From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 4:57 AM
To: Hays, Ron
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
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Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Tuesday October 12, 2010
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- Itty Bitty Rain Tickles Some- Disappoints Others
-- In Case You Saw Someone Looking Lost- saying something about the New World Yesterday- No Worries, that was Christopher Columbus
-- Cattle Market Getting Buffeted by Strong Forces on All Sides
-- Soybean Association Calls on Farm Community to Admonish Congress on Several Key issues
-- November 2nd is an Important Day in the United States- But Do You Know Why?
-- Limousin Breed Announces List of Top Twenty Breeders in the US
-- A Reminder About Our RON Value Book
-- Let's Check the Markets!

Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!

It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving agriculture across Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. Johnston is welcoming all fall crops this harvest. They have space to store your grain and look forward to serving you. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their brand new website!

And we are proud to have P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy as as one of our regular sponsors of our daily email update. P & K is the premiere John Deere dealer in Oklahoma, with ten locations to serve you, and the P & K team are excited about their new Wind Power program, as they offer Endurance Wind Power wind turbines. Click here for more from the P&K website.

If you have received this by someone forwarding it to you, you are welcome to subscribe and get this weekday update sent to you directly by clicking here.


Itty Bitty Rain Tickles Some- Disappoints Others
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Sunday and early Monday saw some rainfall slip across Oklahoma. According to reports compiled by Gary McManus, Associate State Climatologist for Oklahoma- here are some of the larger rainfall amounts in the period:

For the Sunday/ early Monday rainfall, Burneyville led the way with almost an inch and a half of rain (1.48 inches), while Washington with 1.31 inches and Fort Cobb with 1.26 inches over the inch and quarter mark. Over an inch of rain Sunday night into early Monday morning was Beaver, Waurika, Medicine Park and Madill. To see a graphic that shows the amount of precip for Sunday night thru the early hours of Monday morning- click here.

Unfortunately, the rain that was mentioned Monday morning became an unkept campaign promise, as the system in Kansas that had some moisture associated with did not dip into Oklahoma in any meaningful way. And right now, the next seven days look generally dry across the region.

That's especially tough on those wanting to plant either winter canola or winter wheat. We are mostly past the window for canola planting, while a farmer planting wheat at this stage of the game should be expecting a grain only harvest next June. We will get a look from USDA about planting progress and how emergence is looking later today in the weekly crop weather update- delayed one day this week due to Columbus Day.


In Case You Saw Someone Looking Lost- saying something about the New World Yesterday- No Worries, that was Christopher Columbus
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In honor of Chris- Uncle Sam generally took the day off, as did state offices as well as most banks. The stock market rolled around and so did the agricultural futures as normal. The government getting paid time off means no crop weather updates this morning as we normally have on a Monday- and it meant you made a useless trip to the mail box yesterday afternoon.

Agricultural futures had a mixed trade by settlement yesterday afternoon- with corn and soybeans shooting for the sky early- as did the New York cotton futures. The fallout from the USDA reports from Friday was still in play on Columbus Day- and the smaller than expected corn crop- along with the smallest ending stocks figure in 14 years has spurred the corn futures higher, but well off the day's highs. Soybeans responded the same way- much higher early and finishing with more modest gains. Kansas City wheat actually gave back about 12 cents of the gains of last Friday.

Based on the smaller corn crop- some analysts are predicting $6 corn, cutbacks in poultry, beef and pork production, tighter margins for processors and higher meat prices for consumers.
Meatingplace tells us that one result that won't happen is a cutback in exports- "What won't likely suffer will be U.S. meat and grain exports, expected to gallop on, as a weak dollar meets escalating global demand."

One good website that has daily commentary on the grain market happens to be one of our great sponsors- Johnston Grain- Click here to jump to their "grains" page where you find comentary about the Monday markets.


Cattle Market Getting Buffeted by Strong Forces on All Sides
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According to Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, continued erosion of boxed beef values over the last month is squeezing packer margins and pressuring fed cattle prices back into the mid $90 level. Painfully slow economic recovery has left domestic beef demand stagnant, especially for middle and the restaurant sector. Recent restaurant performance indicators have shown that business has remained virtually unchanged in recent months. Fortunately, strong export demand has continued to support wholesale beef values as it has for the past nine or ten months, helped recently by a weaker dollar. Recent improvement in the stock market is positive but is overshadowed by lingering high unemployment and weak macroeconomic psychology.

At the same time, latest USDA crop reports suggest a significantly smaller corn crop due to lower than expected yields. Current projections call for crop year ending stocks of roughly 1 billion bushels, a level that provokes the market to begin rationing corn. The concern is not that we will run out of corn- markets will raise prices enough to ensure that doesn't happen, but who will be bid out of the corn market.

Cattle feedlots, in particular, are caught in a vice in this market environment. Even before this latest corn market news, feedlots were looking at breakevens approaching $100/cwt in the fourth quarter based on higher feeder cattle costs this summer. Now the prospects of significantly higher feed costs will push breakevens higher still. And, while high corn prices will dampen feedlot demand for feeder cattle, limited feeder supplies will likely limit any significant feeder price relief for feedlot purchases. Feedlots will continue to make what adjustments they can by continuing and emphasizing trends already in place such as placing heavier weight feeders and reducing days on feed.

