From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 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 March 23, 2011
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- FDA to Halt Some Food Imports from Japan
-- Hay Listings Growing for Oklahoma Producers
-- Canola Field Plot Tours And Informational Meetings
-- R-Calf Says Goodbye to Max- and Hello to George
-- Five Countries- Including the United States- Come Out Unified on Cloned Animals
-- Senator Chuck Grassley Says Report on China Shows Billions of Dollars of Lost Trade Because of Their Trade Policies With the US
-- Oklahoma Pork Congress Happening Thursday in Midwest City
-- 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. One of the great success stories of the Johnston brand is Wrangler Bermudagrass- the most widely planted true cold-tolerant seeded forage bermudagrass in the United States. 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.

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 here for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays on RON.

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


FDA to Halt Some Food Imports from Japan
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Late Tuesday, the U.S Food and Drug Administration said it will halt imports of dairy products and produce from the area of Japan where a nuclear reactor is leaking radiation. Those foods will be detained at entry and will not be sold to the public. Other foods imported from Japan, including seafood, still will be sold to the public but screened first for radiation.

Japanese foods make up less than 4 percent of all U.S. imports, and the FDA said it expects no risk to the U.S. food supply from radiation. Officials and health experts say the doses are low and not a threat to human health unless the tainted products are consumed in abnormally excessive quantities.

According to the latest update from the FDA on their website dated 10:30 PM last night- "Based on current information, there is no risk to the U.S. food supply. FDA is closely monitoring the situation in Japan and is working with the Japanese government and other U.S. agencies to continue to ensure that imported food remains safe. FDA already has a very robust screening process for imports and has staff in place at the ports to monitor incoming products. FDA does not have concerns with the safety of imported food products that have already reached the U.S. and that are in distribution."

Click on the LINK below for the full update from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Click here for more on radiation and food being exported from Japan.


Hay Listings Growing for Oklahoma Producers
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Dry weather and grass fires have placed some livestock producers at risk of running out of forage for their animals. State agriculture officials are urging anyone with hay to sell to have their hay listed in an online directory to assist stockmen in locating supplies.

"Less than half of our 77 counties have listings and some of the ones we have only have a few," said Johnny Roberts, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Market Development Coordinator. "The blizzard and snow storms we experienced this winter caused a spike in hay feeding and now the dry weather is preventing growth in most parts of the state."

Anyone with hay for sale is encouraged to contact the ODAFF for a free listing. You can contact Johnny Roberts via the Hay Hotline at 1-800-580-6543. We have the link to the actual online Hay Listings below. It's our understanding they got a large number of new listings yesterday- about 90- and will be posting those over the next day or so.

Click here for the OnLine Oklahoma Hay Listings


Canola Field Plot Tours And Informational Meetings
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Answer Plots are field plots that have been developed and sponsored by AgriSolutions crop protection products and CROPLAN GENETICS® seed. Here in Oklahoma- they are one of the main players in canola seed that has been planted and can be seen as it grows here in the spring of 2011- and of course, they would love to earn your business if you decide to grow canola for the 2012 crop- the planting window for that will be this coming September and early October.

The CROPLAN folks have three field tours and/or informational meetings planned today and tomorrow. This morning- they will be in Capron at 9:30 AM- ¼ mile North of Capron on N2490 Road.

Thursday morning, the plot meeting will be in the Pond Creek area- two miles south of Pond Creek on N2920.

There is also a plot meeting planned for Thursday afternoon in Kingfisher- that meeting is planned for 3:00 Thursday afternoon and is located just west of the fairgrounds on the south side of hwy 33.

For more information, you can contact John Stotts on his cell at 405-826-8603.


R-Calf Says Goodbye to Max- and Hello to George
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R-CALF USA Directors recently elected a new president and vice president of the board, as the organization's bylaws provide that officers shall serve 2-year terms. The immediate past president of the board, R-CALF USA Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, DVM, MBA, began his term in February 2007, so he is ineligible to be president for another term.

The board elected R-CALF USA Region IX Director George Chambers as president, and R-CALF USA Region XII Director Joel Gill as vice president. R-CALF USA Region IX includes Alabama, Florida and Georgia. R-CALF USA Region XII includes Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

In a news release from the organization- George Chambers says "My main focus is to magnify R-CALF USA's member-driven purpose and to make EVERY producer aware that, regardless of size, R-CALF USA is the ONLY organization fighting for you and your bottom-line profit. We will continue to inform our members and educate other U.S. cattle producers that R-CALF USA is the mechanism that will and does represent only your interests."

