Oklahoma and Kansas Continue to Fight Dry Weather Conditions 

Weather conditions were cold and dry across Oklahoma in December. In the monthly crop weather report, the US Department of Agriculture said temperatures averaged in the low 40's and all nine districts had below normal precipitation levels for the month with the exception of the northeast district. The heaviest rainfall was in the east central and southeast districts. The east central district had 2.76 inches and the southeast district had 3.29 inches of rainfall last month. Drought conditions remained over the western half of the state. Overall, topsoil and subsoil moisture rated mostly adequate to short.


The limited moisture has impacted crops, especially oats with 62 percent rated fair to poor. The winter wheat crop rated two percent in excellent condition, 48 in good, 34 in fair and 12 percent in poor to very poor condition. Forty-one percent of the wheat crop was being grazed. That's a nine point increase over the previous year. Pasture conditions declined over the previous month with 25 percent in poor to very poor condition.


Click here for the full Oklahoma report.


Weather was warmer than usual for Kansas in December. USDA reports temperatures averaged four to six degrees above normal.   The entire state received some precipitation with the heaviest amounts in the east. Top soil and subsoil moisture rated mostly adequate to short.


The winter wheat crop rated four percent in excellent condition, 45 in good, 42 in fair and nine percent in poor to very poor condition.


Click here for the full Kansas report. 
     

Cotton Prices to Remain Flat Heading into 2015 Due to Large World Supply 

Cotton prices are projected to remain flat heading into 2015 as China continues to hold large supplies of cotton and consumption rates remain low, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service cotton economist in College Station.


Dr. John Robinson gave a cotton outlook presentation at the 26th Texas Plant Protection Association Conference in Bryan recently.


"The cotton market is not booming as yarn prices remain flat," Robinson said. "We're not in a recession, but in a period of low growth and modest consumption. We don't see anything that would pull up cotton prices in the near term."


Robinson said speculative funds have been swinging from net short to neutral, and cotton futures have just hung in there around 60 cents.


Consequently, cotton has been ranging in the mid to upper 60s, he said.  Click or tap here to read more about how China is impacting US prices and the U.S. production outlook for 2015.  

USMEF President Phil Seng Outlines Challenges and Opportunities in Cuba

When the Obama Administration announced that it is reestablishing diplomatic relations with Cuba and taking steps to ease trade and travel restrictions, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) received several inquiries about Cuba's potential as a destination for U.S. pork and beef.


While restrictions on financial transactions and other constraints have made Cuba difficult to serve, the market has actually been open to U.S. meat exports for several years. U.S. pork exports to Cuba have been as high as $15.3 million in 2010, while the peak value for U.S. beef exports was just under $1 million in 2011.


USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng said there are some challenges in selling red meat to Cuba, primarily lack of private sector infrastructure as well as purchasing power. Currently, all export transactions must be conducted through a Cuban government entity (Alimport). Seng said for the past 30 to 40 years this government institution has bought all product coming through Cuba. This is different from any other country in the Caribbean or elsewhere around the world, as it is very state controlled. Seng believes there is a lot of work that has been done first before the US begins to see increased meat sales into Cuba. 

I featured Seng on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap here to listen to our report as Seng talks about some of the challenges USMEF has in promoting US beef and pork in Cuba.   

Beef Buzz is a regular radio broadcast feature that is heard on many of our great radio stations that are a part of the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network- and the programs are archived and can be heard on our website in the Beef Buzz section.  

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation forage breeding program continues the rich legacy of forage development that started more than 60 years ago with the release of new varieties.


In the early 1950s, the Noble Foundation established its breeding program for forages (plants consumed by grazing animals), specifically developing improved varieties for four small grains species: rye, wheat, oat and triticale (a rye/wheat hybrid). Today, the small grains breeding program is one of the organization's longest running breeding programs at the Noble Foundation.


The Noble Foundation's small grains breeding program continues to focus on creating dual-purpose varieties with improved forage qualities - better fall production, the ability to recover after grazing, and better overall forage yields to benefit livestock production in the Southern Great Plains and southeastern United States.


This ongoing work has produced four new small grains varieties over the past few years. These varieties will now be commercialized by Oklahoma Genetics Inc. 

Click or tap here to read more about the wheat, triticale, rye and oat varieties being released by the Noble Foundation.

Peel Advises Cow-Calf Producers to Plan Beyond 2015

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, writes in the latest Cow/Calf Corner newsletter.


The euphoria of high cattle prices in 2014 leads, for some cow-calf producers, to uneasiness and indecision in 2015. The question is how to best take advantage of the current market. The answer to that depends on several factors including;


1) The current status of the operation, i.e., is the operation at full capacity or is there room to grow?


2) The producer's market expectations for the next several years.


3) For older producers: is there a time frame for retiring/exiting the business?


In other words, producers need to ask now where they want to be in 3-5 years. The answer to that question will reveal whether 2015 should be a year of liquidation; holding steady; or expanding the cow herd.  Click or tap here to read more about the decisions producers will have to make in 2015.
 

Award winning broadcast journalist Jerry Bohnen has spent years learning and understanding how to cover the energy business here in the southern plains- Click here to subscribe to his daily update of top Energy News.

Former Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Steve Kouplen is Ranking Member for House Ag Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee

The Minority Leader for the Oklahoma House of Representatives Monday announced Democratic committee appointments and ranking members for the 55th Legislature, which convenes in earnest on Feb. 2.


Rep. Scott Inman also assigned ranking members for each committee. Ranking members will serve as senior advisers for caucus members, work closely with committee chairpersons to maintain goodwill, and vigorously protect the caucus' interests in all committee business. Also, ranking members will become committee chairs if control of the House changes.


"We have made a concerted effort to align our members on House committees that accentuate their strengths, their life experiences and their backgrounds," said Inman, D-Del City. "This will enable them to be better advocates for their constituents and for all Oklahomans."

State Representative Steve Kouplen of Beggs will serve as Ranking Member of the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee.

Kouplen will also serve as the ranking member on the subcommittee that will hold the purse strings for agricultural related spending- the Appropriations and Budget Natural Resources & Regulatory Services Subcommittee.

Click or tap here for the full list of Democratic committee appointments.

Boxed Beef Trade Suggests Hand to Mouth Buying in Beef Pipeline as 2015 Begins- Ed Czerwein

Ed Czerwein, who is the market reporter for the Market News Office in Amarillo, Texas, has his latest weekly boxed beef trade review for the trade ending this past Friday.

"The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week last Friday at 247.83 which was $3.31 higher but it had been even higher on Wednesday. There were only 539 loads sold for the week in the daily box beef cutout. It was about 11 percent of the total volume.

"The Comprehensive or weekly average Choice cutout which includes all types of sales was 244.43 which was .97 higher. There were only 4961 loads sold which was 510 loads lower for the week and the lowest number since the same week in 2008. The daily cutout has rallied about 9.25 this past two weeks but the weekly average of all sales has only improved about 1.50 during the same time period."  

Looking forward- Ed says "the most recent out-front sales were at 383 loads which was 662 loads lower and the lowest number in quite some time which means meat buyers are back to buying product hand to mouth."

Read more of Ed's review and listen to his analysis by clicking here.