Oklahoma's Latest Farm

And Ranch News

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Howdy Neighbors!

Here is Your Daily Oklahoma Farm and Ranch News Update: 

 

  • Russian Wheat Exports Remain Biggest Risk to U.S. Wheat Elevators


  • Dairy Producer Angie Meyer Shares “Ins and Outs” of Involvement with Beef and Dairy Checkoffs


  • Oklahoma Drought Commission Pushes Additional 17 Million Dollars Across the State


  • Oklahoma Quality Beef Network with Mark Johnson


  • Moderate Rainfall Totals Since Labor Day Making Big Difference for Farmers and Ranchers


  • Don’t Miss the Fun at the 2023 Oklahoma State Fair This Week


  • As USDA Sees Record Interest in Conservation and Clean Energy Programs


  • USDA Renews Pioneering Partnership with The Coca-Cola Company to Restore Watersheds

Russian Wheat Exports Remain Biggest Risk to U.S. Wheat Elevators

A modest rebound in U.S. wheat production and supplies is improving the outlook for profitability among grain elevators that store wheat. Futures market carries have improved for all three major classes of wheat and the buy basis is widening following a bigger harvest. The larger harvest follows two years of poor production and a historic run of inverted futures markets that sapped profitability for storing wheat.


According to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, the major risk to elevators in the year ahead is a sharp rally in wheat prices. Wheat stocks among major exporters are historically tight, and any disruption to the flow of Russian exports through the Black Sea could trigger a sharp price run-up.


“The flood of cheap Russian wheat into the global market may have created a false sense of security in the world wheat market,” said Tanner Ehmke, grains and oilseeds economist for CoBank. “The greatest margin risk to storing wheat is the shrinking world wheat crop outside of Russia and China, which leaves the market vulnerable to supply shocks and extreme volatility in wheat prices.”


Click here to read more from Co-Bank on U.S. Wheat Harvest and World Wheat Supplies
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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.

Dairy Producer Angie Meyer Shares “Ins and Outs” of Involvement with Beef and Dairy Checkoffs

Editor’s Note- Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays was one of three judges at the 2023 State Fair of Oklahoma DairyMAX Cow to Cone Ice Cream Contest- and he talked with fellow judge and dairy producer Angie Meyer about her involvement in checkoff efforts for both the beef and dairy industries.


In this episode of Beef Buzz, I am talking with Angie Meyer about the Beef and Dairy Checkoffs. Meyer and her family are dairy producers in Kingfisher County in central Oklahoma. She is part of both the beef and dairy checkoffs, representing Oklahoma on the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board(CBB), and is also on the DairyMax board of directors.


“I am a big advocate for checkoffs,” Meyer said. “I feel like them being able to advocate for us and push our products, whether it is dairy as a whole milk, as a cheese, as a yogurt, or anything else, DairyMax does a wonderful job with reaching schools, children, young adults, even geriatric….”


Meyer said dairy makes up about 26 percent of the Beef Checkoff and the beef industry as a whole.


“Dairy is what they consider a very lean beef,” Meyer said. “It goes into a lot of restaurant meat. I love my role with the Beef Checkoff, and I was excited to have that opportunity.”


The structure of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board is producer driven, Meyer said, where individuals from all parts of the industry have a voice.


“You also make decisions on how the Checkoff dollars are spent and what programs are funded,” Meyer said.

Click here to read more and listen to Angie Meyer talk about the Beef and Dairy Checkoffs

Oklahoma Drought Commission Pushes Additional 17 Million Dollars Across the State

At the latest Oklahoma Drought Commission meeting held on September 19, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Ag Secretary Blayne Arthur and talked about the highlights from the meeting.


Arthur said she is grateful for the new commission members that were added during the last meeting. Those members include Pete Nichols of Washita County (appointed by the Speaker of the House) and Josh Emerson of McIntosh County (appointed by the Pro Tem).


At the meeting, Arthur said the drought commission decided to push the additional 17 million dollars out to the districts across the state.


 “The legislature directed those funds during the regular session, and we wanted to get some questions answered from the districts, and they provided a lot of information to us on those applications that were still sitting out there unfunded,” Arthur said. “I am very optimistic they are ready for those funds, and those will start going out the door in the new future.”


