From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 7:13 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 Wednesday February 25, 2009
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, KIS Futures and American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company!
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-- From the Ag Issues Forum Presented by Bayer Crop Science- Dr. David Kohl
-- Three Lawmakers Who Are Also Veterinarians Take Issue With Madeleine
-- First Hollow Stem Time is Right on Top of Us- Dr. Jeff Edwards
-- Grain Sorghum Checkoff Has an Executive Director- Virgil Smail
-- From the Commodity Classic- Wheat Needs Biotech to Compete
-- Oklahoma House Ag Committee Meeting This Afternoon
-- Express Ranches Spring Bull Sale Just a Week Away!
-- 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 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 excited to have as one of our sponsors for the daily email Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, with 64 years of progress through producer ownership. Call Brandon Winters at 405-232-7555 for more information on the oilseed crops they are crushing, including sunflowers and canola- and remember they post closing market prices for canola and sunflowers on the PCOM website- go there by clicking here.
And we are proud to have KIS Futures as a regular sponsor of our daily email update. KIS Futures provides Oklahoma Farmers & Ranchers with futures & options hedging services in the livestock and grain markets- Click here for the free market quote page they provide us for our website or call them at 1-800-256-2555.

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.


From the Ag Issues Forum Presented by Bayer Crop Science- Dr. David Kohl
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One of the true globetrotters in the world when it comes to ag analysts- Dr. David Kohl talked to members of the Ag trade media on Tuesday at the Bayer Crop Science Ag Issues Forum Kohl is formerly a Professor at Virginia Tech University and now speaks for a living through his business AgriVisions LLC all across the country and around the world.

Dr. Kohl believes that the technology advances for agriculture will be unbelieveable over the next 12 years. Seed technology should be especially interesting with things like drought technology that is ready to be put into commercial reality. Kohl also discussed farm real estate values saying that non farmers are still putting money into farm real estate, which is helping keep farm real estate values from tumbling, at least right now. The future for real estate values remains very uncertain.

He believes that we are in a major global recession that may have an impact for decades and could realign society in many countries.He does not agree with Ben Bernanke, our Fed Reserve Chairman, that the Recession will be over be the end of this year.

He summed up what he believes are the keys for agriculture here in 2009 and probably for the next several years:
"Cash is King- Have Liquidity, Be Innovative, Be Resourceful and Be Selective- and then have a game plan that anticipates both the good years and the bad years."

Click here for more from Dr. David Kohl- including the audio of a conversation with Kohl after this presentation on Tuesday.


Three Lawmakers Who Are Also Veterinarians Take Issue With Madeleine
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Recent attacks on Oklahoma State University's College of Veterinary Medicine are inaccurate and misleading, a group of state legislators are claiming.
State Reps. Brian Renegar, Lee Denney and Phil Richardson - each a graduate of OSU with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree - defended the school, noting the program is nationally recognized as one of the best in the country.
Madeleine Pickens, the wife of oilman T. Boone Pickens, recently criticized OSU's vet school, saying the college uses "barbaric" teaching practices that border on animal cruelty.

OSU Dean for the Vet School, Michael Lorenz, is quoted in an email sent to Vet Students this week after the controversy surfaced as saying ""Rest assured that Mrs. Pickens has never made a gift or donation to the veterinary college. She did make an undesignated gift to the university." It is our understanding that in 2008, there were meetings with OSU officials where Mrs. Pickens offered a significant donation to the Vet School if they would endorse some of the principles being touted by the HSUS in the Proposition 2 referendum in California. No public statement was made and no gift was given.

"As a proud graduate of OSU's vet school, I can say the recent claims about the school's teaching methods are unfounded and colored by the perceptions of individuals promoting a radical animal- rights agenda instead of sound teaching methods for veterinarian training," said Renegar, D-McAlester.

"Our training is designed to prevent animal suffering, not create it," said Denney, a Cushing Republican who has authored legislation to outlaw puppy mills in Oklahoma. "No one can spend years training to become a veterinarian without caring about animals."
"I don't doubt Mrs. Pickens' intentions, but the information she was provided is inaccurate," said Richardson, R-Minco. "As a result, the picture she paints of the College of Veterinary Medicine is grossly distorted and misleading."
The three lawmakers noted that live animal surgery is a necessary component of the learning process for veterinarians comparable to the training of medical doctors.


First Hollow Stem Time is Right on Top of Us- Dr. Jeff Edwards
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First hollow stem is the optimal stage of wheat development for grazing termination, and is characterized by having 1.5 cm (about the diameter of a dime) of hollow stem present below the developing grain head.

