From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 7:10 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 March 2, 2009
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and Johnston Enterprises!
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-- From the Commodity Classic- The Four Groups Meeting Here tell Obama Administration to Leave the Farm Safety Net Alone
-- Oklahoma Wheat Commission Efforts at Commodity Classic a Big Hit- Again.
-- Conservation Commission and Conservation Districts Agree- The Court Got it Wrong
-- Into the Snow Storm- The Peanut Story Headed to the Big Apple
-- First Hollow Stem Has Arrived- the Word from Dr. Jeff Edwards, State Wheat Specialist
-- National Farmers Union Details Full Day of LawMakers a Week From Today at National Convention
-- 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. It is wonderful to have as a regular 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!

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 salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the April 2009 Southern Plains Farm Show in Oklahoma City. This year's show dates are April 23,24 and 25. Check out details of both the Southern Plains Show and the Tulsa Farm Show at the official website of Midwest Farm Shows by clicking here.

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From the Commodity Classic- The Four Groups Meeting Here tell Obama Administration to Leave the Farm Safety Net Alone
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In response to the Obama Administration's budget proposal that calls for phasing out direct payments to larger farm operators- the four groups that were meeting jointly in Grapevine, Tx during the Commodity Classic have offered the following statement:

"As the leaders of participant organizations at the 2009 Commodity Classic, which represent almost 90 percent of our nation's crop area planted, we would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the importance of the farm safety net as written in the 2008 Farm Bill.
"The small investment in agricultural programs by the federal government provides an excellent return for the American people. The 2008 Farm Bill also includes many other reforms that will assist farmers in becoming more financially sound.

"Production agriculture is a volatile business, and a workable farm safety net is vital to the security of our industry. The continued production of an abundant, affordable and safe food and feed supply for Americans and all those we export to around the world will be affected if this safety net is changed. The purpose of a five-year farm bill is to provide stability to producers, agricultural operations and the food system. The 2008 Bill should not be reopened before it expires in 2012.

"Our organizations look forward to continued work with the Obama Administration and Congress to ensure farm program monies are spent wisely."
Click on the link below which is where we have the statement on our website- along with some Q&A that fellow farm broadcaster Jeff Nalley and I had with Darrren Coppock about the statement and how the Administration seems to be dealing with mainstream Production Agriculture.

Click here for more on the Statement offered by the groups at the Commodity Classic to the Obama Administration.


Oklahoma Wheat Commission Efforts at Commodity Classic a Big Hit- Again.
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It was a big hit at the 2009 Commodity Classic- the baking of Cinnamon Rolls and Bread in the Oven owned by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. Since the days of Wheat Commissioner Henry Jo Von Tunglen, who initially baked loaves of bread for legislators and other VIPs in his home in Canadian County to now- the Oklahoma Wheat Commission has taken their bread baking efforts to national farm meetings, to New York City in a lower Manhattan exhibit this past year to dozens and dozens of events that take place inside the state.

Jeff Krehbiel says the National Association of Wheat Growers helped with the costs to have the Wheat Commission bring the oven and facilities on the road to Grapevine, Texas and the 2009 Commodity Classic, with more than 4,500 in attendance. The Chairman of the Wheat Commission says they served more than 8,000 pieces of Cinnamon Rolls to Classic attendees, as well as a lot of slices of bread, and had the chance to talk with a lot of folks about wheat promotion efforts as a result.

Besides their bread baking efforts- we chatted on Friday with Jeff Krehbiel about their efforts at the Wheat Commission to find a new Executive Director to take the slot vacated by Mark Hodges- Krehbiel says they hope to do interviews of the top candidates in mid March with a selection to come fairly quickly after that- and we talked about how dry it is across a good bit of the Oklahoma wheat belt for 2009. Click on our link below and you can take a listen to our visit with the Hydro farmer.

Click here for more on the Bread Baking Success at the Commodity Classic of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission


Conservation Commission and Conservation Districts Agree- The Court Got it Wrong
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"Extremely disappointing." That is how Trey Lam, President of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts described the ruling of last Thursday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that voided the $25 million bond issue passed last legislative session to repair damage to conservation infrastructure throughout the state of Oklahoma, including several severely damaged flood control structures. "It is amazing that the court would take this action," Lam said. "This ruling puts the lives and property of Oklahomans at risk."

In light of Thursday's Supreme Court ruling, Conservation Commission Executive Director Mike Thralls is urging the Legislature to reauthorize the bond this session. He said critical repairs to Oklahoma's conservation and flood control infrastructure are desperately needed. "We at the Conservation Commission understand that Supreme Court was not asked to decide on the value of the projects included in the bonds, but on the constitutionality of the vehicle that carried them," Thralls said. "There is legislation currently in the Legislature to enact the conservation bond in its own bill," he added. "We are hopeful that the bill will be passed on its own merits for the public safety of the state of Oklahoma. And we are anxious for the resolution of the bond issue so we can begin to put those vital conservation measures on the ground," he said.

About $16 million of the funding from the bond would be used to repair and rehabilitate flood control dams across the state and would be matched by the same amount of federal dollars. Another $4 million would be used in a flood protection project in the Kingfisher area. Another $3 million would be used to repair dams in Caddo County that were devastated in the tropical storm Erin that swept inland and across Oklahoma in 2007. "In 2007 Oklahoma experienced many severely damaging weather events, from the snow storms in the Panhandle, 'hurricane' Erin in the west and southwest, the ice storms in the east and the devastating flooding in the far northeast," Thralls said. "We are anxious see this bond in place so we can get to work rebuilding at least a portion of the infrastructure that has played such a vital role in the public safety of Oklahoma - protecting homes, businesses, roads and bridges and especially human lives," Thralls said.