As requested at the last meeting, Arthur said the districts had the chance to come forward and talk about some of their biggest challenges and concerns at the current meeting.

Click here to read more and listen to Blayne Arthur talk about the latest Emergency Drought Commission meeting
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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
Click here for our Latest Cotton Talk- Hosted by KC Sheperd


Oklahoma Quality Beef Network with Mark Johnson

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 talks about OQBN.


The Oklahoma Quality Beef Network (OQBN) is a joint project of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. It is a network of beef producers, educators, veterinarians and industry professionals committed to increasing producers’ access to value added marketing opportunities. Cow-calf operators selling the calves, and buyers alike, benefit from the OQBN program. The program results in producing heavier, healthier, and higher performing calves. Calves that have been managed according to a Vac-45 program show reduced stress and shrink, an improved immune system, and increased sale weight. As a result, over the last five years OQBN calves have provided average premiums of over $13/cwt for certified weaned and preconditioned calves with over 23,400 enrolled in the program over that time. Average Gross Returns to the producer are calculated to be $76/ calf, a $26 calculated net return on the investment in better calf quality and welfare.


At present, there are nine OQBN sale dates scheduled for calves weaned this fall. The first sale, for calves weaned by September 23, is at OKC West Livestock Market in El Reno on November 7. The complete set of sale dates and weaning dates for each sale can be found at https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/oklahoma-quality-beef-network/oqbn-certified-sales-information.html


To enroll calves into the OQBN program, producers should visit the website referenced above to purchase ear tags and initiate the enrollment process. Once the transaction of ear tag purchase is complete you will be contacted by an OQBN representative to schedule a verification.


Producers can either complete the enrollment/vaccine records form in the link at the website, or the hard copy of the form included with ear tags purchased. Keep the enrollment/vaccine records form for the OQBN representative that conducts the onsite verification of calves and vaccine records. Certification is complete upon approval from OQBN personnel.

Click here to read more, including Requirements for enrolling calves in the OQBN program

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.
Listen to our Wednesday morning farm and ranch news with KC Sheperd
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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.



Moderate Rainfall Totals Hit Wide Areas of Oklahoma

It's been raining across Oklahoma every couple of days or so since Labor Day- not huge amounts everywhere but significant amounts when you back up a few days to look at the rainfall map. That's why I have pulled up the fourteen day rainfall map from across Oklahoma- which basically shows the totals since Labor Day.(It's linked back to the 14 day precipitation map at the Mesonet which updates every five minutes or so)


It's these rains that suggest that we have enough moisture to plant wheat and hopefully get it up to stand- for those that have wanted to have the opportunity to have wheat pasture in the weeks ahead.


Based on the map above- almost all of Oklahoma has received some good rains since Labor Day- except for the southeastern quarter of the state. And- it makes you wonder why pasture and range conditions have slipped so badly here in the first half of September.


The map below is the two day rainfall map which captures what we have seen since Monday(also clickable)- and there have been some really good rain totals I have seen and heard from folks in between the Mesonet stations- for example- I live several miles away from any of the central Oklahoma stations and we had close to an inch of rain Tuesday morning while the stations around us show very little.


That suggests that these are not huge lines of rain that have been moving- more localized delivers hits and misses in rainfall amounts. BUT- it's a blessing to have received what we have after the hot dry stretch of late July and August.

Don’t Miss the Fun at the 2023 Oklahoma State Fair This Week

The Oklahoma State Fair is currently taking place, running from September 14th through the 24th. Farm Director, KC Sheperd, is visiting with Scott Munz at the Oklahoma State Fair about this year’s event. This year, Munz said, is the fullest the fair has been in a while.


Some of the attractions at the fair include the new laser light show extravaganza, a Paul Bunyan Lumberjack show, free monster truck rides, and more.


“We have really filled the property, and we feel we can entertain you for five or six hours just for the price of your gate admission,” Munz said.


The Oklahoma State Fair is also known for a great variety of food, Munz said, as this year he has heard plenty of good feedback from fair attendees.


A major highlight for 4-H and FFA members happens Thursday when the OKFB Young Farmers and Ranchers committee is set to host their annual livestock judging contest for 4-H and FFA students.


The contest will test participants’ ability to evaluate and rank classes of market and breeding cattle as well as sheep, goats and swine.


