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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 or tap here for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays on RON.
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:
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 futures- click 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. Still NO Update for cash grain- these are the bids from Friday, December 21st
Futures Wrap:
Feeder Cattle Recap:
Slaughter Cattle Recap:
TCFA Feedlot Recap:
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
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Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
Thursday, December 27, 2018
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Howdy Neighbors!
Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update.
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Rainfall has been recorded in all 77 Oklahoma Counties since early yesterday morning- offering relief to many locations that had not had measurable rainfall for weeks.
Rain at this time of year does not quickly evaporate as we often see in the summer months- so it has every opportunity to soak in and provide moisture in both the topsoil and subsoil profiles.
Here's the Mesonet map from early this morning- even as the rain in eastern Oklahoma was making an exit to the east- at the same time- radar showing snow in parts of the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles.
You can click on the map and it will take you over to the real time graphic on the Mesonet site of the current precip levels over the last 48 hours.
The final Drought Monitor of the year is expected out this morning- but it will not reflect these generous amounts of rainfall- they will show up and help reduce the moderate drought levels that will likely be seen in this morning's update.
Here's last week's map to offer some context to how the rains helps- keep in mind that southwest and west central Oklahoma- while not abnormally dry as of last week- was getting there based on a couple of months of no significant rainfall:
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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.
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As 2018 turns into 2019, the work continues to harvest and then gin the 2018 Oklahoma cotton crop. And, according to Oklahoma State Extension Cotton Specialist Dr. Seth Byrd, this has been a more challenging year for cotton producers than they faced in 2017, when the state produced a million bales for the first time since the 1930s.
The 2018 cotton crop will not be as large as the crop of a year ago- with the National Ag Statistics Service calling the 2018 crop closer to 800,000 bales this year versus that million bale crop of 2017. Dr. Byrd is not certain if that prediction is real or not- at least not yet. "It's always so hard to tell- we have only ginned a small fraction of what we are going to produce this year- it's so tough to tell- we will probably be pretty close but I think we will know more as we go into January-February when we take more of the crop to the gin."
He expects that the quality will be better than we had thought might be the case early in the fall and sees no red flags when it comes to the quality of the crop- again he says we will know a lot more in another three or four weeks.
When it comes to 2019- he says it is very safe to say there will be more acres of cotton in the coming year versus the acres planted last spring- and he tells us he has heard some folks in the industry talk about the prospect of a lot more acres of cotton to be planted in 2019.
We talked about the 2018 production season, his thoughts on newer cotton producers and how they are doing, how genetics has made a lot of difference in producing cotton and where this all takes us as we head into 2019- click or tap here to jump to our Top Ag Story with Seth Byrd to read and then listen to our conversation.
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According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website- "Transporters of livestock and insects are not required to have an ELD. The statutory exemption will remain in place until further notice. Drivers do not need to carry any documentation regarding this exemption."
The National Pork Producers are claiming their efforts helped to get an expiration date for this statement removed- this in their final weekly email newsletter of the year. "The U.S. Department of Transportation this week permanently suspended the requirement that livestock haulers use electronic logging devices (ELDs) in their trucks. As part of the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act mandated that drivers of commercial motor vehicles replace by Dec. 18, 2017, their paper logs with ELDs, which record driving time, engine hours, vehicle movement and speed, miles driven and location information. NPPC requested on behalf of the U.S. pork industry and other livestock sectors a waiver from the requirement."
However- the National Cattlemen's Beef Association on their Beltway Beef Twitter account says "The #ELD delay for livestock haulers expired along with government funding. But since @USDOT is shutdown they technically don't have funds to enforce the implementation. NCBA is working with Congress to make sure haulers get the relief they need."
Bottom Line- Going back up to the statement on the FMCSA website- for now- til further notice- no ELDs needed. Nothing was said there about Hours of Service.
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One of the hot topics as we end the old year and step into 2019 for the cattle industry will be Animal Disease Traceback- or Animal ID. And one group that will be right in the middle of that conversation will be the trade group that represents Auction Markets- the Livestock Marketing Association. Chelsea Good, vice president of government and industry affairs for the organization, tells us that LMA understands why this is something that has to be addressed as consumers in this country and buyers in many international markets want that transparency in the beef they buy.
