Subject: Oklahoma's Farm News Update
From: Ron Hays <ronphays@cox.net>
Date: 12/19/2019, 5:03 AM
To: ron@ronhays.com



 
OK Farm Report banner
 

Follow us on Twitter    Find us on Facebook    View our videos on YouTube

   

     View my photos on flickr

 

 

We invite you to listen to us on great radio stations across the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network weekdays- if you missed this morning's Farm News - or you are in an area where you can't hear it- click here for this morning's Farm news from Ron Hays on RON.
 
  
 
Let's Check the Markets!  
MarketLinks


OKC West is our Market Links Sponsor- they sell cattle three days a week- Cows on Mondays, Stockers on Tuesday and Feeders on Wednesday- Call 405-262-8800 to learn more.

 
   
Today's First Look:
mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.


At OKC West in El Reno traded 5.00-6.00 higher, feeder heifers sold 3.00-5.00 higher - click here to review the complete sale report from the USDA. 

Superior Livestock is holding their last Satellite Video Sale of the year this morning- starting at 8 AM Central time- 14,000 to be sold today. Click or tap here for the rundown of the sale on their website.


FedCattleExchange.com offered 878 head of cattle with 268 head actually selling in their Wednesday, December 18th sale of finished cattle - click here to review the complete sale report. 
 
 
Each afternoon we are posting a recap of that day's markets as analyzed by Justin Lewis of KIS futures- Click or tap here for the report posted yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM.
 
 
Okla Cash Grain:  
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- as reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture on Wednesday, December 18th.
 
  
Futures Wrap:  
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network - analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day.
 
Feeder Cattle Recap:  
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
 
Slaughter Cattle Recap: 
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by the USDA.
 
TCFA Feedlot Recap:  
Finally, here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
 


 
Our Oklahoma Farm Report Team!!!!
 
Ron Hays, Senior Farm Director and Editor
 
Pam Arterburn, Calendar and Template Manager
 
Dave Lanning, Markets and Production

Kane Kinion, Web and Email Editorial Assistant

Oklahoma's Latest Farm and Ranch News

Your Update from Ron Hays of RON
   Thursday, December 19, 2019

Howdy Neighbors! 

Here is your daily Oklahoma farm and ranch news update. 
 
One Featured Story:

In our final episode for 2019 on the Road to Rural Prosperity, I talk with State lawmaker John Pfeiffer of Orlando, who represents District 38- one of the more rural districts in Oklahoma- or as Pfeiffer describes it- parts of 5 counties from northern Logan county up I-35 to the Kansas State Line- with a total of 10 stoplights and more cows than people.


Rep Pfeiffer tells me about his time in the Marines, his running to replace the term limited Dale Dewitt and he offers a grade of the state legislative session in 2019 and what he sees coming in 2020.


Click here to listen to the whole conversation between Pfeiffer and I. 


This Episode 14 of the Road to Rural Prosperity is powered by BancFirst- Loyal to Oklahoma and to You.


Sponsor Spotlight
 
 
Midwest Farm Shows is proud to produce the two best Farm Shows in the State of Oklahoma annually- the Tulsa Farm Show each December and the Oklahoma City Farm Show each April. 

They would like to thank all of you who participated in their 2019 Tulsa City Farm Show
 
Up next will be the Oklahoma City's premier spring agricultural and ranching event with returns to the State Fair Park April 23-24-25, 2020.
 
Now is the ideal time to contact the Midwest Farm Show Office at 507-437-7969 and book space at the 2020 Oklahoma City Farm Show.  To learn more about the Oklahoma City Farm Show, click here

   
New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker has called for radical changes and harsh oversight against modern production agriculture multiple times in recent years- and earlier this week unveiled legislation that he contends will revitalize independent family farm agriculture and ensure a level playing field for all farmers and ranchers. The measure is called the The Farm System Reform Act of 2019. I talked shortly after with the CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Colin Woodall about this latest proposal.


