From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2009 7:00 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 Friday May 15, 2009
A service of Johnston Enterprises, American Farmers & Ranchers and Midwest Farm Shows!
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-- Farm Bureau Celebrating Three Measures Already Through the Legislature and Signed into Law by Governor Brad Henry
-- No Help for Wheat Prices From Corn Stocks Situation- So Says Dr. Kim Anderson of OSU
-- Collin Peterson and Frank Lucas Join Hands to Take on EPA's Rulemaking on Biofuels
-- Atlanta TV Station Strips Away HSUS Monetary Juggling Act
-- Canada, Australia and US Wheat Groups Pledge Synchronized Commercialization of Biotech Wheat
-- USDA's Vilsack Continues to Look for Common Ground that can accomodate all livestock interests regarding NAIS
-- Some bits and pieces
-- 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 salute our longest running email sponsor- Midwest Farm Shows, producer of the just concluded Southern Plains Farm Show, as well as the December 2009 Tulsa Farm Show. 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.


Farm Bureau Celebrating Three Measures Already Through the Legislature and Signed into Law by Governor Brad Henry
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The Oklahoma Farm Bureau is pleased that several key measures they have supported have gone through the legislative process- passed both the state House and Senate and have now been signed into law by Governor Brad Henry.

The three measures that Lori Peterson of the OFB Public Policy staff told us about on Thursday included HB 2151, HB 1482 and HB 1473. 2151 is the bill called the Livestock Preemption Bill that has been the number one priority for the general farm organization this session of the Legislature. 1482 enhances the current "Right to Farm" law in the state of Oklahoma, while 1473 offers protection for landowners when they get annexed by a nearby city.

We also talked with Lori about what is still ahead of the lawmakers in the final days of the 2009 session, as well as an update on the latest version of SB 452. SB 452, a measure that at one point was a very ambitious attempt to declare certain animal husbandry practices as not the exclusive domain of licensed veterinarians. It has backed off of that attempt- and now simply reverses the offense of performing animal husbandry acts that are not supposed to be done by anyone except a Vet from a felony back to a misdemeanor. The measure also calls for work between now and the next Legislative session on what animal husbandry practices should not be the exclusive domain of a practicing Veterinarian. This version of SB 452 passed the Senate on Thursday morning- and will be voted upon in the House later today.
Click on the link below for our complete story with Lori- including a chance to hear our conversation with her about where we stand with the current legislative session. BY THE WAY- Lori is our guest Saturday morning on KWTV News9 for our In the Field segment- see Lori with yours truly at about 6:40 AM Saturday.

Click here for an overview of the state legislative session from an Oklahoma Farm Bureau perspective with Lori Peterson


No Help for Wheat Prices From Corn Stocks Situation- So Says Dr. Kim Anderson of OSU
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Despite major wheat crop shortfalls in both Texas and Oklahoma this growing season, the stocks of wheat are larger than ever on a global basis- and USDA earlier this week called the wheat price outlook substantially lower this year versus last. Dr. Kim Anderson, OSU Grain Marketing Economist, says he agrees with much of what USDA was saying in the report issued earlier this week- and during this week's SUNUP on OETA that will be seen Saturday morning, Dr. Anderson discusses the current wheat marketing situation, as well as corn and soybean outlooks.

Dr. Anderson believes that wheat prices will get no help from the 2009 corn crop or the corn stocks scenario painted by USDA. He does say it appears we will have adequate amounts of corn for all uses, domestic and international, in the coming year. Of course, that's assuming that we are able to plant most of our corn acres soon- and in some eastern cornbelt states- that is proving to be a real challenge.

On our website, we have Kim's comments that will be seen and heard on Saturday on SUNUP as broadcast around the state on OETA. We also have the full lineup of topics planned for the program for tomorrow morning- click on the link below to check out more about this week's SUNUP as well as hear from Kim Anderson on our current wheat marketing situation.

Click here for more on the wheat market from Kim Anderson- courtesy of SUNUP


Collin Peterson and Frank Lucas Join Hands to Take on EPA's Rulemaking on Biofuels
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Thursday afternoon, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (MN) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (OK) along with a bipartisan group of 42 Members of Congress introduced a bill to correct flawed provisions in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that are limiting the potential for clean, homegrown renewable biofuels to meet our nation's energy needs.

"The unreasonable restrictions placed on the biofuels industry in the 2007 Energy Bill were never debated by Congress, and I've spent the past two years trying to undo the damage that we're seeing now that EPA has published the proposed regulations that will make it impossible to meet the RFS," Peterson said. ""In order to ensure that a clean, homegrown biofuels industry will succeed in the United States, we need to have Federal energy policies are flexible, practical, and innovative."

"Mr. Peterson's bill is a legislative response to poorly crafted EPA regulation. The most important provision in the bill is the expansion of the acreage eligible to produce biomass feedstock. This will ease pressure on the current corn production system and it will open the way for more rapid development of next generation ethanol," said Ranking Member Frank Lucas.

