From: Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.ccsend.com] on behalf of Ron Hays [ron@oklahomafarmreport.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2010 3:06 PM
To: ron@oklahomafarmreport.com
Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oklahoma's latest farm and ranch news
Your Update from Ron Hays of RON for Monday January 18, 2010
A service of Producers Cooperative Oil Mill, Midwest Farm Shows and KIS Futures!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Wheat Freeze Injury Noted in Oklahoma Wheat Seems to be Cosmetic Only- Dr. Jeff Edwards
-- Senate Ag Committee Leadership Call on President Obama to Defend US Agriculture in Dealings with Russia
-- November Red Meat Export Stats Continue to Show Improvement
-- Feed Grain Costs Likely to be a Positive for Cattle Business in 2010- Dr. Derrell Peel.
-- Aggie Reseachers Working on Drought and Alflatoxin Resistance in Corn for the Southwest.
-- Jeff Eisenberg to be Next CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts
-- Martin Luther King Holiday
-- 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 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.

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 handle, 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 springtime Southern Plains Farm Show, as well as the recently concluded Tulsa Farm Show. Click here for more information on the Southern Plains Farm Show, coming up April 15,16 and 17, 2010.

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.


Wheat Freeze Injury Noted in Oklahoma Wheat Seems to be Cosmetic Only- Dr. Jeff Edwards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
According to OSU Wheat Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards, the recent record low temperatures and high winds have many Oklahoma wheat growers, especially those with late-sown wheat, wondering how well their wheat crop weathered the storm. After looking at a few fields in central Oklahoma and speaking with area agronomists, Dr. Edwards says he is comfortable in saying that most Oklahoma wheat fields survived the cold snap with only cosmetic damage. Large wheat is showing the most visual injury symptoms with upper leaves almost completely desiccated.

Smaller wheat does not look as bad as larger wheat at first glance. However on a percentage leaf area basis, small wheat lost more leaf area due to cold injury than larger wheat. The primary issue with latesown wheat, though, remains the lack of sufficient tillering. We will need adequate moisture and temperatures above 50 F to encourage these plants to produce a few tillers before jointing in early March. There is still plenty of time for adequate tillering to occur, but conditions will need to be much more favorable for wheat growth than those of the past few weeks.

Unfortunately, it appears that most of the snow was blown away from wheat fields and this moisture was not moved into the soil profile. It is likely that temperatures were cold enough for long enough to reduce the amount of leaf rust spores present in fields. Hopefully, new spores will not be blown in over the coming months. Right now wheat farmers need to continue to focus on scouting for insects and accurately assessing topdress nitrogen requirements.

These comments from Dr. Edwards come from the lead article in the latest OSU Plant and Soil Science Newsletter- we have the entire newsletter linked on our website- just click on the link below for the story on freeze injury concerns for the Oklahoma wheat crop- and at that story, you will find the PDF link for the rest of the newsletter.

Click here for this story and the latest PaSS Newsletter from OSU.


Senate Ag Committee Leadership Call on President Obama to Defend US Agriculture in Dealings with Russia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Ranking Member of the Committee, U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), sent a letter last Friday to President Barack Obama urging his administration to defend U.S. pork, poultry and beef producers during trade talks with Russia this week.

The Senators say they are concerned about recent actions taken by the Russian government regarding new agricultural trade barriers and hopes the meetings this week will result in a mutually agreeable solution based on sound science and increases open and predictable access for U.S. exports.

We have the full letter on our website- click on the link below to see that full story and the letter sending to President Obama.

Click here for more on the letter sent by Senators Lincoln and Chambliss to President Barrack Obama.


November Red Meat Export Stats Continue to Show Improvement
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
U.S. beef and pork exports continued their rebound from the slump earlier in the year, with pork exports reaching their highest level of 2009 in November while beef exports edged 4 percent above year-ago levels, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). In addition, lamb exports maintained their pace for an outstanding year.

For the month, total pork (muscle cuts plus variety meat) exports reached 169,547 metric tons (373.8 million pounds) - essentially even with the volume for November during the record-shattering pace of 2008. This marked the first time monthly pork exports have reached or exceeded 2008 levels since March of 2009.
November's total beef exports reached 76,693 metric tons (169 million pounds), with muscle cuts enjoying a 23 percent hike over year-ago levels while variety meat slipped 27 percent.

While the export increase is a positive sign that economic indicators around the globe are pointing up, total beef and pork exports remain behind 2008 levels. For the first 11 months of 2009, the U.S. has exported 819,778 metric tons (1.8 billion pounds) of beef valued at more than $2.8 billion and 1.7 million metric tons (3.7 billion pounds) of pork valued at nearly $4 billion.
Beef is down 10 percent in volume and 16 percent in value compared to 2008 while pork is down 10 percent in volume and 13 percent in value.

