From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 6:33 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 Thursday August 20, 2009
A service of Johnston Enterprises, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- Pork Industry Bleeding Red Ink- We Talk with Roy Lee Lindsey of the Oklahoma Pork Council
-- Top Republican on House Ag Committee Will be Speaking at Wheatland Stocker Conference Tomorrow
-- A Fall Gameplan for Wheat Fertilization- and more from the latest PASS Newsletter
-- Death Tax Time Bomb Keeps on Ticking
-- Veterinary Association Questions Pew Report
-- USDA Releases Loans to Electric Utilities- $78 million to Coops with Oklahoma ties
-- Corn and Soybean Farmers Embrace New Media
-- 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!

It is also great to have as an annual sponsor on our daily email Johnston Enterprises- proud to be serving 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 P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy as our newest regular sponsor of our daily email update. P & K is the premiere John Deere dealer in Oklahoma, with nine locations to serve you, and the P & K team are excited about their new Wind Power program, as they offer Endurance Wind Power wind turbines. Click here for more from the P&K website.

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.


Pork Industry Bleeding Red Ink- We Talk with Roy Lee Lindsey of the Oklahoma Pork Council
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One of the unfolding stories of this summer is the bloodbath that the pork industry continues to take. We are up to 22 consecutive months of losing money on the hogs being sold and processed. The average loss per pig is around $21- and Steve Meyer of Paragon says that could actually be steeper this fall- more like $50 per head, even with cheaper corn prices than a year ago.

We sat down and talked at length on Wednesday afternoon with Roy Lee Lindsey, Jr. about the situation from an Oklahoma viewpoint.

Click on the link below to hear his comments- we have it on our website as one of our Ag Perspectives Podcasts- which is one of three regular Podcasts that you can subscribe to on Itunes from the Radio Oklahoma Network and www.OklahomaFarmReport.Com.

Click here to listen to our conversation with Roy Lee Lindsey of the Oklahoma Pork Council and the Economic Mess Hogs Producers Are Now in


Top Republican on House Ag Committee Will be Speaking at Wheatland Stocker Conference Tomorrow
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Congressman Frank Lucas will update cattle producers on issues affecting agriculture at the 2009 Wheatland Stocker Conference which will be held Friday, August 21, in the Cherokee Strip Conference Center in Enid, OK. The first conference speaker begins at 8:30 a.m. with Congressman Lucas scheduled to speak at 9:15 a.m.

Cattle handling experts Dawn Hnatow, Bowie Texas, and Dr. Lynn Locatelli, Wolf Creek, Montana, will team up to present a seminar on Reducing Cattle Stress during Weaning, Receiving, Processing, and Grazing to Maximize Stocker Production Efficiency. These ladies have been featured speakers at cattle conferences across the nation.
Age and Source verification is getting a lot of attention in the cattle industry at this time. Joe Young, Micro Beef Technologies is going to inform producers on the data needed to document the age and source of your cattle and what opportunities exist to add value to the calves you market.

After lunch, yours truly will be offering an overview of policy issues of importance to cattle and wheat producers- with Scott Dewald, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Cattleman's Association, moderating the afternoon program and weighing in with us on state issues that need to be followed. It's always an excellent program- and this year, it's better than ever- so come be a part of the Wheatland Stocker Conference on Friday in downtown Enid at the Cherokee Strip Conference Center.

Click here for more info on the Wheatland Stocker Conference in Enid


A Fall Gameplan for Wheat Fertilization- and more from the latest PASS Newsletter
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The latest Oklahoma State University Plant and Soil Science Newsletter is out, and offers several articles from the department that cover some key late summer topics.

The lead article is "Nitrogen decisions for the 2009-2010 wheat crop" as Dr. Brian Arnall explains the importance of getting your gameplan in place for fall fertilization for this year's wheat crop.

Other articles include Aflatoxin in corn and how to best ID weeds found in and around your crops. Click on the link below and we will take you the latest newsletter in PDF form as found on our website.

Click here for the latest PASS Newsletter from OSU in Stillwater


Death Tax Time Bomb Keeps on Ticking
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The hope a few years ago was that we would see a total repeal of the so called Death Tax. That hope was shared by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the American Farm Bureau within the ag community- and numerous other groups that represent small business in our nation's capitol. However, after getting the legislation that is currently increasing the exemption- and will for one year- eliminate the Death Tax at the federal level altogether- nothing has been done. And if nothing further is done- that one year elimination will then be followed with the Death Tax returning at a very low threshold- and will be devastating to a family's ability to pass along the family farming operation.

