to farmers in this desert land- and the farmer we interacted with was especially interesting as Adi Talmon described the multiple steps they have worked on to produce huge harvests of crops like peppers, artichokes, watermelon and more.
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On this Friday- spend a little more time in the Dead Sea region before we travel north to the Sea of Galilee. |
Beef Checkoff Sees Substantial Improvements in Online Beef Purchasing from Digital Marketing Efforts |
In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am visiting with the senior vice president of global marketing and research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Jennifer Nealson, about the Beef Checkoff’s digital advertising efforts.
“Things are going great in the digital market as there are so many different channels now,” Nealson said.
Nealson said the checkoff has worked extensively to reach consumers on many different platforms such as their TVs, phones, desktops and tablets.
“The digital effort has really helped to very quicky expand our reach and it is incredibly successful,” Nealson said.
E-commerce has expanded a great deal over the course of Covid, Nealson said, because people could not make it to the grocery store as easily.
“That market, over the last few years, has grown to be 1.1 billion (dollar market) as a grocery E-commerce market,” Nealson.
Sixty-four percent of the population is buying groceries online, Nealson said, and 84 percent of the population is ordering meals online.
“The time that we have been at home through Covid has really increased the adoption of these types of platforms,” Nealson said. “What we have recognized as a marketing organization is that we want to place beef front and center when people are online shopping and ordering meals. So, I am excited to announce here at the conference this year that in 2022 we have had about six programs, and in those programs have seen incredible results.”
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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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What To Know About Clean Label And Implications For Wheat Food Production |
The concept of “clean label” products is complex but increasingly important in food production and marketing. A blog by the chief science and technology officer for the U.S.-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) noted that clean label is not a scientific term.
“Rather, it is a consumer term that has been broadly accepted by the food industry, consumers, academics, and even regulatory agencies,” the IFT scientist wrote.
“Essentially, clean label means making a product using as few ingredients as possible … that consumers recognize and think of as wholesome—ingredients that consumers might use at home … with easy-to-recognize ingredients and no artificial ingredients or synthetic chemicals.”
Clean label has become associated with consumer trust in food producers. The main challenge associated with clean label products arises in part from regulations requiring labels to use scientific names for ingredients. Food makers know their ingredients are wholesome and safe, but the label may put off consumers without a scientific background. For example, the IFT clean label blog demonstrated the potential challenge for consumers who may be reading this familiar label:
“Bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid Enzyme,” and not know that these are the scientific names for the ingredients in all-purpose flour found in homes around the world.
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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
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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As Commodity Prices Stay Level, Kim Anderson Urges Producers to Focus on Production |
This Week on SUNUP is Oklahoma State University Extension grain market economist Kim Anderson. During this week’s edition, Anderson talks about what is going on internationally, as there was not much movement with the crop prices this week.
“There just wasn’t much in the market this week, but you look at Mexico, they talked about the genetically modified corn,” Anderson said. “They could import it for livestock feed, but it cannot be imported to go into the food.”
China will have an impact on diesel prices for producers, Anderson said, as half of the increase in oil exports this next year will be to China.
In Brazil, Anderson said the soybean harvest is going as expected.
“India’s population is now greater than China’s population, so India is now the most populated country in the world, both well over 1.4 billion people,” Anderson said.
There was a small rally in wheat prices, Anderson said, as they moved up about 10 or 12 cents.
“They broke out that $8.50 range and got up to around $8.70 to $8.75,” Anderson said.
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Performance Beef by Zoetis Offers Cattle Producers Simplified Management Tools |
At the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention, I sat down with Texas/OklahomaArea Growth Manager for Performance Livestock Analytics, Emma Coffman, to talk about Performance Beef by Zoetis.
Performance Beef is a fully automated feeding and management tracking system. The program is a cattle management software that’s easy to use and allows producers to simplify feeding, performance, and health data recording.
“What is really cool about this program is, it is not only usable at the feed yard, but also if you are backgrounding cattle, if you are doing any sort of custom feeders, basically if you are feeding cattle at all, it is to really help you manage and keep up with all of your input costs, as well as timely closeouts and also tracking your animal health progressions, so that way you can make better management decisions in purchasing or keeping what you feed out down the road,” Coffman said.
Performance Beef is available on an app, and it is web-based, Coffman said, to allow producers to make management decisions regardless of their location.
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First Hollow Stem is the Critical Point for Removing Cattle from Dual Purpose Wheat |
Weekly, Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Nutrition Specialist Paul Beck offers his expertise on the beef cattle industry. This is a part of the weekly series known as the “Cow-Calf Corner.” Today, he talks about checking for first hollow stem.
Dual purpose wheat pasture for grazing and grain production is a major agriculture enterprise in Oklahoma and the Southern Great Plains. Research at OSU in the 1990’s showed that the first hollow stem is the critical stage to minimize grazing damage to grain yields. Damage to grain production is dependent on many factors, but can range from 1 to 5% per day grazing past first hollow stem.
First hollow stem is affected by the genetics of the wheat variety and environmental factors. The Oklahoma Mesonet has tools available to estimate the percent of wheat crops that have reached the first hollow stem based on actual local conditions or one to two week projections and variety maturity http://mesonet.org/index.php/agriculture/category/livestock/cattle/hollow_stem_advisor. Varieties may vary by as much as 3 weeks in date of first hollow stem, so producers are encouraged to be familiar with the maturity rating of the variety they are using and when considering a dual-purpose grazing and grain production system select wheat varieties that are rated as medium, late or very late in first hollow stem date.
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More Stories for Your Weekend Reading |
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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 $3.88 and Select Beef was up $1.45 on Thursday 02/16/2023.
Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News
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Weekly Cattle Auction Reports
The buttons below allow you to check out the weekly Cattle Auctions in the region that we post on our website and here in our daily email update.
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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.
Oklahoma Farm Report's Ron Hays talks regenerative agriculture and ranching with Jimmy Emmons. Jimmy is a long time resident of Leedey, OK. He is the third generation on the family farm in Dewey County. He and his wife Ginger have been farming and ranching together since 1980. They have a diverse 2000 acre cropping operation growing wheat, soybeans, sesame, sunflowers, irrigated dairy alfalfa hay, canola, grain sorghum and several cover crops for seed.
Jimmy has been monitoring soil health with soil testing since 2011 utilizing cover crops to enhance soil health.
Jimmy and Ginger also have a 250 cow/calf herd and take in yearling cattle for custom grazing on the nearly 6000 acres of native range. Ginger is the primary cattle manager in the operation. The Emmons’ utilize an adaptive multi-paddock grazing system on their range and forages grown on crop ground. They use the system to keep the native grasses and soils healthy, maximize biological diversity and optimize animal health.
As Jimmy Says- Long Live the Soil!
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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