Click on the LINK below to read more of Dr. Peel's comments about the beef market and these strong forces surrounding it. And you can hear comments from Dr. Peel in our latest Beef Buzz- a regular program heard on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and our great radio stations across the region.

Click here for comments from Dr. Derrell Peel about the cattle markets- and listen to our Beef Buzz with Dr. Peel as well.


Soybean Association Calls on Farm Community to Admonish Congress on Several Key issues
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Congress will return to Washington, D.C. on November 15th for its "lame duck" session. Lawmakers are then expected to break for Thanksgiving, then return after for another three weeks to complete "unfinished business." While only current Members of Congress will vote in any lame duck session, The American Soybean Association says it is important for producers to educate all candidates about soybean farmer policy priorities.

Unfinished business includes priorities backed by the ASA include: Extension of the biodiesel tax credit; Estate tax legislation; Passage of the South Korea Free Trade Agreement; and Removal of barriers hindering trade with Cuba. ASA is urging Congress to pass legislation on these items.

The Number one legislative priority for the American Soybean Association is the retroactive extension of the biodiesel tax credit for 2010 and renewal of the incentive for 2011 and beyond. The extension has been included in a tax extenders package that has failed to pass the Senate several times. ASA points out extension and renewal of the biodiesel tax credit are critical to the economic viability of the industry.

CLick here to review their complete set of talking points on these issues that the ASA considers critical.


November 2nd is an Important Day in the United States- But Do You Know Why?
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Many of you might say it's election day- and that is true. But the folks under the Golden Arches have upped the ante for November 2, as that is the rollout day NATIONALLY for the McRib Sandwich. It's a big enough deal that it hit page one of the Wall Street Journal yesterday- click here to take a peek- and it looks like the hype is already beginning to build.

The WSJ says the fans of the McRib help create the legend- "The sandwich's elusiveness has created a fan base of people who go to considerable lengths to munch on a McRib. Ryan Dixon of Burbank, Calif., once drove 10 hours to Medford, Ore., after hearing a McDonald's there was selling the sandwich."
Pork producers love the idea of the McRib going national, even for a short amount of time. A lot of of pounds of pork will go out the door in that six week window.

Click on the LINK below for a look at one of the commercials designed for the McRib rollout. And mark November 2nd on your calendar. Get out and VOTE- then go celebrate living in America with a McRib.

Click here for a look at a commercial that teases the coming of the McRib sandwich.


Limousin Breed Announces List of Top Twenty Breeders in the US
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The North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) has compiled the statistics for its recently completed fiscal year and released its list of top 20 active breeders. Together, they registered more than 7,000 Limousin and Lim-Flex® calves. Of the top twenty Limousin breeders, five are based in Colorado, including the top three breeders in the United States. Running Creek Ranch of Elizabeth, Colorado is rated as the top Limousin ranch in the US. Top of the top twenty are Oklahoma ranches- P Bar S Ranch of Sand Springs and Express Ranches of Yukon.

"These top 20 Limousin breeders represent a strong contingent of performance minded breeders across the country," said Bob Hough, Ph.D., Executive Vice President for NALF. "I commend the loyalty and commitment of these and all of our members for their dedication to make Limousin the perfect cross for British based cowherds. Combined, they are the lifeblood and reason for our increased breed success."

Click here for the full list of the top 20 Limousin breeders in the United States. And, you can click on the LINK below for the official North American Limousin Breed website, which will give you more information on some of the current efforts the Association is making on behalf of the Limousin breed.

Click here for the website of the North American Limousin Breed Association


A Reminder About Our RON Value Book
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The late summer issue of the RON Value Book still has several coupons that you may want to use between now and our next issue that will be coming out right after Thanksgiving- just ahead of the 17th Annual Tulsa Farm Show, Christmas Shopping and the end of the calendar year when you may want to capture some tax savings through strategic purchases for your farm or ranch operation.

One of the more popular discounts that we have in the current edition of the RON Value Book has an error in its expiration date. The ad for Little Joe's Boots in the OKC Stockyards promises 20% off any one item in the store- it says that the expiration is August 31st- which is incorrect- Little Joe will honor the coupon until November 30, 2010.

Besides the Little Joes coupon- there is also a buy one, get one free sandwich at McDonalds- it's good til the end of the year and there is a 10% off food purchases at Earl's Bar B Que on West Reno in Oklahoma City. You can also save $10 on a Stihl Chainsaw at P&K Equipment at their multiple locations around the state! Dig that RON Value Book out of the stack of stuff and start saving- and if you want to see the Value Book online and save that way- click on the LINK below.

Our next Value Book will be out by around November 29th- and we would love to tell you more about the issue and how it can help you reach 24,000 families across Oklahoma at a very economical price. Give me a call at 405-473-6144 or drop me an email at the address at the bottom of this email.

Click here to jump to the current RON Value Book


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Big Iron Online Auctions 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- FREE!

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


Let's Check the Markets!
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We've had requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $8.60 per bushel, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $9.35 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are working with PCOM.

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
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.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.(You will have to select the October 11 report once they have posted it here)
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.



God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
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phone: 405-473-6144
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