Registration opens at 9 a.m. in Barn 3 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, and the judging contest will begin at 10 a.m. in Barn 8. Students should be prepared with a pencil.


AND on the final day of the fair- the Oklahoma Wheat Commission will be holding their annual "Best of Wheat" State Bread Baking Contest. Click here for details.

Click here to read more and listen to KC Sheperd talk with Scott Munz about the 2023 Oklahoma State Fair

As USDA Sees Record Interest in Conservation and Clean Energy Programs

On the heels of the first anniversary of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has seen record interest in the conservation and clean energy programs that received funding from the law. As a key part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Inflation Reduction Act is the nation’s largest-ever investment to combat climate change.


“With the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden provided USDA with historic resources to improve the lives of the American people,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “It is clear there is a significant appetite among producers and rural communities for clean energy and conservation programs, specifically those that were boosted by the law. I am proud of the swift work USDA has done to create, expand and streamline programs in order to put resources directly into communities.”


The Inflation Reduction Act made nearly $20 billion available over five years for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to address continuous high demand for popular conservation programs. This additional investment will help farmers and ranchers implement expanded conservation practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage..

Click here to read more about the investments made through the Inflation Reduction Act

USDA Renews Pioneering Partnership with The Coca-Cola Company to Restore Forests, Grasslands and Watersheds

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Coca-Cola Company signed a memorandum of understanding (PDF, 1.1 MB) renewing a 10-year partnership to restore and improve watersheds on national forests and grasslands nationwide.


Since 2013, this partnership has led to the restoration of nearly 900 acres of watersheds and replenished more than 634 million gallons of water on national forests and grasslands. Over this time, the National Forest Foundation has played a key role in coordinating 25 projects in nine states. These projects restored more than 14 miles of streams, reconnected 17 miles of river and 62 acres of lakes, treated more than 450 acres of invasive weeds, and much more.


“Our national forests and grasslands face tremendous threats from wildfires, invasive species, pests and extended drought, all made worse by climate change,” said Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small. “To meet challenges at this scale, we have to manage for the long term, think creatively and work together. Thanks to our partners, we are doing more than any one of us can do alone. I’m confident this agreement will continue to build on ten years of cooperative success.”


Click here to read more about the partnership to improve watersheds on national forests and grasslands in the U.S.
Let's Check The Markets!
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.
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.
Hear Today's First Look

Wholesale Boxed Beef Prices were lower- Choice Beef was down $3.20 and Select Beef was down $1.63 on Tuesday 09/19/2023.


Click on the Button below for the latest report from USDA Market News

Boxed Beef Report

OKC West in El Reno had 2,500 Calves being sold on Tuesday, September 19, 2023. 


Compared to last week: Steer and heifer calves that were weaned sold 2.00-4.00 higher, un-weaned bawling calves fully steady to weak. Demand good. Quality mostly plain to average, few offerings fancy. 


For today's yearling sale- the market is expecting 5,000 head.

1,800 Feeder Heifers @ 9:00 am

3,200 Feeder Steers @ 12:00 pm



Click below for the complete closing report.

OKC West in El Reno Calf Market Report from 09/19/2023
Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futuresclick below for the latest update on the Livestock and Grain Futures Trade..
Click Here to Listen to Justin's Commentary From 09/19/2023
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.
Read  Cash Grains Report from 09/19/2023
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network - analyzing the Futures Markets for that trading day- as reported by KC Sheperd.
Click to Listen to Our Weekday Wrap with KC
Slaughter Cattle Recap: 
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA Market News
Read Report
TCFA Feedlot Recap:  
Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Read Report
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

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.

Cattle Industry Leader Bob Drake sits down and talks with Ron Hays about his lifetime of service in the cattle business. Drake has served as the President of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, the last President of the old National Cattlemen's Association and Vice President of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau.


He loves politics and being a change agent for the cattle producer back up at the fork of the creek. Drake had a front row seat as the Beef Checkoff was approved by cattle producers and he believes it's way past time to find a way to get a second dollar at the national level.


Search for Road to Rural Prosperity and subscribe on your favorite Podcast platform.


To hear this podcast, you can click here or tap below:

Listen to Episode 86 with Ron Hays talking with one of the legends in the Beef Cattle Business- Bob Drake of Davis, Oklahoma
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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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Tim West
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Radio Oklahoma Ag Network

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