Woodall says Booker, a self-proclaimed vegan, has joined forces with the Humane Society of the United States to speak out against modern agriculture. Woodall says he's not surprised, "It's not a surprise here when you look at the history of Senator Booker in his attack on animal agriculture. In particular, you know he's a vegan, he has that choice, but he's also decided as a vegan, he knows how to best feed the world. And that means attacking modern agriculture, as we know it. In particular, he wants to prevent any future permitting of concentrated animal feeding operations. And then he wants to take all the ones that currently exist and phase them out before 2040. Now you have to also keep in mind that he has a very long-standing relationship with Humane Society of United States, HSUS. So it's not surprising that he's doing his bidding, and of course, he is a presidential candidate, so he has a big bully pulpit right now."


Booker has also spoken out about the mandatory country of origin labeling. But Woodall says he doesn't understand the big picture, "Again it's Senator Booker not really understanding what goes on on the ground. Mandatory country of origin labeling has been the perceived panacea for saving all of us in the cattle business for years now, and we know better. It was the law of the land for six and a half years. And we never saw any direct correlation to better prices for cattle producers. It was a mandatory, government-run program that was basically set to only market beef, and it did not work. As such, it actually threatened the relationship that we had with Canada and Mexico because the WTO case that was filed. So I think it's just another great example of where Senator Booker is listening to the detractor's groups, and he's listening to groups like HSUS."


You can listen to the entire conversation between Woodall and I on Wednesday's Beef Buzz - here


Ag Groups continue to call on Congress to get the ratification of the US Mexico Canada Agreement done sooner rather than later. 

It appears with last night's Impeachment vote now behind us- the way is cleared for a final vote in the House on USMCA- and it is expected to pass rather easily later today.

Groups like the National Corn Growers are leaving nothing to chance- they have called on their members and all of agriculture to get a final phone call in to your member of Congress and urge a YES vote.

At the same time- Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now muttering out loud about now unfair Mitch McConnell is over in the Senate- and it's reported that she is leaving open the possibility of withholding articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump until she is assured a fair trial in the Senate.

"So far we haven't seen anything that looks fair to us," Pelosi said Wednesday after her caucus voted to impeach the president. She was referring to what Democratic leadership plans on doing after the vote.

If that is case and she fails to send the articles to the Senate once January arrives- that could mean the Senate might go ahead and consider the USMCA in early January- Chuck Grassley's Committee is the one that will consider that trade deal- and he has promised quick action in his Committee to get it to the Senate floor as quickly as possible when time is available.

The political war between the House and the Senate over President Trump will dictate when USMCA will get pushed across the finish line.



As 2019 comes to a close, its been a year of extremes for the cattle industry. I caught up with Michael Kelsey, Executive Vice President for the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, to talk about the year's ups and downs.


In some cases, the industry has done really well, but there have also been some challenges. Kelsey agrees, "Yeah, we're going to look back on this year in history and go wow! That was just a crazy year. Weather has just been horrendous all across the country, but certainly here in Oklahoma. Flooding that we had early on, and then just odd weather. Beyond that, so started out, we had completely depleted our hay supply in the winter. So we really needed to go into the year to make hay. Some folks started making hay late, made us nervous, wound up making tons of hay pretty much at least the reports we're getting. Quality maybe we're a little concerned about but, and then we had a fire in August at the Holcolm Plant, The Tyson plant, and boy that shook the market up. The market way overreacted. And so, boy howdy things are just we're going to look back on this year and go, whew! Just a crazy year.

"That being said, we did get some things done in the legislative session that we were pretty proud of. The ribeye is the new steak of Oklahoma, that's a jolt of morale, if you will, a feel-good that we'll play for a long time as we promote beef and Oklahoma for a long time that's going to give us an opportunity to do some things. We positioned ourselves on the fake meat here in Oklahoma. We think we helped push that issue nationally a little bit for Congress to take that issue up so that we can make sure that these non-meat protein alternatives don't use the term beef, that's what our main issue is. So we set ourselves up to do that very well.


Click or tap here to listen to whole conversation between Kelsey and I regarding the 2019 year for Oklahoma cattlemen.