State wheat specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards tells us "Several factors influence when first hollow stem occurs, but the most influential factors are planting date, temperature, variety, fertility, and soil moisture. To help growers keep track of first hollow stem, we track first the onset of first hollow stem in our variety plots at Stillwater, El Reno Conventional Till, and El Reno No-till."

Edwards adds "Data from the week of February 16 shows none of the varieties in our tests have reached first hollow stem YET; but the mild temperatures are pushing us quicking to the point of first hollow stem being a reality. The bottom line here is that while we are not currently at first hollow stem in most Oklahoma wheat fields, we are not far from it. So it is now time to make plans for removing cattle from wheat pasture. My prediction is that the majority of varieties will reach first hollow stem by March 1."

Click here for a recent OSU Newsletter that on page 2 has detailed information on how to scout for First Hollow Stem


Grain Sorghum Checkoff Has an Executive Director- Virgil Smail
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The United Sorghum Checkoff Program is pleased to welcome Virgil Smail of Manhattan, Kansas as the new USCP Executive Director. "The USCP Board and I look forward to working with Virgil and are extremely confident in his leadership ability," Bill Greving, USCP Board Chair, said. "He brings a successful track record from his past employment and brings a level of expertise that we believe will be beneficial in furthering Checkoff Program initiatives to improve profitability for sorghum producers."

"I am excited about the opportunity to work closely with the USCP Board to make significant progress in improving the sorghum industry. I plan to hit the ground running in this new position," Smail said. "The USCP is a huge step forward for this industry. From producers to end-users, I am confident that sorghum has a bright future."

Smail has worked in the grain industry for 25 years. Among his many career accomplishments, are serving as the Department Head for the Grain and Science Industry at Kansas State University and as Center Director for the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center for USDA/ARS. His past positions will serve him well as he begins as USCP Executive Director.
Smail will work under the direction the USCP board as well as with Tim Lust, who will serve as the CEO of both the USCP as well as the National Sorghum Producers. Lust tells me that Smail will direct the day to day operations of the sorghum checkoff.

The Sorghum Checkoff has a limited web presence at this time- click here to jump there


From the Commodity Classic- Wheat Needs Biotech to Compete
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Dr. Darren Coppock, the CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers, says that later this week here in Grapevine at the Commodity Classic- his group will unveil their petition drive effort to show that wheat farmers are on board when it comes to wanting biotech wheat.

We have audio of a conversation that we had with Coppockl along with fellow farm broadcaster Michelle Rook here in Grapevine as the Commodity Classic gets ready to kick off for a run through Saturday.

That conversation includes talk about boitech wheat, direct farm program payments and how wheat producers are doing in these tough economic conditions we now face. Click on the link below to jump to this conversation- which we have as an Ag Perspectives Podcast at our website.

Click here for our conversation with Darren Coppock of NAWG on Biotech Wheat and more.


Oklahoma House Ag Committee Meeting This Afternoon
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It's a shorter agenda for the House Ag Committee this afternoon for their regular weekly meeting that will be at 4:30 PM (or probably a little later) at the State Capitol.

Four bills are on the agenda as we write this on Wednesday morning. They include:
HB1057 - Livestock auctions; corporate surety bond - Glenn
HB1483 - Source groundwater basin or subbasin; modifying findings requirements - DeWitt
HB1873 - Trespass; modifying penalty for first offense on certain lands - Hickman
HB2155 - Veterinary Medical Examiners; rules - Armes


Express Ranches Spring Bull Sale Just a Week Away!
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The Express Ranches Spring Bull Sale and Commercial Female Sale will be on Thursday March 5th and Friday March 6th at the ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma. There will be more than 800 lots of Angus, Limousin and Lim-Flex bulls that will be offered- and all of the bulls have been tested as AM free.

The Sale on Thursday starts at 12:30 pm with the Limousin bulls and Angus females will follow:
On Thursday March 5th we will be selling
75 Limousin and Lim-flex Bulls
50 purebred Angus pairs
160 commercial angus pairs and opens.
On Friday March 6th, the sale starts at 10 AM and we will be selling 522 Angus Bulls Fall Yearlings and Yearlings.

Click on the link below for the sale catalog on line at the Express Ranch website- or if you need a hard copy of the catalog, you call the office at 405-350-0044.

Click here for the Express Ranch Website and their catalog of the 2009 Spring Bull Sale


Our thanks to KIS Futures, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill and AFR 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


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- 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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