From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 5:12 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 July 11, 2011
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- HSUS and United Egg Producers Agreement Could Cause Problems for Other Ag Industries
-- NCBA Pleased With Ethanol Agreement and End of Ethanol Tax Credit But Concerns Remain
-- Oklahoma Farm Bureau Strongly Supports New Farm Truck Bill
-- Sustainability in Cattle Production is a Growing Consideration for Producers
-- American Farmers and Ranchers Restructures and Welcomes New Employees
-- Feed Additive Ractopamine Approval Fails Again
-- More From Drought Workshop of Last Week in Austin- You Can Hear From the Man Who Predicts 5% Chance of Drought Ending This Summer
-- 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!

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HSUS and United Egg Producers Agreement Could Cause Problems for Other Ag Industries
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The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers announce an unprecedented agreement to work together toward the enactment of comprehensive new federal legislation for all 280 million hens involved in U.S. egg production. The proposed standards advocated by UEP and HSUS, if enacted, would be the first federal law addressing the treatment of animals on farms.

The two groups will jointly ask Congress for federal legislation which would require egg producers to increase space per bird in a tiered phase in, with the amount of space birds are given increasing, in intervals, over the next 15 to 18 years. Currently, the majority of birds are each provided 67 square inches of space, with roughly 50 million receiving 48 square inches. The proposed phase-in would culminate with hens nationwide being provided a minimum of 124 - 144 square inches of space, along with the other improvements noted.

We talked with Roy Lee Lindsey, Executive Director for Oklahoma Pork Council, about how this could potentially affect the pork industry, as well as other agricultural industries.

"It is a significant change," said Lindsey. "The egg producers are saying, we aren't going to defend what we have been doing any longer and we are going to change to a new system. And HSUS is saying, we support this new system."

Lindsey also said that HSUS will begin to focus their attention on other parts of the agricultural industry with the development of this agreement. It really frees up HSUS to focus other places and that should be a concern to all of us, says Lindsey.

As for forward movement on the agreement, it is really up to Congress. This agreement is dependent on the law passing through Congress before we see significant changes, like a rise in egg prices, says Lindsey.

Click on the LINK below to listen to our conversation with Roy Lee Lindsey about the potential for HSUS to begin targeting other areas of the agricultural industry.

Click here for more details on the agreement between HSUS and EUP, as well as more from Roy Lee Lindsey


NCBA Pleased With Ethanol Agreement and End of Ethanol Tax Credit But Concerns Remain
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National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Bill Donald said cattlemen are pleased the energy compromise reached by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) would repeal the 45-per cent gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) and the 54-cent per gallon tariff on imported ethanol. However, Donald said cattlemen are concerned the compromise would extend tax credits for ethanol infrastructure.

"We commend the senators for working on a compromise and especially Sen. Feinstein for her leadership on this issue by gaining support from 73 senators to level the playing field for a bushel of corn," Donald said. "While we're pleased the agreement would repeal the VEETC and the tariff, we are disappointed that it would continue to prop up an industry that should be able to stand on its own two feet."

Director of Legislative Affairs for NCBA, Kristina Butts also weighed in on the issue of VEETC and what it means to livestock producers saying they are still concerned with $125 million still being allocated for corn based-ethanol infrastructure.

"We fully support ethanol but we want it to market driven and market driven for the production and the usage of these fuels," said Butts.

Butts also stressed how time is of the essence with this recent agreement. If this agreement does not move in the next two weeks through the House, the Senate and signed by the President, the agreement dies on August 1, says Butts.

Click here to hear more from Kristina Butts on the ethanol tax credit


Oklahoma Farm Bureau Strongly Supports New Farm Truck Bill
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Oklahoma Fifth District Congressman James Lankford's bill allowing broader weight restrictions on farm trucks is receiving strong support from Oklahoma Farm Bureau.

Lankford introduced the Farmers' Freedom Act July 7, to allow farmers to haul commodities across state boundaries without violating weight limits. Current law forces farm trucks to be covered under more restrictive federal regulations when loads exceed 26,000 pounds. This is especially burdensome when the trucks cross borders, even though the truck may be considered legal within each state.

"We have many producers who live near state borders and transport grain and livestock to the nearest market, which may be across the state line," said Mike Spradling, president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. "This bill would make it easier to transport our goods to market and continue to ensure a safe, affordable food supply."

Lankford, a member of the House Transportation Committee, said current federal transportation legislation is another example of government over regulation.

Click here for more information from Farm Bureau on the farm truck bill


Sustainability in Cattle Production is a Growing Consideration for Producers
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Many cattle producers are aware of the increase in maintaining sustainability in beef cattle production. Cattle producers are becoming more aware of the need to take sustainablity into consideration while still providing quality cattle. Bryan Weech, Director of Livestock Agriculture for the World Wildlife Fund, recently spoke at the American Meat Science Association Reciprocal Meat Conference on this growing idea.

Weech said one of the biggest challenges is that the population and consumption of today does not equal what the world is able to produce on a long-term basis. The current population is consuming 1.25 times more natural resources than this world can offer, said Weech.

Food security around the world is also a concern, along with water security and access. The answer to these growing concerns is to produce more, with less said Weech.