"Cattle traceability is one of those cyclical issues in our industry, where it feels like it kind of circles back on itself," she said. "We've had mandatory ID for those adult animals that move across state lines since 2013, but there is a lot of interest right now on what is that next step... do we advance traceability and how do we do that?"
You can read more and listen to our visit with Chelsea by clicking or tapping here.
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Sponsor Spotlight
It's great to have one of the premiere businesses in the cattle business partner with us in helping bring you our daily Farm and Ranch News Email- National Livestock Credit Corporation. National Livestock has been around since 1932- and they have worked with livestock producers to help them secure credit and to buy or sell cattle through the National Livestock Commission Company.
They also own and operate the Southern Oklahoma Livestock Market in Ada, Superior Livestock, which continues to operate independently and have a major stake in OKC West in El Reno. To learn more about how these folks can help you succeed in the cattle business, click here for their website or call the Oklahoma City office at 1-800-310-0220.
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You may have seen the announcements earlier this month as two major buyers of US Beef announced updates to their policies on antibiotic use in the meat animals where the products they sell to consumers come from.
McDonald's and Costco recently joined a growing list of large beef purchasers making announcements about the use of antibiotics by their meat suppliers. While companies continue to address the issue independently, the focus of this movement is on livestock producers judiciously using antibiotics under the supervision of a veterinarian. The ultimate goal of foodservice and retail companies is to reduce the total amount used in food-producing animals over the next few years.
Initiatives already in place in the livestock industry will help accomplish this goal. The veterinary feed directive has enhanced oversight of antibiotics in animal feed. In addition, residue testing continues to indicate beef producers are accurately administering products according to the label and are meeting product withdrawal times. However, concerns about the over-use of antibiotics in both humans and animals, resulting in a reduction in product effectiveness, are the primary driving factor behind these company announcements.
One example of livestock producers voluntarily doing their part to meet consumer expectations for judicious antibiotic use is participation in BQA- Beef Quality Assurance.
To learn more about BQA- and to see exactly what McDonalds and Costco is saying about this subject- click or tap here for lots more the antibiotic issue and the beef industry.
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USDA is moving forward on the second and final round of trade mitigation payments to farmers hurt from retaliation by America's trading partners. Commodity producers are now eligible to receive Market Facilitation Payments on the second half of their 2018 production.
USDA has been sending out the first round of MFP payments to producers since September on the first 50 percent of their 2018 production. The MFP payments are designed for almond, cotton, corn, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean, fresh sweet cherry, and wheat producers. Producers are only required to register one time for both the first and second round of payments. The MFP signup period runs through January 15, 2019, but producers actually have until May 1 to certify their 2018 production numbers.
Farmers who haven't done so can find signup information and instructions by clicking or tapping here. Eligible producers must wait until harvest is completely finished as payments are made based on 2018 total production. Farmers that have already applied, completed harvest, and certified their production, will receive a second payment on 50 percent of their production, multiplied by the MFP rate for each commodity.
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 Export Sales Numbers One of the Reports Hit by Government Shutdown
Courtesy of the Allendale folks this morning- here is what is available on the export of ag commodities as the partial government shutdown continues-
"USDA Weekly Export Inspections showed corn exports at 996,098 tonnes, soybean exports at 651,181 tonnes and wheat exports at 543,126 tonnes. Corn and wheat exports were in range with expectations as soybean exports were sharply lower than expectations. "Weekly export sales will not be released while the US government is shutdown due to a lack of a budget. Many other government reports which the industry follows will also not be updated/released. Export inspections are funded by private fees which is why we continue to get that data. "Ukrainian Grain Exports have surpassed 21.7 million tonnes so far this season (19.9 million same point last season), said the Ukrainian agriculture ministry. Ukraine says it has harvested 70.1 million tonnes of grain this year (61.3 million in 2017). They believe exports could rise to 47.2 million tonnes this season (39.4 million tonnes last season)."
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Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, Livestock Exchange at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Stillwater Milling Company, National Livestock Credit Corporation, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, Oklahoma Pork Council, 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.
God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
phone: 405-473-6144
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