Click on the link below for a complete review of both the pork and beef results from the month of November.

Click here for the latest US Red Meat Export Stats from November 2009.


Feed Grain Costs Likely to be a Positive for Cattle Business in 2010- Dr. Derrell Peel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last week's USDA prediction of a record sized 2009 US corn crop is welcome news for the US cattle industry, as it suggests relatively cheap prices for feed grains for much of 2010 for feed rations. OSU Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel says that with many bushels of the 2009 corn crop still out in the field, the final number is still not a certainty, so there are still a few unknowns in the feed grain equation. Dr. Peel does say that there seems to be developing almost a two tiered corn market this year, with the higher quality corn going to industrial and ethanol needs, while a somewhat lesser quality of corn will likely be used by the cattle industry, at a discounted price.

We also discussed about current supplies of pork and beef as we enter 2010- and Derrell Peel says that we have done a good job of pulling back supplies- and now we have to wait on demand to kick back in as the general economy recovers and consumers get in the mood to spend more on their food purchases.

Click on the link below for our Monday Beef Buzz, as heard on great radio stations around the state of Oklahoma on the Radio Oklahoma Network.

Click here for our Monday Beef Buzz with OSU's Derrell Peel.


Aggie Reseachers Working on Drought and Alflatoxin Resistance in Corn for the Southwest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two traits that impact corn will be examined by two researchers hoping to use basic scientific discoveries to improve products at the farm level. Drought tolerance and aflatoxin resistance are the targets of the study by Texas AgriLife Research scientists who have been awarded a $500,000 grant for the project by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Alflatoxin is a major worry in southwestern corn production, with both Oklahoma and Texas farmers battling this mycotoxin on almost an annual basis.

The idea is to use basic science which identified the drought- and aflatoxin-related genes in the lab of Dr. Michael Kolomiets and apply them in corn breeding through the expertise of Dr. Seth Murray. Kolomiets is a plant pathologist and Murray, the project's lead investigator, is a corn genetics researcher.
"We plan to use basic knowledge we learned from previous studies and translate that through breeding corn for drought tolerance and aflatoxin resistance," Kolomiets said.

Drought is a recurring problem for corn producers - especially in the southern U.S. and throughout other parts of the world. Aflatoxin, which becomes prevalent in drought years, is a serious issue because it renders corn inedible for humans as well as for many livestock, depending on the content level. Both of these concerns cause a blow to the economy when the corn supply is cut by lower yields or poor quality, the researchers pointed out.

Click here for more on this research to find a way to beat Alflatoxin and drought in southwest corn fields.


Jeff Eisenberg to be Next CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has announced that Jeff Eisenberg will take the helm as the Association's new Chief Executive Officer beginning February 1, 2010.

"We are eager for Jeff to join the team as CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts," said NACD President Steve Robinson, a producer from Marysville, Ohio. "Jeff has a true passion for conservation districts and their work. He has experience working for both conservation and landowner groups, and we are confident that his expertise and energy make him the right person to lead NACD."

"I am extremely pleased to have been chosen to lead NACD," Eisenberg said. "While the challenges facing conservation in America are great, the opportunities are even greater. NACD is well-positioned to lead the charge. I am committed to maintaining and building on the great work being done by conservation districts throughout the country."

Click here for more on the NACD's CEO choice.


Martin Luther King Holiday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today is a government and market holiday in the US. The US Stock Market and our agricultural futures markets are closed- no electronic or open outcry trade will be happening today.

Livestock Auction Markets are mostly open, and we will have reports as they are available on our radio stations that are a part of the Radio Oklahoma Network.

One market that was open this past Friday and we do have the federal-state market news report from Woodward. Jerry Nine and the folks had a huge cattle run last Friday, with the estimate of 11,400 cattle. Yearlings were called steady to $2 higher, while steer calves were $1 to $3 higher,a nd heifer calves were selling $3 to $4 higher than a week earlier. Five to six hundred pound steer calves sold from $104 to $116, while seven to eight hundred pound steer yearlings cleared from $95 to $100.25.


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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've had requests to include Canola prices for your convenience here- and we will be doing so on a regular basis. Current cash price for Canola is $7.30 per bushel, while the 2010 New Crop contracts for Canola are now available are $7.50 per bushel- delivered to local participating elevators that are working with PCOM.

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:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
phone: 405-473-6144
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forward email

Safe Unsubscribe
This email was sent to ronphays@cox.net by ron@oklahomafarmreport.com.

Oklahoma Farm Report | 10700 Whitehall Blvd | Oklahoma City | OK | 73162