Click on the LINK below to hear more about the need for sustainability in beef cattle producation, as well as, recent comments from Bryan Weech at the Reciprocal Meat Conference.

Click here to listen to Bryan Weech with his thoughts on sustainability


American Farmers and Ranchers Restructures and Welcomes New Employees
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The Farm and Cooperative Organization component of American Farmers & Ranchers, Oklahoma Farmers Union, has recently made changes to the organization structure to streamline operations for management and operation efficiencies.

AFR President Terry Detrick, Ames, continues as the spokesperson and representative of the organization for major activities and functions. Day-to-day operations of the farm organization are now managed by 16-year employee Paul Jackson, Ringling, who has previously worked in management, membership development, legislative and outreach activities for the association. This move will free up Detrick to focus on representing the organization and conducting board activities.

Joining the AFR cooperative team on June 1 was Steve Thompson as Policy and Membership Development coordinator. Steve was raised in the rural Lincoln County town of Carney, on a small cattle and hay operation his family settled during the land run of 1891. After graduating from Carney High School in 1995, he attended Oklahoma State University majoring in agricultural education with a minor in agricultural economics. While at Oklahoma State, Steve served as legislative intern for Oklahoma Farmers Union in 1999 and in the same capacity for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry in 2000 and 2001.

Natasha Rodgers is the new Public and Media Relations staff member. Rodgers started the position in June 2011. Rodgers grew up on a swine, wheat, cotton, and cattle farm in southwest Oklahoma, but moved with her family to Tecumseh, Okla. in 2003. Rodgers graduated from Oklahoma State University in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Communications with a minor in Agricultural Economics.

Bobby Green continues as Secretary/Treasurer and Farmers & Ranchers Life Manager; Marilyn Sanders as Administrative Assistant to the Secretary/Treasurer; Micki Grossman as Administrative Assistant to the President and Farm and Cooperative Programs Director, and Lin Fariss, as Youth and Education Coordinator. Tommy Thomas also continues as AFR's cooperative and mutual insurance contract lobbyist at the state capitol. Pete McDaniel, Apache; James Campbell, Idabel; and A.J. Bristow, Blocker remain as field and outreach representatives.

Click here to read more about the newest additions to the AFR team


Feed Additive Ractopamine Approval Fails Again
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Ractopamine, a feed additive used to promote leanness in both pork and beef recently failed to be approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. This feed additive, ractopamine, is used by Elanco Animal Health in feed for beef and pork, with Optaflexx brand for beef and Paylean brand for pork. The National Pork Producers Council and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association were both disappointed with the failure of the feed additive approval.

Ractopamine, like all feed additives, was evaluated and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has been approved for use in 26 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines and South Korea. A Codex panel of international scientists, including scientists from the European Union, three times has confirmed the safety of ractopamine and reaffirmed the safety of the product at this week's commission meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

Despite those findings and the support of the United States, Canada and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands for adoption of the standard, opposition from the European Union, China, Thailand and Russia blocked it for non-scientific reasons outside the scope of the Codex. Except for Russia, those countries ban imports of pork from pigs fedractopamine.

"U.S. pork producers are very disappointed that the Codex commission succumbed to the bullying of countries that had no scientific reasons for opposing adoption of a standard for ractopamine," said NPPC President Doug Wolf, a producer from Lancaster, Wis. "This is a scientifically proven safe product, and the commission failed again to act on its mandate to base standards and guidelines on science. This lack of action calls into question Codex's legitimacy as the international reference body for scientific standards for food."

"The CAC was founded on science-based principles with the specific function to protect human health and ensure fair trade practices in food trade by setting food safety standards and guidance based on the best available scientific knowledge," said Elizabeth Parker, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Chief Veterinarian. "The safety of ractopamine has been confirmed three times by Codex's own panel of international scientists and is based on exhaustive scientific evidence supporting international maximum residue limits on ractopamine."

Click here to read more from NPPC and NCBA on ractopamine


More From Drought Workshop of Last Week in Austin- You Can Hear From the Man Who Predicts 5% Chance of Drought Ending This Summer
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The drought conditions that Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana currently are struggling with have been caused, at least in part, by the La Nina water conditions in the central Pacific Ocean. Dan Collins with the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center says that while we have retreated from a La Nina earlier this year to a neutral set of water temperatures in the Pacific waters- several models suggest that we could swing back into a second La Nina this fall.

Meanwhile, it is highly likely that current drought conditions will not be broken the balance of this summer across Oklahoma and much of Texas, and the odds are not much better to see drought totally end in the region by the end of this calendar year.

Collins predicts that we are looking at just a five percent chance of the drought being totally broken between now and September 30th in Oklahoma and North Texas- and adds that there is only a one in four chance that drought conditions could be eliminated by the end of 2011.

Click on the LINK below to hear our complete conversation with Dan Collins- plus we have a link to the graphics showing the current Drought Monitor as well as the outlook from now through the end of September- and it's not a pretty picture.

Click here for more on the unlikely prospects of drought busting conditions in the next couple of months- listen to our visit with Dan Collins.


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers 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- 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 $12.92 per bushel- as of the close of business yesterday, while the 2012 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $12.74 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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