From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 05:42
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 Wednesday June 25, 2008!
A service of National Livestock Credit, American Farmers & Ranchers and Midwest Farm Shows!
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-- Harvest Continues to Work Around Showers With the Last Quarter of the Crop to Go.
-- OSU Alum Dr. Barry Pollard Leveraging $250,000 to Bring in a Million for OSU Agribusiness Professorship!
-- Congrats to Meeker Teacher Joyce Flowers- a Top Ten in America Teacher!
-- AFR's Terry Detrick Talks Farm Law Implementation And Decisions to be Made
-- Five Oklahoma Auctioneers Are in the World Finals This Saturday at the WLAC!
-- More BSE in BC( British Columbia)
-- Twenty Kansas Wheat Fields in Seven South Central Kansas Fields Hit with Embargo by Kansas Officials.
-- 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 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.

We are also 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!
And our email this morning is also a service of Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the annual Tulsa Farm Show held each December, as well as the springtime Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City. Check out details of both of these exciting shows at the official website of Midwest Farm Shows by clicking here.

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.


Harvest Continues to Work Around Showers With the Last Quarter of the Crop to Go.
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Little rainfall of consequence fell across Oklahoma on Tuesday- based on Oklahoma Mesonet observations- allowing us to continue to see the drydown of the soggiest fields in mostly north central areas of the state. Gradually, we are seeing the wettest locations start to get the ground firmed up to allow combines to start pulling out the last of the 2008 Oklahoma winter wheat crop.

As of the beginning of the week- USDA had the 2008 crop 74% harvested- and that figure will be a little slower to grow this week because few custom crews remain in the state.

As we put this report to bed- we expect no report for today from Mark Hodges of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission- but Mark tells us that we should have a fresh update from him tomorrow morning from north central Oklahoma. You will be able to find that report- and others as we get them on our wheat harvest webpage linked below. Check during the day as we are able to add other details of the harvest to our ongoing blow by blow review of the efforts to get this crop successfully out of the field and into the bin. We are also checking on this fungicide story that has hit the south central Kansas wheat crop- details of that story are further down in this email.

Thanks for your reports on this 2008 crop- continue to let us know about how this year's experience has gone for you- I know a lot of folks are curious about those who are having discounts because of bleached wheat or lower test weights- how big is the dock? We look forward to hearing from you!

Click here for the Wheat Harvest Webpage found on WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


OSU Alum Dr. Barry Pollard Leveraging $250,000 to Bring in a Million for OSU Agribusiness Professorship!
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Oklahoma State University received a $250,000 gift from Waukomis alumnus Barry Pollard, M.D. to establish a professorship focused on agribusiness. Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education as well as T. Boone Pickens' $100 million chair match commitment, the gift will provide $1 million in endowed funds. An Enid, Okla. native, Pollard is a successful neurosurgeon, rancher, John Deere dealer, devoted Cowboy fan and active philanthropist who saw the benefits of combining agriculture and business into one academic focus as a result of his involvement with his farm equipment company, P & K John Deere Equipment. Pollard serves as a trustee of the OSU Foundation and founded the current OSU Medical Cowboys scholarship program. "In addition to his passion for medicine, Barry Pollard has a passion for agriculture, business and OSU and we applaud him for supporting all three with this generous and timely gift," said OSU President Burns Hargis. "His donation and matching dollars from Boone Pickens and the state will support an important faculty position." With the announcement the state is changing the endowed faculty chair matching program on July 1, Pollard chose to take full advantage of the current dollar-for-dollar state match to add significant faculty support to OSU through his donation. The Barry Pollard, M.D./P&K Equipment Inc. professorship in agribusiness will be housed in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

"In addition to his passion for medicine, Barry Pollard has a passion for agriculture, business and OSU and we applaud him for supporting all three with this generous and timely gift," said OSU President Burns Hargis. "His donation and matching dollars from Boone Pickens and the state will support an important faculty position."

"I was able to find a way to emphasize agriculture blended with the necessary business course requirements that will give students the training and experience needed to be successful in the agricultural world," said Dr. Pollard. "This is a unique opportunity to give a dollar and get four dollars back, so it seemed like a good time to get it done."
We have more on the story- plus comments with Dr. Burns Hargis linked below- plus it will give you a peek at the work we are doing on a new website at WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com- coming in July!

Click here for more on the Barry Pollard gift to OSU's Division of Ag.


Congrats to Meeker Teacher Joyce Flowers- a Top Ten in America Teacher!
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Joyce Flowers was the 2007 Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year in the State of Oklahoma- and this week she has made the list of ten of the best teachers in America when it comes to Ag in the Classroom activities!

Ten teachers- Mrs. Flowers included- have been recognized for their outstanding efforts to promote agricultural literacy by the White-Reinhardt Fund for Education. The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture sponsored the 12-hundred dollar scholarships in cooperation with the AFB Women's Leadership Committee. The teachers, attending the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Costa Mesa, California, will gain useful information on expanding student outreach through teaching about food and fiber.

The national Ag in the Classroom conference brings together a diverse group of organizations and speakers to address how to improve agricultural education, showcase successful programs and offer educational materials. The Agriculture Department coordinates the Ag in the Classroom program with the goal of helping students gain a greater awareness of the role of agriculture in the economy and society.


AFR's Terry Detrick Talks Farm Law Implementation And Decisions to be Made
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It is a huge document, the 2008 Farm Law. And the word "Farm" is not even in the title of the law, according to Vice President Terry Detrick of American Farmers & Ranchers. The measure is finally, fully the law of the land- and many people are busy looking closely at the Commodity Title and more of this measure to gauge the impact on farmers, ranchers and agribusiness.