The Executive Director of the OACD, Clay Pope agrees with the urgency of the situation. "We hope the legislature and the Governor will take action to reauthorize this bond and let us get to the work of repairing the damage caused by the storms of 2007," Pope said. "It's almost storm season in Oklahoma and if we have heavy rainfall in the areas previously damaged by the floods of 2007 the results could be tragic. The bottom line is that this ruling by the court has put the lives and property of Oklahomans at risk. We can only hope that the Legislature and the Governor will once again act in the interest of the public safety of our citizens and reauthorize this bond issue."


Into the Snow Storm- The Peanut Story Headed to the Big Apple
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Unless the snow storm that is rolling across the eastern seaboard throws too big of a monkey wrench into the works, the peanut industry will unveil a new slogan with a lot of hoopla on Wednesday and Thursday of this week as they tell the world about "Peanuts- Energy for the Good Life!"

The Peanut Industry PR folks tell us "On March 4th and 5th, New York will be transformed into a veritable Peanutopolis, with cooking demonstrations by world-renowned chefs, free food samples, educational exhibits and more. Amidst the hustle and bustle of Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal will be "Energy Central." Here, you'll encounter an actual peanut field, with farmers from across the peanut-growing regions on hand to show you around."

That's where the Oklahoma connection comes in, as Mike Kubicek write us in an email that he is in the process of driving "an Oklahoma grown peanut field to Vanderbilt Hall at NY Grand Central Terminal. Grown under the supervision of The Center for Peanut Improvement in Stillwater, the 20' x 20' field will become center stage for this major peanut showcase. Joining me from Oklahoma will be peanut producers John Clay of Carnegie, and Joe D & Gayle White of Frederick. Oklahoma Shellers, Alan & Pam Ortloff from the Madill based Clint William's Co will also be on hand."
We will be talking to Mike later in the week- making sure he slid in safely, how set-up went and how the public has responded to his major promotional effort coming right after the massive peanut recall that has damaged the reputation of the peanut business.

Here's more on the event from the National Peanut Board Web Site.


First Hollow Stem Has Arrived- the Word from Dr. Jeff Edwards, State Wheat Specialist
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OSU Wheat Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards reports in the latest OSU Plant and Soil Science Newsletter issued on Friday afternoon that First Hollow Stem has arrived in some Oklahoma wheat fields for some of our earlier varieties. Specifically, Dr. Edwards has found First Hollow Stem in Stillwater. "Some varieties have already reached FHS. Once this process starts, it does not take long for all varieties to reach FHS, so now is the time to be making plans for cattle."

In the plots Dr. Edwards is following in El Reno, dry weather has delayed the arrival of First Hollow Stem, but Dr. Edwards says the drought conditions dictate moving quicker than normal on those fields where cattle are still being grazed. "However, due to this reduced fall growth it is more critical to remove cattle from drought stressed fields slightly before First Hollow Stem."

We have the latest newsletter from the Plant and Soil Science Department at OSU linked on our website- our link is below, so go and check out this story as well as the latest on wheat diseases from Dr. Bob Hunger of OSU.

Click here for the latest on First Hollow Stem and its arrival in Oklahoma.


National Farmers Union Details Full Day of LawMakers a Week From Today at National Convention
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National Farmers Union members attending the organization's 2009 national convention will have the opportunity to hear directly from a full-slate of national leaders, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Farmers Union is incredibly fortunate to welcome Secretary Vilsack and Speaker Pelosi to our 107th annual convention. Speaker Pelosi has made issues affecting rural America, such as the 2008 Farm Bill, COOL, renewable energy and access to affordable healthcare, a top priority; and Secretary Vilsack will be playing a key role in shaping our nation's agriculture policies over the coming years," NFU President Tom Buis said. "The chance to meet and hear directly from this outstanding line-up of speakers is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our members."

The schedule for Monday, March 9 follows:
9:00 a.m. - USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack
10:00 a.m. - Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
10:45 a.m. - Renewable Energy Discussion with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D.
1:30 p.m. - Farm Bill Discussion with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
3:30 p.m. - House Agriculture and FDA Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
4:00 p.m. - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

Buis will be stepping down as NFU President and convention delegates will elect a new leader during the event. Those interested in the position must submit a petition signed by no fewer than 10 delegates to the NFU Secretary by noon, Sunday, March 8, the vote will take place at noon, Tuesday, March 10.
The American Farmers & Ranchers, the Oklahoma affiliate of the NFU, will potentially have a lot of clout in that decision, with about 40% of the weighted vote of the entire NFU resting with the Oklahoma delegation. That delegation will be led by the new President of AFR, Terry Detrick of Ames.

Click here for more on the Convention from the NFU website


Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows, Producers Cooperative Oil Mill 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


Let's Check the Markets!
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It was late Friday afternoon- but we did sell cattle in the southern Plains feedlots- the Texas Cattle Feeders report that it was mostly at $82, up two dollars a week ago, with some 30,550 head selling at the 82 dollar price.
The Woodward cattle market had another big volume sale day on this past Friday, as 9,078 cattle were sold, with yearlings $3 to $6 up and calves cashing in from $1 to $5 stronger. The five to six hundred pound steer calves sold from $104.50 to $113.25, while seven to eight hundred pound yearlings brought $89.85 to $98.50. Click here for the full Woodward Livestock report- it should be updated for their February 27th sale on the USDA site after 8 AM central time.

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.



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