Click here to read all of the comments of new R-Calf President George Chambers


Five Countries- Including the United States- Come Out Unified on Cloned Animals
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Even as members of the European Union struggle over regulatory approval of meat from cloned animals- five nations have come out in support of livestock cloning as one of many agricultural technologies that can help meet our growing demand for sustainable food production.

"These governments recognize that cloning is one breeding technology that helps farmers and ranchers produce healthier animals and contributes to more consistent food production," said Dr. David Edwards, Director of Animal Biotechnology for the Biotechnology Industry organization (BIO). "There is global scientific agreement that foods from livestock clones and their offspring are no different than foods from livestock produced through conventional breeding and are completely safe to eat."

Intergovernmental meetings were held in Buenos Aires in December 2010 and March 2011 where discussions focused on the regulatory and trade-related aspects of livestock cloning in agriculture and food production. Following these discussions, representatives from the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, New Zealand and the United States signed a document in support of livestock cloning technology, and invited other Governments to sign on as well.

The document identified five key points:

1. Regulatory approaches related to agricultural technologies should be science-based, and no more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfill legitimate objectives, and should be consistent with international obligations.
2. Expert scientific bodies around the world have reviewed the effects of SCNT cloning on animal health and the safety of food derived from livestock clones. There has been no evidence indicating that food from clones or the progeny of clones is any less safe than food from conventionally bred livestock.
3. The sexually-reproduced progeny of SCNT clones are not clones. These progeny are the same as any other sexually-reproduced animal of their own species. There is no scientifically justifiable basis for imposing a regulatory differentiation between the progeny of clones and other animals of the species.
4. Restrictions specifically aimed at food from the progeny of clones - such as bans or labeling requirements - could have negative impacts on international trade.
5. Any audit and enforcement measure addressed to progeny of clones would be impossible to apply legitimately and would result in onerous, disproportionate and unwarranted burdens on livestock producers.

To read more about this five nation deal on cloned animals- and more on this emerging biotechnology


Senator Chuck Grassley Says Report on China Shows Billions of Dollars of Lost Trade Because of Their Trade Policies With the US
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Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has called on China to reduce trade barriers to U.S. agricultural products. A report released by the U.S. International Trade Commission, co-requested by Grassley, details the Chinese government measures that limit U.S. agricultural exports to China. This report shows China's policies harm exports of U.S. products including pork, beef, and corn.

While China is the largest market in the world for U.S. agricultural goods, the report notes that U.S. exports to China are concentrated in just a few commodities, primarily soybeans and cotton. The report finds the Chinese government support for the agriculture sector boosts the competitiveness of Chinese agricultural products relative to U.S. products. While China's agricultural tariffs are significantly higher than those of the United States, the report notes that China's average agricultural tariffs are relatively low in comparison to some other trading partners of the United States.

According to the report, the elimination of China's tariffs and non-tariff barriers could result in an additional 3.9-billion to 5.2- billion dollars in U.S. agricultural exports to China. Grassley says producers in the U.S. should have full access to the Chinese market. He says that access is necessary for supporting U.S. jobs and that China is obligated to allow legitimate access as a member of the World Trade Organization.

Click here for the full news release about the study and a link to the full report.


Oklahoma Pork Congress Happening Thursday in Midwest City
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The Oklahoma Pork Congress is scheduled for Thursday, March 24, at the Reed Center in Midwest City. More than 150 pork producers, allied industry members and guests will meet for educational programs, an awards luncheon, industry trade show, business meeting and silent auction.

The day will being at 9 a.m. with an update from OPC, National Pork Producers Council, and the National Pork Board. Then Dr. Cindy Blackwell, associate professor of Agriculture Communications at Oklahoma State University will talk to producer about how they can communicate effectively about what they do and also combat the scare tactics the anti-agriculture activists use. Dr. Wes Jamison, associate professor of Communication at Palm Beach Atlantic University, will talk about how activist groups frame the public debate on issues and how that ultimately impacts public policy decisions by legislatures and through public initiatives.

During the awards luncheon, Rob Brenneman, president and CEO of Seaboard Foods, will be inducted into the OPC Hall of Fame for being a disciplined leader who has guided Seaboard Foods' place as the largest Oklahoma pork producer. Terry Peach, past Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, will receive the OPC Distinguished Service Award for guiding all Oklahoma agriculture groups to work together and speak with unity.


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 $9.70 per bushel- as of the close of business yesterday, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $10.50 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 http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2011/03/00074_OklaCashGrainMkts03222011_035148.php- 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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