Sponsor Spotlight
 

At AFR Insurance we are proud to have served Oklahomans and their communities for over 100 years. We know that insurance is more than talking about being there for you, it is about actually being there for you. We are here to give you a peace of mind by offering you the best insurance products at an affordable price. AFR Insurance offers auto, home, farm and life insurance to all generations, from young to old, we are here for you day in and day out.
 
Price. Protection. Peace of Mind. That's AFR Insurance.
 
Visit www.afrmic.com today to find your local agent and get a quick quote today!


The Christmas season is here, and many will be gathering around the dinner table enjoying their favorite holiday meals.


The Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center wants to make sure families keep food safety tips in mind when preparing those holiday meals.


"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates each year about 1 in 6 Americans get sick from foodborne diseases," said Peter Muriana, FAPC food microbiologist. "While the U.S. food supply is one of the safest in the world, food safety during the holidays is a must in order to prevent bacteria from growing and causing illness."


Muriana suggests the following food safety tips to ensure holiday meals are not only delicious, but also safe.


You can read the whole list from FAPC and Muriana, by jumping over to our website


On this day in 1977, AAM called a National Strike for farmers. Thousands of family farmers driving their tractors descended on State Capitals across America. I was one of those farmers headed into Austin, Texas not knowing what we would find but determined to stand up for our family farms. A light freezing rain was falling and our flags flying from our tractors froze stiff, but we were proud because thousands from across Texas showed up to be heard. When we drove up Congress Avenue, it was awesome, to see the Texas Capital dome in the distance with a sea of tractors with flashing lights as far as the eye could see. There to greet us was the Governor of Texas along with countless members of the legislature. To hear them praise farmers and voice support for what we were doing gave hope that we could and would make a difference.


Little did we know that thousands of farmers across America were also driving to their State Capitals. AAM had truly spread like a prairie fire across American and farmers in every state were standing up to be heard. You must remember that we didn't have cell phones or computers or even fax machines back then, only phone lines and mail to communicate. I've often said if we had had cell phones and computers, we would have been dangerous. Despite that, estimates were that as many as 1.5 million famers were active as farm protests spread nationwide.


President Jimmy Carter in a White House Press Conference said that his sister and nephew both drove tractors to Georgia's Capital as a part of AAM.


Click here to read more from Senter regarding the Farm Strike. 


Awards spotlight AFS Connect Magnum series tractor and new planting and seeding advancements


The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) will present three AE50 awards to Case IH for outstanding agricultural innovations. The annual recognitions further solidify Case IH as an industry leader in Agronomic Design™ and product engineering. Award-winning innovations for 2019 include:


*    AFS Connect® Magnum™ series tractor
*    Wing wheel system for 2160 Early Riser® split-row large front-fold planter
*    Curve compensation system for Precision Air™ 5 series air cart


"Our team is proud to receive these awards that showcase our full range of equipment built around power, technology and Agronomic Design," said Scott Harris, Case IH vice president, North America. "Our Customer Driven Product Design process continues to deliver industry-leading technologies. Case IH equipment is built by farmers who understand the unique demands of each operation."


You can read more about the accolades for Case IH, by clicking or tapping here

Our thanks to Midwest Farms Shows, P & K Equipment, AFR Insurance Oklahoma Pork CouncilOklahoma Farm BureauStillwater Milling CompanyNational Livestock Credit Corporation, Oklahoma Beef Council, Oklahoma AgCredit, Oklahoma Ag Mediation Program, Inc.the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association 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- at NO Charge!


We also appreciate our Market Links Sponsor - OKC West Livestock!
  
 
We invite you to check out our website at the link below too that includes an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.   
 

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

 




© 2008-2019 Oklahoma Farm Report
Email Ron   |    Newsletter Signup
Oklahoma Farm Report, 2401 Exchange Ave., Suite F, Oklahoma City, OK 73108
Sent by ronphays@cox.net in collaboration with
Constant Contact
Try email marketing for free today!