For more on the Renewable Fuel Standard Improvement Act as introduced by this bi partisan group of lawmakers, click here.


Atlanta TV Station Strips Away HSUS Monetary Juggling Act
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It's a good piece of journalism done by WSB-TV in Atlanta about how millions are given to the Humane Society of the US, but very little of that money goes to help animals in local shelters.

Reporter Amanda Rosseter points out that there is very little connection between this national organization that has a $120 million dollar annual budget and financially strapped local animal shelters. She says that apparently only about six million dollars goes to helping animals in local shelters- a minor part of their total annual contributions from donors who critics say are deceived.

The report on the HSUS is up on YouTube- and we have it linked below. Take a look- it gives you a small glimpse at the thousand pound gorilla in the room when it comes to Animal Activists.

Click here for the investigative report on the Humane Society of the US


Canada, Australia and US Wheat Groups Pledge Synchronized Commercialization of Biotech Wheat
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Organizations representing the wheat industry in the United States, Canada and Australia announced Thursday they will work toward the goal of synchronized commercialization of biotech traits in the wheat crop. Noting that "none of us hold a veto over the actions of others," they agreed it was in the best interest of all three producer communities to introduce biotechnology in a coordinated fashion to minimize market disruption.

The announcement came in a statement of joint principles on the issue of biotechnology in wheat, which has been a sensitive subject in some parts of the world, including major export markets in Europe and Asia. There is currently no commercial production of genetically modified wheat anywhere in the world.

Noting that biotechnology is not the only answer to a host of agronomic questions facing wheat production, the groups agreed it could be a "significant component" to tackling major issues facing the industry. U.S. organizations signing onto the statement include the National Association of Wheat Growers, U.S. Wheat Associates and the North American Millers' Association.

We have more on this landmark statement of unity by three of the biggest wheat producing countries in the world- as well as a link to the full statement- click on the link below and jump to our story on WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

Click here for more on the Biotech Coordination Envisioned by the Major Wheat Groups in the US, Canada and Australia


USDA's Vilsack Continues to Look for Common Ground that can accomodate all livestock interests regarding NAIS
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At the beginning of this week, U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to northern Colorado for a rural community forum. The Secretary wanted to hear from local residents and share information about USDA's efforts to revitalize and rebuild rural America. But animal ID was on the day's agenda as well. Secretary Vilsack participated in a forum on the National Animal Identification System in Fort Collins. The on Thursday, he held a full fledged Listening Session on Animal ID in Pennsylvania on Thursday.

In this edition of the Beef Buzz, Vilsack says that lawmakers are demanding accountability for the monies invested into animal ID- with several of them saying that a Mandatory program should be shoved down the throat of the livestock industry. The Secretary says he wants to listen to producers, get as much input as he can about the lingering concerns about a mandatory system- find ways to fix those concerns and develop a solution that will give the US rapid traceback in case of a national animal disease outbreak, yet provide protections for the livestock industry when it comes to things like confidentiality.

Click on the link below for this edition of the Beef Buzz- and remember that we have Beef Buzz shows from all the way back to the fall of 2006 in our archives- check them out as you go to our website and click on any page on the button called Beef Buzz found on the left hand side of the page.

Click here for this Beef Buzz featuring Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack on NAIS


Some bits and pieces
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Today is the Lahoma Research Station Field Day in northcentral Oklahoma- I normally will see a lot of you folks there- unfortunately, I have a prior engagement today as our family is gathering for the wedding tomorrow of daughter Sara to Brian White. I had thought about running up to the field day- but my lovely wife Jan threatened me if I even thought about it- so to Roger and the folks at this year's event- hope it goes well- and we'll see you in future years.

One thing I noticed this week as we were out in the country traveling to see our Enid radio stations KOFM and KGWA- check their webpages on our site out to see when you can hear our RON ag reports- was the price of diesel. It has come down a fair amount- and in fact, I saw a lot of places where the price of "on road" diesel was a few pennies LESS than unleaded. How long was it since that was the case?

Finally, we remind you to drop us a line with your calendar items- we are always interested in adding ANY event that is of importance to rural Oklahomans- just email me the particulars and we will get those items listed. And go check out current calendar to see what we have listed in the days to come. The link is below. THANK YOU for your support and kind words about this email, our website, our radio reports and our TV segments. It is our goal to find as many ways as possible to reach out and touch in a positive way our farm and ranch community- and along the way- help tell the great story of agriculture to the general public. Your encouragement helps spur us on even when some of the news we have to handle is discouraging.

Click here for our Calendar as found on www.OklahomaFarmReport.Com


Our thanks to Midwest Farm Shows, 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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Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. It shows excellent volume yesterday in the TCFA feedlot area, with prices a dollar up from last week on cash cattle prices at $85 per hundred for the majority of the sales- about 1,300 got another half dollar on that price up to $85.50.

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.



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