Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased 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!

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Gary pointed out that this could all change yesterday- we heard the same thing loud and clear from News9's Gary England- and the two Garys were spot on.
early this morning, Jed Castles with News9 says there were at least 25 tornadoes that were spotted or touched down across the state on May 10. It was truly a border to border event, with reports in Grant County around Wakita and also tornadoes reported in southern Oklahoma around Healdton and Ardmore.

We had a note from James Wuerflein in northcentral Oklahoma of the results of that Wakita activity- James tells us "Lots of damage at Clyde COOP and hail from Wakita toward highway 81." There were also reports of very large hail associated with several of the twisters.

It looked like that several areas in northwest Oklahoma had received decent amounts of rainfall- but according to the Oklahoma Mesonet, only Alfalfa County received measurable precip in the area that needed it most. And the amounts there- three to four tenths of measurable rainfall. Larger amounts of rain did fall in several locations in Eastern Oklahoma- click here to see the 24 hour precip totals as of early this morning.

Click here for more from our TV partner in Oklahoma City- News9, KWTV.

For our 2010 winter wheat crop- "Wheat headed jumped another 26 points to reach 87 percent complete, only four points behind normal. Seventeen percent of wheat was in the soft dough stage of development by week's end, 16 points behind the five year average." The Oklahoma Crop ratings for the wheat crop remained 74% good to excellent, 21% fair and 5% poor to very poor. Kansas wheat crop conditions slipped some this latest week, with the Sunflower State now showing 64% good to excellent, 28% fair and 8% poor to very poor. Texas has a wheat crop rating of 60% good to excellent, 32% fair and 8% poor to very poor.

Back to our Oklahoma report- "Field work continued with the warm, dry weather, as producers proceeded with summer crop planting. Corn planted reached 90 percent complete by Sunday, and 65 percent of the corn crop had emerged by week's end, both running well ahead of normal. Seedbed preparation for sorghum jumped 15 points to reach 76 percent complete as 24 percent of the sorghum crop was planted by week's end, both running ahead of normal. Soybean seedbed preparation increased from the previous week to 69 percent complete, nine points ahead of the previous year while soybeans planted reached 24 percent, eight points ahead of the previous year and on pace with the five year average. Peanut seedbed preparations reached 92 percent complete as planting continued. Twenty nine percent of the peanut crop was planted by week's end. Cotton seedbed preparation reached 87 percent complete, an increase of ten points from the previous week, but still two points behind normal. Fourteen percent of cotton was planted by Sunday, six points ahead of the previous week, and five points ahead of normal."

Click here for the complete Oklahoma Crop Weather Update from Monday afternoon, May 10.

The report that we will pay the most attention to in this area is the 2010 Winter Wheat Crop Production Report- it will be of great interest to see how the Oklahoma and Kansas wheat crop estimates of USDA lines up with the Crop Tour estimates from this past week.

We will also have a ton of supply and demand data to process for you- we plan on having Tom Leffler join us to review all of the numbers- plus will have other info linked on our site as well. Click on the link below after 8:15 for our coverage of these reports- and then check back several times during the morning for additional information that we will be compiling.

Click here for our front page of our website- www.OklahomaFarmReport.Com for coverage of the Crop Production Report and Supply Demand data.

In regards to this year's crop- Schulte says that each area of the state seems to have their own particular problems that seem to be keeping us from having an exceptional crop for this harvest season that will be starting in a matter of weeks.
In southwest Oklahoma, it's several fields with strip rust issues. In west central Oklahoma, it's thin stands that are likely to give us weed problems as we approach harvest. Across much of the state, where we have had adequate moisture, the concern has been nitrogen levels- did we put enough nitrogen on to have maximum yields as well as adequate protein percentages?
And in northwest Oklahoma- especially as you get closer to Kansas- dry conditions that stretch from Buffalo east through Alfalfa County have cut into the potential of the crop.

Click on the link below for our story that includes audio with Mike Schulte giving his take on both the Oklahoma and Kansas wheat crops- and what our potential is for the remaining weeks leading up to the 2010 harvest.

Click here for the audio conversation that we have had with Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission

Anyway, Paarlberg says in his article that is entitled "Attention Whole Foods Shoppers" has a sub title that sums up the entire global food issue very well- he writes "Stop obsessing about arugula. Your "sustainable" mantra -- organic, local, and slow -- is no recipe for saving the world's hungry millions."

Paarlberg says "Helping the world's poor feed themselves is no longer the rallying cry it once was. Food may be today's cause célèbre, but in the pampered West, that means trendy causes like making food "sustainable" -- in other words, organic, local, and slow. Appealing as that might sound, it is the wrong recipe for helping those who need it the most."
He adds that global hunger is really all about poverty. "What's so tragic about this is that we know from experience how to fix the problem. Wherever the rural poor have gained access to improved roads, modern seeds, less expensive fertilizer, electrical power, and better schools and clinics, their productivity and their income have increased. But recent efforts to deliver such essentials have been undercut by deeply misguided (if sometimes well-meaning) advocacy against agricultural modernization and foreign aid."

Click here for the link to the entire article- I would suggest reading it in before a trip to Whole Foods or other Organic/Natural Foods Stores- just to get a nice dose of global balance.

The phrase "One Health" refers to an international initiative to integrate human and veterinary medicine. At least 60 percent of all human pathogens are transmissible between human and animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The One Health Initiative is endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Medical Association.

The curriculum consists of 75 core lessons on basic veterinary science and career education in three tracks: clinical sciences, One Health science and technology, and laboratory research/diagnostic science and technology. The curriculum will be published as a handbook and as a web-based course and for job training, students serve as apprentices in their chosen fields. They observe professionals at work and receive 120 hours of on-the-job training before achieving certification.

Click here for more about this program from the FAZD website

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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

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.