From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 08:01
To: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
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 Tuesday January 23, 2007!
A service of Midwest Farm Shows
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-- Piling On (and I don't mean with snow!)
-- Are they Bold or Extreme?
-- Last Chance for an Excellent Livestock Program planned for this Thursday!
-- Conservation Tillage Events Popping Up All Over.
-- No-Till on the Plains happens next week in Salina, Kansas.
-- Cattle, Hogs and Chickens agree on one thing- they are concerned about ethanol!
-- Oklahoma Farm Bureau's Young Farmers and Ranchers heading for Oklahoma City this weekend!

Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. Our email this morning is a service of Midwest Farm Shows, featuring the Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City April 19-21, 2007, as well as the Tulsa Farm Show held each December. Check out details of both of these exciting shows at the official website of Midwest Farm Shows by clicking here.

Our E-mail the next few days is also being sponsored by Laura's Lean Beef- Laura's Lean Beef Co., a natural beef provider based in Lexington, KY, will hold a gathering 10:00 am Jan 24 at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center in Shawnee, Ok to introduce local producers to the benefits of raising the lean, heavily muscled cattle that will perform well on Laura's bonus grids. For more information on this meeting- you can can e-mail Beth Whiteford at bwhiteford@LLBcorp.com. Or click here to be taken to their web site for more producer information on Laura's Lean Beef!

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


Piling On (and I don't mean with snow!)
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Canada has been joined by multiple countries that want to take dead aim at US corn subsidies. Virtually all of our competitors in the global grain marketplace are piling in to take potshots at the money we pay to farmers in the United States- that includes the European Union, Australia, Argentina and Brazil.

The timing of the trade action by Canada has been viewed by many as a political ploy to influence the drafting of the 2007 U.S. Farm Law, as Canada says in their challenge that they question the legality under international commerce rules of the billions of dollars paid out as farm subsidies in general. Canada claims that our subsidy levels have been illegal for a number of years and that Washington should address these concerns when drafting the farm bill over the next few months that will set farm policy for the next five years.

The U.S. Trade Representatives Office declined to comment on the additional countries wanting to jump in on the bashing of the U.S. farm program. They have said earlier in response to the Canadian claims that the U.S. is surprised that the Canadians now think that the U.S. corn program is causing them harm, even as corn prices have climbed substantially in the last year as ethanol demand has drained U.S. stockpiles of corn, forcing those prices higher.


Are they Bold or Extreme?
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An Alliance of some 350 National, Regional, State and Local groups have called on Congress to make BOLD changes to current farm policy. The group issued a report yesterday in a media briefing at the National Press Club that called for a "balance" in US Farm and Food Policy. We have linked their Press Release issued yesterday morning today- and tomorrow- we will have a special audio overview of some of the Q&A from that news briefing that shows where these groups seem to want to go with farm policy.

The group includes many of the groups that have been called the "Unholy Alliance" this past fall- a term that has been used by some inside the Washington beltway to describe the environmental & animal rights groups that want to turn back the clock on agriculture and would love to punish modern agriculture for being too big and too modern.

We heard good news and bad news for those who like current farm policy. Ralph Grossi of the American Farmland Trust told the gathering that the many of the alliance members would work with traditional agricultural groups to get as big of a budget baseline number as is possible over the next sixty days or so- the reason is to have adequate money to "address all of the unmet needs." The bad news is that they would like to downsize the Commodity Title of the Farm Bill by at least putting into place strict Payment Limits and probably cutting back on subsidies that may be vulnerable to WTO challenge. The call was made during the news briefing to come up with more money for Working Lands Conservation Programs like EQIP, for more Rural Development dollars and for monies to entice more beginning farmers into taking a shot at farming or ranching as a full time calling.

Click here to read more about the Farm and Food Policy Project


Last Chance for an Excellent Livestock Program planned for this Thursday!
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Final registration is the close of business TODAY for the 2007 Stocker Receiving Management Conference being planned for the Chisholm Trail Pavilion on the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Enid. You can pay the $25 registration fee at the door, but you need to either call 580-237-7677 to let them know you are coming, or you can email Greg Highfill , area Livestock Specialist with OSU Extension. Greg's email is greg.highfill@okstate.edu

Greg and the folks at OSU really do have an excellent program lined up for this Thursday, beginning at 8:30 am. They have an extensive Stocker Health Session planned that will help you get your priorities straight on hhandling cattle when they arrive on your place, how to treat those sick calves without breaking the bank and even the latest on BVDV testing. Experts from OSU, K-State and the Nebraska are lined up for the meeting.

