From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2011 6:32 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 Monday June 6, 2011
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and Oklahoma Mineral Owners
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-- House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas Will Push Back on Farm Policy Changes Approved by House Appropriations Committee
-- The 2011 Oklahoma Wheat Crop is Dead Ripe and Ready to Harvest
-- White House Tries to Shake Down Congress for More Money for Union Workers in Exchange for Free Trade Pact Votes
-- Cotton Producers struggling through this crop season in southwestern Oklahoma
-- Drought Management Plans are crucial for Farmers and Ranchers
-- Oklahoma Beef Council Invests over $100,000 in USMEF Campaigns
-- Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association hosts Annual Summer Ranch Tour
-- 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 proud to have as a new sponsor on our daily email Oklahoma Mineral Buyers. Call 1-855-419-1111, or complete their easy online form and you can discuss the value of your mineral rights and/or oil and gas royalties. Click here for their website.

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House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas Will Push Back on Farm Policy Changes Approved by House Appropriations Committee
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The Chairman of the House Ag Committee, Oklahoma Third District Congressman Frank Lucas, does not plan to go along quietly with the efforts of Republican Jeff Flake and Democrat Rosa DeLauro in the House Appropriations Committee as they offered amendments that were accepted by a voice vote by the full Committee that have huge farm policy considerations in the final year of the 2008 Farm law, as well as what lawmakers may be able to do as the 2012 Farm Bill is crafted.

Congressman Flake offered an amendment that would reduce Commodity Title Spending for Direct Farm Payments to cotton producers to cover the $147 million dollars owed Brazil that is a part of the settlement of the WTO cotton case the South American case brought against the US and won. Congresswoman DeLauro then latched onto the $147 million that was in the Ag Subcommittee report to up the spending levels for the WIC nutrition program. Congressman Lucas says the members of the Appropriations Committee jumped into the policy arena in a huge way and made the job of the House Ag Committee a lot more difficult. Congressman Lucas tells Ron Hays that he will be talking to the Rules Committee and Republican leadership about these measures and their place within this Appropriations measure- and that he hopes to change the mind of Congress on the floor when this package is considered by the House.

Click on the LINK below to hear the rest of Chairman Lucas' thoughts on how he plans to take a stand against these changes to the Farm Bill along with the Senate Ag Committee's Field Hearing of earlier this week, the timing of writing new farm policy, the GIPSA Marketing Rule and Free Trade Agreements and the problem the Obama Administration is having with getting those trade pacts with Columbia, Panama and South Korea transmitted to the Congress for a final vote.

Click here for more thoughts on the Farm Bill and much more from Chairman Lucas


The 2011 Oklahoma Wheat Crop is Dead Ripe and Ready to Harvest
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We have several reports of wheat harvest activity from over the weekend- with the expectation that we will get several more with the weekend now complete and very favorable weather from border to border in the state of Oklahoma.

We were in Canadian County on Saturday and snapped some photos near Minco- the wheat in one of the fields was fairly thin and if you click on the LINK below and look closely- you will see a lot of green peaking up from the ground, as the canopy of wheat is not thick enough to block sunlight from the weeds.

One report from last Friday came from Burlington, Oklahoma and the "Scalehouse girls" Kate and Hana.
They write "On the second day of harvest at the Burlington Coop. Test weights are ranging from 59-62. Yields are around 30-35 bushels per acre.
"We have taken in approximately 50,000 bushels. Most of the wheat harvested has been OK Bullet.
"A lot of the better fields in this area have visible green patches."

Another report we have received from a listener/reader comes from northwest Garfield into Alfalfa Counties- this producer writes "On Friday we cut a field of Duster in SE Alfalfa County it made 29.67 bu/acre.
"On Saturday we cut a field of Duster it made 34.5 bu/acre and a field of Endurance it made 27.6 bu/acre both fields are in SE Alfalfa County.
"On Sunday we cut a field of Endurance in NW Garfield County it made 37.9.
Test Weights have been around 61-63."

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission also posted a short harvest update on Friday afternoon before they headed home for the weekend. Click here for that report from the OWC.

Click here for our RON Harvest Update with the pictures of wheat we were seeing on Saturday in Canadian County.


White House Tries to Shake Down Congress for More Money for Union Workers in Exchange for Free Trade Pact Votes
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While the White House acceded to demands by members of both political parties on both sides of Capitol Hill that all three pending free trade agreements (FTA) - Panama, Colombia and South Korea - be submitted as a package, the Administration demand for a commitment from House and Senate leadership to renew and expand expired Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) has created a political standoff on ratification of the treaties. Complicating the debate over TAA renewal is a Senate Republican decision this week to block executive branch nominees until the President formally submits all three FTAs to Congress, arguing TAA will be dealt with separately.