Detrick says that he still is not happy with what he believes is the misnomer, Permanent Disaster Aid- that is in this law- saying it really is not true disaster aid- but rather more of a supplement to crop insurance. With a major disaster to farmers in the midwest along the Mississippi and several of the rivers that flow into it- it's a reminder that this section of this new law will not be adequate to really help producers very much- and it is likely that we will still be seeing ag groups going to Congress and asking for disaster aid in years to come- even after this program is in place.

He also indicates that Francie Tolle has been busy looking at the "ACRE" program- which is the optional Acreage Crop Revenue program that is in this new law- he says she is still looking at the details of the program- but based on real world numbers on her own farm in north central Oklahoma- it does not appear to be a wheat friendly program- at least not for the southern Plains.
We have our full conversation with Terry available for you to take a listen to- click below and check it out.

Click here to listen to Ron and Terry on the 2008 Farm Law.


Five Oklahoma Auctioneers Are in the World Finals This Saturday at the WLAC!
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The annual meeting of the Livestock Marketing Association kicks off tomorrow in Sioux Falls, South Dakota- and that meeting will end up on Saturday as the 45th Annual World Livestock Auctioneer Championship will occur at the Sioux Falls Livestock Auction Market.

There are 33 Semi Finalists that will be in Sioux Falls on Saturday- selling cattle and vying for the World Title. Five of them call Oklahoma home! The five include Bailey Ballou of Elgin- being sponsored by Waurika Livestock Commission Co.;
Lance Cochran of Medford- Lance sells regularly for Beaver River Livestock Auction in Beaver, Texhoma Livestock Auction, Newkirk Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Auction, and the Pratt Livestock Market out of Pratt, Kansas;
Justin Dodson from Welch- he auctions cattle at the Parsons Livestock Market and the Tulsa Stockyards;
Dustin Focht who calls Stillwater home- he sells for the Woodward Livestock Auction and the Cherokee Sales Company;
and finally Brian Little from Wann- he sells for the Tulsa Stockyards and the Coffeyville Livestock Market, located in Coffeyville, Kansas.

Saturday morning, the semi-finalists will each sell several drafts of cattle. They are judged by a panel of market owners and professional livestock dealers on vocal clarity and quality, bid-catching ability, the ability to keep the sale moving, and by answering the question, "Would I hire this auctioneer to work for me?" The 10 top scorers then return for a final round of selling, where the same judging criteria are used. The three titlists - world, reserve and runner-up champion - - are announced at an awards banquet the evening of the 28th. The three winners take home thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, including, for the world champion, a year's use of a new truck.

For more information on the 2008 LMA Annual Meeting and the WLAC- Click here


More BSE in BC( British Columbia)
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A case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has been confirmed in the Canadian Province of British Columbia. This is the third time in the past three years BSE has been confirmed in British Columbia. A senior veterinarian for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Dr. George Luterback, says - the disease was discovered in a cow that died on a farm. No part of the infected cow has entered the human or animal food chain. The age of the cow has not yet been revealed.

The agency said the infection was detected as part of its ongoing surveillance program for mad cow disease or BSE. Since 2003, 13 cases of mad cow disease have been found in Canada, including 10 in Alberta and 3 in British Columbia.

An ensuing ban by the United States on Canadian cattle and beef products cost the country's farmers billion of dollars. That ban was lifted in 2005.
Of course, the most famous Canadian cow that has been tested positive for BSE may well be the one NOT found in Canada- but rather in Washington state in December 2003- the cow that stole Christmas has cost the US cattle industry many times what the Canadian industry has lost- if for no other reason than the sheer size of the US cattle herd versus the Canadian herd.

Click here for an update on the latest BSE case in Canada.


Twenty Kansas Wheat Fields in Seven South Central Kansas Fields Hit with Embargo by Kansas Officials.
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The Kansas Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that wheat at three elevators and in 20 fields covering 1,545 acres in south-central Kansas is under embargo until tests confirm that pesticide residues meet tolerances set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued the first embargoes for wheat fields in Butler, Cowley, Harper, Kingman, Reno, Sedgwick and Sumner counties late yesterday at the request of the Department of Agriculture. KDHE has authority under state law to prevent from entering the food supply any item that is considered adulterated.

When the Department of Agriculture learned that wheat from three fields covering less than 300 acres was harvested yesterday before the embargoes could be delivered last night, they tracked it to three elevators: Scoular Grain in Wellington; the Farmers Coop Elevator Company in Garden Plain; and ADM in Hutchinson. KDHE issued embargoes for those facilities today to keep the grain from moving or being commingled with other grain until it can be tested.

At question are late applications of Quilt, a fungicide that requires a 45-day waiting period between application and harvest. Its active ingredients have a low toxicity in humans. However, residue from Quilt's active ingredients must not exceed limits established by EPA and FDA. Quilt applications were made to the embargoed fields between May 13 and May 21, meaning the 45-day waiting period expires between June 27 and July 5. If the wheat plants were at the appropriate stage of development when Quilt was applied, then residues are likely within the established tolerances.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture collected field samples to test for residue, and results could be available as early as tomorrow. Samples also have been collected from fields in northwest Kansas, where Quilt applications were documented as late as the first week of June. The department is also looking at late Quilt applications on 5,999 acres in eight more counties: Ellis, Gove, Jefferson, Logan, Rawlins, Sheridan, Thomas and Trego.
The Kansas Secretary of Agriculture, Adrian Polansky, says that he believes they have done the right thing to protect the reputation and integrity of Kansas wheat.


Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows, American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance and National Livestock Creditfor 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


Let's Check the Markets!
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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.



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