From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 6:19 AM
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 Monday October 20, 2008!
A service of Johnston Enterprises, National Livestock Credit and American Farmers & Ranchers!
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-- Distinguished Alums Spotlighted During OSU Homecoming Weekend
-- The Push for a McSpadden Endowed Chair is Underway
-- National FFA Convention Begins This Week in Indy
-- The Futures Market Continues to Be Dependable For Risk Management
-- Right Where the Experts Pegged It- Friday's Cattle On Feed Number 95% of Year Ago Levels
-- USDA Offers Farm Bill Implementation Update
-- Spur Ranch Getting Ready for Their World Series Sale This Saturday at the Ranch in Vinita
-- Looking at our Agricultural 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 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!

We are also pleased to have as a regular sponsor on our daily email Johnston Enterprises- proud to have served agriculture across Oklahoma and around the world since 1893. For more on Johnston Enterprises- click here for their website!
And we are proud to have National Livestock Credit Corporation as a regular sponsor of our daily email update. National Livestock Credit Corporation works diligently to provide unsurpassed service to their customers in the area of livestock financing. Check out the National Livestock Family of Services website by clicking here.

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Distinguished Alums Spotlighted During OSU Homecoming Weekend
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The Oklahoma State University College of Agriculture honored three Distinguished Alums over the weekend during the 2008 Homecoming celebration in Stillwater. The three honorees included Joe Neal Hampton, who lives in Waukomis and is the CEO of the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association. OSU also honored Mike Kubicek of Shawnee, who is the current Executive Director of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission. And on a posthumous basis, the College of Agriculture and the Animal Science Department paid tribute to Clem McSpadden of Chelsea, honoring his wife, Donna.

Dean Robert Whitson of the Division of Agriculture told us that he was so proud of all three of these indivduals who had touched so many lives and were positive forces in the betterment of Oklahoma agriculture. He cited Hampton's work with agribusiness, Kubicek's lead in peanut promotion and research and McSpadden's influence as a lawmaker and globally as a rodeo announcer.

We attended all three receptions for these exceptional grads of Oklahoma State University- and have pictures of the day linked on our website, as well as our conversation with Dean Whitson within that story as well. Click below to see and hear more.

Click here for more on the Distinguished Alums Honored by OSU's College of Ag.


The Push for a McSpadden Endowed Chair is Underway
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During the festivities on campus at Oklahoma State University this weekend- a major push was announced regarding an endowed chair in the memory of Clem McSpadden was revealed. OSU officials say that if money can be raised fairly quickly, this chair will qualify for the matching dollars put up earlier this year by T Boone Pickens. It also will qualify for a partial match from state funds as they are made available.

The Clem McSpadden Chair in Agricultural Youth Leadership will endow a program within the Animal Science Department to provide a select group of students with leadership and international experience involving state and national government and the agriculture industry.

We have details of the McSpadden Chair on our website- go there to learn more about how you can get involved in honoring the memory of one of the most famous Oklahomans that has lived.

Click here for more on the Clem McSpadden Chair for Agricultural Youth at OSU


National FFA Convention Begins This Week in Indy
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The time has finally arrived. It is the 2008 National FFA Convention week and I am excited about the coverage we plan on providing on both the Radio Oklahoma Network as well as on our website via the Blue-Green Gazette. The Blue-Green Gazette is within our OklahomaFarmReport website, and will be featuring coverage of 4-H and FFA events all year long. This week it will be all about the National FFA Convention and how our Oklahoma youth are involved.

Many of our national finalists coming from Oklahoma will be heading to Indianapolis either on Monday or first thing Tuesday. Before the invasion begins, we had the chance to sit down and talk with the Executive Secretary Kent Boggs- who has been in this role for the Oklahoma FFA Association since 1985.

Kent is especially excited about the chances Oklahoma has this year to bring home national honors in a variety of venues. For the first time in recent memory, Oklahoma leads the nation in the number of Proficiency Award finalists that will be going to the national meeting, with 21 young people qualifying for the trip to Indiana this week. The second closest state in the number of finalists is Wisconsin, traditionally one of the strongest FFA states in the country in this regard- they have 18 this year. Oklahoma also has two Star Finalists as we have already written about. And Oklahoma has advanced a finalist in three of the newer national awards- the Agriscience Award, the A.O. Sargent Award for Diversity and the Agri-Entrepreneurship Award.

Click below to hear comments from Kent about this upcoming week- and be listening to your local RON radio affiliate for coverage from Indy, as well as checking regularly on our website to get several updates daily- starting Wednesday.

Click here for more on Oklahoma FFA to Indy on the Blue Green Gazette.


The Futures Market Continues to Be Dependable For Risk Management
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It is not just the equity markets that have been extreme in their movements here in the last few weeks- the agricultural futures have also been on a wild ride as well- unfortunately almost straight down for most of our commodities. The losses from the top of each market to the current level they stand out ranges from forty to slightly over fifty percent on our major ag products like corn, soybeans, wheat, live cattle and feeder cattle.