This GOP action will delay President Obama's nomination of sitting Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to be U.S. ambassador to China following Ambassador John Huntsman's resignation, and nomination of the former head of Edison International and a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) John Bryson to be Locke's replacement at Commerce. TAA is a 50-year-old program providing retraining, extended unemployment and health care payments for U.S. workers whose jobs are eliminated or their hours or wages are reduced due to export U.S. agreements. Portions of the TAA expired in February after an unsuccessful attempt in the House to renew the program, with critics arguing TAA must be scaled back during efforts to curb spending and reduce deficits given the White House estimates the cost of TAA at $7.2 billion over 10 years.


Cotton Producers struggling through this crop season in southwestern Oklahoma
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Southwestern Oklahoma cotton producers struggled through the month of May due to high temperatures and a lack of rainfall. Temperatures were at least 100 degrees for six days in Altus. Also, the quick changes in temperature played a role in the difficulty of May. On May 3, there was a 36 degree low followed by a temperature of 102 degrees on May 7.

Because of these drought-like conditions many producers have considered planting dryland cotton for this crop season. The final planting date for insurance purposes is June 20, which is quickly approaching. However, many of the acres that have already been planted as dryland fields are still under drought pressure and are waiting for adequate rainfall.

Another decision cotton producers are having to face is the decision to replant fields. Due to thunderstorms and drought in many areas across the state, producers need to evaluate their fields and determine the damage done is enough to justify replanting. Also, inadequate stands would be another reason to consider replanting.

Click here for more information on cotton this crop season and to read the rest of the Cotton Comments Newsletter


Drought Management Plans are crucial for Farmers and Ranchers
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Farmers and ranchers have become accustomed to managing through adverse conditions, and drought certainly falls into that category. During the last half of 2010 and the first few months of 2011, most producers have had to manage through drought conditions. Some have managed better than others. There is a common denominator for those producers who cope with drought better than others - they all have active drought management plans. Following is a set of guidelines for developing a drought management plan.

Know your expected forage production and annual rainfall patterns by season. As a rule of thumb for warm-season perennial pastures (native or introduced), about 70 percent of our annual forage production will occur by July 1 regardless of the total rainfall for the year. The most effective rainfall for our warm-season grasses occurs during the second quarter of the year (April through June), which is typically the most abundant rainfall quarter across the Southern Great Plains. Table 1 shows annual precipitation (including totals by quarter) from 1971 through 2000 for three selected southern Oklahoma counties extending on a line from east (Choctaw County), through Ardmore (Carter County), to west (Tillman County). About 30 to 37 percent of annual rainfall occurs during the spring quarter, in which 70 percent of our annual forage is produced. If precipitation is below average for more than one quarter, drought management plans should be implemented.

Establish conservative stocking rates based on average (or below) moisture conditions, providing an element of flexibility into the stocking rate. For example, with a spring calving cow-calf operation, maintain cattle inventory at about 70 percent of potential stocking rate with the plan to retain ownership of all or some calves through the following spring if moisture conditions are average or better.

Click here to read more on drought management from Hugh Aljoe with the Noble Foundation


Oklahoma Beef Council Invests over $100,000 in USMEF Campaigns
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Executive Director of the Oklahoma Beef Council Heather Buckmaster recently gave us an update on the recent investment from the Oklahoma Beef Council in the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The Oklahoma Beef Council attended the USMEF meeting in Washington, D.C. to learn more about the international beef markets and to become aware of how it affects U.S. beef and to follow their investments, says Buckmaster.

The Oklahoma Beef Council has increased their investment ten-fold in the USMEF, which is over $100,000. They chose to make this investment because of the amount of growth opportunities in the international marketplace and it can add significantly to the cattle producer's bottom line, says Buckmaster.

The Oklahoma Beef Council has chosen two programs to focus on. One is investing in Korea through a campaign called "To Trust" which is in hopes to build consumer confidence in U.S. beef and to drive U.S. beef sales. They have also chosen a similar campaign to be used in Taiwan which is called "We Love U.S. Beef."

Heather adds that they are now doing their early budget planning for the new fiscal year that starts October first- and she would not be surprised to see even more checkoff money from Oklahoma dedicated to the work of the USMEF in an effort to get the most bang for the dollars invested.

Click here to hear the rest of Heather Buckmaster's update on investments in USMEF


Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association hosts Annual Summer Ranch Tour
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The 21st Annual Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Summer Ranch Tour will soon be underway and the focus for the tour this year is southeastern Oklahoma. This area of Oklahoma, also known as Kiamichi country, is rich with southern culture and is great cattle country with its abundance of forests and mountains.

The tour will be traveling across several counties in southeastern Oklahoma and visiting a multitude of cattle operations, including both commercial and purebred. Several different breeds will be represented by knowledgeable cattlemen on many different subjects. The tour hopes to provide a look at new and interesting ranches throughout southeastern Oklahoma.

Dates for the 2011 tour are June 26th through the 28th.

Click on the LINK below for a list of all stops along the tour this year, as well as for more information on registering for the tour.

Click here for additional information on the OCA Annual Summer Tour


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers, KIS Futures and Oklahoma Mineral Buyers 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 $12.44 per bushel- as of the close of trade on Thursday, while the 2011 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $12.44 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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