Enter a bill providing death tax relief has been introduced in the House of Representatives, and it has the support of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The bill would exempt farmers and ranchers as long as the land is kept in production agriculture. The bill provides estate tax relief for land under qualified conservation easements as well. NCBA Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Colin Woodall says he's glad to see H.R. 3524 - introduced by California Congressmen Mike Thompson and Colorado Congressman John Salazar.

We hear from Woodall on today's Beef Buzz- and offer comments also from a pair of odd bedfellowsthat are joining together to applaud this bill. Click on the link below to jump to our page with all of this surrounding our Thursday Beef Buzz, a program that is heard daily on our radio stations across the Radio Oklahoma Network.

Click here to listen to Ron and Colin Woodall talking Death Tax on today's Beef Buzz


Veterinary Association Questions Pew Report
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The American Veterinary Medical Association has issued a report that questions the conclusions and recommendations made last year by the Pew Commission on industrial farm animal production. The Association's CEO, Ron DeHaven, wrote in a cover letter to U.S. House and Senate members of his concerns about the Pew report. The report is being used to advocate for H.R. 1549 and S. 619, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act. DeHaven urged legislators to vote against the bill. Click here to view the full analysis of the AVMA on the Pew report.

The AVMA questions the Pew Commission's process for gaining technical expertise. AVMA says the Pew technical reports were biased and did not incorporate the findings and suggestions of a significant number of academicians.

Concerning antimicrobial resistance, the environment and animal welfare determined to be most pertinent to veterinary medicine, AVMA asserts that many of the Pew Commission's sub-points have significant shortfalls and lack information as to how the commission would execute a new plan or program.
Also, the AVMA says the Pew Commission's recommendations for highly restrictive bans on antibiotic use have not been proven beneficial to public health. DeHaven points out that Denmark and the Netherlands have found that even a small decrease in antibiotic use severely diminished animal health and welfare without significantly improving human health.

To go back and read the Pew Commission report, click here.


USDA Releases Loans to Electric Utilities- $78 million to Coops with Oklahoma ties
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46 rural utilities and cooperatives in 30 states have been selected to receive a combined 1.16-billion dollars in loans to build and repair 11,249 miles of distribution and transmission lines and make system improvements that will benefit 109,250 rural customers.

Among the Coops that are receiving bucks from USDA- several have Oklahoma ties. They include the Verdigris Valley Electric Cooperative receiving a $15 million loan, Northwest Oklahoma Electric Cooperative getting a $19 million loan, Southwest Rural Electric Association (serving Texas and Oklahoma customers) will be on the receiving end of a $4.6 million loan and the Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative (with customers in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas) getting a forty million dollar loan.

"Our rural communities need reliable, affordable electric service to support business expansion and broaden economic opportunities, and President Obama is delivering on his commitment to invest in America's infrastructure and create jobs," Vilsack said. "These loans will spur growth in rural America by helping cooperatives and rural utilities deliver improved service to more customers."

Click here to view the news release with the complete list of Electric Coops on the receiving end of the billion dollars plus from USDA


Corn and Soybean Farmers Embrace New Media
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Sixty-two percent of large acreage, U.S. corn and soybean growers have sent or received text messages during the past year, according to the newly released Agriculture New Media Usage Study.

n addition to the percentage of growers sending or receiving text messages, the study reveals the high degree of frequency of texting, as well as other mobile phone activities such as taking photos, e-mailing, downloading ring tones, accessing GPS and more. Forty-eight percent of those texting send five or more texts per day, and 63 percent of respondents indicated they have taken pictures with their mobile phones.

The 35-page study also explores in detail the Internet usage of these growers, including how they are accessing their Internet and for what topics they search:
Forty-seven percent spend five or more hours per week online, and 23 percent spend 10 or more hours online
Besides utilizing e-mail, accessing weather and market reports are the highest ranked in terms of Internet use for their business/farm
In addition, 85 percent of respondents indicated that they visit Web sites related to their farm operation, and 76 percent check manufacturers' Web sites.

We have more on this study- as the link below jumps you to the website of the group that conducted the study and will sell you a full copy for a small fortune.

Click here to read more about New Media being embraced by many farmers


Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, PCOM, P & K Equipment/ P & K Wind Energy, Johnston Enterprises, AFR 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!

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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With 82% over 600 pounds, there were 5232 head of cattle at OKC West on Wednesday. Market Reporter Tina Colby write "Feeder steers and heifers steady to 2.00 lower. Demand moderate to good for feeder cattle. Steer and heifer calves steady. Feeder cattle showing a few signs of stress after a couple nights of hard rains. Some areas received up to 5 inches." Click here to see the full rundown on actual steer and heifer prices as reported by USDA.

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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