There are also questions in the minds of many- are the commodity markets safe as a risk management tool after all that has gone on? Well, we have put that question and more to the President of the KIS Futures, Kurtis Ward.

We did both some audio and video with Kurtis at the end of this past week- in fact, Kurtis was our Saturday morning guest on In the Field with Ron Hays on KWTV News9 this past Saturday morning. We have links to both of those conversations which went different directions about derivitatives and their differences with traditional ag futures- and exactly where we are on several of our key ag products when it comes to falling prices. Click on the link below to get to both conversations.

Click here for more with Kurtis Ward of KIS Futures.


Right Where the Experts Pegged It- Friday's Cattle On Feed Number 95% of Year Ago Levels
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The USDA Cattle on Feed Report showed fewer cattle on feed, light placements and higher marketings than seen one year ago- and Dr Derrell Peel of OSU says this report confirms that the supply side of our cattle equation is in good shape- we are on track to tighten up supplies of cattle as we end 2008 and head into 2009.

With Derrell as our Monday Beef Buzz guest, As we talk with him about the report (and hear some comments from Tom Leffler as well), he is most concerned about the macro economy right now with worries about unemployment, the dollar stronger than it was just a few weeks ago rather dramatically as well as the trillions of wealth that have evaporated for American consumers out of their savings with the incredible drop in the US Equities market. All of these concerns can have and apparently are having impact on beef demand.. Wholesale beef prices are down over $16 per hundredweight- and cash cattle prices are off by around $10 per hundred.

We have both the thoughts of Derrell Peel as well as Tom Leffler of Leffler Commodities lined up for your consideration as we prepare for a new week of trade. Click the link below to get to these reports.

Click here for more on this past Friday's Cattle on Feed report from USDA.


USDA Offers Farm Bill Implementation Update
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USDA issued a 2008 Farm Bill implementation update this past week, noting that the 2008 Farm Bill has 15 titles - and more than 600 provisions- that is 50 percent more than the 2002 Farm Bill.

The department reports that 1.725 million Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments (DCP) contracts have been enrolled to date. USDA is anticipating a total of 1.775 million contracts for the 2008 crop year when all data is collated. The news release notes "For 2009, we anticipate beginning the issuance of over $1.1 billion in advance DCP payments in December 2008. However, the bulk of that funding will go out in calendar year 2009 as most producers do not sign up until after the first of the year."

The Implementation update says that the name change regarding Food Stamps is now official- they will not be known by the acronym SNAP- the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Benefits have been expanded which is major part of where the increase in the spending of the bill came from. Among the extra benefits that are being dished out at the expense of taxpayers- "an increase in the minimum benefit and standard deduction, elimination of retirement and education savings accounts counting as offsetting income resources, combat pay as income when determining eligibility and application of full cost associated with child care costs. "

We have the full rundown of the USDA Farm Bill Implementation Update- click here to review.


Spur Ranch Getting Ready for Their World Series Sale This Saturday at the Ranch in Vinita
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The Spur Ranch World Series 2008 Angus Sale is set for this coming Saturday October 25, 2008 at the Ranch in Vinita, Oklahoma. The start time is 11 AM. The sale will include 130 Registered Angus Bulls and 250 Bred Commercial Angus Females.

Jot Hartley of the Spur Ranch writes in the Sale Catalog "The sale this year is being held on a SATURDAY to enable those with other jobs to have a chance to attend. A special feature to this sale is the progeny of SPUR SUCCESS 2801. This is the best and deepest set of SUCCESS sons that we have ever offered for sale! Over 30 sons of SUCCESS will sell."

We have more information linked below, and the 2008 sale catalog is now available at the Spur Ranch website. You can also call Jot Hartley at 918-244-0934 with any questions about the offering available on the 25th.

Click here for more on the World Series Sale at Spur Ranch in Vinita.


Our thanks to National Livestock Credit, American Farmers & Ranchers and Johnston Enterprises for their support of our daily Farm News Update. For your convenience, we have our sponsors' websites linked at the top of the email- check them 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!

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


Looking at our Agricultural Markets...
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As we start on a Monday morning- it appears that the overnight electronic trade is building on the higher closes of our ag futures from last Friday. After Kansas City Wheat Futures gained nine and half cents per bushel on Friday- basis the December- the overnight trade is another seven cents per bushel higher at $6.04. Corn and Soybean futures both posted big gains on Friday and have about doubled those gains in the overnight trade this Monday morning. Corn was up 18 1/2 cents on Friday- and is higher by 9 1/2 cents this morning. Soybeans jumped 27 cents Friday and another 34 cents this morning. Cotton in New York is also higher, up the limit of 300 points Friday and better by 73 points this morning at 53.30 cents per pound.

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- One Pager From Country Hedging- looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges 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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