The speaker from Nebraska may well be worth the cost of admission, as Dr. Tom Noffsinger is one of the leading cattle behavior experts int he country- and he will talk about low stress cattle handling techniques for stocker cattle producers. We have linked a flyer that has details of the program for you to see- but don't put it off- call Greg today to reserve your spot for Thursday.

Click here for details of the Stocker Receiving Management Conference in Enid.


Conservation Tillage Events Popping Up All Over.
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I was reminded by one reader yesterday that we had mentioned a Ft. Cobb Conservation tillage event coming up February 8th. We have mentioned it earlier- and will be chcking with those who are putting it on in the southwestern part of the state to get the final details on the program- so we can share it with you. For now-if you are in that part of the state, interested in No-till, save that date!

This Thursday, there will be a 2007 Winter No-Till Conference at the Northwest Technology Center in Alva from 10 am through 3 pm. Lunch will be provided by our friends from Western Implement- but to have a head count, they need for you to let them know you are coming by TODAY- Call Kate Nickel at 580-327-0344 for more information and to RSVP.

February 16 will be a Conservation Tillage 101 Workshop in Enid at the Chisholm Trail Expo Pavilion. It's an all day event and has a great lineup of speakers. We have a link for more information on this Workshop, which we have linked below. Garfield County Extension can provide you more information if you wish to call them at 580-237-1228.

We have two links of information on this conference- check them both out by going to our web page's Caledar section- it's the first item listed.


No-Till on the Plains happens next week in Salina, Kansas.
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It is the Super Bowl of No-Till events- the annual No- Till on the Plains Conference- planned for this year on January 30-31 in Salina, Kansas. They have sessions for the No-till beginner and beyond. They'll discuss no-till as it relates to wheat and canola rotations here in the southern plains, utilizing no-till under irrigation and a lot more.

They also have a special guest speaker, Rolf Derpsch from the South American country of Paraguay who will tell conferees more about the no-till revolution going on in South America. We have linked below details of the conference from their website to give you a feel of this event- which does also include an extensive trade show that relates back to no-till practices.

Click here for the details on the No-Till on the Plains Conference January 30-31.


Cattle, Hogs and Chickens agree on one thing- they are concerned about ethanol!
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A letter has been sent to Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, asking him to establish a "working group in the office of the USDA Chief Economist that would examine the biofuels industry and the implications for the meat industry." The meat groups that have banned together to write this letter expressed concern that producers may not be able to sustain their operations competing with a growing and robust ethanol economy, adding that a big concern is that producers may have trouble finding feed grains at times during the year.

All of the major livestock groups have apparently signed onto this letter- that includes the National Chicken Council, National Pork Producers Council, National Milk Producers Federation, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National Turkey Federation and the American Meat Institute.

We have linked a copy of the letter if you want to take a look at the concerns raised by the livestock folks regarding ethanol.

Click here to read the letter sent this past week to Ag Secretary Mike Johanns regarding Livestock and Ethanol


Oklahoma Farm Bureau's Young Farmers and Ranchers heading for Oklahoma City this weekend!
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Young farmers and ranchers from across the state will gather in Oklahoma City January 26-28 for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Winter Conference.

The weekend’s activities include informative sessions, insightful speakers and agricultural tours, including a visit to the Oklahoma National Stockyards. At the conclusion of the conference, OFB’s Public Policy Division will give away a trip to Washington, D.C. for the organization’s annual Congressional Action Tour in March.

If you have questions about this YF&R event, contact State Coordinator Marcia Irvin at 405-523- 2405.


Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows for their support of our daily Farm News Update. Go to their website at the link at the top of today's email for more information on either the Tulsa Farm Show or the Southern Plains Farm Show.

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



God Bless! You can reach us at the following:
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phone: 405-473-6144
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