From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 6:42 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 Wednesday October 20, 2010
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- Farm Bureau Hoping to Convince Oklahoma Voters that State Question 744 is a Bad Idea
-- From Indy- Things Start to Get Busy at the National FFA Convention
-- OSU Selects Lyndall Stout as the New Anchor for SUNUP
-- When you invest YOUR dollars in HSUS- Here's What Ya Get
-- Take a Second Look at Backgrounding Calves This Fall
-- Consumer Attitudes Seem to Be Shifting as Lean Beef More Preferred Than Ever
-- FFA Coverage on Multiple Fronts Today
-- 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. W.B. Johnston is welcoming all fall crops this harvest. They have space to store your grain, and they look forward to serving you!! For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their website that features their grain, ports and seed business!

And we are proud to have P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy 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.

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Farm Bureau Hoping to Convince Oklahoma Voters that State Question 744 is a Bad Idea
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A whirlwind, six-stop caravan across Oklahoma Oct. 18 yielded strong support for Oklahoma Farm Bureau's campaign to vote against State Question 744.
Making stops in El Reno, Shawnee, Clinton, Muskogee, Lawton and Tulsa, the caravan consisted of Farm Bureau leaders, state legislators and educators.

"We wanted to inform voters of the devastating impact to rural areas if SQ 744 passes," said Mike Spradling, OFB president. "We're concerned property taxes would increase, agriculture sales tax exemptions would go away, and rural fire departments, hospitals and nursing homes would all lose funding," Spradling said. It is estimated the state question would cost up to $1.7 billion if passed.

The Department of Public Safety would suffer with the lay-off of 125 state troopers and the Department of Corrections would be forced to release as many as 8,400 inmates to meet budget requirements.
Speakers participating in the caravan made it clear they support education; however, they were unanamous that this ballot initiative is the wrong tool.

Click on the LINK below and go and read more of what was said at several of the stops made by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau in this six stop tour. We have audio from the Caravan (thanks to Sam Knipp of Oklahoma Farm Bureau for providing that to us as we were hundreds of miles away in Indianapolis) and that audio includes some intriguing remarks from former Ag Teacher and now School System Superintendent Dr. Kenny Beams of Ripley. Click and go and listen to his concerns about this State Question- if it should be passed.

Click here for more on the Stop 744 Caravan coordinated by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau.


From Indy- Things Start to Get Busy at the National FFA Convention
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It will be a long day here in Indianapolis as we move around to several different venues before the day is out as the 83rd National Convention of the FFA Organization is getting up to full speed today.One of the more interesting story lines here early in the convention will be happening in the National Prepared Public Speaking Contest.

Tara Newton understands that she has a big set of high heels to fill as she represents Oklahoma in the National Prepared Public Speaking Contest this week. Newton is from the Kingfisher FFA Chapter, the same Chapter that produced McKenzie Walta, who spoke about genetically modified pigs in a Prepared Speech that took her all the way to the finals- where she won the National Championship just a short year ago here in Indianapolis.

Tara won the state Prepared Public Speaking Contest at the State Convention this past May- and will begin the task of speaking at the National Convention on Wednesday morning. She has written, memorized and is delivering a speech on the importance of keeping antibiotics available for animal agriculture. She tells us that her interest in this story stems from the two part series that Katie Couric of CBS News did back in February of this year.
You can read more about Tara's quest for a Natiional Championship- and listen to a quick conversation that we had with her last week as she prepared for the competition- CLICK on the LINK below to get to that lead story this morning in our Blue-Green Gazette- our coverage of the National Convention a service of the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association and the Oklahoma FFA Association.

Click here for more on Tara Newton and her focus on being number one this week in Indianapolis.


OSU Selects Lyndall Stout as the New Anchor for SUNUP
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SUNUP, the weekly television production of the OSU Division of Agriculture that is broadcast weekends on OETA, has announced a replacement for Clinton Griffiths, who left the program earlier this year to take a position with the AgDay program. She is Lyndall Stout, who has worked in recent years in commercial television news in Pennsylvania and most recently, in Arkansas.

Stout, a native of Pawhuska, has worked in television for 12 years as a news anchor and reporter. "I'm really excited to be back in Oklahoma and am looking forward to being a part of the quality television program SUNUP produces every week for OETA," Stout said. "I grew up near my grandparents' farm in Osage County and have many fond memories and experiences that I hope to draw upon in my storytelling each week."

Lyndall Stout takes over the host duties of SUNUP immediately- and will be seen this coming weekend on Saturday morning for the first time.
The original SUNUP was a daily program seen mornings on OETA- but was cancelled several years ago. The Dean of the Division of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Robert Whitson, promoted the idea of putting a SUNUP program back on the air- and was successful in 2008 in signing SUNUP back on the air- this time as a half hour weekly show, designed to focus on Oklahoma agriculture.

Click here for more on this new face to be seen on SUNUP starting this weekend.


When you invest YOUR dollars in HSUS- Here's What Ya Get
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A Public Relations friend of mine that works in the agricultural arena in California sent me a link last night that I got around to looking at early this morning- and oh my goodness- it's more proof that animal agriculture is in a battle for the future of the business.

What our friend sent us is a Youtube video link that we have for you below- it's an ad done on behalf of Mary Bono Mack- hoping to survive and be reelected to Congress for another two years. Who paid for the ad you ask? Well, it's none other than our good friend Wayne Pacelle and his team at team at the Humane Society of the US

So- for the $19 a month that you send them because you think their infomercials have cute puppies and kitties in them- and you want to help them take care of them in LOCAL shelters- you get a chance to support someone like the former wife of Sonny Bono. About five cents of that monthly contribution goes to helping animals- and the rest goes to supporting this small organization in their efforts to help their friends. (I do hope that you can see the sarcasm running down your computer screen about now) Anyway, click on this LINK below and get your dose of HSUS for the day.

Click here for the HSUS Legislative Fund Ad Supporting one of their friends in Congress.


Take a Second Look at Backgrounding Calves This Fall
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According to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, often a cattle producer can make the best return when you can do what the market needs done at a time when it is difficult for anyone else to do it. Right now, the market wants feeder cattle to have additional weight before going to the feedlot. This has been the general tendency for some time but is enhanced even more with the recent jump in corn prices. Stocker producers normally oblige the market by putting on the additional weight but winter time is more tricky than summer when there is lots of green forage. In the southern plains, grazing winter wheat usually provides a home to many feeder calves being marketed in the fall run.
However, the lack of rain for the past month means that very little wheat pasture is available or likely to be available very soon. As a result calf prices have dropped more than previously expected due to the lack of stocker cattle demand. This sets up a situation where cow-calf producers should consider the feasibility of implementing some sort of backgrounding program for weaned calves.

Retained ownership allows cattle producers to change the timing of animal sales which may have marketing advantages. I don't often recommend using retained ownership strictly as a marketing tool. After all, holding calves into a stocker or backgrounding program means that the producer is taking on a new cattle production activity. It has to work and be feasible from a production standpoint before it can help with marketing. This means evaluating the resources required; feed, facilities and labor, to be sure you can manage the health of the animals and put together a nutritional program that will provide acceptable gains. This may involve standing forage or hay along with some supplement. It might be grazing, semiconfinement or a drylot situation.

Click on the LINK below to read more of Dr. Peel's comments on how to handle these changing cattle market conditions caused by a lack of wheat pasture coming on this fall.

Click here to read more about the idea of backgrounding weaned calves this fall.


Consumer Attitudes Seem to Be Shifting as Lean Beef More Preferred Than Ever
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Wendy Jenkins, director of Market Research for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, says consumer attitudes have been shifting for the last couple of years, trending toward lean beef choices and convenience items. Jenkins, who works for all beef producers by virtute of the Beef Checkoff Program dollars they invest, says that while taste is still important to many consumers- more and more responses they get in consumer surveys refelct the desire to be able to buy "lean beef." In fact, she says of the the concept of lean beef that "we're certainly finding that it's a powerful phrase for consumers."

Jenkins says that recent sampling of consumers is starting to really pick up the need for the US Beef Industry to promote the 29 lean beef cuts now available for consumers. "When we actually ask people to say okay, when you're shopping for beef, what are the things that you shop most often for? A very high percentage, over 50 percent, say I buy cuts that are lean, and that's super important to me."

Click on the LINK below to read more and to listen to our midweek Beef Buzz with Wendy Jenkins talking consumer attitudes and what they want when they go shopping.

Click here for more on the consumer attitudes that beef checkoff dollars monitor to help improve demand for US Beef.


FFA Coverage on Multiple Fronts Today
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We remind you to check in from time to time and get updates as we cover the events from the 2010 National FFA Convention here in Indianapolis. Click here for the Blue Green Gazette Page of our website- we will have updates several times later today and Wednesday evening there- as we post pictures and results of how Oklahoma youth are faring in the various contests the next couple of days.

We also encourage you to check our Twitter posts a couple of ways- either go to any page on our website- www.OklahomaFarmReport.Com and look on the lower right hand column where you will see a Twitter widget with the last four posts we have made on our Ron_on_RON account. That will serve as the most up to the moment reports that we will have from here in Indy. We will report both updates of our members as well as a bit of the color of this incredible gathering of the Blue and the Gold.
Second way to get to our Twitter account- if you are not already following us- is to click here for our profile on Twitter and a look at recent posts we will have made.

We appreciate the support of the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association and the Oklahoma FFA Association as they sponsor our reports from the 83rd annual convention of the FFA organization. Besides our radio reports, reports early mornings on News9 in Oklahoma City and News on 6 in Tulsa, this email , our website and Twitter- we will also be updating our Facebook page from time to time and posting pictures on FLICKR- and perhaps a video or two on Youtube.


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 $8.55 per bushel- as of the close of business yesterday, 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.
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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